Category Archives: Illustration Alumni

Angie Mason’s solo show in Atlanta

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Murky Menagerie
[Paintings of a Morose & Unsociable Nature]
A solo exhibition featuring new works by Angie Mason
Opening on September 13th, 2008.

Parsons Illustration Alum Angie Mason has an exhibition of works opening up at the Rabbit-Hole Gallery tomorrow.  Here’s the official press release:

You know in life those tragic moments that are so full of comedy, misguided attempts gone awry, good intentions with terrible outcomes. You know that feeling, the awareness of something being unhealthy yet ingesting it anyhow with disregard for any later consequences. This is a taste of some of what you will find within this collection of works. It is a flawed carnival of creatures that are misplaced, displaced and confused within these painted worlds.

These are Moments that rise up from the darkness in life which we can all at some time or another relate to. These are the rock bottom babies born out of wrong doings and hard times. These are vicious poison snake biters we all battle in life. These are the poison mushroom fungi that grow on us as the blown out wishes from weeds entangle our lives. Rising from the murk a swamp queen dream all full of fungus yet she uses the poison, the illness in life to gain strength to keep on living. These are the golden carrot dreamers that hung for too long. These are the caged moon catchers trying to control things beyond their control. These are the self poisoned bloated beasties, These are the lost,the used and the jealous moody bruised tired souls. These are paintings of a morose & unsociable nature and with that I give you A MURKY MENAGERIE all new works by Angie Mason.

Angie Mason
Murky Menagerie – Paintings of a Morose & Unsociable Nature
The Rabbit-Hole Gallery
195 Arizona Avenue L/W
Atlanta, GA 30307
Phone: 404.550.6136

The Global Artistry of Leo and Diane Dillon

Exhibitions, Illustration Alumni, Illustration Industry, ,

If you’re near Abilene, TX, stop by the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature to catch a retrospective of Leo and Diane Dillon.  Both are respected artists and alumni of Parsons Illustration.  Here’s an excerpt from the exhibition description:

Leo Dillon and Diane Sorber were born eleven days apart in 1933-Leo in Brooklyn, New York, and Diane near Los Angeles, California. When they met at Parsons School of Design in New York City in 1954, each already aspired to a life of art. Meeting first through one another’s artwork, they immediately recognized the talent and mastery of the other. Over the years, their competitive friendship evolved into a lasting marriage and artistic partnership. “We’ve worked together for 40 years. In 1997 we celebrated our 40th anniversary and we completed our 40th book, To Every Thing There Is a Season.”

Versatility, diversity, research, and integrity have remained characteristics of the Dillons’ work, which ranges from African folktales to Scandinavian epics, from fantasy to science fiction. In addition to two Caldecott Medals (for Ashanti to Zulu and Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears), the Dillons have received four New York Times Best Illustrated Awards, four Boston Globe/Horn Book Awards, two Coretta Scott King Awards, and the Society of Illustrators Gold Medal.

Congratulations to Leo and Diane on their continuing success and artistic inspiration!

The Global Artistry of Leo and Diane Dillon
Through October 25, 2008
National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature
102 Cedar
Abilene, Texas
(325) 673-4586
info@nccil.org.
Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m–Free Admission

Abby Denson on comics, dessert, and life

Illustration Alumni, Illustration Industry, Interviews, Publications, , ,

Parsons Illustration Alum Abby Denson was recently written up in the New York Daily News.  She talked about her own work, as well as the education value of comics.  Here’s an excerpt:

Daily News: When did you get into comic art and comic writing?

Abby Denson: Well, I’ve been reading comics ever since I was a kid. The early comics I would read were the “X-Men,” and “Alpha Flight”, also “Uncle Scrooge” comics and things like that. When I got into college or when I was in high school getting into college I was more into “Love and Rockets” and reading “Ranma 1/2” by Rumiko Takahashi. Those were some pretty big influences. When I was in college, I pretty much ended up strictly reading black and white comics, whether it was indie comics or manga. I also liked Andy Watson, whose stuff is always great.

At first, I didn’t think I would be into drawing [comics]. I mean, I went to Parsons School of Design for illustration but I really wasn’t into the idea of doing my own comic until I had a concept for a comic that kind of drove me through it. [Creating a] comic is a lot of work since you have to write it and then draw it. It’s double the work of just being a novelist or just being an artist, and usually not as well compensated (laughs). You have to have an idea to propel you to do the work; you really have to be passionate about the concept.

Read the rest of Abby’s great interview here.  Currently, Abby is hard at work, writing a dessert column for L Magazine, illustrating, and getting ready to teach a class here at the New School.  Way to go, Abby!

[art from Abby Denson’s Dolltopia]

Illustration Alums in Dark Pop show

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Dark Pop: a guest-curated show by Andrew Michael Ford goes up at Last Rites Gallery this week.  Here’s the official description:

Last Rites Gallery and guest curator Andrew Michael Ford (director of Ad Hoc Art, curator of Deep Pop) have decided to find out what several of today’s brightest art stars are capable of when asked to create ONE piece of what could be considered truly ‘dark art’. Many artists find themselves in a nice groove of creating a certain mood or emotion through their work and have, understandably, become quite comfortable following this path in their art-making. We were curious, however, what would happen if things were to get a little uncomfortable, as the artist challenged themselves to search through new or buried feelings and emotions, the kind which might find their place on the ‘darker’ side of the artistic spectrum. With that in mind, Last Rites Gallery and guest curator Andrew Michael Ford proudly present “Dark Pop”: A collection of truly ‘dark art’ from an incredibly talented and diverse group of artists who would normally never get anywhere near this stuff! The results, we believe, are nothing short of astounding!

Artists include: Ron English, Isabel Samaras (Illustration Alum), Gary Taxali, Esao Andrews, Nicole Steen, Yoko D’holbachie, Nathan Lee Picket (Illustration Alum) and more.  Go check out it out!

Dark Pop
Opening Reception: Saturday, 9/6/08, 7:00pm-11:00pm.
Show runs September 6th thru October 11th.
Last Rites Gallery
511 W. 33rd Street, between 10th & 11th Avenues (3 blocks from Penn Station), 3rd floor
212.529.0666


1st Sundays featuring R. Sikoryak

Events, Illustration Alumni, Illustration Faculty, Illustration Industry, , ,

1st SUNDAYS COMEDY FILM FESTIVAL
Special Howl Festival Show
featuring Arts of the East Village and the Lower East Side

“Videos by Dale Goodson”
written and directed by Dale Goodson
East Village poet, comedian and filmmaker Dale Goodson
presents works from days gone by, as well as a world premiere.

“Masterpiece Comics”
written & directed by R. Sikoryak (Parsons Illustration Alum & Faculty member!)
Literary masterpieces and comics as you’ve never seen them before.
(In glorious Powerpoint!)

“Masters of the Universe”
written and directed by Kevin Maher
Kevin Maher bares a bit of his soul.  And plays the bongos.

“Why, Grandma?”
written and directed by Chandler Simms
Part of the “Wanna Be a Star” contest, starring audience member Polina Roytman!

Sunday, September 7th, 6:00pm
at the BOWERY POETRY CLUB
308 Bowery (between Houston and Bleecker)
$10 ($7.00 for students)

Updated: The Panorama Project 3 at Jonathan Levine

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The Panorama Project 3: 134 artists, one continuous piece
curated by Jordin Isip (Parsons Illustration Faculty)
and Rodger Stevens (Parsons Illustration Faculty and Alum)
September 6th—October 4th, 2008
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 6th, 7pm—9pm
Jonathan Levine Gallery, NYC

The Panorama Project 3 is a group exhibition featuring commissioned works by over one hundred artists, which will be combined to create a single collective artwork and a site-specific installation. This show will be the latest in a series of large-scale group exhibitions curated by New York based artists Jordin Isip and Rodger Stevens. Since 2001, they have been bringing together an ever-expanding network of painters, sculptors, illustrators, designers, photographers, and video makers to create conceptually and visually unconventional group projects. Some of the original participants included: Doze Green, Chris Johanson, Misaki Kawai, Barry McGee, Georgie Stout, and Eric White.This exhibition is a variation on one of their earliest efforts.  It creates a single, continuous work, comprised of one hundred and thirty-four individual pieces.

The participating artists each received a 7” x  5” wooden panel, on which to create their portion of the installation, with one requirement:each work had to include some manner of horizontal line or division, set at 1-3/4” from the bottom of the board. This common visual device allows each of the separate pieces, when installed together side by side, to cohere into one long contiguous image**a panorama, encircling the entire gallery space. With no knowledge of what would appear on either side of their panel, each artist had the freedom to interpret the line in their own unique way. The installation creates a grand and unpredictable visual synthesis, in a monumental iteration of the exquisite corpse concept. Bringing together artists from so many disparate fields, unlikely to ever appear in the same exhibition space at the same time, this show creates an opportunity for lively experimentation and unexpected results, inspiring innovation while working within a set of prescribed limitations.

The show features a whole plethora of Parsons faculty and alums including:

Yong Choe
Carl Dunn
Ingo Fast
Johanna Goodman
Chesiel John
Andy Kehoe
Hiro Kurata
Liz Lee
Chang Park (faculty)
Jeff Quinn (faculty)
Jessica Ward
Noel Claro
William Buzzell
AJ Fosik
Eddie del Rosario (faculty)
James Gallagher (faculty)
Cat Lauigan
Philip Fivel Nessen
Jordin Isip (faculty)
Rodger Stevens (faculty)

ABOUT THE CURATORS

Jordin Isip is from Queens, NY and has lived in Brooklyn since graduating with a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. He makes artwork for both publication and gallery walls. His work has appeared in numerous publications including: The Atlantic Monthly, Juxtapoz, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and Time. He has curated over a dozen group exhibitions including Mystery Meat at Future Prospects (Phillipines), Scab on My Brain at Space 1026 (Philadelphia), and A Piece Apart at Aidan Savoy (NYC).

Rodger Stevens was born in Brooklyn NY. He studied at the School of Visual Arts and Parsons School of Design, where he currently teaches. His sculptures, installations, and drawings have been exhibited in galleries and museums in New York and abroad and he has been commissioned by numerous institutions including: The Whitney Museum of Art, Tiffany&Co, The Rockwell Group, W Hotel, Sotheby’s, and MTV. His work has been featured in publications such as Art&Antiques, Harper’sBazaar, Elle Decor, and The New York Times.

The Panorama Project 3
September 6th—October 4th, 2008
Jonathan Levine Gallery
529 W. 20th Street, 9E
New York, NY 10011

Andy Kehoe included in Annual Blab! exhibition

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THE 4th ANNUAL BLAB! SHOW
September 6th-27th, 2008
OPENING RECEPTION: September 6th, 8:00-11:30 pm

COPRO/NASON GALLERY and Monte Beauchamp proudly present “THE BLAB! SHOW,” the fourth Group Art Exhibition featuring original paintings and illustrations from the forthcoming issue of BLAB! magazine – Monte Beauchamp’s periodic anthology of sequential and comic art, illustration, painting, and printmaking.

Artists include: SHAG, TRAVIS LOUIE, RYAN HESHKA, GARY BASEMAN, RON ENGLISH, LUKE CHEUH, GARY TAXALI, FRED STONEHOUSE, ANDY KEHOE (Parsons Illustration Alum!), TRAVIS LAMPE, LAURA LEVINE, MARC BURCKHARDT, CJ PYLE, MARK TODD, TOM HUCK, and MANY MORE.

Check out all the artwork for sale here.  And our congrats to Andy on his inclusion!

Pictoplasma takes place next weekend!

Events, General Info, Illustration Alumni, Illustration Industry, Performances, , , , ,

Pictoplasma is coming to New York City for the very first time and it’s happening next weekend, Thursday, September 4th through Saturday, September 6th.  Excitingly enough, two Parsons Illustration Alums will be featured speakers–Aaron Stewart and Motomichi Nakamura.  Here’s the official description:

Characters are taking over…

Our visual culture is being taken hostage by a new wave of characters, abstract and reduced to minimal distinguishing graphic features. In the process of a truly explosive movement, they invade digital media, animation, advertising, art, fashion and street art. They playfully quote and remix such diverse phenomena as pop culture, tribal and folklore, brand logos and comics without restricting themselves to any single one of these genres. In such a way, characters speak to observers at an emotional level as well as crossing cultural boundaries.

Starting in 1999 with the world’s first extensive inventory, collection and archive of contemporary character design, the Berlin based Pictoplasma project is defining the shape and velocity of this trend. Besides giving the characters a timeless and worthy manifestation through their acclaimed publications, Pictoplasma has been bringing together a growing international community of designers, artists, critics, producers and fans at their annual conferences in Berlin.

Go here to see the day-by-day program, including Motomichi and Aaron’s talk, which happens on Friday night from 9-11:30 p.m.  Register here!

Pictoplasma NYC
Festival of Contemporary Character Design and Art
September 4th-September 6th
Skirball Center for the Performing Arts
New York University
566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square South
New York, NY

Brian Wood written up in the Village Voice

Illustration Alumni, Illustration Industry, Interviews, Publications, , , , , , ,

Illustration Alum Brian Wood (’97) was recently interviewed for an article in the Village Voice.  He talked about why San Francisco just isn’t as good as New York (to him), how his artwork has developed, and the critical and social reaction to his art.  Here’s an excerpt:

Comic-book fame is a funny thing: Even as Hollywood pushes the medium further into the mainstream, a sense of geek solidarity remains. Writers and artists feel compelled to stay in touch with their fans; the fans, in turn, continue to treat creators like best friends. “I’m hesitant to compare him to an emo band, but I feel like Brian has that sort of connection to the audience,” says James Lucas Jones, an editor at Oni Press who worked with Wood on Local. “People feel emotionally invested in him.”

Wood’s own fame was cemented in the late ’90s, after the publication of the William Gibson–esque Channel Zero. He now calls it something of “an art student’s rant”—a ” ‘zine where everybody talks about what pisses them off.” But Zero led to a writing stint at Marvel’s Generation X and paved the way for the series Couriers, Couscous Express, and Pounded, about a rock band in New York. Eventually, Wood transitioned from occasionally drawing into writing full-time, mostly because he “had so many ideas, and not enough time to put them to paper.”

Make sure you read the rest of the article here.  Brian also has a list of other articles about his work here on his official website.  You can pick up a copy of his latest book, The New York Four here.

Congrats on your continuing success, Brian!

Ingo Fast–Illustrator and World Traveler

Illustration Alumni, Illustration Industry, Publications, Randomly Intriguing, , , , ,

Friend of the Illustration Department and Parsons Alum–Illustrator Ingo Fast–spent almost a year traveling around the world, illustrating the whole time.  When he got home, he relaxed a little while.  And then set out once again, this time for thirteen months!  Recently, How Magazine featured an article about his journeys and work; you can read the whole article here (just use the small arrows at the bottom to advance pages).  You can also see images from his travel here and here.

Fascinating stuff!