The artwork of Todd Anderson, Associate Professor of Art at Clemson University, will make an appearance on the sets of the new Universal Pictures film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, “Dear Evan Hansen.”

“His work was so beautiful, I loved every single thing about it,” said Lauren Adams Jones, who purchased set decoration for the film. “The somber nature of the pieces was good for the movie, because it does have sort of a somber nature.”

The artwork in the film is from a set of prints Anderson created for the The Last Glacier project, which chronicles the retreat of glaciers in U.S. national parks due to climate change. Along with Old Main Gallery in Bozeman, Montana and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Mezzanine Gallery Store in New York City, Anderson’s work is currently on display at Kai Lin Art in Atlanta, which is where the connection to the movie was made.

“Because Georgia has become the Hollywood—‘Ya’llywood’—of the South, we have been fortunate to work with set decorators and art/prop departments to source, place and clear artworks for film and television,” said Yu-Kai Lin, owner of Kai Lin Art.

Lin said a total of five of Anderson’ pieces were selected for inclusion in the film: one woodcut, two jigsaw reductive woodcuts and two photopolymer gravure works on Japanese washi (paper).

Where to look

When asked about the connection between his art’s subject and the film, Anderson downplayed the connection (“most likely it’s just nice texture and nice colors,” he said). But according to Adams Jones, Anderson’s art was chosen because has a direct connection to the title character.

“Evan Hansen is very much into parks and conservation, that’s one of this biggest character points,” she said. “A bunch of the pieces are in Evan’s bedroom, which is really exciting because that’s a major set.” Anderson’s art also appears on the set for the house of the Murphy family, which includes several major characters.

“Because of the actual content of the pieces, it really was just the perfect fit,” Adams Jones said.

Big picture

For Anderson, every opportunity for the art’s exposure serves the purpose of his project, which was motivated by his ongoing research on glacial retreat and the global climate crisis, which began in 2009 at Glacier National Park in Montana.

When asked about Glacier National Park’s last glaciers, “I learned that indeed these glaciers are going to cease to exist in that park by around 2030, well within my lifetime,” Anderson explained. “I felt not only affected by this, but self-indicted. So that’s when I decided this is what I need to do. I decided to make climate crisis the centerpiece of my work.”

Raising awareness of climate change is the reason behind The Last Glacier project, and that purpose informs and aligns with Anderson’s choice of medium.

“The reason I’m a printmaker is that it’s an egalitarian form of making art,” Anderson said. “It’s more affordable, and then my art goes more quickly out into the world. It’s really a great way of getting your artwork shown in front of a lot of people.”

“Dear Evan Hansen” premieres in theaters September 24. To learn more about the movie, visit https://www.dehmovie.com/.

The President’s Leadership Institute is a nine-month leadership development program at that invests, supports and develops personal leadership in a diverse community of faculty and staff. Each year, 25 Clemson University employees are selected to participate in the program.

Valerie Zimany, Art Department Chair, represented the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities in the 2020-2021 leadership cohort. Clemson News caught up with Zimany to learn how her experience in PLI made an impact.

Clemson News: How were you selected for participation in PLI?

Valerie Zimany: I was nominated last year by CAAH Interim Dean Tim Boosinger, and the final cohort is determined by President Clements and his selection committee. I am grateful for the support and encouragement to join the 5^th cohort!

CN: What do you think was the No. 1 lesson in leadership you learned from participating in PLI?

VZ: Leadership takes effort and development. It may be perceived as more “natural” to some, but we all can grow our professional capacities with the desire to learn and the opportunity to do so mindfully and with guidance over time. I learned confidence to be a leader, and acceptance that sometimes I may be wrong, but if I surround myself with positive people who care about our organization, we will find the right path to succeed.

One key element that resonated was maintaining a positive outlook – the Chair’s office can sometimes feel like a constant state of “triage” – particularly this past year! That can crowd out the bigger picture – the PLI meetings kept us all focused on the big picture for Clemson and ourselves as individuals. Despite the great challenges of the past academic year, President Clements’ positive outlook in every meeting was refreshing and energizing.

I also learned much from our alumni speakers. I especially I enjoyed our visit with restaurateur and entrepreneur Edmund Woo, ‘80, and his outlook on hard work and loving “the grind” – that it’s a leadership quality to not walk away until the job is done.

CN: How did PLI change your perspective on your department?

VZ: I understood more holistically that those things that affect my department affect the University, and that I have the ability to contribute and shape those discussions.

I view my Chair leadership role as fundamentally one of service – to each Clemson student in our Art programs, to our faculty and staff in providing academic and professional support, and to the University in program development and fiscal management. I believe Art is a critical component of a comprehensive university, and a lens through which critical and contemporary discourse can be promoted. Through my PLI experience, I hope to establish further cross-disciplinary relationships with colleagues and programs and by advocacy and outreach to the community.

CN: Can you share any examples of people who you met through PLI that you might not have connected with otherwise?

VZ: Each session had a paired “Leaders of the Day” to present a topic, and my co-leader was Jon Clayton, Executive Customer Success Manager for CCIT.  We soon discovered our topical connection through my role in the Art Department and Jon’s responsibility to Clemson’s innovative Adobe Partnership, and developed our presentation on “creativity”.

We thought of creativity from the position that any students with educational experience in art and design are elegantly positioned for complexity and innovation — reasoning by analogy, making non-routine connections, and identifying patterns are all related to the same area of the brain that is activated when people are engaged in the visual and performing arts. The new B.A. Art degree launched this year is intended to facilitate those opportunities for a broad spectrum of Clemson students who wish to combine art studies with complementary disciplines. Based on our joint research we find that creativity is not a luxury; it is an essential element of success for our students’ future.

CN: What would you say to another faculty or staff member considering participating?                    

The time commitment is absolute – never miss a meeting! The PLI is an exceptional experience. You commit your time, energy, ideas and enthusiasm to the program and come away with leadership skills, expanded University contacts and memories that last a lifetime.

Teamwork and bonding take place during the case studies, site visits and discussions, but it isn’t all work; the current cohort joins with PLI alumni for networking, design challenges and volunteer projects.

CN: Is there anything else about PLI that you would like to share?          

It was extremely rewarding to feel President Clements and his leadership team were personally invested in this program.  I have adopted some elements in our own department meetings to continue building a positive community, such as the standing invitation to “share the good news.”

I also have great gratitude that we could meet and learn in person together. That was a critical element and I appreciate the effort to make it happen safely.

Internationally recognized sculptor, Chakaia Booker and Master Printmaker, Justin Sanz of the EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop will virtually present an artist talk at Clemson University on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 5:30 p.m.

The presentation is being held in conjunction with the exhibition “Chakaia Booker: Auspicious Behavior” in the Lee Gallery at Clemson University. “We are honored to have the renowned artist Chakaia Booker’s work in the Lee Gallery and are grateful Chakaia and Justin have agreed to give the virtual artist talk about their creative processes, the printshop history and how it operates today,” said Lee Gallery Director, Denise Woodward-Detrich. The upcoming artist talk will also address the collaborative process used to create the prints on view in the Lee Gallery.

“Auspicious Behavior” is an exhibition of prints and sculptures by NYC based sculptor Chakaia Booker. The exhibition features 19 one-of-a-kind prints and four sculptures utilizing rubber from recycled tires. Linking her creative pathways of sculpture and printmaking is a physically engaged process involving a dynamic activation of materials. Booker slices, twists, cuts, presses, weaves, drills, layers, rivets and grinds through her process to create expressive, textured and layered works. The exhibition is witness to a creative process bridging the boundaries between sculpture and printmaking where a striking dialogue takes place.

The Lee Gallery remains committed to providing quality exhibitions while addressing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following Clemson University guidelines, the Lee Gallery is currently closed to the general public. However, the Gallery is open for visits by students, faculty and staff of Clemson University. Images from the exhibition can be viewed by accessing the Clemson Visual Arts Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Contact the Clemson Visual Arts visualarts@clemson.edu to register for the upcoming artist talk.

*Feature image courtesy of Daniel Wong.

About Chakaia Booker

Chakaia Booker is an internationally renowned and widely collected American sculptor known for creating monumental, abstract works from recycled tires and stainless steel for both the gallery and outdoor public spaces. Booker’s works are contained in more than 40 public collections and have been exhibited across the US, in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Booker was included in the 2000 Whitney Biennial and received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2005. Recent public installation highlights include Millennium Park, Chicago (2016-2018), Garment District Alliance Broadway Plazas, New York, NY (2014), and National Museum of Women in the Arts New York Avenue Sculpture Project, Washington DC (2012).

About Justin Sanz

Justin Sanz is a Brooklyn-based artist who exhibits locally and internationally. His work is in the collections of the Library of Congress, The New York Public Library, The Spencer Museum, Davis Museum, and various private collections. He currently works as an educator, Master Printer, and Workshop Manager at the EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop in NYC.

Lee Gallery at Clemson University Location

The Lee Gallery is located at 323 Fernow St., in 1-101 Lee Hall. The Gallery is open for this exhibition Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m.