September 8, 2023
Author: Wanda Motley Odom
At the Jenkins Arboretum and Gardens outside Philadelphia, the lush landscape of native and rare plants provides purpose -- from seed propagation to bird walks, nature exploration to yoga practice, rhododendron lectures to botanical illustration.So, when members of the arboretum’s board of directors visited Tyler earlier this year, it was only natural that an idea for collaboration flowered afterward.“Jenkins was interested in making a connection with Tyler and the idea for an exhibition with works by faculty or students was born,” said Tyler Professor Kim Strommen, who teaches in the first-year Art Foundations program. “Of course, it needed to have something to do with nature and the environment.”
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July 19, 2023
Author: Wanda Motley Odom
Art history graduate students Jessica Braum (left) and Natalie Cruz arrange prints for hanging.In early 20th century American artist Asa Cheffetz’s (1897-1965) wood engraving Deserted Farm, the carved lines are so adroitly executed that they create the illusion of wind blowing across a field of grass.“It is remarkable that an artist can convey such a fleeting movement and sensorial experience of the wind blowing in nature by incising lines in wood in a specific manner,” said Tyler art history graduate student Jessica Braum, who along with eight other Art History graduate students and Art History Associate Professor Ashley West co-curated a print exhibition for the Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College in Collegeville, 30 miles outside of Philadelphia.
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July 11, 2023
Author: Wanda Motley Odom
As part of his artistic journey, Tyler alum Tim McFarlane (BFA '94) has in recent years veered toward the monumental.Putting his typical works on canvas or panel aside, McFarlane has preferred work at the large scale afforded him by murals and other wall-based installations -- applying acrylic paint, drawings and sculptural forms complete with silver and frosted Mylar, pushpins, nails, tape to walls and other surfaces.
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June 22, 2023
Author: Emily Herbein
Henry Morales (BFA '21), Tyler's Program Coordinator for Academic Enrichment, feels right at home working for his alma mater -- having the opportunity to assist students in collaborating with the arts in their community, something that he feels passionate about. He also recently curated an exhibition at Haverford College, centered on a multigenerational Latinx experience. Morales credits his personal and professional growth to his time pursuing his undergraduate degree at Tyler, which is what he hopes to encourage within the events he organizes for students. Read more about his career trajectory and advice for students still trying to find their footing.
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June 22, 2023
Author: Emily Herbein
When it comes to distributing a work of art far and wide, there are few avenues better than printmaking to share the wealth.In the spring 2023 semester, MFA students in Associate Professor Amze Emmon’s Graduate Printmaking Projects class put this truth to the test with a collaborative publication of works by more than 30 artists across the United States and in Belgium, Brazil, Indonesia, and Iran.Entitled “HELP YOURSELF,” the publication is on exhibit at Partners and Son in Philadelphia from June 23rd to August 6th. The creators have described it as “a poly-vocal collection of creative work responding to the theme of self-help from artists from around the world.”
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June 12, 2023
Author: Emily Herbein
Assistant Professor of Photography Alex Strada has received a Graham Foundation grant for her research project House of D, which explores the history of New York City's Jefferson Market Library, a lavishly decorated Art Deco icon in Greenwich Village that served as the Women’s House of Detention (WHD) from 1932–1974. The WHD was once championed by NYC officials and prison reformers as a “school” to punish women, transgender men, and gender nonconforming people who broke the law or flouted societal norms. Thousands were detained in the heavily congested, fortress-like prison, including activists Angela Davis, Afeni Shakur, and Andrea Dworkin.
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June 12, 2023
Author: Emily Herbein
William Toney, Graduate Assistant at Temple Contemporary and current MFA candidate in Tyler's Photography program recently curated his first exhibition, Message Received, which was on view until June 17th. The exhibition engages artists from Tyler as well as Temple at large in conversations surrounding the relationships between visual art and the written word. Toney speaks on his experience curating this exhibition, his role working in Temple Contemporary this year, and what he hopes to bring to the space in the upcoming months.Describe your role with Temple Contemporary? How does this position speak to your larger goals as an artist?
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June 8, 2023
Author: Emily Herbein
Artist, writer, and poet Barbara Chase-Riboud (BFA '57) spoke with Serpentine Galleries, which organized a recent exhibition of work that spanned seven decades of her career. Barbara Chase-Riboud: Infinite Folds, which was on view October 11, 2022- April 10, 2023, showcased her " innovation in sculptural technique, exploring memory, history and power through monumental sculptures and works on paper," Serpentine Galleries writes. "Her unique approach to sculpture and materiality involve "the interplay between folds of cast bronze or aluminum and coils of wool and silk which are knotted, braided, looped, and woven.""For me," Chase-Riboud says as she opens the interview, "sculpture was never a hobby. Sculpture was something integral to life."
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May 19, 2023
Author: Emily Herbein
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May 15, 2023
Author: Emily Herbein
Tyler alumnus John E. Dowell Jr. (BFA ‘63), Professor Emeritus of Printmaking, was honored at the TILT Institute for the Contemporary Image's annual fundraiser, InVISION, on May 4, the proceeds of which support TILT’s programming and events, educational programs, exhibitions, and artist residencies. Dowell was recognized for his six decades-long career in fine art, painting, photography, and printmaking — works that he has shown in more than 50 solo exhibitions and that reside in the permanent collections of 70 museums.
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