Photo by Duncan Snyder

For Duncan Snyder, CCAD alumnus and chair of Photography, a sabbatical wasn’t just a time to work on his personal craft, it was a time to force him out of his comfort zone—and his recent residency in Italy did just that.

The 1988 alumnus attended a new four-week, single-artist residency at San Giovanni Valdarno in Tuscany, Italy, in conjunction with SACI in Florence.

“Attending this residency was one of the most challenging things I have done,” Snyder said. “But with being the first person to do this residency and the location being remote—I had a lot of flexibility in my schedule. I spent a majority of my time taking photographs. I shot about 6,000 photographs during my time there.”

When Snyder first found about the opportunity to work in Italy he started doing language tutorials. However, upon arrival he quickly learned that there was a big difference between learning brief phrases and trying to talk to a native Italian speaker.

Photo by Duncan Snyder

“The language barrier was particularly challenging at the beginning,” Snyder said. “Being in a small town, I would go for days without speaking to anyone, and that was very apparent the first couple days when I had no access to the Internet or a phone.”

Snyder would break up his days by shooting in the mornings and then grabbing a cappuccino at a local shop. After going back to his studio to upload photos he would do some more shooting in the evening hours.

Snyder’s studio, located in the same building where painter Giovanni Mannozzi was born, was a half-hour train ride from Florence. The studio building was also home to the the town’s contemporary art collection.

Snyder spent a lot of time adjusting to the living abroad experience: fixing the water heater, figuring out which is laundry soap at the market, and realizing stores close during the afternoons and are also closed on Mondays.

“It made you really plan out your day,” Snyder said. “There was one grocery store, and it was closed on Sundays and Mondays, so you had to think okay it is getting to be the weekend, so I need to get groceries before the week, and I need to plan out my meals.”

Stair compilation by Duncan Snyder

Snyder finds that when teaching, being an administrator, and trying to balance a family life it becomes very difficult to set aside time for his own artwork. Residencies for him have become a luxurious time to do that.

“One thing that is powerful about residencies is it takes an artist out of their comfort zone and routine,” Snyder said, “When you are able to walk away from everything and focus directly on the work you are producing it is extremely helpful.”

Photo by Duncan Snyder

Snyder also brings his residency experiences back to the classroom, sharing with students that there is a wealth of opportunities for them if they take that step out of their comfort zone—a decision he says every student will have to and should make at one point in their career.

This is Snyder’s second residency; his first was in Ireland. He hopes to return to Italy, although he notes his daughters will most likely insist he take them along next time.

Snyder plans on traveling to Paris for his next residency with a goal to capture the culture and landscape.

“One important take-away from each and every residency or travel abroad experience is the people,” Snyder said.

He hopes to exhibit his work regionally, and he has been invited by SACI to have a show there in the future.

Duncan is from Columbus, and attended Upper Arlington High School.

The exhibition, which runs until Aug. 17, shows the work of 37 artists that currently live in Upper Arlington, OH. Each artist also completed a sketchbook to accompany the exhibition, which will then be made part of the Upper Arlington Public Library’s permanent art collection.

The Concourse Gallery, programmed with the help of the Upper Arlington Cultural Arts Commission, is located at 3600 Tremont Road, Upper Arlington, in the Municipal Services Center.

REFLECT: by James Lutz Associate Professor, Advertising & Graphic Design, & Mark Burleigh, Assistant Professor, Advertising & Graphic Design

By Duncan Snyder, Associate Professor, Photography and Graduate Studies, and President of Faculty Council

Over the past year, the faculty of CCAD has worked together to describe in detail the processes we use for teaching and learning here on campus. The last step in this work was to hone all that description and detail into a sort of manifesto we call the Learning Goals. It’s just seven simple words.

Create – Communicate – Connect – Reflect – Master – Risk – Impact

Whether you attended CCAD decades ago or are studying here now, whether you’re a member of the CCAD family or a distant associate, we think you’ll recognize these words (and more importantly, the actions behind the words) as a representation of who we are, what we expect, and what we aspire to at CCAD.

I personally think of the Learning Goals as a tool—a rudder, a shield, or even a Swiss Army knife. Whether in the classroom or the individual studio, in collaboration with others or out in the community, students and professors alike can use these goals to foster the CCAD spirit. Across campus, students and faculty are discovering the power of using these ideas on a daily basis and beginning to build a collective discussion on their experiences.

But even if you never set foot on campus, I think you’ll find the Learning Goals coming to mind the next time you meet a CCAD graduate. What makes them just a little bit different? It’s these seven words.

EDITOR’S NOTE: CCAD faculty members were invited to contribute images to represent each learning goal (all images are reproduced with permission). Click any image below to see it in full.

Student Government President David Merz leads the discussion.

What happens when you put 30 CCAD students in a room? Change.

Today CCAD Student Government hosted a spring semester student symposium, a moment for CCAD students to come together in a town hall format to express what is/isn’t working for them.

“The symposium offers students the formal opportunity to tell us the positive and negative things about CCAD,” said Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Dwayne Todd. “It helps us [the administration] identify issues that need to be addressed and those that have primary importance to students.”

So what was on the docket during today’s meeting? Safety and security, facilities, and printing. What wasn’t? Sustainability—yet every concern had a hint of it in there (these are some seriously eco-conscious students we have on our campus).

Want #1: Maintain safety on campus.
The plan: Since the beginning of the academic year, access to many on-campus buildings has only been available through the “swiping” of a valid CCAD ID card through magnetic card readers at select building entrances. By the end of the summer, virtually all buildings on campus will have “proximity card” readers, which will open a door simply by waiving a card over the reader.
The results: “I feel incredibly safe on campus,” said advertising & graphic design sophomore Lillie Templeton. “I don’t have to worry about anyone following me into the building, or anyone being in the building who shouldn’t be.”

Want #2: Reduce waste caused by to-go containers in dining hall.
The numbers: The student heading up the facilities committee said that, on average, 250 Styrofoam to-go containers are used ever day in the dining hall. (So what’s that mean big picture? More than 90,000 to-go containers are sent to the landfill each year courtesy of CCAD.)
The ideas: Promote the social experience of the dining hall by switching to a biodegradable to-go container that has to be purchased (say, $0.25). It will promote students actually sitting down to have a meal together and reduce the waste—which is pretty much the definition of a win-win.

Want #3: Free color printing.
The catch: “I’m afraid that a lot of people would abuse color printing if it were free,” said Student Government President David Merz. “People would print everything in color, which means a lot of paper would be wasted and ink would need to be changed more often.”
The ideas: Remove the change from the equation. Find some way of paying with the students’ ID card. The direct cost associated with printing will continue to promote responsible use of the on-campus printing equipment.

Other topics discussed included the possibility to have an on-campus composting option; having an all-you-can-eat versus a la carte dining hall (my favorite quote came from advertising & graphic design senior David Merz, “I personally love all you can eat”); adding more microwaves to campus; and the paperwork that goes along with internships.

“Keep in mind that making the changes you want to see is like turning a great big ship,” said faculty member Duncan Snyder. “Because you all have expressed the need, they’ll happen, but it takes time.”

Meet the members of CCAD’s Student Government here.

To see more pictures from the event, “like” us on Facebook.