{"id":292,"date":"2020-02-24T16:07:40","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T21:07:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/academics\/faculty\/kgohde\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T10:47:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T14:47:25","slug":"kgohde","status":"publish","type":"faculty","link":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/academics\/faculty\/kgohde\/","title":{"rendered":"Gohde, Kurt"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Here\u2019s how art professor Kurt Gohde and his frequent collaborator, English professor Kremena Todorova<\/a>, think: Let\u2019s ask a renowned local poet to write a love letter to Lexington, and then let\u2019s ask hundreds of local residents to get phrases from that love letter tattooed on their bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the amazing part? Nearly 250 people volunteered within a week of the Facebook request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bianca Spriggs \u201903 wrote the poem, and Gohde and Todorova divided it into nearly 250 phrases. They then designed a special typeface for the text as well as a textured background for each tattoo. In early 2013 they will photograph the final tattoos and then assemble the photographs like a puzzle, so the textured background of all the tattoos reveals an image that, at the beginning of the project, only Gohde and Todorova and the tattoo artist knew about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, they will also make a video that synchronizes a recording of Spriggs reading the poem with images of the tattoos flashing across the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gohde hopes to share their finished work with poetry classes at Lexington public schools. As Gohde explains, \u201cIt\u2019s a poem to Lexington on the bodies of Lexingtonians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharing it could help young students realize that art and poetry are not inaccessible, lofty forms of expression reserved for silent museums and dusty books. We can all participate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s a common theme in Gohde\u2019s work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe more time I spend with students outside the classroom and in the community, the more I realize what fantastic students we have.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gohde has found that Lexington makes it easy for Transylvania students to participate in the local arts scene. The vibrant community of working artists and galleries welcomes student involvement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLexington is a fantastic city for artists. It has the culture of much larger cities. And there is a general knowledge and understanding of art that probably doesn\u2019t exist in a lot of other communities in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he first arrived at Transylvania, the university did not have a student gallery. So Gohde looked for places where students could exhibit their work. \u201cEvery semester I would arrange at least one exhibit off campus. Exhibits might be at the Kentucky Theatre or at Wingspan Gallery. And I realized for all art students the idea of having an exhibit is exhilarating, especially when it\u2019s off campus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The connections he made led to classes taking on small community projects. At first, Gohde heard the typical grumbling about group projects. But once they got out in the community, students tended to work harder and shoulder more responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNobody likes group work. As soon as you say you\u2019re going to do a group project, everyone moans. My son\u2019s in fifth grade and he does the same thing. In reality, every job after you leave college is group work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, the students get very excited about the community projects, even those students who initially tend to be shy. They commit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they develop confidence and communication skills they take with them when they leave campus. That makes them attractive graduate school applicants and job candidates. \u201cThey interview well, they speak in complete sentences, and they have ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For his part, Gohde makes a memorable contribution to many of these communal efforts: he supplies the ice cream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI make fantastic ice cream. The flavors are seasonal. In the summer I grow a garden that\u2019s devoted to ice cream flavors, like basil pine nut, lemon basil with blueberry, or rosemary ice cream with balsamic raspberry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And despite whatever trepidation you may have about joining a community of artists, you won\u2019t want to miss that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Academic History<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

M.F.A., Syracuse University, 1998
B.F.A, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, 1995<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Courses Taught at Transy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sculpture
Photography
Digital Imaging
Community Engagement through the Arts
Creative Disruption
Visions (exploring visionary people and ideas)
Corporeal Commodity: the Body in Science, Religion, and Art<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Areas of Specialization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Installation
Video
Sculpture
Photography
Digital Imaging<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Henry Clay Ambassador, awarded by Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, 2012 (recognizes Lexington citizens who have made significant contributions to the local community)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Byron and Judy Young Faculty Development Grant, 2012
Jones Faculty Development Grants, Transylvania University, 1999\u20132012<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LexArts Community Arts Project Grants, 2009\u201313<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phi Kappa Tau Faculty Member of the Year Award, Transylvania University. 2009<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kentucky Oral History Commission grants, 2008\u201309<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bingham Teaching Fellowship for excellence in teaching, Transylvania University, 2005<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Art Teacher of the Year, National Society of Arts and Letters, 2001<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al Smith Fellowship for individual artists, Kentucky Arts Council<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Recent Publications<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDiscarded Documents.\u201d North of Center, 2 Feb 2011. Co-authored with Kremena Todorova.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPassing Through Laramie to Find Humanity in Lexington.\u201d Progress Lexington online journal, 21 April 2010. Co-authored with Kremena Todorova.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStitching the community together: Transy Students and North Limestone.\u201d North of Center, 13 Jan 2010: 1, 2. Co-authored with Kremena Todorova.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaffir Lily, poems by Bianca Spriggs, cover illustration, 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHead First Slide: Creative Collaboration Within a Homeless Community.\u201d International Journal of Arts in Society, Volume 4, Issue 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBuilding Community on North Limestone.\u201d Peaceways, August 2008: 3. Co-authored with Kremena Todorova.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCommunity, art and economics on North Limestone.\u201d Business Lexington, 16 May 2008: 29. Co-authored with Kremena Todorova.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t You Remember? A memoir by George Ella Lyon, cover illustration, 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo Have & To Hold.\u201d exhibition catalog, Morlan Gallery, Lexington, Ky., 2007<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHead First Slide,\u201d baseball cards of homeless people printed for mass distribution throughout Cincinnati, 2006.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4385,"template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"academic_division":[31,30,4],"class_list":["post-292","faculty","type-faculty","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nGohde, Kurt - Transylvania University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/academics\/faculty\/kgohde\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gohde, Kurt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here\u2019s how art professor Kurt Gohde and his frequent collaborator, English professor Kremena Todorova, think: Let\u2019s ask a renowned local poet to write a love letter to Lexington, and then let\u2019s ask hundreds of local residents to get phrases from that love letter tattooed on their bodies. 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