Congrats on Fall Reviews & Monday Night Seminar News

Congratulations to all of you on the success of your fall reviews. We especially commend the first-years, who jumped in feet first and did a great job presenting solid exploration across the board.

There is no visiting artist for the first Monday night seminar meeting of winter term (January 4) so we will meet as scheduled at 6 in room 320 for a welcome-back potluck and conversation about the program. Bring something good to share and your constructive ideas.

Please remember that the university will be closed Dec. 19-28.

Wishing you all a great break, good holidays and a very happy new year.

November 16, 2009: James Yood

James Yood traveled all the way to Portland for his PSU lectured on November 16th. Yood teaches contemporary art history and criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he is adjunct professor in the Department of Art History, Theory and Criticism. Active as an art critic and essayist on contemporary art, he is Chicago correspondent to Artforum and tema celeste, and also writes regularly for GLASS magazine, American Craft, Aperture, and Art & Auction. He spoke on the importance of place for an artist and how a region impacts their artistic voice. Thank you so much joining us James Yood!

November 9, 2009 Speaker Laurel Nakadate

On November 9th we had the pleasure of hearing Laurel Nakadate speak about her work and career as a photographer, and film maker. The New York video artist has made her mark exploring the arcane psyche of a very peculiar archetype—the single man. Nakadate is known for powerful video and photographic works in which the artist, her subjects, and the viewer are entangled in an unsettling dance of seduction, power, trust, tenderness, loss, and betrayal. Along with her short videos and photographs she spoke about her recent films: Stay the Same, Never Change and Wolf Knife.

Thanks for joining us, Laurel!

November 2, 2009: Marc Herbst from the Journal of Aesthetics and Protest

On November 2 we were fortunate enough to host Marc Herbst, co-editor of the Journal of Aesthetics and Protest. The Journal of Aesthetics and Protest is a Los Angeles based magazine. The Journal, aware of the possibilities of the boundless moment, searches for ways to think through the cultural and political ramifications of representation. In word and aspiration, The Journal dreams toward a world that differs from "a celebration of the choice already made in the sphere of production, and the consummate result of that choice."

Thanks for joining us, Marc!

MFA Presentantion Schedule

Each MFA student will give a 15 minute PowerPoint presentation of their quarter's work and research. This will happen at the end of the term during the Monday Night Lecture class time. Half of the class will present on November 23rd and the other half on November 30th. Please remember to bring your dinner on these nights. No food will be provided.

November 23rd
6:00-6:15 1. Helen
6:15-6:30 2. Josh
6:30-6:45 3. Nicole
6:45-7:00 4. Lexa
7:00-7:15 5. McCallah
7:15-7:45 Break
7:45-8:00 6. Zach
8:00-8:15 7. Lori
8:15-8:30 8. Anna and Ryan
8:30-8:45 9. Connie
8:45-9:00 10. Jillian

November 30th

6:00-6:15 1. Robin
6:15-6:30 2. Michelle L.
6:30-6:45 3. Ariana
6:45-7:00 4. Michelle S.
7:00-7:15 5. Miles
7:15-7:45 Break
7:45-8:00 6. Kathrine
8:00-8:15 7. Derek
8:15-8:30 8. Ralph
8:30-8:45 9. Hannah
8:45-9:00 10. Motoya

Inteview with Kenneth Goldsmith

Here is the interview with Kenneth Goldsmith. Here is the link from which you can download if you would rather download than listen streaming.:

http://www.archive.org/details/InteviewWithKennethGoldsmith

Nina Katchadourian speaks at PNCA 11/19

Thursday, November 19

MFA in Visual Studies Lecture: Nina Katchadourian

6:30pm | Lab at the Museum of Contemporary Craft, 724 N.W. Davis St.

Nina Katchadourian’s work exists in a wide variety of media including photography, sculpture, video and sound. Her work has been exhibited domestically and internationally at places such as PS1/MoMA, the Serpentine Gallery, New Langton Arts, Artists Space, SculptureCenter, and the Palais de Tokyo. In 2006 the Tang Museum in Saratoga Springs exhibited a 10-year survey of her work and published an accompanying monograph entitled "All Forms of Attraction." Katchadourian is represented by Sara Meltzer gallery in New York and Catharine Clark gallery in San Francisco.

Check out this link to see how she dressed up a snake to look like rat and a rat to look like a snake http://www.ninakatchadourian.com/confusinganimals/animalcrossdressing.php

Children's Creativity Symposium and speaker Dr Ellen Handler Spitz

Special Event | Children’s Creativity Symposium

Arts educators and administrators will gather for this symposium on the role of visual arts education in childhood development. Writer, lecturer, and scholar Dr. Ellen Handler Spitz delivers the keynote address, examining the unlimited imaginative dimensions of children’s experiences. Lois Hetland will discuss her research in cognitive and developmental psychology, focusing on issues of learning, teaching, and disciplinary understanding, with an emphasis in the arts.

Ticket info: Free and open to the public.

All Events

Event runs:
Wed, Nov 11 –
Sat, Nov 14

PNCA Main Campus Building, Swigert Commons, 1241 N.W. Johnson St.

Friday, November 13

Lecture | “Reflections on Space and Childhood” by Dr. Ellen Handler Spitz

Part of the Children's Creativity Symposium, Dr. Ellen Handler Spitz discusses the complex and powerful role of the visual arts in the emotional and cognitive development of children. In particular, Dr. Spitz will address trends, opportunities, and limitations for deploying the visual arts in therapeutic contexts.

Ticket info: Free and open to the public.

Lectures

Event times:
6:30 pm –
7:30 pm

PNCA Main Campus Building, Swigert Commons, 1241 N.W. Johnson St.

Lecture by Aly Khalifa for at PNCA

Thursday, November 12

MFA in Applied Craft and Design Lecture | Aly Khalifa

Aly Khalifa started Gamil Design in October of 1995 to combine his talents of design, engineering and product development. He has degrees in both Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University. His work has ranged from innovative wind tunnel testing to a patented eyewear system. He has worked in plastic, fabric and metal in the consumer products, sporting good and medical equipment industries and has been a Visiting Professor at North Carolina State University School of Design and has led many creativity workshops.

Ticket info: Free and open to the public.

MFA in Applied Craft and Design

Lectures

Event times:
6:30 pm –
8:00 pm

MFA in Applied Craft and Design Studios, Bison Building, 421 N.E. 10th Ave. and Glisan St.

Lecture: William Breazeale at Cooley Gallery

Lecture: William Breazeale
November 3rd

William Breazeale lectures on the Old Master Drawing exhibition in the Cooley Art Gallery. A public reception follows in the gallery.

THE DOUGLAS F. COOLEY MEMORIAL
ART GALLERY, REED COLLEGE
3203 SE WOODSTOCK BLVD.
PORTLAND, OREGON 97202-8199

LOCATED ON THE MAIN FLOOR OF THE REED LIBRARY

Cooley Art Gallery exhibition The Language of the Nude: Four Centuries of Drawing the Human Body

Ongoing through December 5

Cooley Art Gallery exhibition
The Language of the Nude: Four Centuries of Drawing the Human Body

For centuries, the nude body was the highest expression of human aspiration. Religious figures, gods and goddesses, heroes, and even personifications of abstract ideals found visible form in the undraped human figure. This exhibition of 60 rarely seen drawings from the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California, examines the nude its place in the artist's process, and the ideals and desires it expressed in European art. Tracing how artists saw the body, for example the influence of Michelangelo and Raphael in the 16th century and French Academy nudes in the 18th, it also examines the body's context in Christian art, Classical mythology and literary subjects. For more information, visit the Cooley Art Gallery website. (Image: Charles Le Brun, Man Clinging to a Rock. Red chalk on buff laid paper, 44.5 x 28.8 cm. © Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California.)

Noon–6 p.m., Tuesday–Sunday, Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery, Hauser Memorial Library.

craftPerspectives: Vicki Halper speaks at Museum of Contemporary Craft

Tuesday, November 3

craftPerspectives: Vicki Halper

The Museum of Contemporary Craft in partnership with Pacific Northwest College of Art presents Vicki Halper.

A lecturer during the Museum of Contemporary Craft's 2008 exhibition Glass, Vicki Halper returns to provide context to the historical shifts examined in the exhibition, The Academy is Full of Craft. In this presentation, Halper reads from the new book Choosing Craft: The Artist’s Viewpoint (The University of North Carolina Press, 2009), co-edited by Halper and Diane Douglas.

Ticket info: Free and open to the public.

Event times:
6:00 pm –7:00 pm

PNCA Main Campus Building, Swigert Commons, 1241 N.W. Johnson St.

Museum of Contemporary Craft

NW FilmCenter 36th NW Film & Video Festival

The prime directive of the Northwest Film & Video Festival for the past 36 years has been to showcase the accomplished and innovative work of Northwest filmmakers. This annual snapshot of new work by our region’s filmmakers reveals astounding depth, talent, and variety, and the Festival is devoted to sharing it with audiences both at the Festival and on tour with the Best of the Northwest Film & Video Festival that takes a sample of this bounty on the road.
For more information go to: http://www.nwfilm.org/festivals/nwfvf/
From November 6th to 14th
Films Screened at Northwest Film Center, Whitsell Auditorium
Portland Art Museum
1219 SW Park Ave

$ 7 for students

Kenneth Goldsmith lecture from 10/26

Kenneth Goldsmith came as our guest lecturer on October 26th. He teaches Poetics and Poetic Practice at the University of Pennsylvania and is Senior Editor of PENNsound. As a poet he has had many works published, such as Fidget (2000), Soliloquy (2001) and Day (2003) and Goldsmith's American trilogy, The Weather (2005), Traffic, (2007) and Sports, (2008). He is editor of I’ll be Your Mirror: The Selected Andy Warhol Interviews (2004). However, it was his passion about www.ubu.com that took center stage for the evenings presentation. UbuWeb is a completely independent resource dedicated to all strains of the avant-garde, ethnopoetics, and outsider arts. Thank you so much, Kenneth!

Inteview with Seattle Artist Joe Park

Warning: This interview was conducted in a coffee shop with a great deal of background noise. If you are easily annoyed by background noise, or easily distracted this may not be the interview for you.

If you would like to download this interview go to:

http://www.archive.org/details/InteviewWithSeattleArtistJoePark

2nd Annual MFA Meet and Greet @ ROCKSBOX

Hosted by Fourteen30 Contemporary +
ROCKSBOX Fine Art
With Additional support from the MFA Departments of PSU, PNCA, and OCAC

Please join your hosts Patrick Rock of ROCKSBOX Fine Art and Jeanine Jablonski of Fourteen30 Contemporary at the MFA Meet + Greet. With a goal to begin cross pollination between MFA programs city-wide, this 2nd Annual event introduces students, new and returning, to the larger Portland creative community.

Friday, October 30, 2009 | 7-10PM

Pumpkin Regatta in Tualatin on October 31st

This is an open invitation to every one to join in for a
GIANT PUMPKIN PARTY!!!!
This is to occur in multiple parts.
1-Giant Pumpkin Regatta in Tualatin, this will be a spectator event. People race in giant pumpkins. It goes from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, October 31.
2-Sourcing and making our own pumpkin boats at some point in Nov.
3-Setting sail! Going on a paddling adventure...
4-Related talking and reading

In terms of planning, we'll start with the Regatta and go from there.

Hannah is developing this (very casually) as a pedagogy type project/practice.

She sites the catalyst for this project starting somewhere between Dan Attoe's class, Connie's raft, the canoedio, and Halloween (pumpkin season).

Let her know if you're interested and it will go from there.

Joseph Park lectured on 10/19

On October 19th Joseph Park was our third lecturing artist. The Seattle based oil painter took the stage with a colorful presentation that documented two decades of work. He talked about his recent endeavor of founding an art movement named Prismism, which focuses on refracting light depicted in painted objects. His graciousness and good humor was well received by the students that met with him. Thank you so much, Joe!

EC/BC meeting on October 31st

This year's second EC/BC (extracurricular book club) will be held at 4:00 pm on Saturday, October 31st.
McCallah is kindly hosting the event at her house.

Mel Zeigler's Lecture on October 12th

Mel Zeigler was our second lecturer and spoke on October 12th. The chair of Vanderbilt University's studio arts department regaled us with stories concerning his work from the early 90's until present. He brought along his passion for public art and community involvement. Through examples of his work he spoke of finding ways to infiltrate what he called ‘socially active space.' Thank you so much coming Mel!

Ellen Dissanayake speaks on October 29th

Ellen Dissanayake will be giving next week's PNCA MFA in Applied Craft & Design lecture. Dissanayake is "an independent scholar, author, and lecturer... whose Darwinian viewpoint provides a broader understanding of the arts than is customary in most theoretical approaches: the arts are integral to human nature and they evolved to help individuals adapt to their physical and social environments."

Scholar lecture • 6:30-7:30pm • October 29
PNCA Craft & Design Studios • The Bison Building • 421 NE 10th

She is the author of Homo Aestheticus: Where Art Comes from and Why

End of the Quarter Presentations

Each MFA student will give a 15 minute PowerPoint presentation of their quarter's work and research. This will happen at the end of the term during the Monday Night Lecture class time. Half of the class will present on November 23rd and the other half on November 30th.
Please remember to bring your dinner on these nights. No food will be provided.

November 23rd

6:00-6:15 1. Helen
6:15-6:30 2. Josh
6:30-6:45 3. Nicole
6:45-7:00 4. Lexa
7:00-7:15 5. McCallah
7:15-7:45 Break
7:45-8:00 6. Zach
8:00-8:15 7. Lori
8:15-8:30 8. Anna and Ryan
8:30-8:45 9. Connie
8:45-9:00 10. Jillian

November 30th

6:00-6:15 1. Robin
6:15-6:30 2. Michelle L.
6:30-6:45 3. Ariana
6:45-7:00 4. Michelle S.
7:00-7:15 5. Miles
7:15-7:45 Break
7:45-8:00 6. Kathrine
8:00-8:15 7. Derek
8:15-8:30 8. Ralph
8:30-8:45 9. Hannah
8:45-9:00 10. Motoya

Leonie Guyer visits PSU

To start off the PSU MFA Monday Night Lecture Series, Leonie Guyer gave a talk about her work! In addition to her lecture, Lexa Walsh and I got to spend some quality time with her talking about art and eating good food. I interviewed her (thanks McCalla) which is now archived below, and her last day in Portland we got to see some art shows and have a quick visit at Powells books. Thanks Leonie and we look forward to see you next spring back here in Portland!

Leonie Guyer Interview

A way to discuss

Back at CCAC in 1989, the idiosyncratic, fun loving Charles Fisk offered his Ceramic Art History class this article, which has guided my critiquing methods ever since. Robert L. Scranton's introduction to"Aesthetic Aspects of Ancient Art", titled "The Structure of Style", breaks down the art object into the following for a rather basic & scientific approach to critique:
Elements of the Work of Art:
Material
Conceptual
Sensory
within each, there are the
Aesthetic Aspect
Technical Aspect
Rational Aspect
Variations in Manipulating the Elements:
1. Ontology
2. Epistemology
3. Signification
4. Definition
5. Configuration
6. Dynamics
7. System
8. Focus
9. Cohesion

The article will be in the new Portland Artist Resource Center - PARC (working title) located in room 320.

Now the question remains how we put this towards Social Practice. Let's see..
Lexa

Welcome New MFA Students and Welcome Back Old MFA Students

Welcome to our new students, Jillian Vento, Nicole Penoncello, Lexa Walsh, Josh Mong, Michelle Swinehart, Katherine Ball, Derek Bourcier, McCalla Hill, Robin Corbo and Michelle Liccardo. Congratulations to returning students, Ariana Jacob, Anna Gray, Lori Gilbert, Ryan Wilson Paulsen, Ralph Pugay, Miles Sprietsma, Connie Hockaday, Helen Reed, Hannah Jickling, Jason Zimmerman, Zach Springer and Motoya Nakamura on their group show, Replyall, currently in the Autzen Gallery, as well as the various activities of the summer. We are looking forward to this year's first Monday Night Visiting Artist lecture, the resumption of ecbc and getting earnestly back to work.

1st Year Candidacy Review Schedule

Meyer Boardroom, URBN 710
10am-2pm on Friday, May 29th and Friday, June 5th
Presentations should be 20 minutes w/ 10 minutes for discussion

Friday, May 29th

Helen 10:00 – 10:30
Jason 10:30 – 11:00
Ralph 11:00 – 11:30
LUNCH 11:30 – 12:30
Zach 12:30 – 1:00
Lori 1:00 – 1:30
Hannah 1:30 – 2:00


Friday, June 5th

Motoya 10:00 – 10:30
Ryan and Anna 10:30 – 11:00
Ariana 11:00 – 11:30
LUNCH 11:30 – 12:30
Miles 12:30 – 1:00
Michelle 1:00 – 1:30
Connie 1:30 – 2:00

Frances Stark (and Arlo) Come to PMMNLS

MFA Dates & Deadlines

Year 2:
March 12 - GO-12 forms with MFA Adviser signature due in Art Dept Office
March 13 - Social Practice MFA Graduate Project Proposals due
March 13 - Draft one-pager pdfs for Disjecta Catalog
March 30 - Disjecta Meeting 5-6 pm
April 3 - Final one-pager pdf for Disjecta Catalog
April 3 - GO-12 forms with Dept. Chair signature to Office of Grad Studies
April 3 - Appl for Degree form due in Office of Grad Studies (for Spring grad)

MFA Graduate Project/Exhibition Schedule & Disjecta Exhbition/Catalog/PR Schedule: see Patrick Rock’s Gallery Schedule

Year 1:
April 10 - Laurels Tuition Remission Award deadline

May 29th & June 5th - Candidacy Reviews 

PNCA/PSU Critique Exchange

It worked! The first session of the critique exchanges between two Portland MFA Programs was excellent! Ruth, Zach and Mindy came over from PNCA and Ralph, Laurel and I all got to talk with everybody about current work and concerns, etc. I'm really looking forward to more of these!

We want Julie Ault to move to Portland for good

My words will have to stand in for the pictures I didn't take while Julie Ault was here. 
(Even though there was plenty opportunity)

Ryan and I ended up spending a bit of time with Julie everyday this week; besides seeing her lecture and having studio visits, we took her for a walk in the gorge, to our favorite deli, and to a glassblowing class that she had signed up for out on 82nd St. Her lecture on Monday was extremely rich with reflection on her work with Group Material in the 80's and 90's. Reading from original GM documents, she illuminated the working methods and the changes within the group over its 17 year life-span.  At the end she talked a bit about her recent installation work and her current publication and curating projects. Its amazing to see such a long career from its roots. The influence of Group Material's methods and aesthetics is clear, not only in Julie's solo work, but also in the work of so many other artists and curators working today. She also shared a bit with us about her current PhD work and the endeavor of trying to archive and historicize the work of Group Material.

Oh, and she gave Ryan and I some great book recommendations.

At one point during our studio visit she picked up our copy of Felix Gonzalez Torres, the monograph which she edited/created saying, "Oh its nice to see a copy so dirty. That's great." (It had been water damaged in the fire.)  She balances this kind of optimism with a really critical mind, I like that. 

New Applicant Reviews Feb. 15 and Feb. 22; Interviews

MFA Faculty and current students will review the portfolios and materials of applicants for 2009-11 on Sunday, February 15 in AB 200, beginning at 9 a.m. We will continue through the day until we arrive at a short list.

During the next week Social Practice and Studio Practice students are asked to organize and conduct interviews (in-person for locals, phone for out-of-state) with the short-listed applicants. (Pat has a list of the questions the Studio Practice students devised last year; Harrell or one of the second-year Social Practice students may have the ones they used. Current students may want to draft new questions.)

On Sunday, February 22, 10 a.m., we will meet at Shattuck Annex to discuss the interviews and compile our final acceptance list and wait list.

Though the process may not take as long as it did last year, it can be a long day. Let's plan on bringing something for a potluck brunch.

Please contact Pat if you have any questions.

PSU, Otis, and CCA at SFMoMA

SFMoMa invited Ted Purves (CCA), Susanne Lacey (Otis) and Harrell Fletcher (PSU) to speak on a panel to mark the closing of the exhibition: The Art of Participation: 1950 to Now.
In true Social/Public Practice fashion, they turned it over their students, both to shape and to people the panels. The three panel topics were: Responsiblity, moderated by Ted Purves, Consensus and Decent, moderated by Jen Delos Reyes, and Proffesional and Amateur, moderated by Randal Stott. With a couple of exceptions all students sat on a panel.
Pictured above are Cyrus, from PSU, Paige from Otis, and Brin from CCA participating on the panel Professional and Amateur. Panel participants met up before hand to discuss and frame our panel topics in person, following up on recent email exchanges. There was a great deal of lively conversation and passionate involvement between students before, during and after the panel discussions.

Michael Brophy Lecture!

Thank You Michael for coming to PSU and giving a lecture + more!
In the above photos we see the MFA post lecture talk with Michael sitting in the low chair, then a packed annex of lecture-watchers, and a photo of Bethany Hays reading to us at dinner!

Social Practice Symposium in Victoria, Canada

A group of the Social Practice MFA students will be presenting our program and our work at the Assume Nothing Symposium. We will also be attending the opening of Harrell Fletcher's play The Responsibility Is Shared By All The People Here.

Lucky Dragons Lecture and Visit

We were happy [lucky] to have the art group Lucky Dragons lecture at PSU and visit the MFA program through studio visits and a dinner conversation. Check out the Lucky Dragons website.

Thanks to Lori (and Eric) (and Incoming Anna)

We owe Lori Gilbert a round of applause for her great work as MFA program assistant last term. She ably and creatively filled the considerable shoes of the previous MFA-PA Eric Steen (who was never properly blog-thanked himself for his awesome assistance last spring) and, like Eric, was somehow able to coherently interpret my rambling requests for assistance. Next up is Anna Gray, who, as you know, is already organizing the Vancouver trip and preparing for our new applicant reviews coming up next month (watch for the date).

Welcome Back and Heads Up!

Welcome back after one the of the weirdest breaks ever, weather-wise. To get oriented, we will have an informational meeting for first-year students on Monday, Jan. 5 at noon in AB 135. The talk will be about registration issues and the mid-term reviews scheduled for Jan 9 and 16 (schedule below).

Winter Term Reviews
15 min powerpoint presentation (no websites or blogs!); 15 min discussion
attendance mandatory for all MFA students; location TBA

Friday, January 9
10:00 Helen
10:30 Ryan
11:00 Hannah
11:30-12:30 lunch
12:30 Zach
1:00 Anna
1:30 Lori
2:00 session end

Friday, January 16
10:00 Motoya
10:30 Ariana
11:00 Jason
11:30-12:30 lunch
12:30 Miles
1:00 Connie
1:30 Ralph
2:00 session end