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Misplaced Lens Cap
Three Goblin Art
Sade Olutola
Stranger Things
Jules of Nature

if i look back, i am lost
Today's Document
Keni
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
$LAYYYTER

pixel skylines
I'd rather be in outer space šø

Kaledo Art

Product Placement
YOU ARE THE REASON
trying on a metaphor
cherry valley forever

#extradirty

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@oberlinadmissions
The Oberlin College Admissions Office will no longer be posting content to this Tumblr account. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope that you follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Facebook: @ObieAdmissions
Twitter: @ObieAdmissions
Each semester, Oberlin Conservatory offers a series of programming intended to promote robust physical and mental health for students, and also to integrate social justice programming with a focus on maintaining a healthy community environment for all.
Bikalpa Baniya ā19 and Gaurab Pokharel ā21 Receive Davis Projects for Peace Award
Through funding from the Davis Projects for Peace Award, Bikalpa Baniya ā19 and Gaurab Pokharel ā21, both of whom are from Nepal, will expand the efforts and longevity of Nepali Dreamers, a college success program.
Economics and mathematics major Bikalpa Baniya ā19 and computer science major Gaurab Pokharel ā21 have been recognized with the Davis Projects for Peace Award. Named in honor of the late philanthropist Kathryn W. Davis, the award is granted annually to undergraduate students whose self-designed projects promote peacemaking initiatives. Now in its 12th year, the award grants $10,000 to selected students whose projects are based throughout the world. Read more>
Noah Sanderson ā16 is a lifelong maker and musician who became serious about steel pan while at Oberlin. Since graduation, he has been gradually improving his skills tuning and making these instruments.
Congratulations Oberlin Class of 2019!
Ā Via Oberlin College Flickr Ā
āWhen I was thinking about what to do for my sabbatical, I knew I wanted to spend the year with my family in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, and this interdisciplinary project, the Fulbright funding opportunity, and my sabbatical plans all lined up nicely,ā says Schmidt. Schmidt will conduct research in China during her sabbatical in the ā19-20 academic year.
A new pilot program at Oberlinās Mercy-Allen Hospital is adding a musical touch to patient care.
2019 Senior Symposium
More than 100 seniors and fifth-years on 27 panels each gave a brief presentation about work they performed for honors, capstones, or research they conducted individually or with a faculty mentor. The symposium examined a broad range of topics such as āLove & Relationships in the Digital Eraā and āProject Hózhó: Youth, Arts, and Environment in the Navajo Nation.ā Click here for a sampling of abstracts from the student presentations.
Ryan Gleeson ā19 and Andrew Sugarman ā19, founders of PWR Technology, won first place in the Northeast Ohio Regional LaunchTown competition held on April 15 at Baldwin Wallace Center for Innovation and Growth. The pair bested teams from Case Western Reserve University, Kent State University, Baldwin Wallace University, and University of Akron. Their product, a hands-free urinary test system for seniors, received the grand prize of $2,000. Gleeson and Sugarman plan to use the funds to both develop a prototype for their product and assist in forming their company. PWR Technology was one of the eight semifinalists in the March 2019 LaunchU final pitch competition.
Six faculty members from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory of Music received Excellence in Teaching Awards for the 2017-2018 academic year.
Jean Kondo Weigl, Untitled, 1974, Gouache collage, Art Rental Collection Fund RC 1974.3.
Elka Lee-Shapiro ā18, former curatorial assistant in Asian art, conducted this interview with artist Jean Kondo Weigl in July of 2018 as part of her exhibition, Centripetal/Centrifugal: Calibrating an Asian American Art.
On March 12th at 3:00 p.m., Lee-Shapiro will return to Oberlin to give a Tuesday Tea lecture on the exhibition. For more information, visit the event page on the Allenās Facebook.
EL: I was thinking that we could start by talking about the work we have of yours in the AMAMās collection. It was created in 1974 and you mentioned that you were working with hard-edge abstraction at the time.
JKW: Right, after completing the MA program in Studio Art at Oberlin I was working as Assistant to the curators at the Allen Art Museum. Ā At the time, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, Conceptualism and Pop art were primary avenues in the New York art scene. Ā I had studied those movements as an undergraduate in a contemporary art seminar at Scripps College while also taking classes in figure drawing and painting, and wanted to explore acrylics and non-figurative or formal compositions, probably influenced by artists such as Frank Stella. Iām not sure if I was aware of Sol LeWitt at that point, but there were a lot of artists, painters, and printmakers working with the grid format.
I chose to use the format of the grid in this work because of the regularity and the rationality of the grid, which could be juxtaposed with something elseāsomething freer, looser, more subjective, more organic ā while still retaining the organized structure of the grid. I experimented with some loosely conceptualist formats where I might, for instance, devise a sequential order for what was going to go in each unit of the grid, and so on.
EL: The work we have in the Allenās collection has a repeated pattern like that⦠is that where that idea comes from?
JKW: Yes, I began with an abstract design painted in gouache on paper that I cut up into sixty equal squares. Next, I cut the squares, four at a time, into curved strips, which I then recombined to form new squares that I then arranged in the final composition. Ā I couldnāt have foreseen or visualized the end product of my process the first time I tried it, and was surprised to find the resulting sense of rhythmic movement, advancing and receding space and lively qualities of color and light to be so effective. You never know whatās going to happen when you try out an idea.
EL: What was it like doing this type of work in Oberlin, because a lot of the discourse surrounding formalist painting was rooted in New York City? How was it being in Oberlin engaging with these types of investigations surrounding painting?
JKW: Becoming interested in a more formalist approach to painting was a natural response to the influences I encountered at Oberlin as a graduate student and as a member of the staff at the AMAM. Ā Ellen Johnson, Professor of Modern Art, and Athena Tacha, Curator of Art since 1800, were powerful forces in promoting current trends in art from New York in Oberlin through their scholarship and involvement with regard to the museumās acquisitions, exhibitions and visiting artists program.
Also, as a Graduate Assistant, I worked under Forbes Whiteside, Professor of Painting, assisting in his painting and color theory classes. In Mr. Whitesideās color theory class, I learned a lot about color relationships and color interaction, and wanted to explore some of the ideas that I was learning in my own work. I think thatās what pushed me towards nonobjective imagery, so that I could focus on color schemes and variations on the different characteristics of color. I probably know one hundredth of one thousandth of what there is to know about color theory, but I can get deeply engaged with what little I know, experimenting with all the different possibilities and variations.
EL: You mentioned the idea of objective and subjective painting in relation to the grid. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit more about that, especially because your recent work does incorporate more narrative or figural elements.
JKW: Iām really equally interested in formalism and narrative or figurative art, and equally emotionally moved by both. Even with narrative art, the story is definitely part of what I respond to, but a large part of what I respond to are the formal elements of the workāthe paint, color, and surfaceāand the power and skill of the artists. I remember before I ever cried to a painting, the only kind of art that I would respond to emotionally would be film or musicāI can easily cry when I see a sentimental commercial on televisionābut I was never moved to tears by a painting until I saw a Pierre Bonnard painting. It was a small landscape of a spring day and I was overwhelmed. Ā I donāt know how you identify the core idea of a single work of art or a body of works of art when there are multiple elements that are constant throughout. The meaning of a work has a little bit to do with the imagery and a whole lot to do with the composition and the treatment of formābut you canāt have the imagery without that. So, you canāt separate them.
EL: We touched on this a little bit but I was wondering if you could talk a little bit more about how your personal background influences your work, and whether biographical or politicized identity comes into your work?
JKW: Well, how can we separate oneās background and identity from oneās work, either? Thatās another thing, right? You are what you are. I am what I am because of my background. So, itās impossible to ignore it, but I donāt think you have to worry about making it clear, because it is clear. It just comes out anyway. Everything thatās influenced me as an artist is because of my background.
Iām probably drawn to Asian art and the history of Asian art for that reason. I might not have taken courses in the history of Japanese art at the University of Utah, but in a way I felt obligated to know more about it. I might have been interested in Asian art as an undergraduate but itās my memory that, at that time, we didnāt have a lot of exposure to Asian or other non-Western art history; it wasnāt automatically built in to your art education. For example, I knew that I liked ukiyo-e, but the topic of 19th century Japanese art was mainly touched upon in the context of its influence on 19th century French art. Ā Today, if I get stuck in the process of sketching or painting, one source that I may turn to for direction is 19th century Japanese art. Ā I really relate to that period as did many 19th century artists in Europe who were being exposed for the first time to a lot of Japanese and Chinese art.
EL: Do you think of the Asian influences in your work as relating to your personal identity?
JKW: Sure, not consciously, just automatically.
EL: Thinking about your identity, would you identify as say, an Asian American artist, or a woman artist, and does that play into your work at all?
JKW: Asian American over woman artist?
EL: Or Asian American woman artist⦠I guess in terms of these labels.
JKW: Thatās an appropriate question because the womenās movement was in full bloom in the seventies which is when I was at Oberlin working on as masterās degree and coming of age as an artist. Oberlinās masterās program required a written thesis and an exhibition, and I wrote my thesis on the womenās movement in art. Ā I was reading Linda Nochlin, Simone de Beauvoir, Shulamith Firestone, Judy Chicago, and anyone I could find who wrote about the role of women as artists or the image of women in art. Ā I joined the womenās caucus of the College Art Association and participated in a couple of their collaborative projects. They organized a book project and a box project, and my work was included in their traveling shows. But I donāt put gender at the front of how I identify myself as an artist. And the Japanese part, well, both the Japanese and the female parts were given to me, but I donāt necessarily feel that I put myself in either category, as much as lot of other people need to or choose to.
Iām aware of my race and gender on a certain level. Ā My race and gender are important aspects of my identity, but my identity and how it plays into my work is more just individualāhaving to do with my personal experience and relationships. Ā One key to how I identify as an Asian American woman artist may be how I identify with other Asian American women artists; if itās difficult for me to relate to another Asian American woman artist on some level of aesthetics or politics, I think it would be difficult for me to put myself under the same label as her. Ā On the other hand, I would probably relate more completely to an Asian American woman artist, compared to a non-Asian, non-American, male artist, if her art and politics were aligned with mine.
EL: We probably have time for maybe one more question. Iād love to hear more about your approach to teaching and what teaching is like for you.
JKW: I donāt think of myself as being really articulate or able to explain some more complex issues or concepts in a particularly clear or elegant way, but sometimes in the classroom I find myself getting really excited and at no loss for words. Ā Especially when Iām talking about the process and how itās important to let go and not be afraidāIām trying to encourage students to let go, loosen up, and not worry about whether their assignments are going to be successful. I work very hard to be the best teacher, but some students stand out as being so talented, perceptive and intuitive that I can only step back and admire them, deserving little credit for their achievement. Ā
Apple executive Lisa Jackson will give the keynote Commencement address; scientist Joanne Chory and broadcast journalist Robert Krulwich ā69 will also receive honorary degrees.
After Oberlin: Matt Banda ā19 and Isabel Taylor ā19
Computer Science Majors Land Jobs At Google
Matt Banda ā19 and Isabel Taylor ā19 will be embarking on a slightly different path at the company: Googleās yearlong Engineering Residency Program. For two months, Google engineers will teach a small group how to code and work within the companyās frameworks; the following eight to ten months, those in the group will gain experience on various teams. After this, most in the program become full-time employees.
Both Banda and Taylor are looking forward to the learning opportunities and technical training the program offers.
āWhat excites me about this role is that itās a smooth transition into the industry,ā says Banda. āThere are 30-35 other people in this program, so you get to be close friends with others, and you can get your bearings in the company. This is a really good opportunity to do that and be at a company I want to work for.āā
āIām excited for the learning opportunities,ā says Taylor. āGoogleās culture emphasizes learning and teaching others, and Iām really attracted to that. I want to continue learning and exploring things beyond college.
Read more about Banda and Taylorās work HERE.
Oberlin has seen a steady increase in international student enrollment over the past several years, and is currently looking to implement changes to continue increasing diversity in the student body. Josh Whitson, director of the International Student Resources Center and assistant dean of students, reports that, although his office is not in charge of admissions recruitment, Oberlin always works to expand diversity. āThe idea is to always bring in as diverse of a class as possible,ā Whitson said. This is why, over the last few years, the number of international students has increased...
An annual college and town event filled with handmade floats and creative costuming.
Julia Christensenās ongoing project, Upgrade Available, investigates how āupgrade cultureāāthe perceived relentless need to endlessly upgrade electronics and...
https://unframed.lacma.org/2019/05/02/julia-christensen-and-tree-life
Some updates on Associate Professor of Integrated Media Julia Christensenās work this year during her sabbatical! Sheās making some really interesting works, so check it out! There is the video update and the interview.Ā