Tag Archives: reportage

Alumni Update Week: Veronica Lawlor at Urban Sketchers Conference this past May

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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.

The Art of Reportage in the 21st Century at NYIH Oct. 6th and 7th

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Kapuscinski_Ad

The New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU, together with the Polish Cultural Institute, the National Book Critics Circle, and the new Literary Reportage concentration at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute invite you to attend:

AFTER KAPUŚCIŃSKI:
THE ART OF REPORTAGE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

A Public Conversation
on the ins and outs of long-form and literary journalism
with leading authors of the genre

October 6 & 7, 2009
NYU’s Hemmerdinger Hall
100 Washington Square East

This symposium, composed of three distinct panels over two evenings, offers an exciting public conversation about the state of the art of reportage amid a rapidly changing media landscape; the various approaches to and practices of long-form and literary journalism; and the ongoing legacy of renowned practitioners like Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński. At a time when categorical differences between fiction and nonfiction are increasingly ambiguous–and the gap between their respective segments of the publishing market increasingly small–a discussion of reportage as a literary art form seems paramount.

Free and open to the public, this event coincides with the launch this fall of the Literary Reportage concentration at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, and is being held in association with the Overseas Press Club of America and Words Without Borders, the online magazine of international literature.

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The Illustration Holiday Shopping List: Part Two

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Here’s the second installment of Illustration’s shopping list, where we spotlight art, publications, and various wares created by Illustration Department alumni and faculty.

aaron stewart pillowsIllustration Alum Aaron Stewart has created a line of pillows in the shape of fantastic pooches and cute kitties. Here’s an official description:

Created by Aaron Stewart and Hornet Toys, this line of comfy, cozy pillows features our first edition designs of bow-wow-beautiful doggies and purrrfectly snuggle-worthy kitties. PillowPillowPillows make a great gift for family, friends and you (why not give yourself a bone?). They appeal to pet lovers of every age, from cat-crazy kids to pooch-loving grandmas. Our pillows look great on your couch, in your car, on the plane and atop your bed too!

Aaron is hard at work on the second edition, but in the meantime, you can buy pieces from the first collection here. Make sure to check out Aaron’s website as well, where you can submit pictures of your own pet for future pillow immortalization!

lawlor boathouse

Boathouse from The Central Park Drawings, Ronnie Lawlor

Parsons Alumna and Illustration Faculty Ronnie Lawlor has a series of drawings from Central Park available through Gallery 1482, a site that features a variety of artist and graphic communicators. As Ronnie says, “Studio 1482 consists of nine members with one common goal – to communicate visually in new, unique and exciting ways. Each member of the studio works both as an individual and in concert with the other eight. The studio is based on reportage – drawing and illustrating on site. This kind of engagement creates unusual visual solutions that are graphically appropriate for the problem at hand.” Soon, another series by Ronnie, called Sensations, will be made available.

our dumb world

Illustration Alumni and Faculty member Bob Sikoryak contributed several illustrations to Our Dumb World: The Onion’s Atlas of the Planet Earth, 73rd Edition. Bob is also working on some animation and fake archival graphics for the feature film “The Bentfootes,” a dance mockumentary, which will be showing at the Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater, as a part of The Dance On Camera Festival, January 5 and 6, 2008. Program 9 on the festival features the Bentfootes & a few shorts and happens on Saturday, Jan 5th at 4 p.m. (repeats Sunday, Jan 6th at 8:30pm).

Walter Reade Theatre
Lincoln Center Plaza,165 West 65th Street
January 2-6, 11, 18-19, 2008

mr. wiggles 435

Illustration Faculty member Neil Swaab has two volumes of his popular comic, Mr. Wiggles available–Rehabilitating Mr. Wiggles: Vol. 1 and Rehabilitating Mr. Wiggles (Attitude Featuring) (Attitude). An interview with Neil once announced that, “rumour has it Mr. Wiggles may have been born out of some “orgy with Smokey the Bear, Winnie the Pooh, Snuggles the fabric-softener Bear (later murdered by Wiggles, see Vol 1) and a loose female Build-A-Bear.” DNA results are still pending.”

Catch more of Mr. Wiggles here and also make sure check out Neil’s antics at his website.