Kendall Buster shares her fascinating journey from microbiology to sculpture, the realization that all life is architecture, and the unexpected lessons of getting professional praise.
This episode also features guest Christiana Lafazani, associate dean for faculty affairs and research at VCUarts.
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About Kendall Buster
Kendall Buster is a professor of Sculpture + Extended Media at VCUarts. Equally inspired by the monumental and the microscopic, her large-scale sculptures operate as scale models for imaginary places and converse with the particulars of existing built spaces. Her work, informed at once by the built environment and by biological morphologies, has been exhibited in numerous venues nationally and internationally, including such venues as the Hirshhorn Museum and Kreeger Museum in Washington, D.C., Artist’s Space and the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City, the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, the Haggerty Museum in Milwaukee, the Boise Art Museum in Boise, Idaho, Suyama Space in Seattle, Washington, SCAD Museum in Savannah, the Bahnhof Westend in Berlin, and the KZNSA Gallery in Durban, South Africa. Buster was interviewed by Neda Ulaby on NPR’s Morning Edition as part of a series on art and science and in 2005 was the recipient of an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in the Arts. She earned her MFA in sculpture from Yale University and participating in the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Studio Program in New York City. She also earned her B.F.A. degree from the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington D.C., and a B.S. degree in medical technology from the University of Alabama.
About Christiana Lafazani
Christiana Lafazani serves as the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Research at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (VCUarts). She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Interior Design, where she previously held the positions of Department Chair and Graduate Program Director for several years. Since joining the VCUarts faculty in 2003, Lafazani has played a significant role in both departmental leadership and broader academic administration. She was appointed to her current role in the Dean’s Office in 2019.
With a professional and academic career spanning over three decades, Lafazani brings extensive experience to her work as both a practicing designer and academic. Prior to her academic appointment, she held positions in the design industry, including work with an architecture and design firm specializing in corporate interiors, a role as prototype designer for a national electronics retailer, and as a design manager for an office furniture manufacturer.
Her research explores the intersection of professional practice and design pedagogy within the discipline of Interior Design. Specific areas of focus include the integration of emerging technologies into student work while supporting individual artistic expression, and the incorporation of sustainable practices in both design education and professional application. More recently, her scholarship has shifted toward design strategies that support neurodiverse populations, particularly adults with autism spectrum disorder, developed in collaboration with interdisciplinary colleagues across VCU.
Lafazani holds a Master of Fine Arts in Interior Environments from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design from James Madison University.
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VCUarts Uncharted is recorded in the Community Media Center in the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU. Music by Felipe Letão.
For more information, visit arts.vcu.edu/uncharted.
