Professor Nathan Peck has received an esteemed reward from the institution he attended, Mount Mercy University. Nathan Peck is an associate professor at Saint Xavier University for art and design. He is also the chairman of the Art and Design department. Peck’s career instructing at Saint Xavier University is nearing its twentieth year as Peck began serving the institution in 2001.
Peck received the 2019 Mount Mercy College Professional Achievement award. It is an award given to individuals who have made great strides in their particular fields of work.
Peck knew from his early days at Mount Mercy which direction he wanted his life to take him. That for him he wanted to spend the rest of his career in a university environment.
“I absolutely loved what the academy offers a person which is this broad swath of knowledge and a wide range of fields”.
He continued this thought by saying:
“It is one of the very few places in the world where you have philosophers, and chemists, and poets all sitting around the same table”.
Exploring the institution was one of Peck’s professional goals which since then has been accomplished. For some time, the professor oversaw the fields of work such as art, philosophy, religious studies, language, literature, and music.
When asked what attracted him to the arts Peck said:
“Arts has always been interesting to me because I like storytelling”.
In his past, Peck explored the field of history which ballooned into him writing ballads, songs, poetry, and short stories. Along with this Peck spends a good deal of time in the medium of video.
“I spend a lot of time doing video. Whether its historical documentary all the way to Avant-Garde video art. I like the narrative form of time-based art”.
At Saint Xavier Peck teaches several courses centered around multimedia video art, music, and sculpting.
When asked what he liked best about being a professor at Saint Xavier University Peck commented by saying:
“My favorite thing about teaching at Saint Xavier is and will always be the range of human beings that is in every one of my classes”.
Diversity and being around a wide range of cultures was always something important to Peck. At the time of Peck’s graduation, he wanted to move to an urban center which eventually led him to Chicago.
“My classrooms tend to be very multicultural and I love the fact that Saint Xavier is a very multicultural institution”.
During the interview Peck was asked what he would say to those pursuing careers in the field of arts or to those that simply wanted to develop an interest in art in general. He stressed that finding your own unique voice is of the utmost importance.
“I think that trying to find your voice is very important as an artist. the more you explore the more likely you’ll find something that will amplify your voice”.
Peck continued by saying that finding your own medium in art in which to express yourself is crucial as every medium of art is different. He spoke about how not everyone speaks or tell stories in words. Visual communication such as photography, drawing, and painting can be just as fluent.
“Keep looking until you find your vehicle for your ability to communicate”.
Peck encourages everyone in attendance at Saint Xavier University to come to visit the Visual Art Center at least once in their academic career.
“I encourage everyone at Saint Xavier to minor in art because it is a way to be able to communicate beyond words”.