Issue #5 - Letters From You

Letters From You

Yay, Ryan!

How thrilling to find The Pool in my mailbox with my friend Ryan Bancroft on the cover. Ryan’s embrace of the multi-disciplinary landscape of CalArts (from ballet classes, to Ghanian drumming and dance, to classical orchestral conducting) is a testament both to Ryan’s endless creative capacity and to the life-changing impact that the pedagogy of CalArts can have on an artist. Winning the Malko prize is a career-defining achievement, and it’s so gratifying to see your cover story focus on a young alumnx whose career is causing ripples across the international music scene. Congratulations to Ryan, and kudos to The Pool for producing this story. John Schwerbel (Music BFA 14)

The Patients’ Journey

I first met Roger [Holzberg] at a mobile health conference in Boston, nearly five years after his cancer diagnosis. We connected like old friends and I knew immediately that our paths would cross again. Later that year, I asked him to join our team at NCI [National Cancer Institute] to reimagine our digital communications. With his passion and real-life

experiences, Roger provided a surge of creative energy that helped the NCI team to envision an evolutionary path for Cancer.gov, one that focuses on the patient journey above all else.

Jonathan Cho Office of Communications & Public Liaison, National Cancer Institute

Her students were her ultimate masterpieces

As one who studied with Corita [Kent] at Immaculate Heart College in Hollywood (1962–1966), I am always thrilled to see Corita’s work and her story alive and well on campuses everywhere—all over the world, really. In recent years, both the Tang Museum at Skidmore and the Harvard Art Museums have contributed substantially to advancing Corita’s narrative and her work. That a new generation is receptive to her art and her message fills me with hope. Corita used to say that her students were her ultimate masterpieces. I wish for all your students the joy of having a teacher—it only takes one— who believes in you as much as Corita believed in us. It can last a lifetime.

Mickey Myers Johnson, VT

Gamboa join the National Portrait Gallery in DC

In the dark of the night you see them—on a deserted parking lot, at a lonely strip mall, in an empty plaza. You confront their firm stand under the streetlights. With their eyes behind dark shades or naked, these men dressed in suits, leather jackets, T-shirt and jeans, or dripping wetsuits look straight at you, unapologetic. For almost three decades, Harry Gamboa Jr. has been subverting the criminalized image of MexicanAmerican men by directing his lens to his peers. Placing his subjects in urban, nocturnal settings and photographing them with a wide lens that heightens their foreground presence, Gamboa Jr. simultaneously summons and debunks our conscious or unconscious fears of the other. The men he systematically portrays, individual by individual, year after year, are accomplished scientists, librarians, visual artists, professors, attorneys, poets, filmmakers, scholars, actors, fashion designers, curators, musicians, and comedians, among others. Together these more than 100 men comprise a multitude of rebuttals of the stereotype of “bad hombres,” and a reframing

The Pool Issue 4 Winter/Spring 2019

The Pool Issue 4 Winter/Spring 2019

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of Chicano masculinity as assertive, strong, creative, and free. At the National Portrait Gallery, we are proud that recently four Chicano Male Unbonded photographs have entered the collection. Currently on view in Recent Acquisitions 2019 are Rodolfo Acuña, a founding figure of Chicano Studies, and Louie Pérez, songwriter, guitarist, and percussionist of Los Lobos.

Taína Caragol Curator of Painting and Sculpture and Latinx art and history, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC

RE: CalActivism, Dionna Michelle Danielle

I had the privilege to work with Dionna, as the Director of Visual Arts at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), for one year before she transferred into the UNCSA high school Drama program. In Visual Arts Dionna quickly defined herself as an inquisitive and talented young artist with remarkable drive, independence, perseverance, and a deep commitment to her work. She was an intensely focused individual with a disciplined demeanor and a solid work ethic that allowed her to excel in our program. In my drawing

classes, her work was exquisitely crafted, well composed, innovative, challenging, and possessed a delicate, yet evocative touch that transcended mere observation. Moreover, she was a curious soul who enjoyed new opportunities and committed interaction with her peers. After moving from Visual Arts to Drama, Dionna kept in constant contact with our program and her deep passion for the visual arts. I am sincerely gratified to hear of her accomplishments as a strong versatile creative. She has always, and continues to be, an excellent ambassador of our Visual Arts Program at UNCSA.

Will Taylor Assistant Dean/Director of Visual Arts, University of North Carolina School of the Arts

THE POOL ISSUE 5 — Summer/Fall 2019 Published semi-annually by the Office of Marketing & Communications at CalArts.