Here are photos taken by Chris Jordan's photo students who have been photographing the artists and interviewing them during their Interim course in the Black Belt of Alabama, the Black Belt Artist Project. We'll be adding to them each day of their trip. Follow them on Instagram @ua_blackbeltproject or #blackbeltartistsproject. DAY ONE Students practice portrait photos on Dr. Lucy Curzon in her Garland Hall office. Students practice portrait photos on Associate Professor Bill Dooley in his Woods Hall studio. Associate Professor Chris Jordan and students load photographic equipment into the car before their trip to their home base in Wilcox County, Ala. Black Belt Artist Project members are ready to roll. From left to right is: Gordon MacNeil, Maddy O’Connor, Sam MacDonald, Aleiah Briggs, Kasandra Boor, and Chris Jordan. Not pictured, Sarah Cheshire. DAY TWO After settling into their home away from home in Possum Bend, photography students Sam MacDonald, Aleiah Briggs, Maddy O’Connor, Kasandra Boor and Gordon MacNeil along with Professor Chris Jordan go straight to work. With the help of artist Daniel Warren, they were able to learn how to conduct interviews from in front of and behind the camera before they begin official work for the Black Belt Project tomorrow. Black Belt Artist Project members practice interviewing Daniel Warren in Camden, Ala. (left-right) Sam MacDonald, Aleiah Briggs, Maddy O’Connor, Kasandra Boor, and Chris Jordan. Photo by: Gordon MacNeil. Black Belt Artist Project member Sam MacDonald (left) practices interviewing Daniel Warren in Camden, Ala. Aleiah Briggs (right) is on camera. Photo by: Kasandra Boor, @kasandra_b Black Belt Artist Project member Sam MacDonald (left) and her practice interviewee, Daniel Warren, in Camden, Ala. Photo by: Kasandra Boor, @kasandra_b DAY THREE The real work begins, with interviews in Gee's Bend, Alabama. The first official day of the Black Belt Artist Project took the team to Gee's Bend to photograph five amazing quilters and record their stories. The students photographed and interviewed Mary Margaret Pettway, Mary Lee Bendolph, Doris Pettway, Mary Ann Pettway, and Betty Kennedy. Shown here are Aleiah Briggs, Maddy O’Connor, Gordon MacNeil, and Sam MacDonald photographing one of the artists. Photo by Kasandra Boor. DAY FOUR Thursday, the Black Belt Artist Project members traveled to three different locations to photograph and interview artists. Day two of photographing took Black Belt Artist Project members first to visit Charlie “Tin Man” Lucas in his studio in Selma, Ala. Pictured: Kasandra Boor, Charlie Lucas, Sarah Cheshire, Aleiah Briggs, Sam MacDonald, Chris Jordan, and Maddy O’Connor. Photo by Gordon MacNeil. On day two of photographing, Black Belt Artist Project members visited Betty Bain, a basket weaver in Selma who has been working for thirty years. Pictured l.-r.: Betty Bain, Sam MacDonald, and Aleiah Briggs. Photo by: Chris Jordan. BBAP members' last stop on day two was to the Spencer Farms in Marion Junction, to talk with co-owner Laura Spencer, a sustainable farmer who also makes soap and candles. L.-r.: Chris Jordan, Sam MacDonald, Laura Spencer, Gordon MacNeil, Aleiah Briggs, and Sarah Cheshire. Photo by: Kasandra Boor. For more information about the UA Department of Art and Art History and its programs, visit our website: https://art.ua.edu/academics/or contact the department at (205) 348-5967.
UA Students Tune Photo Skills, Learn History, to Prepare for Black Belt Artist Trip
"Before we started, I knew next to nothing about the Black Belt region," admitted Kasandra Boor, a psych major and studio art minor. Boor, with five other students and associate professor of photography Chris Jordan, has been preparing this week for a research trip to Camden, Ala., where the group will photograph and interview artists who live in the Black Belt. The class has spent this week training and studying in preparation for work in the field next week, where they will take portrait photographs of artists, many of whom grew up in the region. The students will also interview and taking oral histories of the artists. Students have been reviewing photography basics and learning techniques of studio lighting and other skills they will put into practice next week. They have practiced by taking portrait photos of two art faculty members, learning to set up lighting equipment, build a photo and use artificial and natural light. They've also been learning more about the Black Belt region itself, reading about some of its history, as well as researching the artists they will be photographing and interviewing. "What I enjoyed most about this week is our discussions about how to respect cultural differences and agency. Basically, it is how to best tell accurate stories and respect how you are presenting information about others. I am very excited to keep learning throughout the next two weeks!” said Boor. This is the second group of students Jordan has brought to the area this year. These students range in experience from experienced photographers to novices, and not all are art majors. “I’m thrilled to be working with a group of students with a wide range of backgrounds,” Jordan said. The students are Kasandra Boor, psychology major, studio art minor; Aleiah Briggs, studio art major; Sarah Cheshire, MFA student in creative writing; Sam MacDonald, BFA major in photography and digital media; Gordon MacNeil, retired UA professor of social work; and Maddy O’Connor, studio art major. Maddy O'Connor, who lives in Florida, said she is looking forward to the adventure. "I have learned so much over this past week, and I feel prepared for the week to come. I have never visited the Black Belt region before, and I’ve always wanted to explore it. I feel like this will be such a positive learning experience for me, and I can’t wait to meet all of the local artists." Follow the Black Belt Artist Project on Instagram or Facebook and check out our growing photo page: https://art.ua.edu/news/black-belt-artist-project-daily-photos/ The Black Belt Artist Project is a collaborative initiative between the UA department of art and art history, the non-profit Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center and Canon Solutions America. A book, exhibition and archive of the materials will be produced from the oral histories recorded and portraits created by the students. Photo captions and credits: (top) Students practice portrait photos on Dr. Lucy Curzon in her Garland Hall office. [1-LUCY-CURZON.jpg] (middle) Students practice portrait photos on Associate Professor Bill Dooley in his Woods Hall studio. [2-BILL-DOOLEY.jpg] (bottom) Associate Professor Chris Jordan and students load photographic equipment into the car before their trip to Wilcox County, Ala. [4-1MonLOADING.jpeg] For more information about the Black Belt Artist Project, contact Associate Professor Chris Jordan at (205) 348-1217 or Rachel Dobson, communications specialist, at (205) 348-1893. For information about the UA Department of Art and Art History and its programs, visit our website: https://art.ua.edu/academics/or contact the department at (205) 348-5967.
UA Students Document Artists in the Black Belt of Alabama
If you’ve heard of the Gee’s Bend Quilters or Charlie "Tin Man" Lucas, then you know there are some uniquely creative artists in the Black Belt of Alabama. Associate Professor Chris Jordan’s photography students got to spend quality time this semester with some of them — artist and civil rights veteran Betty Anderson of Camden, potters Eric Miller and Allen Ham of Brent, painter Stephen R. James and potter Sam Williams of Monroe County, as well as quilters Tinnie and Minnie Pettway — photographing the artists and interviewing them. Working with a variety of Canon cameras, undergraduates Savanna Biggert, Arielle Gray, Jasmine James, Kayla Lawson, Holly Ray, Kassidy Stewart and graduate student Amber Quinn and recent graduate Candace VonHoffman took field trips to Camden in Wilcox County this spring, to practice their skills in portrait photography while documenting these culturally important artists. Junior studio art major Kassidy Stewart said “I have enjoyed the entire experience, from learning from my fellow photographers to hearing all the stories from the artists.” Stewart described a big turning point for her when the students used studio lighting outdoors. “That moment taught me that my passion is shooting with studio lighting and that I can shoot with lights inside and outside. That there is nothing limiting me when I create, I just have to learn to work with what I have to make some magic happen.” The Black Belt Artist Project is a collaborative initiative between the UA department of art and art history, the non-profit Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center and Canon Solutions America. Jordan said that another student group will continue the project in May as part of an interim semester course. A book, exhibition and archive of the materials will be produced from the oral histories recorded and portraits created by the students. Photo captions and credits: top right: Graduate student Amber Quinn captures undergrads taking photos of artist Stephen R. James in Monroe County. Photo courtesy of Amber Quinn. above left: Gee’s Bend quilters Tinnie and Minnie Pettway sit for their portraits in their living room at home with Chris Jordan and his students. Photo courtesy of Kristin Law. For more information about the Black Belt Artist Project, contact Associate Professor Chris Jordan at (205) 348-1217 or Rachel Dobson, communications specialist, at (205) 348-1893. For information about the UA Department of Art and Art History and its programs, visit our website: https://art.ua.edu/academics/or contact the department at (205) 348-5967.
Ceramic Artist to Present MFA Exhibition at Harrison Galleries
The University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History is pleased to present Earthworks, the master of fine arts thesis exhibition of Patrick Hoban, April 16-30, 2019, at Harrison Galleries, 2315 University Boulevard, in downtown Tuscaloosa. The public is invited to a reception for the artist Friday, April 19, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. Hoban expresses the relationship between the fragility of humans and nature through art work that suggests force, separation and compression of materials. He works in ceramic and incorporates found objects in his art. He writes, "The moment when a plant breaks the surface of concrete and continues to grow is a forceful moment with which I relate. Being rooted in Philadelphia exposed me to the extremes of the natural world and how they interact with the spaces of an inner city. Childhood spent on beaches and by rivers, observing, experiencing, collecting and documenting the extreme forces of nature has allowed me to connect my personal struggles to those of nature. There will always be barriers to deal with, but much like nature, I must find a way to survive." Patrick Hoban is a graduate student in ceramics with an assistantship teaching ceramics and 3D design. Hoban received the BFA in sculpture from Pennsylvania State University. Hoban's cast bronze sculpture of a jon boat is part of the Literary Capital Bronze Sculpture Trail commissioned by the city of Monroeville, Ala., to be unveiled April 26, 2019. His work has appeared in the Tuscaloosa Monster Takeover project, the Alabama Clay Conference, and was selected for the Waterloo Arts 2018 Juried Exhibition in Cleveland, Ohio. His public art proposal for a sculptural bike rack to be installed near Government Plaza, was accepted by the city of Tuscaloosa. He was juried into the 19th Annual National K-12 Ceramic Exhibition in Kansas City, Mo. Hoban was the recipient of a full scholarship to ceramic summer class at Penn Valley School with the renowned artist, Chris Staley, and a recipient of the Emerging Artist Award at Malvern Preparatory School. Image credit: Patrick Hoban, Placeholder (detail), ceramic and found rocks, 4' x 9' x 2". Image courtesy of the artist. This exhibition is in partial fulfillment of the Master of Fine Arts degree in the Department of Art and Art History at The University of Alabama. For more information about the UA Department of Art and Art History and its programs, visit this link: https://art.ua.edu/academics/or contact the department at (205) 348-5967. Harrison Galleries, LLC, is located at 2315 University Boulevard in downtown Tuscaloosa. Hours are Monday through Friday, 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m., by appointment, and First Fridays of the month, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. For more information call (205) 464-0054 or visit the website: http://www.firstfridaytuscaloosa.com/art-galleries/harrison-galleries-llc.
Art and Art History To Recognize Outstanding Students on Honors Day
The UA Department of Art and Art History will present scholarship awards for the coming academic year and recognize outstanding student achievement during the Honors Day Convocation and Reception, Friday, April 5, 2019, at 2 p.m. in the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, Garland Hall. Students who have been awarded scholarship awards for the upcoming 2019-2020 school year will receive certificates from department chair Professor Jason Guynes and faculty members. Last year, in 2018, the department was proud to give more than $109,900 in in-coming, merit-based and need-based scholarships, which are made possible by our generous donors. These are the students who were awarded for the 2018-2019 academic year: Bradley Endowed Scholarship in Art: Noah Dasinger, Ashleigh McCool, Anna Pitts, Nadia DelMedico; Farley Moody Galbraith Scholarship: Ramsey Chandler, Julie Cunningham, Amber Daum, Allison Gant, Jordan Hadley, Ellen Hart, Alyssa Hochstetler, Maggie Hocutt, Michael Hodge, Jonathan Lanier, Hannah Lincoln, Susannah Lisko, Ashley Livingston, Camille Mancuso, Deminica McCall, Lane Pernell, Anna Sella, Jaime Taylor, A’Neshia Turner, Candace Von Hoffman, Shannon Walsh; The Galbraith Endowed Art Scholarship, Susannah Lisko; Julie Peake Holaday Memorial Endowed Scholarship: Chandler Noordhoff, Brittany Pitts, Kali Sturgis, Alexandra Thomasson; Mary M Morgan Memorial Art Scholarship: Nadia DelMedico, Shaqueria Dial, Melissa Givens, Lyndsay Krebs, Sophie Lee, Hailee Singleton; Matthews Memorial Endowed Scholarship: Michael Hodge; Paul R. Jones Endowed Scholarship: Samantha Joslin; Richard Zoellner Scholarship Fund: Allison Gant; Rutledge Endowed Scholarship: Maggie Hocutt; Windgate Charitable Foundation Endowed Studio Arts Scholarship: Camille Mancuso, Jonathan Lanier. For more information about all the UA Department of Art and Art History programs, visit our website: https://art.ua.edu/academics/. In the photo, Shaqueria Dial receives Mary M Morgan Memorial Art Scholarship award certificate from department chair Jason Guynes during Honors Day in 2017.
Art Major Wins Asian Studies Essay Award
Rising senior Sarah Fields won The University of Alabama College of Arts and Sciences' 2019 Asian Studies Essay Award for her research on the Italian Jesuit painter Giuseppe Castiglione who served as a court painter during the Qing dynasty in China in the 18th century. Fields researched and wrote the paper, titled "Lang Shining: The Italian Jesuit and Chinese Court Painter," under the guidance of Dr. Doris Sung in Survey of Asian Art (ARH 254). Fields, who hails from Bethalto, Ill., is a studio art major with a double minor in advertising and art history. After she graduates in May 2020, she said that she plans to look for positions as an art director or creative director at an advertising agency. "While I don't plan on continuing my formal studies of art history," Fields said, "I love visiting museums and looking at pieces with context, so I hope to continue learning the subject." The Asian Studies program provides an interdisciplinary opportunity for study and research focused on the variety of cultural regions of Asia, particularly South Asia and East Asia. The program incorporates faculty and courses in a range of areas, including anthropology, art history, Asian languages, history, literature, political science, and religious studies. For more information about The University of Alabama’s department of art and art history, visit this link: https://art.ua.edu/.
Four BFA Majors Showcase Senior Work
Tuscaloosa. — The University of Alabama’s Department of Art and Art History is pleased to present a group exhibition by four bachelor of fine arts candidates. Samantha Joslin, Jonathan Lanier, Caroline Rothschild and Dana Tokarzewski will display their work April 16-23, 2019, in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery on UA campus. A reception for the artists will be held Thursday, April 18, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in the gallery. The BFA is the professional degree for artists, with a focused program of study in visual art. These students have completed intensive research in a primary and secondary concentration in art. Jonathan Lanier's concentrations are in sculpture and ceramics. Since 2016, he has won several scholarship awards including the Farley Moody Galbraith Scholarship, Windgate Charitable Fund – Studio Arts, and the Paul R. Jones Endowed Scholarship. Lanier will also hold a solo exhibition of his work at Harrison Galleries in Tuscaloosa in May. Samantha Joslin’s concentrations are in ceramics and sculpture. Her current body of work has come out of studio research that focuses on the exploration of forms, surfaces and interactions among different media. Joslin has won numerous scholarships and awards, including a UA Undergraduate Research & Creative Activity (URCA) grant in the spring of 2019. She will exhibit her sculpture in a solo exhibition at Harrison Galleries in April. Joslin plans to continue her studies in a post-baccalaureate program that combines her ceramics and sculpture work. Caroline Rothschild's concentrations are in drawing and painting. Dana Tokarzewski's concentrations are in digital media and photography. This group of BFA majors have approached their work from diverse viewpoints — from a focus on abstract form, to creating work that expresses the tensions of the outer world and nature, embodied in the inner conflicts common to all humans. The artists employ a variety of media to carry these ideas into physical form, using cast bronze, digital media, clay, wood, foam, paint, graphite, and photography. This exhibition is part of the bachelor of fine arts degree program in the Department of Art and Art History at The University of Alabama. For more information about all our programs, visit this link: https://art.ua.edu/academics/. Funding support for the Sella-Granata Art Gallery comes from the Department of Art and Art History and the College of Arts and Sciences. Admission to the gallery is always free. Hours are Monday through Wednesday 9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m., Thursday 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The gallery is located at 109 Woods Hall in the heart of the UA campus on Woods Quad. Information about visitor parking is available here: http://bamaparking.ua.edu/visitor-information/. For more information, contact the gallery at (205) 348-2783 or visit: https://art.ua.edu/gallery/sgg/.
BFA Senior to Exhibit at Harrison Galleries
Tuscaloosa. — The University of Alabama’s Department of Art and Art History is pleased to present the bachelor of fine arts solo exhibition of Samantha Joslin, titled Matter of Normalcy. The exhibition will be held April 5-15, 2019, at Harrison Galleries, in downtown Tuscaloosa. A reception for the artist will be held First Friday, April 5 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. in the gallery. Samantha Joslin's BFA concentrations are in ceramics and sculpture. Her current body of work has come out of studio research that focuses on the exploration of forms, surfaces, and interactions between different media. "These interactions are reflective of life in its most intimate moments and conditions," she says. "My current body of work centers on pieces which imitate experience in life and the human form, thus speaking of the relationships between ourselves, the world around us, and its interpretations through emotion. I am interested in illustrating the human condition in a way which is simultaneously familiar yet peculiar and understandable yet puzzling. The balancing of such physical and conceptual contrasts leads to an investigation of visual formlessness, which obscures categorization. I want to expand upon this notion of blurring identity as it connotatively relates to social circumstances and interactions, and how visual factors like contrast, scale, visual speed and interactions of materials can subtly reflect these themes." Joslin was a University of Alabama Undergraduate Research & Creative Activity (URCA) grant recipient in the spring of 2019 and a Windgate Fellowship nominee in 2019. She received the Carolyn Haddon “Julie” Matthews Memorial Endowed Scholarship, the Farley Mood Galbraith Annual Scholarship and the Paul R. Jones Endowed Scholarship. She was a student employee in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery and was awarded UA work-study grants in sculpture and ceramics. In 2018, Joslin was awarded a paid internship under Tuscaloosa sculptor Lee Busby. She has been awarded tuition grants to participate in ‘Sculpture: Clay, Wood, and Steel’ by Trey Hill, Anderson Ranch Workshop, Snowmass Village, Colo. and has served as a volunteer demonstrator in clay for the Arts Renaissance in Tuscaloosa Schools (ARTS) at Matthews Elementary School. She was also a member of Crimson Clay Club, serving as treasurer. After her graduation in May, Joslin hopes to undertake a post-baccalaureate program. "I am planning to focus mainly on ceramics while still incorporating sculptural elements and other materials." This exhibition is part of the bachelor of fine arts degree program in the Department of Art and Art History at The University of Alabama. For more information about all our programs, visit this link: https://art.ua.edu/academics/. Harrison Galleries, LLC, is located at 2315 University Boulevard in downtown Tuscaloosa. Hours are Monday through Friday, 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m., by appointment, and First Fridays of the month, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. For more information call (205) 464-0054 or visit the website: http://www.firstfridaytuscaloosa.com/art-galleries/harrison-galleries-llc.
Artist Bridges Gap Between Art and Medicine Through Sculpture
Tuscaloosa. — The University of Alabama’s Department of Art and Art History is pleased to present the master of arts thesis exhibition of Katie Adams, titled Space Between the Ears. The exhibition will be held March 21-31, 2019, at Harrison Galleries, in downtown Tuscaloosa. A reception for the artist will be held Friday, March 22 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. in the gallery. Adams designs and builds sculptures that visually express the effects of neurological disorders on those afflicted as well as the people around them, both in form and through the media in which she works. “My sculptures examine the complications of neurological disorders. Each piece builds a perspective for viewers to experience simultaneously the breakdown of neurological systems as well as the disruption of function and communication.” She wants the experience of viewing her sculpture to bring a realization to the viewer that, as she says, “perspective can be distorted without materially changing objects.” Adams works with metal, glass, ceramics and photography for the work in this exhibition. She explains, "Each brain model is different: with each disease the portions of the brain affected are either missing or made of glass instead of metal.” Adams hopes that by bridging the gap between art and medicine through her work, she will help people understand what is happening physically and mentally with neurological diseases. Katie Adams is a graduate student in sculpture. Adams received the BA from Western Kentucky University in art with a concentration in sculpture. Her work has been included in numerous juried and group exhibitions including Height x Width x Depth (HWD) in Kettering, Ohio; 51st Annual National Drawing and Small Sculpture Show, Corpus Christi, Texas, and 24th Annual Jack Lunt Memorial Juried Art Exhibition, Bowling Green, Ky. She demonstrated at the 2016 Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design Convention (SOFA) in Chicago. Her work consists mostly of metal, wood and glass components. Adams says that she searches to understand and combine nature’s physical elements and systems with emotional connections. Image credit: Katie Adams, Brain, versatile plastic, 10 x 10 x 12 inches. Image courtesy of the artist. A thesis exhibition is one of the requirements for the successful completion of the Master of Arts program in the UA Department of Art and Art History. For more information about The University of Alabama’s Department of Art and Art History degree programs, visit our website: https://art.ua.edu/academics/. Harrison Galleries, LLC, is located at 2315 University Boulevard in downtown Tuscaloosa. The hours of the UA Gallery are Monday through Friday, 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m., and First Fridays of the month, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. For more information call (205) 464-0054 or visit the website: http://www.firstfridaytuscaloosa.com/art-galleries/harrison-galleries-llc.