Graduating

Shwanda Corbett

graduates this week from

the

Studio Arts at R.I.T.

We have a very diverse range of students here in the School of Art, at R.I.T. and this coming week we have graduating ceremonies for many students who we have come to know and work with, and today one of our own students has been featured on the front page of the local paper: The Democrat & Chronicle.  You can find a link here to look at the piece written by James Goodman.  There is also a short video clip of Shwanda working in her studio, take a look and learn..

Here is the link: 

-        http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2016/05/12/rit-artist-shwanda-corbett-oxford/83869656/

Time for Critique

Final Reviews in A172

School of Art

at Rochester Institute of Technology

May 6, 2016

There was a whole table with food and a whole bunch of people gathered together for the final reviews of the Spring 2016 semester.  What made this gathering unusual was that we had a guest critic visiting on Friday who is an art critic for The New York Times,  and that was Martha Schwendener.  She is regularly in and out of the galleries and museums in the New York City area so she knows her way around the contemporary art scene, and has been writing reviews since the early 1990's.

The group split up into cells, that is a few students and a few guest faculty members to lead the reviews, and we went off into the warren of studios to see the art work and to talk with the student artists.  For many of the visiting faculty - this art was new to them, so they were seeing it with fresh eyes.  A lot of good discussion comes from this, and it isn't limited only to the grad students or upper level undergrads - but all students who have space in A172, or have their work up on the walls to see.

Show and Tell

Each student had a segment of time to explain what they have been doing, and explore the artistic territory with the advisors who came in to see what was happening.  Suggestions were made about the relative value of the artwork on display.  Names of artists to follow were mentioned, and everyone had a chance to have their say.

For the shy artists  in the group, they get over their fears by talking in a conversational way with their advisors.  For the more demonstrative artists, they were able to show their stuff and see how it played to the crowd.. there is always a lot to learn about the studio visit.

Martha Schwendender

guest art critic

checks

her phone

Martha Schwendender, Visiting Critic

Visiting Art Critic

Martha Schwendender

of the 

New York Times

at R.I.T. this week

Martha Schwendender visited Rochester Institute of Technology on Thursday to give a public talk, which she announced was her "boilerplate" introduction to her work as an art critic for the paper of record, "The New York Times".  At R.I.T. in the past I have invited a variety of art critics to come and visit including Barry Schwabsky from The Nation, Jed Perl who now writes for The New York Review of Books,  Bill Zimmer and Michael Kimmelman who also are associated with The New York Times,

this was over the span of about ten years. 

Martha has also written art reviews for The New Yorker, and Artforum and The Brooklyn Rail among others and she recently received her Ph.D in Art History from the City University of New York, so she knows her way around the art world.  One of her specialties is photography and she has been writing reviews of shows since the early 1990's.

Jasper Johns "The Art Critic"

Early in her talk at R.I.T., Martha offered some highlights of the art critic's life as seen in the creative works of visual artists ( and there is so much to choose from ).  The little sculpture by Jasper Johns features a pair of glasses with two mouths where the eyes should be- and it is a witty clue to his feelings for the art critic.  Being an art critic and getting paid for this work in the digital age is becoming rare indeed, but Martha seems to be doing alright, and I read her work regularly in the paper and am thankful she gets around to seeing as much as she does ( and writes the reviews ).

Painting by Elena Sisto

from her recent show reviewed by Martha Schwendener

in 

The New York Times

What I learned from this talk was that Martha was also engaged by the Occupy movement in New York City and also what that movement came to stand for within the cultural institutions such as The Museum of Modern Art.  Martha talked about shows that have also made a big impression on her and she brought along a selection of images from shows she has recently reviewed.  All in all a very worthwhile talk, and a way to catch up on current events and trends in the Big Apple..

Cover of the new May-June 2016

ACS Magazine

Our students were all asked to work up a press release which I sent out to editors and this week our grad student Lingfei Zhao was accepted for publication in the magazine above, edited by Renee LaVerne Rose who works out of Chicago.  Her magazine is a wonderful publication that has a worldwide view of the art world.  Artists are given feature length spreads in this online publication.

Artists like Lingfei Zhao then have their work out for people to see who may want to view the magazine on their tablet or smartphone.

Lingfei's artwork in the majority is figurative, and he also documents his interior life, or the life of the imagination, in very intriguing ways.  In the magazine he has a dialog that is printed out in English and Chinese, and this greatly increases his audience.

Opening page from ACS Magazine

article on the art of Lingfei Zhao

a student at Rochester Institute of Technology

Hopefully you will go online and subscribe to ACS Magazine, because it is a terrific publication, and it is sent to you for free, online.  This kind of e-magazine has become very popular, and a great way of having your artwork viewed by a potential and very large audience.

Congratulations to Lingfei Zhao, and now it is your turn to go out and let people know about the art you create, and the story you want to tell.