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Alumni Spotlight: Gracia Maria Shiffrin, BArch 1984

Jan 27, 2017Art & Design, Alumni, Architecture, Alumni Profiles, Doctor of DesignAlumni Spotlight, HUD, Department of Housing

Photo by Anita Healy Photography

In 2015, Gracia Maria Shiffrin, an architect and attorney, was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects for her work as a nonprofit developer, housing provider, and municipal funder. Currently an asset resolution specialist for the Chicago office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Gracia’s work over the last two decades has resulted in the creation and preservation of thousands of units of affordable housing; she has steered the preservation of Chicago’s historic resources and enhanced the redevelopment of neighborhoods and commercial corridors.

Before joining HUD, Gracia was a real estate development consultant, providing guidance to developers for the creation of large housing developments in the Chicago area for special populations such as homeless veterans, veteran families, and the elderly. Previously, she was the executive director of Chicago’s Catholic Charities Housing Development Corporation, where she was in charge of the real estate development of affordable housing for seniors, veterans, homeless, and the disabled. Prior to her housing work, Gracia spent 10 years working for the City of Chicago in three different roles. As deputy chief of staff for the Office of Mayor Richard M. Daley, she was responsible for the coordination of mayoral initiatives, requiring unique partnerships among numerous city departments, sister agencies, and private organizations. She led a multi-departmental effort for the protection of historic water tanks and guided collaborations with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Salvation Army’s Kroc Center. She was assistant commissioner serving as staff for the Chicago Landmarks Commission, where she managed the city’s historic property tax incentive program and leveraged more than $315 million in various historic preservation projects. As one of the city’s attorneys in the Chicago Law Department, Gracia provided legal counsel for the financial transactions of various city departments such as Housing, Planning & Development, Finance, Human Services, and Budget.

Gracia led the entire All Saints Residence project, a 42-unit elderly residence in West Pullman, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago. She assembled the land parcels, established a budget, obtained the $8.5 million in financing from public and private sources, secured entitlements, influenced architectural design, negotiated the design and construction contracts, closed on the project financing, worked with government officials, oversaw construction, and supported lease-up efforts. Urban Works, architect of record. Photo by Anthony May

As a 17-year-old refugee fleeing civil war in El Salvador and arriving in Baton Rouge, Gracia and her family never imagined she would achieve so much and have these opportunities. Gracia recalled having a hard time adjusting after her family’s displacement. “Those were challenging times,
coming to a new country and starting over from the bottom,” shared Gracia. “But once I started architecture school and made friends—I made a lot of good friends—things started falling in place.”

Gracia has always loved architecture—her father wanted to be an architect himself. Before leaving El Salvador, her father had been the head of the nation’s Social Trust for Housing. “It all circles back to my dad,” noted Gracia. “As a teenager, we would go to ribbon cuttings and ceremonies for new developments, and the president would be there. I would visit construction sites with my father. That’s what motivated me to be an architect; my mission is not just to design and develop commercial buildings but to contribute to those less fortunate.”

After receiving her Bachelor of Architecture from LSU, Gracia relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she worked as a project architect for seven years before she married and moved to Chicago. Building on her background as an architect, Gracia embarked on a new career, earning her law degree from DePaul University and interning with the City of Chicago, which opened the door for her future role in the city she, her husband, and their two daughters so dearly love.

“Chicago is a huge city with amazing architecture. It’s alive and full of terrific neighborhoods with strong identities. I’m proud to work to protect it and to ensure that people of all incomes and abilities have the means to enjoy living here, too.

“Looking back, I’ve been lucky,” added Gracia. “I’ve had so many opportunities in my life, being an architect has been essential to our lives, even though I followed a less traditional path. My work has been extremely rewarding and at the end of the day, I’m putting all my skills to work to impact others in a positive way and to give back to this wonderful country that has given me so much.”

LSU Students Present at Rome Center Super Jury

Jan 13, 2017Academic Programs Abroad, Students, ArchitectureStudy Abroad, Rome Program

At Super Jury, stellar students are selected to present their work to a group of 10 design professionals.

Ciao, Rome!

11 students. 124 days. 17 weeks. 10 field trips. 5 walked miles a day (at least). 3 studio projects.

The semester abroad in Rome was a prolific time for the LSU College of Art & Design Rome Program students, who learned lessons of architecture from the eternal city.

Christopher James presents at Super Jury.

At first, students from LSU, Philadelphia University, Auburn University, and University of Arkansas collaborated to research different neighborhoods in Rome, putting together analytical boards that translated a creative interpretation of the qualities and issues of the area. As a transition to the final project, Professor Andrew Kranis (LSU Adjunct Professor/University of Arkansas Rome Center) led LSU students to form smaller groups and participate in the ArtUrbain competition; this year’s theme was on enhancing public spaces for the common good of citizens. Proposals encompassed urban strategies to integrate a forgotten archaeological site, Largo Argentina, back into the heart of Rome. Drawing from these projects, each student then designed an architectural intervention.

Crowning the achievements of the whole group, Christopher James and Eva Knapp were chosen to present at Super Jury, an overview of the work produced throughout the semester, critiqued by a group of 10 design professionals. Architecture, interior

Eva Knapp presents at Super Jury.

design, and fashion design students came together to exhibit the great work completed at the Rome Center. The event is an important tool for the faculty to evaluate the results of a full semester of work and to improve on future projects and methods while also exposing students to what peers from different disciplines created when faced with similar conditions.

Both Christopher James and Eva Knapp are finishing the fourth year of Bachelor of Architecture program at LSU. Christopher’s project, titled “Loggia del Mondo,” looked at the pressing immigration issue in Italy, proposing a building that would integrate newcomers with the rich Italian culture. He believes that “learning about people is one of the biggest challenges in architecture,” so he strived to use the lessons he took from Romans to design a two story immigration office/business incubator that would welcome foreigners into a central city location instead of the current office located in the outskirts of the capital. In conclusion, he said he will carry the lessons learned from Rome into the rest of his educational and professional careers.

Concept image of new immigration center in Rome

Eva addressed urban issues by imagining a gondola system integrated into Rome’s current public transit network. Her project, “Commute through the Clouds,” selected strategic points throughout the city, adding a purple and a gold transportation line to traverse Rome via the sky, relieving a congested ground traffic system while providing breathtaking panoramic views of the eternal city. In conclusion to her presentation she affirmed that, “Designing a transportation system pushed me to really think about architecture in the context of a rich urban fabric.”

Daytime render of gondola system in Rome

Ground up view of gondola system in Rome

Rendering of gondola system over Rome at night

Christopher’s and Eva’s Super Jury presentations closed a very successful semester with strong and well-thought-out design proposals that represent the engagement and dedication exhibited by the whole LSU crew: Katie Brochard, Andrea Thigpen, Michelle Jones, Ana Orosco, Yingxue Wang, Adrienne Erbesti, Sarah Eikrem, Eva Knapp, Christopher James, Spencer Flanders, and Giovanni Coakley.

Still-Life Drawings by LSU Students Featured in LASM Exhibition

Jan 10, 2017Art & Design, Students, Events, Community Outreach, Art, Painting & Drawing, Exhibitionsmfa, kelli scott kelley, louisiana art & science museum, LASM, BFA

Still-life drawings by LSU Professor Kelli Scott Kelley’s advanced drawing students are on display in a satellite exhibit for the Louisiana Art & Science Museum’s Contemporary Old Masters. It’s Academic: A Hands-On Art Experience includes six interactive displays that invite visitors of all ages to draw, make collages, and put on costumes while learning about traditional subjects in Western art. LSU MFA candidate Justin Bryant also has a landscape painting featured in the satellite exhibition, on display at LASM now through May 28, 2017. A reception will be held at LASM on Thursday, January 26.

Contemporary Old Masters (on display now through February 26, 2017) features a selection of paintings by 12 artists whose works reflect how artists today are responding to Old Master traditions. Kelley’s advanced drawing workshop fits in well with the theme of the Contemporary Old Masters exhibition.

The class explores notions of drawing. The first half of the semester, students are given structured drawing assignments but are encouraged to interpret the prompts individually in ways that push beyond traditional approaches to drawing.

“Still-life is a genre that has endured since Roman antiquity,” stated Kelley. “In still-life artworks, often trivial and overlooked objects are given significance and meaning. By paying attention to simple and mundane objects, taking them out of their context, we see their beauty.”

Students in Kelley’s advanced drawing workshop include Alexandria Arceneaux, Angel Baise, Chao Dig, Colinda Byrd, Micaela de la Guerra, Morgan Gray, Leah Haight, Jacob Lagasse, Hayley Roussel, Heidi Roussel, Madelyn Smith, Lida Marie Steinkamp, and Annabelle Yates.

The still-life project was prompted by an invitation from local artist and LSU alumnus Scott Finch, director of public programming for art at LASM. Finch asked Kelley if she would be willing to set up a still-life in her workshop from which the students could make observational drawings and then recreate the still-life later, to be shown with the resulting art pieces in the exhibition at the museum. Kelley agreed and said the project has been an excellent opportunity for her students.

The assignment began as a collaborative endeavor. As a class, the students chose objects from Kelley’s thrift-store and flea-market collections, working together to create the still-life. They were instructed to use the still-life as a “reference” for their drawings; they could use traditional drawing media and surfaces, but were not limited to those materials. They began by working from direct observation of the still-life, but they were allowed to take photographs and were encouraged to interpret what they saw in individual and unexpected ways.

Kelley’s advanced drawing workshop is a class for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students of the LSU School of Art. View more work from LSU School of Art classes at design.lsu.edu/art/portfolio. Visit lasm.org for more information about the exhibits.

LSU Sculpture Student Receives Once-in-a-Lifetime Artist’s Residency in Switzerland

Dec 2, 2016Art & Design, Honors & Awards, Art, Sculpturemfa, International Sculpture Center, Brittany Sievers, ISC, Artist Residency, Heinz Aeshlimann

Girl in red shirt works clay with her hands

LSU’s Brittany Sievers has been awarded an artist’s residency at art-st-urban in Switzerland, where she will work closely with world-renowned sculptor Heinz Aeschlimann. Each year, one student is selected from the International Sculpture Center’s Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Awards for the residency.

Brittany, a third-year graduate student studying sculpture in the LSU School of Art, was awarded the prestigious ISC award in 2015 for her sculpture, 10,656 Palms. More than 158 universities, colleges, and art school sculpture programs from six countries nominated a total of 423 students for the sculpture award. Eighteen recipients and seven honorable mentions were selected through a competitive viewing process of the works submitted. Brittany was chosen as one of the 18 winning sculptors, and subsequently was singled out for the artist’s residency—a great accomplishment and testament to the artistic promise of Brittany’s work.

“I am really excited for this opportunity,” said Brittany. “I’m thankful to Professor Loren Schwerd for nominating me and for writing my recommendation for the residency.”

In spring 2017, Brittany will spend six weeks under the direction of Heinz Aeschlimann, exploring new materials and techniques such as construction and building materials.

According to the International Sculpture Center, “The highly personal contact and stay in the private environment of Heinz and Gertrud Aeschlimann and art-st-urban, the close coaching, the influences and habits of the new environment here in Switzerland as well as the personality of Heinz Aeschlimann as a model and his requirements profile to the young artists all contribute to ensuring that the fellows also pass through a kind of ‘school of life.’”

During the residency, Brittany will be paired with another artist and will have the opportunity to explore a new and unique array of materials. “The other artist is Chinese—so kind of east meets west—I look forward to the opportunity to learn another point of view,” she explained. “I’m a very material-oriented artist, so anytime I can get my hands on something new is very exciting for me.”

At the end of the six-week residency, art-st-urban will host a joint exhibition of the two artists’ work.

Brittany is currently working on installations for her thesis exhibition, which will take place at the Firehouse Gallery, February 14–24, 2017, just before she leaves for her artist’s residency in Switzerland. She said her process work is heavily drawn from social psychologist Ellen Langer’s definition of mindfulness—“the simple act of actively noticing.”

“I utilize space, raw materials, and labor to provide a platform for the audience to begin to notice, thus becoming mindful. Repetitive labor combined with minimalistic aesthetics and site-specific sculptures provide the framework for each piece. These installation objects are designed to focus the viewer’s attention to the details: the area of the room they occupy, the subtle differences within the material itself, and the influence of my individual touch.”

Brittany digs local clay, processes it, and spins her own yarn from wool for each installation and sculpture. This dedicated labor produces individual modules that become large-scale sculptures that fill space—saturating an area between walls, connecting architectural elements, and occupying areas framed by doorways.

“These pieces transform my physical work into a platform that allows the viewer to actively notice,” she added.

Visit sculpture.org for more information about the International Sculpture Center and art-st-urban.com for more information about the artist’s residency.

For more information about sculpture at LSU, visit art.lsu.edu.

LSU Professor Guest Curates Exhibition at New York Museum of Modern Art

Nov 18, 2016Art & Design, Architecture, Exhibitions, Faculty, Doctor of Designfaculty exhibition, michael desmond, MoMA, Museum of Modern Art, Frank Lloyd Wright

LSU School of Architecture Professor Michael Desmond is a guest curator for an upcoming exhibition on Frank Lloyd Wright at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The exhibition, Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the Archive, will be on display at MoMA June 12–October 1, 2017.

Professor Michael Desmond, LSU School of Architecture

The exhibition is described as comprising “approximately 450 works made from the 1890s through the 1950s, including architectural drawings, models, building fragments, films, television broadcasts, print media, furniture, tableware, textiles, paintings, photographs, and scrapbooks, along with a number of works that have rarely or never been publicly exhibited.”

Structured as an anthology, the exhibition is divided into 12 sections curated by Wright scholars, historians, architects, and designers. “Each section investigates a key object or cluster of objects from the Frank Lloyd Wright Archive, interpreting and contextualizing it, and juxtaposing it with other works from the archive, from MoMA, or from outside collections,” (moma.org).

As well as determining themes and selecting objects to represent these, the guest curators contributed articles on their sections for the exhibition catalog and book. Desmond discusses his section of the exhibition and book chapter, titled “Abstracting the Landscape: Galesburg Above and Below the Surface,” in a short film, which will accompany the exhibition.

A lifelong Frank Lloyd Wright scholar, Desmond wrote his MIT PhD dissertation on Wright’s partially built subdivisions and community designs from 1936–47. At the time, Desmond’s dissertation, A Clearing in the Woods: Self & City in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Organic Communities, was the first on Wright to come from an Ivy League university in almost 30 years.

Desmond, who frequently lectures on Frank Lloyd Wright, is currently expanding that dissertation into a book focused on Wright’s increasing use of circles and circular arcs over the last 20 years of his career as means of engaging architectural form and perception of landscapes. “Out of Wright’s 1,200 designs, some 450 were built, leaving over 700 unbuilt, many of which were spectacular houses and communities designed to integrate with the landscape of their specific sites in ways that have not been studied,” said Desmond. His initial research for the book included combing through the 30,000 drawings in the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, formerly housed outside Phoenix, Arizona.

Three years ago, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation donated the drawings to Columbia University’s Avery Library Archive and the models to the Museum of Modern Art. “It was a watershed moment, making the archive much more accessible,” said Desmond, who was the first person to visit the Avery collection once it was opened. Through his frequent visits to the archive and broad knowledge of the subject he has developed a working relationship with the staff and architecture faculty.

Barry Bergdoll, former architectural curator at MoMA and a professor at Columbia, organized the exhibition to show that Wright studies are turning a new chapter and to demonstrate emerging new scholarship. “The exhibition seeks to open up Wright’s work to critical enquiry and debate, and to introduce experts and general audiences alike to new angles and interpretations of this extraordinary architect,” (moma.org).

Desmond is currently working with the Museum of Modern Art and the LSU College of Art & Design to arrange an alumni gathering and guided tour of the exhibition in the summer of 2017. To stay up to date on college news and events, sign up for the College of Art & Design e-newsletter, Quad Mail, here. Updates will also be provided at design.lsu.edu.

Visit moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1660?locale=en for more information on the exhibition.

Students Investigate Components in Rising Water Installation

Oct 28, 2016Art & Design, Students, Interior Design, ExhibitionsStudent Exhibition, BID, Bachelor of Interior Design

To commemorate the recent flooding in Louisiana, LSU College of Art & Design students in Professional in Residence Lee Kean’s components course created a large-scale installation for exhibit in the LSU Design Building Atrium.

The project was focused on the potential for components to exponentially create structures, systems, and environments. Students began by recording the dynamic exchange of water and land. Their photographic observations or rising and moving water and dark and light reflections on the water’s surface became the focus of the investigation. The students scanned the photographic images for use in propagation-based parametric modeling and produced digital and physical models.

line art water, rising water installation

negative space wave, rising water installation

sream water falling over rock, rising water installation

negative stream water falling over rock, rising water installation

negative water ripple, rising water installation

detail water wave, rising water installation

close up ripple. rising water installation

teal water detail, rising water installation

The class selected one digital model to translate and cut at full scale with the CNC (computer numerical control) router. The full-scale, milled component shapes were sequenced and structured to produce the installation, which was mounted on the atrium wall in the Design Building. The installation contextualized processes in nature to create a new spatial experience, potentially establishing links in viewers’ perception and experience.

“The intermittent and unexpected forcefulness of the flooding in Louisiana carries a heavy connotation, and the installation engages viewers with one of many unique phenomenological attributes of the environment that we call home,” said architecture student Zach McLain.

design atrium display, rising water installation

wall art cross sections, rising water installation

texture wall display, rising water installation

wave display art, rising water installation

topographic wave texture, rising water installation

“For me, it represents the power of water,” added interior design student Emily Phillips. “Even though the devastation is not visible, it shows on a large scale how influential the impact of water can be. The installation helps me remember our vulnerability.”

“In context to what has happened recently, [the installation] shows the power and dynamics of water,” noted landscape architecture student Joseph Graziani. “At first you do not realize it is water being represented, but when you walk up to it, you feel the intensity.”

To George Castillo, a graphic design and photography student who volunteered to photograph the exhibition, the installation represented “the rise and fall of people’s experiences in our community.”

Ryan E. Stevens of State Lumber and Hardware and Jack Kellerman of Kellerman Woodworks donated supplied for the installation, and several interior design, architecture, and landscape architecture students volunteered their time to help realize the project.

MLA Candidate Joni Emmons Named Chair of ASLA Student Advisory Committee

Oct 26, 2016Art & Design, Students, Landscape Architecture, Community Outreachasla, MLA

Joni Emmons has been named chair of the newly formed American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Student Advisory Committee. Emmons is a second-year Master of Landscape Architecture candidate in the LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture.

The national committee was created in May 2016 to advise ASLA leaders and staff on key policies and programs that impact student members and student chapters of the organization. Members draw on their own experiences and those of their fellow students to provide input and feedback to set priorities and inform annual program development. The committee is focused on recruiting and retaining student members, providing support to the student chapters and student chapter presidents, and developing content for publications and social media.

Each state chapter of ASLA had the opportunity to nominate one student for the advisory committee, and the Louisiana chapter nominated Emmons. Six students from around the country were chosen for the committee, and of those six, ASLA President-Elect Vaughn Rinner selected Emmons to serve as the inaugural chair. As committee chair, Emmons also serves as the student representative to the ASLA Board of Trustees and as the liaison between the board and the committee.

When asked about the position Emmons said, “It is an honor to be named chair of the committee. I hope we will be able to provide a valuable perspective to the ASLA and encourage meaningful communication within the community of students. I am grateful for and humbled by this opportunity, and I look forward to representing my colleagues around the country.”

Emmons represented the committee at the recent ASLA Annual Meeting and Board of Trustees meeting in New Orleans. In April, the entire committee will attend the ASLA mid-year meeting in Washington, D.C., to participate in training and Advocacy Day, an annual effort to raise legislative awareness of issues related to landscape architecture. She will also represent the committee at the society’s 2017 Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.

Online nominations for 2017–18 Student Advisory Committee members are open now through June 2017. Visit asla.org/land/LandArticle.aspx?id=4875 for more information about ASLA committees and the nomination process.

Elements, the 2016-17 LSU School of Art Season

Oct 18, 2016Events, Art, Exhibitions, LecturesGlassell Gallery, foster gallery, 2016-17 Lecture Series, Elements

The LSU School of Art presents Elements, the 2016–17 series of lectures, exhibitions, and related activities.

The invited artists and scholars approach the theme of Elements in diverse ways that include examinations of elemental forces at play in nature and politics and within various artistic processes and movements. David Maisel’s photographs often explore land from the air, drawing attention to landscapes that have been altered by mechanized activity or environmental neglect. Mario Naves balances formal elements of color, line, and geometry in his paintings and parses language in his contemporary art criticism. Julie Heffernan’s lush paintings explore self-portraiture and identity through suggestive narratives and allegories. The collaborative duo Matthias Böhler and Christian Orendt produce large-scale, immersive installations that often play with our sense of scale and imagination. Henri Zerner, author of Renaissance Art in France, shares critical perspectives on historical art movements and how these foundational ideas continue to shape and inform contemporary art discourse.

We hope that you will join us to meet and hear the ideas of these remarkable thinkers and makers.

LECTURES

OCT 26 at 5 p.m. | DAVID MAISEL
Paula G. Manship Endowed Lecture
LSU Design Building Auditorium (room 103)

NOV 11 at 2 p.m. | HENRI ZERNER
LSU School of Art Lecture
LSU Cox Auditorium

NOV 16 at 5 p.m. | BÖHLER/ORENDT
LSU School of Art Lecture
LSU Design Building Auditorium (room 103)

JAN 23 at 5 p.m. | GREG SIMKINS
LSU School of Art Lecture
Co-Sponsored by Baton Rouge Gallery
LSU Design Building Auditorium (room 103)

FEB 7 at 5 p.m. | AYUMI HORIE
LSU School of Art Lecture
LSU Design Building Commons (room 104)

MAR 15 at 5 p.m. | JULIE HEFFERNAN*
Paula G. Manship Endowed Lecture
LSU Design Building Auditorium (room 103)

MAR 22 at 5 p.m. | MARIO NAVES
LSU School of Art Lecture
LSU Design Building Auditorium (room 103)

EXHIBITIONS

Recent Work: LSU School of Art Faculty Show
Glassell Gallery: September 6–October 16, 2016
Reception: Thursday, September 29, 2016, 6–8 p.m.

Painting Color
Curated by Susan Bonfils, featuring abstract works by Steven Alexander, Siri Berg, Gabriele Evertz, Jane Logemann, Robert Swain, Stephen Westfall, and Sanford Wurmfield
Reception: Saturday, November 12, 2016, 6–8 p.m.
Panel Discussion on Color: Sunday, November 13, 2016, 1:30–3:30 p.m.

Mudluscious: A Celebration of LSU School of Art Ceramics
Curated by Christopher Scott Brumfield and Andy Shaw
Glassell Gallery: January 27–March 5, 2017
Reception: Saturday, January 28, 2017, 6–8 p.m.

Third Annual Statewide Juried High School Exhibition
LSU Foster Gallery: February 20–March 18, 2017
Reception & Awards Ceremony: Saturday, March 18, 1–3 p.m.

When the Water Rises: Recent Paintings by Julie Heffernan*
LSU Museum of Art: March 11–September 17, 2017
Reception: Thursday, March 16, 2017, 6–8 p.m.

*Lecturing artist and exhibition

Hye Yeon Nam’s Kinetic Sculpture Installation Exhibited in Yongsan, Korea

Oct 18, 2016Art, Digital Art, Sculpture, Exhibitions, Faculty, Doctor of Designhye yeon nam, faculty exhibition, International Exhibition, Kinetic Sculpture

A Journey of Footsteps from Hye Yeon Nam on Vimeo.

An outdoor kinetic sculpture, A Journey of Footsteps, designed by LSU’s Hye Yeon Nam, assistant professor of digital art, and Myung Ki Nam, her brother and collaborator, was on display at the Yongsan Family Park in Korea as part of the AmorePacific Museum of Art Project, or APMAP, August 13–September 10, 2016.

The installation consists of feet walking forward, full of hope, toward the future. Visitors participate in the installation by stepping on and pressing down the pedals beneath the work to engender the dynamic movements of each panel shaped in the form of a foot.

A Journey of Footsteps represents the geographical history of Yongsan. As participants use the foot pedals to directly interact with the artwork, they can experience the active dynamics of moving forward while connecting past and the future, human and nature.

Visit museum.amorepacific.co.kr/en/yongsan2016.asp for more information about APMAP and hynam.org to view more of Nam’s work.

Callahan’s Ways & Means Studio Emphasizes Digital Fabrication Tools

Oct 18, 2016Art & Design, Students, Art, Ceramics, Sculpture, Resources, Doctor of Designdesign shop, digital fabrication, Fabrication Factory, 3-D printing

paul callahan ART 4020 ways and means description

In spring 2016, Paul Callahan, instructor at the LSU College of Art & Design, taught a course focused on integrating digital fabrication tools, such as 3-D printers, CNC mills, and laser cutters—all found in the college’s Design Shop—in artistic and design pursuits.

Callahan received his MFA from LSU in 2013. A Baton Rouge based, mixed-media designer, he specializes in integrating hand-forming techniques with rapid prototyping and fabrication tools. At LSU, he divides his time between working in the Design Shop and teaching for the College of Art & Design.

In his Ways & Means studio, Callahan emphasized material and process exploration by covering technology capable of deploying a wide array of materials. Students learned how digital fabrication can be useful as an intermediary process for the production of molds and as a primary process to produce components for a finished object. Demonstrations included drawing techniques for Rhinoceros 3D, file preparation and output for three fabrication machines—3D printer, CNC mill, and laser cutter—and operational instructions for safe implementation of the tools, mold-making, and casting. Students gained the practical knowledge of how to set up and operate these machines and insight on how to use technology in their studio practice.

“The Ways & Means class was a risk for me because I had no previous Rhino or 3-D modeling skills, but I’m so glad I took the leap and put in the work to learn the program,” said Savanna LeBauve, an undergraduate student studying studio arts at the College of Art & Design. “Experimental classes like this one really help students push boundaries into new places and spark inspiration that would otherwise be left undiscovered. As technology becomes a larger part of studio practice, I am thankful to have the knowledge and skills learned in this class and the professional opportunities they provide.”

The work produced in the Ways & Means course was exhibited in the in the LSU Design Building Atrium. The exhibition represented a diverse sampling of the different approaches, methods, and projects completed in the course, showing the interdisciplinary nature of the course—from the students’ chosen majors, level of education, and primary language to their previous digital fabrication experience. Graduate and undergraduate students—and even one faculty member—from a myriad of backgrounds, including graphic design, fashion and apparel design, ceramics, and sculpture, created products based on their own areas of expertise, including clothing and accessories, a chessboard and chess pieces, decorative art, and functional tableware. A short biography accompanied each work, providing insight into the perspective of the artists.

“As an educator, any time you get a group of students who are this eager to soak up the coursework, your job becomes vastly more enjoyable and interesting,” shared Callahan. “That energy circulates among the students and the resulting work that comes out of the class is progressive, leading the students down paths they did not know existed.”

Callahan is teaching the Ways & Means (ART 4020) studio again in spring 2017, and the work will be exhibited in Design Building Atrium toward the end of the spring semester.

Students in the College of Art & Design can look forward to more technology-driven courses with the new Fabrication Factory, opening soon across the hall from the Design Shop in the Art Building. The factory will provide the capacity to create a multidisciplinary, active, team-learning environment by leveraging large-scale digital fabrication equipment for cutting, shaping, and forming metal, wood, and plastic toward the resolution of creative design problems and for creative endeavors. These enhancements will have a broad impact for university education, recruitment, and research in the application of digital fabrication technology in architecture, art, interior design, and landscape architecture.

Read more about College of Art & Design facilities at design.lsu.edu/student-life/facilities. Visit paulcallahan.net to learn more about Callahan and view his work.

Ciao, Rome!

LSU School of Architecture Professor Michael Desmond is a guest curator for an upcoming exhibition on Frank Lloyd Wright at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The exhibition, Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the Archive, will be on display at MoMA June 12–October 1, 2017.

The LSU School of Art presents Elements, the 2016–17 series of lectures, exhibitions, and related activities.

LECTURES

EXHIBITIONS

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