Academic Travel Photography Contest

During the Spring Academic Travel trips students and faculty were encouraged to shoot photographs and then enter up to three images in a photo competition. ​Over 70 entries were submitted for the Spring contest.

The judges for the contest are TASIS photography instructors Kim Nelson and Frank Long. One grand prize is given and the winner for the Spring contest is senior Lara Hekimolgu for her image taken on the Art History Istanbul trip. The grand prize winner has a choice for their prize - a one-year subscription to David duChemin's online Photography magazine or a batch of Mrs. Nelson's freshly-made chocolate chip cookies.

A similar contest took place for the Fall Academic travel. Below is a gallery of selected images from the Spring contest. More images can be viewed here: Academic Photography Contests 2012-2013​

"New & Old Chairs" Exhibition

On Friday, January 18th there was an advance showing of the New & Old Chairs Exhibition in the Horst Dürrschmidt Gallery, Ferit Sahenk Arts Center. The chairs exhitbition will also be on display during the Winter Photography Show in the Palmer Center on January 26 - 27.

The chair is a classic design exercise, a necessary ‘problem’ for architects to ‘solve’ as they become acquainted with solid and void, fullness and vacancy, and the sculptural beauty of forms. Furniture is architecture on a small scale. Nowhere else is Vitruvius’s definition of “firmness, commodity and delight” more deeply and immediately felt than in the chair, and no other object is as unforgiving in the rigor of the demands it places on its designer.

The yearly trip to the Vitra Design Museum provides students with imaginative examples of the judicious employment of materials, the analysis of essential forms, and the careful consideration of ergonomics: all key design concepts. While students have sometimes had chairs produced at full size by local manufacturers, usually the process consists of their producing a 1-to-5 scale model in the material of their choice in the studio. In this they are also greatly stimulated by the Vitra miniatures collectibles they see on display at the Vitrahaus. The emphasis is on truth to materials and to task, structural honesty, elemental forms, and visual beauty-- furniture “for the eyes” as well as for practicality. The mix of playful enjoyment and purposeful work make this a natural project for young artists. (Submitted by Mark Aeschliman, Architecture & Drawing)

chairs graphic.jpg

Daisy Gilardini - Visiting Photographer

On Thursday, November 1, TASIS welcomed award-winning photographer and environmentalist Daisy Gilardini. Daisy gave a talk about her work followed by a slide show accompanied by live music by the Paetsch Family Ensemble. Prior to her lecture, Daisy visited the photography classes and shared her experiences as a polar photographer.

Daisy’s photography has been published in National Geographic, Smithsonian, BBC Wildlife, Audubon, The Telegraph, and Outdoor Photography, among others, and by Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund. She especially enjoys photographing the wildlife and landscapes of polar regions. Originally from Lugano, Daisy now lives in Canada. Here is an interview and slideshow of Daisy's work given through the Manfrotto School of Excellence Interview series.

Daisy's schedule in 2013 includes the following cold and beautiful locations:
January  31 - February 18, 2013 - Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica
February 18 - March 3, 2013 - Antarctic Circle Voyage

Visit Daisy's website to view more of her images:
http://www.daisygilardini.com


Aspiring photography students catch Daisy after her lecture for a quick photograph.

Aspiring photography students catch Daisy after her lecture for a quick photograph.

Gina van Hoof '96 - Visiting Alumni Artist

​Gina presents at an opening lecture for IB Visual Art Students.

It is such a wonderful thing to have an alumnus artist to come back and give the students the perspectives gained after working in the “real world”. Gina van Hoof ’96 currently lives and works out of Belgium as a photographer. Her work encompasses a wide range of projects with both photography and mixed media. Gina was here almost an entire week working with beginning photographers to the second-year IB Visual Arts students.

See images of her visit here. Gina gave a number of workshops on bookmaking. Many IB students and faculty attended and were able to make beautiful handmade books. Gina often uses handmade books to display and present her photographs.


View Gina’s work on her website: www.ginavanhoof.com