"Designers for the Twenty First Century" (D421), a network for black designers, will launch its virtual hub and network on June 17 at NeoCon in Chicago's Merchandise Mart. Co-founder Eric Anderson, president of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) and associate professor in the School of Design at Carnegie Mellon will be the featured speaker. This event and the following reception are free to the public.
Within the United States, black Americans are significantly underrepresented in the design field; consequently, those in the field are often isolated and lack social support. D421 is a virtual design hub that uses current and emerging models of social networking and media tools to initiate, facilitate and celebrate the past and current work of black designers and support the development of future design practitioners and leaders. D421 is intended to help close gaps in design education and practice, increase the diversity of the global talent pipeline, and serve as an asset to design and business communities. In the future, members of D421 hope to establish and connect to parallel professional networks in order to continue providing increased knowledge, services and opportunities to underrepresented design communities. Visit http://www.designers421.org for more information.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Bagpipes Blare the Sounds of Carnegie Mellon Tradition
To honor Andrew Carnegie’s Scottish heritage, Carnegie Mellon created a bagpipe performance degree program. Only six students have graduated from this prestigious program that has the rigor of a conservatory music training and the world class one-on-one teaching that is characteristic of Carnegie Mellon’s School of Music. Nick Hudson, the most recent graduate of the bagpipe performance program had the opportunity to share his expertise teaching Hoda and Kathie Lee on the NBC’s Today Show how to play the bagpipes. Watch the lesson.
While in school, Hudson also has been featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Wall Street Journal and CBS News' "Assignment America." Check Hudson out on YouTube as he explains the basics of bagpipes.
Notably, during the same Today Show show on which Hudson appeared, Kathie Lee and Hoda interviewed Carnegie Mellon School of Drama alumna Tamara Tunie. Tunie talked about her role as Dr. Melinda Warner in the season finale of “Law & Order.”
While in school, Hudson also has been featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Wall Street Journal and CBS News' "Assignment America." Check Hudson out on YouTube as he explains the basics of bagpipes.
Notably, during the same Today Show show on which Hudson appeared, Kathie Lee and Hoda interviewed Carnegie Mellon School of Drama alumna Tamara Tunie. Tunie talked about her role as Dr. Melinda Warner in the season finale of “Law & Order.”
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Carnegie Mellon Artists Working Across Disciplines And In The Community
The idea of an “interdisciplinary” arts education seems like a contradiction. Classical arts education comes from a tradition of intense conservatory study that explores creative production within a closed studio setting. However, today’s artists are challenging themselves more than ever, crossing disciplinary boundaries and influencing other sectors and industries with their creative skills.
Holland Cotter, the New York Times visual arts critic recently wrote that art can survive hard economic times, but higher education arts institutions must educate their students to work and think across disciplines if they want to ensure its continued prosperity in our nation.
Historically the College of Fine Arts has urged and supported cross-disciplinary education. In the School of Art, classes like “Concept Studio; Eco-Art” taught by Bob Bingham, “Making Connections: Individual Projects in the Community” taught by Joe Mannino, “Wanderlust - Artistic Perspectives on Mobility Still Time - Poetry and the Pictograph” and “Electronic and Time Based Art” connect artists with students, professionals and faculty working in other disciplines.
The School of Art also hosts an interdisciplinary grant awarded to students who create projects across disciplinary boundaries. Recently a project called Bus Stop Opera was awarded this grant and took students into bus terminals to perform, in libretto, conversations heard at bus stops around the region. The project combined drama, art and music while engaging the community in an innovative way- in the Bus Stop Opera, opera becomes public art.
Art students at Carnegie Mellon work with engineers, chemists and technologists on a continuous basis. The College of Fine Arts has collaborated with the Mellon College of Science, the College of Humanities of Social Sciences and most recently the School of Computer Science to create bachelor degree programs that combine disciplines.
Cotter takes this idea a step further and challenges art schools to place students in completely novel environments like hospitals and other traditionally non-arts sectors. While this call for interdisciplinary action is important, Carnegie Mellon University is proud to be on the forefront of the kind of interdisciplinary education and practice Cotter talks about.
Holland Cotter, the New York Times visual arts critic recently wrote that art can survive hard economic times, but higher education arts institutions must educate their students to work and think across disciplines if they want to ensure its continued prosperity in our nation.
Historically the College of Fine Arts has urged and supported cross-disciplinary education. In the School of Art, classes like “Concept Studio; Eco-Art” taught by Bob Bingham, “Making Connections: Individual Projects in the Community” taught by Joe Mannino, “Wanderlust - Artistic Perspectives on Mobility Still Time - Poetry and the Pictograph” and “Electronic and Time Based Art” connect artists with students, professionals and faculty working in other disciplines.
The School of Art also hosts an interdisciplinary grant awarded to students who create projects across disciplinary boundaries. Recently a project called Bus Stop Opera was awarded this grant and took students into bus terminals to perform, in libretto, conversations heard at bus stops around the region. The project combined drama, art and music while engaging the community in an innovative way- in the Bus Stop Opera, opera becomes public art.
Art students at Carnegie Mellon work with engineers, chemists and technologists on a continuous basis. The College of Fine Arts has collaborated with the Mellon College of Science, the College of Humanities of Social Sciences and most recently the School of Computer Science to create bachelor degree programs that combine disciplines.
Cotter takes this idea a step further and challenges art schools to place students in completely novel environments like hospitals and other traditionally non-arts sectors. While this call for interdisciplinary action is important, Carnegie Mellon University is proud to be on the forefront of the kind of interdisciplinary education and practice Cotter talks about.
Monday, February 16, 2009
D’oh! Carnegie Mellon Gets “The Simpsons” Treatment
Carnegie Mellon’s reputation as an academically demanding university became a punchline on Sunday’s episode of “The Simpsons,” the first high-definition episode of the famous cartoon family.
In the episode, Homer travels back in time to his high school days to consider what his life would have been like if he had been elected senior class president. To head off that possibility, however, Principal Dondelinger asks “teenage” Lenny and Carl to bury a box of ballots. The Carnegie Mellon mention happens around 6 minutes, 40 seconds into the episode.
In exchange for this devious act, Lenny and Carl ask for a bad recommendation so they don't have to go to college and they can stay in high school and party. "OK,” Dondelinger responded, “but if you screw this up, it’s Carnegie Mellon University for the both of you!"
We can understand why a couple of dimwits like Lenny and Carl would shriek at such a horror, though even Carnegie Mellon students have been known to party now and then. But we can’t say we know exactly why The Simpsons chose to highlight Carnegie Mellon. We do know that Mike Reiss, one of the founding writers of “The Simpsons,” will be on campus at 7 p.m., April 2 to speak during the University Lecture Series in McConomy Auditorium.
In the episode, Homer travels back in time to his high school days to consider what his life would have been like if he had been elected senior class president. To head off that possibility, however, Principal Dondelinger asks “teenage” Lenny and Carl to bury a box of ballots. The Carnegie Mellon mention happens around 6 minutes, 40 seconds into the episode.
In exchange for this devious act, Lenny and Carl ask for a bad recommendation so they don't have to go to college and they can stay in high school and party. "OK,” Dondelinger responded, “but if you screw this up, it’s Carnegie Mellon University for the both of you!"
We can understand why a couple of dimwits like Lenny and Carl would shriek at such a horror, though even Carnegie Mellon students have been known to party now and then. But we can’t say we know exactly why The Simpsons chose to highlight Carnegie Mellon. We do know that Mike Reiss, one of the founding writers of “The Simpsons,” will be on campus at 7 p.m., April 2 to speak during the University Lecture Series in McConomy Auditorium.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Graffiti as Art Versus Vandalism Coverage in Media
Mary Louise Schumacher, art critic for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, sent a tweet about an interesting dialogue about graffiti as art versus vandalism happening in her area. It reminds me of the Barry McGee lecture during the Carnegie Mellon School of Art Lecture Series in conjunction with the "Life on Mars" exhibition at the Carnegie Museum. Mr. McGee is known by the tag name TWIST. In an interview he said "Galleries are boring. That is why there is so much graffiti on the streets."
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Buy Outs Impact the Arts, Sadly
Post-Gazette's Christopher Rawson, theater critic, Barry Paris, music critic and Jane Vranish, dance and music critic have departed as part of a companywide buyout offer. They will be truly missed. I remember attending the National Performing Arts Conference when in Pittsburgh and I remember so many art advocates astonished how Pittsburgh is one of the few major metro regions to have a critic in every artistic discipline in major newspapers.
Chris Rawson cultivated a theater scene here in Pittsburgh, as critics do. I think they have a responsiblity to cover as much as they can and Chris exhaustingly did. At times he would attend and critique three or four shows a night. In my view critics have a responsiblity to cover as much as they can and are just a part of establishing an arts scene as the artists themselves. Not to mention his unwavering support and documentation of one of Pittsburgh's (arguably America's) great playwrights August Wilson.
As much as Charles Baudelaire the 19th century French poet and critic was to make the salons of Paris famous, critics have a place in artistic movements.
They are still around part-time but the wealth of writing will truly be missed.
Read art critic Mary Thomas's goodbye.
Chris Rawson cultivated a theater scene here in Pittsburgh, as critics do. I think they have a responsiblity to cover as much as they can and Chris exhaustingly did. At times he would attend and critique three or four shows a night. In my view critics have a responsiblity to cover as much as they can and are just a part of establishing an arts scene as the artists themselves. Not to mention his unwavering support and documentation of one of Pittsburgh's (arguably America's) great playwrights August Wilson.
As much as Charles Baudelaire the 19th century French poet and critic was to make the salons of Paris famous, critics have a place in artistic movements.
They are still around part-time but the wealth of writing will truly be missed.
Read art critic Mary Thomas's goodbye.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Dallas Daily Newspapers Share Critic
See this article at link about two competing papers in Dallas using the same critical review to cut costs. I wonder if the critic would have a different opinion based on the Editorial direction of the media outlet? Probably not if the same review is getting published.
Local Dailies Collaborate to Make Up for Arts Staff Cutbacks
http://www.kera.org/artandseek/content/2008/12/09/hearing-fewer-voices-local-dailies-collaborate-to-make-up-for-arts-staff-cutbacks/
Local Dailies Collaborate to Make Up for Arts Staff Cutbacks
http://www.kera.org/artandseek/content/2008/12/09/hearing-fewer-voices-local-dailies-collaborate-to-make-up-for-arts-staff-cutbacks/
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