University of South Carolina
uscTIMES
September 20, 2012
A publication for faculty, staff and friends of the university
USC Times
Stories, snippets & scenes from the
University of South Carolina. Aiken
Aik
en /
Beaufort
B ea ufor
*
To acknowledge the place of performance and art in the ecosystem of a university is to recognize that they are not merely attractive diversions but part of the lifeblood of the institution. President Harris Pastides says it succinctly: “Our actors, dancers, artists, writers and musicians are the embodiment of our intellectual spirit. From Theater South Carolina, to collaborations with the NYC Ballet, to our Strings Project, poetry readings and everything in between, each of us is sensitized, humbled and elevated through the arts.” This issue celebrates USC's artists.
Columbia
t / Co
Lancaster
lumbia / L a ncaster / Sal
Salkehatchie
e tc h i a h e k
on
Sumter
/ S um
the inside
Union
Unio ter /
n / Upstate
Upstate
11/4 /2013
At home in the urban jungle
By Craig Brandhorst
Creative nonfiction professor goes wild
S
ix years ago, when James Barilla first came
“I want our yard to be the kind of place where my
to USC to teach creative writing and bought
kids can catch grasshoppers by day and fireflies at night,
a house in town, he dug up half his driveway,
where they can dig up potatoes and pick strawberries,” he
killed his lawn through neglect and planted
wrote in the introduction to “My Backyard Jungle.” “The
a sign in the dirt announcing that his yard
yard I imagine will be interesting and alive.” And that’s
would be unlike any other on the block.
exactly what happened — for better or worse. He grew
Barilla wasn’t trying to be a bad neigh-
peaches only to see them devoured by squirrels; he de-
bor. Rather, he was trying to be a good host — to the birds
bated the pluses and minuses of carpenter bees; he woke
and bees, to wildflowers and fruit trees, to any and every
one night to the sound of rats behind the wall.
type of flora and fauna that might possibly make a go of it
The urge to provide refuge for a few critters and plant
in the urban Midlands landscape. He was also researching
an edible garden soon evolved into a deeper investigation
for the memoir that would become “My Backyard Jungle,”
of what it means to coexist with the rest of the natural
published this year by Yale University Press.
world. With help from a grant from USC’s Office of the
“Our yard was pretty bad when we arrived, but by the
Provost, Barilla traveled to India to observe urban monkey
end of that summer it was just like a parking lot. There was
populations, then checked out urban marmosets in Brazil,
very little life, but that did mean I could start from scratch,”
backyard bears in Massachusetts and a range of other
says Barilla, who admits knowing little about the Columbia
urban wildlife.
ecosystem before starting the project. “So I thought, ‘Okay, I’m here. What does it mean to be here — ecologically?’” To make things official, Barilla had his property de-
“For me, what puts my own backyard in an interesting context is how these other people manage to live with these creatures, and how that relationship has evolved, in
clared a “certified wildlife habitat” by the National Wildlife
some cases over thousands of years,” he says. “I started
Federation. The designation, in a nutshell, means his prop-
thinking, ‘What are the limits? Setting aside for a moment
erty provides the essential habitat elements for wildlife
the question of what’s native and just thinking about what’s
survival: food, water, cover and places to raise young.
endangered or not endangered, what could live here?’”
Meet Marius Valdes,
assistant professor of graphic design, Department of Art, creator of Zoo Valdes Marius Valdes is a doodler. And like most artists, he keeps a sketchpad handy, especially when his wife is shopping. “The best place for me to brainstorm is the mall,” he says. “I discovered this habit quite by accident. I don’t know what it is, but some of my best ideas have come while my wife is off shopping somewhere. I’m not sure if it’s the people watching or the fact that I’m not in the studio staring at a blank piece of canvas or computer screen. But I believe my muse is witnessing life happen.” You can view Valdes’ quirky animal paintings at zoovaldes.com
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PUTTING THINGS IN ORDER
Y
By Page Ivey
ou have an engraving and you know the artist and that it’s from the 19th century. Your job is to describe what is in the picture, when and where it was published and log it all into an international database. Now do that 14,999 more times and you have an idea of the task facing cataloguing librarian Kathleen McCallister and her assistants working on the W. Graham Arader
III Collection of natural history watercolors, woodcuts, engravings lithographs and maps.
“You’re given an item and you’ve got to put all that information in a catalogue so other people can understand it,” McCallister said. “It’s a great job for people who like putting things in order.” McCallister earned her bachelor’s degree in English from the College of Charleston. She chose her career after reading what librarians had to say in an online forum. “I thought it sounded interesting,” she said. “I was always one of those kids with her nose stuck in a book.”
McCallister earned her master of library science at USC and began working with University Libraries as a graduate student. It is a path followed by her assistants, Kelsey Crump, Robert Smith and Emily Boney, who all have master’s degrees in library science from USC. Crump, who also has a bachelor’s degree in art history from USC, uses her art background to work on the natural history prints in the Arader collection. “I really love the research behind the print: finding a plant’s original name, what it’s called now; determining whether the animals are accurately drawn,” she said. “If a researcher is looking for something about a flower, they can find it with my description.” Smith, who also has undergraduate degrees in history and English from USC, is an art and book collector. He also loves maps, which is good because he spends his days looking at hand-drawn and colored maps from around the world. His favorites come from the Blaeu Atlas, published in the 1600s by Dutch engravers. “With a drawing of an animal, it is what it is,” Smith said. “Maps are subjective, so the art is in the interpretation.” Boney is also working with Smith on the maps. “When you get one without a title page, you have to do a little investigating,” she said. “You start with who the mapmaker was and see if you can find a year.” The team has catalogued nearly 2,000 items. When their work is done, the collection will be made available to faculty members to include in classes.
T HIS CAROLINA LIFE
Lisa Martin-Stuart, associate professor of costume design in the Theatre and Dance Department
SCIENCE AS ART Magnified hundreds of times under a powerful microscope, then digitally colorized, these plant specimens — the herbs saffron and rosemary — appear as abstract works of art. Both images were captured by Kathleen Clardy, a master’s student in the Department of Biological Sciences, using a scanning electron microscope in USC’s Electron Microscopy Center.
Favorite escape
Hardest decision
Geekiest admission
Getting away to the mountains of
Leaving New York when I was
I love to create the odd and bi-
North Carolina — or chocolate.
in my mid-20s. I was studying
zarre costumes. Creating different
at NYU, but could not afford to
body shapes for specialty char-
stay in the program. At the time,
acters such as animals, odd body
I thought I was a failure, but in
shapes, even inanimate objects.
Biggest inspiration My students constantly inspire me with their passion for theater.
Latest obsession Learning to knit lace because
hindsight it was the right decision for me and led me toward the right graduate program and on to
the intricacies of the patterns
many wonderful experiences.
are endless.
Best advice
Cherished memory
Always came from my parents
Learning how to sew and do
who encouraged me to follow
Quiet moments Being alone in my studio creating the character for a production.
My strongest opinion I believe that the creation of art is at the heart of understanding the
my passions, to work hard and to
human condition.
have many of her tools that I use
never stop learning.
My greatest achievement
in my studio.
Future project
Growing a top costume design/
needlework from my mother. I
In theater the next production is always your future project.
technology program for graduate and undergraduate students.
USC Times 11/4/2013
PAINTING WITH PLASTIC
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Kirkland Smith has a pretty cool pedigree as a portrait artist. She drew her first portrait as a preschooler and many years later spent several months in France, learning classical painting technique. She also has a mom, Martha Thomas, who is one of the Palmetto State’s premier portrait artists. But Smith has a style all her own and one that’s winning accolades — and prizes. Her portraits are created not with traditional paint and brush but with recycled plastic trinkets, arranged intricately to capture color tones and texture in stunningly realistic renderings. “I have to say I didn’t aspire to be a trash artist; I just discovered an art form that was new for me,” she said. She created her first portrait using the assemblage technique several years ago. Since then, she’s done portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Bob Marley, Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin, S.C. Department of Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt and many more. Her portrait of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, made exclusively from bits and pieces of Apple components, won first prize at this year’s Art Fields competition in Lake City. “I think people like being involved with art, and with assemblage art they can be, even if it’s only in donating objects that can be incorporated into the finished piece,” she said. — Chris Horn
S ystemwide
Arts from the Lowcountry to the Upstate USC Aiken
Al Beyer realized years ago how important it is for an artist to see great works of art. He had an exhibit in Italy, with Italian artists Livio Valentini and Leslie Alexander in 2004, and he enjoyed painting and drawing while there. Since then he has visited a different city or country every summer, drawing and painting on these trips. On this year’s trip to Istanbul, he completed 10 paintings that were featured at the Etherredge Center Gallery on the USC Aiken campus.
USC Beaufort
USC Beaufort is expanding its art program to encompass new media in the form of audio, video, editing and especially 3-D printing thanks to the skills and expertise of Brian Glaze, the new assistant professor of studio art. Glaze, an artist who has shown nationally and internationally, is known for outdoor sculpture, interactive installations and electro-acoustic interactive compositions. One of his priorities will be to expand USCB’s capability in the world of 3-D technology.
USC Lancaster
Marybeth Holloway, a USC Lancaster professor of theater/speech, revived the Lancaster Players and received local and regional recognition. Holloway, a teacher trainee for the Expressive Actor Technique (a nationally recognized voice and movement method), presented the Expressive Actor Workshop at La MaMa Umbria. Currently directing “Alice in Wonderland,” she is collaborating with CultureHub, La MaMa NYC and La MaMa Umbria International on a project co-directed by Andrea Pacciotto from Italy.
USC Salkehatchie
With the grand reopening of the Carolina Theatre at USC Salkehatchie, Allendale is coming alive in the arts. Already, local community theater groups have reserved dates for performances. USC Salkehatchie professors are making plans for their own theater productions, and other events such as student talent shows are
scheduled. The theater gives the campus and community a needed venue to bring groups of all kinds to Allendale-Salkehatchie.
USC Sumter
The Sumter Little Theatre might seem small based on its name, but it has a reputation for extraordinary acting and entertainment in the Sumter community. Helping maintain that reputation is USC Sumter theater instructor Eric Bultman who serves as executive director of the Sumter Little Theatre. Bultman, has worked as an actor and director for more than 30 years. His work with the theater helps maintain a high standard for local actors aspiring to entertain and learn.
USC Upstate
Jane Nodine, a professor of art at USC Upstate, is presenting concurrent solo exhibitions of “Thermal Response” in Greenville at Riverworks Gallery and Greenville Technical College Galleries. Nodine, in the tradition of ancient Egyptian mummy paintings, utilizes heat, beeswax and contemporary technology to fossilize memories and traces of thoughts.
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University of south carolina
THROUGH THEIR LENS Take a look at some of the art USC staff members are capturing. Forrest Clonts, public information director, Office of Research Clonts, a 2007 media arts graduate, takes photos all around Columbia, shooting portraits, events, weddings and food. Keep an eye out for the updated Motor Supply Co., Bistro website for more of Clonts’ work.
Clint Cook, program assistant, College of Arts and Sciences, computing department When Cook first started college at Carolina as a media arts student, he was interested in audio recording. But his instructor Gene Crediford helped him find a passion for visual arts. Now Cook shoots all types of photos, choosing not to photograph only one thing. “Photography is where I found a positive way to use my attention deficit. I am always looking for that next thing to see,” he says.
Jason Ayer, photographer, University Technology Services Ayer started taking photos of dancers (many of them USC students) in iconic and beautiful places around South Carolina a few years ago. He calls the project Palmetto Pointe, and it sets dancers in everyday locations to showcase the dancer’s personality.
“It's just too much work for it not to be fun.” Jimmy Henderson, director of media services, Art department Henderson’s photos have been on exhibit around the country. His biggest project so far — “Around One,” a photographic journey along U.S. Highway 1 from one end to the other. “I certainly enjoy doing it, but it takes a lot of energy. While documenting the final two space shuttle missions I had two occasions where my days were over 30 hours. It’s just too much work for it not to be fun.”
uscTIMES Vol. 24, No.17 Nov. 4, 2013 USC Times is published 20 times a year for the faculty and staff of the University of South Carolina by the Division of Communications. The University of South Carolina does not discriminate in educational or employment opportunities or decisions for qualified persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, sexual orientation or veteran status.
Managing editor: Liz McCarthy Designer: Linda Dodge Contributors: Peggy Binette, Craig Brandhorst, Frenché Brewer, Glenn Hare, Thom Harman, Chris Horn, Page Ivey, Steven Powell, Megan Sexton and Jeff Stensland Photographers: Kim Truett To reach us: 803-777-2848 or lizmccarthy@sc.edu Campus correspondents: Patti McGrath, Aiken Candace Brasseur, Beaufort Shana Dry, Lancaster Jane Brewer, Salkehatchie Misty Hatfield, Sumter Tammy Whaley, Upstate
Submissions: Did you know you can submit photos, stories or ideas for future issues of USC Times? Share your story by emailing or calling Liz McCarthy at lizmccarthy@sc.edu, 803-777-2848