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UNT names institute’s first faculty fellows
DENTON (UNT), Texas -- Dornith Doherty, professor of photography in the University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design, and Cindy McTee, Regents Professor of composition in the UNT College of Music, have been named the inaugural faculty fellows of UNT's newly launched Institute for the Advancement of the Arts. Doherty, who has exhibited in galleries across the world, will continue a photographic project in collaboration with renowned biologists at two of the most comprehensive international seed banks in the world. McTee, an acclaimed composer whose works have been performed in the U.S. and abroad, will compose an orchestral piece exploring the passage of time and transcribe the work for wind symphony. As faculty fellows, Doherty and McTee will be granted release from their other faculty duties during the Spring 2010 semester to pursue their projects full time. "For many faculty in the arts, time is the most valuable commodity. Giving our faculty an opportunity to focus on their art will not only help them complete major projects, it will also make them even better teachers," Wilkins said. "They will have the chance to immerse themselves in the creative process and find new meaning in their work. And when they return to the classroom, they will share their new perspectives and renewed passions with students." Doherty's project, titled Archiving Eden, is a continuation of a project to photograph seeds and cloned plants from storage vaults at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins, Col., and the Millennium Seed Bank in Sussex, England. During the fellowship period, Doherty will meet with scientists at both facilties and use the on-site X-ray machines to photograph the seeds and plants. At her Texas studio, Doherty will incorporate the X-ray images into digital collages. "Through three major exhibitions, these collages will contribute to the debate on the changing impact of humans on the natural world," Doherty said. "The IAA fellowship will provide otherwise unavailable resources to create 50 new artworks and print three exceptionally large, lenticular panels and five pigment prints that will become key pieces of these important exhibitions." "The administrative leadership's support and recognition of the creative activities of the many dedicated faculty members at UNT makes me proud to be a member of this scholarly community," Doherty said. "I am very excited and thankful to receive this important honor." Doherty joined the UNT faculty in 1996 and is the coordinator for the photography program. She has received grants from the Fulbright Foundation, the Japan Foundation, the United States Department of the Interior, the Indiana Arts Commission and the Society for Contemporary Photography. Doherty received a bachelor of arts degree in Spanish and French language and literature at Rice University and a master of fine arts degree in photography from Yale University. Her work is represented by McMurtrey Gallery in Houston and Holly Johnson Gallery in Dallas. In 2010, Doherty's work will be featured in solo exhibitions at the Encuentros Abiertos Photography Biennial in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Martin Museum of Art at Baylor University, and the Galveston Arts Center in conjunction with FotoFest 2010 International Photography Biennial. Her work is in numerous permanent collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Museum of Fine Arts in Milwaukee, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Yale University Library, the Museet Fotokunst in Odense, Denmark, Goldman-Sachs in New York, Sprint Corporation in Kansas and the Federal Reserve Bank in Houston. McTee's fellowship will allow her to compose a nine-minute piece, Tempus Fugit, for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and music director, Leonard Slatkin, as well as create a transcription for UNT's Wind Symphony and its conductor, Eugene Migliaro Corporon. Tempus Fugit -- translated from Latin as "time flees" or "time flies -- "will celebrate the musical and cultural energy of modern-day America," she said. "I could not be more proud and humbled by the acknowledgment," McTee said. "Establishment of the IAA renews UNT's commitment to the idea that creating art and engaging in scholarship are equally important to the mission of a student-centered public research university. This initiative also stands to have far-reaching effects on those who look to UNT for guidance and encouragement at a time when the arts are in particular economic peril." McTee, who has taught at UNT since 1984, is the winner of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Elaine Lebenbom Memorial Award for Female Composers, given annually to one living woman composer. As the winner, her new piece will be performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Leonard Slatkin June 3-6, 2010. She has earned two awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Fellowship, and a Composers Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, among other honors. McTee has been commissioned to create compositions by the Houston, Amarillo, Dallas, and National Symphony Orchestras, Bands of America, the American Guild of Organists, the Barlow Endowment, the College Band Directors National Association, and Pi Kappa Lambda. Her music has been performed by leading orchestras, bands and chamber ensembles in Japan, South America, Europe, Australia and the United States. McTee earned a bachelor's degree from Pacific Lutheran University in 1975, a master's degree from Yale School of Music in 1978 and a doctoral degree from the University of Iowa in 1981. About the Institute for the Advancement of the Arts Designed to support accomplished professionals in the visual, performing and creative literary arts, the Institute for the Advancement of the Arts provides recognition for artistic contributions and an opportunity to share those contributions with the public. Each year, two to four faculty fellows are selected by a review of projects. In addition, the institute hosts an artist-in-residence -- the first of whom is acclaimed screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga. The Institute for the Advancement of the Arts began operations this fall under the oversight of a steering committee composed of the dean of the College of Music, the dean of the College of Visual Arts and Design and the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The institute is jointly supported by the offices of the provost and vice president for academic affairs and the vice president for research and economic development.
UNT News Service Phone Number: (940) 565-2108
Contact: Ellen Rossetti (940) 369-7912
Email: erossetti@unt.edu
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