Academic News


Former MCAD student Joe Heffron of St. Paul has been chosen to create the Official 2012 Minnesota State Fair Commemorative Art. For the second year, the State Fair put out a call for submissions asking Minnesota artists to apply to create the commemorative art. Heffron was selected as one of five finalists from nearly 50 submissions and was just named the Official Artist. Other finalists were Christine Dyrud, Keith Grove, Michael Jacobsen and Bruce Nygren. Heffron's final piece will be unveiled at the State Fairgrounds in June 2012.


MCAD alum Mike Kooiman (Post-Baccalaureate '04) led the redesign of the City Pages news weekly. An article on the City Pages website reads:


Ulana Zahajkewycz (Illustration '03) participated in two shows during summer 2011, "Utopia/Dystopia: The Shadow and the Light" at Lunar Boy Gallery in Astoria, Oregon, and the juried show Phillustration 2011 at the Philadelphia Sketch Club in Phildelphia, PA. Zahajkewycz' work "Zephyr" received a 2nd place award in the editorial category.

Zahajkewycz' new show titled "Obsessions" opened in February at the Lunar Boy Gallery.


Congratulations to Jake Yuzna (Filmmaking '05) for receiving a Creative Capital film grant. This year, 46 projects were selected from 3,247 submissions. For the 2012 grantees, Creative Capital will provide up to $50,000 in direct project funding, plus advisory services valued at more than $40,000.

Yuzna's project is a coming of age story of a first generation Somali immigrant high-school girl in Minneapolis.


Congratulations to Christopher Sullivan (Fine Arts '83) for receiving a Creative Capital film grant. This year, 46 projects were selected from 3,247 submissions. For the 2012 grantees, Creative Capital will provide up to $50,000 in direct project funding, plus advisory services valued at more than $40,000.

Sullivan's project is a hand-drawn, animated feature about characters in two different worlds connected by unlikely threads.


Cher Fischer

Ashland Creek Press is delighted to announce the publication of a mystery novel by MCAD alum Cheryl Fischer ('80). Fischer's captivating debut novel, FALLING INTO GREEN (forthcoming in May), is the first in an eco-mystery series featuring psychologist Dr. Esmeralda Green. We’re also delighted that a pilot for a TV series is currently being developed based on the characters in the book.


Emily Sheehan has a show "Drawing on Experience" running from January 9 - January 31 at Indiana University Southeast, New Albany, IN.


Mike Sgier

Mike Sgier '08 had a comic featured in the Philadelphia City Paper's annual comics issue (published December 1, 2011). The comic was also chosen as 'best-in-show' by guest editor Art Baxter.

Additional Information


Amy Sands was a Juror at the 2011 Metris Uptown Art Fair in Minneapolis.

Sands will also be a part of a collaborative installation titled "Recall" at the Pratt Institute in New York.


Nicholas Reti 2012

Encounter the whimsical spirit of winter through this energetic exhibition of oil paintings by MCAD alum Nicholas Reti (Painting '01). Caught in the Crested Butte, Colorado snow-globe, Reti illuminates the fascinating forms created by snow on familiar objects and local landscapes. The exhibition is opening at Oh Be Joyful Gallery on January 26, and runs through February 22.

Online gallery at: http://gallery.me.com/ohbejoyfulgallery#100501


Quodlibetica's latest constellation, The Icy Issue, has launched!

This time contributors include One Room Schoolhouse, Salon Saloon's very own Andy Sturdevant, art historian Marsha Olson, critic Mason Riddle, as well as the usual suspects--Thomas O. Haakenson, Lightsey Darst and Christina Schmid.

What to expect:


Rebholz

Bill Rebholz' illustration was published in The Isthmus, which is Madison's version of City Pages.

Additional Information:


Chris Rand Metalsmithing

Chris Rand's (BFA Furniture '00) metalwork was selected to appear in a new book from Schiffer Publishing titled Ironwork Today 3: Inside and Out. The book showcases the work of over 70 artists from across the United States and Canada. Chris' work is featured on four pages in this 256 page book. He creates custom designed metalwork for architects, residents and churches upon commission.


Liz Plahn (BFA Graphic Design '09) was promoted to Senior Designer at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) after working as Junior Designer since 2009.


Christy Oates "Crane Chair"

Christy Oates (Furniture '06) has three pieces in a group show at the Renwick Gallery in Washington DC in July. Oates' work will join work from 39 other artists in an exhibition entitled "40 Under 40". The exhibition celebrates the Renwick's 40th Anniversary, and will tour the nation. Upon its return, the "Crane Chair" (also in the exhibition) will be added to the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.


Adam Michaels "The Electric Information Age Book"

“The Electric Information Age Book,” by Adam Michaels (a co-founder of Project Projects) and Jeffrey Schnapp (the faculty director of Harvard’s MetaLAB) is the third installment in the “Inventory Books” series, which seeks “to advance the role of design as an integrated force in book editing and production ... as a means of revitalizing the space of the book to present critical content in an accessible, engaging format.”

 

See the original article on Imprint


Marc Manke '11 "Untitled"
Raina Belleau '11 "Dignity in Dexterity"

The work of Marc Manke (BFA Sculpture '11) and Raina Belleau (BFA Sculpture '11) was included in the "Art on the Plains XI" exhibition at the Plains Art Museum. The show was juried by Hesse McGraw, curator for the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, NB, and assistent director of Max Protech Gallery in NYC. Marc was awarded an honorable mention and Raina placed third for her coffee-toting bear in the juried exhibition.


Dr. Anna Tahinci delivered a paper in French on "Athènes-Paris et les élèves grecs de Bourdelle" ("Athens-Paris and Bourdelle's Greek students") at the "Paris-Athens The Double Journey 1919-1939" international conference at the Benaki Museum in Athens, Greece on January 20. The conference was recorded and will be available on http://www.blod.gr/default.aspx. The papers of the conference will be published in a special volume in 2013.


The publishing house of Peter Lang Oxford is proud to announce that it will begin publishing in 2012 a book series, Studies in German Visual Culture, co-edited by Dr. Thomas O. Haakenson, Chair and Professor of Liberal Arts at MCAD, and Dr. Deborah Ascher Barnstone, of Washington State University. The first volume in the series, Representations of German Identity in Visual Culture, is slated to appear in fall 2012.


Robert Hoffman (Graphic Design '80) received the following awards as Animation Director of MotiveStudios.

World Fest Remi Awards, Short Web Video, Gold Award, 1/15/11

World Fest Remi Awards, Short Web Video, Silver Award, 1/15/11

HeSCA Media Festival, Short Web Video, Gold Award, 2/28/11

Telly Awards, Short Web Video, Bronze Award, 3/04/11

Hermes Creative Awards, Short Web Video, Certificate, 3/12/11

Mature Media Awards, Short Web Video, Gold Award, 3/31/11


Andy DuCett

Andy DuCett was accepted into the Viewing Program at the Drawing Center in New York City. Ducett was also commissioned to do a drawing for the Walker Art Center, for use in their "First Free Saturday" program. Finally, DuCett's work was published in a book on contemporary collage, by Laurence King Publishing.

Link: http://www.drawingcenter.org/viewingprogram/index.cfm


Dan Lund (BFA Animation '89) is an animator with Disney and was just nominated for an ANNIE award. ANNIE awards are the "Academy Awards" for animation.


Catherine Kennedy

Catherine Kennedy's (BFA Sculpture '05) exhibition titled "Contemporary Journeys: Installation Art" opened at the UW-Parkside Foundation Gallery on Januray 17 and ran through February 9.

About the exhibition:


Monica Haller received a $55,000 grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board for the development of the second half of the Veterans Book Project. The Veterans Book Project is a library authored by people experiencing the current American wars, by expanding participation to those not yet represented in the library, and by training the next generation of workshop leaders. 

Link: http://www.arts.state.mn.us/grants/2012/2012-awarded-aa.htm