Spring Break on the West Coast

March 8, 2010 – 10:35 pm

Hello blog readers of CIA. This is Sasha Thueringer reporting on our spring break this year! I am currently on the West coast, well, Arizona to be exact. I know in Cleveland it’s snowy and slushy, but here it’s beautiful. A little rain on the drive home from the airport, but it doesn’t kill my spirits. I’m armed with 13 rolls of film and two cameras, as well as two wonderful little sisters to be my tour guide. It has been three years since I’ve been here.  It’s weird coming back to where you grew up, especially when you’ve been away for so long.

Now that Spring Break is here, I know it will fly by, so enjoying it is what I’m going to try my best to do. I thought a break away from Ohio would be best, and by now I was really missing my Arizonian family. My dad picked me up, and there was a little wind and a few sprinkles, but overall, the dress I was wearing was perfect attire for the Arizona “winter”. Now I won’t go on and brag about this weather much longer, because I know my poor fellow Clevelanders are still bundled up, but here is a suggestion I have for all of you.

Want to get rid of those winter time blues? One trip, even if it’s just a few days, to somewhere warm will lighten your spirits, because there really is nothing like driving on the interstate with the window down, with no humidity, at 8 o’clock at night. It is quite refreshing and simply comforting after the long winter months.

I plan to do a photo project while I’m here, so wish me luck that it stops raining. I got a lot of catching up to do with some family for now though, so I bid you farewell. For just a couple hundred dollars, you too can join me. Hop on a plane, come on! No…? Well, I’ll keep you updated on this trip, the biggest thing I’ve done in quite a while.

Goodnight Ohio (it’s 1:45 a.m. there) and Goodnight Arizona (it’s only 11:45 here, but I’m on Ohio time!)

By Sasha Thueringer | Posted in Cleveland Institute of Art | Comments (0)

CIA Prof Scott Ligon Publishes Book on Digital Fine Art

March 3, 2010 – 10:35 am

Digital artist and filmmaker Scott Ligon, a CIA associate professor who coordinates the Institute’s digital foundation curriculum, has written a book on digital fine art that will be published by Random House subsidiary Watson-Guptill. Titled “Digital Art Revolution: Creating Fine Art with Photoshop,” the book will be released internationally on March 9, 2010.

Aimed at an audience of visually creative people, from professionals to students to teachers, “Digital Art Revolution” discusses how technology is influencing the way artists approach the creative process. The book combines artistic theory with step-by-step Photoshop tutorials.

“Digital art functions as a revolutionary tool that integrates with virtually every medium even while it obliterates the boundaries and definitions of mediums,” says Ligon. “Rather than imitating art history and the great, unique artists that made it, this book encourages artists to explore the possibilities of digital art and make art history.”

Ligon earned his MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and started his career as a graphic designer and illustrator. He soon began to utilize his perspective as a painter to explore the expansive possibilities of digital technology as an art-making tool. His animated short film “Escape Velocity,” created in the style of his digital paintings, has played in festivals and theaters all over the world.

For more details or to order the book, visit digitalartrevolution.com.

By Julie Mason | Posted in CIA Faculty, Cleveland Institute of Art, Featured | Comments (0)

Berlin Study Trip Open to All Art + Design Students

March 2, 2010 – 10:35 pm

Can you imagine yourself at the Bauhaus, one of Europe’s most famous art schools? Experience the Bauhaus in Dessau and Weimar, and explore the vibrant international art scene of Berlin this May during CIA’s study abroad program “Art and the City – Berlin 2010.” You and your classmates will examine the cultural landscape of this exciting German metropolis, then show your collected impressions this fall in Cleveland.

Organized by The Cleveland Institute of Art, this 17-day study trip is open to students of all art disciplines from any Northeast Ohio college. CIA students are eligible for three course credits.

The trip is directed by CIA Associate Professor Dr. John Powers, Visual Arts. Prof. Powers is an artist and scholar, California-born and educated, who earned his MA and PhD at the University of the Arts Berlin. He realized sculpture and installation art in numerous public places in the U.S. and particularly in Berlin during the last 20 years.

Associate Professor Christian Wulffen, Foundation, will also accompany the study trip. A German who earned his MFA from the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart, he is intimately familiar with the country’s arts scene. Prof. Wulffen has exhibited internationally, with work archived at the Foundation of Concrete Art in Reutlingen Germany and represented by two galleries in London and Stuttgart. His most recent show was at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Cleveland.

Home to the largest art school in Europe, Berlin is a fascinating city whose identity is tied to music and art unlike any city in the U.S. You will experience this connection through Berlin’s universities, museums, public art, monuments and more. In addition to Berlin, you will spend several days in Dessau and Weimar, staying in the actual studios used by Bauhaus artists in the 1920s. And you’ll meet students and faculty and attend a special lecture by American-born professor Liz Bachhuber at Bauhaus University Weimar.

“Art and the City – Berlin 2010” departs Cleveland on Sunday, May 16 and returns on Thursday, June 3. The course fee includes accommodations, all breakfasts and dinners, an S-Bahn (transit system) ticket, studio space, and sightseeing entrance fees.

Expression of interest along with deposit must be received no later than noon March 5. Final payment is due by March 16. Please contact Prof. John Powers at jpowers@cia.edu.

By Julie Mason | Posted in CIA Students, Cleveland, Cleveland Institute of Art, Featured | Comments (0)

Design Revolution Road Show Stops at CIA March 29

March 1, 2010 – 10:35 am

Do you want to learn how product design can change the world? See a collection of innovative humanitarian design solutions when the Design Revolution Road Show visits The Cleveland Institute of Art on March 29. Stop by the Institute’s parking lot at 11141 East Boulevard between 11am and 5pm to view this exciting one-day exhibition, displayed in an Airstream trailer. And come to a free, public speech by project founder Emily Pilloton at 12:15pm in CIA’s Aitken Auditorium. Read on for details.

PROJECT H TAKES THE DESIGN REVOLUTION ON THE ROAD
Courtesy of Project H Design

The Spring 2010 Design Revolution Road Show will promote design for social change: 25 schools, 6300 miles, 75 days, 1 mobile trailer exhibition, 40 products to change the world. As some creative professionals and designers have begun to rethink their traditional consumer-based practices, prioritizing design as a tool for problemsolving and social action, San Francisco-based design nonprofit Project H Design is taking design for the greater good on the road.

From February to April 2010, the Design Revolution Road Show will bring a lecture series and traveling exhibition of “design that empowers people” to 25 design universities and high schools across the US. A Project H Design initiative, the road show will feature a biodiesel-powered truck and Airstream trailer exhibition of 40 humanitarian design solutions that have been showcased in the book Design Revolution: 100 Products that Empower People, written by Project H founder Emily Pilloton. The products range from homemade water filters made in the developing world to user-friendly blood glucose monitors for a retail market, mobility tools for the elderly, and educational toys for mentally challenged children. Each product is an example of how design can enable and improve life, rather than simply take up space as a commodity or accessory.

The 25 schools include design universities and high schools. By bringing the Design Revolution Road Show to students, rather than professionals, Project H hopes to make a stronger connection between education and design, both as provocative and socially relevant subject matter and as a way to learn and teach problem solving through design thinking and creativity.

The Design Revolution Road Show’s programming will bring the evidence of and tools for design for social impact to the doorsteps of students, with the ultimate goal of enabling and empowering the next generation of creative problem-solvers to apply their skills to the world’s most pressing problems and improve life on a global scale.

“We believe design can change the world, and we’re taking the show on the road,” say Project H founder Emily Pilloton and project manager Matthew Miller, who will be behind the wheel for the duration of the tour.

The Design Revolution Road Show is a Project H Design initiative and has been made possible through the support of the Adobe Foundation, Sappi Paper’s Ideas That Matter Grant Program, and C2 LLC (Creative Capital).

More information at projecthdesign.org.

By Julie Mason | Posted in Cleveland Institute of Art, Exhibits, Featured | Comments (1)

Vote for CIA Seniors to Win Statewide Art Award

February 25, 2010 – 10:35 am

Cleveland Institute of Art seniors Andrew Kuhar, Morgan Carlson, and Lauren Juratovac were recently chosen from among their peers as nominees for the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio (AICUO) Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts.

This competition recognizes outstanding senior artists from independent colleges throughout Ohio who compete for a Grand Award, including a cash prize of $2,500. Portfolios of all artwork submitted by the student nominees are currently being judged by independent college faculty, community artists, art journalists and state legislators to determine finalists for the Grand Award.

The students’ artwork is also eligible to win a People’s Choice Award, chosen by visitors to the Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts Web site. The general public is encouraged to vote online at aicuoartaward.com.

In addition to the Grand Award and the People’s Choice Award, five student nominees will receive awards as competition finalists at a public reception on April 26th at the Bryant Gallery on the campus of Denison University. All nominees from around the state will have their online art portfolios available for viewing at aicuoartaward.com.

Pictured: “React Table Set” (senior thesis project) by Morgan Carlson

By Julie Mason | Posted in CIA Students, Cleveland Institute of Art, Featured | Comments (1)

CIA Students Present Colorful iPhone Game Feb 26

February 22, 2010 – 10:35 pm

Five digital art students from The Cleveland Institute of Art will present an explosively colorful game soon to hit iTunes in a lunchtime panel discussion on February 26 at the Institute. The students, all majoring in T.I.M.E.-Digital Arts, developed the game in collaboration with a group of computer science majors from Case Western Reserve University as a requirement of a game design course offered jointly by the two colleges last semester.

ChromaWaves, as the game is called, is an application (or app) designed specifically for play on the Apple iPhone or iPod Touch. Meant to be played in quick, pick-up-and-play sessions, ChromaWaves makes use of the multi-touch features of the iPhone for basic color-mixing and matching play mechanics. The player shoots at enemy chromites, or balls of color, some of which explode and leave what look like ink stains on the screen. As the ink stains linger and overlap, the screen can take on interesting patterns and colors.

Students will discuss the pitfalls and liberties of game development in an educational environment in this panel discussion set for 12:15 pm in the Ohio Bell Auditorium of the Gund Building.

Three producers and a creative director from videogame producer Electronic Arts (EA) gave ChromaWaves high marks when they participated in the final critique of the game via videoconference in December. They encouraged the students to have the game published on iTunes and the students hope to do so in the coming weeks. All proceeds from the sale of the game will benefit Child’s Play, an organization that furnishes children’s hospitals (including the Cleveland Clinic and Akron Children’s Hospital) with videogames, DVDs and other toys on their wish lists.

By Ann McGuire | Posted in CIA Students, Cleveland Institute of Art, Featured | Comments (0)

CIA Students Design Haiti Fundraisers – Part 2

February 19, 2010 – 10:35 pm

Last week, communication design professor Lizzy Lee described how she challenged her students to design creative ways to help raise disaster relief funds for Haiti. Read on to find out what the class came up with, and click here to view photos of their projects.

Ami Rizek created booklets with instructions for how to survive an array of natural disasters. She will offer them for sale in the CIA library at the amount of the donor’s choosing. The donation box resembles a first aid kit.

Cassandra Cortez designed “Hearts for Haiti,” a campaign to sell heart-shaped lollipops for Valentine’s Day. At $1 each, all proceeds from selling the lollipops at CIA and her parents’ workplaces will be pooled into one check from CIA.

Diana Peraita designed circle-shaped cards to stick to doors in her apartment building as a nontraditional letter-writing campaign. The cards encourage her neighbors to donate to Doctors without Borders.

Jessica Obando is organizing a dance for students at Collinwood High School, where the principal was looking for opportunities to help Haiti. One of her friends is donating his services as a disc jockey.

Katie Parland made 10 handmade sketchbooks out of brightly colored paper. The proceeds from the sketchbooks, priced at $10 each, go to Partners in Health.

Kira Makshova designed round paper cards to hang with ribbon on her neighbor’s doorknobs, encouraging people to donate to UNICEF “without getting in their face about it.”

Kyle Wilson screen-printed a logo onto several t-shirts that will be worn by helpers as they circulate at the Grog Shop asking for donations. Each donor will have their picture taken and posted on a Facebook page.

Matt Verkamp responded to negative comments from Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh about donating to Haiti. He designed posters mocking their comments and included a call to action to text a donation to UNICEF.

Trevor Marzella organized a foosball tournament with buy-in money going to a charitable donation. He is also creating a poster and donation box to display at the Cleveland Food Co-op.

By Julie Mason | Posted in CIA Students, Cleveland Institute of Art, Featured | Comments (0)

64th Student Independent Exhibition Opens Feb 26

February 19, 2010 – 10:35 am

sie63opening_smallJoin CIA students for a free public reception on Friday, February 26, from 6–9pm to celebrate the opening of their 64th annual Student Independent Exhibition (SIE 64). Organized and curated entirely by students, this juried exhibition of emerging young talent showcases an eclectic mix of art, design and craft.

The opening reception will feature food, drinks and a live DJ, along with a preview of students’ fresh, energetic work. On last year’s opening night, guests were greeted by a remote controlled skunk and had the opportunity to explore the insides of a giant dissectible frog (pictured here) or wander the gallery with a friend wearing connected Siamese twin sweaters.

Each year, SIE offers an opportunity for students in all majors to showcase their talent, creativity and passion in media ranging from paintings to sculpture to video work. The exhibition also offers art appreciators and supporters of emerging artists the opportunity to acquire unique works for their own collections.

Students from all of the Institute’s departments were invited to submit works to a jury of nationally recognized artists Dario Robleto (San Antonio), Pascual Sisto (Los Angeles) and 1998 Institute alumna Christa Donner (Chicago). The jurors will also lead a panel discussion on February 19, offering insight for students of all ages who are about to enter the professional world of art and design.

The exhibition will be on view from February 26 until April 3, 2010, in the Institute’s Reinberger Galleries.

Where:
The Reinberger Galleries
CIA Gund Building
11141 East Boulevard
Cleveland OH 44106

When:
Juror panel Feb 19, 4:30–5:30pm
Opening night Feb 26, 6–9pm
Exhibition Feb 26–April 3, 2010
Gallery hours 10am–5pm Tue–Sat, until 9pm Fri

By Julie Mason | Posted in CIA Students, Cleveland Institute of Art, Exhibits, Featured, Galleries | Comments (1)

National Magazine Features CIA Prof Sungsoo Kim

February 17, 2010 – 10:35 am

sungsoo-kim-rediscovery-80852The February/March 2010 issue of American Craft magazine features the artwork of Korean-born glass artist Sungsoo Kim, an adjunct faculty member at The Cleveland Institute of Art. The full article, “Radar: Packaging Itself,” is found on American Craft’s website.

Kim’s current series of kiln-cast glass sculptures is inspired by the shapes he finds in Styrofoam product packaging. The series, called Rediscovery, reframes everyday objects as art in a manner the article compares with the readymade art of Marcel Duchamp.

American Craft magazine celebrates modern makers, from unknown innovators to artistic stalwarts, who work in the disparate worlds of art, industry, fashion, architecture and design. The magazine has been in continuous publication since the 1940s.

By Julie Mason | Posted in CIA Faculty, Cleveland Institute of Art, Featured | Comments (0)

SIE Jurors Lead Panel Discussion Feb 19, 4:30pm

February 15, 2010 – 10:35 pm

The jurors of CIA’s 64th annual Student Independent Exhibition (SIE 64) will discuss student-submitted questions on Friday, February 19, at 4:30pm in Aitken Auditorium.

Organized and curated entirely by students, this juried exhibition of emerging young talent showcases an eclectic mix of art, design and craft. Students from all of the Institute’s departments were invited to submit works to three nationally recognized artists who will speak on the panel:

Christa Donner: Institute alumna Christa Donner uses drawing, installation, and participatory engagement to propose alternate models for the human body based on sensation and imagination, focusing on issues around health and illness, beauty and body image. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, including major projects for the Museum Bellerive (Zurich, Switzerland), the ANTI Festival (Kuopio, Finland), Kravets-Wehby Gallery (New York, NY), POST (Los Angeles, CA), SPACES (Cleveland, OH), the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (Cleveland, OH), Wuthering Heights (Malmo, Sweden), and the Centro Columbo Americano (Medellin, Colombia). Donner’s visual art is interwoven with a wide variety of community-based projects, including collaborative zines, audio interviews and public workshops investigating body image, art and activism.

Dario Robleto: Texas-based Dario Robleto received his BFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 1997. The artist has had over 25 solo exhibitions since 1997 at museums such as the Whitney Museum of American Art at Altria, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego-Downtown; and the Aldrich Contemporary Arts Museum, Ridgefield, Connecticut. In 2008 a 10-year survey exhibition was organized by the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New Work. Notable group shows include Whitney Biennial 2004, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and Human/Nature: Artists Respond to a Changing Planet, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego. Robleto has been visiting artist and lecturer at many colleges and universities including Cranbrook Academy, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Harvard University, Cambridge; and the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence. His awards have included the International Association of Art Critics Award in 2004 for best exhibition in a commercial gallery at the national level and recipient of 2009 USA Rasmuson Fellowship.

Pascual Sisto: Born in Ferrol, Spain and raised in Barcelona, Spain, Pascual Sisto graduated with a BFA in film from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. His film work has been shown widely, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Museum of Latin American Art (MALBA) in Buenos Aires, TVE (Spanish Television) and the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival. Recent exhibitions include the Reencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin Festival (Paris, France), Viper Festival (Basel, Switzerland), AKA Gallery (Rome, Italy), Ego Park Gallery (Oakland, USA), Gallery 825 (Los Angeles, USA) and the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery at Barnsdall Park (Los Angeles, USA).

By Julie Mason | Posted in CIA Students, Cleveland Institute of Art, Exhibits, Featured | Comments (0)