Bridget Milligan to Present a Photographic Interpretation of Irish Folklore

Associate professor of studio art to speak at The College of Wooster Faculty at Large lecture on Oct. 12

WOOSTER, Ohio — Bridget Milligan, associate professor of studio art at The College of Wooster, will present "Fireside Tales: New Illustrations of Irish Folklore" at the second Faculty at Large lecture of the fall semester on Tuesday, Oct. 12. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, begins at 11 a.m. in Lean Lecture Room of Wishart Hall (303 E. University St.).

Milligan will explore the art of Irish storytelling, an oral tradition that unifies a culture. Drawing on extensive research in University College’s Irish Folklore Collection in Dublin and intimate interviews of local Irish people, she studied and collected figurative narratives. These stories serve as the premise for her current photographic series, "Fireside Tales," a collection of two visual portrayals that examine and preserve the tradition of Irish storytelling. The collection consists of images that combine photographs taken while traveling in Ireland and scanned drawings, paintings and text.

“I visited the country’s landscape and historical sites that once inspired myths, legends, riddles, curses, and blessings, and photographed them from a new perspective,” said Milligan. “This way, I was able to explore the impact of storytelling on Irish tradition and also embrace both the change and permanence of the Irish countryside. My hope is to create new visual portrayals that embody the themes that resonate in Irish culture.”

Milligan has been a member of Wooster’s faculty since 2001. Her areas of expertise include photography, digital imaging, and mixed media. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in galleries and museums in New York, Chicago, and Italy. She earned her B.F.A. in photography and painting at Miami University (1997) and her M.F.A. in photography at Indiana University (2001). A recipient of such honors as the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education and the Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship, Milligan is a member of the Society for Photographic Education and the College Art Association. She came to Wooster after spending two years at Indiana University as an associate instructor of photography. Prior to that, she taught beginning and intermediate photography in Cortona, Italy.

The final Faculty at Large lecture of the fall semester will be Tuesday, Nov. 9, when Angela Bos, assistant professor of political science at Wooster, presents "Women's Political Underrepresentation: What Explains It?"

Additional information about the Faculty at Large lecture series is available by phone (330-263-2576) or email.