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Faculty Spotlight Peter Van Dyck and Renee Foulks on PAFA’s new Contemporary Programs Peter Van Dyck Starting in the fall of 2012, PAFA will add the two new interdisciplinary specializations of Contemporary Realism and Fine Arts Illustration as part of its existing majors in painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture. PAFA’s Contemporary Realism specialization will provide a rigorous training for figurative and representational artists by supplementing and focusing a student’s curricular experience around issues of representation both practical and theoretical. It will entail personal mentoring, group discussions and critiques and supplemental instructed drawing sessions. The program will bring together students of all levels to help them organize and maximize their educational experience with regards to issues of representation. Peter Van Dyck, PAFA faculty member since 2004, is excited about this new opportunity: “The Contemporary Realism specialization offers students an alternative to a private studio school or atelier; while traditional skill training will be the foundation of the program, the breadth of approaches to art making at PAFA will challenge complacent assumptions about art and realism and help students to grow both aesthetically and intellectually beyond the confines of the studio.” Van Dyck is hopeful that the program will take root over the next five years and create a group of highly trained, intellectually rigorous artists working in the language of representation. “This will reinforce PAFA’s position as a premier institution to study these concerns,” he states. Van Dyck teaches Perspective Drawing, Cast Drawing, Animal Drawing, and life Painting in PAFA’s Certificate/BFA programs. Since 2002 he has been painting and exhibiting his work in Philadelphia, new york and San Francisco. He has had solo shows at Eleanor Ettinger gallery in new york, the John Pence gallery, The grenning gallery and the Artist’s House gallery. group shows include Wendt gallery, The More gallery, and The Biggs Museum of American Art in Dover, Delaware. The Fine Arts Illustration specialization at PAFA will be part of the skill-based and discipline-based training in the Fine Arts at PAFA. using existing courses in book arts, narrative and sequential imagery, digital media and other studio programs, the Fine Arts Illustration specialty will add courses taught by professional illustrators. According to PAFA faculty member Renee P. Foulks, “Many traditional Illustration programs are unable to offer the intense interdisciplinary fine arts grounding that we have here at the Academy.” Foulks currently teaches courses in life Painting, Portrait Painting, narrative and Sequential Drawing, and is a Critic in the Certificate/BFA Program. She also teaches courses in Painting, Drawing/Media and is a Critic in the MFA program. “The skills and artistic abilities gained in PAFA’s rigorous fine arts programs will be combined with a new set of experiences,” says Foulks. “Third and fourth year students from any major may take a new course this fall entitled Illustration Methods. It will be taught MFA Student laidacker lead Muralist for Philadelphia’s largest Mural As part of the City’s Mural Arts Program, Jon laidacker and fellow PAFA alums Thomas Walton (‘07), laura Velez (’07) and Charles newman (’08) spent 11 months completing How Philly Moves, the second largest mural in the world. located at Philadelphia International Airport, the mural was created by lead muralist laidacker and a team of seven assistants. Says Jon laidacker: “PAFA has meant a tremendous amount to all four of us and the fact that we were able to reflect our training on such a monumental scale gives us an enormous sense of pride.” How Philly Moves provides a visually stunning gateway at the Philadelphia International Airport via a nearly 85,000-square-foot mural incorporating the photographic work and design of artist Jacques-Jean “JJ” Tiziou. The How Philly Moves mural project also includes a documentary produced by The Big Picture Alliance and a permanent exhibition inside the airport’s public space which will provide context for the project as a whole. < Peter Van Dyck, Ripka Street Porches, 2010 Renee P. Foulks Renee Foulks, Place of Emergence, Oil on linen, 66 x 76 in., 2001 “The Contemporary Realism specialization offers students an alternative to a private studio school or atelier; while traditional skill training will be the foundation of the program, the breadth of approaches to art making at PAFA will challenge complacent assumptions about art and realism and help students to grow both aesthetically and intellectually beyond the confines of the studio.” by children’s book illustrator E.B. lewis, whose paintings have also been shown in gallery and museum exhibitions. narrative artists from all disciplines and fields (including outstanding contemporary illustrators) will be invited to lecture and offer workshops. Faculty mentors will hold group meetings with students to help foster a sense of community and offer support to all who are committed to the development of narrative.” Foulks adds: “As the program evolves, we hope to seek additional competition, exhibition, prize and employment opportunities for all.” Renee P. Foulks has exhibited her paintings and drawings extensively throughout the united States, and her work is represented in museum, college, corporate and private collections. Solo and group shows include venues such as PAFA, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Delaware Art Museum and the Oglethorpe university Museum of Art in Atlanta, gA. Her commitment to education includes 20 years at the university of the Arts (Foundation and Illustration) and over 20 years at PAFA. Foulks’ work will be on view at Haunting Narratives: Detours from Philadelphia Realism, 1935 to Present – a group exhibit at Woodmere Art Museum, May 12 - July 15. For more information about the Contemporary Realism and Fine Arts Illustration specializations, visit pafa.edu. < Photo: Courtesy of Jon laidacker Jon laidacker working on the How Philly Moves mural. PREVIEW // SPRIng/SuMMER 2012 // SEE FOR YOURSELF
Photo: courtesy of PAFA ADMISSIOnS Painting the Periphery The opening reception for Painting the Periphery, featuring works by current PAFA MFA students and recent MFA alumni. The exhibition was curated by Aubrey levinthal, MFA class of 2011. In late October 2011, PAFA alumnae Aubrey levinthal made a visit to Tower Hill School in Wilmington, Delaware. Aubrey is a recent graduate from PAFA’s MFA Program (class of 2011), and in September began working with PAFA as a Seasonal Admissions Associate. In particular, Aubrey was charged with reinforcing PAFA’s local reputation through visits, presentations, and portfolio reviews at nearby high schools. Tower Hill School is a small, college-preparatory community with a strong commitment to the arts, a nurturing and supportive environment for developing artists. What Aubrey did not know, but would later learn, is that Tower Hill carries a PAFA connection all its own: the school’s Art Department Chairperson is PAFA alumnus kirby Smith (Certificate, 1973). kirby, who has been teaching at Tower Hill since 1990, expressed great enthusiasm for Aubrey’s visit. Over the following months, something remarkable began 111th Annual Student Exhibition FRIDAY, MAY 11 5 - 8: 30 p.m. OPENING RECEPTION Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building May 11 – June 3 PAFA.ORG Nathan Durnin, Procedures, 2011 to grow. nurtured by their alumni connection, kirby and Aubrey worked in tandem to develop a PAFA-themed exhibition. The show would be housed in Tower Hill’s gallery spaces, curated by Aubrey, and reinforced by PAFA’s varied alumni connections. The resulting exhibition, Painting the Periphery, opened this March in Tower Hill’s Pierre S. Du- Pont gallery space. Painting the Periphery brought together 12 students and recent alumni from PAFA’s MFA program, all of whom are working from observation through the distorting lenses of memory, sensation, and perception. Painting the Periphery is a testament to our school’s remarkable community. Developed, organized, and curated by PAFA alumni, the show highlights our students from every angle. < THURSDAY, MAY 10 4 - 8:30 p.m. (ticketed entry times vary) PREVIEW PARTY Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building The Preview Party is a festive event that kicks off the historic Annual Student Exhibition, the culminating event in the life of every degreed or certificate student at PAFA. Preview Party attendees enjoy the first opportunity to purchase from the wide variety of artwork on display. To purchase tickets, please call 215-972-0550 or email pcastner@pafa.org FROM THE DESk OF THE DEAn By Jeffrey Carr, Dean of the School of Fine Arts The Annual Student Exhibition, or ASE, is one of the most treasured of PAFA’s traditions. Everyone knows about Preview night, hosted by PAFA’s Women’s Board. Preview night is on the evening before graduation Day, and is one of the more eagerly anticipated events on PAFA’s social calendar. Equally popular is the public opening of ASE the next day which is heavily attended by students, parents, alumni, patrons, art critics, art dealers and a large and admiring public. What is less well known is that the Annual Student Exhibition is one of the most important educational experiences for a student completing a course of study. For students who are exhibiting in the ASE, the preparations begin in Spring semester, when they learn about exhibiting and pricing their work, mounting an exhibition, and how to collaborate with each other to ensure a successful exhibition. It is an enormous amount of work for the students and for the faculty and staff who devote many hours to advice, consolation and cajoling to make sure each student will succeed in producing their first professional exhibition. When the student has successfully completed, selected, framed, and installed the exhibition on its wall or exhibition area, the process of awarding the competitive prizes by the faculty takes place. Prize judging is a noisy and sometimes contentious process in which the appointed faculty votes on the awarding of competitive prizes in many categories. Prizes are awarded during the Prize Ceremony that takes place at Commencement. The most coveted prizes are the Travel Awards, many of which date back to the 19th century. The awarding of these prizes is only completed after an exhaustive process of voting and discussion by the appointed faculty. Another important academic event is the Thesis defense critiques of the Masters of Fine Arts candidates. By tradition, these take place in front of the student’s exhibition wall on the second floor of the museum galleries. Each MFA candidate receives comments, criticism and congratulations by the graduate faculty of resident and visiting critics and the students. The commentary and the observations are a capstone experience for a demanding and exhaustive course of study for the MFA students. It is designed to prepare the student to be a professional artist. The Annual Student Exhibition serves to bridge the transition for our students from the intense training they receive as students to their new lives as practicing and exhibiting professional artists. < Ryan Buffington, Savana, Oil on Panel, 2010, Owned by the artist, currently on view at the Meyer Gallery The largest and longest-standing of its kind, the Annual Student Exhibition features more than 1,000 works by PAFA students. Included in last year’s ASE, Ryan Buffington’s Savana, a painting by one of the many extraordinary emerging artists. For more information, visit pafa.edu/ase.
Page 1 and 2: In This Issue: 3 Recent Acquisition
Page 3 and 4: upcoming Exhibitions A New Look: Sa
Page 5 and 6: AluMnI SAlES gAllERy On Sunday, Feb
Page 7: William Penn Foundation awards PAFA
Page 11 and 12: May 6 // Flipbook Flip-out Flip boo
Page 13: DO nOT PRInT THIS PAgE

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