Tyler Alumni Connect Through Sculpture

In October at a sculpture class for the legally blind and visually impaired, two Tyler School of Art alumni met for the first time.

The class, located at Allens Lane Art Center in Mount Airy, has been offered for 57 years.

Armand Mednick, 80, is the class’s co-instructor. He graduated from Tyler in 1958 with a degree in graphics and ceramics. Carol Saylor, 75, graduated in 1976 with a degree in painting.

Saylor was a watercolorist before she started to lose her sight and hearing in her mid-40’s. She is now a sculptor.

When Saylor showed up to Mednick’s class, they immediately connected over Tyler and their love for art.

To read more about their story, visit http://articles.philly.com/2013-05-09/news/39117941_1_art-studio-art-class-carol-saylor

Victory for Tyler: Victory for All 2013

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38 artists have been selected for the biennial Victory for Tyler juried exhibition, sponsored by Victory Brewing. The exhibition was juried by Paulina Pobocha, Assistant Curator in the Department of Painting and Sculpture at The Museum of Modern Art.

Artists include Dennis Ahearn, Jonathan Allmaier, Michael Ambron, Jay Bilinsky, Joseph Borelli, Jenny Buffington, Justin Bursk, Paula Cahill, Rebekah Callaghan, Josh Cole, Mike Cole, John Costanza, John Crowe, Emity Davidson, Delaney DeMott, Lyla Duey, Chad Cortez Everett, Steven Ford, Rachael Gorchov, Brian Grow, Laura Havlish, Susan Hennelly, EJ Herczyk, Cheryl Agulnick Hochberg, Adele Kubel, John T. Lange, Carla Lombardi, James Maiello, Ryan McCartney, Anne-Marie McIntyre, JJ Miyaoka-Pakola, Michael Radyk, Tim Rusterholz, Catherine E. Saksa-Mydlowski, Susan Still Scott, Andrew Souders, Pamela Vander Zwan, and Yoichiro Yoda.

The exhibition will take place from March 27 until April 13 at the Crane Arts Center, Ice Box Project Space located at 1400 North American Street in Philadelphia. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from noon until 6 p.m.

The opening reception will be held on Saturday, April 6 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. To RSVP to this event, contact Molly Clark Davis (molly.clarkdavis@temple.edu).

Tyler Students Organize a Community “Big Crit”

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All photos by Radhiah Nor, CST ’13

“The Big Crit,” presented by Temple University’s own Tyler Dean’s Student Advisory Committee, had its BIG night this past Friday November 2nd; and what a BIG success it was. Co-sponsored by F & N Gallery in Frankford and Utrecht-Philly, the event was an opportunity for Philadelphia student artists to have their work recognized to the public as well as for their art to be evaluated by their peers.

“By providing constructive criticism, these artists will be able to walk away with something they can use to learn from,“ said Neal Jordan, curator of F&N Gallery, “…to spike the evolution of their own work.”

Located in an artistic community, 2007 Frankford Avenue emulated continuous exciting energy throughout the night. Tables and walls were filled with a range of mediums brought in by 30 students and artists from the area. Schools represented were Tyler School of Art, PAFA, Moore College of Art, University of the Arts, and Drexel University. Though universities were featured, social media networks released word to other artists outside of those said schools. “I was actually totally shocked on the amount of responses I received through both the Facebook event and our Twitter page. “ Jordan explained.

Numbers labeled each work making the show a silent critique. Provided next to each work of art were cards printed with thought provoking questions that were to be answered anonymously by the public. The object was for the artists to gain valuable viewpoints that would strengthen their skills and expand on their views.

As part of the Critique, 10 works were chosen to stay up in F & N Gallery for the November show. The Artwork for the exhibit will be up until November 18.

For more information on this exhibit and others, follow F & N Gallery on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/FN-Gallery/135595724403

-submitted by Gabrielle Turgoose

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.

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.

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

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.

Exhibit Celebrates Temple’s Program in Rome

Temple University’s Office of University Communications made a great video about Tyler’s Festa di Roma exhibition/celebration last week.  You can read more about it and see the video here: Exhibit celebrates Temple’s program in Rome.