On Tuesday, July 20, 2021 ISC hosted a panel discussion, Iron is for Every Body: A solutions oriented approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion in contemporary cast iron. This panel of long-time educators, practitioners, and artists discussed a solutions oriented approach to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in contemporary cast iron production and art making. Panelists, Allison Baker, Kay Daart, Katie Hovencamp, and Eric Fuertes addressed diversity, equity, and inclusion in regards to workshops and classroom settings to establish teamwork and cooperation when working in cast iron.

Check out the recording here!

Speakers:
Allison Baker earned her MFA in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design, a BFA in Sculpture and BA in Gender Studies from Indiana University. Her work investigates hegemonic femininity as a site of transgression and resistance with tongue planted firmly in cheek where she deploys irony and the abject in order to make space to ponder the soul crushing banalities of what many might term “women’s work.” It’s funny (hopefully) but funny with a serrated edge.

Allison clawed her way into higher education with a thesaurus and words she cannot pronounce; currently, she is an Associate Professor of Sculpture and Studio Art at Hamline University where she tries to impart some knowledge of finesse, persuasion, and manual labor. Allison has exhibited nationally and internationally including at the CICA Museum in South Korea, Zverev Centre of Contemporary Art in Moscow, the Knockdown Center in New York, and Franconia Sculpture Park where her work is currently exhibited.

Kay Dartt is a sculptor with a practice that combines engineering, education and community outreach. She has a Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Binghamton University as well as a MFA in Sculpture from Alfred University. As a Clinical Assistant Professor of Art at Shepherd University she teaches sculpture courses and manages an interdisciplinary fabrication space called the FASTEnER Lab with a focus on STEAM engagement. In this facility Kay educates students of all ages to be independent builders and socially minded innovators. In 2020 she received Shepherd University’s President’s Faculty Excellence Award for her work in creating PPE for front line workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the iron casting community she is the Co-Director of Keystone Iron Works, an iron casting program engaging young students by connecting faculty and community through mentorship, stewardship, respect for process and teamwork. The program has received two National Endowments for the Arts awards and yearly arts engagement grants. At the 2021 National Conference for Contemporary Cast Iron Art and Practice she received the Paige Wainwright award for her part in creating the Iron Future Scholarship Fund and fundraising for it through a metal casting performance. The award is an honor given to those making education and metal casting practices more accessible for future generations. In her sculptural work, she uses a variety of materials to synthesize biomorphic forms, consumer language and parametric design process that reflect the imbalance between natural, artificial and virtual environments within our culture.

Whether he’s pouring iron, inking a woodblock, or manipulating laser beams, Eric Fuertes is a fierce advocate of the democratization of art making. Born and raised in South Texas, Eric earned his chops in sculpture at Texas A&M – Corpus Christi and in foundry work at Houston's Keen Foundry. After undergrad, Eric headed north in pursuit of sub-zero temps and his MFA in Sculpture at Northern Illinois University. He is now based at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he continues to evangelize the gospel of making, advocate for underrepresented artists, and agitate the boundaries that divide computer-aided design and traditional modes of making.

Katie Hovencamp received her BFA from Arizona State University in 2009 and her MFA from the Pennsylvania State University in 2014. Hovencamp has exhibited her work in numerous exhibitions within the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Her work has been reviewed in Sculpture Magazine, Chicago Reader, and several online and print publications. She was the recipient of the Outstanding Student Achievement Award for Contemporary Sculpture in 2014 and the University Graduate Fellowship at the Pennsylvania State University in 2012. Hovencamp has participated in residency programs at Vermont Studio Center, Serde Interdisciplinary artist group in Latvia, and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Ireland.

In 2016, she was awarded an artist residency with International Sculpture Center at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, NJ. She has taught at various institutions such as the Edna Vihel Center for the Arts, Totts Gap Art Institute, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg Area Community College, Northampton Community College, and Keystone College.

As mentioned on the call, here are some great sites to find various types of safety gear for all sizes! 

https://www.airgas.com/Category-Page/category/0000 (Jackets up to 5X)

https://www.zoro.com/ (fast shipping safety gear)

https://www.safetygirl.com/ (smaller sized safety gear)

https://www.charmandhammer.com/ctgy/Angelfire.html (smaller sized safety gear)

In Foon's words, "I have never taught for an award but just teach with my heart to help my student to achieve their academic goals, whatever that might be. This award is not about me only, but about you all who had been holding my ladder when I climbed up the art world over the last 30 some years, both physically or spiritually."

The ISC’s Board of Trustees established the Educator Award to recognize individual artist-educators who have excelled at teaching sculpture in institutions of higher learning. An exemplary career combining personal studio practice and measurable academic performance form the evaluative basis of this award. Nominations for the Outstanding Educator Award will be accepted each year, beginning in September.

Learn More about the Outstanding Educator Award.

Check out the recording of the Conversation: Plastic Man: The Artful Life of Jerry Ross Barrish, where Jerry Barrish, artist was joined by Lynn Verschoor, former Director of the South Dakota Art Museum, to discuss his work and film, before talking with the audience.

Jerry Ross Barrish, 4th generation San Franciscan, studied sculpture and film at San Francisco Art Institute from 1970-1975 on the GI Bill. After receiving his BFA & MFA, Barrish completed three feature-length narrative films. Returning to sculpture in 1989, working in figurative assemblage of plastic found materials, represented in many permanent collections including The Oakland Museum of California, Berkeley Art Museum, Crocker Museum and, San Jose Art Museum. His 16-foot bronze commission “Bayview Horn” is installed at The Shipyard, new redevelopment area in the southern portion of San Francisco.

Barrish resides in Pacifica, where he serves as Artistic Director at Sanchez Art Center. He has recently moved his sculpture studio to a remodeled warehouse at 33 Bartlett Street in the Mission District in San Francisco.

Barrish is the subject of William Farley’s documentary feature film “Plastic Man, the artful life of Jerry Ross Barrish.” Barrish says, “If you watch the film, you’ll know more about me than my mother did.” www.jerrybarrish.com

Lynn Verschoor attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from South Dakota State University, her Master of Science degree in information media and instructional design from St Cloud State University and her Master of Fine Arts from the University of South Dakota. For the past 30 years she worked in the museum field as a gallery director, curator and for the past 20 years as the Director of the South Dakota Art Museum.

Janis Plotkin’s work as a community organizer led her to develop an early interest in film as a tool for communicating values, history and culture. Janis helped to program and produce the groundbreaking San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, the first and largest film festival of its kind, where she was instrumental in building diverse audiences that reached 35,000 attendees, and programmed local broadcasts on public television KQED. She is currently Senior Film Programmer for the Mill Valley Film Festival. She has taught undergraduate film classes at Stanford University, University of California, Davis and San Francisco State University. In 2010 Plotkin joined with film colleague, William Farley to produce the documentary Plastic Man: The Artful Life of Jerry Ross Barrish.

About the Film: PLASTIC MAN: THE ARTFUL LIFE OF JERRY ROSS BARRISH

Directed by William Farley, Produced by Janis Plotkin

Sometimes an individual is compelled, in the face of daunting odds, to find his identity by making art and becoming an artist...

Jerry Barrish was the product of a hardworking family of Jewish boxing enthusiasts vaguely connected to the mob. It was these connections that got him started in the bail bonds business. Then he broke the mold, becoming the bailout guy for radical sixties protestors. “Don’t’ Perish in jail, call Barrish for Bail” was an anthem for a generation. Inspired by the times, he went one step further, embarking on a hero’s journey where art may be his salvation…

Plastic Man, the Artful Life of Jerry Ross Barrish
Streaming now on iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, GooglePlay

A Film by William Farley, Produced by Janis Plotkin
74 min. 2015

(PBS version 58 min. 2017)
For purchase and distribution:  jplotkin@aol.com 
www.plasticmanbarrish.com

• Live music
• Poetry readings
• Dance performances
• Drum Circle
• Atelier demos
• Seward Johnson self-guided tour
• Seward Johnson Explorer’s Guide
• ISC Lifetime Achievement Award self-guided tour
• Sing Along
• And more!

This event is hosted by the Johnson Family, The Seward Johnson Atelier, The Atlantic Foundation and Grounds For Sculpture

View the full PROGRAM SCHEDULE

In addition to serving as ISC Chair Emeritus and the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient, Seward Johnson continuously supported ISC’s mission, vision and community. The ISC is honored to be included in this special event to remember and celebrate Seward Johnson’s incredible life and legacy.

Through the ISC Lifetime Achievement Award self-guided tour, visitors may explore works currently on view at GFS by sculptors who have received the prestigious International Sculpture Center (ISC) Lifetime Achievement Award. 

In addition, ISC is pleased to offer: Seward Johnson, A Life in Public Art through our online store. In this volume you will find the artist at home and in the studio looking back on his fifty-year career in an extensive and intimate interview. Each series by Johnson is fully illustrated and brought to life with anecdotes. This is the book for anyone wishing to know more about Seward Johnson and his life and works. Spectacular photography and intimate stories told in the artist’s voice.

The Solidarity Book Project was designed by Sonya Clark (Amherst College alum ‘89), Professor of Art and the History of Art at Amherst College, as one way for Amherst (in its bicentennial year) to reckon with its difficult history by pushing against the legacies of settler colonialism and anti-Black racism. This art initiative is open for public participation and engagement. In September 2021, an immersive exhibition including participants’ sculpted books will be mounted at Amherst. For each response to the calls to action, the College will donate per submission to organizations serving Black and Indigenous communities in need of book knowledge up to a total of $100,000.

Meet up with Professor Clark to ask questions about the process or simply make books in community with other participants in the #SolidaritySculpting Project. No prior experience in book sculpting or art necessary. Come as you are, do what you can. We look forward to seeing you! Follow @solidaritybook on Instagram and share widely.

Solidarity Book Project x The Fabric Workshop and Museum

FWM is partnering with the Solidarity Book Project to act as a drop-off point for book sculptures (due June 2021), amplify live make-with sessions with Sonya Clark, and provide #SolidaritySculpting templates and instruction hand-outs (available during open museum hours) for those who are unable to print them at home.

Supplies needed for book sculpting:

– A book by Black and Indigenous authors or authors in allyship with these communities. (Books must be at least 280 pages to accommodate the template. If you would not like to alter a personal copy of a book, consider buying from independent, used, or BIPOC-owned bookstores in Philadelphia such as Harriett’s Bookshop or Uncle Bobbie’s Books.)
– A template (FWM will have copies available for pick-up during museum hours.) To pick up a copy, please reserve a timed ticket and set the donation to $0. Copies are available at the welcome desk on the ground floor at the top of the ramp.
– Scissors
– Video tutorial

Join a virtual live “make-with” session with Sonya Clark to sculpt your book in community with others: 

Wednesday, April 28, 6:00 pm – 7 pm

Thursday, May 20, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

Once complete, drop off your book sculpture at FWM. Book sculptures will be shipped to Amherst College for an exhibition in September 2021; after the exhibition, books will be returned to FWM and available for pick-up by participants. To drop off a book sculpture, please reserve a timed ticket and set the donation to $0. Drop off your book sculpture at the welcome desk on the ground floor at the top of the ramp.

Other ways to participate in the Solidarity Book Project

You are invited to participate by responding to any of the following three challenges (through June 2021):

Challenge 1: #SolidarityReflection
– Post an audio, video, or written response to: “What does solidarity mean to you?” OR “How has someone in your life been a model of solidarity for you or for others?”

Challenge 2: #SolidarityReading
– Share an excerpt or read and record (audio or video) from a book that shaped your understanding of solidarity. This book may be by Black and Indigenous authors or authors in allyship with these communities.
– Please keep your response to less than 60 seconds or under 100 words.

Michael Rees and International Sculpture Center in partnership with Grounds For Sculpture are excited to present adhoc: a virtual talk series. Join Michael Rees as he talks with special guests who work in art, technology, and sculpture with a focus on making and the artist’s role in the current era.

Join us every other week for more episodes! Make sure you subscribe to get updates on the International Sculpture Center. This program is made possible by the New Jersey State Council for the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. Michael Rees: Synthetic Cells: Site and (Para)Site catalog is available in in the ISC Store.

Michael Rees  is a pioneer working with sculpture, technology, and interactivity exploring the dynamic between physical objects and virtual spaces. His invented sculptural platforms are made of robot assisted carvings, automatic dimensional prints, augmented reality, and photography.  He is a professor and runs a one of a kind robot lab as the Director of the Center for New Art at William Paterson University developing one of the first experimental curriculums in sculpture and new media. He lives in North Bergen, New Jersey on the Palisade overlooking Manhattan with his wife the painter Mary Ann Strandell. Follow Michael Rees on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

Episode 1: In Conversation with Gary Garrido Schneider and Anna Ehrsam (Premier 3/26/2021)

Episode 2: In Conversation with Tom Moran (Premier 4/8/2021)

Episode 3: In Conversation with Edward Shaken and Anna Ehrsam (Premier 4/22/2021)

Episode 4: In Conversation with Tom Moran and Ed Winkelman (Premier 5/6/2021)

Episode 5: In Conversation with Claudia Hart (Premier 5/20/2021)

Episode 6: In Conversation with Christopher Manzione (Premier 6/3/2021)

Episode 7: In Conversation with Tamiko Thiel (Premier 6/17/2021)

Episode 8: In Conversation with John Craig Freeman (Premier 7/1/2021)

Episode 9: In Conversation with Carla Gannis (Premier 7/15/2021)

Episode 10: In Conversation with Will Pappenheimer (Premier 7/29/2021)

Episode 11: In Conversation with William (Bill) Albertini (Premier 8/12/2021)