Visiting Artist Miranda Pfeiffer, Art Department, Clemson University, Monday, December 1, 2014

Miranda Pfeiffer, Grimes of Passage, mechanical pencil on paper, 36" x 36," 2014  

Lee Hall, Room 1-100

Art Department

Lee Hall

Clemson University

Monday, December 1, 2014

6-7 pm

Miranda Pfeiffer, Facing My Foot,   mechanical pencil on paper, 36" x 36," 2014

Since 2011, Miranda has worked almost exclusively with mechanical pencil on paper, developing a unique approach to hatching and illusionism, in a series of large, panoramic landscapes, Solitary Stones. In her new series Rock Line, Pfeiffer scales down to two and three-foot square drawings, rendering situations both imagined and observed. If Solitary Stones created an immersive narrative through spatial depth and composition, then Rock Line depicts what can be understood of a drawing in an instant. By including the corner of one’s eye, the tip of one’s nose or finger, Miranda’s drawings simulate the immediate vantage point of a human body. 

http://www.mirandapfeiffer.com/

SECAC 2015 Call for Session Proposals

Pittsburgh, PA

Deadline: January 1, 2015, midnight, EST

The city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is proud to host the 71^st annual Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC 2015), to be held October 21-24 at the Wyndham Grand in downtown Pittsburgh. The 2015 theme, CONFLUENCE, aligns the geographic confluence of the city’s three rivers with the conceptual confluence and fluidity of borders related to art, architecture, design, education, and pedagogy today. This is the first time in SECAC history the annual conference will be held north of the Mason-Dixon Line.  Pittsburgh is rich in history and art, being the birthplace of such notable artists as Andy Warhol, Mary Cassatt, and Henry Ossawa Tanner. 

Session proposals are encouraged to take advantage of the city’s important architectural history, heritage in steel and glass production, the proximity to diverse museums and cultural institutions, and the possibility for hands-on studio activities, walking tours, and collection visits.  We expect several hundred attendees from around the nation representing a wide range of arts disciplines, multiple opportunities for inspiring discourse, national exposure for research, and great networking opportunities with friends, peers and higher education leaders.

The Wyndham Grand is a freshly remodeled hotel near the historic point in downtown Pittsburgh. The Fort Pitt Museum is located directly across the street from the hotel.  Within a few blocks of the hotel members can experience an abundance of restaurants, bars, museums, galleries, theaters and splendid architecture. Thursday night will feature keynote speaker, Terence E. Smith, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Contemporary Art History and Theory in the Department of the History of Art and Architecture at the University of Pittsburgh and recent author of Contemporary Art: World Currents which explores the international nature of the contemporary art scene.The SECAC 2015 Juried Exhibition will be held at the Future Tenant Gallery that is within walking distance of the conference hotel in the Cultural District. 

Affiliated societies are guaranteed a session but must propose a session also before the deadline.

Here is a direct link to the proposal form: 2015 Call for Session Proposals. Send your CV directly to the conference chair Kurt Pitluga at kurt.pitluga@sru.edu.

Ayako Abe-Miller, Clemson University MFA in Art (sculpture) Candidate, to Exhibit in Sugar Rush at EN EM Art Space

Preserving Your Essence by Ayako Abe-Milller

Sugar Rush

The presence of sugar in our lives is nearly inescapable. From Candy Land to Candy Crush Saga, visions of sugary wonderlands populate some of our culture’s favorite pastimes. And if the inviting images of sweets in bright, saturated colors aren’t enough to tingle our taste buds, the actual sweets we consume are brimming with enough sugar to light up the pleasure centers of our brain, and to make us return for more.

Preserving Your Essence [detail] by Ayako Abe-Milller

Why are we so obsessed with all things sweet, especially when we know that it’s also responsible for many of our modern health problems? Studies have shown that our brain responds to sugar the same way that it would to an addictive substance such as cocaine. Sugar’s addictive quality may help explain why Americans, on average, consume about 150 pounds of sugar a year! But our obsession for all things sweet also spills over into our indulgence for culturally sweet (borderline saccharine) experiences such as child pageants, home décor, pets in sweaters.

Formerly known as “white gold” by British colonists, sugar’s status has evolved from being an exotic sweet spice only enjoyed by society’s elites to its ubiquitous, highly processed forms available to the masses today. Artists such as Kara Walker and Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons have addressed the history of sugar and its reliance on slave labor. “Sugar Rush” will focus on artworks that address the topic from multiple perspectives. Works can celebrate sweetness, or criticize it, or simply reference it in technique; works may mimic the saturated, rainbow colors of candy or the thick swirls of cake frosting. 

Exhibition Dates – December 13, 2014 – January 17

Opening Reception – December 13, 2014 6pm - 9pm

EN EM ART SPACE

1714 Broadway

Sacramento CA

Guest juror and co-curator for this exhibition, Rhonda Coleman

Rhonda Coleman is a nationally-recognized arts professional and business entrepreneur with over twenty years of experience in the art and design field. Ms. Coleman holds a BS in Business Administration, BA in Art History, and MA in Art History and Museum Studies. As a former art museum curator, Coleman has held important positions at the Henry Art Gallery (Seattle’s contemporary art museum), the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., and the University of Southern California's Fisher Gallery and was co-director of the Red Arrow Gallery in Joshua Tree, CA. She has taught art history, painting seminars, business, and professional development classes at the UW, USC and Artist Trust. Today, Coleman functions as an art adviser traveling between Palm Springs, Seattle and Nashville, to guide a handful of non-profits, as well as individual clients, and professional artists.

http://www.enemspace.com/

Call for Submissions for Number: 81- Defining Art of the South

Submission Deadline: Due December 14, 2014

Number: 81- Defining Art of the South

Number: journal seeks articles and reviews for publication in the Winter 2015 issue. Number: wants to know what defines the visual arts of the South. Submissions to this issue can explore specific artists or artworks that are part of defining art of the South. Other areas of consideration may also include defining characteristics of the Art of the South. This is intended to be a broad exploration of the people, artwork, aesthetics, and organizations that have and/or continue to make significant contribution to the visual arts of the region.

In addition to writing focused on Community Building, Number: always seeks writers for reviews, interviews, and regional updates. These writings can be about current or recent exhibitions taking place in the region or about artists residing in the region showing outside of the tri-state area of TN, MS, and AR. Specifics for each type of submission are found below.

Guidelines for all writers (review additional guidelines for specific submission types):
· Submissions are typed in 12 point font, double spaced
· Italicize titles of works of art and books
· Submitted as a .doc (not .docx)
· Include author name, affiliation, and contact information (email, address, and phone #)
· High resolution JPEG or TIFF images (300 dpi @ 5”X7”)
· Cutlines for each image that includes artist name, title of work, size, year, medium and photo credit
· Author cutline (a short descriptive sentence about you-100 characters)

FEATURE ARTICLES:
· 1500-2000 words
· Addresses theme of the issue
· Includes 3-5 digital images to support the writing

REVIEWS:
· 500-1000 words
· Critical discussion of works presented in exhibitions
· Title of show/exhibition, name of artist, location, and dates of exhibition noted at the top of the page.
· 3-5 digital images from the exhibition or of the artists work

INTERVIEWS:
· 1500-2000 words
· Provided in interview format that includes the question
· Short introduction to the artist or interviewee
· 5-10 digital images of the artists work

REGIONAL UPDATES:
· 500 words
· Provides a look at what is happening with the visual arts in your area
· 2-3 digital images to support writing

All submissions must be submitted electronically at https://numberinc.submittable.com/submit by December 14 to be considered for publication. Authors of works selected for print publication will be  provided a contract for compensation. Questions regarding submission guidelines and number publication can be directed to info@numberinc.org.

Number: Inc. advances the visual arts of the South by publishing critical discourse that educates, advocates, and informs. This mission is realized through the publication of Number:, an independent journal of the arts. Past issues of Number: are available at www.numberinc.org

Exhibit by Syd Cross, Clemson University Alumni Distinguished Professor of Art, at Pickens County Museum of Art & History

The Pickens County Museum of Art & History will be presenting two new exhibitions beginning December 4, 2014. Please join us from 6:00 until 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 4 as we host a reception to meet the printmaker, Sydney A. Cross, who through her work addresses the value we impose on living things and how that makes us treat each other.

Sydney A. Cross, teaches printmaking and art at Clemson University and was awarded the title of Alumni Distinguished Professor of Art. Always professionally active, she is past vice president and then President of the Southern Graphics Council, the largest printmaking society in North America. She has also been awarded residencies at Frans Masareel Graphic Center in Kasterlee, Belgium and the Virginia Center of Creative Arts in Sweet Briar, VA. She has given numerous panel presentations at regional, national, and international conferences and symposiums including the Southeastern College Art Association in Richmond, VA in 1999, Print Odyssey conference in Cortona Italy in 2001, and the 2003 National Association for Humanities Conference in Austin, Texas. As an artist she has participated in several important portfolio exchanges, including Suite X, Printer’s Almanac, Tempe Suite, Images 2010, and Drawn to Stone, a celebration of Two Hundred Years of Lithography.

Her work can be found in numerous collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Smithsonian Museum, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, Boston Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MA, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, MA, The Museum of Fine Art , Antwerp, Belgium, and the Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Her work has been exhibited regionally, nationally, and internationally. In addition to solo exhibitions, she has had work included in the 25th Bradley National Print and Drawing Exhibition, Peoria, IL., Parkside National Small Print Exhibition, Kenosha, WI, “Hand Pulled Prints III”, Stonemetal Press, San Antonio, TX, “Mixed Media” at the Slidell Cultural Center in Louisiana, Paper in Particular, Columbia College, Columbia, MO, and the Irene Leach Memorial Exhibition, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA.

When asked about this exhibition, Cross said, “This represents a slice of the work I have been engaged with over the past five years having to do with values, which is an overarching theme of my studio practice. It addresses my concerns for nature and all living beings, how we treat one another, and the values from which we operate. Some methods for presenting these ideas use images of animals, news events, and media sources.”

“The work with animals include research and sometimes documentation of information that is intended to point towards a wider understanding of the status of particular species and the effect our culture and politics have on them.”

She continued, “The newer work I have included here is generated from media sources covering current events, fashion, Art, and interior design. I first create collages from these sources and then represent them in various hand print processes, sometimes adding text. I find the translation into these processes facilitates a physical presence that the commercial printing cannot provide.”

“Whether it is mashing up couture fashion alongside a slick add for fine art or a political ad placed next to a reproduction of unaffordable expensive jewelry, I cannot escape the commentaries inherent. A critique is delivered through the added text or title. Sometimes for the sake of levity I feel compelled to pair the collages with an image of wildlife. I refer to this work as cultural strata.”

“Sydney A. Cross: Prints” is sponsored in part by South State Bank, Pickens Savings & Loan and Robinson Funeral Home, Crematory and Memorial Gardens. The Pickens County Museum of Art & History is funded in part by Pickens County, members and friends of the museum and a grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Located at the corner of Hwy. 178 at 307 Johnson Street in Pickens SC, the museum is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Admission is free but donations are welcomed.

For more information please contact the museum at (864) 898-5963 or visit us at www.pickenscountymuseum.org <http://www.pickenscountymuseum.org> . For this and many more events in Pickens County visit www.visitpickenscounty.com/calendar <http://www.visitpickenscounty.com/calendar> .

Women’s Studio Workshop's Internships

Summer intern Isabel Francis-Bongue polishing her papermaking skills.

Women’s Studio Workshop hosts two studio interns who work with WSW staff on projects including printmaking, papermaking, book arts, and arts administration, in addition to assisting with the ongoing operations of the facility. Interns are crucial participants in the creative community of WSW. They are asked to work hard, and in return they are encouraged, supported and challenged in their creative lives.

Typical intern tasks include, among others: maintaining the studios; assisting residents in the production of artists’ books and projects; designing, printing and distributing brochures and posters; administrative duties assisting in all aspects of the exhibition program; preparing the apartments for visiting artists/instructors; setting up evening programs; managing the set up and breakdown of lunch each day and work as studio assistants in all classes.

Interns work 40 hours a week, generally Monday-Friday, 9-5 pm, but the schedule changes to accommodate the workshop’s schedule. WSW provides a private room in our on campus Anne Atwood artist’s housing and a stipend of $250/month. Intern sessions culminate with an exhibition of work created during their stay.

POSTMARK DEADLINES:

February 15 for Summer – Fall internships
Notification Date: Applicants will be notified via email by April 15

Length of Internship: 6 months
Internship Occurs: July – December following application

October 15 for Winter – Spring internships
Notification Date: Applicants will be notified via email by November 15

Length of Internship: 6 months
Internship Occurs: January – June following application

APPLICATION MUST INCLUDE:

• A letter of interest addressing why an internship at WSW is important to you, and what type of experience(s) you would bring to WSW
• Three current letters of reference
• A resume
• Up to 10 images of recent work with an image script, which should include title, medium, dimension, and date. Check our FAQ sheet for digital specifications

CLICK HERE TO APPLY ONLINE

WSW is in the process of moving to a digital application format, and we now receive all applications online. Applicants who do not have access to the Internet may contact us by phone.

Liminal Sustenance Features Clemson University MFA in Art Candidates Kawar and Pafford

Liminal Sustenance

November 10 – 14, 2014

Artist Lectures:  Wednesday, November 12, 2 p.m.

Artist Reception: Friday, November 14, 6 – 8 p.m.

Lee Gallery, 1-100 Lee Hall

Clemson – The Lee Gallery at Clemson University Center for Visual Arts is hosting a new exhibit “Liminal Sustenance” currently on display until this Friday, November 14.  The exhibit showcases the work of two MFA thesis candidates from the Department of Art Ceramics program.  A public lecture is scheduled to take place Wednesday, November 12 at 2:30 p.m. with both artists giving a ten-minute creative research presentation on the development of their works. A reception for the artists will take place Friday, November 14, 6 – 8 p.m.

Websters dictionary defines liminal as “of or relating to a sensory threshold” and sustenance as “something (such as food) that keeps someone or something alive.”   These two words combined as the exhibition title Liminal Sustenance refers to the viewers experience when assimilating this ephemeral, textual and tactile exhibition.

Brent Pafford’s work incorporates art, craft, and design celebrating objects’ potency in daily life. Through the ruminative process of creating, his objects remain earnest and honest, maintaining a casualness that speaks to their humble beginnings.  Entering into his installation viewers is presented with the relationship between functional objects, utility and presentation.  The artist writes, “We surround ourselves with physical and visual remnants preserving experiences of time and place, collecting symbolic objects we create comfortable and lived in atmospheres.”  Walking into Pafford’s installation asks the viewer to consider his objects in their constructed context.

Nina Kawar’s work examines the ephemerality of intermediate spaces that evoke vulnerability through the use of deconstructed materials. The role of her work is to convey this condition through object and experience that suggests a simultaneous state of presence and absence.  The current installation in the Lee Gallery presents the work through a compressed entry point at the entrance of the gallery and opening up to an installation that is an experiential passage way into a space that is ethereal and otherworldly.

The Center for Visual Arts – Lee Gallery at Clemson University is open Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and is located at 1-100 Lee Hall, 323 Fernow Street, Clemson, SC 29634.  Events and receptions at the Lee Gallery are free and open to the public.  For more information about the Lee Gallery, contact Denise Woodward-Detrich, Director atwoodwaw@clemson.edu.