MassArt Alumnus, Steve Locke, MFA ‘01, joined GBH Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen to discuss his career and the role that art plays in our every day lives, which includes his his recent installation for Massachusetts College of Art and Design’s 150th anniversary.

In Locke’s latest work, bright pink neon lights up part of the MassArt building’s facade, emphasizing the word “NORMAL” emblazoned on the wall. Locke’s goal, as he says, was to highlight the school’s history as a place of furthering public education: “I wanted to highlight the fact that MassArt is a teacher’s school. It’s a school that trains teachers, and it’s a public school, and I wanted to affirm the value of public education.”

In the interview, speaking:
Jared Bowen: “Have we lost our way that the arts are normal?
Steve Locke: “People think the arts are outside of themselves…and I say to people all the time, everything in your life was designed by a creative person, an artist or designer. The coffee cup you drink out of, the shirt you wear, all the apps on your phone, the interior of your car, the Benjamin Moore color of the year, all that stuff comes through the arts. People think it’s somehow separate or different from their lives, but it’s not.”

Listen to the interview