HILTON ALS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022

ABOUT THE ARTIST/CRITIC

Hilton Als is an artist, scholar, critic, and curator. He is the author of the books, White Girls and The Women, a longtime writer for The New Yorker, and an exhibition curator. Hilton’s work actively contends with some of the most complex issues of modern life, love, and art by providing personal and contemporary contextualization on matters of race, gender, sexuality, and class. With a singular, provocative voice and vision, he has wrestled with the legacies of artists such as Richard Pryor, James Baldwin, Flannery O’Connor, Alice Neel, Andy Warhol, Michael Jackson, Joan Didion, and Truman Capote as well as the sociopolitical legacies of the AIDS epidemic in New York City, systemic racism in America, LGBTQ rights, and socioeconomic inequality. Hilton’s meaningful contribution to cultural discourse has been recognized with a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Pulitzer Prize, and the Langston Hughes Medal, among many other honors.

ABOUT THE TALK

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022
In this ATTENTION Series session, Pulitzer Prize-winning artist and critic, Hilton Als sits down with Denver’s own artist, writer, and educator R. Alan Brooks. In a rich and far-reaching conversation, Hilton and Alan discuss the creative process and the culture and experiences that have shaped their work and art. Hilton’s work reveals his deep love for art and artists while holding it and us to account, demanding the best work that honestly encompasses our messy lives, in the current moment, and in the context of history. This conversation takes a focused look at the fortitude required to protect the artistic voice while critically engaging with contemporary culture.

Hilton Als virtual visit was made possible in part through a partnership with Lighthouse Writers Workshop

Hilton Als. Photography by Ali Smith. Image courtesy of the artist.

Private events for the rmcad community

In Focus With Hilton Als
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022
Hilton Als has across decades blazed a trail of fearless criticism that interweaves his own family history and personal identity with a critical and incisive eye towards the arts of his time. Join Als in an explorative and interactive session, taking a focused look at the fortitude required to protect the artistic voice while critically engaging with contemporary culture. 

RECOMMENDATION LIST

VASD Program guests provide a recommendation list that gives insight into their work, practice, and research. Hilton Als recommends:

  • The new biography of Oscar Wilde by Matthew Sturgis.

  • The reissue of W.E.B. Dubois’ “Black Reconstruction.”

  • “Nixon in China” by John Adams

  • Anything by Prince.

  • Anything by Bach.

  • Kirsten Dunst in “The Power of the Dog.”

  • An old BBC mini-series about the actress Lillie Langtry starring Franesca Annis