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.
Parsons Illustration Alum and current Adjunct Faculty member Veronica Lawlor passed along the following information about Studio 1482‘s fundraising efforts to help the people of Haiti. Here’s the scoop:
In response to the recent terrible earthquake in Haiti, the illustrators of Studio 1482 have each created a piece of art to raise money on behalf of the victims. It is our effort to support the international appeal for funds by CARE, a leading humanitarian relief organization. We’ve selected CARE because we believe in their commitment.
For each donation of $50 or more to CARE, you will receive a hand-signed 13″ x 19″ limited edition print from one of the Studio 1482 illustrators.
See all the beautiful illustrations available and get more information about Studio 1482 here.
Associate Professor Nora Krug is working with the Poster Cause Project and has created an open-edition poster which is being sold to support in the relief efforts. ALL 100% OF PROFITS from this print will be donated to Doctors Without Borders, an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in France in 1971. You can get Nora’s poster here.
Parsons Illustration Alum and current Adjunct Faculty member Trey Hoyumpa is pitching in with her own humanitarian effort–hand-pulled silkscreen cards with the proceeds benefitting Haiti. You can grab your own at Trey’s Etsy shop, located here.
[top image by Veronica Lawlor; middle image by Nora Krug; bottom image by Trey Hoyumpa]
Parsons Illustration Alum and current Adjunct Faculty member Veronica Lawlor sent this email and fantastic image my way the other day. Here’s the scoop from Ronnie herself:
I did a book jacket a few months ago for a journalist’s account (James Hider) of the Iraq War called Spiders of Allah. It was recently reviewed in Time online, with my cover featured prominently. I’m really happy with the way the jacket turned out and the book is excellent.
You can check out the book review here and, even better, you can see more of Ronnie’s work at her website and blog.
Thanks for passing along the good word, Ronnie and congrats!
Santa Monica 1
SONYA presents the 9th Annual SONYA Studio Stroll in the vibrant cultural hub of downtown Brooklyn just south of the Navy Yard—where art is made.
The Stroll is a free self-guided walking tour of studios and galleries showcasing an incredible variety of artwork created by Brooklyn-based artists. We invite you to begin your Stroll experience by previewing the Stroll artists’ work, downloading a tour map, and planning your adventure on Stroll weekend, May 17 & 18. Bring your friends and family along and make it a celebration of art making and appreciation!
The SONYA Studio Stroll is funded, in part, by public funds from the NYC Dept. of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts, also by our Artist Members and our Friends of SONYA, as well as local businesses and organizations.
Among many other artists and galleries, Tres Gallery, a studio and gallery space run by artists Margaret Hurst, Eddie Pena and Illustration Alum and Adjunct Faculty Veronica Lawlor, will be participating in the Stroll and showing Recent Works. The gallery focuses on abstract and representational drawing and painting.
SONYA Studio Stroll 2008
Saturday May 17 & Sunday, May 18 12:00 – 6pm, both days
For more information about location and directions, call 718-857-5696.
TRES Gallery
20 Grand Avenue, #204
Brooklyn, NY 11205
info@tresgallery.com
[image by Veronica Lawlor]
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.
Illustration 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!
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.
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
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.