Tyler Blog

Joe Kopta with students, standing with materials
December 18, 2024

Byzantine Art History Class Launches Virtual Exhibition

Author: Jane DeRose Evans

Students in Tyler Assistant Professor Joseph Kopta's art history class on the art of the Byzantine Empire have launched a virtual exhibition, Fragments of Byzantium. The collaborative project features works of art from the Eastern Roman Empire (ca. 300—1453 CE), which students studied in person at local collections in Philadelphia and New York. The class collaboratively chose the objects for the exhibition, individually researched them, grouped them together into galleries, and designed the virtual exhibition. Contributors include Miranda Aebersold-Burke, Ethan Bisselberg, Jay DaCruz, Virginia Edwards, Casper McNew, Maggie Miller, Evan Morgans, Winton Petty, Teni Real, and Jericho Steele. Read More

December 12, 2024

Students Bring the Garden into the Art and Science of Photography

Author: Wanda Motley Odom

Tucked away at the base of the plate-glass facade in the Tyler Atrium, a series of photographic images were ever so slowly coming into view.The eclectic collection of anthotypes, chlorophyll prints and phytograms was a project in Adjunct Professor Laurie Beck Peterson’s plant-based photography class this fall, and they relied on the fickle nature yet ubiquitous presence of natural light to appear.“The purpose of teaching these techniques is to promote sustainability and reduce the environmental impact of hazardous photography chemical waste,” Petersen explained during the fall semester. “Students learn skills that align with current trends in sustainability, which they can then incorporate in their artwork.” Read More

November 11, 2024

From Architecture to Public Art: An Alum's Journey to Philly’s Public Art Director

Author: Wanda Motley Odom

Tyler alum Marguerite Anglin's (BSArch '01) path from architecture student to the Public Art Director at Creative Philadelphia, the city’s office for arts and culture, showcases the power of interdisciplinary thinking and the lasting impact of the strong educational foundation that Tyler provides.    Anglin's journey into architecture wasn't a straightforward one. Initially interested in fashion design, she was steered toward more technical fields by her parents. At a summer camp for business and engineering, a counselor introduced Anglin to architecture – a discipline that balanced her creative and analytical sides perfectly.  Diving into Architecture at Tyler At Tyler, Anglin immersed herself in the architecture program.  Read More

October 18, 2024

On the Block: 5 Questions for Byron Wolfe

Author: Wanda Motley Odom

Professor Byron Wolfe is an accomplished photographer whose work is widely published and exhibited, a Guggenheim Fellow, and the current chair of the Art Department at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture.He is passionate about collaborative research projects that investigate topics that span the visual arts, humanities and natural sciences, and uses photography and other visualization tools to tell stories that reflect upon broader notions of culture and the constructions of landscape, perception and time. Read More

October 11, 2024

Remembering Gerda Panofsky-Soergel

Author: Wanda Motley Odom

Tyler Professor Emerita Gerda Panofsky-Soergel was a pixie of a woman with a prodigious intellect that earned her widespread recognition as one of the 20th century scholars who helped define the study of Italian art of the 15th to 17th centuries.Beloved by her students and colleagues alike, she was slight and wiry, with a soft voice—all of which belied her muscled, driven, and courageous scholarship in art history. Her students remember her as dedicated, humble, energetic, and robust of spirit. Panofsky-Soergel, Professor Emerita in the Art History Department, passed away in September at the age of 95.    Read More

October 3, 2024

Professor's Exhibition Critiques Health Care System Through Real Illness

Author: Wanda Motley Odom

Tyler Professor Pepón Osorio has been celebrated worldwide for his provocative and immersive large-scale, multimedia installations that explore complex, systemic problems in American life through the lived experience of others. But his current exhibition Convalescence, now on view in the heart of Thomas Jefferson University’s medical center, is the first time he has used his personal story – of cancer diagnosis and treatment – to shine a light on inherent health and health care inequities in the United States. Read More

September 16, 2024

Tyler Faculty Co-Teach Course on São Paulo’s Art and Architecture  

Author: Alina Ladyzhensky

In the Fall 2024 semester, Tyler faculty members Mariola Alvarez and Pablo Meninato are co-teaching a seminar that explores artistic and architectural developments that have taken place in the largest city in Latin America – São Paulo, Brazil – from the early 20th century through the present day.      Read More

Rachel Hsu poses with her installation, The Weight of Our Living
September 13, 2024

Immersive Installation by Rachel Hsu (MFA ‘21) Wins Public Art Competition

Author: Alina Ladyzhensky

Philadelphia artist and Tyler Sculpture alum Rachel Hsu (MFA '21) has been selected to install a temporary public art installation in Maja Park along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. The interactive artwork, titled The Weight of Our Living, is currently on view through October 2024. Hsu's installation features a six-foot circle of river stones embedded in a concrete base, surrounded by plantings. Visitors are invited to walk barefoot over the stones, and a small, curved bench nearby offers a space for observation and reflection.   Read More

September 12, 2024

Design & Illustration Department Launches New Speaker Series

Author: Wanda Motley Odom

Tyler’s Design & Illustration Department kicks off the 2024-2025 academic year with not only a new name and new, planned BFA degree offerings, but also the launch of the Design & Illustration Speaker Series featuring designers, illustrators and other makers who are shaping their creative fields. “We hope these speakers will open students’ minds to the many paths their practice can take after they graduate,” said Assistant Professor of Instruction Nathan Young, organizer of the series.  Read More