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This past Saturday from 3-10 PM, Pictoplasma came to Parsons from Berlin. Parsons Illustration provided some talent of its own, and we attracted some 400 attendees. We also attracted the New York Fire Department, when Craig Redman’s presentation was interrupted by a fire alarm and a building evacuation. Happily, all were safe and we proceeded with the program. Above are some snaps from the event.
Parsons The New School for Design will present Pictoplasma NYC, a conference celebrating the artistic creation of character design, on Saturday, November 13 from 3-10 p.m.. Featuring lectures, panel discussions, and short film screenings, the event is part of Illustration Week, an annual programming series across New York City that showcases the best in international character design and art. The conference will be held at Tishman Auditorium, The New School, 66 West 12th Street, New York. Admission is free, but registration is requested via email to pictoplasmaparsons@gmail.com. Pictoplasma NYC is supported by folioplanet.com.
The conference was organized by Pictoplasma founders and curators Lars Denicke and Peter Thaler, and Steven Guarnaccia, chair of Illustration at Parsons. Among the featured participants is Ice Age character designer Peter de Seve, a well-known illustrator, New Yorker cover artist, and Parsons alumnus, who will discuss the process of creating iconic characters. In addition, Guarnaccia will moderate a panel discussion on how creative skills developed in art school can translate into work-life projects and careers, featuring a range of Parsons alumni: animation director Aaron Stewart, artist Motomichi Nakamura, and ornamental painter Andy Kehoe.
Also presenting are two members of the Australian design collective Rinzen, known for its video and audio remix project, RMX. New York-based designer Craig Redman has a creative output filled with twisted optimism and simple messages executed in a colorful, bold style. His character Darcel has become a fashion icon and is often featured at famed Parisian boutique Colette, where he recently had a solo exhibition. Berlin-based designer Rilla Alexander is inspired by vintage children books and mythical stories to create characters with complex identities through a blending of illustration, graphics and 3D design. Her RMX project, Neighbourhood, involved 20 blank plush dolls that were passed around the world being reworked and remade.
Illustrator Nathan Jurevicius will discuss his most acclaimed project to date, Scarygirl. Since her creation in 2001, Scarygirl has developed a following of fans throughout the world and has been the subject of a game, graphic novel, numerous limited edition vinyl toys and travelling shows, and a forthcoming feature film.
The program will conclude with a screening of Characters in Motion 2010, a 75-minute collection of animated short films, music videos and motion graphics. Each film was selected for its innovative and style-setting character design and the intriguing way these protagonists involve the viewer in surreal settings.
Pictoplasma is acclaimed for its unique focus on contemporary character design and art. Timeless publications showcase the work of a global scene of illustrators, graphic designers and animation filmmakers. The annual conference in Berlin is the meeting point for an international audience. The inimitable mix of selected animation programs, the lively exchange between the various disciplines and face-to-face artist lectures, allowing a personal glimpse into the character centered universe of the protagonists, have proven highly inspiring and highlight the importance of characters in contemporary visual culture. Whether illustration, animation, graphic design, street or fine art – the emphasis is not on the limits of style or format, but on the shared dedication to explore character-driven aesthetics. After its US premiere in 2008, the event is now returning to New York for the second Pictoplasma NYC edition. For more information, please visit www.pictoplasma.com.
In the BFA Illustration Program at Parsons The New School for Design, one of the most prestigious and comprehensive schools of art and design in the world, students are poised to become influential, pictorial communicators. Through studio and digital course work, the program builds proficiency in drawing and media-based skills; creativity in concepts and problem solving; awareness of art and design and current social and cultural concerns; and fluency in technological tools and software. For more information, please visit http://www.newschool.edu/parsons/bfa-illustration/.
Bonnie Gloris (Parsons Illustration ’06) sent us the following email and information about a show opening this week and her own awesome accomplishments! She writes:
I thought you would like to hear about a very interesting exhibition I’m curating that opens next week at Broadway Gallery NYC. The show includes several Parsons Illustration Department alumni and faculty members, including myself. I thought you’d also like to hear that as a result of this curatorial project, Broadway Gallery NYC has hired me full-time as their Gallery Manager and also as the Art Director of their publication “NY Arts Magazine”.
Nature Vs. Nurture collects images that depict the tension between opposing forces, one wild and one domestic, that characterize the human psyche.
Nature Vs. Nurture
Broadway Gallery
473 Broadway, 7th Floor, NYC, NY 10013
November 1st – 15th, 2010
Opening Reception: Thursday, November 4th, 6:00 – 8:00 PMAll of the info can also be found here:
http://www.broadwaygallerynyc.com/category/upcoming-exhibitions/page/2/
Parsons Illustration Alums George Bates (who is also faculty), Niina Cochran, Nathan Pickett, and Bonnie herself are all featuring in the show along with other wonderful illustrators including Parsons Illustration faculty members Jordin Isip, Chang Park, and Tim Okamura.
Congrats to Bonnie on her new role at the gallery, and to everyone else on their inclusion in this exciting show.
Broadway Gallery NYC
473 Broadway, 7th floor, New York, NY 10013
T: 212.274.8993 F: 212.226.3400
www.broadwaygallerynyc.com
13 NOVEMBER 2010
3.00-10.00 pm
Parsons The New School for Design
Part of New York Illustration Week
Tishman Auditorium
66 West 12th Street
SCHEDULE3.00pm Introduction – Pictoplasma
3.45pm Artist Lecture – Craig Redman
4.15pm Artist Lecture – Rilla Alexander5.30pm Artist Lecture – Nathan Jurevicius6.15pm Artist Lecture – Peter de Sève7.30pm Panel – Parsons Alumni8.15pm Screening – Characters in Motion 20109.30pm Filmmakers Q&A10.00pm End
ENTRANCE IS FREE, BUT SEATS ARE LIMITED !!!
PLEASE KINDLY ANNOUNCE YOUR ATTENDANCE:
PICTOPLASMAPARSONS (at) GMAIL (dot) COM
Graciously sponsored in part by Folioplanet.
If you’re in San Francisco tonight, stop by The Exquisite Book Signing and & Live Drawing event at Rare Device. Artists in attendance will include Julia Rothman, Lisa Congdon, Caitlin Keegan, Susie Ghahremani, Kelly Lynn Jones (Little Paper Airplanes), Tom Neely, Eunice Moyle and Lorena Siminovich. Grain Edit hipped us to the publisher details and image below:
More details on the book:In The Exquisite Book, one hundred indie artists play an ingenious version of the Exquisite Corpse drawing game. Each adorns a page with artwork—having seen only the page of the artist immediately prior and using a single horizon line to connect the two. Some continue the “story” quite literally while others build on the previous page in more fanciful ways. This astonishing volume’s format is as unique as its content, with each of the book’s ten chapters residing on a ten-page accordion pull-out, allowing readers to view the art continuously. With an illustrated foreword by Dave Eggers, and art from such luminaries as James Jean and (Parsons Illustration Alum) Jill Bliss, this charming book is, simply, exquisite.
Jill isn’t the only Parsons Illustration-related person in the book: Illustration faculty members Jordin Isip and Mike Perry are in on the action as well! Congrats to all.
The Ignatz Awards, named for the character in the classic comic strip Krazy Kat by George Herriman, is a festival prize that recognizes outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning. The ballot is created by a panel of five cartoonists and is then voted on by the attendees at the Small Press Expo, held back in September. This offers a unique reflection of the views the professionals and their fans. You can read a complete list of the winners here.
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For those of you who cannot attend the upcoming Parsons Reunion Weekend, October 15-17th, we here in the Illustration program have put together a small virtual tour of the facilities so you can get a feel for what we’re up to these days. Enjoy!
Dixon Place presents…
CAROUSEL
Cartoon slide shows & other projected pictures presented by a glittering array of artists, performers, graphic novelists, & other characters.
Hosted by R. Sikoryak (Parsons Illustration Faculty and Alum)
Featuring:
Brian Dewan
Emily Flake
Dale Goodson
Danny Hellman
John Kovaleski
Laurie Sandell
and The Association for the Betterment of Sex
(Scott Jacobson, Todd Levin, Jason Roeder, Mike Sacks, & Ted Travelstead)
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
7:30 pm
(door opens 7 pm)
at
Dixon Place
161 A Chrystie Street
(btwn Rivington & Delancey)
NY, NY
Tickets:
$15 each or TDF; or $12 student/senior or $25 for 2 with Carousel postcard
Advance tickets & more info:
www.dixonplace.org
(212) 219-0736
Carousel Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6301533565&ref=ts
David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim at GR2
September 11 – September 29, 2010
Reception: Saturday, September 11, 6:30 – 10:00
Giant Robot is proud to host Photos from the Uglyverse, an art show featuring work by Uglydolls creators (and Parsons Illustration Alumni) David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim.
In 2001, Sun-Min turned a drawing on the bottom of letters from David into a hand-sewn doll. It was Wage, the first Uglydoll ever. After David brought the piece to the newly opened Giant Robot store, it evolved into a toy with a rabid following–selling out at shops around the world, appearing in movies, creating spin-offs, spawning bootlegs, and inspiring a new wave of stuffed plushes.
Photos from the Uglyverse will include a collection of super-limited edition of prints taken from Horvath and Kim’s current projects with Abrams Books and beyond. Horvath adds, “Can’t find GR2? Just look for the giant jumping Uglydoll outside!”
GR2
2062 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
gr2.net
(310) 445-9276
Parsons Illustration Alum and current Adjunct Faculty member Veronica Lawlor took part in the Urban Sketchers’ Conference this past May. The conference took place in Portland, OR and was comprised of lectures, sessions, and practical sessions that put drawing into action. Ronnie was an instructor/presenter at the symposium and is on the board of directors for Urban Sketchers. She was interviewed about her background and inspirations on the symposium blog. Here’s a snippet:
When I search for “reportage drawings”, your name appears everywhere on the results. What is reportage drawing and why do you think reportage drawing as an art genre is important?
The word reportage comes from the French, meaning ‘the act or process of reporting’. Reportage drawing can be journalistic or descriptive of place and can carry the artist’s opinion. Since it is painted or drawn and not photographed, reportage illustration can take liberties with ‘reality’ in order to be clearer in meaning. It is important to the art genre because it is a direct artistic response to a place or situation, right there on the spot, and it becomes very instinctive. In that it is different from the majority of artistic experience that involves the artist alone in a studio working.
Since there is a direct connection between the artist’s hand, eye and mind, it can be very emotional as well. Reportage is so rewarding for me because I love it as a way to interact with the world and contribute.
You are the author for several books and your works are exhibited in galleries and museums. Can you tell us more and what these achievements mean to you in your role as artist, illustrator and educator?
The gratifying thing about having my work published and in gallery or museum settings is that I am able to reach the public with it. To me, art is always about communication with people. When my drawings of September 11th were exhibited at the Fire Museum in New York City, I had firemen coming up to me with tears in their eyes telling me how emotionally affected they were by seeing them. That kind of emotional connection is such a big part of the reason why I started drawing in the first place. I can be a bit shy at times, but I’m really an extrovert at heart, and drawing allows me to reach out to people who I might otherwise never come in contact with.
You can read the rest of the interview here. You can also see more of Ronnie’s work at her website.
