Category Archives: Events

Quick Hit: Art at the Fireside Cocktail Cuisine

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Fireside Cocktail Cuisine is an elegant restaurant located in the Omni Berkshire Hotel on East 52nd Street. World travelers and locals alike love Fireside for the innovative cocktail cuisine and wonderful ambiance. The design is simultaneously warm and edgy, and enclosed glass cases throughout the restaurant are ideal for incredible artwork. In addition to a large main fireplace, there are 2 hanging boxes (18” x 48”) and 3 window boxes (13” x 36”).

We are open to students’ creativity and vision, and welcome any appropriate interpretations of a “New York” theme. All artists will be credited in the restaurant and their work will be for sale at the end of the exhibition. Students have the rare opportunity to display their work in a well-known hotel and highly acclaimed restaurant.

If interested, please contact Camilla Warner at JS2 Communications via email at cwarner@js2comm.com.

Tim Okamura’s “Women in White/Bushwick Walls”

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If you’re in the Edmonton (Alberta, Canada) area, make sure you drop by Adjunct Faculty member Tim Okamura’s show of work:

TIM OKAMURA
“WOMEN IN WHITE / BUSHWICK WALLS”
Up through Saturday, July 19th, 2008

The Women in White/Bushwick Walls series was inspired by a desire to investigate the symbolism of the color of white in several different contexts, while at the same time creating a connection to the “urban collage” that has manifested itself on the walls of the buildings in my neighborhood of Bushwick, Brooklyn.

While focusing on the walls that were at one time white, “blank canvases”, I observed a fasinating build-up of signage, new and torn posters, random felt marker “tags”, stenciled street art, and more refined graffiti pieces that together formed a complex motif of cultural iconography.  Tempered by peeling paint, rust stains, and decay, this motif served as the basis for my approach to creating “backgrounds” that interact with the subjects of the paintings in a very direct way, the fragments of political and pop culture references interwoven with warning signs, and spray-painted stencils.  Graffiti-lettered words contain moral precepts which effuse hopefulness or cynicism – sometimes both – while in some cases bringing attention to the psycological relationships between the women themselves.

All of the women in these paintings are clad in white, or mostly white, with the intention of examining popular connotations of this color such as purity, innocence, virginity, and virtue – qualities often traditionally ascribe to women as being positive attributes – as well as the lesser known meanings such as while as s symbol of mourning (particularily in Asian cultures).  This in turn led to a scrutiny of many “white” phrases including “white wash”, “white wedding”, and “white lie”, many of which ending up becoming words on “signs” that were collaged onto canvas and eventually covered with layers of paint.

As the significance of “Women in White” changed in context with each subject and contemplation continued of the implications of attributing specific meaning to color, I considered on important argument of basic color theory: white itself in techinically not a color, but a reflection of all colors.

Douglas Udell Gallery
10332 – 124 STREET
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
T5N 1R2
780.488.4445

Congrats, Tim!

Call for entries: Green Light VSA Arts competition

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“Contemporary art challenges us…it broadens our horizons.
It asks us to think beyond the limits of conventional wisdom.”

– Eli Broad

A National Juried Exhibition
for Young Artists with Disabilities,
Ages 16-25 

Deadline: Friday, July 11, 2008, midnight (MST)

Grand Prize: $20,000
First Award: $10,000
Second Award: $6,000
12 Awards of Excellence: $2,000

Sponsored by VSA arts with generous assistance from Volkswagen of America, Inc.

A green light signals “GO!” and permission to proceed. What revs you up as an artist and moves you to create? What signals the spark of creativity? Imagine that you receive a signal to drive your own future. Describe the experience and how you will direct your route – both artistically and personally. How does art give you permission to be who you are? Consider the infinite possibilities that art (or creativity) provides.

We are interested in both representational and abstract work. Artwork may illustrate actual aspects of what signals your creative motivations such as the physical world or personal discoveries. Abstract work that relates to feelings or emotions is also encouraged. Work might also reflect your experience of living with a disability and its role in shaping or transforming your work.

VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where all people with disabilities learn through, participate in and enjoy the arts. VSA arts provides educators, parents, and artists with resources and the tools to support arts programming in schools and communities. VSA arts showcases the accomplishments of artists with disabilities and promotes increased access to the arts for people with disabilities. Each year millions of people participate in VSA arts programs through a nationwide network of affiliates and in more than 60 countries around the world. VSA arts is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Visit the competition’s website for details about how to enter, the theme, eligibility, and more.  Good luck!

Call for Entries: Wallpaper design for Sheila Johnson Design Center

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Please take this opportunity to review the following exhibition opportunity, which is perfect for any student in our department and only requires you to submit images of your best work that you have already completed and a short written piece.  (details below:)

In Spring 2008 a group of Parsons faculty, staff and students were selected by the Dean’s Office and Student Senate to form a committee in charge of curating the student wallpaper spaces in the Sheila Johnson Design Center.  These three locations are currently covered with student work that will be rotated for Fall 2008.  Below is the  interim process to receive and select new work for consideration for the NorthEast corner location.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Due July 10th to FalerG01@newschool.edu

We are looking for submissions from students or recent graduates that:

1. Were completed in any class at Parsons (individual or group-based) through Summer 2008

2. Consider the core values as stated in the paragraphs included below.

3. Consider how the wallpaper in these highly visible public spaces can reflect our community.

4. Consider the scale of the architecture.

5. Engage with a social or critical thematic.

Each student can submit up to three images and statements.  Please email your low resolution jpeg or pdf to George Falero at FalerG01@newschool.edu as well as a 100-word statement describing each submission and how it reflects Parsons’ mission statement below.

MISSION STATEMENT: WHY PARSONS THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DESIGN?
A forerunner in art and design education for over a century

Parsons prepares students to be independent thinkers who creatively and critically address the complex human conditions of 21st century culture. We are committed to creating a diverse learning environment for developing self-reflective practices through studio-based research and critical scholarship in order to make meaningful and sustainable contributions to contemporary global societies. Situated within The New School, Parsons builds on the University’s legacy of progressive ideals, scholarship, and educational methods.  Our faculty challenges convention through a setting and philosophy that encourages formal experimentation, nurtures alternative world-views, and cultivates forward-thinking leaders and creative professionals across multiple fields in a world increasingly influenced by art and design.

PARSONS CORE VALUES
A shared commitment to:

*the urban – understanding New York City and other urban areas as sites where, through engaged research and creative practices, we can work with inhabitants to co-create and co-design, reflecting the urgent needs and possibilities of 21st Century art and design and beyond;

*sustainability – addressing the need to work for both human and environmental sustainability through understanding and designing systems that allow for or produce longevity and renewal;

*diversity – being an institutional leader by working to recruit and retain individuals and communities who have been historically under-represented in art and design schools and the professional fields they help to create. We also recognize our responsibility to consider how all people are impacted by and interact with the goods, systems, and spaces we design;

*the global – nurturing a more nuanced understanding of political and social economies, global dynamics of exchange and production, and historical specificities in order to prepare students to work creatively and ethically in a changing world;

*art/design as an agent for social change – challenging all members of the Parsons community to understand our work in relationship to its social and political possibilities, embodying the legacy of The New School.

The committee will meet to review all submissions and make selections according to the criteria listed above.  Decisions will be announced by August 1st.

Good luck!

Eddie del Rosario work in “Tenderly” show at Sunday

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TENDERLY

Featuring: Aaron Baker, Erik Bluhm, Martha Colburn, Carl D’Alvia, Edward del Rosario, Echo Eggebrecht, Brent Green, Kirk Hayes, Asuka Ohsawa, Ruby Osorio, Hills Snyder, Rachell Sumpter & others.

Through July 3, 2008

SUNDAY L.E.S.
237 Eldridge Street, South Storefront
New York, NY USA 10002 

The gallery is pleased to announce the group exhibition Tenderly, which assembles paintings, sculptures, films, and works on paper by twelve artists who use dark humor, animation, simplified forms, and characters to soften some of life’s more dramatic, and often tragic, moments.

Eddie del Rosario’s (Brooklyn, NY) paintings often feature miniature people engaged in full-size power struggles and highlight the absurd games people are willing to play to obtain and preserve power within cultural clashes. Meticulously rendered with almost Renaissance-like glazes, his most recent series of contretemps depict unforeseen disruptive events, for example, a handsome young man pissing on the spring flowers while a fashionable young lady looks on.

ArtCal picked “Tenderly” as a top show and it’s only up for a few more days, so get out there and see it.

Congrats to Eddie!

Gareth Hinds launch party for “The Merchant of Venice”

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Straight from the Illustration Inbox, we got this announcement from Alum Gareth Hinds:

Hi, everyone. Most of you aren’t local to Boston, but I wanted to let you know that my new graphic novel The Merchant of Venice came out June 10th. I’m having a launch party on June 21st — more details below. Let me know if you might be around, otherwise keep your eye out for the book in your local bookstore or on www.garethhinds.com 🙂

Saturday June 21st, 6:30-9:00 pm (I’ll do some sort of reading/demo/speech around 7:00-7:30) Porter Square Books (in the Porter Square shopping plaza next to Star Market – map) Open to the public; please bring friends!

There will be snacks, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages. There may be a late-dinner expedition afterward. There should be plenty of books on hand, which the friendly staff of the store will sell you, and I will happily sign and personalize.

This particular book was drawn largely from life, and most of the “cast” (i.e., my friends who posed for the characters) will be there, which should be a lot of fun.

RSVPs are not necessary, but would be much appreciated.

One other thing, as long as I’m self-promoting. I have an official blog now, so if you’d like to keep up with my doings, check http://www.garethhinds.com/blog/ (or if you’re on Livejournal, the username “garethhinds” will get you a feed of the same content).

Thanks!
Gareth

If you’re in the Boston area, make sure you stop by and support Gareth on his fantastic new work!

MoCCA Comic Art Festival this weekend!

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The program for this year’s MoCCA Art Festival features a rich mix of animators, cartoonists, graphic artists, and writers. Our special guests include Jessica Abel, Rebecca Donner, David Hajdu, David Heatley, Chip Kidd, Alex Robinson, Frank Santoro, and Brian Wood. Saturday’s program opens with author Blake Bell talking about his new Steve Ditko biography, and closes with Dan Nadel in conversation with Chris Forgues (“CF”), whose comics, according to one critic, “exude the ease of someone just now putting all the pieces together to make for consistent great work.” Sunday’s program opens with an illustrated history of radical cartooning, by social movement cartoonist Nick Thorkelson, and closes with a screening of new animated shorts from Scandinavia.

Parsons Illustration associates will be out in force–Tara McPherson, Neil Swaab, Bob Sikoryak, Jillian Tamaki, Brian Wood, and Peter de Seve–so make sure you stop by and see their work!

The MoCCA Art Festival, now in its seventh year, is an annual fundraiser for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA). Each year the MoCCA Art Festival Award is presented to a creative figure whose work has elevated the cartoon arts. The Award was presented to Jules Feiffer in 2002, and in subsequent years to Art Spiegelman (2003), Roz Chast (2004), Neal Adams (2005), Gahan Wilson (2006), and Alison Bechdel (2007).

This year’s Award recipient, Bill Plympton, is an internationally renowned cartoonist, illustrator, and animator. His cartoons have appeared in major newspapers and magazines, from the Village Voice and the New York Times, to Vogue, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair. He is the author and/or illustrator of numerous books and graphic novels, including Hair High, Mutant Aliens, Tube Strips, and The Sleazy Cartoons of Bill Plympton. He is probably best known for his short and full-length animated films, which include The Tune, I Married a Strange Person, Guard Dog, and Idiots and Angels, which premiered earlier this year. Bill Plympton will be introduced by the animator Signe Baumane.

The 2008 program is being held in tandem with an event at NYU that will take place the day before the Festival officially opens, on Friday, June 6. Sponsored by the New York Institute for the Humanities and MoCCA, “Post-Bang: Comics Ten Minutes After the Big Bang!” features roundtables and presentations on “key trends and debates facing comics in this new, ‘post-bang’ environment.” For more information about this, click here

MoCCA Comic Art Festival
Saturday, June 7th & Sunday, June 8th, 2008
Hours: 11:00am – 6:00pm
Admission is $10 each day / $15 weekend pass (weekend pass only $10 for MoCCA members)
The Puck Building, 293 Lafayette, New York, NY

Programming Schedule
Exhibitor List (Parsons Illustration will be sharing a table with Cat Lauigan at B45!)
Map of Exhibitors
Featured Artist Sketch Table Schedule (featuring Illustration Alum & Faculty Bob Sikoryak on Sunday!)

[MoCCA Art Festival poster art by Parsons Illustration Faculty Tara McPherson and DKC]

Aftermath: Parsons Illustration Alumni Event at the Society of Illustrators

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Back in March, New School Alumni Relations held a fantastic shindig up at the Society of Illustrators. The event was well-attended and a total blast! Here are a few snapshots:

Associate Professor Nora Krug, Dept. Chair Steven Guarnaccia, and Adjunct Faculty Eddie del Rosario

Soon-to-be Alumnae Lindsey Balbierz and Jasmine Wigandt

Alumni Peter de Seve addresses the crowd.

Graduating Illustration Senior Shanna Mahan and Adjunct Faculty & Alum Bob Sikorayk are in view!

See the rest of the photo set here and visit the New School Alumni Relations site to learn more about upcoming alumni events. Also, make sure to keep the department updated on your accomplishments so we can let everyone know!

Tara McPherson News

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In addition being interviewed (and providing the cover art) for the recent issue of Clutter Magazine (#12! Get your copy here!), Illustration Adjunct Faculty member Tara McPherson is keeping herself busy this summer. Here’s some of her upcoming events:

—Sunday, June 8th, 2008: Tara will have a table at this year’s Museum of Contemporary Comic Art event.

The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art
MoCCA Art Festival 2008
June 7th-8th, 2008
The Puck Building
Hours: 11:00am – 6:00pm
Admission is $10 each day / $15 weekend pass (weekend pass only $10 for MoCCA members)

Meet comics and cartoon artists! Four full ballrooms of cartoonists and publishers! Three days of entertaining and educational panel sessions!

***

–Tara will also be a guest speaker in this years ICON 5 in NYC, along with Jordin Isip (another Illustration Faculty member!) and gallery-owner Jonathan Levine.

Gallery 101
Saturday, July 5, 2:00pm – 3:00pm
Martha Rich with Tara McPherson, Jordin Isip and Jonathan Levine

Here’s a description of the panel:

The increasing popularity and success of the small gallery has created a need for new, affordable and original art. Exhibiting in a gallery is a great way for illustrators to expand beyond traditional forms of illustration and generate additional income. How do you take that next step into the exhibiting world and get your work out of the studio and on the gallery wall? Illustrator Martha Rich questions gallery curator Jonathan Levine and illustrators Jordin Isip and Tara McPherson about the challenges and successes connected to their gallery experiences. Curious about showing your work in galleries, curating your own shows or developing a new line of revenue and expanding your creativity? This session is for you.

***

Tara will also be at Comic-Con 2008: July 24-27 in San Diego!