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THE BEACON SOUTHERN MAINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE | For the students, by the students
The Art Department
wrote courses. By the end of the artisan residence program they had enough courses to develop a degree program that would be equivalent to that of the first two years of a foundations program at an art school or university program. With that, the Art Department was able to start. They got their curriculum and started developing articulations with other colleges (such as Maine college of Art, Leslie University College of Art and Design, and Saint Joseph’s). They’ve also had students transfer to many other art schools, such as the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, as an example. Samantha Pratt is taking her second art course. She did Drawing 1 last semester and now she’s in Drawing 2. She says her art is more of a hobby; she’s not particularly interested in pursuing it as a career. She simply enjoys creating it, so she exclaims, “it’s a perfect elective!” I joked that I could tell she took it seriously because she had a bit of charcoal on her face. Sam (as she likes to be called) explained that when she’s out of college she’ll still continue to draw for recreation, and that it’s nice how she’s learning different methods because now she knows how to work differently. In her words: Chuck (Charles Ott, Art Professor) really helped last semester. I always drew a certain way, and he helped me draw in different ways so it’s great
Showcasing One of SMCC’s Terrific Programs
By Erik Squire Education Major he Beacon set out to learn about one of our fine departments on campus, The Art Program. Art is one of the greatest things that humans create. It has been around for ages, on cave walls, created with innumerable mediums, and on unimaginable surfaces. Artwork has touched the soul, caused outrage, and stirred emotions. To learn a bit about what SMCC is doing to progress art in this 21st century, we interviewed a couple art students as well as the former Art Department Chair, Jeff Badger. The Art Program just celebrated their ten year anniversary. When SMCC changed from SMTC they started with an artisan residence program. This means there was one artist and one studio on campus for five consecutive years, and over this period that person developed courses and purchased equipment to develop the Art Department. Over the course of time the Art Program built itself in increments. One year they had a photographer, then a painter, then a print maker, etc. And each of those people
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February 3, 2015 Volume 12 Issue 9 mbeacon@smccme.edu
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how they can open up your eyes to all the different kinds of methods. Not even just drawing, but you also see things differently. I’m excited to see what I’ll learn this semester. I would just encourage people who haven’t had an interest in art before, to just try it out, you know, as one of their electives. It’s great that we have the department because it’s something that students can do that is a different kind of work, like, it’s not writing papers The Beacon also spoke with Krista Kelly, a second year Art major, and she will be working as an art curator through SMCC this semester. The dictionary defines an art curator as such: In contemporary art, the title curator is given to a person who selects and often interprets works of art. In addition to selecting works, the curator often is responsible for writing labels, catalog essays, and other supporting content for the exhibition. As Kelly explains, art curating is vast but, specifically, a curator might work for a museum, or work for certain artists displaying their work, or work hanging art in a gallery. Kelly is a great example of SMCC’s art students who are doing great things. Last but not least, The Beacon sat
down with Jeff Badger, and asked him to talk about the Art Department and some of the exciting things they’re working on. Jeff was the Art Department Chair for five years, and this year Virginia Rose will be taking his place as Chair. Jeff states that he feels as though the Art Department is filling a unique niche in the Maine arts community that students (Continued on Page 2)
Renown Filmmaker, Photographer Speaks at SMCC Mauricio Handler in Jewett Auditorium
By Nickolas Evan Acker Liberal Arts Major January 22nd Mauricio Handler gave a presentation in the Jewett Auditorium on his life’s work. Handler, a National Geographic photographer and nature videographer, is known for his work in underwater photography and is one of the top underwater photographers of his time. National Geographic has published five of his images and he was photographed by Brian Skerry while underwater next to a whale; this photograph was published by National Geographic and is one of their most downloaded images. Handler’s first work for National Geographic was in their “3 Degrees of Japan’s Seas”, an underwater photography expedition off the coast of Japan. In 1990 he spent twelve weeks doing wildlife photography in the Galapagos Islands where he is known for his photographs of seals that were starving to death during an El Nino year. Now Mr. Handler has gone from photography and has
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begun shooting in “Ultra High Def 4k”. Handler uses Red Digital Cinema’s cameras for this work which enables him to shoot in such high definition. To put this in perspective, Red Digital Cinema designed the cameras used by Peter Jackson for the Hobbit Trilogy which gave Jackson the ability to shoot in such crisp 3D. Without these cameras and the advancement of this technology the level of quality Mr. Handler’s videos has would be impossible. Mr. Handler showcased five videos at his presentation; some of these videos were published and used by the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance, a partnership of conservation organizations in the Dutch Caribbean Islands. These videos were shot in the ultra high definition described previously and were of such high quality that the processor of the computer showcasing them struggled to process the files playing and the frame rate of the videos suffered at times. Most clips in the videos were underwater shots, although there were some of above water wildlife. Handler revealed to the audience that he is in Durham, Maine doing a documentary although was vague over the details and it was apparent that the project was still in its infancy stage. To quote Mr. Handler on advice about creating a documentary, “If you want to write about anything,
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anything creative, don’t think you need to go to Paris or the Galapagos. Draw a 10 mile circle around your house and do a documentary about that. Each home is a story.”
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