Leah Wong’s “Countdown”

Leah Wong, who has taught at CCAD and is assisting the college with its teaching exchange with the China Academy of Art, was featured in the March/April issue of SpaChina magazine.

The article discusses Wong’s artistic inspiration and her work in paper cutting. The article notes that she grew up in northern Qingdao in China and was later accepted into the Zhejiand Fine Arts Academy, now known as the China Academy of Art. She then moved to the United States and earned her MFA from Ohio University in Athens, OH. She has returned to China to share her work.

Wong’s pieces straddle abstraction and representation with inspiration pulled from both Chinese and Western art and culture.

She recently had her work in a group exhibition at Ross Art Museum at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, OH.

Read the full article here.

Travis Hayes (left) and Luis Uzcategui (right)

Two CCAD Illustration students will exhibit work that they developed over a four-month study abroad trip to China.

Junior Luis Uzcategui and senior Travis Hayes spent a semester in China from September 2011 to January 2012. They attended classes at Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts, learning traditional Chinese painting along with the history and philosophy behind the art form.

“I learned a whole new style of ink painting that still resonates in my work,” Uzcategui said of his experience.

The students lived on the academy’s campus for the duration of their trip, immersing themselves in an entirely different culture, while attending art class every day alongside their Chinese peers and learning the specifics of Chinese painting.

“We had to relearn basic techniques because their style is so different,” Hayes said. “They focus on two-dimensional line work to depict shapes and scenery, where at CCAD we focus on three-dimensional shapes and shading.”

Each student will have approximately six paintings in the show, and their sketchbooks will also be out for people to look through. A projection screen will be set up in the area, displaying photos from their trip.

“I feel like China greatly influenced my voice as an artist. It helped me find my specific style,” Uzcategui said. “The line work that is involved in traditional Chinese painting will continue to have a presence and influence in my work.”

Both students enjoyed learning the philosophy behind traditional Chinese art, recalling a trip to a Buddhist temple to discuss the history and meaning with a local monk. They said experiencing the culture day-in and day-out had just as much impact on their art as the daily lessons.

“I thought of every day as an adventure, not a struggle,” Hayes said. “I know my work and skill level made a significant jump from when I left to go to China to when I came back.”

The students will display their paintings on the third floor of the Loann Crane Center for Design on April 20–May 4, 2012, with an opening reception April 20, 6–8 p.m. The Crane Center is open during regular business hours.

In Ohio, 18 students in each of CCAD drawing instructor Joe Lombardo’s two Figure and Anatomy drawing classes are participating.

A discussion between two art college presidents about the critical role of foundation courses for students has spawned a comparative teaching effort between Columbus College of Art & Design and China Academy of Art.

Dennison Griffith, CCAD president, and Xu Jiang, president of CAA, and Song Jianming, vice president of CAA, met during CCAD’s 2011 visit to Shanghai and Hangzhou art schools. The leaders’ discussion has evolved into a shared e-classroom for first-year drawing students in Columbus and Hangzhou for spring semester 2012. A joint exhibition of the final course work is set for this fall on the CAA campus in Hangzhou, China.

Instructors from the two schools, located on opposite sides of the globe, use a blog to their course structure and weekly lesson guides, along with their philosophies about how to teach specific components. Student work from each lesson is uploaded for critique by both sides to review the teaching approach and results. In Ohio, 18 students in each of CCAD drawing instructor Joe Lombardo’s two Figure and Anatomy drawing classes are participating. (Follow the week-by-week assignments and progression of Lombardo’s class here.)

Griffith, CCAD’s president since 1998 and a practicing artist, said the shared teaching experience provides fresh ideas for communicating fundamental skills courses, and noted that “this exchange of teaching and learning methodologies creates a splendid platform for cultural understanding and future collaborations. We are pleased and honored to have this new relationship of exchange programs with CAA.”

In addition to his leadership role at CCAD, Griffith currently serves on the boards of the Columbus Partnership, Experience Columbus and the National Association of Schools of Art & Design, the national accreditation body for art and design education in the U.S.

Alongside his administrative career he has maintained a vigorous commitment to his work as an artist. His paintings have been included in more than 90 solo and group exhibitions and are represented in many public and private collections. He is represented by Hammond Harkins Galleries in Columbus. www.ccad.digication.com/dennisonwgriffith.

“As our curriculum evolves to meet the changing needs of the international marketplace and global audience, this type of research will be invaluable for our faculty and our students,” said Julie Taggart, dean of the School of Studio Arts at CCAD. “Drawing mastery and the visual acumen gained through the act of drawing have defined CCAD’s core competencies for artists and designers. The comparison with the China Academy of Art will allow us to see the impact of drawing in a broader cultural context.”

In addition to the collaborative teaching effort, CCAD and the China Academy of Art have established a formal student exchange program that began in January 2012. Currently, two exchange students from CAA, Nuonan Ruan and Jin Dan, are enrolled in master’s level classes at CCAD.

Scroll down to read a letter from President Griffith about the collaboration.

Click here to visit the CAA site.

哥伦布艺术与设计学院(CCAD)/中国美术学院(CAA)基础绘画教学比较研讨博客概述

哥伦布艺术与设计学院和中国美术学院的学生共享基础绘画课春季学期的教学方法和作品评定，两校学生的基础绘画作业作品展览定于2012年秋季在杭州中国美术学院美术馆举行

2011年春， 哥伦布艺术与设计学院院长丹尼森·格里菲斯（Dennison Griffith）一行在访问上海和杭州艺术院校时， 参观访问了和中国美术学院。 在和中国美术学院院长许江，副院长宋建明的会面交谈中，院长们强调了艺术基础教育于国际交流的重要性。 两校在此基础上于2011年秋季建立了交流关系。

为了促进两校的教学交流，哥伦布艺术与设计学院与中国美术学院之间开展了一个教学比较研究项目。

今年春季学期, CCAD和CAA的一年级绘画专业学生设立了共享电子教室。计划今年秋季在中国杭州的中国美术学院美术馆举行学生结业作品联展。

中国 － 美国，来自地球两边的两所院校的教师，通过博客来介绍各自的课程结构和每周的授课大纲，并针对各自的具体教学内容交流各自的理念。每一课的学生作品的图片均上传到博客网上，供双方进行教学方法及成果评定。在俄亥俄州，哥伦布艺术与设计学院绘画教师乔·隆巴多（Joe Lombardo）执教的“人物造型与人体解剖”绘画课两个班的18名学生参加这个教学研究项目。

丹尼森•格里菲斯 (Dennison Griffith), 自1998年起任哥伦布艺术与设计学院的院长，本人也是专业画家。他认为教学交流可为基本技能和基础课程提供新的教学思路，并表示：“这次两校的教学大纲和教学方法的交流为建立彼此的文化理解和未来的交流合作创造了一个出色的平台。我们很高兴也很荣幸，通过交流项目与中国美术学院建立新的关系”。

除了担任哥伦布艺术与设计学院的领导工作以外，格里菲斯院长 还任哥伦布市合作计划 董事会会员、担任体验哥伦布计划和全美艺术与设计院校协会的理事。 全美艺术与设计院校协会是美国艺术及设计教育的全国性认证机构。

格里菲斯院长是一个经历丰富的领导人和艺术家，他曾参加过90多次个人及集体画展，他的绘画作品被许多公共及私人机构收藏。哥伦布的Hammond Harkins画廊代理他的作品。
画廊网址：www.ccad.digication.com/dennisonwgriffith。

“为了适应国际市场和全球受众需求的不断变化，我们也在调整课程设置。在这种时候，此类研究对我们的教师和学生都有无可估量的价值”，哥伦布艺术与设计学院工作室艺术学院院长茱莉·塔加特（Julie Taggart）表示：“通过绘画的实践来掌握精熟的绘画技能和敏锐的视觉是哥伦布艺术与设计学院培养艺术及设计人才的核心能力。通过与中国美术学院的比较研究项目，我们得以在更大的文化背景和影响下来理解绘画”。

哥伦布艺术与设计学院和中国美术学院自2011年秋季正式设立了学生交流计划。2012年1月, CAA 已派首期交换学生来CCAD 交流， 目前两位中国美术学院的硕士研究生阮诺南（服装设计）和金丹（陶瓷艺术）正在哥伦布艺术与设计学院的硕士班学习。

哥伦布艺术与设计学院 (Columbus College of Art and Design) 建立于1879年，  CCAD 坐落于美国俄亥俄州哥伦布市市中心，授予艺术及设计专业的学士和硕士学位。目前在校学生1,350人。具体了解哥伦布艺术与设计学院的课程设置，学院的校园美国地理位置及学院生活，请查阅CCAD 学院介绍

Download the CCAD Chinese International Student Brochure (PDF 8MB)

CCAD President Dennison W. Griffith

In April of 2011 I had the privilege of visiting Hangzhou, and visited both of CAA’s campuses.  I was very impressed with the quality of the facilities and with the quality of the student work I saw.  This visit was arranged for me by one of your distinguished alumni: Leah Wong (Wang Lihua), who, I am happy to say, is a member of the Columbus College of Art & Design faculty.

Due to the efforts of Wang Lihua, I was accorded the honor of meeting both President Xu Jiang and Vice President Song Jianming.  What kind and talented leaders they are!  I was very impressed with their generosity, their openness to us, and the quality of their thinking and ideas.

It became quite evident to me that both China Academy of Art and Columbus College of Art & Design have very similar goals and face the same challenges and opportunities in art education, in the cultivation of creative and business skills in our students, and in making international connectivity a real and vital part of our work.

I am very happy that our two institutions have established this international exchange (we currently have two graduate students from CAA on our campus this semester) and look forward to future programmatic collaborations and exchanges.  As one of  the oldest art schools in America,  this budding relationship establishes new ground for us, and we are excited about our future together!

Dennison W. Griffith

President

April, 2012