Jacksonville University now offers MFA in Visual Arts program

 Northeast Florida’s current spate of artistic activity is surely due in no small part to the art and design programs offered at local colleges and universities. The Art Institute, Flagler College, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida all offer programs geared towards students seeking an education and guidance in creative careers in a variety of disciplines and media. These same schools certainly benefit by featuring faculty members and instructors that are as serious about their respective artistic disciplines as they are in sharing their experience and wisdom with their students.

Jacksonville University (JU) is now stepping up their game with the implementation of a Masters of Fine Arts in Visual Arts degree, the first of its kind ever offered by a local college.

The JU website offers the following information in explaining The College of Fine Art’s MFA in Visual Arts directive and overview:

“The MFA at JU nurtures the development of rigorous and refined relationships between three aspects of creative production:
stimulus, practice, and analysis.

The MFA degree is a 2 year low-residency program emphasizing conceptual and the creative process of generating new works that are grounded in both classical and contemporary art genres. Each year the program starts with a 6-week Summer Intensive, on the campus of Jacksonville University. This is followed by two non-resident semesters using a combination of distance study with JU Faculty and mentors who work one-on-one with each student to expand their project-based work. Plus an additional one-week mini-residency on campus to work with undergraduate students setting their creative work and developing pedagogical approaches.

This MFA is particularly geared toward artists in transition and expects that applicants should have professional experience in the field prior to application.”

The instructors in the MFA program are the Dean of the College of Fine Arts, Bill Hill (who is teaching the course, “Low Residency MFA in Visual Arts”), Visiting Professor of Art, Tiffany Leach, (who is teaching the course “Process Investigation 1”), Assistant Professor of Art, Lily Kuonen (teaching “Contemporary Practices”), and Assistant Professor of Computer Animation, Eric Kunzendorf (teaching “Intermedia 1”). The school’s Assistant Professor of Dance, Cari Coble, is the Director of the Graduate Program.

Since the summer term began on June 24, the students have already had the opportunity to learn from visiting artists Ray Yeager, Anthony Fontana, Jaime Griffiths, and Alan Sonfist. The summer term ends on Aug. 2; the program resumes during the fall term on Aug. 26.

The first ten accepted candidates for the inaugural MFA program are Amber L. Bailey, Chris Dent, Mico A. Fuentes, Alex Gotay, Joi Hosker, Dorian Jordan, Garrett Peaks, Valerie Place, Matthew Swaim, and Zach Taylor.

What follows is a transcription of interviews with three of the faculty members and four of the students.

THE FACULTY

Bill Hill

Starehouse: How long have you been the Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Jacksonville University?

Bill Hill: Seven years.

S: When did Jacksonville University originally create and implement their College of Fine Arts program?

B.H.: 52 years ago in 1961.

S: Will the MFA be offered for the College of Fine Arts in all three of its divisions: the Division of Visual Arts, the Division of Music, and the Division of Theatre and Dance?

B.H.: Eventually.

S: Why did JU decide to create the MFA program now? How long has this been in the works?

B.H.: The MFA in choreography began four years ago.  It was in direct response to a need for dancers in transition, who were winding down their performance careers and looking to transition into another related field.  We developed the Low Residency format to meet their needs to be able to pursue an advanced degree and to continue their professional careers without relocating and putting their life on hold for two to three years. With the success of that program, we have sought to expand it into visual arts and are starting the Visual Arts MFA this year.

S: As an MFA graduate, what advice would you give this first group of candidates?

B.H.: The best advice I can give any student is to invest in themselves.  Higher education, as with many things, returns proportionally what is invested.  But beyond that this is their time, and they should be “selfish” to challenge themselves to grow as both an artist and a person.

 

Cari Coble

Starehouse: As the Director of the new MFA program, what does your job involve?

Cari Coble: If just one person believes in you, then you can do anything. My job involves believing in the success of each student and working every day to see that they have the support they need to achieve their best work. I am there from start to finish, from answering questions of potential students, to working with them through the selection and admission process, to advising them each semester, and to taking pictures at graduation. I really love it, so most of the time it doesn’t feel like a job and some of my favorite things include the guest artists series and meeting the guest artists, and seeing the student’s artwork as they are creating it.

S: How many people were involved in the actual judging and selection of the students who made it into the program? Who were they?

C.C.: A committee made of administrators in the JU graduate admissions office, visual arts faculty, and the Chair of Visual Arts look at all of the applications and make decisions as a group.

S: How scrutinous was the screening/vetting process of the students applying for MFA candidacy? How many in total applied?

C.C.: The admissions process is highly selective. For low-residency acceptance, applicants should be mature, mid-career working artists. A BFA degree or equivalent professional experience is required. The total number accepted each year is 10, and we have a working waiting list for those who do not make the first round of acceptance.

S: What were some of the key elements the committee was looking for in the applicants’ work?

C.C.: This MFA is particularly geared toward artists in transition and expects that applicants should have professional experience in the field prior to application.

S: As an MFA graduate, what advice would you give this first group of candidates?

C.C.: An MFA is a wonderful degree and is an investment in yourself as an artist.  Also, the degree can really give you some flexibility and stability in the workplace so that you could be more marketable in your field and continue to work with a career in the arts for the rest of your life.

 

Lily Kuonen

Starehouse: Could you explain the Summer Intensive Session and describe the Low Residency MFA program?

Lily Kuonen: Bill Hill is teaching “Graduate Seminar” which hosts a series of Visiting Artists and “Graduate Critique.” Tiffany Leach is teaching “Process Investigation 1.” I am teaching “Contemporary Practices,” which is a mix of theory investigation and applied concepts, and Eric Kunzendorf is teaching “Intermedia 1” This is the course listing for the first Summer Intensive Session, which is basically a semesters’ worth of courses compressed over an intensive summer. Then the cohort of students will continue to take online courses throughout the fall and spring semesters. They are required to do a one week residency in pedagogy during the fall and spring, and then they will do another “Summer Intensive” session next summer with a different set of courses, followed by another year of online/hybrid courses. Basically the students are going to school year round for two years, in a mix of online and in-person courses;  thus, “Low Residency” and online/hybrid coursework. The 10 students selected travel through the program as a cohort, so there is a pretty strong bond formed among them.

S: Since the program actually began over the summer, what has happened so far?

L.K.: The program started about three weeks ago [as of July 24 interview]. Last week the students completed an Artist Residency Program at White Oak Plantation and worked with visiting artist Alan Sonfist. They worked on a permanent Land Art work that will be on site at White Oak as part of the organization’s focus on conservation and preservation.

S: As a graduate of an MFA program, what is some of your own personal advice and “combat wisdom” that you could offer the students?

L.K.: I would have to say my first point of advice to my students in this program is to be open and responsive in order to get the most out of their MFA experience. I use my experience as a guide as well. I explain how when I went through my MFA I entered the program (MFA Painting, Savannah College of Art and Design) knowing I was ready for a change, and I welcomed wherever that led me. It meant that I completely overhauled my studio practice, developing what I make today. I then advise them that this is not the track for everyone, but to be prepared to thoughtfully consider and deconstruct all aspects of your artistic practice.

I also believe I interject “combat wisdom” on several levels; sometimes in the form of professional advice, sometimes in the form of research paths, and other times, merely just experiential knowledge (what works and what doesn’t work).

THE STUDENTS

Amber L. Bailey

 

Starehouse: Where are you originally from? How old are you now?

Amber L. Bailey: I was born in Jacksonville and have lived here most of my life. I have always lived in the Northeast Florida area. I am 30 years old.

S: I’m curious about your creative beginnings. When did you begin making art? Did you originally start during childhood or is it something that developed later in life?
A.L.B.: I have always drawn, since the age of about four, however I would say I really began creatively in my first figure drawing class. I really understood gesture drawing, and capturing movement. At that point it was no longer about replication or copying an image.

S: What is your prior academic background in visual art?

A.L.B.: My prior academic background in art is a studio minor from UNF. I graduated with a communications degree in advertising with a studio art minor.

S: Did you have any anxiety about beginning the MFA program? What do you hope to accomplish during your MFA experience?

A.L.B.: I had some anxiety about beginning the MFA program simply because it was a risk in leaving my current employment and/or corporate stance and the stability that came with it. I have wanted to pursue an MFA degree since I finished my bachelor’s degree in 2005. I hope to push myself and my work conceptually, to create pieces that demand a little more from the viewer. I am currently working on combining elements from my visual vocabulary and composing them to make a new statement. I’m working with a series of paintings that have a sexuality theme and I’m researching ways to suggest sexuality through the combination of images.

S: At this point in your life, art and academic studies, have you noticed any recurring patterns or ideas being revealed in your work?

A.L.B.: The recurring ideas in my work definitely revolve around sexuality, particularly from the female standpoint. I have always painted the figure, more often the female figure than the male, and I am interested in pushing my work further than simply figure painting. This I am currently doing with my “collage paintings” as I’m calling them.

S: How was the experience at White Oak Plantation working with Alan Sonfist? What did that entail?

A.L.B.: The experience was eye opening, particularly to the idea of ephemeral art and the documentation of it. My White Oak experience expanded my ideas about what art is, and how often, the art lies in the experience of creating, even if the work does not last.

S: Your artist statement offers the following: “Fashion magazines and online media have directly influenced my work and many of my paintings represent loss of individuality and the objectification of the female image. The lure of full lips, large eyes and partially open mouths deliver messages of sex and strength which have transferred to my paintings. Dually, these images reveal a loss of true emotion and distinction; the vacant idealized face.” Reading this description, it seems as if some of your work is addressing your own ideas of female empowerment. What are your motivations and goals in reflecting this very same “vacant idealized face”? Ultimately, what do you want the viewer to take away from your work?

A.L.B.: I am exploring the ideas of the female perspective of sexuality and making an affirmation of the woman’s role in being viewed. I am taking the idea of objectification and twisting it. My idea of the woman being objectified in art, photography and life is that she is empowered through this, not degraded. My current series of paintings focuses on the idea of female sexuality, indulgence and consumerism. I’m using the “idealized face” and indulgent images of food and products to say “Yes, I’m a woman…I like sex, food and makeup…so shoot me.”

S: Your statement closes with the following summary: “I primarily focus on the female representation but I am, in general, intrigued by the way the human form and face exude emotion.” What do you ultimately find intriguing about those physical expressions of emotion and feeling? Do you have a sense of how you will explore these concepts over the course of your MFA experience?

A.L.B.: I explored these concepts on a small scale recently, with a series of small paintings of expressive female faces. I do intend on furthering my artistic research on the idea of human emotion and how it is conveyed through facial expression and body language. What intrigues me about physical expressions is what lies behind them and how vital first impressions are in reading the true essence of a person, before they’ve had time to explain or represent themselves through words. I am fascinated by the power of intuition and perception.

S: After graduating, what do you think you might do? Do you have a set goal in mind?

A.L.B.: I am open right now. I am entertaining the idea of becoming a painting professor, however that could change. This training is vital in furthering my work and truly diving into what I want to say as an artist. I’ve been painting for more than 10 years, and have always been “artistic”…but I am just brushing the surface of I feel my potential is. In this 6 week summer intensive at JU, I have grown leaps and bounds and have created the most conceptually driven pieces I’ve ever painted. I am now actively thinking about concepts and investigating ways to create imagery that has the viewer in mind as well as my own interests and ideas.

More of Amber L. Bailey’s work can be seen here.

Mico A. Fuentes

Starehouse: Where are you originally from? How old are you now?

Mico A. Fuentes: California, 34 years of life.

S: I’m curious about your creative beginnings. When did you begin making art? Did you originally start during childhood or is it something that developed later in life?

M.A.F.: I started at an early age with my first teacher/grandmother, Belen Poincot, who gave me my fundamentals in art when I was a child. She was my Mr. Miyagi, and I was her Daniel-san. While other children played outside I was inside practicing exercises in perspective.

S: What is your prior academic background in visual art?

M.A.F.: I found Barry Wilson and Larry Davis, two of my art professors, extremely influential in my visual art education.

S: Did you have any anxiety about beginning the MFA program? What do you hope to accomplish during your MFA experience?

M.A.F.: I have had anxiety in every life-changing decision, and this has been no different. I hope to gain skill in high productivity and process under stress.

S: At this point in your life, art and academic studies, have you noticed any recurring patterns or ideas being revealed in your work?

M.A.F.: There is a constant balance of strength and vulnerability, usually represented with visual symbols such as birds, women, and guns.

S: How was the experience at White Oak Plantation working with Alan Sonfist? What did that entail?

M.A.F.: I consider it a great learning experience. During the residency we had a chance to create our own site-specific piece of art. I was interested in how my work interacted in a natural environment, as it is usually set in an urban landscape.  My thoughts prior this project about land art and site-specific earth alterations is that they functioned as a means to alter an environment aesthetically. I still hold this belief to be true, but my truth has grown to be more about why it is important to alter the land.

S: Your artist statement features the following: “I create work centered upon my perception of reality: a triad of spiritual, mathematic, and vibrant forms.” Could you briefly describe how you became aware of that perception and in turn have learned to apply it directly into your work?

M.A.F.:  Subconsciously, the understanding of this perception has always been there.  Recently, I have had to put these innate concepts in the form of words. Speaking about my work formally has given me a new perspective of my own experience. Using language to talk about my work is almost like going backwards in the creation process; I am using the left-brain to explain what the right brain has created. It has been an introspective study of myself that is still underway, slowly revealing patterns that exist amongst the formal components of my work.

S: Although you do describe your work as multimedia, you also explain how you essentially begin “a process with nothing” and then through exploring the use of “found” or “decaying” objects, “expired paper materials such as maps, blueprints, and pages from old books,” you reach your end goal of a “tangible expression of my experience.” Do you consider yourself strictly a process-based artist? If so, how do you know when that actual process, once applied to an individual piece, is complete?

M.A.F.: The process of creation over-values the end product, until the end product exists and then it is hugely valuable. In creation there are different levels of completion, and the minute something breaks the process is reinitiated.

S: After graduating, what do you think you might do? Do you have a set goal in mind?

M.A.F.: Sleep, create…repeat.

 

Alex Gotay

 

Starehouse: Where are you originally from? How old are you now?

Alex Gotay: I always say I am from North Florida. I grew up largely between Arlington and Macclenny, but my mother and I moved a lot when I was a child so I wound up living on the Westside, in St. Augustine, in Baldwin, and even back to Arlington for a second time. Currently I live on the Southside. I’m twenty-three, making me the youngest of JU’s MFA VA charter class.

S: I’m curious about your creative beginnings. When did you begin making art? Did you originally start during childhood or is it something that developed later in life?

A.G.: My mother put herself through school, both her BFA at UNF (in painting and figurative sculpture) and her Masters at JU. So I spent several years growing up in UNF’s studios alongside her. If she was sculpting I would be too. If she was painting, I was either working on one of her old canvases or drawing. She still has paintings of mine from ’95-’97. She worked in the UNF Gallery with Paul Karabinis at the time as well so I was always around when new shows went up. Art has always been in my life, it just has shifted mediums throughout the years.

S: What is your prior academic background in visual art?

A.G.: I graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2011 from the University of North Florida with my BFA in painting. Before that point I was largely self-taught; even in high school, with a schedule full of art courses, I always experimented on my own. If I wanted to learn more about something I would either find a source that could tell me more or try until something worked.

S: Did you have any anxiety about beginning the MFA program? What do you hope to accomplish during your MFA experience?

A.G.: I think if you don’t have anxiety about entering into your MFA you must have a misunderstanding about what you’re undertaking. Even more so with this being the charter class. We are determining the future of this program, and we’re both extremely excited and a bit nervous about that. I’d spent the last few years focusing on my technical skills and so I hope to strengthen the concepts behind my work and delve into some more experimental works as well.

S: At this point in your life, art and academic studies, have you noticed any recurring patterns or ideas being revealed in your work?

A.G.: There are definitely some recurring images and themes. I’ve realized a lot of my work comes from a background of Awareness and Separation. Especially the works I’ve been making during the summer intensive here at JU. I find that humans have a lack of awareness about their bodies, their food, what they portray themselves to be, death and the impermanence of their entire situation. And they aren’t aware because they keep these things so separate. I have scoliosis and quite a bit of joint and body damage due to a mix of dance, tennis, and just being oh so lucky, so I’m constantly aware of my body in ways that most people aren’t until much later in their life, if at all. Moving forward I’d like to communicate these things, I’d like people to be aware of their bodies and the ephemeral nature of being alive.

S: How was the experience at White Oak Plantation working with Alan Sonfist? What did that entail?

A.G.: White Oak was a fantastic experience. The grounds are so beautiful and the staff is courteous beyond belief. We learned on the job, that’s for certain. Alan Sonfist has a very fluid idea process and we weren’t able to complete the project at the time, but we just wrapped up the second stage (finding a local nursery, picking the plants for the site and clearing them with the groundskeepers, finding the equipment for stone carving) and we hope to be back out at White Oak within the next month to complete the piece.

S: Lily sent me two pieces of your work: Via Pescherie Vecchie and Wrapped 11: Embrace – the former is a painting of street scene while the latter appears to be more of an abstract, almost-figurative work that seems to be rendered in fiber/cloth. How would you describe your work? Do you feel like your current work leans more towards the realistic or the abstract? Are you as comfortable working with both approaches?

A.G.: As I said in an earlier response, I spent the last few years on my technical skills. Of those two pieces, Wrapped is the older work, prior to my large scale food based paintings. But it was a technique I knew I wanted to return to at some time and I have with this program. But at this time I’m working on a process of both casting and painting (on the reverse side instead) as well as then un-forming the cast into an abstracted image. I consider myself still a representational painter, but I’m very comfortable walking that line between fully rendered and ephemerally abstract. This time at JU I’m going to use to reconcile these sides, hopefully pushing forward into a new way of working. I attached a couple of images just to show you the piece I’m currently focused on. One [top image] is prior to being wet back down; the other [bottom image] is after I’ve been spraying it and layering up more paint.

S: According to your CV, you have received several awards and scholarships, garnered portrait commissions, and have also been featured in over a dozen local and even international exhibitions. I am most interested in your experience in participating in these gallery shows. Do you feel like the presentation of your work in conjunction with being exposed to the work of others has affected your own ideas about art as well as your personal creative attitude?

A.G.: Working with others, showing with others, it definitely shifted the way I work. You learn the most from your peers. Wyatt Parlette is a friend I’ve worked beside and shown with for several years. Working alongside an abstract painter while I was making portraits slowly but surely loosened up my style, something that when I had been working alone I had attempted but had difficulty doing so. From working with me he finally started using green; he’d just never come across one he liked until I brought up Hooker’s green deep hue. Constantly exposing yourself to the art of others is something I find extremely helpful to my process. If you’re sitting in a shed cranking out work that could be from 1780, that’s lovely, but are you learning anything or growing in anyway? Being involved with other artists if nothing else lets you gauge yourself, so long as you have the sense to question where you’ve come from and where you’re going.

S: After graduating, what do you think you might do? Do you have a set goal in mind?

A.G.: After graduating, my main goal is moving to North Carolina. Or elsewhere honestly, I’m not that picky. I’ve spent the huge majority of my life somewhere in Florida, and I feel like I’ve gained all I can from being here. The goals are to continue making art, get back into showing work (in galleries, in events, or exhibitions), and eventually to teach at a university. I’m still quite young, so there’s the obligatory, but still quite real desire to travel. But at some point I would like to settle in at a university and give back. I may be highly experimental but I still have a very strong technical background and I’d like to put that to use teaching.

More of Alex Gotay’s work can be seen here.

 

Zach Taylor

 

 Starehouse: Where are you originally from? How old are you now?

Zach Taylor:  I’m originally from Logansport, Indiana. I’m 37 years old.

S: I’m curious about your creative beginnings. When did you begin making art? Did you originally start during childhood or is it something that developed later in life?

Z.T.: My parents sent my brother and I to art class as kids, formal art lessons for kids in a local artist’s basement. The high school art program was pretty basic, but we learned a variety of techniques. I planned to join the military after high school, but my mom talked me into art school.

S: What is your prior academic background in visual art?

Z.T.: I attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana for three years and there I began to develop the bug for making art so I transferred to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. At SAIC I spent 3 years mostly painting and printmaking. In Chicago I was able to benefit from great mentors and professors, Art history, study of world social issues, and theory classes that helped me begin to understand the reasons for making art and why it’s important to be “present” in my work. 13 years later, I’m still trying to be “in” my work, the work needs to be honest to hold any interest for the viewer.

S: Did you have any anxiety about beginning the MFA program? What do you hope to accomplish during your MFA experience?

Z.T.: No anxiety. I’m pretty much focused at this point on developing my visual language. I’m in this program to cultivate my communication skills through the artwork. In my opinion, it’s a difficult and necessary part of making art. It’s the opportunity to make honest work about being human and have a critical environment in which the work can develop.

S: At this point in your life, art and academic studies, have you noticed any recurring patterns or ideas being revealed in your work?

Z.T.: If there is an existing pattern, it’s revealing itself slowly. However, larger developmental steps are being made between pieces and I’m becoming more aware of my ideas and how they are translated visually. Humor and memory are themes that come naturally to my work.

S: How was the experience at White Oak Plantation working with Alan Sonfist? What did that entail?

Z.T.: White Oak is an extraordinary property. Our Cohort from JU was able to work closely with Land Artist Alan Sonfist on a large site-specific work of his design. During the week we were in residency, we also designed and created our own site-specific artwork. The ideas I generated while creating an artwork in a dry creek bed at White Oak have already influenced the design of my next installation piece. It’s an incorporation of personally meaningful furniture and objects in a gallery installation setting.

S: Your artist statement features the following: “Sculpture has been the most exploratory outlet for defining and completing my ideas lately. I’m always focused on developing skills in woodworking, metalworking, electrical, automobile restoration, furniture restoration, and sound recording. All of which come into play in my work.” You also create text-based paintings, landscape paintings, and acknowledge that through the exploration of these different mediums and materials they all collectively “influence my ideas.” That being said, do you set out with a specific concept or idea or do you just begin arranging different materials/disciplines until the idea emerges?

Z.T.: I definitely have a few things going on all the time in my studio. I find it difficult to investigate every idea with the same medium. Often I allow the idea to dictate the medium in my work. I find that allows the process to be more natural by not forcing a material interpretation that does not suit the concept. I’m always doing multiple things in every aspect of my life, so the artwork is just a continuation of that, but if a pattern exists in my work I think it’s yet to be seen.

S: You also state that you actually find a “more focused approach” in working on many pieces at one time rather than concentrating on one piece, then offering the following: “I can allow the ideas to spread throughout the work as a whole and through the entire process hope to tie the work together as a cohesive body.” Have you always created work in this regard i.e. focusing on many pieces at once? And acknowledging your description of your work as a “cohesive body,” do you feel like you are attempting to create one unified narrative or mythology within your work? If so, how would you describe that story?

Z.T.: Having multiple pieces in progress at one time can allow me to explore ideas through various technical modes. If a larger narrative does exist, I would actually consider it to be a “diary”. Working on multiple pieces at once feels most productive toward developing a visual language that can eventually exist alone and be cohesive. The “story” is my experience with human emotion and exposure to my senses. I’m trying to feel “real”, and then interpret that feeling through, humor, contemplation, language, emotion, and material.

S: After graduating, what do you think you might do? Do you have a set goal in mind?

Z.T.: I’m here to develop a greater understanding of the overall themes that tie my body of work together. My work relies on a wide range of technical abilities that I continue to cultivate, research, and expand daily. Helping the artwork communicate seems like learning a new language for every piece. Each piece is produced with a specific technical approach and as I become comfortable with more techniques, my concepts can hopefully exist and communicate more clearly to the viewer, as well as, help me understand myself. I’ve found collaboration with other artists to be instrumental in finding new directions for my art, so I plan to continue collaborating. I hope to have a fulfilling daily studio practice that incorporates numerous technical possibilities and offers successful development of my artwork.

More of Zach Taylor’s work can be seen here.

[I would like to personally thank both the faculty members and MFA students for honoring a 48 hour deadline in getting this interview up and running ASAP. Thank you all very much!]

Daniel A. Brown

starehouse@gmail.com