Truman Ranked #3 by Washington Monthly

Good news from Truman Today:

Truman State University has again been named one of America’s best colleges by a national publication.
 
Truman  is No. 3 in the Best Master’s University category of the 2013 Washington Monthly College Rankings. Truman is the only Missouri school listed in the top 75, and the only public Missouri school on the entire Top 100 Master’s Universities list.

Washington Monthly bases its rankings on three criteria: social mobility, which gives colleges credit for enrolling low-income students and helping them earn degrees; research production, with particular emphasis on schools where undergraduates eventually earn Ph.D.s; and commitment to service. More information about the rankings can be found here.

In addition to the Washington Monthly, The Princeton Review listed Truman as one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education. The education services company has again featured Truman in its annual college guide, “The Best 378 Colleges.” Only about 15 percent of America’s four-year colleges are profiled in the 2014 edition.

Prof. Kambli Selected for New York Times Portfolio Review

Prof. Priya Kambli (Photography) was one of 160 photographers invited out of a pool of 2,700 photographers by The New York Times for their first New York Portfolio Review, a free two-day gathering in April sponsored by The New York Times Lens Blog. The event featured private critiques, discussions, and workshops on topics ranging from photo editing to grant writing to business practices to finding gallery representation. The review was a chance for a diverse group of 160 photographers to meet with leading photo editors, museum curators, book publishers and gallery owners for
one-on-one portfolio reviews. 

When contacting Prof. Kambli about her selection the authors of the Lens blog wrote:  "We received 2,700 entries for a total of 160 spots over two days, and there was an extraordinary amount of superior work. We had to turn down far more excellent entries than we wanted to — choosing was not easy. Not in the least."

Congratulations, Prof. Kambli!  For more on her work, please see visit her website.

Art History Student Interns at the St. Louis Art Museum

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Photo Credit:  Emily Hagen

Art Department senior Emily Hagen (Art History) received a competitive Curatorial Internship this past summer to work at the St. Louis Art Museum and shared the following about her experiences.

During the internship Emiliy worked one-on-one with the American Art curator, a Truman alum, to conduct research for potential exhibitions, reframe works, and compile a bibliography on a sculpture in the permanent collection.

In addition, the end of June saw the opening of the expansion of the museum. SLAM revealed its new contemporary wing designed by architect David Chipperfield (shown below). Interns were also granted an inside look at the events leading to, and following, the grand opening.

Finally, interns participated in a conceptual art piece by Yoko Ono, called the Wish Tree (shown above). They worked with the Contemporary Art curator to collect and bundle wishes.

Private gallery tours led by curators allowed interns to ask questions and learn from successful art professionals and sessions with other departments, including education, development, and registrar gave an insight into the functions and careers within the museum.

Emily wrote of the experience: "I am endlessly grateful for the opportunity to work as an intern at the St. Louis Art Museum. My experience enlivened my passion for art and has confirmed my desire to work in the art world after graduation."

Congratulations Emily! Students interested in applying for one of these internships should check the St. Louis Art Museum website later this year.

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Visiting Speaker: Bruce Scherting–Exhibition Design

Truman State University Art Department Visiting Speaker Bruce Scherting will give a talk this Thursday, October 24 at 4:30 p.m. in OP 2210.

Prof. Scherting is currently Exhibits Director at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center where he works in Exhibit Design, Collaboration, and Interpretation, and teaches classes in Museum Studies.  Previously, he worked for the University of Iowa Natural History Museum as an exhibition designer and developer, and has also worked at the Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  He holds a BS from Eastern Montana College and an MFA from Southern Illinois University.

In addition to giving a public talk, Prof. Scherting will also be working with students in Dr. Sara Orel's ART 428 Topics in Art History:  Museums and Collecting course, as well as with other students and classes around campus.

We hope to see you at some of these great events!

Visiting Artist on Campus Today!

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Photo Credit:  Rebecca Lawder

Kansas City printmaker Nick Naughton, who has work in the current exhibition in the University Art Gallery, is visiting the Art Department today!  He will be involved in three different events, all of which are open to the public:

1:30 p.m.  Q&A in the University Art Gallery (OP 1114)

2:30 p.m.  Discussion in the Printshop (OP 2260)

6:00 p.m.  Opening reception in the University Art Gallery (OP 1114)

As always, all Gallery events are free and open to the public.  We hope to see you there!

Information Session about Concentrations in Fibers, Sculpture, and Three-Dimensional Art

As those around the Art Department may know, we now offer four different concentrations which all allow students to explore making work in three dimesions:  Ceramics, Fibers, Sculpture, and Three-Dimensional Art.  The first three have been long-standing parts of the Art curriculum at Truman;  the fourth, Three-Dimensional Art, has been developed this semester by our new faculty member, Prof. Lily Lee and we are very excited about the new possibilities!

Two of the faculty involved in those areas, Prof. John Bohac and Prof. Lily Lee, will hold an information session regarding the courses Prof. Lee will be offering during the Spring 2014 semester in Fibers, Sculpture and 3-D Art.  Both professors will be there to answer questions and discuss the increased opportunities for art students in these areas.  The meeting is open to all interested students and faculty–we hope to see you there!

If you have questions and cannot make the meeting, please contact either Prof. Bohac (fa45@truman.edu) or Prof. Lee (lilylee@truman.edu).

New Gallery Exhibitions!

Two new exhibitions in the University Art Gallery open today!

An Illustrated Life:  a retrospective of the life and works of David Grove

This exhibition of works made by the American illustrator David Grove was organized by the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators.

Fatal Consequences of Terror's Bloody War:  artworks by Kansas City artist Nicholas Naughton

This exhibition features prints made by this Missouri artist that draw inspriation, in part, from Francisco Goya's famous eighteenth-century prints about war.

An opening reception–including refreshments–will be held on Tuesday, October 22nd at 6:00 p.m. in the University Art Gallery (OP 1114).  As always, Gallery events are free and open to the public.

In addition, Nick Naughton will be holding a discussion of his work in the Gallery at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, and a visit to the print studio for those who want to talk shop in that setting at 2:30 p.m.

Funding for the exhibitions has been provided for both exhibitions by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

Vis Comm Alumnae Updates

Prof. Rusty Nelson (Chair, and Vis Comm) recently put out a call for updates on what alumni of the Art Department's Visual Communications program have been up to.  He has shared the following three updates!

Michelle Krewet

I
am working in the marketing department at Innsbrook Resort and recently
completed a redesign and rebuild of their website at www.innsbrook-resort.com and I will be leading
a rebranding this fall.

Rose
Runser

After
graduation and completing one more summer with [Truman's] J[oseph] B[aldwin] A[cademy], I was able to find a
contract graphic design position in the Marketing department for Perceptive
Software (a division of Lexmark), based out of Shawnee, KS. After three months
in this temporary position, they offered me a full time job, which I happily
accepted and have been doing for 7 months now. In my position I work on
brochures for the various software technologies we offer and also create
graphics and collateral for the hundreds of trade shows our staff attends every
year. It's very exciting and I continue to learn something new everyday.

Rebecca
Fels

I've been working
for about six months as a graphic designer in the Publications and Alumni
Communication department at Mizzou. I design the weekly faculty newsletter
(we're launching a redesign in a couple of weeks!), a science magazine for
middle school students, and assorted student recruitment and event materials. I
plan and art direct photo shoots, meet with clients from various departments,
and press check most jobs at MU's Printing Services. I really like redesigning
things, whether they need a fresh look every time (like the School of Music
recruitment materials) or they've gotten stale over the years (like some event
invitations and programs).

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

Gallery Talk This Afternoon!

Please join us in the University Art Gallery (OP 1114) this afternoon (Tuesday, October 1) at 4:30 p.m. for a talk by Prof. Wynne Wilbur (Studio:  Ceramics).  As blog readers, and many on campus know, Prof. Wilbur has just returned from a sabbatical leave last academic year, part of which she spent in China.

Those who attend the talk will also have a chance to see some of Prof. Wilbur's recent work which is part of the current Gallery exhibition.

As always, Gallery events are free and open to the public.  We hope to see you there!

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!