Calligrapher Thomas Ingmire will give the 2014 Mitchell Lecture on the Art of the Book, “Out of the Air: a Visual Poetic Journey.” The lecture will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 27, in 116 Art Building West on the University of Iowa campus.

Ingmire will present a number of projects, including his work with sculptor Manuel Neri and binder Daniel Kelm that resulted in 16 unique Artist's Books and a project titled "Out of the Air" that involved music and poetry.

Ingmire will also share recent adventures in his search to give calligraphy meaning in the 21st century and discuss collaboration as a process that not only helps to shatter preconceptions, but fosters an openness that can lead to wider spectrums of thought and ultimately to the idea of searching for the unknown.

Thomas Ingmire’s art training initially grew from the study and practice of landscape design. He received a Bachelor of Arts in landscape architecture from Ohio State University and an Master of Liberal Arts from the University of California, Berkeley. Both of these programs involved intensive graphic and fine arts studies. In the early 1970s he pursued the study of medieval painting technique and calligraphy during a one-year postgraduate program in the Art Department at California State University, Los Angeles.

In 1977 Ingmire became the first foreign member to be elected Fellow of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators in London, England. In 1980 he received a Newberry Fellowship for independent study and research at the Newberry Library in Chicago.

Ingmire's work has focused primarily on the exploration of calligraphy as a fine arts medium. He has exhibited widely in the United States, and his works can be found in the San Francisco Public Library's special collections, the Newberry Library in Chicago, the Victoria Albert Museum in London, the Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry, the Stiftung Academy of Art in Berlin, Germany, as well as many other public and private collections throughout the world.

Since 1978, Ingmire has given much energy to teaching and conducting workshops throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, and several countries in Europe as well as in Japan and Hong Kong. Currently, he is involved in collaborative work with a number artists and poets. This has included the Pablo Neruda series of books with Manuel Neri, work as an illuminator on the Saint John’s Bible project, and work with poets Tsering Wangmo and David Jones Annwn.

Ingmire’s visit is sponsored by the Center for the Book, part of the UI Graduate College.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all UI-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, contact the UI Center for the Book in advance, at 216 NH, or 319-335-0447.