Dennison W. Griffith

With students and faculty returning to campus refreshed from summer and ready for new challenges, fall is always an exciting time to be at CCAD. This year, our curriculum and facilities are reenergized, too, as the two-school administrative structure and the new CCAD MindMarket take their first steps.

CCAD’s role as the critical link between raw creative talent and the ever-growing, ever-changing creative economy is clearer and more vital than ever. We continue to focus on artistic and design excellence, but with an increased emphasis on the kinds of skills that can only be developed with a healthy dose of business education. We know this will be a key differentiator for CCAD graduates in the years ahead, and we’re on it!

Just look at the stories in this issue:

• Project-based education, where students work with clients to formulate real-life creative solutions outside the classroom, is a big part of a CCAD education—and getting bigger. Read more here.
• Photography alumna Anna Dickson (CCAD 2004) demonstrates how today’s economy is offering more and more avenues to creative professionals who keep their eyes open and their skills current. Read more here.
• Well-loved (and well-respected) faculty member emeritus Curtis Benzle is using his retirement to find new outlets for his teaching and new directions for his art. Read more here.

One last thing. Each fall, the worldwide CCAD community comes together to support students with our annual fund drive. Every single dollar you invest in our mission has real impact—for today’s CCAD students and tomorrow’s creative world. I hope you’ll join us. Please use the online donation form to make your investment today.

Warm regards,

Dennison W. Griffith

President

To check out the online print version of IMAGE, click here.

Dennison W. Griffith. Photo by Kelsey McClellan (CCAD 2012)

It’s spring (SPRING!) here in Columbus, and another academic year will soon draw to a close. For our seniors and second-year MFA candidates, the exhilaration and satisfaction of their rapidly approaching graduation is balanced by an awareness that they’re about to step from the academic community back into the community community—which almost certainly will include some form of gainful employment.

But at an art and design college, that’s the whole point. No one enrolls here just to enhance a hobby. With that in mind, we focus this issue of Image on the “j” word: jobs.

• Two 2011 grads, Phong Nguyen and Kristen Macauley, share stories of their lives as creative professionals just starting out in Boston and New York [go to story].
• Thomas Boonyarungsrit (CCAD 2005) talks about how he zeroed in on his favorite field of design—and what it’s been like to return to his hometown of Bangkok to do it [go to story].
• And in the Newest of the New category: You’ve heard mutterings—or perhaps even our formal announcement—about CCAD MindMarket, CCAD’s impending initiative to prepare students for work and entrepreneurship opportunities after graduation. The full MindMarket launch won’t occur until this fall, but we’re offering you a sneak peek right now at two CCAD alumni who are giving MindMarket’s creative business incubator a test drive. The “giving back” is flowing every which way on this one [go to story].

One last thing: every spring, we happily thank our donors in a special section of Image. This spring is no exception, but we’ve upped the CCAD family ante with a student contest to create a feature graphic that says “thanks” in a visual way, too. Don’t miss the great result on page 22 [in the printed magazine, or click here to see the graphic online].

Warm regards,

Dennison W. Griffith

President

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

President Griffith builds a site-specific installation on the quad.

It’s good to be president—especially if you’re president of Columbus College of Art & Design, you’re also an artist, and you have the impulse to create a site-specific installation on the campus quad.

CCAD President Dennison W. Griffith recently completed a snow fence sculpture on the quad, which will be in place until spring.

The installation was built over two days and is the seventh such piece Griffith has undertaken in the last several decades. Construction of the sculptures is fairly improvisational, and largely driven by observation and responses to the sites where they are installed.

“In the case of the CCAD piece, I have been gazing at the quad from my office here on the second floor of the Canzani Center,” said Griffith. “There is a gently curving seat wall that bisects the quad, which is surrounded by a bed of crushed, brick-red, gravel-like material. The general arc of the CCAD piece and the way it is perforated near its midpoint, with a break that one can walk through, are meant to generally mirror the seat wall.”

Griffith and a crew of students laced together the snow fencing to form undulating waves that work with the natural rise and fall of the surrounding grounds.

“The piece uses the elevation to good effect, and this elevation is amplified by the ever-higher stacking of shorter fence pieces,” said Griffith.  “At that focal point the fence functions less organically than the surrounding sections, and it begins to compare itself more to the adjacent architecture. Thus, this piece lives a bit in both the natural and architectural worlds.”

With the plan to leave the piece up through the winter, Griffith hopes students and visitors will come and stroll through it.

“This was fun to do, and it was really satisfying to have a number of students pitch in to help,” said Griffith. “I’m eager to see it covered in snow and melding seamlessly with the snow on the ground around it. However, it’s also satisfying to see how, both at ground level and seen from the upper floors of surrounding buildings, the red of the snow fence echoes the red of the decorative gravel bed nearby.”

Griffith’s first snow fence piece was an indoor installation in the Short North, Columbus’s arts district. He has done outdoor pieces in Amesville, OH (just outside of Athens); in Cleveland at Edgewater Park; in Mentor, OH, at the Holden Arboretum; at ArtPark in Lewiston, NY, and at SUNY Buffalo (when it was Buffalo State College.)