ThinkTank

We've moved! Find us at IntegrativeTeaching.org

2009-06-29T11:26:58-05:00

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ThinkTank4: Stage 1 Complete!

2009-06-07T13:22:30-05:00

Stage one of Thinktank4 has been successfully completed. The four breakout sessions were intense, driven, and shared many common threads within this year's topic Divergence, Convergence, Emergence: Expanding Cross-Disciplinary Creativity.

The notes from this year's event have been posted to the wiki and will be viewable for a limited time. You will hear more about their findings over the course of the next several months.

Breakout Groups:

The Power of Names: Rethinking Curricular Structures
- Facilitator: Joyce Hertzon
Living in the Question: Creative Inquiry As Fuel for Cross-Disciplinary Research
- Facilitator: Jim Elniski
Crossing the Wires Without Blowing the Circuits
- Facilitator: Larry Millard
Critical and Creative Thinking: Partners in the Dance
- Facilitator: Mary Beth Koos

ThinkTank4 Saturday Presentation

2009-06-06T08:21:14-05:00

Attached is the short initial presentation by Adam Kallish, Board Member of the Integrative Teaching Thinktank, and instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

This is a Download TT4_Opening_Small Use your space bar or press on the screen to advance the presentation.

Find us on Facebook and Twitter

2009-06-03T19:12:45-05:00

We have set up a Facebook page for the Integrative Teaching Thinktank at http://tr.im/IntegrativeTeachingTT. Log into Facebook to become a Fan! There is also an event listed for TT4 where participants may RSVP.

These pages may be used to upload pics, notes, and start discussions about TT4.

Do you Twitter? We will be using the hashtag #TT4 for all Tweets regarding ThinkTank4. You can follow the RSS feed here: http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=%23tt4

You may also follow along on the right hand side of this blog under the heading "TT4 on Twitter (#TT4).

Fair Use of Photo Reference

2009-03-08T20:01:52-05:00

This month I want to talk about a couple of contemporary artists and fair use of photo reference.

I first became aware of Elizabeth Peyton’s work in early 2007 as I was preparing my Everything is Appropriated in a Post Modern World session for NAEA (National Art Education Association http://www.arteducators.org/olc/pub/NAEA/home/) and for a panel discussion by the same name at FATE (http://76.162.42.140/index.html)

I rather like many of her images, and I think they are important in the conversation I have with art students about how they use photo reference that they did not shoot. The controversy (if there is one) is that she often uses compositions directly from photo reference of pop icons as her painting inspiration. She has an amazing career as a contemporary American painter with a recent retrospective at the New Museum in New York City http://www.newmuseum.org/exhibitions/400 and the cover of the February 09 Art in America. In the AiA article about her by Nadia Tscherny no controversy is alluded to in any way. While Ms Tscherny admits that Peyton collected photographs from magazines for pictorial inspiration, she goes on to say “The transformative power of her vision becomes especially apparent when a photographic source is compared to the painting it inspired.” W magazine commissioned Peyton to paint Michelle and Sasha Obama. Here are the links to W http://www.wmagazine.com/artdesign/2008/11/elizabeth_peyton and a site that compares the image to its photo reference and a famous photo of Coretta Scott King with Bernice King

http://michelleobamawatch.com/sometimes-a-painting-is-just-a-painting-elizabeth-peyton-painting-controversy

While Elizabeth Peyton gets accolades for her adaptations, Shepard Fairey is definitely in the hot seat about his now famous graphic portraits of Obama used to benefit his Presidential campaign

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29023218/

This online article offers a well researched critique of Fairey before the current accusations http://www.art-for-a-change.com/Obey/index.htm I love Fairey’s aesthetic, but it looks like I could end up with my art on his T-shirt if he decides he likes mine! This shows that there is no formula for using the photo reference of others. I think it is a question for each artist to address.

This is a YouTube link to hear a little from the artist directly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVY8PXr3z90 This is specifically about the Obama work - but not about the controversy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxhgIoXzMrQ&NR=1

If you are on Facebook and you care to comment on the Shepard Fairey controversy, visit this link to Portfolio Creative Staffing’s discussion board http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/updates.php?id=38216235776&sent=1&e=0#/pages/Portfolio-Creative-Staffing/38216235776

go to their discussion board topic

Legal Wrangling over Obama Hope Poster--Right or Wrong?

I think it is so important for artists to carefully consider how they are using, borrowing and manipulating the images of others. After all, the artist being referenced could be us.

Brooke Hunter-Lombardi

Independent Art and Education Consultant, TT Board member

ThinkTank4 Stage Two Fellowship Award Winners Announced

2009-02-16T12:03:06-06:00

ThinkTank has chosen the following emerging educators as participants in the Stage Two of ThinkTank4 at the University of Georgia, Athens from June 5-10, 2009:

Kip Bradley, Adjunct Faculty of Foundations and Painting, Savannah College of Art and Design

Amanda Burnham, Foundations Coordinator at Towson University

M. Michelle Illuminato, Alfred University

Stacy Isenbarger, MFA candidate in Sculpture, University of Georgia

Anna Kell, MFA candidate in Painting, University of Florida

Selena Kimball, Hunter College

Melanie Lowrance, University of Central Missouri

Erin Mcintosh, MFA candidate in Painting and Drawing, University of Georgia

Danica Oudeans-Coale, University of Wisconsin − Barron County

Oliver Shemm, MFA candidate, Florida State University

Rena Leinberger, Foundation Coordinator, State University of New York − New Paltz

High School Art Teacher Inspiration Update

2009-02-04T12:37:29-06:00

I have been invited by Mary Stewart and Adam Kallish to add a new category to the TT blog especially for high school art teachers so that they may be more connected to the future of college foundation art programs and to help them locate sources of inspiration and resources on the web. I will post once monthly (usually mid-month) and include links for artists, designers and institutions. I will also offer book recommendations and lesson plan resources.

In honor of Black History Month, I am featuring some prominent African American artists and resources in this post:

First I offer the rich textures and soul filled messages of Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson, an international artist and local legend from Columbus, OH. A prolific art maker, she has a large catalog of "rag paintings", assemblage/sculptures and has illustrated children’s story books (Sophie, The Shaking Bag, To Be a Drum and others). I love using story books as a resource with high school and college art students for two reasons. First, it is the genre that introduced most of them to visual art - they can be comforted by familiarity while encouraged to look deeper into the communication of visual storytelling. Secondly, children's book illustrators are making a legitimate living as artists, we all need that positive reinforcement! I found a fantastic web resource for Aminah Robinson created by Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) that is fun, interactive and full of resources for teachers: http://aminahsworld.org/

The second artist is a Somali-born photographer, Abdi Roble: http://www.abdiroble.com/

I saw his exhibit at CMA and have been sharing his images and looking carefully at his Somali Diaspora project, http://www.somaliproject.org/index.elements/bios_abdi.html to learn more about this new immigrant population in the US.

To purchase the book, The Somali Diaspora: A Journey Away, you can use this link:

http://www.photoeye.com/bookstore/mShowDetailsbyCatAmazon.cfm?Catalog=MU012&CFID=4108114&CFTOKEN=93854164

The third artist is illustrator AG Ford who was my student at Columbus College of Art & Design. He has just published his first children's book, written by Jonah Winter called, Barack. It came out in September 2008 and is a biography about our new President. I got copies through Amazon and also saw it on the shelf at Target. www.AGFordIllustration.com

Another amazing children's storybook that relates this month is Jazz ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits by Winton Marsalis, which combines jazz, poetry and illustration. It is illustrated by Paul Rogers.

http://www.paulrogersstudio.com/ check out his amazing sketchbooks

And one more illustrator is Kadir Nelson, his newest book features the words of President Barack Obama and his artwork is being featured in a Coca Cola Black History Month campaign: http://www.kadirnelson.com/

From the exaggerated hands in Aminah’s paintings and AG and Kadir's striking likenesses to Paul Rogers amazing portraits and New Orleans street scenes, they all rely heavily on figure drawing and the traditions of observations drawing. More great evidence for our students!

Brooke Hunter-Lombardi

Independent Art and Education Consultant, TT Board member

ThinkTank4 at UGA - Payment and Lodging Information

2008-12-16T11:15:33-06:00

For those stage one and stage two attendees that have been contacted by Richard or Mary, please send in your deposit and inquire about lodging for the dates based on the agenda sent to you.

1) Amount of Deposit

$50 to hold your place at TT4

2) Checks Payable to University of Georgia

3) Send checks to :

Richard Siegesmund, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Art Education

University of Georgia

Lamar Dodd School of Art

270 River Road

Athens, GA 30602-4102

4) Room reservations

Room reservations will be available soon on-line through the Georgia Center for Continuing Education

1-800-884-1381 or 706-542-2134 Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

ThinkTank4 Fellowship Forms

2008-08-05T07:28:04-05:00

Thinktank 4: A 21st Century Foundations Program Emerging Educators’ Fellowship
University of Georgia - Athens, June 5 to 10, 2009
Deadline – December 30, 2008
Notification – March 25, 2009

Carefully review the criteria and information Download TT4_Fellowship_Instructions.pdf (184.3K). Then complete and submit all required information and the Download TT4_Form_final.doc (86.0K) (auto-fill Microsoft Word document. Save the file with your name, and send applications to Mary Stewart at mstewart3@fsu.edu.

Do not surface mail any forms or recommendations. Send everything via e-mail to Mary Stewart.

Ten $1,000 fellowships will be awarded to support participation by emerging teachers and administrators of studio art foundations programs in Thinktank4, to be held at the University of Georgia, Athens.

Jurors

Julie Morrisroe
Foundations Coordinator
University of Florida

Rusty Smith
Chair, First-Year Programs
School of Architecture, Auburn University

Peter Winant
Coordinator of Studio Fundamentals, George Mason University

ThinkTank is a pilot program, designed to develop the curriculum for the Institute and create connections between emerging educators and master teachers. Both are designed to help junior faculty quickly gain great teaching skills, develop professional networks, and better meet NASAD standards.

Who is eligible?
1. Current MFA candidates, or recent MFA recipients, with at least 1 semester of Foundations teaching experience.
2. Design professionals, with at least 1 semester of Foundations teaching experience.
3. Foundations Coordinators, with at least 2 semesters of Foundations leadership experience.

What is Integrative Teaching?
Thinktank4 is designed for studio artists who are interested in teaching at the college level. Integrative teaching creates connections between your personal creativity and creativity in your teaching.

What are your responsibilities?
Prior to the ThinkTank, a list of required readings will be sent to all participants. Participants must attend all ThinkTank sessions, and will be required to submit two assignment sheets and one syllabus for the ThinkTank Archive.

Why attend?
ThinkTank4 is a great opportunity to expand your skills, knowledge, and experience, and puts you in direct contact with higher education experts. Past ThinkTanks have attracted studio artists, designers, and art educators from around the country.

ThinkTank4 Participant Form

2008-08-05T07:14:02-05:00

All formally invited participants to ThinkTank4 at the University of Georgia, Athens is being asked to complete a short form. Please Download TT4_Form.doc (112.5K) (an auto fill Microsoft Word document - use your tab key to go from field to field) and save the file with "yourlastname_TT4_info.doc" and send it to Richard Siegesmund at rsieg@uga.edu.