Bill Hunt, professor of Fine Arts and Graduate Studies

Professor Bill Hunt will be a presenter at a national ceramists workshop at Wayne Center for the Arts in 2012.

Hunt, a professor of Fine Arts and Graduate Studies, will demonstrate and discuss larger-scale throwing on the potter’s wheel, wire-cut ceramics, and handmade tile production at the Functional Ceramics Workshop. The long-running educational event in Wooster, OH consists of a national invitational exhibition, workshop sessions, visual presentations, and sales opportunities.

Hunt’s presentation is scheduled for April 20 and 21, 2012. He will be joined by studio potter Malcolm Davis and Gail Kendall of the University of Nebraska as the three commentators demonstrate their skills.

Hunt’s studio work has been represented in numerous national and international exhibitions and collections, including the permanent collections of the Saga (Japan) Prefectural Art Museum, the Canton Museum of Art, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the American Museum of Ceramic Art.

Image from Julie Abijanac

Fine Arts alumna Julie Abijanac (CCAD 1992) has been accepted into The Studios of Key West Artist in Residency Program for summer 2012.

Abijanac is one of 25 residency artists from five countries and 20 different cities selected to advance the visual, performing and literary arts through an array of disciplines and mediums.

During the Key West program, Abijanac, an assistant professor of Foundation Studies, Media Studies, and Graduate Studies, will continue her work of the past few years on two dimensional paper pieces and digital drawings that address her personal experience with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

The disease, a cancer of the lymphatic system, has lead her through an investigation of its psychological aspects and, most recently, the microscopic patterning of the disease. She explores the patterning of what is seen in a ‘field stain’ of a blood specimen and applies a controlled application of line, value and positioning of multiple compositions and/or parts to create larger works. 

Abijanac said one of her goals for this opportunity is to give back to the Key West art community by providing work for an exhibition based on her time in the four-week residency. She hopes to create an installation for exhibit in the Armory Main Hall or in the TSKW Space 2.

Abijanac said a long-term goal is to venture into the world of installation. She will be on sabbatical during spring semester 2012 and then will participate in the residency program before returning to CCAD in the autumn to teach.

"Life on Uncle Howard's Farm" by Eric Homan

Several CCAD alumni and faculty received awards at the opening of this year’s Fine Arts Exhibition at the Ohio State Fair.

The exhibition, housed in the Cox Fine Arts Center on the fairgrounds in Columbus, showcases approximately 300 pieces of Ohio’s best artwork during the fair, which runs through Aug. 7.

In the professional category, Andrew Ina (CCAD 2006) received 2nd Best of Show ($1400) for “The Price of Greatness is Responsibility.” Carol Griffith, professor of Fine Arts and Graduate Studies and chair of painting at CCAD, received one of 10 Ohio Arts Council professional awards ($300) for “Conneaut Cycle-Blue Streak.”

Ina, who studied Fine Arts at CCAD, and two other alumni received awards for their short films. Ina’s “HOMEless” won Best of Show ($1,000) and Media Studies alumni Corey Aumiller (CCAD 2006) received 2nd Best of Show ($300) for “1926/1950/1984.” A Juror’s Choice Award ($100) went to Amanda H. Cook (CCAD 1999) for “Ink.” Aumiller also received a Greater Columbus Arts Council award ($250) for “Walls.” Film jurors were Susan Halpern and Chad Dull.

In addition to the award winners, other CCAD-affiliated artists had work accepted in the exhibition. The film division included “Self Portrait as Marlon Brando” by Cook, who majored in Illustration, and “Columbus Lights” and “Life on Uncle Howard’s Farm” by Eric Homan (CCAD 1998). Homan is an assistant professor of Media Studies at CCAD.

The exhibition’s professional category included work by Fine Arts alumni Brandon Antczak (CCAD 2007) and Adam Brouillette (CCAD 2002) as well as faculty members Carol Borham-Hays, an adjunct instructor of Liberal Arts, and John Kortlander, a professor of Fine Arts and Graduate Studies.

A complete listing of artists and works in the Fine Arts Exhibition is at theohiostatefairfineartsexhibition.blogspot.com.

A reception is 4-6 p.m. Sunday, July 24 in the Geh8 studio of Julian-Norton, an assistant professor of Fine Arts and Graduate Studies, and Studio42 collaborator Tarrah Krajnak. A brief artists’ talk starts at 5 p.m in the Dresden facility.

Their performance-based projects explore the struggle of the artist within a contemporary context and the process of collaboration itself. Invented characters are mined from the history of conceptual performance art and popular film then displaced within absurd narratives, which reference the artist at work, the psychology of relationships, and the tension of meaning and meaninglessness as a central dilemma.

The duo’s work recently was reviewed by Nadja Sayej, the host and producer of ArtStars*, a web-TV show about the art world and a New York Times writer.

Savej describes Studio42′s stop-motion video “The Stairs That Do Not Care” (2011) as “showing the artists falling down a flight eerie, spiraling black iron stairs donning white pantyhose, cotton dresses, falling down backwards from the tip of the Technical Museum in the heart of cloudy Dresden, a small German town just two hours south of Berlin. They could very well be stunt actors – and they’ve got the bruises to prove it, not to mention their feet powdered with dirt and dust.”

Read the full article here.

Retirement (Un)planned by Carol Griffith

Carol Griffith, a Fine Arts and Graduate Studies professor, has paintings in two upcoming juried exhibitions.

Griffith’s Retirement (Un)Planned is part of the Ohio Art League 100th Annual Spring Juried Exhibition at the Columbus Main Library May 6 through June 24. An opening reception is 6-8 p.m. Thursday, May 12 in the library’s Carnegie Gallery, 96 S. Grant Ave. Todd Slaughter served as juror.

Later in the year, Griffith’s Ferris Wheel at Dusk can be seen in Youngstown, OH at the 75th National Midyear Show at the Butler Institute of American Art. The painting is one of her Conneaut Cycle series. The exhibition opens Sunday, June 26 and closes Sunday, Aug. 28. The exhibition juror is Gary T. Erbe, a New Jersey painter, historian and curator.

Griffith is CCAD’s chair of Painting.

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.

High-fire stoneware vase thrown and assembled by Bill Hunt

Bill Hunt, a professor in Fine Arts and Graduate Studies, will show his latest ceramics at the historic Bear’s Mill in Greenville, OH.

An artists reception will be held 6–9 p.m. Friday, April 29. The exhibition, which includes rustic furniture by Liz Hunt and paintings by Micheline Daeman, runs through May 22.

Hunt’s recent sabbatical influenced his work in the exhibition. His new direction moves from porcelain to high-fired stoneware—some with overglaze enamels and gold luster.

“After eight months and 19,000 miles of travel looking for art and inspiration around the United States, my work is in an exciting state of transition. I produce decorative forms but always with a functional purpose,” Hunt said.

Lisa Dent, adjunct graduate faculty member

By Lisa Dent

One beautiful day in the fall of 2010, I sat with eleven other people around a table on the third floor of CCAD’s Design Studios on Broad. Only recently acquainted with each person and unfamiliar with their background and knowledge, I scanned the room for signs of interest, apathy, or fear. All seemed present. I passed out copies of Roland Barthes’s essay “To the Seminar” and told them we would be reading this out loud together and then would discuss it for the next three hours. More confused looks. I officially started to love my new job.

As part of the requirements for CCAD’s new MFA program, students participate in my theory and criticism seminar. I prepare a list of required readings that will allow us to participate for several months in weekly discussions about the ideas that have inspired artists over the last 100 years. Scratching the surface of critical thinking about Western art is the goal. My hope is that each student will be inspired to discover more readings on his or her own later.

But first, they have to get through the ones I assign. By reading the Barthes essay together, I hoped to guide them through how this could go. I’d be less of a drill sergeant, more of a guide dog. Wait, now I’m a Labrador retriever? In any case, I looked to the great French literary theorist for a place to start. In his essay, Barthes proposes a scenario whereby all members of a seminar are on equal footing. The instructor, though sitting at the head of the table, does not have all the answers. We read through the essays together and find a way through them. There will be excitement, disappointment, and change. Although I’ve read these essays many times, I can still only look at them through my own knowledge and experience. How can I know what will come up for each of you? Together we will make this room a safe haven. Here we can talk, read, laugh, cry, argue, and confide in each other.

As I anticipated, the frustration soon revealed itself through a series of attempts to get me to shift my position. “Could you do a presentation with images of these artists’ works for us to see?” No, use the library. Keep reading and bring your thoughts to class. “I’m afraid that I’m not getting any of this at all. I’m so confused.” Of course you are. Keep reading. See you next week. I said in my first email to the class: sometimes you have to feel the burn.

So where do we find ourselves in relation to all of this theory six months later? I couldn’t tell you for sure. All of us are thinking about it every week. See how that worked? How fun is that?

Lisa Dent is an adjunct graduate faculty member at CCAD and the associate curator of contemporary art at the Columbus Museum of Art. In 1992 she was a Helena Rubenstein Fellow at the Museum of Modern Art and subsequently held curatorial positions at the New Museum of Contemporary Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, where she completed its independent study program. Afterward, she was director of the Friedrich Petzel Gallery in New York and worked as a freelance writer, art critic, and scenic designer. She has taught modern art history and design at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and the University of California, Davis, and owned a gallery in San Francisco.

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.

Image by Danielle Julian Norton

The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) recently announced that Danielle Julian Norton, an assistant professor of Fine Arts and Graduate Studies, is the recipient of an Individual Excellence Award.

OAC’s excellence awards are peer recognition of creative artists for the exceptional merit of a body of work that advances or exemplifies the discipline and the larger artistic community. The awards support artists’ growth and development and recognize their work in Ohio and beyond in 13 different disciplines.

“OAC is an amazing, supportive resource for artists and the imaginative,” Julian Norton said. “OAC staff genuinely care for Ohio artists, and I would not be the artist I am today with their support.”

Julian Norton (CCAD, 1999) is one of 32 Individual Excellence Award recipients announced in 2011. “The council has been essential to building my career as an artist,” the alumna said. She credits CCAD and OAC with generating a productive creative culture, education, and economy. “I feel lucky to be here,” she said.

OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.

Suite42, a collaboration of Tarrah Krajnak and Danielle Julian Norton

An exhibition highlighting recent recipients of the Greater Columbus Arts Council’s fellowship and residency awards includes an assistant professor of Fine Arts and Graduate Studies.

Work by Danielle Julian Norton (CCAD 1999) and Michael Hays, who will both spend several weeks in Dresden, Germany as residency artists, is to be shown April 29–July 3 at the Columbus Museum of Art. Participating Individual Artist Fellowship awardees include Mary Jo Bole, Jill Gallenstein, Lynda McClanahan, and Steven Thurston.

“CMA is excited to be able to give the Columbus community an opportunity to view the work of these artists,” said Lisa Dent, the museum’s associate curator of contemporary art who also serves as CCAD adjunct graduate faculty. “The variety and caliber of their art practices show the range and wealth of artistic ideas in our city.”

The Venerable Geshe Kalsang Damdul (Gesha la) blesses CCAD's MFA space

The Venerable Geshe Kalsang Damdul (Gesha la) completed a two-day visit to Columbus College of Art & Design, speaking to students and blessing the new Master’s of Fine Arts (MFA) space.

On Monday, Oct. 25, students, faculty, and community members came together for an event that filled Canzani Auditorium to capacity. In his presentation, Enjoying the Path, Geshe La focused on learning through reasoning and logic and drew analogies to modern day dilemmas.

“Growth comes in three stages of wisdom: studying, contemplation, and experience. This sequence is engaged in the present moment. If your mind wanders to the past or future, you have lost focus and mindfulness.”

He continued, “If you have [so much] homework, take a breath and sit silently for a moment. Don’t spoil the end result with overexertion and rigidness. Casually open your heart and mind; this allows peace and happiness to dawn inside you.”

At the conclusion of the program, Geshe la invited audience members to place their art-making tools on stage for a personal blessing. Participants watched quietly as the rhythmic prayer was directed toward an array of SLR cameras, graphite pencils, sketch pads, and glass blowing instruments.

“We believe that the deities are here to witness,” said Geshe la. “[During the blessing], we request that they protect the objects, that they serve as their guardians. We also say a series of auspicious prayers for the auspiciousness of them.”

Geshe la’s visit to CCAD continued Tuesday, Oct. 26, during a luncheon and blessing at the new MFA space on the third floor of Design Studios on Broad.

The Rev. Tim Ahrens, First Congregational Church, joined Geshe la in his blessing of the MFA space. “My blessing is that all that happens here is blessed, combines the best of the human spirit, and gives back to all of us,” said Ahrens after the traditional Buddhist blessing.

“You’ve done a remarkable thing for us,” said CCAD President Denny Griffith. “It’s an unusual moment for an art school to have a world religious leader on campus, and we appreciate your presence, wisdom, and humor.”

Working directly under his Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama, Geshe la is the assistant director of the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala, India. He has traveled throughout Europe and the US and has taught at Portland (Oregon) State University as a visiting Tibetan Scholar.

Geshe La is teaching Tibetan Culture and Buddhism at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio through Nov. 3.

The event runs Sept. 22 – Oct. 10, 2010 and includes prize money totaling $449,000. Julian-Norton’s mixed-media entry, How can I love you if you won’t lie down, is showing at Campau Square Plaza, 99 Monroe Ave. NW. Her competition profile is available at www.ArtPrize.org.

Voting for all ArtPrize participants is Sept. 22-Sept. 29; voting for the top 10 finalists is Sept. 30-Oct. 6. Winners will be announced Oct. 7. Details about ArtPrize voting requirements are available here.

Students outside of CCAD's Canzani Center

Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) opened its 132^nd school year with 1,385 students, an 8 percent increase over projections.

“I’m very happy that our fall enrollment substantially exceeded our expectations,” said CCAD President Dennison W. Griffith. “Like many other institutions in its competitive cohort, CCAD slightly increased the amount of money awarded via scholarships and need-based aid in our efforts to secure a more robust class”

An example of the caliber of students in the incoming freshman class is one who got a shout out in the September issue of NYLON Guys magazine. Charlie Malta creates what the magazine describes as the “best custom sneakers we’ve seen.”

With the launch of its Master of Fine Arts program, CCAD enrolled the largest group of international students in its history, including 23 international students from 15 countries. The incoming class also includes students from 24 states (plus Puerto Rico). Seventy-four percent of students are from Ohio.

The 11 MFA students hail from four states, with one international graduate student from Qatar. New, custom-designed MFA studios, offices, and seminar rooms are housed in the 8,500-sq.-ft. third floor of CCAD’s Design Studios on Broad. The dedication of the MFA space will take place on October 26.

To read the full press release go to www.ccad.edu.

Foundations-3 by Christopher A. Yates

Meditations: Christopher A. Yates continues through Sept. 12 at Ohio Wesleyan University, Gallery 2011, Beeghly Library, 43 Rowland Ave., in Delaware, OH.

Yates, associate professor, Fine Arts and Graduate Studies, chair, Foundation Studies, will hold a closing gallery talk at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 9. A reception will follow.

Gallery hours are 8-2 a.m. Monday-Thursday; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; and 11-2 a.m. Sunday.

Yates majored in Fine Arts at CCAD as a member of the class of 1987.