Students in the Ohio State College of Arts may have the privilege of saying they were lectured by an acclaimed artist, thanks to Ann Hamilton joining the Department of Art this year.

“Artists, scholars, curators and critics from all over the world consider Hamilton to be one of the premier individuals of our time. We are absolutely thrilled to have her join our faculty. The affiliation will identify the whole university with one of today’s preeminent artists,” said Georg Heimdal, chair of the Department of Art.

Joan Simon, of “Art in America,” said Hamilton’s work can range in size from installations as big as a three-story building to as small as a thimble.

“She creates sculptural environments that convey an intimate feel for objects, architectural space and the ‘fabric’ of both language and history,” Simon said.

She has received many awards, one of which was the MacArthur Fellowship in 1993. Fellows are given to talented people who have shown exceptional originality and dedication in their creative quests and exhibit obvious self-direction.

There have been 588 fellows named since June 1981, who are given a $500,000 stipend. With that amount of money at stake it is not surprising that tough criteria must be met to receive the MacArthur Fellowship.

Hamilton was chosen because she showed extraordinary creativity, a promise for important future advances and a potential to aid in additional creative work.

“Hamilton is best known for her site-specific environments that make use of sophisticated technology, unusual and highly sensual materials, recorded sound and literary and historical allusions,” said Lynne Cooke of Interview magazine.

Many prestigious venues have exhibited her work, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Dia Center for the Arts, the Hishorn Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Along with these venues, Hamilton became only the third woman chosen to represent the United States at the 1999 Venice Biennale. This prominent event is a modern art exposition held in odd numbered years from June to November.

Hamilton, a native of Ohio, was born in Lima and received her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from the University of Kansas in 1979, then went on to the Yale School of Art to earn her Master’s of Fine Arts in 1985.

Her vast experience will help bring world-class artists to OSU and enrich the education of students in her classes.