2018 MIAD Faculty Exhibition highlights faculty talents, interests and creative practices

MILWAUKEE (September 10, 2018) – They were artists and designers first.

Long before MIAD’s faculty began teaching in the classroom, they were artists and designers with their own practices and projects. The 2018 MIAD Faculty Exhibition, which is on view through October 10, 2018 in MIAD’s Frederick Layton Gallery, highlights their personal work and showcases their accomplishments representing MIAD’s five majors: Communication Design, Illustration, Fine Arts, Industrial Design and Interior Architecture and Design. The work on display reflects the diversity and vibrancy found in the creative practice of each faculty member.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for the MIAD community at large to see the work of the people who drive the curriculum of the college,” said Leslie Fedorchuk, Writing & Humanities/Fine Arts Professor and Director of Service Learning.

Leslie Fedorchuk

She added, “For many of us, our research and practice is an active, ongoing conversation that enters into the classes we teach and the communities in which we serve.”

Fedorchuk’s own piece in the exhibit is a mixed media installation. It represents her own love of the Great Lakes and her visual research into the environmental regulations that have been rolled-back and repealed under the President Trump’s administration.

“The regulations impact the air we breathe, how clean our water is, our national park system and others (animals, plants, minerals) that we share ecosystems with,” she said.

Ben Dembroski

Ben Dembroski, MIAD’s Director of Emerging Technology, also went political for his contribution to the exhibit.

On the outside, his piece looks like an old-timey bomb. On the inside, a computer reads Donald Trump’s Twitter feed. Whenever Trump tweets anything about the media or fake news, the computer translates the tweet into morse code, which is then ticked out.

For Dembroski, it’s part of a larger body of work that explores how middle-aged white men deal with the erosion of their power.

Other works on view are a mixture of paintings, illustrations, sculptures and multimedia works.

Admission to the MIAD Galleries is free. Gallery hours are Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Participating faculty include:

Steve Horvath

Kyle V. James

Susan Estelle Kwas

Matthew W. Lee

John Matson

Jeremy McDonnell

Kim Miller

Lawrence Murphy

Zina Mussmann

Tom Noffsinger

Andy Pilarski

Matt Presutti

Maggie Sasso

Jill Sebastian

Adam Setala

Kate E. Shaffer

Naomi Shersty

Scott Taylor

Janelle VanderKelen

Jason S. Yi

Rina Yoon