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the Graduate Programs @ School of Visual Arts New York City 20102011

On Any Given Day...

Contents

President Interview

The Programs
7 23 53 77 101 123 141 163 193 215 233 251 257 272 276 278 281 288 294 mfa Art Criticism and Writing mfa Computer Art mfa Design mfa Design Criticism mfa Fine Arts mfa Illustration as Visual Essay mfa Interaction Design mfa Photography, Video and Related Media mfa Social Documentary Film mat Art Education mps Art Therapy mps Branding Arts mps Digital Photography General Information Tuition and Expenses Financial Aid Admission to the Programs Administration Building Directory and Campus Map

As an art school in the United States, it is entirely appropriate that we have adopted the American philosophy of pragmatism. As a college we have always been willing to experiment and learn from trial and error. One of the greatest things weve made function effectively is a faculty of working professionals who head programs that evolve over time to take account of new conditions in the field and new interests of the department chairs, faculty and students. And with a new u.s. Presidentand hopefully a renewed emphasis on education alongside an appreciation of how much students can contributeI hope the u.s. will continue to grow as a top international destination for graduate-level study. What are the challenges of organizing staff and programming in the way that sva does? There is a modest tension between faculty members professional commitments and their responsibilities here, Rhodes admits, but I think weve solved that here. A typical institution has faculty governance, meaning that lecturers are handed a lot of work that theyre not necessarily expert at. We dont do that; our faculty is here to teach what they know; to impart what they are expert at in their work lives. And since they

David Rhodes

are actively involved in their professions, what theyre doing is fresh. There may be some virtue to drawing from plaster casts, but its more interesting to be doing something of the moment. The content of programs changes almost annually. No ones lecturing from yellowed notes made 30 years ago. Despite the current economic downturn, sva is continuing to introduce new graduate programs, responding to widespread interest and demand. For example, Social Documentary Film, begins Rhodes, Ive always wanted to have a program at the graduate level that doesnt just teach filmmaking basics.

President Interview
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Im interested in things that are designed, as Mark Twain wrote, to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. I dont know that we can do the latter, but maybe we can do the former! Interaction Design came from extensive research by Steven Heller, co-chair of the Designer as Author program. When he was working at the New York Times, he was looking for people to work on the Web site and they just werent available. So we thought wed add a little bit of supply to that particular demand. Steven Heller also introduced us to Debbie Millman, president of Sterling Brands, and shell be joining us for the fall of 2010 to head up the brand-new mps in Branding Arts. Recently, the College has expanded physically as well as in its range of programs. One particularly striking development is the leasing of a movie theater on West 23rd Street to create the new sva Theatre. Thats something weve been trying to do for a long time, Rhodes reveals. What we want to do is to turn the building into a cultural center for Midtown South. Pedagogically, it will allow graduate programs to collaborate on some lectures and multimedia presentations. But despite these and other changes, Rhodes recognizes the Colleges longstanding strengths. Illustration has been around for a long time, but (the mfa in Illustration as Visual Essay) is actually an innovative program that turns the discipline on its head. Half of its graduates have published books and graphic novels and even produced painting series. Thats not what we expected setting it up, but its a fairly extraordinary phenomenon. Ultimately, Rhodes concludes, smiling, we are open to supporting and guiding whichever paths students choose, so long as their work is smart.

Accreditations
the school of visual arts has been authorized by the New
York State Board of Regents to confer the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts on graduates of four-year programs in Advertising and Graphic Design; Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects; Film, Video and Animation; Fine Arts; Illustration and Cartooning; Interior Design; Photography; Visual and Critical Studies; and to confer the degree of Master of Fine Arts on graduates of two-year programs in Art Criticism and Writing; Computer Art; Design; Design Criticism; Fine Arts; Illustration as Visual Essay; Interaction Design; Photography, Video and Related Media; Social Documentary Film; and to confer the degree of Master of Professional Studies on graduates of the two-year program in Art Therapy and the one-year programs in Branding Arts and Digital Photography; and to confer the degree of Master of Arts in Teaching on graduates of the program in Art Education.

the school of visual arts is accredited by the Commission


on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, 215.662.5606. The Commis sion on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the u.s. Secretary of Education and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation.

the school of visual arts is an accredited institutional


member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, and is a member of the International Association of Independent Schools for Art and Design, aias.

the interior design program leading to the Bachelor of Fine


Arts in Interior Design is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (formerly fider), www.accredit-id.org, 146 Monroe Center nw, Suite 1318, Grand Rapids, mi 49503-2822.

the master of professional studies in Art Therapy


program is approved by the American Art Therapy Association, Inc., and as such meets the Education Standards of the art therapy profession.

the master of arts in teaching in Art Education program


is accredited by the New York State Regents Accreditation of Teacher Education (rate).

the school of visual arts does not discriminate on the basis


of gender, race, color, creed, disability, age, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin or other legally protected status.

the college reserves the right to make changes from time to time
affecting policies, fees, curricula and other matters announced in this or any other publication. Statements in this and other publications do not constitute a contract.

The Programs

MFA Art Criticism and Writing


www.sva.edu/grad/artcriticism

XX Emphasis on the history and current transformations of the image XX We want students with wide-ranging curiosity about contemporary culture XX For us, criticism is a way to ask bigger and better questions

The mfa in Art Criticism and Writing is one of the only graduate writing programs in the country that focuses specifically on criticism. We honor Walter Benjamins desire to create criticism as a genre, unto itself, and that means opening the program to a wide variety of approaches and inquiries. For us, criticism is an open propositiona way to ask bigger and better questions. The practice of criticism involves making finer and finer distinctions among like things, but it is also a way of asking fundamental questions about art and life. Writing good criticism requires a grounding in art history and aesthetics, and also a prodigious curiosity and knowledge of contemporary culture. Critics cannot afford to be specialists, so our curriculum is both finely focused and wide-ranging. In addition to the foundation seminars Bases of Criticism, three levels of writing practicum, and the thesis seminar, we offer a broad array of continually changing electives, dealing with everything from Adornos aesthetic theory to the art of the interview. We concentrate on the essay as form, as well as on shorter forms of review, and learn criticism by doing it. Students writing and reviews are published regularly in our online magazine Degree Critical, and art magazine editors are involved in the program in various capacities. The thesis that students write at the end of their course of study is intended to be a substantial work of criticism. We want students to come out of this program and be able to write in the world. From its inception, this program has also had a special emphasis on the history and current transformations of the image. We live in an age when images have an inordinate power over usthe power to influence public opinion, to create and direct desire, to comfort and inflame. The critics of tomorrow must study images, in all of their manifestations, in order to better understand how we are subject to them. An underlying principle of this program has been that the image should begin to occupy a place in the understanding of life comparable in importance to that occupied by the humanities and sciences. In addition to our exceptional core faculty, we invite many artists, writers, critics, editors, art historians and philosophers each year to give lectures and meet with our students individually or in small groups. This will always be a small program, with a good deal of opportunity for one-on-one interaction. We think it makes sense for a program like this to be situated within a major art college like the School of Visual Arts, since good things happen when artists and writers get together. It is also obviously a big advantage to have such a program located in the heart of New York City, amidst the greatest concentration of artists and art activity in the world. We will look at a lot of art here, and try to account for our experience of it in writing. And in all we do, we will be guided by the advice Henry James gave to writers when he said, Try to be one of those on whom nothing is lost.

David Levi Strauss, chair

Catching Up With the Critics


Alumni Profile: Christine Licata and Clay Matlin
Clay Matlin (MFA07) reflected in the windows of the New Museum on the Bowery in New York City. Ugo Rondinones work Hell, Yes! was installed on the faade of the building for the museums opening at its new location in December 2008.

Students entering the Art Criticism program have their work cut out for them. Not only is the discipline evolving rapidly, but its educatorsoften critics themselvesdemand a high level of cultural understanding and a commanding skill of the pen. The program really re-trained me how to write, explains recent grad Clay Matlin. The experience is bigger than the standard 300- to

600-word exhibition review. Instead, the entire spectrum of art writing is encouraged. The program
makes you think about the act of writing, how one exists in the moment of the experience, and to be thoughtful and careful in the use of words. This deeply thorough re-education in the skill of writing was especially demanding for fellow alumna Christine Licata. For me, the biggest challenge in art writing was to learn to express the visual to the verbal. My undergraduate degree is in graphic design, so for many years I had been trained to do the oppositeto translate language and concepts symbolically and visually, she says. Studying art criticism, I had to learn to reverse the process, to literally extract these ideas in order to communicate. Fortunately, both Matlin and Licata can rest easy knowing they were put through their paces by those that can walk the walk, including Raphael Rubinstein. Rubinstein, a widely published critic and former senior editor of Art in America for over a decade, teaches the final writing course before students embark on their thesis. Students are given assignments as if they were critics in the real world, and have their work openly edited and discussed in class. A large amount of time in Rubinsteins class goes into helping students simply describe what they see with their own eyes. Its essential to giving the readers the evidence they need in order to follow you to their conclusion, he says. It keeps you honest as a writer. Assignments go through multiple revisionsjust as they would in a magazineuntil the piece is perfect. You cant separate the importance of good criticism from good writing, says Rubinstein. Admits Matlin, Raphael taught two of my writing courses and was particularly brutal, which is a great thing to have from a writing teacher. One cant always be told how good one is, because its simply not true. Writing students are going to produce a lot of terrible writing. They have to, otherwise they wouldnt be learning anything.

Christine Licata (MFA 08) at El Taller Boricua Gallery in Spanish Harlem, where she is assistant curator.

Art Criticism & Writing

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chair interview

The MFA Art Criticism and Writing Department has its own floor in a beautiful building in Chelsea, the heart of New York City's bustling art district. Our department comprises a seminar room and the departmental library, a room where students can congregate to read, work, have informal discussions or make use of the shared Internet and word processing workstations. The departmental library expands almost daily, as we are constantly adding new books of art criticism, philosophy, art history and critical theory, and also includes subscriptions to a broad and diverse array of art magazines and newspapers.

David Levi Strauss


Our program is unique. Its a small, seminar- and discussion-based program in which students learn as much from each other as from the teachers.

This is a program for the present, says David Levi Strauss, a time when theres some confusion about what criticism is. In my teaching, Ive noticed the rise of curatorial rhetoric, writing that borrows from specialized languages in which the author lacks a background, which often obscures more than it reveals. For me, chairing this program represents a chance to counter that tendency. What are the programs concentrations? Theres an emphasis on the history and transformation of the image, Strauss responds, but theres also a philosophical base. My model for it is the Poetics Program that Robert Duncan ran in San Francisco during the early 80s. Duncan and the other poets who taught there conceived of poetics in its largest sense, as the study of how things are made, so it can be applied to anything made. Students in the sva program come from a variety of fields, Strauss observes. Some have diff erent kinds of writing backgrounds, others have training in art history, but most have been working for some time. They might have been publishing criticism professionally but found themselves looking for a way to go to the next stage. Our program is unique. Its a small, seminar- and discussion-based program in which students learn as much from each other as from the teachers. Students here write every week, in a variety of formats, and attend workshops with working writers and editors. Its direct and intense. The program incorporates electives that change from year to year. Virtual Curating has been a popular course, Strauss observes. Students do everything required to make an exhibition short of actually mounting it, and that includes writing a catalog. Another elective, The History of Reading, is based on the idea that, as literacy is becoming a cult activity, questions are emerging about what reading is, how it works, and the influence of technological changes. Artists Writings is another interesting track. Susan Bee looks at the history of the form, from Kandinsky, Moholy-Nagy and Breton to the present. We also had a great series by Jeffrey Kastner that looked at contemporary art history through the lens of the art magazine. As is the case with sva in general, the program takes full advantage of its New York base. There are so many people here that we can draw on. Strauss enthuses. Leo Steinberg did a special session with all of my students last fall that was incredible. As to the thesis toward which students work, Strauss explains that from the beginning, the idea has been that it should be a work of criticism, but that can include many different approaches. He pulls out a stack of examples. Alyssa Timin wrote one called The Eye of the Storm: Regarding Waiting for Godot in New Orleans, while Sophie Landres wrote a comparison of artists who used language in the Conceptual art of the 60s and 70s with contemporary artists who use it in connection with digital states. Ultimately, Strauss concludes, our hope is for people to be able to write real criticism in the real world, and the pathways to that are many and complex.

On any given day...


noon First year students meet in Chelsea to do a round of gallery visits and look at art from newly opened shows. After an informal walking tour of half a dozen galleries, students reconvene at a caf to have an informal discussion about the shows, in preparation for writing reviews. 1pm First- and second-year students convene at the home of artist Nancy Goldring for an intimate conversation with Leo Steinberg about works such as Pontormo's Capponi Chapel, that the art historian has written extensively about over decades. 9pm Students head downtown to a Cabinet Magazine launch party, to 2pm Chair David Levi Strauss has a studio visit with artist Terry Winters in preparation for an upcoming piece for the Brooklyn Rail. 3pm Second-year students meet with Susan Bee for their required thesis seminar, to discuss research issues in long-form critical writing. Writer Jerry Saltz visits the class to talk with students about writing strategies. 4pm Chair Levi Strauss meets with a second-year student to discuss a writing opportunity that has come up for a CUE Art Foundation catalog for an upcoming show. mingle with writers and editors including Jeff Kastner, senior editor and faculty member. 7pm The department hosts a public lecture by writer and scholar Avital Ronell, in SVA's brand new SVA Theatre, on the dossiers of Friedrich Nietzsche, the most ferocious defender of art as a vital necessity. After her lecture, Professor Ronell engages in an informal discussion with audience members. 6pm Students take a break in the departmental library, making use of the kitchen area to grab a quick bite.

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Shaping the Debate

The Art Criticism & Writing Lecture Series moved into the new SVA Theatre on 23rd Street in Chelsea in Spring 2009, and is rapidly becoming one of the premier series in New York. Writer and theorist Avital Ronell (right) delivering her lecture on Friedrich Nietzsches defense of art, Nietzsche Loves You, to a rapt audience on April 7, 2009.

The Program The mfa Art Criticism and Writing program provides a broad spectrum of courses taught
by experts in their respective disciplines. Course work both informs and guides students toward their personal and professional goals in art criticism and its writing. The curriculum assists students in the development of both a professional engagement with the visual arts and a professional body of work. These objectives are achieved through training in and exposure to contemporary critical practices, and the simultaneous development of a solid foundation in cultural histories and philosophies, both ancient and modern. The second year concentrates on the refinement of critique and writing skills to enable each student to achieve a personal style of commentary. Bases of Criticism I and II; Writing I, II and III; Thesis Seminar and Thesis are all required courses. The curriculum is also designed to accommodate specific areas of interest through the elective courses, which relate to major issues in contemporary art criticism. Students work with their academic advisor to create a course schedule that is tailored to their individual academic objectives. In addition to the core faculty, the program includes visiting lecturers from around the world. These lecturers will both discuss the backgrounds of their traditions as they relate to creative expression and share their perspectives on the relationships between the artistic practices of their cultures and the global significance of these practices. Degree candidates must successfully complete 60 credits, including all required courses, and maintain a 3.0 grade point average. A residency of two academic years is required. In the final semester, each student completes a thesis, which must be reviewed and approved by the thesis advisor and the department chair in order for the student to be eligible for degree conferral.

Course Descriptions

Required Courses
Bases of CRITICISM I & II

Elective Courses
Aesthetic Theory

Required of all first-year students, these courses provide background for the history, theory and criticism offered through the elective courses. Foundational texts will create a base for further studies during the twoyear program. These courses will assist students in understanding the prominent theoretical positions of art criticismpast and presentand their sources, and will concentrate especially on the history and theory of the image.
Writing I, II & III

Sample Program first year


FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

These courses will lead to the writing of the thesis in the final semester of the program. Students will read examples from different styles of critical writing. Brief texts, in the nature of reviews of current exhibitions, will be assigned. In conjunction with writing and revising exhibition reviews for possible publication in the programs online journal Degree Critical, instructors will consult on thesis issues. As the process advances, students are encouraged to dig more deeply into ideas without ever losing sight of the value of clarity.

The sciences struggle to get to truth by destroying illusionswhat is commonly called getting to the facts. Industrial entertainment uses illusion to produce more illusion. Ideology uses illusion to legitimate domination. Art, historically and by contrast, struggles to get to truth by means of illusion, by presenting an image or a story, for instance. All of the questions of modern artand this is the puzzle that will preoccupy us in this courserevolve around the problem of how art can still be art when, because of historical developments, art can no longer tolerate the illusion that it requires to be art in the first place. This is the problem that set off the revolution in the arts at the beginning of the 20th century and that continues to haunt what most artists try to do, whether in literature, visual arts or music. Adornos Aesthetic Theory is the definitive text of this problematic history, and we will study it in detail.
THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF MODERNISM

Bases of Criticism I Writing I Electives (2)

4 4 8

Bases of Criticism II Writing II Electives (2)

4 4 8

Thesis Seminar

second year
FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Students will begin thesis preparation by formulating the central ideas that will become the thesis, and will consider appropriate strategies for the research, form, presentation and distribution of their ideas. Thesis Seminar will give students the opportunity to meet as a group with a faculty member and discuss issues related to the development of their theses, and read portions of their work in class. Guest lecturers from various fields will discuss what is important about a thesis.
Thesis

Writing III Electives (3) Note: Each elective course is four credits.

4 12

Thesis Seminar Thesis

4 8

Each student will meet with his or her thesis advisor and work on a one-to-one basis throughout the semester. Meetings are used for the instructor to respond to drafts of the thesis and discuss its development.

This course will explore the intellectual and historical backgrounds, primarily in France from 1863 to 1924, which led up to and defined the isms of 20th-century modernism (e.g., fauvism, futurism, expressionism, Dadaism and surrealism). We will begin with Baude laires concept of the modern, his notion of the city as site, the flanur, artifice and ugliness as beauty; move to symbolist poetry and the cultivation of the visionary drglement des sens in the work of Arthur Rimbaud; then Alfred Jarrys ever-relevant Ubu Roi and science of pataphysics, followed by an in-depth discussion of World War I and the origins of Dada in Europe and America, including Man Ray and Baroness Elsa von Freytag and their relationships with Duchamp; the deep metaphysics of surrealism found in Lautramont; the influence of figures such as Arthur Cravan and Jacques Vach on Andr Breton; the novels of Louis Aragon; the poetry of Paul luard and Philippe Soupault; culminating with a consideration of the two poles of surrealism: Bretons dream polemics versus Georges Batailles abject metaphysics.
ART MAGAZINES

The history of art may be preserved in books and museums, but it is written first in the pages of the art magazine. Organ of the establishment, mouthpiece of the market, vehicle for revolution: with a history stretching back more than two centuries, art magazines have been all of these things and more. From Goethes early periodical Propylen to Gazette des Beaux-Arts and from La Rvolution Surraliste to Frieze, art magazines not only record changes in the way art is made, bought and understood, but also often help to drive such evolution. In this course, we will use the art magazine as a lens through which to read art history, investigating its role as an essential public focus for myriad interdependencies that govern the activity of artists, dealers, writers, institutions and viewers.

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Faculty

THE ART OF THE INTERVIEW

MARXISM AND ART CRITICISM

The Sublime and the Beautiful

One of the skills the art writer must perfect is the crafting of a portrait, or essay, or portrait as essay based on the creation and recreation of the interview as more than the record of a conversation. In this class we will study, and practice, the interview as a vehicle for writing an essay. We will read key examples and analyze the craft of profiles in The New Yorker, The Brooklyn Rail, and Modern Painters, and book-essays crafted from the interview format (for example, Positions, with Derrida, or How Like A Leaf, with Donna Haraway). But the main project will be to select a well-known and/or major artist (or art world figure) to interview and profile for publication. New York is teeming with artists to approach. Much of our time will be spent on the writing and rewriting of the interviewturning a conversation into a substantial, and publishable, piece. Depending on availability, practitioners from the New York art world will visit the class to discuss their process.
Artists Writings

This course aims to acquaint students with significant figures and texts in the tradition of Marxist art theory and criticism, beginning with an essay from Marx himself and concluding with work by T. J. Clark, the most eminent contemporary art historian working within the framework of Marxism. Readings include works by Trotsky, Plekhanov, Raymond Williams, Simmel, Georg Lukacs, Ernst Fischer, Jameson, Althusser, Marcuse and Adorno.
MEDIA CRITIQUE AND AESTHETICS: THEODOR ADORNO ON TELEVISION, PHOTOGRAPHY, FILM, RADIO AND MUSIC

This course will conduct a literary and visual examination of the concepts of the sublime and the beautiful, as one of the great dichotomies in Western theory and criticism. We will examine the sublime (Burke, Kant, Turner, Newman) and the beautiful (Bell, Greenberg, Heidegger, Habermas), as well as some of the images on which their theories are based. In addition, recent works, including Dave Hickeys The Invisible Dragon and essays by Peter Schjeldahl, will be discussed.
THIS MOMENT

David Levi Strauss, chair


Writer, critic
Education: BA, Goddard College; graduate work in the Poetics Program, New College of California Books include: Between the Eyes: Essays on Photography and Politics; Between Dog and Wolf: Essays on Art & Politics; Leon Golub and Nancy Spero: The Fighting Is a Dance, Too; From Head to Hand: Art and the Manual Contributing editor: Aperture; The Brooklyn Rail; founding editor, ACTS: A Journal of New Writing. Other publications include: Artforum, Art in America, The Nation, Art Journal, Cabinet Awards and honors include: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship; Artspace Grant for New Writing in Art Criticism; Logan Award, Boston University, Infinity Award for Writing

The significant interventions that visual artists have made through art writing into the art criticism of their time are the focus of this course. It will examine artists writings, including journals, art criticism, manifestos, theoretical writings, letters and artist-run publications. Artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Lszl Moholy-Nagy, Kasimir Malevich, Andr Breton, Marsden Hartley, Barnett Newman, Ad Reinhardt, Robert Motherwell, Louise Bourgeois, Allan Kaprow, Robert Smithson, Donald Judd, Robert Morris, Adrian Piper, Mary Kelly and Carolee Schneemann, among others, have bridged the gap between art practice, artwork and critical theory, and invigorated the language of art criticism. We will concentrate on some of the key artists writings from Russian constructivism to the Bauhaus, surrealism, abstract expressionism, Fluxus, feminism, conceptual art and minimalism.
THE IDEALIST TRADITION

Adorno wrote extensively and importantly on all areas of mass media. This course is an in-depth presentation and discussion of his writings with particular emphasis on their relation to his general theory of society and aesthetics in Aesthetic Theory, as well as to several of Walter Benjamins writings. Readings will include How to Look at Television, On Popular Music, Film Transparencies, The Radio Broadcasts of Martin Luther Thomas, Current of Music and The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.
MIMESIS AND SOCIAL HISTORY

Contemporary issues in art criticism will be examined in this course, including the positions and attitudes of writers todaya kind of prosopography of contemporary art criticism. Important recent authors, books and essays will be consulted and discussed. The current state of criticism will be appraised through texts, art trends, publishing ventures and politics. This course will seek to answer fundamental questions, such as: Is criticism becoming more or less critical? What is its relationship to religion and science? Does art criticism serve political agendas? Writings in art criticism of the last 10 years will be studied.
VIRTUAL CURATING

This course is meant to make up for much of what usually hasnt happened in the rest of our education. It is organized around two vast, seminal studies: Erich Auerbachs Mimesis and Arnold Hausers Social History of Art. By the time students are done with these works, they will understand the central techniques of writing as they developed in the West and the importance of the development of these techniques, have a broad comparative arts grasp of the social history of art in relation to this history of literature, and know where to look to expand their education during the rest of the MFA program and afterwards. The course involves intense study, considerable reading and frequent writing practice.
SCIENCE AND ART CRITICISM

The premise of this course is for students to conceive a thematic, biennial-style exhibition, and select the artists and works for the show. During the semester, the class will write all texts required for such an exhibition, includ ing letters of invitation, press releases, catalog essays/ entries and wall text. Theoretical texts on curating as well as exemplary catalog essays will be discussed and analyzed. All aspects of curating (short of an actual physical installation) will be covered, with an emphasis on writing.

Chair, BFA Fine Arts Department, School of Visual Arts; fine artist; critic Education: BA, Brooklyn College; MFA, University of Colorado at Boulder Publications include: Art Journal; Tema Celeste; Seed; M/E/A/ N/I/N/G; Leonardo; Nature Reviews Genetics; Update: New York Academy of Sciences magazine; co-author, The Molecular Gaze: Art in the Genetic Age Group Exhibitions include: Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center; J.Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Museum of Modern Art, Japan

Suzanne Anker

The idealist tradition begins with Plato, migrates to the Neoplatonists, the Renaissance Platonists, the Cam bridge Platon ists and Kant. After Kant, the tradition adapts through various stagesHegelian historicism, the critical historians, the British formalists (especially Bell and Frye), and lands finally with Clement Greenberg. Greenberg popularized and reinvigorated the idealist tradition for about a generation and then it lost force, at least for a time. Readings include Platos Ion, Phaedrus, Republic 3, Philebus; selections from Plotinus Enneads; Kants Critique of Judgment and selected essays; Hegels Philosophy of History and Philosophy of Fine Art; Clive Bells Art; Roger Fryes Transformations; Clement Greenbergs Art and Culture, and selected essays of Fried and Nodelman.

Over the last century, art has been moving gradually away from the realm of religion and drawing closer to the realm of science. From Marcel Duchamp to Dennis Oppenheim to Agnes Denes and Nam June Paik, this course will consider recent significant texts that examine the incorporation of science and art. Readings will include works by Linda Henderson, Suzanne Anker and Bill Camfield.
A SHORT HISTORY OF READING

Reading is a skill that has shaped society and the human brain in a manner we are just beginning to understand. It has developed from the 15th century as an elaborate and varied practice within very specific historical and cultural contexts. But what is it to read? We will learn about the impact of the printing press, the book, the novel and the Internet. Of primary importance, we will use the history of reading to explore whether reading is dead or simply ap proach ed differently in contemporary society. Students will read literature, poetry, historical and theoretical texts from John Donne, Gertrude Stein and Roland Barthes, to Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain by Maryanne Wolf.

Fine artist, editor Education: BFA, Kutztown University; MFA, Tyler School of Art Editorial Positions Held: Editor, Aesthetics Today series, including the anthologies Uncontrollable Beauty and Sticky Sublime Narrative works exhibitions: Paris Biennale; Venice Biennale; Documenta; Whitney Biennial; Mir Foundation, Barcelona One-person Exhibitions include: Museum of Modern Art; International Center of Photography; Tony Shafrazi Gallery; Ace Gallery, Los Angeles; Galerie Hans Mayer, Dsseldorf and Berlin; Studio Trisorio, Rome and Naples; Gallerie Daniel Templon, Paris Collections include: Whitney Museum of American Art; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC; Tate Gallery, London Awards and honors include: National Endowment for the Arts

William Beckley

MFA Art Criticism

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Guest Lecturers

Editor; writer; fine artist; co-editor, M/E/A/N/I/N/G Online. Formerly, editor, special issues, New Observations, Artkrush; co-editor, M/E/A/N/I/N/G: A Journal of Contemporary Art Issues and M/E/A/N/I/N/G: An Anthology of Artists Writings, Theory, and Criticism Education: BA, Barnard College; MA, Hunter College Artists books include: Talespin, Bed Hangings, Log Rhythms, A Girls Life, Little Orphan Anagram, The Burning Babe and Other Poems Awards and honors include: New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Yaddo Fellowship

Susan Bee

Robert Hullot-Kentor
Philosopher
Education: BA, Marlboro College; MA, Goddard College; PhD, University of Massachusetts Author: Ice Flows. Editor: Current of Music: Elements of a Radio Theory; editor, translator, Philosophy of New Music; Aesthetic Theory Awards and Honors Include: Mellon Faculty Fellow, Harvard University and Boston University; DAAD; Orion Visit ing Artist, University of Victoria; Getty Visiting Scholar

Bill Berkson poet, critic Michael Brenson critic, biographer of David Smith Susan Buck-Morss writer, theorist Arthur Danto critic, author Ann Lauterbach poet, essayist W.J.T. Mitchell scholar, theorist Nancy Princenthal critic; senior editor, Art in America Avital Ronell author, educator

Barry Schwabsky poet, critic Katy Siegel critic; art historian; editor, Art Journal Leo Steinberg art historian Michael Taussig writer Peter Lamborn Wilson writer John Yau poet; critic; art editor, Brooklyn Rail

Producer, writer. Formerly, research associate, Whitney Museum of American Art Education: BA, Sarah Lawrence College; MA, New York University; PhD, University of California, Santa Cruz Books and Anthologies include: How Like a Leaf; Ellen Gallagher, A Painter in III Acts; Peter Halley; Louise Bourgeois; The Monsters Progress: The Art of James Barsness Publications include: Artforum, Parkett, Art in America, The Village Voice, Guggenheim magazine

Thyrza Nichols Goodeve

Art critic, The New York Times; contributing editor, writer, Art in America. Formerly, senior art critic, Boston Globe Education: BA, Brown University; MA, SUNY Albany Publications include: Vogue, Arts, New Art Examiner, Art New England

Ken Johnson

Chair, Art History Department and BFA Visual and Critical Studies Department, School of Visual Arts; coordinator, Honors Program, School of Visual Arts; philosopher; critic Education: BA, Sarah Lawrence College; MA, PhD, Boston University Books include: Imitation and Society: The Persistence of Mimesis in the Aesthetics of Burke, Hogarth, and Kant; The Cambridge Companion to Adorno; The Wake of Art: Criticism, Philosophy, and the Ends of Taste; The Semblance of Subjectivity: Essays in Adornos Aesthetic Theory Publications include: Oxford Art Journal, British Journal of Aesthetics, New German Critique, Art & Text, Eighteenth-Century Studies, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, Art Criticism, Telos, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Philosophy and Social Criticism CURATORIAL WORKS INCLUDE: Ornament and Landscape, Apex Gallery; Still Missing: Beauty Absent Social Life, Visual Arts Museum and Westport Arts Center, CT Awards include: Getty Scholar; Fulbright Scholar; First Prize, American Society for Aesthetics Essay Contest; New York State Council for the Humanities

Tom Huhn

Contributing editor, Art in America. Formerly, managing editor, Flash Art Education: BA, Bennington College books include: The Afterglow of Minor Pop Master pieces, Polychrome Profusion: Selected Art Criticism 1990 - 2002, The Basement of the Cafe Rilke, Postcards from Alphaville. Editor, Critical Mess:Art Critics on the State of Their Practice Publications include: Grand Street, American Poetry Review, Oulipo Compendium award: Chevalier dans lOrder des Arts et des Lettres

Raphael Rubinstein

Contact Us
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Writer; editor; senior editor, Cabinet. Formerly, senior editor, ARTnews; contributing editor, Art Monthly; associate editor, Raw Vision; editor, Public Art Review Education: BA, University of Minnesota books and Exhibition Catalogs: The Whitney Biennial Catalogue; Jeff Gibson: Sarsaparilla to Sorcery; Socrates Sculpture Park; Land Art: A Cultural Ecology Handbook; Austin Thomas: Perches and Drawings; Odd Lots: Revisiting Gordon Matta-Clarks Fake Estates; World Rush: Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Doug Aitken, Lee Bul, Sarah Sze; Ida Applebroog: Are You Bleeding Yet?; Aperto: The 48th Venice Biennale; Real to Reel: Land Art on Screen. Series editor, Public Art Fund catalogs: Park Life; Keith Edmier: Emil Dobblestein and Henry J. Drope; Temporary Residents; Paul Pfeiffer: Orpheus Descending; Halcyon Days Publications include: Artforum, Flash Art, Art Issues, Frieze, The Economist, New Art Examiner, New York Observer, The New York Times, Sculpture, Tema Celeste, Afterall, Art + Auction, Art/Text, Cabinet

Jeffrey Kastner

Tel: 212.592.2408 Fax: 212.989.3516 E-mail: artcrit@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/artcriticism


We strongly encourage applicants to submit application materials as early as possible. The chair is always available to meet with interested candidates to discuss the program and its philosophy. Come to our Departmental Information Session, or contact us directly to schedule a tour. Departmental Information Session: Saturday, November 7, 2009, 2 4pm To register for a departmental information session, please visit our Web site or contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at: gradadmissions@sva.edu.

Art Criticism & Writing

www.sva.edu/grad/artcriticism

MFA Computer Art


www.sva.edu/grad/computerart

XX Goal of the program is developing artists who will produce significant creative work throughout their careers and become leaders in their chosen field XX Faculty is comprised of internationally renowned artists, curators, critics, theorists and industry professionalsa whos who of New Yorks art world XX Recently renovated, state-of-the-art facilities; named one of top ten digital art schools in the world

The mfa Computer Art program continuously redefines itself through creative experimentation and the discovery of new uses for todays technology. Our approach is multidisciplinary and each student pursues a course of study that is individually tailored. The largest graduate department at sva, we offer more than 40 courses per semester in state-of-the-art facilities, which were completely renovated in 2007. Creativity and the development of a personal artistic style are the programs cornerstones. Our greatest strength is our faculty, a literal whos who of the New York art world, composed of internationally renowned artists, curators, critics, theorists and industry professionals. Recently named one of the Top Ten Digital Art Schools in the World by ImagineFX magazine, the mfa Computer Art program has also been ranked seventh in Multimedia/Visual Communication by U.S. News & World Report. Graduates of the department are employed by the most prestigious digital studios: Industrial Light & Magic, Pixar, DreamWorks, Disney, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Rhythm & Hues, Digital Domain, Blue Sky Studios, mtv and Electronic Arts. Other alumni choose the entrepreneurship of their own businesses. Those who pursue fine art careers exhibit their work in museums and galleries, including: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, p.s.1/moma, Whitney Museum of American Art, Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum and Tate Online. Students come from around the world to study in our program, and the international representation provides unique perspectives that offer different cultural approaches to the creative process. First-year courses in studio, art history, computer systems and programming build the foundation for secondyear thesis work, which is supported through weekly critiques and related advanced areas of study. The digital art seminar series, software workshops, guest lectures and visiting artist program provide in-depth exposure to all areas of digital art. Awards have been bestowed upon our students by major international competitions, including Student Academy Awards (2004, 2007, 2008 and 2009); Adobe Design Achievement Award (2006); YouTube Award (2006); Prix Ars Electronica; siggraph Electronic Theater and Art Show; Webby Awards; isea; and the Leonardo Award for Excellence. Student works have appeared in such acclaimed film festivals as Cannes, Tribeca and Sundance, and animation film festivals in Annecy, Ottawa and New York, among dozens of others. The goal of our program is to develop artists who will produce significant creative work throughout their careers and become leaders in their chosen field.

Bruce Wands, chair

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Creative Career Change


Alumni Profile: Myung Lee
Myung Lee (MFA 04), in her cubicle at Charlex, a major digital design studio in New York. The company designs and produces commercials and movie trailers. Its services include 3D, effects, graphics, and branding.

The career path of Myung Lee, a graduate of the MFA Computer Art program, is as close to an American parable as youre going to get. She was raised in South Korea and traveled frequently due to Lee stands in front of the job board. She supervises dozens of digital artists in the 3D department. her fathers career as a diplomat. She then attended school in Paris and later Georgetown, hoping to follow in her fathers footsteps by studying political science and international relations. But longing for something else, she decided against taking the Foreign Service exam and ended up doing paralegal work. I could envision a life in law, but it just wasnt creative enough, she recalls. Lee had always painted, but never considered something artistic as a viable career. After all, what would her typically doting Korean parents think? But after taking a continuing education class in 3d Animation at sva, she was blown away. So, after a meeting with department chair Bruce Wands, and without any formal art training, she applied for the mfa program. The only thing I knew about computers was WordPerfect, she laughingly admits. While mom and pop preferred her to attend

nyu, she chose sva. nyu didnt have sufficient 3d teachers that had experience in the field. And svas labs updated their equipment and software every year. Staying up-to-date with the latest technology
was really important to me. As a testament to her studies, her collaborative thesis short film, Cold War, was a finalist in the

2004 Student Academy Awards. And her instincts about the faculty were dead on: an alumni connection landed Lee her first job at Nickelodeon, which defined her career. Fast-forward to today, and Lee is working as a cg supervisor of over 30 artists at Charlex, a 200-plus-person production house that creates everything from TV commercials to music videos. While she admits her experience at sva was a challenging one, Lee wouldnt trade it for anything. In fact, she gives her alma mater the highest honor. sva turns out the best students because they have the most prepared skill set, she says. Thats why I recruit from there today. And her parents? They dont worry anymore.

Walking through the 3D department, she passes the animation room. She previously worked at Nickelodeon Digital as a lighting technical director.

Lee works with the talents in the animation department on their projects. On the back wall are sketches of fellow employees, drawn by the animators, all in good fun.

Lee sits in one of Charlexs client review rooms, working with the computer program Maya. This room is frequently used to work directly between clients and animators, designers, and editors.

chair interview

The MFA Computer Art Department provides students with exclusive 24/7 access to 75 networked Macintosh and PC workstations, divided among five classrooms, an AV studio, a high-end HDTV/ surround-sound edit room, two edit rooms attached to a sound recording booth, a video transfer/edit room and a computer art lab. We also have a Chelsea studio/gallery space and workshop for those focusing on digital fine art and installation. Students can sign out laptops, HDTV cameras, light kits, tripods, audio recorders, musical instruments, still cameras and a wide variety of other equipment for their creative work outside the lab.

Bruce Wands
The program continually evolves, Wands says, and theres virtually no technology in our lab thats been here for more than five years.

My first exposure to computer graphics was in 1976, recalls Bruce Wands. I was studying television and radio at Syracuse University, making my living as a musician, and I took some courses in the experimental studio which taught computer graphics. We began by programming the universitys mainframe to make art, and I could see then that computers were going to be a major force, particularly in terms of graphics and networking. That perception redirected my whole career. Computer Art is the largest graduate program at sva, Wands expands. The program is multidisciplinary, but animation has always been the core of the department. Weve won six Student Academy Awards in the past five years. There is always a group of students who focus on fine art, and we have studio space to support them. The other parts of the program alter according to shifts of emphasis in the art and business worlds. In recent years, for example, theres been an increasing interest in digital video and motion graphics. We maintain a diversity of courses because our students creativity is stimulated by interacting with people working in different areas. The program continually evolves, Wands says, and theres virtually no technology in our lab thats been here for more than five years. Our curriculum and equipment choices are based on what the faculty do in the professional world. My relationships in the industry, tours of studios, discussions with faculty and visits to trade shows and conferences all help determine how we equip ourselves. Weve always been forward-looking in terms of both the curriculum and the technology. Are incoming students already technically adept? Yes, they are, Wands replies, but the program is still very challenging, and students focus more on developing their creativity, rather than just becoming technical wizards. One of the challenges of working in the way we do is to make the technology become almost invisible, so that the end result is more about the content than the way it was produced. How do students apply what they learn in the program? Many of those who focus on animation go on to work for feature film companies like Industrial Light and Magic, DreamWorks, Pixar and Sony Pictures Imageworks. A fair amount stay in New York and work at the commercial production houses. We have students who go on to successful fine art careers. Several graduates are now working at the American Museum of Natural History, supporting its multimedia environment. We have one or two that go on to PhD programs each year, plus others that go into teaching. So there are quite a variety of options! The most important part about what students do here is to express their creativity and develop an individual vision and style as an artist. We dont focus too much on slotting people into an industry, because ultimately creativity is the most valuable commodity. One of the things I really try to instill in students is that they should pursue their own personal creative work throughout their entire career. Thats something that theyre in control of, something that brings them joy, and something that people in the industry hold in high regard. They wont burn out if they continue to create and enjoy what they do.

On any given day...


9am Student arrives early in the lab and has access to several computers, and gets to work in a quiet environment. 10am Student returns HDTV camera, light kit and laptop he or she signed out of the library. 6 8pm Check out Canon D40 camera to photograph New York at night 10am noon Staff arrives. Students ask systems administrators for help with some of their technical issues. Students meet with advisor Russet Lederman to discuss their class choices and possible internships over the summer. The director of operations checks in newly arrived equipment for the new 3D projection system. Students meet with Bruce Wands, chair, to discuss their thesis ideas and progress. Students meet with Bruce Wands, Joe Dellinger and Russet Lederman for monthly Student Representative meeting to discuss how things are going, plan workshops and discuss any software or hardware needs. Get together with classmates in the lunchroom to talk about classes, events and life. while visiting Chelsea galleries as part of Digital Art Seminars II . Attend free workshop on Softimage XSI, then go to Greenwich Village to see some live music. noon 6pm Classes: Video Art and Beyond with Barbara London, Video Curator at the Museum of Modern Art; Sound Design with Edgar Grana; Animation Culture with Trilby Schreiber; Stereoscopic 3D with Gerald Marks; Programming for Artists I with Nikita Mikros.

Computer Art

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www.sva.edu/grad/computerart

SVA Spaces

Students log in to the wireless network in the computer art lab, and exhibit their creative work in the hallway gallery (right).

The Program The mfa Computer Art program is multidisciplinary and features several areas of
concentration: animation, motion graphics, digital video, installation and digital fine art, interactive media, and performance. The following courses are required of all students: Digital Art Seminars I and II, two elective art history courses, two elective programming courses, Computer Systems I, Thesis Development, Thesis I and II, and Thesis Research and Writing I and II. The remainder of the program is individually tailored to each students interests through meetings with the department advisor. The first-year curriculum strengthens and broadens the students knowledge of and creative approach to digital art in preparation for the thesis year. The second year revolves around the thesis processthe completion of a body of creative work, combined with academic research and an extended artists statement. Critique and the refinement of a personal aesthetic vision are the two most important elements of the second-year curriculum. The first- and second-year academic programs are supplemented by workshops, visiting artists, guest lectures and outreach opportunities. Degree candidates must successfully complete 60 credits, including all required courses, and maintain a 3.0 grade point average. A matriculation of two academic years is required. In the final semester, students complete their thesis project and participates in a public presentation. The project must be reviewed and approved by the thesis committee and the department chair in order for the student to be eligible for degree conferral. Although most students earn their degrees in four semesters, some find it necessary or desirable to study for five or six semesters before completing the thesis process. Extended study is determined on an individual basis and important considerations such as course work, visa extension and financial aid must be resolved before extended study can be approved. Decisions concerning transfer of credit and course exemptions are made by the committee on graduate admissions.

Sample Program: Installation Art / Digital Fine Art / Performance first year
FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Computer Systems I Digital Art Seminars I History of New Media in 20th-Century Art Programming for Artists I Sound Workshop I Video for Computer Artists I

3 0 3 3 3 3

Contemporary Voices Digital Art Seminars II Max/Jitter I New Forms in Video Physical Computing I Thesis Development

3 0 3 3 3 3

second year
FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Max/Jitter II Physical Computing II Sound Workshop II Thesis I Thesis Research and Writing I

3 3 3 6 0

DVDAuthoring Max/Jitter III Physical Computing III Thesis II Thesis Research and Writing II

3 3 3 6 0

Sample Program: Interactive Media first year


FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Sample Program: Animation first year


FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Computer Systems I Digital Art Seminars I Networked Media Seminar Networked Media Studio I Sound Workshop I Web Programming I 3 0 3 3 3 3 Advanced Modeling and Rigging Concepts Animation Culture Character Animation I Digital Art Seminars II Story Structures II Thesis Development 3 3 3 0 3 3

3 0 3 3 3 3

Digital Art Seminars II Interface Design Networked Media Studio II Thesis Development Video for Computer Artists Web Programming II

0 3 3 3 3 3

Computer Systems I Digital Art Seminars I Sound Workshop I Story Structures I Three-Dimensional Modeling and Animation UNIX

second year
FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

second year
FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Game Design Production Issues:Interactive Media I Thesis I Thesis Research and Writing I Web Programming III 3 3 3 6 0 Production Issues: Animation II Seminar in Musical Choices The Theory, Criticism and History of  Time-Based Media 6 0 Thesis II Thesis Research and Writing II 3 3 3

3 3 6 0 3

Contemporary Voices  New Forms in Video Production Issues:Interactive Media II Thesis II Thesis Research and Writing II

3 3 3 6 0

Character Animation II Digital Compositing Production Issues: Animation I Thesis I Thesis Research and Writing I

Computer Art

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www.sva.edu/grad/computerart

Course Descriptions

Advanced Modeling and Rigging Concepts

Computer Systems I & II

Dynamics and Particle Systems

History of New Media in 20th-Century Art

Creating animated characters is one of the most challenging aspects of contemporary filmmaking. In this course, students will learn how to create 3D characters from design to modeling and setup through the development of a character pipeline. Considerations in character design and how to develop a flexible nonlinear work flow will be covered, as well as issues such as geometry types and topology. Rigging topics will include inverse and forward kinematics, expression and binary nodes, joint placement and orientations, and binding and deforming skin geometry.
Animation Culture

These courses will demystify hardware and software components of computing systems in general, and will empower students with practical decision-making skills of a technical nature. We will discuss the user-interface, operating system, CPU technology and bus architecture of the platforms used in the MFA Computer Art Lab. We will undertake a comparative study of programming languages. Further discussion will include mass storage, input/output devices and networking.
Contemporary Voices

Why do we love animation? What is it doing for usor to us? This course will explore the impact of animation on our perception and culture through screenings, discussions and written work. We will discuss how pervasive animated worlds influence people through entertainment, games, advertising, broadcast media, medicine, law and architecture. The use of animation as commentary on topics such as politics, emotional life and intimacy will be considered. The culture of animation itselfas represented by legendary companies, people and practices of this multifaceted art formwill also be addressed. Guest speakers and field trips are included.
Art, Technology and the New York Avant-Garde

Guest artists will discuss their work with the class in a forum designed to help students understand the work of their contemporaries. By exposing students to a spectrum of computer art-making possibilities, this course inspires creative work and provides an opportunity to meet prospective thesis advisors and professional digital artists.
Digital Art Seminars I & II

Particles and dynamics will be used in this course to explore a variety of special effects families, including: explosions, chemical reactions, flocking animals, complex morphing, meteorological phenomena, glows, magical effects, dust and tornadoes. The effects will be built from scratch and then we will identify, refine and control the most essential aesthetic parameters. Topics will include: particles, fields, goals, collision detection, the instancer, springs, paint effects, hard and soft bodies, deformer interaction, shader networks, glows, software and hardware render compositing, and lighting. Students will develop a strong foundation in MEL (Maya Embedded Language).
Ecstasy and Apocalypse

This course will explore developments in 20th-century art with a particular focus on artists practices that examine or embrace new circumstances in the media and technologies of their time. Students will also research and discuss related work of critics and theorists. The term new media will be treated broadly to include developments in film, photography and radio, as well as the beliefs and expectations that accompany new technologies.
Independent Study

These seminars will consist of lectures and discussions that address various aspects of digital art history and theory, including the evolution of digital technologies and their impact on contemporary art and culture. In addition to these seminars, students will be required to attend select events offered through the greater digital art community of New York City. The primary goal is to expose students to a broad range of ideas and forms of expression that the digital arts encompass.
Digital Compositing

Computer technology in this course will be examined in the context of the artistic New York avant-garde. We will delve into discussions of essential Dada and neo-Dada concepts, procedures and artists relevant to computer technology (e.g., interactivity, hypermedia, immersion, virtual reality and other aspects of digital art). Audio art and multimedia will be examined in detail in this context as will the impact of digital technology on the practices of poetry, painting, sculpture and architecture. Students will be assigned weekly readings and must complete a research assignment. Content will be divided into four major topics that reference the history of the New York avant-garde and its relevance to digital culture.
Character Animation I & II

In this course, we will study selected science-fiction utopias and dystopias in popular culture, literature, cinema and theoretical writing from the 19th century to the present. We will begin with the question, Why is science fiction our political theory? in order to use the genre to analyze relations of power and control; capitalism and the media; ethics and freedom; and definitions of gender and race in an increasingly bioengineered world. Among the texts will be George Orwells 1984, Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, Margaret Atwoods Oryx and Crake, as well as essays by Donna Haraway, Tom Moylan, Frederic Jameson, Scott Bukatman, Allucqure Rosanne Stone, H. G. Wells, Samuel Delany and Jean Baudrillard. Students will have the choice of writing a seminar paper or creating a serious critical work in another medium for their final project.
Ethics and Politics in the New Media Age

Independent study is granted to exceptional second-year students, who wish to pursue a special project not covered by the parameters of the course curriculum. Students work independently, under the tutelage of an appropriate faculty member or professional sponsor. Prior to beginning independent study, students must submit a detailed proposal that outlines their goals. At the end of the semester, a detailed summary of the completed work is required. Independent study proposals must be approved by the department advisor and the department chair.
Interface Design

This course will survey a range of aesthetic issues, practical techniques and software applications used for digital compositing. The role of compositing in feature film and television commercial production will be examined in depth through practical examples. Students will be assigned short projects that reflect the ideas and techniques discussed in class and will present their creative work for critique.
Digital montage

This course will examine advanced issues and techniques of usercentered design. In addition, a general approach to interface design will be explored through review of other interactive environments and kiosk-based works. Students will be challenged to achieve unique and workable design decisions and will test their projects with prototypes. Field trips and guest lectures by leading interface designers will provide a forum for discussion.
Internship

These courses are designed to deepen students understanding and skills in 3D character animation through lectures, critiques, tutorials and short projects (including team assignments). One of the important elements of character animation is developing a character that is believable through giving the character a strong personality and focusing on the characters (and animators) acting performance. In Character Animation I, students will study model rigging, animation techniques, camera angles, texture mapping and other topics central to the practice of character animation. Character Animation II will focus on the critique of student work. Advanced animation techniques such as inverse kinematics, model deformation (morphing), lip synch and facial expressions will be explored.

This course investigates the theoretical function of the digital image by examining how compositing tools and techniques have impacted the creation of images. The history of image-making will also be explored through selected readings. Course work will range from the creation of still imagery to motion graphics. Class time will be divided between critical discussions and studio projects.
DVD Authoring

The attack on the World Trade Center demonstrated the power of mass-mediated images to transform global political realities and the discourses of right and justice that underpin political action. This course examines how concepts of political agency and ethical judgment may be transformed by the technological condition of contemporary culture, and asks whether art might play a particular role in charting new political and ethical frameworks to meet this predicament. It will begin with a series of key readings in political philosophy and cultural theory, which include works by Agamben, Arendt, Baudrillard, Benjamin, Chatterjee, Said, Stiegler, Virilio and Zizek. To contextualize these readings, students will examine the rhetoric of selected media texts and images, and critically analyze the work of contemporary artists who explore the political and ethical potential of new media.
Game Design

Students can gain valuable professional exposure and experience through an internship project with a professional sponsor or an employer. The department advisor and department chair can assist in locating internships that reflect individual student goals. To receive credit, students must get departmental approval in advance, begin the internship by the third week of the semester and receive a positive evaluation from the sponsor/employer at semesters end.
Max/Jitter I, II & III

This course will explore the creative possibilities and limitations of DVD and how to go beyond the boilerplate approach of the movie industry to creating titles that are site-specific to the mediumto realize new works that are meant to originate as DVD pieces. Students will learn the techniques possible within the medium as well as ways to use DVD-video within responsive installations or video sculpture such as controlling custom DVD players with the Basic Stamp 2 microcontroller.

Game design is the creation of interactive, self-contained systems of rules usually containing a challenge and a victory condition. This course is geared not only toward those interested in the game industry, but also toward artists and designers interested in creating compelling interactivity. This goal will be met through the exploration and critique of the work of interactive artists and commercial game designers. Course work will consist of lectures, including guest lecturers by contemporary artists and game designers; readings, including essays and interviews; handson assignments to conceive and create paper prototypes for games; and analysis and critique of student assignments, commercial games and fine art games. Students are expected to research and play games that lie outside the course syllabus and to share those experiences.
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Max/MSP is an object-oriented programming tool for creating interactive environments with MIDI (Max), real-time audio processing (MSP), and real-time graphics and video processing (Jitter). Max can be used for developing interactive installations and improvisation/performance systems. The first semester will cover the fundamentals of designing programs in Max, as well as how to integrate simple hardware systems and the basics of real-time sound and video processing. In the second semester, topics such as audio and video analysis, application development, generative sound and 3D graphics will be covered. Max/Jitter III is geared for students working on thesis projects in the areas of installation art, interactive video, sound art and performance, and will focus on advanced features and application development using Max software. Topics will also include real-time 3D graphics, improvising with algorithms and using Max with a network.

Computer Art

www.sva.edu/grad/computerart

Motion Graphics I & II

Networked Media Seminar

Physical Computing I, II& III

Programming for Artists I, II & III

Encompassing drawing, two- and three-dimensional animation, video, photography, stop motion and typographic elements, motion graphics extend beyond the commonly used methods of frame-by-frame animation and live action, and create a conglomeration of multiple visual styles. Motion graphics can be used to creatively go beyond the rules of representation, thus augmenting the various ways that media artists can delve into their imaginations and express unique visual and aural works. While Adobe After Effects will be the primary software used, students are strongly encouraged to explore the palette of creative software available to them as well as experiment with traditional media. Lectures address topics such as the history and philosophy of the time-based arts, professional development and grant writing. Students will learn how to submit projects to international festivals and/or nonprofit arts institutions. Guest lectures and conversations with established professionals will complement studio work.
Multimedia Programming I & II

Students will be introduced to the history and critical theory surrounding artworks that utilize computer networks and interactive telecommunications technologies. The course will also outline the history of tele- and network communications and basic Internet technologies as well as the forms and concepts of interaction and participation related to them. We will examine aesthetic and technological possibilities for artworks in networked environments ranging from the Internet and networked installations to locative media projects using mobile devices such as PDAs, cell phones and GPS. Through readings, discussions and written assignments, class members will learn to articulate their interests and concerns as artists working with these technologies.
Networked media Studio I & II

Through lectures, demonstrations, critiques and field trips, these courses will examine artworks and technologies that interface computing with objects and spaces in the physical world. In Physical Computing I, students will become familiar with basic electronics, sensing technologies, simple microcontrollers, and computer-controlled motors and other actuators. Installations, robotics, telepresence and network-based projects that utilize these technologies will be examined. Physical Computing II will offer an in-depth examination and discussion of available technologies for creating interactive artworks and installations. Physical Computing III will focus on exploring solutions for individual student projects. While the emphasis of these courses is highly technical, the development and realization of artworks will be the primary focus.
Production Issues: Animation I & II

Multimedia programming concepts using Flash Action Script as a foundation will be introduced in the first semester. Topics include variables, data types, scope, conditionals, loops, functions, and program flow. Similar compatible languages, such as JavaScript, PHP and Processing, will be discussed briefly, with an emphasis on language similarities and differences. Additional technologies, such as audio, video, XML, authoring for mobile devices and external sensors and controllers, may also be explored. These comparative looks at programming approaches will help students determine which will be most useful during thesis development. Multimedia Programming II focuses on producing highly interactive creative work, such as games, installation art and rich media Web sites. Advanced programming topics related to the design and creation of interactive media as well as object-oriented programming and design will be explored through a series of short assignments.
Multimedia Studio I & II

The primary focus of the first half of these courses will be on creating interactive projects that utilize telecommunication and Web technologies. The second semester will address technical and methodological issues surrounding creative and innovative Web artworks. The development of a working process for artists using the Internet will be emphasized. Readings and discussions of key themes and topics that are being explored by contemporary networked media artists will be included.
New Forms in Video

Through lectures and short weekly assignments, students will explore various applications of computer programming and discuss their advantages over commercially available software products. Topics will include understanding computer architecture, basic programming constructs, a survey of languages and their applications, procedural vs. object-oriented programming, and graphics programming, as well as an introduction to the Processing programming language and environment. Programming for Artists II concentrates on object-oriented and graphics programming, and will introduce the Java programming language and environment. Understanding computer architecture, 2D and 3D image processing, intermediate programming constructs and rich media Web solutions will be addressed. In Programming for Artists III, an in-depth examination of advanced object-oriented programming and graphics programming will be covered.
Seminar in Musical Choices

Through an examination of the production of animation projects, these courses will explore such topics as animation choreography, camera and character motion, texturing, lighting, visual effects, rendering and compositing. The main focus will be the creation of thesis projects, with the aim of teaching production methods as they are practiced in the professional world. Assignments focus on the conceptualization, design, scheduling and techniques of animation production.
Production Issues: Interactive Media I & II

For students wishing to create interactive projects, these courses give a solid grounding in the design and execution of interactive and networked media artworks. Emphasis will be placed on studio practice using Flash ActionScript as the primary exploratory platform. Contemporary examples of interactive media will be deconstructed and critiqued. Incorporating video, audio, graphic imagery and typographywithin an interactive authoring environmentwill be examined. The second semester focuses on the conceptualization and production of projects. Topics include advanced interactivity using database and rich media structures to incorporate video, audio, graphic imagery and typography for stand-alone, networked and mobile creative solutions. Lectures, discussions and group critiques will complement studio assignments.

A half century ago, video was only available through the medium of television. Today, video is accessible through the Internet, DVD, PDA, installations, sculpture, performances, mobile phones, etc. The objective of this studio course is to investigate multiple means of creating and distributing video art. Gathering imagery using both lens-based and non-lens-based technologies will be explored, including various types of video cameras such as pinhole CCD cameras that are used for surveillance applications, stop motion and time-lapse techniques. Interactive forms of video will be examined. We will also explore the many ways that video can be displayed and acted upon, such as projections and LCDs. Alternative distribution technologies will be covered. Students will be assigned a semester-long project that must be completed in at least two of the following media: Internet, installation, PDA, performance, interactive screen-based application, sculpture, DVD or hybrid.
New Media Theory

Guiding students toward a process for designing a sound environment that is properly connected to a visual concept is the premise of this course. The process will provide a more accurate sound accompaniment to help students better realize the story line and the motion of characters involved in their animations. Web site designers and installation artists can achieve a strong musical reference point in order to formulate a sensible sound parallel to their visuals.
Sound Design

These courses will examine the production process in detail, including concept development, design, budgets, contracts, scheduling, staffing, testing and postproduction. Emphasis will be placed on student thesis projects, with the aim of teaching production methods as they are practiced in the professional world. By gaining a thorough understanding of these practices, students will be prepared to make the transition from the academic to the professional environment. In the second semester, advanced programming techniques in Java Script, ActionScript and Lingo, as well as audio and video issues will be covered.
Production Issues: Video

The fundamentals of music design and selection for animation, Web sites, DVDs, CD-ROMs and other digital art projects will be the focus of this course. It will involve the selection and use of prerecorded material as well as the creation of music and audio content. We will address the inspirational stage, the final music track and the time constraints involved in music and sound production through the students execution of original material. Discussions will center on the differences between working with sound in a narrative and an interactive environment. Students will present their projects for in-class critique.
Sound Workshop I & II

The history and theory of new media from aesthetic, cultural and political perspectives will be outlined in this course. Key texts from science, technology, cultural theory and philosophy will be used to illustrate how mediation in various forms has impacted perception, communication, information systems and cultural production. Prominent theories will be referenced to trace the development of the term new media. Other topics include the logic of the database as a new cultural form as well as notions of software and the power of codes structures and rules. How networks affect cultural productionfrom social networking to semantic filtering to intellectual properties and urbanitywill be explored. Through lectures, reading assignments and discussions, new media will be positioned in this larger cultural context.

This course will examine professional video production methods as they apply to installation, linear format, interactive DVD, performance and Internet video works. Topics to be covered include: advanced editing, compression, video integration within an installation and DVDvideo programming/production. The focus will be toward providing support for the creation of thesis projects. We will also discuss industry standards and fine art video practice.

Intended as an introduction to the creative possibilities of the medium of sound, Sound Workshop I gives equal emphasis to conceptual ideas relating to sound compositionstructure, form, textureand technical considerations in gaining competency with the equipment. Concepts relating to the physics and biology of sound, as well as the history of sound recording technology, are included. The focus is on creating and refining sound art compositions. Students will also learn the process of sound design that refers to creating sound to accompany video or film imagery. Sound Workshop II will introduce conceptual and technical contexts for the composition of music. Course work will include creative projects, in-class listening, critique, lecture and discussion. Digidesign Pro Tools will be the primary digital audio editing software/hardware em ployed. Music composition using MIDI sequencing and real-time surround-sound mixing is included.

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Stereoscopic 3D

Thesis I & II

UNIX

Virtual Reality Seminar

Stereoscopic 3D, which provides separate images for each eye, has been part of imaging since the dawn of photography. Working with stereo imagery has become increasingly valuable in entertainment and the arts and sciences. It also offers a window into visual perception and the opportunity to re-examine many of the techniques and issues confronted in conventional image work. This course will cover all of the diverse methods and artistic possibilities for producing and displaying stereo imagery. Students will produce several projects using video, still images or animation.
Story Structures I & II

Story Structures I will study the structural elements underlying animated entertainment, visual music and experimental linear and nonlinear art forms. Traditional story and musical structures will be examined to discover what kinds of experience can be conveyed within electronic entertainment and art. Story Structures II will focus on honing the craft of writing the screenplay and storyboard structure. Students will further develop concepts such as the central dramatic question, inciting incident, idiosyncratic characters and environments, conflicts and needs, mounting tension, turning points, reversals and denouement. Throughout both semesters, students will develop an original story concept or adaptation realized as an animatic with sound.
Technical Direction

The thesis project is the body of creative work students produce to earn their degree. In Thesis I, students will finalize a written thesis proposal, conduct research and begin their creative work. Students are expected to present their work and attend group critiques on a weekly basis. Thesis II will guide students in the final stages of thesis production by providing a forum for discussion and critique of work-in-progress. Students will work closely with their thesis group leader and meet with the department chair throughout the process. Guest critics will also be brought into the thesis classes to provide additional input. At the end of the year, students will present their completed work to the public at the MFA Computer Art thesis presentations, giving students the opportunity to present their work to professionals and recruiting companies. The thesis exhibition at the Visual Arts Gallery in Chelsea provides a venue for exhibition in a gallery setting.
Thesis Development

The UNIX operating system remains an essential tool to the computer artist. This course will strive to prepare students to go beyond the basic functionality of UNIX and into the realm of scriptingwhere the real power and flexibility of the operating system lies. Along the way, we will explore topics that will help students to understand and control the environment in which they work, and learn the tools that will help achieve goals more quickly and efficiently.
Video Art and Beyond

A technical director manages the relationship between software options and computational processes in the animation production pipeline in order to achieve optimum visual results using the most economic means. This course will study script-based approaches to modeling, rigging and constraints, texture mapping and shaders, illumination algorithms, renderers and rendering, compositing and other 3D animation tools and techniques.
Theory, Criticism and History of Time-Based Media

Intended to assist students in the defining and production of a thesis proposal, this course will examine approaches to clearly articulate the central concept of the thesis and the implementation of idea to the creative process. Through short readings and written exercises that introduce students to the major texts and resources in their chosen field of interest, we will focus on initial research strategies for the development of a thesis project. Students will undertake a series of short projects that include documentation, proposals, book reports and prototypes. Students will also gain experience presenting and discussing their creative ideas in class.
Thesis Research and Writing I & II

This course begins by examining the emergence of video art in the 1960s, through structuralist films and the freewheeling days of feedback and real-time manipulation of the analog electronic signal. Students will examine how the barriers between artistic disciplines broke down as artists took up portable video cameras, experimented with installation, staged actions and went outdoors to build land art. Works of contemporary video artists who move freely between painting, sculpture, photography, film, performance and other media will be discussed, as well as the contributions by musicians toward developing new working methods. The course will consist of weekly screenings, analysis of installations, readings and written assignments.
Video for Computer Artists I, II & III

Designed to investigate the theoretical and historical bases of immersive virtual reality (VR) art, this course will primarily do so by investigating immersionthe experience considered the indispensable characteristic of VR. Lectures, readings and discussion will demonstrate that immersion into virtual electronic space is the cornerstone to understanding contemporary VR culture as well as certain key aspects of previous cultures. This investigation will lead the student to the formulation of an aesthetic theory of immersive consciousness, indicative of immersive culture, by joining choice examples of simulacra technology into mental connections, with relevant examples from art and architecture as well as technology, myth, space, gender studies and philosophy.
Web Programming I, II & III

As the first time-based medium, film quickly became a primary means of cultural expression and an icon of popular culture. Early works by Thomas Edison included live action, stop motion and animation, laying the groundwork for digital video, motion graphics and computer animation. Although digital projection, 3D and Web-based technologies have begun to supercede the film medium, its history, including video and animation, provides a wellspring of ideas and practices that demand theoretical and critical analysis. This course will address the vocabulary, grammar and syntax of experimental and mainstream film language, while examining and analyzing basic film constructs, genres and forms. Focusing on these issues from an international perspective, students will explore time-based media through the works of theorists, critics and practitioners. Reading and writing assignments will be complemented by student presentations, guest lectures and discussion.

These courses will focus on how to better articulate thesis research, concepts and contexts, and will culminate in finalizing the thesis proposal and research in written form. Each writing group will meet with the instructor three times during the semester. Sessions will be divided between lecture, individual critique and review. The weekly critique and review will be open to all thesis students.
Three-Dimensional Computer Graphics for FINEArtists

This course will introduce the possibilities, techniques and strategies of incorporating 3D animation and modeling software into a contemporary fine art practice. It is intended for students who are not necessarily pursuing 3D animation as a specialization. Softimage XSI will serve as the exploratory platform and will be introduced through a series of lectures and assignments. The course will also survey the historical and contemporary use of 3D computer graphics in fine art. Assigned projects will include both still and time-based imagery.
Three-Dimensional Modeling and Animation

These courses examine the fundamental concepts of cinematography and video recording, including editing structure, linear and nonlinear editing, special effects and transitions, as well as issues related to the final form in which the materials will be used. In the first semester, students will gain a strong foundation in digital video production and postproduction, with an emphasis on the development of QuickTime and other digital formats that can be used in multimedia work, DVD or online projects. Video for Computer Artists II centers on honing the craft of linear video art. Students will focus on the development of concepts through examination of works by such diverse artists as Jan Svankmajer, Chris Cunningham, Laurie Anderson and Maya Deren. Technical issues such as green-screen, multi-camera and audio production, lighting techniques, postproduction, compression techniques, and fixed and live-video streaming will be addressed. Video for Computer Artists III concentrates on refining a directing style as well as content and editing of the work. Students will produce short video projects and/ or Webcast programs that will be presented for group critique. Topics also include preparing video for CD-ROM, DVD and the Internet, Webcast programming and advanced topics.
Video Issues

Students will be introduced to the Web programming software used by professional design firms as well as the concepts used to create dynamic content for the Web. The first semester will cover HTML code and Adobe Flash. In Web Programming II, JavaScript will be used for client-side dynamic pages; CSS, XML, JSP and introductory database techniques will be explored to add functionality to a Web application. How to learn new software as it becomes available and how to modify existing codes will also be examined. Web Programming III will focus on scripting techniques used in Web programming (PHP and ActionScript); integration of browser-based scripting and server-side techniques will be covered in depth. A technical foundation for meaningful interactivity using the Internet will be the primary goal of the course and students will conduct research into the programming techniques demonstrated. Topics will also include: coordinating the use of various languages, such as JavaScript, HTML, PHP and ActionScript; debugging of programs; the Document Object Model that underlies Dynamic HTML; application servers; file and socket operations; and ECMA script and databasing.

The technical concepts of creating computer-generated 3D imagery as well as the application of the aesthetic concepts of traditional animation to 3D animation will be examined in this course. Geo metric construction techniques, surface texturing, scene illumination and cameras will be covered. Techniques such as squash-and-stretch, anticipation, follow-through, overlapping action, arcs of motion, exaggeration, staging and appeal will also be explored. Assignments will integrate technical and aesthetic information into short, creative 3D animation projects.
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In this experimental course, we will look at relationships between basic philosophical issues and the moving image. Students will read theoretical texts, view video works and make several short sketch assignments based on ideas taken from the readings. Students will then develop a final project based on one or more of these sketches. The course will be run as a seminar, and presentations on specific topics will be developed through each students individual research.

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Professional Faculty

Barbara London, associate curator, Department of Media and Performance Art, Museum of Modern Art, walks through the MoMA interior. London teaches the Video Art and Beyond class at SVA. (left) The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden at MoMA.

Faculty

Director of computer education, School of Visual Arts; artist/writer/ musician; producer/director, Wands Studio; director, New York Digital Salon EDUCATION: BA, cum laude, Lafayette College; MS, Syracuse University Author: Art of the Digital Age, Digital Creativity GROUPexhibitions include: D-ART 2008 Online Digital Art Gallery, London, Malaysia; Computer Graphics Invitational, Colorado; Electronics Alive IV, Tampa; Creativity & Cognition, London; International Digital Media and Arts Exhibition, Florida; First Beijing International New Media Arts Exhibition; SIGGRAPH Art Gallery; ASCI Digital 01 Exhibition, New York; Art and Science International, National Museum of Fine Art, China; Tutors Exhibition, Hong Kong Arts Centre; Museum het Toreke, Tienen, Belgium; SIGGRAPH Community Outreach Program; New York Historical Society; Storm King Music Festival Grants INCLUDE: National Endowment for the Arts; Rockefeller Foundation; New York State Council on the Arts; National Endowment for Science, Technology, and the Arts (NESTA, UK) AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: New York State Council on the Arts panelist; One of the 99 People to Watch in 1999 Time Out New York; Top Ten Digital Art Schools in the World, ImagineFX, UK; Depart ment Web site named 100 Best Sites of 2002 for Best Ori ginal Web Art, Yahoo Internet Life; Silver Medal, New York International Film and TV Festival; Silver Medal, Art Directors Club; Gold Medal, Chicago Film Festival; NCGA Educators Scholarship; National Safety Council Award for Excellence; board of directors, NYC/ACM SIGGRAPH; 3D Design Conference Advisory Board; keynote speaker, Computers and the History of Art, University of London; Integrating Digital Media Into a Liberal Arts Department, Wabash College, Indiana Web Site: www.brucewands.com

Bruce Wands, chair

Audio editor, sound designer, composer Education: BM, Berklee College of Music; MFA, New York University CLIENTS INCLUDE: Splash Studios, Flea Theater, Manhattan Ensemble Theater, Berkshire Theater Festival, Marymount College, Toshiba/ EMI, Douglas Cuomo, Miller Music Films and video projects INCLUDE: Dark Days, Let it Snow, War Zone, Kill by Inches, Tomorrow Night, Greener Grass, The Adulterer, Edge City

Timothy J. Anderson

Systems administrator, Museum of Natural History; Macintosh systems consultant; digital video and performance artist Education: BFA, cum laude, University of Cincinnati; MFA, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Clients include: 52nd Street Project, Julia Heyward, Splash Studios, Untwist Technology Exhibitions and screenings include: Reel New York, WNET; New Jersey State Film Festival; Mobius Gallery, Boston; X/FEST, ICON at Remote

Mike Barron

Producer, curator. Formerly, co-director, Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival, American Museum of Natural History; director, Thundergulch/Lower Manhattan Cul tural Council; senior associate producer, City Arts, WNET Education: BA, cum laude, Middlebury College video projects include: Regret to Inform; ID/entity: Portraits in the 21st Century; Paradise Now: Picturing the Genetic Revolution; Penetration and Transparency: Morphed; Mixed Messages Curatorial consultant: Scanners: The New York Video Festival; Engaging Characters, Art Interactive, Cambridge, MA; Reel New York, WNET; ReFrame; Tribeca Film Institute; Redhouse Cultural Center Publications Include: Women, Art, and Technology; Documentary; Civilization; High Performance; Art Coast; Shift Awards and honors include: Emmy Award, CEC ArtsLink Fellowship

Kathy Brew

Principal, Joshua Davis Studios clients include: Bad Boy Online, Sony, Nike, Barneys New York, PS1/MoMA, Motown Records, Canon, Whitney Museum of American Art, Diesel Awards include: Golden Nica, Prix Ars Electronica

Joshua Davis

Victor Acevedo

Digital artist, print work and video Education: Art Center College of Design group exhibitions include: ACM/SIGGRAPH TAS, Cleveland Museum of Art; ACM/SIGGRAPH, Orlando and San Diego; M.C. Escher Centennial Congress, Rome; New York Digital Salon; InterSociety for Electronic Arts, Minneapolis; EZTV CyberSpace Gallery, Los Angeles; Prix Ars Electronica, Linz Publications include: Leonardo; SIGGRAPH Art Show catalog; M.C. Eschers Legacy: A Centen nial Celebration

Principal, Robert Bowen Studio. Formerly, director, RGA Print, RGA Digital Studio Education: BA, St. Lawrence University; MFA, Pratt Institute Clients include: Adobe, Disney, Intel, Kodak, AT&T, American Express, Coca-Cola, Silicon Graphics, Bacardi publications include: Cabinet, Camerawork, Afterimage, Pinhole Journal exhibitions include: MF Adams Gallery; Haim Chanin Fine Arts; SIGGRAPH; Vanderbuilt University; 55 Mercer; Collective for Living Cinema; Paulo Salvador Gallery; Boston Museum of Science collections include: Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Brooklyn Museum awards include: Best Computer Graphics, Best Digital Photography, Best in Show, Kodak VIP Image Search; Gold Award, special effects, Advertising Photographers of America; Gold Award, International Film and Television Institute

Robert Bowen

Co-founder, Untwist Technology, LLC Education: BS, Tulane University; MFA, School of Visual Arts Clients include: Morgan Stanley/Dean Witter, Nickelodeon Digital, Mass Illusion Visual Effects, WCBS-TV, Quiet Man

Todd Brous

Layout and storyboard artist Education: BFA, Concordia University, Montreal TElevision and film Projects include: Beavis and Butt-Head, Bugs Bunnys Lunar Tunes Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers, An American Tale II, Heavy Metal, The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin, Dennis the Menace, Meerkats, C.O.P.S., TV Funhouse (Saturday Night Live) Group Exhibitions include: Puchinello Gallery, Toronto; Galerie Monk Breton, Montreal; Village by the Grange, Toronto; Ottawa City Hall; Muse des Beaux Arts du Quebec

Kevin Brownie

Media artist; co-founder, Transnational Temps Education: BFA, BA, University of Michigan; MFA, School of Visual Arts; Post-diplme, cole Nationale Suprieure des Arts Dcoratifs, Paris Exhibitions include: Peer2Peer, Los Angeles; Telspan, Washington, DC; Copy It. Steal It. Share It., Istanbul; Social Capital; Net_Condition, Karlsruhe; Ciberart, Bilbao; Andy Deck Retrospective, Furtherfield.org; Conexion Remota, Barcelona; Ars Electronica, Linz; Medi@terra 2000, Open Source Lounge, Athens; Glimpses, Athens; VIDA 4.0, Madrid; Mejan Labs, Stockholm; Artport, Whitney Museum of American Art; P.S.1/MoMA; Machida City Museum, Tokyo; Moving Image Gallery; Postmasters Gallery; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany Publications Include: From Technological to Virtual Art; Internet Art; WWW.Animation: Animation Design for the World Wide Web; Net_Condition: Art and Global Media; Art of the Digital Age Awards include: First Place, Shift Space Commission Web site: www.artcontext.net

Andy Deck

Yaron Canetti
Animator
Education: BFA, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design; MFA, School

Ed Bowes

of Visual Arts
PRESENTATIONS include: Character Setup From Rig Mechanics to Skin Deformations: A Practical Approach, SIGGRAPH; 20th Anniversary SCAN Conference Awards and honors include: The Paula Rhodes Memorial Award, School of Visual Arts; DA-Ai TV Grant, New York Foundation for the Arts Fiscal Sponsorship Program; John Anson Kittredge Educational Fund; Silas H. Rhodes Scholarship Award, School of Visual Arts

Director of operations, MFA Computer Art Department, School of Visual Arts; 3D artist; game designer; graphic designer Education: BFA, Louisiana Tech University; MFA, School of Visual Arts Exhibitions include: Soho So Good; Silom Art Space, Thailand; Visual Arts Gallery; NYC/ACM SIGGRAPH; Small Computers in the Arts Network (SCAN), Eleventh Annual Symposium, Philadelphia Publications include: IDN, Computer Artists, Computer Graphics World, Resolution Clients include: Flying Mikros Interactive; Silicon Graphics, Inc.; Ligos Technology; AOL Digital City Studio; The Primary Group

Joseph Dellinger

Video producer, director, writer Education: LeMoyne College


Film and Video Works include: Producer, Fatachee. Producer,

director, writer, Picture-Book; Spitting Glass; How to Fly; Better, Stronger; Romance. Director of photography, Split Britches, Two Moon July, Everglade City, Born in Flames. Writer, Nets; Oh, No, Paula; Headlands; Angles Awards and honors include: New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Jerome Foundation, New York Foundation for the Arts, Rockefeller Foundation, Art Matters Inc.; Distinguished Artist-Teacher Award, School of Visual Arts Web site: www.edbowes.org

Computer graphics animator Education: BA, University of Illinois, Chicago Clients include: Sam Edwards Editing Group, Inc.; Lester Weiss Computer Animation and Data Motion Arts; Doros Motion; Magno Sound & Video; Transcom Media; Digital Animation; PM Audiovisual

Carl Edwards

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Filmmaker, producer. Formerly, assistant director of film, New York City Mayors Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting Education: BA, SUNY Buffalo; MA, California Institute of the Arts Clients include: HBO, Bravo, A&E, WNET, Lucasfilm Producer: Alphabet City; Pearl Harbor: A Time to Remember; The Music In You; Art and Remembrance Screenings include: Solomon R. Guggen heim Museum; Anthology Film Archives; Jewish Museum; Whitney Museum of American Art; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; London International Film Festival; The Kitchen; Edinburgh Film Festival; Amerika Haus, Berlin; Wellington Film Festival, New Zealand; Poetry and Film Festival, San Francisco; Long Beach Museum, CA Group exhibitions include: Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Philadelphia Museum of Art Awards include: New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, United States Information Agency Fellowship, Foundation for Contemporary Performance Art, National Endowment for the Arts

Roberta Friedman

Interdisciplinary multimedia artist EDUCATION: BFA, Washington University; MFA, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Multimedia performances, concerts and installations include: Art Interactive, Boston; Daejeon Municipal Museum of Art,

Julia Heyward

Korea; The Kitchen; Alternative Museum; Knitting Factory; Boston Shakespeare Company; Mudd Club; Creative Time; Franklin Furnace; Artists Space; San Francisco Art Institute; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; California Institute of the Arts Publications include: The New York Times, Boston Globe, ArtsEditor.com, Ear Magazine, East Village Eye, Soho Weekly News, Chicago Sun-Times, Billboard magazine, New York Beat Awards and honors include: New York State Council on the Arts, Rockefeller Foundation, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, Greenwall Foundation, Heathcote Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Performance Art, Art Matters, Beards Fund, CAPS

Academic advisor, MFA Computer Art Department, School of Visual Arts; digital artist Education: BA, Sarah Lawrence College; MFA, School of Visual Arts New media exhibitions include: New York Digital Salon, Prix Ars Electronica, Lab 01, Cast 01, Neovideo International Film Festival, ISEA, Sonar, Graz Biennial on Media and Architecture, European Media Art Festival, Docs Online, Remote Lounge, Rotterdam International Film Festival, Stuttgarter Film Festival Publications include: Leonardo, The New York Times, Circa, HOW, New Art Examiner, Art Journal Collections include: Swiss Federal Office of Culture; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Rhizome Artbase AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: Smithsonian New Media/New Century, Prix Ars Electronica, HOW magazine interactive, File New Media Festival

Russet Lederman

Artist residencies include: Harvestworks; Alternative Museum;

Experimental Television Center; Walker Art Center, Thundergulch World Views, Franklin Furnace

Robert Mahoney
Art critic
Education: BA, College of the Holy Cross; MA, University of Wisconsin at Madison Publications include: Time Out New York, Art in America, ARTnews, Art on Paper, DArt International, Tema Celeste, Artnet

Producer, writer. Formerly, research associate, Whitney Museum of American Art Education: BA, Sarah Lawrence College; MA, New York University; PhD, University of California, Santa Cruz Books and Anthologies include: How Like a Leaf; Ellen Gallagher, A Painter in III Acts; Peter Halley; Louise Bourgeois; The Monsters Progress: The Art of James Barsness Publications include: Artforum, Parkett, Art in America, The Village Voice, Guggenheim magazine

Thyrza Nichols Goodeve

Composer, music consultant Education: BA, Washington & Jefferson College; MFA, University of Iowa; MM, Juilliard School WORKS INCLUDE: Moments: A Tribute to Jos Limn, Lincoln Center; Six Pieces for Piano, Symphony Space; Stones, Time and Elements: A Humanist Requiem (with Kurt Vonnegut and Michael Brecker), Newport Classics; Lyric Episode for Orchestra, Bedford Springs Arts Festival, PA; music for Budd Schul bergs On the Waterfront; String Quartet No. 2 AWARDS AND GRANTS INCLUDE: Chicago Film Festival; First International New Music Festival; Platinum Record, Winger

Edgar David Grana

Computer graphics animator EDUCATION: BS, Kwang-Woon University; MFA, School of Visual Arts Group Exhibitions and screenings include: Holland Animation Festival, Hawaii International Film Festival, San Francisco Asian American International Film Festival, Sedona International Film Festival, NY Asian American International Film Festival, Puchon Interna tional Fantastic Film Festival, Japan Digital Animation Festival, New York Digital Salon, Art for Healing Clients include: CBN Network, Sci Fi Channel, Credit Suisse, Starbucks, Kenny Scharf Studio, Matrix Art Collective Awards and honors include: Grand Jury Prize, New York International Film and Video Festival; Best Animation, Long Island Big Fish Film Festival; Best Animation, San Diego Asian Film Festival; Lyon Asian Film Festival

In Pyo Hong

Curator of Video and Media, Museum of Modern Art Education: BA, Hiram College; MA, New York University Curatorial works include: Masters of Anima tion:Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata; TimeStream; Music and Media Publications include: Leonardo, ARTnews, Shisedo, Art in America, Camera Obscura Awards and honors include: National Endowment for the Arts, CAC, Trust for Mutual Understanding, Locarno Video Festival, Asian Cultural Council

Barbara London

Video director, printmaker, digital artist printed editions for: Helen Frankenthaller, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Marisol, Robert Indiana, Alan DArcangelo, Red Grooms, Leo Castelli Gallery, Tibor de Nagy Gallery Clients include: The Rolling Stones, Sony, Nashville Ballet, American Cinematographer, Atlantic Records, Metropolitan Transit Authority, Scholastic Publications Exhibitions include: Metropolitan Transit Authority; Sony ExploraScience, Beijing; Alternative Museum, New York Hall of Science, American Museum of Natural History awards and honors include: Visiting scholar, Spatial Imaging Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; artist-in-residence, Exploratorium, San Francisco; artist-in-residence, Mid-American Museum, Hot Springs, AK; design award, Villager; set design award, Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival

Gerald Marks

Education program director, Location One; game designer; 3D character modeler/rigger; programmer Education: BA, Princeton University; BFA, with distinction, MFA, Art Center College of Design Clients include: Klasky Csupo, Pixel Blocks, DZI, California Institute of Technology, Weiden & Kennedy, Vogue (Europe), New York Festivals Exhibitions include: Los Angeles Arboretum; Vinoli Gallery, Los Angeles; Vincent Gallery, Los Angeles; Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA; Pillers Gallery, Los Angeles; Schkolne Projects, Los Angeles Web site: www.homepage.mac.com/everettkane

Everett Kane

Media developer; systems administrator, MFA Computer Art Department, School of Visual Arts Education: BFA, University of Iowa; MFA, School of Visual Arts Clients include: MTV, Organic, Nickelodeon, Luaka Bop, Tommy Hilfiger, Pseudo.com, Nuforia, Splash Studios Performances include: NTT/ICC, Tokyo; The Cooler; Postmasters Gallery; Roulette; Circulo de Bellas Artes, Madrid; Abstrakt Future Lounge; Transmedia Festival, San Francisco; Knitting Factory; Tonic; National Museum of the American Indian; Prix Ars Electronica Recombinant, Linz Awards and honors include: Roulette Emerging Artist Commission

Jarryd Lowder

Software developer; consultant; partner, Flying Mikros Brothers Education: BA, Queens College; MFA, School of Visual Arts Clients include: Public Health Research Institute, France Telecom, Association of American Publishers, SIGGRAPH, Pandemonium magazine

Nikita Mikros

Fine artist, web designer, writer Education: BFA, SUNY Purchase; MFA, School of Visual Arts Clients include: JPMorgan Chase, Gotham Writers Workshop, American Arts Quarterly Exhibitions include: Whitney Museum of American Art; Experimental Art Foundation, Adelaide, Australia; ESC Media Center, Graz, Austria; Ars Electronica, Linz; Edith Russ Site for Media Art, Oldenburg, Germany; Galapagos Art & Performance Space; New York Digital Salon; A.I.R Gallery; Franklin Furnace; Swiss Institute, New York

Diane Ludin

New media artist Education: BFA, Universidad de Castilla; MFA, School of Visual Arts Group exhibitions include: Ars Electronica, Linz; Stuttgart Filmwinter Festival, Germany; PS122; Japan Media Festival, Tokyo; Metronom, Barcelona; Location One; Electrohype Biennial, Sweden; ARCO 2005, Madrid; PikseliACHE Festival, Helsinki; New Jersey Film Festival; Cuban Digital Salon, La Havana; Katzen Arts Center, American University, Washington, DC Awards include: New York Foundation for the Arts, Life 7.0, SGAE, La Caixa, Spanish Cultural Council, UNESCO, Experimental Television Center Publications include: NYARTS, Rhizome Digest, Neo2 Magazine, Tentaciones, El Pais, Metro, El Ciberpais, untitled art magazine, Art of the Digital Age Web site: www.federicomuelas.com

Federico Muelas

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Digital artist, writer Education: BFA, Southern Illinois University; MFA, Cornell University One-person Exhibitions include: Galerie Mabel Semmier, Paris; Galerie Karin Sachs, Munich; Galerie Antoine Candou, Paris; Galerie RLBQ, Marseilles; Moving Image Gallery; Brooke Alexander; Galerie Berndt, Cologne Books include: Selected Writings, An Ecstasy of Excess, Excess in the Technomediacratic Society Collections include: Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Weatherspoon Art Gallery, NC; Museum of Modern Art; Muse Leon Dier, La Reunion, France; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC Awards and Honors include: Massachusetts Council of the Arts; National Endowment for the Arts; New York Foundation for the Arts; Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, Inc; Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award; CAPS. Artist residencies include: Cit des Arts Internationale, Paris; Foundation Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, Arc-enSeine, France; Arbois, France

Joseph Nechvatal

Kurt Ralske

Video artist, composer, programmer


Performances and Exhibitions include: Bronx Museum of the Arts; Guggenheim Museum Bilbao; Prague Biennale; Contem porary Art Museum, Istanbul; Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art; Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art; Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels; De Singel, Antwerp; SelfWare, Graz; American Museum of the Moving Image Author, programmer: Auvi (http://auv-i.de) Awards and honors include: First Prize, Transmediale International Media Art Festival, Berlin; National Science Foundation; Renew Media Arts Fellow, Rockefeller Foundation

Animator, illustrator Education: MFA, Pratt Institute Clients include: Cyclotron, GLC Productions, Blink.fx, Disney Interactive, Image Design, Manhattan Transfer, W.W. Norton and Co., Image Interactive, Image Entertainment, Van Nostrand Reinhold, Columbia University Law School, Crozier Keystone Health Service, W.B. Saunders Medical Publishers, Dismar Corp., Century 21 Real Estate, United Steel Workers Publications and films include: Nor Gloom of Nyght, ARTBYTE, Morrigan, The Art of Three-Dimensional Computer Animation and Imaging, Principles of Three-Dimensional Computer Graphics Animation, JASTA Exhibitions and screenings include: Anima Mundi; Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival; Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema; California Sun International Animation Festival; East Lansing Film Festival; Folioscope; Mendrisio Cartoon; Denver Underground Film Festival; Short Pictures International Film Festival; Los Angeles International Short Film Festival; SIGGRAPH 2003 Art Gallery, San Diego Awards and honors include: Vancouver Effects and Animation Festival, Annecy Animation Festival, Motion Art Festival, WorldFest Houston, Canadian International Film & Video Festival, Chicago International Television Competi tion, Brooklyn Film Festival

Steve Rittler

Trilby Schreiber

Designer, illustrator, writer, producer Education: BA, Harvard University Clients include: Playboy, Cartier, Global Finance Honors include: Vice chair, program chair, NYC/ACM SIGGRAPH

Principal, FMA, New York Education: BS, Lehigh University CD Projects include: All Access: The Horde Tour; Freak Show; The Gingerbread Man; Bad Day on the Midway; Society of Mind; The Complete Maus; Site kiosks, Ad Club of New York Clients include: Gotham Group; Barnett Group; Barry Blaue; iVillage; LPNY; Simon & Schuster, Inc.; Prentice Hall; MTV; IBM; WGMS-FM; Sullivan & Co.; WNEW; Showtime; mFactory; MacDirectory; WPLJ

Richard Shupe

Filmmaker; interactive cinema producer; film and video editor; principal, Typhoon Sky Inc.; editor, Millennium Film Journal Education: BA, University College, London; PhD, SUNY Buffalo group Exhibitions include: Whitney Museum of American Art; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, MA; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Kitchen; Zecher Sollern, Dortmund, Germany; NTT/ICC, Tokyo Interactive cinema installations include: Frames, The Erl King, Tunnel, March, Sonata Awards and honors include: Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities, Arts Council of Great Britain, New York Foundation for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts Web site: www.grahameweinbren.net

Grahame Weinbren

Amresh Sinha
Filmmaker
Education: BA, Patna University; MA, Jawaharlal Nehru University; MA, SUNY at Buffalo; PhD, York University director: Convict & the Trial, Quit India Movement publications include: Connecticut Review; Spectacular Optical; The Making of Modern Bihar; Patriot; In Practice: Adorno, Critical Theory and Cultural Studies; Lost in the Archives; German Culture and Society; The Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies; Subtitles: On the Foreignness of Film; Film-Philosophy; Colloquy: Text, Theory, Critique; Scope

Professional Opportunities
Graduating students present their thesis work at the end of the academic year in the SVA Theatre. Students also exhibit at open studios, the Visual Arts Gallery and on the departments Web site. These events provide an opportunity for students to show their work to recruiting companies, curators and gallery owners. In addition, our students have received internships and employment with animation, video, interactive media and Internet production facilities that include DreamWorks, Industrial Light & Magic, Pixar, MTV, Nickelodeon, Rhythm & Hues, Disney, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Charlex, and the American Museum of Natural History. Graduates have been awarded artist residencies and exhibitions at Eyebeam, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, as well as grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts and the Picasso Foundation.

Fine artist, digital artist Education: BFA, University of New Hampshire; MFA, Pratt Institute Clients include: Nickelodeon, Ubi Soft Entertainment, Infogrammes, CBS, Rockstar Games, Universal Studios Group exhibitions include: Hunter College, SCOPE Art Fair, Broadway Gallery, Cuchifritos Gallery, ABC No Rio Web site: www.alexanderreyna.com

Alexander Reyna

Founder, president, Black Hammer Productions, Inc; video artist; programmer; writer; producer Education: BA, Binghamton University Exhibitions and screenings include: Whitney Biennial; Threadwaxing Space; P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center; New Museum of Contemporary Art; Tibor de Nagy Gallery; Anthology Film Archives; Netherlands Media Art Institute, Montevideo/Time Based Arts, Amsterdam; American Film Institute; Donnell Library; IBM Gallery of Science and Art; Fukui International Video Biennale, Japan; The Kitchen; American Museum of the Moving Image; Bronx Museum of the Arts Clients include: PlayFirst, Nickelodeon, Scholastic, American Museum of Natural History, Experimental Television Center, Design Lab Awards and honors include: New York State Council on the Arts, Jerome Foundation, Checkerboard Foundation, New York Foundation for the Arts, CAPS Web site: www.blackhammer.com

Matthew Schlanger

Senior systems administrator, American Museum of Natural History Education: BA, Colgate University; MFA, School of Visual Arts Clients includes: Slingshot; Sightlines; Untwist Technology; Andersons General Store; COSI Toledo, Science Center; SGIManhattan

Loretta Skeddle

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Guest Lecturers

Benton-C Bainbridge video artist, musician Tamas Banovich curator, owner, Postmasters Gallery Molly Barnes art consultant, author, curator Howard Beckerman animator, author, faculty, SVA BFA Film, Video, and Animation Zoe Beloff stereoscopic projection, performance and installation artist Jonah Brucker-Cohen researcher, networked media and installation artist Nancy Burson photographer, writer, inventor, artist John Canemaker filmmaker, writer, animator, animation historian, artist Jim Casey entrepreneur, founding partner, Rare Medium, Inc. Shu Lea Cheang multimedia artist, filmmaker Sarah Cook new media curator, co-founder of CRUMB (Curatorial Resource for Upstart Media Bliss), UK

Greg Dinkins 3D photographer, president, NY Stereoscopic Society Diana Domingues virtual reality artist, educator, researcher Matt Costello game writer, consultant, author of 7th Guest,11th Hour Toni Dove virtual reality, installation, and performance artist Shelley Eshkar digital artist Mary Flanagan digital artist, writer, researcher, educator Adam Frank installation artist Lucien Harriot director, principal, Mechanism Digital Tali Hinkis video and new media artist, co-creator of LoVid Kenneth A. Huff digital artist: print and installation Yael Kanarek new media artist, founder of Upgrade! John Klima installation artist Ken Knowlton artist, writer, computer scientist

Myung Lee computer graphics supervisor, Charlex Phoebe Legere composer, performer, painter Zachary Leiberman performance, installation and online artist Golan Levin artist, educator, researcher Peter Levin producer, sound designer, president, Splash Studios Patrick Lichty digital artist, writer, curator, activist, educator Margot Lovejoy artist, author, educator Kristin Lucas digital, video, performance, intervention, sculpture, installation artist Kevin & Jennifer McCoy interactive media, film, performance and installation artists Jillian Mcdonald digital video artist, educator Paul Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky DJ, artist, writer Mark Napier network media artist, programmer

Ben Neil musician, multimedia artist Bill Nelson entrepreneur, painter, founding partner, Rare Medium, Inc. Barbara Nessim computer artist, illustrator Carsten Nicolai media installation artist, DJ Brad Paley digital artist, programmer Nina Paley animator, filmmaker Carol Parkinson executive director, Harvestworks Debbie Pashkoff art director, Rhythm & Hues Studios Jonah Peretti viral media artist, founder of Buzzfeed, co-founded Huffington Post Bill Plympton director, animator Rich Quade supervising animator, Pixar Animation Studios Michael Rees digital sculptor, programmer Don Ritter interactive installation and performance artist, writer Ben Rubin media artist

Lillian Schwartz artist, writer, research scholar Vivian Selbo network media artist John F. Simon Jr. artist, programmer Robert Michael Smith sculptor, digital artist, educator Kenneth Snelson sculptor, digital artist, writer Nina Sobell new media artist Wolfgang Staehle artist, executive director, The Thing

Mark Tribe artist, founder, Rhizome.org Camille Utterback installation artist Victoria Vesna new media artist, educator, researcher Chiake Watanabe visual music artist Barry Weiss sr. vice president of Animation Production, Sony Imageworks Maciej Wisniewski networked media artist, programmer

Michael Wright digital artist, painter, educator Jody Zellen networked media and installation artist Hui Zhu animator, director, educator Eric Zimmerman game designer, writer, educator, co-founder of Gamelab Lori Zippay executive director, Electronics Arts Intermix

Contact Us
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Tel: 212.592.2517 Fax: 212.592.2509 E-mail: mfaca@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/computerart


We strongly encourage applicants to visit our department prior to submitting application materials. Come to our Departmental Information Session, or contact us directly to schedule a tour. Departmental Information Session: Saturday, November 7, 2009, 2 4 pm To register for a departmental information session, please visit our Web site or contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at: gradadmissions@sva.edu.

Computer Art

www.sva.edu/grad/computerart

XX We emphasize entrepreneurship as an alternative to conventional practice, and a maeans to raise the level of design expertise and achievement. XX We teach a broad set of visual, verbal and textual approaches as foundation for design. XX We focus on creation to optimize the designers abilities to rise to the next professional level.

As a profession, graphic design weds art and commerce, form and content, and aesthetics and function. It began in the late 19th century as a service-oriented field with a few visionary practitioners emerging in each generation who set the standards and styles and established its philosophical underpinnings. For more than a decade advances in media have created many new creative opportunities, changing the role of graphic designers by forcing them to go beyond simply framing ideas into content development. Although production skills are necessary, graphic designers are increasingly in demand to contribute original design thinking into such fields as branding, publishing, editorial, packaging and products. The floodgates were opened with the advent of the computer; graphic design has been a component of a larger creative practice ever since. At this crossroads, designers were given the choice to become glorified production artists, framing and finessing others ideas, or building upon their expertise, develop concepts integral to the success of a clients wares. The mfa Designer as Author program was the first in the country to emphasize an entrepreneurial course of study that raises the level of design expertise and achievement. The quintessential mfa Designer as Author student comes to this unique program with the desire to extend his or her practices beyond conventional graphic design into distinct realms of content creation. For the past decade we have made students into authors, producers and entrepreneurs of their own ideas. We believe that the danger in having unprecedented access to new and future media is that graphic designers could be edged out of the creative process. Authorship and entrepreneurship are viable alternatives and this program is predicated on the increasing need for designers to apply their wits and skills as providers throughout all the visual media from print to digital. The concept of design authorship is, first and foremost, rooted in the independent creation of ideas. Developing concepts and finding the best forms to express and package them through design is key. Our students are form-givers and thus committed to originality. The outcome of the program is to develop and promote new products of value that are responsive to the needs and wants of a society in flux and to contribute objects and campaigns of worth

that integrate the best in design and design thinking. The opportunity to build design skill and confidence through making a unique product is in itself a valuable process. Students must be fluent in the languages of graphic design and, particularly, typography, and increasingly more adept in motion and sound as well. They must be able to explain their ideas verbally and visually, for a good idea is nothing if it cannot be well articulated. We do not teach students how to design, but rather how to optimize their abilities to rise to the next professional level. In addition, we welcome those who have backgrounds in other fields and media. We believe it is important for the designer of the present and future to be thoroughly integrated into many communications platforms, if only to command the options that are and will be available. Our students are encouraged to draw inspiration from other visual and communication arts that share authorial practices. In this way, the program has not been restricted to the conventional curriculum. Instead, we embrace a broad set of visual, verbal and textual approaches as the foundation for studentand professionalactivity. Our mfa studio is accessible 24 hours a day, and is designed to simulate an operational design/media firm with spacious workstations that allow for individual and collaborative work. Students also have unlimited access to high-end editing rooms, a conference room, a design library (with 2000 current volumes) and a studentrun exhibition gallery. Students also direct Crit, the graduate student design blog, and create Web sites to showcase our annual exhibitions. The program remains connected to the professional world while being in the academic one.

mfa Designer as Author is tailored for students and professionals with backgrounds in graphic design, and we encourage those with environmental, product, Web, interaction design, film and photography backgrounds who are interested in further develop ing their skills in unique and progressive ways.

MFA Design
Designer as Author

www.sva.edu/grad/design

Steven Heller and Lita Talarico, co-chairs

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The Five Most Important Things Youll Learn About Design


Faculty Profile: Milton Glaser

Students in the Design program at SVA arent taught by those who cant types; theyre led by legends. We asked celebrated graphic designer, New York magazine co-founder and sva acting chairman Milton Glaser: What are the five most important things
designers learn in school?

1. While it may not be like studying art history, design has a long and illustrious pastfrom the Vienna Secession to the Private Press Movementthat goes back far more than 10 or 20 years. This will help you build your awareness of the meaning of forms.

4. Hold your beliefs lightly and remember that belief is usually a sign of a closed mind. Examine your assumptions and never stop re-examining them. 5. Be generous with ideas. They are meant to be given away and

2. Youll learn both to make things clear and the nature of ambiguity, and that using both can help you communicate. 3. Style should come out of expressive content, and not as an addition or an outside idea; it isnt opposed to content, it emerges from it. Its not just a layer added on afterwards.

shared. Ideas are not propertyyou can reap great benefits when theyre experienced and used by others. In our society, our notion of the personal ownership of ideas becomes a great hindrance to our sense of a common purpose.

A study for a 3D puzzle, designed by Mr. Glaser, later manufactured by George Beylarian.

Milton Glaser, the foremost artist and designer in his field, has been with SVA since 1960. Mr. Glasers exciting and innovative work has earned him an international reputation.

Glaser, 80, continues to work to this day in his East 32nd Street office in Manhattan. He once said of his profession, I have always believed that there is a psychological and ethical difference between those who make things and those who control things. Linking beauty and purpose can create a sense of communal agreement that helps diminish the sense of disorder and incoherence that life creates.

Explaining Yourself

Scott Stowell (standing) teaching his class, Explaining Yourself. Stowell is the proprietor of Open, an independent design studio in New York City.

Stowell has students share a personal aspect of their lives through information graphics. Students are required to chart or graph key moments in their lives using scientific means.

chair interview

The MFA Designer as Author studio was designed to replicate (and in its own way is) a professional design firm. Each student has a workstation that is wired for the latest technologies. In addition to individual projects, the open environment encourages collaboration. While classes are held in two classrooms and one conference room, the studio is continually abuzz with individual and group activity. Students have 24 hour access, seven days a week, to all the facilities. And many use this secure space as their second home.

Steven Heller and Lita Talarico


continues to move forward.

I knew Lita from when we worked together at American Illustration, explains Steven Heller. But co-chairing the program was kismet; we ran into each other, I asked her whether she was looking for a new job, she said yes, and weve been working closely ever since. Everything Id done in my career in New York led to this job, Lita Talarico confirms. I have taught in design programs and have worked as a design and architecture consultant, organized conferences, and coordinated architect selections, all of which equipped me for this role. Ten years on, the program remains exciting and No one was doing anything like this program when we started, Talarico continues. You have to wait a few years to see how things really work, and weve found by now that graduates have been
The program is very clear and very structured. Its about being a practitioner and creating something of value

extremely happy with what theyve received from the program. A large number of them are working in jobs directly related to their studieseven though theyve also learned to be very independent-minded. When we began, Heller recalls, there was a buzz about something called the designer as author. Magazines like Eye were publishing intelligent design writing and Print had a critical column, which I helped found, called Cold Eye. So our idea was that if designers were going to be writers, they could also be auteurs. The program suggests that if designers can write and think academically, then they can apply these skills commercially. I wanted an mfa that wasnt overly theoretical, but which raised the educational bar and was about entrepreneurial thinking too. We decided that our thesis projects and this is key to the whole enterpriseshould result in products that the designer could actually take to market. Students must find an audience for their ideas, determine a need, create a value, and get them out into the world. The program is very clear and very structured, adds Talarico. Its about being a practitioner and creating something of value, even if it isnt aimed at a mass audience. Endemic to everything we do, Heller explains, is the play principle, Paul Rands idea that designers play with form as well as create it, and work both rationally and instinctually. Designers solve puzzles, and sometimes they do that by throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks. Graphic design is an essential rubric too, but we deliberately omitted the word graphic because we were aiming at a more integrated program. We encourage students to do things that work in motion on screen and in the three-dimensional world, as well as in print. Talarico describes one course that demonstrates this unique approach: New York Stories is a delightful class, she smiles. It started in a Greenwich Village nursing home, where each student got to work on a design project that reflected a patients life. Another project involved students packing life stories into suitcases. And one year they baked cakes. Every time, I just know its going to be one of the most interesting experiences that those students will have. Theres always some amazing twist.

On any given day...


In the 24/7 MFA Design studio students arrive earlyassuming they ever left the night before. Their day starts by working on assignments. Today, the first-year students scurry to finish off a Milton Glaser poster advocating an act or event that will impact their neighbors in the City; the second-year students finish preparation for the next stage of their thesis by preparing pitch presentations to the thesis consultant faculty. Time for reflection and peer review is an important part of their process, yet tackling the deadlines at hand fill their early afternoon hours. In the late afternoon, students attend a weekly guest speaker session. This week it is Michael Bierut , who hosts the class at his Pentagram office. Maira Kalman is also giving the first part of her New York Stories class, where students create stories about their favorite New York characters. First-year students return to the studio just in time to polish off their assignments, then a three-hour class in which intensive crits are the order of business. An exhausting but exhilarating day.

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SVA Spaces

The main studio contains 45 workstations for 40 students and visiting faculty. Students have access to the lounge, editing room, departmental library and gallery spaces.

The Program In the rst year of the mfa Design program, students are given advanced instruction
in a variety of authoring skills such as writing, editing, criticism, typography as a visual language, lm and new media directing, visual journalism, and book and magazine publishing. Along with these skills-based courses, classes in marketing, research, advertising, promotion, publicity, intellectual property and networking will be offered. The goal of the second year is product-oriented. Participants are required to devise and develop a viable idea for a specic market. Students will write and design a proposal for a product that will be presented to a panel of guest faculty who will decide whether it has enough merit to progress to the developmental stage. At the developmental stage, students will produce a prototype for backers, publishers, producers or distributors. This nal proposal, dummy or prototype will be professionally produced for presentation purposes. Typographic expertise is key to course completion. The core faculty consists of distinguished contributors to the eld of design and is supplemented by faculty from the fields of graphic design and multimedia. Lecture series, guest speakers and off-site visits to studios and firms are regularly scheduled throughout the academic year. Degree candidates must successfully complete 60 credits, including all required courses, with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0. A residency of two academic years is required. In the final semester, each student completes a thesis, which must be reviewed and approved by the thesis advisor and the department co-chairs in order for the student to be eligible for degree conferral.

The Design Entrepreneur Thesis


The sva mfa Design thesis requires that students prove that a well-designed product of their own conception and making is viable for a mass market or limited audience. The students determine what the product will be. They develop the content. They create the form, framework and selling materials. They make it unique through a combination of creativity and marketing savvy. The thesis can be anything from a physical product to a print or motion campaign, and more. Functionality, usability and salability are key. The goal is to be practical yet novel, accessible yet unprecedented. This is not easy to achieve. To earn the Master of Fine Arts degree, it is expected that the thesis be produced at the highest level of design standards.

Where Are They Now?


Ande La Monica Arnell Group Bloomberg Bloomberg Media Brooklyn Botanical Garden Buchanan-Smith C&G Partners Carbone Smolan Cheil Worldwide (Samsung) Citizen Scholar Comedy Central El Jefe Design Empax ESI Design ESPN Findyourcraving.com Food & Wine magazine Funny Garbage Future Brand GamersFirst/K2Network Harry N. Abrams I.D. magazine Issac Mizrahi Jazz at Lincoln Center Jennifer Panepinto, LLC Johnson & Johnson Khiels KidRobot LOreal Landers Miller LG Loaded Barrel Studios Louise Fili Ltd Martha Stewart Omnimedia Mens Vogue Metropolitan Museum of Art Milton Glaser Inc. MTV Mucca Design Museum of Modern Art New York City Ballet The New York Times Nick Jr. Nokia Number 17 NYC+Company Ogilvy Open Pentagram Pixelmedia Inc.

Sample Program first year


FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Alumni of the mfa Designer as Author program program work at some of the most significant design firms and businesses in the country. Here is a partial list:
Random House Real Simple magazine RED: Rogers Eckersley Design Rizel Studio Shu Uemura Spoolia Design SpotCo Tarek Atrissi Design Target TAT Studio Trix & Me Trollback+Co Victorias Secret Wolfsonian Museum

Can Design Touch Someones Heart? Design and Intentions Designing in Three Dimensions Just Type Paul Rand Lecture Series Writing and Designing the Visual Book

3 3 3 3 0 3

The BookFrom Idea to Package to Consumer Crossing Disciplines: Authorship and the WebNew Venues, New Ideas Explaining Yourself New York Stories Thesis Introduction Three-Dimensional Product Reality

3 3 3 0 3 3

second year
FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Intellectual Property and the Law Introduction to Design Criticism Seminars  Thesis Consultation (Preparation, Research and Writing)

3 3 3 6

Seminars Thesis Consultation (Exhibition) Thesis Consultation (Pitch and Presentation) Thesis Consultation (Production)

3 3 3 6

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Course Descriptions

Professional Opportunities
MFA Design students are given a first-year exhibition in the SVA Gallery as well as small student-curated shows in the MFA Design Gallery. In addition, students exhibit their work on the departments Web site. At the conclusion of the program, a thesis exhibition is mounted at the Visual Arts Gallery to which members of the design field are invited. Students and graduates have won the following awards and competitions: International Contemporary Furniture Fair, Critique, Art Directors Club, :Output, CMYK, Guttenberg Global competition, Print, Aquent design award, Nagoya International Design Competition, Type Directors Club, Adobe Design Achievement Awards, Sappi, Gracie Allen Awards, Grammy, Housewares Design Contest. Students and alumni have had interviews, articles and designs published in I.D., Step Inside Design, The New York Times Magazine, illywords, AIGA Journal, Print, Graphis, Metropolis, Crains, HOW, Interior Design, Glamour and GOOD. Their work has appeared on UPN, Oxygen, Extra, Today, ABC Eyewitness News, Fox 5, Nick Jr. and Daily Candy. MFA Design students have worked at Pentagram, Doyle Partners, Sagmeister, The New York Times, Kid Robot, Open, SpotCo, Number Seventeen, Milton Glaser, Trollbck + Company, Bloomberg, Funny Garbage, FSG and Random House, among others.

The BOOKFrom IDEA TO PACKAGE TO CONSUMER

Explaining Yourself

New York Stories

The student as author of a book (and related products) is the goal of this course. A range of book and product formats and genres will be discussed, including illustrated books, childrens books, interactive and non-illustrated books, as well as calendars, stationery and other product spin-offs. The book will be discussed and scrutinized from editorial conception to design to production to the marketplace. Throughout the course, students will develop a commercial book, providing all content, as well as creating related ancillary products. Creating a proposal to sell or pitch the book to a prospective publisher is included.
Can design touch someones heart?

How do you use design to tell engaging stories? How can you help people understand something new and communicate clearly and/or appropriatelyboth in your work and about your work? This isnt a public-speaking course, but youll do some. This isnt an informationdesign course, but youll make some. And it isnt a portfolio course, but youll think about your work and how others experience it. During the course, well work on projects with different sets of constraints, hear from guest speakers with different points of view, and think about speaking to different audiences through (and about) design.
Intellectual Property and the Law

In this collaborative workshop, each student will select an individual and tell his or her story in a variety of design media. Students will be required to develop a humanistic interpretation of their subject. Some classes will take place off campus.
Paul Rand Lecture Series

It is widely assumed that movies, literature and music get to our emotional core. At the same time, it seems to be more difficult for design to achieve that same effect. In this course, students will explore how to achieve this with three individual assignements.
Crossing Disciplines: Authorship and the WebNew Venues, New Ideas

This course will present students with the challenge of authoring a strong Web experience. Focusing on how content can be handled effectively, students will work on a semester-long project that will take them through all phases of producing a Web sitepitching ideas, making an information architecture document, gathering content and site navigation. The final project will be an Adobe Flash/HTML hybrid and will be presented as a real pitch. Guest lecturers will share their experiences of creating and working in the interactive realm.
Design and Intentions

The general concepts of law and intellectual property law as they apply to the practice of design will be examined, including basic legal issues of contract and property law, within the creative context. Among the topics explored will bethe work-for-hire agreement, the consignment agreement and the agency agreement. The law of copyright, trademark and patents will also be explored. Issues such as registering a copyright, copyright infringement, registering a trademark and trade dress infringement and patents (in particular, design patents) will be examined from the perspective of the professional designer. In addition, design and information issues presented by new technology, such as the Web, will be included throughout the course.
Introduction to Design Criticism

These lectures address various aspects of the history of graphic design over the past 150 years, including movements, pioneers and icons as well as issues and events. Lectures focus on 19th-century premodern practice, early and mid-20th-century orthodox modernism and late 20th-century postmodernism. Themes include racism and design, symbolism and the swastika, type and culture, politics and propaganda, modernism and Art Deco, and avant-garde magazines of the 20th century. Students are expected to engage in critical and analytical discussions that relate design history to current communication practices.
Seminars

To enrich the program and bring students into contact with a signicant number of working professionals, a series of workshops will be scheduled each semester. Seminar topics will change from year to year, based on student interest and shifts in the overall field.
Thesis Consultation (Exhibition)

Thesis Consultation (Production)

With the aid of a faculty advisor, students will complete a thesis project ready to be marketed. Students will be required to make a final presentation to the thesis committee for its approval.
Thesis Introduction

Structured to help students examine their assumptions about their work, this course begins with a restaurant project, where many design considerations intersect, such as communication, service, interior spaces, lighting, color and comfort. The course continues with a series of exercises that intends to disrupt or support the students working methods. Ultimately, the objective is to develop an awareness of what they are already doing.
Designing in Three Dimensions

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the complex issues and ideas that are essential to understanding what is happening in the graphic design field today. The course is designed to give students the linguistic tools they will need to decipher the various and often conflicting cultural, philosophical, historical and political trends that impact the way we think about design. Among the topics we will explore are arcane subjects such as semiotics, structuralism, Marxist theories and postmodern analysis, as well more pragmatic fields of inquiry such as branding, marketing, visual research and brainstorming techniques. Though this course deals with abstract theories, it is hands-on, interactive and practical, with constant references to how the ideas discussed in class can help students shape their thesis projects and transform them into viable products.
Just Type

In this course, students will design and install an exhibition of their thesis projects. They will divide the responsibilities of the multiple elements for producing a show, including: design of the installation; production of poster, invitation and exhibition labels; public relations and editorial work; project coordination; budget; and opening reception. As a group, they will determine how to create exhibition components of their thesis. The course will culminate in the thesis exhibition.
Thesis Consultation (pitch and presentation)

This course will introduce students to faculty thesis consultants who will offer exercises that are designed to initiate research and development and jump start a conceptual process for the thesis project. By the end of the course, students will have identified at least two areas of interest that will be further explored as the final thesis.
Three-Dimensional Product Reality

In this intensive course, students will develop a viable and professional pitch book to use as a tool to bring their thesis product to potential producers, investors and the market. In addition, they will be given tutorials on how to deliver a verbal pitch to potential backers and clients.
Thesis Consultation (Preparation, Research and Writing)

A course devoted to the how in the question:How do I begin to create a prototype model of my product idea? This course will devote attention to each students product prototype and its development. By exploring different materials available and demonstrating methods of working with those materials, students will reach the final goal of a finished product.
Writing and Designing the Visual Book

Designing with honesty and passion is what makes a project successful. In this interactive course, we will explore the development of product concepts. With a series of benchmarks, students will pitch their ideas, research the respective markets and create prototypes as their final designs.

Just Type is an exploration of contemporary and classic typefaces that students will apply to 10 short projects over the course of the semester. Every week, students will be given a font to research and work with on a specific project. In some cases, students will work on cutting and pasting printouts during class. At the end, a type catalog of the fonts used will be compiled with class projects shown as examples of the faces in action. There will be no images, color or devices usedjust type.

These courses will assist students in the preparatory research to identify a product suitable for full-scale development. The semester is divided into proposal writing and editing; designing; marketing options; business plan conception; e-commerce and e-ideas; material research and development; and media exploration. In addition, there will be numerous off-site visits to related exhibitions and resource centers, discussions on the theory of design and the making of design objects, as well as advice on producing a viable and marketable thesis project. The end result is a written, edited and designed proposal book.

This course combines design and literature to create integrated and meaningful expression. Students will develop their creative writing skills through a sequence of exercises in continuous writing, observational writing, titling objects and images, theatrical improvisation, storytelling, writing from different points of view, structuring a narrative, and reworking and editing. Selected texts from writing exercises are then set into a variety of book formats using any combination of typography, images and symbols. Emphasis is placed on finding a visual form that emerges out of the meaning, feeling and inherent shape of an original text. Historical and contemporary examples of visual text will be presented.

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Faculty

Special assistant to the president, School of Visual Arts; program co-founder, MFA Design Criticism Department, School of Visual Arts; editor, Voice: AIGA Online Journal of Graphic Design; contributing editor: Print, Eye, Baseline, I.D.; contributing writer: Metropolis, Grafik, Step; Visuals; columnist, The New York Times Book Review. Formerly, art director, The New York Times Book Review Education: New York University, School of Visual Arts Books authored, co-authored or edited: More than 100 books on graphic design, illustration and political art, including Paul Rand; Merz to Emigr and Beyond: Avant-Garde Magazine Design of the Twentieth Century; Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design, Second Edition; Handwritten: Expressive Lettering in the Digital Age; The Education of a Typographer; Graphic Design History; Graphic Style: From Victorian to Postmodern; Typology: Type Design from Victorian to Postmodern; The Education of a Graphic Designer; Italian Art Deco: Graphic Design Between the Wars; Faces on the Edge: Type in the Digital Age; French Modern: Art Deco Graphic Design; Euro Deco: Graphic Design Between the Wars; Cuba Style; The Savage Mirror: The Art of Contemporary Caricature; Texts on Type; Graphic Humor: The Art of Graphic Wit; Citizen Designer; Seymour Chwast: The Left-Handed Designer; Innovators of American Illustration; Art Against War; The Push Pin Graphic: Twenty Five Years of Design and Illustra tion; Stylepedia:AGuide to Graphic Design Mannerisms, Quirks, and Conceits; The Anatomy of Design:Uncovering the Influences and Inspirations in Modern Graphic Design Curatorial works include: Simplicissimus, Germanys Most Influential Satire Magazine, Goethe House; Political Art, Ten Years of Graphic Commentary, AIGA; Typographic Treasures, The Work of W.A. Dwiggins, ITC Center Introductions and forewords: Tibor Kalman; Rebelling Against Rockwell (Pictures for the American People); Barbara Kruger: Graphic Designer; Alex Steinweis; American Advertising of the 30s, 60s, 70s, 80s Awards and honors include: Special Educators Award, Art Directors Club; AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement; National Endowment for the Arts; Hershel Levit Award, Pratt Institute; Outstanding Client Award, Graphic Artists Guild; Masters Series Award, School of Visual Arts WEB SITE: www.hellerbooks.com

Steven Heller, co-chair

Writer, design and architectural consultant Education: BA, Empire State College; MFA, School of Visual Arts Professional Experience: Advisor, design competition/Charrette, U.S. Port of Entry at Massena, NY; architect selection consultant: Cleveland Museum of Art, National World War II Memorial Design Competi tion; project director: Whitehall Ferry Terminal Design Competition; Pritzker Architecture Prize Annual Jury Meeting; project coordinator, Italian Manifesto Confer ence, International Design Conference in Aspen; advisory board member emeritus, Adobe Partners by Design; visiting scholar, American Academy in Rome Publications include: Co-author, Design Career: A Practical Guide for Beginning Illustrators and Graphic Designers; Design Schools Confidential; Design Schools North America; Design Entrepreneur; co-editor, Graphis Publica tion Design; associate editor, New York Observed, Art Against War. Formerly, reporter-atlarge, Italian Design, Graphis; founding managing editor, American Illustration & Photography

Lita Talarico, co-chair

Creative director, partner, Intergalactico Professional Experience: Founding member, Funny Garbage Group exhibitions include: Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum; Deitch Projects Clients include: Cartoon Network, Luaka Bop, Disney, IFC, Nascar, Nickelodeon, Warner Brothers Publications include: Mass Appeal, Adobe magazine, Emigr, Eye

Chris Capuozzo

Milton Glaser

Creative director of design, SpotCo Education: BFA, School of Visual Arts Books include: New Vintage Type; Graphic Wit: The Art of Humor in Design; The Designers Guide to Astounding Photoshop Effects; American Typeplay; The Savage Mirror: The Art of Contemporary Caricature Publications include: Step Inside Design, DesignNet (Korea), Identity (Russia), Show People, Paper, Graphic Arts (U.K.), Baseline Collections include: Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum; Library of Congress Awards and honors include: AIGA, Society of Publication Designers, Type Directors Club, Art Directors Club, Communication Arts, Print, Graphis

Gail Anderson

Partner, Carbone Smolan Agency Education: BFA, University of the Arts Professional Experience: Signage and wayfinding systems, Le Louvre, Paris; identity program, Sesame Street Workshop; international display system, Tiffany & Co.; global prototype retail environment, HMV Record Stores; worldwide identity and display system, Christies Clients include: Morgan Stanley, Quick & Reilly, Musesum of Modern Art, Hartford Stage, Woodruff Arts Center, High Museum of Art

Ken Carbone

President and creative director, Milton Glaser, Inc.; acting chairman of the board, School of Visual Arts; trustee, The Cooper Union. Formerly, co-founder, president, Push Pin Studios; co-founder, president, creative director, New York magazine; vice president, co-chair, AIGA; president, Interna tional Design Conference, Aspen Education: The Cooper Union; Academy of Fine Arts, Bologna, Italy One-person exhibitions include: Lincoln Center Gallery; Houghton Gallery, The Cooper Union; Suntory Museum, Japan; Nuages Gallery, Italy; Sawhill Gallery, James Madison University; Museum of Modern Art; Art Institute of Boston. European traveling exhibition: Barcelona, Venice, Bologna and Paris
Environmental and industrial design clients include:

Partner, Core77; editor in chief, Core77.com Education: BA, University of Toronto; MID, Pratt Institute Professional Experience: Editor in chief, Coroflot.com, DesignDirectory.com Clients include: Herman Miller, A.C. Nielsen, Kodak, Oral-B, Federal Express, Johnson & Johnson, Crunch Fitness Awards and honors include: I.D., Communication Arts, Art Directors Club, The One Show

Allan Chochinov

Alessi, Milan; Rainbow Room. More than 300 posters for clients, including Carnegie Hall, World Health Organization, Lincoln Center. Milton Glaser Inc. created all of the graphic material for the Rubin Museum of Art, which opened in New York, 2004 Awards and honors include: Hall of Fame, Art Directors Club; Illustrators Hall of Fame, Society of Illustrators; Gold Medal, Society of Illustrators; Fulbright Scholarship; honorary fellow, Society of Arts, England; St. Gaudens Medal, The Cooper Union; Masters Series Award, School of Visual Arts; Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement. Honorary doctorates: Moore College of Art; Philadelphia Museum School; School of Visual Arts; Minneapolis Institute of Fine Art; Queens College; Royal College of Art, London

Nicholas Callaway

Founder and chairman, Callaway Arts & Entertainment Education: BA, cum laude, Harvard University PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Director of galleries, Galerie Zabriskie, Paris TELEVISION PROJECTS INCLUDE: Miss Spiders Sunny Patch Kids, Miss Spiders Sunny Patch Friends, Novas Ark PUBLICATIONS INCLUDE: Alfred Stieglitz: Photographs and Writings; Georgia OKeeffe: One Hundred Flowers; Sex by Madonna; Miss Spider series; Madonnas childrens books series, including The English Roses, Mr. Peabodys Apples, Yakov and the Seven Thieves, The Adventures of Abdi and Lotsa de Casha

Chairman, chief creative officer, COLLINS: Professional Experience: Former chairman, chief creative officer, Brand Integration Group, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide; founder, Designism: Design for Social Change, Art Directors Club Clients include: BP, Coca-Cola, Hershey Foods, NYC 2012, Mattel, Tribeca Film Festival, Motorola, American Express, Johnson & Johnson, Kodak, Lionsgate Films, New York Public Library, Dove, Rainforest Alliance, Al Gores Alliance for Climate Protection Books include: Brotherhood, The Ecology of Design Publications include: The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Fast Company, Business Week, Architecture, Graphis, Print, I.D., Creativity Awards include: AIGA; I.D.; Graphis; Communication Arts; Print; Type Directors Club; Art Directors Club; The One Show; Fast Company Peak Performer in American Design; Distinguished Alumni Award, Massachusetts College of Art & Design; National Organization for Women, the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty

Brian Collins

Curator of exhibitions, Museum of Arts and Design Education: BA, magna cum laude, Swarthmore College Professional Experience: Director, Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology; curator of exhibitions, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Curatorial Works include: Weaving Tradition: Carol Cassidy and Woven Silks of Laos; Fleur on Flair: A Magazine and its Legacy; Hello Again: Recycling for the Real World; Judith Leiber, The Artful Handling; Moon Over Pearls, Gene Moores Tiffany Windows and Beyond; From Printed Line to Woven Flower, Exploring Textile Design; Dreams on Paper: Home Sewing in America; Shoes: A Lexicon of Style; The Catalan Spirit: Gaud and his Contemporaries; LArt de Vivre: Decorative Arts and Design in France 1789-1989; The Intimate World of Alexander Calder; The Power of Maps

Dorothy Twining Globus

Martin Kace

Founder, CEO, Empax.org; CEO, Bakunin Brothers; owner, cofounder, Area Inc. Education: BA, Hebrew University; MA, M.Ed., Columbia University Professional Experience: Branding advisor to President Shimon Peres of Israel; CEO, Joe Boxer Corp.; CEO, Phat Farm

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Author, illustrator Education: New York University Professional Experience: CEO, vice president and secretary, M&Co; art associate, National Lampoon Clients include: Museum of Modern Art, Kate Spade, Mark Morris Dance Group, Isaac Mizrahi, Vitra, The New Yorker, The New York Times books include: Max Makes a Million; Fireboat; What Pete Ate from A-Z; (un)FASHION, with Tibor Kalman; The Elements of Style Illustrated; Principles of Uncertainty One-Person Exhibitions include: Ginza Gallery, Tokyo; Childrens Museum of Manhattan; Julie Saul Gallery; Armory Show; Normal Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, MA

Maira Kalman

Frank Martinez

Trademark attorney, The Martinez Group Education: BFA, Pratt Institute; JD, Hofstra University Professional Experience Includes: Design patent examiner, United States Patent and Trademark Ofce; design production director, The Schechter Group, Landor Associates Publications include: Regular contributor, I.D., Print

Senior designer, Pentagram Education: BFA, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; MFA, School of Visual Arts Professional experience: Art director, Graphis; design director, NYC2012, New Yorks Olympic Bid Committee; brand consultant, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. Clients include: Saks Fifth Avenue, IMG Fashion Week, Gehry Architects, New York Jets, Museum of Sex, Stanton Shade Inc.

Jennifer Kinon

Chair, 3D design program, BFA Advertising and Graphic Design Department, School of Visual Arts; 3D designer and illustrator; principal, OCallaghan & CoArt for the Film Industry Education: BFA, School of Visual Arts Clients include: MTV Networks, Toyota, Warner Brothers Records, A&E Networks, The History Channel, ABC Pictures Publications: People, US, Graphis, Playboy New York, The New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times Curatorial Work includes: Skeleton, Whitney Museum of American Art; What Makes Them Tick? Art Directors Club; YUGO Next, traveling exhibition; The Turn of The Century: A Carousel, traveling exhibition to Grand Central Terminal, Union Station, Washington, DC, and Union Station, Chicago Awards include: Distinguished Artist-Teacher Award, School of Visual Arts

Kevin T. OCallaghan

Experimental filmmaker education: BA, Bard College; American Film Institute Films include: Whiplash, a film by Warren Sonbert, completed after the filmmakers death; Yours; Trigger Happy; Bang Bang; Turkish Traffic; Stand Clear of the Closing Doors exhibitions include: Museum of Modern Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Collections include: Museum of Modern Art, Academy Film Archives, Pacific Film Archives

Jeff Scher

Paola Antonelli senior curator, Department of Architecture & Design, Museum of Modern Art Randy Balsmeyer creative director and president, Big Film Design Jonathan Bell founder, Want Branding Deborah Buck owner, president, Buck House and The Gallery at Buck House Stephen Doyle creative director, Doyle Partners Louise Fili designer and president, Louise Fili, Ltd. Keith Godard designer, principal, StudioWorks Edwin Schlossberg president, ESIDesign Jan Wilker founder, karlssonwilker inc.

Seminar Lecturers

Designer, typographer, author, performer Education: BFA, Queens College; MFA, Yale University Books and plays authored and designed: Crossing the BLVD: strangers, neighbors, aliens in a new America; The Portrait Series: a quartet of men (Brother Blue, Charlie, Nicky D. from L.I.C., Claude); FRENCH FRIES; versations; I mean you know; GRRRHHH: a study of social patterns; TYPE DREAMS; A Tattle Tale; Denial of the Fittest; The Whole KCuffin World; Social Security; the life and times of Eugene Soloman; The Search for IT and Other Pronouns Collections include: Museum of Modern Art; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Tate Gallery, London; Jean Brown Archive; Franklin Furnace Archive; Yale Art of the Book Room; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Getty Museum, Los Angeles; The Sackner Collection Awards and honors include: National Endowment for the Arts; New York State Council on the Arts; New York State Foundation on the Arts; Ford Foun dation; Puffin Foundation; AIGA; Prix Ars Electronica; Type Directors Club; Rockefeller Foundation; Greenwall Foundation; Furthermore Foundation; NY Book Show Best of the Best Award; Media That Matters Award

Warren Lehrer

Senior vice president, publisher, Abrams Books for Young Readers, Amulet Books Education: BA, Wake Forest University Professional experience: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; Buena Vista Publishing; Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. Awards for books edited: Caldecott Honor Book; Michael L. Printz Honor Book; gold and silver medals, Society of Illustrators; Silver Medal, Parents Choice Award; The New York Times Best Illustrated; Coretta Scott King Honor Book; Art Directors Club; Boston Globe/Horn Book Award; AIGA 50 Best Books; ALA Notable Books; Reading Magic Award, Parenting magazine National Parenting Center Seal of Approval

Howard W. Reeves

Proprietor, Open Education: BFA, Rhode Island School of Design Professional experience: Art director, Colors Magazine; senior designer, M&Co. Clients include: American Museum of Moving Image, art: 21, Bravo, EarthAction, MTV, The Nation, Nick at Nite, PBS, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, Trio, Wieden + Kennedy Publications include: Creative Review (UK), Critique, Communication Arts, Eye (UK), Grafik, HOW, Metropolis, I.D., +81 (Japan), Print, STEP Inside Design Awards and honors include: American Center for Design, AIGA, Art Directors Club, Broadcast Designers Association, Type Directors Club, Society of Publication Designers

Scott Stowell

Graphic designer, founder, Sagmeister Inc. Education: MS, Pratt Institute; MFA, University of Applied Arts, Vienna Professional Experience: M&Co; creative director, Leo Burnett Hong Kong; art director, Sagmeister Graphics; designer, Schauspielhaus Vienna; designer, ETC. magazine, Vienna Clients include: Rolling Stones, David Byrne, Aerosmith, Lou Reed, Pat Metheny, Muir Cornelius Moore, Parham Santana Publications include: Rolling Stone, The New York Times Awards and honors include: More than 200 design awards, including: The One Show; Art Directors Club; Communication Arts; D&AD; Grand Prix, Moscow Art Directors Club Hall of Fame

Stefan Sagmeister

Writer; creative director; president, Young Vienne, Inc. Education: cole des Beaux-Arts, Paris Professional experience Includes: Contributing editor, House & Garden; creative director, Cato Gobe; director of business development, Yves Saint Laurent Parfums, NY; founding art director, Parenting; founding editorial director, Mode; art director, Interiors, Image, Self Author: The Art of Doing Nothing; The Art of Imperfection; The Art of Growing Up; The Art of Expecting; Something to Be Desired: A Collection of Essays on Design; Chip Kidd, a Monograph books edited and co-edited: Fresh Dialogue Three; Fresh Dialogue Four, New Voices in Graphic Design; Citizen Designer: Perspectives on Design Responsibility; The Education of an Art Director Publications Include: Martha Stewart Living, Town & Country, House & Garden, InStyle, Mirabella, Redbook, Spa Finder, Metropolis, Graphis, Print, Communication Arts, Eye, American Photo, AIGA Journal, Etapes Graphiques

Vronique Vienne

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Guest Lecturers and Advisors


Kurt Andersen Studio 360, WNYC, New York Philippe Apeloigh designer, Paris Dana Arnett VSA Partners, Chicago Randy Balsmeyer Big Film, New York Jim Biber Pentagram, New York Michael Bierut Pentagram, New York Matteo Bologna Mucca Design, New York Paul Budnitz KidRobot, New York Ralph Caplan writer, New York Michael Carabetta Chronicle Books, San Francisco John Carlin Funny Garbage, New York Matthew Carter Carter + Cone, Boston Sue Coe artist, New York Robbie Conal Art Attack, Venice, CA Tad Crawford Allworth Press, New York Hillman Curtis Hillman Curtis, New York Eames Demetrios Studio of Charles & Ray Eames, Los Angeles Barbara De Wilde Knopf, New York William Drenttel Winterhouse, Falls Village, CT Dorothy Dunn The Glass House, CT Arem Duplessis The New York Times, New York Alan Dye Apple, Cupertino Stewart Ewen Hunter College, New York Stephen Farrell type designer, Chicago Pablo Ferro Pablo Ferro Productions, Los Angeles Tobias Frere-Jones Hoefler Frere Jones, New York Janet Froelich Real Simple, New York John Gall Vintage Books, New York Carin Goldberg designer, New York Robbin Gourley Farrar Straus Giroux, New York Robert Greenberg R/GA, New York Rodney Alan Greenblat Rodney World, New York Ric Grefe AIGA, New York Jessica Helfand Winterhouse, Falls Village, CT Drew Hodges SpotCo, New York Jonathan Hoefler Hoefler Frere-Jones, New York Joe Holtzman Nest, New York Alexander Isley Isley Design, Connecticut Hjalti Karlsson Karlsson-Wilker, New York Joyce Rutter Kaye Print magazine, New York Lenny Kaye Patti Smith Group, New York Jeffrey Keyton MTV, New York Julie Lasky I.D. magazine, New York Tod Lippy Esopus, New York George Lois adman, New York Ellen Lupton Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York Ross MacDonald Brightwork Press, Newtown, CT Bernard Maisner letterer, New Jersey Richard McGuire illustrator, New York Adam Michaels Project Projects, New York Debbie Millman Sterling Brands, New York Susan Mitchell Farrar Straus Giroux, New York Mitch Nash BlueQ, Pittsfield, MA Christoph Niemann illustrator, Berlin Gary Panter comics artist, Brooklyn Phil Patton design critic, New Jersey Rick Poynor design critic, London Mark Randall World Studio, New York David Rees cartoonist, New York Vivian Rosenthal Tronic, New York Jason Santa Maria Happy Cog, New York Paula Scher Pentagram, New York J.J. Sedelmaier J.J. Sedelmair Productions, White Plains, NY Fred Seibert Frederator, New York Bonnie Siegler Number17, New York Esther Smith Purgatory Pie Press, New York Andy Spade Andy Spade Inc., New York Ethan Trask Helicopter, New York Jakob Trollback Trollback and Company, New York Erik Van Blokland Letterror, Holland Just Van Rossom Letterror, Holland James Victore Victore Design Works, Brooklyn Khoi Vinh The New York Times, New York Eric Zimmerman founder, GameLab, New York

Contact Us
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Tel: 212.592.2600 Fax: 212.592.2627 E-mail: mfadesign@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/design


We strongly encourage applicants to visit our department prior to submitting application materials. Come to our Departmental Information Session, or contact us directly to schedule a tour. Departmental Information Session: Saturday, October 24, 2009, 2 4 pm To register for a departmental information session, please visit our Web site or contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at: gradadmissions@sva.edu.

Design

www.sva.edu/grad/design

XX Contribute to the public discourse on design XX Take a part in shaping this rapidly growing discipline XX Study with and among the best critics and thinkers in the field XX Join one of the only programs of its kind in the U.S.
The mfa in Design Criticism at the School of Visual Arts is an innovative two-year program that trains students to research, analyze, and evaluate design and its social and environmental implications. Students are taught by some of the best design writers and thinkers of our time, including Studio 360 host and author Kurt Andersen, momas design curator Paola Antonelli, Pentagram partner and cofounder of Design Observer, Michael Bierut, former editor of I.D. magazine Ralph Caplan, Metropolis contributing editor Karrie Jacobs and author and essayist Akiko Busch.

svas mfa in Design Criticismthe only one of its kind in the United Statesseeks to cultivate
design criticism as a discipline and contribute to public discourse with new writing and thinking that is imaginative, historically informed and socially accountable. Drawing on the broadest possible definition of design, the curriculum includes graphic, Web and product design, as well as fashion, urban planning and networked systems. It also considers the multiple implications of design beyond the object. In addition to object analysis, therefore, the program offers methods for the study of designed environments and systems, and the larger social and political contexts in which they operate. The course of study couples a theoretical framework with significant opportunities for practical experience. In addition to their written assignments, students produce tangible documents of their critical practice, such as podcasts, books, blogs, documentaries, course syllabi, conferences and exhibitions. In providing the tools for researching, analyzing, evaluating and chronicling all aspects of design, students will prepare for careers as design critics, journalists, editors, curators, educators and design managers. The Design Criticism department has its own newly designed floor of an sva building in Manhattans Flatiron District, well within walking distance from some of the worlds best design collections, libraries and archives, and also very close to many of New Yorks design studios and publishing houses. Classes meet in the department; weekly fieldtrips and site visits take place at various locations. Each student is designated their own desk space within an open plan workspace whose layout is modeled after a magazines editorial office. We welcome students from a range of academic backgrounds whose diverse perspectives and experiences enrich the debate. The program is equally well suited to designers, who want to hone their skills in writing and critical thinking, as it is to journalists and writers, who wish to enrich their understand-

MFA Design Criticism


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ing of design. Design criticism is a rapidly growing academic discipline and field of practice. In addition to its increasing territory in the national press, new journals, awards programs and conferences have been initiated, dedicated to fostering the genre. Its an exciting time to be involved in design criticism; students in this program are instrumental in shaping its formats, directing its priorities, and negotiating the ways it is encountered by its many publics.

Alice Twemlow, chair

Students in the D-Crit program learn different methods for evaluating design in the capital of American architecture, media and design: New York City.

Design Is Everywhere: On Location in Times Square


Student Profiles: Frederico Duarte & Angela Riechers

The TKTS booth in Times Square has sold more than 47 million discount theatre tickets since it was first built in 1973. In the late 1990s a competition was held to redesign the booth. The response was unprecedented in the history of design competitions in New York City, with 683 entries from 31 countries. The winning entry came from Australian architects John Choi and Tail Ropiha. Architecture firm Perkins Eastman ultimately built it.

At SVA, were very lucky to have New York City as our campus. Recently we eavesdropped on two mfa Design Criticism students who were discussing an assignment set by Justin Davidson, architecture and classical music critic at New York magazine, which took them to Times Square. Part public space and part architectural statement, the shimmering roof of the recently built tkts booth in Times Square sits vulnerable to the same fierce criticism as all projects in New York. Two students enrolled in the Design Criticism program, Frederico Duarte and Angela Riechers, toured the area for one of their classes, exploring the continual lightning rod of debate that is the Great White Way. AR: In class we talked about defining the booth and figuring out what it does for the streetscape. My observation was that its really a stage in itself, where you can observe Times Square as if you were at the theater or seen as being on stage yourself. Im one of the people that really liked the booth, but personally I dont like Times Square. I dont like crowds and push, and Times Square is the center of crowds and push. FD: I liked it, too. Its a monumental staircase to nowhere. Climbing it is one of the great things about it. When you get to the top you see the Coca-Cola signits your reward for reaching the top. While it doesnt go anywhere, its a vantage point. In a way, its part of the stage and you become part of that. Its also a kind of bleacher, so youre looking out at Time Square, seeing the whole landscape. AR: Id never seen Times Square quite like that; here you are in the middle of traffic and you can see the traffic flowing down past you, the river of yellow taxis and all those people. Its really beautiful. Normally you cant really see it, because youre always being moved along, youre part of a human river. FD: Also fascinating is the fact that the building is inconveniently jammed behind the statue of Father Duffy, a landmark that couldnt be moved to accommodate the plan. In a way, this is a symptom of New York urban design. Theres always someone who wants to keep the status quo. Its sort of ironic heres this great new building in the City, but its a victim of politics. That reminds meduring election night one of the big gathering places in the City was Times Square, and someone in class said that they couldnt remember when that space was last used as it should be, as a place where people congregate naturally and uncontrolled. However, the stairs were roped off for corporate use. And it makes you question whether or not this is a truly public space. In a way, its true to Times Square in that its yet another urban oddity. AR: Like it or not, Times Square is a reflection of our culture and whats important to us, how we get information, and how corporations want us to get that information. And to try and make it anything more than that. I cant imagine what that would look like. Well just have to let it stand there, almost like a mirror, and ask, Do you like what you see?

From atop the staircase that houses the TKTS booth, MFA Design Criticism students Frederico Duarte and Angela Riechers cast a critical eye over New York Citys bustling and highly designedepicenter.

Design Criticism

MFA Design Criticism students investigate the structures and infrastructures that define the city on field trips to sites both time-honored (such as the Statue of Liberty or Queens Botanical Gardens) and brand-new, like the Times Square TKTS booth or the High Line.

chair interview

The MFA Design Criticism Department has its own floor in a beautiful building in the Flatiron district of New York City. Students work in a custom-designed studio environment with personal workstations and Internet networking, accessible 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The D-Crit floor is the center for studying and socializing, but regular field trips ensure that the classroom extends far beyond the D-Crit departments walls. The following represents a day in the life of a D-Crit student.

Alice Twemlow
The list of faculty is pretty incredible. If you know the field, youll know that we have the crme de la crme. And students will build lasting contacts from that list.

The discipline of design criticism is at a very exciting stage, Alice Twemlow observes, because there are a lot of commentators out there, but the field has yet to be molded into a substantial academic discipline. At first I thought it was a challenge to start a humanities-based program in the middle of an art college, but then I realized it was actually a fantastic advantage and I decided to make it practical. Instead of just discussing the theory of design criticism, we provide the opportunity for students to apply the critical tools they learn. It differs from a history of design program, too, in that we look mainly at contemporary issues. What we do is really a form of social criticism that uses design as a way in; design history isnt generally as political. Were looking at designed objects, but also at infrastructures, and thats new territory. There are elements of visual culture criticism, art criticism and architecture criticism in other programs out there, but no one else has framed the discipline of design criticism as emphatically as we have. SVA has a tradition of holding classes toward the end of the day in order to capitalize on teachers who are also working professionals, Twemlow explains, and our program is no exception. This means we can get people at the top of their game. Theres no fear of ever getting a jaded old professor! I wanted to do a class on design curation, for example, so we went straight to MoMA and straight to their senior curator of designand shes doing it! The same happened with our radio workshop class; we asked Kurt Andersen from pris Studio 360. The list of faculty is pretty incredible. If you know the field, youll know that we have the crme de la crme. And students will build lasting contacts from that list. Our students come from a wide range of backgrounds, Twemlow says. Most have worked for a bit though, and are here to hone their discipline. Right now we have someone who was an editor at Chronicle Books, others from curatorial backgrounds, a design journalist. Students have come from industrial design and graphic design undergraduate programs, as well as English literature and philosophy. In fact, wed like to expand that base further. I can see students of anthropology, psychology, history or American studies being interested in what we do. This years group is very tight, because theyre the first class. They feel very invested in the program and theyve given us a lot of valuable feedback. And theyre interested in adding extra things, too, like working on a Tuesday night lecture series and developing a D-Crit Road Trip for the summer months. Theyre really fun! I expect students to go on to a diverse range of activities, Twemlow concludes. We have a student who wants to establish a design festival, another who wants to publish a magazine, others who are interested in teaching, curating, design management. What unites them is a desire to communicate whats interesting, important or problematic about design to as broad a public as possible.

On any given day...


9am Second-year students take a field trip to Philip Johnsons Glass House in New Canaan, CT, for a private two-hour tour of the buildings and grounds conducted by Dorothy Dunn, director of Visitor Experience and Fellowships. 10am First-year students meet at the Museum of Modern Art for their Exhibition & Collection Curation class, led by Department of Architecture and Design curator Paola Antonelli and curatorial assistant Patricia Juncosa. 12pm Students break for an informal lunch in the D-Crit kitchen area, where they are joined by Dutch designer and writer Daniel van der Velden. 1pm In his class, The Critical Imperative, D-Crit faculty member Ralph Caplan hosts a discussion with Rob Forbes, founder of Design Within Reach, on the evolution of his latest venture. 2pm Thesis Consultation: Second-year students meet with Andrea Codrington to review their thesis topics and discuss research strategies. 8pm Students head downtown to the Lower East Sides Hotel on Rivington for a Surface magazine party celebrating the launch of a new issue, in which D-Crit students are featured. 6pm Guest Lecture: Cathleen McGuigan, arts editor at Newsweek, gives a formal presentation to all D-Crit students (and select visitors) about the role of design criticism in the national press. A drinks reception with snacks follows the talk, allowing students the opportunity for informal discussion with the speaker and other influential lecture attendees. 4pm Radio and Podcast Pitch Meeting: First-year students pitch radio story proposals to Kurt Andersen, D-Crit teacher and host of PRIs Studio 360. Then they work with Leital Molad and David Krasnow, Studio 360s senior producer and senior editor, to edit and refine their ongoing stories.

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The Program The focus of the first year is threefoldon design itself, on criticism as a literary genre
and on the range of tools with which to practice design criticism. The second year offers the opportunity for specialization both in subject matter and format. Students participate in medium-specific workshops devoted to topics such as producing a radio program or documentary, curating an exhibition or editing a magazine or blog. They then research and develop a large-scale thesis project that must include a substantial written component. The program culminates in an annual public conference, conceived and organized by graduating students, in which they present papers based on their theses, alongside professional design critics and thinkers. Degree candidates must successfully complete 64 credits, including all required courses, with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0. A residency of two academic years is required. Students are required to complete and present their thesis research, which must be reviewed and approved by the thesis committee and the department chair, in order for the student to be eligible for degree conferral.

SVA Spaces

The Design Criticism program provides a supportive learning environment and directed instruction for inventive thinking about design. Yet it is the students personal interests and obsessions that guide the development of their individual voices, approaches and ambitions. Armed with a toolbox of research methods and writing expertise, graduates will be prepared for a panoply of careers in publishing, journalism, broadcast media, curation, education, management and events planning.

Sample Program first year


FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Architecture and Urban Design Criticism The Critical Imperative Design History Lecture Series I Radio and Podcast Workshop Urban Curation

2 4 4 2 2 2

Criticism Lab Exhibition and Collection Curation Lecture Series II Print Meets Web: Short-form Essay Workshop Reading Design Researching Design Thesis Development

4 2 2 4 2 2 0

second year
FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Cultural Theory Meets Design Design Criticism and the Magazine Magazines Under the Microscope Thesis Consultation Typologies

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Design Criticism Conference Lab Design Studio Visits/Interviewing Techniques The Longest Form: The Design Book Restaurant Design Review Workshop Thesis I: Research and Writing/Thesis Consultation Thesis II: Production and Presentation

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D-Crit: The Hub

The Design Criticism department is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to the programs students, who have their own desks within an open-plan studio-style workspace as well as access to meeting rooms, a library and a kitchen.

Course Descriptions

Architecture and Urban Design Criticism

DESIGN CRITICISM AND THE MAGAZINE

Exhibition and Collection Curation

Radio and Podcast Workshop

This course will examine the works of 20th-century architecture and design critics, focusing on individuals from the New York City area and those published in the popular press. Authors to be considered include Montgomery Schuyler and Lewis Mumford, as well as contemporary critics such as Robert Campbell, Christopher Hawthorne and Blair Kamin. Several sessions will be devoted to critiques of various forms of urban design: skyscrapers, parks, museums and design exhibitions, signage and the brand ing of neighborhoods. Students will write short presentations of the sites critiqued.
The Critical Imperative

As society has become more complex and our needs more diverse, so have the performance criteria for design. The aim of this course is to equip students to respond critically to design. This entails critical thinking, critical looking, critical listening and a critical attitude toward any other components of design that affect judgment. In researching guidelines for exercising critical capacities, students will consider such areas as taste, subjectivity, objectivity and constructive versus destructive criticism. We will study and discuss the writings of William Morris and John Ruskin, as well as modern critics such as Gilbert Seldes, Reyner Banham and Edward Kaufmann, Jr. Contemporary critics that include Ada Louise Huxtable, Martin Filler and Jessica Helfand will also be read. In addition, this course will examine criticism in other fields such as literature, theater, art and music, and the extension of critical analysis to fashion, food, dance, sports and film, among other aspects of popular culture.
Criticism Lab

In this course, students will focus specifically on the role of design criticism in magazines. The class will discuss the dynamics and complexities of criticism within the collegial atmosphere of the design world and in light of the economic constraints imposed by the business side of magazine publishing. Students will read models of criticism borrowed from the worlds of art, architecture and cultural studies. They will look at alternative modes of expressing opinions and venting grievances, including those represented by the blogosphere. And, finally, they will formulate their own equivalent of a Hippocratic Oatha statement of ethics and principles they believe should govern design criticismbefore putting these principles into action by writing critical essays.
Design Criticism Conference Lab

Design curation is a vital and growing area of critical design discourse. This course provides an overview of how design has been collected and presented in museum and exhibition contexts to date, and introduces some of the alternative approaches currently being practiced. Focusing on the design collections and exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, students will analyze various curatorial strategies, from the research phase to the structuring of content through narrative, chronology or themes, and the final set-up in the gallery space.
Lecture Series I & II

Can the subtleties of design be successfully communicated through a non-visual medium? An increasing number of producers, writers and hosts who create radio programs addressing design believe it can. This workshop introduces students to the variety of programs currently on air, ranging from focused documentaries and magazine-style formats to host and interviewing situations. Students will produce their own programs in the form of podcasts.
Reading Design

In a public conference devoted to design criticism, second-year students will present papers based on their theses. We will investigate the conference as a critical medium and analyze some historical examples. Students will be involved in all aspects of conference planning and, as a group, will determine the theme of the conference and its keynote speakers.
Design History

Visiting scholars, journalists and critics will discuss topics of importance, while introducing students to research methods. Some lecturers will discuss practical aspects of their critical endeavors and others will focus on intellectual issues. The aim is to bring students in contact with a wide variety of professional perspectives and to introduce them to experts in the field.
The Longest Form: The Design Book

Students will investigate popular national media, with a focus on how design contributes to so many of the events that shape our times. Newspapers have home and style sections, but the noteworthy design stories also tend to be found elsewhere: in politics, finance and even sports articles. Readings extend to essays, fiction, nonfiction and poetrynarratives in which design also plays a significant partreinforcing a comprehensive and critical understanding about design that goes far beyond the styling of consumer products.
Researching Design

Criticism Lab offers students a forum in which to hone the writers voice while being exposed to some of the forms and subject areas typical of contemporary design criticism. Weekly assignments, ranging from 250-word statements on new buildings to a 2,500-word essay on a signage campaign, will be reviewed in groups and individually with the instructor. The aim is to develop methods of argumentation, comfort with the editorial process and familiarity with the range of the art and the possibilities of the language. The goal is to learn how to wield language effectively in a variety of circumstances. Special attention will be paid to eradicating clich.
Cultural Theory Meets Design

Beginning with an overview of developments arising from the Industrial Revolution, this survey course will equip students with a solid background in the history of design. One goal will be to establish a common language and enable students to identify major touchstones and reliable reference points as they formulate an accurate chronology of events. Emphasis will be placed on the changing interpretations of what constitutes modernism during the period from 1918 to 1968. A series of guest lecturers will address various aspects of contemporary design.
Design Studio Visits/Interviewing Techniques

This course examines book publishing in the design world and commonly associated quandaries: What role do books serve in the realm of critical design discourse and how does that role differ from those of magazines, journals and even blogs? For whom are design books published and why? Are books simply the longest form of design criticism or is there something about their content that makes them unique? Assignments will follow the stages of book production, from crafting proposals, researching a target audience and assessing a projects commercial viability, to drafting sample materials. Students will critique each others work, debate strategies and complete research to support their findings.
Magazines Under the Microscope

The ability to conduct extensive and finely honed research is one of the design critics richest resources. This course explores the interrelated processes of uncovering, collecting and categorizing data. Working directly with primary sources such as correspondence, institutional documents and promotional materials, students will test a range of methodologies derived from disciplines such as anthropology, sociology and material culture. Visits to a selection of New Yorks most significant and intriguing public and private archives, collections and libraries, as well as online and database research, are included.
Restaurant Design Review

This course will introduce a range of theoretical models that are useful for framing discussions of design. The aim is to identify when a theoretical model is in use in a text or another form of criticism and to evaluate its appropriateness, coherence and value. Theories to be discussed include: postmodernism, feminism and gender studies, sociological studies of consumption and taste, Marxism, and semiotics and linguistics.

Interview transcripts offer a rich source of insight for the critic. In this course, students will explore different interviewing approaches, ranging from the journalistic interview to a variety of oral history techniques, and from scripted Q&As to more freeform conversations. The qualitative differences between interviews that take place face-to-face versus those conducted over the phone, via e-mail and instant messaging will be addressed. Visits to the studios of practitioners in a range of disciplines will be scheduled, providing an opportunity to observe critics in their working environments and to practice interviewing skills.

Each student will consider one publication from two vantage points: the perspective of the cultural, political and economic forces at play in the world into which the publication was born, and the one in which the publication now resides. Students will be expected to understand the language of the American magazine (basic structures of publication design, from the cover and the table of contents to the back page), and will master the language of that magazine (its typography, formats, pacing and visual language), from the perspective of its editors, writers, designers, photo editors and, finally, its readers.
Print Meets Web: Short-form Essay Workshop

Students will take field trips to different Manhattan restaurants and experience each venue. This will be followed by interviews with each restaurants interior designers, owners and guests. Students will then write reviews that discuss the interplay between food quality, atmosphere, etiquette and service.
Thesis Development

After the thrill of instant publication has subsided, how do we make online design criticism that is as thoughtful, responsible and accurate as it is in the best traditional publications? This course explores the role of the design critic online and examines both the correspondence between print journalism and blogging, and what makes online criticism unique. Students will read and critique design blogs, magazine Web sites and other online forums. The latter part of the course will focus on blog posts and short-form essays. As a pivotal and dynamic element, students will write and edit the D-Crit program blog, in which they will engage actively with the themes and controversies of both print and online writing.

Choosing a topic and format that is appropriate, innovative and rich enough to withstand extended inquiry is essential to the success of a thesis. This course will assist in the selection of a topic and a thesis advisor, refinement of the presentation format and the thesis proposal preparation.

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Faculty

Thesis I: Research and Writing/thesis consultation

Working in close consultation with their thesis advisors, students will develop detailed research plans, identify useful archives and sources, and analyze the results of their research. The next stage will be to draft, revise and write the thesis, a process that will also be supervised by faculty.
Thesis II: Production and Presentation

Each student will complete and present a final thesiswhether its a video documentary, a Web site, an exhibition or an audio tour. This course will assist in choosing the appropriate tools and techniques for the creation of a thesis project. Students may work in collaboration with graduate students from other departments for the creation of their chosen product. The thesis must be reviewed and approved by the thesis committee and the department chair.
Typologies

Design writer. Formerly, program director, AIGA EDUCATION: BA, Bristol University; MA, Royal College of Art/Victoria & Albert Museum BOOKS AUTHORED INCLUDE: StyleCity New York; What is Graphic Design For? Essays in:Looking Closer 5: Critical Writings on Graphic Design; Barnbrook Bible; ELSE/WHERE: MAPPING; Why Not Associates 2 Publications Contributed to include: Arena; Baseline; Architects Newspaper; Communication Arts; Design Issues; Design Observer; Eye; Frieze; Grafik; Graphis; I.D.; Step; New York magazine; Paper; Print; Typographic; Varoom; Voice: AIGA Journal of Design CONFERENCES DIRECTED INCLUDE: Being Here: Craft and Locality in Graphic Design, Voice: AIGA National Design Conference 2002. Co-director, Looking Closer: AIGA Conference on Design History and Criticism

Alice Twemlow, chair

Introductions and forewords: Tibor Kalman; Rebelling Against Rockwell (Pictures for the American People); Barbara Kruger: Graphic Designer; Alex Steinweis; American Advertising of the 30s, 60s, 70s, 80s Awards and honors include: Special Educators Award, Art Directors Club; AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement; National Endowment for the Arts; Hershel Levit Award, Pratt Institute; Outstanding Client Award, Graphic Artists Guild; Masters Series Award, School of Visual Arts WEB SITE: www.hellerbooks.com

Partner, Pentagram, co-founder, Design Observer BOOKS AUTHORED INCLUDE: Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design; co-editor, Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design, vols. 1 through 5 Publications Contributed to include: Design Observer, I.D. Awards and honors include: Art Directors Club Hall of Fame; Medal of Excellence, AIGA; president emeritus, AIGA NY; Design Mind Award, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum; member, Alliance Graphique Internationale

Michael Bierut

Philosophers throughout the ages have understood that insights often derive from analyzing the similarities and differences in categories of objects. Typologies exist in artworks of Andy Warhol, the photographs of Bernd and Hilla Becher and the informational graphics of Edward Tufteall as a means toward a deeper comprehension. In this course, students will identify an object, a building or a graphic element, and assemble and evaluate its variants. By looking at types of design (coffee cup lids, magnetic car ribbons, military unit patches, manhole covers), students will learn to identify what does and does not change in a form in order to come closer to its essence.
Urban Curation

In this course, students will act as urban curators, and will consult writings by innovative urban theorists (such as Henry Adams, John Ruskin, John Berger, Jane Jacobs, Ian Frazier and Colson Whitehead), as well as articles from contemporary magazines and Web sites. However, the heart of the course will be weekly assignments based on scavenger hunts: students will be asked to find the most significant building on a randomly chosen New York City street and make a case for their selection; find an object on the street that indicates this is the 21st century and decide what that object says about this moment in time; go to Times Square and find the best piece of design and the worst piece of design; visit Crate & Barrel, Muji, and Pearl River, and decide which one best represents the notion of good design and why. Students will develop an eye for their surroundings and gain confidence in their own abilities to identify meaningperhaps even beautyin a cluttered, chaotic environment.

Co-chair, MFA Design Department, School of Visual Arts; special assistant to the president, School of Visual Arts; editor, Voice: AIGA Online Journal of Graphic Design; contributing editor: Print, Eye, Baseline, I.D.; contributing writer: Metropolis, Grafik, Step; Visuals; columnist, The New York Times Book Review. Formerly, art director, The New York Times Book Review Education: New York University, School of Visual Arts Books authored, co-authored or edited: More than 100 books on graphic design, illustration and political art, including Paul Rand; Merz to migre and Beyond: Avant-Garde Magazine Design of the Twentieth Century; Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design, Second Edition; Handwritten: Expressive Lettering in the Digital Age; The Education of a Typographer; Graphic Design History; Graphic Style: From Victorian to Postmodern; Typology: Type Design from Victorian to Postmodern; The Education of a Graphic Designer; Italian Art Deco: Graphic Design Between the Wars; Faces on the Edge: Type in the Digital Age; French Modern: Art Deco Graphic Design; Euro Deco: Graphic Design Between the Wars; Cuba Style; The Savage Mirror: The Art of Contemporary Caricature; Texts on Type; Graphic Humor: The Art of Graphic Wit; Citizen Designer; Seymour Chwast: The Left-Handed Designer; Innovators of American Illustration; Art Against War; The Push Pin Graphic: Twenty Five Years of Design and Illustra tion; Stylepedia:AGuide to Graphic Design Mannerisms, Quirks, and Conceits; The Anatomy of Design:Uncovering the Influences and Inspirations in Modern Graphic Design Curatorial works include: Simplicissimus, Germanys Most Influential Satire Magazine, Goethe House; Political Art, Ten Years of Graphic Commentary, AIGA; Typographic Treasures, The Work of W.A. Dwiggins, ITC Center

Steven Heller, program co-founder

Co-creator, host, Studio 360, WNYC and PRI; novelist; columnist, New York magazine. Formerly, architecture/design critic, cultural columnist, Time; co-founder, editor in chief, Spy; editor in chief, New York magazine; staff writer, columnist, The New Yorker; co-founder, Inside.com; creative consultant, Universal Television; editorial director, Colors Education: BA, Harvard University Author: Heyday, The Real Thing, Turn of the Century; co-author, Loose Lips; Spy: The Funny Years; Tools of Power Publications Contributed to include: The Enlightened Bracketologist; Laughing Matters; Minus Equals Plus; Mirth of a Nation; Pleasure; Profile; Public Relations and the Press: The Troubled Embrace; Spectacle; Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist; 101 Damnations; Architectural Record; Atlantic Monthly; Metropolis; The New York Times; Rolling Stone; Vanity Fair EXHIBITIONS CURATED INCLUDE: Faster, Newer, Cheaper, More: Revolutions of 1848, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: George Foster Peabody Award; The New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year; 100 People Who Changed New York, New York magazine; Associated Press; Newspaper Guild; honorary doctorate, Rhode Island School of Design, Visionary in Residence, Art Center in Pasedena

Kurt Andersen

Akiko Busch

Author, design critic. Formerly, contributing editor, Metropolis


BOOKS AUTHORED INCLUDE: Nine Ways to Cross a River:

Midstream Reflections on Swimming and Getting There from Here; Geography of Home: Writings on Where We Live; The Uncommon Life of Common Objects: Essays on Design and the Everyday Publications Contributed to include: The New York Times, Metropolitan Home, Architectural Record, Home, Elle, House & Garden, London Financial Times, Traditional Home, Travel + Leisure, Wallpaper

Senior curator, Department of Architecture and Design, Museum of Modern Art. Formerly, editor, Abitare; contributing editor, Domus Education: Laurea di Dottore, Polytechnico Di Milano EXHIBITIONS CURATED INCLUDE: Design and the Elastic Mind; Achille Castiglioni: Design!; Humble Masterpieces; Mutant Materials in Contemporary Design; Thresholds: Contemporary Design from the Netherlands; SAFE: Design Takes On Risk; Projects 66: Campana/Ingo Maurer; Workspheres; Museum of Modern Art BOOKS AUTHORED INCLUDE: Objects of Design from the Museum of Modern Art; SAFE:Design Takes On Risk; Humble Masterpieces: Everyday Marvels of Design; Design and the Elastic Mind Publications Contributed to include: Harpers Bazaar, Harvard Design, I.D., Metropolis, Nest, Paper , Seed Awards And Honors include: Design Mind Award, CooperHewitt, National Design Museum; senior fellow, Royal College of Art, London; honorary doctorate, Kingston University

Paola Antonelli

Contributing editor, Print. Formerly, editor in chief, I.D. EDUCATION: BA, Earlham College; MA, Indiana University Author: By Design: Why There Are No Locks on the Bathroom Doors in the Hotel Louis XIV and Other Object Lessons; Cracking the Whip: Essays On Design And Its Side Effects; The Design of Herman Miller; Say Yes! BOOKs EDITED INCLUDE: Design in America, Making More Than Sense Publications Contributed to include: Graphis, House & Garden, Interior Design, Interiors, The Nation, The New Yorker, Design Quarterly, The New York Times Magazine AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: Director emeritus, IDCA; writerin-residence, Haystack Mountain School of Arts and Crafts; Bronze Apple Award and honorary member, IDSA

Ralph Caplan

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Professional Opportunities
The Design Criticism MFA faculty includes the greatest minds in the field, while the departments visiting lecture series brings its students in contact with an even wider spectrum of experts, including acclaimed designers, bloggers, filmmakers, design historians, authors and editors. Located in New York City, a global hub of design and media, students are encouraged to forge relationships with these visitors and pursue internships at institutions, studios or publications. Current students are embarking on summer internships at Surface magazine, LOT-EK, AIGA, Pentagram, Museum of the Moving Image, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam. The program places significant emphasis on the practical application of the many methodologies it teaches. Students write compelling columns, curate exhibitions, develop book proposals, record and produce radio stories, edit magazines and build online forums, assembling a tangible portfolio of their critical practice. The two-year program culminates in an annual public conference, conceived and organized by graduating students, in which they present papers based on their large-scale thesis project to an extensive audience of professional design critics and thinkers.

Visual culture critic; editor, Phaidon Press. Formerly, editorial director, AIGA; columnist, The New York Times; senior editor, I.D. BOOKS AUTHORED INCLUDE: Pause: 59 Minutes of Motion Graphics; Kyle Cooper: Monographics Publications Contributed to include: The New York Times, Washington Post, National Post, Elle, Metropolis, I.D., Blueprint, Eye, Cabinet
Justin Davidson

Andrea Codrington

Architecture and classical music critic, New York magazine; Contributor, Soundcheck, WNYC. Formerly, columnist, Newsday. Education: AB, Harvard University; MA, Columbia University; DMA, Columbia University Publications contributed to include: New York magazine, Newsday, E-music, The New Yorker, Salon, Slate, Los Angeles Times, Opera News, Icon, Travel & Leisure Awards and honors include: Pulitzer Prize, Criticism; AASFE Award for A&E Feature; ASCAP Concert Music Award; Deadline Club Award, Best Feature; ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for writing on music; ASNE Distinguished Writing Award; Long Island Press Club Awards; Newsday Publishers Award

Creative director, The New York Times Magazine and T: The New York Times Style Magazine. Formerly, board of directors, Society of Publication Designers; president, New York Chapter, AIGA Education: BFA, Cooper Union; MFA, Yale University Publications Contributed to include: Directed design and launch of Play: The New York Times Sports Magazine; T: The New York Times Style Magazine; Key: The New York Times Real Estate Magazine. Work has appeared in: Graphis, Print, American Photo, American Illustration AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: Art Directors Club Hall of Fame, Society of Publication Designers, Society of Newspaper Designers

Janet Froelich

Emily Gordon

Editor in chief, Print; creator, Emdashes.com


Publications Contributed to include: Newsday, Salon, The

New York Times Book Review, Washington Post Book World, The Nation, Print BOOKS Co-EditED INCLUDE: The Failed Search for bin Laden; Forbidden Truth: U.S.Taliban Secret Oil Diplomacy; Saudi Arabia; Uncivil War: Race, Civil Rights & The Nation, 18651995

Editor, Change Observer. Formerly, editor in chief, I.D., editor in chief, Interiors; managing editor, Print EDUCATION: BA, Wesleyan University BOOKS AUTHORED INCLUDE: Some People Cant Surf: The Graphic Design of Art Chantry. Essays in: Borrowed Design: Use and Abuse of Historical Form; And Fork: 100 Designers, 10 Curators, 10 Good Designs Publications Contributed to include: The New York Times, Architecture, Dwell, Eye, Graphis, Metropolis, The National Scholar, Grid, Print, Slate, Surface Awards And Honors include: National Arts Journalism Fellowship, Columbia University; National Arts Journalism Fellow, Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University; Richard J. Margolis Award; chair, Design Jury, CLIO; Editors Jury, ICFF; juror, National Magazine Awards; juror, Winterhouse Awards for Design Writing & Criticism

Julie Lasky

Michael Eng

Philosopher, writer, scholar


BOOKS co-AUTHORED INCLUDE: Thinking Outside the Structure:

Critical Thinking in Design and Architecture


AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: Fulbright Scholar; DAAD; Helena

Rubenstein Fellow, Whitney Museum of American Art

Archivist, Century Association Archives Foundation; lecturer, Department of Education, Museum of Modern Art. Formerly, archives technician, Department of Drawings and Prints, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Education: BA, MA University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; PhD, CUNY Graduate Center BOOKS AUTHORED INCLUDE: Henry Dreyfuss, Industrial Designer: The Man in the Brown Suit Publications Contributed to include: 2wice, Ergonomics in Design, I.D., things, American Ceramics, American Craft Curatorial Works include: Henry Dreyfuss, Direct ing Design: The Industrial Designer and His Work, 19291972, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: AIA International Architecture Book Award for Monographs; Charles F. Montgomery Award, Decorative Arts Society; Henry Allen Moe Award, New York State Historical Associa tion; Samuel H. Kress Foundation; Peter Kreuger/Christies Fellowship, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

Russell Flinchum

Columnist, contributing editor, Metropolis; contributing editor, Travel + Leisure. Formerly, editor in chief, Dwell; executive editor, Colors; contributing editor, New York magazine; Public Eye columnist, The New York Times Education: BA, Evergreen State College BOOKS AUTHORED INCLUDE: The Perfect $100,000 House: A Trip Across America and Back in Pursuit of a Place to Call Home; coauthor, Angry Graphics: Protest Posters of the Reagan/Bush Era Publications Contributed to include: Adweek, Fortune, George, I.D., Rolling Stone Web site:www.karriejacobs.com

Karrie Jacobs

Assistant to the editor, House & Home section, The New York Times; contributor, The New York Times House & Home, Dining, and Sunday Styles sections BOOKS AUTHORED INCLUDE: The Shun Lee Cookbook; House Beautiful: Collections on Display; Living with Textiles; Living in New England; The Art of the Party; Premier Beer: A Guide to Americas Best Microbrews Awards include: James Beard Journalism Award, Womens Sports Foundation Journalism Award

Elaine Louie

Publications Contributed to include: Art in America,

Senior producer, PRIs Studio 360 EDUCATION: BA, University of Texas at Austin; MA, New York University

Leital Molad

ARTnews, Connoisseur, Geo, Harpers Bazaar, New Republic, Manhattan Inc., Mens Journal, The New York Times Book Review, Omni, Rolling Stone, Seven Days, Cond Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, New York magazine, Vogue, Smithsonian, Washington Post, The Village Voice Consulting curator: Blobjects and Beyond: The New Fluidity In Design, San Jose Museum of Art; Curves of Steel: Streamlining the Automobile, Phoenix Museum of Art; Different Roads, Museum of Modern Art. Consultant, contributor, On the Job: Design and the American Office, National Building Museum WEB SITE: www.philpatton.com

Alexandra Lange

Contributing editor, New York magazine EDUCATION: BA, Yale University; PhD, New York University Publications Contributed to include: New York magazine, Metropolis, Domino, Journal of Design History, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, The New York Times

Contributing editor, Departures, Esquire, I.D.; contributing writer, Wired; creator, Public Eye column, The New York Times; automotive design writer. Formerly, writer, Design and Living Quarters columns, Esquire; reviewer, Artforum BOOKS AUTHORED INCLUDE: Made in USA: The Secret Histories of the Things That Made America; Bug: The Strange Muta tions of the Worlds Most Famous Automobile; Michael Graves Designs:The Art of the Everyday Object; Dreamland: Travels Inside the Secret World of Roswell and Area 51; Open Road: Celebration of the American Highway; Razzle-Dazzle: The Curious Marriage of Television and Professional Football

Phil Patton

Editor. Formerly, editorial director, Phaidon Press; managing senior editor, Architectural Record AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: Jesse H. Neal Award, American Business Press; Corporate Achieve ment Award for Editorial Excellence, McGraw-Hill Companies; Loeb Fellow, Harvard University; International Book Award, American Institute of Architects; co-chair, Architecture and Design Circle, Museum of Modern Art; board member, Architectural League of New York; jury, Pritzker Architecture Prize

Karen Stein

Patricia Juncosa Vecchierini

Curator, Department of Architecture and Design, Museum of Modern Art. Formerly, architect, Studio Carme Pins, Barcelona Exhibitions co-curated include: Humble Masterpieces; SAFE: Design Takes On Risk; Design and the Elastic Mind; Museum of Modern Art

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Guest Lecturers

Michael Barson ephemera collector, publicist, Penguin Books Gerry Beegan design historian Eugenia Bell design editor, Frieze Andrew Blauvelt design director, Walker Art Center Chandler Burr author, perfume critic, The New York Times Allan Chochinov co-founder and editor, Core 77 Irwin Chusid archivist, radio host Elaine Lustig Cohen designer, book dealer, artist Elizabeth Demaray conceptual artist Elyssa Dimant fashion critic, CITY magazine Stuart Ewen design historian Rob Forbes founder, Design Within Reach Sasha Frere-Jones pop-music critic, The New Yorker Rob Giampietro designer, writer Milton Glaser graphic designer Steven Guarnaccia ephemera collector, educator of illustration Peter Hall design journalist Jessica Helfand graphic design writer, partner, Winterhouse Studio

Glenn Horowitz antiquarian book dealer Julie V. Iovine executive editor, Architects Newspaper Natalie Jeremijenko artist, engineer, educator Jennifer Kabat contributing editor, Metropolis Stuart Kendall author, educator of foreign language and humanities Stuart Kestenbaum director, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts Emily King author, curator, design historian Pat Kirkham design, cultural historian David Krasnow senior editor, PRIs Studio 360 Laura Kurgan architect, designer, teacher Valarie Vago Laurer editor, Phaidon Books Cathy Leff director, Wolfsonian-FIU

Christopher Mount curator Dan Nadel founder, director, PictureBox, Inc. Kevin OCallaghan 3D designer, collector Spyros Papapetros instructor of architecture Chee Pearlman design consultant, conference program director B. Martin Pedersen executive editor, Metropolis Rick Poynor author and design critic Kerry William Purcell editor, design writer David Reinfurt graphic designer, writer, critic Michael Rock graphic designer, founding partner, 2x4, Inc. Jeff Roth The New York Times researcher

Andrew Rumbach scholar James Sanders architect, author, documentary maker Louise Schouwenberg design critic Paul Shaw type archeologist, design historian Matt Soar associate editor, Design and Culture Jenni Sorkin craft historian Naomi Stead architecture, art and design writer Deyan Sudjic director, Design Museum, London Daniel van der Velden graphic designer, founding partner, Metahaven David Womack design, technology, culture writer

Simi Linton writer, disability rights scholar Paul Lukas sports uniform critic, ESPN Geoff Manaugh author, BLDGBLOG Victor Margolin design historian Cathleen McGuigan arts editor, Newsweek

Contact Us
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Vicki Gold Levi photo researcher

Tel: 212.592.2228 Fax: 212.243.1019 E-mail: dcrit@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/designcriticism


We strongly encourage applicants to visit our department prior to submitting application materials. Come to our Departmental Information Session, or contact us directly to schedule a tour. Departmental Information Session: Saturday, November 7, 2009, 2 4 pm To register for a departmental information session, please visit our Web site or contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at: gradadmissions@sva.edu.

Design Criticism

www.sva.edu/grad/designcriticism

MFA Fine Arts


www.sva.edu/grad/finearts

XX Develop artistic self-expression through exploration and experimentation XX Faculty comprised of internationally renowned artistsmost prestigious art faculty in New York City XX Visiting artists programfor lectures, studio critiques and visitsinvites critics, artists and curators from the Citys diverse art world

One of the fundamental natures of the mfa Fine Arts program is that it is an essentialization of the art world, a distillation of the dynamics of the art community in which artistsboth faculty and studentsfunction as professionals. The principal thrust of the programs structure is to encourage students to make consummate work and to enhance their sensibilities and achievements in order that they might engage their skills and their artistic individuality in the system of galleries, museums and collectors. Like some other schools, we accentuate the primacy of craftsmanship and proficiency. However, we accentuate more incisively the compelling development of self-expression and the realization of the innate creative spirit. We also accentuate the need for explorative experimentation that can induce students to discover new aspects of their creative abilities. These goals are effected in close relationship between faculty and students, a relationship that fosters an ideology of stylistic pluralism and a diversity of artistic persuasions. The only dictamina ordained in the program are those that galvanize the students to produce as much as they can and to follow a personal course of intellectual and expressive evolution. The faculty stands among the most prestigious in the art world. They are internationally celebrated artists whose works are highlighted in the most noteworthy public and private collections and in the most distinguished galleries. Leaders and innovators, they constitute an encompassing spectrum of taste, styles and philosophies. Also, the mfa Fine Arts program possesses a visiting artists program, a series of lectures and studio critiques delivered by predominant figures of the art world: artists, critics, curators and others involved in cognate areas of the art community. Like the faculty, the students embody a richness of variety in their artistic endeavors and aesthetic directions. A premier group of individuals with high levels of accomplishment, they come from many different countries and reflect a plenitude of different experiences. In their resolute commitment to art as a profession, they also provide a significantly edifying environment to one another. The College provides for them during their two-year tenure in the program a host of different sites to showcase their work. They not only have the opportunity to display their talents in the schools numerous galleries, but also many have the opportunity to display their work in New York Citys galleries. New York City is, in fact, a vital source of cultural fervor and a fountainhead of inspiration to the students, with its nonpareil wealth of artists, museums and galleries. The school itself occupies one of the most productive and prepossessing sections of the CityChelsea, a hotbed of artistic activity. Thus, the students of the sva mfa Fine Arts program are an international community of artists producing, creating and living in the larger community of the international art world of New York City, a community of both their present and their future.

David L. Shirey, chair

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Conducting the Critique

Acclaimed visual artist and photographer Shimon Attie stops by the Fine Arts studios to guest lecture and critique student work as part of the student-run visiting artist program.

While innate talent may come from within, a true artist requires training, inspiration and, sometimes, tough love. At SVA, students work is repeatedly taken to task by working legends. Here four recent students in the Fine Arts program share some of their most memorable critique experiences. TRISH TILLMAN I have left many of my own crits with both an excitedand yet depressedfeeling all at once. As a second-year student, Im only now feeling like Im at a point where Im marrying techniques from early subconscious art-making with the fully informed decisions of the why and how to get my points across. My most memorable critiques have been in Julianne Swartzs class, an artist Ive admired for many years, and whos been the most influential professor to me at sva. She has a way of gently prodding you, to not only question what youre doing and why, but to come up with your own responses by looking at your work through a new lens. She had us do a performance that informed our studio practice, which opened a lot of us up to broadening our techniques. AMBER BOARDMAN One of my teachers, Monroe Denton, is a lovely person. During my term review, he made a reference to an artists work he owned that reminded him of my own work. He invited me to visit his apartment in Brooklyn to see his amazing collection. I took him up on the offer, and he spent the afternoon with a friend of mine going over all of it. In our seminar class, we staged an auction where we passed out fake money, but people were allowed to bid on real work. Anyone who donated a piece got $10,000 dollars. Everyone put in really good work, so we all left feeling very supported. It was pretty wonderful, and next time we may even include first-year students. SHAI ZURIM Will Insley, a well-known artist, was invaluable to me. As he had a background in architecture, he had an understanding of form and shape, which was incredibly helpful to me as a sculptor. We met about once a week to talk about things, and he was great in helping me understand how sculpture can activate space. He even taught me Andy Warhols secret handshake. TRE CHANDLER One thing thats been great for me has been the visiting artist program, where students reach out to a professional artist they admire and know would add to the dialogue of the program. The visiting artist will do one-on-one critiques with classmates and conduct a presentation on their own work. In fall

2008, I invited photographer Slava Mogutin to visit. My critique session with him was no less than
completely inspirational. Hes a figure Ive admired for a long time and to have him evaluating my work was an absolute pleasure. He really made me realize the importance of considering ones audience and being aware of how viewers receive my work. It was truly the highlight of my time at SVA while building my studio practice.

For the visiting artist program, the students get together and invite artists, dealers, curators and art critics that they would like to meet.
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Most guests who accept the invitation do eight studio visits to critique individual students on Wednesday afternoons. That evening the guest will then lecture the entire class.

The program helps demystify the art world by giving students an opportunity to see first-hand how the myriad aspects of the art world interconnect.

chair interview

The MFA Fine Arts Department is located in the Chelsea district of New York City. Chelsea is the hotbed of the New York art scene and our student studios are just a few blocks from the celebrated galleries of this part of town. The pluralism of the Chelsea art community is reflected in the pluralism of the artwork created in our student studios. Our community of artists in the MFA Fine Arts program are not only able to access and participate in the Chelsea scene but are excellently poised to access and participate in the entire art scene in all of New York City. The following represents a day in the life of a MFA Fine Arts student

David L. Shirey
I thought that the best kind of program would be heterogeneous, embracing many different approaches without defining itself as the purveyor of any single one.

When Silas Rhodes asked me if Id write a proposal for an mfa Fine Arts program, David Shirey remembers, I hadnt had much experience in the writing of pedagogical principles, so I studied what other programs offered and talked to artists, curators and art historians. What was ironic was that many of the artists I was in touch with hadnt had much formal education; one was Willem de Kooning, who I dont think went past grade school! Another was Al Held, who told me that the best thing a graduate program could be was a bridge between education and the real world. Something that I observed was that many of the schools were advocacy programs; they professed a certain ideology. But I thought that the best kind of program would be heterogeneous, embracing many different approaches without defining itself as the purveyor of any single one. The very early years were precarious, Shirey admits, but we expanded and continued to add resources, faculty and programs as they became necessary to enhance the richness of the program. The visiting artist program, for example, became vital. Weve hosted numerous illustrious people, and it continues to be very productive. In general, heterogeneity is still the key. We try to take care of the abcs of art, but theres always the x, the unknown, and we try to allow for that. We try to keep the program elastic and resilient, so that we can allow for innovation. The program is vocational in a sense that the program is a microcosm of the art world, Shirey explains. A lot of what we do here will be helpful to students careers once they leave. That said, a number of those accepted into the program are already enjoying more than a modicum of fame; they already have gallery representation and continue to have shows and sell work. Others are seeking to establish those kinds of contacts. And while many of our alumni become teachers, our hope is that they will also use their experience to establish themselves as fully functioning artists. And Im happy to say weve achieves a great deal of success in that. As is the case with sva in general, students in the mfa Fine Arts program are an international bunch. Shirey runs though an exhaustive list, ending by observing, Weve always been a magnet for Icelanders, for some reason. Isnt that something? I think that one of the great resources of the program is the community of students itself; thats just as vital as workshops with faculty. I think theyre all learning instruments from one another. Something else I emphasize, Shirey concludes, is that the course is structured, but not so structured so that its stifling. This program is the schools flagship. Ive been with it since the outset, and its been very exciting for me to watch it grow. Its been extremely rewarding, and its gratifying that were recognized as important. My mother has always told me that self-recommendation is no recommendation!

On any given day...


9 noon Second-Year Seminar with Dan Cameron in room 605-C, 133 West 21st Street. With the entire class, second-year seminars are devoted to the contemporary art scene and to the contemporary criticism, ideas and ideologies in art. noon 1pm Quick lunch with two classmates. 1 5pm Workshop with Joo Ribas (curator at The Drawing Center), 133 West 21st Street, Chelsea Studios on the 9th-floor lounge. Workshops provide studio critique and group instruction in the students areas of concentration. Structured to refine skills and artistic development, workshops pay as much attention to technical mastery as to experimentation and individual imagination. 6 8pm Meet thesis advisor, Jerry Saltz (art critic for New York magazine) at reception party for thesis show at Visual Arts Gallery, 601 West 26th Street, 15th Floor. 9pm midnight After Party at classmates apartment in Chelsea.

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The Program The mfa program in Fine Arts offers specialization in the following media: painting,
sculpture and printmaking. There are also some students who employ these media, incorporating photographic, video, digital and other techniques into their works. Students may concentrate in any one of the principal mediapainting, sculpture and printmakingand, if they so elect, can change their media of choice or mix media during their tenure at the College. Degree candidates must successfully complete 60 credits, including all required courses, with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0. At the end of each semester, students will meet with instructors for a term review of their artwork. In the final semester, each student is required to complete a thesis project, which must be thoroughly reviewed and approved by the thesis advisor and the thesis review panel in order for the student to be eligible for degree conferral. In exceptional instances, students may be allowed to transfer up to 15 credits from other accredited graduate programs. Students who transfer 15 credits may be eligible to complete the program in three semesters. Decisions concerning transfer of credit and course exemptions are made by the committee on graduate admissions.

Where Are They Now?


303 Gallery, New York Artists Space, New York Australian Center for Contemporary Art, Melbourne Bronx Museum Brooklyn Museum of Art Byron C. Cohen Gallery for Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO Caren Golden Fine Art, New York Chashama, New York Creative Time, New York Feature, Inc., New York Galerie Lelong, New York Grace Exhibition Space, Brooklyn, NY Jack the Pelican Presents, Brooklyn Josee Bienvenue Gallery, New York Kravets Wehby, New York Laxart, Los Angeles Like the Spice, Brooklyn Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York MIT List Visual Center, Boston Museum of Modern Art, New York Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami Nicole Klagsbrun, New York NurtureArt, Brooklyn

Alumni of the mfa Fine Arts program have exhibited at some of the most significant galleries and museums in the country. Here is a partial list:
Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York Postmasters Gallery, New York Project Room, New York P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, NY PS122 Gallery, New York Royal Academy of London Rush Arts Gallery, New York San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA Sean Kelly Gallery, New York Smith-Stewart, New York Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City, NY Stefan Stux Gallery, New York Sue Scott Gallery, New York Susan Inglet Gallery, New York The Armory Show, New York Tina Kim, New York Victoria Miro Gallery, London Whitney Museum of American Art, New York Zach Feuer, New York

Sample Program first year


FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Fine Art Workshops Seminar I Term Review Writing Workshop

12 3 0 0

Fine Art Workshops Seminar II Term Review

12 3 0

second year
FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Business Practices for Artists Fine Art Workshops Seminar III Term Review

0 12 3 0

Fine Art Workshop Seminar IV Term Review Thesis Workshop

6 3 0 6

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SVA Spaces

The MFA Fine Arts studios and facilities occupy two floors in a building situated in Chelsea. Each student has his or her own studio of approximately 150 square feet (10'x15'). Twenty-four hour studios access allows the students to maximize their studio practice.

Course Descriptions

Business Practices for Artists

Seminar III& IV

This course is designed to prepare artists to manage the business aspects of their profession. Topics covered will include: rsum and cover letter writing, exhibition opportunities, slide and other visual documentation management, grant writing, bookkeeping and income tax basics, receipts, contracts and letters of agreement. Assignments will focus on providing experience in these areas.
Fine Art WORKSHOPS

These workshops provide group instruction and critiques in the students areas of concentration. Structured to refine skills and artistic development, workshops pay as much attention to technical mastery as to experimentation and individual imagination.
Introduction to Digital Art

Second-year seminars are devoted to the contemporary art scene and to contemporary criticism, ideas and ideologies in art. Seminar III focuses on art concepts and notionshistorical and contemporary, traditional and current. Discussion topics may include: the diverse roles that art plays in both private and public venues; art as perceived from aesthetic, political, historical social-cultural viewpoints; patronage in the arts; and the confluence of the visual arts with other means of artistic expression. Seminar IV concentrates on significant examples, movements, trends and influences of contemporary art. Outstand ing professionals from various disciplines in the arts will be invited to the seminars.
Term Reviews

This course will offer a hands-on approach to basic Web site creation. Adobe Photoshop will be explored for use in the preparation of images to be incorporated into Web pages. Then Dreamweaver, the sophisticated and comprehensive Web design software, will be demonstrated. Dreamweaver writes the HTML code that is used to create Internet pages. In this way, the Web pages can be edited in either Dreamweaver or the standard HTML code. The course includes demonstrations and in-class exercises that will culminate in each students production of his or her own Web site.
Seminar I & II

Each semester, students will meet with faculty for discussion and review of student projects. The work, chosen by students and exhibited in their studios, should reflect their significant artistic developments and accomplishments. At the end of the second year, instructors conduct a final review of special projects.
Thesis WoRkshop

Graduating seniors will have a faculty sponsor who supervises the thesis project. With a concentration on an artistic theme (mutually agreed upon by the student and sponsor) and a related written component, the purpose of this workshop is to enable students to investigate a subject or subjects of compelling interest and complete their thesis project for graduation.
Writing Workshop

Devoted to cognate areas of artits history, art criticism and theory, philosophy of art, and relevant issuesthis course endeavors to examine such topical arguments as the nature of the museum and gallery system, the intricate problems of censorship in the arts, the origins of critical thought in the modern era and the interaction of various artistic and aesthetic disciplines. The seminars focus on fundamental art theories, crucial to the evolution of contemporary viewpoints. Drawing from the wellspring of resources in New York, students will view notable exhibitions in museums and galleries. The second semester concen trates on the critique of student work using, if pertinent, critical and historical criteria. Students will continue to visit assigned exhibitions.

The writing workshop offers students the opportunity to improve their expressive writing skills, while teaching clarity and aptness in verbal composition. The refinement of writing proficiencies helps students not only in their communications with other art professionals, but also in applications for grants, residencies and other honors.

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Faculty

Writer, critic. Formerly, art critic and writer, The New York Times; art critic, art editor, Newsweek; contributing editor, ARTnews; Rome correspondent, Newsweek Education: AB, MFA, Princeton University; University of Rome; Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris Publications include: Vieri Vagnetti, Centro D. (Florence), The New York Times, Newsweek, Art in America, ARTnews, Antiques, Gazette des Beaux-Arts (Paris), Corriere della Sera (Milan), Il Messaggero (Rome), Le Monde (Paris), The Wall Street Journal Awards and honors include: The New York Times Publishers Award for Outstanding Reporting; Butler Institute of American Art Medal for Lifetime Achievement in American Art; Award for Outstanding Contributions to American Art Criticism, Butler Institute of American Art; Wean Lectureship, Youngstown State University

David L. Shirey, chair

Collections include: V Tapes, Toronto; Groupe Intervention Video, Montreal; Art Bank, Canadian Council; Fonds Rgionales dArt Contemporain (FRAC), Clisson, France CuratorIAL Works include: Tensions, Rotunda Gallery; Behind the Scene: Photographers Devices, White Columns; Signals: Art and Invention, Queens borough Community College Art Gallery; Positions, Four Walls Awards and honors include: Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Canada Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts

Jake Berthot
Painter
Education: New School for Social Research; Pratt Institute Represented By: McKee Gallery One-Person Exhibitions include: McKee Gallery; Galleri Gunnar

Sculptor, painter, installation artist Education: BFA, Tyler School of Art; SUNY Purchase Represented By: DAmelio Terras One-Person Exhibitions include: DAmelio Terras; Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art NYKY, Helsinki; San Francisco Art Institute; Boesky & Callery Fine Arts; Hirschl & Adler Modern; Realismusstudio der NGBK, Knstlerfhaus Am Acker, Berlin; Postmasters Gallery; Neuberger Museum; P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center; Galerie Etienne Ficheroulle, Brussels; Amy Lipton Gallery; Sue Spaid Fine Art, Los Angeles; Locks Gallery, Philadelphia Group Exhibitions include: Whitney Museum of American Art; Luckman Fine Arts Gallery, Los Angeles; Biennale of Sydney, Australia; Koyanagi Gallery, Tokyo; Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston; Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College; Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall; Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY; Biennale dart Contemporain de Lyon, France; Corcoran Painting Biennial, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washing ton, DC; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Museum of Modern Art Awards and honors include: New York Foundation for the Arts; John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship; Yaddo Residency; MacDowell Colony Residency; Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, Ucross

Polly Apfelbaum

Olsson, Stockholm; Nielsen Gallery, Boston; Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA; Cava Gallery, Philadelphia; Storrer Gallery, Zurich; University Art Museum, Berkeley; Galerie de Gestlo, Hamburg; Daniel Weinberg Gallery, San Francisco; Locksley-Shea Gallery, Minneapolis; Cunningham Ward Gallery; Michael Walls Gallery, Los Angeles and San Francisco; Phillips Collection, Washington, DC Group Exhibitions include: Victoria Munroe Fine Art; American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters; Cork Gallery; Great Wall Gallery, Toronto; Japan Arts Gallery, Tokyo; Galerie Denise CadeArt Prospect, Inc.; Venice Biennale Collections include: The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Australian National Gallery, Canberra; Baltimore Museum of Art; Dallas Museum of Fine Arts; Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, MA; Moderna Konsthall, Malm, Sweden; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; St. Louis Art Museum; Museum of Modern Art; Whitney Museum of American Art Awards and honors include: American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, National Academy of Design, National Endowment for the Arts, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foun dation Fellowship, Elizabeth Foundation

Sculptor, photographer Education: Art Academy of Cincinnati; Kent State University Represented By: Galerie Lelong One-Person Exhibitions include: Galerie Lelong; Lawrence Miller Gallery; Cleveland Contemporary Art Center; Contemporary Museum, Honolulu; Olin Museum, Lewiston, ME; Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland; Tyler Gallery, Philadelphia; Jack Shainman Gallery; Diane Brown Gallery; Brooklyn Museum; Sculpture Center; Santa Fe Contemporary Arts Museum; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington, DC Group Exhibitions include: Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgeeld, CT; Moscow Institute of Contemporary Art; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; Centre International dArt Contemporain de Montreal; Bronx Museum of the Arts; Whitney Museum of American Art; Museum of Modern Art Collections include: Brooklyn Museum; San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art; Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center; J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC; Weatherspoon Art Gallery, Greensboro, NC; Whitney Museum of American Art; Museum of Modern Art Awards and honors include: Asian Cultural Council Japan Fellow ship; Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residence, Italy; National Endowment for the Arts; Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art; John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship; PollockKrasner Foundation; New York Foundation for the Arts; Art Matters, Inc.; Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities; Joan Mitchell Foundation; Sirus Project, Ireland

Petah Coyne

Video and mixed-media artist Education: BA, Academy of Fine Arts, Ghent; MFA, School of Visual Arts; Whitney Museum Independent Study Program Represented By: Deitch Projects; Yvon Lambert Gallery, Paris/New York One-Person Exhibitions include: Deitch Projects; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Anthony dOffay Gallery, London; Muse du Jeu de Paume, Paris; Centro Cultural do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro; Kunst ve rein, Munich; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Santa Monica Museum of Contem porary Art, CA; Galerie Riis, Oslo; Yvon Lam bert Gallery; MIT Gallery, Boston Screenings/Broadcasts include: San Francisco Film Festival; Worldexpo, Lisbon; Image Forum Festival, Tokyo; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Telluride Film Festival; Whitney Museum of American Art; Tate Modern, London; New York Film Festival; Documenta X, Kassel, Germany Group Exhibitions include: Centre for Contem porary Arts, Glasgow; Documenta X, Kassel, Germany; Palazzo delle Esposizinni, Rome; Artists Space; Pleasure Dome, Toronto; Kanagawa Arts Foundation, Japan; Museum of Contemporary Art, Baltimore Awards and honors include: Grand Prix de Ville de Geneve, Golden Gate Award, DAAD, Edith Russ New Media Grant, Toronto Film Society WEB SITE: www.zapomatik.com

Johan Grimonprez

Kenji Fujita
Visual artist
Education: BA, Bennington College; MFA, Queens College; Whitney Museum Independent Study Program One-Person Exhibitions include: Luhring Augustine Gallery; Schmidt/Markow Gallery 1709, St. Louis; Jean Bernier, Athens; Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles; Cable Gallery Group Exhibitions include: Brooklyn Museum; Luhring Augustine Gallery; Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgeeld, CT; Venice Biennale; Jablonka Galerie, Cologne, Germany; Wacoal Art Center, Tokyo Awards and honors include: Pollock-Krasner Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, New York Foundation for the Arts

Electronic media, public art and installation artist Education: BA, McGill University; MA, University of Wisconsin, Madison; MFA, San Francisco Art Institute One-Person Exhibitions include: Florida State University Art Museum, Tallahassee; New Image Gallery, Harrisonburg, VA; Testwall-TZart; Public Sculpture at Petrosino Park, NY; Ihara Ludens Gallery; Mercer Union Gallery, Toronto; Sculpture Center Gallery; J. Yahouda Meir Gallery, Montreal; A.R.E. Gallery, San Francisco; Jetwave Gallery, San Francisco; Palm Beach Museum, FL Group Exhibitions include: P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center; Garnet Press, Toronto; Artists Space; Alternative Museum; Muse de Nantes, France; So Paolo Bienal; Festival de Blois, France; University of Newport, Wales; Electronic Arts Forum, Bessau, Germany; Reina Sofia, Madrid; Oberhausen Short Film Festival, Germany
Fine Arts

Perry Bard

Curator. Formerly, senior curator, New Museum of Contemporary Art Education: BA, Bennington College professional experience: Senior curator, New Museum of Contemporary Art; contributing editor, Art & Auction, Artforum, Flash Art Curatorial Work includes: Living inside the Grid; Carroll Dunham; East Village USA; Wim Delvoye: Cloaca; Paul McCarthy; William Kentridge; New Museum of Contemporary Art; ev+a2005; Limerick City Gallery of Art, Ireland Exhibition catalogs and Books Include: PLOP: Recent Projects of the Public Art Fund; Supernova: Art of the 1990s from the Logan Collection; Vik Muniz Publications include: On Paper, Artforum, Trans, Grand Street, Art & Auction, Frieze, Third Text 26, Flash Art, Avenue, Parkett, Harpers Bazaar, Artspace, ARTnews, Art Issues, Contemporanea, Galeries, Shift, New Art Examiner

Dan Cameron

Mixed-media installation artist Education: School of Visual Arts, Pratt Institute. Studied with Jack Smith and Charles Ludlum One-Person Exhibitions include: Holly Solomon Gallery; Galerie Krief-Raymond, Paris Group Exhibitions include: Whitney Museum of American Art; Midtown Payson; Franklin Furnace; University of California, Berkeley; Andre Zarre; Quick Center for the Arts, Faireld University; Gallery K, Washington, DC; La Mama La Galleria Installations include: Art Chicago International Art Exhibition; Snug Harbor Cultural Center; University Gallery, University of Massachusetts; Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore; Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis; Galerie Krief-Raymond, Paris; Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Venice Biennale Collections include: Muse dArt Contemporain, Foundation Edelman, Lausanne; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum Ludwig, Aachen, Germany; Groninger Museum, Netherlands; Museum of Modern Art Awards and honors include: CAPS; Executive Committee, Board of Governors, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture

Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt

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Professional Opportunities
In addition to the Colleges on-campus and Chelsea galleries, the graduate fine arts studios are open to the public at the end of each academic semester, providing an excellent opportunity for the artist/student to exhibit work and gain exposure to gallery directors and collectors in New York City. Students and graduates of the program have exhibited in numerous galleries and museums including Deitch Projects, Marianne Boesky Gallery, 303 Gallery, Feature Inc., Clementine, Arena, Stephan Stux, LFL, Roebling Hall, Plus Ultra, Marvelli Gallery, Mary Boone Gallery, Whitney Museum of American Art, Bronx Museum of the Arts, Museum of Modern Art, Queens Museum and Brooklyn Museum. Students have also had their work reviewed in publications, including: The New York Times, The Village Voice, Art in America, Artforum, Flash Art, Frieze, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal.

Michelle Lopez
Fine artist
Education: BA, Barnard College; MFA, School of Visual Arts Represented by: Simon Preston Gallery One-person exhibitions include: Gallery Paule Anglim, San

Marilyn Minter
Fine artist
Education: BFA, University of Florida, Gainesville; MFA, Syracuse

David Row
Painter
Education: BA, cum laude, MFA, Yale University Represented By: Von Lintel Gallery, New York; McClain Gallery,

University
Represented by: Fredericks Freiser Gallery One-person exhibitions include: San Francisco Museum of

Houston; Galerie von Bartha, Basel


One-Person Exhibitions include: Von Lintel Gallery, New York,

Francisco; Deitch Projects; Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan; Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions; Feature, Inc.; 407 Gallery group exhibitions include: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; Champion Fine Arts, Los Angeles; Studio Museum in Harlem; Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA; Visual Arts Gallery, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center; Post Gallery, Los Angeles; Metro Tech Center, Brooklyn; Galeria Leyendecker, Tenerife, Spain; Or Gallery, Vancouver; Threadwaxing Space; Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, University of the Arts, Philadelphia; Brooklyn Museum Publications include: Artforum, Art in America, Time Out New York, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Village Voice Awards and honors include: Best Public Art, Art in America; Public Art Fund; MacArthur Foundation Residencies and fellowships include: Virginia Center for the Creative Arts; Banff Centre, Alberta; MacDowell Colony

Modern Art; Baldwin Gallery, Aspen; Fredericks Freiser Gallery; Thaddeus Ropac Gallery, Paris; Max Protetch Gallery; Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London; White Columns; Meyers Bloom Gallery, Los Angeles; Greenberg Gallery, St. Louis; Index Gallery Stockholm Collections include: Museum of Modern Art; Maison European Photographie Paris; Collection Claudine et Jean-Marc Salomon; Neuberger Berman; Chase Manhattan Bank; Deutsch Bank; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; Everson Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Syracuse University; Denver Art Museum Awards and Honors include: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts

Stephen Maine
Painter, critic
Education: BFA, Indiana University Exhibitions include: 354 Exhibitions; Metaphor Contemporary

Art; Sideshow Gallery; Henry Street Settlement; Momenta Art; Kentler International Drawing Space; The Painting Center; The Drawing Center; Sothebys; Semi-Public Gallery, Asheville, NC Publications include: Art In America, Art on Paper, Brooklyn Rail, artnet.com, New York Sun honors include: New York Foundation for the Arts

Suzanne McClelland
Painter
Education: BFA, University of Michigan; MFA, School of Visual Arts Represented By: Paul Kasmin Gallery One-Person Exhibitions include: Paul Kasmin Gallery; Baldwin

Painter, mixed-media artist Education: University of Rome; Harvard University One-Person Exhibitions include: Bill Maynes; Hal Bromm, NY; Museum of Modern Art; Dia Center for the Arts; P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center; Sabine Wachters, Brussels; John Weber Gallery; Leo Castelli Gallery; Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Germany; Mario Diacono, Boston; Bykert, NY; Carlo Grossetti, Milan; American Academy, Rome; Yvon Lambert, Paris; Esso Gallery; Badisher Kunstverein, Karlsruhe, Germany; Gianenzo Sperone, Turin and Rome Collections include: Detroit Institute of Arts; Dartmouth College Museum; Museum of Modern Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; Panza, Milan; Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, MA; Neuberger Museum, Purchase, NY; P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center Awards and honors include: National Endowment for the Arts

Lucio Pozzi

Munich; Brandstetter & Wyss, Zurich; Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, Salzburg; Galerie von Bartha, Basel; Locks Gallery, Philadelphia; McClain Gallery, Houston; Pamela Auchincloss Gallery; Richard Feigen Gallery, Chicago; Turner & Runyon Gallery, Dallas; Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art, Witchita, KS; Gallerie Ascan Crone, Hamburg Group Exhibitions include: American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters; Armand Hammer Museum of Art, University of California, Los Angeles; Pace Prints; Muse des Beaux Arts, La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland; The Drawing Center; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY; Sidney Janis Gallery; Portland Museum of Art, ME; Nassauisher Kunstverein, Weisbaden; State Museum of San Marino, Italy; Yale University Museum of Art, New Haven; Bernier/Tanit, Brussels; Tony Shafrazi Gallery Collections include: Brooklyn Museum; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Cleveland Museum of Art; Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH; Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego Awards and Honors include: National Endowment for the Arts

Publications include: The New York Times, The New Yorker,

ARTnews, The Village Voice, New York Sun, San Francisco Chronicle, Art on Paper, Bomb, Brooklyn Rail Awards and Honors Include: American Academy of Arts and Letters; Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation; New York Foundation of the Arts; Charles Goodwin Sands Medal, Cornell University; Edward Durrell Stone Award, Cornell University

Art critic, New York magazine; contributing editor, Art in America. Formerly, art critic, The Village Voice Education: School of the Art Institute of Chicago PUBLICATIONS INCLUDE: New Art Examiner, Art and Auction, Flash Art, Frieze, Parkett HG; Atelier (Japan), Forum International AWARDS INCLUDE: National Endowment for the Arts; Frank Jewett Mather Award for art criticism from the College Art Association; advisor, 1995 Whitney Biennial

Jerry Saltz

Curator. Formerly, curator, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center Education: BA, cum laude, New York University; MA, University of Manchester Curatorial Works include: Prime Time, School of Visual Arts; New York: Remember Who You Are, Upstate, Heartbreaker, Mary Boone Gallery; Phoebe Washburn:Seconds of Something, Ernesto Caivano:After the Woods, A Selection, P.S.1 Contem porary Art Center. Co-curator, Greater New York 2005, Katharina Sieverding:Close Up, Building Structures, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center Publications include: Flash Art, Contemporary

Amy Smith-Stewart

Gary Stephan
Painter
Education: MFA, San Francisco Art Institute; Pratt Institute; Parsons School of Design Represented By: Baumgartner Gallery, New York One-Person Exhibitions include: Baumgartner Gallery; Fernand Alcolea Gallery, Barcelona; Daniel Weinberg Gallery, San Francisco; Diane Brown Gallery; Gabrielle Maubry, Paris; Hirschl & Adler Modern; Lia Rumma Gallery, Naples; Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles; Marl borough Gallery; Mary Boone Gallery; Texas Gallery, Houston Group Exhibitions Include: National Arts Club, NY; Andrea Pintsch, Germany; Baumgartner Galleries, Washington, DC; Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami; White Columns; College of New Rochelle, Castle Gallery, NY; Bentley Terrace Gallery, AZ; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Whitney Biennial; Andre Emmerich Gallery Collections include: Whitney Museum of American Art; Museum of Modern Art; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles Awards and honors include: National Endowment for the Arts, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow ship

Gallery, CO; Weatherspoon Art Gallery, Greensboro, NC; L.A. Louver, Inc., CA; Galerie Lawrence Rubin, Zurich; Galerie Kyoko Chirathivat, Thailand Group Exhibitions include: Aspen Art Museum; Galleria Lawrence Rubin, Italy; Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH; Whitney Museum of American Art; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Apex Gallery; White Columns Collections include: Museum of Modern Art; Whitney Museum of American Art; Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, CA; Orlando Museum of Art; St. Louis Art Museum; New York Public Library

Curator, The Drawing Center; art critic. Formerly, assistant editor, Art Review, LTB Media Education: BA, New School University Curatorial projects include: New Economy, Artists Space; In Defense of Ardor, Bellwether Gallery; William Anastasi: Raw, The Drawing Center; Minor White, Kenneth Josephson, Jack Pierson, Amanda Ross-Ho, Spencer Young, AR/Contemporary Gallery, Milan Publications include: New York Sun, ArtReview, Tema Celeste, The Guardian Unlimited, Flash Art, ARTnews, Time Out New York, artinfo.com, Art & Auction, artnet.com, Sculpture, L + Arte

Joo Ribas

James Siena
Fine artist
Education: BFA, Cornell University Represented By: PaceWildenstein, New York One-person exhibitions include: San Francisco Art Institute;

Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles; Cristinerose Gallery; Pierogi 2000; J. Noblett Gallery, Sonoma, CA; PaceWildenstein; Gorney Bravin + Lee; University of Akron, OH Group exhibitions include: Whitney Museum of American Art; DC Moore Gallery; Danese; Triple Candie; OSP Gallery, Boston; National Academy of Design Museum; Locks Gallery, Philadelphia; Kent State University, OH; P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center; Graham Gallery; American Academy of Arts and Letters; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Mario Diacono, Boston; Greene Naftali Gallery; Phyllis Kind Gallery Collections Include: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; Museum of Fine Art, Boston; Museum of Modern Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Whitney Museum of American Art
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Guest Lecturers

Sculptor, installation artist, sound artist Education: BA, University of Arizona, Tucson; MA, Bard College Represented By: Jose Bienvenu Gallery One-Person Exhibitions Include: Jose Bienvenu Gallery; Angles Gallery, Los Angeles; Tang Museum, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY; Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, ME; Artists Space; Schroeder-Romero Gallery; 123 Watts; Ricco/Maresca Gallery; Lombard-Fried Fine Arts Group Exhibitions Include: Green on Red Gallery, Dublin; New Museum of Contemporary Art; Catherine Clark Gallery, San Francisco; P.S.1/MoMA; Institute of Contemporary Art, Palm Beach; Islip Art Museum, NY; Muller Dechiara Gallery, Berlin; Grant Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles; Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA; Bronx Museum of the Arts; Brooklyn Museum Publications include: Frieze, Artforum, ARTnews, The Village Voice, Time Out New York, The New Yorker, The New York Times Awards and Honors Include: Public Art Fund; Richard Kelly Foundation; Artists in the Marketplace; Lower East Side Print Shop Special Editions Fellowship residencies include: Art Omi International Artists; New York Foundation for the Arts; Cit Internationale des Arts, Paris

Julianne Swartz

Jacqueline Winsor
Sculptor
Education: BFA, Massachusetts College of Art; MFA, Rutgers

Janine Antoni fine artist Stefano Arienti sculptor, installation artist Richard Artschwager fine artist Jan Avgikos art historian, critic, teacher Alice Aycock sculptor, installation artist Lynda Beglis sculptor Maurizio Cattelan sculptor, performance artist Sarah Charlesworth photographer Sue Coe painter, printmaker, illustrator Bjorn Copeland artist, musician

Nicole Eisenman painter, installation artist Inka Essenhigh painter Andrea Fraser performance artist Tom Friedman sculptor Laim Gillick artist, critic, curator, designer, writer Luis Gispert sculptor, photographer Christine Heindl painter Christian Holstad installation artist, painter, sculptor Gareth James fine artist, writer Bill Jensen painter John Kessler mixed media sculptor Janet Koplos writer, senior editor, Art In America Kalup Linzy video and performance artist Steve Mumford painter

Shirin Neshat photographer, video artist Dennis Oppenheim mixed media sculptor Gabriel Orozco sculptor, painter, photographer, video artist Elizabeth Peyton painter Eileen Quinlan photographer Judy Pfaff installation artist, painter William Pope. L performance artist Archie Rand painter, academic Blake Rayne painter Matthew Richie painter, sculptor, digital artist Gedi Sibony sculptor Amy Sillman painter Zak Smith fine artist

University
Represented By: Paula Cooper; Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles One-Person Exhibitions include: Milwaukee Art Museum; North

Carolina Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Akron Art Museum; Art Gallery of Ontario; Newport Harbor Art Museum; Museum of Modern Art; Margo Leavin Gallery; Paula Cooper; Virginia Museum; P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center Collections include: Akron Art Museum; Albright-Knox Art Gallery; University of Colorado, Boulder; Detroit Institute of Arts; Fonds National dArt Contem porain, Paris; National Gallery of Australia; Art Gallery of Ontario; Museum of Modern Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Whitney Museum of American Art Awards and honors include: John Simon Guggen heim Memorial Foundation Fellowship; National Endow ment for the Arts; Distinguished Artist-Teacher Award, School of Visual Arts; honorary doctorate, Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada; Brandeis University Creative Arts Award

Contact Us

Tel: 212.592.2500 Fax: 212.592.2503 E-mail: mfafinearts@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/finearts


We strongly encourage applicants to visit our department prior to submitting application materials. Come to our Departmental Information Session, or contact us directly to schedule a tour. Departmental Information Session: Saturday, November 7, 2009, 2 4 pm To register for a departmental information session, please visit our Web site or contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at: gradadmissions@sva.edu.

Will Cotton painter EV Day installation artist, sculptor Jules de Balincourt painter Erin Donnelly painter

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MFA Illustration as Visual Essay


www.sva.edu/grad/illustration

XX Develop your personal vision in our highly selective program XX Classroom-based curriculum, where close interaction between faculty and other classmates is an essential part of the creative process of the program XX New York Citys diverse and celebrated professional world provides mentors, guest lecturers, advisors and faculty

We believe this program is as unique as it is revolutionary. It redefines how figurative artists see their work and how that art finds its way into the world of commercefine art, illustration and publication. It begins with developing a personal vision. Vision is not style. Whether the work is tightly rendered, loose, more or less expressive or Photoshopped, we help you to achieve personal content in your work to tell your story as only you can. When your style is personal content, the images you make can only be original. The program is difficult, demanding and highly selective. At the same time, it is an opportunity to be with exceptional artists like yourself exchanging ideas and sharing information, as well as simply hanging out. Each class becomes a community of figurative artists whose interest in storytelling encompasses all 21st-century media: graphic and illustrated novels, childrens books, comic books, and painting series for gallery walls. But, when you tap into your personal vision and find your own stories, the applications for the work flow naturally. We focus on teaching how to combine words with images, continually refining and re-defining your personal vision. Our faculty is made up of illustrators, fine artists, computer artists, writers, art historians and art directors. The contact with faculty is personal, constant and intense. We accept only

20 students per year in the two-year program. It is a classroom-based curriculum, unlike many graduate programs where students work independently with scheduled faculty oversight. Close interaction between faculty and student, as well as with other classmates, is an essential part of the creative process that is our program. Each student has a personal workspace with 24-hour access, seven days a week. In addition to required classes, graduate students can audit classes from the various diverse offerings in our undergraduate school, including film, animation, fine arts and humanities. Guest speakers from the outstanding New York professional arts community are regularly scheduled. Being in New York City, the opportunities for access to working artists, gallery shows, museum exhibitions and internships are not inconsequential to laying a foundation for a life as an artist. In the second year, students are encouraged to choose their thesis advisors according to their interests. Our advisors, past and present, are as diverse as they are celebrated in their fields. Yuko Shimizu, Steve Brodner, Gary Panter, Maira Kalman, Sam Weber, Stephen Savage, Paul Buckley, Guy Billout and Pat Cummings are among them. The process involved in developing a truly personal vision is risky. It demands you be open to thinking in new ways, reassess your drawing and painting skills, put your creativity on the line and free your imagination. We offer you the chance to compete using your own vision.

Marshall Arisman, chair

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Illustration student Joanna Neborsky works on her thesis in her studio space, situated on a floor she shares with 40 other MFA candidates. The studios of the MFA Illustration department are located on the 12th floor of 136 West 21st Street.

The Story Continues A New Illustrator Is Born


Student Profile: Joanna Neborsky

The path to becoming an artist is rarely a straight one. But for Joanna Neborsky, Illustration as Visual Essay 09, the journey was positively twisted. A native of San Diego, this young talent is the only one in her department without any previous formal arts training. After graduating from Yale with a ba in English, she tried everything from teaching English in France to being a park ranger before joining the Rockwell Group as a research assistant, helping to write and edit a monograph for the renowned design firm. But it wasnt until freelancing in T-shirt designfor a Christian environmentalist company, no lessthat she fell in love with the process of matching images to words. And after attending a symposium where the legendary Maira Kalman described herself as an illustrator-author, it clicked: that was the perfect career for Neborsky to explore both her literary instincts and artistic passion. With only a few rough sketches to show, she nervously applied to

sva. I was scared that my portfolio was too thin, too incidental,
she recalls. I worried theyd think, Is she honestly including this placemat, this birthday invitation, this squiggle? But in some ways, illustration is not a departure. Its about reading; its about storytelling. I could take the deadpan, big-nosed characters I had been drawing unconsciously on napkins and Post-It notes my entire life and give them context on a page. And even better, I could call it a career. For her thesis, Neborsky turned to Flix Fnons Novels in Three Lines, a lost classic that appealed to the francophone Yalie with a creative bent. To illustrate Fnons short, clever tales of death and near-death in 1906 Francethey originally appeared as anonymous newspaper listingsshe collaged forty gruesome spreads for an

80-page book. Macabre, eccentric and even comical, the project is


helping Neborsky realize her potential, with none other than Kalman herself serving as her advisor. I came to sva with a hazy sense of what I wanted to do, she explains. The program has supplied a map to my future career. Now its up to me to make it happen.

Neborskys thesis of vibrant works will eventually become an 80-page book. She draws inspiration from her fellow classmates: I enjoy sharing ideas and getting opinions on my work from some of my surrounding cubicle mates.

The budding illustrator posts drafts, sketches, collage fragments, and other bits of research in her SVA studio space in New Yorks Chelsea neighborhood.

SVA Spaces
Each student is assigned an individual work space with 24-hour access, seven days a week.

chair interview

The MFA Illustration Department studio is located in the heart of Chelsea. Each student is assigned his or her own studio space with 24-hour access, 7 days per week. The studio becomes the community center for the program. The following is typical day for first- and secondyear students.

Marshall Arisman
(The students) are radically diverse in their aesthetics but all of them are interested in storytelling.

All children make drawings about themselves and the forces that surround them, remarks Marshall Arisman. They tell stories with images. But that generally stops around age twelve, when most people stop taking art classesnot because theyre bad storytellers but because they dont draw accurately. Those who have technical ability persist because theyre getting support, and can go all the way through art school on that basis. The trouble is, if youre a figurative artist, your skills improve while your capacity to discuss the world around you hardly grows. The Illustration as Visual Essay program aims to rediscover our reasons for starting to draw in the first place. How do students work together? Arisman stresses both diversity and closeness. They have different backgrounds, he observes, but they form a community. The programs stylistic range is huge, but there are no arguments about its destination. The faculty exhibits a similar combination of varied interests and common purpose. They are radically diverse in their aesthetics, he remarks, but all of them are interested in storytelling. What are some standout courses? Experimental Drawing is one, Arisman offers. Its a drawingon-location class based on the importance of memory. If you have to draw things as they move, you make better use of recall. The class goes everywhere from Gleasons Gym to Yankee Stadium. The History of Drawing course deals with an ironic situation: Illustrators tell stories, but very few have their own vision. The course frames critical commentaries around this phenomenon. It asks, for example, whether when you write your own story and add images, youre really illustrating (since youve already illustrated the story in words). And the questions only get more interesting as artists make images between or over words. In sourcing guest lecturers, the program makes use of its metropolitan location and students individual preferences. In the second year, Arisman explains, each student chooses their dream mentor. So if, for instance, someone has in mind to produce a series of paintings of his grandmothers shoes, and Eric Fischl is his favorite painterand if Eric is willing to do itthe pair will work one-on-one. Its the kind of experience you cant get anywhere else. What do thesis projects typically consist of? Our only requirement, Arisman replies, is a minimum of 12 interconnected images produced with a stated goal, such as I want to make a childrens book and get it published. Every project is a story in itselfand most of them are success stories. We had a student four years ago, Viktor Deaks, he chuckles, a construction worker from Connecticut, who had a theory of evolution that took three hours to explain. We couldnt figure out if he was insane or a genius. He was drawing at the Museum of Natural History one day and got talking to the head of their Imaging Center, explained his theory, and got hired! He didnt even have a science background. But as Muriel Rukeyser wrote, the universe is made up of stories, not of atoms.
5pm Second-year thesis critique class with David Sandlin. Guest artist Gary Panter reviews work. 6pm Required painting class with Greg Crane for first-year students. 9pm 1am American Illustration party at the Angel Orensanz Foundation on the Lower East Side. 4pm Second-year students meet with their thesis advisors. 8:30am Arrive at studio for 9 am meeting with curators for the upcoming book show that features graduate work. 10am Required class critique with Marshall Arisman. Guest art director, Brian Rea from the Op-Ed page at The New York Times critiques sketches for an article. noon Break: eat in studio kitchen. 1pm Required class critique with Carl Titolo. In class workshop developing postcards with words and images for publication.

On any given day...

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The Program The program operates on a pass/fail grading system with individual reviews each year.
At the end of the rst year, students must receive an acceptable review from the faculty panel in order to go on to the second year. Degree candidates must successfully complete 60 credits, including all required courses. A residency of two academic years is required. In the nal semester, each student is required to complete a thesis project, which must be reviewed and approved by the thesis committee and the department chair in order for the student to be eligible for degree conferral. In exceptional instances, transfer credit may be awarded. Decisions concerning transfer of credit are made by the committee on graduate admissions.

Sample Programs first year


FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Advanced Creative Writing Workshop I Book Seminar Computer Illustration Portfolio I Critique I Experimental Drawing Workshop I

3 3 3 3 3

Advanced Creative Writing Workshop II Computer Illustration Portfolio II Critique II Experimental Drawing Workshop II Seminar

3 3 3 3 3

second year
FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

History of Storytelling: Comics Painting I Studio Workshop I Thesis Project: Visual Essay I Thesis Review I

3 3 3 6 0

Fine Arts Symposium Painting II Studio Workshop II Thesis Project: Visual Essay II Thesis Review II

3 3 3 6 0

Wall of Fame

The display case features a small selection of the several hundred published books by MFA Illustration alumni.

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Course Descriptions

Faculty

Professional Opportunities
The MFA program in Illustration as Visual Essay is predicated upon the execution of publishable work. Students and graduates of the program have had their work published in many periodicals, including: The New York Times Magazine, Playboy, Print, Womans Day, Business Week, CA, The New York Times Book Review, New York Daily News, The Progressive, Newsday, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, The Village Voice. The Visual Arts Press, Ltd. has published the following works by MFA Illustration students: Visual Notebooks of Morning Rituals, Unframed, Late Night New York, Unleashed and Endangered. Books by alumni have been published by Scholastic Press; Lee & Low Books; Greenwillow Books; Houghton, Mifflin Company; Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, and numerous others. Illustration as Visual Essay students have won awards in the following competitions: Society of Illustrators Annual Exhibition, Communication Arts, Society of Pub lication Designers Young Talent Award, Print Annual, American Illustration, 3x3.

Advanced Creative WRITING WORKSHOP I & II

History of Storytelling:Comics

Advanced Creative Writing Workshop I is structured to develop writing skills in poetry, prose and ction through readings and discussions. The goal is to explore personal expression through writing that reflects artistic concerns. The second semester will focus on poetry, writing for the theater and songwriting.
Book Seminar

This course will explore the role of the illustrator in contemporary books, primarily through lectures and slide presentations. Assignments will be based on incorporating the students artwork into a finished book that includes typography, layout and production, and other pertinent aspects.
Computer illustration portfolio I & II

This course provides an introduction to graphic media in North America, from the beginning of the newspaper comic strip through the development of comic books, the growth of graphic novels, and current developments in electronic media. Focusing on its history and aesthetics, we will compare developments in the United States, Mexico and French Canada, as well as the social and cultural contexts in which comic art is created and consumed. The first half of the semester will concentrate on early comic strips and the development of the comic book form through the 1940s. The remainder of the semester will focus on changes that affected comic art in the 1950s and 1960s, the development of a comic book subculture from the 1970s to the 1980s, and contemporary electronic media developments.
PAINTING I & II

Digital tools have become mainstream in the design and printing fields, and the Internet has evolved into a medium that enables illustrators to create interactive animations and globally accessible projects. We will investigate several aspects of digital technology, from advanced Adobe Photo shop and Illustrator techniques for print to all facets of Web design production, as well as interactive Flash animation.
critique I & II

With an emphasis on gurative painting techniques, students will explore both contemporary and classic approaches to painting with oil. The goal is to provide a solid background in oil painting techniques. Painting II focuses on an advanced approach to concepts and techniques, including direct, sustained observation of the human form. Emphasis is placed on a more fully developed or visualized painting process.
Seminar

The relationship between ne art and commercial art in dealing with the visual essay will be emphasized in these courses. Students will begin the process of developing visual essays in a limited form. There will be weekly assignments dealing with a variety of subjects related to contemporary concerns. Students will begin to incorporate the material written in the writing workshop with their artwork. The second semester will focus on the production of a one-of-a-kind book that includes text and image.
Experimental Drawing Workshop I & II

Through lectures by noted guest illustrators, political satirists, art directors and graphic designers, this seminar will explore the many specialized areas of visual commentators. The course will also include portfolio reviews from professionals working in the field.
STUDIO WORKSHOP I & II

These are not traditional drawing courses with models. The raw energy and unpredictability of drawing on location and in the classroom will be explored. Focus will be on interpreting the relationships between subjects and their environment. By keeping sketchbooks and compiling interviews, students will discover the rewards of spontaneity, receptive observation, risk-taking and drawing from intuition. In conjunction with weekly drawing sessions, both in the studio and on location, at least one narrative series assignment will be completed each semester.
Fine Arts SYMPOSIUM

These workshops will develop concepts and finished artwork in relation to the thesis project. Student work will be critiqued regularly by visiting professionals, including illustrators, art directors and gallery directors. We will address the refinement and completion of thesis projects. There will be individual and group critiques; visiting professionals will continue to view and discuss student projects.
THESIS PROJECT: VISUAL ESSAY I & II

Illustrator, painter Education: BFA, Pratt Institute Publications include: The New York Times; Urban Journal; Politiks; The Nation; Esquire; Playboy; Psychology Today; Omni; Sports Illustrated; Time; Rolling Stone; Penthouse; Communication Arts; Mother Jones; Boston Globe; Texas Monthly; Graphis; Illustration, Tokyo; Creative Review, London Books Include: Frozen Images, Art of the Times, Artists Christmas Cards, Images of Labor, Fitchers Bird One-Person Exhibitions include: Guang Dong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China; Museum Masters Collection; General Media Gallery; Creation Gallery, Tokyo; York Gallery; Corridor Gallery; Sindin Galleries; Kutztown Museum, PA; Kamikaze; Visual Arts Museum; Images of Labor, District 1199, New York, traveling exhibition, Smithsonian Institution; Galerie Philippe Guimiot, Belgium; Harcourts Gallery; Parco Galleries, Tokyo Group Exhibitions include: Allan Stone Gallery; Castelli Gallery; Brooklyn Museum; Muse des Arts Dcoratifs, Louvre, Paris; 7th International Poster Biennale, Poland Collections include: American Museum of Contemporary Art, Smithsonian Institution, Brooklyn Museum Awards and honors include: Gold Medal, Society of Publication Designers; Silver Medal, Society of Illustrators; Teacher of the Year Award, American Artist; Hamilton King Award, Society of Illustrators; Distinguished Educator of the Year, Friends of Young Artists Award, School Art League of New York; Distinguished Educator in the Arts Award, Society of Illustrators; Honorary Doctorate in Art, Cincinnati Academy of Art; Honorary Doctorate, Maryland Institute College of Art; AIGA; Graphis Annual, Graphis Poster Awards; Art Directors Club; Communication Arts Annual; Print Casebooks Web site: www.marshallarisman.com

Marshall Arisman, chair

Gregory Crane
Painter
Education: BFA, University of Utah One-Person Exhibitions include: Cheryl Pelavin Fine Art, Edward

Thorp Gallery, Daedalus Fine Art, East 7th Street Gallery


Group Exhibitions include: Southeast Center for Contemporary

Art, Winston-Salem, NC; Museum of the City of New York; Museum of Fine Art, Boston; Indianapolis Museum of Art; Arno Art Museum, Elmira, NY; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Whitney Museum of American Art; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; P.P.O.W. Gallery; Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago; Fay Gould Gallery, Atlanta; Arts Club of Chicago Publications include: The New York Times, ARTnews, Newsweek, Art in America, Bomb honors include: MacDowell Colony Fellowship

An examination of the role of the figurative artist in the contemporary fine art world is the focus of this course. Guest speakers will lecture and show slides of their work as well as discuss their creative processes. Students will visit galleries and museums on a weekly basis and keep a journal of critical analysis for each exhibition.

Students choose a New York City artist as their thesis faculty advisor. They work with the thesis advisor on a one-to-one basis and establish a work schedule to research, write and visualize the thesis project. Topics with special visual essay interest in a variety of areas such as sports, politics, current and cultural events, education and travel are emphasized. Students will participate in a group exhibition at the end of the second semester.
Thesis Review I & II

Writer, art historian. Formerly, editor in chief, CPMManga, NYC Education: BA, MA, PhD, Columbia University Books authored or co-authored include: The Will Eisner Compan ion; Faces of Eternity:Masks of the Pre-Columbian Americas; Pre-Columbian Art from the Ernst Erickson Collection at the American Museum of Natural History; The Festival Cycle of the Aztec Codex Awards and honors include: Institute for Advanced Study Fellow ship, Princeton University; Newberry Library, Center for the History of American Indian Fellowship; Dumbarton Oaks, Harvard University Fellowship

N. C. Christopher Couch

Fine artist, illustrator Education: BFA, Parsons School of Design; MFA, School of Visual Arts Clients include: Franklin Library; Ballantine Books; Avon Books; The New York Times; Little, Brown and Company; Lyons &Burford Publishers; Union Bank of Switzerland; American Health Foundation; Dow Jones &Company; Cline, Davis, Mann Publications include: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, UCLA Magazine, Travel &Leisure, Redbook, New Woman, Seventeen, Business Week, South Beach Awards and honors include: Communication Arts Illustration Annual, American Illustration, Society of Illustrators, Graphic Design USADESI Award

Carol Fabricatore

Thesis review is a series of weekly, individual meetings with the department chair for critique and review of the thesis project. These meetings supplement the work in the Thesis Project:Visual Essay courses.

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Thesis Faculty

In the second year, students choose a thesis faculty member. Past thesis faculty include:

Graphic designer; illustrator; owner, Mirko Ilic Corp. Formerly, art director, Time (international edition); art director, The New York Times Op-Ed page; partner, Oko & Mano, Inc. Education: School of Applied Arts, Zagreb Awards and honors include: Society of Illustrators; Art Directors Club; Society of Publication Designers; I.D.; Society of News paper Designers; vice president, New York chapter, AIGA

Mirko Ilic

Carl Nicholas Titolo


Painter
Education: School of Visual Arts One-Person Exhibitions include: Galerie Sumers, Moravian

Guy Billout illustrator Nicholas Blechman designer/art director Tomek Bogacki childrens book illustrator Steve Brodner illustrator Paul Buckley creative director, Penguin Putnam Pat Cummings childrens book illustrator Peter de Seve illustrator Diane Dillon childrens book illustrator Leo Dillon childrens book illustrator Teresa Fasolino illustrator Donato Giancarlo illustrator Judith Glantzman painter Yumi Heo childrens book illustrator Mario Hugo illustrator Francis Jetter printmaker, illustrator Maira Kalman illustrator

Viktor Koen illustrator, designer Judith Linhares painter Ruth Martin painter Marvin Mattleson painter Keith Mayerson painter David Mazzucchelli cartoonist Peter McCarty childrens book illustrator John Nickle childrens book illustrator Gary Panter cartoonist

John Parks painter Brian Pinkney childrens book illustrator Jerry Pinkney childrens book illustrator Lauren Redniss illustrator Edel Rodriguez illustrator Stephen Savage illustrator Gae Savannah painter Yuko Shimizu illustrator Peter Sis childrens book illustrator

Ward Sutton cartoonist Jillian Tamaki illustrator Anton Van Dalen painter Ricccardo Vecchio illustrator Voltaire animator Bruce Waldman printmaker/illustrator Sam Weber illustrator Philamona Williamson painter

College, Terry Dintenfass, Karen Lennox Gallery


Group Exhibitions include: Butler Institute of American Art,

Illustrator, designer Education: BFA, Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design; MFA, School of Visual Arts One-Person Exhibitions include: Fraser Gallery, Washington, DC; Astrolavos Gallery, Athens; Slovak National Museum, Bratislava; Photography Center of Athens; LeVall Gallery, Novosibirsk, Russia; Eirmos Gallery, Thessaloniki, Greece; International Month of Photography, Fillipoupolis, Bulgaria; Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles; Viridian Artists, Inc.; SGazi Exhibition Complex, Athens; Paratiritis Gallery, Thessaloniki, Greece; The Chapel Gallery; Mary Anthony Galleries Clients inCLude: Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, Penguin, Random House, Money, Fortune, Forbes Awards and honors include: First Prize, Digital Hall of Fame, Stockholm; EVGE First Prize Award, Athens; First Prize, Viridian Gallery Eleventh National Juried Exhibition; Society of Publication Designers; International Digital Art Awards, Melbourne; Kounio/ Hasselblad Award; New York Festivals Award; Award for Excellence, American Design magazine

Viktor Koen

Youngstown, OH; Minnesota Museum of Art; Martin Sumers Graphics; Snug Harbor Cultural Center; Delaware Art Museum; Mulvane Art Center, Topeka; Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock; Whitney Museum of American Art, Downtown Branch; Rosemont College; Visual Arts Museum; Columbus Museum of Art, OH Collections include: Cranbrook Institute; Arkansas Art Center; Detroit Institute of the Arts; Mulvane Art Center, Topeka Awards and honors include: Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters; Gladys Emerson Cook Prize, National Academy of Design

Mary Jo Vath
Painter
Education: BFA, Stephen F. Austin State University; MFA, School

of the Art Institute of Chicago Publications include: The New York Times, U.S. Art, Contemporanea, New Art Examiner, Star Tribune One-Person Exhibitions include: Winston Wachter Fine Art, Edward Thorp Gallery, P.P.O.W. Gallery Group Exhibitions include: National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC; Rosa Esman Gallery; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Bronx Museum of the Arts Awards and honors include: Rome Prize for Painting, MacDowell Colony Fellowship, Yaddo Fellowship

Lieserl; Mary Cole


Publications include: Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times,

David Sandlin

BN.com, Insider
One-Person Exhibitions include: Museum of Fine Arts, Santa

Printmaker, cartoonist, painter Education: BA, University of Alabama


One-Person Exhibitions include: Printed Matter; Life Cafe; White

Columns; McIntosh/Panich Gallery, Atlanta; Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago; Un Regard Moder ne, Paris; Sai Gallery, Tokyo Publications include: Raw, Snake Eyes, The NewYorker. Reviews include: Artforum, Art in America, The Village Voice, The New York Times, Print Collectors Newsletter Awards and honors include: New York Foundation for the Arts, Swann Award for Excellence in Cartooning, Nexus Press, P.M. Foun dation

Fe; Bryn Mawr College, PA; Judah L. Magnes Museum, Berkeley CA; Arlene LewAllen Gallery, Santa Fe; Scottsdale Center for the Arts, AZ; Bronfman Museum, Montreal; Art Museum of South Texas Collections include: National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC; Albuquerque Museum; Grey Art Gallery, New York University; New York Public Library; Astor, Lennox and Tilden Founda tions; The Armenian Patriarch, Jerusalem; Hebrew Union College Skirball Museum, Los Angeles Awards and honors include: National League of American Pen Women, National Endowment for the Arts, Xerox Foun dation, Western States Arts Federation, Santa Fe Council for the Arts, AIGA, Art Directors Club

Contact Us

Principal and senior designer, The Chopping Block, Inc. Education: BFA, The Cooper Union Clients include: Nickelodeon, Barnes & Noble, Microsoft, Miramax, CNN Interactive, Lego, Adobe, Phish, Warner Bros., Turner Classic Movies, National Geographic

Matthew B. Richmond

Michele Zackheim
Writer, artist
Education: BA, College of Santa Fe Books: Violettes Embrace; Einsteins Daughter: The Search for

Tel: 212.592.2210 Fax: 212.366.1675 E-mail: mfaillustration@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/illustration


We strongly encourage applicants to visit our department prior to submitting application materials. Come to our Departmental Information Session, or contact us directly to schedule a tour. Departmental Information Session: Saturday, November 7, 2009, 2 4 pm To register for a departmental information session, please visit our Web site or contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at: gradadmissions@sva.edu.

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XX Redefine and re-envision what design means in the context of everyday interaction XX Interdisciplinary curriculum includes research, human-computer interaction, interface design and more XX Faculty comprisesd of most exciting designers and thought leaders in the industry

Interaction design creates the opportunity for meaningful user experiences. As a discipline, it shapes those experiences that sit at the intersection of user needs, business goals and technology. As a discourse, it defines a vocabulary for a growing number of relationships across mediaamong people, products and environments. The mfa in Interaction Design at the School of Visual Arts is an inventive two-year program that trains students to research, prototype and design interactive products and services that culminate in meaningful user experiences. Developing the context for these experiences requires students to intimately understand how design can affect human behavior, and to think more holistically about business models for the products theyre creating. With an equal emphasis on theory and practical application, students study and evaluate what design means in the context of everyday interactions.

mfa Interaction Design brings together the studies of interaction design and business to provide
students with strategies to prepare them for working in todays market. An interdisciplinary curriculum engages components that are central to our definition of interaction design: user research, humancomputer interaction, graphic design, business strategy and innovation, information architecture, interface design and physical and ubiquitous computing. With an equal emphasis on theory and practical application, students study and evaluate what design means in the context of everyday interactions. The program seeks to cultivate interaction design as a discipline and further its visibility as a community of practice. Through open lectures in the studio and joint experiments with the New York City community, the program becomes a model and center point for interaction design in the City. Program faculty comprises the professions most exciting designers and thought leaders who culminate their professional days by teaching graduate courses in the program in the evenings. The mfa in Interaction Design is a professionally focused program aimed on training graduates to become practicing interaction designers, entrepreneurs and senior thought leaders within designforward organizations worldwide. Upon graduation, our students will be prepared to engage in strategic decision-making involved with the creation of interactive products and services, and will be equipped with tools and methods to make smart strategic choices both for design and for the market.

Liz Danzico, chair

MFA Interaction Design


www.sva.edu/grad/interactiondesign
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Recently, the Dot Dot Dot lecture series was held on the Lower East Side, in the White Rabbit lounge on Houston Street.

Idea Exchange: Connecting the Dots

Rachel Abrams, faculty in the MFA Interaction Design Program, is a design consultant for clients ranging from The New York Times to The Queens Museum of Art. Abrams was guest lecturer in the Dot Dot Dot Lecture Series that has heralded the Interaction Design Programs opening. The monthly series, started in fall of 2008, is meant for broad explorations of interaction design, business, and aesthetic inspiration with the goal of creating a community around topics. With a theme in mind, 125 participants gather to hear practitioners and thought leaders give short talks in an informal settinga bar in the Lower East Side where attendance is free, but space is limited. Wisdom is revealed and methods are shared in an environment intended to satisfy both social and scholarly pursuits. We caught up with Rachel after her lecture, part of and evening themed The Urbanists, to talk more about the new program.
How would this program be different if it had been founded 10 years ago? What makes it distinct today?

Given how relevant it is to and reflective of the evolving character of the interaction profession, it would have had a different agenda.In the late 90s, it might have been all about the installation of the Web, the emergence of the cell phone, or the arrival of data on cell phones. Back then, its faculty might have trained in pre-digital design methods and might have been making that pioneering transition out of other specializations, giving the field of interaction design its formative character. Today's program's faculty is just as interdisciplinary and specialist as early pioneers, but as 30 to 50-year-olds, we are mostly drawn from an in-between generation who grew in a time that was optimistic about technology. We were tv-centric, but before digital media, the Internet, mobile phones and e-mail; before design had shifted from a vocational profession with its mid-century style icons to a post-industrial service-sector gig. We came of age through this fast-paced information revolution and weve been working in its midst, shaping the discipline as it impacts print, publishing, architecture, the public sector and exhibit design. The students we teach have already lived their lives online, and the issues they address are ones we can't necessarily predict, so we prepare them with skills, experience, and values to take them on.
What is the number one thing you'd like to impart to your students?

Design is a verb, a process, an approach and a way of applying creative talent to produce effective outcomes. Its as much about agency, strategy, decision-making responsibility, fun, rigor, risk, purpose and producing seamless results that don't reveal your involvement, as it is about styling, trends, coloring in, fancy furniture or fame.

Chloe Gottlieb, faculty member and VP of Interaction Design at R/GA, prepares for her lecture, Right Experience, Right Time, Right Context.
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The monthly lecture series, started in fall of 2008, is meant for broad explorations of interaction design, business, and aesthetic inspiration with the goal of creating a community around topics. Participants gather to hear practitioners and thought leaders give short talks in an informal setting.

Nick Bilton, design integration editor at The New York Times, speaks with Liz Danzico, chair, before a lecture.

Speakers at the Dot Dot Dot lectures give 10-minute talks on a single theme. Four speakers present each month.

chair interview

Situated on its own floor of a light-filled building in the Flatiron District, the MFA Interaction Design department was created with the needs of interaction designers in mind. Students work individually or collaboratively in a loft-like space where they have a personal studio area for their two-year residency in the program. Student access to the department day and night, seven days per week, a secure Wi-Fi network, collaborative areas and walls designed for sketching all ensure that the department is a central point of collaboration. Special projects spill outside the department onto the sidewalks and streets of New York City, stretching students definition of interaction design beyond the standard thinking.

Liz Danzico
many employers had been having difficulties finding people with appropriate skills. This new curriculum attempts to fill that gap.

We have a unique opportunity to craft a program that prepares students to anticipate trends, not just react to them, so they can learn how to humanize the tools, technology and resources around us, recalls Liz Danzico. Steven Heller, co-founder of the program, approached me after seeing a gap both in hiring professionals and in the curricula at the graduate level. Students will come away from this program prepared to solve the problems of today, but more importantly, of tomorrow. The fundamentals of the field are multi-disciplinary. Because people have been designing interactions since well before the last century, the field gets associated with many other areas. While the more contemporary discipline has its roots in industrial design, cognitive psychology and interface design, people tend to associate it with Web design, mobile design, and application designfields that depend on tech nology. Interaction design doesnt have to rely on technology, although technology very often plays a role. What is inherent, however, is collaboration, as were not just concerned with human-to-computer interactions, but the entire product development process and its relationship to one-on-one interactions. Danzico notes how many potential students have contacted the department directly. Traditional methods of communication are being used alongside of less conventional social networks. The lecture series has also facilitated a community of students and encouraged a different format of communication with the department. She considers the ideal mix of students for the incoming class: Id like the 15 students to come from 15 different backgrounds. They should all come together around a human-centered design philosophy with a concern for how their work affects or might be affected by people. The programs space was designed with these particular emphases in mind. Students have their own studio space for their two-year residency, Danzico says, and while spaces can be made private, there are substantive collaborative areas for group work. Collaborative areas spill over into the classrooms, into the hallways, into the sidewalks of the City itself. Its a place intended for critical thinking and study, but equally intended for sketching, exploration and play.

On any given day...


9am Field trip: Second-year students meet at The New York Times building in midtown Manhattan for an optional private tour of the Research & Development Lab led by Nick Bilton, design integration editor. Students stop by to meet Khoi Vinh, faculty member and design director of NYTimes.com, before they head back to the department. 10am Short intensive: Mark Rettig, thought leader and founder of Fit Associates, leads the first day of an optional short-intensive on The Research That Lives, for first-year students. noon Brainstorming session: Second-year students on the lecture committee meet over an informal lunch to brainstorm upcoming visiting lecturers they plan to extend invitations to for the Dot Dot Dot lecture series. 12:30pm Brown-bag lunch: First-year students meet at Smart Design for an informal discussion about required skills for interaction designers led by Ted Booth, interaction design practice leader. 1pm Trend analysis: Second-year students meet trend analyst Sem Devillart in Williamsburg with their cameras to photograph found graffiti for a clustering exercise as part of an examination of trends for their Thesis Development course. 2pm Physical Computing course: First-year students meet with Robert Faludi to learn programming off-the-screen, building networked objects that can communicate with one anothere.g., clothes that can communicate with computers. 9pm Brainstorming: First-year students prepare strategies for the upcoming weekends UX Zeitgeist Hack Day, a partnership with Rosenfeld Media, publisher of user experience books. 6pm Guest lecturer Dan Saffer, visiting from San Francisco, gives a visual and interactive presentation to all MFA Interaction Design students (and outside attendees who have RSVPed in advance) on the role of gestural interfaces in interaction design based on his most recent book, Designing Gestural Interfaces. Following the talk, students have the opportunity to ask the lecturer questions about the founding of his recently formed firm, Kicker Studio, and to get to know other influential attendees. Presentations are live-streamed online so that those not attending can benefit. 3pm Students take a break to browse internship opportunities on the department Web site. Meanwhile, Liz Danzico, chair, follows up with various internship possibilities for the following semester. Allegra Burnette, creative director, Digital Media at MoMA , inquires about internship possibilities with students. Caitlin Lillie, recruiter at HUGE Design in Brooklyn follows up about possibilities for summer internships. Brian Kroski, vice president and general manager on-line at Observer Media Group, New York, asks about students interested in internships at the New York Observer Web site (Observer.com) for next fall. 5pm Break: Students break for an informal dinner in the kitchen before the evening lectures and are joined by faculty member Jake Barton, founder and principal of Local Projects, for a discussion on the intersection of physical space and interactivity.

Interaction Design

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www.sva.edu/grad/interactiondesign

Designing Public Spaces

Jake Barton, faculty member, demonstrates how visitors can explore the city with the official NYC Information Center, which his firm, Local Projects, designed as a collaboration with WXY Architecture and Urban Design.

The Program In the mfa Interaction Design program, students work both individually and collaboratively on the practical application of the concepts and methods that the program advances. Over the course of study, students will produce a wide range of conceptsfrom low-fidelity sketches to high-fidelity prototypes and applications. The diversity of the curriculum is complemented by individual and collaborative spaces that are intended to simulate a working design studio. In addition, our faculty comprises top practitioners in the field, bringing rich and varied backgrounds and real-world experience. In the first year, students learn the concepts and methods of interaction design, starting with an understanding of people and the environments that drive their needs, goals and experiences. Course materials consider these social constructs and human experiences as the basis for approaching problems across media. During the second year, students apply the concepts and methods from the first year of study to shape their thesis projects. It is in the second year that students develop deeper business acumen through coursework and direct relationships with New York organizations. Optional summer internships with top design studios and companies are available between the first and second years for credit toward the thesis project. Degree candidates must successfully complete 60 credits, including all required courses, with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0. A residency of two academic years is required. In the nal semester, each student is required to complete a thesis project, which must be reviewed and approved by the thesis committee and the department chair in order for the student to be eligible for degree conferral.

Course Descriptions

Communicating Design

Designing for Good

Centuries worth of design principles are based on predictable constraints of physical media, but how does the unpredictable nature of designing for the screen affect those principles? This course looks at the impact our creative choices in typography, color and layout have on the way we interact with screen-based design on the Web, mobile and more. Emphasis is placed on advanced techniques in constructing meaningful, responsive and contextual layouts across media. Students research, design and test their creations to inform further iterations of their ideas.
Content Strategy

People talk a lot about good design but they dont talk much about its responsibilities. What are the social responsibilities of a designer, and how much impact can designers have? This project-based course encourages students to spread ideas through interactive technology. We will use New York City as a project background to explore how design can move socially responsible ideas forward.
Designing the Conversation

Sample Programs first year


FALL SemesterCredits SPRING SemesterCredits

Communicating Design  Designing the Conversation Fundamentals of Physical Computing History of Interaction Design Interaction Design Fundamentals Lecture Series Strategic Innovation in Product/Service Design Strategies in Design Practice

3 1 3 1 3 0 3 1

Design in Public Spaces Designing for Good  Entrepreneurial Design Information Visualization Narrative and Interactivity Prototyping User Experiences Research Methods Thesis Preperation

1 1 3 3 1 3 3 0

The Web has made everyone a publisherand content is a critical component of user experience. This course will explore content development as an aspect of creating user experiences, and will pay particular attention to its relationship to information architecture. Students will examine different approaches to audio video and especially text, exploring ways that content can improve user experience (while looking out for legal and copyright pitfalls). We will also address the basics of content management and examine how to develop a large-scale editorial strategy that can be used to guide the creation of Web sites with millions of pages.
Design and the Service Experience

A fundamental shift is going on in design: control is passing from designers to design consumers, and its changing the way we practice our craft. Now more than ever, design consumers are demanding control over the way design solutions look, behave, respond to their needseven how design is delivered. The very patterns for consumption are evolving quickly and unpredictably. This course will examine this transformation in the role of designers. What is the nature of this change? Is it temporary or evolutionary? Can it be reconciled with traditional design values?
Entrepreneurial Design

second year
FALL SemesterCredits SPRING SemesterCredits

Throughout our lives, we encounter services that span industries as varied as health care, banking, transportation and retail. In fact, the service sector makes up nearly 70 percent of the U.S. economy, yet frustrating service experiences still abound. This course will examine the increasing need for the improvement of services and the development of service innovations. Working individually and in groups, students will address the challenges and opportunities in designing for the service sector through methods such as blueprinting, service enactment and front- and back-stage processing. By employing these methods in combination with interaction design approaches, students will be able to gain an understanding of service ecologies and learn to choreograph human-centered, responsive and memorable services.
Design in Public Spaces

Building on topics of design processes, this studio course will focus on needs analysis, framing, prototyping, iteration and collaboration in an applied context. Each student will choose a client, as well as engage in semester-long projects that bring together business goals, user needs and technology.
Ethics and Professional Practices

Creative business practices, ethical standards and effective networking are the cornerstones of this course. Through studio tours, students will observe examples of successful practice. Case studies will illustrate the importance of creating viable and responsible business models.
Fundamentals of Physical Computing

Design and the Service Experience  Design Management  Interface Design Beyond the Screen Thesis Development

3 3 3 6

Content Strategy  Ethics and Professional Practices  Selling Design  Thesis Presentation 

3 3 3 6

Interfaces are embedded in nearly every aspect of our daily livesfrom grocery shopping to banking to reading books. How can we integrate technology with the physical world to create better interfaces and more useful, playful and meaningful experiences? This course explores how interaction design fundamentals apply to physical spaces by surveying branded environments, retail stores, museums, urban settings and corporate venues with specific user goals and design considerations in mind.
Design Management

This course explores the fundamentals of extending computation beyond the glowing screen and into the physical world. Using a programmed single-chip computer, students will learn how to connect sensors, actuators and indicators to create devices, installations and environments that move computational interaction outside the box. Our focus is on people rather than on devices. We will consider how the human mind is affected by physicality in all environments. By making a hands-on exploration of reactive, expressive, interactive and embodied behaviors, students learn to observe users, understand affordances and move seamlessly from digital processes to tangible actions. Course work is done individually in weekly technique labs and in groups for longer creative assignments.
History of Interaction Design

Once a product or service is designed, it needs to be managed. Whether as an entrepreneur, a design consultant, or an in-house designer, integrating the creative and business sides is rarely easy. This course will illustrate how to mediate between the two, empowering students to merge the design and business aspects effectively. We will examine design in its real-world, contemporary contexts (rather than silos such as product design, Web design or mobile design) to realize its broad potential and reach.
Interaction Design 154 155

Many of the principles of interacting with computers are so familiar to us that we dont stop to think how they came to be that way. In this course, well discuss how people adapted to these thinking machines, learn about many of the innovators who defined how we interact with computers today, and explore how, over time, weve changed the way computers work so they better meet our needs. We will start by looking at the earliest computers and devices, and then explore the evolution of the command line interface, the graphical user interface, mobility, hypertext and hypermedia, and then conclude with a discussion around new and emerging interactions.
www.sva.edu/graduate/interactiondesign

Professional Opportunities
First-year MFA Interaction Design students have the opportunity to present their work in the small gallery spaces on the SVA campus. Students also present their research and work on the department Web site, where potential employers outside the City are able to see the details of student projects and collaborations. Throughout the two years, MFA Interaction Design students can engage in internships that are arranged through relationships and affiliations with the department. Graduating MFA Interaction Design students present their thesis projects at a student- and faculty-organized conference and show at the SVA Theatre. This event, open to the public, is an excellent opportunity for the students to engage the community in a dialogue about the work theyve been doing in the program and their career interests beyond graduation.
Information Visualization

Faculty

Narrative and Interactivity

Strategies in Design Practice

A well-told story transcends any particular medium, and at a very basic level, defines a satisfying interaction. The study of narrative offers designers a tool for exploring the user journey and understanding that journey from different perspectives. This course will explore aspects of narrative such as plot, setting and point-of-view, and train students to use narrative as a way to frame and evaluate interactions.
Prototyping User Experiences

This course allows students to examine problems across space, time and location by understanding the methods needed to develop a range of complex data visualizations and information graphics. By the end of the course, students will have the skills to conduct a rigorous examination of the choice of models and their place in the applied practice of interaction design.
Interaction Design Fundamentals

Through a series of themes, this course will explore diverse disciplines, both historical and theoretical, to demonstrate how these themes shape contemporary practices in interaction design. Beginning with the core interactions of the body manifested in dance, language, music, art and architecture, continuing to the psychological and sociological ideas that have shaped how we interact with one another, through the inventions and technologies that transform the human condition, the course provides context and inspiration for the practicing designer. The fundamental interaction and communication design concepts, influential people and movements, and iconic projects and designs will be addressed. By the end of the semester, students will have acquired a vocabulary and toolkit for future design challenges.
Interface Design beyond the screen

Interaction design concepts can be hard to describe. The best way to both communicate and improve your design is to prototype it quickly and often. This course examines how to integrate lightweight prototyping activities as well as some basic research and testing techniques into every stage of the interaction design process. A range of methods will be covered, from paper prototyping to participatory design to bodystorming. Students will learn how to choose the appropriate method to suit different dimensions of a design problem at different stages in the process and the pitfalls of each approach. The course is highly collaborative with hands-on prototyping and testing. Working individually and in teams, students will create rapid exercises, with one prototype developed or iterated each week, with the goal of evolving toward more robust ways of expressing ideas in rich interactive form.
Research Methods

Business grads are excited about design thinking, and they are onto something. As opportunity spotters, design thinking is what we, as students of interaction, do every day. In this course, the edges between thinking and doing are intentionally blurred. Together, well unpack tools for thought, identifying methods for thinking through all stages of a project, through reading, exploratory research, storytelling, and sketching. Students will be introduced to theory, expert practitioners and case studies, and have an opportunity to rehearse their own practical methods. The point is not to end up with a finished prototype; the goal is to gain frameworks through which to generate ideas, organize findings, assess implications and represent solutions. Strategy techniques will be explored for implementation in professional design practices.
Thesis Development

User experience consultant EDUCATION: BA, Pennsylvania State University; MA, Carnegie Mellon University PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Experience director, Happy Cog Studios; Formerly, senior developmental editor, Rosenfeld Media; director of experience strategy, AIGA; user experience director, Daylife.com; managing editor, Voice: AIGA Journal of Design; information architecture manager, Razorfish, Barnes & Noble.com PUBLICATIONS CONTRIBUTED TO: Adobe ThinkTank; Becoming a Digital Designer; Boxes and Arrows; Business Week; DigitAll Magazine; Field-Tested Books; Gain: AIGA Journal of Business and Design; UX Matters; Voice: AIGA Journal of Design; editor in chief, ABriefMessage.com Web site: www.bobulate.com

Liz Danzico, chair

Concepts and methods of layout, grid and typography form the foundation for constructing meaningful layouts and, in turn, effective communications. This course will explore how to create meaning through useful, usable and desirable interfaces across the complex environments of different media at different scales. Understanding basic concepts through the development of a vernacular, students will be encouraged to reinterpret concepts for interactive environments
Lecture Series

User-centered design begins, by definition, with an understanding of users. In this course, students will learn how to model interaction by conducting qualitative and quantitative research into users behaviors, attitudes and expectations. By exploring ethnographic techniques, usability testing, log analysis, surveying and other research methods, students will learn how to engage user feedback effectively at every stage of the design process. We will also address how to conduct secondary research into published literature and other sources that can inform thesis projects and beyond.
Selling Design

We are continuously introduced to new products that will make our lives easier, more efficient and more enjoyable. But how many of these products survive? Finding a product suitable for full-scale development and one appropriate for a specific audience is the aim of this course. It will assist students in researching a thesis topic and preparing for the next stage of development. The course is divided into three sections: 1) developing a research plan; 2) writing a comprehensive business plan; and 3) iterating through potential ideas. In addition, there will be seminars on the prototyping of design ideas and how to produce viable projects that will have real business potential.
Thesis Preparation

This course will assist students in developing a course of action for choosing a thesis topic or topic direction as well as a thesis advisor. The structure and presentation of the thesis proposal will also be addressed.
Thesis Presentation

Creative director, consultant, writer, interaction designer Education: Royal College of Art stone Consulting PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Creative director, Turn LLC; senior content strategist, Imagination (USA) Inc; information architect, User Experience Site Strategy and Standards, ibm.com Clients include: AIGA, American Express, The New York Times, The Economist, Queens Museum, Taxi07, Wert & Co. Publications include: Design Council, Frieze, Adobe ThinkTank, Good, Graphics International, Intelligent Life, Eye Awards include: Design Trust for Public Space Fellowship; Grand Prix and Prize for Innovation, British Interactive Media Association

Rachel Abrams

Realizing a great idea can be easy, but selling the idea can be a real challenge. This course will explore proven approaches to marketing and selling ideas. Students will learn how to be strategic in the market and crafty in their efficiency.
Strategic Innovation in Product/Service Design

Having a good idea isnt enough; the challenge is in articulating and communicating that idea clearly, effectively and in a way that your audience can hear it. This course will emphasize how to develop a polished and professional visual and verbal presentation to potential backers, colleagues and clients. The end result will be a pitch-perfect presentation of students thesis projects, including research, strategy and prototype. Students will also make presentations to the thesis committee and guest critics.

Visiting entrepreneurs, researchers, professionals and scholars will bring forward topics that inspire interaction designfrom anthropology, cognitive psychology, mathematics and music to human-computer interaction, game design and beyond. Students will take part in leading the question-and-answer session that follows each presentation. The aim is for students to understand the broader role and influence of interaction design across companies and organizations.

The design of interactive products and services differs from other forms of design in important ways. Developing the context for successful user experiences requires designers to think more holistically about the business models for the products they create: how the value proposition to customers and users unfolds over time; whats being sold and where the costs of production and management occur; and how to engage, complement and benefit from other services that intersect with what is being offered. This course will help students in becoming more effective at understanding and describing the strategic decisions involved in the creation of interactive products and services, and to equip them with tools and methods for generating innovative options and making smart strategic choices.

Founder and principal, Local Projects. Formerly, exhibition designer, Ralph Appelbaum Associates PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: clients: National September 11 Memorial Museum, StoryCorps, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Official NYC Information Center, JetBlue, National Museum of American Jewish History, Museum of the City of New York, Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, New York Historical Society EXHIBITIONS: UX Week, Gravity Free, Storefront for Art and Architecture AWARDS: National Design Award, Communications Design, ID magazine, AIGA, Clio Awards, The One Show, Communications Arts, IDSA, Applied Arts

Jake Barton

Principal, Kicker Studio Education: BA, College of William & Mary; MA, Interaction Design Institute Ivrea Professional experience: Vice president, user experience, Schematic; senior interaction designer, Fjord Design; project manager, America Online; content strategist, Scient Former Clients include: Nokia, ABC, CondeNet, Reuters, Yahoo!, BBC, Vibe, Spin, American Express Publishing, Prada, Gucci Exhibitions include: Bu.net, Turin; Salone del Mobile, Milan; Fabbrica Europa, Florence; Next 2004, Copenhagen; Victoria & Albert Museum, London
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Jennifer Bove

Interaction Design

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Professional Faculty
Alex Wright, (right) faculty member, working with a colleague in his role as director of User Experience Research at The New York Times.

Graphics director, NYTimes.com Education: BA, University of Notre Dame Professional Experience: Deputy graphics director, The New York Times; science graphics editor, The New York Times; design director, Interactive News, Chicago Tribune Publications Include: The New York Times, The New Yorker, Information graphics for: 102 Minutes by Kevin Flynn and Jim Dwyer, City in the Sky By Eric Lipton and James Glanz Awards Include: Society of Publication Designers, American Institute of Graphic Arts, Society for News Design, Society of Professional Journalists

Steve Duenes

Author; associate editor, Harpers Magazine Education: BA, Alfred University Professional experience: Content consultant, Ai; senior writer, information architect, brand strategist, Doublespace Former Clients include: PinkSheets, McKinsey Consulting, Yamaha, DuPont, Graco/RubberMaid, JPMorgan Chase, MasterCard, KeySpan, XML.com, Citibank, Hewlett-Packard, Weight Watchers, KPMG Author: Gary Benchley, Rock Star Web site: www.ftrain.com

Paul Ford

Tamara Giltsoff

Executive creative director, frog design Education: BA, Yale University; MPS, New York University Professional Experience: Director, Research & Development, Organic; @radicalmedia; Microsoft Research; Edwin Schlossberg Incorporated; Time New Media; NYU Center for Advanced Technology; Fund for Modern Courts; Chermayeff & Geismar Clients Include: Barnes & Noble, BBC, Blockbuster, Bombardier, Cox Communications, General Electric, Comcast, Humana, Limited Brands, Logitech Harmony, IPC, MTV, McKinsey & Co., Nuance Communications, Nissan, Qualcomm, Showtime, SprintNextel, Thomson Financial, TV Guide, Virgin Mobile Publications Include: ID magazine, Wired magazine, the Wall Street Journal

Robert Fabricant

Independent sustainability strategist and innovation leader Education: MA, Brunel University; MSc, University of Bath Web Site: www.ozolab.com

Vice president, executive creative director of interaction design, R/GA Education: MA, New School University Professional experience: User experience lead, Razorfish, Parsons School of Design Clients include: Nokia, Nike, Verizon, Mercedes-AMG, Cond Nast, Aveda, Purina, Levis, LOral Exhibition: Creative Time Awards and honors include: Cannes Cyber Lion, One Show Interactive, I.D., Art Directors Club, CLIO, Communication Arts, HOW Interactive Design Annual Review

Chloe Gottlieb

User experience strategist; founding partner, Behavior LLC Education: BFA, The Cooper Union Professional experience: Lead information architect, IA department manager, Rare Medium Inc.; lead game designer, Wanderlust Interactive, Music Pen Clients include: HBO, BusinessWeek, Smithsonian Institution, McGraw-Hill, JPMorgan Chase, National Geographic Channel, AARP, AIGA, The Onion, CNN, XM Satellite Radio, America Online, Microsoft Awards and honors include: I.D. Interactive Design Distinction; Webby Award; Rhizome.org Net Art Commission; featured in the Whitney Museum Artport Publications: The New York Times, New York magazine, UK Design Council Magazine, Communication Arts Web siteS: www.behaviordesign.com; www.graphpaper.com

Christopher Fahey

Phi Hong D. Ha

Interaction design and strategy consultant. Formerly, senior user experience designer, Method; Ultra16, Ruder Finn Interactive, Concrete Media Education: MD, Carnegie Mellon University Web Site: www.pdh3.com

Resident researcher, Interactive Telecommunications Program, New York University Education: BA, Oberlin College; MA, MPS, New York University Clients Include: Match.com, Salon, Gap, Visa, Lonely Planet and American Eagle Outfitters Web Site: www.faludi.com

Robert Faludi

Senior partner, Bond Art + Science Education: BA, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Professional experience: Vice president, national lead for user experience, Avenue A / Razorfish Clients include: The New York Times, Fast Company, The Atlantic, Cond Nast, Nielsen Media Research, Walt Disney Internet Group, New York Public Library, Encyclopedia Britannica, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Federal Reserve Bank Publications include: Gain: AIGA Journal of Business and Design; Kairos: A Journal for Teachers of Writing in Webbed Environments Books include: Technical Communication and the World Wide Web; Inventing a Discipline: Rhetoric Scholarship in Honor of Richard E. Young Awards and honors include: Webby Award, The One Show, Society for Technical Communication Web sites: www.bondartscience.com; www.coolhunting.com

Karen McGrane

Interaction Design

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Guest Lecturers

Principal designer, frog design Education: BA, Ohio State University Clients Include: Comcast, Cox Communications, MTV/VH1, Showtime, Sprint, Compaq, Fannie Mae, Federated Department Stores, Panasonic, Reebok Tommy Hilfiger

Joshua Musick

Associate creative director, frog design CLIENTS: Barnes & Noble, Virgin Mobile, Audi Germany, XM Radio, TV Guide, Cox Communications Wireless Group, Logitech Harmony Remotes

Clay Wiedemann

Jen Bekman founder/curator, Jen Bekman Gallery + 20200 Nick Bilton design integration editor, user interface specialist, The New York Times and The Times Research & Development Lab Tom Bodkin design director, The New York Times Andy Budd founding partner, Clearleft Allegra Burnette creative director, Digital Media, The Museum of Modern Art Brendan Dawes creative director, magneticNorth Elisabeth M. De Morentin educator

Jeff Hoefs Smart Design Robert Hoekman Jr. founder, Miskeeto Gary Hustwit director, Helvetica, Objectified Sunmee Kim Innovation & Design, Motorola Inc. Phil Kline composer, public sound artist Jason Kottke blogger, designer, kottke.org Michael Lebowitz founder, Big Spaceship Graham Marshall Innovation & Design, Motorola Inc.

Matt Mullenweg founder, Automattic, Inc Louis Rosenfeld founder, Rosenfeld Media Dan Saffer founder, principal, Kicker Studio Jason Severs principal designer, frog design Andrew Sloat graphic designer, videomaker Molly Wright Steenson interaction designer, design researcher Robert Tannen director of research, Bressler Group Michele Tepper principal designer, frog design

Clive Thompson contributing writer, The New York Times Magazine; columnist, Wired magazine Charlie Todd founder, Improv Everywhere Soo-in Yang founder, principal, The Living Liya Zheng experience designer, Liquidnet

Executive creative director, R/GA. Formerly, Parallel Development Education: MPS, New York University Clients include: Nike, Nokia, T-Mobile PUBLICATIONS INCLUDE: Communication Arts, Creativity magazine, FWA Site of the Day Awards include: Cannes Titanium Lion, Cannes Cyber Lion; Gold Award, Art Directors Club; Gold Award, One Show Interactive; Gold Award, CLIO Interactive; CLIO Interactive Grand; International ANDY Award; Black Pencil, D&AD; WebAward

Jill Nussbaum

Contact Us

Principal, Volumeone LLC Education: BA, University of Texas, Austin; MFA, Cranbrook School of Art Professional experience: Partner, Athletics NYC; partner, Riviera Gallery. Formerly, co-owner, One9ine; creative director, MethodFive Clients include: Ride Snowboards, Puma, Adidas, XLR8R, New York magazine, AIGA, DKNY Jeans, Good magazine, Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Ubisoft, MTV, The United Nations, Zoo York, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects Publications include: Emigre; Reload: Browser Two: The Internet Design Project; Fresh Dialogue 2: New Voices in Graphic Design; Graphic Design for the 21st Century: 100 of the Worlds Best Graphic Designers; Design for Kids from Victionary Two; Fashion Unfolding: Uncover the Power of Graphics in Fashion Web siteS: www.volumeone.com; www.athleticsnyc.com

Matt Owens

Writer, editor, digital strategist Education: BA, cum laude, Trinity University; MFA, University of Virginia Professional experience: Director of new media, AIGA; director of content strategy, Primordial; content strategist, Scient; managing editor, Adobe Think Tank; Voice: AIGA Journal of Design; Gain: AIGA Journal of Business and Design Clients include: Adobe Systems, Japan Society, Yahoo!, DuPont, Pentagram, Ogilvy & Mather Publications include: The Guardian, Salon.com, I.D., Metropolis. Co-author, Becoming a Digital Designer

David Womack

Alex Wright

Author, director of User Experience Research, The New York Times EDUCATION: BA, Brown University; MS, Simmons College PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Yahoo!, AOL, Microsoft, Macromedia, frog design, The Internet Archive and The Long Now Foundation, Phoenix Pop, IBM PUBLICATIOns include: The New York Times, Salon.com, The Christian Science Monitor, Boston Business, Harvard Magazine, The Believer, Communications of the ACM, Library Journal Web site: www.alexwright.org

Web designer and consultant Education: BA, Kutztown University Clients include: ABC, Advertising Age, AIGA, Comedy Central, LG, Miramax, W.W. Norton & Company, PBS, WordPress Publications include: Becoming a Digital Designer, Design In-Flight Awards include: Gold Star Award, Web Standards; gold and silver awards, Broadcast Designers Association; ADDY; Philly Gold Web site: www.jasonsantamaria.com

Jason Santa Maria

Director, Stategos CLIENTS: The New York Times, Nokia, BT, Telefnica, AARP EXHIBITIONS: Design Interfaces, University of California Berkeley; Towards Knowledge Building, SIGCHI; A Model of Capital Markets, Stanford University PUBLICATIONS include: Boxes and Arrows; Perspectives; Business Week

John Zapolski

Armando Diaz instructor, Magnet Theater Tina Roth Eisenberg designer, Swissmiss Studios Nicholas Felton graphic designer, co-founder, Daytum Jason Fried founder, 37signals Adam Greenfield author Steven Heller author, co-chair, MFA Designer as Author Department, SVA

Khoi Vinh

Design director, NYTimes.com Education: BFA, Otis College of Art and Design Professional experience: Co-founder, managing partner, Behavior LLC; design director, regional head, Rare Medium Inc. Publications include: The Guardian, Eye Web site: www.subtraction.com

Founder, executive creative director, Happy Cog Studios; publisher, editor in chief, A List Apart magazine. Co-founder: An Event Apart Design Conference, The Web Standards Project, Independents Day Education: BA, Indiana University; MA, University of Virginia Clients include: AIGA, America Online, Amnesty International, Advertising Age, Fox Searchlight Pictures, New York Public Library, United Nations Development Fund for Women, Warner Brothers Films Books include: Designing with Web Standards (2nd edition), Taking Your Talent to the Web Publications include: A List Apart, City Paper, Creativity, MacWorld, Photo District News, Washington Post Web siteS: www.zeldman.com; www.alistapart.com; www.happycog.com; www.aneventapart.com

Jeffrey Zeldman

Tel: 212.592.2703 E-mail: interactiondesign@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/interactiondesign


We strongly encourage applicants to visit our department prior to submitting application materials. Come to our Departmental Information Session, or contact us directly to schedule a tour. Departmental Information Session: Saturday, October 24, 2009, 2 4 pm To register for a departmental information session, please visit our Web site or contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at: gradadmissions@sva.edu.

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MFA Photography, Video and Related Media


www.sva.edu/grad/photovideo

XX Wide range of courses in traditional and digital photography, video and computerbased art XX Understand the technology, history, criticism and professional practice for success in a competitive world XX Faculty, lecturers and mentors chosen from the rich pool of New York Citys art world will inform your studies and become your network

The mfa Photography, Video and Related Media Department is dedicated to the creative practice of the lens-based arts. Noted as a top-tier program in U.S. News & World Report, our educational goals attract fine art students with diverse backgrounds from all corners of the world. Whether in documentary video, tableau photography, installation and conceptual art, or real-world-witness photography, the departments renowned faculty actively engages students in contemporary and responsible creative initiatives. Our wide range of courses, personalized attention and expansive curriculum allows each student to understand the technology, history, criticism and professional practices for success in a competitive world. From the traditional practices of photography and the moving image to the virtual realm of the circuit, we offer students the opportunity to pursue their specific interests with intense fundamental critique. Our program also includes a three-year option for non-fine arts baccalaureates needing additional courses to strengthen their studio work in order to matriculate into the two-year degree program. Located in the heart of the art world, our program draws on all of the energies and opportunities available in vibrant New York. The galleries, museums, performing arts and related agencies are active resources in our teaching, and we enlist the best talents as members of our distinguished faculty and as advisors, mentors, and lecturers. From 20th-century masters, such as Saul Leiter, to the contemporary video artist Paul Chan, to our own celebrated alumna Vera Lutter, the list of visiting artists builds a creative and professional network that supports our students upon graduation and informs their studies. Now in its 20th year, the program was founded as the first masters program engaging digital photographic practice and is now a premier fine arts program. Graduates of the program have flourished as exhibiting artists, journalists, commercial and documenting artists, curators, scholars and teachers. We believe that photography is the universal matrix for documenting the world. The complexities of

21st-century cultural relationshipsbetween and amongst photography, video, communications,


sciences and the humanitiesrequire examination and analysis in order to produce original imagery. It is the exploration of these relationships that the program strives to cultivate. We provide the critical thinking and rigor necessary for students to expand their ideas and make notable contributions to the larger visual culture. Our mission is to challenge students to define their work by bearing witness, giving testament and observing the social issues and concerns of our time.

Charles H. Traub, chair

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From Thesis to Published Page


Alumni Profile: Thomas Holton

Photographer Thomas Holton (MFA 05) received acclaim for his Lams of Ludlow Street project. Here, Holton is perched on the rooftop of an apartment building on Ludlow Street in New Yorks Chinatown, where the Lams reside. Its an angle he used frequently over the span of several years.

For emerging artistic talents, the connections they make in school are vital. Case in point: Thomas Holton, a Manhattan native, worked as a photography assistant for years before he discovered the Photography, Video and Related Media program at sva. I didnt even know you could get an mfa in photography, he jokes. Since graduating in 2005, hes now represented by the local Sasha Wolf Gallery in Tribeca and has been widely published.
How influential have the faculty been in your burgeoning career?

I still consider Charles Traub, the department chair, my mentor. He got me to focus on what I was doing, and why I was doing it. We met last week, just so I could pick his brain about what it takes to get a book published. Hes a wonderful person to bounce ideas off of. I can also show him my new work; its invaluable to have someone who can give me feedback. In that respect, hes helpful both professionally and creatively. Its positive but honest criticism.
How did you land your first break?

My thesis project, The Lams of Ludlow Street, which documents the crowded apartments of Chinatown residents, was published in Aperture magazine. Yolanda Cuomo, an art director there, had taught my book design class. We made a handmade book of our work for the thesis show. She invited the editor of the magazine to see the work, and thats how I got noticed. So only two months after graduating, I got the call that they wanted to publish it. I was flabbergasted.
How did you deal with critiques in the program?

I studied anthropology in undergrad, so I never studied art or earned a bfa before entering the program. Since I was self-taught, I was always stuck in a creative bubble before entering sva. You always think your work is good when no one else is viewing it independently. But now that Im out of school, I dont get critiqued as much anymore. Im back in my bubble. Thats why I continue to see Charles once a year. I now teach at icp and a private high school, so Im getting to do a little gentle critiquing of my own. Naturally its not the same, but Im getting my students to articulate about their work. Its a way of forcing them to speak.
Looking back, what was the most important thing you learned while in the program?

Keep making work. I always try to remember why at age 15 I first picked up a camera and started shooting in the first place. To me, you have to be true to the work and not worry about critical reaction. I believe that good work will eventually be seen.

Holton worked hard to earn the trust of his subjectsshooting over a period of three years in order to capture them in such an intimate environment. Here, he shoots Steven Lam, the father of the family.

The MFA Photography grad even invited the Lams to his wedding in 2007. The Lams daughter, Cindy, was the flower girl. As it turns out, Holtons close friend and fellow SVA alumna, Rachel Papo(MFA 05), took the photo.

Opening Night

On the right, one of the images from Rachel Papos project Desperately Perfect, a chronicle of young Russian ballet students, can be seen at the opening of Papos show at the ClampArt gallery in Chelsea.

Papo (seen on the top left, signing a catalogue) is an Israeli photographer who graduated from the program in 2005, this exhibition also included work from her project Serial No. 3817131, which captures the lives of teenage girls that enter compulsory military service in her native country.

chair interview

Youre going to be busy here. Whether its the beginning of the week, middle, or the end, you will thrive in the vigor that is creative New York. Lectures, fellow students, exhibitions, faculty, and the scene itself are all a part of your education and New Yorks energy is your stimulus. The MFA Photography, Video & Related Media Department is one of the lens-arts world hubs, and all of its traffic is your classroom.

Charles H. Traub
anywhere to really embrace digital photography, hence related media.

Were in our 20th year, says Charles Traub, but were still a forward-thinking department. When David Rhodes first called me into his office and showed me the original plans for the department, I suggested revising them straight away, because I understood that photography was going to be a digital medium. In fact, one of the great strengths of the school in general has been Davids recognition of the power of the computer. Thats been influential since early on. So, we became the first department I remember that once, shortly after Photoshop had been introduced, James Bailey came in, Traub relates. He was one of the pioneers of parallel computing at mit. He asked the audience how many people knew Photoshop, and no one did because it had only been out a year or so. He claimed that
Photographic education only matured about 30 or 40 years ago, but at this point I think were one of the most mature programs of its kind in the world.

all creativity would be connected to Photoshop before too long. That shook the audience, but the rest is history. Were a digitally minded culture, and this program has acknowledged that since day one. That said, Traub continues, the primary focus is still the lens. The issue is what can be said with the lens through new media. Still, the history of photography, the history of art, and theories and issues in creative practice are also at the core of what we do. We try to get each student to think about and with the camera and what they can say with it. Students must understand that artmaking is about ideas, not careerism. And when they leave, theyre really educated people, regardless of whether they want to be artists, documentarians, or commercial photographers. The department is large, Traub explains, though a third of our students are Graduate Students at Large, a three-year program that allows them one year to make up specific undergraduate work. Many of them end up being among our most talented and developed graduates. Our graduates have been immensely successful, especially over the past ten years. We have produced some wildly successful editorial, social documentary, video and commercial artists. There are also a great number of our graduates show ing at major galleries in Chelsea and venues throughout the world. Photographic education only matured about 30 or 40 years ago, but at this point I think were one of the most mature programs of its kind in the world. Over 30 years, Traub points out, excitedly, weve also had an amazing list of teachers. Theres really no one teaching here who isnt a world-class artist or photographer. In the course of a week, more talent comes through our doors than comes through most other schools in the country in a year. This semester alone weve had Paul Chan, Saul Leiter, Vera Lutter. Today we had Adou, a rising star of Chinese photography. That just happened out of the blue. And Lorna Simpsons coming tomorrow. I field four or five calls a week from well-known people asking to teach. I could have my pick, but I also have a loyal, committed, first-rate faculty.

On any given day...


10am Charles Traub meets with Adam Bell, Student Advisor, to discuss thesis advisors: Tina Barney, Elisabeth Biondi, Elinor Carucci, James Casebere, Kevin Cooley, Nancy Davenport, Mark Dion, Sally Gall, Simen Johan, Ken Kobland, Brian Palmer, Jennifer Reeves, Kathy Ryan, Alec Soth and Silvio Wolf. 10am 1pm Chris Callis: Laws of Light. Class discussion and demonstration about topics of his upcoming book about lighting history. Suzanne Anker, Chair, BFA Fine Arts: Photography and the Visual Arts after 1960. noon Randy West , Director of Operations, meets with Bill Hunt from Hasted Hunt to discuss future lectures about professional opportunities for graduating students. Charles Traub has a lunch meeting with Bob Shamis, former curator at the Museum of the City of New York, to discuss a proposed course about New York City as subject. 1:30 3pm Visiting Artist Lecture: Sze Tsung Leong. 3 6pm Penelope Umbrico: First-Year Critique. Charles Traub visits the class to see new student work. Students plan to attend the Luigi Ghirri opening at Aperture on the following evening. 6pm Sarah Silver meets with students for instruction with largeformat digital back. Chris Callis offers an additional workshop in Lightroom for students. 8pm Charles Traub has dinner with Reeves Lehmann, chair, Film and Video and Animation, to discuss a forthcoming Q&A with Jessica Lange regarding her new book and film history. Ongoing through the day Thesis students submit final drafts of thesis proposals to Thesis Forms instructors, Marvin Heiferman and Mark Stafford; Lynn Shelton, alumna, submits film, Humpday, to Sundance Film Festival; Brian Palmer, alumnus, submits documentary film, Full Disclosure, to Sundance Film Festival; Ellen Grenley, internship co ordinator at MoMA , inquires about students availability for internships at the museum; Mariko Takeuchi, photography curator, confirms plans to visit the department as a Fulbright scholar; Joshua Lutz and Alice Attie phoned to inquire about teaching positions in the department. 7:30 9pm Visiting Lecturer, Vladimir Kupriyanov: faculty member of the Moscow School of Photography, discusses Russian photography in the 1980s and after the fall of communism. 6 9pm Robert Bowens Digital Design Class, tonights session working with 3D imaging.

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SVA Spaces

A student sets up a shot in an SVA studio.

The Program The mfa program in Photography, Video and Related Media is dedicated to the creative
practice of the lens-based arts, which includes video and computer-generated imaging. We encourage diversity in our student body, and welcome applicants from a wide range of educational and professional backgrounds. The program is designed for full-time study over a two- or three-year period. Degree candidates must complete at least 60 graduate credits and all course requirements, maintain a 3.3 grade point average and produce a successful thesis project in order to be eligible for degree conferral. Students proceed to each successive level of study based on yearly faculty assessments. Students personalize their program from a wide variety of electives. Certain courses in other sva graduate departments are also available as electives to qualified students. Two-Year Program: The focus of the two-year curriculum is the required Master Critique course. First-year require ments include Introduction to Digital Imaging and at least three other academic courses chosen out of three subject categories: historical perspectives, criticism and theory, and contemporary issues. The video concentration requires digital workshops, advanced craft, a critique course and other electives. Second-year students are required to take Thesis Forms I and II and focus on completing their thesis in the spring. Entry to the second year is based on successful completion of all first-year requirements and a portfolio review. Graduate Students at Large (gsal)Program: Each year, some students are offered admission to the program for three years of study, the first of which is a postbaccalaureate, or Graduate-Student-at-Large (gsal) year. Ideal for students who need or want preparation for the rigors of graduate school, the gsal year allows students to combine graduate and undergraduate courses in accordance with their needs and goals. gsal course schedules typically include: gsal Master Critique; Studio:Introduction to Digital Imaging I and II; and History of Photography. Electives may be chosen from a range of undergraduate course offerings as well as graduate-level electives for qualified stu dents. Entry to the two-year program is based on the successful completion of all requirements and a review of work.

Sample Program: Video Concentration first year


FALL SemesterCredits SPRING SemesterCredits

Criticism and Theory: Time Image Perception Studio: Digital Imaging I  Historical Perspectives:  The Lens and Visual Arts, 19501980 Studio: Video Projects Studio: Video Techniques

3 3 3 3 3

Contemporary Issues:Moving Image Colloquia Contemporary Issues:Video Culture Historical Perspectives: Issues in the Moving ImageA History of Hybrids Master Critique I Elective

3 3 3 3 3

second year
FALL SemesterCredits SPRING SemesterCredits

Contemporary Issues:  Emerging Forms of the Image Master Critique II Studio: Video Postproduction Elective

3 6 3 3

Contemporary Issues: Photography and FilmA Practical Relationship Thesis Project Elective

3 9 3

gsal Program
FALL SemesterCredits SPRING SemesterCredits

GSAL Master Critique I Modern Art Through Pop I* Social History of Photography*  Studio:Introduction to Digital Imaging I  Studio Photography I* * Course offered through the Undergraduate Division

3 3 3 3 3

Aesthetic History of Photography* GSAL Master Critique II Modern Art Through Pop II* Studio: Introduction to Digital Imaging II Studio:Introduction to Video

3 3 3 3 3

Sample Program: Photography Concentration first year


FALL SemesterCredits SPRING SemesterCredits

Criticism and Theory: Critical Reading Historical Perspectives: Photographic History  and Museum Practice Master Critique I Studio: Introduction to Digital Imaging I  Studio: The Laws of Light and How to  Break Them

3 3 3 3 3

Contemporary Issues: Right Here, Right Now Master Critique II Studio: Digital Imaging II Studio: Looking Out Studio: Solving the Mysteries of Light

3 3 3 3 3

second year
FALL SemesterCredits SPRING SemesterCredits

Criticism andTheory:Technology of Ideas Master Critique III Studio: Digital Design and Visual Effects Thesis Forms I

3 6 3 3

Studio: Book Design for Photographers Thesis Forms II Thesis Project

3 3 9

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Course Descriptions

Contemporary Issues: Emerging Forms of the Image

Contemporary Issues: Moving Image Colloquia

Criticism andTheory: Contemporary Criticism

Even casual visits to galleries, museums, the Internet, indeed even the iPod, cell phone, or any number of visual distribution venues and devices make it evident that imagerystill and movingcontinues to grow, change and adapt as readily in the 21st century as in the 20th. This course closely considers the history, forms and implications of these changes.
Contemporary Issues: FieldWork i

This course will consist of professional presentations and workshops in topics that relate to the theory, development, production, postproduction and distribution of video. Visiting professionals will be an integral component of the course.
Contemporary Issues: Photography and Film a Practical Relationship

This course is designed to assist students in photographing subject matter of contemporary concern for social, political and public issues. Students will be guided in developing a working methodology in acquiring background research and experience for involvement in extended photographic witness and observation of external social realities. Guest lecturers will address cultural, political and economic issues. Individually or in groups, students will work on unique topics for exploration, which imply an extended commitment to the documentary processes in their broadest definition.
Contemporary Issues: FieldWork iiconferences and symposia

The integral and increasingly fluid relationship between the photograph and the moving image in contemporary arts practice will be explored in this course. Special attention will be paid to the critical and historical discourses that have shaped cinematic and photographic practice and tradition. One stream of discussion will focus around the differences and similarities between pertinent construction and production issues in duration and non-duration based media: for example, image composition, the significance of editing and the treatment of time. The relevancy of these issues to each students work and artistic practice will also be addressed.
Contemporary Issues: Right Here, Right Now

Designed to examine both general and specific areas of critical discourse, we will begin with the distinctions among commonly used terms such as history, analysis, theory, criticism and critical theory in broad, but grounded, terms. The course will also delineate the concepts of modernism and postmodernism by tracing the development of specific methodologies such as formalism, Marxism, semiotics, literary theory, structuralism and poststructuralism, deconstruction, feminism and psychoanalysis. There will be a focus on understanding the issues as an interrelated history of ideas.
Criticism andTheory: Critical Reading

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES: issues in the moving image a history of hybrids

The format of this course combines reading and classroom discussions aimed at providing critical perspectives on the issues that inform the practice of contemporary art and photography. Readings will include texts by artists, writers and theorists of the past three decades that bear upon the practice of students art-making today. Students will be required to develop a framework from these readings that is relevant to their own objectives. Discussion will be based on interdisciplinary study, screenings and exhibitions.
Criticism andTheory: Technology of Ideas

Cinema is truth 24 frames per second, remarked Jean-Luc Godard, begging the question of whether truth is an attribute of fiction or documentary. Throughout his career, Godard has blurred the presumed boundaries between so-called fiction, documentary, ethnographic, pornographic and avant-garde films. His work will be central to this course, as will the films of Andy Warhol. Well also look at work by Chris Marker, Orson Welles, Haroun Farocki, Alan Clarke, Nick Broomfield, Jonas Mekas, Yvonne Rainer, Alain Resnais, Guy Debord, Werner Herzog, Jean-Pierre Gorin, Chantel Akerman, Robert Frank and Craig Baldwin. We will devote several weeks to contemporary moving-image works that deal with issues of diaspora and statelessness.
Historical Perspectives: THE LENS AND VISUAL ARTS, 1950 TO 1980

This course is designed to assist students in thinking about their work in relation to the subject of photography within larger contemporary social, political and cultural issues. An investigation of existent conferences and symposia will direct students in acquiring background research and developing conceptual frameworks that extend beyond their own practices. Students will explore how their work might fit into topics of a specific conference or symposia chosen by the student from the perspective of ongoing research and production in their own work. They will create hypothetical abstracts and presentations for the chosen topic with a goal toward participating in, and/or facilitating, future conferences and symposia. Working individually or in groups, students will attempt to define unique topics that imply an extended commitment to photographic practice in its broadest definition. Guest lectures will address the fundamentals of conferences and symposia and their value for artists/photographers, both as event, and as a process for the development of personal work.
Contemporary Issues: The lens and visual arts 1980 to present

This course offers a forum to research and debate some of the pressing issues that affect contemporary photographers. Each week, we will concentrate on a question or a theme that is crucial to contemporary practitioners, such as: contemporary print aesthetics; the new color: the return of black-and-white; where has editorial gone?; the power of the edit; slowed down photography: roles of nostalgia in a digital era. Through lectures and readings, we will connect contemporary photography with historical precedents, and through discussions explore these connections to each students photographic practice.
Contemporary Issues: Video Culture

The history of technology is often presented as a progressive scheme inside an historical frameworkthe idea of technology as something that just keeps improving. This idea surfaces even in dystopic visions of the future, which project a society ruined by a dominant technology that is more advanced than ours. Our thoughts about technology mask the extent to which technology itself drives these ideas. This course will explore how we are subject to technology not so much physically (the slave of the machine, the prisoner in the Panopticon), as metaphysically, in the way we internalize and enact its ideas.
Criticism andTheory: TIME IMAGE PERCEPTION

The focus of this class is to map a history of contemporary art via issues in lens-based media. Photography has been central to the practice and theory of art since the 1960s; video since the 1970s. We will track some of the myriad ways that reproductive imagery and media have been incorporated into contemporary art since 1950, as well as the discourse around photographic reproduction that has been integral to postmodernism and poststructuralist theory. Artists whose work will be discussed include Robert Frank, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Diane Arbus, William Eggleston, Larry Clark, Ed Ruscha, Robert Smithson, Mel Bochner, Vito Acconci, Chris Burden, Martha Rosler, Hans Haacke, Adrian Piper, Christian Boltanski, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Gerhard Richter, Joseph Beuys and Mary Kelly, among others.
Historical Perspectives: PAST TENSE, PRESENT TENSEThemes in photography

In a media-driven society, what becomes a legend most? How do social factors, cultural institutions and consensus, as well as redefinitions of the functions of photography, video and the other visual arts, drive the interpretation and representation of images? This course will focus on the visual arts from 1980 to the present, explicating the integration of photography into the mainstream of painting and sculpture. Arranged as an investigation into contemporary issues, the pursuit of aesthetic identity will topically examine the changing status and means of imagemaking. Concepts to be explored are historical determinism, commodity culture, the blurring of boundaries, representations of memory, the clash of cultures, the new grotesque, the culture of the copy, public spectacle and private myth. The courses intention is to demarcate the roles of the artist in the real world and the ways in which artistic practice is relevant to understanding the human condition.

Students will be immersed in the modalities of video practice that have shaped currents in our contemporary cultures. Videos dominant role in documentary and public dialogue, its antecedents in film histories, and its emergence as an art/installation and multimedia performance medium will be addressed. Drawing on screenings of video works and on artists writings, we will examine the many issues surrounding contemporary video-making. Questions to be raised include: Why make video? What is at stake in a particular video? Why make it this way? Where is it intended to be shown? Where will it in fact be shown? What are the expectations of the audience and what then is the strategy of the maker?

The photographic is not a category exclusive to photography; rather, it is a condition that appears in several genres and practices that involve imagery that embraces painting, film, video, photography and more recently new forms of digital media. Above all, it is connected to a visual field where actions include cutting, framing, stopping and expanding movement. This course will examine contemporary and historic works along with theoretical writings concerned with the aesthetic, social and psychological aspects of the photographic, both still and moving.

Its a common act to compare the past with the present, but in photography it takes on special importance. In a sense, photography doesnt have a past; it was born into an industrial world that most people on the planet now share. Technologically, it was complete almost immediatelydaguerreotypes but no cave paintings, no primitivism, no battles over sacred and profane imagery. So we find deep consistencies in the outlook, techniques, assumptions and even the mysteries about photography. The questions Fox Talbot asked 150 years ago are still being asked by artists today, albeit in new languages. This course will help cure us of the myopia of the present with a longer view of photographys evolution. By looking at a variety of topicscreative communities, the road, portraiture, landscape, the street etc.we will explore the ways in which these perennial themes and subjects inform the past and present in a constant dialog. In addition to readings and discussions, guest lecturers will help us explore these topics from the perspective of their critical and professional experiences. In this course, we will look at the past with an awareness of other alternatives and learn to question the assumptions that may hinder us from appreciating the art that is emerging now.

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Historical Perspectives: Photographic History and Museum Practice

Studio: Digital Design and Visual Effects

Studio: Looking Out

Studio: Video Techniques

An examination of how museums collect, interpret and preserve photographs as art, artifacts and carriers of information. Topics will include: the evolution of the canon of photo graphic artists, which paralleled the growth of modern ism between 1910 and the 1970s; the postmodern attack on the idea of a canon in the 1980s; the museums varied responses to this attack in the 1990s. How have photography curators responded to critics, new scholarship, the escalating art market, and the shift within museum management toward marketing and entertainment? The search for answers includes examining a variety of exhibition catalogs and monographs on photographers such as Eugene Atget, Carleton Watkins, Berenice Abbott and Irving Penn, as well as thematic and multimedia exhibitions, including shows by museums and libraries. Three museum visits with curators and a tour of auction house previews are included.
Internship

An extension of the trompe loeil tradition in painting and set design, special effects involves suspending the disbelief of the spectator by tricking the eye. Students will learn to achieve seamless photorealistic effects, art-making bravura and inventive design strategies. Advanced technical issues will be demonstrated and students will be required to solve problems in image-processing and design. Skills will be taught in context with related contemporary cultural and art historical examples. Assignments are drawn from a wide range of visual effects areas, including type design, architecture, high-resolution retouching, photo-design, stereo imaging, matte-painting, anamorphosis, animation, image-warping, panoramic-panoptic viewing, package design and 3D computer graphics.
Studio:Digital Imaging I & II

When a generation of scholars and critics exposed the biases and dubious agendas of an earlier generation of celebrated photographers, writers, anthropologists and filmmakers, they turned the entire documentary pursuit on its head. Their assault may have dented our faith in the absolute truth of documentary work, but it does not diminish the importance of the pursuit. Since photographs are faithful depictions of what is in front of the camera as well as subjective abstractions, it becomes impossible to define exactly what a documentary photograph should be. Students will explore the process and possibilities of using the lens to observe, interpret and record the dynamic flow of people, places and events, and in so doing, they will define and refine their artistic voice. Black-and-white, color, still, video, digital, sound or wordstudents may use any media or approach that befits their subject and concept.
Studio: Solving the Mysteries of Light

Video is the medium of many and is a complex craft. It is demanding and constantly changing. While craft is often interpretive, it is also content-based and technical. This course focuses on craft aspects of cinematography, art direction, sound and editing. Sessions will center around demonstrations, lectures and screenings. Emphasis is placed on craft-specific assignments and critiques.
Thesis Forms I & II

Students can gain valuable professional exposure and experience through an internship project with a professional sponsor or an employer. The department advisor and department chair can assist in locating internships that are compatible with each students goals. To receive credit, students must get departmental approval in ad vance, begin the internship by the third week of the semester, and receive a positive evaluation from the sponsor/employer at semesters end.
Master Critique I, II & III

These courses will explore the theory and practice of digital imaging. The fall semester will concentrate on the use of digital cameras and flatbed and film scanners; the enhancement of images for a variety of output options will be examined. Tonal and color correction, color management, restoration and retouching techniques will be addressed. The spring semester will explore creative masking and compositing techniques to make images from multiple files and sources. The print will be the primary focus. Working with outside graphic bureaus will be discussed.
Studio:Digital Imaging I & IIMOVING IMAGE

Group critique seminars are the focal point of student activity in any given semester. Guided by prominent gures in the visual arts, and assisted by their peers, students concentrate on producing a coherent body of work that best reflects their individual talents and challenges the current boundaries of their media.
Sexuality and Representation Seminar

This course will explore the theory and practice of digital production and postproduction for the moving image. It will concentrate on specific applications including Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe After Effects, DVD Studio and Adobe Flash, as well as on traditional and Web-based distribution strategies.
Studio: The Laws of Light and How to Break Them

The goal of this course is for each student to develop a unique style. This will be achieved through discussions of photographs that students bring to class, along with an evaluation of how the lighting was achieved. There will be a lighting demonstration each session, based on student concerns. Students will also bring in photographs for which they want to emulate the lighting, along with sketches showing their best assessment of how the lighting was achieved. Through class discussion, new sketches will be developed. Assignments will be given based on the photographs brought to class and the revised lighting sketches that evolve.
Studio: Video Postproduction

In the second year, students begin their thesis preparation by formulating the central ideas that will become their thesis project. Appropriate strategies for the form, presentation and distribution of these ideas will be considered. In a highly practical way, the course considers the history and features of various visual solutions available to photographic artists, depending on their audiences and goals. Books, exhibitions, installations, interactive presentationsthe course helps students work through the questions each form raises to find appropriate answers for their own projects.
Thesis Project

The thesis project represents a unique and original vision that furthers an understanding of creative visual expression. It is the culmination of the students matriculation, suitable for public viewing, accompanied by written documentation that explains the historical precedents, evolution and generation of the project. Each student works in an integrated set of relationships with the Thesis Forms instructor, fourthsemester critique class and an outside advisor.

An analytical approach, with Lacanian emphasis, to the voyeur ism inherent in all photography. Readings, discussion and critique are involved in deciphering the influence of sexuality in image-making.
Studio: Book Design for Photographers

The photographic book as a tool for visual communication is considered in this course, which seeks to elevate the image-makers awareness of design issues through the process of creating a book. Starting with the subject matter and visual concept, the course will cover editing, photo sequencing and all aspects of design.

This course is an opportunity to learn the laws of light and to gain an appreciation of how important an understanding of light is to a photographers process. We will begin with an exploration of the physics of light in order to explain its behavior. Sessions and assignments will teach students to approach every lighting experience with confidence. The purpose is to master these concepts and to ensure effective application of this knowledge. The ability to problem solve is a crucial element when faced with challenging lighting situations. Without this understanding, it is very difficult to move beyond obvious limitations. The ultimate goal is to be able to apply these concepts and then to see all the possibilities.

How do we make a stream of audio and video material mean what we want it to mean? To what extent can we control its meaning? How much control does an artist want anyway? This course studies the grammar of image/sound sequence. There will be an equal focus on craft and critical issues connected with the practice of film and video editing. Some members of the class will work on a series of practical assignments designed to help them master established techniques as they develop individual styles and approaches; other students may be already working on projects that they wish to refine and develop in a postproduction environment. The course will be run in a critique/seminar fashion, with all students expected to participate.
Studio: Video Projects

While photography and video share many basic characteristics, they also differ in a variety of ways. For example, video is a time-based medium and an electronic technology; composition includes movement not only of the frame, but also within the frame; and the editing of images is central to the process. This course explores such considerations through assigned exercises and culminates in the production of two video projects during the semester.

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Faculty

Principal, Charles H. Traub Photography; co-founder, here is new york; consulting photographic editor. Formerly, director, Light Gallery Education: BA, University of Illinois; MS, Illinois Institute of Technology; University of Louisville represented by: Gitterman Gallery, New York One-Person Exhibitions include: Gitterman Gallery; Blue Sky Gallery; Light Gallery; Marcuse Pfeifer Gallery; Van Straaten Gallery; Art Directors Guild of New York; Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY; Chicago Center for Contemporary Photography; Alan Frumkin Gallery; J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY; Camera Work; Art Institute of Chicago; Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY Books include: Education of the Photographer, In the Still Life, In the Realm of the Circuit, An Anglers Album, Beach, The New Vision. Co-author, On the Edge: New York Waterfront; Italy Observed Publications include: Connoisseur, Fortune, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, Aperture, Afterimage, Popular Photography, American Photographer, The New Yorker Awards and honors include: New York State Council on the Arts; Hendricks Foundation Award; Illinois Art Council; Manda Grant; Olympic Arts Organization Committee; Cornell Capa Award, International Center of Photography; Brendan Gill Award; Distinguished Service Award, Childrens Aid Society; Municipal Arts Society Web Site: www.charlestraub.com

Charles H. Traub, Chair

Shimon Attie
Fine artist
Education: BA, University of California, Berkeley; MFA, San

Francisco State University; MA, Antioch University One-Person Exhibitions include: Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; Jack Shainman Gallery; Museum of Art at the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence; Cleveland Museum of Art; Numark Gallery, Washington, DC; Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco Collections include: Museum of Modern Art; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; International Center of Photography; Center for Creative Photography; Museum of Modern Art, Berlin; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC Publications include: Sites Unseen: Shimon AttieEuropean Projects; The Writing on the Wall: Projections in Berlins Jewish Quarter; Shimon Attie: Photographs and Installations; The History of Another: Shimon Attie Awards and honors include: National Endowment for the Arts; Prix de Rome; Pollock-Krasner Foundation; Ministry of Culture, Berlin; New York Foundation for the Arts

Fine artist; designer; principal, Robert Bowen Studio Education: BA, St. Lawrence University; MFA, Pratt Institute Clients include: Adobe, Disney, Kodak, Canon, AT&T, American Express, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Heineken, Bacardi, Panasonic, Sony Publications include: Cabinet, Afterimage, San Francisco Camerawork Quarterly Exhibitions include: MF Adams Gallery, Haim Chanin Fine Arts, SIGGRAPH, Vanderbilt University, Fordam University, 55 Mercer, Collective for Living Cinema, Boston Museum of Science Collections include: Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Brooklyn Museum, Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry Awards and honors include: Best Computer Graphics, Best Digital Photography, Best in Show, Kodak VIP Image Search; Gold Award, Special Effects, Advertising Photographers of America; Gold Award, International Film and Television Institute Web Site: www.bowenstudio.com

Robert Bowen

Photographer Education: BFA, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design Represented by: Art 2 Commerce, Edwynn Houk Gallery One-Person Exhibitions include: Fifty One Fine Art Photography, Antwerp; Photographers Gallery, London; Gagosian Gallery, London; Fotografie Forum, Frankfurt; Edwynn Houk Gallery GROUP Exhibitions include: Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Brooklyn Museum; Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Publications include: The New Yorker, Photo District News, The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, W, Details Awards and honors include: Ruttenberg Award, Buhl Foundation; Friends of Photography; John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship; Infinity Award, International Center of Photography; Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture Web site: www.elinorcarucci.com

Elinor Carucci

Sarah Charlesworth

Ed Bowes

Fine artist, photographer Education: BA, Barnard College


One-Person Exhibitions include: SITESanta Fe, NM; Jay Gorney

Chair, BFAFine Arts Department, School of Visual Arts; fine artist; critic Education: BA, Brooklyn College; MFA, University of Colorado, Boulder Publications include: Art Journal; Tema Celeste; Seed; M/E/A/ N/I/N/G; Leonardo; Nature Reviews Genetics; Update: New York Academy of Sciences magazine; co-author, The Molecular Gaze: Art in the Genetic Age Group Exhibitions include: Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Museum of Modern Art, Japan

Suzanne Anker

Photographer; co-founder, co-director, Visualife Photo Education Program, School of Visual Arts Education: BA, Brown University; MFA, School of Visual Arts Awards and honors include: Chairmans Honor Award, Paula Rhodes Memorial Award, School of Visual Arts; Photo District News; Aaron Siskind Memorial Scholarship Web site: www.matthewbaum.com

Matthew Baum

Video producer, director, writer Education: LeMoyne College


Film and Video Works include: Producer, Fatachee. Producer,

Curator of Photography, Solomon R. Guggen heim Museum Education: BA, with honors, Brown University; MA, New York University Curatorial works include: Family Pictures: Contemporary Photographs and Videos from the Collection of the Guggenheim Museum, Speaking with Hands: Photographs from The Buhl Collection, Rrose is a Rrose is a Rrose: Gender Performance in Photography, Marina Abramovic: Seven Easy Pieces, Solomon R. Guggen heim Museum Published essays in: Allegorie II: Video; Robert Mapple thorpe and the Classical Tradition; Performance Research; Gina Pane; Dandies: Fashion and Finesse in Art and Culture; Parkett; Veronicas Revenge: Contemporary Perspectives on Photography/ The Lambert Photography Collection; Premises: Invested Spaces in Visual Arts, Architecture, and Design from France, 19581998; Art of This Century; The Italian Metamorphosis, 19431968; Modernism, Gender, and Culture; Art/Fashion Awards include: National Endowment for the Arts, International Association of Art Critics

Jennifer Blessing

director, writer, Picture-Book; Spitting Glass; How to Fly; Better, Stronger; Romance. Director of photography, Split Britches, Two Moon July, Everglade City, Born in Flames. Writer, Nets; Oh, No, Paula; Headlands; Angles Awards and honors include: New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Jerome Foundation, New York Foundation for the Arts, Rockefeller Foundation, Art Matters Inc.; Distinguished Artist-Teacher Award, School of Visual Arts Web site: www.edbowes.org

Photographer Education: BFA, Art Center College of Design Clients include: Hewlett-Packard, IBM, BMW, Smirnoff, Honda, Kodak, Polaroid Publications include: The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Rolling Stone Awards and honors include: Best of Show, ICON Awards; Gold Award, Society of Publication Designers

Chris Callis

Modern Art; Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles; SLSimpson Gallery, Toronto; Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco; Galerie Rizzo, Paris; Interim Art, London; Xavier Hufkins, Brussels; Queens Museum of Art; The Clocktower Collections include: Museum of Contem porary Art, Los Angeles; International Center of Photography; Whitney Museum of American Art; Los AngelesCounty Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; Princeton University Art Museum, NJ; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Victoria & Albert Museum, London Awards and honors include: John Simon Guggen heim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts

Photographer Education: BFA, York University, Toronto; MFA, School of Visual Arts One-Person Exhibitions include: Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery; Photo Contemporary, Turin; OR Gallery, Vancouver GROUP Exhibitions include: First Triennial at the International Center of Photography; 25th Bienal de So Paulo, Brazil; deSingel International Arts Center, Antwerp; PROA Foundation, Argentina; Muse dHistorie de Luxembourg Publications include: The Village Voice, The New York Times, Art in America, Artforum, ARTnews, Vogue Awards and honors include: Canada Council; Paula Rhodes Memorial Award, School of Visual Arts; Ontario Arts Council

Nancy Davenport

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Fine artist, photographer Education: BFA, Rhode Island School of Design One-Person Exhibitions include: Andrew Kreps Gallery; Bronwyn Keenan Gallery; Gessellschaft Fur Aktuelle Kunst, Bremen, Germany Curatorial exhibitions include: Photography About Photography, Andrew Kreps Gallery GROUP Exhibitions include: Galerie Nelson, Paris; Andrea Rosen Gallery; Photographers Gallery, London; 303 Gallery; Center for Creative Photography Museum, Tucson Collections include: Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Whitney Museum of American Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art Awards and honors include: Aaron Siskind Foundation

Liz Deschenes

MichelleLefthersis

Fine artist; systems administrator, network/video, MFA Photography, Video and Related Media Department, School of Visual Arts Film project:An Object of No Name Group exhibitions include:Taylor Gallery, Meriden, NH; Fleetwing Gallery, Lambertville, NJ; S.S. Nova, Cincinnati; Centre for Contemporary Art, Glasgow; Sol Koffler Gallery, Providence, RI; Rhode Island School of Design, Providence; Scalo Project Space; Semantics Gallery, Cincinnati Screenings include:All Over The Place Film Festival, Video In the Raw

Filmmaker; videomaker; editor; co-founder, Dyke TV. Formerly, curator, W.O.W. Womens Film and Video Festival Education: BA, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Films include: The Most Unknowable Thing, which received best documentary award at the following:Los Angeles Lesbian and Gay Film Festival; Chicago Lesbian and Gay Film Festival; Washington DC Lesbian and Gay Film Festival; Miami Lesbian and Gay Film Festival; Silver Plaque, Chicago International Film Festival

Mary M. Patierno

Chair, MPS Digital Photography Department, School of Visual Arts; photographer; author Education: BFA, Rochester Institute of Technology; MFA, School of Visual Arts Author: Photoshop Restoration & Retouching, Photo shop Masking & Compositing; co-author, Real World Digital Photography, The Creative Digital Darkroom Web site: www.katrineismann.com

Katrin Eismann

Marvin Heiferman

Curator, writer Education: BA, Brooklyn College; Columbia University Exhibitions and Curatorial Projects: City Art: New Yorks Percent for Art Program, Center for Architecture; The Smithsonian Photography Initiative, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; John Waters Change of Life, New Museum of Contemporary Art Author: John Waters: Change of Life Books Packaged and Edited: City Art:New Yorks Percent for Art Program Awards and honors include: Whos Who in America

Art and cultural historian; critic; foreign correspondent, Art Nexus. Formerly, managing editor, Art Criticism Education: BA, Jacksonville University; MA, SUNY Stony Brook; PhD, CUNY Graduate Center Curatorial Projects: Digital98, Digital99, Digital2000, Art and Technology, Concepts with Neon, PULSE (People Using Light, Sound and Energy), The Prints of H. Daumier Author: Pop Art, A New Generation of Style; Surrealism, The Dream of Revolution; Picasso, A Modern Master. Reviews and articles in: Art Nexus, Leonardo Digital Review, Art Criticism, Art Journal, New Art Examiner, Artscanada Awards and honors include: North Carolina Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, New York United University Professors Awards Program, John Rewald Grant, Samuel H. Kress Foundation

Richard Leslie

Photographer Education: BFA, San Francisco Art Institute One-person exhibitions include: Museum of the University of Guadalajara; Gallery Abu Faizel, Nicosia, Cyprus; Taranto Gallery; Central Park Dairy; 55 Mercer Street Gallery; Camera Obscura, Tel Aviv, Israel Group exhibitions include:Laurence Miller Gallery; Gallery Onetwentyeight; Douglas Drake Gallery; Portland Art Museum, ME; Rochester Institute of Technology, NY Books include:Warwick Mountain Series; Teaching Photography, Notes Assembled Publications include:Publicsfear, Print, National Poetry Magazine of the Lower East Side Awards and honors include:John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts

Philip Perkis

Writer; critic; consultant; contributing editor, Art on Paper Education: BA, MA, Columbia University Publications include: How to Look At Outsider Art; Photographys Antiquarian Avant-Garde: The New Wave in Old Processes; Jonathan Lerman: The Drawings of an Artist with Autism; The New York Times; Art in America; Aperture; Metropolis; Surface; Raw Vision; Paper Awards include: Rhodes Scholar, Oxford University, University of Michigan and Merton College

Lyle Rexer

Collier Schorr

U.S. editor, Frieze EDUCATION: BFA, School of Visual Arts


One-Person Exhibitions include: 303 Gallery; Galerie

Drantmann, Brussels; Villa Romana, Florence; Standard Graphik, Cologne; Modern Art, Inc., London Group Exhibitions include: Center for Contemporary Art, Glasgow; Spiral/Wacoal Art Center, Tokyo; Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago; Victoria Miro Gallery, London; Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles; Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin; Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver Publications include: Harpers Bazaar, Metropolis, Artforum, Purple Fashion, Out, Frieze, Interview, Monopol. Catalogs for:Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Parkett

Creative director, Imaginary Studio Inc. Education: BFA, MFA, School of Visual Arts Exhibitions include: International Center of Photography, Visual Arts Gallery Clients include: RCA Records, Cinemax, Encyclo pedia Britannica Ltd., HBO, NBC Interactive, Levis Publications include: Print Magazine Digital Annual; contributor, Photoshop and the Web Awards and honors include: Silver Medal, Summit Creative awards, Communicator awards; Bronze Award, Best Overall Design, New Media Invision awards; Print; New Voices, New Visions

Stephen Jablonsky

Psychoanalyst; founding member and president, Aprs Coup Psychoanalytical Association; member, training analyst, Le Cercle Freudien, Paris; member, International Federation for Psycho analytic Education Education: PhD, University degli Studi, Milan; Goethe Institute, Milan; CUNY; cole Freudienne, Paris

Paola Mieli

Andrew Moore

Photographer Education: BA, Princeton University


One-person exhibitions include: Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta;

Yancey Richardson Gallery; Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH; Moscow Arts Center; Craig Krull, Los Angeles Collections include: Whitney Museum of American Art; Library of Congress, Washington, DC; Yale University; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Canadian Centre for Architecture Publications include: Inside Havana, Governors Island, Russia PRODUCER, CINEMATOGRAPHER: How to Draw a Bunny Awards and honors include: Special Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival; National Endowment for the Humanities; New York State Council for the Arts Web site: www.andrewlmoore.com

Photographer Education: BA, Pennsylvania State University; MFA, School of Visual Arts One-person exhibitions include: Yossi Milo Gallery; Henry Art Gallery, Seattle Group exhibitions include: Muse de lElyse, Lausanne; Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA; Third Millennium Foundation; Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, NJ; Longview Museum of Fine Arts, TX; Contemporary Museum, Baltimore collections include: Muse de lElyse, Lausanne; Norton Museum, West Palm Beach; Progressive Art Collection, Cleveland; Fortunoff Collection; Jaeger-LeCoultre Collection, Le Sentier, Switzerland book: Jazz Guide New York City Publications include: Photo Magazine (France), The Walrus (Canada), 24 Heures (Switzerland), Design Week (United Kingdom), North Seattle Herald-Outlook, Edit Magazine, New York magazine, Photo Review awards include: Griffin Award, Getty Images Grant, MacHugh Award for Fine Art

Nicholas Prior

Photographer EDUCATION: BA, Sarah Lawrence College; MFA, School of Visual Arts Exhibitions include: Aperture Gallery; Art Institute of Boston; Aftermodern Gallery, San Francisco; Pingyao International Photography Festival, China; Galleria Carla Sozzani, Milan; Muse de lElyse, Lausanne Clients include: IBM, Associated Press, Sony Music, Dirt Records, Rockport Company, Mercury Records, Thirteen/WNET, Columbia Records, Artemis Records, Nonesuch Records, Aronsons Flooring, A&E Publications include: New York magazine, Details, Keyboard, Acoustic Guitar, O magazine, The New York Times, Inc. magazine, The London Independent, American Photography, ReGeneration: 50 Photographers of Tomorrow Awards include: Paula Rhodes Memorial Award, School of Visual Arts; Aaron Siskind Foundation

Caroline Shepard

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Shelly Silver
Media artist
Education: BA, BFA, Cornell University; Whitney Museum

Mark Stafford

Director, Marsilio Publishers; publisher Education: MA, University of Edinburgh


Professional experience includes: Consultant, Symposia

Penelope Umbrico
Fine artist
EDUCATION: MFA, School of Visual Arts One-Person Exhibitions include: Montgomery Museum of Fine

Independent Study Program EXHIBITIONS INCLUDE: Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art, China; Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan; Museum of Modern Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid; Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH; International Center of Photography; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC Film Festivals include: New York; London; Berlin; Singapore; Moscow; International Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam; Newport Film Festival, Rhode Island; International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film; Cinema du Rel, Paris Collections include: Museum of Broadcasting, ZKM Center for Art and Media, Goethe Memorial Museum, J. Paul Getty Museum Awards and honors include: New York State Council on the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, DAAD, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, Anonymous Was a Woman, Japan/United States Creative Artists Fellowship

Project; publisher, Penguin Putnam, USA; director of special sales, New York, HarperCollins Publishers Publications include: Being Human: The Technological Extensions of the Body; W.E.B. DuBois: A Biography

Zoe Strauss

Photographer; executive director, founder, Philadelphia Public Art Project One-Person Exhibitions include: Philadelphia Institute of Contemporary Art; Silverstein Photography; Gallery Etc., Prague; Acuna-Hansen Gallery, Los Angeles GROUP Exhibitions include: Philadelphia Museum of Art; Whitney Biennial; Centraal Museum, Utrecht, the Netherlands Publications include: Art on Paper, Photo District News, Philadelphia magazine Awards and honors include: Pew Fellowship, Leeway Foundation

Art, AL; Bernard Toale Gallery, Boston; International Center of Photography; Julie Saul Gallery GROUP Exhibitions include: Museum of Modern Art; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, CA; Denver Art Museum; Numark Gallery, Washington, DC; Ansel Adams Center for Photography, San Francisco; Jan Kesner Gallery, Los Angeles; Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT; Art in General; Creative Time: Art in the Anchorage, NY; Spaces Gallery, Chicago; Wallspace; Dazibao, Montreal; Space Force, Tokyo; Memphis College of Art Publications include: The Village Voice, The New York Times, Washington Post, Art in America, Boston Globe Collections include: Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, International Center of Photography, Rhizome Art Base, Tampa Museum of Art Awards and Honors include: New York Founda tion of the Arts; Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Award, School of Visual Arts

Fine artist; director of operations, MFA Photography, Video and Related Media Department, School of Visual Arts Education: BFA, Ball State University; MFA, California Institute of the Arts One-person exhibitions include: Bruce Silverstein Gallery; Yancey Richardson Gallery; Jan Kesner Gallery, Los Angeles; Houston Center for Photography; Stephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco Group exhibitions include: Queens Museum of Art; Architecture and Design Museum, Los Angeles; Paul Robeson Center for the Arts, Princeton, NJ; International Academy of Fine Arts, Salzburg; Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, NJ; International Center for Photography; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA Publications include: The Edge of Vision: The Rise of Abstraction in Photography; The Education of a Photographer; Concrete Photography; The New York Times; Los Angeles Times Awards include: Brooks Project, Venice Collaborative, CA; Aaron Siskind Fellowship; Hedda Sterne Residency

Randy West

AmreshSinha
Filmmaker
Education:BA, Patna University; MA, Jawaharlal Nehru University;

MA, SUNY Buffalo; PhD, York University Director:Convict & the Trial, Quit India Movement Publications include:Connecticut Review; Spectacular Optical; The Making of Modern Bihar; Patriot; Lost in the Archives; German Culture and Society; The Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies; In Practice: Adorno, Critical Theory and Cultural Studies; Subtitles: On the Foreignness of Film; Film-Philosophy; Colloquy: Text, Theory, Critique; Scope; Transformations

Professional Opportunities
MFA Photography, Video and Related Media graduates present their work each year in a group exhibition in the SVA Gallery. Graduates of the program participate in all aspects of photographic culture. Their works are exhibited in major galleries throughout the world, both private and public. Many students exhibit regularly in international magazines, in fashion, cultural and public events, as well as festivals and salons.

Filmmaker, curator, film and television critic. Formerly, curator of video and film, The Kitchen; film critic, columnist, The Village Voice EDUCATION: BA, Sarah Lawrence College; MA, New York University Publications include: Taxi Driver, BFI Film Classics book series; contributing editor, Film Comment, Sight and Sound; contributor, Artforum, The New York Times, New York Daily News, Millennium Film Journal, LA Weekly Projects include: Producer, T.N.T., The Kitchen Screen, Spitting Glass; film, In the Bag Awards and honors include: New York State Council on the Arts; Exceptional Achievement in Film Criticism, Cinemarati Award; CAPS; Distinguished Art Historian-Teacher Award, School of Visual Arts

Amy Taubin

Filmmaker; interactive cinema producer; film and video editor; principal, Typhoon Sky Inc.; editor, Millennium Film Journal Education: BA, University College, London; PhD, SUNY Buffalo group Exhibitions include: Whitney Museum of American Art; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, MA; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Kitchen; Zecher Sollern, Dortmund, Germany; NTT/ICC, Tokyo Interactive cinema installations include: Frames, The Erl King, Tunnel, March, Sonata Awards and honors include: Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities, Arts Council of Great Britain, New York Foundation for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts Web site: www.grahameweinbren.net

Grahame Weinbren

Senior manager, public programs, Solomon R. Guggen heim Museum; director, media arts, The Kitchen Education: BA, University of California, Berkeley; MA, Williams College

Christina Yang

Consulting curator for photography, New-York Historical Society. Formerly, curator, Prints and Photographs, Museum of the City of New York; assistant curator, Department of Prints and Drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC Education: BA, Swarthmore College; MA, PhD, New York University Publications include: Berenice Abbott: Changing New York, The Complete WPA Project; Pictorialism Into Modernism: The Clarence H. White School of Photography; From New York to Hollywood:The Photography of Karl Struss curatorial work includes: New York Historical Society, Museum of the City of New York, Paine Webber Art Gallery Awards and honors include: Andrew Mellon Fellowship, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Department of Prints and Drawings; National Endowment for the Humanities

Bonnie Yochelson

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Lecturers, Mentors and Thesis Advisors


Vito Acconci artist Dennis Adams artist Peggy Ahwesh filmmaker Vince Aletti critic, New Yorker Michael Almereyda filmmaker Cory Arcangel artist Tina Barney artist Ester Bell filmmaker Sally Berger assistant curator of Film and Video, MoMA Alan Berliner filmmaker Dara Birnbaum artist Mel Bochner artist Sophie Calle artist Jim Campbell artist James Casebere artist Paul Chan artist Cathy Cook filmmaker Charlotte Cotton curator of Photographs, LACMA Eileen Cowin artist Renee Cox artist Sue De Beer artist Jennifer Dworkin filmmaker Mitch Epstein artist Roe Ethridge artist Adam Fuss artist

Lecturers, mentors and thesis advisors play an active role in the program. Past participants include:
Hans Haacke artist Peter Halley artist Ed Halter critic, curator, founder/ director of Light Industry Suki Hawley filmmaker Kathryn High artist Dana Hoey artist Eiko Hosoe artist Alfredo Jaar artist Ken Jacobs filmmaker Miranda July artist Tom Kalin filmmaker Susan Kismaric curator of Photography, MoMA William Klein artist Max Kozloff critic Sanford Kwinter writer, co-founder of Zone Books Miranda Lichtenstein artist Barbara London curator of Video and New Media, MoMA An-My L artist Mary Lucier artist Mary Ellen Mark artist Anthony McCall artist Susan Meiselas artist Duane Michals artist Martin Parr artist Paul Pfeiffer artist Jack Pierson artist Sylvia Plachy artist Sam Pollard filmmaker Walid Raad artist Hani Rashid principal, Asymptote Architecture Jennifer Reeves artist Jeff L. Rosenheim curator of Photographs, Metropolitan Museum of Art Michal Rovner artist Kathy Ryan photography editor, The New York Times Magazine Andres Serrano artist Gary Sharfin filmmaker Laurie Simmons artist Lorna Simpson artist Alec Soth artist Joel Sternfeld artist Robert Storr curator, writer, educator Rea Tajiri artist Alan Trachtenberg educator Sze Tsung Leong artist Fred Wasserman curator, The Jewish Museum Alex Webb artist William Wegman artist Lawrence Weiner artist Fred Wilson artist Krzysztof Wodiczko artist, educator Mark Wyse artist

Tony Oursler artist

Contact Us
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Vik Muniz artist

Tel: 212.592.2360 Fax: 212.592.2366 E-mail: mfaphoto@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/photovideo


We strongly encourage applicants to visit our department prior to submitting application materials. Come to our Departmental Information Session, or contact us directly to schedule a tour. Departmental Information Session: Saturday, November 7, 2009, 2 4 pm To register for a departmental information session, please visit our Web site or contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at: gradadmissions@sva.edu.

Photography, Video and Related Media

www.sva.edu/grad/photovideo

MFA Social Documentary Film


www.sva.edu/grad/socialdocumentaryfilm

XX The MFA in Social Documentary Film program guides and supports emerging artists to fully explore the social documentary film form XX Trains students to find innovative ways to examine and communicate the core experiences and events that define us XX Open to qualified students at any levelno filmmaking background required XX A tailored curriculum designed for students to attain total artistic and technical fluency in documentary filmmaking

With the advent of digital filmmaking, the Internet and social networking, as well as the technologies available in camera, sound and editingthe potential to make films, and share them with an audience, has become accessible to almost everyone. However, the artistry of storytelling and the trained ability to make successful creative decisions can be elusive. Our mfa in Social Documentary Film gives students the opportunity to learn how to find and capture important stories that speak to varied audiences on subjects of public concern, within a social, political and cultural consciousness that can change how we view our world. The program is a hands-on and highly innovative pursuit designed to foster a vibrant agora of creative media that generates both social and aesthetic influence. The fact that the program is located in the heart of Manhattan means that our students are not going away to get their mfa degree, but rather they are taking these two years to ease into the most active documentary film community in the world. While studying in a supportive and inclusive school environment, students will be introduced to the film industry through internships, film festivals, a guest lecture series and a host of industry events. Working directly with some of the most relevant and inventive nonfiction storytellers and visual journalistsas faculty, mentors and collaboratorsstudents will gain the creative and technical experience to work in the film and broadcast industries. Upon completion of their studies, students will be equipped with the tools that both enable and support individual expression, while fostering filmmaking that is fluent artistically, technologically, socially and critically. Once students graduate from the

mfa program they will be well armed with their thesis film and the connections and resources from
the SocDoc program to find gainful employment in the television and film industry. This is a program open to qualified students from varying backgroundssome may have prior filmmaking experience, but that is not required. Ultimately, we are looking for passionate individuals who are eager to learn the best way to find and share the stories they have a compulsion to tell. The primary focus of this program is to enable the students to find their individual artistic voice, and to this end endeavors to fully equip the student with the ethics and apparatus of the professional documentarian. The stories we tell ourselvesabout ourselvesnot only shape our history and document our current lives; they provide us with some portal to the future of our shared existence on the planet.

Maro Chermayeff, chair

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Clowning Around: On the Set of Circus

Faculty Profile: Matthew Akers

Matthew Akers on the set of Circus, an upcoming documentary series, executive produced and directed by Social Documentary Department chair Maro Chermayeff, and producing guest lecturer Jeff Dupre, that will air on PBS. Akers, who is producing Circus, will be joining the faculty of the Social Documentary Film Department in the fall of 2009.

SVA prides itself on selecting talented and working professionals to teach its students. These teachers dont fit into the old adage of if you cant do, teachour teachers do both, giving our students real-life insight into whats going on in the industry right now while getting their training. Recently, we met with Matthew Akers on location of his most recent project, the upcoming documentary series Circus, set to premier on pbs in 2010. Matthew is an sva alum and is returning this fall to be on the faculty of the Social Documentary Film Department. Now in production, Circus takes a rare look behind the scenes of New Yorks Big Apple Circus. Matthew is not the only person at

Trapeze artists, clowns, lion tamers: few professions carry as much mystique and history and misconceptionsas that of the circus performer. In the United States, circus performers arent often viewed as artists, as they are in Europe, says Akers. While it is magical, theyre only human. Their lives are not glamorous. They do a show every day, sometimes twice a day. Its a very difficult life. Not unlike a life in the military. Explains Akers, Its a life they choose that most dont understand. It transforms them. They find a home, find a place. It redefines who they are. And just like interviewing young servicemen aboard a vessel of war, recording such lives requires patience, a subjects trust, and a craftsmans eye for capturing the perfect momentall skills he plans to instill in his students. Akers combats the perception that reality television shows like The Real World and The Biggest Loser are social documentary, when in fact theyre quite the opposite. While reality TV is manufactured reality, in a social documentary you minimize your impact on the subject, he explains. And it doesnt preclude you from being an artist. You can still inject yourself into your work for artistic beauty.

sva working on Circus. The department chair, Maro Chermayeff,


and producing guest lecturer Jeff Dupre are executive producing and directing the six-hour series. All three recently worked together on the award-winning 2008 series, Carrier, along with faculty member Deborah Dickson and guest lecturers Pamela Yates and Michelle Smawley. Carrier documented the lives of sailors aboard the uss Nimitz during a full 2005 deployment to the Arabian Gulf. Like many documentaries, it sought to dispel myths and lift the curtain on a specific aspect of American life. After sailors, they turned their attention to one of the most unique and exciting environments and its actors, the circus.

Circus gives a glimpse into the lives of the players in the Big Apple Circus. Above, trapeze performers Chrystie Toth and Alida Wallenda-Cortes practice their routine.

Axel Baumann, cinematographer, will be joining Akers on the faculty. The two worked together previously on Carrier, directed and co-executive produced by chair Maro Chermayeff. Carrier is a 10-part series following the lives of sailors on the USS Nimitz during a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terrorism.

Like a documentary, the circus needs a small army to bring the final project together. Timoteo Blas Romos doles out cotton candy (above), and on the right, some of the performers in the show: Gladis Anastasini, Sarah Schwartz, Regina Dobrovitskaya, Christine Zerbini, Sultan bek Kumisbayev, Alex Cortes, Alida Wallenda- Cortes, and Chrystie Toth.

(left) JT Tagaki, sound recordist, mikes up mime Vincent Rubinfajer. Tagaki will also be teaching at SVA. (right) Mr. Rubinfajer gets a helping hand from Olivier Taquin, a performer in this years Big Apple Circus.

Akers and Tagaki join cinematographer Bob Hanna as they interview clown Mark Gindick.

SVA prides itself on finding talented, working professionals for its staff. Many of our teachers will be walking off sets and into classrooms to share with their students the very latest technology and techniques theyve learned. Below, Hanna, Akers and Tagaki film a scene.

chair interview

The MFA Social Documentary Department has settled into its brand new home on the first floor of 136 West 21st Street in the heart of Manhattan. The focal point of the department is the state of the art theater in the center of the space. Additionally there are five editing suites, two classrooms, an equipment, film and text library, department office and community work space. The following illustrates a day in the life of a MFA Social Documentary film student.

Maro Chermayeff
Theres been enormous growth in non-fiction filmmaking recently. Theres a greater acceptance of the idea that making personal or political films is a valid art form and a viable career.

I was contacted by Steven Heller, who has been involved in the launch of several sva masters program. He came to me to pick my brain about ideas on how the department could work, and what people would be looking for. Maro Chermayeff still cant quite believe her good fortune. It was a bit of a surprise, but it seemed possible to create something that wasnt available elsewhere. Theres been enormous growth in nonfiction filmmaking recently, in the wake of Michael Moores box-office success. Theres a greater acceptance of the idea that making personal or political films is a valid art form and a viable career. And while most people working in the field are based in New York, Los Angeles and London, there hasnt been a program focused solely on documentary in New York City that allows students to take advantage of documentary professionals availability. Directing faculty member Brett Morgen will do an evening with The Kid Stays in the Picture or Chicago 10. And visionary journalism faculty member Sam Pollard will do an evening with his film about photographer and filmmaker Gordon Parks. In fact, our own faculty and guest lecturers could encompass years worth of noteworthy films, but we plan to constantly expand our network of guests in order to expose students to every aspect of the evolving non fiction film industry. What are the applicants backgrounds? Some have no experience; others want to return to school having worked in the field but encountered difficulties progressing. Theyre seeking a think-tank environment, a place to study the films on the subject that they most care about and find a place to nurture their own cinematic voiceand at the same time build relationships with colleagues and make contacts among the faculty, which includes multiple award-winning filmmakers. A filmmaking background is not a prerequisite, but the program has technical components. Some students will have to play catch-up, and learn technical basics so that they focus their attention on the creative elements of their work Chermayeff admits, but it will quickly become an even playing field and above all technical aspectsour emphasis is on story, style and content. The big ideas. Chermayeff stresses that the program is fundamentally creative and unique. The core classes are in producing, directing, camera, sound, editing and a course we have titled visionary journalism, which encompasses writing, executing treatments and narration. Its also a forum in which to discuss ethics and access, since in social documentary youre dealing with real situations and truth. In our weekly lecture series Process and Style, we present a screening series for students in which we will discuss films with their makers. Within that series, theyll also have a chance to discuss fundraising, self-distribution, multimedia platforms and pitching projects. All students work toward making a film that Chermayeff calls a viable calling card aimed at the festival circuit, then at sales and broadcast. Its also a requirement to crew on at least one other students film, she explains. You might want to be a producer/director/editor, saya predator in the current parlance. A lot of documentary filmmakers create their own personal work but also have skills that allow them to remain employed within the field.

On any given day...


9am Timothy Doyle, department assistant updates the events calendar for the department with all of the latest lectures, SVA events and New York film industry gatherings. 10am Three to five students arrive for the camera and sound lab held in the conference classroom. The lab is run by staff technicians and will provide students who need additional technical assistance with hands-on lessons with the camera, sound and lighting equipment. 3pm Students attend their directing course in the theater classroom. 10:30am Niki Bhattacharya, director of operations, meets with Maia Ermita from Arts Engine to discuss the upcoming Media That Matters Festival and the involvement of SocDoc students as filmmakers and event organizers. 11am Maro Chermayeff, department chair, meets with Sheila Nevins, president of Documentary and Family Programming for HBO and Cinemax, to discuss the film that Maro is presently directing for HBO and the possibility of Sheila and Maro screening the work-in-progress during a Process and Style event. In the meeting, Maro and Sheila also discuss possible opportunities for collaboration between SocDoc students and HBO Documentary. noon Students enjoy lunch at the large tables near the kitchenette; they chat about their upcoming shoots and projects. A tack walls assist students with jotting down project ideas as they discuss. Ongoing MFA Students submit thesis proposals and pitch their thesis films to the advisors for approval; an ongoing relationship with top festivals (Sundance) and markets are solidified (Sunnyside of the Doc and Latin Side of the Doc, both under the directorship of guest lecturer Yves Janneau); students submit projects to various festivals. 6pm Students, as well as staff and some faculty, attend the weekly Process and Style lecture series in the auditorium classroom. 4pm Maro Chermayeff, department chair, has a meeting with faculty member, producer and editor Sam Pollard and director Spike Lee about the possibility of them hosting a screening of Spike Lees and Pollards film, 4 Little Girls, in the new SVA Theatre. The Directing I course is taught by award-winning documentarian Deborah Dickson and will cover interviewing skills. 1pm Students have their editing class with editor Ann Collins. Today the lecture covers montage and how it can be used effectively within nonfiction films. 2pm Maro Chermayeff, department chair, has a phone conference with guest lecturer Jamie Redford about creating an ongoing alliance and potential projects with the SocDoc Department and the Redford Center.

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The Program The School of Visual Arts new mfa program in Social Documentary Film provides a
solid foundation in the fundamentals of nonfiction filmmaking, as well as an immersion into the critical and analytical processes necessary to conceptualize and develop significant, socially relevant film projects. This program represents the convergence of journalism, social activism and the art of filmmaking. Within the broad spectrum, a documentary film can be personal, revolutionary, engaging, funny, political, and more; simply put, social documentary films tell us more about ourselves and the world we inhabit. Working with documentarians as teachers and mentors in a collaborative think-tank environment, the mfa Social Documentary Film program will not only teach students how to tell a story, it will guide them towards a lifelong career in filmmaking. The first year of study offers a core curriculum devoted to exploring the past, present and future of the art of documentary film while mastering tools and techniques needed to tell compelling stories. Each student will complete two documentary shorts, in addition to other class assignments. During the second year student focus on their thesis films, and courses are designed to support them in their production. Each student will direct and edit his or her own film and serve as a key production crewmember on at least one other thesis project. Degree candidates must successfully complete 60 credits, including all required courses, with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0. A residency of two academic years is required. In the nal semester, each student is required to complete a thesis project, which must be reviewed and approved by the thesis committee and the department chair in order for the student to be eligible for degree conferral.

Course Descriptions

Cinematography and Sound I & ii

Process and Style I & ii

Success in the film industry requires fluency in the standard terminology of cinematic language and an immersion in the world of production techniques. Beginning with the uses of image and sound as the rudimentary tools of storytelling, this series of courses will focus on gaining a comprehensive grasp of the technical demands of documentary filmmaking. Through class and laboratory sessions, a range of equipmentcameras, tripods, lighting instruments, audio recording and microphoneswill be explored. Students will then focus on a broad spectrum of non-fiction cinematographic techniques, covering a discourse on how to use camera angles, sound and lighting to convey meaning and further their narrative. Finally, on-camera interviewing skillsthe essence of much of the documentary experiencewill receive a thorough examination.
Directing I & II

Independent voices from the field will share their professional experiences and offer diverse perspectives in documentary film. Lecturers will discuss a range of specialized topics, including new technologies and new platforms; film festivals and distribution; the relationship between subject and filmmaker; the pitch; live television direction; rights and clearances; archival research; job opportunities and career advancement. Many sessions will highlight documentary filmmakers who will screen their projects and share details and anecdotes about the filmmaking process.
Producing I & II

Sample Program first year


FALL SemesterCredits SPRING SemesterCredits

Cinematography and Sound I Directing I Editing I Process and Style I Producing I Visionary Journalism: Introduction

3 3 3 0 3 3

Cinematography and Sound II Directing II Editing II Process and Style II Producing II Thesis: The Pitch  Visionary Journalism: Script, Text  and Treatment I

3 3 3 0 3 0 3

The potency of any documentary is invariably linked to the perspicacity of the director, whose acuity of mind and eye must be able to translate intellectual content into an aesthetic experience. These courses will address topics that include how to most effectively tell a story, how to conduct meaningful and informative interviews, and how to navigate the relationship between subject and filmmaker. With an emphasis on originality as it applies to the documentary, students will explore new mediums and a variety of directing styles, tones and techniques. Included will be an extensive study of documentary film history and theory, which will examine a wide range of texts and films from the early 20th century to the present and look at such genres as realism, formalism, semiotics, feminism and postmodernism. Class assignments will emphasis the interview technique, with exercises involving interviews within the class itself, interviews with family and friends, and man on the street interviews with anonymous pedestrians.
Editing I & II

Multifunctional and multidimensional in approach, the role of a documentary film producer is to initiate, coordinate, supervise and control all matters in the realization of a film project, such as fundraising and hiring key personnel. Beginning in the first semester, students will receive a full grounding in what they need to know to proceed with their first assigned projects. All key aspects of documentary production will be covered in these courses, from pitch, grant writing, and budget preparation to production set-up, accounting, scheduling and crew management, and postproduction workflow. Students will learn how to analyze a project and apply this analysis in cost and project management, from preproduction rights to editing and film distribution; in addition they will learn how to implement production arrangements singular to the field of documentaries, such as the use of fixers and carnets in international shooting. How to read, understand and negotiate contracts with vendors, crewmembers and distributors will be included.
Thesis: Directing

second year
FALL SemesterCredits SPRING SemesterCredits

Process and Style I Thesis: Editing Thesis: Directing  Thesis: Producing Visionary Journalism: Script, Text  and Treatment II

0 3 6 3 3

Process and Style II Thesis: Directing Lab Thesis: Editing Lab Thesis Review and Presentation

0 6 6 3

If viewing a film is understood to be an interpretive process, then the orchestration of image and sound, and the rate at which information is disseminated, is critical to the endeavor. It is often the editor who transforms this process from observation to an engrossing experience. These courses will examine the critical role that editing plays in non-fiction programs, and look at how the editing room is often the arena where the structure and narrative arch are created. Classic documentaries will be screened to provide students with a fundamental understanding of editing styles, aesthetics and techniques. Laboratory sessions will demonstrate editing techniques with industry-standard technology. Topics will cover a wide range of subjectsfrom continuity of motion to montage, jump-cut, music usage and program structure. Finally, these courses will explore voice-over narration, sound design, music and other postproduction techniques to further the story and deepen the experience.

This course will guide students through the process of bringing their thesis ideas and script to fruition. Of central focus will be the aesthetic and overall style considerations for thesis films. Emphasis will also be placed on the student-directors communication with the producer, cinematographer, sound recordist and other personnel who will assist on the project and help to make each students thesis vision a reality.
Thesis: Directing Lab

Bolstered by critiques of professional film directors and fellow classmates, students will gain additional insights and the technical resources to develop their thesis films. Directors cuts of thesis films will be screened and analyzed, and students will have the opportunity to incorporate valuable suggestions into the final work.
Thesis: Editing

On average, in documentary films there is a ratio of 10 hours of footage shot for every minute in the final film. This course will address the challenge of managing the sheer bulk of media that will have been amassed for the thesis film. While shooting may continue throughout much of this period, students will be required to block out the basic sequence from what has already been filmed, and hew the narrative together into a rough cut. The goal is to bring projects into readiness for fine-tuning and finishing in the spring semester.

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Faculty
Professional Opportunities
MFA Social Documentary Film students come from all over the world and from varying disciplines. They will spend two years immersed in the New York documentary film community and will enjoy weekly lectures from industry professionals as well as attend local film festivals and events. Numerous internship and professional opportunities will be available to Social Documentary Film students through the department. At the end of each year, students will present their work to the public at a screening event at the new SVA Theatre.

Visionary Journalism: Introduction

Thesis: Editing lab

This course will encompass all of the finishing touches for the thesis film projects, including opening titles, closing credits, sound editing and mixing, visual effects, color correction and film scoring. A professional editor, under whose guidance students will strengthen their editorial acumen while completing their thesis films, will supervise the editing lab.
Thesis: Producing

The field of social documentary is as much about journalism as it is about filmmaking; therefore, it is paramount that the journalistic process be comprehensively examined. From finding and researching a story to writing a treatment and a shooting script, learning and adhering to established journalistic ethics is of primary importance. This course will engender a full understanding of the ethical standards inherent in print and broadcast journalism, and non-fiction writing as they relate to social documentary. Working within these strictures, we will approach how to successfully tell a storyfrom origin of concept to finished project.
Visionary Journalism: Script, Text and Treatment I & II

Partner, co-president, Show of Force EDUCATION: BA, University of Colorado, Boulder PROJECTS INCLUDE: Executive producer, co-creator, director, Carrier; producer, director, writer, Julliard, Role Reversal; producer, director, Frontier House, The Kindness of Strangers, Nashville, Crossing the Line; producer, Another Day in Paradise, Brain Fingerprinting AUTHOR: Julliard AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: Cin Golden Eagle; Sundance Film Festival; Chicago Film Festival; Buenos Aires Film Festival; Emmy Award

Maro Chermayeff, chair

Ann Collins
Film editor
EDUCATION: BFA, New York University FILM AND TELEVISION PROJECTS INCLUDE: The Heart of the Matter,

In this course, students will don the mantle of a film producercoordinating production schedules and book shoots, and navigating the often turbulent waters of location permits, budgets, expense reconciliation, crew management, postproduction and film distribution. The final result will be broadcast-quality documentary thesis films.
Thesis Review and Presentation

During their final semester, students will present their thesis projects to a team of faculty advisors for review, advice and critique, and will introduce their documentaries to the film community at large. Students will research, target and submit their thesis to a required number of film festivals both domestic and abroad.
Thesis: The Pitch

Building upon the journalistic industry standards examined in Visionary Journalism, the courses take students into the practical experience of creating the written body of work for their thesis films. Topics will include the creation of a nonfiction project proposal, a written proposal for funding or professional interest in the film and a project treatment that outlines the work. Each student will also complete an initial thesis script, which can be an in-depth description of the film as it is envisioned or of material already shot, or a judicious balance of the two. Archival research for documentary film and licensing will be addressed. The second semester takes students further into the practical experience of creating the written body of work for the thesis film with specific attention paid to the concept of truth and integrity in the documentary format and ideation of propaganda, both current and as archival reference. Additionally this course will guide students through the grant writing process to assist them with obtaining funding for future projects.

Director of photography, director EDUCATION: BFA, School of Visual Arts PROJECTS INCLUDE: Carrier; Nimrod Nation; Lockdown, U.S.A.; The Ground Truth; Tan Dun, The Map; Back in the Hood: Gang Wars II; Heir to an Execution MUSIC VIDEOS INCLUDE: Priest, Poet, And The Pig; Welcome to My Room FILM FESTIVAL SCREENINGS INCLUDE: Sundance, Human Rights Watch, Berlin, Telluride AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: Audience Favorite for Documentary, Sundance Film Festival

Matthews Akers

Belly Talkers, The Charcoal People, Sound and Fury, Porgy and Bess: An American Voice, Frontline: Merchants of Cool. SCREENINGS INCLUDE: Sundance Film Festival, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, San Francisco Film Festival. AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: Freedom of Expression Award at the Sundance Film Festival, Golden Spire Award San Francisco Film Festival.

Maryann De Leo

Producer, director, writer


FILM PROJECTS INCLUDE: White Horse, Chernobyl Heart, TELEVISION PROJECTS INCLUDE: Too Hot Not to Handle; Terror at

Axel Baumann
Sunday Morning

Director of photography
FILM PROJECTS INCLUDE: Leftovers, Is That All There Is, Creation, TELEVISION PROJECTS INCLUDE: CSI, Cold Case, Hudsons Law,

Home: Domestic Violence in America; High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell. HBO: One Year in a Life of Crime; A Cinderella Season: The Lady Vols Fight Back; Six Months to Live: Alternative Medicine and the Fight for Life; Rape: Cries from the Heartland; Bellevue: Inside Out (for America Undercover) SCREENINGS INCLUDE: The American Museum of the Moving Image, Museum of Modern Art, The General Assembly (UN), Tokyo Video Festival AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: Academy Award (Best Documentary, Short Subject), Emmy Awards, Alfred I. du Pont Award-Columbia University Award, CableACE Award, Bronze Award (Tokyo Video Festival)

The Last 24 hours of Marilyn Monroe, Hugh P. Newton Show


DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS INCLUDE: Liberia: An Uncivil War;

Getting an idea off the ground and maintaining the momentum is often one of the most difficult facets of a production, even for talented filmmakers. Yet without the proverbial green light, the most prescient ideas atrophy by the wayside. Course sessions are designed to address one of the most important skills in the filmmaking processthe pitch. Using their own project ideas, students will articulate their vision clearly and concisely and deliver this vision to a panel of film industry professionals. Students will answer questions and address comments posed by the panel. The course objectives are to build confidence in the presentation of ideas and master a professional pitch.

Carrier; Songs Under A Big Sky; Super Casino; Sick Humor; Future Life; Peter Gabriel/ US Tour; Iconoclast; Mystery Diagnosis; The Ballad of Greenwich Village; Platos Retreat; Racing Dreams AWARDS AND HONORS: Emmy Award

Director, cinematographer EDUCATION: BA, New York University FILM PROJECTS INCLUDE: Carnival Roots, Karma Calling, Last Wish, 2% Fact, Half Pint, Upside Down, Hosay Trinidad, Tien Shan Expedition TELEVISION PROJECTS INCLUDE: De La Culture en Amerique for ARTE (French Television) SCREENINGS INCLUDE: Taos Talking Pictures, American Film Institute, Silverdocs Film Festival, Whitney Biennial, Kunsthalle (Zurich), Ludwig (Cologne) AWARDS INCLUDE: American Center artist-in-resident Award

Peter Chelkowski

Producer, director EDUCATION: MFA, New York University PROJECTS INCLUDE: Producer, director: Ruthie and Connie: Every Room in the House; producer, director, editor: Frances Steloff: Memoirs of a Bookseller; director: The Education of Gore Vidal, The Art of Influence; editor: Lalees Kin: The Legacy Of Cotton, Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse; story editor: Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry FILM FESTIVAL SCREENINGS INCLUDE: Munich, Toronto, Miami International, Berlin, New York, Venice AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: Gold Hugo; Grand Prize, Amsterdam Film Festival; Best Cinematography, Sundance Film Festival; Best Documentary, Seattle International and Nashville festivals; Emmy Award; Columbia DuPont Award; George Foster Peabody Award; ACE

Deborah Dickson

Michael Epstein
Filmmaker
EDUCATION: BA, University of Michigan PRODUCER, DIRECTOR, WRITER: Novel Reflections: The American

Dream; Combat Diary: The Marines of Lima Company; 10 Days: Antietam; Final Cut: The Making and Un-Making of Heavens Gate; Innovation: Brain Fingerprinting; None Without Sin: Miller, Kazan

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Guest Lecturers

& The Blacklist; Irving Berlin: An American Song; Hitchcock, Selznick & The End of Hollywood; The Battle Over Citizen Kane; The Hurricane of 38; The Choice 92 TELEVISION SERIES INCLUDE: American Masters, Biography, The American Experience, Frontline SCREENINGS INCLUDE: Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Amsterdam International Documentary Festival, Berlin International Film Festival. Collections include: Museum of Modern Art AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: Emmy Award; Banff International Rocky Award; Writers Guild Award; George Foster Peabody Award

Michel Negroponte
Filmmaker
EDUCATION: BSAD, MS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology FILM PROJECTS INCLUDE: Im Dangerous with Love; Orthodox

E. Donna Shepherd
Editor
TELEVISION PROJECTS INCLUDE: Carrier. Bravo: Kathy Griffin:

Kathy Brew producer, director Mark Daniels director of photography, writer, director, producer Paco De Onis producer, writer Jeff Dupre producer, director Suzy Elmiger editor Micah Fink producer, director, writer Jeffery Friedman producer, director Susan Froemke director Roberto Guerra director, producer, cinematographer Glenda Hersh producer, co-founder, president, True Entertainment

Stance; Manhattan, Kansas; Methadonia; W.I.S.O.R.; Children Underground; Fastpitch; BookWars; Jupiters Wife; Resident Exile; Whos on First? AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: Special Recognition, Emmy Award; Sundance Film Festival; Best Documentary, Vancouver International Film Festival

Tom Hurwitz

Cinematographer
FILM AND TELEVSION PROJECTS INCLUDE: Dancemaker, Harlan

Sam Pollard
Producer
FILM PROJECTS INCLUDE: Brother Outside; Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads; Ill Make Me A World: Stories of African-American Artists and Community; Mo Better Blues; Jungle Fever; Girl 6; Clockers; Bamboozled; Spike Lee Presents Mike Tyson; Four Little Girls; Just Crazy About Horses; Body ad Soul; Private Resort; Style Wars; Fire In The Mirror TELEVISION PROJECTS INCLUDE: ABCs Vegetable Soup; The Childrens Television Workshops 3-2-1-Contact; Goin Back to T-Town SCREENINGS INCLUDE: Sundance Film Festival AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: George Foster Peabody Award, Emmy Award

My Life on the D-List. VH1: Power Girls; Driven: Lisa Marie Presley; 100 Greatest Rock & Roll Moments in Television; Where Are They Now?; Teen Idols; Record Breakers; 101 Disney Musical Moments; Before They Were Rock Stars; Hollywood & Vinyl; All Access: Divas; Hey, Ho, Lets Go: The Story of the Ramones. MSNBC: Special Edition; Headliners & Legends: Jerry Springer. A & E Biography: 25th Anniversary Special; Top 15 Comedians; Close-Up: Saturday Night Live; Oscar Wilde; Madame Tussaud; Dutch Schultz. MTV: Total Request Live; VJ for a Day. BBC: What Not to Wear

Beth Hoppe producer, co-founder, president, Optomen Production Yves Janneau producer Jay Keuper editor Karen Kramer Filmmaker Christine Le Goff producer Brett Morgan producer, director James Redford producer, director, screenwriter Amy Schewel producer, researcher, archivist Deborah Shaffer director, producer Pamela Yates producer, director, writer

County USA, Wild Man Blues, My Generation, Down and Out in America, The Turandot Project, Liberty, Franklin, Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero, I Have a Dream, Questioning Faith, Bombs will Make the Rainbow Break AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: Emmy Award, Sundance Award, Jerusalem Award for Cinematography

Senior vice president, Current Programming and Specials, truTV. Formerly, Vice President, Current Programming, Court TV; founder, Testing the Limits Productions FILM AND TELEVISION PROJECTS INCLUDE: Ocean Force, Speeders, Suburban Secrets, Most Daring, Black Gold. Creator: Haunting Evidence and Psychic Detectives, Voices From The Front; executive producer, The Question of Equality

Robyn Hutt

Bob Richman

Director of photography EDUCATION: BA, University at Buffalo


FILM AND TELEVISION PROJECTS INCLUDE: Iconoclasts, An Inconvenient Truth, Some Kind of Monster, Christos Umbrellas, The Producers: A Musical Romp With Mel Brooks, My Architect, The Buried Secret of M Night Shyamalan, Paradise Lost, Revelations: Paradise Lost 2, The Kindness of Strangers, Dealers Among Dealers, A Tickle in the Heart, The September Issue COMMERCIAL SPOTS INCLUDE: Clorox Bleach, Pepsi One, ESPN, Gateway Computers, Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Lotto, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz SCREENINGS INCLUDE: Sundance, Berlin, New Directors, Telluride, Montreal, Edinburgh, Nyon, Toronto AWARD AND HONORS: Cinematography Award, Sundance Film Festival

Sound recordist, filmmaker EDUCATION: BS, Antioch College; MFA, New York University SOUND PROJECT CLIENTS INCLUDE: American Masters, American Experience, Wide Angle FILM PROJECTS INCLUDE: Producer, Call for Change series; director, Voices in the Street; She Rhymes Like a Girl; Echando Raices/Taking Root; The #7 Train: An Immigrant Journey; North Korea: Beyond the DMZ; Homes Apart: Korea; Bittersweet Survival; The Women Outside AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: Gold Award, New York Expo; Special Jury Award, San Francisco Film Festival; First Prize, Amiens International Film Festival. Fellowships include: Open Society Institute; Charles H. Revson Foundation; Rockefeller Foundation; Steve Tatsukawa Memorial Award for Asian Pacific American Community Service in Media; New York Foundation for the Arts.

J.T. Takagi

Mark Mandler
Sound mixer
EDUCATION: BS, Florida State University FILM PROJECTS INCLUDE: Young @ Heart, The Big Bang TELEVISION PROJECTS INCLUDE: The American Experience series,

Jerry Risius

Director of photography EDUCATION: BA, University of Iowa


FILM AND TELEVISION PROJECTS INCLUDE: Muskrat Lovely, The Devil

including New York, a Documentary Film, Eugene ONeill; American Masters series, including Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lenz, Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built; Frontline; Carrier

Came on Horseback, A Walk to Beautiful, The Price of Sugar, Our Brand Is Crisis, Unzipped. PBS: American Masters, NOVA, Nature, Wide Angle, Independent Lens, POV. HBO: Brave New Voices. National Geographic: Air Force One, Bob Ballard Deep Sea Exploration, (Midway, Titanic Revisited, Baltic Sea, Noahs Ark) COMMERCIAL SPOTS: MTV, MTV Tres, Toyota Prius, Nokia, Coca-Cola AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: IDA Documentary of the Year, Creativity Awards for MTV Ad Campaign, Sundance Audience Award, UNAFF Cinematography Award (United Nations)
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Contact Us

Producer, director; president of Almo Inc. EDUCATION: BA, Cornell University; MFA, University of California, San Diego TELEVISION PROJECTS INCLUDE: Make Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America; My Favorite Things: Julie Andrews Remembers; Broadway: The American Musical; Wicked: The Road to Broadway; American Masters, Quincy Jones: In the Pocket, The Impressionists; Cornerstone; The West; The American Experience, Lindbergh SCREENINGS INCLUDE: PBS, HBO, Bravo AWARDS AND HONORS INCLUDE: Emmy Award

Michael Kantor

Tel: 212.592.2919 Fax: 212.627.2526 E-mail: mfasocdoc@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/socialdocumentaryfilm


We strongly encourage applicants to visit our department prior to submitting application materials. Come to our Departmental Information Session, or contact us directly to schedule a tour. Departmental Information Session: Saturday, October 24, 2009, 2 4 pm To register for a departmental information session, please visit our Web site or contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at: gradadmissions@sva.edu.

Social Documentary Film

www.sva.edu/grad/socialdocumentaryfilm

XX Develop an educational philosophy while continuing to create personal artwork

MAT Art Education

XX Gain specialized teaching experience through the School of Visual Arts innovative childrens programs within the New York City community XX Start teaching next fall with our one-year intensive program, or attend part-time with our two-year program

The art classroom is a place where children are given the opportunity to explore and develop their personal dreams and goals, and to think independently. The Master of Arts in Teaching (mat) provides a hands-on learning environment where student teachers investigate educational issues and techniques, develop their own educational philosophy and continue creating personal artwork. The program takes a child-centered approach to art education that emphasizes collaboration and community and addresses the needs of diverse populations, including those with special needs. Designed for students who have completed an undergraduate major in studio art, the mat Art Education program can be completed either as a full-time, one-year intensive or as a two-year, part-time program, ideal for those who want to continue working while they complete the coursework required to qualify for the New York State Initial Certification in Visual Art. Our faculty is comprised of professional artist/teachers who are experts at training artists to apply their creative skills to teaching art to children in pre-kindergarten through grade 12. The program provides a basis in the foundations and psychology of education as they are applied to diverse elementary and secondary populations. Seminar courses investigate age-appropriate materials, methods and educational concepts, which student teachers then apply directly to classroom practice in public school placements. Courses like Curriculum for Special Populations, that includes faculty-led practica at a homeless shelter; Museum Studies; Theory and Practice and Technology in Art Education; and Curriculum: Arts Integrated, provide students with further training in varied approaches to teaching art. The program culminates with the completion of a teaching portfolio, masters thesis and an exhibition of mat student artwork. Individualized student teaching placements are made at carefully selected public schools throughout the City. Our students have the opportunity to gain specialized teaching experience through svas innovative childrens programs: Art Program for the Homeless, Art for Kids and the Liberty Partnerships Program (funded through the New York State Education Department).

www.sva.edu/grad/arteducation

sva offers its students state-of-the-art facilities and studios. In addition, as our campus, the City provides unparalleled resourcesfor field trips to museums and galleries throughout nyc, and for classes
held at the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Rubin Museum of Art. mat students may also audit two courses from svas extensive undergraduate and continuing education offerings. At sva we believe that to teach art, you should first be an artist who can use the power of art to open the minds, as well as the eyes, of the young to new experiences and individual fulfillment. One persona gifted and caring teachercan make a difference in a young persons life. Our program is for artists who want to become teachers and make that difference.

Rose Viggiano, chair

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Miller spends most of his time with school groups. Here he overlooks the Panorama of the City of New York, a massive miniature of the City. Its the pride of the Queens Museum, where hes an educator.

An Artist Teaches
Alumni Profile: Tim Miller

The Panorama was built for the 1964 New York Worlds Fair. It was called the worlds largest scale model at the time. It encompasses 9,335 square feet and includes all 320 square miles of New York Citys five boroughs.

Sometimes learning from the faculty at SVA inspires students to give back and become teachers themselves. In the early nineties, Tim Miller left the small town of Snohomish, Washingtonwhere wintry, bucolic tv shows like Northern Exposure and Twin Peaks were filmedfor sva, with dreams of becoming a great illustrator, chasing his childhood passion for the comic book industry. Miller graduated in 1994 from the undergraduate illustration and cartooning program, but his mentors at

sva, including artists Jack Potter and John Ruggeri, turned him on to the fine arts. They sparked
a passion for painting that continues to this day. In the late nineties, he worked in galleries and other day jobs to support his painting until, yet again, his mentors turned him on to something new: teaching. Miller entered the Art Education program in

2002, its inaugural year. It was clear from the start that this was an intensive commitment, says
Miller, and that for one year of your life everything else was on hold. In a lot of ways, the fact that you had to step up to the plate like that benefited me, in that it emboldened me to tackle the fundamental challenge of teaching. Miller was especially interested in discovering places to apply his degree outside the traditional classroom and a class in museum education captured his imagination. To be honest, public speaking scared the hell out of me, he recalls, referencing his current day-to-day life. But the program taught me to deal with that and find my footing. Six months after graduating in 2003, he began freelancing for New Yorks Queens Museum of Art, which eventually led to his staff position as a school and family educator. Now 36, Miller teaches a wide variety of programs, in both the museum and after-school programs for students of all ages. At the Queens Museum, he interacts directly with the kids and the institutions unique collection, most notably its prized possession, the Panorama of the City of New York, a 9,335 square foot architectural model of the Big Apple, originally built for the 1964 Worlds Fair. He also works in a program called Queens Teens once a week, where he mentors youth to explore the many careers in the art world. The program was recognized last year in Washington, D.C., with a Coming Up Taller Award, which is given by the Presidents Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. You see the kids responding, living in what theyre doing and opening up before you, he says. Im privileged to have an opportunity to witness that.

(Left) Miller stands in front of Chupacabra, a sumi-ink mural by Lisa Iglesias that was included in the museums latest biennial, Queens International 4. (Right) Like, A Conversation by Karolyn Hatton, another piece in the exhibition.

We run the school groups through all these exhibitions, exploring the artworks with them, engaging them in a way that asks them about what they see, whats going on, why did the artist do this, etcetera, explains Miller. The aim is to navigate the content, but at the same time empower them to read the work through their own means. (Left) An installation titled Fast Forward by Ryan Humphry. (Right) Outside a window of the museum sits the Unisphere, a 12-story icon of the Worlds Fair, whose theme was peace through understanding.

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Located at 132 West 21st Street in Chelsea, the MAT Art Education Department occupies the entire 4th floormost of which is dedicated to a loft-like studio area with two bays of windows. The studio was designed to be a flexible art and teaching space that is left open for lectures and for public events, such as exhibitions of childrens artwork. For meetings of MAT and Art for Kids classes, a soundproof partition divides the studio into two classrooms, each with its own materials closet, sink and entryway. Included in the departments facilities are an ever-expanding library of books and periodicals on art and education topics as well as access to a secure Wi-Fi network. A lounge area, kitchenette and storage shelves for personal items are available for student use. The MAT Art Education Department is within walking distance of Chelsea art galleries, art supply stores and the Photo District. Other SVA facilities are close by including the Writing Resource Center and West Side Gallery, located just across the street.

Rose Viggiano
the program is about taking artists and shaping them into something else. We get people who want to change careers, to do something more humanitarian.

Rose Viggiano has been at sva for 30 years and her passion for teaching and enthusiasm and affection for sva remain strong. My background is in sculpture so my schooling was creative but disorganized. In order to run the department, I had to get my doctorate, but I was happy to do it because I really love and believe in teaching. And I have a great faculty. Theyre superb. I sit in on their classes because I learn so much from their techniques. Students in Viggianos Art Education program are encouraged to keep making their own work, though she admits this can be a challenge. They do find it difficult, but they make it work with the help of studio classes and electives. And I look at portfolios and suggest what they might need to brush up on. Really, though, the program is about taking artists and shaping them into something else. We get people who want to change careers, to do something more humanitarian. Theyre all smart, but they may not have had hands-on experience with teaching, so we add a lot of that! Its a challenge but its a lot of fun. Students teach a range of ages, Viggiano explains, so we include a detailed class in educational psychology. They have to know what happens at what age, developmentally, which is a big undertaking in one or two years, but vitally important. Teaching art has a cognitive dimension, a physical dimension, an emotional dimension. You come here, you really get your head turned around! We work with theater techniques in the first week or two, Viggiano continues. The time when the students first arrive is very important. We try to get them to bond as a group. Its not like the fine arts department where theyre looking primarily at work; were looking at people. And if students dont have the right people skills, theyre not going to make it as teachers. So we make sure to start with a dynamic group, then have them work through acting scenarios involving teaching and related situations. That immediately kills any lingering shyness. It isnt exactly therapeutic though, it forces you to question and test your purpose. Some feel really strongly about having their students develop a curriculum according to an exclusive pedagogical philosophy or emphasis, but I dont believe in that. I believe that what really needs to be encouraged is outreach: How do you connect with your community? Thats why weve been do ing things like working with a shelter for homeless mothers and kids. Its important because it allows students to work with a population they otherwise might not. A teacher, Viggiano concludes, thoughtfully, is someone who wants to be a student, because he or she is always in a learning situation. Education is not top-down. Its very reflective and you have to be able to take criticism. She grins. Its a real art!

On any given day...


8:30am 2:30pm Students report to student-teaching placement sites where they work with cooperating teachers on class assignments, development of lesson plans and classroom management techniques. Mike Filan and Lynn Seeney, Student Teaching Supervisors, conduct daily site visits where they assess the progress of each MAT student teacher as they lead a classroom lesson. 3:30pm Students report to the MAT department where they study, take a break or work on group projects in the lounge and classrooms. Barbara Salander, faculty member and thesis advisor, conducts individualized meetings with students to discuss thesis topics and research methods. Mike Filan, faculty member and Student Teaching Supervisor, conducts individualized meetings with students to review their student teaching site work progress. 4 5pm Groups A & B meet with Barbara Salander for Special Study, a thesis advisement course. A guest lecturer, Dr. Michael Bitz, discusses the Comic Book Project . 4 6pm Art for Kids After School Portfolio Preparation class for students in seventh and eighth grades. Class is taught by a master artist/ teacher. Seventh and eighth graders expand their knowledge of art ideas and techniques while exploring a variety of materials, including charcoal, pencils, cray-pas, watercolor, ink and acrylic paints. 6 9pm Group A stays at the facility and meets with Jerry James for Curriculum: Arts Integrated, where multiculturalism in art education is discussed and a tableau representing cultural issues is created, followed by a slide presentation and conversation on art after modernism. The evening ends with a viewing and critique of selected video and television excerpts. Group B travels to a homeless shelter for mothers and their children, located in the Lower East Side, where they meet with Sandy Edmonds for Curriculum: Special Populations class, where student teams develop population-appropriate lesson plans and art activities. An example of a class activity is Shelter. Students are shown a number of collage portraits done by Eric Carle, Romare Bearden and Henri Matisse. They discuss the visual and sensory qualities such as surface, color, shape, size, texture and volume. Next they are introduced to the materialspaper, glue sticks, scissors and a variety of embellishments such as fabric and buttonsand through a demonstration are shown how to begin their own self-portraits. Students receive individualized instruction by SVA students and overlapping is emphasized. After completing the collages, students are given strips of paper and asked to use them to frame their collage self-portraits. The work is displayed so that each student can explain one aspect of his or her piece. This reflection serves as an assessment of the project in which it is determined that every student has met the criteria of creating a collage self-portrait.

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teaching required for the New York State Initial Certification in Art, pre-K through grade 12. We concentrate on teaching students with diverse backgrounds and needs, and the gifted and talented. The uses of computer technology in art education and integrated curricula are included. The program is also geared to teach effective collaboration with school administrators, parents and caregivers, members of the community, and staff members of relevant agencies and cultural institutions. Course work relates directly to fieldwork and student teaching through discussion of course development, classroom management and age-appropriate application of educational theory. mat students will complete 100 hours of fieldwork and 40 days of student teaching in public elementary, middle and high school placements under sva faculty supervision. Students can choose to do additional fieldwork and thesis case studies in the following sva programs: XX Art Program for the Homeless: Students teach art to elementary-age children housed at a shelter for homeless mothers and children. XX Liberty Partnerships Program: Students work with high-needs students (grades 9 through 12) providing instruction in studio art and computer art. XX Saturday Art for Kids Program: Students provide art instruction to children from kindergarten through ninth grade. Degree candidates must successfully complete 36 credits, including all required courses, with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0. Course work can be completed in a three-semester program, or in a part-time, two-year program. In the final semester, each student is required to complete a thesis project, which must be reviewed and approved by the thesis director and the department chair in order for the student to be eligible for degree conferral.

The Program The Master of Arts in Teaching program provides the course work and student

Sample Program one-year program


FALL Semester Credits spring Semester Credits

Curriculum for Special Populations Educational Foundations Educational Psychology Materials and Methods: Elementary New York State Teacher Certification Exam (NYSTCE) Preparation Special Study 1 Special Topics Seminar 1 Student Teaching in Public Elementary and Middle Schools

3 3 3 2 0 1 1 2

Curriculum: Arts Integrated Materials and Methods: Secondary Museum Studies: Theory and Practice New York State Teacher Certification Exam (NYSTCE) Preparation Special Study 2 Special Topics Seminar 2 Student Teaching in Public Secondary Schools Technology in Art Education

3 2 3 0 1 1 2 3

summer Semester

Credits

Advanced Studio Art Thesis Project Seminar

3 3

two-year program
First Year
FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Curriculum for Special Populations Educational Psychology New York State Teacher Certification Exam (NYSTCE) Preparation Special Topics Seminar 1

3 3 0 1

Museum Studies: Theory and Practice New York State Teacher Certification Exam (NYSTCE) Preparation Special Topics Seminar 2 Technology in Art Education

3 0 1 3

New York State Teacher Certification Examinations


Annual Institution Report Program Year: 2007 2008

Second Year
FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Educational Foundations Number Passed 21 20 22 Pass Rate: Institution 100% 91% 100% Pass Rate: Statewide 100% 93% 99% Materials and Methods: Elementary Special Study 1 Student Teaching in Public Elementary and Middle Schools

3 2 1 2

Curriculum: Arts Integrated Materials and Methods: Secondary Special Study 2 Student Teaching in Public Secondary Schools
summer Semester

3 2 1 2
Credits

Test Field ATS-W Visual Arts CST Liberal Arts and Sciences Test

Number Tested 21 22 22

Advanced Studio Art Thesis Project Seminar

3 3

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Course Descriptions

Faculty

Advanced Studio Art

Materials and Methods: Elementary

Student Teaching in Public Elementary and Middle SchoolS

An eight-week workshop that will offer students the opportunity to further explore and develop their personal artwork. In-class critiques will be led by a professional artist/educator.
Curriculum: Arts Integrated

The purpose of this course is to create educators who will be competent in the numerous new demands that educational reform is making of the learning community. Areas addressed will include: the New York State Education Depart ments learning and performance standards in social studies, science and English language arts; cross-cultural issues and curriculum; integration of the visual arts with other subject areas; and how to develop the listening, speaking, reading and writing skills of all students, including English-language learners.
Curriculum for Special Populations

The methods and materials appropriate for art experiences suitable for pre-kindergarten through middle school will be examined, including problem-solving approaches to various teaching situations, classroom management and discipline. Based on cumulative, developmental learning experiences in the visual arts, students will develop strategies and procedures for teaching art, including sequential lesson plans that they may use in their student teaching.
Materials and Methods: Secondary

Student teachers will be placed at elementary- and middle-school sites to observe classes, prepare lesson plans and teach their lessons. After two weeks of fieldwork, participants will work with an art teacher for 20 full days of student teaching. Observation and evaluation by School of Visual Arts faculty and cooperating teachers will be given on an ongoing basis.
Student Teaching in Public Secondary Schools

The objectives and practical methodology involved in teaching art on the secondary level is the focus of this course. Topics include development and organization of appropriate content and design for a secondary-school curriculum, classroom management and discipline. Sequential lesson plans for the development of age-appropriate skills may be devised and implemented at the student teaching sites.
Museum Studies: Theory and Practice

Student teachers will be placed at secondary-school sites to observe classes, prepare lesson plans and teach their lessons. After two weeks of fieldwork, participants will work with an art teacher for 20 full days of student teaching. Observation and evaluation by School of Visual Arts faculty and cooperating teachers will be given on an ongoing basis.
Technology in Art Education

Fine artist, art educator Education: BFA, Philadelphia College of Art; MA, SUNY Albany; EdD, Columbia University One-Person Exhibitions include: SOHO20 Gallery; Museo del Pueblo de Guanajuato, Mexico Group Exhibitions include: Whitney Museum of American Art, Downtown Branch; 80 Washington Square; Port Authority Bus Terminal; Henry Street Settlement; Hudson River Museum; Benton Gallery Awards and honors include: CAPS, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture

Rose Viggiano, chair

Understanding the needs of special populations and how disabilities, home situations and socioeconomic levels affect learning will be the focus of this course. Students will hold workshops for elementary school-age children at a shelter that houses displaced mothers and their small children. The role of art activities in fostering self-esteem and confidence in children will be explored, with emphasis on group management, discipline and development of population-appropriate lessons. A special education component will focus on individualized instruction, legal responsibilities and ethical considerations for students with disabilities.
Educational Foundations

This course will examine and explore the theory and practice of museum education. We will focus on how to talk about art with elementary- and secondary-school students, including discussion of contemporary art from other cultures and genres such as abstract art. Guest lectures by museum educators and field trips to museums and galleries are included.
NYSTCEPreparation

This course offers a hands-on exploration of interactive technology and its impact on the art classroom. Students will receive an overview of the tools and teaching challenges for integrating technology into the art classroom in order to bridge the technological gap that can exist between teachers and their students.
Thesis Project Seminar

Art educator, graphic designer Education: BFA, MAT, School of Visual Arts One-Person Exhibitions include: Vermont Studio Center, Johnson; School of Visual Arts Group Exhibitions include: Edge Gallery, Rahway, NJ; Rahway Arts Guild Awards and honors include: Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Grant

Andrew J. Bencsko III

Art education will be explored through an examination of its cultural, social, psychological, environmental and aesthetic foundations. Art and its teaching will be situated within the contexts of psychosocial, cognitive and artistic development of children and adolescents. Research methodologies will also be introduced.
Educational Psychology

This course prepares students to take the New York State Teacher Certification exams. The Liberal Arts and Sciences Test, Content Specialty Test in Visual Art and Assessment of Teaching Skills Written, required for New York State art teacher certification, will be included. Test-taking strategies will be discussed, and several sample exams will be given.
Special Study 1 & 2

This seminar gives students the opportunity to synthesize and document their completed research and observations made during fieldwork, practica and student teaching. Students will meet as a group to discuss and develop their work for the thesis project. Each student will make a final presentation to the department chair and faculty.

Fine artist, fashion/costume designer, art educator Education: BA, MA, College of New Rochelle; EdD, Columbia University Exhibitions include: Macy Gallery, Teachers College, Columbia University; ABC No Rio; Lumen Gallery, New Rochelle Library, NY honors include: Kappa Delta Pi

Sandra Edmonds

Professional Opportunities
The MAT Art Education Department offers its students research opportunities as well as experience in the application of educational theory and practice. Teaching sites provide resources for the development of a personal teaching philosophy and the thesis project. These sites have included: SVAs Art for Kids Programs and Liberty Partnerships Program (funded through the New York State Education Department), a shelter for homeless mothers and children, and New York City public schools and museums. Of the 24 MAT students who graduated in 2007, 21 were placed as teachers within one year after graduation; three were not available for placement.

The study of human development will be examined, including theories of cognition, social learning, information processing, motivation and mastery as they apply to the teaching process, especially in art education. In addition, educational psychological and intelligence assessments will be discussed.

The thesis director will meet weekly with students to guide them in the development of their thesis project. In the fall semester, students will prepare a literature review and conduct field research in SVAs childrens programs or other placements and develop their ideas for a thesis topic. In the spring semester, methodologies for conducting action-based research in classroom situations will be introduced; data will be collected and a thesis proposal will be completed providing the necessary background for the thesis project.
Special Topics Seminar 1 & 2

Painter, printmaker, art educator Education: BFA, MPS, Pratt Institute Group Exhibitions include: Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sweetbriar; Lehman College Art Gallery; SUNY Fredonia; Food Stamp Gallery Collections include: Heinz Corporation Awards and honors include: Virginia Center Fellowship, Studio in a School Association, Bronx Council on the Arts

Michael Filan

Art instructor, Poughkeepsie Day School Education: BFA, University of North Texas; MA, Brooklyn College; School of Visual Arts

Valerie Foster-Adam

Lectures will provide information on substance abuse for use in curricula that promote health and physical fitness to students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. How to identify and report suspected child abuse (or maltreatment), the prevention of child abduction and violence, and instruction in fire and arson will be included. In the second semester, we will address the use of art to support student learning in reading and literacy.

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Guest Lecturers

Fine artist, Lincoln Center Institute Education: BFA, Old Dominion University; MFA, Yale University; EdD, Columbia University Exhibitions include: Searles Spicer Gallery, Macy Gallery, National Arts Club Publications include: Rulers in the Land of Imagination, Art and Cognition, Teaching Artists Journal Awards and honors include: Teachers College Merit Scholarship; Virginia Center for the Creative Arts; Ely Harwood Schless Memorial Fund Prize, Yale University

Jerry M. James

Fine artist, writer Education: BA, Harvard University; EdD, Columbia University Exhibitions include: Rhonda Schaller Studio; Touch stone Gallery, Washington, DC; James Cohan Gallery Publications include: The Journal of Aesthetic Educa tion; HomelandsWomens Journeys Across Race, Place, and Time; American Short Fiction from Then and Now Awards and honors include: David McCord Prize for Outstanding Visual Artist, Harvard University

Aphrodite Desiree Navab

Fine artist; arts administrator; lecturer, Museum of Modern Art. Formerly, executive director, Collaborative Projects, Inc. Education: BA, Tyler School of Art; MA, New York University One-Person Exhibitions include: Asyl Gallery Group Exhibitions include: VIA #7 International Arts Festival, Paris; Muse de la Poste, Paris; P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center Publications include: The New York Times, New York Newsday, Art/World Curatorial works include: Monumental Vision: Abstraction Today, Gods of the Modern Age:Art and Technology, Bronx River Art Center and Gallery

Lynn Seeney

Gary Bates past president, The New York State Art Teachers Association Michael Bitz founder, director, The Comic Book Project John Broughton educator Judith Burton art educator Sandra Carey communications instructor Jennifer Carroll actor Antonia Demas founder, Food Studies Institute Barbara Ellmann artist Joan Goodman art educator Joel Handorff artist

Wayne Miyamoto artist, art educator Eva Pataki art educator, New York State Board of Education Joyce Raimando author, artist David Sandlin artist Natalie J. Schifano art educator Graeme Sullivan art educator Mary Sullivan artist Bruce Wands chair, MFA Computer Arts, School of Visual Arts

Ejay Weiss artist Nancy Wells artist Susan Edmonds Wiggins Director of Special Education, Sherman School, Sherman, CT

Phyllis Kornfeld artist Kimberly Lane elementary art teacher Rick Lasher past president, Art Educators of New Jersey Tara Maceyak curriculum specialist Peter Mason NYC Board of Education

Contact Us

Fine artist; thesis director, MAT Art Education Department, School of Visual Arts Education: BA, Barnard College; MA, EdD, Columbia University Exhibitions include: Lori Bookstein Fine Arts; Mana Fine Art, Jersey City; Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, NY; Peters Gallery, Houston Publications include: The Mirror and Adolescent Identity Formation: Adolescents Reflections on Reproductions of Paintings with Mirrors; Watching Yourself Teach: A Teaching and Learning Experience Awards and honors include: Kappa Delta Pi

Barbara Salander

Psychologist; director, childhood education, educational leadership, Adelphi University Education: BS, cum laude, Tulane University; M.Ed., Harvard University; PhD, New York University Publications include: Pathway to Inclusion: Voices from the Field; Projects in After Schools: Diverse Learners and School Achievement Awards and honors include: U.S. Department of Education, Greentree Foundation, New York City Department of Education, After School Corporation, Booth Ferris Foundation

Devin Thornburg

Dorothee King architect

Tel: 212.592.2445 Fax: 646.336.7702 E-mail: matarted@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/arteducation


We strongly encourage applicants to visit our department prior to submitting application materials. Minorities are strongly encouraged to apply. Come to our Departmental Information Session, or contact us directly to schedule a tour. Departmental Information Session: Saturday, October 24, 2009, 2 4 pm To register for a departmental information session, please visit our Web site or contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at: gradadmissions@sva.edu.

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XX The MPS Art Therapy program is committed to developing students into working professionals, via coursework and a clinical internship program, and to serving the community locally, nationally and internationally. XX In addition to writing a thesis that is clinical in scope, second-year students choose from two unique specialization tracksChallenged Populations (physical, emotional or mental challenges) or Addictionology (substance abuse and non-drug addictions). XX The program offers numerous opportunities to work with a variety of populations on a short-term basis through a unique Special Programs & Projects component, allowing students to enhance clinical skills and to supplement their training and experience.

Artists intuitively understand the inherently beneficial aspects of the creative process. Art therapy is an innovative profession that provides a valuable contribution to the care of people living with psychological and physical challenges. The mission of the mps Art Therapy program at sva is to offer students this avenue of helping others through creative expression. Students are trained within a humanistic framework, coupled with the theory and practice of art therapy. The program offers coursework taught by working professionals, innovative internship opportunities and workshops, lectures and special projects reflective of current trends within the profession. The internship requirement is a significant part of the training, giving students the opportunity to work directly with clients on an ongoing basis, in both individual and group settings. Students are supervised by registered and licensed art therapists as well as members of the mps Art Therapy faculty, and begin internships in the first semester of study, ensuring that theory and practice are integrated from the start. The programs full-time Internship Coordinator meets individually with students to choose a placement from a wide array of settings, including treatment centers, schools, hospitals and shelters. Community outreach via Special Programs & Projects affords students additional opportunities to work with clients outside of their internship experience. The diversity and density of New York Citys population make it a unique location for cutting-edge treatment, technology and technique. The thousands of working professionals, including art therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, educators and artists, provide the program a remarkable pool of talent and experience from which to select faculty, internships and guest lecturers. The mps Art Therapy program, an educational provider fully approved by the American Art Therapy Association, is committed to serving the community and to training students to work and thrive within this demanding profession, as well as aiding alumni in their post-graduation growth. The program looks forward to seeing the accomplishments of its alumni, and the role they will play in promoting and developing the field in the years and decades to come.

MPS Art Therapy


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Deborah Farber, chair

Making a Difference One Student at a Time


Alumni Profile: Lesley Achitoff

Lesley Achitoff was a decorative painter for over a decade before studying Art Therapy at SVA. She is photographed at her school in Manhattan, where she works with court-involved teenage girls.

The field of art therapy enables artists to combine art and psychology as a vehicle for healing, communication, self-expression and personal development. Lesley Achitoff, a 2004 graduate who changed careers after being a decorative painter for 15 years, is now the only art therapist on staff at Community Prep High School in Manhattan, a transitional high school for court-involved adolescents. The school was created to help the students raise their grade levels and address the behavior issues that impede their academic achievement so that they will succeed in diploma-bearing high schools or ged programs. Lesley teaches a daily group advisory class with an art therapy focus for girls ages 14 to 18. Female students make up just 25% of the schools population. Art gives these students an opportunity to express themselves in a non-verbal way, she explains. Therapy helps counter their resistance and builds trust. Art therapy helps them to discover their creativity and raises their self-esteem, which in turn helps them do better in school. Achitoff believes that in this line of work, small victories make all the difference. One student, who struggles with the effects of trauma, has made significant progress in her schooling and therapy. She is leaving the program with patience and focus and even wants to go to college. Achitoff emphasizes that she is not trying to change the students but to help them recognize their own strengths through the art therapy process. But just like any artist, her work is never truly done.

Art therapy helps at-risk youth communicate their emotions without words. This mask was made by a student to express what she thought others saw when they met her.

Achitoff holds up a roll of paper that students worked on together that blends collage, drawings and poetry.

Achitoff also works with her students on personal journals. The girls put down their thoughts, experiences, poems and photographs. Some of them draw, says Achitoff. There are times I give them the freedom to do anything they want in the books. Other times Ill ask specific questions which they can answer in any medium they choose.

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The MPS Art Therapy Department is housed in an expansive space that includes an open studio with an observation area for hands-on training of students working with clients in the creative art therapies. The open studio, as well as two classrooms, are designed and operated based on the humanistic philosophy that art therapy and art therapy training should be a collaboration mediated by artistic processes and human interactions. It is modeled after an enabling space, or sanctuary, in which the connection between creativity and healing can be made. This environment, and all that happens within it, reinforces the notion that by treating clients with respect and dignity and introducing them to art as a special language for self-expression, the power of the creative process can be utilized as a form of therapeutic treatment.

Deborah Farber
Internships are a key element of the program. We have over a hundred placements in the New York metropolitan area.

What ideas guided you in creating the mps Art Therapy program at sva? From the beginning of the program, recalls Deborah Farber, I was interested in community outreach. And I had the idea that it should be multidisciplinary. I thought students should hear from different members of treatment teams, not only art therapists, but other people in the hierarchy. So we have psychologists who are also artists teaching as one way to vary the approach, learning style and material. And we look for a totally heterogeneous mix of students, Farber stresses, because in group therapy, thats the ideal situation. Why did you add the addictionology track to the curriculum? We arrived at the twin-track structure of the program by thinking about the usefulness of a substance abuse counseling certification. I wanted the equivalent of that qualification to be incorporated into the program because I thought it would enhance the trainings practicality. And sure enough, we quickly began to find that our graduates had a huge advantage when trying to get art therapy jobs in addictions facilities. Can your students balance their artistic development with the demands of graduate study? Students are encouraged to maintain their own art practices. Farber explains. We have an open studio all day on Friday, and we incorporate a lot of art-making into classes, so theyre always using art materials. Creation is universal, and the creative process is a healing process. Students need to be fluent in two languages, clinical language and the language of creativity. Whether or not their clients are talented has nothing to do with it. How is the internship component structured? Internships are a key element of the program. We have over a hundred placements in the New York metropolitan area. When someone is accepted into the program, they meet with our internship coordinator, who works full-time to set up legal contracts with our affiliates and assisting students in their placement. We work with every type of population such as therapeutic nursery schools, day treatment programs for substance abusers, assisted living programs for the elderly, and everything in between. What are students working toward? The thesis is a culmination of everything theyve learned. They come up with a clinical question, something that involves research and a hypothesis. Its done in measurable steps and they discuss their research with instructors as well as with the entire group. How do mps Art Therapy alumni contribute to the field? I have one student, Farber enthuses, who worked with abused children and wrote her thesis on adolescents with attachment disorders. It was recently published in the American Art Therapy Journal. Another student was an animator who wanted to go into art therapy. He started his own nonprofit and works all over the metropolitan area, hiring art therapists to work using animation with at-risk adolescents. Hes got all kinds of grants already, and hes only been out of the program for two years!

On any given day...


First-Year Student:
9 noon Raquel Stephensons Adult Development & Aging class, students discuss Creativity & Aging and Rudolf Arnheims essay On the Late Style. noon 3pm Rebecca DiSunnos Expressive Therapies class covers Film & Photography. The documentary Born into Brothels is screened. 3 6pm Break. Students conduct research at the Visual Arts Library; some catch up on paperwork from their internship sites; some work on their watercolor technique for an upcoming Visiting Artist Workshop given by watercolorist Judi Betts. 6 9pm Supervision Class: students hand in process notes from internship sites and conduct case presentations. 6 9pm Clinical Topics in Challenged Populations class for students in the Challenged Populations track, guest lecturer Marcia CohenLiebman discusses Forensic Art Therapy. 3 6pm Community Access Through the Arts class. Students participate in a collaborative art therapy/museum education project at the Whitney Museum of American Art .

Second-Year Student:
9 noon Students meet with thesis instructors Eileen McGann and Raquel Stephenson for Thesis Project class and discuss putting finishing touches on their theses as well as upcoming thesis presentations. noon 3pm Break. Students catch up on paperwork from internship sites; some work on submissions for In Touch, the Art Therapy Departments online newsletter; some attend a planning meeting for an upcoming Special Project with coordinator Val Sereno; some meet with clients in the MPS Art Therapy Departments Counseling Center.

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The Program The mps in Art Therapy curriculum is interdisciplinary in approach, drawing from art,
clinical and educational applications, and the social sciences. The first year of study covers the general theory and practice of art therapy and is designed to help students understand the relationship between cognition, emotion and behavior as well as how these areas relate to art diagnosis and treatment. In the second year, students choose between two areas of specialization: addictionology and challenged populations. Degree candidates must successfully complete 60 credits, including all required courses, with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0. A residency of two academic years is required, but there is a three-year and four-year part time option for students unable to attend the program on a full time basis. In the nal semester, each student is required to complete a thesis project, which must be reviewed and approved by the thesis committee and the department chair in order for the student to be eligible for degree conferral. In exceptional instances, students may be allowed to transfer up to 15 credits from other accredited graduate programs. Decisions concerning transfer of credit and course exemptions are made by the committee on graduate admissions.

Specialization
Addictionology:

The addictionology track focuses on both

Challenged Populations:

The challenged populations track

substance abuse and non-drug addictions. Students will learn about diagnosis and treatment, and gain a thorough knowledge of the physiology of addictions and of how to work with affected families.

focuses on the uses of art therapy in a variety of settings, including physical, mental and emotional challenges. Counseling methods and the impact of disability on the family are among the subjects addressed.

Sample Programs first year


FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Child Art Development Expressive Therapies Seminar I Internship/Supervision in the Studio I Interviewing and Counseling Skills for Challenged and Addicted Populations Methods and Materials in Art Therapy Theoretical Foundations of Art Therapy

3 0 3 3 3 3

Adolescent Art Development Adult Development and Aging Expressive Therapies Seminar II Group Therapy and Practice Internship/Supervision in the Studio II Psychiatric Populations and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM IV)

3 3 0 3 3 3

second year: addictionology


FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Art Assessment and Diagnosis Clinical Topics in Addictionology Family Art Therapy: The Impact of Disability and Addiction Internship/Supervision in the Studio III Thesis Project I

3 3 3 3 3

Community Access Through the Arts Internship/Supervision in the Studio IV Multicultural Issues in Art Therapy Physiology of Addictions Thesis Project II

3 3 3 3 3

second year: challenged populations


FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Art Assessment and Diagnosis Art Therapy in Disabilities Family Art Therapy: The Impact of Disability and Addiction Internship/Supervision in the Studio III Thesis Project I

3 3 3 3 3

Clinical Topics in Challenged Populations Community Access Through the Arts Internship/Supervision in the Studio IV Multicultural Issues in Art Therapy Thesis Project II

3 3 3 3 3 A grading rubric for Leslie Achitoffs class: The students are graded on a point system to help them to be more aware of their behavior and contribution to the class.

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Course Descriptions

Adolescent Art Development

CHILD ART DEVELOPMENT

FAMILY ART THERAPY: THE IMPACT OF DISABILITY AND ADDICTION

As art therapists, it is essential that we have an understanding of the individuals with whom we may work. This course will provide a theoretical framework in which to examine adolescence in terms of developmental processes in art expression, cognition, intra-psychic dynamics, external environmental influences and the interrelationship between the two. Attention will be given to increasing the students understanding of the role and impact family, society, culture and trauma have upon adolescent development and functioning. Establishing a safe arena and therapeutic alliance in order to effectively implement art therapy as assessment, intervention and in ongoing treatment with the adolescent will be a continual area of discussion.
ADULT DEVELOPMENT and AGING

The course will focus on the behavior of children from birth through pre-adolescence. Through case presentations, readings and discussion, students will examine the physical, emotional and intellectual growth of children, and explore the psychological and physiological factors involved in learning, creativity and personality development. Normal development, psycho pathology and art therapy treatment approaches will be included.
CLINICAL TOPICS IN ADDICTIONOLOGY

Systems theory will provide the theoretical foundation for this course; family art therapy and strategic learning will be explored and experienced. To conceptualize the emotional phenomena within the family of origin offers practitioners the skills to maneuver in complex waters. When addiction, mental illness and physical disabilities exist within the system, every member is impacted with a life-altering experience. To restore a functional adjustment and balance is the goal of the family art therapist. Research, genograms, case studies and literature will be part of the learning experience.
GROUP THERAPY and PRACTICE

contemporary theories such as the Minnesota Model for treatment of substance abuse, behavioral, cognitive, educational, creative arts, lecture and experiential work will be offered.
Methods and Materials in Art Therapy

Students will examine the physical and emotional growth of adults and will explore the psychological and physiological factors involved. Specific emphasis will be placed on the variations of the aging process and how these manifest themselves in behavior and creative expression. Normal development, psychopathology and art therapy treatment approaches will be included.
ART ASSESSMENT and DIAGNOSIS

A broad overview of the changing and expanding field of addictions will be presented. Topics will focus on the psychological nature of substance abuse (including the so-called para-addictions), the various theories that attempt to explain it, and how we, as clinicians, can begin to have an impact. Special emphasis will be placed on ways in which art therapy can begin to address difficult treatment issues.
CLINICAL TOPICS IN CHALLENGED POPULATIONS

Art assessment and diagnostic materials will be explored through experiential sessions, didactic learning and casework. Students will learn the fundamentals of art therapy assessment, statistical concepts including reliability and validity, selection of the assessment tool and familiarity with a variety of specific art therapy instruments and procedures used in appraisal and evaluation, and will gain an understanding of developmental levels, cultural factors, psychopathology and psychological health manifested in artwork and art-making. Additional topics to be discussed include, administration and documentation of art therapy assessment; formulation of treatment goals; objectives and strategies related to assessment and evaluation, including historical perspectives of assessment; basic concepts of standardized and non-standardized testing and assessment, fundamentals of psychological testing; biopsychosocial assessment; statistical concepts including reliability and validity; strategies for selection of the assessment tool and familiarity with a variety of specific instruments and procedures used in appraisal and evaluation. Projective tests such as the Diagnostic Drawing Series (DDS), Levick Emotional and Cognitive Art Therapy Assessment (LECATA), Mandala Assessment Research Instrument (MARI), Silver Drawing Test of Cognition and Emotion, Ulman Personality Assessment Procedure (UPAP) and other psychometric instruments will be explored.
Art Therapy in Disabilities

This course will offer a range of art therapy applications and issues, presented by a series of clinicians with specific areas of expertise. Client populations, treatment approaches and related professional aspects in isolation, trauma and chronic disease will be examined. Phenomena within the treatment setting explored will include interdisciplinary collaboration, co-treating, contributing to the treatment record, ethics and standards of practice. Students will explore the potential of the therapeutic arts discipline within the treatment milieu.
COMMUNITY ACCESS THROUGH THE ARTS

This course will assist in the development of clinical skills through an exploration of techniques and practices. Topics will include standards and methods of documentation, treatment planning, treatment team reports (oral and written) and case presentation. Emphasis will be placed on theoretical and experiential understanding of group art therapy techniques: group dynamics and process, counseling methods, leadership styles and approaches, member roles and behaviors, selection criteria, short- and long-term group process, therapeutic factors and stages of group development. Contemporary theorists will also be critically surveyed. In addition, research methodologies and design will be explored for thesis/special project preparation.
internship/supervision in the studio I, II, III & IV

This course will enable students to examine the use of paints, inks, organic art processes, sculpture materials and other traditional and non-traditional art media and their uses with particular client populations. Salient features of particular materials and expressive dimensions will be explored. Discussion of computer applications relevant to art therapy will be included. Students will explore the impact of art processes and materials through ongoing participation in personal art-making. By strengthening their connection to the creative process, students will gain an understanding of personal symbolic languageand arts-based learning, allowing for the opportunity to integrate intellectual, emotional, artistic and interpersonal knowledge.
MULTICULTURAL ISSUES IN ART THERAPY

The professional role as an art therapist, with regard to function and relationships with other mental health providers, including knowledge of professional organizations, credentialing and licensure, public policy, advocating for the profession and client advocacy will be explored. Students will learn how to create an in-service presentation, which will include didactic materials and client work, to appeal to various audiences. Alternatives to traditional methods of psychotherapeutic treatment will be explored, such as psychosocial clubs, peer-led support groups and consumer-run centers. Field visits will be included for observation and presentation purposes. Students will receive instruction in preparing to enter the job market, including practice in resume writing and professional interviewing skills. Occupational counseling, career development theory, information and resources, diversity factors, supervision and ethical and legal issues, and the development of art therapy-based career counseling will be covered, along with knowledge and skills considered essential in enabling individuals and organizations to positively affect career development and aptitude.
EXPRESSIVE THERAPIES Seminar i & ii

The SVA Art Therapy Department has developed numerous affiliations with a wide variety of institutions in and around New York City. Working with the field placement coordinator, each student will be placed in a supervised internship that corresponds with his or her area of specialization. Students are required to spend 16 hours per week at an internship site each semester. Small-group supervision will also be provided by SVA faculty members through a unique studio-based component of this course. This will give students a regular opportunity to reflect on their work with clients and to further their own artistic development as they explore the challenges of artist-as-therapist. Students will explore professional identity, professional ethics and the ethical practice of art therapy and the proper application of ethical and legal principles of art therapy practice, and gain familiarity with the ethical standards of the American Art Therapy Association and Art Therapy Credentials Board as well as other related fields.
INTERVIEWING and COUNSELING SKILLS FOR Challenged and addicted populations

The effect of ethnicity and culture in the therapeutic process will be examined through case material, slide illustrations and didactic and experiential sessions. This course will explore cultural determinants of problems encountered in the field of art therapy, and provide a foundation of knowledge in cultural diversity theory and competency models applied to an understanding of diversity of artistic language, symbolism and meaning in artwork and art-making across cultures and within a diverse society. Students will investigate the role of the art therapist in social justice, advocacy and conflict resolution, including theories of counseling and development of competencies essential for a culturally responsive therapist with regard to age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, socio-economic status, developmental disability, education, family values and religious and spiritual values. Cultural self-awareness through self-assessment, strategies for working with diverse communities and critical thinking with regard to attitudes, beliefs and competent practice will be explored. Students will be encouraged to share their own cultural beliefs and attitudes in relation to the practice of art therapy.
PHYSIOLOGY OF ADDICTIONS

A consideration of contemporary neurochemical theories of addictions. Neuroanatomy and physiology, and the use of psychotropic medication in the treatment of substance abuse will be examined. An in-depth look at theories regarding the genetic etiology of substance abuse will be reviewed.
Psychiatric Populations and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM IV)

This course will examine the relationship of art therapy intervention in persons with physical and emotional challenges. Emphasis will be placed on the facilitation of coping strategies. Case presentations, slide and video illustrations, readings, research and clinical implications for treatment will be offered.

Students will be introduced to each of the expressive modalities, including dance, music, bibliotherapy and videotherapy, as well as methods for integrating these modalities with the visual arts. Guest lecturers will provide the context for practical applications. Readings and experiential sessions will also be utilized.

Students will be introduced to assessment and evaluation techniques for the treatment of challenged populations, chemically dependent clients and their families. Intake strategies for both short- and longterm settings, and how to develop counseling skills will be the primary focus. Students will learn the historical development of counseling and psychological theories, understanding of systems perspective, application to case material and critical thinking with regard to similarities and differences between art therapy intervention and counseling intervention. Case material and presentations, role-playing, videotaping,

Psychopathology, as determined by the DSM multi-axial system, will be examined in depth. Case material will be presented for each diagnostic category, and the clinical implications for the art therapist will be explored. Treatment approaches will be considered, as will indicators of functional and organic disorders in behavior and artwork of clients. Types of psychopharmacological medications will be covered.

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Faculty

Special Projects
Special Projects are a distinctive element of the MPS Art Therapy program, as they afford students additional opportunities to work with clients outside of their internship setting. Special Projects are innovative short-term art therapy experiences facilitated by students and a board certified art therapist. Students learn to create client-specific directives, encourage community partnership and assess project objectives and results. Special Projects are facilitated with a wide range of client populations, in such venues as social service agencies, healthcare facilities, community centers, schools, corporations and alternative sites.

THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF ART THERAPY

The history of the theoretical aspects of art therapy will be explored. Analytic, behavioral, cognitive, interpersonal and humanistic approaches, important events, practitioners and the development of art therapy as a distinct therapeutic practice will be reviewed through readings and didactic and experiential sessions. Ethical and legal issues of art therapy practice, including certification, values, malpractice and confidentiality, and an overview of psychotherapy theories relevant to art therapy will also be included in discussions and examined through case presentations and lectures.
THESIS PROJECT I & II

Students will be supervised by members of the art therapy faculty in the development of a thesis topic. Each project must be clinical in scope, present an original point of view and include supporting documentation of its concepts and findings. In addition, students may opt to explore grant-writing opportunities. Structured methods and formats such as quantitative and qualitative research, formal case studies and arts-based research will be discussed. Students are required to present their thesis projects to peers and faculty. The department chair will oversee all projects.

Registered art therapist, ATR-BC, LCAT Education: BA, Herbert H. Lehman College; MPS, Pratt Institute; Substance Abuse Counseling Certificate, Marymount Manhattan College professional experience: Art therapist, Holliswood Hospital; alcoholism psychotherapist, Freedom Institute; activities director, High Point Hospital; activities therapist, Association for the Help of Retarded Children; curator, Annual Art Therapy Exhibition, School of Visual Arts publications and presentations include: Rebuilding Hope One Block at a Time: Collective Art in New York City, American Art Therapy Association Annual Conference; Child Art Therapy, Montclair Art Museum; panelist, Arts and Humanities Confer ence, School of Visual Arts; Art Therapy and Literacy with Children, International Reading Conference; Encyclopedia of Disability and Rehabilitation; Fergusons Careers in Focus: Art

Deborah Farber, chair

Rebecca Di Sunno

Art therapist, ATR-BC, LCAT; clinical nurse specialist Education: MA, PhD, New York University professional experience: Art therapist, East End Hospice; art therapy program coordinator, International Child Art Foundation, World Childrens Festival Publications include: American Journal of Art Therapy, East Hampton Star

professional experience: Art therapist, clinical supervisor, Family

Registered art therapist, ATR-BC, LCAT; psychoanalyst; executive director, Institute for Expressive Analysis. Formerly, art therapist, Manhattan Psychiatric Center Education: BA, University of California San Diego; MPS, Pratt Institute

Claudia Bader

Senior psychologist and outpatient program coordinator, Comprehensive Addiction Treatment Center, Jacobi Medical Center; associate director, The Mimesis Institute; private practice Education: BA, SUNY Binghamton; MA, Yeshiva University; PhD, Long Island University; postgraduate training, Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society; New York Milton Erickson Society for Psychotherapy and Hypnosis presentations include: Unconscious at Play: Utilizing the Mimesis Process, Institute for Expressive Analysis; Chemical Dependency in the Workplace: Establishing a Chemical Dependency Program, Lenox Hill Hospital

Michael Fisher

Service Programs; post-adoption coordinator, HeartShare Human Services; art therapist, Graham Windham Services to Children and Families; consultant, New York Urban League: Manhattan Branch Family Redirection Program exhibitions include: Baca Downtown Theater and Gallery, Long Island University, New York Art Therapy Association, Art in General

Markus J. Kraebber
Psychiatrist
Education: BA, Harvard University; MD, Jefferson Medical College professional experience: Attending psychiatrist, pediatric con-

Internship Opportunities
The Art Therapy Department has developed internship affiliations with hospitals and agencies in the metropolitan area. Internships provide students with the opportunity to integrate theory with art therapy practice and to gain professional skills. Internship sites include, but are not limited to: New York Foundling Hospital, Refrew Center, Gay Mens Health Crisis, HeartShare Human Services, Coalition for Hispanic Families, NYC Public Schools, St. Marys Childrens Hospital, Lutheran Medical Center, Interfaith Medical Center, New York Presbyterian Hospital, North Bronx and Jacobi Hospitals, NYU Medical Center, and Queens Childrens Psychiatric Center. The Department employs a full-time internship coordinator who works with students in their clinical placement, and communicates with on-site and faculty supervisors in assessing each students progress.

Registered art therapist, ATR-BC, LCAT Education: BA, City College of New York; MA, New York University; PhD, Union Institute professional experience: Board of directors, Ameri can Art Therapy Association; director, Therapeu tic Arts, Bellevue Hospital Center publications include: Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association; American Journal of Art Therapy; Time Out New York; Photo District News; New York Newsday awards and honors include: Distinguished Service Award, Clinician Award, American Art Therapy Association; Honorary Life Member Award, Dis ting uish ed Service Award, New York Art Therapy Associa tion

Irene Rosner David

Registered art therapist, ATR-BC, LCAT Education: BFA, Rhode Island School of Design; MA, New York University professional experience: Clinical psychotherapist, New York Foundling Hospital; Danbury Hospital for Children and Adolescent Treatment Services; Long Island College Hospital; New York Institute for Special Education presentations include: When a Scribble Is Not Just a Scribble: Diagnostic Implications of the Content and Process of Art, Department of Psychiatry, Harlem Hospital Center; Using Art Therapy with Children in Foster Care, Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA); A Touching Sight: Art Therapy with Blind Children, Annual Conference, American Art Therapy Association

Lisa Furman

sultant, New York Presbyterian Hospital; Massachusetts General Hospital/Chelsea; Eric Lindemann Mental Health Center; Volunteers of America, Inc.; ACI, Inc.; Lenox Hill Hospital; Bellevue Hospital CPEP; research assistant, Diabetes Research Center, University of Pennsylvania Medical School; corporate finance analyst, Smith Barney publications include: Blood Pressure Changes, Evaluation of Fever, On Call Psychiatry; Validation and Utility of a SelfReport Version of Prime-MD, Journal of the American Medical Association; Effect of the Hypoglycemic drug AZ DF 265 on ATPSensitive Potassium Channels in Rat Pancreatic beta cells, British Journal of Pharmacology

Stephanie Gorski

Registered art therapist, ATR-BC, LCAT; internship coordinator, MPS Art Therapy Department, School of Visual Arts education: BFA College of New Rochelle; MAAT, School of the Art Institute of Chicago PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Art therapist, Community Prep HS for court-involved adolescents; Brooklyn Community Counseling Center 9/11 Outreach; Catholic Charities homelesss adult employment program; child welfare coordinator, Jamal Place residential program PRESENTATIONS INCLUDE: Boys: Art & Destruction, American Art Therapy Association; Working with Young People in Challenging Situations, Fund for the City of New York; Working with Girls in the Juvenile Justice System, Legal Aid Society

Elizabeth Dellicarpini

Registered art therapist, ATR-BC, LCAT Education: BA, SUNY Geneseo; MPS, Pratt Institute professional experience: Clinical coordinator, New York Foundling Hospital; social worker, South Brooklyn Prevention Program; art therapist, Blueberry Treatment Center; adoption social worker, New York Spaulding for Children publications include: Pratt Institute Creative Arts Therapy Review Award: Sr. Teresa Vincent McCrystal Excellence Award

Art therapist, ATR-BC, LCAT Education: BFA, California College of the Arts; MPS, Pratt Institute; MSW, Columbia University Professional experience: Private practice; student assistance counselor, Clarkstown Central School District, NY; co-founder, facilitator, Teen Power Presentations include: Creative Genograms, American Art Therapy Association Publication: The Whole Mind: The Definitive Guide to Complementary Treatments for Mind, Mood, and Emotion

Carol Greiff Lagstein

Robert Abel Grant

Registered art therapist, ATR-BC, LCAT Education: BA, Long Island University; MPS, Pratt Institute

Registered art therapist, ATR-BC, LCAT Education: BFA, Manhattanville College; MA, New York University professional experience: Senior art therapist, Jewish Board of Family and Childrens Services One-person exhibition: Molloy College Art Gallery group exhibitions: New York University, Rye Art League, Manhattanville College, Kean Mason Gallery publications include: American Journal of Art Therapy, Art Therapy with Older Adults, The Arts in Psycho therapy, Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, Journal of Emotional Abuse, Racism and Racial Identity

Eileen P. McGann

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Guest Lecturers

Renee Obstfeld

Registered art therapist, ATR-BC, LCAT Education: BA, Sarah Lawrence College; MA, New York University PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Art therapist, Robert Mapplethorpe Residential Treatment Facility Publication: American Journal of Art Therapy

Registered art therapist, ATR-BC, LCAT; director, therapeutic services & creative arts therapies, Incarnation Childrens Center Education: BA, Manhattanville College; MA, New York University PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Senior child life specialist, Mount Sinai Medical Center; advisory board, Splashes of Hope Presentations include: The New Psychosocial Morbidity: A View from the 21st Century, Mount Sinai Pediatric Grand Rounds; Weaving Creative Arts Modalities into Child Life Practice, Bank Street College of Education; Weaving Creative Arts Processes Into Child Life Programming, Child Life of Greater New York Professional Development Conference; Child Art Therapy, New School University

Meagan OConnell

Registered art therapist, ATR-BC, LCAT; coordinator, special programs and projects, MPS Art Therapy Department, School of Visual Arts Education: BA, Marymount Manhattan College; MA, New York University Professional experience: Art therapist, 9/11 School Recovery Program, PS 89, PS 124; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Montessori Manhattan School, St. Lukes Hospital Presentations include: The Creative Arts Therapies Response to 9/11, New York University; American Art Therapy Association Conference; Psycho-Oncology Conference, Heidelberg

Valerie Sereno

Bonnie Allie art therapist Corinne Arles expressive arts therapist, Free Arts NYC Ted E. Becker Jr. psychiatrist Chris Belkofer art therapist Judi Betts watercolorist Ani Buk art therapist Marcia Cohen-Liebman art therapist Barbara Cooper art therapist, SuperKids Ashley Dorr art therapist Gail Elkin-Scott art therapist Mimi Farrelly-Hansen art therapist

Robin Goodman art therapist and clinical psychologist; Director of the Bereavement Center at A Caring Hand, Billy Esposito Foundation Bereavement Center Scott Green Head of Fine Arts, University of Derby Ellen Horovitz art therapist David Read Johnson director, Institute for the Arts in Psychotherapy; codirector, Post Traumatic Stress Center Judith Kuspit psychologist, psychoanalyst Carol Lark art therapist, psychotherapist, director, The Art Therapy Center Laura Loumeau-May art therapist Paola Luzzatto art therapist Cathy Malchiodi art therapist, Director of the Institute for the Arts and Health Shannon McGinn art therapist; staff attorney, Prisoner Reentry Project, Legal Services of New Jersey

Carole McNamee marital and family therapist Shaun McNiff art therapist, founder, Institute for the Arts and Human Development Nancy McWilliams psychotherapist Bruce Moon art therapist Cathy Moon art therapist Thomas Moore author Peggy Papp social worker, Ackerman Institute Shirley Riley art therapist Diane Rode art therapist, Kravis Childrens Hospital at Mount Sinai Judith Aron Rubin art therapist Brenda Seckerson expressive arts therapist, Free Arts NYC Karen Seeley psychologist Katherine Shargo art therapist, New Jersey Department of Corrections

Daniel Siegel psychiatrist, executive director, Mindsight Institute Ellen Speert art therapist; founder, California Center for Creative Renewal Annette Vaccaro art therapist, social worker Bessel van der Kolk psychiatrist Judy Weiser psychologist, phototherapist Stephanie Wise art therapist Gaelyn Wolf-Bordonaro art therapist Irvin D. Yalom psychiatrist

Raquel Chapin Stephenson

Registered art therapist, ATR-BC, LCAT Education: BFA, University of Michigan; MA, New York University PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Program coordinator, clinical supervisor, New York University Creative Aging Therapeutic Services; art therapist, St. Lukes Hospital publications include: The Older Learner, Generations

Contact Us

Tel: 212.592.2610 Fax: 917.606.0461 E-mail: arttherapy@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/arttherapy


We strongly encourage applicants to contact our Department to schedule an informational meeting and receive a tour of our facilities prior to submitting application materials. Departmental Information Session: Saturday November 7, 2009, 2 4 pm To register for a departmental information session, please visit our Web site or contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at: gradadmissions@sva.edu.

Barbara Fish art therapist, director, Art Therapy Associates Linda Gantt art therapist David Gonzalez music therapist

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MPS Branding Arts


www.sva.edu/grad/brandingarts

XX Create frameworks to guide brand, design and business development XX Critically evaluate brand, business, marketing and design strategies XX Master the intellectual link between leadership and creativity

The Master of Professional Studies in Branding Arts is a one-year degree program that will examine the relationship between design and strategy, and the power of design thinking as a way to combine creative skills with the problem-solving and decision-making processes of design and business. Students graduating from this program will be able to take advantage of new market opportunities, and to deliver innovative, successful and sustainable project outcomes in the worlds of design, advertising, marketing and business. During the year, students develop an understanding of diverse branding strategies, brand valuation, and brand development life cycle. Well explore important themes in behavioral science and relevant cultural themes as they relate to branding. Well investigate marketing challenges involved in creating and sustaining brands and gain an understanding of and experience with senior corporate management discourse. The thesis is a critical part of the mps in Branding Arts that is developed and completed in the summer semester. Students will develop their thesis, formulating and developing the central idea that will become their thesis, and will consider appropriate strategies for the research, form, presentation and distribution of their ideas. The thesis class will provide students the opportunity to meet as a group and with a faculty member to discuss issues related to the development of their theses, as well as review portions of each others work. Students should emerge from this process with a significant body of work.

Debbie Millman, chair

251

The Program The required coursework for this degree program will be organized into five progressive
segments: Culture, Behavior, Business, Commerce and Creative. Each discipline will work both independently and cohesively with the others, but rigorous attention will be paid to each field to determine and define the modern practice of branding. Degree candidates must successfully complete 36 credits, including all required courses, with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0. A residency of one academic year is required. The summer semester is dedicated to the thesis. The outcome of the Master of Professional Studies in Branding Arts will be a comprehensive conference and exhibit that will allow students to show, display, articulate and defend the premise of their new brand and showcase their work to the design, business and branding communities. Ultimately, the thesis must be reviewed and approved by an appointed thesis committee and the department chair in order for the student to be eligible for degree conferral. There will be a mandatory Guest Speaker Lecture Series bringing exposure, interaction and inspiration from esteemed practitioners in the branding and business community.

Course Descriptions

Behavior Studies: Practices in Market Research

Commerce Studies: Mass vs. Class Brands

Sample Program
FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Behavior Studies: Practices in Market Research  Business Studies: Introduction to Branding and Brand Theory Commerce Studies: Mass vs. Class Brands  Creative Studies: Concept Evaluation and Package Design  Culture Studies: Practices in Cultural Anthropology 

3 3 3 3 3

Behavior Studies: Understanding Consumer Behavior  Business Studies: Why We ShopMarketing,  Economics and Brands Commerce Studies: Technology, Culture and Branding  Creative Studies: Nomenclature and  Visual Language Development Culture Studies: Branding, Cognition and Culture 
SUMMER Semester

3 3 3 3 3
Credits

This course will provide a foundation in gaining understanding of consumer needs via various research methodologies. In this hands-on and project-based course, students will learn specific brand and designoriented methods and how to create a research plan, find participants, choose and carry out research methods in the context of a specific branding project. Some of the topics explored will be qualitative, quantitative, on-line and ethnographic interview techniques, video and photo documentary, immersion, participant-aided data gathering, prototypeassisted observation, methods for organizing data, finding patterns and distilling insights that lead to actionable and inspiring design directives.
Behavior Studies: Understanding Consumer Behavior

Understanding the needs of different cultures, populations, countries and demographics is necessary in order to create and design brands for a global marketplace and for local communities that are increasingly connected by global networks and circulation of ideas, styles, habits and forms of knowledge. In order to learn from culturally informed insights, it is necessary to conduct cross-cultural research to uncover unarticulated needs and tacit knowledge that underlie and motivate varying patterns of behavior and values. This class explores inter-related levels at which students can examine the challenge of multicultural branding in relation to consumers needs in diverse contexts: internationalization; accommodating multiple languages; localization; and embracing consumer needs in the context of their cultural values.
Commerce Studies: Technology, Culture and Branding

Thesis Class: Creating Brands, Identity and Experiences

This course will focus on the consumer and on approaches to understanding how consumers behave in a variety of product categories and from different perspectives. The course will also investigate concepts, methods and quantitative approaches (experiments, surveys, statistical techniques) and interpretive approaches (qualitative methods, humanistic studies) applicable at various levels from the most micro (individual behavior) to the most macro (societal or cultural phenomena at the global level). It will also provide students with a solid understanding of personality theory in general and the principles of social learning, in particular, upon which many cognitive-behavioral theories are based, and how brands are impacted by perception. Overall, the course objective is on developing a well-rounded, multifaceted picture of consumer behavior as it relates to branding.
Business Studies: Introduction to Branding and Brand Theory

This course will examine the interaction of science and technology with culture and branding. Topics covered include the historical development of both technology and science; their interrelationship with the development of civilization and brands; the relationship between science and technology; the role of design and branding as a focal point of interaction between culture, community and technology.
Creative Studies: Concept Evaluation and Package Design

This course will investigate a series of models of success and failure in both entrepreneurial and corporate settings. This will be accomplished through intensive case analysis of both historical and current situations, as well as through deep, critical readings of articles drawn from management strategy literature. By the end of the course, each student will be well trained to formulate a new business idea, realistically assess risk in various entrepreneurial and corporate schemes, and to make a presentation to prospective customers. In addition, this class will survey brand theories and will evolve a list of branding principles that students can then test and apply.
Business Studies: Why We ShopMarketing, Economics and Brands

On design-led projects, there is rarely a shortage of ideas for new products, services, and business models. This class will provide a framework and tools for evaluating concepts and ideas. The class will begin with creating a strategy and approach for evaluation, and then detail how to evaluate individual ideas on a range of package design assignments, and will include an introduction to nomenclature, primary and secondary packaging and materials.
Creative Studies: Nomenclature and Visual Language Development

The objective of Nomenclature and Visual Language Development is to learn to create visual and information systems that connect the needs of consumers with the needs of business. The course will explore the theory, tools and practices for generating names of brands and products, information hierarchy best practices and brand segmentation.
Culture Studies: Branding, Cognition and Culture

Marketing is the engine that creates value in a business. It provides the focus for interfacing with customers and the source of intelligence about customers, competitors and the general environment and is critical to the revenue and profit streams for a company. This course will investigate basic quantitative analysis in marketing and analyze scenarios for understanding market opportunities, competitive analysis, product positioning, how to value a brand and why people buy in the brands that they do.

Understanding product and service requirements from a consumer perspective is necessary in order for companies to compete in a modern marketplace. In order to obtain these user insights, it is necessary to begin with a thorough understanding of human behavioral, cognitive and emotional capabilities and responses. This knowledge must be applied to research prior to any design phase to uncover the unarticulated needs and tacit knowledge that drive patterns of behavior and values. This class will provide students with a broad overview of various behavioral sciences (behavioral decision research, social and cognitive psychology, neuroscience, consumer research) that clarify how consumers make decisions. Second, it will investigate how these results can be leveraged to design original and more effective marketing and business strategies.

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Faculty

Guest Lecturers

Culture Studies: Practices in Cultural Anthropology

This class will provide an introduction to the central concepts and issues in cultural anthropology. The course employs a worldwide comparative perspective that examines topics such as the concept of culture, cultural-ecological systems and family organization; socialization and personality will provide an overview of the ways in which anthropologists have studied and written about distinct cultural systems in numerous world regions. Using ethnographic case studies, the course explores how diverse cultural groups confront such issues as gender roles, political organization, economic strategies and colonialists. Particularly attentive to the problems of conducting ethnographic research in a changing world characterized by transnational ties, the course is meant for those students interested in global issues and in ethnographic writing.
Thesis Class: Creating Brands, Identity and Experiences

President, Design Division, Sterling Brands; radio show host, Design Matters with Debbie Millman.Formerly, senior vice president, Interbrand Education: BA, SUNY Albany Clients include: Tropicana; Pepsi; Unilever; Pepperidge Farm; Campbells; Gillette; Nestle; Colgate; Mars, Inc.; Georgia Pacific; GlaxoSmithKline Publications include: How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer, Essential Principals of Graphic Design, Speak Up, Step, Creativity, HOW, Graphic Design USA, The New York Times, Adobe Proxy, Design Management Journal, Print

Debbie Millman, chair

Malcolm Gladwell writer: The New Yorker; author: The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers DeeDee Gordon co-creator: L Report, Look-Look Magazine Stanley Hainsworth Chairman, chief creative officer, Tether. Formerly, global creative director, Starbucks; global creative director, Lego; creative director, Nike Jonah Lehrer editor: Wired; author: How We Decide, Proust Was a Neuroscientist Grant McCracken educator, author Daniel H. Pink entrepreneur; speaker; author: A Whole New Mind, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide Youll Ever Need

Virginia Postrel author: The Substance of Style, The Future and Its Enemies; writer: The New York Times, Forbes Cheryl Swanson founder, Toniq. Formerly, senior vice president, Wallace Church Associates Gong Szeto entrepreneur; lecturer; former director of design and product design, PEAK6 Investments; designer, OptionsHouse Rob Walker author: Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are; writer: The New York Times Magzine; founder, Murketing

The summer semester of the program will be entirely focused on the development and creation of a real world brand. It will continue to investigate the challenge of bringing to market elegant, innovative and efficient solutions targeted to strong customer needs. The course is structured around the following innovation process: opportunity identification, idea generation, design, testing and launch. The final product of this class and the MPS in Branding Arts will be the successful launch of a brand, either with an existing organization or as a solo proprietor.

Executive vice president of design management, Sterling Brands. Formerly, director of global packaging resources, Kraft Foods EDUCATION: BFA, Syracuse University CLIENTS INCLUDE: Maxwell House, JELL-O, Post and Kool-Aid, Walter Dorwin Teague Associates, Costco, The Ahold Coporation

Pamela De Cesare

Consultant, product design and design research. Formerly, co-founder, Smart Design EDUCATION: BFA, MA, PhD, New York University CLIENTS INCLUDE: Johnson & Johnson, OXO Good Grips, XM Satellite, Hewlett-Packard, SmartGauge PUBLICATIONS INCLUDE: co-author, Baseball Field Guide COLLECTIONS INCLUDE: Museum of Modern Art

Dan Formosa

Tom Guarriello

Chief idea officer, principle, TrueTalk, Inc. Formerly, clinician EDUCATION: MA, University of Dayton; PhD, Duquesne University

Contact Us
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Designer, writer. Formerly, co-founder, principal, Giampietro+Smith; Pentagram; Winterhouse EDUCATION: BA, Yale University CLIENTS: The Global Fund, United Nations, The New York Times Magazine PUBLICATIONS: BusinessWeek, Design Observer, The New York Times, Dot Dot Dot, migr AWARDS: Print, AIGA

Rob Giampietro

Tel: 212.329.4609 Fax: 212.329.4700 E-mail: brandingarts@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/brandingarts


Come to our Departmental Information Session or contact us directly for more information. Departmental Information Session: Saturday, November 7, 2009. To register for a departmental information session, please visit our Web site or contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at: gradadmissions@sva.edu.

Founding principal, Helicopter CLIENTS INCLUDE: Cond Nast, Capitol Records, Andr Balazs Properties, Hachette, Time Inc., Warner Brothers, Universal, Arista, Rizzoli, Bloomsbury, The New York Times, The Washington Post Company AWARDS INCLUDE: ID, Print, AIGA, ADC

Joshua Liberson

Branding Arts

www.sva.edu/grad/brandingarts

MPS Digital Photography


www.sva.edu/grad/digitalphotography

XX Master digital photographys latest tools and techniques in this intensive one-year program XX Faculty comprised of working professionalsnumerous guest lecturers enhance the technical and creative curriculum XX Available as an online/summer residency or fully on-site program for a cuttingedge education in current digital photographic practices and aesthetics

Photographers are the visual explorers of concepts, relationships and light. As we frame the world in our viewfinders, we are creating and expressing the world we are an integral part of. As we digitally create and enhance the image, our skills and imagination are constantly challenged to create better images that are conceptually sound and technically perfect. Digital photographic hardware and software give the artist the ability to refine and explore the image to the fullest expression of the photographers vision. But this inherent power comes with an even greater responsibility to use the digital tools appropriately in relationship to the artists creative intent. The Master of Professional Studies in Digital Photography is an intensive one-year degree program that is offered as a full-time residency or an online/summer residency program that seamlessly blends the most current technical and aesthetic aspects of contemporary photographic image-making. The program meets the needs of professional photographers and photographic educators who want to advance their skills in digital image capture, image processing and high-quality output to remain competitive in a variety of image-making and related fields. The ideal candidate has a strong photographic background, is dedicated to developing and completing a professional and unique body of work and has a deep passion for exploring the confluence of aesthetics and technology. Our student body mirrors the diversity of the 21st century in terms of heritage, age, technical acumen, professional experience and photographic interests that include but are not limited to photojournalism, fine art, commercial, portrait, fashion, landscape and documentary photography. The program benefits greatly from both its outstanding faculty and its location in the heart of the photo district and gallery scene in New York City. Our instructors are working professionals with extensive expertise in professional photography and digital-imaging technologies. The entire faculty and staff are dedicated to challenging students to take complete control and responsibility for every decision and detail in their images. A variety of guest lecturers from the industry complement the core faculty to further enrich each students learning experience.

Katrin Eismann, chair Tom P. Ashe, associate chair

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Going Digital
Alumni Profile: Brendan Austin

Digital photographer Brendan Austin bikes over the bridge from his Lower East Side Manhattan apartment to his studio in Brooklyn that he shares with PlayLab, a graphic design firm. We both work really well together, bouncing ideas and inspiration off each other within the different disciplines, says Austin. Im interested in making my work environment as diverse and open as possible, by not relying on one perspective from photography.

Brendan Austin, MPS Digital Photography 08, has been shooting for nearly ten years as a professional lensman for clients such as

(Image, top of page 257) This is a gas station in east Amman taken at early night. Normally I aim to desaturate my images, but in this instance I felt the need to pump things up a bit with the sky and the lights. It has a great cinematic quality to it. I think the color that I was able to achieve digitally gave it a surreal impact. (Image, bottom of page 257) This was taken on the shores of the

saab and magazines like mark and Vice. Once a sworn advocate
of analog photography, he now sings the praises of digital. During a recent trip to Jordan, he shot these three striking images, and here describes how his training at sva helped him realize them. (Image, this page) This was my second time to this country, and this image was taken on the road to Iraq, where the border is just 60 miles away. Its a strange little shop, taken at dusk. One of the great things about digital is that with a large format camera, you can shoot continuously without stopping. I took about 20 exposures, first while a dust cloud appeared, then after, when a pack of wild dogs walked by. I was able to insert a lone animal into an earlier image that looked the best for this composite. One thing to understand about digital photography is that its not just about getting the perfect shot. The decisive moment doesnt really exist anymore. Your mind has to adjust to the technical possibilities when shooting. Now, after graduating, I know what to look out for.

Dead Sea at a local beach on a Friday afternoon, away from typical tourist areas. The people were incredibly friendly, including this man selling balloons and cotton candy, considering that I had a camera in his face and shot him about 30 times, following him. I slightly increased the saturation of the mans colorful wares. I wanted the photo to be as subtle as possible.

Austin, 32, is a recent graduate of the Digital Photography program. The degrees coursework allowed him to skillfully explore the ever-evolving nature of the discipline, which in turn has boosted his own business.

Austins digital equipment keeps him on the go easily, but he also enjoys downtime at his studio. It has lots of music, drinking, drawing, idea sharing, filming, he explains, all the stuff that makes making work fun. (right) Austins images are described in his own words on the previous page.

MPS Digital Photography Ugiam at ip ea cortisim duisi. Na facilla facin henibh eriure magnibh eu feum alis at autetue tionum at. Esto et nulputat vulputat. Perit nis nos augiat autet.

chair interview

Located in Chelsea and within walking distance of the thriving, contemporary art and photography gallery district, the MPS Digital Photography classroom was designed with the critical image-maker in mind. From the spectrally neutral walls, chromatically optimized illumination, ergonomic tables and chairs, secure Wi-Fi network, dedicated server, oversized plasma display, to the departments large format inkjet printers and advanced color management hardware, the environment is dedicated to learning, collaborating and growing as a professional photographer.

Katrin Eismann
Its interesting to see the commercial photographers learning about fine art and editorial photography, and the fine artists appreciating the business aspect of the commercial photographers concerns.

The mps in Digital Photography is a unique program, explains Katrin Eismann, in that its dedicated to mastering the most current digital photographic practices by studying with leading digital photographers and technical experts. While developing the curriculum, I had two types of students in mind. First was the working photographer who needs to get up to speed on digital techniques to stay competitive, and the second was the photographic educator, who also needs to be current to best do his or her job. But one aspect I didnt foresee is how diverse our enrolled student body is in terms of age, heritage, and the type of photography they do. Presently, we have commercial, fine art, fashion and portrait photographers and an award-winning, working photojournalist who traveled to Washington

dc to cover President Obamas inauguration.


The diversity allows each student to learn from the other and be exposed to ideas and concerns they may not have been aware of. Its interesting to see the commercial photographers learning about fine art and editorial photography, and the fine artists appreciating the business aspect of the commercial photographers concerns. Its a small, intense program, Eismann stresses. Students take all the same classes together, and we require that each student has his or her own digital equipment. Eismann points out some of the unusual design features of one of the programs classrooms. The walls are spectrally neutral and slightly darker than standard paper white, allowing you to concentrate on the image more critically. One wall is illuminated for black-and-white prints; the other for color. And over here, she smiles, is the Wall of Confusion. Theres a different color temperature bulb in each socket, allowing you to see a print in both correct and incorrect conditions. If youre printing for a gallery show, you should measure the gallerys color temperature first to make your images look their very best. And youll notice that we only use magnets for displaying workusing tacks on prints damages them. We also have ergonomically-designed tables with easily accessible electrical outlets and two wireless networks and Aeron chairs, all to insure that the students are comfortable and can concentrate on learning. We also feature a bi-weekly guest lecture series that allows the program to stay up-to-date in a wide variety of topics. The speakers have included exhibiting artists, software engineers, lawyers, gallery professionals, magazine editors and multimedia artists. The heart of the program, Eismann concludes, is that the students are learning the most current information from world-class instructors, then applying it to real-world scenarios. Each class is related to improving image quality, whether that is in a technical, creative, or conceptual manner. We believe that producing a technically perfect image thats conceptually vacuous or producing muddy prints of a great idea is a waste of time and materials. This program combines the technical and the aesthetic, and the students learn the skills to complete a graduate-level thesis project that requires conceptualizing, shooting and producing a coherent body of work for an electronic portfolio, self-published book and large format prints for an exhibition. In all honesty, Im an expert in the field and this is the program I would like to be a student in!

On any given day...


6am For some students, the day begins before dawn with a final check of camera and lighting equipment for an early morning shoot. Other students havent gone to sleep as they are adding the final polish to their images in preparation for a meeting with their thesis advisors. And each semester, there are always a few students who, after an intensive night of shooting in the studio or on New York City streets, sleep well into the late morning! 9am A number of students go to work in their photo studios or classrooms to teach, while others work freelance as photographic assistants, digital techs, web designers or retouchers. Of course, they all have to work on the weekly assignments from each class. 7 10pm On Tuesday and Thursdays, class takes place in the dedicated 2 3pm On Tuesday and Thursdays, students start to gather in the MPS Digital Photography classroom to have lunch, catch up on the weeks events and discuss the homework assignments due that day. 3 6pm On Tuesdays and Thursdays, class takes place in the Computer Lab where students meet with Chris Murphy to learn how to accurately calibrate a variety of monitors and build custom printer profiles with the departments X-Rite colorimeters and spectrophotometers. Or take the Advanced Imaging class, where Carrie Beene reveals the behind-thescenes secrets used in high-end glamour retouching to perfect a models skin for her clients, which include Revlon, Maybelline, and Clinique. 6 7pm Students go for dinner and coffee in one of the many small restaurants or coffee shops within walking distance of the department. 10pm Some students go home, while others go out to discuss the days events and debate the issues in contemporary digital photography over a cool beer. After midnight Tired but full of new ideas and projects, students, staff, and faculty know that the next day will include more work, shooting, printing, assignments, inspiration, discussions and learning. MPS Digital Photography Department classroom with, for example, Amy Stein who discusses developing a coherent body of work and the importance of choosing a Thesis Advisor to serve as a mentor, advisor and critic. Class also meets in James Portos photography studio to learn how to take high-quality digital photos for compositing. James Porto emphasizes the importance of planning the lighting, perspective and scale before ever lifting the camera. 7 9pm On alternating Wednesday evenings the students and faculty meet in the MPS Digital Photography department classroom, for the department lecture series that has featured: Henry Wilhelm, Greg Gorman, Jeff Schewe, Lynn Goldsmith, Douglas Dubler, Mike Yamashita, Brian Smith, David Alan Harvey, Andrew Rodney, Stephen Johnson, Philip Toladano, and many software engineers who present on a wide range of topics including; digital photo-journalism, business and legal issues, archival printing, advanced creative techniques, the future of digital camera technology, and how to have your work seen by picture editors and galleries.

Digital Photography

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The Program The course of study addresses a wide range of topics, including: capture to image
processing; workflow, automation and asset management; digital portfolio and distribution; and large-format output. The program emphasizes cutting-edge training via in-depth course work, critically focused workshops, special interest seminars and presentations by technical experts and contemporary photographers. The primary instructional goal is to enable students to excel in their creative or commercial photographic imaging careers. An online/summer residency option is available, which requires attending the summer semester in New York City. Degree candidates must successfully complete 33 credits, including all required courses, and maintain a 3.0 grade point average. In the final semester, each student is required to complete a thesis project that culminates in an online project, printed book and large-format exhibit prints. The thesis project must be reviewed and approved by the thesis committee and the department chair in order for the student to be eligible for degree conferral.

Sample Programs
FALL Semester Credits SPRING Semester Credits

Advanced Image Processing The Art of Editorial Photography Color Management and Output Digital Materials and Processes i3: Images, Inspiration, Information I

3 3 3 3 0

Photo Illustration Scripting and Automation Studio Management and Practices Thesis Development i3: Images, Inspiration, Information II
SUMMER Semester

3 3 3 3 0
Credits

Large-Format Printing Thesis Production  Electronic Portfolio (2 credits) The Book (2 credits) The Exhibit (2 credits)

3 6

The online/summer residency version of the mps Digital Photography program has an identically rigorous curriculum with many of the same faculty as the in-classroom version. It is ideal for anyone who has a deep passion for exploring the confluence of photographic aesthetics and digital technology but cannot relocate to New York City for the full eleven months required. The program will be conducted online during the fall and spring semesters and will culminate in an intensive nine-week summer session in New York City, where students will collaborate with in-classroom students and work with faculty and staff to produce their final thesis projects including large format prints and collateral materials for the group exhibition. To be successful in the online learning environment, it is essential to be disciplined in terms of reading, completing the assignments, and participating in the class discussions. Just as with the in-classroom courses, the online courses are limited in size and will challenge students to fully apply themselves in creating outstanding contemporary images. sva offers housing options for students during the summer residency.

Online/Summer Residency

Sculpting Pixels

Digital Photography

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Taking advantage of being in New York City, the Photo Illustration class visited Exposure Capture, a leading digital studio and services provider. Working with Danielle Bock and Keith Ketwaroo, they learned about a variety of digital camera backs and how to be a digital photo technician. And they had the opportunity to work with the cameras and lighting equipment.

Course Descriptions

Faculty

Professional Opportunities
MPS Digital Photography students enjoy weekly contact with leading professionals and digital experts and are challenged to apply classroom theories and practices to their professional and creative work on a daily basis. Graduates must complete a thesis defense before a panel of aesthetic and technical experts and present their work in a group exhibition in the SVA Gallery. Graduates of the program are prepared to be outstanding conceptual illustrators, commercial and fine art photographers, contemporary photographic educators, image asset and digital lab managers, portrait and product retouchers and print professionals.

Advanced Image Processing

Scripting and Automation

Advanced creative and production techniques are the focus of this course. In addition to working with the latest raw processing software packages and workflow strategies, we will address working with HDR (high dynamic range) images, mastering high-resolution files with Smart Objects and learning professional masking and retouching techniques.
the Art of Editorial Photography

This course explores the essential need for the computer to do the mindnumbing and repetitive work that handling large numbers of image files entails. How to write and debug actions and AppleScript will be covered, as well as applying variables and data sets to process large numbers of images quickly and automatically. Students will learn how to script for reference-networked watched folders to speed up production, backup and critical file management.
Studio Management and Practices

This intensive seminar will simulate real-world magazine assignments. Students will develop story ideas, go into the field on assignment, and learn how to edit the work for final submission. They will complete a body of work for print or online publication. Most importantly, participants will garner valuable inside knowledge about how prominent editors and photographers conceive and execute highly sought-after magazine assignments.
Color Management and Output

Photographer, author Education: BFA, Rochester Institute of Technology; MFA, School of Visual Arts Author: Photoshop Restoration & Retouching, Photo shop Masking & Compositing; co-author, Real World Digital Photography, The Creative Digital Darkroom publications include: PhotoDistrict News, American Photo, Polular Photography, Step By Step Graphics, Photoshop User Web site: www.katrineismann.com

Katrin Eismann, chair

Dan Halm

This course tackles the most prominent problem in making a print accuracy and consistency in reproducing the photographers vision. Topics will include: creating files that are color-managed from input to output, properly sharpened files for a wide selection of media substrates, working with a variety of color management systems and equipment, taking advantage of Photoshop soft proofing, and experimenting with various papers and output options to achieve predictable and consistent results.
Digital Materials and Processes

Being a successful photographer requires more than talent and good fortune. Photographers need to develop a business plan and a budget with realistic short- and long-term goals. This course will examine studio business practices that include budgeting and financial planning; buying, leasing or renting concerns; safe business practices; and working with an agent, accountant and tax advisor. The essential management concerns that are covered in this course will improve communication with clients, labs, prepress houses, commercial printing companies and stock agencies.
Thesis Development

Dedicated to developing the thesis body of work that demonstrates the highest creative and technical standards, this course will concentrate on the written thesis proposal, media research and exploration, rigorous critique and a survey of electronic, book, and exhibit image distribution and display options.
Thesis Production: Electronic Portfolio, The Book, The Exhibit

Photographer, consultant. Formerly, regional sales manager, Monaco Systems; development engineer, Eastman Kodak, Polaroid, Itek Optical Systems Education: BS, Rochester Institute of Technology; MS, RMIT University Group exhibitions include: RMIT Fine Art Gallery, Melbourne; Rochester Institute of Technology Clients include: MAC Group (Mamiya America Corporation), Northeastern University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Art Institute of Philadelphia, International Center of Photography

Tom P. Ashe, associate chair

Fine artist, curator, writer Education: BFA, MFA, School of Visual Arts Group Exhibitions include: ClampArt, Marvelli Lab, Grand Central Terminal, Art Directors Club, AIGA Curatorial projects include: Affordable Art Fair, Aqua Wynwood, Visual AIDS, Click Chic: The Fine Art of Fashion Photography, Visual Arts Museum Publications include: New York magazine, Step by Step Graphics, American Photo, Elle, Digital Photo Pro, Nylon, Visual Arts Journal, Cookbook Digest Web site: www.danhalm.com

Carrie Dawn Beene

This comprehensive survey of the terms, tools and technology of digital-image processing will address the technical aspects of digital input, color correction and output. Students will learn how to evaluate and improve image quality, understand and apply critical technical analysis to workflow components, and delve into current hardware and software applications and solutions for the professional photographer.
Large-Format Printing

In this course, students will learn to select, prepare and fine-tune their images for large-scale printing. Topics will include: refining digital input; modifying tonal adjustments to match the proofs; appropriate sharpening techniques; and understanding proofs in relation to size, substrate and color. Students will work with professional service providers, wide-format printers and professional RIPs to create largeformat, high-quality color and black-and-white prints.
Photo Illustration

The thesis project is an original body of work created by each student, which culminates in an examination of the creative challenges inherent in producing and displaying large-format prints in a public gallery space. The integrated presentation will focus on editing, promoting and displaying high-quality photographic images suitable for professional commercial sale or creative public display. Students will begin by exploring the essential skill of grouping, sequencing and distributing images for effective online and digital video portfolios. The course then delves into the fixed presentation of printed books and includes exploration of the interaction of design, image and text selection and sequencing.
i3: Images, Inspiration, Information I & II

Owner, principal retoucher, OTTO Imaging Education: BFA, Kansas City Art Institute Clients include: Chantecaille, Deva, MAC, Goody, Elizabeth Arden Publications include: Shape, Harpers Bazaar, Marie Claire, I.D., Vogue, Cosmopolitan, The New York Times, Elle, Arena, Sports Illustrated, V magazine, Glamour, Allure, Vanity Fair Web site: www.ottoimaging.com

Newsroom technologist, The New York Times Education: BFA, Rochester Institute of Technology Publication: Mac Week Awards and honors include: Guest host, The New York Times Tech Talk podcast; Award of Excellence, Society for News Design; IFRA Color Quality Club Award

Don Donofrio

Principal, Mara Kurtz Studio; photojournalist Education: BA, New York University; MA, New School University Clients include: AT&T, American Express, Citibank, Bank of America, Body Shop, Canon, Metropolis, Hearst Publications, Manhattan Dance Theater, Museum of Modern Art, Museum of American Folk Art, Oxygen, Sothebys, Volvo Publications include: New York magazine, Cond Nast Traveler, The Wall Street Journal, Metropolitan Home, The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Parents, Residential Architecture, Travel + Leisure Awards and honors include: Art Directors Club, Communication Arts, Society of Illustrators, AIGA, HOW, Print, Type Directors Club, Creativity, Graphis, Society of Publication Designers; formerly, president, Type Directors Club Web site: www.marakurtzstudio.com

Mara Kurtz

Consisting of lectures, seminars and portfolio reviews, these courses feature presentations by cutting-edge digital photographers, hardware and software developers, and industry experts.

From concept to capture and image processing, this course addresses the creative workflow that commercial and fine art illustrators use to make compelling photo montages and composites. Students will learn the essential attributes of a successful composite, including: planning the image before lifting the camera; lighting and photographing the image elements and background plates; selecting, color matching and compositing the elements; and working with an art director and production team to create the best image possible.

Photographer; owner, Foley Gallery Education: BA, Boston College Exhibitions include: San Francisco Camerawork; Soletti Gallery, Milan; Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco; Ebert Gallery, San Francisco Collections include: Washing ton Center of Photography Publications include: Photo Metro, Quiver, Zyzzyvz

Michael Brian Foley

President, Color Remedies Clients include: National Gallery of Art, Hachette Book Group, Denver Art Museum, Colorado Historical Society, Phil Marco Productions, Schatz-Ornstein Studio author: Real World Color Management. Featured in: Photoshop User, PhotoshopWorld Dream Team

Chris Murphy

Greg Gorman
Photographer
Photography Books: Greg Gorman, volumes 1 and 2; As I See It; Inside Life; Perspectives; The Odes of Pindar Photography featured in: Esquire, GQ, Interview, Life, Vogue, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Time, London Sunday Times, Vanity Fair Web site: www.gormanphotography.com
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Photographer Education: BS, Rochester Institute of Technology Clients include: Nike, IBM, AT&T, Compaq, Reebok, Sprint, Pepsi, Absolut Vodka, Clairol, DuPont, Ilford, Kodak, Minolta, Nestl, Seagrams, United Airlines, Sony, Blue Man Group Publications include: Fortune, Glamour, GQ, Forbes, Rolling Stone, U.S. News & World Report, Sports Illustrated, Time, Wired, Newsweek, New York magazine, The New York Times Magazine, Psychology Today, American Photographer Web site: www.jamesporto.com

James Porto

Digital Photography

www.sva.edu/grad/digitalphotography

Guest Lecturers

Principal and senior designer, The Chopping Block, Inc. Education: BFA, The Cooper Union Clients include: Nickelodeon, Barnes & Noble, Microsoft, Miramax, CNN Interactive, Lego, Adobe, Phish, Warner Bros., Turner Classic Movies, National Geographic

Matthew B. Richmond

Fine art photographer Education: MS, University of Edinburgh; MFA, School of Visual Arts Group exhibitions include: Paul Kopeikin Gallery, Los Angeles; Mixed Greens; International Center of Photography; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, AZ; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago Publications include: ARTnews, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Smithsonian magazine, Washington Post, Popular Photography, House & Garden Awards and honors include: First Place, American Society of Media Photographers; Critical Mass Book Award; American Photo; Photo District News Annual Web site: www.amysteinphoto.com

Amy Stein

Photographer, writer Education: MBA, Columbia University Represented by: Throckmorton Fine Art, June Bateman Fine Art, Bruce Silverstein Gallery Books include: Movimento: Glimpses of Italian Street Life; Parallels: A Look at Twins; Artists Observed; Coney Island Publications include: The New Yorker, Time, Life, Esquire, Smithsonian, The New York Times, Readers Digest, Glamour, Forbes, Psychology Today, Playboy, Harpers, People, ARTnews, American Artist, New York magazine, Der Spiegel, Camera Arts, Popular Photography, American Photo, Camera, Afterimage, Zoom, View Camera Magazine, Photo Metro Collections include: Bibliothque Nationale, Paris; Art Institute of Chicago; Brooklyn Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; New Orleans Museum of Art; International Center of Photography; Denver Museum of Art; Brandts Museet for Fotokunst, Denmark; Corcoran Gallery of Art; Muse de la Photographie, Belgium; American Museum of Natural History; Carnegie Museum of Art; Polaroid; Readers Digest; Johnson & Johnson; Hewlett-Packard; LaSalle Bank; Barclays Bank; Credit Suisse Web site: www.harveysteinphoto.com

Harvey Stein

Corey Arnold photographer and Alaskan commercial fisherman Jen Bekman gallerist, owner of Jen Bekman Gallery, and founding editor of UnBeige blog Porter Binks former picture editor Sports Illustrated and USA Today Ira Block photographer, National Geographic Chris Buck editorial and commercial photographer Douglas Dubler fashion, beauty and fine art photographer James Estrin senior staff photographer, New York Times Jon Feinstein photographer, curator and photo editor Lynn Goldsmith portrait photographer

Steven Inglima Professional Products Marketing Division, Canon USA Stephen Johnson landscape photographer and author Martin Juergens photography conservator Peter Krogh photographer; author, The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers Jeffrey Ladd photographer, printer, publisher Karl Lang color scientist, engineer and the principle of Lumita, Inc. Michael Mazzeo gallerist, photographer and educator, founder Michael Mazzeo Gallery David McClain photographer, curator Michael McNamara digital camera expert, editor and creator of The McNamara Report Amani Olu founder and executive director of Humble Arts Foundation Theresa Raffetto photographer and national board president of Advertising Photographers of America (APA) Jack Reznicki commercial photographer, author, Canon Explorer of Light Andre Ribuoli fine art digital printmaker and director of Pamplemousse Press

Andrew Rodney author, consultant, trainer, and owner of The Digital Dog Bob Rose photographic industry consultant, writer and editor Hanaan Rosenthal consultant, publisher, and author Bob Sacha multimedia producer at MediaStorm Jeff Schewe advertising photographer, author, and Canon Explorer of Light Sarah Silver fashion, beauty and dance photographer Brian Smith Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Justin Stailey product specialist, Photographic Division, Leica Camera, Inc. Zalman Stern Lead Software Engineer, Adobe Systems Kevin Stuts product representative, Leaf America Philip Toledano photographer and art director Henry Wilhelm author, expert on inkjet printing technologies and print permanence Michael Yamashita photographer, National Geographic

Photographer and chairman, Advertising Photographers of America, New York Chapter Clients include: Samsung, Pfizer, Abbott Labs, 3M, Proctor & Gamble, MGM Mirage Publications include: GQ, Martha Stewart Living, Time, Business Week, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Wallpaper Web site: www.williamvazquez.com

William Vazquez

Contact Us

Tel: 212.592.2170 Fax: 212.691.2687 E-mail: mpsphoto@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/digitalphotography


We strongly encourage applicants to visit our department prior to submitting application materials. Come to our Departmental Information Session, or contact us directly to schedule a tour. Departmental Information Session: Saturday, November 7, 2009, 1 4 pm To register for a departmental information session, please visit our Web site or contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at: gradadmissions@sva.edu.

Ed Greenberg lawyer and intellectual property issues expert David Alan Harvey photographer, Magnum Photos Cliff Hausner photographer, designer and product representative for The MAC Group Joseph Holmes landscape photographer and fine art digital printmaker

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General Information

The following includes information and opportunities available to graduate students. Additional information is available in the SVA Handbook.

Exhibitions at SVA
Student Exhibitions

Guest Artist Exhibitions

Housing

Residence Life and Housing

Technology

The exhibition program at SVA advances the Colleges philosophy of integrating life outside the classroom with the teaching that occurs within. Becoming a professional artist entails more than just developing talent and honing skills; it also means gaining the practical experience and creative enrichment that come from showing work in a real gallery setting. SVAs commitment to this objective is second to none. We employ a full-time staff of gallery professionals to mount over 50 exhibitions a year in three exhibition spaces. There are two galleries on campus and one off campus. The lat ter, which also houses the Office of Student Galleries, comprises four new and fully equipped exhibition spaces as well as a terrace with a spectacular Hudson River view where outdoor sculpture can be shown. Matriculated students can exhibit their work either as part of a department show, organized by their department chair or a guest curator, or by applying to the Office of Student Galleries for a juried exhibition. For each student exhibition held at SVA, the College hosts an opening reception at which the exhibiting artists can interact with the public and members of the arts community as well as celebrate their accomplishments with friends, family and colleagues. This is a long-standing practice. Artists such as Rene Cox, Keith Haring, Joseph Kosuth, Elizabeth Peyton, Lorna Simpson and Sarah Sze held some of their first exhibitions as students at SVA.
SVA Gallery

209 East 23 Street, ground floor Monday through Friday, 9am to 7pm; Saturday, 10am to 6pm
SVA Westside Gallery

141 West 21 Street, ground floor Monday through Friday, 9am to 7pm; Saturday, 10am to 6pm
Visual Arts Gallery

SVAs exhibition program also affords students the opportunity to study the work of renowned artists and designers, hear them speak at lectures or even meet them in personall on campus at the College. In recent decades, SVA has exhibited the work of some of the most significant figures in modern art, including Willem de Kooning, Sol Lewitt, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Motherwell, Robert Rauschenberg, Saul Steinberg, Mark di Suvero and Andy Warhol. Reflecting the breadth of its curricula, SVA has also exhibited prominent exponents of contemporary design, illustration and photography. In 1988, SVA inaugurated the Masters Series, an annual award exhibition held at the Visual Arts Museum to honor great visual communicators of our time. Silas Rhodes, the founder of SVA, conceived it as a way of bringing public recognition to groundbreaking designers, illustrators and photographers who are sometimes unknown to the general publica public that has nonetheless responded strongly to their imagery and has been influenced by their work. Saul Bass, Seymour Chwast, Jules Feiffer, Milton Glaser, George Lois, Mary Ellen Mark, Paul Rand, Paula Scher and Massimo Vignelli are among those who have received the Masters Series Award. The College also organizes and presents exhibitions that enable students to understand art-making in a broader context. Recent highlights include Click Chic: The Fine Art of Fashion Photography, which explored the work of six photographers for whom fashion has been a singular vehicle for artistic expression. Iznik, Legendary Ceramics from Turkey: An Art Reborn brought together more than 50 recent and historic tiles, plates and vessels, including 16th-century pieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And The Design of Dissent, featuring an international selection of political posters and ephemera from the 1960s to the present, was the basis for a new book on the subject by exhibition organizers Milton Glaser and Mirko Ilic .

SVA currently offers the following campus housing options for graduate students: the George Washington (GW), the Gramercy Womens Residence, the Tenth Street Residence and the Ludlow Residence. All residences include 24-hour security, laundry facilities, cable service and Internet access. For more information on residence life policies and other related information, contact the Office of Residence Life at 212.592.2140 or reslife@sva.edu, or visit www.sva.edu/residencelife. The George Washington is located one block from the 209 East 23rd Street building and houses the largest population of SVA resident students. Students can request a single or a double room, each with a refrigerator and private bathroom. Although shapes vary, the average single room is 8x10'. The average size of a double is twice that of a single. A community kitchen is located on the top floor of the residence, in the solarium. The use of cooking appliances is prohibited in student rooms. The Gramercy Womens Residence is located on the south side of historic Gramercy Park, just a few blocks from the SVA East Side campus. The Gramercy provides female residents with a safe, comfortable living environment. Gramercy features two-bedroom apartments for four people, and studio apartments for two people. Each apartment has a full kitchen and bathroom. The Tenth Street Residence, located at Third Avenue in the dynamic East Village, features spacious one-bedroom apartments for two people and two-bedroom apartments for four people. All apartments are furnished and include a full kitchen and bathroom. The Ludlow Residence is a new facility on Manhat tans Lower East Side. The residence is composed of single and double rooms arranged in suites. Each room includes a microwave/refrigerator unit. A community kitchen is located on the lower level of the residence. All SVA residence halls have live-in staff knowledgeable in SVA administrative procedures and trained in peer counseling and community development. Please visit our Web site at www.sva.edu/residencelife for current housing rates.
How to Apply for Housing

The School of Visual Arts provides valuable computing and networking resources that support the academic, institutional, research and administrative activities of the College. SVAs computer services and facilities are an important aspect of our educational mission, which includes a commitment to the pursuit of academic excellence and the highest level of artistic expression. For up-to-date information on specific computer facilities in each department, please visit our Web site at www.sva.edu.
MySVA

MySVA is the online community for the School of Visual Arts, and can be accessed at my.sva.edu. Designed for students, faculty and staff, it offers a free @sva.edu e-mail account, access to WebAdvisor and links to information and services that will make many administrative functions simpler, including registration information, schedule access, grades, secure bill payment and more. All students, faculty and staff are automatically assigned an account user name and password.

Library

601 West 26 Street, 15th floor Monday through Saturday, 10am to 6pm (closes at 5pm on Fridays in the summer)

Once an offer of admission has been extended, a nonrefundable $1,000 enrollment fee and an $800 deposit (a $300 nonrefundable placement fee and a $500 security deposit) must be submitted. Students will receive a housing preference form and contract. The Office of Residence Life will then place new students in housing on a first-come, first-served basis while space remains available. All housing contracts are for the entire academic year and will not be canceled unless a student withdraws from SVA or takes an official leave of absence from the College. Note: Receipt of the enrollment fee and the housing deposit does not guarantee placement in SVA housing.

The Visual Arts Library is a comfortable and inviting place where students can study, collaborate with peers or work with a librarian. Over 70,000 books, current subscriptions to over 400 magazines and journals, and specialized collections of pictures, slides, film scripts, comics, DVDs and CDs are all available seven days a week. The Visual Arts Library also serves as a portal that links students to major online academic and creative resources, including databases containing 20,000 full-text periodicals. These materials have been carefully selected to support SVAs curriculum and meet the specialized needs of aspiring art and design professionals. The Visual Resources Collection contains 170,000 slides and 38,000 digital images that document the history of art and design; it also provides SVA faculty and students licensed access to three million digital images. Additionally, the Library houses the Milton Glaser Design Study Center and Archives containing original works by preeminent designers, illustrators and art directors who have close ties to the School of Visual Arts. A friendly and creative staff, including knowledgeable art librarians, is eager to help patrons get the most from their library. At the Visual Arts Library, youll develop the kind of knowledge that can power a lifetime of creativity.

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Office of Alumni Affairs

The School of Visual Arts is proud of the reputation it has attained through the achievements of the many talented visual artists numbered among its alumni. Many of them live and work in New York City; others can be found throughout the United States and around the world. SVA alumni have made major contributions to contemporary fine arts. Their works are included in prominent museums collections, represented by renowned galleries and exhibited around the world. SVA alumni are leaders in advertising, graphic design, interactive media, broadcast design, interior design, illustration, photography and related disciplines. They can be found at film, animation and cartooning studios; advertising and design firms; television networks; publishing houses; and record companies. Many freelance or run their own companies. Theyve won Academy Awards, Emmys, CLIOs, Ruebens, National Endowment for the Arts and Fulbright fellowships, countless film festival awards, Web site and design awards, and have garnered international press recognition. Still others extend the SVA tradition of educating artists by becoming teachers themselves. The Office of Alumni Affairs is the primary liaison between the School of Visual Arts and its alumni. Through programs, publications and special events, the office actively engages SVA alumni in an effort to advance their educational and professional best interests while encouraging their support of the College. Questions regarding alumni programs and services should be directed to the Office of Alumni Affairs. Telephone: 212.592.2300; fax: 212.592.2303; e-mail: alumni@sva.edu.

Student Health and Counseling Services


Student Health and Counseling Services attends to the physical, social and emotional aspects of student wellness in a nonjudgmental environment. Our services are available to all students regardless of whether or not a student has SVA sponsored health insurance. All services are provided free of charge and are confidential. The office is open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more information about our services, call 212.592.2246. A registered nurse is available for health education and assistance in locating community health resources in the New York City area. Students can also use MySVA to find providers and resources in the area. Therapists and a part-time psychiatrist provide short-term therapy for a variety of issues.
STUDENT HEALTH INSURANCE

Veteran Students

The School of Visual Arts is approved for veteran training under the authorizations established by the federal government. All students enrolling under veterans benets must see the veterans counselor before registering for courses. The veterans counselor can be reached Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Telephone: 212.592.2201; fax: 212.592.2069; e-mail: registrar@sva.edu.

Explanation of Graduate Degrees


MFAMaster of Fine Arts

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)


Annually, the School of Visual Arts informs students of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974. The College complies fully with this Act, which was designed to protect the privacy of education records, establish the right of students to inspect and review their education records, and provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate or misleading data through informal and formal hearings. Students also have the right to file complaints with the FERPA office concerning alleged failures by the College to comply with the Act. Local policy explains in detail the procedures to be used by the College for compliance with the provisions of the Act. Copies of the policy are available in the Office of the President and the Registrars Office and on MySVA. These offices also maintain a directory of records, which lists all education records maintained on students by the School of Visual Arts. Questions concerning FERPA should be referred to the Registrars Office. Telephone: 212.592.2200; fax: 212.592.2069; e-mail: registrar@sva.edu.

The Master of Fine Arts is a terminal degree in studio arts, and typically requires two years of study, centering on a practice in a particular field with an academic and research element. All MFA programs at SVA require the completion of 60 or 64 credits. See individual departments for more information. The College offers the MFA degree in: Art Criticism and Writing; Computer Art; Design; Design Criticism; Fine Arts; Illustration as Visual Essay; Interaction Design; Photography, Video and Related Media; and Social Documentary Film.
MPSMaster of Professional Studies

All registered degree-seeking students are automatically enrolled in SVA-sponsored accident insurance. Additionally, students are automatically enrolled in the SVA-sponsored sickness coverage. Students who wish to waive the Health Insurance Fee for the SVA-sponsored sickness coverage must have sufficient coverage and waive the fee before the applicable deadline. For more information about the insurance, including how to waive the fee, go to www.sva.edu/aetna.

The Master of Professional Studies is an accredited degree that emphasizes learning real-world skills and professionally relevant material in one to two years of study. An MPS is practical as well as academic, often involving fieldwork or a clinical internship placement integrated within the curriculum, and the completion of a thesis project. The MPS at SVA requires the completion of 33, 36 or 60 credits, depending on the program. The College offers the MPS degrees in Art Therapy, Branding Arts and Digital Photography.
MATMaster of Arts in Teaching

Disability Services

Office of Career Development

The Office of Career Development offers a wide range of services to matriculating SVA students and recent alumni. These services support individuals in exploring, identifying and pursuing their unique career goals, while providing tools and professional networking opportunities to help them along the way. Career Development provides one-on-one career counseling and assistance in areas such as researching employment, rsum writing and interview preparation. The office manages SVAs online job board, which hosts listings from thousands of companies as well as the option to post a rsum and portfolio images for prospective employers to review. Throughout the academic year, Career Development hosts events and workshops on employment opportunities, relevant industry trends and the development of career-building skills. For more information, please visit us at: www.sva.edu/career.

The mission of the Office of Disability Services (ODS) is to assist in creating an accessible campus environment, where students with disabilities have equal access to educational programs and the opportunity to participate in campus life. The Office of Disability Services will: Provide and coordinate appropriate academic accommodations and related services to meet the specific disability-related needs of students. X X Consult with faculty about reasonable and effective academic accommodations. X X Advise academic and administrative departments about student access to programs and facilities. X X Answer questions that prospective students may have about services for students with disabilities.
XX

Grading Policy

Most of the graduate departments at SVA require students to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 in order to remain in good academic standing. A graduate department may, at its discretion, adopt a policy that accepts only those courses completed with a grade of B- or higher toward the degree, or a pass/fail philosophy. However, each graduate department must make the grading policy clear in departmental literature.

The Master of Arts in Teaching is an accredited degree that requires 30 or more semester hours beyond the bachelors degree. The MAT emphasizes the application of developmental and educational theory to classroom practice, curriculum design and student teaching internships. The Masters is the highest earned degree required for certified, pre-Kindergarten through grade 12 public school teachers. The MAT at SVA is 36 credits and provides the coursework and supervised student teaching required for New York State Initial Certification in Visual Art. The MAT program includes courses that focus on curriculum development for museum education, computer technology in art education, integrating visual art with other school subjects, teaching students with special needs, as well as a research component that culminates in a thesis project. The College offers the MAT in Art Education.

The ODS is staffed by an associate director and a learning disabilities coordinator who work together with students to determine their eligibility for academic accommodations and to ensure that these accommodations are implemented. The ODS recommends accommodations for students with disabilities in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The office is located in the George Washington building at 23 Lexington Avenue. Individuals with questions or who are interested in receiving disability services may contact the office at 212.592.2281 or at disabilityservices@sva.edu.

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Tuition and Expenses


20092010 Schedule of Expenses
Tuition
Art Education (one-year program) $15,000 per semester, fall and spring semesters $6,000 summer semester (6 credits) Art Education (two-year program estimate) $1,000 per credit Art Criticism and Writing; Art Therapy; Computer Art; Design Criticism; Fine Arts; Illustration as Visual Essay; Photography, Video and Related Media $15,000 per semester Branding Arts $16,025 per semester $6,420 summer semester (6 credits) Design; Interaction Design $16,250 per semester Digital Photography $12,000 per semester, fall and spring semesters (12 credits) $9,000 summer semester (9 credits) Social Documentary Film $18,325 per semester Note: Tuition includes registration, student activities, technology fees; and student accident insurance, locker rental, library and buildings and grounds.
Departmental fees per-credit charge Estimated Supplies Payment

Students registered for less than 12 credits or more than 15 credits per semester for Graduate Division courses (16 credits for Art Criticism and Writing, and Design Criticism) will be billed at the rate of $1,000 per credit ($1,070 for Branding Arts, Design and Interaction Design; $1,225 for Social Documen tary Film). Tuition for more than 15 credits (16 credits for Art Criticism and Writing, and Design Criticism) is fully refundable during the drop/add period. After the drop/add periods, refunds for extra credit tuition charges will be prorated based on the institutional refund policy. Note: Graduate students may audit one undergraduate or one continuing education course each semester, to a maximum of two courses per academic year (fall, spring or summer) without additional tuition charges. Courses must be audited during a two-year period and cannot exceed four courses in total (two courses for Art Educa tion and Digital Photography students). All applicable course fees will be charged. Courses open to auditing are subject to availability.
Enrollment fee

Art Criticism and Writing Art Education Art Therapy Branding Arts Computer Art Design Design Criticism Digital Photography Fine Arts Illustration as Visual Essay Interaction Design Photography, Video and Related Media Social Documentary Film

$500 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000* $1,000 $6,500* $1.500* $4,000** $2,700 $2,500 $6,000* $4,000*** $4,000 ****

Payment may be made by check; money order; or American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa or JCB credit cards. Checks should be made payable to: School of Visual Arts. The College does not accept cash payments. All payments are to be made in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank. An additional fee of $75 plus any other balance incurred for conversion of foreign currency to U.S. funds will be charged for processing money orders or bank checks drawn on a foreign bank or a foreign branch of a dom estic bank. To avoid the processing fee, payments from foreign banks may be made by wire transfer to: JP Morgan Chase Bank/Funds Transfer Services 4 New York Plaza, 15th Floor New York, NY 10004 ATTN: Operations Manager For the account of School of Visual Arts, Inc. Account #957-348746 ABA #021000021 Please include the student name and SVA identification number in wire notes. Note: Please take into account any additional bank charges for payment of wire transfers. Wire transfer payments will be processed on the date they are received, not the date they were issued; please plan accordingly. A students registration for a semester is not complete until all bills due for that and any prior semester are paid in full. Bills for tuition are mailed beginning June 15 for the fall semester and November 1 for the spring semester, and are payable by August 1 and December 1, respectively. The Office of Student Accounts will impose a late charge if any part of the semester bill is not paid when due. No degrees will be conferred and no certicates of attendance or transcripts will be furnished until all bills due the School of Visual Arts are paid in full.
Tuition Payment Plan

Once an offer of admission has been extended, applicants must submit a $1,000 nonrefundable enrollment fee to the Office of Graduate Admissions in order to secure a space in their intended program of study. Enrollment fees will be processed only as space remains available in each department; $500 of this fee will be applied to the rstyear tuition.
health insurance fee

* Students enrolled in Branding Arts, Design, Design Criticism and Interaction Design must supply their own Macintosh computer (G4 or better). The computers will be networked through the College in the Design, Design Criticism and Interaction Design studios. Printers, scanners and all Adobe software are available in the studio; however, we recommend that students bring their own printers. ** Students enrolled in Digital Photography must own or have access to a desktop workstation with current imaging software, 100 GB external hard drive, inkjet printer and digital camera. A laptop for location and extended classroom work is recommended. *** It is recommended that students enrolled in Photog raphy, Video and Related Media own or have access to a Macintosh computer (G5 or better) equipped with the following software programs: Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver or GoLive (or another HTML editor). Students must have an external hard drive with at least 250 GB and an inkjet photo printer. **** Students enrolled in Social Documentary Film must have a Mac Book Pro laptop equipped with Apple Final Cut Pro and an external hard drive of 1 TB.
Estimated Living Expenses

Art Criticism and Writing Art Education Art Therapy Branding Arts Computer Art Design Design Criticism Illustration as Visual Essay Interaction Design Photography, Video and Related Media

$250 per semester $250 per semester $250 per semester $325 per semester $1,200 per semester $400 per semester $250 per semester $400 per semester $400 per semester $1,200 per semester

$600 per semester (waivable) All matriculated students are automatically enrolled in the SVAsponsored accident insurance. This portion of the coverage is included in the tuition and cannot be waived. All matriculated students are automatically enrolled in the SVA-sponsored sickness insurance. This fee can be waived at www.sva.edu/aetna. For more information on the health insurance fee, go to www.sva.edu/healthservices or call 212.592.2246.
Miscellaneous fees

Late registration fee Late payment after the tuition due date Returned check fee, plus applicable late charges Late course adjustment fee Replacement of lost student identication cards

$100 $200 $20 $100 $20

Housing costs in one of the Colleges residences range from $9,000 to $14,500 for the 20092010 academic year. For students living away from home, estimated expenses, including room, board, transportation and personal expenses, are $19,800 for a nine-month period. Note: Tuition, fees and housing charges are expected to increase at a minimum of 3 percent to 5 percent annually.

Note: Digital Photography, Fine Arts and Social Documentary Film have no departmental fees.

Students may choose to pay annual tuition charges in 10 monthly installmentsfive per semester. The agreement is for the fall and spring semesters, and payments begin on August 1 and end on May 1. Students will be asked to sign the Payment Plan Application and Agreement form in order to participate in the plan. SVA offers this option free of any interest or finance charge. There is a $200 processing fee per year for participating in the plan. SVA will consider all financial aid awards when calculating the payment plan, thereby reducing the amount of the monthly installments. International students are eligible for the payment plan only after they have attended at least one full semester at SVA as a full-time student and paid their tuition in full. Contact the Office of Student Accounts for more information. Telephone: 212.592.2415; fax: 212.592.2088; e-mail: studentaccounts@sva.edu
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Financial Aid

Tuition Refunds

The enrollment fee is nonrefundable. The health insurance fee is refundable only if withdrawal occurs before the beginning of classes. Students who wish to withdraw from SVA must notify their academic advisor in writing. Written approval from a parent or guardian must be included if the student is under 18 years of age. The effective date of the withdrawal is the date written notification is received by the academic advisor. Lack of attendance alone does not entitle a student to a refund. Refunds (less the nonrefundable enrollment and/or health insurance fee) are made after the prorated percentages of liability are applied, unless superseded by an existing state or accrediting agency refund policy. Please note, only tuition, department fees, course fees and housing costs are prorated. Prorated housing costs are based on the check out date, not the official date of withdrawal. The prorated percentages of liability (tuition and fees owed) are based on the official date of withdrawal, as follows:
0% if withdrawal occurs prior to the start of classes 10% if withdrawal occurs during the first and second

The primary function of the Office of Financial Aid is to coordinate the many sources of aid to meet as much of the students financial need as funding permits. Financial aid packages may consist of grants, scholarships, loans and/or work-study awards. All of these sources of aid supplement financial resources and assist students in meeting educational costs. The financial aid staff assists students and their families with the financial aid application and award process, coordinating a personalized aid plan of grants, scholarships, loans and/or work-study. The Office of Financial Aid is open Monday through Thursday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, and Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm; it is located at 209 East 23rd Street, room 107. Telephone: 212.592.2030; fax 212.592.2029; e-mail: fa@sva.edu.
APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Types of Financial Aid


New York State Grants

Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)

Available to full-time graduate students who are legal residents of New York State and who meet the HESCs need requirements. HESC determines eligibility and award amounts based on the information provided in the FAFSA and the Express TAP application.

Federal Graduate PLUS Loans (GradPLUS)

Additional Sources of Aid for New York State Residents


Aid, in the form of grants and scholarships, is awarded yearly through the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation, Albany, NY 12255, includes Vietnam and Gulf War Veteran Tuition Awards, Child of Deceased Correction Officers Awards, Memorial Scholarships for Families of Deceased Police Officers and Firefighters, and Child of Deceased or Disabled Veteran awards. Individuals with disabilities may contact the Office of Vocational and Educa tional Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID), NYS Education Department, Albany, NY 12234. Funds are provided for tuition, fees, etc., as well as for note takers and interpreters in the instance of a blind or deaf student. Eligibility is determined by VESID. Aid programs for the visually impaired are available through the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Department of Social Services, Albany, NY 12243. State Aid to Native Americans may be obtained by contacting the Native American Education Unit, NYS Education Department, Albany, NY 12234.
Federal Self-Help Loans and Work-Study

week of the semester


50% if withdrawal occurs during the third and fourth

week of the semester


75% if withdrawal occurs during the fifth through eighth

SVA participates in all forms of federal financial aid and requires only one form, the 2009 10 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA should be filed as soon after January 1, 2009 as possible. SVAs Title IV school code is 007468 (step 6 of the FAFSA). Students may complete the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov (remember to electronically sign your application or print, sign and submit the certification page by mail). New York State residents may apply for the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP grant). An application will be sent electronically to the student from NYS Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC). The graduate TAP school code for SVA is 5858. Note: Only United States citizens and legal permanent residents are eligible for federal and state need-based aid.
DETERMINATION OF FINANCIAL AID ELIGIBILITY

A need-based loan opportunity available to graduate or professional students who do not have an adverse credit history. Graduate students may borrow up to their cost of attendance minus other estimated financial assistance. Students must reapply for the GradPLUS Loan and complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year. They must have applied for the annual loan maximum eligibility under the Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loan Program before applying for a GradPLUS loan. Federally mandated entrance interviews are required for all students receiving a Federal Graduate PLUS loan. Repayment of the GradPLUS loan begins on the final disbursement of the loan. Students should complete a GradPLUS Loan Pre-screen form and submit it either online, by mail or fax to the number indicated on the form. The lender will notify the student of the credit decision. If the decision is favorable, the loan will be considered pre-approved and the Office of Financial Aid will be notified. Important Information About Federal Student Loans Federally mandated entrance interviews are required for all students receiving a Federal Perkins loan, a Federal Stafford loan or a Graduate PLUS loan for the first time at SVA. The student must attend an entrance interview before any loan proceeds may be received. The entrance interview is an information session explaining the students rights and responsibilities regarding these loan programs. Group entrance interviews will be conducted during orientation and throughout the academic year. All students must sign a promissory note for each year they are receiving a Federal Perkins loan and the first year they are receiving a Federal Stafford loan. Students who indicated on their FAFSA that they are interested in student loans will receive a master promissory note in the mail.

week of the semester


100% if withdrawal occurs after the eighth week

No refund will be made for withdrawal occurring after the eighth week of the semester. The date of withdrawal is the date written notication is received by the academic advisor.

Federal Perkins Loans

Within two weeks of submitting the FAFSA, financial aid applicants will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) from the federal processor. The SAR will report the information from the original application and the resultant Expected Family Contribution (EFC). EFC is determined by the federal government based on family resources and is the minimum amount a students family is expect ed to contribute toward his or her education. Financial aid eligibility is based on financial need. This need is calculated by subtracting the EFC from the estimated cost of education (also referred to as the student budget). The student budget comprises the yearly cost for tuition and fees, as well as estimates for home maintenance/living expenses, personal expenses, transportation, books and supplies.

Available to full- and part-time graduate students. The SVA financial aid committee determines eligibility and loan amounts based on the students financial need and the funding available from the federal government.

Federal Stafford Loans (FSL)

Available to full- and part-time graduate students. The SVA financial aid committee determines eligibility and loan amounts based on the students financial need. The criteria used to determine loan amounts include financial need and full- or part-time status. There are two types of Federal Stafford Loans: subsidized and unsubsidized. The federal government pays the interest that accrues on the subsidized loan while the student is in school. Graduate students who are not eligible for a subsidized FSL (based on their financial need) will be eligible for an unsubsidized FSL. The unsubsidized FSL requires that the student pay the interest on the loan, which accrues throughout the time the student is enrolled in school. Repayment of both the subsidized and the unsubsidized FSL begins six months after the student graduates, withdraws or falls below half-time status.

Federal Work-Study Program

Available to full- and part-time graduate students. Students who are awarded federal work-study earn salaries at an hourly rate until their award allocation is exhausted. Currently, graduate students earn $10 per hour. Federal work-study provides both on- and off-campus employment opportunities. Most positions are with professionals in the field of the students choice and are available on a first-come, firstserved basis. Important Information About Federal Work-Study Federally mandated entrance interviews are required for all students participating in Federal Work-Study. The student must attend an entrance interview and follow up with placement activities. The interview is an information session explaining student rights and responsibilities regarding this program. Group interviews will be conducted during orientation and throughout the academic year.

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Admission to the Programs


Alternative Financial Options
Organizational and Corporate Scholarships
The School of Visual Arts is pleased to direct graduate applicants to information about outside scholarship opportunities on the SVA Web site at www.sva.edu. Applicants can access the following scholarship search sites from the financial aid links: www.fastweb.com www.collegenet.com/mach25 www.collegeboard.com www.finaid.org www.wiredscholar.com www.brokescholar.com

Other Disclosures

Return of Title IV Federal Student Aid Policy

SVA Scholarships and Assistantships

After acceptance, scholarships are awarded to qualified new students to some graduate degree programs. Students may apply for assistantships once they have entered the program. These awards are based upon individual merit and past performance and vary by department.

Federal regulations determine the formula for calculating the amount of federal aid you may retain when you interrupt your studies. Students who withdraw from all classes prior to completing more than 60 percent of an enrollment term will have their eligibility for federal aid recalculated based on the percentage of the term completed, which shall be calculated based on the number of days completed by the total number of days in the semester. The total number of calendar days in a semester excludes scheduled breaks of five days or more. Unearned federal aid (the amount that must be returned to the appropriate program) will be returned in the following order: Federal Stafford Loans (unsubsidized, then subsidized), Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Graduate PLUS Loans, Federal Undergraduate PLUS Loans, Federal Pell Grants, Federal ACG Grants, Federal National Smart Grants and Federal SEOG. Note: Students who withdraw are responsible for any balance owed to the School of Visual Arts as a result of the repayment of federal aid funds. If funds are released to the student because of a credit balance on the students account, the student may be required to repay federal funds.

Applicants must have a bachelors degree, or its equivalent, from an accredited college or university.
General Requirements

Transcripts or SCHOOL RECORDS FROM FOREIGN INSTITUTIONS

Receipt of the following materials by the Office of Graduate Admissions constitutes a completed application. Please refer to the Departmental Requirements section that follows for information on individual departmental requirements. Note: Applicants may submit only one active graduate or undergraduate program application for admission per academic year. Entry to the graduate programs takes place in the fall semester only.
Application and Fee

All graduate applicants are required to complete the online application form and submit the $80 application fee. The application form can be found through our Web site at www.applyweb.com/apply/svag.
Portfolio

Applicants who have academic documents from institutions outside of the U.S. are required to provide original, attested, or certified true copies of academic records for all institutions attended beginning with the first year of college. These records should be in the original language issued. In addition, for records not in English, applicants must also submit an official translation of all academic documents. Translations must be a complete, literal, word-for-word translation in the same format of the original academic document. Please note that all documents submitted become the property of the School of Visual Arts and will not be returned. All foreign post-secondary (university level) transcripts should be converted into U.S. educational equivalencies. Those records that are not converted into U.S. equivalencies must have a course-by-course evaluation by an external evaluation agency. The School of Visual Arts should be listed as the recipient of the evaluation. Transcripts may take up to six weeks to be evaluated. The original academic records must be submitted in addition to the evaluation. The School of Visual Arts recommends that international post-secondary (university level) records be evaluated by the following approved external evaluation agency: American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) Office of International Education Services One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 520 Washington, DC 20036-1135 Phone: 202.296.3359 Fax: 202.822.3940 Website: http://www.aacrao.org/international/foreignEdCred.cfm For a list of approved transcript evaluation agencies, please visit our Web site at: www.sva.edu/transcriptevaluations Note: When requesting a credential evaluation, make sure that the School of Visual Arts is listed as the recipient of the evaluation. All documents become the property of the School of Visual Arts and will not be returned. Credit evaluation can take six to eight weeks; please plan accordingly.

Private Loans

Please refer to the Departmental Requirements section beginning on page 283 for further details.
Permanent Resident

Private loans are available to students through various private agencies and/or lenders. SVA recommends that students review borrowing options through the federal loan programs first, then evaluate the private loan options.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Federal regulations also require SVA to establish a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy for students receiving financial aid. Further, SVA must notify students of the SAP policy and monitor the progress of all students receiving financial aid to ensure compliance with the standards. The federal and state standards are available in the Financial Aid Office. It is the responsibility of all students to familiarize themselves with these standards. Failure to meet the satisfactory academic progress standards may jeopardize financial aid eligibility.

If you are a permanent resident, you must submit a photocopy of your alien registration card.
Official Transcripts

Applicants must submit one official transcript from each college or university attended, whether or not it reflects enrollment in a degree program, and all transcripts for credits transferred to degree-granting institutions. Transcripts should be sent in their original envelopes (with the seal unbroken and the registrars signature intact to remain official) with all other application materials. Individuals who have made a name change since attending a college or university should make certain that the transcript indicates the current name as it appears on the application for admission.

Financial Aid

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Statement of Purpose

A written statement (250500 words) of the applicants intent and reason for pursuing graduate study may be submitted online or via mail.
Rsum

Applicants must submit a rsum, which should include professional experience as well as related activities such as research, awards and exhibitions. The rsum may be submitted online or via mail.
Letters of Recommendation

During the summer, students who have met the English proficiency requirement and are interested in further development of their English language skills may enroll in the SVA Advanced English as a Second Language course. Designed to enhance verbal expression and the use of current, sophisticated and precise vocabulary of arts professionals, this course will help students prepare for their graduate studies. For more information on this course, contact the English as a Second Language coordinator at 212.592.2621 or e-mail: hrubinstein@sva.edu.
Interview

All materials should be sent to:


Ofce of Graduate Admissions School of Visual Arts 209 East 23 Street New York, NY 10010-3994 Telephone: 800.436.4204 or 212.592.2107 Fax: 212.592.2116 E-mail: gradadmissions@sva.edu Web site:www.sva.edu

Departmental Requirements

Three letters of recommendation from instructors or practicing professionals must be received in an envelope sealed and signed by the person issuing the recommendation. The recommender should seal the envelope, sign across the seal and return it to the applicant. Recommenders should indicate the applicants full name and department of interest at the beginning of the letter. Applicants should send letters of recommendation in their original envelopes (with the seals unbroken and the recommenders signature intact to remain official) along with all other supplementary application materials. Note: Letter of recommendation forms are not provided.
English Proficiency

Personal interviews are only required for applicants to the Art Education, Art Therapy, Branding Arts, Design Criticism and Interaction Design programs. Prospective students living beyond a 1,000-mile radius of New York City may request to waive the in-person interview. In such instances, a telephone interview is required. Applicants to the Design and Social Documentary Film programs may be scheduled for interviews by the committee on graduate admissions after all required application materials have been reviewed. Personal interviews are available but not required for the Illustration as Visual Essay program Departments will contact applicants to schedule in-person or phone interviews. Interviews are not available for the following programs: Art Criticism and Writing; Computer Art; Digital Photography; Fine Arts; and Photography, Video and Related Media. Applicants interested in visiting their prospective department should refer to the schedule of information sessions that are listed on page 286.
Application Procedures

Please mail all admission materials in enough time to ensure that they will be received no later than January 15, 2010. When submitting application materials via post, we strongly advise applicants to request delivery confirmation. Applicants will receive an admissions decision, in writing, by April 1, 2010. The College does not disclose admissions decisions via phone, fax or e-mail. All application materials become the property of the School of Visual Arts and will not be returned.
Deferred Admission and reapplication

In addition to the general requirements for admission, applicants must also comply with the department requirements as outlined in this section. The general portfolio submission criteria are listed as follows. Please review these instructions as well as individual departmental portfolio requirements. An annotated portfolio description list with the applicants name must accompany the portfolio. The list should include the following information: title, slide number (if applicable), size (if applicable), medium (specify software/application for digital work), and date of work. Slides (if applicable) must be submitted in a clear plastic slide sheet. Only 35mm slides will be reviewed. Please do not submit glass slides. Each slide must have the slide number, applicants name and orientation of the slide clearly indicated on each slide. Do not use labels. Note: All portfolio submissions become the property of the School of Visual Arts and will not be returned. No oversize portfolios, binders, prints or original work will be accepted. Permanent bindings, notebooks and oversized cases will be discarded. The College is not responsible for any media that is received in damaged condition and cannot be viewed.

All applicants whose primary language is not English must demonstrate proficiency in written and spoken English. Applicants must submit one of the following: X X Use CEEB Code 2835 for test score submission to SVA. X X Official score report showing a minimum score of 79 on the Internet-based version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL ibt). For more information on taking the TOEFL, call 609.771.7100 or visit www.toefl.com. X X Official score report showing a minimum score of 213 on the computer-based version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL CBT). For information on taking the TOEFL, call 609.771.7100 or visit www.toefl.com. X X Official score report showing a minimum score of 6.5 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). IELTS is jointly managed by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL), British Council and IDP Education Australia: IELTS Australia. For information on taking the IELTS, call 626.564.2954 or visit www.ielts.org. X X Official score report showing a minimum score of six (6) in all categories of the English proficiency exam from the American Language Institute. For more information on this test, call 212.998.7040. In addition, SVA will consider waiving the English proficiency exam requirement for students who have earned a degree at a regionally accredited U.S. college or university. Note: The committee on graduate admissions will determine if further proof of English language proficiency is required. Students seeking this waiver must submit a written request with their application materials.
Admission to the Programs

Admission cannot be deferred to another academic year. Applicants who delay enrollment must reapply to the program by submitting a new application and fee, and resubmitting all application materials.
Extension Limitation

Art Criticism and Writing


XX

Students who matriculate in one of the Colleges graduate degree programs must complete their course work within four years, unless given an official extension by the coordinator of academic advisement.

Applicants are required to submit a typed writing sample between 2,500 and 3,000 words long. Content is at the discretion of the applicant. Applicants are encouraged to submit papers or articles that have been published or presented, if applicable.

All required application materials (except the online application and application fee) must be received together in one package by the Office of Graduate Admissions by January 15, 2010 for the following departments: Branding Arts, Computer Art; Design; Fine Arts; Illustration as Visual Essay; and Photography, Video & Related Media. The following departments have rolling admissions: Art Criticism and Writing, Art Education, Art Therapy, Design Criticism, Digital Photography, Digital Photography: Online/Summer Residency, Interaction Design, and Social Documentary Film. However, we recommend that applications be submitted by January 15, 2010. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Apply online at: www.applyweb.com/apply/svag. Note: After January, 1, 2010, all applications to the Fall 2010 semester will be accepted and processed on a first-come, first-served basis, as space remains available in the program.

Art Education
XX

A CD with 15 to 20 images must be submitted (jpeg or tiff, and at least 600x500 pixels). Images should be in a folder with your name on it, titled and numbered sequentially, i.e., Smith_John_001.jpg. Portfolios should include at least 10 images of work in a major studio art medium, and at least 2 examples of work in painting, drawing and 3-dimensional media. If the portfolio does not demonstrate proficiency in painting, drawing and 3-dimensional media, completion of additional coursework may be required for acceptance into the program. X X Applicants are required to have completed a minimum of 30 credits in studio art, 12 credits in art history and 30 credits in liberal arts and sciences. Course work in a language other than English is also required. X X We strongly recommend that applicants to the MAT program have taken the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST) required for New York State certification and include a copy of LAST scores in their application. Information on registering for the LAST is available at www.nystce.nesinc.com. X X Personal interviews are required. Prospective students living beyond a 1,000-mile radius of New York City may request to waive the inperson interview. In such instances, a telephone interview is required.

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Art Therapy
XX

15 to 20 digital images (jpeg format preferred) on CD must be submitted. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a portfolio that reflects a wide range of work. X X In addition to digital images, applicants may submit work on DVD (NTSC format only). X X Applicants must have completed a minimum of 18 credits (or equivalent) in studio art and 12 credits in psychology (developmental and abnormal are required; courses in introduction to psychology and theories of personality are recommended). X X Personal interviews are required. Prospective students living beyond a 1,000-mile radius of New York City may request to waive the in-person interview. In such instances, a telephone interview is required.

Design

Branding Arts
XX

Applicants are required to submit a typed short essay (750 words) critiquing a brand of their choice. Subject matter should include the following: Relevance in the market Historical significance (if any) Assessment of the brands positioning Creative analysis X X Applicants are required to submit a typed writing sample outlining why they have chosen to apply to this program, what they hope to achieve during their course of study and what the concept of branding means to them. X X Any other material outlining the applicants expertise in this discipline is encouraged but not required, and include any or all of the following: Design portfolio Brand strategy or positioning proposal and/or white paper Any branding work currently in the market that they have contributed to with a statement outlining the challenge, their participation and a rationale for the result X X Personal interviews are required. Prospective students living beyond a 1,000-mile radius of New York City may request to waive the inperson interview. In such instances, a telephone interview is required.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a portfolio that reflects a wide range of design work, a fluency in typography, and a proficiency in Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, HTML and Flash. Portfolios should be submitted on a CD, which contains an Apple OS X-readable folder titled LastnameFirstname. This folder should contain any combination of the following: X X A print work folder titled LastnameFirstnamePrint, containing no more than 20 still images. Images must be in jpeg format, (600x500 pixels minimum and 1200x1200 pixels maximum). Files must be titled and numbered LastnameFirstname##.jpg. More than 20 images will not be reviewed. X X A text file in .doc format, which specifies the URLs of applicantdesigned Web sites and interactive projects. X X Optional: A video folder named LastnameFirstnameVideos, containing no more than five video files. These files must be in QuickTime format, at 15 FPS (sized 320x240 pixels). Videos must be no larger than five MB each with a maximum length of two minutes each. X X Presentation formats (PDF, PowerPoint, Keynote) will not be accepted. Slides, printed portfolios and all other file formats (swf, exe, etc.) will not be accepted. Paintings, photographs or illustration work that does not include type will not be considered.

Digital Photography
XX

Applicants to the MPS Digital Photography program are required to submit a portfolio that features one to three coherent bodies of work. The 20 images should highlight your best work and demonstrate a fluency in lighting, composition, tonal and color relationships, and most importantly portray strong conceptual value. Your portfolio is the most critical aspect of your application and will be carefully vetted by the application committee. Submit a total of 20 images on a CD for the Macintosh platform formatted exactly as follows: X X Folder A: 15 images as flattened tiff or jpeg files X X Folder B: 5 images with all Photoshop layers and channels intact submitted as either tiff or psd files X X All images must be 2048 pixels in either width or height X X 8-bit, RGB, Adobe RGB X X Files must be labeled as follows: First initial, last name_number of image, e.g., jdoe_01.jpg X X Include a ReadMe text file with your name and project explanation

Interaction Design
XX

Fine Arts
XX

Applicants are strongly encouraged to curate a portfolio of work that demonstrates a broad range of interaction design work. We recommend a guideline of 20 pieces that demonstrate your work through concept, communication, craft and process. X X Content: Work should demonstrate a fluency in at least some of the following: Web design, application design or industrial design; design research; a proficiency with interface design, information architecture or usability methods; prototyping methods; typography and layout; attention to shaping human behavior. X X Format: You can choose to submit your portfolio online or via a disk. If you choose a Web-based format, submit a single URL with your application. All links in your portfolio must be active through August 2011. If you choose a CD or DVD disk format , it must be accessible from a Macintosh platform to be considered. Give the disk the name firstname-lastname. Include any required plug-ins. X X Interviews: All prospective students, whether living in New York City or beyond, will be required to take part in a telephone interview as part of the application process.

Design Criticism
XX

Computer Art
XX

Applicants are required to submit a typed short essay (750 words) critiquing a design object, event or concept. X X Applicants are required to submit a typed writing sample of published or unpublished writing between 1,000 and 2,000 words. Content is at the discretion of the applicant; however, the piece should demonstrate the applicants research and analytical skills and facility with language. The published sample can be from any context, including contributions to academic or commercial publications, books, catalogs or exhibition wall texts. X X Personal interviews are required. Prospective students living beyond a 1,000-mile radius of New York City may request to waive the in-person interview. In such instances, a telephone interview is required.

Exactly 12 images on CD must be submitted (jpeg format for the Macintosh platform). Files must be labeled as follows: First initial, last name, image number, e.g., jdoe_1. Digital images must be 1500 pixels in width or height at 72 dpi. No Power Point or other type of presentation format or online portfolio will be accepted. X X Video artists and those artists whose work addresses time or motion may also submit a DVD (NTSC format only, no QuickTime or other formats will be accepted). DVDs should not exceed five minutes in length and should be labeled with the artists name and the title, date and running time of each work on the DVD.

Photography, Video and Related Media


XX

Still imagery: 20 images on a CD. All images should be in JPEG format for the Macintosh platform. Digital images must be 1500 pixels on the largest dimension (width or height) at 72 dpi. Files must be labeled as follows: First initial, last name, image number (01-20), and project title (if applicable), e.g., jdoe01project.jpg. No PowerPoint, other type of presentation format, or online portfolio will be accepted. X X Video: NTSC DVD not to exceed 10 minutes in length.

Social Documentary Film


XX

Illustration as Visual Essay


XX

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a portfolio that reflects a wide range of work. X X 20 high-quality digital or photographic prints (8.5x11) must be submitted. X X Supplemental creative works on DVD (NTSC format only), Macintosh- or PC-format CD (U.S. operating systems), or URL should also be submitted. X X In the statement of purpose, applicants should indicate their anticipated area of study, i.e., animation, motion graphics & digital video, interactive media, installation & digital fine art, or multidisciplinary study.

15 to 20 digital images (jpeg format for the Macintosh platform). Files must be labeled as follows: First initial, last name, project title (or number) of image, e.g., jdoe _project.jpg. Digital images must be 1500 pixels in width or height at 72 dpi. No PowerPoint or other type of presentation format or online portfolio will be accepted. The work should be of professional publication quality or published work. X X Applicants are also required to submit a typed writing sample between 500 and 1,000 words long. Content is at the discretion of the applicant. X X Applicants should be proficient in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign. X X Personal interviews are available, but not required.

Applicants must write a concise treatment for a documentary film they might wish to make (two to three double spaced pages in length). Be specific in detailing the nature of the issue to be addressed and describe the stylistic approach to be taken. Please be precise about what the audience will see on the screen. Please submit ONE of the following: X X Video: VHS/NTSC format or a DVD (region 1 only) or Mini DV format. Work must not exceed ten minutes in length. X X Still imagery: 20 images on CD (jpeg format for the Macintosh platform). Files must be labeled as follows: First initial, last name, project title (or number) of image, e.g., jdoe_project.jpg. Digital images must be 1500 pixels in width or height at 72 dpi. The images should express the concepts of the central theme. A brief written commentary may accompany the images. No online portfolios will be accepted. X X Applicants without prior filmmaking experience must create a visual documentation of a subject. Using a visual vocabulary (video, photographs or mixed media), they must create a body of work that fully explores a documentary subject. X X Please contact the department with questions about the portfolio requirements at mfasocdoc@sva.edu.

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International Students

This school is authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant alien students. International students make a valuable contribution to the SVA community and enrich the diversity of the Colleges student body. Our international students represent more than forty countries and account for approximately fifteen percent of the student population. The International Student Office (ISO) provides services and assistance to international students, such as information concerning student visas and immigration regulations, and helps with cultural adjustment, through orientation programs, information sessions, activities and individual counseling. ISO also administers the Colleges F-1 student and J-1 exchange visitor records and helps students to comply with federal regulations. The International Student Office can be reached by phone at: 212.592.2236; fax: 212.592.2241; e-mail: iso@sva.edu. Note: The College cannot assume any responsibility for the preparation of applications or financial sponsorship for international students. International students in the MPS Digital Photography online/summer residency program with F-1 student status are required by federal regulations to pursue a full course of study. To comply, in addition to the departments thesis production classes all international students with F-1 student status are required to register for a three credit elective course for the summer semester. The course must be selected during the spring semester in conjunction with the thesis project and be approved by the department chair. In addition to fulfilling the general and departmental requirements for admission, nonimmigrant applicants are required to submit a declaration of finances and verification of finances prior to enrollment. If you are a Permanent Resident you must submit a photocopy of your alien registration card.
Declaration of Finances

dated within one year of initial enrollment at the School of Visual Arts. Official and original documentation must be provided. Note: Tuition, fees and housing charges increase at a minimum of 3 percent to 5 percent annually.

Departmental Visits

We strongly encourage applicants to visit their prospective department prior to submitting their application materials. Visits should be arranged directly through each department.

Art Criticism and Writing

Departmental Information Sessions


Saturday, October 24, 2009

Tel: 212.592.2408 Fax: 212.989.3516 E-mail: artcrit@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/artcriticism

Design Criticism

Tel: 212.592.2228 Fax: 212.243.1019 E-mail: dcrit@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/designcriticism

Art Education, Design, Interaction Design, Social Documentary Film Hours: 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Saturday, November 7, 2009

Art Education

Art Criticism and Writing; Art Therapy; Branding Arts; Computer Art; Fine Arts; Design Criticism; Digital Photography; Illustration as Visual Essay; Photography, Video and Related Media Hours 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Thursday, December 3, 2009

Tel: 212.592.2445 Fax: 646.336.7702 E-mail: matarted@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/arteducation

Digital Photography; Digital Photography Online/Summer Residency


Tel: 212.592.2170 Fax: 212.691.2687 E-mail: mpsphoto@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/digitalphotography

Art Therapy

Tel: 212.592.2610 Fax: 917.606.0461 E-mail: arttherapy@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/arttherapy

Fine Arts

Online Information Session Digital Photography Online/Summer Residency Program Hours: 7:00pm to 8:30pm EST

Branding Arts

Tel: 212.592.2500 Fax: 212.592.2503 E-mail: mfafinearts@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/finearts

Prior to Registration
Immunization Requirements

Tel: 212.329.4609 Fax: 212.329.4700 E-mail: brandingarts@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/brandingarts

Illustration as Visual Essay

International applicants must submit a Declaration and Certification of Finances indicating that the applicant has adequate financial resources to provide for his or her expenses at the College. The Declaration and Certification of Finances supplied in the back of this catalog must be completed and returned to the Office of Graduate Admissions.
Verification of Finances

All funds must be substantiated by a Verification of Finances letter from an officer of the students bank or sponsors bank, or a bank statement. These documents must reflect the total sum of tuition, fees and living expenses for a minimum of one year of study, in a readily accessible form such as liquid assets. All documents must be in English and in U.S. dollars, or the current exchange rate must be supplied by the bank. If this is not possible, a translation of the documents will be accepted if signed and sealed by an appropriate government or bank official. All financial documents must attest to a minimum of $54,000 per applicant per year. Applicants to the MAT Art Education; MFA Design; MPS Digital Photography; MFA Photography, Video and Related Media and MFA Social Documentary Film programs must substantiate $60,000 in order to cover program costs. All supporting documentation must be

After an acceptance is issued, applicants will receive a SVA Student Health Form. New York State law requires that all students read information about meningococcal disease (meningitis) and submit a signed form indicating that either they have had the vaccine or do not wish to have the vaccine. State law also requires that students born after 1957 must have their health care provider complete the SVA Student Health Form for proof of immunity to measles, mumps and rubella. The SVA Student Health Form must be completed and submitted prior to registering for classes. Students who do not submit a completed SVA Student Health Form will not be permitted to register for or to attend classes. In the event of an outbreak of measles, mumps or rubella at the College, the commissioner of health may order officials at the School of Visual Arts to exclude from attendance all students who lack immunizations owing to medical or religious exemptions.
Enrollment fee

Computer Art

Tel: 212.592.2210 Fax: 212.366.1675 E-mail: mfaillustration@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/illustration

Tel: 212.592.2517 Fax: 212.592.2509 E-mail: mfaca@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/computerart

Interaction Design

Design

Tel: 212.592.2561 Fax: 212.592.2559 E-mail: ldanzico@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/interactiondesign

Tel: 212.592.2600 Fax: 212.592.2627 E-mail: mfadesign@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/design

Photography, Video and Related Media


Tel: 212.592.2360 Fax: 212.592.2366 E-mail: mfaphoto@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/photovideo

Social Documentary Film

Tel: 212.592.2919 Fax: 212.627.2528 E-mail: mfasocdoc@sva.edu www.sva.edu/grad/socialdocumentaryfilm

Once an offer of admission has been extended, applicants must submit a $1,000 nonrefundable enrollment fee to the Office of Graduate Admissions in order to secure a place in their intended program of study. Enrollment fees will be processed only as space remains available in each department. Five hundred dollars of this fee will be applied to the rst-year tuition. Payments may be made by check, money order, credit card or wire transfer. This fee cannot be made online.

Admission to the Programs

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Administration

Board of directors

Office of the President

Milton Glaser, acting chairman Janet A. Knox Michelle Musler Joseph F. Patterson Anthony P. Rhodes David Rhodes Walter Rivera Eileen Hedy Schultz

Ralph Appelbaum, special assistant to the president John Dye, director of internal audit and control Steven Heller, special assistant to the president Jacqueline Pif Hoffner, executive assistant Alberta Irene Kreh, special consultant to the president Nicole Marcelino, receptionist David Rhodes, president
Office of the Executive Vice President

Studio and Academic Departments


Undergraduate
Advertising and Graphic Design

Film, Video and Animation

Office of the Chairman

Milton Glaser, acting chairman Carla Tscherny, executive assistant to the acting chairman
Visual Arts Foundation

Anthony P. Rhodes, executive vice president Michelle Mercurio, assistant to the executive vice president Toni-Ann Agay, administrative assistant

Yanik Lewis, administrative assistant


Visual Arts Museum

Richard Wilde, chair Kevin OCallaghan, chair, 3D design Carolyn Hinkson-Jenkins, curriculum coordinator Alida Beck LaRocca, academic advisor Yolanda Powell, academic advisor Kristine Wilson, academic advisor Adria Ingegneri, assistant to the chair, 3D design Ingrid Li, systems coordinator Benita Raphan, projects coordinator Ori Kleiner, motion graphics coordinator Shaun Killman, studio manager, 3D design Arlyn Lebron, assistant to the chair Paula Paylor, receptionist
Art History

Francis Di Tommaso, director Richard Brooks, assistant director Jessica Hale, administrative manager Eric Lendl, exhibitions coordinator Matthew White, exhibitions coordinator Maria Dubon, office coordinator
Visual Arts Press, Ltd.

Tom Huhn, chair Gary Sherman, assistant to the chair Anne Clark, administrative assistant
Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects

Reeves Lehmann, chair Salvatore Petrosino, director of operations Karla Fisher, assistant to the chair Jillann Hertel, academic advisor, animation Mark Ramos, academic advisor, film and video Elvera Vilson, academic advisor, film and video May Kassem, film librarian/budget coordinator Michael DelVecchio, film production manager Christopher Faulkner, video manager Casey Safron, animation manager Martin Hayward, systems administrator Lisa LaBracio, assistant animation manager Luis Negron, repair manager, film and video Tien-Li Wu, senior systems support specialist Bryan OConnell, systems support specialist Angel Beltre, film repair assistant Michael Capone, studio supervisor Jane Miller, reservations coordinator Gabriella Iljeska, front window coordinator Joseph Neal, production office evening supervisor Mark Minnig, production office assistant Sean Ruch, production office assistant Eric Spang, production office assistant
Fine Arts

Anthony P. Rhodes, creative director Dee Ito, writer Michael J. Walsh, art director Brian E. Smith, associate art director Joan Singer Frieman, assistant director Abimbola Famuyiwa, senior multimedia/Web designer Patrick Tobin, senior designer Eric Corriel, multimedia designer Sheilah Ledwidge, associate editor

John McIntosh, chair Kate Schaffer, director of operations Imara Barnett, assistant to the chair Phyllistine Travis, academic advisor Mahtab Aslani, academic advisor Jimmy Calhoun, curriculum coordinator Darryl Wright, senior systems administrator Stephan Dickinson, systems administrator Chad Nau, systems administrator Raphael Ribot, systems administrator Sebastian Ebarb, night manager Susie Hwang, day manager Ashley Lamb, day manager Darren Santa Maria, night manager Sarah Schuerhoff, secretary

Suzanne Anker, chair Jeanne Siegel, chair emeritus Gary Sherman, assistant to the chair Dora Riomayor, academic advisor Gunars Prande, printmaking coordinator Erik Guzman, sculpture center manager Dominick Rapone, printshop manager Scott Illjes, systems administrator, sculpture center Joseph Tekippe, systems administrator, digital lab Daniel Wapner, sculpture center evening supervisor Jeffrey Wasson, sculpture center technical advisor Terry Glispin, sculpture center weekend manager Anne Clark, administrative assistant
Humanities and Sciences

Maryhelen Hendricks, co-chair Robert Milgrom, co-chair Laurie Johenning, assistant to the co-chairs Neil Friedland, coordinator, writing services Helene Rubinstein, coordinator, English as a Second Language program Louis Phillips, editor, Words Susan Kim, administrative assistant Christine Han, office coordinator, writing resource center William Fuentes, lab coordinator, writing resource center/ computer-assisted writing lab

Administration

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Illustration and Cartooning

Art Therapy

Photography, Video and Related Media

Thomas Woodruff, chair Carolyn Hinkson-Jenkins, curriculum coordinator Sasha Argarwal, academic advisor Alida Beck LaRocca, academic advisor Yolanda Powell, academic advisor Kristine Wilson, academic advisor Arlyn Lebron, assistant to the chair Paula Paylor, receptionist
Interior Design

Deborah Farber, chair Aaron Cockle, program coordinator Valerie Sereno, special programs and projects coordinator Elizabeth Dellicarpini, internship coordinator Tessa Dean, assistant to the chair
branding arts

Charles H. Traub, chair Randy West, director of operations Jacqueline Parrott, assistant to the chair Adam Bell, academic advisor Michelle Leftheris, systems administrator, network/video Seth Lambert, systems support specialist
Social Documentary Film

Administrative Offices and Departments


Academic Advisement

Debbie Millman, chair


Computer Art

A.-Lucky Checkley, coordinator Blake Smith, assistant to the coordinator Bibi Khan, administrative assistant Rosa Paulino, receptionist
Academic Affairs

Jane Smith, chair Simone Clemente, administrative assistant Damon Dixon, systems administrator
Photography

Stephen Frailey, chair Malcolm Lightner, director of operations Adrian Jones, academic advisor Angela Kaniecki, academic advisor Colleen OConnor, assistant to the chair Eleanor Oakes, coordinator of special programs and projects David LaFayette, studio manager Matt Wilson, assistant studio manager Giuseppina (Bina) Altera, senior systems support specialist Seth Boonchai, systems support specialist Andrew Soto, systems support specialist Lucas Thorpe, repair and maintenance technician Dana Gramp, studio assistant Megan Hershman, studio assistant Anthony Schiavo, studio assistant Christopher Pacifico Silano, studio assistant Rebecca Steele, studio assistant Kimberlee Venable, studio assistant Ken Wahl, studio assistant
Visual and critical studies

Bruce Wands, chair Joseph Dellinger, director of operations Diane Field, assistant to the chair Russet Lederman, academic advisor Levent Cetiner, senior systems administrator Jarryd Lowder, systems administrator Jose Vargas, systems administrator Charles Lewis, administrative assistant
Design

Maro Chermayeff, chair Niki Bhattacharya, director of operations Timothy Doyle, assistant to the chair

Continuing Education and Special Programs


Continuing Education

Deborah Hussey, curriculum coordinator Laura Steffen, instructional technologist Rebecca Rubenstein, catalog production assistant Christopher Bentley, multimedia technician
Administrative Computing

Adam Behar, chief information officer Maria Paulino, assistant


Administrative Network Services

Steven Heller, co-chair Lita Talarico, co-chair Esther Ro-Schofield, assistant to the co-chairs Matthew Shapoff, senior systems administrator
Design Criticism

Joseph Cipri, executive director Akiko Aubel, associate director Keren Moscovitch, program coordinator Paloma Crousillat, advisor Jacob Yohay, advisor Marry Kim, office assistant
International Studies

Alice Twemlow, chair Emily Weiner, assistant to the chair Mary Foti, senior systems administrator
digital photography

Dora Riomayor, director Michelle Mercurio, associate director

Steven Osit, director Ian Hill, network manager Lois Greene-Hernandez, Webmaster Edward Duffy, senior technical support specialist Fishel Erps, network engineer Elmo Bardeguez, technical support specialist Brandon Keeven, assistant network engineer Kenneth Luguya, enterprise systems engineer Evan Rabinowitz, help desk operator Helen Jorgensen, switchboard operator
Admissions

Katrin Eismann, chair Thomas P. Ashe, associate chair


Fine Arts

Library
Robert Lobe, director Caitlin Kilgallen, associate director Amos Turner, head of reference services Zimra Panitz, technical services/systems librarian Beth Kleber, archivist, Milton Glaser Design Study Center and Archives Lorraine Gerety, visual resources curator Malin Abrahamsson, acquisitions/administrative manager Christopher Bussmann, circulation manager Myra Schechtman, technology manager Seth Chang, systems administrator David Pemberton, periodicals/pictures manager Todd Kelly, assistant visual resources curator Ben Stumpf, assistant circulation manager Eric Ingram, managing catalog technician Zachary Sachs, archives assistant Keisha Wilkerson, catalog technician Grace Nesin, visual resources cataloging assistant David Shuford, cataloger Anna Helgeson, weekend/evening reference librarian
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Tom Huhn, chair Anne Clark, administrative assistant

David L. Shirey, chair JP Forrest, assistant to the chair Tina DeRamus, assistant to the chair
Illustration as Visual Essay

Graduate
Art Criticism and writing

Marshall Arisman, chair Kim Ablondi, assistant to the chair


Interaction Design

David Levi Strauss, chair Melissa Ragsly, assistant to the chair


Art Education

Rose Viggiano, chair Christina Mazzalupo, assistant to the chair Barbara Salander, thesis director Michael Filan, student teaching supervisor Molaundo Jones, Liberty Partnerships Program director Anna Roman, secretary

Liz Danzico, chair Qing-Qing Chen, assistant to the chair Jeffrey Kirsh, systems administrator

Javier Vega, executive director Adam Rogers, director Cheryl Pfeiffer, associate director Kara Rooney, associate director Jaime Garcia, assistant director Cynthia Davis, manager, graduate and undergraduate admissions Christopher Jessick, manager, transfer admissions Jessica Hull, assistant manager, graduate admissions John Ashworth, director, portfolio development programs Celeste Collins, counselor Doug Salati, counselor Quinn Dukes, counselor Sabrina Lee, counselor Yoi Tanaka Gayler, assistant manager, undergraduate admissions Sophie Holland, coordinator Brenda Hung, coordinator Marie Miller, coordinator Emily Steinfeld, coordinator Magdalena Segura, visitor services coordinator Melinda Richardson, assistant to the executive director Mary Kirk Leonard, receptionist

Administration

www.sva.edu

Audiovisual Services

Finance

Programs for International Students

Student Accounts

Robert Barton, manager Peter Ross, assistant manager Charles Gibbs, computer and event specialist Earl Barrett-Holloway, support specialist Micah Welner, support specialist Jim Gisriel, assistant
Career Development

Jennifer Phillips, director Rhonda Schaller, internship coordinator


Computers At Visual Arts (CAVA)

Aarathi Srinidhi, director Alen Wong, senior sales and technical support representative Watson Dutton, senior technical consultant Joseph Morris, customer service representative James Gregory Guay, store manager/buyer Anthony Febles, inventory coordinator
Colleague Computing Services

Gary Shillet, chief financial officer Michael Campbell, controller Roger Saliba, assistant controller Kevin Chea, assistant controller, budgeting and finance Ivy Rauzin, assistant controller, financial planning and analysis Tianna Bogle, senior accountant Jean Saint Juste, senior accountant Mario Cosentino, accounting manager Wanda Reece, accounts payable manager Carolyn Campbell, senior accounts payable coordinator Margaret Herndon, accounts payable coordinator Sharon Victory, accounts payable coordinator Theresa Marghella, assistant to the chief financial officer
Financial Aid

Andrew Chang, director Jennifer Russell, associate director


Registrar

Elena Vasilenko-Blank, director Lena Granoff, senior programmer Irina Filimonova, senior programmer/analyst Roman Stanula, systems/database administrator Andrew El-Kadi, system analyst/programer
Communication

William Berrios, director Tracy Ercetin, associate director, operations Gary Hayes, associate director, data management Jose Rodriguez, loan collector Thomas Becker, advisor Wai Nei Kwan, advisor Ramona Moore, advisor Michelle Yates, advisor Patricia Melendez, office manager Frank Quirindongo, clerk Jasmin Quirsola, receptionist
Human Resources

Jon Todd, registrar Celeste Barnes, associate registrar Gemma Prosper-Brown, assistant registrar, academic records; veterans counselor Bernard Gibson, assistant registrar, operations Albert Grier, assistant, data manager Angelo Angeles, assistant Steve Birnbaum, assistant Kimberli Jervey, assistant, rosters Cassie McDonald, assistant Mary Rando, assistant Yvonne Singletary, academic records, archivist
Resource Management

Geanine Rando, director Rebecca Fowler, associate director Mary Graham, continuing education receivables manager Jennyfer Edwards, loan receivables coordinator Jade Bigelow, coordinator Malieka Sharry, cashier
Student Affairs

Michael Grant, director Keri Murawski, publicist Brian Glaser, managing editor Alia Dalal, coordinator
Development and Alumni Affairs

Carrie Lincourt, director Leigh Winter, associate director Shannon Shulte, development manager Rakisha Jarrett, alumni coordinator
Digital Imaging Center

Frank Agosta, director Vennette Jones, associate director Georgette Thomas Jones, benefits manager Petronella Morrison, payroll manager Christina Vera, employment manager Vanessa Robinson, payroll supervisor Lloyd McIntosh, faculty contracts coordinator Carrie Goodman, benefits assistant Julissa Knight, payroll assistant Delores Williams, human resources assistant
Institutional Research

Stephen Alvarado, assistant manager Joseph Jones, studio manager Angel Ibanez, assistant studio manager James Corry, assistant studio manager, evening Viveca Diaz, lab assistant coordinator Serena Orteca, evening systems administrator Andrew Gaska, weekend supervisor
External Relations

Jerold Davis, research associate Lani Mysak, administrative assistant


International Student Office

Tom Swider, director Alice Lilly, associate director Patsy Keyes Anderson, mail processing coordinator Lisa Brown, buyer Christopher Gutierrez, buyer Raymond Rawls, buyer Brian P. Smith, technology buyer James Cavaliere, office services manager Allene La Spina, model registrar Cathy Shuemate-Douglas, contracts and insurance coordinator Andre Charles, mail processing assistant Charles Davis, mail processing assistant Angelito Del Mundo, mail processing assistant Jason Gallegos, office services assistant Dennis Gillyard, office services assistant Ian Gold, model registrar assistant Molly Shulan, model registrar assistant Irene Hernandez, administrative assistant Gary Jean-Pierre, office services assistant coordinator Alexander Kishinevsky, mail processing assistant Raymar Mitchell, office services assistant David Nazario, office services assistant Deirdre Suter, mail processing assistant coordinator
Security Services

Javier Vega, executive director Ellen Clinesmith, director Tina Crayton, associate director, student activities Edward Rabinowitz, MD, college psychiatrist Christine Gilchrist, RN, associate director, health and counseling services Laurice Adams, LCAT, therapist Rachel Dress, LMSW, therapist Mark Howell, LCSW, therapist Hiep (Bobby) Bui, associate director of disability services Laurel Christy, associate director, residence life Kevin Mills, associate director, student housing Donald Hudec, student activities coordinator Brandon Soucy, learning disabilities coordinator Stefaine Joshua, residence hall director Nicole Shillings, residence hall director Amy Snyder, residence hall director Kathryn DeRaffele, office coordinator Joshua Shapiro, receptionist
Student Galleries

Francis Di Tommaso, director Richard Brooks, assistant director Jessica Hale, administrative manager Eric Lendl, exhibitions coordinator Matthew White, exhibitions coordinator Maria Dubon, office coordinator
sva Theatre

Gene Stavis, director Michael Morrissey, technical director Chad Gardella, manager Vidya Alexander, house manager

Kaori Uchisaka, director Tony (Hsien-Wen) Wang, administrator Edward Arredondo, coordinator Lauren Norville, coordinator
Physical Plant

Sam Modenstein, executive director Dan Halm, coordinator


Facilities Management

Nick Agjmurati, director Murray Clendenin, associate director Nicholas Pitt, manager Felicita Crespo, supervisor Isat Paljevic, supervisor Luis Soto, supervisor Latanya Grier, administrative assistant

John DeLuca, director of environmental health and safety

Jim Pirot, executive director Angelo Palermo, property manager Aurel Ardeljan, building manager Sylvia Privette, project coordinator
292 293 www.sva.edu

Administration

Building Directory and Campus Map


205 East 23 Street 214 East 21 Street 133/141 West 21 Street

Registrar Transcripts
207 East 23 Street

Computers at Visual Arts (CAVA)


209 East 23 Street

Catalog Production Eastside Gallery Photography, Video and Related Media (MFA) Photography (BFA) President Student Lounge WSVA Radio Station
101 East 10 Street

Admissions Advertising and Graphic Design (BFA) Continuing Education Digital Imaging Center Executive Vice President Facilities Management Film, Video and Animation (BFA) Financial Aid Illustration and Cartooning (BFA) Mail Processing Center Management Information Technologies Security Management Student Accounts Student Cafeteria SVA Gallery Visual Arts Museum
215/217 East 23 Street

Tenth Street Residence


101 Ludlow Street

Ludlow Residence
23 Lexington Avenue

New Residence Student Center/ Monkey Bar Lounge


220 East 23 Street

Disability Services George Washington Residence International Student Office Programs for International Students Residence Life Student Activities Student Affairs Student Health and Counseling Services Technical Support Services Visual Arts Student Association (VASA) Visual Opinion magazine
17 Gramercy Park South

Academic Advisement Academic Affairs Art History Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects (BFA) Computer Art (MFA) Environmental Health and Safety Fine Arts (BFA) Fine Arts (MFA) Fine Arts Printmaking Institutional Research Interior Design (BFA) International Studies Model Registrar Student Cafeteria Student Lounge Visual and Critical Studies (BFA) Westside Gallery Writing Resource Center
136 West 21 Street

Alumni Affairs Career Development Communication Design Criticism (MFA) Development External Relations Illustration as Visual Essay (MFA) Social Documentary Film (MFA)
132 West 21 Street

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

205/209 East 23 Street 215 East 23 Street 220 East 23 Street 380 Second Avenue 310 East 22 Street 214 East 21 Street 101 East 10 Street 101 Ludlow Street 23 Lexington Avenue 17 Gramercy Park South 133/141 West 21 Street 136 West 21 Street 132 West 21 Street 333 West 23 Street 335 West 16 Street 601 West 26 Street

Chairman of the Board Visual Arts Press, Ltd.


380 Second Avenue

Gramercy Womens Residence

Animation Studios Audiovisual Equipment Finance Human Resources Humanities and Sciences Library
310 East 22 Street

Art Criticism and Writing (MFA) Art Education (MAT) Art Therapy (MPS) Branding Arts (MPS) Digital Photography (MPS) Interaction Design (MFA)
333 West 23 Street

SVA Theatre
335 West 16 Street

Fine Arts Sculpture Fine Arts Digital Lab


601 West 26 Street

Design (MFA) Student Galleries Office Visual Arts Gallery

Building Directory and Campus Map

294

Credits

2009, Visual Arts Press, Ltd. Catalog Committee: Anthony P. Rhodes, chair; Marshall Arisman; Jerold Davis; Jessica Hull; Michelle Mercurio; Sheilah Ledwidge; Adam Rodgers; Charles Traub; Alice Twemlow; Javier Vega; Michael Walsh Creative Director: Anthony P. Rhodes Art, editorial and production director: Michael J. Walsh Designer: Brian E. Smith Managing editor: Sheilah Ledwidge Editors: Abby Kreh, Rachel Leff Principal Photography: Harry Zernike
(Photography on pages 6465, 176177 and 267: David Corrio)

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