Visual Arts Briefs

Jennifer Phillips, director of the Office of  Career Development, was part of the SVA contingent attending the 2010 edition of SIGGRAPH, the premier international event on computer graphics and interactive technique. She sent this dispatch from the event in Los Angeles:

This week, a team comprised of members of the College’s MFA Computer Art Department; BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects Department; Office of External Relations; and Office of Career Development attended SIGGRAPH 2010, which took place July 25 – 29 in Los Angeles, CA.

One of the conference’s many appeals is the annual “SpaceTime” exhibition and competition, which features some of the best creative computer-based work from students around the globe. Recent graduate Anis Haron (MFA 2010 Computer Art) was one of the few chosen to participate this year. Elsewhere at the conference, alumnus Isaac Kerlow (BFA 1981 Media Arts) directed this year’s Computer Animation Festival (CAF), and MFA Computer Art Department faculty member Steve Rittler was on the CAF jury.

In addition to the vibrant exhibition and festival scenes, the SVA team was part of an exclusive group of colleges and universities invited to partake in education symposiums at DreamWorks Animation Studios, Sony Pictures Imageworks and Walt Disney Animation Studios. These events allowed us to learn directly from top industry figures about new trends and technological developments that may affect the skills students need to ensure optimal success as professionals. Overall, the SIGGRAPH conference also gives the College an opportunity to promote the talent of its recent graduates to hiring managers throughout the digital arts industry.

Visit siggraph.org/s2010 for more information about SIGGRAPH, and watch videos from the event on SIGGRAPH’s YouTube channel.

Video: Anis Haron, Relations

On any given day, New Yorkers are likely to feel a little on edge: from the pressures of work and economic anxiety to the unfiltered rush of people and information that make it hard for the mind to take a break, there is no shortage of factors that can lead to uneasy feelings.

The consistent undercurrents of disquiet in contemporary society are the starting point for a new exhibition curated by alumnus Jee-Young Maeng (MFA 2007 Art Criticism and Writing) and featuring work from current MFA Fine Arts Department student Jong Hyun Oh. “Subtle Anxiety: This Is How You Feel Now” is on view at the Doosan Gallery, 533 West 25th Street, and according to Maeng, features works by three artists who “capture the invisible anxiety in our current culture and transform it into visual language through a variety of media, including painting, photography, video and site-specific installation.” “Subtle Anxiety” is on view at the gallery through Saturday, August 14.

Image: Installation view of “Subtle Anxiety: This Is How You Feel Now,” courtesy of Doosan Gallery, 2010.

Alumnus Noah Kalina (BFA 2003 Photography) first became nationally recognized when a YouTube video he created—a time-lapse montage of photos Kalina had taken of himself every day for several years—went viral, getting over a million views in a single night. Gawker recently caught up with Kalina, who spoke about his project “everyday,” which he still maintains on his Web site.

We asked SVA students and faculty to send in work they were creating over the summer. This is one in an occasional series of Summer Session posts.

MAT Art Education faculty member Michael Filan is busy over the summer teaching his Advanced Studio course at the College and creating new paintings like the one below. His work is on view in “Excavations Non Objective,” an exhibition at the Interchurch Center, 475 Riverside Drive, through Tuesday, August 31.

Image: Michael Filan, Eternity, 2010.

Better known to most by her pseudonym Suzy Hotrod, alumnus Jean Schwarzwalder (BFA 2003 Photography) is the captain of the Gotham Girls Roller Derby team Queens of Pain. Schwarzwalder spoke with The Examiner about working in photography and music, as well as how she found her way to the roller derby.

The College’s announcement of a new graduate program—the MFA in Art Practice—has captured the attention of the art-world press. Artinfo, artdaily.org and Artforum have covered the new low-residency, interdisciplinary program that offers experienced artists an opportunity to deepen their studio practice and to develop an advanced body of work. The department is chaired by museum world veteran David Ross, who says, “With the flexibility that a low-residency program offers, SVA will provide a new option for practicing artists—across the county and the world—to advance their careers while taking advantage of the remarkable range of resources available to students at SVA.”

Faculty members, guest lecturers and mentors for the MFA Art Practice Department include Vito Acconci, Cory Arcangel, Dara Birnbaum, Liam Gillick, Terrence Koh, Ming Wei Lee, Glenn Ligon, Stephen Henry Madoff, Robert Pincus-Witten, Gary Simmons, Andras Szanto, Carrie Mae Weems, Lawrence Weiner and Terry Winters, among others.

For more information about the Department, visit the Press Resources page or contact artpractice@sva.edu.

Image: Photo of David Ross by Henry Zernike, 2010.

One in a series of occasional dispatches from SVA’s Summer Arts Abroad programs. This dispatch was sent by student Tommy Kha.

Paris of the East, Oriental Paris, Shēn, Above Sea, On Sea, Pearl of the Orient…Shanghai seems to embody all of the connotations bestowed upon it. This is one reason why the city is relatable to me in my photographic work: it is the embodiment of different aspects perceived by others. Much of my work is not necessarily about personal psychology through self-portraits, but about ownership.

As a Chinese-American, coming to Shanghai has been a significant experience for me as I am the first person in my family to return to China since the late 1930s. The perception of me by other native Chinese has been, in a way, repressive. Many choose not to believe there can be a Chinese person who is from America. Some would prefer to make up their own assumptions, such as believing I could be from Japan or Hong Kong.

While here, I have been shooting images using both film and digital photographic media; I have also been working on a video using digital photography to capture images of myself in different environments. The digital photographs are stills, which attempt to survey transitions between time and topographies, and I hope to finish the video back in my hometown of Memphis, TN.

There is a text-based installation at the Island6 Arts Center here in Shanghai that I believe has it right: ‘Shanghai is the future for 19 time zones.’

Images: Photos by Tommy Kha, 2010.

Since it opened in the fall of 2009, the SVA Theatre has housed major New York premiere screenings and festivals. Beginning Tuesday, July 27, the venue will screen films for the New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF), including Forged, a film written and directed by alumnus William Wedig (BFA 2006 Film and Video). The film will be shown on Saturday, July 31, 5pm, at the SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd Street; and again on Sunday, August 1, 5pm, at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas, 260 West 23rd Street. Tickets are available on the NYILFF Web site.

Wedig spoke with the Briefs about his film and the festival.

Tell me about Forged.
Forged follows Chuco on his quest to redeem himself after committing a horrific sin—the murder of his wife. After Chuco’s release from prison, his now 13-year-old, abused and homeless son, Machito, seeks him out and promises to kill him. As Chuco’s guilt and Machito’s need for a father take hold, they must both find a way to move past impossible circumstances to try and forge a bond that has been forever broken.

You worked with Manny Perez, the co-writer of the screenplay, on a previous film. Did the idea for Forged arise out of that meeting?
One of the most interesting things about Forged is how closely it’s connected with our last project, La Soga, which Josh Crook directed and I post-supervised. But the best thing about it is the fact that while La Soga is a big fun, action film shot in the Dominican Republic, Forged is a cold, isolated and quiet film that’s really about characters and this overriding tension. When I had my script and I was getting the funding together, we approached Manny to play the lead and he loved the script. From there it became an amazing collaboration, trading ideas, throwing things out, just trying to find the pieces that all fit.

Why did you decide to enter the film into the New York International Latino Film Festival?
The NYILFF is a great festival! I’ve worked on other films that have been there and had friends who have had wonderful experiences. We had screened it for the founder, Calixto Chinchilla, and we’re really thankful he gave us this platform to show the film. The fact that we get to screen at the SVA Theatre only adds to excitement. For me, it’s sort of like coming home to be premiering my first big film at a a venue associated with SVA. It’s a really great feeling all around!

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Philip Johnson Glass House and the MFA Interaction Design Department have launched glasshouseconversations.org, a Web site that extends the signature Glass House Conversations program, an invitational held at the Glass House during 2008 and 2009 with cultural, business and educational leaders. Students from the program began working on the project last fall, with the goals of adapting the Conversations series to an expanded digital forum and building on the legacy of architect Philip Johnson’s home in New Canaan, Connecticut, a place that architectural historian Vincent Scully called the “longest-running salon in America.”

Six interaction design students—Clint Beharry, Derek Chan, Kristin Graefe, Katie Koch, Russell Maschmeyer and Eric St. Onge—developed the site from the fall of 2009 through the spring of 2010 in the department’s Continuing the Conversation course. “Glass House Conversations was a dynamic opportunity for our students to extend the learning from the classroom and work in a creative collaboration with clients who care deeply both about design and the community at large,” said Department Chair Liz Danzico.

Each week on glasshouseconversations.org a host puts forth a provocation in the form of a question or a debate topic, and members of the public worldwide have up to five days to respond. Alice Rawsthorn, the design critic for the International Herald Tribune, hosted the discussion for the week of July 19, and upcoming conversations will be led by leaders in cultural fields, including Ralph Caplan, John Lilly and John Maeda. SVA will continue to be involved through the site’s launch as two students from the MFA Design Criticism Department—Molly Heintz and Emily Leibin—have been named fellows at the Glass House to help shape content for the site, inviting moderators and designing questions to inspire online exchange and use.

Images: (top) Photo of Glass House by Robin Hill; (bottom) Photo of Glass House Conversation by Drew Harty.

The Hookah Girl is a two-part graphic novel by artist and alumnus Marguerite Dabaie (BFA 2007 Cartooning) that features autobiographical stories about growing up Palestinian-American. Dabaie spoke to Fen Magazine about the book and the effectiveness of art as a means to raise cultural awareness. The New York Daily News included the graphic novel in a list of the best comics from this year’s MoCCA Festival.