An early rendition

On May 11 Columbus College of Art & Design will open its annual student exhibition (the 133rd for those of you who are counting). This phenomena is a massive celebration of the best work of CCAD’s academic year.

Most of the art and design work in the show—representing the college’s graduate program and its nine undergraduate majors—is the result of thesis projects, contests, and class assignments. One project is simply a labor of love.

Each year students from the three-dimensional illustration class produce a crowd-pleasing piece that, while whimsical, is also masterful. This year’s creation is sure to be another attention getter—and its makers, who have spent the entire academic year building it, did so on their own time.

The colossal blood-sucking monster from a lost age

So what is this mysterious beast? Well, to call it a giant flea doesn’t really do justice to something the size of a compact car. It has been described as a “colossal blood-sucking monster from a lost age” and a “terrifying beast from a distant planet.” The beast isn’t alone; it will be ridden by a woman (presumably some type of warrior). When we asked her name, there was a quick scramble to come up with ideas—Fleaopatra seemed to stick.

You would think all this extracurricular work would just be added stress for a graduating senior, but Christopher Castorano says differently.

“This guy’s been keeping me sane,” explained the Illustration major with a smile.

The journey to build the beast and its rider began fall semester with Castorano and Illustration junior Tyler Crooks (both also work as Illustration lab techs). In spring they were joined by two juniors and fellow lab techs Henry Scott (Illustration) and Allison Cundiff (Animation). Leading the monster squad (and credited as the mastermind) is 3D Illustration Professor Mark Hazlerig.

“Mark’s been wanting to do this for 20 years,” explained Scott, who has known Hazlerig since Scott was first a student at CCAD in 2000. Scott left the college to join the military, returning to continue his studies after serving four tours.

The team will be working up until the last minute, bringing in one extra hand to help with the painting. At their most basic, the 3D pieces are constructed of blue foam and covered in latex. But, as with all good things, the process is much more complicated than that. (When we asked about construction, terms such as two-part foam, molding, and resins were bandied about). Anyone seeing the beast in person will appreciate the extraordinary level of detail, right down to the spindly little insect hairs.

Come see the colossal beast along with many other exquisite examples of art and design work from CCAD’s undergraduate and graduate programs. CCAD offers nine undergraduate majors, Advertising & Graphic Design, Animation, Cinematic Arts, Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Illustration, Industrial Design, Interior Design, and Photography; the graduate program is a multidisciplinary one called the MFA in Visual Arts: New Projects. THE SHOW: the 133rd Annual Student Exhibition opens Friday, May 11, at 4 p.m. and will be open through the summer.

Kevin Conlon

By: Kevin Conlon

Reflective of current economic anxieties, yet another article pops up in my RSS feed suggesting that an art degree’s value, measured in occupational salaries, is not worth the effort.  Of course, as a long-practicing artist and arts educator, I respond with a familiar set of immediate reactions.

How is the value of an art and design education defined and constrained? It can’t be correct to define it only in relation to our society’s immediate competitive marketplace advantage—because such an education is really about developing a mind that can adapt to tectonic changes not yet conceived, in a global (not local or national) marketplace. I also question the starting salary as a measure of worth. It’s simply shortsighted to use the inaugural job of one’s professional career as the measure of career success, ignoring the future opportunities that will be capitalized upon by the creatively disposed and trained mind to achieve greater, longer-term results.

Surely these people who disparage the prospective lives of artists and designers see more value in the pursuit of creative disciplines than the dollars and cents earned by their beginning practitioners? Surely they know that the creative impulse, once understood, can be transferred to other creative, managerial, and entrepreneurial endeavors? And surely they know that the innovative ideation that occurs as part of an artist’s problem-seeking and problem-solving method of working is recognized as a very desirous set of skills by some of the world’s most powerful economic thought leaders?

Or, then again, maybe they don’t.

So—lately I’m thinking that our willingness to educate must extend not only to our students, but to others as well. It won’t be easy. But as someone who pays attention to the conversations happening around the world, I know that others recognize this as well. Dan Pink and Sir Ken Robinson are among the best known creative cultural analysts who extol the virtues and benefits of the creative economy.

We must all be advocates for the real economic value of the creative process and the intellectual property realized from that process. In fact, experts and academics such as Roger Martin have been examining the fundamental concepts of management and entrepreneurship with an eye towards how artists and designers think, solve problems, and create new and real value with their ideas.

This vision of both the intrinsic and extrinsic values realized from art and entrepreneurship directly informs CCAD’s future. You’ll soon be hearing more about new initiatives like the CCAD MindMarket, an incubator where we will work to develop students’ skills so that they can realize value from new ideas and new intellectual property—in turn contributing to the overall value of our region and leading to the establishment and growth of creative companies. With initiatives like the MindMarket, CCAD can contribute to our creative economy in a way that can be measured in real dollars (in fact, literally trillions of them).

The overall economy can learn a lot from those who have learned the value of creative thinking as part of the CCAD creative community. I hope you’ll help me in communicating this message—it’s one the world needs to hear.

Bio: Kevin J. Conlon became the CCAD’s vice president of academic affairs in June. He previously served as associate vice president for academic affairs at Ringling College of Art and Design and as dean of undergraduate studies at Savannah College of Art and Design. He also works as a writer and consultant in the fields of interactive design, architectural restoration, foundry work, curriculum design, and institutional effectiveness. In addition, his sculptural works, oil paintings, and works on paper have been exhibited widely and won many awards. He earned his BFA from the University of South Alabama and his MFA from Ohio State University.

Student looks at display.

A decade ago, the worlds of science and art collided in an albino bunny named Alba. Alba was normal by all accounts—until the lights were turned out. Then, thanks to an intervention by Brazilian-born, Chicago-based artist Eduardo Kac, the fluffy white rabbit glowed neon green as she hopped around the room.

Today, the same science that allowed Kac to transfer the “glowing genes” from a jellyfish to a rabbit egg is being taught—albeit on a more basic level—at CCAD. Why is this important? Because in today’s world, concerns about cost and sustainability are causing artists, designers, and scientists to find more and more to learn from one another.

“The point is not to teach the students how to create glowing animals,” says Julie Posey, chair of CCAD’s science department. “It’s to get them thinking about how science can be used not only to influence their work, but to create it.”

Student looks under microscope.

In CCAD science courses, students examine cadavers; dissect eyeballs, hearts, and brains; test body fat and blood pressure levels; extract DNA (creating glowing bacteria à la Kac); and explore a myriad of other experiments and observations designed to help them think differently about art and design.

“The small but imperative details that make the heart beat, the issue of sustainability, potential health hazards—we teach students all of this to give them the information they’ll need to step back and take a second, deeper look at their work,” Posey says.

The newest example of art and design blending with science is taught by Dean of Industrial and Interior Design Carl Garant and ecologist Kim Landsbergen, who is an associate professor of cross-disciplinary studies and sustainability research. Together they have created a course in biomimicry, in which students explore the application of nature’s solutions to a wide variety of design challenges.

Although there are a few other schools of art and design that teach biomimicry, CCAD is the only one at which the course is fully co-taught by a scientist and a designer. “Nature’s diversity presents us with a wide selection of viable design strategies that are sustainable and worthy of recognition and application in today’s world,” Garant says.

If this is the first you’ve heard of biomimicry, it probably won’t be the last. Biomimicry is being pursued by everyone from InterfaceFLOR, a leader in commercial flooring, to the consumer product giant Proctor & Gamble. In fact, Proctor and Gamble’s Behavioral Science Organization (the branch of the company that works with biomimicry) has already hosted an intern from CCAD: Joel van Gilder, a senior Industrial Design major who participated in the inaugural biomimicry course last spring.

Students listens during science lab.

Students in the course research the unique biological and ecological characteristics of a particular insect and then develop a variety of design solutions informed by their work. Like many science-focused courses at CCAD, the biomimicry class takes advantage of the resources at nearby Ohio State University—in this case, with a visit to the entomology collection in OSU’s Museum of Biodiversity, where students come face-to-face with the biology of their organisms, measuring and drawing their insect subjects. Students ultimately present their biologically inspired designs in portfolio-quality, self-published books.

“Students cannot learn in a vacuum,” Garant says. “Biomimicry asks them to look to nature for design inspiration and to think about the sustainability ramifications surrounding their design choices. It’s about understanding the impact and importance of the design process as we strive to design more intelligently.”

Charlene Fix, associate professor and chair of English & Philosophy, is an avid fan of the character and ten years ago had the idea to have his film persona become a trickster figure. Her research of Harpo Marx lasted years and this last summer she completed the first draft of her book.

The working title of her book is, Harpo Marx as Trickster: Why We Love Him, Why We Laugh at Him, Why He Seems Divine. Her book will discuss her reasoning on the character who captures the complexity and disruption needed to be considered a literary trickster.

A trickster figure is a literary term to describe a character that plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal behavior. Some well known characters within the category of tricksters are the Brer Rabbit and The Joker from the Batman comics.

“I bought DVD’s of all the films and watched them over and over and over again, laughing unto tears, taking notes, drafting, revising, and writing more,” Fix said.

Fix will be conducting talks and discussions on the topic in various locations over the next year. She recently spoke at the School of Visual Arts Conference in New York City. This was her second year attending the conference.

She gave a 15 minute read of her proposal, Harpo Marx as Trickster, and accompanied it with images and film clips of the character.

“I submitted my proposal to the conference because I felt my work was similar to the conference topic, Crossing Borders, and my program had a very positive response from the audience.”

The conference was the twenty-fifth annual national conference on liberal arts and the education of artists. It consisted of round table presentations and talks on the arts.

work by Mylesant Carreno

An exhibition that centers on the unique approach to art making through the collaboration and mixing of media will feature 15 artists affiliated with Columbus College of Art & Design.

Alumni, faculty, and staff are all involved in Crossroads, an invitational exhibition at the Schumacher Gallery at Capital University.

Casey Bradley (CCAD 2001), a Fine Arts alumnus and Lab manager at CCAD, developed the exhibition.

“Crossroads is an exhibition devoted to the enduring spirit of the artist as a creative seeker,” Bradley said.

Bradley invited 20 artists to participate in the show. He went through a jurying process with the Schumacher Gallery director and the director’s assistant to choose the work.

“All of the artists were selected based upon the ability of their work to push the boundaries of the materials and the processes that they are working with,” he said.

The final show comprises of 55 pieces with mediums including watercolors, glass, ceramics, printmaking, found objects, and more.

“It is the orchestration methods and interactions with each artist’s materials that allow a sense of discovery to translate to the experience of the viewer,” Bradley said.

CCAD artists involved in the exhibition include Bradley, and Carol Boram-Hays (adjunct faculty),  Steven Bush (1994 Fine Arts alumnus), Mylesant Carreno (SMAC instructor and 2005 Fine Arts alumna), Elizabeth Fergus-Jean (adjunct faculty), Nicole Gibbs (adjunct faculty), Michael Goodson (Exhibitions Director), Hiroshi Hayakawa (associate professor and 1995 Photography alumnus), Kelly Malec-Kosak (assistant professor),  Tina Matthews (2003 Fine Arts alumna), Lauren Mudd (2004 Fine Arts alumna),  Brandon Noblet (adjunct faculty  and 2005 Fine Arts alumnus), Mariana Smith (adjunct faculty and 2002 Fine Arts alumna),  Nicki Strouss (SMAC instructor and 2008 Fine Arts alumna), and Christopher Yates (associate professor and 1987 Fine Arts alumnus).

For more information and the full list of participating artists click here.

The exhibition will be at the Schumacher Gallery at Capital University through Dec. 9, 2011 with a reception on Friday, Nov. 11 5–7 p.m.

Denny Griffith

TEDx is hosting its third event on Nov. 11, 2011; and, true to the national TED mission, the event has a stellar line up of people with ideas worth sharing—including CCAD President Denny Griffith.

The TEDx 2011 event, A Moment in Time, is an all-day experience for attendees and will include 18 speakers and performers presenting their discoveries and observations to spark discussion and interest within the group and community. TEDx speakers come from all walks of life ranging from poets to entomologists, and, yes, college presidents.

Griffith’s speech, “Personas in Balance,” will reveal his insights on balancing his public and private personas.

In the short video preview of his speech, Griffith commented on how he will explain the tension and balance between his workplace and studio—his life as an artist and his life as an administrator.

“I hope participants will get a sense of their own inner/outer balance and the way that the things of our lives tend to carry us forward in unexpected and happy ways,” he said in the video.

CCAD students will not have to go far to hear their president and the rest of the line up speak. The college will be hosting a live stream of the event in the Canzani Center multipurpose room from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. the day of the event.

For more information on the TEDx Columbus event click here.

Julie Posey instructs students during a gene transfer lab

The Honors Program at CCAD will put on an exhibition featuring artwork inspired by science December 2011.

The exhibition, Biotechnology Inspires Art, will feature work by eight students and will be open to the public Dec. 10–16 in Beaton Gallery.

The students will submit pieces that were somehow inspired by science and the information they have learned throughout their courses. The exhibition will include drawing, painting, digital, textile, and video/performance art.

Julie Posey, associate professor at CCAD, has taught science courses at the college for 13 years and every day is amazed by the students and their relationship with studying the liberal arts.

“There is something about an artist’s mind. They think differently and question science in a manner that I have never seen,” said Posey.

Posey’s teaching inspiration comes from the artistic world. She will often incorporate her lessons around what an artist will need or want to know.

“Professors and art instructors will do a great job at telling students about harmful materials they are working with. We will take it to the next level and tell them why it is hazardous, what it can do to your organs, skin, and the body as a whole,” Posey said.

The science courses at CCAD have a very hands-on format and curriculum. The classes incorporate labs and field trips into the structure of the course to inspire the predominantly visual learners.

Each student must take three science courses, one biological or physical class and two social science classes. Available courses often change depending on what is a current hot topic, or by the input and feedback of students.

“I often get students come in and realize they have an interest in something like medical illustration or just have fun in the classes and they will continue to take more courses as electives,” she said.

Posey enjoys incorporating the students’ love of art into each class and lab.

“In labs students can extract DNA from their cheek and transform it into a necklace and we will have students paint what they are viewing and interpreting under a microscope,” she said.

Posey’s office is filled with examples of student work. There are quilts made to represent the layers of skin, hearts and other organs made of glass, ink prints of muscle outlines, necklaces modeled after ribosomes, and more.

“I have my students create pieces of work inspired by science and what we have learned and am encouraging other teachers to do the same,” Posey said.

Kinney Hall, an academic building, has corridors filled with work inspired by English classes and comparative studies. Posey’s passion and amazement for what students have created and been inspired by is contagious.

Fix will be a featured reader in Paging Columbus: Under the Influence at the OSU Urban Arts Space.

Paging Columbus is a literary arts-themed event series with a local focus. It takes place once a month in the evenings and features readings and panel discussions.

The October installment, on Oct. 6 from 6-8 p.m., will feature three individuals, including Fix, and will have the individual readers discuss their mentors, teachers, and gurus.

Fix also recently participated in the House of Toast poetry group performance at Beehive Books in Delaware, Ohio.

The House of Toast is a group of central Ohio poets founded in 1995 as a way to support the member’s poetry and since then has become a group that does various performances and readings at local venues.

Fix’s poems have appeared in numerous publications, including Poetry, The Ohio Review, The Chicago Review, The Manhattan Review, and Negative Capability.

She has received fellowships for her poetry from both the Greater Columbus Arts Council and the Ohio Arts Council, and won the Robert H. Winner Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America.

She has published a chapbook of poems, Mischief (Pudding House Publications), and a poetry collection, Flowering Bruno: A Dography, a finalist for the Ohioana Book Award in Poetry (XOXOX Press).

Learn more about the October Paging Columbus: Under the Influence event here.

To watch Fix’s reading click here.

Damian Aquiles work being installed in the exhibition

As developed countries have found themselves drowning under the flood of consumer goods, many visual artists have seen this trend as an opportunity to consider the consequences of a global economy and the possibilities for creative outlets. CCAD’s latest exhibition Supply & Demand considers the work of these artists, whose photography, sculpture, and installations provide us with moments to contemplate the necessity of the things we think we cannot live without.

Curated by Lisa Dent, associate curator of contemporary art at the Columbus Museum of Art, the exhibition includes work by 10 artists exploring these themes.

“I am continually amazed by visual artists and their drive to create objects out of the things that they see around them every day,” said Dent, who is also an adjunct instructor for CCAD’s graduate program.

Whether using new or discarded household objects, the artists in Supply & Demand use manufactured materials and wares to create their work.

“I wanted a variety of media to highlight the creative possibilities for materials that these artists have discovered,” she said. “I wanted to create an exhibition that honored them and their commitment to using their skills, especially without the overwhelming use of digital tools.”

Several artists immediately came to Dent’s mind as she began piecing together the exhibition.  Based on their creative mediums and also their sense of the global economy and its influence on production and art making,  Damian Aquiles, Richard Artschwager, Robert Beck, Jim Hodges, Vik Muniz, Tony Oursler, Alejandro Almanza Pereda, Jeff Sonhouse, Irwin, and NSK (New Kollectivism), were tapped for the exhibition.

“Putting the exhibition together could not have been smoother. I have gotten incredible support from people in Columbus and the CCAD community. It is what every curator dreams of,” said Dent.

Supply & Demand will be open Oct. 7 – Dec. 6, 2011 in the Canzani Center Gallery. The opening reception is Oct. 7, 6-8 p.m.

Review:

http://starr-review.blogspot.com/2011/11/is-there-message-in-this-medium.html

Fissures and Fractures by Andrea Myers

Designing and installing a hidden outdoor public art piece calls for some creative problem solving.

Andrea Myers, an instructor in Foundation Studies, was up for the challenge of hiding —and weatherproofing — Fissures and Fractures, her first outdoor artwork. It is part of a project that takes visitors on tours of central Ohio parks through geochaching or letterboxing.

The Dublin Art Council’s project, Ripple Effect: Artistic Impact of the Scioto River, was started in 2007. Myers is one of three artists to recently install hidden artwork that has to do with tributaries to the river in central Ohio parks. Like the other nine works in the project, hers is designed to engage participants to use maps or GPS coordinates along with clues to find riverboxes placed in Dublin’s parks.

“I had to use creative problem solving, how to make something weatherproof,” she said. The public-art aspect also added challenges to the creative process because Myers pieces usually are made to be in a gallery and not touched. People who locate the riverboxes need access to the stamp and journal used in the geocaching search.

After visiting Homestead Park at the start of her involvement, Myers was inspired to do a rock formation that might be found around the park’s pond. She researched different Ohio rock formations, which led her to an abundance of Ohio’s slate. Similarly to layers that often are utilized in Myers’ work, slate rock also has layers.

Additional coverage of Myers involvement with the project and the recent installation is at ThisWeek.com and Dispatch.com.

132nd Annual Student Exhibition

It is tradition for CCAD to end its academic year with a spectacular exhibition that reflects the best student art and design work created during the previous 12 months.

On Friday, May 13^th we open SHOW the 132^nd Annual Student Exhibition, and even after 132 years, there is always a surprise or two.

One exciting new addition to this year’s SHOW is the MFA exhibition. CCAD’s recently launched graduate program, Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts: New Projects, will showcase the first year of work by the 11-member MFA class of 2012.

“It’s exciting because many of these graduate students are venturing out of their comfort zones,” said Graduate Studies Director Ric Petry. “They are taking risks and exploring new territory. We are finishing year one of a two-year program, so many of the works seen in the exhibition are setting the stage for what will be developed in their final thesis projects next year.”

MFA works, which will be exhibited on the second and third floors of Design Studios on Broad from 4-9 p.m. during the May 13 opening, include fiber arts, illustration, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and social/performance-based work.

Undergraduate work in the exhibition represents each of CCAD’s nine majors: Advertising & Graphic Design, Animation, Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Illustration, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Media Studies, and Photography.

While art and design work is presented throughout campus, the main Canzani Center Gallery comprises work by upper-level students who show a mastery of skill within their chosen disciplines. The Canzani Center will also be the focal point for Media Studies and Animation screenings, which are presented to a packed audience in the 400-seat auditorium from 6-8 p.m. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors are eligible to be considered for the opening night screenings.

“Each division has their own method for selecting work in the show,” explained Director of Student Exhibitions Tim Rietenbach. “But the approach is generally the same: All faculty members collect the best work from their classes, which is then reviewed by a smaller group of senior faculty who choose the final pieces for the show.”

Although the process for choosing work remains relatively the same, there are several new features at the opening night celebration. In addition to the MFA exhibition, the Acock galleries (on the second-floor of the Canzani Center) will house, for opening night only, examples of Foundation Studies interactive group projects. Also, for the first time, CCAD’s Fashion Show fundraising event will take place the night of the exhibition opening. In past years the fundraising event was hosted a week earlier, and on the night of the exhibition opening, a smaller-scale version of the fashion show was presented in the auditorium. This year the full production and event will take place on opening night.

“Moving the fashion event to the same night as the exhibition opening just made sense,” explained Vice President for Institutional Advancement Stephanie Hightower. “This is our signature event and we bring more than 700 people to campus. We want our guests to experience our whole creative community and to share in the excitement and celebration that comes with this time of year.”

While some things have changed, other traditions continue. Each year the three-dimensional Illustration class brings to the exhibition a fun and quirky crowd favorite. Last year it was pirate bears, in the past we’ve seen animatronic spiders, Alice in Wonderland, a monster classroom, and robots. This year they’re making  … well you’ll just have to come and see.

Find more details on the opening night schedule and event night parking on the event page.

Female Focus on WBNS

WBNS’s Female Focus segment, hosted by Andrea Cambern was all about CCAD’s 2011 Senior Fashion Show, Wednesday, April 27th. Featuring Fashion Design Instructor Richard Hurley and senior Sung Kim the show shined a spotlight on CCAD’s Fashion Design Program program, the May 13 event, and the enormous talent of CCAD students.

Check it out at on 10TV’s website.

There are still a handful of tickets avialable at www.ccad.edu/fashion.