Disney artist to speak February 12

An artist for Disney Animation and former Starkville resident will visit campus in February to speak and work with art students.

Andy Harkness will discuss "Staging for Film through Dramatic Lighting" at a Feb. 12 public lecture. He will present his own creative development and offer video examples from recent and upcoming Disney films beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Bettersworth Auditorium of Giles Hall. He will conduct a workshop with art students the following day.

Harkness, an Ohio native, lived in Starkville during his high school years and studied at the Columbus (Ohio) College of Art and Design. In 1993, he received a three-month internship with Disney Feature Animation in Orlando, Fla., and was soon hired as a full-time artist.

He has worked in various capacities on several Disney animated films, including "Pocahontas" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." He currently is working in the layout department of the upcoming animated feature, "The Legend of Mulan."

Harkness' lecture, made possible by a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Carl Clifford and the Visiting Fine Artist Series, is directed by the Department of Art.

The department has offered courses in computer animation since 1991. It is one of very few U.S. institutions offering electronic visualization graduate master of fine arts programs featuring emphases in animation and multimedia.

For more information, call 325-2970.