Tyler Graduate lands in CMYK Magazine

Recent Tyler GAID Graduate Nick Dunlap will be featured in CMYK Magazine‘s 53rd quarterly.  His restaurant identity design for “Truckstop, a restaurant specializing in classic American roadside cuisine.” will be part of their Freshest Creatives feature.  Nick was mentored in this project by instructor Keith Somers.

The Freshest Creative Hand-Picked by the Best in the Business, is CMYK Magazine‘s quarterly Call For Aspiring Creatives is open to emerging artists across the globe in the fields of art direction, copywriting, design, photography and illustration. Each issue of CMYK Magazine features as many as 100 selections from more than 80 art-design students attending over 30 of the world’s leading art-design schools, departments and workshops. Every piece is selected for print by the industry’s most influential creative professionals.

Tyler Students win Carpet Design Competition

Tia Bianchini and Caleigh Stednitz, Grand Prize Winning Design, Fauna Category

Fibers and Material Studies area students Tia Bianchini and Caleigh Stednitz were announced as the grand winners in the Fauna category and will have their design woven by the Langhorne Carpet Company. Kate Corcoran and Ashley Rodriguez Reed were announced as second place winners in the Flora category and received a cash prize.

The winning patterns, which will kick off Langhorne’s Conservation Collection, was revealed to the public last night and will ultimately be woven by the legendary Bucks County mill and sold to customers around the world. Winning teams receive cash prizes and non-profit organizations, including the Philadelphia Zoo and Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, will share in all sales proceeds for the benefit of conservation education.

Twenty teams of students representing six area colleges and art institutes submitted original designs as part of the rigorous competition that began eight months ago. Their research included site visits to the legendary carpet mill in Penndel, as well as special tours of the Zoo and Philadelphia Flower Show. Among the competition’s numerous creative and technical criteria, the teams were required to submit at least one pattern evocative of the fragile plant kingdom and another representing the world of threatened wildlife. In addition, they needed to demonstrate that their proposed carpet designs could be woven on the mill’s Jacquard Wilton looms – the gold standard of global carpet making dating back to 18th century England using hand-cut punch cards to “program” the looms. The panel of judges will also take into consideration the market appeal of the designs and input from representatives of the Zoo and Horticultural Society.

Bill Morrow, Langhorne’s President and a member of its founding family, has personally provided the nearly 50 student designers an in depth behind-the-scenes mill tour. “Every student has been intensely interested in our dedication to the time honored methods of Jacquard Wilton weaving and use of the finest wool. As one of the remaining mills of its kind in the U.S., we are as excited as the students and honored to sponsor this competition, “ said Morrow. “Every team will have a great addition to their portfolio upon graduation as a result of the competition and the winners will forever be able to boast they have their own line.”

Judges included Philadelphia decorator Bennett Weinstock, an Architectural Digest Top 100 member; New York-based designer Alex Papachristidis, Elle Décor “A List“ member, and Hilary Jay, Executive Director, DesignPhiladelphia.

Design teams represent: Philadelphia University, Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Drexel University, Arcadia University, University of the Arts, and Art Institute of Philadelphia.

More about Langhorne Carpets is can be found at:
http://langhornecarpets.wordpress.com/
http://www.langhornecarpets.com/

Alternative Knowledge Access

Working together to create an atmosphere for free expression and self knowledge.

Tyler Art students Elisa Mosley and Amy Borch, students in Professor Pepon Osario‘s Community Arts class, initiated a “community intervention” on the front lawn of Tyler School of Art during the Annual Student Show.  Made of reclaimed and salvaged material, the space was designed to, according to Mosley and Borch, “allow students, faculty, and community at large members to lead discussions and teach-ins on various topics.”  They noted that “Lately there have been many student organizations that have emerged from the Occupy Movement, but we don’t feel protests are enough to fully realize the potential people have when they come together to change things; especially education.”

During its time at Tyler, the temporary space hosted, among other things,

• Buddhist Meditation with Professor Vishma Kunu
• Schooled, a discussion about alternative art schools vs. traditional art schools, hosted by grad student Suzanne Seesman and Professor Philip Glahn
• Potluck Student Organizing and Activism Workshop with students from Rutgers University
• Break Dance and Hoop Jam hosted by the B-Boys
• Jam Night with John Mann
• Self-Defense class with Amanda Nardone
• a Rust and Compost Printing Workshop with Sienna Martz
• free painting sessions held by Elisa and Amy

It also served as an impromptu discussion space and hangout.  As the students noted, “If more places like this existed more people would feel accepted, more children would be able to nurture soul expanding curiosities and more people would be making art! “

There’s been quite a bit of buzz about this project.  You can read more at

• The Official AKA Tumbler Page
• The Philadelphia Inquirer
• Philly.com video by Charles Fox
• The Temple News

Congratulations on a great project, and on garnering the great press for Tyler!

Amber Cowan on the Cover of Glass Line Magazine!

Glass Professor Sharyn O’Mara writes:  Amber Cowan, MFA Glass 2011 and adjunct faculty in Glass, has been awarded the prestigious international Stephen Proctor Fellowship in Canberra, Australia.

She is also on the cover of the new Glass Line magazine, and featured in an article in the publication.

And, she is one of only eight invitational finalists for a prestigious invitational residency at the Toldeo Art Museum to commemorate one of the most significant historic events in the American Glass Movement.

We are all thrilled for Amber and to share this news.

Exciting News About Tyler Alumnus Dean Daderko

In light of his exciting new position, Daderko spoke to Robert Blackson, Director of Tyler’s Exhibition and Public Programs Department, about his curatorial philosophy. In conversation Daderko explained that it is complicated for him to “articulate the difference between [his] creative career and personal ethics” as he views the two as deeply interrelated. But, it is because of this meaningful relationship that he has gone into curatorial work. Such work, Daderko says, can be viewed as, “a way to ask questions in an intentionally public forum. It’s not about providing better answers, but about asking better questions.”

Since earning his BFA in Sculpture, Daderko has worked within the art  world in a variety of roles, and is perhaps best known for his curatorial work. In addition to Parlour Projects, his five year transformation of a spare room in his Williamsburg apartment into one of the most adventurous curatorial projects in New York, he has curated exhibits nationally and internationally for Vox Populi in Philadelphia, and in Argentina, Canada, and Lithuania. He is also credited with being one of the first curators to work with artists Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla, the 2011 United States delegates at the Venice Biennale. Most recently, he has joined the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston as Curator (www.camh.org). His first show at CAMH is scheduled to open in May of 2012 and will address the presence of the readymade in contemporary artistic practice, and will attempt to recuperate some of the radicality of Duchamp’s initial gesture by showing work by artists who use the readymade’s simple materiality and economy of means to address a diversity of social, political, aesthetic and temporal issues.

Students and Recent Grad Featured on Graphic Design Site

(artwork: Theresa Decker)

2 Tyler Senior Graphic Design students, Theresa Decker and Kelly Thorn, and recent graduate Christine McMahon, had their work featured in the last several weeks on DesignWorkLife, a creative blog that features a different graphic design work each day. The blog was estab­lished to cat­a­log and share design-centric inspiration. Design­WorkLife is a part of Seamless Creative, a New York City-based design stu­dio. You can see the posts here:

Theresa Decker

Kelly Thorn

Christine McMahon

Tyler PhD Candidate Not Just a Scholar!

Tyler Art History PhD candidate and singer-songwriter Brian Seymour released his fourth album last week.  This is his first album in 6 years, but he has not been just sitting around writing songs.  He also serves as the Chair of the Art Department of the Community College of Philadelphia, and has earned his MA in Art History at Tyler.  You can read more about his album release at The Key.com or you can read more about him and listen to some sample songs on his website at www.brianseymour.com.

Temple Art Education Faculty and Students Participate in an International Colloquium

On September 30, 2011, an international virtual exchange, Contemporary Issues in Art Education: Practice and Theory Colloquium, occurred between Graduate students at Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, USA and Doctoral students at ELTE University, Budapest, Hungary. Four presenters from each University presented their research study. Prior to the virtual seminar, students exchanged their powerpoint presentations, abstracts and references. At the time of presentations, Skype was used to broadcast the seminar internationally. The colloquium was facilitated by Dr. Lisa Kay and Dr. Andrea Karpati. More information can be found at www.tylerarteducation.blogspot.com.

Dr. Lisa Kay is an Assistant Professor in  Art/Art Education/Visual Studies at Temple University/Tyler School of Art and a Fulbright Scholar to Hungary, 2011-2012.  Dr. Andrea Karpati is a Professor at the Centre for Science Communication/UNESCO Chair for Multimedia in Education, ELTE and Fulbright Scholar to the USA, 2009-2010.  Photo above is of Dr. Lisa Kay and the Temple University, Tyler School of Art MEd Graduate Student Presenters: Jasmeen Rekhi (Teaching Multiculturalism through Photoshop Layers: An Intersection of Technology and Art Education), Lindsay Sparagana (Collaborative Learning in an Arts-based Community/University Partnership), Kelly Steinlage (Is silence golden? Talking about Controversial Topics with Early Adolescents in the Art Room) and Courtney Todd (Characteristics of a Rich Art Program for children with Autism in a Museum Setting).

Daniel Roman, MFA Candidate in Painting, In Frieze Magazine

Bernardo da Bicci, 'Let This be a Space of Light, Beauty and Truth’
installation view (2011) (From Frieze Magazine)

Daniel Roman is an MFA candidate at Tyler in painting.  His alter ego, Bernardo da Bicci, had a solo show in Rome this past summer, which was recently reviewed by Mike Watson in Frieze Magazine, a prestigious international art journal.  You can read the full review here, but here’s a taste:

Da Bicci presents an interesting constellation between art, politics and mysticism, a feat which can only be all-consuming for the artist himself. Indeed, one cannot be sure quite where the artist – who was born in Chicago to Mexican immigrant parents – is heading, such are the diverse ranges of references within his work and his enigmatic nature. Yet the boldness of the installation at extraspazio heralds the emergence of a talent for whom the resolution of various disparate elements may contribute a social significance which goes far beyond the evident personal psychical development of the artist.

Erica Prince at The Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts

Erica Prince, an MFA Candidate in Painting, is participating in a major juried show of MFA Candidates at various regional institutions which explores the role of art education while asking the question: What does it mean to have an MFA?  You can see the Exhibit at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts in Wilmington, Delaware from this Friday, October 7 through February 5, 2012.  Admission to the center is free.

From the official description of the exhibit: In contrast to an exhibition that seeks to find the next Art Star, Masters of the Visual Universe explores the constellation of artistic mediums, concepts, and practices rotating around 2011. Drawing upon themes of mastery in art, Masters of the Visual Universe probes the notion of art education, aesthetics and display. Conventionally, Masters of Fine Arts programs train graduate students to gain control of a particular medium such as painting or sculpture, and monumental thesis exhibitions like biennials strive to showcase the “best” examples of art under a particular theme. Such traditions in art have long been critiqued through a postmodern lens, yet these practices still persist in the art world and academia. Masters of the Visual Universe questions whether educational mastery in and of art is still a fact or a science fiction relic in the eyes of many young artists today. The exhibition also queries if an MFA Biennial can adequately reflect an awareness of all of the art being made in MFA programs in this geographic region. The viewer is asked to form his or her own opinion of educational traditions and museological practice today. Masters of the Visual Universe explores how recent graduate students and MFA candidates approach aesthetic traditions in ways that go beyond the creation of precious objects to mine the gallery of ideas as a free and galactic space.

Mollie, a curatorial intern at the DCCA, interviewed Erica about her work, and posted it on the DCCA blog.  Here’s an excerpt from the blog:

Q: tell me a little bit about the ideas behind your work and what you hope to convey to your audience. How would you describe your art to someone who had never seen it?

EP:A lot of the ideas behind my work are focused around the idea of the utopian society. I think it’s important for art to be able to explore utopian ideals because that’s the only place they can exist. The primary piece that I am showing, Permission Granted, has 35 images in a grid installation. It contains imagery of architecture, landscape, invention, monument, celestial bodies, alchemical devices, etc. …..

Q: How has the MFA influenced your development as an artist and as a person?

EP:I’m still in the midst of it so it’s hard to have a completely clear perspective. It’s given me the opportunity to focus on my work without having a billion distractions. It has allowed me to figure out what I’m truly interested in, and I’ve started pursuing these things more intensely. I’ve developed a lot of respect for different types of work that I was never interested in before. When I came to Tyler I thought I knew what I liked and what I didn’t like, what was good and what was bad. But now, I am more curious about the wiggly line between “good” and “bad”. I’ve discovered that what I like and don’t like might be a little less concrete than I thought.