PNCA News

BFA Gallery Presents New Show

communications@pnca.edu — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:59:59 PDT

PNCA MFA and BFA students and faculty present Queer Show, now through August 2 in the College’s BFA Gallery, located in the Main Campus Building, 1241 NW Johnson St.

Participating artists include Wayne Bund, Lacy Davis, and Tyler Wallace among others. The focus of this exhibit is the works of PNCA artists who are queer, or, are working with queer themes.

Read a preview in Just Out.

Slideshow: Graphic Novel Intensive 2009

communications@pnca.edu — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:57:00 PDT

PNCA’s recent Graphic Novel Intensive celebrated the process of comic book storytelling and the work of comic book artists.

This year, faculty member and multi-media artist Daniel Duford (The Naked Boy, Radio Relay Towers), illustrator Ellen Forney (I Love Led Zeppelin, The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and web site) led students through a week-long comics boot camp.

Keep an eye on pnca.edu for the release of the Graphic Novel Intensive Anthology — original art and pre-orders will be available soon. Past Graphic Novel Intensive instructors have included Scott McCloud, Peter Bagge, Jessica Abel and Matt Madden. Visit the Graphic Novel Intensive blog for more information.

Slideshow photos by Brigitte d’Autremont

PNCA Announces Arnold Kemp as New Chair of MFA in Visual Studies

communications@pnca.edu — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:56:42 PDT

Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) announces the appointment of Arnold J. Kemp as Chair of the Master’s of Fine Arts in Visual Studies program.

In addition to his curatorial and administrative experience, Kemp is an established artist with an MFA from Stanford University. His mixed-media works have been shown internationally and have been reviewed by the New York Times, Art in America, ARTweek and the San Francisco Chronicle. His work is housed in the permanent collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Studio Museum in Harlem, among others.

Kemp will join PNCA faculty in early July.

Read the full media release.

Podcast: Centennial Commencement Address by Michael Curry ’81

communications@pnca.edu — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:45:02 PDT

World-renowned production designer Michael Curry ’81 addresses the Centennial Year 2009 BFA and MFA graduates during PNCA’s Commencement in late May.

Listen to a Podcast of Curry’s address.

Curry works widely in both conceptual and technical development with the foremost entertainment companies in the world such as Cirque du Soleil, the Metropolitan Opera, London’s Royal National Theatre, Disney Theatrical Productions, LA Opera, and Universal Pictures. He also collaborates regularly with directors such as Robert Lepage, Nicholas Hytner, Julie Taymor and William Friedken.

Curry has been the recipient of many prestigious awards from his peers, including several awards for his puppet and costume work on Broadway, Olympic ceremonies, and his continuing innovations in the fields of visual effects and puppetry design.

He owns and operates Michael Curry Design, Inc., which designs and creates live-performance oriented dimensional characters and productions, such as those seen by world-wide audiences in the 1996 and 2002 Olympics opening and closing ceremonies, Superbowl 2000, and New York City’s 2000 millennium event.

Currently, Curry is working on the production of LeRossignol @ the Paris Opera with Robert LePage, the 2010 Asian Games with the design team from the Bejing Summer Olympics, the 2010 World Cup Opening Ceremonies as well as Spiderman on Broadway directed by Julie Taymor and music by U2.

Photo by Barrett Rudich.

Pacific Northwest College of Art Announces Arnold J. Kemp as New Chair of the MFA in Visual Studies Program

communications@pnca.edu — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:57:38 PDT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 17, 2009

Contact:
Leah Bobal | Communications Specialist | Pacific Northwest College of Art
lbobal@pnca.edu 503 821 8964

Ann Hudner | Vice President, Communications & Public Programs |
Pacific Northwest College of Art
ahudner@pnca.edu 503 821 8894

Pacific Northwest College of Art Announces Arnold J. Kemp as New Chair of the MFA in Visual Studies Program

PORTLAND, OR – Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) announces the appointment of Arnold J. Kemp as Chair of the Master’s of Fine Arts in Visual Studies program.

“We are so pleased to appoint Arnold Kemp, with his great strengths in so many spheres of the art world,” said Greg Ware, Provost, PNCA. “We feel confident that he will bring diversity, richness and depth of experience not only to our MFA students, but to Portland’s art community on the whole. Because the relationship between mentors and students is the backbone of the MFA in Visual Studies, finding the best match for the Chair position is particularly critical as this program continues to grow.”

Currently a Brooklyn-based artist, curator, writer, and educator, the core of Kemp’s professional career lies with his 10-year post as Associate Visual Arts Curator at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco. At Yerba Buena, he curated solo exhibitions for prominent artists including Laylah Ali, Ellen Gallagher and Fred Wilson, as well as the renowned Bay Area Now series. He has also served as a board member for Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, Calif.; and Assistant Director at Omi International Arts Center, Omi, New York. Kemp is deeply connected to the national contemporary art community. Having built strong relationships with both emerging and well-known writers, curators, filmmakers, designers, historians, theorists and scientists across the country, he has collaborated closely with such creative thinkers as John Baldessari, David Hammons and Kenji Yanobe.

Kemp has recent ties to the Portland art community through projects with Portland Institute for Contemporary Art and an exhibition at the gallery Fourteen30 Contemporary. He has spoken as part of Portland State University’s Art and Social Practice MFA lecture series and has worked directly with students of PNCA’s MFA in Visual Studies program, under former program Chair MK Guth.

An engaged educator, Kemp has been a teacher and mentor to graduates at such schools as California College of the Arts, San Francisco; School of the Visual Arts, New York; and Stanford University, among others. “I view my activities as an educator as a productive way to participate in community building,” he said. “I bring to teaching not just theory, but also practical knowledge of the inner-workings of the art world and an understanding of how work is produced by artists and brought to the public by museums and galleries. I look forward to providing my students with the tools required to navigate an ever-changing now.”

Described by Kemp as “open to curricular innovation and creative risk-taking,” the MFA in Visual Studies is a 60-credit, two-year program. Currently, there are 16 second-year MFA candidates and 15 first-year candidates for Fall 2009. Kemp will join the PNCA faculty full-time July 1.

This highly selective program encourages students to make art in the present tense, responding to the art world’s constant evolution with rigorous creative and critical investigation. Under his leadership, Kemp envisions increased experimentation and opportunity for advanced BFA students to interact with MFA students, and plans to bring a wide variety of artists and arts professionals to the College to engage and collaborate with the students. “I am excited by Portland’s vibrancy, accessibility and passionate support of the arts,” said Kemp. “I look forward to further connecting my students and this city with other national and international communities.”

Independent inquiry and close mentorships drive PNCA’s uncommonly flexible and challenging program, enlivened by the non-stop energy of Portland’s creative community and visiting artists from around the globe.

Founded in 2007 through the Ford Institute for Visual Education—made possible by a $15 million gift from the late Hallie Ford—the MFA is Visual Studies was the first graduate degree program at the College. The MFA in Visual Studies graduated its first students in May 2009. For more information on the MFA in Visual Studies, visit www.pnca.edu/programs/mfa/visualstudies.php.

About PNCA
Since its founding in 1909, Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) has become a leader in innovative educational programming that connects students to a global perspective in the visual arts. The College offers Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Communication Design, Illustration, Intermedia, General Fine Arts, Painting, Photography, Printmaking and Sculpture. In addition, the College offers a mentor-based MFA in Visual Studies and a new joint MFA in Applied Craft and Design with Oregon College of Art and Craft. PNCA has the oldest continuously running community arts education program in the Northwest. From its base in the heart of the Pearl district, PNCA is actively involved in Portland’s cultural programming through exhibitions and a vibrant public program of lectures and visiting artists from around the world. In conjunction with its Ford Institute for Visual Education (FIVE), the College is pleased to present PNCA + FIVE Idea Studios, which bring internationally renowned artists such as James Turrell, philosopher Jacques Rancière, art critic Saul Ostrow, and theorist Tom Zummer. Visit on-line for a full events calendar and to learn more about PNCA’s BFA degree, MFA in Visual Studies or Continuing Education courses for all ages and skill levels. www.pnca.edu.

Lodge Gallery Presents New Work

communications@pnca.edu — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:50:34 PDT

PNCA’s MFA Lodge Gallery presents new work by second-year MFA student Cathy Cleaver.

Little Pink Houses
New work by: Cathy Cleaver
June 19 – July 31, 2009
The Lodge Gallery inside Allied Works Architecture, Inc.
1532 SW Morrison St.
Portland, OR 97205

Meet the Artists of PNCA: Lucinda Parker

communications@pnca.edu — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:50:15 PDT

Portland Art Museum (PAM) welcomes PNCA Alumna Lucinda Parker ’66 on June 20 for the first of its Meet the Artists of PNCA series, in conjunction with its current exhibition, PNCA at 100.

Featuring the work of over a dozen faculty and alumni of Pacific Northwest College of Art, formerly known as the Museum Art School, PNCA at 100 represents a wide range of artists affiliated with the College, including Michele Russo, Louis Bunce, Manuel Izuierdo, and many others.

Parker is a renowned Pacific Northwest painter whose abstract paintings explode off the canvas. “No one else has waged her near-epic struggle with the principles of Modernism,” said the Oregonian. She is represented by Laura Russo Gallery.

PNCA at 100
June 6 – September 13
Meet the Artists of PNCA
2-4pm Saturday, June 20
Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave.

Read a PNCA.edu profile of Parker.
Read the Portland Monthly article.
Read the On the Way blog.

Photo of Lucinda Parker and her work courtesy of

Creativity and Collaboration in the City of Art

communications@pnca.edu — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:00:28 PDT

Commencement Remarks 2009

Thomas Manley
Pacific Northwest College of Art

Good afternoon and thank you for joining us for the 2009 Commencement of Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA).

Welcome to you all and congratulations to the Class of 2009 and congratulations to your parents, families, friends, and mentors who have supported you on your journey to this outstanding day.

Welcome also, of course, to our honoree and speaker, Michael Curry, PNCA class of 1981, and to the members of the talented PNCA community—Governors, faculty, staff, alumni and students.

Today we celebrate first and foremost the members of the Class of 2009, both those who are receiving the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts and those recipients, the first in the College’s history, who are receiving a PNCA Master of Fine Arts degree. This is a milestone for our school and it is fitting that it comes at this time and in this year.

For ten decades PNCA has served as the flagship art school for Oregon and the wider region and in the course of those years its faculty, students, alumni, and staff have contributed indelibly to the spirit and substance of this institution, its city and region, and to the creative community that connects us to a wider world of possibilities, concerns and obligations. Imagine a life without the high places of wonder, joy and insight to which the arts lift us. Then imagine what the impact that the tens of thousands of creative citizens who have been associated with the school over its first 100 years have had on the quality of our personal and public lives today.

Class of 2009, I want to speak more about the idea of creative practice and citizenship in a moment, but if I may ask you and all present to join me in moment of quiet reflection and appreciation for those who have brought us to this point.

Our centennial is of course a chance to acknowledge an historical legacy, but this afternoon is about the future, especially your future Class of 2009, and how you choose to apply your considerable talents and knowledge. That future, we believe is a bright one, if only given the increasing value of the educational currency you have earned. But there are other reasons for being optimistic despite the state of the economy.

We believe that a PNCA education prepares you for a life of creative practice. We make this claim based on our confidence in the blending of a studio-based education and liberal arts learning the College offers. And we make this claim based on what you have accomplished with the PNCA faculty in your time with us.

To last year’s class I spoke about the markers of those accomplishments in terms of the specific habits of studio thinking students develop and strengthen while at PNCA. Habits like careful observation, envisioning, resourcefulness, persistence, reflection, commitment to craft, effective communication visually, orally and in writing, the ability to understand and present your work in an historical context, and not least the capacity to work with others respectfully, to be active in seeing and responding to their work in a manner that is rigorous and that encourages ongoing investigation and dialog.

These habits are more than a collection of skills. Taken as a whole they encompass an experientially grounded approach to engaging and interpreting the world in original and sometimes transformational ways. That approach has always been vital to the making of culture that inspires and moves us as individuals and citizens to care about the quality of our lives together. Through the steadfast practice of creativity, the capacity for civic imagination is enlarged.

Creativity is a potential all possess. But it is in its sustained and dedicated practice that it is more fully developed by artists and designers. In chronicling the creative practice of a dozen artists, Barbara Seidel has written that through practice, creativity brings “many blessings. It requires time, but it can open us to the timeless moment. It requires effort, but it becomes effortless. Hard work, she notes, often leads to great delight. Perhaps most importantly, “the process itself takes us to ever-higher levels of creative functioning.”(Barbara Seidel, The Intimate Agenda: 121)

A life of creative practice engages us in ongoing problem posing and problem solving. It requires discipline and seeks to appreciate the shifting relationships among practice, process and what is ultimately produced. Here is where we explore, test, fail, stretch, adapt, discover and find personal meaning. Here is where creativity lives and is unleashed. This is also where innovation and originality are often born and it is the level of creative endeavor at which we can most effectively employ the transformative process of collaboration.

Unlike the work and practice of the solitary studio, which is its necessary partner/prerequisite, collaboration, to be true and rich, asks us to submit to an overarching discipline of shared exploration and dialog in order to let new things unfold. It depends on openness and rejects, what Maria Callas warned in regards to operatic performance, the slavish rendering of musical notation in favor of the total economy of the aria. Through the crucible of collaboration we are able at times to fuse the ideas of many into something that rises far above what we alone could imagine. This is undoubtedly why the great visionary poet, William Blake, spoke of the City of Art as the highest expression of human creativity, a place characterized by collaboration through which artists channeled their experience, craft and imagination to achieve together what they could not achieve by themselves.

The world we find around us is imperiled on so many fronts. On its own I do not believe that art and culture has the power to change the harsh realities of that world. But it does have the power to point to what Yeats calls the counter truths and to inspire us with transcendent moments of beauty, astonishment, joy, longing, insight, sorrow, and environmental connectedness? This is why Petrarch tells us that logic and philosophy may help us to better define virtue, but only poetry and metaphor, both technologies of the artists imagination, can move us to be virtuous.

Therefore, the forging of community through collaboration is more than a technique for expanding the richness of our shared culture; it is an act of shared responsibility, ethical intelligence and a countermeasure to the forces and conditions that feed on intolerance, closed mindedness, violence and corruption in order to flourish. Through the accomplishments and coalescing of creative individuals, who have gathered around common purpose and who apply their talents and experience with integrity and diligence, optimism is made to blow strongly against the clouds of cynicism and despair, and in every place we build this kind of community, a City of Art materializes.

Class of 2009, you have our deep admiration, our confidence, our heartfelt support and our hope. We look forward to the steady stream of your accomplishments, in which we will take great pride and perhaps on occasion, just a little bit of credit.

Thank you.

(Portland, Oregon, May 24, 2009)

The 2009 Centennial Year Commencement Address

communications@pnca.edu — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:04:39 PDT

The 2009 Centennial Year Commencement service on May 24, 2009 opened with the peaceful ring of a Tibetan singing bowl by Director of Student Services Michael Hall. PNCA President Tom Manley followed with, “Creativity and Collaboration in the City of Art,” a meaningful address that centered on collaboration and creative practice.

Download (10 MB, MP3)

Read the full Commencement address.
Photo by Barrett Rudich

PNCA at 100

communications@pnca.edu — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:25:43 PDT

Portland Art Museum presents PNCA at 100, featuring the work of over a dozen faculty and alumni of Pacific Northwest College of Art, formerly known as the Museum Art School, as PNCA enters its centennial year.

PNCA at 100
June 6 – September 13
Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave.

Read the Portland Monthly article.
Read the On the Way blog.

Spacescape, 1956, by Louis Bunce. Gift of Lillie Lauha, © 1956 Estate of Louis Bunce, courtesy of the Portland Art Museum.