Category: Traveling Students

Each year, the Department of Art hosts a potluck dinner for all of Clemson’s BFA and MFA students. At the potluck, students have the opportunity to enjoy a meal, talk with their classmates and hear exciting and crucial information regarding internship, scholarship, research and travel opportunities. This year’s potluck was full exciting presentations highlighting the Clemson Fine Arts students working and learning around the world.

Casey Bunda, BFA, traveled to London, United Kingdom for an internship she obtained through City Internships, a third-party internship placement organization. Bunda landed the perfect job as a social media and photography intern at a co-working creative space in the heart of London. Bunda researched and interviewed for the position via Skype. After receiving her offer, Bunda worked with the Dept. of Art to receive course credit for her internship.

Deighton Abrams, MFA (Ceramics), was the recipient of the Jeanette S. Dreskin Award, general Department of Art Fellowship and a Professional Enrichment Grant (PEG). These scholarships and awards are obtained through Clemson University. They are awarded based upon the hard work and merit of the applicant. Deighton’s graduate thesis project won him these awards. He chose to use his scholarships to attend the International Society for Ceramic Art Education and Exchange (ISCAEE) Symposium in China. Deighton also traveled to Iceland for further graduate thesis research.

Dalia Delanuez, MFA (Sculpture), received a Department of Art scholarship to travel to Italy and Honduras for graduate research. She applied for this scholarship through the Department of Art and worked with faculty to best utilize her time and scholarship during these two separate excursions.

Hannah Gardner, BFA, obtained a scholarship from the Calhoun Honors College. She used this award to supplement a three-week art program excursion to Tanzania, Africa. While in Tanzania, she was exposed to numerous art careers, including shadowing art therapists and teaching art classes to neighboring villages.

Megan Hueble, BFA, was a summer intern at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. During her time as an intern, Megan shadowed several teachers to learn about the numerous studios and options within art education. Additionally, she was able to take full advantage of her unlimited access to the entire museum. This internship was made possible by an award she received Department of Art scholarship committee.

Lacey Miller, MFA was able to use her Department of Art scholarship to attend the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA ) annual conference in Kansas City, Missouri. While at the conference, she experienced numerous ceramic lectures, demonstrations and artwork.

Carey Morton, MFA (Sculpture), spent his summer at the Penland School of Crafts in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. While at Penland, he was a part of a team hand carved Fox Canoes. Morton acquired unique building technique skills and expanded his artistic knowledge with this special opportunity.

Teisha Holloway, BFA, worked as an intern at The Bascom, an art gallery and visual arts center in Highlands, North Carolina. Holloway learned how to run a gallery space. She also helped to design exhibitions and displays, worked in the community with partners and learned about several forms of art professionalism.

We are so proud of all of the impressive things our students were able to experience and accomplish over the past few months. The Department of Art is committed to continue to provide scholarship, internship and travel opportunities to students who have shown dedication to their work in and out of the classroom.

Eleven Clemson  students, including seven students from the B.F.A. and M.F.A. programs, traveled to Italy in May to study with Kathleen Thum, Clemson’s professor of drawing. Every other year, the art department offers students a chance to immerse themselves in another art culture during a four-week summer school located in Orvieto, Italy with day trips to other cities such as Rome, Florence and Venice. Activities include visits to historically significant art works, classes in Italian language, immersion in Italian culture as well as participation in the studio practice of on-site drawing and journaling. Students gain a good sense of contemporary and historically significant artworks and a portfolio full of inspiration and drawings.

UPDATE

Click here to view photos from the 2013 summer study abroad.

Click here to view photos from the previous art department summer study abroad. Photos from newly graduated BFA in photography, Alice Wannamaker ’13.

NYC Art Trip by Morgan Cole, ‘03

The group set out for a full day of gallery inspiration in the Chelsea District.  You might think that spending the time period between 11am and 6pm might be too long, but no one saw all the galleries in that time frame.  We were able to see the majority, but not even close to all of them.

The galleries are spaces with boards that select highly acclaimed artists to show a series of drawings, paintings, sculptures, or whatever the artist chooses as their medium for a short period of time.  The shows are constantly changing and new shows are being installed all the time.  Some of the most famous galleries such as Matthew Marks Gallery and Paul Cooper Gallery are found in this district.  It was refreshing to meet several visitors in the galleries were lovers of art, and not necessarily students or artists.

Our group of 17 students and four faculty members all split up into smaller groups and zig-zagged back and forth through the streets going to gallery after gallery.  Thankfully, we were able to take pictures of the works because after a while, it began to become overwhelming at the amount of information and processing that our brains were doing.   Literally, we all were almost on art overload, but it was lovely.  We all love art.

For lunch, the whole group went to New York Burger Company, which was a trendy burger joint, similar to a higher end Five Guys restaurant.  They had great Hagen-Daaz ice cream shakes, sweet potato fries, grass fed beef patties, and about a dozen different types of artesian ketchups (Chipotle Ranch, Basil Pesto, Mesquite tomato and so on).   We all ate and swapped gallery notes.  After that big meal everyone was super full, but slightly rejuvenated and ready to tackle more of the galleries.

We continued gallery hopping until 6pm when we met back up and took the subway  back to our hotel.   Once back everyone split up again and went off to eat.  Some went out for Indian and others to local Chinese take-away.   The city came alive more than it had on the other nights, probably because it was Saturday.

And that’s a wrap! Day 3 was highly successful.  Memories were made, friendships strengthened, and artists inspired.  We are all looking forward to being back in the great state of South Carolina and making art!

NYC Art Trip by Lindsay Harris, ‘03

This trip was all about mixing it up; there is a really large group of seniors this year, and even after a few years of classes with each other I haven’t found a lot of time to get to know some of the other seniors well outside of my own photo classes. Right off the bat, Sierra who is a sculpture major asked Jackie drawing/painting) and me if we wanted to room with her for the trip, and that seemed to be the kick- start we needed.

Friday came, and so did five hours at the MET, which somehow wasn’t enough time.  We saw everything from Ancient Egyptian Relics, old masters like Van Gogh and Monet to giant, Chuck Close paintings. I had seen these in class over and over again, but there was absolutely no comparison to seeing them in person right in front of you. I had no idea how big the Chuck Close

painting would be or how realistically painted it actually was and I was amazed at how rich the colors of a Van Gogh were.

There was also something so neat about walking around with Sierra (photo: Left – Sierra Krammer, Right: Lindsay Harris)

and trying to remind ourselves and one another of where we had seen the artworks before or what we knew about them.

By the time it was time to go we walked out to see snow lightly falling on our walk through Central Park and that seemed to be the cherry on top. There was a mutual excitement among all of us as we discussed all we had seen and made recommendations to each other based on our individual styles within our own artwork.

NYC Art Trip by Joshua Kelly, 04

It was an early morning since we had to leave at 4am, but it was all worth it once we got into the city. After a short cab ride from the airport, securing our bags at the hotel, and a taste of some real New York style pizza, we embarked on the first of 3 full days of art-seeing. Although seeing the art was a great part of the trip, one of the things that I enjoyed most was just walking around the streets of New York figuring out how to navigate and becoming acquainted with the subway system. This trip really allowed for both academic growth and personal/life growth by allowing us to gain great life experiences inside and outside of the museums and galleries.

Our first stop was at the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) where we looked at everything from the great masters of Renaissance painting to contemporary art of the past few decades. Being able to see so many of these works in person rather than projected on a screen from low rez images was breath-taking – the ability to actually see the brushwork on paintings gives a whole new experience to art.

After the MoMA we were able to take a little break back at the hotel before visiting the New Museum. The show on display there was much more contemporary. It was a great experience to be able to see very challenging and controversial work in person. Seeing work that your see every year in Art History in person finally is a great way to improve your technique and appreciation for the masters of old, but seeing work that challenges your thoughts and forces you to not just accept what is in front of you is a really great experience as a student. It causes you to be so much more critically minded about your own work and pushes you to go the extra distance while working on your own personal projects.

We ended the day by exploring New York City a little more and finding some good cuisine. It was a little frustrating to first try and figure out how to sit a group of ten or more people at a crowded restaurant on the streets of New York, but we eventually figured out how to navigate the dining scene; although it is still a bit too pricy for my liking.

CLEMSON, S.C. – Seventeen Clemson University art students visited New York City Feb. 21 through Feb. 24 and toured art museums and galleries around the city as part of the senior seminar class.

Clemson’s senior ART 473 class viewed art firsthand encompassing mediums and time periods from artists known all over the world. Traveling to New York City is part of the undergraduate curriculum and prepares the students for entry into the professional art world. The class taught by art department faculty member, Joey Manson, focuses on issues concerning visual artists in the early years of the student’s professional activities.

The vision statement of Clemson University focuses on the importance of creating experiential learning opportunities for students. The New York City trip is a great example of how this valuable experience expands insight and shapes learning. The student undergraduate curriculum is further enhanced by informal professional activities with faculty; additional field trips to art centers in Charlotte, Columbia, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C.; interaction with visiting artists; and opportunities to participate in local and regional exhibitions.

“This is a unique opportunity for our students to further understand the field that they’d like to pursue” said Manson. “The best thing I can do as a teacher to expand their view of art is to take the students to the art that they’ve previously only experienced in photographs.” The students kept a sketchbook which counts toward their final grade. Some students received a behind the scenes private tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Manson spent many years working in New York City for several museums, galleries and internationally recognized artists before teaching at Clemson University. Some of his employers include Dennis Oppenheim, who is one of the most internationally recognized American conceptual artists in performance art, earth art, sculpture and photography; top Japanese fashion designer, Issey Miyake who is known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances. Manson also spent time overseeing a collection of one of the board members of the Guggenheim Museum and the Dia Center. His vast understanding of the New York art world made him an ideal guide to help students understand this world and navigate around the city.

To view the art students experience in New York City, visit www.clemson.edu/caah/art/travel. This web resource provides the trip schedule as well as links to YouTube videos, a Facebook fan page, a Twitter feed, student blog posts, and a Flickr photo slideshow. For more information about the trip, contact Joey Manson jv@clemson.edu.

About the Clemson University Art Department Curriculum

Art students begin to concentrate studio coursework during their junior year into a specific area of the visual arts in preparation for their senior studio. The senior studio is the most significant course work in the undergraduate curriculum. It reflects a time in which concepts and skills are focused and developed to produce a cohesive body of artwork and a portfolio for graduate study or professional applications. This experience presents career options and practical information for the graduating senior like portfolio development.

Art students from the senior seminar class will be going to NYC Thursday, Feb. 21 through Sunday, Feb. 24. Be sure to follow the students as they travel through the city http://www.clemson.edu/caah/art/travel/