NW Missouri Times

Northwest Missouri State University’s School of Fine and Performing Arts will host an exhibition featuring the work of Arkansas-based illustrator and artist Sean Fitzgibbon at the Olive DeLuce Art Gallery next month.

The exhibition will open with a lecture by Fitzgibbon at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, November 3, in the Charles Johnson Theater at the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building. A reception will follow. Both events are free and open to the public.

During his visit, Fitzgibbon will also engage with students by visiting art classes, speaking to a modern and contemporary art history class, and conducting studio critiques with advanced art and design students.

Fitzgibbon is recognized for his graphic nonfiction book “What Follows is True: The Crescent Hotel,” which received both the Arkansas Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship Award in 2022 and a Kirkus Star. The book examines the Crescent Hotel’s time as Baker Hospital during the Depression era in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, focusing on its history as a cancer hospital. Original pages from this book will be part of the exhibition.

Discussing his connection to Northwest Missouri State University and his research process, Fitzgibbon said, “I’m originally from Missouri, so I’ve always felt a strong connection to this region. My book centers on Norman Baker, who was from Muscatine, Iowa, not far from northern Missouri. In preparing for this project, I spent time in Muscatine, meeting and interviewing many wonderful people, which deepened both my research and my personal ties to the area.”

Fitzgibbon also teaches as an adjunct instructor at Northwest Arkansas Community College. He emphasized his approach to teaching: “I want to show students how to follow their interests and transform them into meaningful creative projects, like illustrated narrative books. I’ll also share how I was able to fund my work early on, offering practical advice they can apply to their own endeavors.”

Dr. Karen Britt, associate professor of art and assistant chair of the School of Fine and Performing Arts at Northwest Missouri State University, highlighted the importance of Fitzgibbon’s visit for students learning about combining digital and traditional artistic methods.

“It’s really important for our students to have an opportunity to engage with an artist and illustrator whose work aligns with broader shifts occurring in fine arts today,” Britt said. “The illustrations in Sean’s graphic books derive from his traditional paintings. In our program, we stress the importance of students developing what we call ‘material intelligence.’ Tactile learning helps students understand the properties of real materials. Concepts such as line, shape, form, and texture are almost impossible to understand if not practiced by hand. The physical element, what we refer to as hand skill, is a crucial part of the education of students working in both digital and traditional methods.”

Britt added that Fitzgibbon’s work addresses themes relevant to her courses: “It’s about local history,” Britt said. “It’s about community. It’s also about exposing periods in the past where things happened that should not have happened. Sean’s work grapples with a timeless subject: preying on those in society who are vulnerable. In this particular case, highlighting the damage caused by medical fraud helps to ensure that going forward, such things don’t happen again. His work really encapsulates why not just art students but all students study history, so that dimension of his work is exciting to me.”

Fitzgibbon's visit and exhibit are supported by funding from the Missouri Arts Council.

All exhibits at Northwest Missouri State University are free and open to visitors on the first floor of the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building during posted gallery hours.