UT Art Department faculty member, William Whittaker, had his artwork published in the September 2015 edition of Vision Magazine. Vision Magazine is a leading art and fashion magazine showcasing the international visual art, fashion and culture to Chinese readers, with its unique visual expression. His published work was from an exhibition project called # TAGGING ART#. This is an art game of crossovers and cross-space. The participating artists from around the world contributed two projects that best presented their work. The curator assigned the works to be anonymously given to other participants, who made new artworks in response to the assigned projects.
See excerpts from the September issue on Barry’s Bloghttp://barrywhittaker.com/blog/
Visit Vision Magazine online http://www.youthvision.cn/index.asp?C=Art

Dan Hernandez at his exhibit in Madhouse Gallery

The University of Toledo Department of Art is pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition of one of its faculty. DAN HERNANDEZ: Recent Work will be on view from September 3 to October 1 at the Secor Gallery (425 Jefferson Ave, Toledo) and will include a selection of new and recent artwork from Hernandez’s “Genesis” body of work. Much of the work on view at this exhibition was produced this summer with the support of a University URAF research grant and an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award. The work in this exhibition will also travel to New York City in November for a solo exhibition at Kim Foster Gallery, where Dan is professionally represented.

Nocturne by artist Dan Hernandez

Dan Hernandez is an assistant professor of art at the University of Toledo. His work has recently been presented in solo exhibitions at the University of Kentucky and the University of Michigan. It has also been included in group-shows in Tel-Aviv (Israel), London (UK), Brooklyn, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and numerous other cities. Hernandez’s work has been written about and reproduced in publications in France, Germany, Israel, England and the United States including a review of his 2014 exhibition at Kim Foster in ARTnews.

An opening reception for this exhibition will be held on September 3 from 6-8pm. The artist will also be in the gallery for a Meet and Greet during the “Third Thursday Art Walk” on September 17. Both events are free and open to the public. The Secor Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. or by appointment.

Contact:
Dan Hernandez
daniel.hernandez@utoledo.edu
Office: 419-530-8321

Holly Hey, Associate Professor of Film, The University of Toledo

Holly Hey, a filmmaker and faculty member of The University of Toledo Department of Theatre & Film, will screen one of her films in the internationally recognized Aesthetica Short Film Festival in November. The Aesthetica Film Festival, accredited by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a celebration of independent film, and an outlet for championing and supporting short filmmaking. The festival includes a rich selection of films from across the world, in genres including advertising, artists’ film, music video, drama and documentary. Her film emerged successfully after two highly competitive rounds of selection review.
Ms. Hey says that “the dum dum capitol of the world” is a first person experimental documentary and a moving image meditation that contemplates landscape, home, recollection, queerness, and time.

From Holly Hey’s short film “dum dum capitol of the world”

The project uses personal history to reflect on universal themes about home, life, love, parenting, memory, and death. Professor Hey began the project in 2005 when she received major funding from LEF Moving Image Foundation. She later received major funding from the University of Toledo in 2012 and completed the film in 2014.

To date, “the dum dum capitol of the world” has also screened in several U.S. festivals including The Ann Arbor Film Festival (the largest and longest running annual celebration of independent and experimental film and video in North America), the Athens Film Festival in Athens, Ohio, The Queens World Film Festival in New York, as well as The Moon Rise Film Festival in British Columbia.

Ms. Hey is currently an Associate Professor and Head of the Film Program within the Department of Theatre and Film. She holds a MFA in filmmaking from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She makes a broad range of work that can be seen in galleries, film festivals, live performances, and on television. Her works have screened both nationally and internationally, and The National Educational Telecommunications Association (N.E.T.A.) distributes her last major release “Rat Stories” that has been aired on PBS affiliates within the United States, British Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

The Aesthetica Short Film Festival – 2015 http://www.asff.co.uk/

Scene from “The Lady Vanishes” directed by Alfred Hitchcock

The University of Toledo Department of Theatre & Film will present a series of classic movies projected from 16mm film. Commercial films across the U.S. and shown locally are digitally projected in today’s world. These classic films will be shown as they were intended—on actual film. Please join us. The films will be shown at 7:30 p.m. in the UT Center for Performing Arts, Room 1039.

Below is a list of the films in the series.

Fall 2015
1. Friday September 4th
The Lady Vanishes directed by Alfred Hitchcock, 1938, 96 minutes, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave

2. Friday October 2nd
Seven Samurai directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1954, 207 minutes, starring Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima

3. Friday November 6th
His Girl Friday directed by Howard Hawks, 1940, 92 minutes, starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell

Spring 2016
4. Friday February 5th
Breathless directed by Jean Luc Goddard, 1961, 90 minutes, starring Jean-Paul Beimondo, Jean Seberg, Daniel Boulanger

5. Saturday, March 19
Student Filmmaker’s Showcase
The best of student films chosen in juried competition

6. Friday April 1st
Stagecoach directed by John Ford, 1939, 96 minutes, starring John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine

Tickets are $10 general admission and $5 for students, faculty, staff, alumni, seniors and members of the U.S. military. Tickets include complimentary soft drink and popcorn. Advance tickets are available through the UT Center for Performing Arts Box Office (M-F 12-5 p.m.) and one hour prior to show time. The Center for Performing Arts is located on UT’s main campus at Towerview West and West Rocket Drive.

Hey Barry,

Alyssa Brown, 2013 BFA graduate University of Toledo Department of Art

It has been a year since I’ve last touched based…I’m wrapping up my fellowship with Challenge Detroit. It has been a fun year full of exposure and leadership development and most importantly great work with 6 non-profits in Detroit related to transportation, urban farming, education, health disparities and neighborhood development. I will be staying full time with my host company, Edw. C. Levy Co., as their eLearning Designer and I’m looking forward to it! At Levy I support the LMS, design graphics, and create how to job aids for our 1500 employees using InDesign (lots and lots of job aids). I’ve most enjoyed getting out to our steel mill and aggregate sites throughout Michigan to photograph. I’m hoping they will send me to Thailand or Brazil soon to do some work there! 😉

A vector drawing by artist Alyssa Brown that was submitted and appeared on local electronic billboards, 2012

Two big wins:
I can honestly say, I wouldn’t have this job here if it wasn’t for your support in college. The work I did for the USRCAP (Undergraduate Summer Research and Creative Activity Program) and the Irish of Toledo book was exactly the experience I needed for this eLearning job. I’m very grateful for that.
I also often think about your push for me to subscribe to Lynda.com (I can remember being resistant at the time because it was costly and I was busy) but I now have a subscription as a benefit through my company and I use it ALL THE TIME.
Lastly, have you been to Grand Rapids, MI yet? They have a new Japanese Garden there that I’ve heard great things about and thought you might be interested to know.

Best Wishes!
Alyssa Brown

Follow Alyssa’s Challenge Detroit blog: http://challengedetroit.org/blog/alyssabrown/

CONGRATS to FILM Alumnus Nathan Elias (VPA ’11)! His short film “The Chest” was accepted into the 2015 Cannes International Film Festival, located in Cannes, France. Elias directed, co-wrote and co-starred in the film. The dramatic short is about three dysfunctional siblings battling over their father’s possessions after his death. The Cannes Film Festival is invitation-only and being accepted is one of the most prestigious honors for filmmakers.

http://sub.festival-cannes.fr/SfcCatalogue/MovieDetail/2142fd52-66b4-49be-a806-3aab3ed3e23a

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4229136/?ref_=nmbio_bio_nm

Photo: Nathan Elias, filmmaker. BA in Film from the University of Toledo, 2011.

March 11 marked the beginning of a new collaboration between the Department of Art and The Stranahan Theater. A show of photographs by Eric Ziegler, called “From the Middle of Nowhere” was unveiled as it was announced that faculty from the Department of Art will be displaying their work at the Stranahan, in rotating exhibitions. Ziegler is the Lecturer of Multidisciplinary Art and Foundations in the Department of Art.

“The Stranahan Theater, widely known for its presentation of all forms of live performances, draws countless guests, both locally and regionally. As a result of this ability, our theater can, at any given event, have thousands of people within our four walls. What an opportunity to allow our blank walls to be a platform for visual arts, and, in the process, enhance our patrons’ experience! We recently contacted the University of Toledo about partnering with us for this very purpose and couldn’t have received a more willing and excited response. What a great venture for the two of us and for the public not only to see the great forms of art, but also to have the chance to purchase them!” – Stephen Hyman, Executive Director, Stranahan Theater & Great Hall

“I am excited to be partnering with the Stranahan Theater for this exhibition of three photographs, selected from my series “From the Middle of Nowhere.” This exhibition marks the start of what will certainly be a beneficial collaboration between two centers of creativity in Toledo. The theater will provide the University of Toledo’s College of Communication and Arts with a new platform to harness our creative power. I am looking forward to what may be possible in the future through this partnering.” – Eric Zeigler, Lecturer of Multidisciplinary Art and Foundations

“The Department of Art in the College of Communication and the Arts at UT is now partnering with the Stranahan Theater. We are bringing the visuals arts to this wonderful, landmark performing arts center. On a rotational basis, our faculty will be exhibiting their works in the halls of the Stanahan. We are excited that the exceptional work of our faculty will be highlighted at the Stranahan, giving audiences a chance to engage in our multi-sensory artistic offerings.” – Debra A. Davis, Dean – College of Communication and the Arts, School of Visual & Performing Arts, University of Toledo

Zeigler’s “From the Middle of Nowhere” photograph collection is currently on display in the upper balcony lobby of the Stranahan Theatre, located at 4645 Heatherdowns Blvd., in Toledo.

(from an article by Rose Russell of the Toledo Blade – March 30, 2014)

UT Jazz Faculty Gunnar Mossblad and Norm Damschroder perform in Crystal’s Lounge with the faculty group CrossCurrents. Photo by UT photographer Daniel Miller

A younger generation is also being drawn to the music.

The Toledo School for the Arts Urban Jazz Collective is renowned, while for nearly 40 years, Scott High School students have played jazz music from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on WXTS-FM 88.3.

And at the University of Toledo, “we have an active jazz scene,” with talented and professionally viable musicians, said Gunnar Mossblad, UT director of jazz studies and instructor…the beautiful thing about what’s going on in the schools is that we play music from a variety of eras,” Mossblad said.

Read more at http://www.toledoblade.com/Music-Theater-Dance/2014/03/30/Some-of-the-great-artists-clubs-have-come-and-gone-but-Jazz-still-thriving-in-Toledo.html#2tMHHfvV3mtcJrGa.99

The work of Eric Zeigler, who teaches photography and new media at The University of Toledo, is the subject of a photo exhibition on display now at The UT Center for the Visual Arts, Clement Gallery. This free exhibition is open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will be up throughout the summer.

Zeigler says the photos were a happy byproduct of pursuing other photography projects. As such, the photos cover a broad range of subject matter from a damaged car whose missing front end allows it to slip neatly into its unusual parking space, to images of outdoor scenes that will have you asking curiously, “what is that?”

More information about Zeigler and his work can be found on his artist’s web site at http://ericzeigler.com/

Visit the UT Department of Art at www.utoledo.edu/comm-arts/art/index.html

Eric Zeigler
Photography & New Media Faculty
The University of Toledo, Department of Art
Eric.Zeigler@utoledo.edu
419.530.8300

APRIL 1-3 at 7pm | CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS RECITAL HALL

The University of Toledo Department of Music Spring Festival of New Music opens Tuesday, April 1 with two compositions dedicated to the late Bernie Sanchez and concludes with guest artist Latitude 49.

Guest Artists Latitude 49, to perform Thursday, April 3 at 7 p.m.

In between, is an exciting and varied mix of new music in virtually every genre. A total of three concerts will be presented, one each night at 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 1 through Thursday, April 3 in the UT Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall. All concerts in the festival are free and open to the public.

The UT Spring Festival of New Music is one of the highlights of the cultural year for both the campus and the Toledo music community. For 37 years, guest composers and performers have interacted with students and faculty, resulting in exciting concerts and presentations on campus. The Festival has also sponsored premiere performances of student and area composers.

TUESDAY, April 1  This year, the winner of the student composer contest will be announced at the Faculty and Student Chamber Music Concert, which kicks off the Festival on Tuesday. In addition, two works – “Tribute in Brass” for brass quintet, composed by UT professor Dr. David Jex, and “To the West Wind,” composed by Music faculty member Dr. Lee Heritage, will also be premiered at this concert.

Bernie Sanchez (1935-2013), former UT Music Department chair, performer, teacher, conductor, & advocate for music and the arts.

Both compositions honor the memory of UT Professor Emeritus Bernard Sanchez, who passed last October. Professor Sanchez retired after serving for more than 30 years at UT and in our area as a performer, teacher, conductor, department chairman, and advocate for music and the arts.

Heritage said, “While I was composing this quintet, the news came suddenly – and with a great sense of shock and tragedy – that Bernie had died.  I was deeply saddened, and gradually realized that the second movement of my woodwind quintet was taking shape as an elegy to our great friend.  The movement is set for flute solo, singing an angular, emotional melody, accompanied by somber chords in the rest of the quintet.”

“To the West Wind” will be performed by the Toledo Symphony Woodwind Quintet. The instrumentalists are Joel Tse, flute; Michele Tosser-Smith, oboe; Georg Klaas, clarinet; Sandra Clark, horn; and Gareth Thomas, bassoon.

The “Tribute in Brass” quintet will be performed by UT faculty members David Jex, Alan Taplin, Dan Harris, Andrew Rhodes, and features guest trumpeter David Kosmyna, a UT alumnus who is currently Professor of Music at Ohio Northern University.

The Good, The Bad, and The Blues – to perform Tuesday, April 2 at 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, April 2 The second concert of the Festival is an eclectic mix of new music in a variety of genres. The Good, The Bad, and The Blues!, a funk, fusion quartet, will perform a set of original songs. They are 4-time Black Swamp Blues Society Challengers, and were among the International Blues Challengers Semi-finalists of 2013 in Memphis.

UT graduate student and teaching assistant Christina Eck, an electronic music composer, singer and songwriter, will be performing her album “Diamond in the Rough,” featuring a collection of four original songs. Stephen Mariasy, a UT Film/Video student, will present his new composition “Raindance,” all realized by virtual-instrument, computer-based digital sound.

David Mariasy, Senior Lecturer of Music Technology will debut his new composition, “Requiem for Violin and Digital Orchestra.” Performing on the work will be violin soloist, Cecilia Johnson, a member of the strings faculty at UT. Video projections will be part of the concert as well, produced by Holly Hey, Associate Professor of Film and Head of Film at UT.

THURSDAY, April 3 Concluding the festival is guest artist Latitude 49. The music of Latitude 49 explores new sounds, engaging diverse audiences, and holding hands with composers of today. Twice featured by the Michigan Muse magazine, the group’s University of Michigan roots have grown to include performances on stages across the Midwest and public radio. L49’s top priority is to foster future audiences by creating dynamic concert experiences that give a voice to some of today’s hottest composers.

Guest Artists Latitude 49, to perform Thursday, April 3 at 7 p.m.