Rauschenberg Gallery hosts Arturo Vega panel discussion November 5 at 1:00 p.m.
Empire: An Arturo Vega Retrospective opened last night with a public reception from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery on the Lee campus Florida SouthWestern State College. This ambitious survey runs through December 17 and will include guest lectures, performances and a panel discussion exploring Arturo Vega’s broader impact on popular culture and contextualizing his 
work as a visual artist. That panel discussion takes place at 1:00 p.m. and features Carlo McCormick, Anthony Haden-Guest and Adam Lehrer.
The exhibition is being presented in collaboration with The Arturo Vega Foundation in New York City and is the late Mexican-born artist’s first solo U.S. museum retrospective. The show features photography, collage and a number of iconic canvases from the artist’s Supermarket and Silver 
Dollar series (begun in the 1970s), his Flags and “word paintings” from his Insults series, as well as pieces from other series produced during the 1980s, ‘90s, and the 21st century up to his death in 2013.
Vega was pioneered the use of art in branding rock ‘n roll bands. In Vega’s case, he designed the ubiquitous logo based on the Great Seal of the United States for the Ramones, and he was the one who also painted backdrops for their stage and 
created a lighting scheme loosely adapted from Albert Speer’s Lichtdom to enhance their effect. By co-opting and questioning symbols of power, Vega created visual imagery that defined the transgressive aesthetic of punk rock.
Today’s panel discussion is free and open to the public, but seating is limited.
November 5, 2016.
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About the Author
Tom Hall is both an amateur artist and aspiring novelist who writes art quest thrillers. He is in the final stages of completing his debut novel titled "Art Detective," a story that fictionalizes the discovery of the fabled billion-dollar Impressionist collection of Parisian art dealer Josse Bernheim-Jeune, thought by many to have perished during World War II when the collection's hiding place, Castle de Rastignac in southern France, was destroyed by the Wehrmacht in reprisal for attacks made by members of the Resistance operating in the area. A former tax attorney, Tom holds a bachelor's degree as well as both a juris doctorate and masters of laws in taxation from the University of Florida. Tom lives in Estero, Florida with his fiancee, Connie, and their four cats.