Category Archives: Events

Rodolphe Töpffer and the Word/Image Problem

Events, General Info, Illustration Dept. Events, Illustration Faculty, Illustration Industry, News, , , , , , ,

topffer

[click for full-size version]

Rodolphe Töpffer & the Word/Image Problem

A celebration of the first English-language translation of Töpffer’s complete picture-story work by David Kunzle and a symposium on the word/image problem with Peter Blegvad, Anne-Marie Bouché, Noah Isenberg, Ben Katchor, David Kunzle, Victor H. Mair, Jim Miller, Patricia Mainardi, Aimée Brown Price and others.

Presented by the Illustration Department, Parsons The New School for Design and Liberal Studies, The New School for Social Research.

PARSONS, THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DESIGN
Theresa Lang Student Center
55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor, NYC
Saturday, March 8, 2008 3 – 8 pm, free and open to the public
No reservations needed; seating is first come, first serve.

Depuy & Berberian visit the Illustration Department

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depuy & berberian

Phillipe Depuy and Charles Berberian are “France’s Superstar Cartooning Team” who have worked together for twenty years. Their most successful character is Monsieur Jean, and to date the series has sold over 120,000 copies in France alone. In recent years, their work has been gaining wider recognition on this side of the Atlantic, with regular contributions to the New Yorker and translated comics appearing in Drawn & Quarterly and Dark Horse Presents.

Depuy and Berberian will be visiting the Illustration Department on Wednesday, March 5th at noon in room 1101, 2 W. 13th. All are welcome to join us for this special event.

Also, later in the day, Matt Madden will moderate a discussion called:

The French Graphic Novel
Straight out of Angoulême: Dupuy & Berberian
Housing Works Bookstore Cafe
126 Crosby Street, Soho
7:00PM

There will be a reception and signing afterwards.

Andy and Ben Kehoe show at Green Lantern Gallery

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kehoe brothers

Chicago’s Green Lantern Gallery is hosting an exhibition of works by Parsons Illustration Alum Andy Kehoe and his brother Ben. The official press release reads:

Though the days are shorter, it is still a bitter cold outside. It is impossible to recall the heat of summer and sweaty green things. The body seems to have lost its memory. The mind conjures only phantoms of light and comfort. Yet there is also the anguish of spring and in spring there is a rebirth. Life takes on new shapes, adapting to the apprehension of growth. There is anticipation in life.

We are born in violence. The passage is both catastrophic and forgettable. In this show, violence is depicted through ornate designs of medieval horror, friendship, monsters and the sometimes contemporary wink. There is a new splash of color that takes up the page as we enter the worlds of Andy and Benjamin Kehoe—a compelling place with rich metaphors and soft jokes. It is better in this world. In this world the fantasy offers some respite from the otherwise urban gray of winter decreptitude. They prepare us for the summer, refurbishing the idea of color.

Andy has posted a preview of the show here. If you’re in the Chicago area, make sure to check it out!

The Safest Place in the World
Andy and Ben Kehoe
February 29th-March 29th, 2008
Green Lantern Gallery
1511 N. Milwaukee Ave., 2nd Floor
Chicago, IL

Early Notice: ICON5

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adam mccauley

ICON5 will be held in New York City at the historic Roosevelt Hotel in midtown Manhattan. The theme of this year’s conference, The Big Picture, is more than a slogan, it is the perspective through which we see our future – a future of limitless possibilities for illustrators as thinkers, story tellers and providers of creative content. The conference promises to examine and discuss the current creative and economic forces that every illustrator and our industry face today.

Parsons Adjunct Faculty members Jordin Isip and Tara McPherson will speak on the following panel:

Gallery 101
Saturday, July 5, 2:00pm – 3:00pm

Martha Rich with
Tara McPherson, Jordin Isip and Jonathan Levine

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.

Other ICON5 speakers are: Marshall Arisman, Steven Bliss, Enrico Casarosa, Allan Comport, Andrew Coningsby, Tad Crawford, Ronnie del Carmen, Chrystal Falcioni, Mark Gallagher, Von Glitschka, Rudy Gutierrez, Mirko Ilíc, Jordin Isip (Parsons Illustration Adjunct Faculty), Barry Jackson, James Jean, Jerelle Kraus, David Lanham, Jonathan LeVine, Luba Lukova, Ross MacDonald, Gedeon Maheux, Leonard S. Marcus, Tara McPherson (Parsons Illustration Adjunct Faculty), Stephan Martiniere, Tim Mendola, Mitch Nash, Gary Panter, Daniel Pelavin, Louisa Saint Pierre, Ina Salz, Keri Smith, Mark T. Smith, Greg Spalenka, James Sturm, June Walker, and Robert Zimmerman.

icon5
July 2-5, 2008
New York City
Registration info can be found here.

 

[image by Parsons Illustration Alum Adam McCauley]

Tara McPherson solo show at Jonathan Levine

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tara mcpherson

Parsons Illustration Adjunct Faculty Tara McPherson is currently showing new works at her first solo show for the Jonathan Levine Gallery, here in New York. Here’s the official press release:

For the artist’s first solo show at the gallery, Lost Constellations features a new series of oil paintings and resin-cast sculptures, incorporated into a site-specific installation. The sculptures are a new experience for the artist, who has never before worked in this medium, three-dimensionally in full-scale proportions.

The painted portraits in Lost Constellations depict adventurous super-heroines from an alternate universe, crossing dimensional planes of time and space. McPherson considers the idea of parallel existence through the use of multiple views or angles on a subject, inspired by the Einstein cross (a phenomenon caused by gravitational lensing) while her series of bodily transfigurations convey principles on the physical manifestation of thought. A reoccurring cast of female characters appear in various states of action-fighting battles and growing toward self-discovery. Using her signature bold and graphic style, Tara’s imagery explores love, loss and loneliness through variations on strength, vulnerability and female empowerment. Concepts of non-verbal communication and the evolution of spoken language are explored as well, along with an interpretation on the circle of life- represented through transitional properties of water particles: gas, liquid and solid.

One of the first women to gain recognition in a genre (and greater Art world) dominated by Male artists, Tara McPherson is a role model for younger female artists in the movement. A multi-faceted artist, she has successful careers in both Fine Art and Illustration. Her process remains the same in commissioned illustrations as in her personal work. Tara only does what she enjoys, never compromising her talent or individual sense of creative expression. Fine Art allows McPherson to develop a deeper, more intimate narrative for her subjects. Through layers of paint and symbolism, ideas that take pages of storyboard to convey in illustration projects can be condensed into a singular panel for one of her original pieces of artwork.

tara @ levine 2

Lost Constellations: Tara McPherson
Jonathan Levine Gallery
Feb 23 thru Mar 22, 2008
529 West 20th Street, 9E New York, NY 10011 ph:212-243-3822

Congratulations, Tara!

Careers with A Conscience on 02.27.08

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Careers with a Conscience is a job and internship fair that brings socially and environmentally responsible companies and organizations to the New School. Students are invited to meet with representatives and learn about corporate responsibility and sustainable business practices as well as current and future internship and employment opportunities. Students and alumni from all New School divisions are invited and we hope you can join us as well!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
55 West 13th Street, Lang Student Center, 2 Floor

Companies attending include:
Apple
Champion Learning Center
City Parks Foundation
Commission on Voluntary Service Action
Douglas Gould and Co.
Eileen Fisher
Global Information Network
Green Map System
Greenmarket/Council on the Environment
High Five Tickets to the Arts
Images.com
J. Ottman Consulting
John Patrick Organic
Kenneth Cole
Loomstate
Loyale
New York City Center for Charter School Excellence
Peace Corps
PETA
Pratt Area Community Council
Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure
The Doe Fund
The Foundation Center
The Four Hundred Showroom/Bahar Shahpar
The Synergos Institute
Urban Samaritan
YAI- National Institute for People with Disabilities

This event is coordinated by Krysta Vollbrecht and Nicole Lenzen of Parsons Career Services in collaboration with the Career Development offices from all New School divisions. Please contact them at Parsonscareers@newschool.edu with any questions.

Ben Katchor’s Opera Reviewed in the New York Times

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slug bearers shot

The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island (Or, the Friends of Dr. Rushower), an opera created by Associate Professor of Illustration Ben Katchor and Mark Mulcahy, received an enthusiastic review by New York Times’ critic Ben Brantley yesterday. Here’s an excerpt:

“The Slug Bearers” may deal with subjects common to contemporary satire: fiendish industrial autocrats (in this case, the cackling George Klatter, played by a Lex Luthor-like Stephen Lee Anderson); shortsighted do-gooders; the limited attention span of news gatherers; and the (literal) insubstantiality of a technology-driven culture.

But Mr. Katchor is not an attack artist, and “The Slug Bearers” is neither sendup nor angry social rebuke.

Instead, like much of this artist’s work, it is propelled by a brooding and amused awareness of the strange, individual quirks and appetites that both keep people apart and occasionally bring them together.

This sensibility is conveyed with real enchantment by the set and projection designs of Jim Findlay and Jeff Sugg (subtly enhanced by Russell H. Champa’s lighting), which bring to eye-teasing life Mr. Katchor’s drawings of lonely town (as in New York City) and polluted country (as in the tropical isle of Kayrol). Projections on scrims are used to create some delightful trompe l’oeil moments involving walking amid street traffic, riding elevators and even answering the phone.

These are never mere sight gags, though, but part of a thoroughgoing mise-en-scène that melts boundaries between the real and representational. At the same time there’s a strong, melancholy suggestion that the people who inhabit this flat but fluid landscape can never fully step into the world they live in. (And I mean the characters, not the performers.)

Read the complete review here, listen to a narrated slideshow about the opera’s development here, and as an extra bonus, we present you with a small preview of the show:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1l7p7XBHc4&rel=1&border=1]

The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island (Or, the Friends of Dr. Rushower)
An Opera by Ben Katchor and Mark Mulcahy
Vineyard Theater
108 E. 15th St (btw Union Square and Irving Pl.)
New York, NY
212-353-0303

[image by Carol Rosegg]

Upcoming: Illustration Alum William Buzzell show at Giant Robot NY

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buzzell at giant robot

Illustration Alum William Buzzell presents his first solo show in New York –“Class Action,”–opening this weekend at Giant Robot New York. Here’s the official press release:

Working almost entirely with found wood or metal and common latex house paint, Buzzell’s pieces are characterized by a surface of intricate brushwork and often feature three-dimensional elements. William Buzzell dips into the mundane, the practical world and a deep well of popular culture, often using maps, logos, charts, text, and familiar cartoon characters or TV icons to fill every inch of his paintings. A native of Providence, RI, much of Buzzell’s early work was installed on the streets of his hometown and New York under the alias Rotgut.

William’s work was also recently featured in the Illustration Department’s show “Expatriates,” curated by Jordin Isip. Congratulations, William and our thanks to the fine folks at Giant Robot for the information.

William Buzzell’s Class Action
Giant Robot New York
February 16 – March 12, 2008
Reception: Saturday, 6:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
437 East 9th Street
New York, New York 10009
(212) 674-GRNY

Martin Mazorra on Printmaking Panel at MoMA

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cannonball & 1026

Illustrative Printmaking instructor Martin Mazorra tipped us off to the following event this coming Thursday. Here’s the official scoop:

Join PopRally for a special night with Martin Mazorra and Mike Houston, printmakers and founders of Cannonball Press, along with artists from Space 1026, a unique creative community located in downtown Philadelphia.

Cannonball Press is a Brooklyn-based organization that produces affordable black and white prints by a number of artists (including Sean Star Wars, David Rees, David Ellis, Maya Hayuk, and Swoon.) In addition to their own art, Mazorra and Houston also work together to create large format woodcut prints. Space 1026 was founded over a decade ago by a handful of artists and tricksters who organize rowdy public events and outrageous installations at their building and at other institutions. At the heart of Space 1026 is a communal screenprinting workshop where the madness comes to life.

Following presentations by the artists, Gretchen Wagner, Curatorial Assistant in MoMA’s Department of Prints & Illustrated Books, moderates a discussion about the artists’ work, printmaking, collaborations, and more. A cocktail reception follows the event.

Tickets are $5 and are available at the Museum information and Film desks.

You must be twenty-one or older to attend this event.

PopRally presents: An Evening with Cannonball Press and Space 1026
Thursday, February 14, 2008
7:00–10:00 p.m.
MoMA @ The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building
4 West 54 St.

[image by Martin Mazorra & Mike Houston; Space 1026]

Illustration Faculty Nathan Bond in “Body of Work” Exhibition

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body-of-work.jpg

Illustration Adjunct Faculty Nathan Bond has work included in Manifest Gallery‘s show entitled “Body of Work” which is on view through February 22nd.

The human form has been a central subject of artwork since well before it was called ‘art’. From Lascaux to Willendorf, to Matthew Barney and Jenny Saville, artists have found ways to provide forms of self-reflection to society.

Body of Work invited artists to submit works in any medium or genre that investigate or incorporate the human form in some way. A range of types of entries were strongly encouraged. Manifest received over 450 entries representing this spectrum, from purely academic examples of anatomical figure drawing, to conceptual and less-obvious interpretations.

Over 130 artists from 34 states and 9 countries submitted entries to this exhibit. The final selection includes 17 works by 12 artists from eight states and the United Kingdom. Works of painting, sculpture, collage, drawing, and printmaking promise to make Body of Work an exceptional exhibit marking the first exhibit of Manifest’s fourth year in operation.

For more information about the show, visit the Manifest Gallery website.  Congratulations on your inclusion, Nathan!

Body of Work
Manifest Gallery
2727Woodburn Avenue
East Walnut Hills
Cincinnati, Ohio 45206