WINTER 2016
A publication of the University of Colorado Denver College of Arts & Media
02 06 10 12
Walking the red carpet Alumnus Tim Kimmel awarded Emmy for Game of Thrones
Creating art with purpose CAM partners with INDEX: Design to Improve Life速
Pathways to success Alumni use CAM education to pave unique career paths
Bridging the gap Professor selected as ambassador for Biennial of the Americas
Tim Kimmel wins Emmy for Game of Thrones
studio
Voz de la Clave
Bluegrass Ensemble 2015
FIRED: Iron at the Arvada Center
Songs of the Revolution
Operation Parachute
CONTENTS
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy states: “Truth is one of the central subjects in philosophy. It is also one of the largest. Truth has been a topic of discussion in its own right for thousands of years. Moreover, a huge variety of issues in philosophy relate to truth, either by relying on theses about truth, or implying theses about truth.”
A letter from the dean Since August 2014, I’ve been on a listening tour of the creative community that comprises the College of Arts & Media. A big part of my listening was observing (but not taking part in) the two major retreats we had in 2015 in January and August. I wasn’t the only one listening and observing, as we had excellent consultants taking what our community members said, recording those words and then making connections to form the mission, values and long-term and short-term strategy of our unique public arts and media college. Our guiding philosophy came to us in the form of a tag line from an alumna and Dean’s Advisory Council member, Colleen Fanning (’96). Inspired by the dialogue from CAM faculty, staff, students and her fellow council members at the summer retreat, Fanning identified three words that she felt encapsulated the essence of CAM culture: Live Your Truth. So what is “truth”? The dictionary says: The quality or state of being true: 1) that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality, 2) a fact or belief that is accepted as true.
It seems that to define truth or learn what is true can be a life’s work. Our faculty are spending their entire lives in determining (and refining) what truth is and expressing it through creativity, design, research and their teaching. That search for truth is something they have in common with our students, who are in the earliest stages of this quest.
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Walking the red carpet
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Notables
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Creating art with purpose
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The National Center for Media Forensics
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Live your truth
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Sean Coetzee’s legacy lives on
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Pathways to success
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Bridging the gap
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Alumni
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CAM expands reach
CAM has a special responsibility in all we do to provide the opportunities for our students to realize the words that our community has adopted in our strategic platform: We envision a world made smaller, and more fully human, by the artist’s interpretation of the human experience. Our students come to us with passion for artistic expression. Our goal is to send them out into the world confident of purpose, ready to succeed. If we are successful, our students will succeed as they live their truth that was formed while enrolled at the College of Arts & Media.
Publisher CU Denver College of Arts & Media (CAM) Managing Editor Tanida Ruampant studio is published annually Copyright ©2016 CAM – All rights reserved. To contribute: Contact Tanida Ruampant at tanida.ruampant@ucdenver.edu
Laurence Kaptain, DMA, FRSA Dean of the College of Arts & Media University of Colorado Denver
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Walking the red carpet Alumnus Tim Kimmel earns 2015 Emmy for Game of Thrones
Tim Kimmel (’98) made headlines this year, taking home the 2015 Emmy for Outstanding Sound Editing for his work on the hit HBO series Game of Thrones. It was a standout moment in a standout career that has seen Kimmel go from an energetic young College of Arts & Media student all the way to supervising sound editor for one of the most popular and awardwinning shows on TV. Kimmel’s journey to Hollywood began after he decided against a career in engineering to pursue his passion for music, a passion that led him into music production. From there, he found his calling in audio editing,
which he says is perfect for him because it combines working in a field he admires with his love for music. As a student, Kimmel took full advantage of his time at CAM. The state-of-the-art facilities and his instructors taught him all the technical skills he needed to enter the audioproduction industry. “The first step is learning the tools,” said Kimmel, “how to take the knowledge and use it creatively.” He also worked hard to build his connections and real-world experience by participating in multiple internships and cultivating strong relationships with his professors.
Meet Tim Kimmel (top row, third from left) at CAM’s Convocation ceremony on Jan. 25, 2016.
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Kimmel knows what it means to live your truth. “Do what you want to make yourself proud. Be proud of what you’re doing. Take what you’ve learned at school and go forward with it.” “I’m the type that will try and get my foot in the door anywhere,” Kimmel said. This proactive approach led to work on his first feature film and jumpstarted his career in audio editing. “The more you put yourself out there the more connections you can make and the more experiences you can have.” As he moved forward in his career, Kimmel worked in various capacities on films, documentaries and a number of hit TV series, including Entourage and CSI: Miami. He has received numerous accolades — other Emmy nominations among them — along the way to his current role overseeing
the entire audio editorial, including dialogue, sound effects, action sequences, sword fights, horses and more, for Game of Thrones. For CAM students looking to one day walk the red carpet, Kimmel’s advice is simple: “Get as much hands-on experience as you can. Sign up for lab time and use as much as you can.” The importance of practice and building both technical skills and real-world experience can’t be overstated: “The more experience the better. The more you learn how to use this equipment and how to use it creatively, the more that sets you up for success.”
Congratulations Tim!
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Notables
CAM’s art history expertise featured at NEH Summer Institutes
Student band takes off, releasing its first EP CAM Records recording artists, One Flew West, released its extended play (EP) recording, Selective Memory, on Oct. 29, 2015. Two band members are students of CAM’s Music & Entertainment Industry Studies department. One Flew West also received Westword’s Music Award for Best Folk Band in 2015.
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This July, two associate professors of art history, Maria Buszek and Jeffrey Schrader, participated in National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institutes. Buszek led discussions using fashion as a case study when teaching about women’s contributions to design history. She also spoke on designing beyond industrial models by studying the intersections of craft and design traditions. Schrader gave two presentations: an analysis of the photographs of the Alhambra palace and fortress complex by Fernando Manso and an examination of the architecture of mosques at the Alhambra and their relationship with other mosques from the Islamic period in Spain’s history.
Les Paul exhibit drives through campus On Oct. 23, 2015, Les Paul’s Big Sound Experience visited campus. A 53-foot tour bus traveled to CAM’s backyard to take guests through interactive music history exhibits featuring Les Paul, the famous inventor and musician.
$250,000 granted to build the Center for the Arts as Systemic Change Brian DeLevie, associate professor of digital design and chair of the visual arts department, received a $250,000 grant from CU Denver to build the Center for the Arts as Systemic Change. The center will use research and innovative practices to assist organizations that are facing challenges to create systemic change in public and private policy.
Student a cappella group wins big The MIX a cappella group competed in Macy’s All-School A Cappella Challenge with their rendition of I Want You Back by The Jackson 5. Macy’s awarded them the top prize of $25,000 at the CU Denver Arts Building on Nov. 13, 2015.
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Creating art with purpose CAM enters partnership with renowned Danish nonprofit
by Donna Fowler The College of Arts & Media is the first higher-education institution in the United States to have access to the intellectual educational property of the Danish nonprofit INDEX: Design to Improve Life®. INDEX is dedicated to solving global challenges through design and education and sponsors what is arguably the largest, most important design competition in the world, INDEX: Award. A memo of understanding, signed in September, makes CAM INDEX’s representative in North America, which will allow the college to access the organization’s Design to Improve Life Education framework of teaching methodology and materials. Because INDEX espouses that design is a tool that can address societal issues at all levels — from potable water to poverty to working conditions — the agreement means that CAM has taken
another step toward fulfilling its aspiration to teach students to create art that has purpose. “The faculty of the digital design program are interested in bringing an awareness of the inherent social implications of visual communication to their teaching and practice,” said Laurence Kaptain, CAM dean. “Thus, they realize the potential of designers to be agents of change, which is part of our mission and aligns totally with that of INDEX.” One of the agreement’s most significant outcomes likely will be its relationship with CAM’s Center for Arts as Systemic Change. Brian DeLevie, visual arts department chair and associate professor of digital design, is behind the idea for the Center and hopes to bring INDEX’s Design to Improve Life® Challenge under its umbrella. The Challenge is INDEX’s project-based educational program that has young people choose an issue in their own community and then create design solutions that address it. “We’re in talks with Denver Public Schools, CU Succeed and others, including nonprofits that focus on minority and firstgeneration students, to enact the Challenge,” DeLevie said. He hopes to eventually run the program on a scale as large as INDEX does in Denmark — 9,000 middle and high school students. He added that plans are in the works for the Center to house continuing continued on page 8
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left to right: CAM Dean Laurence Kaptain at INDEX; the CAM/INDEX partnership is signed; Sterling Walston (‘14) and Nichole Winans (‘12) holding internships with behavioral design organizations in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The National Center for Media Forensics:
International reputation equals endless career opportunities for graduates to solve crimes by Donna Fowler
More than 4,700 people had been killed in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine over six months when Amnesty International began investigating alleged war crimes by pro-Russian forces in the spring of 2015. To carry out its work, the international human rights organization turned to the National Center for Media Forensics (NCMF) in the College of Arts & Media to assess the authenticity of an audio recording from Ukraine. Following the NCMF’s forensic analysis, an Amnesty International representative thanked the center saying, “I can’t stress enough how helpful your analysis was — it made us much more comfortable referencing the phone conversation/interview, in addition to all the other research we had.” Amnesty International’s reliance on the NCMF, which offers a one-of-a-kind hybrid master of science degree with an emphasis in media forensics, is only the latest evidence of the reach of the
center’s reputation since it opened eight years ago. NCMF’s track record for the hiring of its graduates — more than 90 percent are employed within eight months of graduating — is more evidence of the program’s success. Its students are so sought-after they often are recruited before they even graduate or start a job search. Amy Popejoy, (’15), had three job offers as a student. “The NCMF program carries serious weight,” said Popejoy, who works for a criminal investigations lab in Houston. A single mother who was running a business while she pursued her degree, Popejoy credits the NCMF’s program of online and on-site experiential lab courses with making it possible. “I’m old school, but I wouldn’t have been able to do it if it weren’t for the hybrid format.” Jose Ramirez, who will graduate in spring 2016, already has job offers from both the government and the private
sector but might decide to go for a Ph.D. in technology with an emphasis in cyber forensics from Purdue before jumping into the job market. The opportunities open to NCMF students, from internships to industry contacts to attendance at conferences, are boundless, according to Jordan Graves, (’12). Before graduating, Graves completed a paid internship at the U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Laboratory in Georgia. Shortly after graduation, he became a digital forensic examiner for the Aurora, Ill., Police Department with an assignment to the Chicago Regional Computer Forensics Lab, one of 15 such labs in the country that are run by the FBI. The labs assist with local, state and federal investigations as far-ranging as terrorism threats, internet crimes and child pornography. “Anywhere you want to go,” said Graves, “whether government, private firms or to start your own business, the opportunities are endless.”
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CAM partners with INDEX education certificates in INDEX’s educational methodology for teachers and potentially a master’s degree in this form of education as well.
LIVE YOUR TRUTH
Meanwhile, DeLevie and Assistant Professor of Digital Design Michelle Bauer Carpenter will conduct the Design to Improve Life Challenge during this summer’s LYNX National Arts & Media Camp for high school students. “We’ll walk [the LYNX participants] through INDEX’s design tool, COMPASS, which structures their approach to designing solutions through four phases: prepare, perceive, prototype and produce,” DeLevie said. CAM’s relationship with INDEX is not new. Digital design faculty have been going to Denmark annually since 2005, bringing back what they’ve learned to share with their students. For instance, using INDEX design principles that they were taught by Bauer Carpenter, students recently created awareness campaigns about cycling safety, plastic pollution in the oceans and the 2011 Fukushima power plant disaster in Japan. Students have also had the opportunity to serve internships at the nonprofit for years and CAM has brought INDEX faculty to the college to hold workshops.
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Artist and 1996 CAM alumna Colleen Fanning
Colleen Fanning’s passion for art began at an early age when her grandmother took her to weekly visits at the de Young fine arts museum in San Francisco. Together they would analyze abstract art and discuss their observations, triggering Fanning’s love and appreciation for art. When she decided to pursue an art career, she began her search for a university that would provide the roadmap for transforming her creative passions into a sustainable profession. She chose to start her journey at the College of Arts & Media. Fanning joined CAM’s class of 1996 as a sculpture major and quickly became captivated by her classes. The first stop on her roadmap was the intense study of famous artists and art history. One of her favorite professors had her mirror successful artists, which helped her develop her own visual language. Along the way, she developed valuable relationships with her professors and fellow students. “There was a group of about 20 of us, from all different art departments: photography, sculpture, art history and painting,” Fanning said.
Still in communication with each other, the group helped Fanning start her own art consulting firm, Fanning Partnership, at the height of the recession. After 14 years in public art for DIA and the City and County of Denver, Fanning now runs a successful gallery in downtown Denver that finds new homes for estate art collections. Fanning continues to serve the CAM community as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council. On Aug. 12, 2015, she attended a half-day retreat for the college where she captured the essence of CAM culture in three words: Live Your Truth. Fanning’s inspiration came from her own personal quest for truth in art and in her career, a quest that she attributes CAM with helping her navigate. “We are all in search of our truth. Some of us just don’t know how to find it and make it real.”
Sean Coetzee’s legacy lives on Wife honors late husband with endowed scholarship for media forensics program
Is it possible for machines, technology and science to have heart? According to Melissa Coetzee the answer is yes — but only when the person behind these tools has heart as well. Her late husband, Sean Coetzee, was diagnosed with late-stage cancer and passed away within six weeks of his diagnosis in 2013. He was one year away from completing his Master of Science degree in Recording Arts with an emphasis in Media Forensics.
remembers Sean’s dedication to integrity in regard to this reality, so she chose to focus the scholarship on ethics within media forensics. “He did not need oversight or the threat of repercussions in order to do the right thing. That is what I think living your truth for Sean and myself means. It means always staying true to your own internal values.”
“Sean had a strong dedication to his own moral compass and lived as authentically as possible, staying true to his own values,” said Melissa. After accepting an honorary posthumous degree for Sean in 2014, she knew the best way to pay tribute to his memory was to continue his legacy of ethics and learning. The Sean P. Coetzee Memorial Scholarship fund began as a $1,000 pledge over five years and has now become a $25,000 endowed scholarship that will honor Sean’s life for years to come.
Applications for the Sean P. Coetzee Memorial Scholarship are being accepted for incoming Fall 2016 College of Arts & Media students focused on media forensics. Interested students will write an essay about ethics and one student will be awarded the scholarship.
Those working in the media forensics industry can be exposed to disturbing material and some of the more unfortunate aspects of human nature. Melissa
The memory of Sean Coetzee, a man with a kind and generous spirit, will leave a lasting impact on the faculty and students of CU Denver.
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Pathways to success
Alumni use CAM education to pave unique career paths in film
Mitch Dickman (’05)
Dickman's experience at CAM allowed him to foster his individual passions and focuses, rather than forcing him into a "one-size-fits-all" program.
Aaron Kopp (’09)
Kopp built his portfolio and gained essential tools and connections — particularly those with CAM faculty — to start his career as a filmmaker.
CAM was always supportive of Weber and Baker’s artistic visions. They still refer back to classes and professors as they write, direct and produce horror films.
Annie Baker (’09) & Jimmy Weber (’09)
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IT ALL STARTED AT CAM
Since attending CAM, Dickman has
Produced Rolling Papers, a documentary on marijuana culture as told by the world's first marijuana editor in The Denver Post column, The Cannabist.
worked on over 100 productions, including narratives, documentaries, television, theatre, commercials and more. He continues to perfect his
2006
2015
craft, experimenting to see where his next project leads him.
Founded Listen Productions Named one of "10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2012" by The Independent, Kopp has worked on films for HBO,
2009 Won Starz Denver Film Festival People's Choice Award — Best Short Film for Likhaya
Earned Oscar — Best Short Documentary for Saving Face
Discovery, Channel 4 UK, CBS, CNN and PBS. He deeply believes in his projects, making all the blood, sweat and tears worth it.
2012 Weber and Baker's first short film, INCUBATOR, was submitted to over
2014
a dozen awards, leading them to start
2007 Founded Pretty People Pictures
50 international film festivals and won writing and filming feature-length
Won two film festival Best Feature Film (Horror) awards for EAT
films. EAT is now available on DVD. Pretty People Pictures hopes to shoot their second film in 2016.
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Bridging the gap CAM professor selected as ambassador for 2015 Biennial of the Americas
Melissa Furness had an opportunity in 2015 that she just couldn’t pass up. The associate professor of visual arts in the College of Arts & Media spent 10 weeks in Mexico City as one of only four artists selected to participate in the 2015 Biennial of the Americas Ambassador Program. “I love to travel and experience other cultures, allowing that to influence my art,” said Furness. The Biennial of the Americas organization promotes positive professional and cultural relationships between the continental Americas. Every two years, the week-long biennial event in Denver brings together innovative leaders from North, Central and South America and the Caribbean for talks, workshops, art exhibitions and other events that inspire cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary connections. Furness decided to take a fresh approach to the residency: “I actually tried not to learn about the language or the culture before I left, so it would be a clear culture shift.” She found ancient Mexican culture, specifically the Aztec empire, fascinating. Constantly painting what she saw or felt, Furness created over 315 paintings and 100 drawings. “I am most fascinated by how people in modern-day society live amongst ruins of the past and how this history is perceived,” Furness explained.
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She kept a journal of her observations, translated excerpts into Spanish and overlaid the text on select paintings. She described her work as, “taking the epic histories discovered in the Aztec and Mayan ruins as well as the Catholic tradition and transforming these into a private narrative of my life experienced as something of a creative ‘immigrant’ for a time.” In her exhibition at the 2015 Biennial of the Americas, Furness decided to present her work in a singular mound representing ancient Mexican ruins, “in itself a ‘ruin’ of my experience there, symbolic of the failure that one finds in attempting to truly know a place with such deep history.” She felt this interpretation would solidify the theme of the past meeting and influencing the present. Furness uses her excitement and learning from this unique experience to encourage CAM students to observe and experience other cultures as inspiration for their work. Her goal is to put them in unique or uncomfortable situations where, “they must work through a process where they are both thinking as well as letting go in order to come to something new — discovery through the process of making mistakes.” Furness hopes to continue her relationship with the Biennial of the Americas and to pursue other immersion opportunities to expand her work and cultural understanding.
“ The work that I produced was a result of…taking the epic
histories discovered in the Aztec and Mayan ruins as well as the Catholic tradition and transforming these into a private narrative of my life experienced as something of a creative ‘immigrant’ for a time. There were many experiences of confusion, mistranslation, awe and of being overwhelmed by the complex depth of the place. This then became an epic pile of 315 paintings and 100 drawings with quickly worked images and mistranslated text fragments — in itself a ‘ruin’ of my experience there, symbolic of the failure that one finds in attempting to truly know a place with such deep history.” 13
Alumni
Prichard works as associate producer for HGTV and DIY shows Wheelchair Sports Camp drops debut album Kalyn Heffernan (’09) and her hip-hop group, Wheelchair Sports Camp, were recognized in the 2015 Westword Music Showcase. Heffernan, who received a 2015 Westword MasterMind award, didn’t see the kind of rap she wanted in Denver, so she created WSC. “It turns out Denver had all the great hip-hop I ever wanted. I just needed to make a group that forced me to get out and get close with my community,” said Heffernan. WSC is releasing NO BIG DEAL its first full-length album, in 2016. Heffernan wants others to “forget everything you’ve ever been told, forget everything you’ve seen or assumed and just do you to the fullest.”
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In the 18 months since John Prichard (’13) graduated from CAM, he has produced three TV shows, on three separate channels. He is now an associate producer for HGTV’s Tiny House, Big Living and DIY’s Mega Decks. As the associate producer, Prichard works with the field producers, editors, production managers, the cast and the show runner to plan, organize and schedule the production. “The biggest benefit from my education at CAM is not a single skill set, but the diversification of many different skills I was able to learn. Graduating with the ability to write, produce, direct, shoot, edit and production manage has helped open doors and enhanced my future far faster than I would have ever expected,” Prichard said.
Maurer earns recognition award for accomplishments in audio production Danny Maurer (‘14), received the inaugural Student Recognition Award in 2014 from the Cinema Audio Society, an organization for motion picture and television sound professionals. Maurer said he learned about audio production while studying music and applied it to film with elective classes and internships. After a recommendation from Associate Professor David Bondelevitch and an inspiring application about his determination and perseverance, CAS recognized Maurer for his work. “The flexibility at CAM allowed me to tailor my degree toward my goals and seek out my own future,” Maurer said.
Two digital design graduates win Heartland Emmys This August, Haylee Powers (’12), a news production designer at KCNC-TV CBS Denver, and Mollie Rolf (’12), a graphic designer at Gannett Graphics Group – Denver, won Emmys from the Heartland Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Each working as part of a team, Powers won in the News Promo – Single Spot/Same Day category for Wave Turbulence and Rolf won Graphic Arts – Program for Gannett Sports Package. Both credit CAM’s digital design program with their success. “I think the most important thing I gained from the digital design program was preparation for a professional setting,” Powers said. Added Rolf: “Their heavy focus on fundamental design methodology gives their graduates a key competitive edge and a jumpstart on professional practice.”
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CAM expands reach with courses at CU South Denver Film festival among special projects CAM will offer The College of Arts & Media is joining the other University of Colorado programs offered at CU South Denver in Parker. Since 2014, when Dave and Gail Liniger donated The Wildlife Experience art gallery and interactive museum to CU, CU South Denver has built an impressive schedule of academic programs in what is now called the Liniger Building, while taking over the operation of the museum. CU Denver already offers a bachelor’s degree in nursing and master’s degrees in business administration, political science and principal licensure as well as three certificate programs at CU South Denver. Joann Brennan, CU South Denver associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, continues to be excited about the possibilities the Liniger Building holds. “The facility is extraordinary. This is a rare environment where CU is developing the entire learning life cycle, from exploring the museum as a child to adult education.” CAM will be a part of this innovative cycle, with courses such as Photography Fundamentals to meet both the needs of their students and the south Denver community. In addition, CAM will feature Celebrating Cinema: Nature, a four-part film series presented by Colorado film critic and CAM Assistant Professor
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of Theatre, Film and Video Production Howie Movshovitz, who will review Jurassic Park, Microcosmos, Natural Resistance and Burden of Dreams.
Learn more and enroll in CAM courses at CU South Denver at southdenver.cu.edu
Offering life-changing CREATIVE experiences for high school students June 5-17 and July 10-22, 2016
National Arts & Media Camp LYNX National Arts & Media Camp is designed around today's contemporary arts industry and entrepreneurial creatives. Through hands-on experiences, students learn the fundamental principles, tools and techniques of today’s creative industry.
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The Music Industry camp will be held June 5-17, while the remainder of the programs will be held July 10-22.
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