2008 Artsfest

November 6th, 2008
Come celebrate the arts with us at GSU!  All events are free and open to the public.

Events planned for this year include:

• Portfolio reviews
• Workshops in ceramics, digital imaging, enhancing creativity, film-making, mosaic-making, painting, photography, poetry, and printmaking
• Collaborative art happenings
• Art history round table discussion
• Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park discussions and mini-tours
• Live musical performance by "The Projection"
• Student art exhibition and reception.
  

A schedule of events with descriptions of the day's activities is available below.  Should you need more information, please contact Sheree Sanderson at 708-235-3956 or s-sanderson@govst.edu. 

Schedule of Events

Scheduled Workshops:

Time	Workshop	Location
1:00 p.m.	Enhancing Creativity Large Format Photography Poetry Workshop	Cafe Annex E-1522 Hall of Honors
1:30 p.m.	Collage Combined Media Free-Style T-shirt Printing Large Format Photography	E-1528 E-1527 E-1522
2:00 p.m.	Large Format Photography Making a Digital Film Open Digital Studio Two To See	E-1522 Engbretson Hall E-2574 Cafe Annex
2:30 p.m.	Free-Style T-shirt Printing	E-1527
3:00 p.m.	Enhancing Creativity Large Format Photography Open Digital Studio Poetry Workshop	Cafe Annex E-1522 E-2574 Hall of Honors
3:30 p.m.	Collage Combined Media Free-Style T-shirt Printing	E-1528 E-1527
4:00 p.m.	Lighting a Digital Film Two To See	Engbretson Hall Cafe Annex
4:30 p.m.	Free-Style T-shirt Printing	E-1527
5:00 p.m.	Collage Combined Media	E-1528
5:15 p.m.	Art History Round Table	Cafe Annex
5:30p.m.	Free-Style T-shirt Printing	E-1527
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.	The Projection Reception Exhibition	E-1571 E Lounge Visual Arts Gallery

Ongoing Events:

Time	Workshop	Location
1:00-6:00 p.m.	Portfolio Reviews	E Lounge
1:00-5:00 p.m.	Collaborative Clay	E-1526
2:00-4:00 p.m.	Mosaic Making	E-1525
1:00-6:00 p.m.	Cooperative Mural	Hall of Governors
6:00-9:00 p.m.	Cooperative Mural	E Lounge

Portfolio Reviews

Free portfolio reviews with GSU faculty in the E Lounge!  No appointments are necessary.  Faculty specializations are shown below, however, all faculty can review works in any media.

Time	Faculty Member	Area
1:00 p.m	Beth Parin-Norris	Digital Imaging, Photography, IFDI
1:30 p.m.	Mike Hart	Sculpture, Glass
2:00 p.m.	Jeff Stevenson	Art History, Mixed-Media
2:30 p.m.	Javier Chavira	Painting, Drawing
3:00 p.m.	Arthur Bourgeois	Art History
3:30 p.m.	Bastien Desfriches Doria	Photography, Digital Imaging, IFDI
4:00 p.m.	Heather Page	Printmaking, Design
4:30 p.m.	Jeff Stevenson	Art History, Mixed-Media
5:00 p.m.	Carrie Ohm	Ceramics, Sculpture
5:30 p.m.	Geoffrey Bates	Sculpture, Printmaking

Art History Round Table

This session will be devoted to art history interests of students and faculty. What are you working on? What would you like to work on? GSU students, guests and faculty will share images of potential analysis and discuss how they choose to (or would choose to) handle the material in order to best stimulate interest.

The interests of Dr. Arthur Bourgeois incline primarily toward non-western art, namely, African, Native American, Pre-Columbian, Oceanic and Asian contexts where art is viewed in a cultural matrix of ceremony, religion and mythic narrative. Dr. Bourgeois' fascination with non-western cultures is evidenced by his published writings. He also teaches Worlds of Art, an art history course embracing new media and teaching techniques designed for the internet.

5:15

Cafe Annex

a-bourge@govst.edu

Collaborative Clay: Working Together

In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn how to make coils out of clay and how to connect them in order to produce a large-scale, collaborative, ceramic piece. We will explore surface possibilities such as texture and color. The piece will evolve over time as each new person adds to the work.

Carrie Ohm's installations confront notions of spectacle and relative perfection while maintaining an active dialogue with color, space, absurdity and memory. Making use of an object's inherent ability to contain a narrative, Ohm's delightful and whimsical "props" chauffeur a seamless integration between object and narrative, to performative action.

1:00-5:00
Room E-1526

c-ohm@govst.edu

Collage Combined Media

Participants in this workshop will be implementing and assembling various materials to create original works of art. We will be working with acrylic mediums, acrylic paint, paper, as well as traditional and non-traditional materials. Participants can employ improvisational and analytical approaches to create personal imagery. All materials will be provided.

Javier Chavira earned both a Bachelor of Arts degree (1996) and a Master in Arts degree (1999) from Governors State University with a Concentration in painting. In 2002 He earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting and drawing from Northern Illinois University. At Northern Illinois University Javier studied “Technique Mixte”, an adaptation of a 16th century Flemish painting technique, under the direction of Professor Patrick Betaudier. Javier is currently the Assistant Professor of painting and drawing at Governors State University. He has exhibited widely and has won many awards for his work including a 2007 Finalist Award from the Illinois Arts Council. In 2005 Javier was nominated for the Individual Artist Award sponsored by the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation of Chicago. Javier is a member of the public arts organization Friends of Community Public Art of Joliet and has created public work for approximately eleven years. His work is in numerous public and private collections including the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, Chicago. Recent paintings by Javier Chavira can be viewed at 33 Collective.

1:30, 3:30 & 5:00
Room E-1528

j-chavira@govst.edu

Enhancing Creativity

Get your creative juices flowing with fun creativity exercises - select from a variety of ideas to explore on your own, bring some friends and interact in a group, or meet some new friends. Open your mind, get in touch with your creative side, and take it with you to the other Artsfest events

Artist Jeff Stevenson is currently creating mixed media book work pieces that are made up of oil portraits on canvas, acrylic on altered books, collaged imagery with a wax technique, and images painted over the wax with oil paint. These pieces explore cultural issues of sexuality, masculinity, race, gender, and humor among other issues. Although the social commentary is an important aspect of these works, there is also plenty of room for interpretation and reflection on the part of the viewer. Because the works are created using an intuitive approach, aspects evolve that might not have been planned. As a result, there is a freshness to them, often an epic scale, and bits of humor thrown in for good measure. Examples of this recent work, and more, can be seen at his online gallery.

1:00 & 3:00
Cafe Annex

jeff@jeffstevenson.com

Free-Style T-Shirt Printing

Learn how to print your own design on a t-shirt! Heather Page and GSU printmaking students will be demonstrating silk-screen printing techniques that can be done at home with non-toxic, kid-safe materials. Participants will be provided with the materials needed to print their own graphic t-shirts.

Heather Page is a multi-media artist and collaborative printmaker who has exhibited internationally and printed professionally in the United States and Canada. Her work examines ways in which we interact with and manipulate our environments. Ms. Page studied at the University of Michigan--Ann Arbor, the Tamarind Institute of Lithography, and the University of Wisconsin--Madison. Examples of her work can be seen online at heatherpage.com.

2:30, 3:30, 4:30 & 5:30
Room E-1527

h-page@govst.edu

Large Format Photography Workshop

This workshop provides visitors with the opportunity to experience and participate in large format portraiture in a photographic studio setting. Participants may choose to be either the sitter or the photographer's assistant. Portraits will be shot on 4x5, black-and-white, Type 55 Polaroid film, allowing visitors to leave with a small print or negative which may then be taken to the computer technology lab for scanning and digital correcting or manipulation.

Professor Bastien Desfriches Doria is a native of Paris, France, where he used to live and work before moving to America in 1999 to study Photography. His artistic and academic interests are broad and go well beyond the usual Visual Arts spectrum. In France, Bastien earned both a degree in Philosophy and in Information & Communication Sciences. Existentialism, structuralism, post-structuralism, semiotics and phenomenology (among other areas) constitute the core of his theoretical approach and understanding of photographic arts. Mainly focusing on conceptual portraiture, his work evokes philosophical wonder and reflects on mundane absurdity, while challenging the aesthetics and representation of the individual as a human figure. Most of his recent work is available to see on his website at www.bastienddoria.com.

1:00, 1:30, 2:00 & 3:00
Room E-1522

b-desfrichesdoria@govst.edu

Making a Digital Feature Film

A panel of crew members from a digital feature film will discuss the process of developing, shooting, and editing a digital feature film with virtually no budget. Clips from the independent film, Chicago Heights, currently in post-production, will be screened and discussed.

Associate Professor, Daniel Nearing has worked as Producer, Director and Writer for several prime time documentaries broadcast on The Discovery Channel, Bravo, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), CBC Newsworld, and TSN - The Sports Network. The subjects have ranged from juvenile homicide to NHL hockey, from contemporary literature to technological mega-projects . He functioned as writer-director on “Fortune’s Sweet Kiss,” a digital feature film for Canadian pay television. His screenplay for “Spit Delaney’s Island,” co-written with Governor General’s Award-winning novelist Jack Hodgins, is currently under option with Anik Films of Vancouver, and he is presently shooting a documentary entitled Dark Laughter: The Unmaking of a Great American Writer. Nearing holds an MFA from York University, an MA in Literature from the University of Toronto, and was a Producer Resident at Norman Jewison’s Canadian Film Centre in 1997. An overview of Nearing’s work can be seen at www.923Films.com.

Assistant Professor, Sang Hoon Lee was born in Seoul, Korea. He studied philosophy at Sogang University, where he first began working in video and 16mm film. During his graduate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he expanded his career not only as an independent filmmaker, but also as a producer, cinematographer and editor. He is a versatile filmmaker, directing experimental short films such as Hermaphrodite Anxiety (1998) and Antonym Play (2002), as well as producing the feature film Second Moon (currently in post-production) and the feature documentary Edit (2003), which was screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2004, as well as at Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, Leipzig Film Festival, and Denver International Film Festival. Samples of Lee’s work can be seen at the website of his production company, Eye From the Sky, Inc.

2:00 & 4:00
Engbretson Hall

d-nearing@govst.edu

s-lee@govst.edu

Mosaic Making

This ongoing workshop will provide passersby the opportunity to engage in the centuries old technique of mosaic making. Visitors will be cutting glass and tile, "nipping" shapes from glass, working with color, shape and direction and learning to assemble a mural from scratch. The end result will then be placed in the sculpture room window as an entrance piece to the studios.

Mike Hart received a BFA from Illinois State University in glass and sculpture and a MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in glass and dimensional studies. Originally(and currently) from Momence, Illinois, he has travelled the country making work, exhibiting, performing, assisting and teaching. Currently he is involved in developing the stained glass/glass casting curriculum at GSU as well as teaching beginning sculpture, figure sculpture and various media specific and mixd media sculpture courses. Mike also owns and operates OMG It's Paper, in which he produces several lines of vessels and home decor from cast recycled paper.

2:00-4:00
Room E-1525

mmykol72@yahoo.com

Open Digital Studio

Visitors to the CTI Lab will be given all the instruction needed to create a "self-portrait" using the industry standard image editing program for graphics professionals, Adobe Photoshop. This self-portrait may or may not look anything like the artist, but it should define the artist in some way. Using a digital photo, taken at ArtsFest, as a starting point, the artist can add layers of drawing, painting, and/or digital manipulation to develop a more complex self-portrait. What the artist adds, mixes and creates is totally dependent on the concept each artist develops. At the end of the workshop he or she will walk away with a finished piece of art and an understanding of the level of craftmanship offered by digital imaging software.

Beth Parin holds an MFA in Studio Photography & Digital Imaging from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, a BFA from Saint Mary's College, and theoretical studies from the University of Notre Dame. Parin's experimentation with still & animated digital work, sound art compositions, and progressive design have led her to publication and exhibition of her work internationally. As a professor, Parin focuses on the development of visual expression through conceptual, and cultural discussions as well as technical instruction. Together these skills foster the development of the artist by allowing each student to build a unique, influential voice and prepare for a successful career as a digital imagist.

2:00 & 3:00
Room E-2574

beth.parin@gmail.com

Poetry Workshop

Workshop info to come....

1:00 & 3:00
Hall of Honors

R-Muhammad@govst.edu

Two To See

Geoffrey Bates will offer two separate informal 30 to 45-minute media presentations, each detailing a pair of works from Governors State's Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park through comparison and contrast. These lively sessions will provide insights into the work of the internationally recognized sculptors whose work graces the GSU campus.

Geoffrey Bates, director and curator of the sculpture park, an alumnus of Ohio University, served as the Associate Curator for Art at the Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery for nearly eleven years, during which time he curated several exhibits which highlighted the development of new media and expanded the audience for contemporary sculpture. He has also authored several articles on important, contemporary, abstract art.

2:00 & 4:00
Cafe Annex

sculpture@govst.edu

Cooperative Mural

All day long visitors, students and faculty are encouraged to take part in one of the most popular parts of last year's Artsfest, a large-scale, cooperative mural. 2007's mural featured centrally in the closing exhibition and found a home in GSU's atrium for many months afterward. Beyond the fun and excitement offered from working together on such a huge project, the mural, placed centrally in the Hall of Honors, acts a hub of activity where visitors to Artsfest can meet art faculty and students and find information on the workshops offered.

1:00-6:00
Hall of Governors
6:00-9:00
Room E-1571

The Projection

Kicking off the evening's reception at six o'clock sharp will be a live performance by the local, pop-punk band The Projection.

The Projection has something that grabs a hold of you right away. They are four very diverse and talented young men, each with his own unique style and musical agenda, but somehow it all falls together. This mix results in great songs, killer tones, gentle (and sometimes abrupt) story-filled lyrics, and an energy that moves across the stage like an electrical current. Check out some songs from their album, Never Too Early, Always Too Late.

6:00
Room E-1571

Reception & Exhibition

The day's festivities will come to a close with food, drink and conversation at an open reception in the university's E-Lounge, adjacent to Governors State's Visual Arts Gallery which will feature an exhibition of student and faculty artwork, as well as examples of the work created during the day by Artsfest participants.

6:00-9:00
Room E-1580

Artist Cards

GSU's student-run Art Forum Club will not only be welcoming visitors and participating in the day’s events, but will also be showcasing student art in a unique way that will allow everyone to take home a souvenir. A set of note cards featuring ten outstanding works of art by current GSU students will be available for purchase throughout the day. 100% of the proceeds from this sale will go toward financing the club’s efforts in promoting the art of GSU students, and enriching the learning experience by funding guest lectures, on-campus events, and trips related to the arts, not to mention the annual GSU student art exhibition. Printing of this unique set of cards is limited, so get yours before they’re all gone during Artsfest 2008.