Visual Arts Briefs

With more winning students than any other college, SVA is making an impressive showing at the 2010 Society of Illustrators Student Scholarship Competition. For over 25 years, the Society has recognized the best work from student illustrators. While over 6200 works were submitted, only 240–including 30 from SVA–were accepted to be part of an exhibition at the Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63rd Street, which will run May 5 – 29. For the final phase of the competition, monetary scholarships will be awarded to 30 of the students in the exhibition on March 8. View images from the SVA students on the competition Web site.

The winning students are sophomores, juniors, seniors and recent graduates from the BFA Illustration and Cartooning Department: Robert Blake, Hiten Damodar, Maelle Doliveux, Stephanie Georgopoulos, Alexander Gonska, Julia Grifin, Kievan Havens, Young Nam Heller, Sean Hudson, Ruth Kim, Christopher Krebs, Sam Krichmar, Na Kyung Lee, Cameron Lewis, Joyce Li, Kihyun Lim, Daniel Luckert, Ryan Mauskopf, Kurt McRobert, Hanh Nguyen, YoonJu Oh, Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, Rachel Pontious, Jung Yeon Roh, Jonny Ruzzo, Kim Sielbeck, Robert Stites, Seana Lee Whittaker, Eunjeong Yoo and Soo Jin Yun.

Image: Rachel Pontious, Antigone, acrylic and ink

• NYLON Guys profiled alumnus Dash Shaw (BFA 2005 Illustration) in its March issue. The magazine interviewed Shaw about the upcoming publication of his book BodyWorld, a collection of his online comics, as well as the comic book he is creating for the forthcoming film Rabbit Hole by director John Cameron Mitchell, starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart.
• Recent graduate and photographer Johanna Heldebro’s (MFA 2009 Photography, Video and Related Media) thesis project was featured in Vice. For To Come Within Reach of You (Gunnar Heldebro, Hässelby Strandväg 55, 165 65 Hässelby), Heldebro followed her father around Sweden, photographing him without his knowledge. View some of the images from the project on the Vice Web site.
• The February issue of Art in America included a 10-page spread about alumnus and Beijing-based photographer Xing Danwen (MFA 2001 Photography and Related Media). Known for her black-and-white photographs that reflect socio-political changes in China, Xing currently has a solo exhibition at Haines Gallery in San Francisco. View a slide show of Danwen’s images on the Art in America Web site or below.

Image: Photo of March 2010 issue of NYLON Guys

In celebration of the publication of his newest book of essays, MFA Art Criticism and Writing Department Chair David Levi Strauss will have a book signing on Thursday, February 25. Discounted copies of Strauss’ book, From Head to Hand: Art and the Manual (Oxford University Press, 2010), will be available at the signing at Cue Art Foundation, 511 West 25 Street, from 5 – 8pm.

The February/March issue of Bookforum reviewed From Head to Hand, which deals with different artists’ manifestations of ideas into physical works of art. Bookforum writes, “Strauss makes a good case for paying heed to not only the objects before us but also to how they came into being.”

Strauss previously spoke about From Head to Hand in an interview with the Briefs.

Image: photo of David Levi Strauss by Sterrett Smith

On Tuesday, March 2, the MFA Design Criticism Department kicks off its spring lecture series with design curator Zoë Ryan from The Art Institute of Chicago. The design blog UnBeige raves about “the outstanding line-up of speakers,” which includes documentary filmmaker Gary Hustwit (Helvetica, Objectified) and branding authority Brian Collins. Equally noteworthy is that this series has been organized by first-year students in the department, who will also introduce the speakers.

“It always begins with people we personally find interesting,” says student Vera Sacchetti. “Students came to the table with ideas of possible lecturers, presented them to one another, and collectively curated a group of speakers that would present a variety of perspectives in the application of design criticism. They were chosen for different reasons: their backgrounds, careers, personalities and perspectives.”

“We are interested in exploring how design criticism cuts across fields,” notes student Kim Birks, adding, “The boundaries of design criticism are still being defined and that in itself is exciting.”

The complete schedule can be found here. The lectures take place at the MFA Design Criticism Department, 136 West 21st Street, 2nd floor, and are free and open to the public. Each talk is followed by an informal reception with refreshments. Reservations are encouraged and can be made at dcrit@sva.edu. For more information, please call 212.592.2228.

Image:  Photo of Gary Hustwit by Brigid Hughes

While it’s not unusual to see actress Debra Winger on the big screen, it’s not everyday that she’s in a theater talking about her films. On Monday, February 22, Winger will be at the SVA Theatre for a Q&A session about her work. Winger, who most recently appeared in the film Rachel Getting Married (2008), is also known for her roles in Terms of Endearment (1983), opposite Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), and opposite John Travolta in Urban Cowboy (1980). She has also been nominated for three Academy Awards.

Every semester, the BFA Film, Video and Animation Department hosts professionals from Hollywood and independent cinema for intimate Q&A sessions about their work and different aspects of the film industry. Last semester’s guests included actor Josh Brolin.

The Q&A will take place at the SVA Theatre, 333 West 23 Street, and begins at 6:30pm. It is free and open to the public.

New York City’s East Village has long been a mecca for artists of all stripes, but has seen dramatic changes in recent years. Some of the neighborhood’s artistic history was recently on view in an exhibition at Bullet Space, which was organized by alumnus and faculty member Andrew Castrucci (MFA 2009 Fine Arts; BFA 1984 Media Arts). As covered on The New York Times‘ blog City Room, “The Perfect Crime” featured artwork and artifacts from abandoned structures taken over by squatters. Bullet Space itself was founded as part of the squatters movement: Castrucci and others claimed the abandoned property in 1986 and transformed it into an experimental gallery.

Castrucci spoke with the Briefs about Bullet Space:

Tell me about the genesis of Bullet Space.
When I graduated from SVA, I opened up the A&P Gallery, which was part of the downtown art movement at the time. After I got priced out of that gallery, I moved into Bullet Space, and after 1 – 2 years of revamping, we began to have exhibitions.

How has the space evolved?
Bullet Space started as an alternative art space and it still is. Since we are an experimental space, we take risks that commercial galleries wouldn’t. For example, our last exhibition showed squatter art, everyday objects and “junk” as art–much in the Arte Povera tradition–and even the tools we used to make the works as art. In our excavation of the space, we got lucky and found the old outhouse for the tenement. In treating an archive as an art form, we put that on display as well.

What motivated you to get your MFA recently?
I think I was hanging out with too many outlaws in the squatting scene and so it was a bit of a relief to go back to SVA. What I enjoy is the idea of groups of artists working together. It’s the same in a school as in art collectives, where artists are both creating and presenting. I bridge both worlds.

Image: Photo of interior of Bullet Space by Andrew Castrucci

• Jonathan Bartlett, a current student in the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Department, designed a poster for the charity Web site SmallCanBeBig.0rg, which, through small donations, helps families overcome the threat of homelessness. Bartlett donated his time and talent to design and illustrate the poster titled A Joyful Gathering.
• MFA Computer Art Department faculty member Joseph Nechvatal recently published Towards An Immersive Intelligence: Essays on the Work of Art in the Age of Computer Technology and Virtual Reality 1993-2006 (Edgewise Press, 2009). The book is a collection of Nechvatal’s essays about the relationship between art and technology in contemporary life. He will be giving a lecture about the book and presenting new digital animations at the New York Institute of Technology, 16 West 61st Street, on Thursday, February 25, 6 – 9pm.
• MFA Fine Arts Department faculty member Jerry Saltz, who is also the senior art critic at New York magazine and former senior art critic at The Village Voice, recently published the book Seeing Out Louder (Hudson Hills Press, 2009). It is a collection of essays about various aspects of the contemporary art world and a follow-up to his book Seeing Out Loud (Figures, 2003).

Image: Jonathan Bartlett, A Joyful Gathering, poster for SmallCanBeBig.org

Every January, the magazine Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) compiles a list of People to Watch in the upcoming year. For the 2010 edition, GDUSA highlighted two faculty members in their list of 22 graphic designers who they feel best represent the spirit of the creative community: Gail Anderson (BFA 1984 Graphic Design) and Joe Marianek. In interviews with the magazine, both Anderson and Marianek talk about their backgrounds and sources of inspiration. In addition to being designated one of the People to Watch, Anderson, who is also an alumnus, is featured on the cover of the magazine in an illustration done by alumnus and Masters Series laureate Paul Davis (G 1959 Illustration).

Jiwon Kim, a current student in the BFA Advertising and Graphic Design Department, was also featured in the January/February issue. Kim was one of 14 students selected for the magazine’s first list of Students to Watch. In explaining her attitude towards design, Kim told the magazine, “I believe it’s important to make the best of every situation and to not fear failure; this principle drives my creativity and gives me the confidence to handle any challenge.”

Image: cover of the January/February 2010 issue of Graphic Design USA featuring a reproduction of a painting by Paul Davis, 2009

BFA Fine Arts Department faculty member David Ross was a guest on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report on Thursday, February 11. Ross, who has played a prominent role in the museum world since 1971, serving as the director of both the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, spoke with host Stephen Colbert about the history of posters for the Olympic Games. After Ross demonstrated the disappearance of the heroic figure in contemporary Olympic posters, Colbert unveiled his proposed poster for the Vancouver 2010 games. Designed by artist Shepard Fairey, the poster features an attempted reemergence of the heroic figure: an illustration of Colbert riding a bald eagle. Click the image below to view the interview segment with Ross or visit ColbertNation.com to view the entire episode.

With the opening of the exhibition “Counterbalance” last Saturday, the MPS Art Therapy Department kicked off a series of thesis exhibitions and year-end events happening all across SVA. “Counterbalance” features work by student therapists and the clients with whom they work at their internship sites across New York City. The exhibition runs through Saturday, March 20 at the Westside Gallery, 133/141 West 21 Street. There is a reception on Wednesday, March 3, from 6 – 8pm, and the exhibition is curated by Liz DelliCarpini, internship coordinator, MPS Art Therapy Department.

As the spring semester progresses, there will be over 25 end-of-the-year events including “Classical Myths Transformed,” an exhibition of work by students in the BFA Illustration and Cartooning Department at the Visual Arts Gallery, 601 West 26 Street, 15th floor, from April 9 – 24, and the MFA Design Criticism Department Conference, a presentation of papers from the inaugural class in the department, at the SVA Theatre, 333 West 23 Street, on Friday, April 30.

View the complete list of thesis presentations, open studios, portfolio reviews, screenings, conferences and exhibitions featuring work by soon-to-be graduates at www.sva.edu/firstlook.