Winter/Spring 2020/Issue Nine
ALUMNI NEWS Maintaining Art Instruction During a Crisis And moving thro’ a mirror clear That hangs before her all the year, Shadows of the world appear...
“…I am half sick of shadows,” said The Lady of Shalott. Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Lady of Shalott
Every day I marvel at how our technology offers us the opportunity to share and communicate effortlessly over great divides, which has become so important in this new world of education that has been thrust upon us during the pandemic. While we contend with these current separations and the need for social distancing, magic mirrors is an apt metaphor for our computers and phones which allow us to observe rooms and environments beyond our reach, and share so much through their lenses. I dreaded the day we sent our students home for this semester and having to tell them that they would have to finish the school year through online learning. I am so thankful that the students got to work with the faculty for half a semester making the transition to finishing online somewhat less awkward. Our School’s intimate numbers and personal connection have always been our strengths, and eliminating those assets has shown the quality and adaptability of our great faculty, who met the challenge deftly and fluidly within the School’s resources for this unpredictable development. That challenge also befell so many students who did not have adequate computing, internet capabilities, or studio space once they returned home. I doubt I will find many arguments that learning or teaching art online is far from ideal, but I know once we are back in the classroom, this spring’s experience will broaden and deepen the level of instruction moving into the future. For those of you who were in my figure drawing classes over the years, you may recall my emphasis that the beyond capturing a likeness, beyond capturing the proportions, beyond capturing the light, the challenge and opportunity to find magic in working from a live model was to capture the presence of the living, breathing, thinking, figure before you, and that transference being an important fundamental lesson for every artist. As we look past the summer, we are preparing for several various scenarios that may shape the fall semester. We hope to have all our students back on the campus, but state guidelines, international travel restrictions, and the ever-present concerns surrounding health and safety, may hamper how that occurs. We are certain that even with the students on campus, social distancing will still need to be practiced and classes will require some element of online learning. It is here that I present an invitation to all our alumni that if there is a way you can help during these times please do not hesitate to contact us. You could contact an old professor and offer to do an online lecture, demonstration, or financial gift that can be targeted to help students in need of technological support will all be appreciated. As we develop our online capacity, as well as in-person classes, it is so important that the School maintains its extraordinary character, quality, and identity, and our alumni are an important component in maintaining that goal. Ken Marchione Interime Dean of the School of Art
ALUMNUS PROFILE: ERIK NILSON When Erik Nilson completed his two years at PrattMWP in 2012, he never considered that he would find his way back here, this time as the PrattMWP sculpture studio technician. His background includes working as an assistant to artists Glenn Zweygardt and Fred Tschida, both of whom are based in Alfred, New York. After completing his Bachelor of Fine Arts at Alfred University, he returned to his native state of New Jersey to work at Newman’s Ornamental Ironworks. Erik Nilson poses with his sculpture, Io’s Orchard, 2019
He completely changed the trajectory of his career after he evolved into becoming a sculpture artist when he came to PrattMWP.
“My experience here really made me look at things differently. I changed my major. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was majoring in illustration at first: I liked drawing. I just chose it because my drawings were more illustrative and because it was the only thing I knew at the time. I didn’t have exposure to any other form of art other than painting and drawing in high school. When I came here as a freshman, all these other doors opened up. I discovered a lot of ways of working and things about myself, and then I went on a different path. I went on to working in different shops and saw this opportunity (two years ago) to come back. I never thought I’d be back in Utica.”
The transition from PrattMWP student to staff was effortless because he would be working with his former professor and mentor, Daniel Buckingham. “He inspired me a lot. It’s been a good opportunity. Also, I get to help students realize their own work and help them put it together, so that’s been rewarding.”
Erik, along with fellow alumni Nicole Basilone and Ethan Stuart, displayed sculptore and installation art at the PrattMWP Alumni Exhibition in October. “There was definitely a variety of work. The show really came together and it was a great opportunity to be a part of it. I think it’s all strong work. I met Ethan and Nicole who were students here a few years before me. I didn’t know them before the show, but we met here and it was really cool to get connected.”
Some of the works he chose for the exhibition have been on display previosly, such a large black tilted tree that was shown at the
REACH Center in Rome. An exhibition specific piece, Io’s Orchard, radiates red light from the back of the room before you even make it further into the gallery for a closer look.
“It’s an immersive experience. I was kind of going for the feeling of having an encounter in the woods by yourself, the sublime feeling. It’s called Io’s Orchard. Io is one of the moons of Jupiter and it’s covered with volcanoes and lava. My piece takes the viewer to another place with its warm light, and it’s very active. I had the neon tubes and I knew I wanted to use them but I wasn’t sure exactly how. This was very impulsive. I didn’t draw it at all before I did it, I just kind of knew. I brought in all this stuff and started working on it here.” This was a departure from his normal approach, which is to map out a design before attempting it. He usually changes the design along the way, but it gives him a strong starting point.
“It always evolves for me. Some people work in a more linear way, but it always moves in kind of a series of circles or a spiral. There’s geometry in it, but it’s also chaotic. There’s both order and chaos, and I kind of like the decline into chaos. It plays into entropy. I’ll draw 10 possibilities for what a thing could look like. There’s not really any substitute for being in the space and doing it in real time and seeing how the different elements react with each other. You can draw it, and draw it, and draw it, but it’s on a piece of paper. You don’t get the element of complexities of the different materials and the light, and that’s something you just have to experience.”
Erik Nilson artist website: http://eriknilson.com/
Erik Nilson, Mitosis Eyelets, 2019 bluestone, galvanized steel, fluorescent light, glass, neon, argon
Q&A WITH CARLIE SHERRY ADJUNCT FACULTY MEMBER Carlie Sherry maintains an active studio practice in Central New York. As an interdisciplinary artist, she has exhibited her work in solo exhibitions including Project Space at Creative York in York, Pennsylvania and Apostrophes Art Gallery in Syracuse, New York. Group exhibitions include the National Association of Women Artist Gallery in New York,New York, and the Spinning Plate Gallery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In addition to her studio practice, Carlie is an adjunct faculty member at PrattMWP and at Utica College. She graduated with her Masters of Fine Arts in painting from Syracuse University in 2015. Tell us about your work Much of my art practice reflects upon unsolicited and absurd conversations that have taken place in my day-to-day life. With a tone of humor and sarcasm, I often meet absurdity with absurdity. An over-the-top response to the statements that women are bombarded with on a regular basis. My work seeks to shed light on the overwhelming and uncomfortable feeling of endless commentary regarding our bodies and minds, as well as to dismantle social constructs that perpetuate gendered falsehoods regarding women. How does your work impact the way you teach? In my personal practice, I think a lot about how to communicate a specific feeling or message through visual language. I am always considering how my use of color and light affects mood or tone, as well as how the overall design and use of materials have a direct relationship with the content of each piece. Because I am constantly thinking about communication in my own art, my students and I are in constant discussion about how visual elements can effectively evoke feeling or meaning. I stress in each class I teach that visual elements, materials, and content all have a vital relationship with one another. What is your favorite part about working at PrattMWP? Teaching is a unique experience where I get to share knowledge and creativity with my students, but they, in turn, share their knowledge and creativity with me. This dialogue creates an open artistic community where we all learn from one another. What do you hope for PrattMWP Alumni? I hope they remain in contact with their peers outside of school. Finding support in each other including self-driven critiques of one another’s work can lead to a healthy artistic community outside of academics. This sort of community helps artists thrive in their accomplishments. Carlie Sherry artist website: http://carliesherry.com/
Carlie Sherry, Dear Meret, 2019 fur-covered objects, fur-covered walls, paper sculpture, and video installation
PrattMWP Family and Alumni Weekend A Grand Celebration PrattMWP Family and Alumni Weekend 2019 was a huge success with exhibitions, celebrations, performances, and more! Due to current circumstances, Family and Alumni Weekend has been canceled for 2020. We hope to see everyone at the alumni exhibition, 20: 20 Artists | 20 Years, which has been rescheduled for October 2021.
PrattMWP Gallery Director, Shannon Stockbridge introduces Nicole Basilone, Ethan Stuart and Erik Nilson Magician Peter Boie performed in the dining hall leading up to his show
Side
walk Cha Work lk Art by Fr e Nata shman lie Sc anlo n
Peter Boie, Magic For Non-Believers
Guests enjoyed the PrattMWP Alumni Gallery Opening
Update your Alumni information: https://www.mwpai.edu/alumni-information
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