MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kurie Fitzgerald: [email protected], 202-994-6461
Brett Zonkger, [email protected], 202-277-0902
WASHINGTON (April 18, 2016)—The George Washington University Corcoran School of the Arts and Design’s “NEXT” annual thesis exhibition presentation features artistic interpretations of experiences beyond the classroom. The exhibition introduces the community to new perspectives in contemporary art from the Corcoran’s graduating seniors. The Corcoran will celebrate NEXT with an opening reception on Wednesday and will be on display through May 15.
The annual showcase displays the verve of the graduating students and provides a unique opportunity for employers, art enthusiasts and gallerists to observe the work of up-and-coming contemporary artists. The class of 2016 exhibition will use all 11 of the first-floor traditional galleries as well as the museum’s stairway, rotunda and atrium.
Forty-nine graduating undergraduate students in art studies, digital media design, fine art, graphic design, interior design, photography and photojournalism will be featured in the exhibition. Forty-three graduate students who will earn their master’s degrees in art education, art and the book, exhibition design, interior design, new media photojournalism and teaching master’s programs will be featured.
HIGHLIGHTED STUDENTS:
The Corcoran’s bachelor of fine arts majors (digital media design, fine art, graphic design, interior design, photography and photojournalism) and bachelor of arts (art studies)
are represented in diverse forms of expression, including the following selected artists:
Carol Antezana (“Lamentation”) – For this work Ms. Antezana created a space for contemplation where her photographs live and serve as relics to mourn the loss of an untouchable identity. Ms. Antezana used post-mortem 19th century portraits as reference for this project. During the 19th century, photographers often captured still images of loved ones soon after they died to help grieving families mourn. Ms. Antezana’s photographs depict herself as a Madonna without her child; the photos explore the themes of life, death and the strength of the maternal bond.
Anders Larsson (“Randomness and Typography”) – Mr. Larsson’s thesis project investigates the various effects that randomness – not often a word used to describe the work of a graphic designer – has on typography. While strategically calculated visual solutions drive much of contemporary graphic design, there is, occasionally, a degree of randomness that emerges through layers of controlled decision-making.
Lucien Liz-Lepiorz (“Making Bits into Typographic Beauty”) – Mr. Liz-Lepiorz’s piece looks at how the digital age transformed both the creative development and visual transmission of typographic form. To address new complexities related to the digital age, designers collaborate with engineers in an interdisciplinary process that questions, stresses and strengthens the work. Typography emerges from bits coming together, from concepts, development and creative dialogue.
Madison Richeson (“Rebuild”) – Ms. Richeson has documented the progress of a fellow Corcoran student Tyree Brown following a car accident, which left her paralyzed.
Every day Ms. Brown faces the struggles that come with adjusting to her new situation; however she finds strength in her family, religion and continuing art practice. Ms. Richeson’s documentation explores Ms. Brown’s recovery and identity, while Ms. Brown’s drawings reveal the rehabilitation of her past self and the creation of a new one.
Elizabeth Shannon (“There is No Zipper”) – Ever since she was a child Ms. Shannon felt hostility toward her body. When she was in elementary school she imagined finding a zipper on her hairline. She imagined she could open the zipper to allow herself to step out of her body and have the one she had always imagined. Ms. Shannon chose to use photographs to confront her own issues with body image. In addition to the photographs, she created a book to give the viewer a more complex look into her journey of acceptance.
Johab Silva (“On the Further Side Of”) – Mr. Silva’s “On the Further Side Of” is a sculptural piece built with materials often used to build “Barracos” (one-room wood houses in favelas (or ghettos)) in Brazil. The design, dimensions and fabrication of each section, usually off-scale, mirror the work aesthetic of an ordinary Brazilian craftsman. This installation suggests the importance of examining one’s past, re-evaluating places and events that are quickly vanishing and re-building one’s memories.
Lauren Stern (“Repression/Indulgence: Growth of Trauma”) – Ms. Stern’s work is an installation that looks at domestic violence from a child’s perspective, and addresses issues of rights and treatment of women.
Graduate students will also present during the monthlong show. Work from students in art education, art and the book, exhibition design, interior design and new media photojournalism will be exhibited during NEXT:
Ian Warren (“Know Our Place”) – Mr. Warren’s project is an activist-based book warning against the potential impacts of oil pipelines and fracking. Divided into two parts, his book first features a series of pristine images, created with ink jet printing, that aim to show viewers and allow them to experience the beauty of backcountry wilderness. The editorial design of the second part of Mr. Warren’s book, meanwhile, imitates a guidebook and includes scattered, recounted memories of his personal trips to the Rocky Mountain backcountry.
Andrew Windham (“Ourselves”) – Mr. Windham’s multimedia documentary follows a transgender couple, Mikey and DJ, as they both transition from female to male. The project began three months into the couple’s transition and focuses on the emotional aspects of transition in contrast to the process. Ingrained in the work is the idea that while having a partner to share the personal journey of transition can be beneficial, such dramatic change can take a heavy toll on a relationship.
NEXT celebrates the brilliance and promise of its graduating students. Each degree program at the Corcoran requires students to successfully complete a thesis project. Projects may take many forms—from written research papers to a series of paintings. Students exhibit their theses on the walls of the Corcoran 17th Street building and present pictorial and oral presentations of their projects to an audience of their peers, faculty, arts professionals and the GW community.
One of the components of the exhibition is that students conceive of publicity materials through an interactive class project. “Design Lab” is a yearlong course where students are responsible for the overall branding of the NEXT exhibition. This year’s brand identity “Collaborative Collage,” was created by pulling apart the various weights of the typeface Avenir and putting them back together to create a new word mark with the NEXT letterforms. Different letterform parts represent diversity and variety of the school’s programs. The wordmark’s reconstructed look conveys the collaborative nature of the school, and its interdisciplinary approach. The word mark is an eccentric and cohesive assemblage, like the Corcoran School and the NEXT exhibition
Admission for NEXT is free and open to the public. The exhibition is open Wednesdays 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Thursdays-Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Monday and Tuesday. The Corcoran is located at 500 17 St., NW. Visitors should enter via the main entrance, located on 17 Street between New York Avenue and E Street NW. For more information, including a press kit, student portfolios and exhibition events, visit http://next.corcoran.gwu.edu.
The George Washington University Corcoran School of the Arts and Design
The Corcoran bridges the university’s academically robust programs in the arts with Corcoran’s creative and inspired scholarship. As part of the GW Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the school functions as an incubator for artists and practitioners in arts-related fields, and serves to enrich students who are taking classes in other areas of the university. As such, it provides a platform for engagement that bridges creative expression and practical application with the breadth and depth of the larger liberal arts education.
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