CHICAGO – As DePaul University celebrates graduation weekend, June 10-12, DePaul Athletics congratulates its 42 student-athletes who have or will earn their degrees in 2023. Of DePaul’s 42 student-athletes graduating, 34 earned BIG EAST All-Academic Team accolades during their career. DePaul’s graduates span across six different colleges across the University and over 25 different degree programs.  

By Semester 

Fall 2022 – 2 

Winter 2023 – 4 

Spring 2023 – 32 

Fall 2023 (Expected) – 4 

By College 

College of Science and Health – 12  

Driehaus College of Business – 7 

Kellstadt Graduate School of Business – 7 

Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media (CDM) – 7 

College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences – 6 

College of Communication – 3 

Men’s Basketball (3) 

Brendan Favre – B.S. Cybersecurity – Spring 2023 

Philmon Gebrewhit – B.A. Communication and Media – Winter 2023 

Tyon Grant-Foster – B.A. Communication and Media – Spring 2023 

Women’s Basketball (2) 

Jorie Allen – B.A. Political Science (Law and Theory) – Winter 2023 

Kiki Rimmer – B.A. Sociology (Health and Human Services) – Spring 2023 

Golf (2) 

Noah Kolar – BSC Economics – Spring 2023 

Artemiy Yalovenko – BSC Management Information Systems – Spring 2023 

Men’s Soccer (4) 

Michael Anderson – M.S. Cybersecruity (Networking and Infrastructure) – Fall 2023 

Grant Herbek – BFA Film and Television (Editing) – Fall 2023 

Jack Richards – B.S. Health Sciences – Fall 2022 

William Stroud – M.S. Management – Fall 2023 

Women’s Soccer (5) 

Kristin Boos – B.A. Art – Spring 2023 

Olivia Cooke – B.S. Health Sciences – Fall 2022 

Megan Malecha – B.A. Psychology (Human Development) – Spring 2023 

Maria Nordness – B.S. Health Sciences (Medical) – Spring 2023 

Brooke Weitzel – B.S. Biochemistry – Fall 2023 

Softball (2) 

Grace Frazier – B.S. Neuroscience (Behavioral/Cognitive Neuroscience) – Spring 2023 

Tori Meyer – B.A. Psychology (Human Development and Sociology) – Spring 2023 

Men’s Tennis (3) 

Leon Huck – BSC Business Administration – Spring 2023 

Lars Minsaas – BSC Business Administration – Spring 2023 

Luuk Wassenaar – M.S. Data Science (Computational Methods) – Spring 2023 

Women’s Tennis (4) 

Lenka Antonijevic – M.S. Business Analytics – Spring 2023 

Yuliya Kizelbasheva – B.S. Information Technology (Web Development) – Spring 2023 

Valentina Martin – M.S. Marketing – Spring 2023 

Madelyn Yergler – M.S. Finance (Online) – Spring 2023 

Men’s Track & Field (7) 

Dylan Armstrong – B.S. Health Sciences – Winter 2023 

Grant Fuller – MBA – Spring 2023 

Gavin Glaza – M.S. Audit and Advisory Services – Spring 2023 

Shane Knanishu – M.S. Applied Statistics (Data Science) – Spring 2023 

Myles Marshall – B.A. Political Science – Spring 2023 

Michael Stanley – MBA Finance – Spring 2023 

Jarel Terry – BSC Marketing (Sales Leadership) – Spring 2023 

Women’s Track & Field (10) 

Nina Amicon – B.A. Public Policy – Spring 2023 

Charlotte Anderson – BSB Finance with honors – Spring 2023 

Olivia Borowiak – B.A. Writing and Rhetoric – Winter 2023 

Erika Burgess – M.S. Applied Math (Mathematical Finance) – Spring 2023 

Tori Carroll – BFA. Film and Television (Screenwriting) – Spring 2023 

Alicia Jones – BSB Accountancy Honors – Spring 2023 

Kindle Miles – B.S. Cybersecurity – Spring 2023 

Kiara Pauli – B.S. Health Sciences (Nursing) – Spring 2023 

Jordyn Showers – B.A. Public Relations and Advertising – Spring 2023 

Valarie Whitted – B.S. Health Sciences – Spring 2023 

SIDNEY — Raise The Roof For The Arts has announced the appointment of Delaney Wilson as its new event and advancement manager. Wilson, a recent college graduate, brings a fresh perspective and a strong passion for the arts, making her a valuable addition to the organization.

As a recent graduate of Miami University, Wilson has already demonstrated leadership skills and an understanding of event management and advancement strategies. Her academic achievements and dedication to the arts fits for her new role at Raise The Roof For The Arts.

“We are excited to welcome Delaney Wilson to our team,” said Ian Hinz, executive director of Raise The Roof For The Arts. “Delaney’s enthusiasm, creativity, and academic background in arts management will bring a fresh perspective to our organization. We believe she will play a crucial role in elevating our events and expanding our reach in the community.”

During her time at Miami University, Wilson was involved in various art initiatives and programs, where she gained hands-on experience in event planning, marketing, and management. Her dedication to the arts was evident in her involvement in managing successful arts events and theatrical productions.

“I am thrilled to join Raise The Roof For The Arts as the event and advancement manager,” said Wilson. “Having just graduated, I am eager to apply my knowledge and skills to make a positive impact on the arts community. I am committed to creating exceptional experiences and driving support for the arts, especially in underserved communities.”

In her role as event and advancement manager, Wilson will be responsible for overseeing the planning, execution, and evaluation of all events organized by Raise The Roof For The Arts. She will also focus on developing strategic partnerships, cultivating sponsorships and implementing fundraising initiatives to support the organization’s mission.

Raise The Roof For The Arts recognizes that Wilson’s fresh perspective, innovative thinking, and a strong commitment to the arts will contribute significantly to their growth and success. Wilson’s ability to connect with diverse audiences and her dedication to promoting inclusivity aligns perfectly with the organization’s values.

In an exceptional display of elegance, The Art Hotel became the epicentre of a gorgeous evening on Friday, June 2, 2023. The highly anticipated launch of The Macallan M Collection brought together Nigeria’s crème de la crème for an extraordinary celebration that flawlessly blended the richness of the Nigerian spirit with the grandeur of Scottish heritage.

Numerous artworks and art installations from some of the country’s finest artists served as the perfect backdrop for the event.

The Art Hotel, Lagos became the perfect backdrop for the launch of the anticipated The Macallan M Collection.

The evening commenced with an enchanting sensory experience, as guests embarked on an immersive journey into the Macallan brand, its six pillars, and the story of craftsmanship and dedication that led to the Collection. The Macallan Brand Ambassador for Abuja, Adeyinka Adepetun,led the exclusive group through a captivating sensory section, where their senses delighted in the aromatic exploration of the distinctive elements that make up the whisky collection.

Guests were served a three-course meal perfectly paired perfectly with The Macallan.

Guests were treated to an expertly prepared three-course meal that was also paired with The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old, The Macallan Rare Cask 2022 and The Macallan Sherry Oak Cask 18 Years Old.

Here are more photos from the launch…

L-R: Adeyinka Adepetun, The Macallan Brand Ambassador for Abuja; Hammed Adebiyi, Brand Manager, Edrington Portfolio, Nigeria and Ex BBN Housemate, Daniel Atteh

Guests enjoying The Macallan whisky

L-R: The Macallan Brand Ambassador, Abuja, Adeyinka Adepetun; Founder Drinks.ng, Lanre Akinlagun; Trade Marketing Manager – The Edrington Portfolio (NBC), Tsolaye Everett-Eleoramo; and Brand Manager, Edrington Portfolio, Nigeria, Hammed Adebiyi.

Temitope Olowoniyan, Nollywood actor and Television Presenter.

Tsolaye Everett-Eleoramo, Trade Marketing Manager – The Edrington Portfolio (NBC); Kelechi Amdi-Obi, publisher of Mania Magazine; and Olajumoke Oladimeji, MD, Capston Bee.

L-R: Managing Director, All Seasons Zenith, Uwem Afanide; Nollywood Actor, Ramsey Nouah; and Brand Manager, Edrington Portfolio, Nigeria, Hammed Adebiyi at the unveiling.

The Macallan M Collection unveiled

Guests enjoying The Macallan whisky

Nayan Shrimali and Venus Bird, of The Paper Ark, approach conservation and environmental activism on a tiny scale. The artists (previously) create miniature renditions of flora and fauna that harness the textured, buildable potentials of paper to showcase the beauty and singularity of threatened and endangered species.

After cutting and layering tiny bits of the material, Shrimali and Bird add details with watercolor, whether on the striped quills of a crested porcupine or the regal crown of the peahen. While largely true to life in anatomy and color, most of the portraits are small enough to fit on the tip of a finger.

Shrimali shares that The Paper Ark has started to create hand-cranked wildlife automata, which you find along with an extensive archive of creatures on Instagram. Shop prints and available originals on Etsy.

Albino ruby-throated hummingbird

Crested porcupine

Endangered pollinators

Madagascan sphinx moth

Glorius scarab beetle

Cape sugarbird

Great egrets

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article A Veritable Aviary of Birds and Pollinators by The Paper Ark Are Small Enough to Perch on the Tip of a Finger appeared first on Colossal.

June 9, 2023

This paid piece is sponsored by Dakota State University.

“I’m terrible at math!” is a phrase Kevin Smith has heard often. Other words he has heard associated with the subject include ashamed, lost, boring, stressful, humiliating, wrong and failing.

These math-related words have been uttered countless times throughout Smith’s career, which started as a high school math teacher.

Now as a professor at Dakota State University, he has found it necessary to remember not everyone enjoyed math as he did growing up. Others’ feelings on the subject helped inspire his first children’s book, “Yucky!”

“Yucky!” Follows Lilly’s math struggles until the right teacher comes along and shows her that math can be fun. Once Lilly discovers that math can speak to her creative side, she realizes that ‘Maybe math isn’t so YUCKY!’”

Smith brought his two passions of math and art together in Lilly’s character. She loves art and learns that many of the skills she uses in her art can help her in math, like pattern recognition.

“I’m hoping that it sparks conversations about what math is and that attitude matters,” Smith said.

At this year’s DSU virtual Teach Camp, Smith led a session focused on helping students realize that math isn’t yucky. He tries to instill several key ideas in his students, including the importance of developing a positive attitude about the subject and that math can be exciting.

He asked educators at the Teach Camp to brainstorm other words associated with math such as critical thinking, persistence, problem-solving, puzzles, patterns, creativity, imagination and even fun.

He shared with the campers that his book has two messages: what is math and that attitude about math matters. Smith mentioned research that shows when parents share their math anxiety with children, it can impact their children’s performance negatively.

“The first thing we do is talk about our own feelings and attitudes about math,” he said. “It’s important to recognize that negative feelings about the subject can have a detrimental impact on learning.”

Next, Smith stresses the importance of providing students with a safe and supportive environment. “Math anxiety is real,” he said. “We need to recognize this and do things to alleviate that anxiety.”

During the camp session, Smith shared fun student activities that help them learn math by using resources and tools like Mathigon, a free site with games, activities and lessons in math, and Math for Love, which features free lessons, award-winning games and math art shows.

He shares more resources on his web page dedicated to “Yucky!” Smith started writing and illustrating the book in the spring of 2022 and shared it with friends, colleagues and teachers for feedback. He created several revised versions until he was happy with the final product.

While the book’s topic is appropriate for children age 3 to 12, Smith believes the message will resonate with all ages. The book is available for purchase on his website, Kevinandkaia.com, and will be available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble beginning June 13. It also will be sold at several local bookstores.

He hopes teachers, parents and grandparents read the book to their kids. “I want to get the book in the hands of as many people as possible,” Smith said.

About Kevin Smith

Dr. Kevin Smith graduated from DSU in 1993 with a degree in math education. He spent three years teaching high school math in Columbus, Nebraska, before earning his master’s degree in educational technology and working as an instructional designer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Upon graduating from UNL, Smith continued working as an instructional designer at different companies, developing distance education programs. Smith earned his doctorate in instructional design and technology from the University of Memphis in 2017.

At Dakota State, Smith teaches math education, STEM and educational technology courses. He also is the program coordinator for the Master of Science in Educational Technology.

Kevin & Kaia

In 2019, Smith and his daughter Kaia began selling hand-drawn greeting cards at a local farmers market to raise money for a school trip to Washington, D.C. Smith would draw, and Kaia would color them.

They received a lot of positive feedback, and local businesses wanted to carry items in their stores. Over time, they added postcards, stickers and prints to their inventory, which are available on their website, kevinandkaia.com.

They grew their business through email marketing, social media, word of mouth and art fairs.

“We sell our items at wholesale prices to over 150 retailers worldwide,” he said. “In addition, we have done a lot of commissioned art pieces for individuals and businesses.”

James Madison University Athletics is excited to celebrate its graduating class of 2023, with 102 total student-athletes walking at JMU’s commencement ceremonies in May at the Atlantic Union Bank Center.
 
A total of 89 Dukes are spring 2023 graduates, while 13 more will finish up their degree work during the summer sessions.
 
SPRING 2023 GRADUATES
Baseball
Donovan Burke, B.S. Communication Studies
Sean Culkin, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
Dallas Jackson, M.S. Sport and Recreation Leadership
Sam Landess, B.S. Kinesiology
Jacob Steinberg, B.S. General Psychology
Andrew Weight, B.B.A. Business Management
 
Men’s Basketball
Takal Molson, M.S. Adult Education/Human Resource Development
Vado Morse, B.S. Individualized Study
 
Women’s Basketball
Jaylin Carodine, B.S. Health Sciences
Madison Green, B.A. Justice Studies
Kiki Jefferson, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
 
Cheerleading
Shawn Arrigo, B.S. Biology
Charlotte Baldwin, B.B.A. Business Management
Erin Batik, B.S. Communication Sciences & Disorders
Gerald Bejger, B.S. Physics
Rosalie Chisolm, B.A. Media Arts & Design
Amber Curtis, B.S. General Psychology
Rebecca Cutsinger, B.S. Media Arts & Design
Kaitlyn English, B.S. Psychology
Ethan Feng, B.B.A. Economics
Bryn Hertel, B.S. Health Sciences
Carson Kreide, B.A. History
Taylor LaRusso, B.S. Elementary Education
Jordan Pratt, B.B.A. Finance
Kayla Quinlan, B.S. Health Sciences
Elijah Tomlin, B.S. Intelligence Analysis
Angel Trejo, B.A. Communication Studies
 
Field Hockey
Mikenna Allen, B.S. Communication Sciences & Disorders
Reagan Bonniwell, B.F.A. Graphic Design
Emily Harrison, B.S. General Psychology
Morgan Merritt, B.S. Health Sciences
Diede Remijnse, B.B.A. International Business
Eveline Zwager, B.S. Health Sciences
 
Football
Julio Ayamel, B.S. Kinesiology
James Carpenter, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
Kyle Davis, M.S.Ed. Adult Education/Human Resource Development
Prophett Harris, B.S. Dietetics
Connor Madden, B.S. Communication Studies
Latrele Palmer, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
John Ransom, B.S. Sociology
Devin Ravenel, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
Aaron Whear, B.B.A. Business Management
Joe Worman, B.B.A. Finance
 
Men’s Golf
Yuvraj Joshi, B.B.A. Finance
Nick Schlickenrieder, B.B.A. Finance and Economics
 
Women’s Golf
Kate Owens, B.B.A. Finance and Economics
Ana Tsiros, B.S. Health Sciences
 
Lacrosse
Lilly Boswell, B.B.A. Marketing
Maggie Clark, B.S. Kinesiology
Elise Fiannaca, B.B.A. Business Management
Tai Jankowski, B.S. Biology
Sophie Macchia, B.F.A. Art
Taylor Marchetti, B.S. Dietetics
Ellen Palmiere, B.S. Media Arts & Design
 
Men’s Soccer
Nathan Christenson, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
 
Women’s Soccer
Aimy Diop, M.S. Sport and Recreation Leadership
Lidia Nduka, B.A. Justice Studies
Mia Pham, B.S. Computer Science
Amanda Sevcsisin, B.S. Health Sciences
 
Softball
Reed Butler, B.S. Health Sciences
 
Swimming & Diving
Isabel Anbar, B.S. Sociology and Communication Studies
Alaina Park, B.S. Kinesiology
Felicity Ryan, B.S. Biology
Jordyn Schnell, B.B.A. Marketing
Karen Siddoway, B.S. Biology
Devan Taylor, B.S. Hospitality Management
Morgan Whaley, M.S. Accounting
 
Men’s Tennis
Holden Koons, B.B.A. Finance
 
Women’s Tennis
Daria Afanasyeva, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
Daniela Voloh, M.S. Accounting
 
Track & Field/Cross Country
Erin Babashak, B.S. General Psychology
Meredith Beaver, B.S. Health Sciences
Paris Beaver, B.S. Integrated Science & Technology
Bethany Biggi, B.S. Integrated Science & Technology
Isabella Bogdan, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
Jessica Cantrell, B.S. Kinesiology
Maddie Croteau, B.S. Health Sciences
Annie Dunlop, B.S. English and Secondary Education
Maddy Hesler, B.S. Biology
Sophia Hudak, B.S. Elementary Education
Lanie Jo Knight, MAT Education
Tiana Lewis, B.S. Public Administration
Rachel Lloyd, B.S. Communication Sciences & Disorders
Clare Morelli, B.B.A. Accounting
Hallie Reese, B.S. Hospitality Management
Shelby Staib, B.B.A. Finance
Alexys Taylor, MOT Occupational Therapy
Laura Webb, BSN Nursing
 
Volleyball
Cameryn Jones, B.S. Communication Studies and Media Arts & Design
 
SUMMER 2023 GRADUATES
Baseball
CJ Czerwinski, B.S. Sociology
Mason Dunaway, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
Hunter Entsminger, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
 
Cheerleading
Cayleigh Greger
 
Football
Mateo Jackson, B.S. Individualized Study
Tanner Morris, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
Isaac Owusu-Appiah, B.S. Sociology
Justin Ritter, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
Jordan White, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
 
Women’s Golf
Kendall Turner, B.S. Mathematics
 
Men’s Soccer
Prince Loney-Bailey, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
Sloan Sullivan, B.B.A. Business Management
 
Swimming & Diving
Lindsey Hammar, B.S. Media Arts & Design
 
Track & Field/Cross Country 
Jordan Otto, M.A. School Psychology
 
Volleyball
Danielle Nathan, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
Chloe Wilmoth, B.S. Biology
 
Additionally, a total of 13 student-athlete (both current and former) graduated back in December, bringing the 2022-23 combined total to 116 across all sports.
 
Baseball
Kyle Novak, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
 
Field Hockey
Cassie Hunter, M.O.T. Occupational Therapy
 
Football
Tate Beaver, B.S. Biology
Reggie Brown, B.S. Sport and Recreation Management
Hunter Bullock, B.S. Kinesiology
Chris Chukwuneke, B.S. Public Administration
 
Men’s Soccer
Melker Anshelm, B.S. Media Arts & Design and Communication Studies
Tyler Clegg, B.B.A. Business Management
Luca Erhardt, B.A. Communication Studies
Clay Obara, B.B.A. Business Management
Max Poelker, M.P.A. Public Administration
 
Women’s Soccer
Melissa Hoffheins, B.A. Media Arts & Design
 
Track & Field/Cross Country
Sophie Bollinger, M.S. Kinesiology
 

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In their brightly lit, smartly appointed shop in Midtown,
Topstitch owners Mallory Maupin and Samuel Rose teach workshops,
fulfill custom orders, consult on product development and work on
their own projects. If you need anything from restaurant napkins
to an athletic shoe prototype, Topstitch can make it or teach you
how to make it. 

Maupin inherited her love of wearable art from her grandma, who
was a model, and her mom, who was also enamored with clothes. She
attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where
she majored in fashion merchandising and switched to fashion
marketing when she discovered she had a knack for it. In addition
to being the chief operating officer of Topstitch, she works for
a firm as an account executive.

Topstitch CEO Rose grew up in Colorado and then Sacramento. He
always paid close attention to fashion as an expression of
subculture, whether it was skating, hip-hop or punk. His senior
year in high school, he completed a screen-printing internship in
Galt with a professional printer. From that point on, he was
completely hooked. 

Rose studied fashion design after high school and took a
life-changing trip to New York City to tour the garment district.
His first job was at a military-style brand in San Francisco,
where he learned to construct out of heavy materials, how to
price, how to scale — all the logistics involved in getting a
product to market.

The couple met on the corner of Market and Montgomery in San
Francisco while Maupin was still in school and Rose was making
hunting jackets. Their mutual love of clothing, design and
culture drew them together. “It’s a form of artistic expression,
and I think it’s really powerful because it’s something you carry
with you each day. It’s the way you present yourself to the
world,” Maupin says.

Flash forward to the present, and their shared vision of starting
a fashion industry in Sacramento has become a reality with
Topstitch. It’s not enough for this team to build their own
brand: They want to activate an entire workforce of fashion
designers.

On building community through fun and education:

Maupin: We provide community-based
workshops like sip and sew; kind of entertainment-based, social
experiences where you’re learning a new skill. 

Rose: We’re working with Sol
Collective, and we put together a 10-week course for Native youth
with the basics of sewing but also photography, marketing, screen
printing — how to build and sell a brand. So we provide the
basics, and then they work with the elders who will teach them
traditional finish work. 

Maupin: So, trying to build skills and
inter-generational knowledge that they can bring back into their
communities. 

How they are incubating unique style and developing a
fashion industry in Sacramento: 

Maupin: If you look at our community
colleges and Sac State, they have really strong fashion programs,
and for those students, there’s nowhere for them to apply their
technical skills. There’s no roadmap. 

Rose: Every single one of our talented
people is told they have to go somewhere else to succeed. But if
we can give you a job when you’re coming up, you get to sharpen
your skills and collect a paycheck. You’re growing so much every
day … and when you’re ready to start your brand, we can help with
that.

It’s very important for there to be a fashion industry here.
There’s the designing and building of each piece and the
appreciation from the general public for high-quality, unique
clothing. And if we can get both of those things in Sacramento,
we can become a hub and start influencing places like Los Angeles
or New York — we can have our own ecosystem and our own style
too. 

Maupin:We do product development, so
let’s say you’re a yoga studio and you want to start an
athleisure line. You have some ideas but you don’t know how to do
it. We’ll help you figure out the technical pieces with
prototyping, testing, building product samples, and really get it
ready to go into production. And you’d have the option to produce
with us. 

We want to give local businesses the chance to manufacture close
by: high quality with ethical standards. We specialize in soft
goods, anything you can make with textiles. We’d like to work
with farm-to-fork restaurants and hospitality. We want them to
come to us because they see the value in it. 

Rose:It’s also about trying to keep the
money in Sacramento. There’s no way you can get 45 chef coats
made here. … So for example, I’d love to bring more streetwear
into the restaurants, like super-cool chef coats that really
stand out — really functional and signature Sacramento.

On fast fashion and solving the problem of
waste:

Maupin:We want to support smaller
brands and companies in a sustainable way, so we have low
minimums. When you manufacture overseas, you have really high
minimums, so it’s important to us to be able to offer emerging
brands the option of producing 50 units so you can take it to
market, test it, see if it works. 

Rose:When you spend $6 on a shirt,
you’re not going to care as much. But when you see it as a
quality piece, you’re going to hang onto it. If we can produce a
higher quality product with a better story, you’re less likely to
throw it in the landfill. We have a textile manufacturer here,
one of very few left in the states. Imagine if in five years,
Sacramento had a fashion district where there’s textiles, a
production house, a school, a whole community of designers with
their own shops … and nothing ends up in the garbage. 

Maupin: We’re trying to create a
movement and show people that there is a way to do it all here.

Edited for length and clarity. 

–

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Five local artists have been selected by Visit Minot to revitalize downtown spaces. Creation of the Minot Artists on Main Street art installations and activities will be completed by early October 2023.

The art will be located in the alleyway space beginning at Magic City Hoagies and ending at Drop Zone. Artists and projects include:

— EJ Rose: Magic City Magic, a mural of a boy creating his own world with the magic of his imagination and paintbrush.

— Max Patzner: Why Not Minot, a fun mural celebrating Minot and its catchphrase “Why Not Minot.”

— Jazmine Schultz: Magic City Sun Sail, a crocheted yarn installation bringing color and shade.

— Rachel Alfaro: Alley I-Spy!, interactive game of I-Spy with imagery inspired by downtown Minot.

— Mackenzie Ploof: Troll Stroll, habitats with trolls paying homage to the area’s Scandinavian roots.

“Minot has a robust and unique art scene and is the home to a wealth of local visual artists,” said Eden Jackson-Jones, digital marketing manager at Visit Minot. “This walking tour will showcase our community through the eyes of artists. We believe visitors and area residents who walk through the exhibits will be inspired by our local talent.”

Project funding was provided by the North Dakota Department of Commerce. The selection process was led by Visit Minot in conjunction with Minot Area Council of the Arts. The goal of Minot Artists on Main Street grant is to further the interest in exploring and visiting Downtown Minot.

Lucas Zwirner faces to the side in a swirl of pigment washes of orange and brown. When Elizabeth Peyton’s painting of her friend, the heir-apparent to the Zwirner gallery empire, debuted at Art Basel Hong Kong, art-world forums lit up.

But the tittering online was not because the work was particularly stylish or even because, according to rumors, it may have been spurred into being by a romance. It was because Peyton was using her art to signal something about her social network. As some journalists pointed out, the director and the artist are professionally intertwined now. Officially, just a few weeks before the painting popped up on the fair floor, Peyton had left Gladstone Gallery behind when signing with David Zwirner.

This subtext was like a hyperlink hidden within what was, on the surface, a sentimental painting of a friend. We’ve been seeing a lot of paintings in this vein lately: works that play on intimate depicted relationships which are coded, like a video-game Easter egg, in a way that is discernible ideally for those who are also members of a specific in-crowd, or who aspire to be.

Examples that jump to mind include Gagosian gallery star Anna Weyant’s Two Eileens (2022), which got people talking via its doubled image of Eileen Kelley, “sexpert,” host of the Going Mental podcast, and niche celebrity. (Kelley returned the favor by having Weyant on the podcast to talk about art-world sexism.)

Or think of something like Constance Tenvik’s Kenny On The Day When I Exchanged A Mind Map For Plastic Gloves, Printed Out Official Documents & A Cab To The Airport (2020), depicting art dealer, writer, and gadfly Kenny Schachter, recognizable by his glasses and signature track pants, but identified knowingly only by his first name.

Such scene-y figurative portraiture combines an awareness about access to a scene with a tenderness for it. If the viewer gets the fine print (as more than a few did when it came to that Peyton-Zwirner link), then they too gain some level of membership.

Elizabeth Peyton, Lucas Zwirner (2022). Courtesy of David Zwirner.

Clique-Based Realism 

This trend—let’s call it hypersentimental painting—can be seen from a few angles. The clique-based realism that you have been seeing more and more of late is surely a by-product of our algorithmic drifts into social clusters. Social bubbles have become so pronounced over the last years that it can be hard to reconcile with anyone who sits beyond them.

Such digital fragmentation was further aggravated by the pandemic, which shrunk down these already siloed groups. With such tightened virtual micro-communities, to paint what one intimately knows and what their peer group will have a special appreciation for seems only natural.

At the same time, many of us feel more exposed than ever before. Though people have been proudly and loudly moving into smaller forums via “Close Friends” lists, Discord channels, Mastodon platforms, and Telegram or WhatsApp groups, that mass migration still comes against the background of a lot of angst about living life in public online.

Most of our attention and time remains captured the big platforms. The marketing tactics and hyper-scrutiny within these places have become so unavoidable that if you want to preserve any sense of subcultural cachet in these arenas, interacting necessitates a certain kind of deliberate encryption.

Against this background, the proliferation of this strain of subjective painted scenarios focused on members of an artist’s personal world—be they lovers, family, or friends—is a smartly positioned move. This kind of painting champions micro-community as content but also, crucially, as sensibility. It’s all about painting in a way that speaks to those who get it while still catching the eye of those who don’t. That pair of outcomes, when they work out, provides a double reward.

Emma, (2022). © Anna Weyant. Photo: Robert McKeever. Courtesy Gagosian” width=”822″ height=”1024″ srcset=”https://www.mecreates.com/story/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/WEYAN_2022.0008-1-1-822×1024.jpg 822w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/WEYAN_2022.0008-1-1-241×300.jpg 241w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/WEYAN_2022.0008-1-1-40×50.jpg 40w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/WEYAN_2022.0008-1-1.jpg 963w” sizes=”(max-width: 822px) 100vw, 822px”>

Anna Weyant Emma, (2022). © Anna Weyant. Photo: Robert McKeever. Courtesy Gagosian

The IYKYK Effect 

What I am calling hypersentimentalism has gestated in the long tail of figuration that blossomed in tandem with the Age of the Influencer around 2014. Figurative painting circulated well within the Instagram economy: Easily consumed images of stylized figures resonated with social media as a platform for performing and curating identity. (In 2020, Tamara de Lempicka, an artist whose stylish Art Deco portraits were long considered kitsch, was even given an attempted rebrand as a “Queen of Instagram” before her time.)

By the second decade of the millennium, figuration was still booming, but frustration with the major forms of it was building alongside frustration with the fakeness and hyper-performativity of this era of social media.

In 2020, critic Alex Greenberger dubbed a lot of the whimsical new nouveau Surrealist and nouveau Pop painting, which had enchanted the market, as “zombie figuration.” By 2021, art historian Darby English cautioned that the astonishing vogue for figuration by Black painters was limiting: “To me, the worrisome thing about a flood of figuration is the time and resources we aren’t spending on the part of us we can’t image.” In New York, the most recent Whitney Biennial took a sharp turn towards abstraction and a language of opacity, making deliberate demands of the audience to invest in artists’ backstories.

Hypersentimentalism’s laser-focus on niche knowledge and micro-communities offers a way to keep faith with the strengths of figuration, while still positioning oneself against some of these frustrations. It follows an “IYKYK” logic, playing up a layer of insider opacity. (For those who don’t know, IKYKY stands for “if you know, you know.”)

Tellingly, a parallel development has happened in marketing, where old-fashioned influencers are no longer the hot commodity. Instead, brands are turning to micro-influencers—or even nano-influencers.

In fashion, Lauren Cochrane notes the rise of the “IYKYK model.” Casting niche personalities over professional models “adds a layer of authenticity… Rather than choosing someone solely for their beauty and ability to look great in clothes, they are bringing the actual people they would like to wear their labels into the campaign. And if they share their love of the brand with their influential friends and followers? Even better.”

Indeed, that fashion phenomenon has itself notably synthesized with the art world. Take collector Karen Boros walking the Balenciaga runway for Spring/Summer 2020, an event that caused a small flurry of excitement in the German art world. The micro-celebrity may not have been noticed by the many thousands more who watched and reposted the show, but the right (high-net-worth) people likely did.

More recently, art critic Dean Kissick was among those modeling in a Marc Jacob’s Heaven spring 2023 campaign, a lookbook that was a horizontally scrolling eye-spy of various New York micro-celebrities. (The White Lotus star Michael Imperioli, clad in a skull-print hoodie‚ was perhaps the most famous among them—though he still feels like a niche pick).

Installation view of Amalia Ulman’s show “Jenny’s” at Jenny’s. Courtesy of the artist and Jenny’s. Photo by Joerg Lohse

The Hypersentimentalists

In recent art, examples of this guessing-game, who’s-who style are percolating everywhere.

Chloe Wise’s rise was spurred on in part by her paintings of New York friends going viral. In Wise’s vibrant canvasses, you aren’t told you are supposed to recognize, say, model and artist Richie Shazam among the three embracing figures in 2019’s Polysemic Primavera (a hypersentimentalist tic: titles never dare belie the names of the muses in the painting). Spotting Shazam’s half-face again peering out of another Wise work, Some pleasant lies would be nice (2021), feels as if you are being given membership to  the in-crowd—even if it is a low-tier level of access.

Some pleasant lies would be nice (2021) © Chloe Wise – Courtesy of the Artist and Almine Rech. Photo: Dan Bradica” width=”881″ height=”1024″ srcset=”https://www.mecreates.com/story/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/CWI0165-CHLOE-WISE-2021_47126-881×1024.jpg 881w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/CWI0165-CHLOE-WISE-2021_47126-258×300.jpg 258w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/CWI0165-CHLOE-WISE-2021_47126-1322×1536.jpg 1322w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/CWI0165-CHLOE-WISE-2021_47126-43×50.jpg 43w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/CWI0165-CHLOE-WISE-2021_47126-1652×1920.jpg 1652w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/CWI0165-CHLOE-WISE-2021_47126.jpg 1762w” sizes=”(max-width: 881px) 100vw, 881px”>

Chloe Wise, Some pleasant lies would be nice (2021) © Chloe Wise. Courtesy of the Artist and Almine Rech. Photo: Dan Bradica

You could follow that thread downtown to Amalia Ulman’s exhibition “Jenny’s” at the trendy gallery Jenny’s, featuring a dense, salon-style gallery of portraits of friends and scene-makers. Though working as much in the tradition of conceptual installation as figurative painting (I do not think these artists follow any formal rules), Ulman sounds some of the familiar notes.

The show was an homage to the Theater District restaurant Sardi’s, whose walls are adorned with caricature sketches of New York theater folk. Ulman replicated the caricature salon hang, only with figures who either exist in or orbit around the downtown cultural scene in New York.

Tagged are artists Anna-Sophie Berger, Seth Price, Heji Shin, and Jordan Wolfson, among others. There are also the prestigious Stadelschule professors Josef Strau and Michael Krebber, as well as art critics and authors, such as Natasha Stagg, Stephanie LaCava, and Dean Kissick (again).

In February, Swiss artist Tobias Spichtig debuted a whole family of paintings at a sleek show of figurative works (alongside abstract paintings and sculptures) at O-Town House in Los Angeles. Though Spichtig has incorporated the quotidian or social into his work before—clothes left by friends have worked their way into his sculptures, and there are several paintings of his partner—there was always a degree of remove from the overtly sentimental.

Dear Friends on view at O-Town House, Los Angeles Install views. Photo: Tobias Spichtig” width=”1024″ height=”683″ srcset=”https://www.mecreates.com/story/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Tobias-Spichtig_2023_dear-friends_o-townhouse_los-angeles_install_4_DP2M0627-1024×683.jpg 1024w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/Tobias-Spichtig_2023_dear-friends_o-townhouse_los-angeles_install_4_DP2M0627-300×200.jpg 300w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/Tobias-Spichtig_2023_dear-friends_o-townhouse_los-angeles_install_4_DP2M0627-1536×1024.jpg 1536w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/Tobias-Spichtig_2023_dear-friends_o-townhouse_los-angeles_install_4_DP2M0627-2048×1365.jpg 2048w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/Tobias-Spichtig_2023_dear-friends_o-townhouse_los-angeles_install_4_DP2M0627-50×33.jpg 50w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/06/Tobias-Spichtig_2023_dear-friends_o-townhouse_los-angeles_install_4_DP2M0627-1920×1280.jpg 1920w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>

Tobias Spichtig Dear Friends on view at O-Town House, Los Angeles. Photo: Tobias Spichtig

His O-Town House show, “Dear Friends,” foregrounds feelings—its title seems to play on a party invitation or a social media post, but also, refreshingly, just says what the show is about. It featured a series of identically scaled paintings: of his partner, but also friends.

And so, you might pick out artists like Klara Linden or Xiangyu He. Each one gazes out, their skin and eyes bright against black backgrounds as slightly tall portraits that recall iPhone screens. The images, which have a gothic quality, are not realistic exactly, but rather look to capture an essence of each sitter. The exhibition text described the “uncomfortable desire for unlimited intimacy,” manifesting in Spichtig’s “emotional headshots.”

That same candidness echoes in a recent show at Deborah Schamoni in Munich. The names of painter Elizabeth Ravn’s sitters are listed off in the press release (first names only: “Alizée, Athanasios, August, Claude…”). The sense of sentimental communion is front and center, but also a sense of protective remove: “I won’t say whom, but I rang in 2022 with one of these figures, who, after cutting my hair like a young Jean-Michel Basquiat at my request, made out with me on their rooftop underneath the new year’s fireworks, as friends.”

Elizabeth Ravn, Magdo and Lucci (Neukölln Bed) II, 2022. Courtesy the artist and Deborah Schamoni. Photo: Ulrich Gebert

This turn to local and intimate subject matter does seem to fit naturally with the recent idea of a “vibe shift” away from the moral and activist rhetoric of the last years. Yet, while in certain instances of this “cool-kids” style, the sentimental seems to repudiate the political, the latter is actually importantly present in some paintings that might be seen as adjacent to hypersentimentalism.

I would be remiss not to mention artists like Doron Langberg and Salman Toor, who respectively depict intimate portraits and social scenarios, turning to close circles from their queer communities, and even painting each other.

Hypersentimentalism is about world-building but also, and maybe more so, about world-preserving. A 2022 exhibition at the ICA in Boston called “A Place for Me” offered a smart survey of that kind of gesture of empowerment as well, showing artists “depicting what they love—their friends, lovers, and family; studio spaces and homes; and the scenes that make up their everyday.” Among others, it included figurative works by Ambera Wellman and Louis Fratino (the latter whose tender portraits of everyday queer intimacies have been soaring at auction.)

The fact that hypersentimental painting relies on there being insiders and outsiders doesn’t mean it should be discredited automatically. The desire to showcase quotidian moments is powerful, as is the urge to paint those we care for. Both are an antidote, even if just in an ephemeral sense, for the fatigue we all feel after the last decade of targeted marketing and online polemics. What do we really want? What do we actually desire? The answer is beautiful quaint, maybe: each other.

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Ten years after Pablo Garcia released the NeoLucida, a modern iteration of a centuries-old drawing tool, the Chicago-based artist and designer has a new model. The NeoLucida Plus works similarly to the original tabletop device: simply peer into the small eyepiece, and see a shadow image superimposed onto the surface below.

Camera lucidas emerged in the early 19th century, and today, most vintage models come with large price tags. To use the device, artists look through a small prism of glass or mirror tilted at 45 degrees, which creates an inverted reflection of the scene directly in front of them. Rather than relying on freehand sketching, the aid allowed users to trace an image and easily create accurate and proportionate drawings.

Garcia’s new model includes a redesigned prism that produces a brighter image, with an optional shade lens and aperture control to adjust the light. The NeoLucida Plus is currently funding on Kickstarter, and rewards are going quickly.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article A New Camera Lucida Redesigns a Centuries-Old Artist’s Secret that Lets Users Draw What They See appeared first on Colossal.