Arts & Culture

Piotr Gwiazda, English, Publishes New Book

Feb 22, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Associate Professor of English Piotr Gwiazda has recently released a new book entitled Messages: Poems & Interview. Much of the book was written during Gwiazda’s residency at the James Merrill House in Stonington, Connecticut in the fall of 2008. Some poems first appeared in Linebreak, Mudlark, Past Simple, Revolutionesque, Vallum, and other journals. In the interview, Gwiazda talks about literary influence, the concept of empire, “the right to illusion,” contemporary US poets, Brecht, poetry and politics, poetry and pedagogy and exophonic writing. The book is published by Pond Road Press, which publishes poetry books and chapbooks that include author interviews.

Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture in The Washington Post (2/17)

Feb 18, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

In an article about the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, The Washington Post mentioned For All the World to See, an exhibition organized in partnership between the museum and UMBC’s Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture. The full text of the article is available here.

Constantine Vaporis, History and Asian Studies, Contributes to Exhibition

Feb 14, 2012 / 2 minutes of reading

Constantine Vaporis, professor of history and director of the Asian studies program, is a consultant and writer on a new exhibit opening at Washington D.C.’s National Geographic Museum on March 7. “Samurai: The Warrior Transformed” examines the transformations experienced by Japan’s samurai and is built around material artifacts of samurai culture, including gifts of the same given by the Japanese government to American presidents and mid-nineteenth century portraits of the warriors. A companion exhibit displays images by writer, photographer and geographer Eliza Scidmore, who was instrumental in the gift of the Japanese cherry trees to Washington that adorn the Mall… Continue Reading Constantine Vaporis, History and Asian Studies, Contributes to Exhibition

City Paper Lauds Visual Arts MFA Exhibition (2/8)

Feb 8, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Andrea Appleton at City Paper reviewed the MFA Imaging and Digital Arts Thesis Exhibition at the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture in the publication’s February 8th issue, concluding with, “Bravo, class of 2012. This is a show not to be missed.” The exhibition, on display through February 18, features work by Visual Arts graduate students Meghan Flanigan, Gary Kachadourian, Timothy Noble and Ali Seley. To read City Paper‘s review—”A UMBC MFA exhibition dazzles with its scope, quality, and sense of fun”—click here. For additional information about the exhibition, visit the Arts & Culture Calendar. Photo by Steve Bradley.

Timothy Nohe, Visual Arts, Invited to Screen Video in Berlin

Feb 7, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Timothy Nohe, associate professor of visual arts, has been invited to screen his experimental video and sound work People as Verbs in the 8th Berlin International Directors Lounge, a festival for contemporary media and film, February 9 through 19, 2012. This marks the European debut of the piece, which was first featured in a solo show at in/flux gallery, Baltimore, November 5 through 26, 2011.

Artwork by Lisa Moren on Display at CUNY

Feb 7, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Artwork by Lisa Moren, associate professor of visual arts, is on display at the President’s Gallery of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY (City University of New York), 899 Tenth Avenue in New York. The exhibition, Truth of the Matter: paint, concept, memory, on display from February 1 through 28, presents three artists whose work focuses on memory. Professor Moren’s work, Marbleized Paper from the Gulf of Mexico, is made with pigments drawn from the polluted waters created from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

CADVC Exhibition Now on Display at Parsons The New School for Design

Feb 7, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

The exhibition Where Do We Migrate To?, organized by the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture (CADVC) is now on display at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parons The New School for Design in New York. Originally on view at UMBC in March and April 2011, the exhibition is curated by Niels Van Tomme, director of arts and media at Provisions Learning Center in Washington, D.C., and features work by nineteen internationally recognized artists and collectives. The show will be on display at Parsons through April 15, 2012.

Artwork by Vin Grabill, Visual Arts, on Display at MICA

Feb 7, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Artwork by Vin Grabill, chair and associate professor of visual arts, is on display at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) through March 11 in an exhibition entitled Under Cover. Grabill’s 2010 video Frontier is among the approximately 50 works of sculpture, photography and video featured in the show, which is a project of MICA’s Exhibition Development Seminar. Professor Grabill was interviewed by WYPR’s Tom Hall for a segment on Maryland Morning that aired on January 31. An audio file of the interview is here.

Eric Dyer, Visual Arts, Receives Grant from Creative Capital

Feb 7, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Eric Dyer, associate professor of visual arts, has been awarded a 2012 grant from Creative Capital for his project “Short Ride in a Phat Machine.” Professor Dyer was one of only 56 artists selected out of an applicant pool of 3,247 artists in all 50 states. Creative Capital grants provide up to $50,000 in direct project funds, plus advisory services. Creative Capital is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to providing integrated financial and advisory support to artists pursuing adventurous projects in five disciplines: Emerging Fields, Film/Video, Literature, Performing Arts and Visual Arts.

Greg Ealick, Philosophy, on Patch.com

Feb 3, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

“Are pet owners, activists and business owners increasingly at odds over how we acquire our pets?” asks a recent article on the website Patch.com Philosophy instructor Greg Ealick wondered if “the increasing hostility we see in pet rearing is an echo of the increasing hostility in child rearing.” The column, “Have ‘Mommy Wars’ Given Way to ‘Pet Wars?’” appeared on the website on February 3. It is part of a series of posts examining the morality behind how we get our pets.

Jessica Berman, English, Publishes Book

Jan 31, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Jessica Berman, Associate Professor and Chair of English, has just published a book, Modernist Commitments: Ethics, Politics and Transnational Modernism. In the book Berman explores how modernist narrative connects ethical attitudes and responsibilities to the active creation of political relationships and the way we imagine justice. She challenges divisions between “modernist” and “committed” writing, arguing that a continuum of political engagement undergirds modernisms worldwide and that it is strengthened rather than hindered by formal experimentation. The book also makes the case for an expanded, transnational model of literary modernism. Modernist Commitments is part of the Modernist Latitudes book series from… Continue Reading Jessica Berman, English, Publishes Book

Alumna’s Publishing Company Publishes First Book; “Guy” Available at Bookstore

Jan 5, 2012 / 2 minutes of reading

While a student at UMBC, Hasina Jamal Stearns ’09, computer engineering, founded the publishing company Fred & Barrel, Inc. Now, the company’s first book, Guy, a philosophical play by Cinna, is available in the UMBC bookstore. Stearns is the editor-in-chief and illustrator. Guy—a hybrid novel, play, and movie script—tells the story of Guy, a tall handsome tennis player who thinks deeply about mankind and life. At least, he does in the first act. He would continue to ruminate about such things if he weren’t so swamped with homework and projects. He spends most of his time in an old children’s… Continue Reading Alumna’s Publishing Company Publishes First Book; “Guy” Available at Bookstore