Andrew Belser, the Penn State laureate for the 2017-18 academic year, will visit Penn State Hazleton from March 14 to 16 with his "FaceAge" intergenerational exhibit.
HAZELTON, Pa. — Andrew Belser, the Penn State laureate for the 2017-18 academic year, will visit Penn State Hazleton from March 14 to 16.
His visit will include a display of his “FaceAge” project that is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 14; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 15; and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, March 16. The exhibit will be set up in the lobby of the Evelyn Graham Academic Building.
“FaceAge” is an award-winning multimedia video installation in which participants explore issues of identity, gender, sexuality and ethnicity through the lens of aging. The FaceAge experience is delivered through an immersive three-screen video environment presenting a 56-minute loop of interconnected chapters built around these cross-generational encounters. The six chapters — Assumptions, Mask & Deception, Memory, Mortality, What the Face Holds, and Being Seen — reveal a multidimensional view of aging. This series of intimate interactions challenges perceptions, fosters introspection and builds acceptance, awareness and cross-generational connections.
Belser is a professor of movement, voice and acting in the Master of Fine Arts program at University Park. He also is director of the Arts and Design Research Incubator in the College of Arts and Architecture. He is the founding artistic director of The Gravity Project, a professional theater company and international performance research center. Belser was the recipient of the 2003 Pennsylvania Professor of the Year award by the Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching.
The Penn State laureate title is conferred annually on a full-time faculty member in the arts or humanities to bring greater visibility to the arts, humanities, and the University, as well as his or her own work.
FaceAge is on a national tour with plans under way for an international tour. For more information on the exhibition, visit faceage.org. To view excerpts from the six stories included in the interactive display, visit https://vimeo.com/188223111. For more information on the Penn State Laureate program, visit vpaa.psu.edu/penn-state-laureate.
