Category Archives: Class Projects

“The Wreath: Interpretations” features work by Illustration sophomores

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[slideshow]

Sophomore Concepts Instructor Wendy Popp sent us the above images and below information about “The Wreath: Interpretations”, which her students created work for.  The event has gotten a ton of positive press.  Here’s Wendy on the project:

Essentially, this is the 28th year of this show. I had my students write proposals and submit sketches. The theme is to interpret – the wreath. I added the parameters to concentrate on a 21st Century issue that they could be passionate about which reflects nature, (since the show is situated just in front of the Zoo and inside Central Park). The students submitted on their own independently and got in on their own merit. Seven got in, but one did not submit the final. Last night was the opening and Commissioner Bebepe commented that this was the best show he had attended and proceeded to comment on 5 of the wreaths our students created! He particularly liked Adrian Smith’s acknowledgment of Eine Sitlle Nacht , which is a very appropriate story to tell in this context.

All of us really stretched our comfort zones with the 3d element, many used other facilities, (woodshop and laser cutting) at Parsons to create their pieces. It was a very satisfying project all around.

Our students participating are Adrian Smith, Vilde Braanaas, Anastasia Ionkin, Richard Pean, Lea Mieret, Abigail Malate.

You can read more about the exhibition in the WNYC article or by watching this YouTube clip from NY1:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrTWWinaJzg]

Congratulations to all the students involved on such a successful project!

“The Wreath: Interpretations”
Arsenal Gallery in Central Park,
Dec 13 – Dec 17,Dec 20 Ending: Thu Jan 06
830 Fifth Ave (at 64th St)

Follow-Up: Gilles & Cecilie Workshop at Parsons Illustration

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The dynamic duo of Gilles & Cecilie recently visited Parsons Illustration Concepts III classes to hold a collaborative workshop with students.  Below is their write-up about the experience and you can see pictures from the workshop above.

BRIEF:
What is your uniqueness when all is unified?
Are we going towards the same currencies/ unions of countries/ mega corporations/ mass productions/ same social networks/
listening to the same music/ dress styles/ same level of educations/
SCHEDULE:
20 min brainstorm (messy and non-critical)
15 min selecting ideas (critical and relevant)
1hr10 min visualising ideas (quick, enjoyable, experimental)
40 minutes presentation (6 min per group) (clear, concise, contextual)
ORGANISATION:
45 students divided in 5 groups. Each group had three tables and a selection of materials (papers/ tape/ rope/ pencils/ markers/ glue.)  We asked all the students to take their chairs out of the room so that they could move and interact better during the process.
THE IDEA PROCESS:
challenging, frustrating, profound, exciting, hard work, collaborative, wild, questioning, curiousity, breaking borders, mind-blowing, intellectual, involving, intuitive, world changing!
THE EXPERIENCE:
During the process of the workshop we visited each group with help from Isabelle, Guy and Sean to motivate the students to interact with each other, be working together as a whole group, be curious, develop new ways of thinking and drawing.
The students made different stories and answers to the brief and one group also involved volunteers in their presentation of an interactive puzzle on how to fit in.
Group 1 were illustrating the female with animalistic characters; group 2 developed a new way of high five human reproduction, group three made a puzzle of creatures to represent: with some alterations we all fit in, group four illustrated each other within the group visualising how they see eachother as forexample a cartoon character or just a lot of beautiful hair (as this was one students way of recognising her friend in the street) and in the end group five where making a twist on the game exquisite corps by creating several unique people with elements from all the students within the group.
As designers, we often use this speed workshop in our studio to get as many thoughts and ideas as possible about a brief from a client.  In this way we often find themes or elements to continue the conceptual process.
Thanks to Gilles & Cecilie!

Summer Reading: Invisible Man on display!

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Since last year, Parsons faculty member and instructor for Illustration Concepts I, Les Kanturek, has been in charge of helping organization exhibitions in the Illustration lobby display cases.  Over the summer, he’s created a rich treasure trove of visuals related to the Illustration summer reading book: Invisible Man by H.G. Wells.  Above, you can see a somewhat cryptic detail from the display–you’ll have to make a visit to the 8th floor lobby yourself to see the whole picture. Over at his class blog, Les writes the following:

The Illustration Department’s Summer Reading Project for 2010 is H. G. Wells’ classic “The Invisible Man”.  First published in 1897, Wells’ science fiction novel gives us the timeless iconic mad experimenter who suffers from his scientific over-reaching, he plays with forces of nature he cannot control and pays with his life.  Griffin’s invisibility can be seen as both a superpower and a curse.  He is a victim and the aggressor.  Taking place in the small English country town of Iping, location is crucial to the story. The mysterious stranger that appears terrorizes the locals in a very noir-ish fashion.  The idea of paranoia contained in a small town is a theme artist and author Jeff Lemire handles brilliantly in “The Nobody”, a graphic novel based on Wells’Invisible Man.

Read the rest of his entry here.  And make sure to come peruse Les’s thoughtful and delightful display when you’re in the neighborhood.  While you’re at it, take time to look at the other displays as well, which include student work, alumni sketchbooks and drawings, and a whole case devoted to artists’ books in conjunction with Illustration Chair Steven Guarnaccia’s “PictoZine” class.  There’s a lot of inspiration on view.  Don’t miss it!

Pop-ups pop-up in Parsons Illustration!

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Check out this fantastic video comprised of collection of photos and video footage of students’ pop-up projects from the Spring 2010 Sophomore Concepts classes.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfb1M_03kiU]

Thanks to Sophomore Concepts instructor Peter Hamlin for constructing the video!  And congrats to all the students on their inspired work.

Andre da Loba’s students show off their work tomorrow

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Andre da Loba and his Materials and Methods class
would like to invite you to come to their
*Materials and Methods “Open Classroom” Exhibition*
2W 13th St. – Room 1104 next Wednesday (May 12) around 1pm.

Refreshments and snacks will be served.

THICKER THAN WATER: 2010 Parsons Illustration Thesis Show opening is TONIGHT!

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[Illustrations by Júlía Hermannsdóttir, Meg Eldredge, Gabriella D’Alessandro, and Garrett Pruter; postcard design by Noël Claro]

Follow up: Toy Workshop at Gallery Hanahou!

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On October 19th, Caty Bartholomew’s Toy Concepts Development and Design class was invited to participate in a workshop at Gallery Hanahou, run by “guerilla” crafting club Ossu! Shugeibu from Japan. (Ossu! was in town for a week to attend their show’s opening at the gallery.)

They made “robodogs” in a very quick hour and a quarter, then proudly took them out for a stroll on Broadway. They even caught some interest from passersby and, all in all, had a pile of fun.