Cynthia Nourse Thompson Lecture

Thompson’s work contains strong religious undertones and has often beendescribed as “Catholic” in nature and aesthetic— clean, pure, and
ordered. At the same time, many of the surfaces and materials used in
her work simulate flesh in order to evoke the body,
an alluring and seductive association of great significance. Using the
body as the site of personal investigation, the physical manifestations
of denial, shame, and oppression are explored and moreover issues
surrounding the female body are examined. In particular,
Thompson shares her own experiences as a young woman raised in the
religious South.  She is interested in addressing her own concerns with
beauty, desire, vulnerability and imperfection. In her newly produced
body of work, she continues this investigation
yet the focus has become not only that of the aesthetic but that of the
process— technique, pattern, place and content, and the historical made
contemporary.

Thompson is currently Curator and Director of Exhibitions at the
University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Additionally, she is
Associate Professor teaching printmaking and book arts. In June of 2014,
Thompson will begin as Program Director for the
Book Arts/Printmaking and MFA Studio Arts programs at University of the
Arts in Philadelphia. She will also serve as Associate Professor and
teach within these programs. Thompson previously served for twelve years
as Professor of Book and Paper Arts at Memphis
College of Art and the Chair of the Fine Arts Department for one year.
Thompson has also been visiting faculty at University of Georgia’s study
abroad program in Cortona, Italy teaching both papermaking and book
arts as well as faculty at the prestigious Santa
Reparata International School of Art teaching book arts and
printmaking. Thompson received her BFA in Printmaking from the Maryland
Institute College of Art and her MFA from Rutgers, the State University
of New Jersey. In addition to teaching and curating,
previously Thompson worked at Dieu Donne Papermill, Harlan & Weaver
Intaglio, Inc. and the Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper,
now the Brodsky Center for Innovative Editions. Her work can be viewed
at www.cynthia-nourse-thompson.com