The Hixson-Lied Visiting Artist & Scholar Lecture Series begins with alumnus Trent Claus (BFA 2006) on Wednesday, Sept. 7. His lecture will be at 5:30pm in Richards Hall Rm. 15. The lecture is free and open to the public.

The School of Art, Art History & Design’s Hixson-Lied Visiting Artist & Scholar Lecture Series brings notable artists, scholars and designers to Nebraska each semester to enhance the education of students.

Claus is an award-winning visual effects supervisor with Lola VFX. He has worked on more than 120 feature films, including 19 Academy Award nominees for Best Visual Effects (four winners), 10 nominees for Best Picture (1 winner) and with a cumulative worldwide box office of more than $44 billion.

He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Visual Effects Society (VES). In 2012, he was awarded the VES Award for Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture for his groundbreaking work on “Captain America: The First Avenger.” He was nominated once again in 2020 for his work on the film “Captain Marvel.”

His collection of original artwork from popular films, animated television series, comics and trading cards is currently on display in the Eisentrager-Howard Gallery in Richards Hall. As part of the Lincoln Collects series, “Building a Narrative: Production Art and Pop Culture” is on display through Oct. 7.

Following his lecture on Sept. 7, the Eisentrager-Howard Gallery will be open until 7:30 p.m. for audiences to view the works in person.

Claus has been collecting this art for 25 years.

“What everything shares in common is that it’s a piece of art that was generated on the way to the final product,” Claus said. “So a lot of the pieces don’t get seen a lot by the general public, and a lot of the artists aren’t known by the general public. It’s exciting to shed a spotlight on them and their work and see all of the artistry and collaboration that goes on behind the scenes of the things we all know.”