Art Dirt: Terri Thornton & Tuesday Evenings at The Modern

by Glasstire February 15, 2020
Texas artist Terri Thornton in her Fort Worth studio

Terri Thornton in her Fort Worth studio.

Christina Rees talks to Terri Thornton, Curator of Education at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of her long-running, acclaimed guest lecture series Tuesday Evenings at The Modern.

“I have a real fondness for the brains of artists. People laugh about artists not being good communicators, and I think that’s a load of crap.”

To play the podcast, click on the orange play button below. You can also listen to it here. You can also find Glasstire on Apple Podcasts.

 

Related Reading:
Glorious Art Nerds and the Lecture, Smecture: Tuesday Evenings at the Modern
Should Artists Have to Talk About Their Work?
Tuesday Evenings at the Modern Spring 2020
Watch past Tuesday Evening Lectures here

6 comments

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6 comments

Randy February 16, 2020 - 10:14

What’s amazing about this program in particular is the social element. It’s greater than just a lecture. It is friends meeting up for drinks after to discuss what had just happened. It is smoking a cigarette in front of the museum and running into folks you hadn’t seen in a while.
It is staying late after school to pack into my high school art teacher’s Saturn to go to the lecture. It’s meeting the artist after and giving them a copy of your zine and telling them how important they are to your life.
As a young person The Modern showed me that there was this other way to live – the creative life. They welcomed this crusty, pink-haired young person with open arms and encouraged me to imagine a life for myself greater than what I thought was possible.
My life would not have been the same without Terri and the thoughtful programming she and her team generate.
Thank you, Terri.

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Terri Thornton February 16, 2020 - 19:59

Randy, that does my heart good.

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Terry Suprean February 24, 2020 - 09:11

I was in grad school at TCU when I first met Terri and Cam. Cam was teaching sculpture at TCU, and Terri made it a priority to visit us grad students from time to time. The two of them spoke into our lives and our work in the most meaningful of ways; inviting us into the community through the lecture series, Christmas parties, home and studio visits, etc. Terri and Cam’s reach effected us all deeply and profoundly.
Some of my fondest art memories were had at The Modern’s Tuesday lecture series, which were as much about hearing from the artist as it was about building community. At the end of my time at TCU Terri took me out to coffee to discuss my thesis exhibition, and I still remember to this day the things she said about my work and the advice she gave me. Before heading back to Houston I spent a portion of my final summer in Fort Worth teaching a class to elementary school students at The Modern, a position Terri found for me that cemented my love for art education.
It’s impossible to quantify how enormously influential Terri’s support of young artists and Fort Worth’s creative community has been, but what I can quantify is the effect Terri had on me, and how her voice and perspective on art making, and those of the artists she brought into our community, helped me through the hard times all young artists face after leaving the safety net of graduate school.
Thank you Terri!

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terri thornton February 25, 2020 - 11:46

thank you terry. knowing you and watching you as an artist has been a pleasure. so glad our paths crossed. t

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Andrea Charles February 24, 2020 - 23:25

Cam and Terri are a great artist and they have influenced many lives, including mine. Their speech and their hard work have both affected us emotionally and deeply. They are just down to earth person with a loving and beautiful heart. They are my true guidance in showing the creative path.

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terri thornton December 6, 2021 - 10:37

I just had reason to listen to this episode of Art Dirt and in doing so, realized that I called lauren woods, Lauren Cross, which has me talking myself off the ledge. I know both laurens well and respect them each as very individual thinkers/creatives. My apologies! Let’s just say that as the mind ages it becomes feeble, or at least in my case ….
terri thornton

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