Visual Arts Briefs

Since the School of Visual Arts partnered with Behance last year to launch SVA Portfolios, thousands of people have been regularly visiting the site to check out the work of SVA alumni, faculty members, and degree-seeking students. Below are five projects that have attracted the most views so far this year. Click the links to see all of the images within each project, and to add your own work and connect with other artists, visit SVA Portfolios.

5) Manuel Aleman (BFA 2011 Advertising), Bo Mi Jo (BFA 2011 Advertising), Dahee Song (BFA 2011 Advertising), Raúl Cosculluela (BFA 2011 Advertising), and Nikolai Shorr (BFA 2011 Advertising), City Harvest Integrated Campaign

4) Dina Litovsky (MFA 2010 Photography, Video and Related Media), Untag This Photo

3) Twig Capra (current student, BFA Photography), Parasomnia

2) Maya Barkai (BFA 2005 Photography), Bed Landscapes

1) Eric Wagner (BFA 2006 Computer Art) and Sharon Ma, Greatest Card Trick Ever

Kyunghee Jwa (MFA 2011 Computer Art) and several 2011 graduates of the BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects Department—David Chen, Naomi Chen, Michelle Czajkowski, Carl Fong, Krzysztof Fus, Chang Shuen Lee, and James McKenzie—won Special Recognition Jury Awards at the recent Metropolitan Area College Computer Animation Festival (MetroCAF).

The films that captured the honors were Piece Apart (watch below) by Kyunghee Jwa; King Killian by James McKenzie; Package Frank by Carl Fong and Chang Shuen Lee; and Rabbitkadabra by Michelle Czajkowski, David Chen, Krzysztof Fus and Naomi Chen.

In related news, Rabbitkadabra, as well as The Fear by Sung In Sohn (BFA 2011 Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects) have been accepted into this year’s SIGGRAPH Asia Computer Animation Festival in Hong Kong. For more info, visit SIGGRAPH.

Above image: Still from Rabbitkadabra.

Da Suel Kim (current student, BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects Department) was recently announced as one of only four winners of the 2011 Imageworks Professional Academic Excellence (IPAX) Sande Scoredos Memorial Scholarship. Named after one of the founders of the Sony Pictures IPAX professional development program, the scholarship grants $5,000 to each recipient.

BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects Department Chair John McIntosh expressed pride in Da Suel’s accomplishment stating, “This is a great tribute to Sande Scoredos, and I can attest that Da Suel certainly deserves the distinction.”

The Sony Pictures IPAX professional development program, created in 2004, aims to “educate faculty and help structure curricula at leading academic institutions in an effort to develop future talent who will contribute to the overall growth of the visual effects and animation industry,” according to Imageworks’ Web site. A total of $50,000 in scholarships is awarded each year through IPAX.

Watch Da Suel Kim’s demo reel below.

On Wednesday, June 1, director-producer Graham Elliott (faculty, BFA Advertising and Graphic Design Department) will screen New York in Motion, his new documentary featuring 50 people in the field of motion graphics who have helped make New York a center of the industry. The interviewees include Joe Burrascano (BFA 2002 Computer Art), Jean Marco Ruesta (BFA 2004 Graphic Design), Jakob Trollbak, and BFA Advertising and Graphic Design Department Chair Richard Wilde – just to name a few.

“The story of ‘motion graphics’ is an interesting story to follow since it connects to core human concepts of communication and art and expression,” says Elliott, an award-winning creative director who has done work for MTV, ESPN and Nickelodeon, among other clients.

The program begins with a reception at 7pm, followed by a screening 7:30pm, SVA Theatre, 333 West 23 Street. Admission is free and open to the public.

On Thursday, May 12, the School of Visual Arts held its 36th formal commencement exercises at Manhattan’s landmark Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. Family, friends and faculty joined the College’s graduating students as they received BFA, MAT, MFA and MPS degrees in two consecutive ceremonies marked by thoughtful speeches. This year’s activities included four new departments who celebrated the graduation of their inaugural classes: MFA Interaction Design, MFA Social Documentary Film, MPS Branding and MPS Live Action Short Film.

At the 10am ceremony, the undergraduate address was delivered by Victoria Rivera (BFA 2011 Film and Video). She was followed by Ariane R. West (MFA 2011 Social Documentary Film) who delivered the graduate address. Both speakers touched on the importance of fostering creativity, especially during our current economic times. Jason E. Bakutis (BFA 2011 Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects) delivered the undergraduate address at the 2pm ceremony. He was followed by Valeria Koutmina (MPS 2011 Art Therapy) who delivered the graduate address, urging her fellow graduates to bear witness to the world’s challenges in their art.

Following the student addresses, SVA President David Rhodes took the podium to deliver a timely speech that focused on the recent political uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. He spoke to the responsibility that the graduates have for their fellow global citizens. President Rhodes noted, “I should not tell you how to go about fulfilling this responsibility of solidarity, nor to whom you should lend your support. But I can tell you that these gestures of support are part of what it means to be an artist in the 21st century. And doing these deeds for others will make it less likely that others will be required to do these deeds for you.”

The graduates and guests then heard an insightful address from two-time Nobel Prize-winning biologist Dr. Gerald M. Edelman. In a speech complemented with a multi-slide presentation, Dr. Edelman drew on his decades of research on the development and organization of higher brain functions. He detailed how emotions travel through the brain and the role art plays in eliciting emotions. By the end of the afternoon ceremony, more than 1,000 graduate and undergraduate degrees had been awarded to the Class of 2011.

Images: (first and second) SVA graduates at Avery Fisher Hall; (third) commencement speaker Dr. Gerald M. Edelman. Photos by Joseph Sinnott.

When Dateline NBC needed animation for a recent segment, producers approached Jason Anderson (BFA 2006 Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects) and his Brooklyn-based design and animation company SAYKUUS with the request for “something very unique.” Their task was to produce animation that would aid in telling the story behind the book The Boy from Baby House 10: From the Nightmare of a Russian Orphanage to a New Life in America (St. Martin’s Press, 2009) by John Lahutsky. Anderson and his team recreated scenes from the childhood of a Russian boy afflicted with cerebral palsy who was confined to institutions along with numerous other disabled and abandoned children until his miraculous adoption by an American woman.

Anderson said the first step in the process was the storyboard, which was created based on photographs and videos. Lahutsky, the subject of the Dateline segment, helped the animation team understand the story better so the visuals would be more realistic. The episode, which aired on April 10, along with other exclusive Web clips, are available on the Dateline NBC Web site.

On Friday, May 13, the BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects Department presents Encore!, a screening of senior thesis projects from the program’s recent graduates. The event takes place at the SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd Street, 5 – 8pm, and features digital animated shorts that run the gamut from action and sci-fi stories to enchanting and whimsical creations.

The screening serves as an encore of sorts to the undergraduate department’s concurrent annual exhibition of student work, which is on view at the Westside Gallery, 133/141 West 21st Street, through Saturday, May 21.

Images: (top) David Wendl, still from Sad Robot : (, 2011 ; (bottom) Alexandra D’Amore, still from Be Mine, Bovine, 2011.

• How To Be a Man: A Guide To Style and Behavior For The Modern Gentleman (Rizzoli, 2011) by Glenn O’Brien: MPS Fashion Photography Department faculty member Glenn O’Brien (aka, GQ’s “Style Guy”) dispenses sartorial and etiquette advice for today’s man that is witty and irreverent, but also perfectly serious. From head to toe to entertaining to graceful aging, How To Be a Man is a thorough guide to navigating contemporary mores with style and grace.
• Sprayground: Alumnus David Ben-David (BFA 2008 Graphic Design) has created Sprayground, a line of street-, skate- and urban-inspired backpacks. The unisex polyester packs come in a variety of styles, ranging from multi-color graffiti designs to graphics that echo “Hello, My Name Is…” tags. Browse the complete line of products at sprayground.net.
• The Digital Matte Painting Handbook (Sybex, 2011) by David B. Mattingly: BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects Department faculty member David B. Mattingly has assembled a how-to reference guide for digital artists creating matte backgrounds for television and film. Showcasing techniques and tips that are drawn from Mattingly’s courses at SVA, the book also includes a DVD containing videos that translate many of the lessons from the page to the screen.

The spring 2011 issue of the Visual Arts Journal is now in print and on the Web for the entire SVA community. The latest edition of the College’s bi-annual magazine includes:

• A look at digital retouching in photography, film and beyond, featuring expert commentary from MPS Digital Photography Department Chair Katrin Eismann, faculty members Josh Azzarella and Carrie Beene, and alumnus Leslie Chung (BFA 2007 Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects).
• A Q&A with Academy Award-winning film and TV composer Michael Giacchino (BFA 1990 Film and Video)
• A portfolio of post-apocalyptic fables from alumnus Martin Wittfooth (MFA 2008 Illustration as Visual Essay).
• A history of SVA’s involvement with national and international art fairs.

…and many more features, interviews, reviews and news from SVA alumni, faculty and students. To browse the full issue and an archive of past Journals, visit sva.edu/journal.

Three visual effects maestros who are all alumni of the BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects Department are returning to SVA to take movie fans behind the scenes of recent action and sci-fi blockbusters 300, Skyline and Battle: Los Angeles. In a program entitled Creatures, Gore and How We Destroyed Los Angeles, Jeremy Butler (BFA 1999 Computer Art), Joshua Cordes (BFA 1997 Computer Art) and Joel Sevilla (BFA 1999 Computer Art) will show clips of projects they’ve worked on and take questions from the audience.

Moderated by Department Chair John McIntosh, the event takes place Tuesday, April 19, 7pm, at the SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd Street. Admission is free and open to the public.

Image: Jeremy Butler, Joshua Cordes and Joel Sevilla.