Tyler Blog

September 24, 2023

Tyler Professors Exhibit at 2023 Design Philadelphia Festival

Author: Wanda Motley Odom

At first blush, the art of jewelry making and the design of architecture might not seem to have much in common. But for two Tyler faculty — Doug Bucci, Assistant Professor and Program Head of Metals/Jewelry/CAD-CAM, and Andrew John Wit, Associate Professor of Architecture and Graduate Curricular Head — the synergies are readily apparent. Read More

September 12, 2023

CARAS Grant Recipient Explores Architecture's Purpose

Author: Wanda Motley Odom

This is the first of four articles in a series about Tyler's Spring 2023 CARAS grant awardees. Architecture student Russell Berg (BS Historic Preservation ’24) had become a bit disillusioned with the field of architecture when he decided to use a CARAS grant to counter one he believes to be one of the unfortunate economics of constructing new buildings -- that is “everything looks the same.”  “A chief motivator was trying to understand for myself the ways in which people have understood architecture to be the shaping function of cities,” said Berg, one of four Tyler undergraduate students to be awarded research grants in spring 2023 through Temple University’s Creative Arts, Research and Scholarship program.  Read More

September 8, 2023

GAID Program Illustrates Issues of Climate Change

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.” Read More

August 24, 2023

Alumna Shows Pride through Philly's Chinese Lantern Festival

Author: Wanda Motley Odom

Journeying from China to Philadelphia to study at Temple nearly 10 years ago, Ellen Zhang, TYL ’17, now gets to showcase the pride she has in her heritage as arts and culture manager at the Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival. In that role she’s been able to make that dream a reality, helping curate the outdoors museum-like spectacle, and allow others to experience the culture she’s so incredibly passionate about. Read story by Matthew Michaels in Temple Alumni News.   Photo credit: Temple University Read More

August 21, 2023

Gemologist Emily Phillippy (BFA '12) Speaks on Ethics in Hidden City

Author: Wanda Motley Odom

Tyler alum Emily Phillippy (BFA '12) has distinguished her jewelry store, Emily Chelsea Jewelry in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood, for its ethical stance on using 100 percent recycled precious metals, Fairmined gold and diamonds, and colored stones that are either recycled or can be traced back to responsible sources. “If we don’t know where it comes from, we won’t work with it,” she says. Emily Chelsea Jewelry has also differentiated itself by supporting and advocating for the LGBTQ+ community. “The jewelry industry is burdened with age-old heteronormative traditions, expectations, and downright judgment,” said Phillippy. “We’ve created a space where everyone is welcome.” Read more    Read More

July 19, 2023

Art History Grad Students Curate Print Exhibition at Berman Museum

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. Read More

Jessica Braum Danielle Cooke and Brittany Rubin laying out prints
July 18, 2023

Curating an upcoming exhibit at the Berman Museum at Ursinus

Author: Jane DeRose Evans

This past spring nine Art History graduate students and alumni co-curated a print exhibition for the Berman Museum at Ursinus College, whose Executive Director (Lauren McCardel) is a current doctoral student in our program and whose Collections Manager, Catherine Sirizzotti, is one of our MA alumni. The students acting as co-curators are: Jessica Braum (PhD student), Danielle Cooke (MA alum 23), Natalie Cruz (MA alum 23), Emma Holter (PhD student), Rachael Reynolds (PhD student), Samantha Rhodes (PhD student), Brittany Rubin (PhD student), Alexandra Schoolman (PhD student), and Jessica Sternbach (PhD candidate). Read More

July 11, 2023

Tyler Alum Tim McFarlane (BFA '94) Aims for the Monumental in His Work

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. “I like the freedom of working at a large scale. More things out of your control and you are forced to work in different way. The work is very intuitive. I don’t usually plan much in the studio; I don’t sketch or draw before starting a painting,” said McFarlane, who in June was a visiting artist at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art for its low-residency MFA program. He had a day of critiques with the graduate students and and later, gave a talk sharing how his own work has changed over the last five to six years. Read More

June 22, 2023

Henry Morales (BFA '21) on Personal Trajectories and Finding Purpose Through Art

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. Talk about your time at Tyler — you're a very recent grad and now you work here. How did that happen?  Read More

June 22, 2023

Printmaking Graduate Exhibition on Display at Partners and Son

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.” Read More

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