October 2009

A+D Faculty and Staff Recognition + Awards

Product Design faculty Tao Huang published her doctoral research as "Reforming Industrial Design Education in Mainland China: For Sustainability" in June 2009. This research studies the current Industrial Design educational system in Mainland China and proposes a new educational framework to engage sustainability as a design objective. This book provides first-hand data of the current Industrial Design education system in Mainland China to help educators and researchers understand the larger context of this system and challenges it is facing.

A+D Studio Facilities Supervisor, Chris Kerr, won a 2009 All Staff Arts + Media Award for DIY Crafts.

Michael K. Paxton, Fine Art Adjunct faculty, has been selected by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation and the Delaware Division of the Arts to be a panelist for the Individual Artist Fellowships in the discipline of Visual Arts: Works on Paper.

A poster designed by Richard Zeid, Associate Professor of Graphic Design, to remember the Sichuan earthquake, received an award in the Creativity 39 competition. The Creativity Annual Awards has the tradition, respect and international reach that makes winning an award meaningful. The Creativity Awards Annual was one of the first books to showcase leading-edge design not just from New York, but also from across America and all points of the globe. Over the years, the book has grown in size, scope and style.

Exhibitions + Openings

On October 11, as a part of Chicago Artists Month, Industry of the Ordinary (aka Associate Professor of Fine Art Adam Brooks and Fine Art Adjunct Faculty Mathew Wilson) organized a happening at Packer Schopf Gallery where the audience was encouraged to witness and participate in a “multimedia extravaganza".

Associate Professor of Fine Art, Mario Castillo, has work featured in the print portfolio “Dia de Los Muertos: Common Ground”. The opening is Saturday, October 17, 2009, from 2-4 pm at Expressions Graphics.

"The Certainty of Things", by Marilyn Propp.

David Jones, Director and Founder of Anchor Graphics at Columbia College, and Marilyn Propp, co-founder of Anchor Graphics and Fine Art Adjunct faculty member, are in an exhibition called “Roadtrips and Shadowplay: Marilyn Propp & David Jones” at State Street Gallery at Robert Morris University (401 S. State St., Chicago, 312-935-4574, Hours: Mon - Thurs 10 – 6). David presents unmanipulated photographs which are hand-printed and transformed by the printmaking process of Xerox transfer, and Marilyn presents oil paintings on wood panels, which are shaped and cut to fit together like a puzzle. This husband-wife creative team presents work that reflects their travels and perceptions of the world. The opening reception is Thursday, Oct. 22, 5-7 pm, and runs through December 6.

Anna Kunz, Fine Art Faculty, opened Kunz, Vis, Gonzalez in her garage, an international artist project space that features a mix of artists at different points in their careers. Projects are presented quarterly and travel from Chicago to Amsterdam and Brooklyn in a little trunk. Invitational dinner discussions are hosted by Kunz, (with Vis and Gonzalez via SKYPE, and center around exhibiting artist's work. Currently showing is Abnormal Formal, and work on paper featuring Racer Le Van, Amy Feldman, David X Levine, Ivan Brunetti, and others. The Garage is open Sat/Sun 11- 2 weekends in October.

Anna also participated in the following exhibitions and events in October:
- Decor, Merce Cuningham Dance Co.
- 39 Verbs Exhibition, Industry of the Ordinary, Packer Schopf Gallery
- Just Good Art Auction, Hyde Park Art Center 70 Year Celebration

Product Design faculty Tao Huang and Kevin Henry curated the exhibition "Found: Contemporary China Design" which runs from October 1-November 7, 2009 in the A+D Gallery. Featuring select contemporary products from design professionals in Mainland China, Found: Contemporary China Design showcases the exciting developments in industrial design in the past three decades in Mainland China, to improve the understanding of the impact of globalization on local culture, and to provide a forum to discuss collaborations of American and Chinese design societies.

A+D staff member Betsy Odom is in a group show titled Zombie: A Mindless Affair, curated by Edra Soto, opening Friday, October 23, from 6pm-10pm at Antena gallery in Pilsen. The show runs through November 21, 2009. Just in time for Halloween, the exhibition “uses the vernacular of the mythological zombie as a starting point to engage in ideas of death, mindlessness and symbolisms for the occult and inexplicable.”

Sabina Ott, Associate Professor of Fine Art, curated an exhibition called "because the night" inspired by the lyrics of Patti Smith and the writings of George Bataille. It is on view from October 19 through November 13 at the Guggenheim Gallery at Chapman University, Orange, CA.

A sculpture titled “Rubber Tipped Crane” by Christine Rojek, Adjunct Fine Art Faculty, is now installed at the south end of Jean Klock Beach in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The sculpture was displayed a few years ago at the Margaret B. Upton Arboretum in St. Joseph and more recently was displayed at Purdue University.

SculpTours, a new venture between Fine Art Adjunct faculty Christine Rojek and Carol Hammerman, will be presenting an exhibit of renowned artist Ed McCullough's stainless steel sculptures at the Cliff Dwellers Club. On October 20th, there will be an inaugural reception and talk by the artist between 5-7pm.

Justin Witte, Fine Art Adjunct faculty, will be included in the upcoming show (Re)Collect at the Hyde Park Art Center, which will run from October 18, 2009 to February 14, 2010. The exhibition “highlights a selection of the Art Center’s faculty whose work complicates notions of memory through embracing its slippery nature.” Justin also has work up at the College of DuPage through December.