March 2009

General News + Announcements

The Department of Art + Design is so proud to announce a wonderful accomplishment by one of our colleagues. This illustration by full-time Illustration faculty Ivan Brunetti graced the cover of the March 2nd issue of The New Yorker magazine.

Dr. Amy Mooney contributed an essay, "Outward Gestures: New Work by Maria Magdalena Campos Pons," to the catalog Life Has Just Begun. Her article, "Historic Prelude: Black is, Black Ain't," was accepted for publication in the summer issue of the international art journal Nka. This spring, she will share a chapter of her forthcoming book, Portraits of Noteworthy Character, at University of Texas, Austin and as part of Interpretation Praxis, a collaborative symposium at the School of the Art Institute. Following the recent publication of an essay in Romare Bearden and the Modernist Tradition, Dr. Mooney was also invited to discuss the interactions between playwright August Wilson and Romare Bearden at the University of Chicago. She will serve as the respondent on a panel at the American Studies Association in fall 2009 titled "How Does 'the Other' Belong?: Representation and Ethnic Minorities in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Literature, Painting, and Television." Looking forward to 2010, Amy will co-chair a session at CAA with full-time Fine Art faculty Joan Giroux titled "Artist Citizen: Catalysts, Collectives, and Utopias."

Full-time Fine Art faculty Friedhard Kiekeben wrote an article about his etching developments for an Italian book on printmaking innovation soon to be published called "Incisione Sostenibile, Materiali e procedimenti dell' area non-toxic: Ipotesi di laboratorio." An English version of this text and ongoing updates on his research and writings can be found here.

Exhibitions + Openings

Part-time Fine Art faculty Michael James Banning has a solo exhibition of paintings in the Main Gallery of the Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis, MN. The exhibition is entitled "Corridor Views - Industrial Landscapes of Minneapolis and Saint Paul" and will run from March 6 - April 11. In addition, Michael recently completed a commission of three paintings of the Saint Paul, MN industrial riverfront for the collection of the Securian Insurance Company in Saint Paul, MN.

Part-time Fine Art faculty Marilyn Propp has an exhibition titled "Journeys" which consists of eight paintings installed in the nave of the Cathedral of St. James in Chicago from February 25 - April 5, 2009. The theme of Propp's work has always referenced the interior journey. These current paintings are a form of narrative, in which objects derived from familiar industrial or domestic tools are transformed into animated biomorphic characters. The traveling objects are bound together, a whimsical assortment. The four panels fit together like a puzzle, united by the rhythm and movement of the players.

Awards + Recognition

Robert P. Gordon, architect, urban designer, and part-time faculty member, has been awarded a grant from Condé Nast Publications to finish writing his new textbook on residential planning. His previous textbook, Perspective Drawing: A Designer’s Method is now on sale in this country and abroad.