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contents FALL 2012
Features 08 School's Out
Long-serving faculty members Philip Larson and Elizabeth Erickson retire.
12 Raising Hope
MCAD alumni Kickstart their business ideas.
13 Making the Greater Minnesota Art Community Even Greater
A new initiative is exploring how the fields of art and design can be used to create vibrant and sustainable rural communities.
18 Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop 13
MCAD’s Alumni Association finds new ways to engage the community.
29 Keeping Everyone Afloat
Anchor Bank helps students find financial stability.
Departments
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02 Perspective
18 Sharpen Edges
04 President’s Letter
20 Alumni Notes
05 Dialogue
26 Openings & Events
06 Between the Margins
28 Creativity & Purpose
16 Look
30 Upcoming Events
on the cover: Cover art by Ashley Huhe '13
Innovation
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One of the interesting things about adversity is that innovation is often its close cousin. As the world struggles with significant financial difficulties, it is this environment of scarcity that has the potential to deliver us to a new and better place.
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At times like this, creativity and contemporary thinking will carry the day. The Minneapolis College of Art
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and Design provides an educational experience that is uniquely positioned to spark the innovation and creativity that will ultimately make the world a better place.
–Kenneth H. Paulus
President and CEO, Allina Health
photo by Patrick Kelley '06
outside voice
Perspective
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mcad / fall 2012
president’s Letter
The Standards of Academic Excellence
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rt education in the 21st century is challenging all notions of art and design practice. While there are students at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design who work as solitary artists and designers using traditional media, others are exploring interdisciplinary collaboration, embracing technological innovation, and working with a more decentralized notion of studio practice utilizing new media and the Web. You can see at MCAD how the boundaries between scholar, artist, and technologist are quickly disappearing. Offering the best possible academic experience has always been a cornerstone of our institutional values, and part of our commitment to excellence is a commitment to adapt to our changing world and to take advantage of new and exciting possibilities. MCAD’s curriculum provides for dynamic exchanges among a diverse mix of students. Critiques, which are central to the education of artists and designers, allow for the articulation of the unexpected and the sharing of different ways of making, seeing, and knowing. We believe that these exchanges shouldn’t only happen in the classroom — that’s why we hold monthly conversations enabling new connections among our students, faculty, and staff (see page 15). These informal meetings break the mold of the hierarchical instructor-student relationship and allow open exchange about topics of concern to the entire school community.
At MCAD, learning means being able to bridge the space between thinking and doing, and this education exists in a dynamic context. Art and design instruction covers President Jay Coogan talking the creation of artifacts by with parents on Parents Day. individual artists, certainly, but also encompasses teambased education as a means of developing process-oriented social practices. This has long been our philosophy on campus, and now, thanks to our online programs (see page 14), we’re able to connect students from around the world in real-time conversation and collaboration. Through an MCAD education, we help students find their role in society. As MCAD’s educational programs evolve, the changes will allow students to break free of the campus as defining their educational experience, to be unbound by orthodoxy, and to take on issues of shared human concern. This spring and summer, we’ve been proud to partner with the Bush Foundation to connect our students with Greater Minnesota (see page 13), where they’ve been working with communities to find creative responses to the challenges of demographic and economic change. At MCAD, our core mission is providing our talented students with the very best education: training students for all facets of their budding careers, nurturing their creative sparks while preparing them for practical exigencies. As a result of students’ education at MCAD, they will be able to sustain lifelong art and design making, thereby participating in the positive transformations that are shaping our local and global cultures.
Jay Coogan Twitter: @JayCoogan MCAD students watching a welding demostration by visiting artist Vivian Beer.
photos by Patrick Kelley ’06
Setting and Exceeding
dialogue
Artistic Roots
An MCAD Student Gains Insight into Her Heritage Through Independent Study that history before.” “If you have that history behind you … you can really start to question and start to interact on your own ideas,” Voights said. For example, seeing a particular piece of art in a contemporary context, but understanding it “both in terms of its cultural aesthetics and in terms of the history that works inside those cultural aesthetics,” she said. Understanding Native American art history, particularly history of the Dakota and Lakota, has given Hoska tools in her journey as both a person and as an artist. “I want to be speaking with an authentic voice,” she said. “I want to feel comfortable putting myself out there because I’m
Sheila Regan is a Minneapolis writer and theater artist. She regularly writes for the Twin Cities Daily Planet and City Pages' Dressing Room Blog, among other publications.
Dreamscape 1, Dakota Hoska '14
teaches, although Hoska was able to personalize a great deal — especially around the contexts of Dakota and Lakota people and the local Native community, Voights said. Although Dakota's adoption records just say “Sioux,” she believes that she is either Lakota or Dakota. “In some ways this is very special, and in some ways, this is what MCAD can do,” Voights said. While independent studies are only allowed for students with a certain GPA who show that they can work independently, it’s an option that is available where there is something “that you really need, that you wouldn’t normally get in our regular sequences of courses,” Voights said. “I think it made me understand relationships of Dakota people to the land,” said Hoska, about the independent study. “And Ojibwe people to the Dakota. I didn’t have
Dakota Hoska '14 with her independent study professor Ruth Voights.
photo by Patrick Kelley ’06
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ver since she learned at the age of eighteen that she is Native American, Minneapolis College of Art and Design student Dakota Hoska '14, an adoptee, has been on a journey to learn more about her roots. That process of discovery took a big leap this past semester, when she did an independent study with Ruth Voights, an associate professor in the MCAD Liberal Arts Department (also a Native American). The two met — usually over lunch every week during the semester — to discuss not only historical events, but how the history correlated with Native American art and culture. As a Native American adoptee, the independent study was also a way for Hoska to reconnect with her heritage. The structure of the independent study was similar to a class in Native American History that Voights
coming from a certain point — that I’m knowledgeable and grounded. You can’t be grounded in something unless you understand it and understand what it does or doesn’t mean for you. That’s where truth comes from.” — Sheila Regan
mcad / fall 2012
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between the margins
Campus News
Ten Years of Room & Board
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highlight of the year.” This year’s contest challenge was creating environmentally friendly storage solutions for accessories. Entries were judged based on scale models, mounted drawings, and presentations on the projects. This year’s winner, Steve Listwon '13, received $2,500 for his entry Clutch. — Phyllis Ware
photo by Patrick Kelley ’06
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t’s been ten years since the Minneapolis College of Art and Design first partnered with Room & Board, a national leader in classic contemporary furnishing, to create a special furniture design competition. “We look forward to interacting with MCAD staff and students,” says Room & Board Vice President Steve Freeman. “Watching, judging, and participating at the presentation each spring is a
Phyllis Ware is assistant to the director of career services at MCAD, working primarily with MCAD's internship program.
Left to Right: Dean Wilson, Karen Wirth, Steve Listwon '13, and Room & Board team member, Elise Nipcom
Clockwise from top left: Swing Hall, Swing All by Keetra Deen Dixon ‘99, Spark in the Park by Christopher Alday ‘13 and Kate Thomas ‘13, Letting Go by Eric Rieger ‘07, Light Fall by Peng Wu ‘13
photos by Patrick Kelley ’06
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n 2011, tens of thousands of people attended Northern Spark, an all-night art festival with over 200 artists participating in projects at thirty-four different venues spread across the Twin Cities. The impetus for this all-night art festival, which, up until this point had been mostly a European phenomenon, is to act as a catalyst and eye-opener for the community at large — a chance to see the city and its art anew. This year, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design collaborated with the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts on its theme “Midnight Playgrounds,” utilizing its conjoined properties to create
a more substantial experience. In total, MCAD and the MIA, both acting as a project hub for the night, showcased twelve projects in the area for the eight-hour experience, with four installations coming from MCAD students. Additionally, projects from MCAD’s students and alums could be found at many of the participating locations throughout the city. — JASON ZABEL
Jason Zabel was the Twin Cities editor of now defunct The Onion A.V. Club and is currently the editor of The Growler, a bi-monthly craft beer magazine.
Thirty Years of Support for Artists Laura Beaverson '12
Kasie Becker Gonczy '13
Dustin Davis '12
Jenessa Kundinger '13
Dylan Davis '12
Llew Mejia '12
Luke Ellison '12
Bill Rebholz '12
Students Boast Coast to Coast Recognition in Awards Shows
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n terms of awards, 2012 has been a banner year for MCAD, with student work sweeping events on both coasts. In New York’s prestigious One Show — which annually bestows awards for advertising and design — three students from MCAD took home the top student honors for 2012. Patrick Kispert '13, Michael Borell '12, and Alicia Reyerson '13 rose to the top of a field, of over 9,000 submissions representing 100 countries. Pitching ads for clients PETA and Stride, both of which had marketing managers judging the competition, the talented team of MCAD seniors entered the contest as part of the Senior Project Advertising class, led by MCAD alum and former One Show winner Boriana Mintcheva-Strzok '08. On the other side of the nation, thirteen MCAD artists were recognized out of a field of 1,400 entries in the 2012 Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles competition — one of the top, most respected contests of its kind. Among the many award winners was Teagan White '12, who won multiple awards for her work. White is not just proving herself to competition judges, but to clients as well — she’s nabbed freelance work for Target, Nike, and Wired Magazine. These contests provide not just a confidence boost for students, but they demonstrate MCAD’s influence on the industry.
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ne of the first things any newcomer to the Minnesota art scene may notice is the bounty of financial support offered to the many artists who live and work here. Two major awards with deep roots set in Minnesota — the MCAD–Jerome Foundation Fellowships for Emerging Artists, which focus mainly on fostering the work of emerging artists, and the McKnight Artist Fellowship for Visual Artists, an award for established artists — are celebrating their thirtieth anniversary this year. In addition to supporting artists financially, the awards come with professional interaction with critics, 7 as well as a catalog and exhibition of the artists’ work. These well-respected awards offer art-makers the opportunity to explore their work and their art and to exemplify the community support of creativity that makes Minnesota a truly unique and dynamic place for artists to call home. — J.Z.
— J.Z.
2011 Jerome Show, MCAD Gallery Rachel Sexton '12
Sievert Artsa '11
Olivia Sweet '14
Teagan White '12
mcad / fall 2012
between the margins
faculty News
School's Out: Two MCAD Faculty Members Leave the Nest Elizabeth Erickson and Philip Larson
photos by Patrick Kelley '06
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Two long-serving faculty members at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design retired this spring. Philip Larson, professor of liberal arts, and Elizabeth Erickson, professor of fine arts, both favorite professors and artists in their own right, will be leaving a legacy behind them.
One of the highlights for Elizabeth Erickson was starting the Women’s Art Institute, which ran for thirteen years at MCAD before successfully transitioning to St. Catherine’s University. Erickson and her co-instructor Pat Olson are writing a book about their experience creating it. She is also a co-founder of the Women's Art Registry of Minnesota (WARM) — one of the first major feminist art cooperatives in the country. Erickson’s work is included in many public and corporate collections, including the Walker Art Center, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Weisman Art Museum. She recently had a show of her work at the Basilica of St. Mary. Teaching, for Erickson, has been a life path. “Students are so beautiful,” she said. “They want to know. Each one has a very distinct and different path.” “She’s got an amazing way of drawing a student out,” said Howard Quednau, acting chair of the MCAD Fine Arts department. “She makes a connection with students in a very poetic way.”
Philip Larson, PhD, has taught at MCAD since 1976, after serving as curator for the Walker Art Center. Among his accomplishments, Larson produced the 1975 Naives/ Visionaries exhibition documenting the fast-vanishing folk art of America. He also collaborated with his brother, Paul C. Larson, to curate the vast Prairie School Architecture in Minnesota Iowa Wisconsin exhibit at the Landmark Center in St. Paul. Larson has published some seventy articles in scholarly and museum publications. He has received two National Endowment for the Arts grants, and has received more than two-dozen private and public commissions, including eight pairs of etched glass triptychs for bus transit shelters in downtown Minneapolis. His work has been shown at the Guggenheim Museum and has been purchased by the Guggenheim as well as the Walker Art Center. Larson is a “passionate individual, who is dramatic in his steadfastness,” said Tom Haakenson, chair of the liberal arts department. “Full of ideas, Larson worked creatively in the classroom and loved to share his pedagogy with the other faculty.” — Regan Smith
Regan Smith is a freelance writer living and working in Minneapolis.
faculty notes
Kevin Byrne illustrated an article for Three Rivers Parks describing an MCAD community client project completed by four students in his BSc Client Studio course. Byrne also illustrated an essay titled "Mapping with Abandon" for Sustainable Cities Collective, a project mapping North Minneapolis a year after its tornado.
Howard Quednau’s piece (top center) Middle Age: A Brief Summary was the winner of the Joseph A. Cain Memorial Award and displayed at the 46th National Drawing and Small Sculpture Show, Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas. The work will also be featured in a publication about the Jubilee of this event.
Teri Fullerton was the recipient of a 2012 Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative grant. Andy Ducett was accepted into the Viewing Program at the Drawing Center in New York City. Ducett was also commissioned to do a drawing for the Walker Art Center for use in their “First Free Saturday” program. Finally, Ducett's work was published in a book on contemporary collage by Laurence King Publishing. Dr. Thomas O. Haakenson co-edited a book series titled Studies in German Visual Culture (Peter Lang Oxford, 2012) with Dr. Deborah Ascher Barnstone of Washington State University. The first volume in the series, Representations of German Identity in Visual Culture, is slated to appear in fall 2012.
Ruth Voights is a founding member of a nonprofit called Digital Watershed and is presently serving as a content consultant for programming. In March 2012, Digital Watershed received $150,000 from the MacArthur/ HASTAC Digital Media and Learning Competition to create in, collaboration with personnel from Ohio State University, an interactive Earthworks Badge Project concerning Native American earthworks.
Carrie Hartman’s illustration work has recently appeared in the following publications: American Baby Magazine, Star Tribune, Inside Counsel, and Seattle Monthly. She also illustrated the children’s book Izzy the Whiz and Passover McClean (KarBen Publishing). Vince Leo self-published a fifty-edition artist book titled We Make Things. Frenchy Lunning has recently worked as the producer on five music videos for bands such as Desdamona, Communist Daughter, and New Medicine. She also served as the production designer on the Foo Fighters video for their song “Back and Forth.” Her textbook Fetish Style is due out in January 2013 from Berg Publishers.
Bernard Canniffe (below) was interviewed and had work featured in Designing for Social Change: Strategies for Community-Based Graphic Design (Princeton Architectural Press, 2012). He also presented at the Nanyang Technical University, Singapore on PIECE Studio and Social Engagement, and at Savannah College of Art and Design, Hong Kong on the topics of design, business, and innovation.
Natasha Pestich was named an artist of the year by City Pages for her work as Jan Xylander, her fictional creation. Stevie Rexroth’s work was featured in volume six of the Location Books series, alongside the work of fellow photographers John Opera, Adam Schreiber, and Ann Woo. The reception for the book was held at Midway Contemporary Arts. Zak Sally completed the first collection of his Sammy the Mouse comic. The volume was printed by hand in his studio and put out through his publishing house, La Mano 21. Pam Valfer had work in a group show titled The Critics Show at the Hopkins Center for the Arts and at a two person show titled Common Place at Occupy Space in Limerick, Ireland. Dr. Joline Zepcevski ’s article “Hunger Games Exposes Myth of Technological Progress” that she wrote for Innovation News Daily went viral, hitting news sites across the Internet such as Huffington Post, Discovery News, and Boing Boing.
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Amy Sands (above) was a part of a collaborative installation titled Recall at the Pratt Institute in New York. She also had work selected for the Prints Tokyo 2012 show at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.
Karen Wirth VPAA, (above) curated the MCAD exhibition Intersections: Women, Leadership, and the Power of Collaboration, which brought together current or recent women studio department chairs and their student or alum collaborators. Eleven different Twin Cities colleges or universities were represented. Other MCAD participants were faculty Stevie Rexroth and Katherine Turczan, alumni Isa Gagarin ’08 and Catrin Magnusson ’09, and current student Gracemarie Keaton-Stasi.
mcad / fall 2012
Academic Excellence
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Thorson approaches data visualization as both a science and an art — a practice that puts her on the cutting edge of a booming field. “It’s amazing how she has really put herself into the forefront of what’s happening in contemporary visualization practices in a short period of time,” says Thorson’s MFA mentor Erik Brandt, noting that he and his colleagues make a point of encouraging students to take risks. “To push the field forward you have to have people like Lauren, who are experimenting and acting with their hearts.”
“You may call it graphic design,” says Thorson, “and you may not.” In her thesis project, she explains, “I wanted more to provoke an emotional reaction than to serve some sort of educational purpose.” Not all of Thorson’s work is founded so purely on aesthetics: she’s also been working with the Interactive Visualization Lab at the University of Minnesota, where she’s headed this fall to pursue a PhD in design. Bringing her MCAD-fostered creative thinking to a lab that does applied work such as prototyping
photo by Patrick Kelley '06
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or her MFA thesis at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Lauren Thorson ’12, MFA, created graphic visualizations of weather data as reported from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport — but you couldn’t rely on one of Thorson’s graphics to tell you whether or not to pack an umbrella. The loops and curls and lines of Thorson’s visualizations are packed with information, but not in a manner readily decodable to the uninformed viewer.
medical devices and creating 3D user interfaces “turned out to be a win-win,” says Thorson. MCAD’s mentor-based program has been essential to her work, says Thorson. “It allowed me the opportunity to explore whatever I wanted to, with no sort of restriction. I would never have been able to get to this point without the resources and faculty at MCAD.” — Jay Gabler
Lauren Thorson '12 and Erik Brandt in Grad Lab with their collaborative project for Eyeo Festival.
Jay Gabler is a writer living in Minneapolis. He is the arts editor at the Twin Cities Daily Planet and co-editor of The Tangential.
photo by Patrick Kelley '06 dress by Theresa Winge
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The Confidence to Conference
n 2001, Minneapolis College of Art and Design Liberal Arts professor Frenchy Lunning decided to look for a speaker to present a low-key workshop for students and scholars interested in anime and manga. “I wrote to seven people who were doing work in the area and asked if they’d be interested in coming to MCAD,” she remembers. “They all came back positive. I said, yikes! They all want to come!” That workshop grew into Mechademia, a conference and book series that now takes place under the umbrella of a larger event called Schoolgirls and Mobilesuits. The event is a multidisciplinary, multimedia exploration of anime and manga that also includes a fashion show spotlighting styles inspired by the Japanese-born genres of visual storytelling. “Many of the artists and designers are MCAD students and people from the community,” says Lunning. “The artists and designers add a different kind of flavor. A lot of institutions do academic conferences, but we’re the only one dedicated to the fan aspect without a specific disciplinary association. In a non-art-oriented institution, the inclusion of a fashion show wouldn’t be considered.” Schoolgirls and Mobilesuits is only the most visible of an increasing number of events at MCAD that bring scholars, practitioners, and the public together to share and connect. This March, the annual Minnesota Colleges and Universities English and Writing Conference saw dozens of instructors and writers visit MCAD from all across the state. “We were the first private college to host the conference,” says Liberal Arts Chair Tom Haakenson, “and also the first art and design college.” Teaching students to write well is an essential part of MCAD’s mission, says Haakenson. “Artists and designers have to be able to communicate.” Plans are currently in the works for MCAD to convene similar gatherings around other topics related to art and design. Meanwhile, Lunning is traveling to Korea to present at an upcoming conference that’s an offshoot of Schoolgirls and Mobilesuits. Her MCAD colleagues have “been wonderful,” says Lunning. “Their attitude has always been, ‘Go with what you’re doing! We’ll support this never-beendone idea.’” — J.G.
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Academic Excellence
photo provided by Christopher Jopp '10
Still image from "The Well" Kickstarter video.
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Raising Hope MCAD Alumni Kickstart Their Business Ideas
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t any given Minneapolis College of Art and Design exhibition, extraordinary sights and sounds are on display: films, photographs, paintings, sculptures, interactive installations. Behind those amazing creations is a lot of hard work, study, and creativity — but also, not insignificantly, a chunk of change. “Building a thriving studio
practice,” says Vice President of Academic Affairs Karen Wirth, “also means running a successful business. Our enterprising alums have wisely added Kickstarter to their entrepreneurial toolboxes.” How to pay for that public art project, that camera, that travel? In the past, alumni would often have to bite the bullet and pull out a credit card. Now, with the support and encouragement of MCAD, they’re
increasingly using the online fundraising platform Kickstarter to generate both financial and moral support. Kickstarter allows artists to set fundraising goals and then solicit funds toward those goals from supporters who are rewarded with varying levels of participation or acknowledgement. MCAD, one of the first art and design schools to receive one, maintains a curated page on Kickstarter, where prospective donors can choose from many promising projects by MCAD alumni. This year alone, approximately $100,000 has been raised by projects highlighted on this page.
Christopher Jopp graduated from MCAD’s filmmaking program in 2010 and turned to Kickstarter to fund his short film "The Well." He worked hard to raise the funds, he says. “You have to actively promote it. I was constantly sending emails and holding screening parties — you have to treat it like a parttime job.” In this way, Kickstarter fundraising has the added benefit of giving students and alumni entrepreneurial experience, an important part of any artist’s or designer’s education. — J.g. Don't miss it: Yancey Strickler, cofounder of Kickstarter, at the Walker Art Center, October 25, 7:00 p.m. presented in collaboration with MCAD.
Making the Greater Minnesota Art Community Even Greater
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ne of the central goals of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design’s strategic plan is to offer classes that create engaged, civic-minded students. With the support of the Bush Foundation, the college has been doing just that through the creation of the Greater Minnesota Arts Initiative. “Small towns are disappearing,” says MCAD design chair Bernard Canniffe, “and struggling to reinvent themselves in a global economy.” The initiative is exploring how the fields of art and design can be used to create vibrant and sustainable communities. The program began with Canniffe teaching two classes this spring that had students working with communities in the Upper Minnesota River Valley — including Montevideo, Granite Falls, and Milan — and the Grand Rapids area to the north. The students met with local residents and discussed creative ways to use skills learned at MCAD to help address challenges faced by their communities. Based on the community discussions this spring, MCAD developed a summer fellowship program where students live in the Montevideo and Grand Rapids areas for two weeks while working on community service projects that capitalize on the art and design talents of the students.
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“The benefit of working with communities like this is that the outcome is tangible,” commented Brian Wiley '12, a master of fine arts graduate who is serving as the lead fellow for the summer program. Compared to purely theoretical academic study, Wiley explains, the experience gained by students through the Greater Minnesota Arts Initiative “closely replicates what students are going to encounter in the real world.” For example, during the western Minnesota fellowship, students worked with local business and civic leaders to assemble digital starter kits for small businesses that are seeking to increase their presence online. While in Grand Rapids, fellows designed and built a screen-printing studio for a local arts center and offered free screen-printing classes to community groups. Canniffe calls the program a “perfect synergy” of matching communities with needs to MCAD’s mission to education and students eager to help. He added that the work done by students demonstrated that design is about more than just the visuals — it’s about working together to strengthen communities. — Kate Mohn Kate Mohn grew up in Montevideo and now works in the president's office at MCAD.
Top photo Ted Birt '12. Bottom photos provided by Ted Birt '12 and Dylan Adams '13.
mcad / fall 2012
Academic Excellence
Creating a Global Art Community Through Online Learning
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hy online education? “The list of advantages is a mile deep,” says Cindy Gilbert, program coordinator of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design’s new sustainable design degree program. “The geographic reach is incredible, and peer-to-peer interaction is much more open. Instead of each student just submitting a project to an instructor, critique becomes a group experience.” What began as a certificate program has become MCAD’s first entirely online degree offering, and the first master’s degree that the college has ever introduced. Further, it’s the first entirely online degree in the field
of sustainability offered by any of the forty-two AICAD (Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design) schools. That’s a lot of firsts, and Gilbert speaks excitedly about the large number of students around the world whose desire for such a program has helped spur its development — applications to the program have already come in from five different continents. “Creative directors, practicing architects, eco-fashion designers, industrial designers working for Fortune 500 companies, all seeking information about how to do their jobs in a sustainable way,”
“MCAD has been a forerunner in online education”
says Karen Wirth, vice president of academic affairs. “MCAD has been offering online courses since the ’90s, while a lot of our peer institutions are not even on the starting line.” Other successful online programs include an interactive design and marketing certificate program; every academic division at MCAD now offers at least one online class per semester. While Gilbert admits online instruction has its challenges,
she emphasizes that a program like hers offers more global collaboration than those that take place in a traditional classroom, but still keeps in line with the small class sizes that MCAD is known for. “To come up with innovative solutions,” she says, “we have to take a global perspective.”
— J.g.
Let’s Rap : MCAD Hosts Community Forums
“The ability of the broader community to have a forum to come together and to
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talk with each other about their particular viewpoints, to have the public space to enter into a free-form discussion, is a really important aspect of education,” says Voights. “That’s what we really
photo provided by Ruth Voights
want to foster.”
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ince 2010, Ruth Voights, associate professor of liberal arts, and her colleagues have been arranging a series of events that have come to be known as “community conversations”: discussions of topics relevant to the work and lives of Minneapolis College of Art and Design faculty, students, and neighbors.
“We try to hold them the first Thursday of every month we’re in session,” says Voights. “The last conversation was on innovation. The one before that was fascinating to me: globalization. We had a mix of people including Vice President of Admissions William Mullen; Rio Saito, an instructor from Japan; and Nadia Pereria ’12, who is from India.” The lunchtime dialogues typically begin with short statements by each member of a designated panel, then become free-roaming conversations moderated by Voights. Attendance has ranged from five to forty-five MCAD community members, clustered together in a small room that allows face-to-face interaction.
One of the most memorable community conversations, says Voights, was a discussion of feminism. Participants came from multiple generations, so there was dialogue about feminism from the ’60s to the present. “There was a nice amount of interaction between the panel members and the audience members in regard to what feminism meant to them.” It’s all part of a plan “to make the liberal arts more dynamic,” says Tom Haakenson, chair of the liberal arts department. “It’s been a great way to get people outside of their particular classroom roles, to step back and have a conversation where you really get to talk about ideas, to disagree in a productive way.” — J.G.
mcad / fall 2012
Look
MFA Graduate Sculpts a Successful Future
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Everyone defines success differently, but it’s safe to say that exhibiting work internationally and winning a prestigious fellowship make it on every art and design student's list. Minneapolis College of Art and Design alum Jack Pavlik ’12, MFA can now officially cross both off his. The sculptor, whose work utilizes technology, steel, sound, and movement to explore human relationships with machines, was recently awarded the 2012 Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA grant — an honor given to only fifteen artists across the nation each year. Proud to receive the fellowship, Pavlik is no stranger to recognition. Since 2000, he’s shown in dozens of exhibits across the United States and Europe, including a group show at the Kinetica Art Fair in London, where he was the only American sculptor exhibiting. Though he’s not sure what the future holds after he finishes his summer residency at the Skowhegan School for Painting and Sculpture in Maine, Pavlik credits a great deal of his artistic growth to the MFA program at MCAD. “It was easy to make connections with other professors and staff at MCAD, and you were expected to reach out to other people in other departments for advice on any projects you were working on. This is one of MCAD’s greatest strengths as an institution.” — r.s.
photo by Patrick Kelley ’06
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mcad / fall 2012
sharpen edges
career & Professional Development
MCAD Continuing Education Brings Academic Excellence into the Professional Realm
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Going forward, MCAD will increasingly partner with organizations of all kinds to offer specialized training courses or workshops on topics such as computer software skills, graphic design principles, digital marketing concepts, digital photography, video editing, and more. This is one more way that MCAD is working to bring its dedication to academic excellence out into the larger community. — Lara Roy Lara Roy is director of continuing education at MCAD. She has an M.A. in art history and has worked at the University of Minnesota and the Walker Art Center.
photo by Tiffany Bolk ’98
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earning to improve practical and professional knowledge does not have to end upon graduation from a degree program. With that in mind, Minneapolis College of Art and Design Continuing Education has been reaching out to businesses and organizations, connecting employee development needs with the high quality educational experiences that MCAD offers. Recently, David Reade, a creative director at Best Buy, needed his team to develop skills in Adobe After Effects in order to create instore digital signage. He contacted MCAD's Continuing Education department and together they developed a custom training course for his employees. “The team loved the class,” Reade noted. “There was a good pace and they picked up what they needed to get them started in the digital space.” An equally exciting program took place at the headquarters of Lifetouch Inc in Eden Prairie. MCAD Continuing Education staff and faculty developed a series of three on-site professional development workshops built around fostering creativity, analyzing portrait photography, and graphic design fundamentals. These concise, highly interactive workshops provided Lifetouch employees with a chance to gather with colleagues, be energized by learning, and bring new ideas and skills into their own work.
> For more information, please contact the MCAD continuing Education de- partment by phone at 612.874.3765 or by email at continuing_studies@ mcad.edu.
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop The Alumni Association Gets Busy
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y stepping up to the plate and putting big ideas into action, this year’s Minneapolis College of Art and Design Alumni Association may have just redefined the term “busy.” In the past twelve months the all-volunteer board has nearly doubled its membership, launched an incredibly successful alumni newsletter in partnership with MCAD DesignWorks, and organized a host of innovative new programs, events, and initiatives, all aimed at strengthening the MCAD community.
Brian Gioielli, director of major and alumni giving, says that last year’s planning process for reinvigorating the board was a great success. “It’s been exciting to see the diversity of the board grow so much. We have people of all different ages from all different backgrounds and fields of study. With new members comes new energy and new ideas.” In order to have the greatest impact, the board focused its work on five main priorities: gatherings, including everything from happy hours to open critique nights; communications, with an emphasis on increasing consis-
tency and value; the massive allalumni reunion, in celebration of MCAD’s 125th year; SnackcART, a regular fixture during finals week; and graduation guides, a tangible resource for MCAD students who are just leaving the security of campus life. Though each of the Alumni Association’s programs are unique, they’re all aimed at achieving the same goal, says Gioielli. “At the end of the day, alumni are the reason MCAD is special. You’re an alum forever, and we want to create a community where the doors are always open.” — r.s.
Helping Hand within Reach
giving back
Alumni Sponsor New Students So They Can Get Some Starter Supplies
E
Eaton Golden, a web consulting agency, Block appreciates that even as a young alum, she has an opportunity to give back. “It was comforting knowing that I could donate even a modest amount to show my support and appreciation for my education at MCAD,” she says. “It was a great way for me to pay it forward without having to fork out a larger gift that I don’t have.” Each donor received a photo of the students with their kits. “It made me feel like I did that,” says Block. “It felt really good.” — Elizabeth Foy Larsen Elizabeth Foy Larsen is the author of Unbored: The Essential Field Guide to Serious Fun (Bloomsbury). She lives in Minneapolis.
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photo by Patrick Kelley ’06
veryone knows that starting college is an expensive proposition. There’s tuition, of course, not to mention food, housing, and books. But unlike liberal arts colleges, Minneapolis College of Art and Design students also have to make an additional investment in art supplies. That reality is part of what motivated the college to start the New Student Kit initiative last year. Part of the Sponsor a Student campaign, each kit includes a wooden thumb drive, Moleskine notebook, eraser, and a set of Staedtler pencils. These gifts are made possible by donations of thirty dollars or more, mostly from alumni. “We want students to feel truly welcome when they come to MCAD — and to know their alumni association is there for them,” says Brian Gioielli, the college’s director of major and alumni giving. “We wanted to give alumni a very tangible way to make a gift. It's an affordable donation from recent graduates that can go a long way. Last year, thirty donors gave enough money for every new student to receive a welcome kit. One of those donors was recent graduate Katherine Block ’10. “I thought it was a neat idea and would have been a cool thing when I started at MCAD,” says the BSc graduate. “Having thirty dollars worth of art supplies can make or break your experience.” Now a project coordinator at
mcad / fall 2012
alumni Notes 1965 David Friedman, Honolulu, was featured in a solo painting exhibition titled Color as a Second Language at the Gallery on the Pali, for which he also designed educational and interactive exhibits for the museum. Friedman, along with fellow artist Larry Lovett, has co-founded Electric Gallery, a pioneering OLELO-TV video art gallery on community television. Stewart Turnquist, Monticello, Minnesota, received the MCAD Alumni Achievement Award at the 2012 Commencement ceremony, honoring his work with the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program and his lifelong commitment to new ideas and creative dialogue.
1967
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Roger Kast, Duluth, has launched a new website featuring three galleries of his contemporary drawings and paintings, including Lake Superior sunrises, moonrises, and moods.
1968 Tom Arndt, St. Paul, was featured in The Sports Show at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts from February 19 to May 13, 2012.
1969 William Havlicek, Laguna Beach, California, is having ongoing success on Amazon.com with his book Van Gogh's Untold Journey — Revelations of Faith, Family, and Artistic Inspiration, which continues to receive five-star reviews. The book is newly available as an ebook through CreativeStorytellers.com.
1971 Frank Nicholas '59 Chicago, is currently working on a series of transparent watercolor paintings of crushed soda cans titled Road Kill. He also teaches art to homeschooled students and prisoners.
1956
1963
John Howard Sanden, a native of Texas, was selected to paint the official portrait of President George W. Bush and Laura Bush in 2010. In May of 2012, the completed portraits were revealed during a ceremony at the White House.
Margaret Thomas, Washington, D.C., has had the body of work from her forty-year career as a photojournalist archived at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin.
> Submit your alumni notes to mcad.edu/alumni.
Roderick Massey, Minneapolis, was featured in a solo exhibition of twentyfour paintings titled Espaces Americains: L'exposition de Rod Massey at Galerie Philippe Gelot in Paris.
1972 Patrick Redmond, St. Paul, was included in the “People” section of the New York-based, national publication Graphic Design USA, Volume 48.
the four artists will discuss making the documentary and present in-progress footage at MCAD in the fall of 2012.
1989 Dan Lund, Los Angeles, is working at Disney and was just nominated for an ANNIE award in Animated Effects in an Animated Production for his work on 2011’s Winnie the Pooh. Nick Schenk, Los Angeles, is writing the upcoming Robocop remake.
1991
Sherry Blanchard Stuart ’64 owner of the Open Range Gallery in Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona, is working as a professional painter, specializing in images of the American West. Her recent work has been featured in numerous shows, including the Western Artists of America at the Pearce Museum and the Mini Masterpieces Show and Sale at the Phippen Museum.
1976 Janet Lofquist, Minneapolis, recently installed her sculpture Phenomena at the Hennepin County Library in Maple Grove. Lofquist been active in the area of public art, with work commissioned both regionally and nationally. She is currently working on the integration of public art for three of the Central Corridor Light Rail stations in Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as a major commission for the State of Connecticut.
1978 Monica Little, St. Paul, founder of the design company Little & Company, was named as one of three recipients of the 2012 AIGA Fellow Awards by AIGA Minnesota.
1979 Janet Groenert, Minneapolis, was the recipient of a 2012 Jerome Research and Development Grant through Forecast Public Art.
1980 Cheryl Fischer, Rancho Palos Verdes, California, has published her first eco-mystery novel, Falling into Green (Ashland Creek Press, 2012).
1982 Cindy Lindgren, Minneapolis, has an original gingko leaf design featured on a limited edition set of four handmade chocolates from the St. Croix Chocolate Company, which are sold in a box lined with Lindgren’s custom gingko fabric. Beth Shapiro-Prusky, Philadelphia, is working at the Pennsylvania Fine Arts Museum in museum education as an outreach teaching artist.
1983
Gloria Eslinger, Duluth, is working as an assistant professor in fine arts at the University of Wisconsin–Superior. Recently, she installed a stained glass mosaic titled Sunrise/Sunset on the south facing windows in the Jim Dan Hill Library, for the permanent collection. The forty-foot mural was created to actively engage the natural movements of nature and seasons.
1993 Tom Siler, Minneapolis, and fellow alums Steven Lang ’96 and Liseli Polivka ’00 are working on the Whittier Artists in Storefronts project. The first-of-its-kind in the Twin Cities, participating artists are helping transform vacant, underused, or blighted landscapes and storefronts into ongoing public art exhibition spaces open to all.
1995 Lucy Mink, MFA, Concord, New Hampshire, received a 2012 Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant in painting. Jodi Reeb-Meyers, Minneapolis, had her work featured in a group show focused on encaustic painting at Homewood Studios.
1997 Kelly Ludeking and Brad Hertko ’96, owners of Ironhead Sculptural Services, along with Justin and Karen Peters ’97, hosted an iron pour event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for Eco-Fest 2012. Ludeking also spoke on a panel at the Western Cast Iron Art Conference in Hays, Kansas.
1998 Travis Cushion, Waterloo, Iowa, celebrated his five-year anniversary as the art director at Three Wide Media for Dirt Modified and Dirt Late Model magazines. Cushion also launched his own design and marketing firm, Two Buff Dudes Inc., which specializes in the motorsports industry.
2000 Adam Michaels, New York City, owner of Project Projects, has coauthored The Electric Information Age Book: McLuhan/Agel/Fiore and the Experimental Paperback (Princeton Architectural Press, 2012) with Jeffrey Schnapp, faculty director of metaLAB at Harvard. The book is the third in the Inventory Books series, which seeks “to advance the role of design as an integrated force in book editing and production…as a means of revitalizing the space of book to present critical
Doug Henders, New York City, had work featured in a solo show titled Stargate at Galerie Brigitte Schenk in Cologne, Germany, as well as in Drift, a group show curated from the permanent collection of the Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Christopher Sullivan, Chicago, received a Creative Capital Film/Video grant for his project Orbit of Minor Satellites, a hand-drawn, animated feature about characters in two different worlds connected by unlikely threads.
1988 Kristen Lowe, Minneapolis, a professor at Gustavus College, has accepted a position as a contributing writer covering contemporary art for Tonka Times Magazine. Lowe recently received a Research, Scholarship and Creativity Grant to assist with funding her current project, a feature documentary titled Painting the Place Between, about four contemporary painters who work on one common subject, the land. She and
Jan Elftmann ’84 Minneapolis, and Alan Wadzinski ’86 both had work featured in an exhibit titled Material Memory: The Art of Recycling at Gordon Parks Gallery in St. Paul.
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content in an accessible, engaging format.” Chris Rand, Minneapolis, had metalwork featured on four pages of a book titled Ironwork Today 3: Inside and Out (Schiffer Publishing, 2011). The book showcases the work of over seventy artists from across the United States and Canada.
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Rochelle Schultz-Brancato, Rapid City, North Dakota, was appointed to the board of directors for Museum Alliance of Rapid City, Inc. dba, The Journey Museum. The Journey Museum brings together four major prehistoric and historic collections to tell the complete story of the Western Great Plains — from the perspective of the Lakota people and the pioneers who shaped its past, to the scientists who now study it.
2001 Nicholas Reti, Denver, had work featured in an exhibition at Oh-Be-Joyful Gallery in Crested Butte, Colorado. In addition to the show, Reti was also interviewed on KBUT’s West Elk Word with Chad Reich.
Anthony Pugh ’02
2002
New York City, has had his original illustrations featured in the Village Voice, and has selfpublished a comic book called the Midknight Marauder.
Greg Bro, St. Paul, won the Best Animated Comedy award at the L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival for the episode “Rise of the Chipmunk King” from his series Stuper Powers. Gilpin Matthews and Lauren Schuppe, co-founders of Kick.Stand.Press, in association with artist Edie Overturf, have opened a community print shop in the Casket Arts Building of Northeast Minneapolis called Leg Up Studios, with intaglio/relief, letterpress, lithography, and screen-printing facilities. Classes, workshops, and memberships are available.
2004 Mike Kooiman, Minneapolis, led the first redesign of the City Pages weekly newspaper since 2001.
2003 Joseph Rizzo, Minneapolis, created an original piece of art titled Heavy for the “Commissioned” section of METRO magazine’s March 2012 issue. Ulana Zahajkewycz, MFA, Palmyra, New Jersey, had her wooden folk pieces featured in an exhibit titled Obsessions at the Lunar Boy Gallery in Astoria, Oregon. Additionally, her piece titled Zephyr received a second-place award
in the Editorial category of the Phillustration 2011! juried show.
Shen Wei '03 New York, had work featured in two solo exhibitions, one at epSITE Gallery in Shanghai and one at Monika Olko Gallery in Sag Harbor, New York. Work from his Chinese Sentiment series has been included in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
> Submit your alumni notes to mcad.edu/alumni.
Julie Jilek’s Kickstarter to help her complete her Wisconsin State Park Plein Air Painting Project, which has been over a year in the making, was successfully funded. With the money, she hopes to complete the series in the fall of 2012. Additionally, she has been awarded two artist residencies in Minnesota this year. The first is the Pine Needles Residency at Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota, through the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the second is in Red Wing, Minnesota, at the Anderson Center. Maria Juranic, Minneapolis, won the Special Jury Award for Emerging Talent in the Music Video category at the 2012 MSP International Film Festival for her creative work in the music video genre. Catherine Kennedy, Minneapolis, had her work featured in a solo exhibition titled Contemporary Journeys: Installation Art by Liberian Artist Catherine Kennedy, held at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Galleries. Jake Yuzna, New York City, received a Creative Capital Film/Video grant for his project Werewolves in the Mall of America, the coming-of-age story of a first-generation Somali immigrant high school girl in Minneapolis.
2006 Melissa Breitenfeldt, Minneapolis, had her “Blind Justice” design for the custom 2013 Victory Judge motorcycle unveiled at the Australian Motorcycle Expo. All of the artwork on the bike, depicting six scenes of justice and victory, were hand drawn with Sharpie markers. Steven Gurewitz and Britni West ’08 showed their feature-length film Marvin Seth & Stanley in the 2012 MSP International Film Festival. The film was recently reviewed on The New Yorker’s movie blog. Monica Haller, MFA, Minneapolis, was awarded a Minnesota State Arts Board grant for $55,000 to create the second half of the Veterans Book Project, a library authored by people experiencing the current American wars, by expanding participation to those not yet represented in the library, and by training the next generation of workshop leaders. Patrick Kelley, Minneapolis, was recently the grand prize winner in the 2012 National Geographic Montana Photography Contest. His work was also featured in a group show at the Two Tigers Gallery in Northeast Minneapolis titled The View From Earth.
Shane McCallister ’09 Iowa, recently sold four photographs from his Charlie’s World series to the photo collection at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. These four pieces are currently in an exhibition titled Lure of the Local: Collecting the Corridor, 2006–2011 at the CRMA.
Katie Maren and Mike P. Nelson ’05 directed and edited the “Mine for the Time” music video for the band Still Pacific. Melodee Strong had work featured in Fade 2 Blaq, an exhibition showcasing sixteen Minneapolis artists of color from all backgrounds. The show also included work from Jennifer GarzaStork ’95, Christopher Aaron-Deanes ’96, Kelly Brown ’05, and Nadia Pereira ’12.
2007 Mong Vang, Minneapolis, co-directed Journey to the Fallen Skies, the film that took the Best Minnesota Feature Length Film Award, given for directorial vision and compelling narrative experience, at the 2012 MSP International Film Festival.
Allison Pegoraro ’10 Little Canada, Minnesota, had work featured in a solo exhibition titled ECOTONOSTOS at Gallery One in the Tractorworks building in Minneapolis. The show was made possible by a 2011– 2012 Artist Initiative Grant and created while Pegoraro was Artist in Residence at the Tractorworks building.
Nikki Will, San Francisco, along with the Read it Later team, launched Pocket, an app that saves things online,
such as videos, articles, and blogs, that you want to view later.
2008 Seamus Burke, Minneapolis, released the second print anthology of his web comic Oh Goodie!. Working Man premiered at the third annual Chicago Comic Entertainment Expo (C2E2). He is currently working on some short comics with Amber Whitney ’09. Kate Casanova, Minneapolis, an editor for InDigest magazine, interviewed fellow alum Melissa Loop ’05 about her paintings for inclusion in the March issue. InDigest recently successfully
funded a project through Kickstarter to complete some digital upgrades for their website. Gregory Euclide, MFA, Minneapolis, had a solo show at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno. Lyndsey Lesh, Los Angeles, had workfeatured in a solo show at Synchronicity Space in Los Angeles. The show was compiled of the illustrations created to fully illustrate the second issue of The Rattling Wall, a new literary journal based in L.A. The issue was launched with a one-night show held at Synchronicity Space featuring art from the issue. The exhibition was featured in Beautiful/Decay magazine. Mike Sgier, MFA, Philadelphia, had a comic featured in City Paper’s annual comics issue. Guest editor Art Baxter chose the comic as best in show.
2009 Bethany Knowles-Thompson has accepted the position of service bureau coordinator at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Liz Plahn was promoted to senior designer at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) after working as junior designer since 2009. Lyz Wendland, MFA, had work featured in a solo exhibition at Augsburg College in Minneapolis.
2010 Aimee Hagerty Johnson, Northfield, Minnesota, designed the record cover for a limited-edition re-release of The Cure's single “Friday I'm in Love.” The 7" debuted in a pop-up exhibition on Chance Street in London.
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In Memoriam John C. “Wood Duck” Everson ’72 of Cloquet, Minnesota, passed away on May 3, 2012. A screen printer/designer for C.Z. Wilson and Jersey City for thirty five years, he designed the Cloquet Lumberjack Hockey logo. John was a counselor at Camp Courage for several summers. He enjoyed trout fishing and collecting professional baseball memorabilia.
alumni notes
Karen Holmberg ’76 of Minneapolis passed away on March 31, 2012. She was a lifelong artist alongside her husband, Vern, and in addition to receiving her BFA from MCAD, obtained a master of fine arts from the University of Minnesota. She will be remembered for the beauty she created with her artwork and beautiful gardens.
Gregory Ganeles ’10 24
Minneapolis, won third place in artist Saber's Twitter art contest. Works from the winners were featured in Juxtapoz Magazine and on Saber’s blog.
Chris Havranek, Minneapolis, biked in the Minnesota - Bike MS: C.H. Robinson Worldwide MS 150 Ride to help fight multiple sclerosis. The ride is the largest in the Midwest and entails biking from Duluth to White Bear Lake in two days. Nicholas McDougal, Des Moines, Iowa, has begun a successful freelance graphic design business. Amalia Nicholson, Minneapolis, made a music video for Villa Rosa’s song “Liberation Karma.” The video has been featured in the (NME), a music publication from the United Kingdom. Julie Sirek, Minneapolis, made a strapless dress for the cover of the May 2012 issue of Mpls. St. Paul Magazine. The dress is made out of pages from past issues of the publication. Andrew Vomhof had work featured at Art Du Nord, a pop up shop of art and design with visual art and furniture design from MCAD alumni including Danielle Feliciano ’12, MFA, Ed
Charbonneau ’06, George Mahoney ’04, MFA, Joe Hrabe ’11, Katelyn Worum ’11, Lindsay Splichal ’12, Maya Khaira ’07, and Melodie Seagren ’11.
2011 Teresa Audet, Minneapolis, was interviewed for an article on the Woodworker's Journal eZine.
Brian Wiley, MFA, has accepted a fulltime tenure track position as a visiting assistant professor in graphic design at the University of Illinois, Champaign Urbana. He'll be teaching Typography for Non-Designers and Imagemaking the first semester, and has been awarded a research grant to continue investigating methods of communitybased, participatory design.
Tuesday Bassen, in addition to successfully maintaining her personal practice, has accepted a position as the head of the NYC office of the British illustration agency YCN. Ryan Hageman was hired as a graphic designer for the Art Institute of Chicago. Ned Hurley, Maplewood, Minnesota, had a short film titled “Keys” screened as part of the 2012 Sonoma International Film Festival in California. Aimee Pijpers, Minneapolis, was featured as MPLS.TV’s artist in residence for the month of April.
2012 Llew Mejia had work featured in a joint show with Bill Rebholz titled Street Fortune at the Light Grey Art Lab in Minneapolis. Li Zeng, MFA, has accepted a full-time tenure track position as an assistant professor at Mississippi University for Women.
> Submit your alumni notes to mcad.edu/alumni.
Alumni Notes and Photos Alumni notes will be edited for clarity and style. We also welcome photos of all alumni gatherings at recent ceremonies, opening receptions, or other events. Each image must be 300 dpi and include the event name, location, date, and alumni names. We will publish as many photos as space permits. Contact mcad.edu/alumni alumninotes@mcad.edu
Gene Lysaker ’49 of Twin Valley, Minnesota, passed away on May 5, 2012. After receiving his undergraduate degree at MCAD, Gene worked for several companies in Kansas City, Missouri, and Willmar, Minnesota, before joining the Grand Rapids Herald Review in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, as an advertising artist, where he was employed for twenty-five years. After his retirement in the early 1980s, as a private artist Gene continued to expand his interest in artwork to include work with Ducks Unlimited, Boy Scouts, and was commissioned by Como Park and Minnesota Zoo to do special artwork. Warren Dale Moen ’49 of Minneapolis, passed away on March 30, 2012. Warren served in the Navy during World War II, returning to start his career in design at LaVoy’s, training under Miss LaVoy in Minneapolis. He spent his life passionate about interior design and retained clients as treasured friends throughout career moves from LaVoy’s to partner at Eichorn Interiors, and then to his own design firm. John “Jack” Lindstrom ’57 of Fridley, Minnesota, passed away on Wednesday, April 11, 2012. An accomplished cartoonist and illustrator, John worked for decades with some of the leading advertising and marketing firms in the Twin Cities, and for many years owned his own graphic design company, F.A.B. Artists. Daniel J. Levy ’13 of Minneapolis passed away Sunday, January 15, 2012. A 2008 graduate of Saratoga Springs High School, he was a talented artist, a loving brother and son, an avid skateboarder, and an empathetic and kind human being.
means. It’s being responsive to the practical and intellectual needs of your particular student populations; meeting their needs as well as meeting their ambitions. “I’ve been very lucky in my education. MCAD was both intellectually stimulating and artistically challenging. I loved every minute of it.”
Here are some former MCAD students who have gone on to influence the world by teaching the next generation of artists and designers.
“There were so many things that MCAD gave me that had to do with excellence. One of the reasons I’m a teacher today is because of the example of David Nye Brown, who taught in MCAD’s humanities program. MCAD’s visiting artist program was also very impactful for me. We had people like Christo, Roberto Matta — every semester, someone important was there. I got exposure to some very advanced painters and artists who had really achieved something. “Then there were the wonderful and gifted painters who were on staff and were mentors for me. “And MCAD’s junior year abroad program changed my life. Next week, I’ll be taking my own students to Haarlem, The Netherlands, to many of the same museums that I saw for the first time when I was twenty years old and an MCAD student. I’m carrying on the tradition. “The whole MCAD program was a strong one. It allowed me to go on to graduate school knowing that I was well prepared.”
William Havlicek’69
“One of the most important things I learned at MCAD and that I pass on to my own students is that there are many differences between having doubts about your work and having questions. Doubting your work will get you nowhere. Asking questions is exponential and will only help you to continue developing your skills, your abilities and craft. It is good to have your assumptions challenged. In fact, it is vital to your growth. I learned that I was not only here to learn about my role as an artist or citizen but about how to be myself. To be oneself is always a daunting task, not easily grasped but always gratifying.”
Catherine Gass ’95 is an adjunct assistant professor of photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
holds MA and MFA degrees from the University of Iowa and a PhD from Claremont Graduate University. He is the author of Van Gogh’s Untold Journey and is currently an associate professor of aesthetics and art history at Laguna College of Art and Design.
Michael Mercil ’78 is an associate professor and chair of graduate studies at Ohio State University.
by Brad Jirka. He said ‘You can make anything.’ The example he gave was ‘You can make a jet airplane with the skills that you get as an art student. Maybe you don’t know how jets work and you don’t know how the tools work, but you have the tools to teach yourself. It’s just a matter of time, discipline, and research.’ I found that to be really empowering. I want my students to feel that same sense of ‘why can’t I do something that seems kind of impossible?’ “The other thing I like to tell my students is a term that Kinji Akagawa used: ‘openly open.’ He’d say an artist needs to be open to being open, to be completely responsive to everything around you, and to be really attuned to being inspired by the world. “I like telling my students both of those things. They’re worth passing along.”
Jeff Thompson ’04
“Hard work and excellence were a big part of my education at MCAD. Back then, we had a traditional Foundation Program. I remember the first day of class my instructor, Brad Jirka, said please have 100 drawings ready to critique by the next class. That was just the first day. The first year was by far the toughest. I learned in that year how to create and refine my work. “Also, Tom DeBiaso (MCAD professor, media arts, and MFA mentor) was and still is a mentor to me. He taught me how to refine my work and how to be a professional. He always demanded the best from all of his students. I owe a lot to Tom. He was a real role model to me. He taught film, so many of his students are in Los Angeles with me now, and we all talk about the importance of Tom’s classes out here.”
Richard Shelton ’87 founded the MCAD Animation Program in 2003 and currently serves as the director of integrated learning at Otis College of Art and Design.
“When I got to MCAD, I became immersed in the process of making. The studio experience there was very different from my previous classroom experiences. For the first time in my life I got very serious about what I was doing because my instructors were very serious about what they were doing. “Any excellent program—which I think MCAD is and which I think Ohio State is — must respond to the particular needs of its student body. That’s what academic excellence really
“The first was something told to me
“When I think about academic excellence, there are two things that have really, really stuck with me that I learned at MCAD.
is an assistant professor of new genres and digital art in the department of art and art history and artist-in-residence at Holland Computing Center at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
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“The value of the MCAD program for me was to discover who I am and what I really want to do as an individual designer. What MCAD taught me is this: Once I find myself, the next moment I will find the world… “During my undergraduate program in China, every vacation I spent months teaching design for high school students. When I started at MCAD, I thought I wanted to get into a company to start my career. But I found myself having a great passion for teaching as well. “So many people at MCAD have been great guides, showing me what it means to be a good educator: Jan Jancourt, Jerry Allen, Rebecca Alm, James Johnson. I want to have that same passionate, positive way of teaching, and help my students discover what their interests are.”
Li Zeng ’12 will be a graphic design assistant professor at Mississippi University for Women starting in fall 2012.
mcad / fall 2012
illustrations by Meredith Oberg '13
T he academic e x c el l e n c e lear ned at the Minneapolis College of A r t a n d D e s i g n e xtends be y ond what is happening on campus and out into the world wher e ver our alum n i ar e doing work .
openings & Events
Attending an event or opening? Grab two MCADers and take a photo. Send us your pictures, and we’ll run them in this space. Upload at mcad.edu/alumni, or email from your phone to magazine@mcad.edu.
Alumni Reunion 26
Clockwise from top: Alumni Board President Emeritus Mike Keefe ‘86 and fellow alumni • Boriana Mintcheva-Strzok ‘08 and Nicholas Dahl ‘10 • Alumni Board President Janet Groenert ‘79 and Alumni Board Vice President Emily Taylor ‘00 • Kinji Akagawa ‘68 and Boriana Mintcheva-Strzok ‘08 • Joe Kramm ‘07 and Development Director Cindy Theis • Alumni catching up over lunch at the reunion • Nicholas Dahl ‘10, Anthony Warnick ‘11, and Benjamin Kjos ‘11
Clockwise THIRD ROW, RIGHT: Vice President of Academic Affairs Karen Wirth, Allison Pegoraro ‘10, and others in a workshop • MCAD Faculty Jan Jancourt, Jon Thomas ‘00, and others tasting coffee • Alumni group photo on Morrison steps • MCAD Faculty Jan Jancourt, Jon Thomas ‘00, and others tasting coffee • Alice Fjelstul '93 and MCAD Faculty Rebecca Alm > View our latest gallery and campus photos at flickr.com/mcad_photo.
Scholarship Luncheon McKenzie Erickson ’12 and David Hartwell • Dakota Hoska ’14, Janet Jones, and Christopher Perez ’12 • Students and donors at the scholarship lunch • Pat Saunders, Gail Blake, and Judy Dayton • Kari Solyntjes, Hope Finley ’13, and Brad Shark photos by Patrick Kelley ’06
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Honorary Degrees A very special event, honoring and granting graduates from the Minneapolis School of Art with honorary Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Clockwise from top: Lois Heim ‘40 and Harry Heim ‘41 • Bill Stein ‘48 and MCAD President Jay Coogan • Lois Johnston ‘49 and family celebrating • Richard Heyne ‘50 photos by Erin Smith ’08
mcad / fall 2012
Creativity & purpose
Elissa Cedarleaf Dahl and a group of students learn how to through art and community.
photo by Patrick Kelley ’06
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Elissa Cedarleaf Dahl ’07, MFA
A
rt is not always about the final product. There’s an experiential aspect to creating that can’t be ignored, and in the Minneapolis College of Art and Design Art and Community Class taught by Elissa Cedarleaf Dahl ’07, MFA, the goal is to get students out of the studio and into the street, where their skills as artists and designers can excite people who don’t have formal training or education as art-makers. “Art can create relationships between people,” Cedarleaf Dahl points out. In the case of her most recent class, art was about beautifying a street corner while connecting fourth and fifth graders with MCAD students and their community, all while exploring the cycle of bullying. In February, her class collaborated with Beth Pacunas, the founder of Youth Arts and Media Works, an arts advocating organization that focuses on the tween set, often working to promote anti-bullying efforts. The belief is that it’s the preteens you need to make an impression upon if you want to spearhead any kind of cultural change, and that’s
Fine Arts Adjunct Faculty
just why the students at Emerson Spanish Immersion Learning Center, where Cedarleaf Dahl also teaches art, turned out to be the perfect collaborators for Cedarleaf Dahl’s MCAD students. Utilizing a long stretch of wall along the corner of 15th Street and Nicollet Avenue, the Emerson students created a narrative of bullying that involved a dragon (the bully), deer (the bullied), and owls (the bystanders). Titled Love the Bully, the piece eschews the torment that often follows blaming a bully, instead focusing on the innate good each party brings to the situation. Now, when traffic backs up along this stretch of Eat Street, there’s not just a vibrant anti-bullying lesson, but a reminder that art and design can bring both aesthetics and meaning to the community. — j.G.
Published for alumni, donors, and friends.
MCAD
Editor-in-Chief Joan Grathwol Olson
Donor Profile
managing EDITOR Courtney Algeo CONTRIBUTING EDITORS and WRITERS Rob Davis / Jay Gabler / Holly Harrison / Elizabeth Foy Larsen / Kate Mohn / Carleen Pieper / Sheila Regan Lara Roy / Regan Smith / Phyllis Ware Karen Wirth / Jason Zabel ART DIRECTORs Brian Donahue, Principal, bedesign, inc. Brent Meyers ’97, Director, MCAD DesignWorks CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS and DESIGNERS Ashley Huhe '13 / Patrick Kelley ’06 / Meredith Oberg ’13 / Ben Proell '13, Madeline Sorenson ’10
photo by Patrick Kelley ’06
Keeping Everyone Afloat Anchor Bank Helps Students Stay Put
W
hen it comes to supporting the Twin Cities arts scene, few families can keep up with the Joneses. For four generations, this Wayzata-based family has passed on the values of giving back, whether it’s to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts or the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Last year, their Anchor Bank Family Foundation gave MCAD funds to support five students so they could remain in school. Called NOW Scholarships, the funds are used to bridge the gap between a student’s need and tuition, especially for juniors and
seniors who need immediate help because of changing family finances. “It’s a huge problem today for kids who can’t cover the costs of their college education,” says Carl Jones, the CEO of Anchor Bank, which was started forty years ago by his father, Winton Jones. “It’s very heartwarming to realize you can help people who otherwise would not be able to finish their degrees.” Meeting the recipients only increased the family’s excitement about the scholarship. “The students are so enthusiastic and dedicated to their art,” says Janet Jones, the president of the Anchor Bank Family Foundation.
“I was so impressed by their passion.” The Jones family’s decision to support MCAD students stems from both a connection to the college and a commitment to education. Jones’ grandfather Carl Waring Jones was on the board of MCAD and also took courses at the college, a passion that was passed down to the next generations. “My father had a great quote about art,” says Carl Jones. He said, "The ability to appreciate art is what differentiates man from animal.” — E.F.L.
ADVANCEMENT STAFF Joan Grathwol Olson, Vice President of Institutional Advancement / Brian Gioielli, Director of Major and Alumni Giving / Cindy Theis, Director of Development / Cheryl Wolken, Advancement Services Coordinator / Kristine Wyant, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations Alumni Association Board of Directors Janet Groenert ’79, President / Emily Taylor ’00, Vice President / Abigail Allan ’08, MFA / Taylor Baldry ’07 / Keith Braafladt ’86 / Hilary Bullock ’89 Ed Charbonneau ’06, MFA / Amelia Clabots ’02 Justin Clifton ’00 / Marlo Cronquist ’01 / Nick Dahl ’10 / Jan Elftmann ’84 / Jeremi Hanson ’01 Kerri Jamison ’02 / Antonia Maistrova ’06 / Patrick Kelley ’06 / Boriana Mintcheva-Strzok ’08 / Rhea O'Connor ’08 / Nancy Rice ’70 / Sarah Wieben ’04 Board of Trustees Mary Lazarus, Chair / Monica Little ’78, Vice Chair / Uri Camarena, Treasurer / Betsy Massie, Secretary Kevin Bennett / Leslie Berkshire / Anne Cashill ’83 Andrew Dayton / Miles Fiterman / B. John Lindahl Mitzi Magid / David E. Moore, Jr. / Clinton H. Morrison / Howard Rubin / Julie Snow / D. Robert Teslow II / Bill Thorburn ’84 Life Trustees Bruce Bean / Cy DeCosse ’52 / Clinton Morrison Trustees by Virtue of Office Jay Coogan, President / Janet Groenert ’79, President, Alumni Association Board of Directors
> For more information on endowed scholarship funds or how to make an estate gift, contact Cindy Theis at 612.874.3777 or ctheis@mcad.edu
mcad / fall 2012
Upcoming Events In the Field: Artists from Greater Minnesota Concourse Gallery August 17–September 16, 2012 Reception: Friday, September 14, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
Elizabeth Erickson: Planes of Light Gallery 215 August 31–September 16, 2012 Reception: Friday, September 14, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
This exhibition showcases the variety and depth of work being created by artists, including MCAD alumni, who live and work in rural areas of the state.
Longtime professor Elizabeth Erickson is retiring from teaching at MCAD.
2011/12 Jerome Emerging Artists Exhibition: Richard Barlow, Gregory Euclide, Lauren Herzak-Bauman, Alison Hiltner, and Jehra Patrick Main Gallery September 28–November 4, 2012 Reception: Friday, October 5, 6:00–8:00 p.m. Jerome Artists’ Panel Discussion Wednesday, October 10, 6:30 p.m. Moderated by Bartholomew Ryan, assistant curator, Walker Arts Center.
College Art Gallery Collaborative 2012 Fall Art Tour Saturday, October 6, 2012 1:00–5:00 p.m.
MCAD International Students’ Exhibition Concourse Gallery and Gallery 215 October 19–November 4, 2012 Reception: Friday, October 19, 6:00–8:00 p.m. International students studying at MCAD are invited to submit work for this exhibition. Mervy Pueblo, Kerry Morgan, and Megan Leafblad will co-curate the show.
MCAD Art Sale All Galleries November 15–17, 2012 Fall Commencement Exhibition All Galleries December 5–14, 2012 Reception: Friday, December 14
Faculty spotlight, off campus (coordinated with Bethel University and Northwestern College) 2011/12 Jerome Emerging Artist, Gregory Euclide '08
On Location: 2012 MCAD Faculty Exhibition Main Gallery and First Floor Corridor Gallery August 24–September 16, 2012 Reception: Friday, September 14, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
Art Mecho: Illustration Influenced by Anime, Manga, and Gaming Concourse Gallery September 28–October 14, 2012 Reception: Friday, September 29, 6:00–9:00 p.m.
This annual exhibition highlights work by both full-, and part-time MCAD faculty teaching in the college’s fine arts, design, media arts, and Bachelor of Science programs.
Curated by Frenchy Lunning In conjunction with the Schoolgirls and Mobilesuits fashion show and symposium September 28–29.
2011/12 Jerome Emerging Artist, Alison Hiltner