News

Sean Buffington, the president of The University of the Arts, in a conference room at the school. Buffington is one of just a handful of openly-gay university presidents. (Eric Mencher/Staff) ERIC MENCHER/Inquirer.

Sean T. Buffington, who’s been president of the University of the Arts since 2007, is leaving in January. As a friend of Artblog, we are happy for his new position with the Luce Foundation in NY, but will definitely miss him. Good luck, Sean!

Our Quarterly Newsletter is coming out later this week, which you can sign up for in advance! Expect to find some new items and a roundup of great posts from the last quarter on Artblog.

Tim Eads, from the "Spiro Series." Photo courtesy of Pentimenti Gallery. — Tim Eads, from the “Spiro Series.” Photo courtesy of Pentimenti Gallery.

If you’ve been in the market for a screenprint by Tim Eads, consider the latest offer from Pentimenti Gallery. They are presenting the last four editions of Tim’s “SpiroSeries” to all their collectors on November 15, as an exclusive offer that’s part of a“Once and Gone” event. After the offer, all screen prints go back to the original price. Cranbrook Art Museum currently owns the first edition of “SpiroSeries.”

Judy Gelles’ Art in Discussion: The Fourth Grade Project is happening tomorrow, November 12, 6 pm at The Gershman Y. Free with advance registration, you’ll see what she’s been up to since 2009. Judy has interviewed and photographed more than 200 students across three continents, asking them all the same questions: Who do you live with? What do you wish for? What do you worry about? Her discoveries have often been pretty powerful.

Ugh. We were almost convinced it wouldn’t turn out this way…James Dupree’s fight to keep his Mantua studio has been swatted down by eminent domain, allowing the space to be turned into a grocery store. As an artist who helped reshape Mantua, has five paintings in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, plus others in the National Museum of Art in Cardiff, Wales and the Schomberg Museum in New York, James really deserves better than this.

Opportunities

The Lansdowne Arts Board is hosting an open house for the newly-renovated 20/20 House on Saturday, December 13, 2014, from 1:00 – 5:00 pm. To usher in this event, a call for artists (first come/first served) is giving artists consideration for a 30-minute slot during the open house. Available presentation slots are 1:00 to 1:30 pm, 1:45 to 2:15 pm, 2:30 to 3:00pm, and 3:15 to 3:45 pm. Visual artists get a space to work and exhibit while interacting with guests; performing artists a small performance space (seats approximately 30) with limited technical support. All artists are paid $50 per 30-minute slot; sales are permitted but artists are in charge of removing any unsold artworks at the end of the event.

The Design for Social Impact Master of Design program at the University of the Arts application cycle for Fall 2015 enrollment has begun. The program encourages applicants from any undergraduate degree—the only requisite skill is that students want to be agents of change in their communities and in the world. Upon acceptance, graduate students receive graduate grants amounting to on average 30% discount off tuition. They also offer a competitive teaching fellowship program for select graduate students that comes with an annual stipend, intense classroom training, and the opportunity to teach their own course. Applications received and completed by January 15 are notified of the admission decision on or before March 15. Applications received and completed after January 15 areconsidered on a space-available basis and reviewed on a rolling basis. In addition to the general requirements for graduate admissions, applicants to the Design for Social Impact programs should submit the following:

A resume or CV covering educational, professional and other experiences that are relevant to the personal and professional development of the applicant.
A statement of intent outlining the reasons and motivations for applying.
A portfolio of 20 pieces that showcases self-generated projects, professional assignments or projects developed in a previous program. Documentation may highlight a number of modes, processes and outcomes such as research, drawings, models, scenarios, writing and storytelling samples, photographs, videos, website or app interface design, communication design, etc. Applicants should submit digital images or time-based media for review online via http://uartsgrad.slideroom.com. Please refer to the instructions in the Portfolios section of the application instructions.
A personal interview with the director of the program. If an in-person interview is not possible, a tele- or videoconference can be arranged.

Artist News

The wry cover of Lisa Kereszi's new book. Photo courtesy of the artist. — The wry cover of Lisa Kereszi’s new book. Photo courtesy of the artist.

A new art book by Lisa Kereszi is now out! Born of research for her previous book, Joe’s Junk Yard, the book centers on an old photo album compiled in the 1970s and 80s by Kereszi’s father, Joe Jr. Inside were glossy 4 x 6-inch drugstore color photographs taken by Joe Jr. Featuring biker chicks, in Kereszi’s hands “the edit goes through various different types of pictures, from the expected, posed shots, to the ‘money shots,’ then on to some very interesting and beautiful images of women shot unawares.”

The Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art program at Montclair State University is holding its annual Open Studio Night on November 14, from 6 to 10pm in Finley Hall on the University campus. Open to the general public, the event includes completed works and works in progress created by the program’s 18 MFA candidates. Students exhibiting their works include Ruth Borgenicht, Natalia Borisenko, Teresa Braun, Joseph Caraval, Maryann Ficker, Meagan Green, Daniel Morowitz, Irena Pejovic, Kris Phillips, John Ryan, Belmira Silva, Kasia Skorynkiewicz, John Spano, Stephanie Spitz, Esmeralda Vazquez, Ann Marie Williams, Brian Keith Williams, Mina Zarfasz.