Newsletter - Spring 2009
Chair's Greeting
Alumni and friends:
I am writing to introduce myself and extend a warm welcome from the department of art and art history.
I have been at the college since 2001. During my time at William and Mary, I have primarily taught printmaking (intaglio, lithography, monotype, relief) and life drawing. I am in the enviable position of spending most of my working day overlooking Lake Matoaka.
I took over as chair from Barbara Watkinson this past July. Barbara has been an important part of the department and college for many years. During this transition she has been a tremendous help and resource.
This has been an eventful year in the department. We have hosted international exchange exhibitions, added new faculty to our department, celebrated tenure promotions, and are recognizing Professor Joseph Dye as he retires after twenty-two years of service to the department.
Please read about these stories (and more) in our newsletter or better yet, come to our homecoming celebration on Friday October 23rd and we will tell you all about them in person.
Keep in touch
Brian Kreydatus
Faculty Updates
Faculty Show Eleven
The William and Mary Studio Art Faculty strut their stuff at the a Muscarelle Museum in Faculty Show Eleven. To read Mark St. John Erickson's recent review on the exhibition in the Daily Press click here. To see more of the works on display click here.
New Faculty
We are happy to welcome Susan V. Webster, the Mahoney Professor of Art History, to our department. She also holds a joint appointment with the Program of American Studies. We are very lucky to have her. Susan was Professor of Art History at the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN), and received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas-Austin, an MA from Williams College, and her BA from Reed College.
Susan is a leading scholar in the art of post-colonial Latin America, focusing primarily the indigenous artists, builders, and artisans who created Quito, Ecuador. Her book: Arquitectura y empresa en el Quito colonial : José Jaime Ortiz, alarife mayor (2002), documents the major architectural projects completed by an indigenous builder of the seventeenth century. A Fulbright fellowship in Quito (2005-2007) provided Susan with an abundance of additional material on native Ecuadoran workmen. A sequel—and a fuller account— will appear in 2010. Read more...
Retirement
Citing his immense responsibilities as the Curator of South Asian and Islamic Arts at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Professor Joseph Dye, will retire effective at the end of this semester. Joe is an alum (class of 1967) and has taught "The Art of" (India, China, and Japan) classes for us since 1987. His contributions to the department and college over the last twenty-two years can not be overstated. Professor Dye has been an active and well respected scholar, authoring the books, The Arts of India (Richmond and London: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Philip Wilson Publishers, 2001), and Ways to Shiva: Life and Ritual in Hindu India (Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1980). In addition, Joe served on the board of the Muscarelle Museum from 1984-2000.
Saying Goodbye
Visiting Instructor Heidi (Schneider) Brar will be leaving the Department of Art & Art History at the end of the semester to join her husband in Washington D.C. To read a recent interview with Professor Brar click here.
Visiting Instructor Jason Lanka will also be leaving the department for a new tenure track postion at University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. Professors Lanka and Brar will be dearly missed by both students and faculty.
Faculty Notes
Please visit our Faculty Notes page for more updates on faculty.
Alumni
This year's Annual Alumi Homecoming Reception is schedued for Friday October 23rd from 4:00pm - 6:00pm in Andrews Hall. Hope to see you there!
Recent Alumni Updates
Sarah Jane Bleiweis volunteered as an art teacher at Palestinian summer camps for at-risk
youth in Bethlehem (see image left). Read more...
Justin Yedor '07 will attend Duke University Law School this fall. To read more about how Justin parallels Art and Law click here...
Lana Stephens '06 graduated with a Masters in Fine Art in May 2009 from American University in Washington D.C. (see image right)
Catherine Williams has reported that sbe has received notification she has progressed to the next round for Fulbright. Her application was reviewed at the national level and shw was given a "recommended" status. Her application is now being sent to Indonesia and another board in the State Department.
Sarah Bean is currently working for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, for a U.S. Department of Education grant, Ready To Learn and is currently applying for a Masters in Educational Technology Leadership at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Read more...
Case Jernigan '07 currently has works on view at Walker Fine Arts Center located at the Wlldberry Forest School in Woodberry Forest, VA. This is Case's his first big solo show after receiving his undergraudate degree at William and Mary. (see image right)
Nate Shaw '07 reports that he has been "relentlessly" creating artwork. Recently his artwork appeared in the invasive plant publication Wildland Weeds and was also used in an advertisement for Florida Eotic Pest Plant Council's annual symposium. Check out Nate's website http://www.nateshawart.com/ to view more of his work.
Lana Stephens '06 graduated with a Masters in Fine Art in May 2009 from American University in Washington D.C. (see image Left)
We are always happy to hear from our alumi!
Click here to send us your news. For more alumni updates check out our Alumni Achievements page .
Student Achievements
This spring Ashley Pierce will travel to China to attend the International Symposium on Mercury through the financial support of the Mercury Global inquiry Group.
Graduating senior, English and Art History Major, Julia Pentz
was awarded the Ferguson-Blair Scholarship for students interested in
pursuing a career in publishing and has been accepted into Columbia
University's Publishing Course in New York.
Art History Major Elizabeth Saari was elected to the Virginia Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and was accepted to the Doctoral program in the Department of Art History at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Another English and Art History Major (Studio Art Concentration) Megan O'Connor will be doing a summer internship at James Munroe's Ash Lawn-Highland in Charlottesville.
In the fall Art History Major Ariel Huberts will also be starting the Doctoral program in the Department of Art History at Case Western University in Cleveland.
French and Art History Major, Carolynn Shinn, a sophomore, will be doing a curatorial internship for the summer at the Dallas Museum of Art in the department of European Art.
Studio Art Majors win awards at regional exhibitions
Several William and Mary students received awards in this year's Next Generation Exhibition, at the Charles H. Taylor Arts Center in Hampton, VA and also at the annual Student Exhibition held at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center located in Newport News, VA.
Charles H. Taylor Arts Center Award Recipients
Devin Mawdsley, First Place (in photo left)
Anna Wagner, Third Place (in photo left)
Shawna Carpenter, Award of Merit & Honorable Mention
Peninsula Fine Arts Center
Shawna Carpenter, Best in Show
Anna Wagner, First Place
Student Presentations - MACLAS Conference
The following students presented at the MACLAS conference here in March:
Alice Harmona, Sor Juana de la Cruz: The Construction of Her Image
Jake Milnor, Santiago Mataindios: The American Rebirth of an Iberian Image
Allison Greer, Images of La Malinche in the Codices: Accessory or Power Figure?
Lisette Armstrong, The Atrio Cross as a Tool of Hybrid Conversion
Call for Funding of Undergraduate Honors Research
We would like to provide each honors student with $300 for research-related expenses. The faculty of Art and Art History asks for your assistance in providing funding for this important endeavor. Read more...
