News

3/9 Open Studios 2017

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The UCONN MFA students invite you to the 2017 Spring Semester Open Studios Event! Current artwork from the graduate students will be on view and their studio doors will be open, this is a great opportunity to talk with the MFA students about their work and studio practice + there will be a taco bar provided by Moe’s Southwest Grill!

Thursday, March 9th from 6-8PM at the Visual Arts Research Center (VARC) located on UConn’s Depot Campus in the Lebanon and Colchester buildings.

Address is: 95 Ahern Lane Storrs Mansfield, CT, 06269

DIRECTIONS:

The VARC is located on the UConn Depot Campus, just off Rt. 44.

*BY BUS: From the UConn main campus, take the Purple Line and get off at the Lebanon Cottage stop

*BY CAR: From 195, take Rt 44 West.

At the stoplight next to the former prison, make a left onto Walters Avenue. Stay right at the fork to merge onto Ahern Lane.

Just past the abandoned buildings, you should see Lebanon Cottage and a blue sign that says “Visual Arts Research Center.” Parking is FREE and so are the tacos. See you there!

A.E. Stallings / WALLACE STEVENS POEM PROJECT

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A.E. Stallings / WALLACE STEVENS POETRY PROGRAM

Counterproof Press is proud to once again be a part of the 54th Annual Wallace Stevens Poetry Program.

Join us for the following readings that are free and open to the public:
Wednesday, March 8, 2017, 7 p.m., Konover Auditorium, UConn Storrs
Thursday, March 9, 2017, 10 a.m., Greater Hartford Classical Magnet School, 85 Woodland St, Hartford

Acclaimed American poet A.E. Stallings studied Classics at the University of Georgia and Oxford. She has published three collections of poetry — Archaic Smile, Hapax, and Olives —  and has been praised in The Hudson Review as the “most gifted formalist of her generation.” She is also a highly regarded translator; the TLS named her verse translation of Lucretius’s The Nature of Things “One of the most extraordinary classical translations of recent times.” Stallings’ awards include a translation grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and fellowships from United States Artists, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation.  She is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

 

Graphic Design Program Takes Home 17 Awards From This Year’s CADC Design Show

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At the 41st Annual Connecticut Art Directors Club Design Show UConn Graphic Design & Design Center Studio received an unprecedented 17 total awards in the categories of Digital, Motion, Animation, Poster, Book and Identity Design.

Here is a list of the all the awards our students and faculty received as well as links to the work.

 

JUDGE'S AWARDS

http://www.cadc.org/awards/2016/judges_awards.html

UCONN GRAPHIC DESIGN

HELLO? / ANIMATION / MOTION 

http://www.cadc.org/awards/2016/gold.html#piece-31

DESIGN CENTER STUDIO

KING LEAR / POSTER

http://www.cadc.org/awards/2016/gold.html#piece-25

FOR IT FELT LIKE POWER / POSTER

http://www.cadc.org/awards/2016/silver.html#piece-59

GOLD AWARDS / DESIGN CENTER STUDIO

BFA Exhibition / Identity Design

http://www.cadc.org/awards/2016/gold.html#piece-24

category: Student Print / Published
firm: Design Center Studio / UConn
client: UConn Art & Art History Department
creative director: Edvin Yegir
art director: Edvin Yegir
designer: Renald Louissaint, Joshua Gluck, Raeanne Nuzzo
printer: Various
paper stock: Various
The poster series in this entry represents but one component of the multi-platform design system [print, digital, motion] that was conceived for the 2016 BFA exhibition announcing and promoting this yearly exhibition.

King Lear / Poster Design

http://www.cadc.org/awards/2016/gold.html#piece-25

category: Student Print / Published
firm: Design Center Studio
client: William Benton Museum of Art
creative director: Edvin Yegir
designer: Franklin Canales
I wanted to create a more simple illustration that would capture the tragedy of the story. I use the skull of the fallen king as the main focus point of the poster wearing a three point crown that represents his three daughters who drove him mad.

EXCELLENCE AWARDS / DESIGN CENTER STUDIO

Neighborways / Identity Design

http://www.cadc.org/awards/2016/excellence.html#piece-73

category: Student Print / Published
firm: Design Center Studio / UConn
client: NEIGHBORWAYS DESIGN
creative director: Edvin Yegir
art director: Edvin Yegir
designer: Carlos Dominguez, Kellie Pcolar, Sarah Williams
illustrator: Carlos Dominguez, Kellie Pcolar, Sarah Williams
Neighborways partners with communities to transform residential streets into low volume, low speed zones that are safe for children, pedestrians & cyclists. We were asked to design a modular mark & stencil system that could be developed over time.

 

GOLD AWARDS / UCONN GRAPHIC DESIGN

Hello? / Animation / Motion Design

http://www.cadc.org/awards/2016/gold.html#piece-31

category: Student Online & Interactive / Published
firm: Canales, Franklin
client: University of Connecticut
designer: Franklin Canales
The animation is about using parts of the 1983 stamp to create a simple but emotional narrative depicting the form of communication. It relates to the stamp’s design in how it celebrates the year of telecommunication.

 
Expo '70 / Animation / Motion Design
 

http://www.cadc.org/awards/2016/gold.html#piece-32

category: Student Online & Interactive / Unpublished
firm: University of Connecticut Graphic Design
client: University of Connecticut, ART3132 Graphic Design: Motion Graphics
creative director: Mark Zurolo
designer: Ke Ding
Response to the brief Static-Kinetic. Deconstruct, then design and animate a narrative reveal for a two-dimensional stamp.

 

SILVER AWARDS / UCONN GRAPHIC DESIGN

Morning/Night / Animation / Motion Design

 
 
 

SILVER AWARDS / DESIGN CENTER STUDIO

Long River Review [LRR] 2016 / Journal Design

http://www.cadc.org/awards/2016/silver.html#piece-55

category: Student Print / Published
firm: Design Center Studio / UConn
client: UConn Creative Writing Program
creative director: Edvin Yegir
art director: Edvin Yegir
designer: Franklin Canales, Vanessa Hopkins, Hunter Kelley, Nicole McDonald, Raeanne Nuzzo, Brigid Reale, Samantha Weiss
copywriter: Various
printer: GHP Media
paper stock: Finch & GPA
LRR is a joint creative effort between the UConn Graphic Design and the UConn Creative Writing Programs. It features literary and art works by graduate and undergraduate students and is produced by an exclusively undergraduate staff.

Are We All Here? / Catalog Design

http://www.cadc.org/awards/2016/silver.html#piece-56

category: Student Print / Published
firm: Design Center Studio / UConn
client: MFA Program / Art & Art History Department / UConn
creative director: Edvin Yegir
art director: Edvin Yegir
designer: Franklin Canales, Vanessa Hopkins, Nicole McDonald
copywriter: Various
printer: GHP Media
paper stock: Finch
Are We All Here? catalog was designed for the MFA Exhibition 2016 at UConn. The design is but one component of a larger identity system that was established for the exhibition alongside other deliverables in both print & digital platform.

First Year Writing Program / Identity Design

http://www.cadc.org/awards/2016/silver.html#piece-57

category: Student Print / Published
firm: Design Center Studio / UConn
client: Department of English / UConn
creative director: Edvin Yegir
art director: Edvin Yegir
designer: Renald Louissaint, Olivia Narciso, Bruno Perosino
illustrator: Renald Louissaint, Olivia Narciso, Bruno Perosino
The visual identity presentation, as outlined in this document, established a very concise verbalization and visualization of the concept representing a new mark for the FIRST YEAR WRITING Program at UConn.

MFA Art Auction Benefit / Poster Design

http://www.cadc.org/awards/2016/silver.html#piece-58

category: Student Print / Published
firm: Design Center Studio / UConn
client: MFA Program / Art & Art History Department / UConn
creative director: Edvin Yegir
art director: Edvin Yegir
designer: Kellie Pcolar, Jacob Rochester, Samantha Weiss
copywriter: Various
printer: DPC
paper stock: Cougar
The poster series along with other related collateral [both print & digital] were designed to promote a yearly auction that benefits the incoming MFA graduating class. All art auctioned was donated by student & faculty.

For It Felt Like Power / Poster Design

http://www.cadc.org/awards/2016/silver.html#piece-59

category: Student Print / Published
firm: Design Center Studio / UConn
client: Counterproof Press
creative director: Edvin Yegir
art director: Edvin Yegir
designer: Renald Louissaint, Sydney Roper
copywriter: Carl Phillips / Poet
illustrator: Renald Louissaint, Sydney Roper
printer: Wallace Stevens Poetry Program & Counterproof Press
Each year, the Wallace Stevens Poetry Program is gifted with a new unpublished poem by a visiting poet which is designed & published by the Counterproof Press in a limited edition of 100 commemorating the event and the series.

 

Master of Fine Arts Exhibition 2016 – April 9th-May 8th

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This year’s Master of Fine Arts Exhibition is here! The exhibition will be in the William Benton Museum of Art at the University of Connecticut from April 9th – May 8th.

There is an opening reception on Wednesday April 20th from 5pm-7pm.

The exhibition features Amanda Bulger, Don Burton, Kacie Davis Kamar Thomas, and Neil Orians.

Meet our grads here!

Art History Major, Brandon Smalec Receives National Science Foundation Fellowship

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Our very own Brendan Smalec was one of ten UConn students and alumni to receive a fellowship from the National Science Foundation. UConn Today writes this about the award,

Regarded as one of the premier awards in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines, the NSF awarded 2,000 fellowships this year to support students in the early stages of their research-based master’s or doctoral careers. The fellows will receive an annual stipend of $34,000 for three years and $12,000 support for tuition and fees. The awardees also qualify for international research and professional development opportunities. The total value of the fellowship exceeds $138,000.
For this highly competitive award, applicants must submit research proposals, which are reviewed by expert scientists in their field. NSF fellowship recipients, as well as honorable mentions, represent the most promising young scientists in the nation, and the awards are seen as “investments that will help propel this country’s future innovations and economic growth,” according to a statement released by the agency.

Brendan’s research consists of examining cancer susceptibility and progression in a non-traditional mammalian model, specifically, the Peromyscus leucopus, or white-footed mouse. Working with an inbred line of P. leucopus found to be highly susceptible to developing an adenocarcinoma (cancer from a glandular origin) of the Harderian gland, the project seeks to determine what genetic signatures are present in the inbred mice line that predispose them to developing this cancer, and also what makes it so highly metastatic, since metastasis is usually the cause of death in most cancer-related fatalities.

Along with a BA and MA in Biology, Brendan is also receiving a second degree in Art History from the UConn School of Fine Arts.

See the full story in UConn Today

SNEAK PEAK: Upcoming Exhibition in the Contemporary Art Galleries by Jong Oh

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Artist, Jong Oh prepares for the opening of his show in the Contemporary Art Galleries, Sotto Voce. Oh identifies his primary medium as space. His sparse constructions sculpt their environments by employing negative spaces, lighting effects and cast shadows to alter viewers’ perceptions of their surroundings

Oh states about his work:

“Responding to a site’s nuanced configuration, I build spatial structures by suspending Plexiglas and painted strings in the air. These elements connect or intersect with one another, depending on the viewers’ perspectives. Viewers walk in and around these paradoxical boundaries constituted by three-dimensionality and flatness, completion and destruction. The viewers’ experience becomes a meditation on perception’s whim.”

 

 

 

 

 

Sotto Voce opens on March 26th, 2016 with an Artist Talk at 5pm and the Reception will follow from 6pm-7pm

The show will be open from March 26th – May 6th

BFA Student, Raeanne Nuzzo Receives IDEA Grant

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Junior BFA student concentrating in Graphic Design, Raeanne Nuzzo of New Haven, CT has received an IDEA Grant for a project that she is working on along side Professor Mary Banas, entitled Fear.  The project is set to be shown in the Fall in the Visual Art Installation Space at the School of Fine Arts.

This is what Raeanne has to say about her project:

Fear: The Culture is an interactive poster design project, featuring the phrase “Something really dangerous is going on,” a quote from Donald Trump, paired with the hashtag “#FearTheCulture” printed over a variety of images from sensationalized media as a method to critique the American culture of fear. The posters will be hung publicly over the summer, and reactions will be documented and catalogued along with the original source materials, culminating in a complete documentation and exhibition of the work in VAIS Gallery in Fall 2016.

Visiting Artist, Ted Efremoff – 3/4/16

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Ted Efremoff, assistant professor of art at Central Connecticut State University and a 2006 graduate of the UConn MFA Studio Art program, will discuss his artist work on March 4, 2016 at 12:00pm at the MFA Graduate Studios (VARC) on the Depot campus.

Efremoff born in Moscow, Russia, is a cross-disciplinary artist engaged with performance, video, installation and social practice. Spurred by his personal interest in social justice, he envisions collaborative activity as an instrument that builds critical relationships between people. His art explores the personal and cultural constraints ingrained within prevailing political, economic, and social power structures.

Efremoff has performed and exhibited nationally at Chashama performance spaces, Sideshow and PSII Galleries in New York City, The Museum of American Art in Philadelphia and the Benton and Mattatuck museums in Connecticut. Internationally his work has been seen at the Gongju National Museum in South Korea, The National Center of Contemporary Art in Moscow, Russia and The National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria. His work is in the collections of the Sound Museum of Rome, The Los Angeles Center for Digital Arts and the Culture House of Bad Sobernheim, Germany.

Printmaker, John Shultz Visits

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John Schulz, artist/printmaker who teaches at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, gave a great lecture and showed prints to students in the printshop. He was a 2015 Counterproof Press visiting artist. Schulz worked with Counterproof Press to create and edition a suite of five wonderful letterpress prints.

Turning to cast-off images from books, magazines, comics, catalogues, and printed detritus, Jon Schulz’s work investigates and transforms common symbols and images from the “low” end of visual culture via chance operations, cut-ups, and an ironic visual language, conveying a sense of loss and psychic anxiety that reflects the uncertainty of memory and contemporary life.

Counterproof Press Publishes Broadside

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A limited edition letterpress broadside of visiting poet Susan Stewart’s poem, “Atavistic Sonnet” was published under the Art and Art History department’s Counterproof Press.  Design Center students designed and helped to print the edition. Susan Stewart gave a poetry reading as part of her visit to the university, sponsored by UConn’s Wallace Stevens Poetry Program.

Recent MFA Graduate, Micah Cash, to Have Book Published

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2014 MFA Graduate, Micah Cash, has recently announced that he will be publishing a book on a project he worked on while at The University of Connecticut. His website states the series Dangerous Waters investigates the landscapes and contemporary social impact of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) hydroelectric program. These photographs explore the tenuous balance between landscapes designed for hydroelectric generation and public recreation. While these dams have become symbols of social and economic prosperity, they also remain visual reminders of loss, population removal, and eminent domain. The ecological and personal sacrifices are privately internalized and the social benefits publicly celebrated.

To see more of Dangerous Waters see Micah’s feature on The Bitter Southerner or got to his website micahcash.com

Congratulations to Alumni, Justine Braisted!

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Our alumna, Justine Braisted, who graduated in 2013 with a BFA concentrating in Communication Design has been offered a position at Pentagram in NYC—one of the most prestigious studios in the country. This brings the number of Graphic Design graduates who have worked there over the last few years to three (Haley Taylor ’15 and Emily Makarainen ’15). But the good news does not stop there for Justine, she has also been accepted in to the MFA program in Graphic Design at the Royal College of Art in London for the Fall 2016 semester. She will be joining UConn BFA graduate Sara Jamshidi who also graduated in 2013.

Congratulations, Justine!

Fine Arts Graduate, Antonio Campelli wins Marshall Scholarship

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Recent graduate Antonio Campelli ’15 (SFA) has been named a winner of the prestigious Marshall Scholarship. He is one of just 32 selected from among 916 applicants this year.

As the fourth Marshall recipient in UConn history – and 10th finalist since the 2005-2006 academic year – Campelli joins an impressive lineup of students who have gained the attention of the Marshall selection committee. Of the 10, he is the first to have graduated from the School of Fine Arts: the others have come from a variety of majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering.

The Marshall Scholarship is Britain’s flagship government-funded program for American students who represent some of the finest and brightest college graduates in the United States. It is named after former Secretary of State George C. Marshall, and was established as a gesture of gratitude to the people of the United States for the assistance the U.S. provided after WWII under the Marshall Plan.

Congratulations Antonio!

See the UConn Today article in its’ entirety here

Election Day Printmaking Workshop for High School Educators

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Fresh experiences (and the opportunity to explore letterpress) as well as techniques and projects to take back to the high-school studio (including programs with little or no printmaking equipment)!

Participants will create letterpress prints using wood and metal type on the Vandercook proof press. Polymer plate letterpress will be introduced. We will also explore the use of PVC foam board to make plates that can be used to create both relief and intaglio prints.

“Printmaking Studio” will include: morning instructional workshop, 10:00 am-12:30 pm; lunch 12:30-1:30 pm; and optional afternoon studio time, 1:30- 3:30 pm.

The maximum size for this workshop is 12 people. Participants will work directly with UConn Printmakers Laurie Sloan and John O’Donnell.

Tuesday, November 3rd. Register through the Department of Art & Art History, 860-486-3930 or art@uconn.edu. The cost, including materials and lunch, is $25.00.

A boxed lunch will be provided. Please let us know in advance if you have any dietary needs.

Erin Wiersma, Visiting Artist – 10/29/15 at 3:30 p.m.

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Visiting Artist Presentation:  Erin Wiersma

Thursday, October 29, 2015, at 3:30 p.m.

Arena Gallery, Art Building, Storrs Campus

 

 

Erin Wiersma is an artist, born in Somerville, New Jersey. She received her Master of Fine Arts from University of Connecticut, Bachelor of Art degree from Messiah College, and studied at Instituto Lodovico in Orvieto, Italy.

Wiersma’s work explores the intangible aspects of the human presence using her own being as a point of reference. Through her drawings she seeks to discover a confluence of the spiritual and material.

Wiersma has exhibited throughout the US, including recent exhibitions at Mallin Gallery at Kansas City Artist Coalition, Kansas City, MO, Soho20 Gallery, NY, NY, Sarah A. Coyne Gallery at Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art in Novato, CA and Rebecca Randall Bryan Art Gallery at Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC. Wiersma’s drawing practice is included in publications including OnVerge – CUE Foundation, Art21Online Magazine and Two Coats of Paint. Currently Wiersma’s work is being represented in Brooklyn, NY at A.I.R. Gallery and she lives in Manhattan, Kansas.

Wiersma is an Assistant Professor of Art at Kansas State University. Images of her work are at www.erinwiersma.com.

Please contact Professor Judith Thorpe at judith.thorpe@uconn.edu with any questions.