Edward Gomez, award-winning art critic, Fulbright Fellow and former A.B. Duke Scholar, will give a lecture entitled “Nostalgia for the Future,” adapted from his upcoming book, Big Soul: Meditations on Art and Artists in Post-postmodernist Times, at the Nasher Museum of Art this Saturday. The public talk, which focuses on contemporary American painter Stephanie Brody-Lederman, is sponsored by the A.B. Duke Memorial Scholarship Program. Gomez will also host an informal discussion with current A.B. Duke Scholars to answer questions about his work as a diplomat, journalist and art critic.
Gomez’s upcoming book of art-themed essays reflects a non-conformist approach to post-modernist critical theory. Rather than imposing theoretical guidelines on the artwork, Gomez adheres to his credo, “Let the work speak for itself.”
Gomez, who was born in North Carolina but grew up in Morocco and Switzerland, majored in Philosophy and Art at Duke with a concentration in Political Science. His Fulbright Fellowship in Japan, during its economic boom in the late 1980s, allowed him to explore Japanese modern art history and develop a journalistic focus in East Asian art, culture and design. His articles have been published in everything from the New York Times and Conde Nast Traveler to the Jamaica Observer and the now-defunct Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review. Although Gomez’s specialization is in art, his journalistic work has covered economics, foreign affairs and social issues. He has also served as a cultural affairs officer in the U.S. Foreign Service and speaks five languages.
Founding editor of Duke Magazine Robert Bliwise, who has worked with Gomez in magazine journalism, spoke to Gomez’s unique immersion in many fields.
“Edward impresses me as someone who straddles and crosses over boundaries,” Bliwise said. “He thinks across the boundaries between nations, across the boundaries between words and images and across the boundaries between classic values and modern sensibilities.”
When asked about how he has made a career out of such a plethora of interests, Gomez responded that it is a blessing and a curse to be genuinely interested in several subjects.
“It’s a bit of a handicap in American society because there’s this very annoying emphasis on specialization and pigeon-holing people. They think you can’t walk and play the violin at the same time,” Gomez said.
Gomez’s wide-spanning work has led him to question conventional approaches to cultural criticism and, more specifically, post-modernist critical theory.
“The last thing the post-modernist critics were interested in was anything to do with the spiritual,” Gomez said. “I’m very interested in soulful qualities—the craftsmanship of the art object itself is a very expressive language in its own right.”
As his future plans take shape, Gomez hopes to complete a memoir that will examine language. In addition, he is formulating a meditation on a little-known Italian actress and her journey toward artistic self-discovery. In doing so, Gomez hopes to further expand upon the traditional biography in a nod to his nonconformist approach. Wherever his work takes him, Gomez seeks to push the boundaries of traditional genres.
“What can we do that’s new and revealing, not for the sake of doing something new, but because it’s informative and satisfying?” Gomez said. “I’m not shaping anything I’m doing to fit a critical agenda.”
Edward Gomez will give a lecture entitled “Nostalgia for the Future” this Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Nasher Museum of Art. The event is free and open to the public.
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