2010 Utah Ties Juried Exhibit includes BYU faculty and students

The 2010 Utah Ties Juried Exhibit opens on March 12, 2010, with an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Central Utah Art Center. Selected artists included BYU faculty members Sunny Belliston, Fidalis Buehler, and Peter Everett and part-time faculty Jeff Larsen, Allan Ludwig, Colin Nesbit, and Roland Thompson. Additionally, former BYU students Rob Adamson and Jenny Ostraff and current graduate student Amy Royer are included in the exhibit. Timothy Hawkinson, the juror, will be at the opening reception to speak about his selection process and announce the prize winners.

Adrian Pulfer receives third Platinum from Graphis

Adrian Pulfer, Associate Professor in Graphic Design, received a Platinum award from Graphis in January. This is Pulfer’s third Platinum award from Graphis in the past two years. Graphis, a platform for outstanding work in Design, Advertising and Photography, receives thousands of entries from around the United States and their Platinum award is not only the highest award offered by Graphis, but is also one of the most prestigious awards in the industry.

Pulfer’s current Platinum is his second awarded for his excellence in teaching. His first Platinum was for his personal work in developing advertising campaigns for Crate & Barrel. On average, Pulfer also enters 17 or 18 student projects to Graphis, and typically 12 to 14 of those entries are accepted. This is a remarkable ratio of acceptance and attests to both the strength of Pulfer’s teaching and the talent of the students in BYU’s graphic design program. Pulfer remarks that currently BYU’s graphic design program is being recognized among the top schools in the country, including Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, School of Visual Arts in New York City, and Rhode Island School of Design in Providence.

Greg Newbold receives Communication Arts and ADDY awards

Greg Newbold has recently received four awards for his paintings. "Zootopia," his painting created for Hogle Zoo, received an Award of Merit from the Communication Arts Illustration Competition. This competition is one of the most prestigious juried competitions for creativity in illustration and acceptance is an honor. “Zootopia” was selected, along with about 250 artworks, from an average of 6,000 entries and will appear in the July issue of the Communication Arts Illustration Annual.

For his series of paintings done for the Truth against Tobacco campaign, Newbold has earned three top awards at this year’s ADDY® celebration. ADDY® Awards is the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition. The series of paintings Newbold entered are spoofs on the classic game Clue and were awarded a Gold Medal in the illustration category, a Silver Certificate in the advertising campaign category, and also won the Juror's First Place Award.

Animation ranked with the best programs in the nation

The Independent highlighted BYU’s animation program in its recent article entitled “10 Most Innovative Animation Programs.” The Independent is a leading source of information for independent media-makers and in December 2009 it ranked BYU as one of the 10 best animation programs in the United States based on reputation, innovation, where graduates end up working, and interviews with leaders in the field. Although BYU’s Animation program is only eight years old, it has already received international attention—including praise from Pixar’s president Ed Catmull. In only six years of competing with their films BYU students have won nine student Emmys and four student Academy Awards.

The animation program is so strong because it focuses on core skills and large collaborative projects, comments Professor Kelly Loosli. This allows students to improve in the areas that they want to work on in the industry and also to learn about and help in other areas. Loosli also believes that BYU animation students are strong because the program is interdisciplinary. Animation students do not only take classes specific to the program, but they also take classes from other Visual Arts faculty, giving them a valuable breadth of experience.