Dialects of Art

This free lecture is brought to you by the School of Visual Philosophy and the City of San Jose as part of the Creative Ambassador project of artist Dana Harris Seeger. 

The Dialects of Art is a series of public conversations with local artists and professionals designed to share how they use their creative and cultural dialects in their art practice, careers and daily lives. Every Second Saturday at 2pm we will be exploring these topics and getting real with how artists can learn to use their own identity to build an authentic and engaging practice.

Meet your Speaker:

Mighty Mike McGee is a well-traveled “stand-up poet” and storyteller from San José, California. In the world of poetry slam, he is the first to win both the 2003 National Poetry Slam Individual Grand Championship and the 2006 Individual World Poetry Slam Grand Championship. He has toured very extensively throughout United States, Canada and Europe. Since 2002, he’s covered several hundred thousand miles performing his brand of poetry and humor. McGee has been featured on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, CBC Radio and Television, and NPR’s Snap Judgment. He was one of the first Americans to perform spoken word at the University of Paris, la Sorbonne in 2005. He was appointed Poet Laureate of Santa Clara County (Silicon Valley) for 2018 & 2019. McGee’s first collection of humor and poetry, In Search of Midnight, is available through Write Bloody Publishing. He can be found somewhere between Silicon Valley and Vancouver, B.C. as often as possible.

Meet your Interviewer:

Yori Seeger was born in Mt. Shasta and grew up in Santa Cruz, California. He has a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in Ceramic Sculpture. In 2013, Yori and his wife Dana opened an art studio and education center called the School of Visual Philosophy in San Jose, California. He is the President and Executive Director of the School as well as teaches sculpture classes there. Yori has been published in Ceramics Monthly, exhibited his work regionally and has his work in numerous private collections. He lives in Ben Lomond, California with his family.

Education is at the heart of my practice. I am a sculptor working in media and equipment that range from iron, cement and wood to laser cutters, pedagogy and the human experience. I incorporate any and all materials that I feel are appropriate in order to convey my ideas which focus primarily on the human figure. I deconstruct, re-orient and arrange elements to forge a connection with those who view my work.