While Professor of Art Aaron Fine is on sabbatical this year, researching and writing about color theory, 2007 Truman graduate Professor Heidi Cook is filling in as Visiting Director of the University Art Gallery and teaching Art History courses as well – Non-Western Art, Contemporary Art, and Introduction to the Visual Arts. She writes:

I am a Truman alumna (German and Art History, ’07) and I am truly excited to be back on campus and working alongside the Art Historians who introduced me to the history of art and made me want to pursue it further. Teaching Art History is one of the coolest jobs. I get to spend my time reading, thinking, and talking about how artworks visualize important and changing social, historical and religious ideas across the globe and throughout history. My hope is always that I can begin to open students’ eyes to the power of their visual surroundings.

I am currently a PhD candidate (All But Dissertation) in the History of Art and Architecture at the University of Pittsburgh. My research focuses on the modern art and design of Central and Eastern Europe. Using a body of folkloric works created by Croatian-American artist Maksimilijan Vanka as a guiding thread, my dissertation explores how objects and images related to Croatian folk culture were used to imagine a variety of competing Central European identities. In February, I am chairing a panel at the College Art Association Conference in Washington, D.C., about the relationship between European folk culture and American immigrant identity titled “Old Country in the New Country: Exhibitions, Museums, and Early Twentieth-Century American Immigration.”

If you ever want to talk about modern art in Central Europe or about applying or attending graduate school, feel free to stop by my office OP 1231 or email me at hcook@truman.edu.

We are very pleased to have Prof. Cook on campus this year, and know that students in her classes are benefiting from her knowledge and enthusiasm.

Prof. Heidi Cook, her husband Brent, and Pumpkin, in Kumrovec, Croatia in front of the house where Yugoslavian dictator Josip Broz Tito was born.