Support Alwyn O’Brien @gardinermuseum
@UWalum Alwyn O’Brien (MFA 2010) is one of five young Canadian artists featured in the RBC Emerging Artist People’s Choice Award showcase on view at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto through 03 October 2011. Anyone who visits the website before the end of the exhibition may vote for one of the five artists to receive the $10,000 award. The award will be announced at a reception on the evening of October 4th.
Wadden Named Interim Provost
Professor Doug Wadden has been the UW Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs since April 2008. On 29 August 2011, it was announced that he will be the Interim Provost. He will step into that position on October 1st after the departure of Phyllis Wise.
During Summer Quarter, visitors from two countries taught ceramics workshops. Momoko and Tetsuya Otani from Japan gave a public lecture and spent a week in the studio making an impressive array of both traditional and contemporary work. Rustam and Damie Usmanov from Uzbekistan are known for their skill in traditional brushwork patterns. They were visiting Seattle thanks to the Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Association. The generous demonstrations by these artists were enlightening as their work transcended multiple language barriers.
Matthews + Alums @SeaDesignFest
The Seattle Design Festival is a 10-day event that includes speakers, tours, exhibits, films, and more. Assistant Professor Kristine Matthews created a Pop-Up Design Center with the theme “Dear Seattle” as part of the festival. Installed in the Olson Kundig Architects [storefront] at 406 Occidental Ave S, “Dear Seattle” offers viewers the opportunity to share their design ideas for the city. Matthews was assisted by Cassie Klingler (MFA 2008) and Alanna MacGowan (MFA 2010) in creating this. The space is open noon to 6pm through 25 September 2011.
Roesler Exhibition + Lecture
An exhibition of work by Assistant Professor Axel Roesler and some of his students in Interaction Design will open on Wednesday, 21 September 2011, in the Jacob Lawrence Gallery. Unlike most other shows in the Jake, the reception will not be until Tuesday, 04 October. On that evening, Roesler will talk about his work and his field at 6pm in room 003 of the Art Building. This lecture is part of the faculty tenure and promotion process. The reception will take place in the gallery from 7-9pm. The exhibition closes on Friday, 07 October 2011.
Khullar in Minneapolis + Seoul
Assistant Professor Sonal Khullar will present a paper entitled “Geographies of Loss, Artworlds of Desire: Nilima Sheikh’s Each Night Put Kashmir in Your Dreams (2004-10)” at the American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) Symposium XV, Minneapolis, MN, on 24 September 2011. She also has been invited to address the Korean Association for the History of Modern Art (KAHOMA) in Seoul on 22 October 2011 at their twelfth international symposium entitled “Crossroads: The Present and Future of Contemporary Asian Art.” Her paper is titled “Feminist Forms, International Exhibitions, and the Postcolonial Woman Artist.”
Mapping Experience
Associate Professor Lou Cabeen has curated an exhibition that opens at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts (BAC) on Friday, 02 September 2011, from 6-8pm. Mapping Experience focuses on the work of six artists who make use of maps, literally and/or conceptually, in their work. Included in the show are pieces by Cabeen, book artist Mare Blocker (BFA 1982), and IVA student Adam Magnoni. Cabeen will miss the opening since she is currently co-leading an Exploration Seminar titled “London and the Arts of Pilgrimage” in England. Shortly after returning home, she will give a curator’s talk about the exhibit at BAC; the presentation will be on Saturday, 24 September 2011, at 2pm. The show remains up through 03 October. BAC can be easily reached by taking the Bainbridge ferry from downtown Seattle and a short walk.
MA student Jennifer Beetem received a DAAD Summer Course Grant, which she used to attend a four-week course in Kassel, Germany, titled “Learn German – Experience Art.” “DAAD” are the German initials for the German Academic Exchange Service. She did thesis research after the course, working with original art periodicals and artists’ letters in archives at the Berliner Staatsbibliothek, the Deutsches Literaturartiv in Marbach, and the Deutsches Kunstarchiv in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg. Beetem was supported during the 2010-2011 academic year with a FLAS Fellowship for German language study.
In addition to the previously mentioned conference funding for Kris Anderson, three other students received a 2011 Thelma I. Pell Art History Graduate Research/Recognition Award:
MA student Erin Giffin used her funding for thesis research in Europe. She started in Paris where she closely studied Il Moro, a 17th-century sculpture by Nicolas Cordier, which resides at the Louvre Museum. She then traveled to Rome to participate in the six-week Classical Summer School at the American Academy of Rome. While in Rome, she conducted additional thesis research at the Vatican Secret Archives and the American Academy’s excellent library.
MA student Yve Chavez used her award to begin her thesis research on the basket weaving practices of southern California’s “Mission” Indian populations. She traveled to California to attend a gathering of the California Indian Basketweavers Association. She also interviewed basket weavers, basket scholars, and museum curators and visited numerous museums and sites to study collections of early and contemporary baskets as well as plants used in the baskets.
PhD student Jennifer Henneman will be using her funds to help support her attendance at the annual North American Victorian Studies Association Conference, which will be at Vanderbilt University in early November 2011. While there, she will present a paper titled “Her Reputation Precedes Her: The International Performance of Self through the Dissemination of Cartes-de-Visite,” which will be part of a panel titled “Private Property, Public Commodity: Gender and the Victorian Marketplace.” Her presentation developed from a paper written for an Autumn Quarter 2010 seminar taught by Professor Susan Casteras.
Reclaimed @iheartSAM
The Seattle Art Museum currently has two shows that explore depictions of nature, both closing on 11 September 2011. Reclaimed: Nature and Place Through Contemporary Eyes includes four School of Art alumni from three decades: Victoria Haven (BFA 1989), Eirik Johnson (BFA 1997), Glenn Rudolph (BFA 1968), Whiting Tennis (BFA 1984). Haven, Johnson, and Rudolph will also be part of a moderated gallery discussion that takes place on 01 September 2011 starting at 7pm. Be sure to register if you plan to attend.
Narratives in Art + Design @UW
A new pairing of School of Art classes is being taught during Autumn Quarter 2011 for incoming freshmen. It is a partnership between the Art and Design Divisions and the Henry Art Gallery. The new class is Art 101, “Narratives in Art and Design,” which is being taught by Associate Professor Curt Labitzke. It will meet twice a week at the Henry Art Gallery, using its exhibits and other resources, plus it will include interviews and discussions with current students, faculty, alumni, local artists, and museum staff. There will also be weekly readings, participation in a variety of art/design events and activities on campus, and a series of short written and studio-based assignments. All students who register for Art 101 will also enroll in one introductory art or design course: Art 131, “Alternative Approaches to Art and Design,” taught by Claire Cowie (MFA 1999); Art 140, “Basic Photography,” taught by Associate Professor Rebecca Cummins; Art 165, “Introduction to Industrial Design / Product Design,” taught by Instructor Dominic Muren; and Art 202, “Ceramic Wheel Throwing,” taught by Professor Akio Takamori. This is an excellent opportunity for students considering art or design degrees.
Postscript: An article about this course was published in the November 2011 College of Arts & Sciences newsletter, Perspectives.
