Category Archives: Illustration Alumni

Reminder: Reception for Illustration’s Collaboration with Design Within Reach

Events, Exhibitions, General Info, Illustration Alumni, Illustration Dept. Events, Illustration Faculty, Illustration Industry, , , , ,

bellini-copy

The New School’s Weekly Observer included a write-up of Bellini chair creative project that Illustration Department students have been working on over the course of the semester. Here’s an excerpt:

Re-imagining the Chair is a semester-long project of the Beyond Editorial course, taught by Parsons faculty member and alumna Kenna Kay. The course explores the ever-expanding realm of illustration, going beyond the traditional boundaries of the printed page to look at toys, animation, clothing, skateboards, and food packaging. The project was developed with Bradford Shane Shellhammer, the studio proprietor and blogger for Design Within Reach, who is also a student in Parsons’ AAS program.

For the project, students were asked to reexamine an everyday object, the chair, taking into account the experience of sitting, the usefulness of the object, the human form, social conventions, style and culture. The design could be personal, political or fanciful, as long as it makes the viewer think about the chair “in all its chairness.”

Read the rest of the article here, as well as the other write-ups on this blog, located here & here. Additionally, don’t forget the opening reception which happens in just a couple of days!

Re-Imagining the chair
Wednesday, December 12, 7-9pm
DWR West 14th Studio
408 West 14th Street
New York, NY 10014
Phone: 212.242.9449

Illustration Faculty Bob Sikoryak hosts Carousel

Events, Illustration Alumni, Illustration Faculty, Performances, , , ,

carousel 12-13

CAROUSEL

Cartoon slide shows & other projected pictures presented by a glittering array of artists, performers, graphic novelists, & other characters. Since 1997, Carousel has been presented around NYC at Dixon Place, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Makor, MoCCA Art Fest, and NY Comic Con, as well as at the San Diego Comic-Con, Small Press Expo, and the Blue Met Festival (Montreal).

Hosted by Illustration Alum and Faculty member R. Sikoryak

Featuring:
Robbie Busch
Megan Montague Cash
Danny Hellman
Michael Kupperman
Jim Torok
Lauren R. Weinstein

Thursday, December 13
8 pm (doors open at 7:30 pm)

Dixon Place
258 Bowery, 2nd Fl, between Houston & Prince
NY, NY

Tickets: $12 or TDF; $10 student/senior

You can by advance tickets & find more info at www.dixonplace.org or by calling (212) 219-0736.

Illustration Faculty and Alumni in two shows on opposite sides of the country

Events, Exhibitions, Illustration Alumni, Illustration Faculty, News, , , , , , , ,

green show logo

Green Group Exhibition
curated by Mark Murphy
November 17 – December 22, 2007

Out in sunny Santa Monica, California, Illustration adjunct faculty Jordin Isip and Illustration alums AJ Fosik & William Buzzell are part of the Mark Murphy-curated show Green, which opened this month at the Robert Berman Gallery.

Here’s an excerpt of the show’s description as well as some information about Jordin’s work (as seen below): Curator and publisher, Mark Murphy has invited 40 artists to share their inspired vision about the delicate and often aggressive intermingling of human beings with nature…At first glance, Jordin Isip’s “Know” painting looks as if he utilized thread or colored string in the central figure. Jordin reports, “It’s not thread, these “tangles,” (as I call them), are made of tiny pieces of cut paper, glued together using tweezers, with a semi-steady hand and half-bottle of patience. Sometimes it’s therapeutic—like meditation, other times—just frustrating, maddening…” Jordin is a great promoter of a huge range of artistic talent.

isip-know.jpg

By Chance Alone by Jordin Isip

See images from the opening evening of Green here and read more about the exhibition here (as well as see more images). All the way across the country…these same three gentleman are included in another Mark Murphy-curated group show called Know which opens December 6th amidst the tumult of Art Basel in Miami. Here’s the overview of the show, along with information about the William Buzzell image below: KNOW looks to introduce the fans of art and culture to more that 50 major works, 8″ x 8″ in size with various social and political themes. Curator and publisher, Mark Murphy will be on hand to introduce you to the artists who are featured in “Know” and who actively celebrate the fine art of visual story telling…William Buzzell is a Philadelphia based artist who is constantly influenced by social issues and history. Will’s latest painting, “Self Portrait as a Townie,” is an acrylic and ink painting on wood that invites close inspection and is love for library books. Will has been exhibiting since 2001 and is an emerging visual artist who continually evolves, while provoking the viewer to look deeper.

self portrait as a townie
Self Portrait as a Townie, by William Buzzell

KNOW : Art Exhibition
Curated by Mark Murphy
Art Now Fair : Art Basel Miami
Murphy Design : Booth No. 215
December 6 – 9 : 2007
Thursday – Saturday : 10 am – 8 pm :
Sunday : 10 am – 6 pm

Go here to see images from & information about all the artists involved in this exciting show.

Congrats to our faculty and alums going coast-to-coast!

Illustration Alum & Children’s Book Artist Kae Nishimura visits the department

Illustration Alumni, Illustration Dept. Events, News, , , , ,

kae nishmura

Illustration alum and talented artist Kae Nishimura will be visiting Parsons this coming Monday. After graduation, Kae went on to publish works like I Am Dodo: Not a True Story and her most recent book, Bunny Lune. Here’s an excerpt from a review of her work:

Join Bunny Lune, an imaginative young rabbit, as he learns how to travel to the moon in Kae Nishimura’s delightful children’s story, “Bunny Lune.” …Adults and children alike will love this hilarious tale of adventure and self-discovery. Illustrated by Nishimura herself, the story is chock-full of wacky characters populating an even wackier storyline. Children of a multicultural bent will especially enjoy the images of rabbits dressed up in traditional Japanese kimonos and drinking green tea. “Bunny Lune” is a must-read bedtime story for all who dream of flying to the moon.

—Paul Kim, Northwest Asian Weekly

Kae will be speaking about her books and her artistic process in an informal talk during Pat Cummings‘ Children’s Book class. All are welcome to attend and here her speak.

Kae Nishimura
December 3rd at 1:30 p.m.
2 W. 13th, Room 1104

Giant Robot announces an exhibition with Illustration Alum Jill Bliss

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jill bliss @ giant robot

 

Jill Bliss and Saelee Oh at GR2
Los Angeles, CA
December 8 – January 9

Giant Robot presents Hidden Habitats, an art show featuring the work of Jill Bliss and Salee Oh. Jill graduated from the Illustration department and has since given presentations to our students as an alum & visiting artist. Here is an excerpt from the official press release:

Jill Bliss grew up on a family farm in Northern California where everything was hand-built or cultivated-the food, the house, the farm machinery, and even the family computers. Since graduating from the Parsons School of Design & the California College of the Arts, her professional background has included fashion design, illustration, and design theory. Whether designing limited-edition paper goods or fine art pieces, all of her work reveals a fondness for combining fabric, paper, and other found materials.

For this show, the artists will make individual and collaborative drawings, paper cut-outs, sewn soft sculptures, and other pieces that expand on the theme of their third collaborative calendar, Hidden Habitats. The artwork depicts houses, shelters, buildings, and dwellings incorporating and blending into nature. These dwellings are sometimes human-sized, but more often than not sized for real and imagined animals, reptiles, or bugs.

In this body of work, both artists explore the underlying structures of nature, the inherent beauty and interdependence of these structures, and human nature’s interpretation of and dependence upon them. The original drawings, many of which have been altered or expanded upon since the making of the calendar, will also provide insight into the artists’ digital and hand-drawn collaborative process.

For more information about the exhibition, visit the Giant Robot site.

GR2
2062 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
gr2.net
(310) 445-9276

From the Vault: Illustration Friday interview with Philip Fivel Nessen

From the Vault, General Info, Illustration Alumni, Interviews, , ,

nessen yellow sun

While sifting through the blogroll, I came across this interview from August with recent Illustration alum Philip Fivel Nessen. He talks about the development of his style, his methods of finding work, and what inspires him. Here’s a brief excerpt:

How did you get started in the illustration field?

The first time I noticed illustration was a Henrik Drescher drawing in the New York Times book review. It was an Uncle Sam head, with spider legs, and I think lasers for eyes. It had people running through the spider legs. I think that’s where my interest in visual arts started. I find Monet sort of boring. As for doing work, I got a few jobs just through my website before I started doing any promotion or meeting with anyone. Then I sent out postcards and took my portfolio to a few places and got some good advice and some more jobs. And then I did an Illustration Friday interview.

How did you find your style? Has it changed since you started?

At first it was a very calculated thing. I spent like a month cutting things out and taking notes. Just sort of figuring out where I could fit into the illustration business and be sort of novel but also reflect stuff I really like. I also wanted to sort of look like a late 1950s, early 1960s illustrator. After I started drawing more new stylistic things popped up in response to different things. Thick lines, thin lines, abstract people, figural people. Whatever. Things are still working themselves out. I sort of hope I end up like one of those guys comfortable enough to do work that’s not the same story over and over. There is definitely a fine line between hopeless and multi-dimensional.

Read the rest of the interview here (and make sure you take a look around the rest of the Illustration Friday site for great interviews and image galleries).

(Image by Philip Fivel Nessen)

News about Illustration Alumni David Horvath & Ugly Dolls

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bossy bear bookbossy bear with box

David Horvath, Illustration Department alum and co-creator of Ugly Dolls (with his wife Sun Min Kim, who is also an Illustration alum!), has a new toy out based on the title character from his first picture book, Bossy Bear. Both the book and the toy are available now at Giant Robot and online.

Additionally, the first ever Uglycon will be held this December. Here’s some info from David’s blog:

uglycon

UGLYCON!
Saturday December 8th at 6PM!
GIANT ROBOT
618 Shrader St
San Francisco, CA 94117

COSTUME CONTEST! Dress up as your favorite or least favorite UGLY
and win super secret prizes!

What is Uglycon? It’s original art, prints, paintings, hand made Uglys,
limited production Uglycon exclusives, and fun for all!

____

Congratulations to David and Sun Min on their continued success after Parsons!

(all images by David Horvath and Giant Robot)

Leo and Diane Dillon visit the Illustration Department!

Events, Illustration Alumni, Illustration Dept. Events, , , ,

dillons

Leo and Diane Dillon
Monday, November 5th, 2007
Room 510
66 W. 12th Street
1 p.m.

The prolific husband and wife team of Leo and Diane Dillon first met as students at Parsons School of Design. The only illustrators to have won American’s highest award for children’s book illustration, the Caldecott Medal, two years in a row, Leo is also the first African-American artist to win the award. They won in 1976 for Why Mosquitos Buzz in People’s Ears and in 1977 for Ashanti to Zulu.

Respected for their versatility, distinctive style, integrity and the thorough research they bring to each project, the Dillons have won the Hamilton King award, The Boston Globe/Horn Book Award, the Coretta Scott King award, the Society of Illustrator’s Gold Medal, the New York Times Best Illustrated award and the Hugo award for science fiction illustration, among others.

Recently, they have been writing as well , adding titles such as Mother Goose Numbers on the Loose, Jazz on a Saturday Night and Rap a Tap Tap to their constantly growing list of over 45 children’s books.

All are welcome to attend this exciting event!

Re*Generation Gallery Auction and Benefit

Events, Illustration Alumni, Illustration Faculty, Performances, , ,

re*generation

Please join Virgin Mobile USA & DJ James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem for an evening of entertainment, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and the silent auction of new works by:

Diane Barcelowsky, Melinda Beck, Calef Brown, Thomas Campbell, Clayton Brothers, Daniel Davidson, James Gallagher, Julie Goldstein, Matt Hansel, Caroline Hwang, Jordin Isip (Illustration Faculty), Rich Jacobs, Chesiel John (Illustration ’02), Greg Lamarche, Matt Leines, Julia Marchand, Taylor McKimens, Jean-Pierre Roy, Antonio Sanchez, Denise Tassin and Eric White.

The RE*Generation Gallery
2007 Auction and Benefit
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
7 to 11 pm (bidding ends at 10 pm)
Skylight, 275 Hudson St. , New York City

100% of proceeds raised will benefit non-profit organizations working on the issue of youth homelessness.

Tickets are not required to attend the event but capacity is limited. To ensure admission and avoid the general admission line, pre-register as a VIP by making a donation of $25 or more to The RE*Generation online.

Go to http://www.regenerationgallery.com to pre-register as a VIP, view all of the works and/or place an online bid. Online bidding will end November 1st.