Articles tagged with: Department of Visual Arts

• Rodman Hall hosts Visual Arts honours exhibitions

  Thursday, April 05, 2018 | By dtemprile

  

  The opening reception for the first instalment of the honours exhibitions on Friday, March 23 drew a large crowd to Rodman Hall Art Centre. Photo: Danny Custodio.

  Graduating students from the Honours Studio course (VISA 4F06) have been busy all semester creating their pieces for the two-part Brock University Department of Visual Arts Honours Exhibition. Students were mentored by Rodman Hall Art Centre gallery staff and Visual Arts Professors Donna Szoke, Shawn Serfas, Derek Knight, and Donna Akrey.

  The first instalment of the honours exhibition: Just Resting My Eyes is currently on display at the Rodman Hall Art Centre (109 St. Paul Crescent). The current exhibition features work from students: Denise Apostolatos, Victoria Morinello, Jill Newman, Jacob Primeau, and Aaron Thompson.

  These honours exhibitions are vital to students’ education in the Brock Visual Arts program because “the nature, purpose and intended outcome of Honours Studio is that once the students graduate from the art program, they become practicing artists. Art making, as a practice of research-creation, is inherently experiential learning” says Szoke.

  The collaboration with the professional team of the Rodman Hall Art Centre is a essential learning experience for Brock Visual Arts students. Akrey says the Rodman Hall staff’s “consultation with each student teaches them the importance of the entire process of art making and exhibiting, and the importance of their individual work in a collaborative event.” Serfas adds that the importance of having Rodman Hall embedded into the Bachelor of Arts program is that “it gives our students a distinctive experiential learning opportunity.”

  Knight says that the audience can expect to see “broad cultural themes with emphasis on the impact of mass media, environmental or social issues” throughout the work created by these honours students in this two-part exhibit.

  The second instalment, Turnin’ This Car Around, is set to be exhibited from Saturday, April 14 to Sunday, April 29, with the opening reception on Friday, April 13 from 7 to 9 p.m. This upcoming exhibit will feature pieces by Rachel Dove, Lauren Mucciarone, Victoria Reid, Brittany Thomas-Clapp, and Lorraine Zandvliet.

  Photographs from the exhibition have been posted to an online gallery.

  For more information about Rodman Hall Art Centre and their programs see brocku.ca/rodman-hall

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  see the article by John Law in the St.Catharines Standard: Brock’s top art students gather for one last show

  see the video report by Stephen Parr for YourTV Niagara

  Tags: Department of Visual Arts, derek knight, donna akrey, Donna Szőke, Exhibit, Exhibition, Honours Exhibition, just resting my eyes, Shawn Serfas, students, turnin' this car around, visa, VISA 4F06, VISA 4F06 Honours Exhibition, Visual Arts
  Categories: 4F06 Honours Exhibition, Current Students, Events, In the Media, News

• Exhibition – Silent Areas: The Spaces in Between, opens Feb. 15

  Thursday, February 08, 2018 | By dtemprile

  

  Brock Visual Art student Sarah Martin and Brock Visual Arts Alumna Caterina Stambolic present photographs and sculptures investigating the interruptions between mind and body.

  Exhibition: Thursday Feb. 15 to Saturday Mar. 24

  Regular visiting hours are Tuesday through Saturday 1-5 pm.

  Opening Reception: Thursday Mar. 8, 5 – 8 pm

  Location: Visual Arts Exhibition Space, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University

  15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines, ON

  This is a free community event!

  Tags: Amy Friend, Brock University, Caterina Stambolic, Department of Visual Arts, Exhibit, Exhibition, exhibitions, Free, marilyn i. walker school of fine and performing arts, MIWSFPA, Photography, Sarah Martin, Silent Areas: The Spaces in Between, visa, Visual Arts, Visual Arts Alumni
  Categories: Alumni, Current Students, Events, Exhibitions

• World-class photographer with a Brock connection

  Monday, December 18, 2017 | By dtemprile

  

  “One of Them Is a Human #1” by Maija Tammi won third place in this year’s Taylor-Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. Tammi studied photography at Brock in 2008-09 with Visual Arts professor Amy Friend. (Image copyright Maija Tammi; Used by permission).

  (Source: The Brock News | Friday Dec. 15, 2017 by Alison Innes)

  At first glance, the photo is a portrait of a young woman.

  On closer inspection, the ‘woman’ isn’t human at all. It is, in fact, an android called Erica, developed by Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratories in Osaka University, Japan.

  The photograph, taken by Finnish artist Maija Tammi and titled “One of Them is a Human #1,” won third prize in this year’s prestigious Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize.

  The photograph also has a surprising Brock connection.

  

  Finnish artist Maija Tammi, who studied at
  Brock University in 2008-09

  Tammi spent a year studying film and art at Brock University in 2008-09. Although she already had a background in photojournalism, her experience at Brock, and in particular a course with Professor Amy Friend, encouraged her towards art photography.

  “The Visual Arts program at Brock offers an abundance of opportunity for one-on-one interactions in class with students and professors,” says Friend.

  Such interactions allow for personalized and concentrated instruction that allow students to reach their potential.

  “Maija flourished in this environment and took advantage of the surrounding community with her interactive installations and thought-provoking course projects,” says Friend.

  Tammi cites the film Five Obstructions, which she first saw in Friend’s course, as particularly influential.

  The 1967 film shows the remaking of the same story five times, each with a different obstruction. This process of rethinking and reframing inspired Tammi.

  “Once you have thought of a concept,” she explains, “you rethink it several times from different perspectives.”

  Tammi was immediately interested in the ways obstructions can encourage creativity and used the idea in her class project, redoing the same photograph multiple times with different obstructions.

  This experience in Friend’s course influenced her approach to photography. She gives herself obstructions, such as limiting her camera gear, to encourage her own creativity.

  Tammi is particularly attracted to portraiture, which she says tells us more about ourselves as viewers of the photograph than the subject of the photo as we project our stereotypes on them.

  One of Them is a Human #1 has attracted a lot of attention in the arts community. Although the Taylor Wessing contest rules state that the subject needs to be alive, Tammi’s photograph was accepted because it raises important questions about what it means to be human.

  “I’m very excited about the conversation that has arisen,” Tammi says. “It is time to think about what it means to be alive.”

  Tammi doesn’t shy away from difficult subjects; she is currently completing a practise-based PhD exploring representations of sickness in art photography.

  “I like topics that are very difficult and people don’t like to talk about,” she says.

  Friend, who exhibited work in the same show as Tammi in New York in August 2015, has been watching her former student’s success closely.

  “Her success is indicative of the connections that many students make with classmates and professors,” Friend says. “When I see opportunities that fit her areas of expertise I send them her way. These are the types of extended interactions that happen when we are given space to know our students.”

  Tammi’s work was one of three finalists chosen from more than 5,717 submissions. Selected submissions, including the shortlisted portraits and competition winner, are on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England.

  Tags: Amy Friend, Arts, Brock University, Department of Visual Arts, marilyn i. walker school of fine and performing arts, Photography, Visual Arts
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, News

• Brock photographers snap up art show awards

  Thursday, December 07, 2017 | By dtemprile

  

  Danny Custodio collaborated with his father to create compositions exploring tar’s organic forms and textures.

  (Source: The Brock News | Wednesday Dec. 6, 2017 by Alison Innes)

  Two Brock photographers were recently honoured for their ability to capture compelling imagery.

  Visual Arts student Denise Apostolatos and Administrative Assistant Danny Custodio, from the Rodman Hall Art Centre, both won awards at RMG Exposed: Out of this World, the Robert McLaughlin Gallery art show and charity auction held Nov. 25.

  Oil and Vinegar by Visual Arts student Denise Apostolatos, received first place in the youth category at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery Exposed: Out of this World annual photography show and auction.

  

  Oil and Vinegar by Visual Arts student Denise Apostolatos, received first place in the youth category at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery Exposed: Out of this World annual photography show and auction.

  Apostolatos’ work, Oil and Vinegar, won first place in the youth category from a shortlist of 40 works from across North America. 

  She says it was “truly an honour” to be named the winner of the youth category, and to receive two consecutive acceptances to participate in RMG Exposed.

  “As an undergraduate student, these opportunities are unique in that they provide a professional outlet to gain recognition and network in a larger context,” she says.

  Apostolatos credits the artistic and professional guidance she receives in the Visual Arts program for fostering her development as a creative professional.

  “As an undergraduate artist, it is important to see her work outside of the classroom and in the professional art community,” says Visual Arts Professor and Department Chair Donna Szoke. “We are thrilled to see Denise’s work being celebrated.”

  The award is also a means to recognize the “talent being produced here in Niagara in our Visual Arts program at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts,” she says.

  Rodman Hall’s Danny Custodio took first place in the Conceptual/Non-Representational category at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery’s Exposed: Out of this World annual photography show and auction. He is pictured with award sponsor Mason Bennett of Johncox professional Corporation.

  

  Rodman Hall’s Danny Custodio took first place in the Conceptual/Non-Representational category at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery’s Exposed: Out of this World annual photography show and auction. He is pictured with award sponsor Mason Bennett of Johncox professional Corporation.

  Custodio received the Conceptual/Non-Representational Prize for his image Tar, which explores themes of blue-collar labour.

  “Tar is a commonly used substance in roofing, the profession my father worked for 45 years,” says Custodio, who collaborated with his father to create compositions exploring tar’s organic forms and textures.

  RMG Exposed: Out of this World brings together artists, collectors and curators to celebrate digital photography and support free arts programming for kids and families. The event, now in its eighth year, includes both live and silent auctions of images carefully selected from 466 submissions.

  The event is designed to recognize contemporary photographers and draws artist submissions from across Canada and the United States.

  The Robert McLaughlin Gallery is a public art museum in Oshawa and features a collection of over 4,500 works including Canadian contemporary art and photography.

  To view this year’s images, visit the RMG Exposed website.

  Tags: Brock University, Danny Custodio, Denise Apostolatos, Department of Visual Arts, Exhibit, Exhibition, marilyn i. walker school of fine and performing arts, MIWSFPA, Photography, RMG Exposed, Rodman Hall, Rodman Hall Art Centre, Visual Arts
  Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Exhibitions, In the Media, News