VOLUME 1 / SPRING 2011 www.mcad.edu
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Alumni Guide to
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CONTENTS Spring 2011
Features 08 Doing Her Homework
Karen Wirth named interim vice president of academic affairs.
10 MCAD Alumni Guide to NYC
Six New Yorkers share tips about the offbeat activities and gems you can’t find in the guidebooks.
18 Branding MCAD
18 22
A new visual identity showcases the power of design and dialogue.
22 Coloring Outside the Lines
Popular summer youth programs take art class to a new level.
Departments 02 Perspective
22 Sharpen Edges
04 Dialogue
24 Alumni Notes
05 President’s Letter
30 Openings & Events
06 Between the Margins 32 Creativity & Purpose 16 Look
34 Upcoming Events
on the cover: illustration by Tom Garrett ’79 Clockwise from left: Nikki Cook ’04, D.B. Kim ’86, Anne Cashill ’83, Ed Rath ’74, Lauri Lyons ’93, Richard Smykowski ’00
Robert Stephens was the keynote speaker at This Is Now, a career conference at MCAD that attracted more than one hundred students and alumni.
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outside voice
PERSPECTIVE
Curiosity
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Curiosity is the most important trait to have in the twenty-first century. In an increasingly fast-paced society, those who question, investigate, and explore ideas to their full potential will be able to make the largest impact. MCAD provides an environment that amplifies and focuses the natural, inquisitive abilities of its students.
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— Robert Stephens, founder of the Geek Squad and chief technology officer of Best Buy.
photo by Travis Anderson ’02
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DIALOGUE
I really enjoyed the new-look MCAD magazine. Congratulations on a nice revamp of the journal. — Janet Abrams, Associate Director of Research, Canadian Centre for Architecture Love the new format and content. — Lu Daitzchman ’93, Vice President of Branding, Coolibar
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I recently received the new MCAD magazine, and felt I needed to give you my feedback. Having just completed the position of design intern at MCAD DesignWorks last spring, I was rather shocked to see this type of design aesthetic coming from MCAD. Furthermore, after working so closely with Jay Coogan and MCAD communications on the development of President Coogan’s “The Next Now,” inauguration and subsequent campaign, I was disappointed to see such a disconnect between the original visual system of “The Next Now” campaign, and the iteration that is being used in the magazine. I understand that a freelance designer outside of the MCAD community was hired to work on this piece, and while I mean no disrespect to that designer, I was greatly disappointed by this news. I feel that this is what contributed to the disconnect of this piece in comparison to the vibrant, highcaliber, forward-thinking design work coming from MCAD’s own students, faculty, staff, and alumni. A large part of what makes MCAD such a unique and vital institution is the ingenuity, energy, and talent of our community, and I strongly believe that in order to propel MCAD forward, and make it stand apart from any other college
in Minnesota, we must continue to support and showcase this ingenuity and high caliber of talent coming from our community members. I know of many highly talented and experienced MCAD alums who would’ve been honored to design this piece, and feel that any of them would’ve excelled at communicating a more authentic and exciting visual expression of the college. I continue to feel deeply invested in MCAD’s success in the future, and that is why I felt the need to provide you with my opinions. I firmly believe that if MCAD continues to outsource our materials for the sake of efficiency, we risk becoming like every other “big box” college across America— lacking in identity, creativity, and authenticity. — Aimee Gauthier ’09 Editor’s Note: From the outset of the magazine’s redesign process, we sought and incorporated the input of our design faculty. The objective for the redesign was to create a regularly published magazine that engages the alumni community and represents the life of the MCAD community. To achieve this, we sought a local art director with ten or more years’ experience in magazine design, experience in higher-education publishing, a demonstrated cultural fit with MCAD staff and faculty, regular availability throughout each year, and a willingness to work with students, faculty, and alumni. An MCAD alum with this profile was not available; however, freelance work for MCAD magazine and all other college publications continues to be done by college students, faculty, and alumni whenever possible.
> See the latest campus photos at flickr.com/mcad_photo.
Congratulations on the magazine redesign. It looks really great. — Christopher Knutson ’92 Received the new magazine at home yesterday. Looks fabulous, and very informative. My fifteenyear-old son, Eliot, (a budding graphic designer) even approves. He told me “Dad, it makes you want to read it.” Good work! — Todd Larson ’88 In addition to my own praise for the new MCAD magazine, I am hearing lots of great buzz on the street. There seems to be some common themes: The college looks grown-up—like a player; it’s not trendy and over-wrought, but timeless; it’s easy to read; the photography is beautiful; you get a real sense of the personalities. Your team has set a high bar, and cleared it nicely. Makes me proud to be an alum! — Monica Little ’78, CEO, Little & Company
aesthetics that make MCAD unique. And perhaps it should, if one of the goals of MCAD magazine is to increase donations to the college from art and designsavvy alumni. — Jenny Tondera ’10
LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK Write to magazine@mcad.edu.
While I think the articles are engaging, the photography is beautiful, and the printing quality is superb, I feel that the magazine is lacking in terms of design. As a recent graduate, I expected our alumni magazine to reflect the talent of our alumni base and the image of MCAD as a forwardthinking art and design college. While I wouldn’t call the design of the magazine “bad,” I certainly wouldn’t call it “good design” by any of the standards that I learned during my time studying at MCAD. It just doesn’t have any of the forward-thinking design
And upload your alumni notes and photos at mcad.edu/alumni. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
READERSHIP SURVEY
A random sample of MCAD subscribers will be invited to participate in a readership survey managed by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). If you do not receive an invitation, but would like to complete the survey, please visit bit.ly/case11a.
PRESIDENT’S LETTER
One Hundred TwentyFive Years of Change
photo by Travis Anderson ’02
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his fall, the Minneapolis College of Art around us. We are building programs and partnerand Design will commence a yearlong ships in our local communities and across the globe celebration of its one hundred twenty-fifth to enrich our educational offerings and prepare our anniversary. Though I have been president students to change their world for the better. for less than two years of this impressive history, Whether you came to the Minneapolis School of I am inspired by the legacy that the college has built Fine Arts (1886–1910), or to the Minneapolis School throughout this community and the world. As the of Art (1910–1970), or more recently to the Minneapocollege celebrates its past, we are looking ahead to lis College of Art and Design, you learned how to lead building a dynamic future by conchange. And with your help, we will tinuing to educate students who be making strategic investments in work at the intersection creativity scholarships and facilities and will and purpose. advance academic excellence to preWe live in a time when the pare future generations of graduates. pace of change is constantly It is inspiring to see the potential accelerating. How should MCAD in the next generation’s work on respond to this change? What display in Made at MCAD, our anrole should the college play in nual, curated exhibition of student meeting the challenges of our work. And I look forward to seeing time? Can we positively impact the exciting work of this spring’s the key issues of our communigraduating class—be sure to stop by ties: the economy, climate campus in late April to see the spring change, healthcare, and educacommencement exhibition. c. 1903–1904 tion itself ? We, as artists and No matter the economic condidesigners, need to contribute to resetting tions, state of the environment, or amount of political humanity’s priorities and change our values upheaval, it is our students that are going to change from consuming to conserving. the world—they are the constant that will guide us I believe MCAD is uniquely prepared to through the next one hundred twenty-five years. transform the world. We are an incubator Thank you for your commitment to MCAD: its of talent, of creative minds that turn ideas students, its programs, and its future. into images that provoke our thinking and turn theories into solutions for society’s greatest challenges. It is in the college’s DNA to challenge the status quo and play a leadership role in changing the world Jay Coogan
C A M D
The president’s medallion was designed and fabricated in 2010 by MCAD faculty, staff, and alumni to mark the college’s first inauguration.
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BETWEEN THE MARGINS
Campus News
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GÜT HYGIENE GOES VIRAL
Go to redlaser.com to get scanning software for your mobile device. > See video now at: mcad.edu/spr11-1
Greening MCAD THE MCAD COMMUNITY is working to reduce its carbon footprint.
In addition to car- and bike-sharing programs, a transit-focused intranet site, subsidized Metropasses, and free parking for carpools and vanpools, the college is also worming its way into the rich world of compost. All cafeteria utensils, plates, bowls, cups, and lids are made from plant-based products, and compost bins help to ensure that food and paper waste is delivered to a soil-amendment facility in Rosemount.
illustration by Andres Guzman ’09
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CAD received a grant from Park Nicollet Foundation to hire filmmaking grad Timmer O’Phalen ’10 to direct a series of public-service health videos for MCAD’s Student Health 101 newsletter. One of those cheeky creations, Güt Hygiene, has become a YouTube hit. Check out the pro-flossing message at jeffreywebsite.com.
Barefoot at MIA THERE’S SOMETHING playful happening at
the Minneapolis Institute of Arts this spring. Stop by the second floor rotunda, and you might hear the sound of feet slapping against the floor. The fun is part of an eight-channel sound installation by two MCAD students, Carla Alexandra Rodriguez ’11 and Ethan Holbrook ’11, that marks
the beginning of MCAD@MIA, a unique, new partnership between the two institutions. Each spring, one student (or team of students) will be featured in the public spaces of the MIA and will receive a budget and a small honorarium for a site-specific installation. This year’s winning work is on view through May 22.
photos of bronze display by Amanda Hankerson ’04 / anniversary logo design by Joseph D.R. OLeary ’92
Cast in Bronze
The MIA’s Cargill Gallery recently featured a display explaining the process of lost wax bronze casting through photos, a video, and partially completed casts of a Florentine baroque sculpture, Leda and the Swan. The work was done by students at MCAD’s state-of-the-art 3D Shop and led by instructor Don Myhre.
MCAD will celebrate its one hundred twentyfifth anniversary this fall. As an alum, you are encouraged to submit an object that represents a memory of your college experiences for Art-i-facts: An Unconventional History of MCAD, an exhibition to commemorate the quasquicentennial, which will be on display from August 26 to September 18. Other special events will be held throughout the year, including a gala in September, and the celebrating will culminate with an alumni reunion in May 2012. > Follow the developments at mcad.edu/art-i-facts.
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— Karen Wirth
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> See the latest campus photos at flickr.com/mcad_photo.
Doing Her Homework
“ With less bureaucracy, we can do things quickly if we need to, without ever losing sight of the students.”
faculty News
Karen Wirth named interim vice president of academic affairs.
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o one has ever accused Karen Wirth of coming into a situation unprepared. “I think most people who know me would say I’m a chronic overpreparer,” says the fine arts professor. But her next challenge is so important that Wirth says she couldn’t leave anything up to chance. This fall, while the college conducts a national search, she will serve as MCAD’s interim vice president of academic affairs. She’ll be replacing Vince Leo, who has held the position for the last eight years, when he moves on to become the chair of the college’s graduate program. To get prepared, Wirth set up a unique, not to mention intensive, homework assignment for herself: research and understand leadership dynamics at a design school. Her laboratory? The legendary Parsons The New School for Design in New York City, which Wirth says is the perfect place for this kind of self-searching work. Supported by prestigious and competitive fellowships from the Bush Foundation and the American Council on Education, Wirth is spending the vast majority of the 2010/11 academic year observing and interviewing professors and school leaders at Parsons to
photo by Amanda Hankerson ’04
BETWEEN THE MARGINS
“really get inside of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to leadership at a design school.” Wirth joined MCAD as an adjunct instructor in 1991, and she became chair of the college’s fine arts department in 2003. She says her proudest accomplishment so far has been working with the “wonderfully divergent” fine arts faculty to devise a new curriculum that stays true to its core while embracing contemporary crossdisciplinary practices. And her compliments don’t stop there: “Parsons is more than seven times bigger than MCAD,” she says. “But we are just as ambitious. With less bureaucracy, we can do things quickly if we need to, without ever losing sight of the students.” Alyssa Ford is a freelance writer in Minneapolis.
FACULTY NOTES Jerry Allan was on a panel at the
Opportunity Green Business Conference in Los Angeles.
Phil Anderson gave a presentation
at the annual National Conference on Liberal Arts and the Education of Artists in New York City. He discussed animators who use noncomputerized materials to explore natural phenomena.
Erik Brandt designed a poster titled Go Sing Wonder for Mut Zur Wut— Posters that Dare to Speak Out, a project in Heidelberg, Germany. Check it out at mutzurwut.de.
Kevin Byrne’s paper titled “The
ABC’s of Creative Waterworks: Case Examples Conceived and Realized with Attitude, Beauty, and Context” was accepted for EDRA42Chicago, a conference by the Environmental Design Research Association.
Bernard Canniffe spoke
at the Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois at Urbana– Champaign, and ran a workshop as part of their Design Matters lecture series. He also spoke at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar about the role of design and its moral obligation, and he spoke on a related topic at Design Ethos, a conference held at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia.
Tom Garrett served as a
panel member in a discussion about fine art and design. The panel was held in the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Gallery at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
Tom Haakenson will be
Tom Schroeder’s short animated film Bike Race was screened at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.
delivering a response to the keynote address at the Freie Universität Berlin Seminarzentrum in June. He has also arranged for seven panels on the theme “Representations of
German Identity in Visual Culture” for the upcoming German Studies Association conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
Brad Jirka was a juror at the
Minnesota State Fair fine arts exhibition.
Michael Kareken and Jody Williams were featured on the TPT
Barbara Schulz is featured in Superheroes, Strip Artists, & Talking Animals, a book about contemporary comic artists in Minnesota. MCAD comic art alumni Will Dinski ’03, Dan Jurgens ’81, Ryan Kelly ’98, and Britt Sabo ’07 are also featured in the book.
arts series MN Original in January.
Kindra Murphy attended the NY
Art Book Fair, where she connected with MCAD alumni and spread the word about the college.
Tom Pope will work with graduate students this May at the University of the Andes in Santiago, Chile. He hopes his work with young screenwriters will help revitalize filmmaking and screenwriting in South America.
Nancy Rice ’70 is featured in the
book The Creative Process Illustrated: How Advertising’s Big Ideas Are Born.
Jody Williams and Karen Wirth
contributed to the limited edition portfolio From Start to Here: 25 Years of Minnesota Center for Book Arts. A celebration of the center’s twenty-fifth anniversary, the portfolio also featured the work of alumni Julie Baugnet ’95, MFA, and Cathy Ryan ’06.
Dean Wilson received a grant from
Collectors of Wood Art, allowing him to arrange for furniture designer and sculptor Yuri Kobayashi to come to MCAD as a visiting artist. Wilson also attended the Furniture Society Conference at MIT.
Natasha Pestich donated a print to Philagrafika’s Summer Solstice Benefit 2010 at Locks Gallery in Philadelphia.
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It’s not hard to find landmarks, major museums, and decent pizza in New York City. But to make the most of a visit to a city this sprawling and iconic, tips from insiders are essential. For offbeat activities and gems you can’t find in the guidebooks, we turned to six New Yorkers who are part of the thriving community of MCAD alumni that helps make Gotham a creative capital. TEXT BY Julie Caniglia / PHOTOS BY Amalia Nicholson ’10 mcad / spring 2011
Rath arrived in New York in the mid-1970s and currently resides in DUMBO, a Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood with spectacular warehouse architecture. He has been making art since he was fifteen years old.
New Perspective
Eavesdrop. It’s amazing how much you take in when you’re not in an automobile.
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Island Life
Take the Staten Island Ferry (which is free) and head over to Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden. It’s a great arts complex and the New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden is stunning. The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art is also worth the visit.
Fifth Avenue Gem
The Neue Galerie New York is a beautiful alternative for those overwhelmed by the Upper East Side megamuseums. This homage to early twentieth-century German and Austrian art is a small jewel, and its fantastic Austrian coffee and pastries are a bonus.
Alternative Gallery Scenes
The crowds at Chelsea gallery openings are exciting, but co-op gallery openings offer a friendlier, more intimate, and less intimidating scene. Some artistrun galleries include M55 Art in Long Island City, A.I.R. Gallery in Brooklyn, and Bowery Gallery and Blue Mountain Gallery in Chelsea.
High-End Thrift
Tokio 7 on East Seventh in Manhattan is a standby for pre-owned designer clothing, mainly because, unlike most other shops in its class, it’s got a lot of menswear.
An art director at Nickelodeon, Smykowski finds the enthusiasm and passion of the young designers at MTV Networks infectious. His previous clients include VH1, Food Network, Paramount Pictures, Paper Denim & Cloth, and American Apparel.
UWS Eats
Two restaurants on the Upper West Side are worth the trip: Ouest is straight out of Mad Men, with an old, New York feel and art deco details, and the kitschy-folksy Good Enough to Eat is a total contrast—cheaper, but the food is nonetheless amazing.
Weekend Fleas
To catch a deal on clothes, art, food, jewelry, and everything in between, head to either GreenFlea or the Chelsea Flea Market in Manhattan. Both are open only on weekends and can get crowded. Check their websites for specific hours, and go early.
Saving on Transit
Even today, too many people have a bad impression of the subway as a transportation option, which is handsdown the best way to get around NYC. Cab fares add up quickly, and walking everywhere just isn’t practical.
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A designer whose work spans architecture, products, and interiors, Kim is currently an associate principal with Pierre-Yves Rochon, a global firm known for its interior design at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the RitzCarlton, and other luxury brands.
Above it All
A local favorite is the High Line, an elevated public park on the West Side. Go there to observe people and to refresh your mind.
Stepping Out of Time
For public buildings, the intimate Morgan Library & Museum can’t be beat. The original Beaux-Arts library and its 2006 expansion and renovation by Renzo Piano are at once old and new.
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A Brooklynite since 2006, Cook lives in the Bensonhurst neighborhood. She proudly claims that, besides Portland, Oregon, Brooklyn is the best place for cartoonists. She recently published Memoir, a six-issue mini-series from Image Comics.
Drawing a Crowd
“Drink and draw” events are popular throughout the city. The Local 269 bar on East Houston Street in Manhattan, not far from the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, has a friendly mix of fledgling professionals and people who’ve been in the industry for thirty years.
Brooklyn Bookstores Galore
Bergen Street Comics in Park Slope is easy to find and has a beautiful space, and Desert Island in Williamsburg is another great find. Both host frequent events, which are a great way to see new work and socialize.
Street Art
Try drawing outdoors on the Lower East Side and in the East Village in Manhattan and in Bushwick, Brooklyn— places with an amazing sense of falling-apartness mixed with new energy. And for a break from crowded city streets, sketch people and landscapes on the bridges in Brooklyn, Manhattan, or Williamsburg.
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The Park on the River
You can have a lot of fun for free at Hudson River Park, which stretches along the west side of Manhattan. Enjoy the fantastic landscape designs throughout the park, kayak in the river (through the nonprofit organization Downtown Boathouse), take a lesson (or just watch) at Trapeze School New York, or head to the dog runs and observe New Yorkers with their canines—that’s always a great show.
A Street for Foodies
West Fourth Street in Manhattan is quite a restaurant row. Sant Ambroeus has authentic Milanese food, including a killer risotto. Cafe Cluny draws a fashionworld crowd and does an excellent breakfast. And The Place is a famously cozy Village eatery and, with its terraces and fireplace, is considered one of New York’s most romantic restaurants.
The Looking Glass
Window-shopping is a quintessential New York pastime, and the king and queen of window displays are Simon Doonan of Barneys and Linda Fargo of Bergdorf Goodman.
Currently vice president of merchandising at Coach, Cashill has worked in the fashion and retail industries for companies such as Target and Liz Claiborne. She has worked in New York for more than ten years.
A Bronx native, Lyons roams the world as a freelance commercial photographer and has shown her work at the Brooklyn Museum, the International Center of Photography, and the Walker Art Center. The first black woman signed to Getty Images, she just launched Nomads, a quarterly online travel journal by artists and journalists “who live their life on the run.” She currently lives in Harlem.
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A Must-See
Foreigners know something many Americans do not: After Times Square, Harlem is New York’s biggest tourist destination. Because it’s home to so many African and Caribbean cultures, the street life here is incomparable. Vendors sell all kinds of art and expressive items, including crafts, jewelry, and photo opportunities against graffiti backgrounds. Other must-sees include the Apollo Theater and the Studio Museum.
Central Park North
The beautiful Harlem Meer, with its own warmweather concert series, and the Conservatory Garden are truly hidden jewels. And El Museo del Barrio is a great Upper East Side museum of Latino culture.
Inspired Exchange
The Brooklyn Photo Salon, a free quarterly event that began in 2008, brings together three photographers at a time to present slides and talk about their work. It’s a great way to meet new people, get inspired, and discuss the art and craft of photography.
Julie Caniglia edits the Walker Art Center’s Walker magazine. She lived in New York for seven years. Amalia Nicholson ’10 is a freelance media artist living in Minneapolis. View more of her work at amalianicholson.com.
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LOOK
Chris Lange ’93
Cofounder of Mono
A brilliant, fuzzy red monster out on the street asking, “What’s pumpernickel?” A steel designer chair, seemingly discarded, but secretly watched and tracked to its new home. A famous San Francisco fountain transformed into an eco-friendly, sudsy kitchen sink. Memorable experiences and unconventional tactics that reinforce a simple message regularly emerge from the fast-growing agency Mono. “When we created the agency, we didn’t set out to say there is no place for advertising or design. We still love doing television spots and magazine ads, but we also love to push the envelope of what marketing is,” says cofounder Chris Lange. The company’s work with furniture maker Blu Dot prompted Fast Company to write, “Cool, but is it marketing?” The idea later won an award at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. Lange and his two cofounders started Mono in 2004 after a colleague working for Sesame Street asked them to make a bid. They won the business and started working out of Lange’s attic. Seven years later, they have grown to more than fifty-four employees (several from MCAD) and, though they can’t talk specifics, are happy to count Apple Inc. as one of their largest clients. — ROB DAVIS
photo by Lacey Criswell ’04
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> See Mono’s latest work at mono-1.com.
As a New Year’s greeting, Mono created a website that lets you combine portraits of its founders and staff.
photo by Amalia Nicholson ’10
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Murray Monster on the streets of New York in a regular segment that was devised by Mono.
> See video now at: mcad.edu/spr11-2
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BRANDING 18
A new visual identity showcases the power of design and dialogue.
TEXT BY Andy Steiner / PAGE DESIGN BY Brian Walbergh ’11
“ The new logo visually distinguishes MCAD in the same way that purposeful creativity and interdisciplinary expertise distinguish the work of our alumni, students, faculty, and staff.”
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sketches by Zach Keenan ’05
—President Coogan
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Fig. 1
c. 1899
Fig. 2
W 20
hen Zach Keenan ’05, director of MCAD DesignWorks, was charged with the task of creating a new visual identity for his alma mater, he knew it was a tall order. “To be frank, it felt like quite an endeavor,” Keenan says. “I was excited to take on this project. But because I’m an alum, there was a lot of pressure to create a design that I felt truly represented the spirit of the school.” Keenan’s work began last spring when a campus committee charged with creating new external signage recommended retooling the school’s identity system, the edgy yet sober sans serif and pic system designed by professor Jan Jancourt and Matthew Rezac ’00. “The old system was dynamic,” Keenan says, referring to the college’s practice of creating logos that were abstracted from the work of students. “But it relied too much on the designer’s gut instinct about what felt right at a particular time. We were asked to create something that could be etched into granite.” As the process progressed, Keenan and college leadership realized that they needed to refresh the entire visual identity. “It’s like when you pull on a thread in a sweater,” he says. “The whole thing starts to unravel.” President Coogan, already spearheading a campus-wide project to update the college’s mission, vision, and values statement, enthusiastically supported the idea. Focus groups were held to solicit the input of alumni, students, faculty, and staff. “The wording that ultimately came out of the process is, ‘MCAD transforms the world through creativity and purpose,’” says communications and external relations director Rob Davis. “When we approached the brand in a systematic way, we realized that several of MCAD’s biggest differentiators—our interdisciplinary approach to arts education and our close-knit community—came back to this idea of an intersection.”
“ We were asked to create something that could be etched into granite.”
c. 1940
Fig. 3
Figures 1–3: The three variations of the new identity system.
c. 1917
To illustrate this concept, Keenan created a logo mark that shows two arrows coming together. It respectfully refers to the old design and also goes a step further to more deeply illustrate MCAD’s new mission. The new system was introduced last December after being pre— Zach Keenan ’05 sented to several MCAD audiences, including the entire faculty and staff, for feedback. When the national design blog Brand New featured the college’s new logo, reaction was mixed: “The new one looks much more mainstream. If ever anyone should have a slightly avant-garde brand it should be a design college.” “One has to admit that the new logo has a better weight and balance between the elements as well as a nicer arrangement.”
c. 1944 c. 1936
c 1944
The comments, many of which came from MCAD alumni, were an expected—and useful—part of the design process. And this dialogue gave the college an exciting opportunity to increase its brand recognition nationally. It also showcased the commitment that students feel toward the college. “I know MCAD to be a truly innovative, strong, and dynamic community of multitalented students and faculty,” posted graphic design major Aimee Gauthier ’09. “And I believe the new identity can express this, if it is truly embraced by all the designers involved, tightened up, and pushed further.”
c. 1988
c. 1993
ANATOMY OF THE INTERSECTION
The Intersection brand mark is a point of convergence for people, ideas, art, and design. 21
Pantone Warm Red
Left Arrow: Black, white, or one of four colors Right Arrow: Always 50 percent value of the left side Center: Behaves as a counter
Pantone 3135
Pantone 121
Pantone Warm Gray 7
The new MCAD color palette
In the end, the process illustrated what’s unique about an MCAD education. “When you’re re-creating the visual identity of an art and design college, there’s no chance that you can please everybody all of the time,” says Davis. “But this kind of critical dialogue is something that every MCAD grad has experienced on every project they’ve ever worked on here.”
c. 2004
Andy Steiner is a St. Paul–based freelance writer and editor. Brian Walbergh ’11 will graduate in December with a bachelor of fine arts degree in graphic design. See his work at brianwalbergh.com.
mcad / spring 2011
SHARPEN EDGES
Coloring
Outside the Lines
Popular summer youth programs take art class to a new level.
K
now a young artist ready to take her work beyond the refrigerator door? Then check out the more than fifty summer classes that MCAD offers for kids and teens. Classes engage students in art explorations that go further than the traditional make-and-take camp craft table: five- to seven-year-olds make mixed-media finger puppets inspired by the work of Jim Henson; eightto twelve-year-olds try their hands at taxidermy by deconstructing and reconstructing recycled plush toys; and teens let their imaginations take flight with machines inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s secret notebooks. Howard Oransky, director of MCAD Continuing Studies, says these community classes have been gaining in popularity each summer “because
we fill a unique niche in the community, combining very high-quality instruction and professional-grade facilities at a very affordable price.” Most weeklong classes are taught by creative artists with MFAs who make the most of MCAD’s professional studio space and materials, classroom visits from working artists, field trips, and visits to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. “We’re really proud of the courses we offer, and it’s always fun to see the group shows at the end of each session,” says Oransky. “When you visit the classrooms and hear five-year-olds discussing surrealism or Henri Matisse, it kind of blows your mind.” Laura Billings > To register online, visit mcad.edu/youth.
photos by Amalia Nicholson ’10
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career & Professional Development
SEEING THE FUTURE
The Emerging Talent Showcase connects graduating seniors with potential employers.
photo by Amalia Nicholson ’10
WHETHER COLLEGE SENIORS are
graduating into a recession or a robust economy, the same rules apply. “Your success is going to come from being proactive,” says career services director Christine Daves. “I tell students that it doesn’t matter if you’re the most talented person in the class—if you don’t get out there, you’re going to miss some great opportunities.” One of the best ways for MCAD students to share their work and see what the future holds is the Emerging Talent Showcase, an annual event that connects graduates with potential employers. Slated this year for April 29, the day starts with curators and other professionals meeting fine art students in their studios. In the afternoon, invited guests from companies such as Olson, Picture Window Books, and Target get an early glimpse of the portfolios graduates will soon be sending out. “It is a little bit nerve-racking,” admits Jacey Braband ’10, a graphic design major, who got ready for last spring’s portfolio review by “thinking of one or two things I could say about each project I presented.” Her preparation paid off during a conversation with a creative director from Periscope, who invited her to a formal interview and later hired her. Daves says that while the Twin Cities job market favors design majors, other students have found freelance assignments and fine arts commissions through the connections first made at the portfolio review. To strengthen those handshakes, the career services office also drives guests toward a web page with a name and photo of each student’s work, as well as contact information. “This event is about making professional industry connections that will help graduates both at the beginning and throughout their careers,” says Daves. L.B. > To see the work of MCAD’s graduating seniors, visit mcad.edu/talent. Contact careers@mcad.edu for more information.
Clockwise from upper left: Cheryl Wolken, Kristine Wyant, Cindy Theis, Joan Grathwol Olson
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NEW ADVANCEMENT TEAM STRENGTHENS CONNECTIONS WITH ALUMNI AND DONORS
C
onnecting with MCAD’s community of alumni and supporters is one of the goals of MCAD’s institutional advancement efforts, now led by vice president Joan Grathwol Olson. Since Olson took the post in January 2010, joining MCAD’s longtime development director Cindy Theis, alumni giving has increased by more than 30 percent over the previous year. “MCAD alums are an amazingly talented and diverse group,” says Olson, herself married to a fine artist. Olson led the fundraising efforts for the Minneapolis Institute of Arts for sixteen years prior to her appointment. “MCAD’s leadership and vision for the future is truly exciting, and growing support is a sign of confidence from our community.”
This winter, MCAD welcomed two new staff members to its development team—Kristine Wyant, director of corporate and foundation support, and Cheryl Wolken, advancement services coordinator. “Both Kristine and Cheryl bring excellent experience in nonprofit fundraising, as well as expertise in community building and growing partnerships with businesses,” says Olson, who recently announced Brian Gioielli as the college’s new director of major and alumni giving. “We’re thrilled to bring together such a great staff at a time when MCAD is setting plans for the future,” says Olson. L.B. > Meet the advancement team and read full bios at mcad.edu/advancement-team.
mcad / spring 2011
ALUMNI NOTES
Your New Alumni Directory
Update your contact information; connect with your alumni network. You’ll receive an informational postcard from Publishing Concepts (PCI), who will be publishing the new directory for MCAD.
1950
Liz Dodson was a co-coordinator of
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Women and Water Rights: Rivers of Regeneration, a month-long program featuring an exhibition, a symposium, and a youth celebration. Events were held in the University of Minnesota’s Arts Quarter.
1967
Rochelle Woldorsky curated Drawing the Human Figure, an exhibition at the University of Minnesota’s Katherine E. Nash Gallery. Her exhibit Houses of Phillips Neighborhood was held at Shoebox Gallery in Minneapolis, and she had a photo in Urban View, Rural Sight at the Mpls Photo Center.
1969
William Havlicek published a new
Samantha French ’05 Samantha participated in a group show at the Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis.
book on Van Gogh that explores the artist’s letters and features over seventy full-color reproductions of his art. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam now carries the book.
1970
Yogiraj Charles Bates produces
theatrical events that change the way the world relates. His most recent event, Relating from “We,” put participants in the position of experiencing themselves as others might.
1971
Joseph Machlitt completed a great
career with Imation Corp. Last year, he spent three wonderful days on a Kuna reservation in Panama, where he studied the making of molas, an art > Submit your alumni notes to mcad.edu/alumni.
form developed by the Kuna women. Machlitt looks forward to continuing his passion for the arts.
Patrick Redmond’s brand mark for
Sesame Street Live was included in the University of Wisconsin–Stout’s department of art and design faculty exhibition at the Furlong Gallery.
1972
Frank Seidl wrote an article about
The Source, Image, a commercial space exploration poster competition from Seidl Studios. The article is to be included in the Philippine Astronomical Society’s publication.
1973
Mark Johnson is working on mobile applications for Best Buy.
Marina Salume is now the crafting
editor for Knitting Today and Crochet Today magazines.
1975
Cheri Gaulke participated on a panel
titled “Sisterhood City: Feminist Art in Los Angeles” at the LA Art Show.
1976
James Casebere’s exhibition about
American suburbia at Sean Kelly Gallery in New York City included two of Casebere’s images that were in the last Whitney Biennial. The exhibition was reviewed in the New York Times.
Janet Morgan, MFA, completed her
first public commission for New York’s Public Art for Public Schools last fall. Created from twelve terra cotta blocks of three different designs, it now enriches the exterior of an early childhood center in Queens.
1978
David (Gator) Edgar has a solo exhibition, Tides of the Plastiquarium, at the Maria V. Howard Arts Center in Rocky
Mount, North Carolina, through May 8. His book, Fantastic Recycled Plastic, is available at Barnes & Noble and online booksellers.
Richard Merchán had an exhibition at Griffin Gallery in Edina, Minnesota.
1979
Larry Pearson is living in Germany,
“painting the ruins, but with an added twist of seeing what is there that normally is not seen!”
1980
Karen Lindholm-Rynkiewicz’s film
Gold Digger was screened at the Beloit International Film Festival. For ten years, she has been writing, directing, and teaching film at Muskego High School and through Milwaukee’s Collaborative Cinema.
1985
Teresa Paschke’s work is featured in
Green: the Color and the Cause at the Textile Museum in Washington, DC. Her artwork will also be showcased in a solo exhibition at the Gage Family Art Gallery at Augsburg College in Minneapolis.
1989
Gail Wallinga assisted artist Carole Fisher on a research trip to Alaska for Fisher’s ongoing Alaska Oil Spill Project.
1991
Kathleen Heideman was named a 2011 Fellow of the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico. She was also nominated for a 2010 Pushcart Prize for her poem “Overlooked Heroine, Landscape with the Fall of Icarus.”
1993
Theodore Holdt showed his paintings
in a solo exhibition titled I Am Hunting, You Are Hunted at Launch Pad Gallery in Portland, Oregon.
Lauri Lyons published the debut issue of Nomads, a quarterly online travel magazine that features stories and images by artists and journalists who live life on the run.
1994
Nicole Earley is an integrated producer at Fallon in Minneapolis.
1995
Jeffery Ess is the president and
creative director of Gestalt, a virtual business-communications design agency in Minneapolis.
Angela Strassheim is the featured
artist in the New Pictures series at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The exhibition, Evidence, features Strassheim’s photographic series on domestic murder scenes.
1996
Debra Baxter was featured in the
“Fall Arts Preview 2010” edition of Seattle magazine. While she refuses to “trip out on crystals in the New Age, ‘woo-woo’ sense,” she concedes that working with quartz and geodes—which she marries with wood, alabaster, and metals—gives her a feeling of strength.
Christopher-Aaron Deanes orga-
Gregory Euclide ’08, MFA The book Juxtapoz Handmade (pictured) features several full-page spreads of Gregory’s work.
nized and curated Ya Feel Me at Obsidian Arts in Minneapolis. It was an exhibition of four female artists who created images and forms that are visually or physically addictive.
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Michal Sagar, MFA, had an exhibition,
Excavation, in the Tychman Shapiro Gallery at the Sabes Jewish Community Center in Minneapolis.
Tal Shpantzer had her photograph
of artist Kiki Smith published in the November 2010 issue of W magazine.
Scott West had a solo exhibition of his
paintings at Tarnish & Gold Gallery in Minneapolis. “There is a ton of common ground between song writing and paintings,” says the visual artist and trumpet player for the band Cloud Cult. “I see putting this show together in the same way that I would see putting an album together. Kind of individual songs on the wall.”
1997
Holland Wood and his company,
Brand Corps, created new marks and full brands for Uptown, Minneapolis, the Uptown Association, and the Uptown Art Fair.
1998 Patrick Miller ’02 Public sculptures based on Tibetan prayer wheels. One-half of the artist collaborative Faile, Patrick was interviewed for the January issue of Artnews.
Bill Jeter, MFA, was featured on the
front page of the Star Tribune. The article chronicled Jeter’s work on his freedom bell project.
mcad / spring 2011
ALUMNI NOTES 1999
Diana Green completed a master’s
degree in liberal studies at Hamline University. She has been teaching college courses for ten years, including four years in liberal studies at MCAD. Her comic in progress, A Private Myth, was displayed at the MCAD faculty exhibition last year.
Pamela Kirton ’06 Pamela won second place in the MNfashion-sponsored fashion sketch contest at the Neiman Marcus Fashion’s Night Out event.
2000
Helena Keeffe, MFA, gave a lecture as
part of the Wiesenfeld Visiting Artist Lecture Series at UC Berkeley. Many of her projects explore ideas of generosity and economics of exchange that function outside standard monetary models.
Cherith Lundin, MFA, is an assistant 26
professor of fine arts at Winthrop University in South Carolina, where she directs BFA and MFA programs in painting. Her exhibition of new work, Inside Out, was held at Thomas Barry Fine Arts in Minneapolis last fall.
Jon Thomas, MCAD visiting design
faculty member, recently had his short film Photos & Drawings premiere at Twin Cities Film Fest.
2001
Matt Frieburghaus exhibited multiple
works in the Digital Matters exhibition at Saranac Art Projects in Spokane, Washington.
2002
Emily Christenson was featured in
volume 11 of Studio Visit, published by Open Studios Press.
Tania Del Rio was an Archie Comics guest presenter at New York Comic Con last fall.
Cori Doerrfeld, illustrator of many
books, has authored her first children’s book, Penny Loves Pink, published by Little, Brown & Co.
Erika Olson Gross, MFA, was included Sara Lintner ’06 designed and illustrated the poster for the 2010 No Coast Craft-o-Rama. > Submit your alumni notes to mcad.edu/alumni.
in the group exhibition Flourish in the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Gallery at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
Joshua Lynn is the digital production assistant at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
Shawn McCann is working on a community public art project in Dubai.
Alyssa Thomas and her company,
Penguin & Fish, released their first fabric collection last fall.
2003
Nathan Anderson and his brother Seth Anderson wrote and directed the film Black, a supernatural thriller produced by Jason Hagen ’02. Hagen’s detailed article about the making of the film is published in issue 61 of the independent filmmaking magazine Indie Slate.
Chadwick Rantanen had a sculpture
and photography installation at the Jancar Jones Gallery in San Francisco. The show was reviewed in Artforum.
2004
Emily CM Anderson co-authored a new book titled 3D Typography.
Ken Christianson is playing keyboards
and violin with Rogue Wave on their US headline tour.
Chris Hajny and Lindsay Nohl ’03
were featured on I Hate My Kitchen, a DIY network television program.
Mike Kooiman is the art director at City Pages in Minneapolis.
Clinton Rost had an exhibition of his
paintings, Spy House, at Gallery 360 in Minneapolis. Inspired by Rost’s favorite coffee watering hole, the paintings capture the nonchalant elegance of Minneapolis’s urban vibe.
2005
Ute Bertog and Isa Gagarin ’08 participated in the exhibition GM 1O: A Theory of Values at the Soap Factory.
Ernest Bryant went to Cuba for three
months to paint murals in Guantanamo and Santiago.
Julie Jilek had a well-received solo
exhibition, ReFocus ReView ReFine, at the Wild Apple Glass Studio & Gallery in Menasha, Wisconsin. This year, her portrait Christina was selected in the American Artist cover competition to
be featured on the cover of the spring issue of Drawing magazine.
David Kelly is an art director at Pereira & O’Dell, an advertising agency in San Francisco.
2006
Jamison Cockerham had two entries selected for inclusion in the Association of American University Presses’ 2010 Book, Jacket, and Journal Show.
Matt Grover had a solo exhibition,
Breakadawn, at 2nd Cannons Publications in Los Angeles.
Monica Haller, MFA, created the
Veterans Book Project, which helps veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan put their experiences into books that can be shared with friends, families, and many others.
Pamela Kirton won a VSA
Minnesota emerging artist grant, funded by the Jerome Foundation, which she is using to go to Arizona to study desert birds for her next bird series.
Sara Lintner started teaching
continuing studies design classes at MCAD last summer. She was also a
Melissa Loop ’05 Citypark 2, 2010, acrylic and enamel. Melissa was featured in edition 89 of New American Paintings. participating artist in the Dead Wood: Print Folio exhibition during the Mid America Print Council Conference in Minneapolis.
Jon Renzella won the grand prize in
the fifteenth annual Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition in Taiwan. There were over seventeen hundred entries from seventeen countries, and Renzella was the first foreign artist to take the prize.
Abbi Allan, MFA, and Ben Reed,
MFA, finished the Cannon Valley Trail donation wall for MCAD DesignWorks last fall.
Chris Burns is now a design and technology journalist for SlashGear.
Betsy Ruth Byers, MFA, had a solo
show at the Burnet Gallery in Le Méridien Chambers, an art hotel in downtown Minneapolis.
Greg Carideo participated in two
They Won’t Find Us Here Gallery in Minneapolis.
artist residencies in Iceland. His book, Sunset Encounter, was published by Hot Off The, an independent, pop-up publishing house that operated out of the Soap Factory in August 2010. He is a 2010/11 recipient of the MCAD– Jerome Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Artists.
Elissa Cedarleaf Dahl, MFA, received
Kate Casanova had her first solo
2007
Robin Cotton had an exhibition at
an MCAD Faculty Enhancement Grant. She used the grant to partially fund a trip to Masaka, Uganda, where she painted a collaborative mural with high school students.
exhibition, Spoils, at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City. She got married last summer, and she is earning her MFA at the University of Minnesota.
Ursula Husted, Anna Bratton ’05, Ryan Kelly ’98, Diana Marsh Nock ’06, and Britt Sabo ’07 were
recipient of the MCAD–Jerome Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Artists.
spotlighted on the City Pages blog Dressing Room as “comic creators to watch” at the Midwest Comic Book Association’s FallCon.
Tynan Kerr received the 2009/10
MCAD–Jerome Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Artists.
Erin McLaughlin is a typeface
designer at Hoefler & Frere-Jones in New York City.
A performance piece by Pramila Vasudevan ’04, Words to Dead Lips, premiered November 5 at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis.
2008
Claire Moyle volunteered to design the new ranked-choice voting ballot for the City of Minneapolis.
Teri Fullerton, MFA, is a 2010/11
Isa Gagarin’s book, Sea of Waves, was
published by Hot Off The, an independent, pop-up publishing house that operated out of the Soap Factory in August 2010.
Noelle McCleaf, MFA, exhibited work in Women: Relationship and Identity at Homewood Studios in Minneapolis.
Boriana Mintcheva-Strzok led an international collaboration between MCAD students and Szkoła Mistrzów Reklamy, an advertising school in Warsaw, to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of Chopin’s death.
mcad / spring 2011
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In Memoriam Arnold B. Dammermann ’58
ALUMNI NOTES Rhea O’Connor is the social media
and art education programs in Minnesota public schools. This year’s musicians include Soul Asylum, Mason Jennings, and Sounds of Blackness.
planner at Wax Agency in London.
Josh Quigley, MFA, had his first solo exhibition. It was held at the Michael Mazzeo Galle ry in New York City.
Tony Sunder received a 2009/10
Adam Caillier, MFA, and Michael Mott ’08
MCAD–Jerome Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Artists.
were featured in the book Location— Volume 2.
2009
Emily Kay Atchison had a solo exhibi-
Katelyn Farstad and David Frohlich had an
tion, Being Half of There, at the Harry M. Drake Gallery of St. Paul Academy and Summit School.
exhibition at 1419, a student-run art space in Minneapolis. The show included new paintings and sculptures by both artists.
Andrea Bias relocated to New York
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City to work as a camera PA on the Showtime series Nurse Jackie. “I got the call for the job on a Wednesday, left for NYC on Saturday, and started work on Monday,” she says. “It’s been quite the adventure so far, and I’m learning lots!”
Amanda Lovelee,
MFA, is one of two artists to receive a $7,000 Project Grant from Forecast Public Art.
Joshua James Carter was in the exhibition Urban Arts Presents: A Night of Art and Music at the Urban Arts Studio Warehouse in St. Paul.
Andy Scott is a graphic
Andres Guzman won in the pro-
Emmett Ramstad ’07, MFA
Ben Innes photographed the
Emmett, a visual artist, performed with his twin brother, dancer Otto Ramstad, in the BodyCartography Project Symptom at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis.
fessional category of CFE 22, a competition sponsored by Creative Quarterly. His work will appear in issue 22 this spring. Livescribe, a new digital pen, for the New York Times.
Taylor Snyder is an art director at Martin/Williams Advertising in Minneapolis.
2010
Tyler Stefanich received a Northern
as an adjunct faculty member at Northwestern College in St. Paul. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Rochester Community and Technical College in Minnesota this spring.
Lights fellowship.
Dolly Vu was hired in November as
a user experience mobile designer for Sears Holdings Corporation in Chicago.
Emiko Whitaker is happily working
at Department 56. “I am so grateful to have a career in the creative world where I am inspired every day with awesome coworkers, and love that I’m covered in glitter and paint by the end of every day,” she says.
passed away on December 15, 2010. After studying under the late Rob Roy Kelly ’52, Arnold became one of the first product designers in Minnesota. He built his career with William Stumpf and Associates and Steelcase Inc., and he is listed as an inventor on more than twenty patents. Arnold is survived by his wife, Darlene, his three children, and his grandchild.
David Jung Lafayette ’97 passed
away last December. A talented artist, David worked at Pratt Institute and Parsons in New York. He is survived by his wife, Hanna Alvgren, his parents, Roy and Shirley, his five siblings, and many wonderful friends.
Anna Stacey ’12 passed away on November 25, 2010. Anna was a talented artist and a third-year student at MCAD. A loving daughter and sister, Anna will be deeply missed by her parents, Claire Hill and Rex Stacey, and her brother, Kyle Stacey. She was a bright light and a loyal friend to many. To honor Anna’s passion for painting and drawing, her parents and many friends established the Anna Stacey ’12 Scholarship Fund.
designer at Tremendous Entertainment in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
Julie Sirek worked as a studio assistant at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine, last summer.
Jenny Tondera is a graphic designer at
the Philadelphia-based creative agency 160over90. She was also featured in Wallpaper magazine’s annual online Graduate Directory.
Tim Baias, MFA, teaches photography
Lauren Baier is an experience design
architect at Translator, a digital experience agency in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Brandon Boulay shot a video for the
song “Fixing A Hole” on the album Minnesota Beatle Project Volume 2. The Minnesota Beatle Project is a collaborative effort to provide support for music
> 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. DEADLINES August 1 for the fall issue February 1 for the spring issue
CONTACT mcad.edu/alumni alumninotes@mcad.edu
HILARY BULLOCK ’89
GIVING BACK
W
photo by Ann Marsden
hen she left a successful career in photography to dig in the dirt, skeptics thought media arts major Hilary Bullock was crazy. But she knew it was time to pursue the next step in her creative life. Bullock burst onto Minnesota’s photography scene in the late eighties, shooting weddings in a photojournalism style new for the region. Over six hundred ceremonies later, she had an aha moment while digging in the garden of her nineteenth-century home in St. Paul. Working with the earth, she realized, just felt right. She enrolled in landscape design courses at the University of Minnesota and opened her own garden design company in 2008. The shift was profound. “With photography, you’re always preparing for this instant,” she says. “In landscape, it’s all about the passage of time.” Despite the differences between the two fields, Bullock sees her MCAD training as a vital foundation. “It made me look at landscapes not just as ‘that’s a pretty plant’ but as shapes and forms and composition,” she says. “I would have been a much different designer if I wouldn’t have gone to MCAD.” She also credits her MCAD education with teaching her how to develop, hone, and execute a concept—crucial skills in any profession. Sharing her entrepreneurial advice with current students is just one way Bullock gives back to MCAD. She also has been a steadfast donor to the college since 1991 and has served on the alumni association board of directors. She admits that her passion for creative reinvention may lead her back to campus again: “I’m seriously considering returning for my master’s degree in drawing and painting.” — SASHA ASLANIAN
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Sharing her entrepreneurial advice with current students is just one way Bullock gives back to MCAD. mcad / spring 2011
OPENINGS & EVENTS
ATTENDING AN EVENT OR OPENING? Grab two MCADers and take a photo. Send us your pictwures, and we’ll run them in this space. Upload at mcad.edu/alumni, or email from your phone to magazine@mcad.edu.
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Right: Art Sale volunteers remove giant sheets of white muslin just before the opening bell. At this year’s sale, students and alumni made more than $216,000. Donations to scholarships exceeded $4,800. Bottom left: Sam French ’05, David Andre ’06, and Melissa Loop ’05. Bottom center: MCAD President's Circle members and their guests enjoy a new Art Sale tradition: the Thursday night Preview Party. Pictured left to right: Sheila Morgan, Nancy Anderson, Ted Bair, and Harvey Filister. Bottom right: Christine Daves ’96 and her family.
> View our latest gallery and campus photos at flickr.com/mcad_photo.
photo of Art Sale volunteers by Travis Anderson ’02 / additional photos by Kimberlee Whaley ’03
Art Sale
The High Line Kevin Wade Shaw ’09, Amalia Nicholson ’10, Liz Plahn ’09, Greg Hubacek ’06, and Sarah Kissell ’08 on the famous elevated park in New York City.
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Barnes & Thornburg Top: Howard Rubin, managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg, Jeff Grutter ’07, Claire Moyle ’07, and Lars Mason, MCAD’s director of academic services, at the opening reception of the law firm’s exhibition of MCAD student and alumni work. Bottom left: MFA candidates Galen McDonald ’11 and Casey Opstad ’11. Bottom right: Levi Murphy ’00 and Alexis Akagawa ’01.
Gallery 360 Sarah Wieben ’04 and Clinton Rost ’04 at the opening reception for Spy House, featuring Rost’s work.
This Is Now Alumni association board members at This Is Now, a career conference at MCAD, which attracted more than one hundred thirty students and alumni. Pictured left to right: Janet Groenert ’79, Abigail Allan ’08, MFA, Mike Keefe ’86, Kerri Jamison ’02, and Emily Taylor ’00. mcad / spring 2011
CREATIVITY & PURPOSE > See video now at: mcad.edu/spr11-3
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> To date, twelve MCAD instructors and alumni have been featured on MN Original. Find links to their stories at mcad.edu/mnoriginal.
David Goldes PROFESSOR, MEDIA ARTS
Inset: The Mutual Repulsion of Charged Threads, 2011
photo by Rik Sferra / inset photo by David Goldes
W
hile earning his master’s degree in molecular genetics at Harvard University, MCAD media arts professor David Goldes studied under Jim Watson, the codiscoverer of the structure of DNA. During the course, Goldes made a critical discovery of his own: he “probably wasn’t cut out for the Nobel Prize.” Trading the lab for a camera, he began using his scientific fluency and his fascination with eighteenth- and nineteenth-century discoveries as source material for his photographs. The results display the natural occurrences that often escape our notice—the surface tension of water, gravity’s effect on grains of salt, the precise moment when a match ignites. A film crew from the TPT arts series MN Original recently found Goldes using everything from lit candles to live voltage to capture the physical phenomena described in early science texts. “I’ve always been attracted to the ability of photography to record remarkably delicate transformations of things, from one state to another,” Goldes says, noting that many of the students he’s taught at MCAD since 1986 became engaged in the same process. “It’s a special moment in the lives of these students when they’re out of the orbit of their families and taking their first steps toward understanding what it’s like to live creative lives,” he says. “The shift from being quite lost to finding the resolution of ideas and motivation is a very special thing to witness.”
MCAD MAGAZINE
MCAD
Published twice a year for alumni, donors, and friends.
MANAGING EDITOR Rob Davis, Director of Communications and External Relations
DONOR PROFILE
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS & WRITERS Sasha Aslanian / Laura Billings / Julie Caniglia / Alyssa Ford / Elizabeth Larsen / Sharon Parker / Andy Steiner ART DIRECTOR Brian Donahue CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS & DESIGNERS Travis Anderson ’02 / Lacey Criswell ’04 / Tom Garrett ’79 / David Goldes / Andres Guzman ’09 / Amanda Hankerson ’04 / Zach Keenan ’05 / Caitlin Longley ’08 / Ann Marsden / Timothy J. Meegan / Amalia Nicholson ’10 / Rik Sferra / Brian Walbergh ’11 / Kimberlee Whaley ’03
ADVANCEMENT STAFF Joan Grathwol Olson, Vice President of Institutional Advancement / Brian Gioielli, Director of Major and Alumni Giving / Cindy Theis, Director of Development
Dawn and Bill Keenan, parents of Emily Keenan ’12
photo by Amanda Hankerson ’04
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hen Emily Keenan ’12 chose to attend MCAD, the decision held special meaning for her family. Emily’s maternal grandfather, George (Budd) Green ’54, graduated from the Minneapolis School of Art and worked as a graphic artist. “Growing up, I clearly remember how proud I was of the fact that Dad was an artist,” says Emily’s mother, Dawn Keenan. “MCAD holds pieces of our family history.” Emily’s father, Bill Keenan, a business owner trained in accounting and engineering, wasn’t initially as enthusiastic. “I was concerned that she would become a highly educated ‘starving artist,’” says Keenan. “My concerns were lifted when I learned that the school has so many networking connections with the business world and provides hands-on, real-life experiences as part of its curriculum.” Living in nearby Bloomington, the Keenans consider themselves fortunate to know many MCAD students, and they’ve been impressed with the abilities and dedication that the students bring to their work. But they’re also aware that many students struggle to make ends meet. That’s why after more than half a century since the family began its relationship with the college, the Keenans are looking to help students. “Our inspiration to contribute to MCAD,” says Bill, “is a result of our philosophy to invest in our future by trying to invest in the education of tomorrow’s leaders.” Sasha Aslanian
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mike Keefe ’86, President / Abigail Allan ’08, MFA / Keith Braafladt ’86 / Joe Cecere ’92 / Jan Elftmann ’84 / Janet Groenert ’79 / Bethany Iverson ’06 / Kerri Jamison ’02 / Catherine Kennedy ’05 / Joe Monnens ’94 / Gary Springer ’63 / Emily Taylor ’00 BOARD OF TRUSTEES David Hartwell, Chair / Mary Lazarus, Vice Chair / David Andreas / Uri Camarena / Nathan Davis / Andrew Dayton / Miles Fiterman / Betsy Massie / Clinton H. Morrison / Craig Rice ’76 / Julie Snow / D. Robert Teslow II / Missy Staples Thompson / Bill Thorburn ’84 LIFE TRUSTEES Bruce Bean / Cy DeCosse ’52 / Clinton Morrison TRUSTEES BY VIRTUE OF OFFICE Jay Coogan, President / Mike Keefe ’86, President, Alumni Association Board of Directors
We welcome your ideas and feedback. Please email magazine@mcad.edu. mcad / spring 2011
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UPCOMING EVENTS Mark Your Calendars Emerging Talent Showcase Graduating Seniors Portfolio Review Friday, April 29 mcad.edu/emerging-talent Spring 2011 Commencement Reception Undergraduates, graduates, and their families and friends gather in the MCAD Gallery Saturday, May 7, 5:00–7:00 p.m.
In the Galleries Commencement Exhibition April 29–May 7
Left: Anne Hand ’79, Untitled 2, 2008, embroidered taffeta, Chinese jacquard, organza, taffeta, and glass beads Right: Melissa Wagner-Lawler ’07, MFA, Accident #4, 2010, felt and paper
Alumni Submissions to Art-i-facts To mark the college’s 125th anniversary, submit an object, no larger than 12.5" on any side, that represents a memory of your time at MCAD Deadline / August 8 mcad.edu/art-i-facts
Material Matters: MCAD Students and Alumni Explore Fiber Arts June 4–26 Reception / Saturday, June 4 Art-i-facts August 26–September 18 Reception / Friday, September 16
photo of graduates by Caitlin Longley ’08
MFA Thesis Exhibition The Soap Factory April 23–May 8