Proficiency This Week

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Photo Credit:  Rusty Nelson

This week, Art Department students concentrating in Studio Art and Visual Communications, and who have finished the Foundations program (generally first-semester sophomores), participated in the Proficiency Review.  Students select five pieces of work to display, as well as write about that work;  faculty then meet with each student to discuss her or his work.  The photo above shows some of the work up on the Department walls this week for that review.  Congratulations to students and faculty on completing this important part of our curriculum!

China Study Abroad!

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Prof. Xu (front left) and students at the Heaven Temple in Beijing.  All photo credits: Ping Xu

Prof. Ping Xu (Visual Communications) and other Truman faculty led a study abroad trip to China this summer.  They arrived in Beijing on May 22. During the first five days in Beijing, they visited the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, Olympic Park, and the National Opera House. They then travelled to Xi'an where they spent another five days.  Students there visited the City Wall, the Shaanxi Historical Museum, and the Terra Cotta Museum during the time in Xi'an.
The team arrived at Shanghai University on June 1st. In addition to taking  Chinese language classes, two Truman Art majors in Vis Comm interned at TBWA Shanghai. In the team's spare time, they traveled to Shanghai's neighbor cities–Suzhou and Hangzhou. In addition, they visited the Shanghai Museum, the offices of Coca Cola, and saw the sights in Shanghai.

For more information on future study abroad trips in China with Truman State, please contact Prof. Xu (pingxu@truman.edu) and the Center for International Education at Truman.

TBWA Intern

Beijing

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Recent Work from Prof. Derezinski

Congratulations to Prof. Matt Derezinski (Visual Communications) on these recent accomplishments which he shared with us from his curriculum vitae!

Recent Exhibitions

Irving Art Association, 12th Annual Wildlife & Domestic Animal Juried Art Competition, Irving, Texas
Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, A sense of Place 2013, Augusta, Georgia
Garrison Art Center, PHOTOcentric 2013, Garrison, New York
See | Exhibition Space, The Story of the Creative, Long Island City, New York
Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Works on Paper NYC II, Long Island City, New York
Cooperstown Art Association, 78th Annual National Exhibition, Cooperstown, New York
Yeiser Art Center, Paducah Photo 2013, Paducah, Kentucky
MARIN Museum of Contemporary Art, 2013 Summer National Juried Exhibition, Novato, California
Kirksville Arts Association, Regional Arts Exhibition, Kirksville, Missouri (¡)
VMRC, VMRC’s Tenth Annual Juried Art Exhibition, Harrisonburg, Virgin
Art Scene Today, The World Through My Eyes, www.artscenetoday.com
Maria V. Howard Arts Center, 56th National Multi-Media Juried Art Exhibition, Rocky Mount,
North Carolina
Continental Building, Visual Arts Alliance 30th Juried Open Exhibition, Houston, Texas

Awards

Honorable Mention, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, “Summer National Juried Exhibition”
Novato, California
Honorable Mention, “International Art Festival”, New York, New York
Photographers of Week Minicontest, The Worldwide Photography Gala Awards at
www.thegalaawards.net

Publications

Best of Photography 33th Annual 2013, Photographer’s Forum Magazine
Artist Portfolio Magazine Issue 10

Art Alumna in Africa!

 
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Art Department alumna Jaime Chambers (Art History) has been working for the past year as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa (Malawi).  She has been doing remarkable work there, and most recently has been focusing on raising funds for a science lab for the school at which she teaches.

Jaime kindly sent us these photographs, including the one above of her speaking at the home of the United States Ambassador in Malawi. The pictures below include images of residents in the village where Jaime lives making bricks for the science lab project.

You can follow Jaime's blog here;  it includes beautiful writing about her experiences and life in Africa and information about how to contact her if you wish to know more about her project.  Congratulations, Jaime!

If you are an alum and have news to share, we'd love to hear from you!  Please contact us at art@truman.edu.

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Gallery Opening Tonight!

We hope to see everyone tonight at the opening for this year's first University Art Gallery exhibition!  The show features work by four Truman State University Art Department faculty members:

Matt Derezinski (Visual Communcations), who works in both graphic design as well as photography–he has won numerous awards for his photo work, many of which have been noted on the Department blog.

Lily Lee (Studio Art) who just joined the faculty this month;  this will be the first chance to see Prof. Lee's work in Kirksville.

Wynne Wilbur (Ceramics), who is just back from sabbatical leave;  the show will include work made during her month-long trip to China last fall.

Rusty Nelson (Visual Communications) who has remained very active as an illustrator and graphic designer while also serving (tirelessly!) as Chair of the Art Department.  The show includes some illustrations made during a recent trip to Italy.

It's a great opportunity to meet the artists and see some wonderful artwork.  Hope to see you there!

The opening will be at 6:00 p.m. in the University Art Gallery which is located in Ophelia Parrish Rm. 1114.  As always, Gallery events are free and open to the public.