Name Change: One Artist-Twelve Personas-Thirty-Five Years

Name Change: One Artist-Twelve Personas-Thirty-Five Years

Mississippi Museum of Art - 380 South Lamar Street
Jackson, MS
601-960-1515
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Thornton Modestus Dossett is the eighth name Ed McGowin legally adopted between Oct 1, 1970 and March 20, 1972. Ed went on to legally change his name a total of twelve times in this period. A world traveler, McGowin has immersed himself in cultures removed from the Western art styles and sought to approach art more directly, borrowing from tribal and ethnic traditions. Part of this eclectic approach has been rejecting the typical development usually expected from an artist and experimenting with new personas as a way of keeping close to a direct involvement with the viewer. A native of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, McGowin has taught at the University of Southern Mississippi, the Corcoran School of Art and the State University of New York. He has had over 100 solo exhibitions and is well known for his public site-specific sculptures.