Be Seen: A CELEBRATION OF HOPE

BE SEEN

A CELEBRATION OF HOPE

AS PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD STRUGGLE TO ABSORB THE IMPACTS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC WHILE ADDRESSING LONG-SIMMERING ISSUES OF RACIAL AND SOCIAL INJUSTICE, "BEING SEEN" HAS TAKEN ON DEEPER NUANCES.

We now live in a radically transformed culture defined by wearing face coverings, socially distancing, and avoiding crowds and personal contact. For artists especially, having their work seen is vitally important. And as we grapple with change and uncertainty, we need artists to provide us with spiritual, emotional, and intellectual sustenance.

Maine College of Art understands the importance of sharing the work of our artists, not only to help them succeed, but to positively impact communities. Be Seen is based on MECA’s position in Portland’s creative economy and features poster placement in local storefronts, outdoor projections on and off campus, community partnerships in the classroom, and collaborations with businesses. This campaign allows student, alumni, and faculty artwork to Be Seen and brings the work of a diverse group of artists to a wider audience in recognition of the power of creativity, resilience, and hope.

Photo by: Joel Tsui ’16, Salt ’17, MFA ’19

IT TAKES A TEAM Hats off to the team of creatives who helped us bring this exciting project to life.

BE SEEN PROJECT TEAM + Creative Direction by Drew Design Co. owned by Drew Hodges, Adjunct Instructor of Graphic Design + Creative copy by The VIA Agency

MECA BRAND TASK FORCE + Leah Igo Brooks, Director of Marketing and Communications + Lauren Glennon, Director of Institutional Advancement and Strategic Planning + Mary Anne Lloyd ’83, Assistant Professor and Program Chair, Illustration + Brittany Martin, Lead Graphic Designer + Hallie Mitchell ’17, Drew Design Co. + Jessica Tomlinson, Director of Artists at Work

ORIGINAL BE SEEN ARTWORK + Michael Byers + Christian Northeast + Opal Robinson ’23

WEBSITE HOMEPAGE + Animation Team + Adam Fisher, Assistant Professor and Program Chair, Animation & Game Art + Ruthie Harrison ’21 + Richie Ward ’21

WEBSITE HOMEPAGE INTERACTIVITY DESIGN + VONT

RACE AND ENVIRONMENT

Race and Environment is a Philosophy seminar class taught by Assistant Professor of Academic Studies and SEAD Minor Coordinator Christopher Malcom, focusing on a fusing of site and sight in delving into considerations of race as it relates to the environment. By examining land use conflicts and environmental justice case studies, students learn to think about how settler colonialism and anti-blackness inform the ways in which the natural and built environments are organized. The course includes viewing how damaged landscapes bear the inscriptions of past histories through observation, data collection, and reading the landscape as a political and aesthetic work.

Silver and Ink is a Foundation photography class taught by Photography Professor and Program Chair Justin Kirchoff. This hybrid class utilizes traditional and contemporary photographic materials and methods to mirror Foundation curriculum objectives using both digital and wet processes. The first half of the semester is taught in the analog darkroom, using a manual 35mm film camera, film processing, and black-and-white gelatin silver printing. Monochromatic materials are used to explore time, figure-ground relationships, value, hierarchy, light, and content. During the second half of the class, students transition to digital cameras and the digital output facility to explore color, temperature of light, elements of composition, content, the importance of context, and how to make exhibition-quality prints.

Stone Sculpture, team-taught by Sculpture Adjunct Instructors Kazumi Hoshi and Jesse Salisbury, is unique to MECA. Students learn the basic techniques of carving stone sculpture while working with highly skilled faculty artisans. Techniques include carving, joining, shaping, sawing, and finishing, using grinders, hand chisels, and pneumatic tools. Through direct carving and working from maquettes, students define form, determine images and content, and come to thoroughly understand the properties of stone.

SILVER AND INK

STONE SCULPTURE

Left: On the first day of Stone Sculpture class, Adjunct Instructors Kazumi Hoshi and Jesse Salisbury had a giant block of granite delivered to MECA’s nearby Green Space; the class split it up into 16 pieces to use for their projects. Photo by Joshua Reiman, Sculpture Program Chair.