Catalyst FALL 2013
art + design in our community and beyond ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN
art + design in our community and beyond ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN President’s Message 1
On Campus Academic Update 2 ACADSA Show + Sale 2 Nurturing the Creative Entrepreneur – Centre for Creativity + Entrepreneurship 3 White Walls, Infinite Possibilities – Illingworth Kerr Gallery 4 The Art of Learning – Extended Studies 5
Telling ACAD’s Stories SCHOOL OF CRAFT + EMERGING MEDIA Code + Clay– Katrina Chaytor 6 Andy Nichols Photography EDITORIAL PHOTOGRAPHY Ground Control to Major Tom – Catherine Larose 8 Computer Canvases – Paul Robert 10 Brieanne Biblow Alex Middleton Shifting Gears – Natalie Lauchlan 12 Kara Tersen WRITING SCHOOL OF CRITICAL + CREATIVE STUDIES Natalie Sit Zombies, Dinosaurs, Ghosts, Oh My! – Alex Link 14 EDITING A Wicked Problem – John Calvelli 16 GOOD Company Wordplay – Derek Beaulieu 18 DESIGN Molding Theory – Nicole Burisch 20 McAra Printing PRINTING ACAD at a Glance 22 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN Telling ACAD’s Stories (continued) 1407 - 14 AVE NW CALGARY, ALBERTA CANADA SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION DESIGN T2N 4R3 403.284.6238 WWW.ACAD.CA An Unexpected Journey – Wayne Traudt 28 Back to Basics – Ray Ferraro 30 Make Art for your Friends – Geoff McFetridge 32 A Student of the Medium – Tim Okamura 34 SCHOOL OF VISUAL ART 36 COVER PHOTO: Susan Turcot. Hide and A Life Aquatic – Laurel Johannesson Seek (2012). Charcoal on paper, each 39 Finding Home – Marty Kaufman 38 x 53 cm. Courtesy the artist and Illingworth Kerr Gallery. Critic’s Choice – Don Kottmann 40 Presented as part of the exhibition Susan From Pencil to Lens – Yuqi Kang 42 Turcot, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, September 26 to October 26, 2013. Nurturing Art, Growing Creativity 2012 ACAD Donor Feature: Roxanne McCaig 44
ACAD Awards + Accomplishments 46
Warm Welcomes + Fond Farewells Board of Governors 48
Our Partnerships 49
2 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN Photo: Dr. Daniel Doz, President + CEO at the Leighton Art Centre
President’s Message
Welcome to our eighth annual stories demonstrate how our faculty and staff are living the Catalyst: Report to Community. College’s new vision for an exceptional and leading art, craft and design education in Alberta. This issue explores the many facets of “making”, from hand artistry to digital media arts and 3-D printing. We examine I am certain you will be, as we are, inspired by their the impact ACAD has on changing perceptions that art, craft enthusiasm and passion for their craft and that you will and design are contributing to the cultural prosperity of our take pride in the contribution that our own community is province. These stories help to show how we are enriching the making to the economic, social and cultural prosperity of creative and entrepreneurial discourse of Alberta. our province and the world.
The Alberta College of Art + Design is one of only four As a life in the fields of arts, craft and design is always art and design colleges in Canada and the only college changing, demanding and rewarding, I invite you to explore in Alberta with a provincial mandate to provide art and and enjoy this exciting issue of Catalyst. design education. The stories on the pages that follow exemplify how ACAD alumni and students are actively engaged in their communities applying their skills, talent, creativity and knowledge to advance innovation and make Dr. Daniel Doz our communities richer and more livable. Furthermore, the President + CEO
Catalyst 1 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN On Campus
ACADEMIC UPDATE
After an extensive consultation process on the alignment • Dr. Benedict Fullalove as Chair of the School of Critical of ACAD’s academic structure with our new Strategic Plan, and Creative Studies (Liberal Studies) the College implemented a new academic administrative • Richard Brown as the Chair of the School of Visual Arts framework in January of this past year. In addition to the (Drawing, Painting, Photography, Print Media, Sculpture). implementation of a new Research Committee and Ethics Board, four new “Schools” were established and ACAD These four individuals embody the passion and commitment appointed four new Chairs. that ACAD has towards providing the best possible educational experience to our student body. The new • Kurtis Lesick as Chair of the School of Craft and academic structure will support the evolution and growth of Emerging Media (Ceramics, Fibre, Glass, Jewellery new programming at ACAD. + Metals, and Media + Digital Arts) As the College moves forward with our 10-year strategic • Alison Miyauchi as Chair of the School of Design plan, we have continued our journey to secure an MFA in Communication (Visual Communication and Craft Media and are excited to announce that ACAD’s final Design and Illustration) submission has been made and is being reviewed. When approved, The College looks forward to opening student intake in January of 2015.
ACADSA SHOW + SALE
Show + Sale is an annual public retail support with people coming from near time when they need both recognition event showcasing the work of Alberta and far to attend. Patrons of the sale and financial supplement. College of Art + Design (ACAD) come for the art and return for the The Show + Sale art market is students. The Alberta College of unique experience. Over 200 students both affordable and sustainable Art + Design Students’ Association participate in Show + Sale and each and encourages commerce and (ACADSA) presents work from each contributes as a host to the three-day entrepreneurial spirit among students. of the college departments. Painting, weekend event. On a given day there ACADSA nurtures each student’s drawing, printmaking, photography, is potential to directly engage with a entrepreneurial spirit by providing glass, ceramic, fibre and jewellery are range of participating artists. workshops to students on marketing, among the showcased mediums. With Show + Sale is a great example of the communications and commercial art thousands of works on display patrons resources available to ACAD students. practices. These tools provide real are certain to find something that suits Patrons experience diverse cultural life experience to students leading their style. content, creativity and material to exposure, networking and press The presentation of Show + Sale expertise. All sales proceeds are collected opportunities. encourages community building and and distributed in direct support of the ACADSA plans to grow Show + Sale engages with a broad audience of student body. This fund supports the by enhancing our online presence and cultural advocates. The sale garners arts education of ACAD students at a extending our sales platform to operate a great deal of local and regional time in the early stages of their career, a year round.
2 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN NURTURING THE CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR
We have listened to our students, our alumni, our donors and the community and we’ve learned that in every artist, there is an entrepreneurial spirit waiting to be discovered, uncovered and recovered – an inherent talent that needs to be nurtured and developed. We heard that what we do, teach and learn here at ACAD is one of the most important commodities of the new knowledge economy. We grow the artistic and creative process and teach capacity to think laterally and to innovate.
Centre for Creativity + + for Creativity Centre This fall, the College will leverage this inherent capacity and Calgary will become home to the Centre of Entrepreneurship (CCE) Entrepreneurship Excellence in Creativity and Entrepreneurship. Our mission is to empower creatives and redefine the role of art in our society and economy. While maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the creative process, we will equip our students and alumni with the skills and tools to reach their full potential.
Our focus centers on the following four pillars:
A RESOURCE CENTRE COMMUNITY AN A WORLDWIDE ENGAGEMENT ENTREPRENEURIAL VIRTUAL CENTRE CULTURE To provide resources to To engage our community To be recognized for To develop worldwide assist ACAD students and and bring together the arts our entrepreneurial culture presence and virtual alumni in achieving their and commerce and as a source resources for creatives full potential of creative capital and industry
Catalyst 3 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN Zachari Logan: Fugitive Garden. llingworth Kerr Gallery, September 26 to October 26, 2013.
WHITE WALLS, INFINITE POSSIBILITIES
The Illingworth Kerr Gallery (IKG) is one of the brightest goal is to develop the IKG as key to the expanded creative cultural jewels in Alberta with hundreds of works of art, campus in which every student and member of the public an ambitious program of exhibitions and events, and a can integrate some aspect of the creative arts into his or well-deserved reputation as one of our province’s foremost her course of study or profession. Cultural prosperity must teaching and learning spaces for the examination, production be woven into the fabric of society. It is not an isolated and communication of art and design. The IKG shares experience, it is integrated in every occupation, reflecting
Illingworth Kerr Gallery Kerr Illingworth a deep commitment to preserving and presenting visual the shared belief that competence in scientific and ethical culture in a way that generates not only new knowledge but reasoning must go hand in hand with the creative arts to also new forms of thought. Working in tandem with ACAD make for more effective citizens. Faculty, students, staff, visiting scholars, artists and designers, An interdisciplinary and wider community-based program and the general public, the IKG offers a vigorous program to has been building at the IKG and we look forward to the multiple communities. With the emergence of ACAD’s first appointment of our first curatorial associate for academic MFA, in Craft Media, the IKG becomes not only a main programs, whose task will be to build new bridges between point of convergence and exchange for cultural stakeholders our constituents and contribute to an international discourse but also an essential outlet for advancing graduate level critique. on making. By making the IKG program and emerging Over the last seven years the IKG has found that the most curators better known (and more widely employed after effective means of being not only viable but impactful is graduation), the IKG can better support our Faculty who can to situate the IKG squarely within a larger commitment help make studio-based research, teaching and scholarship to making the arts more important to all Albertans. Our the hallmark of ACAD.
4 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN THE ART OF LEARNING
Research has shown art and other subjects of study to be interrelated. Arts education enhances learning in other curriculum, and activities in programs of study extend learning in art. Exposing students to multiple perspectives through the use of art helps them to become more effective problem solvers. The heightened level of perception and appreciation fueled by the creative arts is something that all citizens should aspire to. So, why not cultivate this appreciation for the arts in the earliest stages of our children’s education?
This year, ACAD’s Extended Studies department pioneered the creation of the Art Educator’s Institute. This program is tailored to educational professionals of all backgrounds who are working with art and design concepts and skills for K-12 students. The Art Institute is a collegial environment that acts as a catalyst
Extended Studies: Art Educator’s Institute Educator’s Art Studies: Extended for idea exchange, skill building, experimentation and growth. It provides an inspiring start to the academic year, creative immersion and great network building opportunities.
The four-day program spans 24 hours of sessions and workshops facilitated by multi-disciplinary experts from ACAD’s Faculty. The Art Educator’s Institute explores numerous topics including: aboriginal art, design, ceramics, jewelry making, painting, printmaking, photography, poetry, drawing and animation.
Catalyst 5 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN SCHOOL OF CRAFT + EMERGING MEDIA
Katrina Chaytor
Code + Clay “Pots have an intimate connection to daily life; a collaboration between maker and user,” says Chaytor. “I have long been Ceramics have the ability to tell interested in the tradition and plurality of decoration, in so many stories of culture. cultures and histories, as diverse visual languages that reveal social values, customs and cultural structures.” Growing up in Newfoundland, it was Katrina Chaytor’s beloved grandmother who inspired her love of craft. A Currently, she is working on ceramics pieces which highlight full-time maker of quilts and hand-hooked rugs, Chaytor’s the time and culture of their production. Her most recent grandmother nurtured her creativity and respect for crafted ceramics series records the iconography of our digital objects that combined beauty and utility. At age 12 she language onto the surfaces of her pots, incorporating toured Memorial University in St. John’s. Chaytor came computer icons from Mac and Windows operating systems upon the ceramics studio and saw a potter throwing a into repeating patterns and motifs. large vase on the wheel, and as they say, the rest is history. She pursued her undergraduate studies in Ceramics at “These common symbols of hash signs, @ and cursors we the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, followed by a type on our devices, from phones to computers, that deeply MFA degree at the New York State College of Ceramics at permeate both our ‘domestic’ and ‘public’ lives in our culture Alfred University. As of 2001, Chaytor has been a full-time of digital and social media, are fitting to give my decoration faculty member in Ceramics at ACAD, teaching all levels of a currency as a cultural carrier of meaning,” says Chaytor. curriculum for first year to fourth-year students. However, Chaytor’s work with ceramics reaches beyond She has always been fascinated by the concept of utility and a kiln. Her interest in joining traditional forms and decoration as a mediator between art and life, use and beauty. technology now encompasses 3D technology. A sabbatical
6 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN Top left: Flower Brick, 3D Print, ABS Plastic, 2012. Top right: Flower Jardinière with Audio Wave Pattern. Bottom right: Flower Jardinière with Basket Weave and Mac Command Icon & Circuitry Pattern. Bottom: Flower Holder with Mac Command Key & Circuitry. Below: Full Cup, 3D Print, ABS Plastic, 2012. last fall allowed Chaytor to research the use of 3D rapid prototyping technology for ceramics. Spending six weeks at Red Deer College working in the Centre for Innovation in Manufacturing, she unwrapped the potential of Rhino software, the printing process and 3D object design. Her resulting objects—more complex than what she could produce with clay—were generated from her decorative motifs such as binary patterns and wi-fi waves.
In May, Chaytor had the opportunity to work with a clay 3D printer during her residency at the Medalta Potteries Historic Clay District in Medicine Hat. Chaytor’s research with 3D printing is motivated by the fact it that it is no longer an emerging technology but one that is here and now.
A champion for continuing to push boundaries at ACAD, she is a driving force for object design curriculum at ACAD. Chaytor encourages students to use 3D printing during their studies augmenting the traditional skills and modes of making within Craft contexts that still remain critical and essential.
Catalyst 7 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN SCHOOL OF CRAFT + EMERGING MEDIA
Catherine Larose
Ground Control to Major Tom Collaboration is collision. Like particles colliding to create a new element, people coming together inspires new ideas.
Creating art specifically for low-gravity took a backseat when she and her that piqued Larose’s attention. When environments is not a major (yet) at husband traveled to France. she found out that Cosmic Dancer was ACAD. But what Catherine Larose the first three-dimensional artwork “We moved to Strasbourg, [France] learned at her time at ACAD allows to be specifically conceived for and so my husband could pursue his her to combine space technology and officially realized in a space habitat, she masters in Space Management at artistry in a fulfilling career. was hooked. the International Space University,” Larose intended to pursue a graphics says Larose. “While he was studying “I had never thought of space design degree but eventually settled they allowed me to audit some of technology as a medium to work in, I in the Jewellery + Metal department. their classes and that’s how I was first mean, who would really?” says Larose. Since graduating, Larose noticed that introduced to the fascinating world of “But, everything changed as soon as bringing people together is one of her space art.” I was introduced to what was already biggest passions. While she always being done, and the possibilities of Specifically, it was a lecture given loved the concept and practice of what could be done.” by Arthur Woods, the creator of the being able to make something out of worlds first ‘space sculpture,’ Cosmic Once she returned to Calgary, she nothing, her metalsmithing practice Dancer (pictured above with Larose), realized that rather than focus on one
8 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN Opposite: “Cosmic Dancer” – sculpture flown aboard MIR Space Station in 1993. Aluminum, paint. Arthur Woods. Right: “ISU Graduation Ring” – official graduation ring for ISU. Sterling silver, enamel, space flown aluminum. Catherine Larose. Bottom left: “Superstrings” – Reversible pendants. Fine silver, vitreous enamel. Catherine Larose. Bottom right: “Ass-teroid” – steel, aluminum, copper, mixed media. Jeff de Boer, 2005. Endeavor Art Gallery.
of her passions, she wanted to bring Larose may have the title of Director them together. Larose is the Art and at the CSS, she likes to think of all Culture Director for the Canadian the work she does fitting under the Space Society (CSS), which is a non- title of Art Director. Realizing she was profit charity. Recently, she helped happiest when she was combining all launch the program with an exhibition her passions rather than focusing on at Endeavor Arts Gallery in Inglewood singling them out, it all clicked. titled Revolutions: The Inexorable “The impact that the CSS has on Evolution of Art. the community is pretty clear: they “Understanding and communicating foster innovation and creative problem ‘space’ is a difficult task, but when solving” says Larose. “When people are you throw an artist in the mix, it all inspired to create, they then begin to changes.” says Larose. “For example, innovate and start to find new, creative Brian Versteg can render a space ways to solve complex problems. of space art assembled to date. It is habitat that explains in a picture how Unless you want things to stay the now being packed up and will travel to they’re planning to bring people to same, we need to constantly encourage Ottawa for the Canadian Space Summit. Mars and what the colony will look people to work together. That’s when As for Larose, she also devotes her time like. They say that a picture is worth a new ground is broken.” to Make Fashion—a Calgary initiative thousand words, but when it comes to that explores and demonstrates the Revolutions: The Inexorable Evolution space technology it’s worth a billion.” convergence fashion and technology. of Art is currently the largest collection
Catalyst 9 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN SCHOOL OF CRAFT + EMERGING MEDIA
Paul Robert
Computer Canvases Everyone is familiar with artistic mediums like clay, granite and paint. In MADT, communications media is our medium.
Today, our global language speaks in pixels, web links, likes and retweets. However, the Media Arts + Digital Technologies (MADT) program at ACAD is working to teach students to find the aesthetic potential of communications media with artistic mediums. Sitting at the forefront of that work is MADT faculty member, Paul Robert.
Robert moved back to Calgary after finishing his master’s degree at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Having spent two years taking classes at ACAD, Who’s Asking? Ink, cardboard, hot glue. 2012. Robert already had a strong network of connections when he decided he wanted to pursue a position teaching at ACAD.
Robert has been teaching at ACAD for 7 years with his introduction to the position initially coming in the drawing department. However, having taught himself computer programming and web design shortly after finishing his Masters, his end goal was always to move into the MADT department.
10 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN Above, left: Tunnel’s Ghost Canson paper, PVA “Everyone is familiar with artistic mediums like clay, granite and paint,” says glue, glass, enlarged map of Tunnel Mountain. Robert. “In MADT, we use communications media as our medium.” Plans created using Inkscape and PHP to generate SVG files. 2009. As for his personal practice, Robert is interested in how our engagement with the
Above, right: RGB Cubes ree stacks of Red, digital culture influences how we see the analog world. Emerald, and Blue paper (24 lb), press-glued “Many of us who are a part of the digital generation see colours through the RGB on one side; 16 x 16 x 16 cm each. 2006. colour theory—numbers and percentages that make up a hue of red or a shade of green,” says Robert. “So I want to see how that can be translated to an analog medium like a painting.”
The importance of his personal practice and the connection or impact it has on his position as an instructor at the College is synonymous.
“It’s almost a requirement for the job,” says Robert. “Every single instructor here has an exciting and relevant personal practice. Of course there are moments when students are struggling with decisions and are discussing with each other on how to resolve them. Being a participant of that discussion rather than just a facilitator, is incredibly important.”
The importance of a program like MADT in our current cultural landscape can’t be understated. Understanding our technological society and pulling out meaning is essential.
“It’s important to take a fresh look at technology from the perspective of someone from either the greater past or imagined distant future,” says Robert. “Then we can start to think of how we’d be perceived and characterized in history. This kind of retrospective thinking is really important in a society where change is happening at a lightning pace.”
ACAD is one of the first institutions in Canada to champion the MADT program. There have already been many indicators with grassroots events like Maker Faire YYC and Beakerhead that imply that the program will find itself relevant and essential for many years to come.
Catalyst 11 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN SCHOOL OF CRAFT + EMERGING MEDIA
Natalie Lauchlan
Shifting Gears Five years ago, you wouldn’t have found Natalie Lauchlan preparing her application and portfolio for ACAD. You would have found the now 4th year Fibre student I don’t think you know moving towards becoming an automotive mechanic. what you want until “I was set on becoming an automotive mechanic,” says Lauchlan. “I was really good at you know what you it, I enjoyed welding and I was already working for my autoshop teacher part-time.” don’t want. At the time, Lauchlan didn’t recognize her proficiency for art, however, her boss had. He would find abstract sculpture pieces left on his desk that Lauchlan had created by welding together odds and ends left around the shop. He eventually took Lauchlan aside and asked her what her future plans were.
“I told him that I wanted to pursue an apprenticeship in welding,” she said. “He took me by complete surprise and told me that it wasn’t what I needed to be doing. He didn’t exactly say where I should go, but he told me to really think about it.”
A bug now planted in her brain, she found the answer to her question thanks to the advice of a complete stranger. She was in line for a water fountain at the Calgary International Organ Festival when an older man struck up a friendly conversation with her.
“He was really kind and asked me what I did with my time. Seeing as my world had just been shaken up I told him that I really didn’t know anymore,” says Lauchlan.
12 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN Above: “Supported by our past we exist and grow in the present”; birch, growth, time. 2013.
“He smiled and simply he told me courses to test the waters in multiple different mediums—a possibility very unique ‘what do you think about when you to ACAD. Among drawing, jewellery, ceramics and others, Lauchlan took a Fibre aren’t thinking about anything? Because course. By the middle of her second month at ACAD, Lauchlan was diving head that’s what you should do.” first into her Fibre projects.
The answer to the stranger’s question to “I had Laura Vickerson as my first year Fibre course teacher. She was really patient Lauchlan was screen-printing. Having and unassuming about her own practice,” says Lauchlan. “She told us that we could experimented with the medium to look her up online if they were interested, but didn’t go on any further. Of course I make shirts and other gifts for birthdays looked her up and what I found was monumental. I found her work truly brilliant and Christmas, Lauchlan decided to and decided I had to draw everything out of her that I could.” take a silkscreening class at ACAD Lauchlan happens to be an ambassador for ACAD and works closely with the through the College’s Extended Studies Admissions Department to help recruit future students. program. “I’m so thankful for the past four years at ACAD, I really want other kids to have “I had such a misconstrued idea of what the chance to explore this avenue,” says Lauchlan. “The things I highlight to kids being an artist meant,” says Lauchlan. are the wealth of experience and knowledge that our Faculty have, the ability to try “I didn’t know how to draw that well all the facilities in the College to really find what you love and lastly, how inspiring and I certainly wasn’t technically it is to be surrounded by people who are always creating.” trained. But, as soon as I set foot in the Print Media studio everything clicked.” Lauchlan is considering continuing her education by pursuing a Masters. In the more immediate future, she’ll be traveling to Oslo in the spring to participate in a Enrolled in her first year, she was able festival called PlusPlus. to choose a wide variety of elective
Catalyst 13 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN SCHOOL OF CRITICAL + CREATIVE STUDIES
Alex Link
Zombies, Dinosaurs, Ghosts, Oh My! Some might not expect it, but Calgary has an incredibly big and active comic community.
If you ever wanted to study comic books and graphic novels, Link’s personal practice involves a diverse breadth of Alex Link is the ACAD instructor for you. Growing up in research, from early 20th century modern literature to his Dundas, ON but moving to Toronto where he lived for most recent work on Edgar Allan Poe. He has also done approximately 15 years to complete his post-secondary significant research on the history of comics and graphic education, Alex Link, who completed his doctoral thesis on novels. Delving into this history uncovered an interesting the histories of horror and gothic fiction, moved to Calgary revelation about why comics and graphic novels might be to pursue a position in ACAD’s Liberal Studies department. more apparent in today’s cultural zeitgeist. Not only does Link teach students about comic books, he creates them too.
“The National Association of Schools of Art and Design recognized that ACAD was strongly focused on having all elements of a student’s education speak to their studio practice,” says Link. “So using avenues like cartoons, graphic novels and comics is one of the great ways to teach contemporary English and have it relate to their studio practice as well.”
14 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN “I think the question is more ‘why haven’t comics always send me drafts of the drawings and we’d re-adjust things been this popular?’ and the answer to that is rooted in a deep accordingly as we went.” history of the genre,” says Link. “There was a generation Calgary as a hub for comic culture may be unexpected, that grew up with comics only to find that as they aged, however, the city has one of the largest comic convention the content didn’t grow with them. It wasn’t until the late events in the country and has a comic scene that is ‘80s that the industry rebelled against censored content and remarkably active. began to fill that void in the market.” Some of Link’s current research is looking to understand the Not content to just research comic books, Link is also a relationships between early Supergirl comics and mid-20th comic book writer. Fellow ACAD faculty member Riley century American feminism. Rossmo approached Link in 2012 to create their first graphic novel together. Rossmo, an instructor in ACAD’s Visual “It’s really interesting,” says Link. “Mainly because they’re both Communication Design program worked back and forth part of the same world and they’re addressing the same issues.” with Link to complete Rebel Blood. The dynamic duo of Link and Rossmo has teamed up again “It was a really enjoyable project. We worked quickly to create their second graphic novel entitled Drumheller. together for about six weeks,” says Link. “Riley told me how The comic is being released by Imagine Comics November 6 he envision the comic starting and ending and I just took it and promises to deliver dry humour, werewolves, ghosts and from there. I would send him drafts of the script, he would a couple zombies for good measure.
Opposite page: Rebel Blood, Pg. 14. Issue 1. 2012. Imagine Comics; Top: Drumhellar, Promotional. 2013. is page: Drumhellar, Promotional. 2013 and Drumhellar, Pg. 17. Issue 1. 2013. Imagine Comics.
Catalyst 15 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN SCHOOL OF CRITICAL + CREATIVE STUDIES
John Calvelli
A Wicked Problem Having been introduced to the world Calvelli completed a Masters of of photography at a young age, his Fine Art in Visual Communication Our focus needs to father, a family physician, had an at California Instiute of the Arts in be on designing cities X-ray machine in their home along 1989 and went on to a prominent for the future not of with a dark room. It was natural that career working with the Museum the future. Calvelli pursued a BFA in Photography of Contemporary Art in Chicago, from the San Francisco Art Institute. Scholastic, Inc. in New York and A “wicked problem” is a term originally However, his time spent taking KPMG consulting in San Francisco. used in social planning to describe photographs in the urban landscape He then moved to Calgary specifically an issue that is challenging to solve of New York, where he grew up, to work and teach at ACAD. because of contradictory and changing contributed to his love of architecture “Teaching for me was a way to begin requirements that are often difficult and design. to recognize. In the end, the effort to to find a solution for the wicked solve one aspect of a wicked problem “In a sense, photographing a city is problem that is sustainable design,” may reveal or create other problems. a design activity,” says Calvelli. “It says Calvelli. “Rather than attempt ACAD faculty member John Calvelli is functions as a way of informing us of to execute change as a practitioner, pursuing a wicked problem of his own: how we are in the city and what the city I thought teaching would allow me sustainable design. is to us on a phenomenological level.” to hopefully inform a larger group
16 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN of design students in how to create a sustainable career for themselves and sustainable design for the world.” The Painted Hills, within the John Day formation in central Oregon. Deposits beginning circa 35 million years ago.
Sustainability can be defined in many different ways. According to the becoming Mineral second law of thermodynamics— entropy never decreases—sustainability JOHN CALVELLI technically doesn’t even exist. But nothing lasts forever, including us. So, A photograph of geology records the activities of the seemingly static, suggesting the direction a future might take based on remnants of a past. It was noted by Manuel De Landa that, as mammals, we are part of a prehis- Calvelli likes to focus on creating a tory of the mineralization of the world; our cities with their first rock walls expressing the making-mineral of model of design that creates cities for our species. Human biological time is a short intensity of force upon the earth; geological time an enduring and enveloping clause of planetary force majeure. the future. We are remnants of the mineral, to which we will return. The camera, whether iPhone or Hasselblad is a so- phisticated mineralization producing the illusion of an image, whether fixed by light on silver or platinum or by “There are cities that seem to be the placement of carbon or ink deposited on paper or pixels on screen. The time it takes to capture an image, pointed in the direction of creating say of an ancient city onto a sensor, is but an infitesimal moment within the time it took for the concatenation of forces to produce the human and earthly conditions of its possibility. The ancient city loses its mass to be- something of the future and not come a perspective, an ephemeral transparency. tailored to the needs of a community,” There is a dignity and pathos in this modest encounter. Face-to-face with the scene we are to capture, we are says Calvelli. “We see a lot of emphasis instead captured, enraptured by the time on display of our seemingly infinite other. We are but a slice and rem- to create ‘spectacles’ of a city.” nant of this time. Of our photograph it can be said that it is a remnant of a remnant, a partial mineralization of what we will become. Calvelli remarks that the central issue is to design in a way that helps us as a species last longer on Earth. For time students graduated, understanding says Calvelli. “However, being in example, the Massive Change exhibit the design of a city was natural. Switzerland, surrounded by a selection by Bruce Mau at the Vancouver Art of the world’s foremost philosophers Calvelli continues to work on solving his Gallery featured the innovative work and theoreticians is stimulating. It also wicked problem and has been pursuing of the mayor of Curitiba, Brazil. The makes for some of the most fascinating a PhD through the European Graduate mayor was able to change Curitiba’s bar conversations I’ve ever heard.” School in Switzerland since 2012. education system so a student was asked in every year of their schooling to “The design theory field is relatively design a city or aspects of a city. By the new, having only started in the ’70s,”
Catalyst 17 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN SCHOOL OF CRITICAL + CREATIVE STUDIES
Derek Beaulieu
Wordplay Throughout the year, Beaulieu teaches courses in Creative Writing, Contemporary Literature in Alberta in the 21st Poets shouldn’t be thought of as the Century and Contemporary Literature in the Community. boring people at a party anymore. Students registered in his winter semester Creative Writing class are already itching for the change of season for a Art. Three letters, one word. unique reason. Words have an incredibly strong hold on us. As a child, it’s “All throughout ACAD, in every department apart from the stories we’re recited before bed. As a teenager, it’s the Liberal Studies, we create art using tools,” says Beaulieu. notes that are stuffed into lockers over the lunch break. “Be it a loom, a ceramic wheel or an animation platform. As adults, it’s the promises and commitments we make. I want writing in this class to switch up its toolbox a bit.” Derek Beaulieu, Alberta College of Art + Design instructor The tool that he is looking for comes in the form of a in the School of Critical + Creative Studies is working on manual portable typewriter. Beaulieu has already secured shining a completely different light on the art within words, four beautiful typewriters but is looking for approximately letters and type itself. As a poet, writer and publisher of 16 30 more so each student can use one. books, he has been imbuing his passion for the written word into the students at ACAD for three years. “They will be using them to create self portraits, to write sheet music and to write poetry,” says Beaulieu. “They will “My work comes from a place to make sure that poetry and have to walk around with it, type on it in cafes or at home. literary art is no longer seen as archaic and outdated,” he says. It’s going to be a truly immersive experience.
18 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN (Both) UNTITLED dry-transfer lettering on paper, 2013
Besides teaching students, ACAD also conducts research. Beaulieu argues that the basis of art is a conversation and research is an integral voice in that conversation.
“ACAD is truly a beehive of activity, work, inspiration, research, creativity and opportunity,” says Beaulieu. “We may be the ‘Alberta’ College of Art + Design, but that doesn’t limit us to our region of the country. Our work, our students and our faculty reflect the larger landscape of Canada and the world. In my opinion, all roads lead to ACAD.”
If you would be interested in donating a manual, portable typewriter to ACAD and help Derek achieve his goal of changing the way students look at literary art please contact him at [email protected].
Catalyst 19 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN SCHOOL OF CRITICAL + CREATIVE STUDIES
Photo: Anthea Black and Nicole Burisch, 2010
Nicole Burisch
Molding Theory Curator, artist, critic, researcher, public speaker—these are just a few of the adjectives that describe the work of Nicole Burisch. She holds a BFA in Ceramics from ACAD ACAD’s network of and an MA in Art History from Concordia University. Burisch currently works as people continues to be an Administrative Coordinator at Montréal’s Skol Centre—an artist-run centre that an important source of supports emerging art and experimentation in the visual arts. The ACAD graduate support and influence. was recently one of two recipients of ACAD’s TD Insurance Meloche Monnex Professional Development Grant. The grant assists with costs associated with establishing oneself professionally in an arts, design and culture career in Canada.
“As an independent researcher, this grant represents an important form of support in allowing me to travel and present my work,” says Burisch. “Sharing my work publicly, meeting with other arts professionals and receiving feedback about my research are all essential parts of building my practice and keeping informed about developments in the field.”
Burisch’s recent work has focused on contemporary craft and craft theory, specifically, cross-disciplinary uses of craft-based media and their intersections with historical craft, feminism, performance art, and curatorial approaches. However, what secured her the grant was her presentation of her paper, Performing Austerity: durational performance, craft, and economic crisis, at the University Arts Association Conference on the panel “Becoming-Image: Contemporary Performance and Its Formalization.”
Observing the global economic crisis within the last five years, Burisch, along with fellow ACAD alumna Anthea Black, have delved into understanding a recent trend in performance art to self-consciously perform “going without.”
20 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN Photo: Nicole Burisch, 2010
Opposite page: Anthea Black and Nicole Burisch, 2010; Left: Ccollaborative project with e Brick Factory. Right: residency at Artexte
Photo: e Brick Factory, 2012
“We argue that the year-long durational performance model has been appropriated as a lifestyle choice taken in response to an economic climate obsessed with austerity,” says Burisch. “The projects discussed include No Impact Man, the 100-mile diet, Andrea Zittel’s Six Months Uniforms, Rebecca Burgess’ Fibershed Project and Natalie Purschwitz’s MakeShift.”
Burisch’s path to researching and writing craft theory was strongly informed by her time spent in ACAD’s ceramics studios. She was always interested in using ceramics in unconventional ways: dissolving unfired cups and using raw clay slip as a material for graffiti and installation.
“My time in the Ceramics program was a major influence on where my current research and practice have ended up,” says Burisch. “It was also during that time that I became interested in craft writing and theory. I was very much encouraged and supported by my instructors at ACAD—especially Mireille Perron and Amy Gogarty.”
Now living full time in Montréal, Burisch appreciates the opportunity she had at ACAD to meet many people.
“I think the most important things were the connections I made with other artists and cultural workers, both fellow students and faculty,” says Burisch. “This network of people has continued to be an important source of support and influence.”
Catalyst 21 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN
Schools + Program Areas
SCHOOL PROGRAM
School of Critical Liberal and Creative Studies Studies
School of Illustration Communication Design Communication Design
Sculpture Drawing School of Visual Arts Photography Painting Print Media
Ceramics Fibre Glass School of Craft Jewellery + Metals and Emerging Media Media Arts + Digital Technologies
Average Studio Size 15 STUDENTS
186 took extended studies classes for credit STUDENTS Students in 2013 Total students SCHOOL PROGRAM 1,154
23.7 YEARS 28% male 72% 20 25 female average age
21.6 YEARS
20 25 median age
International 117 students
Top 5 Countries
full time CHINA KOREA U.S.A. 97 33 19 14 part time 20 VENEZUELA ECUADOR + KENYA 5 4 (TIED) Graduates of 2013 Total graduates 212 7,000 (all time) 63 By program area
33 25 18 15 15 13 12 8 4 6 BFA BFA BFA BFA BFA BFA BFA BFA BFA BDES BDES FIBRE GLASS VISUAL VISUAL DESIGN PAINTING + METALS + DIGITAL + DIGITAL DRAWING CERAMICS SCULPTURE JEWELLERY JEWELLERY MEDIA ARTS MEDIA ARTS PRINT MEDIA PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNOLOGIES
Tuition COMMUNICATIONS Canadian Citizens + Permanent Residents: $147.85 per credit International Students: $466.55 per credit
$230,000 Scholarships given out each year 55 Degrees CRAFT + EMERG. Awarded MEDIA Bachelor 94 of Design VISUAL 81 ARTS
Bachelor 63 of Fine Arts COMMUNICATION 131 DESIGN
Time to Complete
percentage of graduates number of graduates
63.7 4 yrs 135 or less 28.3 5 yrs 60 5.7 6 yrs 12
1.4 7 yrs 3
0.9 8 yrs 2
Installation view of Susan Turcot. Illingworth Kerr Gallery, September 26 to October 26, 2013. SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION DESIGN
Wayne Traudt
An Unexpected Journey I owe my work ethic, dedication and perfectionism to a very hard-to-please ACAD instructor.
Thanks to a particularly effects. However, his path to the well- Traudt. “It immediately grabbed me difficult teacher, ACAD Visual renowed digital effects studio wasn’t as because unlike graphic design, I wasn’t Communications alumni Wayne Traudt linear as some would think. limited to working in a 2D framework works on projects most VC students anymore. I now had lighting, When Traudt graduated, Calgary’s dream of. movement and sound to play with.” graphic design culture wasn’t as “He was nearly impossible to please,” fruitful as he hoped. He saw this as Traudt challenged himself to quickly Traudt said. “But I realized that an opportunity to do some traveling learn 3D animation and pursue separated the class into two types of before settling into a full-time position. contract positions with boutique students: the ones that just gave up and Upon returning to Calgary, he decided animation agencies. Over five years, the ones that kept pushing to do better.” to grow his technical skill-set and he worked at agencies in Toronto and expand into the world of animation. Vancouver building his resume and All that pushing led Traudt to his After an introductory course at honing his skills. Near the end of his current position at Weta Digital in Calgary’s Quickdraw Animation contract with an agency commissioned New Zealand. He’s a part of a team Society, Traudt found a new passion. to do work for Disney, he went to that makes films like The Hobbit, a cinema along with some other 68 Avatar, The Adventures of Tintin and “Looking back now, I guess you would million people and saw The Lord Man of Steel come to life through visual call it ‘Classical Animation’,” says
28 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN of The Rings: The Fellowship of The from the community,” says Traudt. forefront of the industry right now. It’s Ring. A quick Google search later “We would see people from all different not even necessarily your knowledge of and Traudt added Weta Digital to age ranges and backgrounds at events.” one specific coding platform, because his list of prospective employers. Five all the larger companies write their own The animation industry, like many years later, Traudt has worked as a code,” says Traudt. industries deeply tied to digital Technical Director in the departments software is constantly changing. But As for what’s next, Traudt is currently of concept art, layout, motion capture Traudt is able to adapt due to a skill working on finishing The Hobbit: The and currently works in the lighting he learned at ACAD—a skill that all Desolation of Smaug and is excitedly department. ACAD graduates possess. looking forward to working again Relocating to Wellington, New with filmmaker James Cameron on “My ability to think technically and Zealand for his new position took some the next Avatar. creatively solve problems.” says Traudt. acclimatizing, but Traudt was excited to “Honestly, when you boil it down, find a thriving arts community. my entire day consists of problem “My wife and I were shocked when solving. What’s most important now we attended our first few art events is someone’s ability to learn quickly. Top left and bottom: Avatar © 2009 because we saw such strong support In my field, learning to code is at the Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. Top right: Man of Steel © 2013 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Legendary Pictures Funding, LLC
Catalyst 29 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION DESIGN
Photo by: Robert Hamada
Ray Ferraro
Back to Basics “Permanency is a frightening thought York is that nothing is really truly for me,” says Ferraro, when asked permanent,” says Ferraro. “It’s an Everything I do about his decision to settle in New amazing place in a constant state of is rooted in the York. “I think many artists and creative change and reinterpretation.” fundamentals, having a types would agree. You have to always Perhaps this need to evolve drove be malleable and learn how to interpret basic trained aesthetic Ferraro into the fashion industry as the ever-evolving world around you eye and knowing how he admits that one of the things that through your work.” to tell a visual story challenges him as Reed Krakoff’s Art is the essence of art After leaving Calgary upon receiving Director is navigating the fluctuating direction at its core. his Bachelors of Design Degree from whims of an audience. ACAD in 2007, Ferraro took the “It’s sort of an alchemy of technical Permanency to many artists is well-trod path to The School of Visual skill sets, experience and strategy,” antithetical to growth. Being hemmed Arts in New York. From there he says Ferraro. “You need to be able in by boundaries, whether physical or has thrived, working for some of the to navigate between analyses and in an artist’s practice, generally doesn’t biggest names in fashion including Gap creativity to understand how to harness lend itself to creative development. and Cole Haan. that creativity in a way that matters to For ACAD grad Ray Ferraro, Art “I don’t want to think that I’m ever your audience.” Director for Coach’s luxury brand Reed going to be in one place permanently Ferraro thinks that ACAD prepared Krakoff, the thought is unnerving. and hope I have the freedom to move him for this challenge though. about, but the great thing about New
30 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN Top: Reed Krakoff - Deconstructed - online feature “A look into the craftsmanship behind the signature Reed Krakoff handbag: e Boxer Bag”; Art Direction / Design: Ray Ferraro; Photography: Jens Mortensen. Bottom: Reed Krakoff - Fall/Winter 2013 ad campaign; Model: Julianne Moore; Art Direction: Ray Ferraro Photography: Reed Krakoff
“The VCD program helped me strategized is an exciting challenge,” says develop the foundational design tools Ferraro. “In regards to branded content and trained eye that is the basis of how creation, with evolving technology that I’ll see things aesthetically for the rest allows for greater interactivity, it allows of my career,” says Ferraro. “It’s also you to create content that has more where I honed my ability to become sensory dimensions than traditional highly analytical while still thinking two-dimensional media. It’s a lot through every corner of what I try to easier to create interactive and moving say to diverse audiences. Without these content to tell visual stories on digital two skills it would very hard to be platforms and those possibilities are successful in this industry.” always very exciting.”
One aspect of the industry that excites While anyone can create striking Ferraro is the democratization of visual images, Ferraro believes that the creativity that social media has fuelled foundational design skills he learned at and the opportunities it affords brands ACAD are still crucial. like Reed Krakoff. “Everything I do is rooted in the “It can be liberating to communicate fundamentals, having a basic trained to people in the way they want to aesthetic eye and knowing how to be talked to and allows for more tell a visual story is the essence of art democratic exploration of how brands direction at its core,” says Ferraro. talk to their audiences and doing “Digital media is just another tool in that in a way that’s both genuine and the belt for visually communicating.”
Catalyst 31 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION DESIGN
Photo by: Andrew Paynter
Geo McFetridge
Make Art for your Friends If not a mantra, it is a guiding principle for designer Geoff McFetridge.
His career started in his mid-teens working for skateboard are members of the Directors Bureau, a group of Los magazines and designing logos for friends’ bands. In the last Angeles-based commercial and feature directors. 25 years, the clients have gotten bigger and include brands “That’s the real work,” says McFetridge. “You don’t have to like Pepsi, Nike and The New York Times but the process wait for someone to give you a project. I feel like musicians remains the same. don’t wait. It is easy for them to feel part of a continuum “I was stressing out over my first real gallery show,” says and community. Make work for other artists. Seek out work McFetridge. “Then it hit me. I just have to make something that interests you. That’s the kind of rigour you put towards for my friends. I pictured them walking into the gallery and everything you do and what I’ve done throughout my career.“ hoping that they understood it and thought it was funny After receiving a diploma from ACAD in 1993 in what was and awesome. It could be totally fucked up but that wouldn’t then the Commercial Art Program, Geoff moved to Los matter to them. I still work with that in mind.” Angeles and earned an MFA from the California Institute This mindset has served McFetridge well as his diverse roster of the Arts. of clients reflects his urge for collaborating with friends— “I knew what I wanted to do,” says McFetridge. “I knew I including Sofia Coppola, for whom he designed the opening wanted to be a designer, and I was already doing it. I just needed credits of The Virgin Suicides. Both McFetridge and Coppola to learn the mechanics and that’s what ACAD taught me.”
32 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN Top Left: Hair Over Face, Heath Ceramics 2008.
Top Middle: Glass of Water
Top Right: e Balance of Nothingness in our World of Abundance
Bottom: Glasses
He looks back on his time at ACAD fondly. A lot of what Commercial art was never about solving people’s problems he does now stems from his period at the College. or designing something for the ages for me,” says McFetridge. “Looking back I think I almost misunderstood “ACAD gave me the skills to pursue the unknown,” says what graphic design was. I just didn’t want to be bored.” McFetridge. “Working as a creative person is a total void. Learning the foundational skills was a point of reference. I This search for a challenge can be seen in his 2011 work was overdosing on making things that worked, making things with Heath Ceramics, the 65-year-old California pottery that were good, executing ideas and presenting them well.” company. A far cry from McFetridge’s traditional two- dimensional medium but a further exploration of the role “When I attended ACAD it was the last gasp of handmade, a designer can play in the creative world. mechanical design,” McFetridge continues. “So much of what I do now is rooted in the actual day to day mechanical processes.” “When I moved to L.A. I thought now it is time for the unknown,” says McFetridge. “Where are the challenges? Though his evolution as an artist is clearer now there was a What is completely outside my realm of understanding? time when he questioned the role of the traditional designer. I began this pursuit of finding out what kind of art I wanted “Working at 15, getting paid by skateboarding magazines, to do, and I think in some ways I’ve succeeded.” I didn’t have any expectation of working for big clients.
Catalyst 33 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION DESIGN
Tim Okamura
A Student of the Medium While I’m no longer a student in school, I’m a student of painting.
Nothing bonds people together Okamura graduated in 1993 from quite like struggle. Whether you’re the Visual Communication Design on a sports team fighting to take a program at ACAD. He loved painting championship home or part of a group and drawing but was intrigued by the of students pulling an all-nighter to structure and professionalism of the finish a project. Memories of post- program, noticing how it prepared secondary education can boil down to students for a variety of opportunities being over-caffeinated, over-tired and and careers. overjoyed to have shared these times “There’s been so many changes in the with an extraordinary group of people. program since I graduated. I think one “The sense of community at ACAD thing that will remain though is the is something I cherished while I was commitment to professionalism and there,” says Okamura. “Art is such a an incredibly high standard of work,” “Let’s Keep It Clean”, oil, mixed media on personal thing, there’s so much honesty says Okamura. “I remember being so canvas, 76 x 64”, 2011. and truth in it. The friendships I intimidated by perspective drawing, it formed in my time there are ones I’ll was a big challenge but is so valuable to never forget.” me now.”
34 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN Left: e Fight Club, oil, mixed media on canvas, 112 x 130”, 2013.
Right: “Work Shirt”, oil, mixed media on canvas, 56 x 76”, 2011.
Never forgetting his love for painting, painting can be defined as a figurative “I’m now at a point where I’m strictly Okamura followed his time at ACAD painter, but Okamura likes to define making work for the galleries which with a Master of Fine Arts at the his style through different terms. feels like a new learning curve,” says School of Visual Arts in New York. Okamura. “In terms of my studio “I think of it like being an old-school Finding his second “home,” Okamura practice I’m always evolving. It’s hip hop producer,” says Okamura. has lived and created in Brooklyn for important for any artist to constantly be “They have in depth knowledge of 22 years now. a student and always grow. When you the genre’s history but also work to feel too secure in your own work tends “Everything about this city connects bring new styles and sounds. I love to be when the creative fire goes out.” with me on an intellectual and portraits and the works of Rembrandt spiritual level,” says Okamura. “The and Velázquez but I wanted to bring Okamura is now looking to be a art community here is vibrant and something new to it as well.” student of film as he temporarily trades supportive. I live in Williamsburg, his white canvas and paint brushes for Being a constant student of his medium which has a community of 15,000 storyboards and a camera to shoot his and practice is something that has helped painters. We all joke that it just feels first music video for the female duo to keep Okamura experimenting in his like a small town.” WonderKiss. work. Never being fully satisfied is what Okamura’s commercial success has Okamura attributes to any artist’s long- included numerous gallery exhibitions term success. and film commissions. His style of
Catalyst 35 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN SCHOOL OF VISUAL ART
Laurel Johanneson
A Life Aquatic many teaching roles—Sessional Instructor, Head of Drawing Program, Assistant Professor in Drawing and Print Media, The beautiful thing about visuals and Assistant Dean. In 2005 Johannesson chose to become a is that they are an international full-time faculty member in the Drawing Department. language. The sound of a shutter closing is one that dates back to When surrounded by the landlocked Canadian prairies, years Laurel’s childhood. Taking photography lessons at age ten, are experienced through Indian summers and harsh winters. Johannesson found that her surroundings didn’t ignite her Yet, Laurel Johannesson developed a deep love of water. creativity. Instead, she would set up her camera and, using her background as a dancer, would take self-portraits in Johannesson completed a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of theatrical positions. The influence of her early photography Fine Arts at the University of Saskatchewan and then moved sessions can be seen in her Metamorphosis, Thirst and Wake to Calgary to pursue her Masters in Printmaking and Digital series, among others. Media at the University of Calgary. The U of C acted as a platform for her to fulfill her dream of attending London’s “I always dismissed the importance of those early Royal College of Art (RCA). Spending a semester fully photography sessions, but when I was working on my Masters immersing herself in London’s expansive cultural tapestry, Degree I made the connection that the work I was doing then she quickly realized how important it was to be a part of an and continue to do now all started with an urge to create a international community of art. space and time to place myself in,” says Johannesson.
Upon returning from RCA, Johannesson applied to ACAD Johannesson’s first artist residency occurred in 2005 when as a sessional instructor. In 14 years at ACAD, she’s held she travelled to Greece and Iceland to shoot in the Aegean Sea and Iceland’s Blue Lagoon.
36 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN “Most people might not immediately understand how Greece and Iceland connect to each other,” says Johannesson. “What pulled me to both these places was the water. It’s always the water.”
Since 2005, most of her summers have been spent living, eating and creating with other artists. While residencies don’t have lectures or seminars, the camaraderie of a university atmosphere is apparent.
“At the American Academy in Rome you’re living and working alongside architects, musicians and historians,” says Johannesson “It’s the most astounding collection of people. I always find that it isn’t their work that influences my experience but the conversations we share, whether it’s over dinner or over a drink.”
Johannesson has returned to Rome for her recent residencies, the fountains of the city pulling her back. Shooting shoulder deep in an Italian fountain has sparked some interesting reactions from people.
“I was in Piazza del Popolo, one of Rome’s largest and busiest squares,” says Johannesson. “While shooting I heard a child exclaim ‘La macchina fotografica è sott’acqua!’ which means ‘the machine is under water!’ He was tugging on his mom’s sleeve, completely enchanted by the spectacle. I would show him the images I was taking and he would say ‘Bellísima!’
Top: Quattro Fiumi 1. Metallic Print on Acrylic, 82 x 204 cm, 2013. “That’s the beautiful thing about visuals they are an From the Fontana series photographed in Italy. international language.” Bottom: irst – Immersion 2. Digital Print on Archival Paper, 119.5 x 82 cm, 2007. From the irst series photographed in Greece.
Catalyst 37 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN SCHOOL OF VISUAL ART
Marty Kaufman
Finding Home As artists, I think we’re always working towards finding the place that we feel accepted or that feels like home.
Home isn’t always the place where we were born. Sometimes it’s a feeling, a set of memories or sometimes it’s just a dream. For ACAD Glass faculty member Marty Kaufman, searching for “home” has always been a part of his practice. Originally from Regina, he left the prairies the day after he graduated high school to work on the west coast. Since his youth, Kaufman has always had an instinctual pull towards creating and carving with his hands. Above: Eroded Form, Blown Glass, 32 x 30 x 19cm. Opposite, top: Forbear of God, Graphite In the early 1970s Kaufman found himself in Paris at the American Center for & Pencil, , 75 x 56cm. Opposite bottom: Artists and Students. Kaufman was roaming the center’s courtyard, spellbound Foundations, Digital Print on alupanel & by the contemporary sculptures decorating the grounds. When he followed the acrylic, 87 x 141cm. sculptures to the back of the School, he stumbled upon sculpture teacher Mara Basca at work.
“She didn’t speak much English, I spoke barely any French, but somehow we communicated and I told her I was interested in learning,” says Kaufman. “I think she looked at me and figured I’d stay a day or two, but she took me on.
38 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN She started me on Travertine, one of the hardest stones, and for the first two full days all she let me do was throw a hammer against the stone.”
Kaufman passed Basca’s grueling test and eventually learned how to carve stone. After a couple years, Kaufman decided to continue traveling and left for Spain, but not before Basca passed on her best tools to him.
“It’s known that an atelier passes on their best tools to their best student when they leave,” says Kaufman. “Everything crystallized for me then. It solidified my commitment and interest in pursuing a life in art.”
When Kaufman returned to Canada, he decided to pursue a more formal education at ACAD. He graduated with a double major in Sculpture and Glass and went on to build his own studio and hot shop in Calgary.
“The theme of ‘place’ has always been a constant thread through most of my work,” says Kaufman. “Some of it has been rooted in landscapes, vastness and colours, but it’s conceptually grown now to be more about the significance of place.”
Kaufman eventually found his home in Rome. Feeling a strong cultural connection, the fabric of the city was intertwined with things that were incredibly important to him. It also helps that one of his favourite sculptors, Bernini, has many pieces featured in the ancient city.
“People come to Calgary for some of the same reasons as they go to visit Rome,” says Kaufman. “Visiting the Sistine Chapel and visiting the Rocky Mountains tend to elicit the same response. People get the feeling that there’s something bigger going on. It allows us to question our purpose and place in the world.”
Currently, Kaufman is working on a mixed media series of work that looks at the secular interpretation of liturgical work.
“Following a life in art isn’t an easy one, but it affords you the opportunity to have an interesting life,” says Kaufman. “Art doesn’t ever judge where you come from, it’s only ever concerned with where you’re going—even if that’s home.”
Catalyst 39 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN SCHOOL OF VISUAL ART
Don Kottmann Critic’s Choice Having a critic like Jerry Saltz say he loves your work is definitely a memory I’ll keep forever.
There are moments in life that can demanding and beneficial times in In 2012, Kottmann took a trip only be the result of fate, destiny the Painting department. At times to his second in home in Kansas or luck. But logically, we know the polarizing, most students would tell City, Missouri, as he had secured a successes in life are the tangible result you that you either thrive or fail. An monumental show in Kansas City’s of hours of hard work, years of passion ACAD alumna and past student of Leedy-Voulkos Art Center. While and a lifetime of devotion. Either way, Kottmann’s, Leah Newman, was the walking to the gym he frequented, for ACAD Drawing faculty member first point of contact that brought Jerry he saw an open call to artists for the Don Kottmann, the tic-tac-toe that Saltz into to Don’s attention. Kansas City Artist Coalition for a Mid- led to the inclusion of his painting America Show. The exhibition, he later “Leah went to study in New York in Sediments in a show curated by found out, was being curated by Saltz. 2005 and had the chance to have her renowned art critic Jerry Saltz of New work critiqued by Jerry Saltz,” says “The night of the gallery show was York Magazine was a crowning moment Kottmann. “She emailed me saying absolutely wonderful,” says Kottmann. in his career. that she had a déjà-vu and that Jerry’s “There are so many things in life that Any of Kottmann’s students would style of critiques really reminded her just give us permission to carry on. inform you that his critiques are of me.” Jerry is a formidable guy and him considered some of the most trying, praising my work is that validation that
40 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN Sediments, Acrylic, 84 x 71 cm, 2012
you’re on the right course and doing mind it’s still being sensationalized and “It really has worked, they’ve enlarged the right things. It’s not a pat on the is almost continuing to portray a bit of their scope,” says Kottmann. “They’ve back; it’s bigger than that.” a false stereotype of ‘art.’” enriched their verbal skills which enrich their visual skills, because those Saltz may be better known to the In Kottmann’s opinion, the importance two things really do play off each other. public for his involvement with Bravo’s of the critique in the cycle of art can’t Critiques help them understand that television show Work of Art: The Next be understated. He does something art has nuts and bolts to it, that there Great Artist. Kottmann followed the known to his students as “the endless are fundamental things.” competition but found the program to crit” where he takes an entire studio be more of a double-edged sword. day and brings in all the students to Next for Kottmann is an exhibition talk about each other’s pieces. The goal with his sister, a ceramic sculptor, at “On one hand, yes, it allows ‘art’ to is to have students share their stories Denver’s Niza Knoll Gallery in May be broadcast to a broad audience and to ground their work in something 2014. and establishes more awareness,” says real and concrete. Kottmann. “But you have to keep in
Catalyst 41 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN SCHOOL OF VISUAL ART
Yuqi Kang
From Pencil to Lens ACAD taught me that there’s no barrier between life and art.
A global world resides within the walls of ACAD. Students from across the world come to learn and grow at one of only four art and design colleges in Canada. However, it was ACAD who benefitted from having Yuqi Kang reside and practice within its walls. Kang is a School of Visual Art alumni with a major in Drawing. Originally, Kang moved from Beijing to Canmore to study English. Always sure that she would attend an art school, just not quite sure of the timing, Kang eventually stumbled onto ACAD.
As a Drawing major, she began to develop her focus on the concept of death in Buddhism. As a Buddhist herself, she thought often of the subject as a child. to achieve, to love and so on will one day end in ashes. I see “We are alive, we are living this life and trying to get by my personal practice as a medium for me to explore and seek everyday,” says Kang. “All of these efforts to learn, to grow, for a sort of answer or meaning.”
42 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN Spending four years exploring and defining her artistic views with the guidance of her instructors, Kang found ACAD’s critique process invaluable. She also attributes her ability to think critically and to see the world as a piece of art to her time spent at the College.
“We had smaller group critiques—four participants including the artist,” says Kang. “These critiques helped me to see things in my work that I would have never thought of. It was only after ACAD that I started to realize how much of a precious experience it was. People giving 20 minutes of their life experience for you and your work, I think in some way I took that for granted while I was at ACAD.”
Kang has now moved to New York to attend the School of Visual Arts (SVA) and complete her master’s in Film Studies. Some may think film and drawing are two separate arts but Kang sees clear parallels between her drawing background at ACAD and her new foray into the work of film in New York.
“Drawing is a time-based process that involves not only a great deal of observation but also improvisation,” says Kang. “Essentially, I think they are related. Drawing or filming, it’s just difference between media.”
With a focus on social documentary film, she is currently in pre-production of a short film about New York’s Domino Sugar Factory, which will be wiped away to build high-rise condos at the end of the year. Built in 1856, the Domino Sugar Factory was responsible for processing half the sugar for the United States in 1870 and is now considered a historical landmark in Brooklyn.
“I remember the excitement I had when I first found this place,” says Kang. “I want to be able to capture enough footage before the building is gone and tell the countless Top: Do You Remember, 4 x 6 in. acrylic on stories that this building holds.” paper. 2012. Bottom: Eat Me Drink Me (Sky Burial), Ink brush painting on rice paper Immersed in the second year of her master’s at SVA, Kang 787,402 in. roll. 2011. Opposite: Selfless, isn’t ready yet to settle down and call New York home yet. Digital retouch. 2013. She’s thinking of travelling to Mongolia and Tibet to work on her thesis film.
Catalyst 43 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN DONOR FEATURE Images courtesy Avenue Magazine. Photographer: Jared Sych Jared Photographer: Magazine. courtesy Avenue Images
“I think I always wanted to go to art class,” says Alberta College of Art +Design Roxanne (ACAD) Special Events Committee volunteer and supporter Roxanne McCaig. McCaig McCaig is no stranger to the arts world. She’s been a volunteer and supporter of ACAD for a long time and is excited about her continuing involvement with the Nurturing Art, “art school on the hill”. Growing Creativity She spent her early years in Regina, a city that McCaig describes as consciously following the early modern California design influence of the time. She described the single flat-roofed style of homes, brick entrances with the brick wrapping inside to the fireplace, their teak kitchen and modern Danish furniture, and the treasured abstract paintings her family collected early on by the Regina Five.
Sitting in McCaig’s home, which she shares with husband Mark Bartko and their children, you can see the influence of prairie design and abstract art. McCaig
44 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN ank-you for your generosity! The following donations and grants were made to ACAD between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013: Gifts up to $2,500 Bob Alexander played a significant role in its design alongside architect Marc Boutin. McCaig’s Judith Bader Richard Brown sense of style and connection to the spaces around her, and her awareness of Benjamin Carson colour, light and texture within those spaces is evident throughout. Colour Fusion Daniel Doz She talks about the interplay of the golden bricks and warm cedar used DWA Interior Furnishings Inc. EnCana Cares Foundation throughout their house as reflecting their surrounding environment—the natural Stephanie and Brian Felesky grasslands of the bluff on which their home is situated and autumn’s changing Gregory J. Forrest colours visible from their extensive view. Their art collection is based on western Kit Interior Objects John Kunz Canadian abstract painters beginning with the Regina Five and moving through Barbara La Pointe the years to contemporary abstract artists. Marsh Canada Ltd. Tara L. Niscak Encouraging those who say they do Doreen Ouchi not understand art, McCaig often When McCaig Dell Pohlman Robinson’s Camera Centre Ltd. advises them to take in everything talks about art Rubaiyat Studio around them and notice the colours and education and Sport-Rad Crowfoot Inc. and shapes, textures and how ACAD, she does so Howard Starkman TELUS Corporation things are balanced. She goes on with a passion and Barbara Tetzlaff to explain that there’s a difference enthusiasm that is The Camera Store between looking and seeing. The The City of Calgary former comes naturally, the latter is clearly hard to contain. The Rotary Club of Calgary Sarcee Melissa T. Trono something we often need to remind United Way of Calgary and Area ourselves to do. Vistek Ltd. Wildwood Cabinets McCaig firmly believes in nurturing art and music education and encouraging $2,500 to $4,999 creativity. During a recent holiday with extended family, several of the children Anonymous Rotary Club of Calgary Community joined her on visit to the Tate Modern Gallery in London. It quickly became a Service Fund creative event as the large art papers provided to kids at the gallery became all TD Insurance Meloche Monnex manner of things: imaginary megaphones, swords, lightsabers and hats during Working Spaces Consulting Ltd. their trip back to the hotel. $5,000 to $9,999 Scott Ferguson McCaig’s daughter is a young artist who thinks that one day she’d like to go to art Geraldine Fish James and Cheryl Peacock school. As a parent, McCaig is encouraging her to pursue what she is passionate The Federation of Canadian Artists (Calgary) about. However, McCaig worries there are many children who may not even be Susan Thomas aware of the opportunities available to them to explore their creativity, to discover $10,000 to $24,999 sculpture or painting or glass blowing. Calgary Stampede Corus Entertainment Inc. Critical Mass Productions Inc. In the last year she began on her own journey of making art. While she has only Shaw Communications Inc. recently started, there’s something in the way she lights up while describing her The Calgary Foundation experience thus far that says “Series One” is only the beginning. $25,000 to $49,999 The Family of John and Barbara Poole When McCaig talks about art and education and ACAD, she does so with a $50,000 to $99,999 passion and enthusiasm that is clearly hard to contain. She encourages artists and Alberta Foundation for the Arts people of all walks and all ages to pursue their passion and explore their creativity The Alberta Association of Colleges and Technical Institutes and to believe that anything is possible. We believe that Roxanne McCaig is right. Over $100,000 Anonymous * Please note that other donations are not listed at donor’s requests Catalyst 45 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN ACAD Drawing Community Service Scholarship Art Central Studio Prize Donor: ACAD Skylar Borgstrom Donor: Art Central Skylar Borgstrom Luke Maddaford Natasha Jensen ACAD First Year Studies Scholarship Tiffany Wollman Donor: ACAD Fong Ku Artsource Ceramics Prize Heidi Friesen Donor: Artsource Mta Ltd. Catherine Dale Rebecca Reid Artstream Scholarship -Winter Linda Roberts Donor: ACAD Teolynn Baardseth Ella Valge-Saar Barbara + John Poole Family Scholarship Fund Carolyn MacKenzie Donor: Family of John & Barbara Poole Emily Promise Kellie Reid Sheena Perratt Lisa Lindsay Corrie Hamm Amy Cornelson Luke Maddaford Brandon Giessmann Alyssa Ellis Rachel Twizell Svea Ferguson Ayralea Lander Skylar Borgstrom Balbina Argenti Bernard Franklin Stockl Memorial Scholarship Garrett Gengler Donor: Franklin Stockl Wen-Chien Yuan Angela Fermor Board of Governor Alumni Award of Excellence Sheri Surkon Donor: ACAD Board of Governors Shannon Rae Stratton Terese Mullin (class of 2000) + Anya Olson Ronald Moppet (class of 1967) Kaitlyn Holden Jennifer Hartley Board of Governors Awards Advertising Donor: ACAD Board of Governors Kelsey Hughes ACAD Fourth Year Drawing Major Merit Scholarship Donor: ACAD Luke Mohr Board of Governors Awards Ceramics Donor: ACAD Board of Governors Jocelyn Reid Nicole Bracey Corrie Hamm Board of Governors Awards Character Design Donor: ACAD Board of Governors Earle Ryder McLean ACAD New York Studio Residency Program Donor: ACAD Nicole Brunel Board of Governors Awards Fibre Donor: ACAD Board of Governors Sabrina Niebler ACAD Sculpture Major Award Donor: ACAD Jayda Karsten Board of Governors Awards Glass Donor: ACAD Board of Governors Laura Kelly Valentin Brovko Board of Governors Awards Graphic Design ACAD Second Year Drawing Major Merit Scholarship Donor: ACAD Board of Governors Macy Hippsley Donor: ACAD Scott Baird Jordan Baraniecki Board of Governors Awards Illustration Donor: ACAD Board of Governors Lyndon Navalta Hannah Petkau Board of Governors Awards JWL + Metals ACAD Second Year Scholarship Donor: ACAD Board of Governors Avery Ruuska Donor: ACAD Laura Read Larissa Costella Board of Governors Awards MADT Donor: ACAD Board of Governors Evgeniy Bykovets Hannah Petkau Board of Governors Awards Painting ACAD Awards + Accomplishments Awards ACAD Scott Baird Donor: ACAD Board of Governors Sharon Hogg Marlies Zimmer Chantal Lafond Board of Governors Awards Photo Donor: ACAD Board of Governors Julya Theodossopoulos Lauren Shipton Board of Governors Awards Print ACAD Second Year Scholarship Donor: ACAD Board of Governors Anna Desramaux Donor: ACAD Lusia Stetkiewicz Jennifer Scheirer Board of Governors Awards Sculpture Donor: ACAD Board of Governors Hyla Stuijfzand Gladzy Kei Zuniga Kalyna Riis-Phillips Board of Governors Awards Drawing Donor: ACAD Board of Governors Corrie Hamm Megan Langan Fei Su Bob Ranson Memorial Scholarship Donor: Mr. Timothy Ranson + Amy Pon Mr. Scott Ranson + Mr Gordon Reid Carson Tofin ACAD Student Travel Scholarship Calgary Sketch Club Scholarship Donor: ACAD President Office Christopher Kohanik Donor: The Calgary Sketch Club Scott Baird Elisa Sereno - Janz Calgary Sketch Club Scholarship Kelsey Merkeley Donor: The Calgary Sketch Club Sarah Angeli Gonzales Teresa Tam The Calgary Herald Centennial Scholarship Nicole Brunel Donor: The Calgary Herald Lauren Shipton Nicole Brunel Continuing Arts Association Foundation Travel Scholarship Leah Kudel Donor: Continuing Arts Association Foundation Jade Usackas Joel Farris Amy Pon Jill Ng Alisa Proshunina ACAD Third Year Drawing Major Merit Scholarship Alexandra Hodgson Donor: ACAD Svea Ferguson Donald LePard Memorial Scholarship Luke Maddaford Donor: Donna LePard Amy Miller Elisa Sereno - Janz The Doris Brown Memorial Scholarship ACADSA Fourth Year Legacy Award Donor: Anonymous Carlin Brown Donor: ACAD Student Association Jocelyn Reid Daniel Cleghorn Eugene Ouchi Memorial Scholarship Donor: Family of Eugene Ouchi Lauren Shipton Cait Lepla Excellence In Sculpture Scholarship Alberta Cntral/Jeanne Shaw Memorial Scholarship Donor: ACAD Emily Promise Allison Donor: Credit Union Central of Alberta Laura Hill Fibre Major Innovative Development Award Alberta Society of Artists Scholarship Donor: ACAD Natalie Lauchlan Donor: Alberta Society of Artists Daniel Cleghorn Fibre Major Innovative Development Award Alberta Society of Artists Scholarship Donor: ACAD Jessica Roh Donor: Alberta Society of Artists Ella Valge-Saar Frances A Rodgers Memorial Scholarship In Ceramics Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Scholarship Donor: William Rodgers Leah Spagrud Donor: Amber Webb-Bowerman Foundation Kent Merriman Garry Williams Memorial Travel Scholarship In Ceramics Kelsey Mercier GDC Alberta South Chapter Scholarship Donor: The Society of Graphic Designers Canada Lindsay Wasko 46 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN Glass Project Award Painting Second Year Award Donor: ACAD Betsy Hinze Donor: ACAD Chloe Saunders Glass Student Fund Endowment Rhys Farrell Donor: ACAD Taygan Crapo Painting Third Year Award The Harley Brown Artistic Scholarship Donor: ACAD Elizabeth Carr Donor: The Calgary Stampede Emily Promise Allison Sarah Angeli Grodecki Carlin Brown Matthew Ng The Henry Clinton Scholarship Fund Passion Pages Donor: Anonymous Lauren Shipton Donor: Marnie Temple Lauren Shipton Gladzy Kei Zuniga Morgan Pinnock Homesteader’s Legacy Scholarship Paul Brace Memorial Scholarship Donor: Barbara Peddelsen Jade Usackas Donor: Lisa McConnell Wes Niven Ignac and Karla Herskovic Memorial Scholarship Photography Major Fourth Year Student Recognition Award Donor: The Estate of Ignac and Karla Herskovic Carlin Brown Donor: ACAD Julya Theodossopoulos Illingworth Kerr Scholarship Photography Major Public Service Award - Winter Donor: Katie Ohe and Harry Kiyooka Fei Su Donor: ACAD Laura Ambrosone Christina Mayder Photography Major Second Year Student Recognition Award Karen Beattie Donor: ACAD Devin Chomyk Brenda Danbrook Photography Major Thrid Year Student Recognition Award Katriona Drijber Donor: ACAD Jason Waight Christin Thomson Phyllis Balm Student Award Katriona Drijber Donor: Phyllis Balm Christine Thomson Fong Ku Dawn Waswick Christine Thomson Plainsman Clay Limited Scholarship Kathryn Cooke Donor: Plainsman Clay Ltd. Shannon Leardo Laura Read Print Portfolio Scholarship Svea Ferguson Donor: ACAD Anna Desramaux Illingworth Kerr Travel Scholarship Print Portfolio Scholarship Donor: Katie Ohe and Harry Kiyooka KristynWoziewich Donor: ACAD Felicity Hart Teresa Tam Dr. Ray Sr. And Honey Ray Memorial Scholarship Innovative Print Project Scholarship Donor: Anonymous Daniel Cleghorn Donor: ACAD Gabrielle Nadon Richard Halliday Memorial Scholarship Endowment Ivan Sellers Memorial Scholarship Donor: Family of Richard Halliday Sharon Hogg Donor: Jim Sellers and Judith Bader Emily Promise Allison Rondi Lee Johnson Memorial Ceramics Scholarship Dr. JC Sproule Memorial Scholarship Donor: Family of Rondi Lee Johnson Katriona Drijber Donor: Anne McKenzie Kelsey Mercier Rondi Lee Johnson Memorial Community Scholarship Jenny Belzberg Endowment Donor: Family of Rondi Lee Johnson Jocelyn Reid Donor: Jenny Belzberg Benjamin Gervais Rosalee Hiebert Memorial Scholarship Jewellery + Metals Execution of Conceptually Based Work Donor: Peter Jeune Dana Prediger Donor: ACAD Jennifer Scheirer School of Visual Arts (SVA) Scholarship Jewellery + Metals fourth Year Studio GPA Donor: School of Visual Arts & ACAD Wes Niven Donor: ACAD Avery Ruuska Shaw Communication Professional Opportunity + Experience Award Jewellery + Metals Leadership Award Donor: Shaw Communications Inc. Christina Sengsavang Donor: ACAD Jennifer Scheirer Stan Price Memorial Scholarship Jewellery + Metals Major Prize - In Honor of Hanne Weiss Donor: Maureen MacDonald Laura Sand Donor: ACAD Avery Ruuska Steve Vadnai Memorial Scholarship The John Brocke Memorial Scholarship Anonymous Taylor Odynski Donor: Family of John Brocke Karen Beattie Studio At The Corning Studio Of Glass Scholarship The John Brocke Memorial Scholarship Maria Samaniego Family of John Brocke Matthew Ng Suzanne Agopsowicz Memorial Scholarship John H + Kathleen Snow Scholarship Donor: The Calgary Foundation & ACADSA Charissa Hong Donor: John H + Kathleen Snow Jason Waight Nicole Bracey Ken’s Gems Supplies Scholarship TD Insurance Meloche Monnex Career Award Donor: Ken’s Gems Avery Ruuska Donor: TD Insurance Meloche Monnex Edwin Lim Large Glass Award TD Insurance Meloche Monnex Professional Development Grant for ACAD Alumni Donor: ACAD Graeme Dearden Donor: TD Insurance Meloche Monnex Dana Buzzee Laura Mae Stillings Scholarship Nicole Burisch Donor: Peter Kutney and Clarice Siebens Karen Beattie The Doris Brown Memorial Scholarship Liberal Studies Essay Prize Donor: M. James + Elsie Mathieson Sharon Hogg Donor: ACAD Katriona Drijber The M. James + Elsie Mathieson Scholarship (The Calgary Foundation) Liberal Studies Ethics Award Donor: M. James + Elsie Mathieson Dana Prediger Donor: ACAD Laura Hill Julya Theodossopoulos Liberal Studies Humanities Scholarship Cydney Toth Donor: ACAD Laura Hill Jason Waight MADT 3rd Yr Research and Production Award Carson Tofin Donor: ACAD Manuel Ermecheo The One Club Scholarship MADT 4th Yr Production and Presentation Award Donor: The One Club Gahel Lim Donor: ACAD Teresa Tam Tobie Ma MADT 4th Yr Research and Production Award The Orinda Dean Scholarship Donor: ACAD Christine Howell Donor: Orinda Dean Trust Fong Ku MADT 4th Yr Travel Award The Phyllis Balm Purchase Award Donor: ACAD Christine Howell Donor: Phyllis and Alfred Balm Jessica Fischer Mobility + exchange Travel Scholarship Toogood Mabie Scholarship Donor: ACAD Jason Waight Don Mabie and Wendy Toogood Sabrina Niebler Mobility + exchange Travel Scholarship Megan Slater Donor: ACAD Melony Stieben Tyman And Victor Brosz Memorial Glass Scholarship Nicole Jennifer Creig Memorial Scholarship (The) Donor: Gwen Brosz Edward Colberg Donor: Family and friends of Nicole Creig; anonymous Julya Theodossopoulos Visual Communications Second Year Painting Fourth Year Award Donor: ACAD Lauren Shipton Donor: ACAD Karen Beattie Gladzy Kei Zuniga Luke Toane Walter Drohan Memorial Travel Scholarship in Ceramics Melissa Wenzel Leah Spagrud Catalyst 47 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN Board of Governors
OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS
Gregory Forrest Natasha Pashak
Back Row: Roxanne McCaig, Margaret-Jean Mannix, Dwayne Prazak, G. Bradley Moore, Joseph Leung, Ben Fullalove, Morgan Riotte. Front Row: Cynthia P. Moore, Sheila O’Brien, James Peacock, QC (Chair), Dr. Daniel Doz, Susan omas, Sue Carol Ryder Jim Stanford Anne Valentine. Absent: Darren Delichte
WARM WELCOMES + FOND FAREWELLS
Not only is ACAD restructuring its Stanford formerly the CEO of Petro an alumnae of ACAD brings the voice academic side, our Board of Governors Canada brings significant financial of our graduates to the Board. Sadly, has also undergone substantial background to the Board, Mr. Gregory we also said good bye to a couple of change as the institution continues Forrest, a lawyer in Calgary brings very dedicated Board members, Mr. Joe to align its structure to support the important connections to the arts and Leung of Marquis Communities and successful implementation of our culture scene, Ms. Carol Ryder with Ms. Roxanne McCaig both of whom new Strategic Plan. A number of new a noteworthy background in film and contributed significantly to the College committees were added to assist our video production brings significant during their tenure on the Board. To Board and four new board members post secondary board experience to those joining us to those leaving us, joined ACAD this past year. Mr. Jim ACAD and our own, Natasha Pashak, we say THANK YOU.
48 Catalyst ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN Partnerships
TOON BOOM MASTERS OF STEAMPUNK
As a part of ACAD’s continuing emphasis on collaboration The exhibition Masters of Steampunk will debut in Fall 2014 and innovation we have teamed up with Montreal at ACAD’s Illingworth Kerr Gallery. Masters in the title refers animation studio Toon Boom, a global leader in digital to Masters and Apprentices as it originated in the Middle content and animation software. This partnership will give Ages. To become a Master, a trained craftsman had to create a ACAD students an opportunity to gain valuable hands on masterpiece accepted by other masters. Masters of Steampunk experience in emerging technologies. Pursing excellence is is composed of over 30 masterpieces by international Masters a pillar at ACAD and through these and other partnerships working in a variety of mediums including sculpture, we are strengthening the foundation of the College and the illustration, industrial design and multimedia. It is about high creative community. quality and the skill of its creators.
Toon Boom provides an enhanced package of benefits Interestingly, IBM’s Social Sentiment Index has declared including cutting edge software, recognition of student 2013 the year of Steampunk. Steampunk was also seen on achievement, student development funds, alumni benefits, couture runways beginning in 2010 in Christian Dior’s marketing and promotion, instructor development and Spring Collection. This was followed in 2012 by Prada’s self-directed studies. Toon Boom Animation, Inc.’s CEO’s Men’s Campaign featuring actors Gary Oldman, Jamie Bell has a personal commitment to the Centre of Excellence and Willem Dafoe in steampunk-style suits. engagement with schools and industry. Steampunk is an exciting cultural movement sweeping The expanded relationship is aimed at creating a flagship the world and Steampunk Art goes beyond what people academic – industry strategic partnership between leaders understand fine art exhibitions to be. Steampunk Art merges in the media arts industry. This relationship will benefit both art, craft, engineering and industry. This exhibition will inspire organizations, and the many students who will learn Toon and amaze people who think they don’t like or understand art. Boom software at ACAD, and take this knowledge into the It is an exhibition that appeals to a non-art audience. field when they launch their careers upon graduation. Steampunk’s look is late 19th Century industrial. Key visual touch points relate to machines, inventions, inventors and explorers. Because steampunk is strongly informed by early Science Fiction literature visually it is often based on ideas from novels such as H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine (circa 1895), and Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864), and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (circa 1870).
Catalyst 49 ALBERTA COLLEGE OF ART + DESIGN