Nanci Hersh Public Art project in New York City

The Fashion Center Business Improvement District (BID) in New York City unveiled the latest installment in its continuing series of public art exhibits, titled Slowing Down to Catch Up, by Nanci Hersh (MFA alum 1994).

Hersh created Slowing Down to Catch Up as part of her Inherently Found Series, a mixed-media collection in which she examines things that are passed down genetically and socially, things that are found and kept, and things that are left behind – and how they all shape one’s identity. Wire and netting are shaped and formed, then dipped into vats of over-beaten pulp that dries over the form like a taut skin. These “nets” are used – along with pages from old books, fabric and other found objects, to catch the “stuff of our lives.”

Since attaining her MFA, Hersh has received numerous awards and honors including three purchase awards from the State Foundation of Culture and the Arts, Hawaii. In addition , her work is included in the collections of The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, the Honolulu Academy of Arts, as well as in the corporate collections of Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, Honolulu Advertiser, Hemmeter Collection, STW Fixed Income Management, Lehigh Portland Cement and numerous private collections. She currently lives in Landenberg, Pennsylvania with her husband and two sons.

Scott Groeniger's solo opens in Beijing on August 3

Scott Groeniger - Take Notice of Safe [recycle organism]

August 3 to 9, 2010

at the Beijing Studio Center Gallery - 60 Art District, Songzhuang, Tongzhou, Beijing, China

opening reception on August 3rd, from 4-6pm (gallery talk at 5pm)

beijingstudiocenter@hotmail.com

Zeus Quijano Jr's film airs on PBS

Congratulations to Zeus Quijano Jr. His film, point of entry, will be airing on PBS World on October 3rd, Sunday evening, as part of the Global Voices series.

Book illustration by Matthew Kawika Ortiz

BFA alum Matthew Kawika Ortiz's illustrations are featured in Mohala Mai 'o Hau / How Hau Became Hau'ula, a bilingual Hawaiian-English book. The book is currently available in local bookstores and can also be purchased directly here.

Revamp LA magazine

An interview with Carl Lindstrom (BFA alum) – Creative Director of Revamp LA

What is the objective of Revamp LA?

We were sick of being told “No” by everyone, by big magazines in particular. Everyone was cutting jobs, cutting funds, holding tight to the few things they still had, which meant there were no openings for us anywhere. So we made an environment where, if someone truly wants to create something and is willing to put forth the effort to complete it, the answer is always “Yes.” It gives the [artist] a chance to have a published piece, and ultimately, it creates a platform that didn’t exist before.

How was Revamp formed?

When we leave school, we are thrown into the so-called “real world”, and are faced with trying to make a living. In this transition, creativity often gets put on the back-burner. To counter this regression, we developed RevampLA so we could try to make a living without sacrificing our creativity.

When Yvette Hammond and I created Revamp, we jointly decided what projects we wanted to do. We’d push each other, create deadlines, pool equipment, and stay on top of each other until the project was completed. The only thing left to do was to figure out how to put all this work out there so others could see it. So… we did!

What role has your education played in your accomplishments thus far?

Everything AND not everything. My intro to photography class changed my life, literally. For the first time in my life I felt like I was doing what I wanted, and I loved it. For that I blame Gaye Chan 100%. I also received important guidance from Stan Tomita, a true master of darkroom photography. With his keen eye and experience, I was able to get an education that extended way beyond the classroom and, well, the darkroom. He helped me understand that the second you walk out the doors of that university, take a deep breath, because the learning has just started.

Any special projects coming up?

We want a print edition of Revamp by this year, and are working on developing an interactive digital magazine for new platforms such as iPad. I think this is where our society is heading and I want to get there before everyone else.

RevampLA.com

Stay Sweet at thirtyninehotel

Kirsten Rae Simonsen (current lecturer) has her debut solo exhibition at thirtyninehotel, now through August 21. In this site-specific exhibition she explores concepts of transgression and debasement, nostalgia and hope, the sadness of the suburbs, the disappointing party, and the fear of (and desire for) the unknown.

Simonsen is also included in a group exhibition entitled "From The Tongue", an exhibition of works on paper and fiber exploring the use of text and language.
Curated by Joetta Maue
June 24-August 6, 2010
34 North Moore St/Lotus Gallery Space, Tribeca, NY

Graphic Design Workshop Update

In the spring of 2008, the UHM Graphic Design Program initiated the Graphic Design Workshop—a special studio, run by advanced (BFA) graphic design students (with faculty supervision) and committed to providing high-quality graphic design work for non-profit organizations in Hawai‘i. Earlier projects that the Design Workshop has undertaken include yearly planners for the UH Health Services (images 1 and 2) and an annual report for the State of Hawai‘i Environmental Council.


images 1 and 2

Currently the workshop is redesigning the visual identity of the UH School of Architecture (image 3) and the visual identity of the Hawai'i Nature Center (image 4). Although the studio is only two years old, all completed projects have already won local or national recognition including awards from the American Institute of Graphic Arts (Hawai'i Chapter), the American Advertising Federation (Hawai'i Chapter), and HOW Magazine, a national publication showcasing outstanding work in graphic design. Additionally, the project designed for the School of Architecture has been selected as one of the semi-finalist of the 2010 Adobe Design Achievement Awards ( one of 28 semi-finalists selected from over 600 international applicants). Keeping our fingers crossed for the designers Adine Close, John Cruz, HaoIn Kuan and Yong Hao Yang !!


image 3 and 4

In March 2011, the UH Design Workshop was featured in the Calabash section of the Honolulu Magazine. [to download PDF]

Liam Davis and Debra Drexler at HP Garcia, New York City

Liam Davis and Debra Drexler included in "Back to New York," group exhibition curated by Olympia Lambert

HP Garcia Gallery - 580 8th Avenue, 7th floor - July 9 to 30, 2010

Opening: Friday, July 9, 6 - 9 PM

“We have to go back, Kate. We have to go back!” – Jack Shephard, LOST

Back to New York is an extension of sorts. Not merely an extension of the exhibition Escape From New York, which recently ended its run in a former silk factory in Paterson, NJ, but an examination of the power of one mystical 7-mile-long island. Much like the underlying message of the recently departed ABC series LOST, Back to New York examines the curatorial spirit of pursuing artistic escape routes, only to realize that there is no way off the island.

Manhattan can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can energize and inspire, giving artists an added push of that creative fuel they desperately need in order to produce cutting-edge contemporary art in a supportive, collective environment. The art world’s top collectors live here, and are therefore right in your backyard, where you need them to help finance your work. However, the city can also be a destructive force, killing the spirit, draining finances, and abandoning those who are not a part of the “right” clique. The contemporary art market can appear much like LOST’s Smoke Monster, coming out of nowhere, whispers filling the air, smashing you against the wall, or worse yet, pounding you into the ground until you can no longer breathe.

Much like the Oceanic Six on LOST, some escape, leaving for such places as Berlin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Milano, London, or even Paterson, NJ. But something about New York always pulls us back. Are we in a purgatory afterlife like Jack and Kate? Perhaps. But in this case, it’s a necessary purgatory, for there is no escaping New York. Instead, we must embrace the wisdom of Desmond: “See you in another life, brotha…”, or in this case, east of the Hudson.

IF NOT NOW WHEN at Bishop Museum

IF NOT NOW WHEN

Bishop Museum / June 26-September 25, 2010

Artists include:

Gaye Chan (faculty)

Debra Drexler (faculty)

AJ Feducia (alum)

Stephanie Gumpel (student)

Diane Kim (alum)

Chae Ho Lee (faculty)

Gerald Penaflor (student)

Noe Tanigawa (alum)

Read more about it in HONOLULU WEEKLY

Tactile Repeat

Tactile Repeat: New works by Casey Neumann, Jacqueline Rush Lee (MFA alum), and Madeleine Soder (MFA alum and current lecturer).

The Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center, Honolulu

July 2-October 15, 2010

James Jack's recent going-ons

Current MA student in Art History James Jack has been very productive!!

James organized a panel "Contested Zones in Postwar Japanese Art" and delivered a paper at the Fourteenth Asian Studies Conference held at Waseda University, Tokyo, in June 2010. The other presenters are Gen Adachi (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science), and Oshrat Dotan (Tel Aviv University).

Besides being an art historian, James is also an artist. He is currently featured in TWO solo exhibitions.

Gallery K (Tokyo) - new photo and video works

Kujira Space (Fujisawa) from July 3 to 23, 2010. It will consist of a site-specific installation, works on paper, a video work and a workshop entitled, "Let's tell stories about Dirt!" that will be held on July 10.