Throughout my first year as a Carnegie Center employee, I was slowly getting to know my colleagues. The art world often attracts interesting people with a story to tell, and my fellow coworkers are no exception. This week, I caught up with Al Gorman, the Coordinator of Public Programs & Engagement.

Q: What’s your earliest memory of an art experience? Do you have any personal projects?

Al: I have many early childhood artistic memories and most of them involve making things. I have a memory that I treasure of my mother teaching me how to draw a bird from a figure eight…I bet I was about 4 years old or younger. As far as personal projects…I am still a practicing and exhibiting artist in our community. I have been working on a personal interdisciplinary project involving materials I find and collect at the Falls of the Ohio State Park. Before becoming a staff member of the Floyd County Library, I exhibited many of my river projects at the Carnegie Center in 2014.

Found Lighter piece on washed up picnic table, early 2018

 

Composition with found Mystery Fluids, 2017

Q: Our next exhibition is about people and their pets. Do you have a favorite pet?

Al: My favorite pet is our current family dog named “Cory”. She’s a 50/50 mix of Chihuahua and beagle and we bought her in Corydon, IN…hence “Cory”. You can’t beat that feeling when your dog greets you at home after a long day’s work! Cory and I are best buddies.

Q: If you could invite five people from any point in history to a dinner party, who would be on your guest list?

Al: In no particular order…my guest list would include:

Albertus Seba, Mary Magdalene, Joseph Campbell, Lucy Higgs Nichols, David Bowie

 

– Brigid Morrissey, Publicity Coordinator at the Carnegie Center for Art & History