2014 President`s Report - Kansas City Art Institute

Kansas City Art Institute
President’s Report 2013–2014
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Table of contents
3
Message from interim president
4
Patron Preview Party
Art of the Car Concours
5
Academy for Curatorial Studies
6Auxiliaries
Fifth-year program in art education
7
Sponsored Studio program
8
Banner year for CPS
9
Terrace honors Janet Miller
10
Faculty profiles
Milton Katz
Jill Downen
14
H&R Block Artspace
16
Donor profiles
Byron and Deanne McKeown
Rob and Marilyn Rymer
18Accomplishments
Alumni
Faculty
Students
34
Thank you to our donors
38
Financial overview
Published by the KCAI Office of Communications
Designed by Rhianna Weilert (’08 graphic design)
© 2014 by the Kansas City Art Institute.
All rights reserved.
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Vision
To be an innovative leader
in art and design education
Board of trustees
July 1, 2013–June 30, 2014
July 1, 2014–June 30, 2015
Officers
C. Stephen Metzler, chairman
William M. Lyons, vice chair
Tracy McFerrin Foster, secretary
Faye Davis, treasurer
Herb Kohn, at large
Pat McCown, at large
Daniel F. Musser, at large
Maurice Watson, at large
Officers
C. Stephen Metzler, chairman
Tracy McFerrin Foster, secretary
Faye Davis, treasurer
Herb Kohn, at large
Pat McCown, at large
Daniel F. Musser, at large
Members
Hugh Andrews
Robert Bernstein
R. Philip Bixby
Cathy Thompson Brents
J. Grant Burcham
Evelyn Craft
Allan S. Gray II
Howard Harris
Nancy Lee Kemper
Barbara Marshall
Susan Seidler Nerman
Margaret Silva
Mark J. Spencer
George Terbovich
Jay Tomlinson
Kathy Walter-Mack
Pam Woodard
Jacqueline Chanda
ex officio, president of KCAI
Julie Farstad
ex officio, faculty representative
Members
Hugh Andrews
Robert Bernstein
R. Philip Bixby
Cathy Thompson Brents
Thomas R. Dowling
Kristin Goodman
Allan S. Gray II
Howard Harris
Nancy Lee Kemper
Barbara Marshall
Susan Seidler Nerman
Joshua C. Rowland
Mark J. Spencer
George Terbovich
Jay Tomlinson
Kathy Walter-Mack
Pam Woodard
Chris Chapin,
Ex officio, faculty representative, fall semester
Julie Farstad
ex officio, faculty representative,
spring semester
Message from interim
president and board chair
The academic year that ended June
30, 2014, was one that saw considerable
accomplishment and yes, change, as it
marked the culmination of the threeyear presidency of Jacqueline Chanda,
who retired a few weeks into the current
academic year. We thank her for her
service to the college and wish her well in
her retirement.
As interim president of the college and
chair of the board of trustees, I believe
deeply in our mission and the important
role that KCAI plays in the cultural life of
Kansas City. I am passionate about KCAI
because of the involvement of our faculty,
staff, students and alumni in the life of the
community. Examples range from artwork
our alumni created and installed in vacant
inner-city lots to the involvement of our
faculty and students in preparations for the
30th anniversary gala of the Kansas City
Friends of Alvin Ailey, another passion of
mine. Our dedicated faculty and students,
supported by our great staff, are the creative
driving force for so much positive change in
Kansas City.
Highlights of the year just ended include
the financial success of our first Patron
Preview Party; the creation of three new
named endowed funds; the introduction
of a new post-baccalaureate program in
art education; the move of our Continuing
and Professional Studies program into
newly leased space at 46th and Walnut
streets; and, with the help of the
architecture firm BNIM, the successful
conclusion of a visioning process for our
campus master plan, which has set the
stage for an important new building for
the campus, to be the centerpiece for a
future capital campaign.
KCAI is poised for a new chapter. The
search for a new president has begun
in earnest, and by the time the 2015
academic year begins in July, we expect
new leadership to be in place. During
this process, we know that constructive
collaboration and an atmosphere of mutual
trust among faculty, administration and
staff are vital. I look forward to working
with all involved to ensure that we continue
to deliver an education of exceptional
quality to the students who pursue degree
and certificate programs with us.
We continue to be guided by our mission
— preparing gifted students to transform
the world creatively through art and design
— and by our vision — to be an innovative
leader in art and design education. I have
no doubt that working together we will
achieve all of our goals.
Photo by Kathy Disney.
Interim president
Chair, board of trustees
Mission
To prepare gifted
students to transform
the world creatively
through art and design
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Patron Preview Party makes debut;
second annual Patron Preview Party
set for Dec. 4, 2014
(From left) Steve Metzler, KCAI board of trustees chair;
Dennis Kiefer; Patsy Kiefer; and Marshall Miller, Concours
founder and chairman, celebrate the Kiefers’ first place win in
the People’s Choice awards. Photo by Mark McDonald.
“Hot rods” highlighted at Eighth
Annual Art of the Car Concours
More than 5,000 car lovers converged on the KCAI
campus June 22 for the Eighth Annual Art of
the Car Concours to view more than 220 vintage,
classic and special-interest vehicles, including
trucks, race cars, motorcycles, pedal cars and hot
rods belonging to collectors from throughout the
country. The Concours raises funds for student
scholarships at KCAI.
Studio departments throughout the KCAI
campus were open the night before the
traditional end-of-semester exhibition and sale
in December for a sneak preview for patrons,
whose donations supported student scholarships.
Decorated with sparkling white trees, white
lights and snowflakes projected onto the walls
and ceiling, Epperson Auditorium was a hub for
live music and a buffet supper.
The college’s second annual Patron Preview
will take place Dec. 4, 2014.
Patron Preview 2013
Presenting sponsor
Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation
Exclusive department sponsor
Belger Cartage Service Inc.
Ceramics
Anonymous Sculpture
Preview night department sponsors
Commerce Bank
Foundation
Golden Star
Illustration
Pam & Gary Gradinger
Creative Writing
Nancy & Herb Kohn/Bryan Cave Photography
Steve Metzler & Brian Williams Art History
Nerman Family
Animation
Sue Seidler Nerman
Graphic Design
Linda & Brad Nicholson
Painting
State Street
Ceramics
George Terbovich
Fiber
Ann & Frank Uryasz
Sculpture
Jane Voorhees
Printmaking
Scholarship sponsors
Robert A. Bernstein
Kansas City Power & Light
Patron sponsors
Kay & John Callison
Gregory Glore
Donald Hall Sr.
Michelle & Howard Harris
Helix
Carol & Dennis Hudson
Michael Huele
Peggy & Bill Lyons
Linda & Topper Johntz
Carol & John Kornitzer
Daniel & Ann Musser
Betsey & Rick Solberg
Sprint Corporation
Susan & Bud Vick
Pam & Mark Woodard
Again this year, event organizers arranged a
“Meet the Legends” panel discussion that covered
the emergence of the hot rod as a major form
of automotive expression in the immediate
post-World War II period. Participating in the
discussion were museum consultant and author
Ken Gross, whose books include “Art of the
Hot Rod,” “Hot Rod Milestones” and “So-Cal
Coupe,” and Pete Chapouris, president of So-Cal
Speed Shop and known for his many television
appearances on Speed TV and Velocity.
Nearly 40 awards were presented during the
Concours, including seven People’s Choice
Awards — five for cars and two for motorcycles.
Thousands of ballots submitted by people
attending the event determined these awards.
First place went to a 1934 Lincoln KB Semi
Collapsible Cabriolet owned by Dennis and
Patsy Kiefer of Memphis, Tennessee.
Save the date for the Ninth Annual
Art of the Car Concours:
Sunday, June 28, 2015.
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Photo by Mark McDonald.
Curatorial studies interns gather for lunch with Julian Zugazagoitia (back row, third from right),
director of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Photo courtesy of the museum.
Students explore what it would be
like to become a museum curator
The program provides specialized
training in the curatorial field
for students across the U.S. from
diverse backgrounds.
Four KCAI students participated in a 2014
summer academy in curatorial studies at the
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, thanks to
a new initiative funded by The Andrew W.
Mellon Foundation. Issac Logsdon (sophomore,
ceramics); Mary Kuvet (sophomore, painting);
Glyneisha Johnson (sophomore, painting); and
Mercedes Padro (junior, graphic design) had
all expressed an interest in pursuing museum
curatorial careers.
of Art in Atlanta and The Museum of Fine
Arts in Houston, in addition to the Nelson.
The program provides specialized training
in the curatorial field for students across the
U.S. from diverse backgrounds.
Applications for the Nelson internships
were received from colleges and universities
throughout Missouri and Kansas, and a
total of 15 participants were selected for the
summer academy. Michele Fricke, professor
of art history, served on the selection
committee. The nationwide curatorial
initiative involves a collaboration among the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the
Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum
Four students at each museum will later be
selected for curatorial fellowships, with two
at each museum named in fall 2014 and two
more chosen in fall 2015. The fellowships
are two-year commitments and include
mentoring activities during the academic
year and full-time summer internships. The
goal is for participating students to pursue
graduate degrees in art history or a cultural
studies field.
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KCAI Auxiliaries
Fireside
Members of the college’s Fireside Committee
raise funds to support KCAI’s annual fund
as well as the Fireside endowed scholarship
fund. The group’s 2013 fundraising event
took place in November at the Gallery, an
event space in Kansas City’s Power & Light
District. President of the organization in
2013–2014 was Cathy Brents.
The committee traces its origins to
December 1932, during the Great
Depression, when the college’s leadership
appealed to the community for support.
Prominent women from Kansas City
responded and met around the fireside in
the school’s main administrative building,
Vanderslice Hall. Fireside Committee
members have been working on behalf of
KCAI ever since.
Sketchbox
This educational auxiliary conducts
monthly events for members and the public
to increase awareness of artists in the
community as well as the Kansas City Art
Institute. Meetings are held in a variety of
locations throughout the year, including
artist studios, art galleries and homes. The
president in 2013–2014 was Marie Wilke.
Vanderslice
The Vanderslice Committee raises
funds specifically for the beautification
and restoration of historic Vanderslice
Hall, the college’s main administrative
building. Vanderslice Hall was built in
1896 for the August Meyer family and is
listed on the National Register of Historic
Places. It became the home of KCAI in
1927. The committee’s annual fundraising
event, “Palette and Palate,” took place
June 15 at the Oak Street Mansion Art
Hotel. The committee meets monthly
from September through May, excluding
January, and each meeting has a theme or
educational component. Members enjoy
a social, welcoming environment as they
work together in preparation for the annual
fundraising event. The president for 2013–
2014 was Heather Johntz, who continues in
the role for 2014–2015.
KCAI introduces fifth-year
certificate program in art education
KCAI this year unveiled a fifth-year postbaccalaureate program in art education for
students who aspire to teach art in Pre-K
through Grade 12 public school classrooms.
KCAI is the first and only art college in the
state of Missouri to offer such a program —
all others are based in schools of education.
The program is unique in its vision of
preparing B.F.A. graduates to become
artist/teachers — professionals who
approach teaching with the eyes of an artist.
“It is the supreme art of the
teacher to awaken joy in creative
expression and knowledge.”
— Albert Einstein
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To earn the certificate, students must
complete 28 credit hours, all of which can
normally be completed in one academic
year, including a summer semester.
Students who complete the program
will be qualified to receive certification
for teaching art in the state of Missouri.
Other states have their own certification
requirements, but often reciprocity for
certification is possible.
Funding from a variety of donors helped
make it possible for KCAI to launch the
new program. Support was provided by
Scott Francis, Francis Family Foundation;
Katie Wendel, Francis Family Foundation;
the Herbert Vincent Jones Jr. Foundation;
and the Sprint Foundation.
KCAI launches
Sponsored Studio program
Business partnerships are critical to
offering professional opportunities
for students. These opportunities are
presented in several ways, including
internships, guest lectures and business
advisory panels. During the 2013–2014
academic year, KCAI embarked on a new
series of partnerships under the banner
of Sponsored Studio. The program is
providing opportunities for businesses to
partner with KCAI in a way that meets our
students’ needs for educational experiences
while also providing our business partners
with a fresh approach to problem-solving
and research and development challenges.
The first Sponsored Studio class challenged
students to incorporate art into the design
of the new Capitol Federal Savings Bank
now open at 43rd and Main streets, near
the KCAI campus. Students worked with
the bank’s architects, Gastinger Harden
Walker Architects, to understand the
general design and then developed and
presented multiple solutions. Capitol
Federal chose an option that affords
customers the opportunity to enjoy a
rotating gallery of student artwork in the
bank lobby. Exterior art installations also
are planned for the future.
“The partnership between KCAI and
Capitol Federal is an example of becoming
innovative with our investment dollars
and incorporating a local flavor into our
projects,” said Kenneth Scott, first vice
president and director of facilities, security
and purchasing at Capitol Federal Savings.
“The experience has benefited the bank and
the KCAI students.”
Top right: Brian Bruns (third from left), vice president
and branch manager of Capitol Federal Savings, with
KCAI students (from left) Jennifer Su, Edwin Mendez
and Andrea Khoder. Photo by Mark McDonald.
The program is providing opportunities for businesses
to partner with KCAI in a way that meets our students’
needs for educational experiences.
Through the Sponsored Studio program
organizations are able to:
• Gain access to faculty and students
who see the world from a unique
perspective.
• Evaluate creative talent for internship
and employment opportunities.
• Capitalize on cross-promotional
opportunities for public relations and
marketing initiatives.
• Gain recognition as a patron of art and
design education.
The program generates revenue for the
college as well as scholarship opportunities
for students working on the projects. To
ensure success, each sponsoring partner
works directly with our students and
faculty during all phases of the project.
Studio visits, production tours and off-site
research are all important components that
contribute to the success of the Sponsored
Studio program.
Information about the Sponsored Studio
program is available from the college’s
advancement office.
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School for Continuing
and Professional Studies
experiences banner year
The Kansas City Art Institute’s Continuing
and Professional Studies program completed
one of its most successful years. Based on
total enrollments, CPS saw 3,322 paid
enrollments for the fiscal year that ended
June 30, 2014, compared to 3,032 for the
previous fiscal year, an increase of 9 percent.
One of the biggest successes for CPS this
past year was the introduction of the Art
Sofa series, started in May 2013. Since its
inception, 257 people have enrolled in the
classes, which are designed to provide an
introduction to art history for people who
have an interest in the field but who may
have been hesitant about actually enrolling
in a class.
Efforts to promote CPS through
advertising and media relations have also
been successful. In May, CPS received
952 clicks to its website from an ad that
both appeared and aired on Pandora, an
online music service. In July, that number
increased to 1,086 clicks. In all, the ad
generated more than 157,000 impressions.
Additionally, members from the CPS staff
and its instructors have been appearing on
KSHB’s “Kansas City Live” morning show
on a monthly basis since February to talk
about the various programs and classes and
provide art demonstrations.
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Many programs within CPS saw significant
increases in student enrollments. Enrollment
in programs for youth increased to 1,080
from 978 participants; adult programs rose to
1,009 from 930; programs for art educators
attracted 194 students compared to 150 for
the previous year — an increase of 22 percent
— and certificate programs in graphic design,
multimedia studies, integrated design, fine arts
and photography attracted 472 students this
year, up from 390 the year before, a 17 percent
increase. The recently introduced photography
certificate program alone enrolled 39 students.
Overall, CPS enrollment was up 9 percent
for the year, and net revenue increased by 40
percent to $137,000.
ENROLLMENT
LAST
YEAR
THIS
YEAR
Youth Programs
978
1,080
Adult Programs
930
1,009
Art educators
150
194
Certificate Programs
472
390
New terrace honors memory
of Janet Miller, former chair
of KCAI board of trustees
In fall 2013, KCAI celebrated the
completion of the Janet K. Meyer Miller
Terrace, which is located in the courtyard
east of Café Nerman. The terrace is
dedicated to the memory of the late Janet
Katherine Miller, who served 21 years on
the KCAI board of trustees, including
three years as chair (1993–1996).
The design includes a revision of the J.C.
Nichols Patio and adds a 5,000-square-foot
brick terrace, new tables, movable chairs
and a Wallace Fountain — an elaborate
cast-iron drinking fountain. Surrounded
by broad, cast-stone stairs, the patio has
been reworked to use polished concrete
pavement to match Café Nerman.
Stephen Rhoades of Vireo Architects was
the landscape architect for the project.
Rhoades said he selected materials that
would tie into Vanderslice Hall as much
as possible. Brick, concrete and cast-stone
pavers have replaced the former surface
of decomposed granite. The patio steps
now lead to an area where four Frontier
Elms, a new variety of elm tree, have been
planted to provide shade.
Design and construction of the terrace
was made possible with funding from
the William T. Kemper FoundationCommerce Bank, Trustee, in memory of
William T. Kemper Jr. (1902–1989), a
financier and philanthropist who served
KCAI as a trustee and a major supporter
for many years.
Right: Jonathan and Nancy Lee Kemper.
Photo by Mark McDonald.
The fountain is a copy of a famous design
by Charles-Auguste Lebourg, a sculptor
from Nantes, France. Such fountains were
installed in Paris in the late 19th century
under the guidance and patronage of Sir
Richard Wallace. The 10-foot-tall, castiron structure features four allegorical
figures (caryatids) standing on a pedestal
and holding a dome in an elaborate
architectural composition. Lebourg
created the four caryatids to represent
kindness, simplicity, charity and sobriety.
When a large button on the west side of
the fountain is pressed, drinking water is
distributed in a slender trickle that issues
from the center of the dome and falls into
a drain within the fountain pedestal.
Above: Photo by Tal Wilson (’81 photography).
The fountain is a copy of a famous design
by Charles-Auguste Lebourg, a sculptor
from Nantes, France.
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Milton Katz in the classroom.
Photo by Tal Wilson.
Faculty profile: Milton Katz, Ph.D.
Milton Katz, Ph.D.,
professor of history
and associate vice
president of academic
affairs at KCAI, has
spent a lifetime
writing books and
articles about those
who have made a difference in other people’s
lives and the world. His 40th anniversary at
KCAI is a time to celebrate the difference he
has made in the lives of his students.
Since 1974, Katz has been teaching
American studies; art, literature, and film
of the Holocaust; and peace and conflict
resolution at KCAI.
After completing his doctorate degree in
American studies at St. Louis University
in the spring of 1973, he taught for a
year at a community college in Benton
Harbor, Michigan.
“In the spring of 1974, I saw an opening
in American studies at the Kansas City
Art Institute,” he said. “I interviewed with
George Burris, the chair of the department
10
at the time, and with Hal Wert, who is
still teaching history here. What they were
saying and what the liberal arts department
has continued to do is allow everyone the
opportunity to teach their passion, to teach
what you love the most, as long as it fits into
the curriculum, and that’s what attracted
me to KCAI.”
When Katz came aboard, the liberal arts
program had already been in place since the
mid-1960s, but it was beginning to grow.
“The school was serious about hiring wellqualified people in liberal arts, especially
Ph.D.s,” Katz said. “I was one of the first
faculty members with a doctorate at the
school, and I think that was significant
because they wanted not only quality, but
frankly, they wanted the status of people
with terminal degrees.”
Over four decades, Katz has witnessed,
been a part of and even helped change the
course of KCAI’s history. Starting within
his own department, he aided in expanding
the curriculum. It led to students being
required to take at least one of the various
disciplines and offering two majors: art
history and creative writing.
Katz has authored several books including
“The History of the Kansas City Art
Institute: A Century of Excellence and
Beyond” and “Breaking Through: John
B. McLendon, Basketball Legend and
Civil Rights Pioneer,” as well as many
articles and book chapters including
“Esther Brown: In Pursuit of Human
Rights and Social Justice” in “John Brown
to Bob Dole: Movers and Shakers in
Kansas History,” 2006, and “A Desperate
Conversation: Art of the Holocaust” in
“Teaching the Shoah in the Twenty-First
Century,” 2004.
But Katz has seen one change that has left
him a bit discouraged.
“The students are as intelligent as they’ve
ever been,” he said. “They are insightful
and creative; otherwise, they wouldn’t be
here. They are intellectually curious. What
has changed is the high degree of cynicism
that I see today, which I abhor. They should
see a world of unlimited possibilities. Even
“It’s about expanding the mind
and opening the heart.”
— Milton Katz, Ph.D.
if they don’t reach those possibilities, they
should at least aspire to them.”
He uses a quote from Franz Kafka to help
make a point: “A book must be the axe for
the frozen sea within us.”
“It’s about expanding the mind and opening
the heart,” Katz said. “Wisdom is not
just about knowledge. You have to fight
sometimes to keep their attention. I’ve
screamed in class, I’ve cried in class. You do
what you have to do to make a point to get
them to understand the seriousness of the
educational mission. At times it’s difficult,
but never impossible.”
There are always students who have been
touched by his classes. He has had students
in his “Peace and Conflict Resolution”
class who say that it has literally changed
their lives.
“Every time I taught that class, there have
been some students who have said that it
was life-changing for them, that they’ve
been touched deeply by it, and I believe
it because you can see it,” he said. “It’s
lifelong learning. What we hopefully teach
is not just facts and knowledge itself, but
the love of learning, which lasts a lifetime.”
said. “I wrote an article, and luckily, it
won a Kansas history award. It was on
a white, Jewish woman named Esther
Brown — an example of an average person
who did phenomenal things and made
a difference in our society. She lived in
Merriam, Kansas, and was one of the
leading activists who integrated schools in
Johnson County, Kansas. She went on to
play a key role in the landmark Supreme
Court integration case, Brown v Board of
Education in Topeka, Kansas, in 1954. I
was glad to help play a role in making her
more prominent in people’s eyes.”
After 40 years, KCAI has become home
to Katz. That was never more evident
than when he became the first faculty
member to have received all three faculty
awards presented by the college. He won
the Special Projects Award in 1997, the
Excellence in Teaching Award in 2001
and the Distinguished Achievement
Award in 2007.
“I love it here,” he said. “I know it sounds
trite, but to me, it’s never been work. It’s
been a calling. The word ‘rabbi’ in the Jewish
religion is ‘teacher,’ so you can’t aspire to
anything better. I’m not a rabbi, but I always
think I’m in the same ballpark. It’s a joy, it’s
an inspiration, it’s a gift to be able to come to
a school like ours and teach the students.”
In 1978, an NBC miniseries called “Holocaust”
was aired. At that time, Milton Katz went to
George Burris, then chair of liberal arts at
KCAI, and said he wanted to teach a class on
this topic and do it through literature.
“George said, ‘Milton, we have very few
Jewish students, and no one will take your
class. The Jewish students don’t want to
hear it, and the other students couldn’t care
less.’ I said, ‘Fine, George, we’ll list it and
see what happens.’ Fortunately, it’s become
one of the more popular classes on campus
and has always been. It deals with moral
issues. It’s not just politics, it’s not just
about death, it’s about human endurance,
and it deals with the most significant issues
of our lives. Why wouldn’t you want to take
it? Fortunately, George was wrong.”
It has also led to one of Katz’s other
research endeavors, art of the Holocaust,
specifically art created by the prisoners in
the camps and ghettos during World War II.
Katz continues his love of learning through
his writings. As a person who came of age
in the 1960s, he was heavily involved in the
anti-war movement. Early on in graduate
school, he made the decision that if he were
ever a scholar and a writer, he would combine
his scholarship with his social and political
beliefs. So he made a conscious decision to
write about peace and about social justice and
people like John McClendon who made a
difference in society.
“I made a decision I needed to learn more
about the civil rights movement and
especially what was happening locally,” he
Holocaust studies a
decades-long focus for Katz
“I’m also interested in Holocaust survivors
who have continued to express this rupture
in society in their works,” he said, “not
just those who made art when they were
imprisoned, but those who have continued
to paint. They do it symbolically.”
“With a Blue Thread,” by Holocaust survivor Samuel Bak.
Image courtesy of the artist.
He is proud to be bringing one of these
internationally renowned Holocaust survivor
artists, Samuel Bak, and his work to KCAI
in spring 2015. In addition to a campus
visit, an exhibition is planned for March at
the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center.
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“Counterparts,” Jill Downen, 2011, lumber, plaster, polystyrene, latex, as seen at the
Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Image Courtesy of the artist and Bruno David Gallery.
“I see architecture as an extension of the body
— a metaphoric prolongation of self.”
— Jill Downen, M.F.A.
Faculty profile: Jill Downen, M.F.A.
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returned to academia at age 32, entering
When Jill Downen, assistant professor of
the M.F.A. program (sculpture) at
sculpture, joined the KCAI faculty three
Washington University in St. Louis as a
years ago, it was a kind of homecoming.
She earned a B.F.A. degree in painting from Danforth Scholar.
KCAI in 1989, is married to fellow artist
“While I was at Wash U., the theory classes
and ’87 painting graduate Charles Schwall
I took in the school of architecture started
and comes from a family in which an
to synthesize everything for me,” she said
aunt and uncle studied at KCAI. For this
of her transition into sculpture. “The
daughter of a professional sign painter and
journey
of an artist will sometimes require
gold leaf artist, painting came naturally; her
they leave all previous knowledge behind
evolution from painter to sculptor evolved
more slowly and was not without challenges. in order to forge new understanding. I
had to let go of painting — a somewhat
painful experience — in order to make
After graduating from KCAI, Downen
sculpture and installation art in sync with
spent 10 years teaching art and working
my concepts.”
in her studio in the St. Louis area. She
Downen, who received a Guggenheim
Fellowship in 2010, now describes herself
as an interdisciplinary artist whose
installations address the symbiotic
relationship between the human body
and architecture.
The sophomore sculpture majors also
recently visited The Studios Inc., where she
has been granted a three-year residency.
“I like the interdependent relationship
between art practice and teaching,” she
said. “For me, it’s an energizing, intellectual
exchange. I enjoy sharing knowledge, and I
love mentoring young artists.”
During the sophomore year, students
explore media, including concrete,
plaster, steel, wood, video and cast
metals. They make small-scale test pieces,
large-scale works and complete a series of
f lat works (drawings).
“The body is the primary vehicle one
“By the end of the sophomore year, they’ve
has for understanding the world,” she
identified seeds of ideas that are important
said. “I want to offer viewers immersive
to them,” she said. “Then, in their junior
Downen, who has responsibility for
environments that heighten the senses and
year they go deeper into their self-selected
sophomore sculpture students at KCAI,
ways of knowing that are often private
content.”
describes the sophomore year as “a critical
and experiential. I see architecture as
developmental year — a time of transition
Downen describes the students at KCAI as
an extension of the body – a metaphoric
and discovery for young artists.”
“really special.”
prolongation of self. In my visual language,
the city is flesh, and both people and
“I feel like a guide going on a journey with
“They think of themselves as artists,” she
buildings embody the nature of temporality. them,” she said of her students. “Their
said. “At KCAI, I have the opportunity of
work starts to shift into a research and
mentoring students who I know will be
Her large-scale installations often employ
development
model
in
terms
of
how
they
living a sustainable life of creativity. I’m
plaster and concrete “because they’re living
make and think. There are opportunities
confident there will be a return on the
materials and directly relate to architecture
for
deeper
understanding,
change
and
investment
the faculty is making in these
– they move, settle and are affected by
growth. The process can be uncomfortable
students. They are wired for creativity. The
gravity; they expand and contract; they are
because
their
preconceptions
begin
to
shift
joy
will come from seeing them take that
the flesh of the urban environment; steel
as their intellect is challenged. They learn
into the future.”
and lumber, by contrast, are the bones.”
that making art is as much a cognitive
process as it is a physical process.”
Downen incorporates field trips to art
galleries, museums and working artists’
studios into her curriculum. With her
affinity for the intersection of art and
architecture, she has arranged for KCAI
students to visit Zahner and other Kansas
City area companies that deal with
In June 2015, Downen will be faculty co-chair with Reed Anderson
materials and the built environment.
for the KCAI Art and Design Auction.
13
H&R Block Artspace hosts
wide-ranging exhibitions
Exhibitions at the H&R Block Artspace
range from introducing the work of
emerging artists in Kansas City to
premiering the work of important
international and global artists.
14
Exhibitions included:
Project Walls included:
“Performance Now”
Aug. 17–Oct. 12, 2013
“Show Me the Money”
by Ahram Park
“NEW, FOUR: Kansas City Art
Institute Faculty Biennial”
Oct. 26–Dec. 12, 2013
“Seven” by Luis Camnitzer (above)
“The Skin That Forms on the
Surface” by Colleen Burner
“Saints Stars & Selfies”
Feb. 22–April 2, 2014
Opposite page:
“2014 Annual B.F.A. Exhibition”
April 19–May 17, 2014
Top right: “Performance Now” exhibition. Photo by E.G. Schempf.
“2014 Kansas City Flatfile”
June 7–Sept. 27, 2014
Bottom right: Detail from “That’s What Friends Are For” by
Jaimie Warren (2013), as seen in “Saints Stars & Selfies.”
Image courtesy of the artist.
A few comments about
Artspace from the critics:
“‘Performance Now’ is an extraordinary
show, providing an opportunity to see
almost a decade’s worth of landmark
performances.”
— Alice Thorson, The Kansas City Star
(Aug. 30, 2013)
“Playfulness is just one way these varied
pieces end up cohering (in “NEW,
FOUR: Kansas City Art Institute
Faculty Biennial”) … It’s an exhibition
that rewards our urge to extract
meaning from some excellent new work.”
— Liz Cook, The Pitch (Dec. 3, 2013)
“The overall effect is as touching as it is
bizarre, making this 4-minute, 15-second
work an ambitious addition to (Jaimie)
Warren’s long-running celebration of the
importance of community. Warren’s video
is the highlight of ‘Saints Stars & Selfies,’
a group show of pieces inspired by historical
masterworks.”
— Alice Thorson, The Kansas City Star
(March 23, 2014)
15
“Over the years, many students have had
this experience of understanding how
to conceive of, organize and prepare a
proposal for the McKeown award,” she
said. “As a result, students have applied for
and received other awards — Windgate
Fellowships and the Regina Brown
Undergraduate Awards from NCECA, for
example. The McKeown Award has set a
precedent, provided encouragement and
helped create confidence in students that
this is something they can do, not only in
the department, but externally.”
“Being an artist is not an excuse for being
unable to communicate outside your area of
talent,” the McKeowns wrote in a statement.
“An artist needs to be able to understand the
real world and be able to communicate with
people purchasing their art, gallery directors
and all kinds of other patrons.”
Photo courtesy of Deanne and Byron McKeown
Deanne and Byron McKeown
For more than 50 years, the lives of Deanne
and Byron McKeown have been entwined
with the Kansas City Art Institute. Both are
alumni of the college — Deanne graduated
in 1960 with a B.F.A. degree in painting
and Byron graduated the same year with a
B.F.A. degree in design — and both have
provided significant support to KCAI over
the years in a variety of ways, including
Special Project Awards given annually to
ceramics and sculpture students.
Since 2002, the McKeowns have
contributed a total of $24,000 for Special
Project Awards in ceramics, and since 2005,
they have contributed $22,060 for Special
Project Awards in sculpture.
Each year, students in the two departments
apply for the awards, which provide funding
for students to acquire tools and materials
or undertake trips that will help further
their development as artists. For example,
winners of the 2014 awards purchased
sound equipment to use in upcoming
performances; woodworking tools to
complete a B.F.A. exhibition project; a
sewing machine to make large-scale
16
installations; and an anatomically correct
life-sized skeletal model needed to complete
an end-of-semester exhibition project,
among other projects. One student used his
award to travel to Yellowstone National Park
to observe the gray wolf for documentation
that informed a series of sculptures of
animals. In all, 10 students received the
awards in 2014.
Learning is at the heart of the awards
process, from start to finish. In late fall, the
chairs of the two departments explain the
application process to students.
“Part of the goal for this special project
is giving students a professional practice
opportunity,” said Cary Esser, chair of
ceramics. “The application process simulates
applying for a grant. This award allows
students to realize a project that is larger
in scope than a student could generally
accomplish with their own resources.”
Winners are selected by faculty judges in
each department.
Esser said the proposal experience has ongoing
benefits for students, building their confidence
to apply for and win national awards.
Michael Wickerson, chair of the sculpture
department, said, “The sculpture faculty,
past and present, have always valued the
McKeowns’ support. We would like to take
this opportunity to once again thank them
for underwriting these projects, none of which
would have been completed had the funding
they provided not been made available.”
McKeown said that he and his wife feel
very fortunate they have been able to spend
their entire lives in the arts, which directly
resulted from their education at KCAI. The
two artists, who live in Sedona, Arizona,
owned two galleries for nearly 30 years, are
now retired from the gallery business and
have more time to pursue their own work.
Looking back over their years at KCAI and
a lifetime in the arts, the McKeowns feel
their sponsorship of the Special Projects
awards has been a way to connect with and
encourage current students.
“This experience has been a joy,” they wrote.
“We feel we have made it possible for these
students to accomplish more in each project
than would have been possible otherwise.
We hope we are making an investment in
the future of these young artists.”
Marilyn and Rob Rymer
Inspired by the success of Massive Online
Open Courses, or MOOCs, at Stanford
and MIT, Rob Rymer, M.D., discussed the
possibilities for KCAI with the college’s
president. He and his wife, Marilyn Rymer,
M.D., had also met Hugh Merrill, professor
of printmaking at KCAI, and were attracted
to Merrill’s commitment to communitybased art. The convergence of these
inspirations, plus start-up funding provided
by the Rymers that matched funding by
KCAI, led to an online course that Merrill
will introduce next spring at KCAI.
Both practicing physicians — Rob Rymer
is an ophthalmologist and Marilyn Rymer
is a neurologist at the University of Kansas
Hospital — the Rymers are members
of KCAI’s Warwick Society. Their
participation has led to new friendships,
a tour of France and exposure to behindthe-scenes aspects of the art world in the
Kansas City area. They credit Mark and
Pam Woodard for introducing them to the
Warwick Society, and since joining several
years ago, they have also brought guests to
Warwick Society events.
“It’s great,” said Marilyn Rymer, who earned
a combined biology and art history degree
from Northwestern University in Evanston,
Illinois, while also completing her pre-med
coursework. “You go to places you would
never go and have an opportunity to meet
the artist. It’s socially fun, you learn a lot,
and we’ve met people we’re now friends
with in other ways.”
Rob Rymer’s interest in art dates back
to his childhood in Colorado, where his
mother had an interest in Native American
textiles and the art of the Southwest.
“Shared Visions: Explorations in
Community Art” is the name of the
printmaking elective that Merrill is
preparing for roll-out in spring 2015. The
three-credit-hour course will be offered
through Moodle, an open-source Internetbased learning program.
Merrill’s syllabus calls for modules
on social arts practice; community
art resources; perception and creative
observation; the role of the artist in
facilitating community arts actions;
DONOR
PROFILES
teaching creativity; collaboration; and
designing a project with a proposed
community.
In his introduction to the course, posted
online, he tells students, “You will be
working as individuals, as an educational
discussion group and as collaborative
creative artists.”
“We’re interested in taking creative
minds and putting this out there,” Rob
Rymer said. “Regardless of what the
content is, this type of activity will call
attention to KCAI.”
Start-up funding provided by
the Rymers led to an online
course that Hugh Merrill will
introduce next spring at KCAI.
Photo by Mark McDonald.
17
Highlights for 2012–2013:
Alumni, faculty and student
accomplishments
On the following pages is a
sampling of alumni, faculty and
student accomplishments from
the 2013–2014 academic year.
This overview is not intended to
be a comprehensive summary
but rather to give a sense
of the extraordinary level of
achievement, worldwide, by
individuals within these groups.
Congratulations to all, including
those not mentioned here!
“In Ascending Order,” Warren Rosser, 2011, oil paint on linen, 84 inches by 60 inches. Photo courtesy of the artist.
18
Alumni accomplishments
selected highlights
Asheer Akram (’07 sculpture) and Calder
Kamin (’09 ceramics and art history)
were the featured speakers at the Kemper
Museum of Contemporary Art’s Spotlight
Artist Presentation + Happy Hour: Art on
the Road in October 2013. They spoke
about using vehicles in recent art projects.
Ashley Ariel (’12 photography) had a solo
exhibition in spring 2014 at Plenum Space
Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri. Entitled
“Colorlust,” the exhibition consisted of
recent photographs that focused on the
interaction of color in natural habitats.
Crane Yard Studios, 2011 Tracy Ave. The
exhibition, which ran through January
2014, featured work by 20 artists over the
age of 40 and 20 artists under the age of 40
curated through a process that combined
invited and juried submissions.
“Adornment,” an exhibition at Belger
Arts Center in fall 2013, included work
by Shae Bishop (’12 ceramics), Ellen
Green (’98 painting) and Misty Gamble,
assistant professor of foundation. More
than two dozen pieces were on display in
this exhibition of works entirely from the
Belger Collection.
Paul Briggs (’96 illustration), story
supervisor, and Scott Peters (’02 animation),
character technical director, both worked on
“Frozen,” the Walt Disney film that won Best
Animated Feature during the 86th Academy
Awards presentation in March 2014.
Marlene Alexander (’68 painting) had work
in two exhibitions at The Attic Gallery
in Portland, Oregon, and the Tumalo Art
Nathan Alexander Bunch (’13 fiber and art
Company in Bend, Oregon. Alexander
history), Laedan Galicia (’13 illustration),
was in her 38th year as owner/teacher of a
Sarah Faye McPherson (’13 sculpture
Jennifer Boe (’01 painting and creative
children's art school, Creative Arts. Along
and art history) and Liz Mather (’11
writing) exhibited work in “We’ll Make
with her teaching, she has launched a
Out Okay,” which took place in fall 2013 at printmaking) and Autumn Randell (’12
healing arts program at the local hospital,
printmaking) artist collaboration joined
la Esquina in Kansas City, Missouri. The
which encompassed creating art with
other artists for KC Studio magazine’s
exhibition confronted everyday and streetpatients, selecting art for the walls and
KC+Connect Inaugural Group Exhibition
level concerns of the economic recession
doing three rotating art galleries. Since
in May 2014 at Leedy-Voulkos Art Center
(unemployment, debt, corporate greed,
retiring, she has created a similar program
in Kansas City, Missouri.
minimum wage rates and more).
for Partners in Care, a hospice program. In
November 2013, she finished a yearlong
Michael Dillon (’90 sculpture) created
Sondy Bojanic (’13 illustration) with John
online graduate certificate program with
Ferry, assistant professor of illustration, and “Ascension” from three tons of forged
the University of Florida, Arts in Medicine. Amy Erickson (’14 painting) with Jessie
stainless steel and iron for the city of
Based in Washington, D.C., she has rotated Fisher, associate professor of painting, were
Duluth, Georgia, and the Duluth Gateway
off of the Global Alliance for Arts &
Art Project through a donation from the
chosen to take part in the fourth annual
Health board after serving seven years.
AGCO corporation.
“TAPPED” exhibition at Manifest Gallery
in Cincinnati. In response to the call for
Charlotte Street Studio Resident Carolina
Work by 2013 Charlotte Street Awards
student/teacher pairings of recent work,
Aranibar-Fernandez (’13 painting) created
Fellows Mike Erickson (’99 painting
both Ferry and Fisher invited Bojanic and
“In•ter•ven•tion,” a temporary, site-specific
and printmaking), Erika Lynne Hanson
Erickson, respectively, out of a respect
installation on view in January 2014 at
(’06 fiber) and Paul Anthony Smith (’10
for their developing studio practice as an
Paragraph Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri.
ceramics) was on view from late November
homage to their work and critical inquiry
2013 to early February 2014 at Grand Arts
Eleven KCAI alumni were among 22 artists as KCAI students. Selected from more
in Kansas City, Missouri.
than 150 submissions, this national juried
granted year-long studio residencies by the
exhibition highlighted the artistic dialogue “Bruce Springsteen: A Photographic
Charlotte Street Foundation in Kansas
between eight student/teacher pairs from
City. They included Carolina AranibarJourney,” a traveling photography exhibition
a variety of institutions nationwide. The
Fernandez (’13 painting), Justin Beachler
curated by the GRAMMY Museum Los
exhibition ran from mid-December 2013 to Angeles, made its debut in April 2014 in
(attended), Chris Daharsh (’12 painting
mid-January 2014.
and art history), Lindsay Fernandez
Tulsa, Oklahoma, at The Woody Guthrie
(’13 painting), Amy Fredman (’05 fiber),
Center , featuring the photographs of Ed
Jessica Brandl (’06 ceramics and art
Madeline Gallucci (’12 printmaking),
Gallucci
(’13 photography). Gallucci’s
history), Guy Michael Davis (’03 ceramics),
Brett Ginsburg (’13 ceramics), Zach Miley
work also was spotlighted in a one-man
Misty Gamble, assistant professor of
(’13 painting), Dean Roper (’13 ceramics),
exhibition in summer and early fall 2014 at
foundation, Roberto Lugo (’12 ceramics),
Maegan Stracy (’12 fiber and art history),
the O. Winston Link Museum in Roanoke,
Lauren Mabry (’07 ceramics), Katie Parker
Elizabeth Woodfill (’11 painting) and Will
Virginia.
Entitled “Frames Between Fares,”
(’03 ceramics) and Bobby Silverman (’80
Meier (’13 painting and creative writing).
the exhibition is a photo essay from when
ceramics) exhibited work in “Ceramic Top
he was a taxi driver in New York during
40|2013” at Red Star Studios at the Belger
19
“Ascension,” Michael Dillion
“Sleeping Woman in a Red Dress,” Akio Takamori
“Homebones,” Skye Livingston
Fashion design by Maegan Stracy
“Bud: 7th Ave. Brooklyn NY,” Ed Gallucci
20
“Moving Mountains,” Sondy Bojanic
Self-portrait No. 20, Rachel Gregor
“Neon Nicodemus 2,” William Wilmott
the early 1970s. Six of the 40 photographs
in the exhibition are in the permanent
collection of the Brooklyn Museum.
In February 2014, Beth Galston (’78
sculpture) installed “Prairie Grass” at the
Northwest Service Center in San Antonio.
The permanent, large-scale public artwork
was inspired by watching the movement
of wild grasses in the wind. Other recent
exhibitions include “Dreaming Gardens”
(June–August 2014) at the Suffolk
University Art Gallery in Boston and
“Branching Out: Trees as Art” (September
2014–September 2015) at the Peabody
Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.
Erika Goering (’13 graphic design) and
Michael Van Jumper (’13 graphic design)
were nominated for the 2013 People’s
Design Award for “Protein Pods and a New
Coat of Paint.” The award is presented by
the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National
Design Museum. Their project was one of
only 20 designs that were promoted and
voted on in October 2013 by the American
public. While not selected as the final award
winner, “Protein Pods and a New Coat of
Paint” arose from an ongoing partnership
between KCAI’s graphic design department
and several organizations in the Rosedale
neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas. The
project targeted the issue of childhood
obesity through an environmental graphic
design makeover of Rosedale Middle
School’s cafeteria. Strategies included a
lunch line reversal, so healthy foods are seen
and acquired first, and creating two types
of menus with healthy items renamed to be
more appealing.
Rachel Gregor (’12 painting) showcased
“Barred Meadows” in spring 2014 at the
Subterranean Gallery in Kansas City,
Missouri. The exhibition of new oil
paintings explored ideas of nostalgia and
feminine identity.
Lea Griggs (’11 sculpture and art history)
and Shae Bishop (’12 ceramics and art
history) were two of six new artists-inresidence in fall 2013 at Red Star Studios in
Kansas City, Missouri.
“Breath,” by Chris Gustin (’75 ceramics);
“The Space Between,” work from
Warren Rosser, chair of KCAI’s painting
department; and “Slabs, Tubes & Holes”
by Arnie Zimmerman (’77 ceramics) were
on view in spring 2014 at Sherry Leedy
Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Missouri.
Ben Harle (’12 ceramics and art history),
Matt Jacobs (’10 sculpture and art history)
and Dean Roper (’13 ceramics) showed
work in “The Tyranny of Good Taste,” an
exhibition presented in spring 2014 by the
Charlotte Street Foundation at la Esquina
in Kansas City, Missouri.
Deborah Kamy Hull (’75 painting)
exhibited work in “Community of Artists
Annual Juried Exhibition” (2014) and the
“Off the Wall Annual Juried Exhibition”
(2013) at the Danforth Art Museum in
Framingham, Massachusetts. In December
2013, Hull was awarded the Artists
Resource Trust Fund Grant, given to
artists living in the northeastern section of
the country who are age 35 or older, have
demonstrated substantial commitment and
who have a financial need.
In summer 2014, work by Kate Hunt (’79
sculpture) was featured in an exhibition
entitled “APEX” at the Portland Art
Museum in Portland, Oregon.
Calder Kamin (’09 ceramics and art
history) was selected for an artist-inresidency program in summer 2014 at
the Beach Museum of Art in Manhattan,
Kansas. She created work related to native
prairie plants and animal species while
engaging with museum visitors during the
museum’s inaugural Open A.I.R. (Artists
in Residency). She led hands-on activities
for children and adults, answered questions,
created digital drawings based on research
on the ecology of the tallgrass prairie and
projected digital imagery of local flora and
fauna onto the gallery walls. During the
2013–2014 academic year, she was involved
with the Utah Museum Of Contemporary
Art’s Art Truck exhibition, in which visitors
to Salt Lake City could aid their avian
neighbors by participating in Kamin’s
project, “Impact Proof.” Using Kamin’s
stencil designs, participants created paper
decals for use in helping to prevent birds
from colliding into windows.
Jo Kamm (’07 ceramics) showed work
in an exhibition in fall 2013 at Red Star
Studios at the Belger Crane Yard Studios in
Kansas City, Missouri. For this exhibition,
Kamm joined fellow members of Kansas
City’s juggling community by integrating
porcelain sculpture with the finely tuned
skills of circus arts.
Katie Kaufman (’12 fiber and art history)
was one of the featured designers during
the fashion show portion of the Emerald
City Steampunk Expo in November 2013
in Wichita, Kansas.
Karen Keifer-Boyd (’78 painting) received
the June King McFee Award from the
Women’s Caucus of the National Art
Education Association at the organization’s
national convention in San Diego in March
2014. Keifer-Boyd is a professor of art
education and women’s studies at Penn State.
According to a statement from NAEA, the
award honors “an individual who has made
distinguished contributions to the profession
of art education with an exceptional and
continuous record of achievement in scholarly
writing, research, professional leadership,
teaching or community service.”
José Luis García Eguiguren (’05 graphic
design) won two awards from a worldwide
competition in packaging design at the
Pentawards in Barcelona, Spain. He won
bronze and silver awards in two separate
categories for his company Gworkshop
Design from Ecuador, the first Ecuadorian
company to be recognized at this awards
ceremony. The awards, considered the
Oscars of the design world, recognize the
most original and innovative packaging in
the world. The winning projects became
part of Book Packaging Design 3, produced
and developed by Taschen publishing, and
his designs were incorporated into other
exhibitions held in various locations around
the world, including the international trade
fair Labelexpo Europe 2013 in Brussels.
21
Theresa Kasun (’88 painting) was selected
as one of five finalists of the New York
Academy of Art poster contest for the 2013
Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The
poster was on display at Madison Square
Garden through mid-February 2014 and
was available in a set of cards that included
the winner and each of the finalists.
Liz Largent (’09 ceramics and art
history) created a ceramic quilt that
she and her family donated to the First
Presbyterian Church in Saginaw, Michigan,
in celebration of the church’s 175th
anniversary. The piece is comprised of four
3-foot-by-3-foot panels depicting apostles
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The
congregation dedicated the quilt in 2013.
Largent crafted the terracotta faces at her
studio in Kansas City.
Nicholas Missell (’12 sculpture) was selected
by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, which
is headquartered in Leesburg, Virginia.,
to receive an arts award that provides
up to $50,000 a year toward tuition and
stipend for graduate studies. Missell was
one of 20 scholars chosen from among 131
nominations submitted by colleges and
universities across the United States.
Skye Livingston (’12 fiber) had her
work featured in “Homebones,” a solo
exhibition in spring 2014 at The Hown’s
Den in Kansas City, Kansas. Livingston’s
experiential installation continued her
investigation of nourishment within the
process of self-reparation and autonomy.
She also had a solo exhibition in summer
2014 at Project Space in Kansas City,
Missouri. Entitled “Citrus Paradisi: of
flesh & skin,” the experimental exhibition
explored the idea of healing oneself,
focusing on the elements of nourishment,
tension and fragility. At the heart of this
exhibition lies the grapefruit, utilized by
Livingston as a metaphor for the human
body. Large-scale prints of grapefruit
skin, juxtaposed by various grapefruit
edibles, provided viewers with a hands-on
experience. The project was funded in
part by ArtsKC. Also at Project Space was
22
“Figure Obscura,” a group show Livingston
curated to showcase unique depictions
of the body and figure. Artists with work
in the exhibition included the following
KCAI alumni: Rachel Gregor (’12
painting), Molly Kaderka (’11 painting
and art history), Krystal Kuhn (’11
painting and Community Arts and Service
Learning certificate), Katy McRoberts (’12
fiber and Community Arts and Service
Learning certificate), Andy Ozier (’13
illustration), Yulie Urano (’11 fiber) and
Teal Wilson (’12 printmaking).
Work by Nathan Mabry (’01 ceramics)
was on view at Cherry and Martin in Los
Angeles in spring 2014. It was Mabry’s
fourth solo exhibition with the gallery.
Megan Mantia (’06 printmaking and art
history) and Leone Reeves (’03 ceramics)
taught a performance production/
collaboration workshop at the Paris College
of Art in summer 2014. The emphasis of the
two-week course was on the development
and encouragement of new theory and
practice in performance and production.
A glass-walled labyrinth designed by
sculptor, conceptual artist and writer
Robert Morris, who studied at KCAI in the
late 1940s, was installed in spring 2014 in
the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park on the
grounds of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of
Art. The installation marked the beginning
of a six-month-long celebration of the 25th
anniversary of the park. “Glass Labyrinth”
is the first permanent Robert Morris
labyrinth installed in the U.S.
In March 2014, Richard Notkin (’71
ceramics) received an honorary membership
award from the National Council on
Education for the Ceramic Arts. The
presentation took place during NCECA’s
annual conference in Milwaukee.
“Honorary members are individuals who
have made an outstanding contribution to
the professional development of the ceramic
arts in accordance with criteria established
by the board of directors,” the NCECA
website stated.
Two KCAI alumni were awarded Full
Project Awards ($5,400 grants) from
Rocket Grants, which are funded by the
Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual
Arts. Cambria Potter (’12 painting) won
for 50/50, a space for exhibition, dialogue
and curated programming in two shipping
containers in the West Bottoms of Kansas
City, Missouri, with associated billboard
and digital archives. Charlie Mylie (’09
interdisciplinary arts and art history),
Lindsey Griffith, and Colin Bright Eagle
O’Keefe won for Guest Writer’s Revenge
custom computer program, which generates
humorous scripts on the fly from popular
TV shows and films. Two KCAI alumni
were awarded R&D Project Awards
($2,000 up front, with an additional
$3,400 contingent upon a return proposal
for implementation). Jo Kamm (’07
ceramics) won for Func-artCommons. He
set up a system to share functional art and
design objects made by local craftspeople
through the community. Erin Zona (’02
printmaking) won for the Zz School of
Print Media, an alternative school focusing
on college-level printmaking and art history
for a one-year pilot program.
Helen Otterson (’97 ceramics) and
Bernadette Torres (’91 ceramics) were
chosen to show work in an exhibition
entitled “In Full Bloom,” which took place
in spring 2014 at Baltimore Clayworks
Maryland. Otterson and Torres were two
of 41 artists exhibiting work in the show
and were selected from more than 80 artists
who submitted a total of 300 pieces.
Andy Ozier (’13 illustration) and
Tierra Nelson (’13 illustration) received
scholarship awards from the Society of
Illustrators national student competition.
Awards were presented in May 2014 in
New York. Ozier received the $2,500 SOI
Board of Directors Award for “Double Bass
Sketchbook Spread,” and Nelson received
$1,000 in memory of Lila Dryer for “Babe
in the Woods.”
Shawn Powell (’05 painting and art
history) opened his first solo exhibition,
“Blue Tomorrows,” at Chapter NY in New
York in winter 2014. In addition, he was
featured in Forma, an online publication
that was posted in January 2014.
work by Paul Anthony Smith (’10 ceramics).
The review was based on Smith’s first solo
exhibition, “Transcience,” which took place
in spring 2013 at ZieherSmith in New York.
the Belger Arts Center, KCAI and Barry
Friedman Ltd. of New York, the show
included work previously exhibited at Barry
Friedman, along with newer work created
specifically for Belger Crane Yard Studios.
The exhibition also included lithographic
prints that Takamori created with master
printer Michael Sims, founder of the
Lawrence Lithography Workshop.
Sean Starowitz (’10 interdisciplinary arts)
was selected to serve as a guest curator
for Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition’s
“Momentum Tulsa.” The show, which took
Hiram Alfredo Rodriguez-Mora (’83
place in fall 2014, spotlighted Oklahoma
painting) was featured in an online
Brandon Waltman (’10 animation)
artists age 30 and younger. Attendees
magazine called Cruce, published by
illustrated his second book, “No Biggy!,”
encountered film, performance, new
Universidad Metropolitana out of San Juan, media, installation, music and more. In
written by Elycia Rubin.
Puerto Rico.
addition, Starowitz and Alex Elmestad (’07
interdisciplinary
arts) received a grant from “That’s What Friends Are For,” an
CJ Schrat (’11 photography) was part of
exhibition of work by Jaimie Warren (’02
The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts for
the Diesel reboot campaign, which was
photography), was reviewed in April 2014
“Bread for Work,” an ongoing project the
featured in the July 11, 2013, edition
in
The New York Times. The show had
two artists developed. The programming
of The New York Times. Diesel is an
appeared at The Hole in New York.
infrastructure in “Bread for Work” revolves
apparel company geared toward a younger
around bread being used as barter tokens
Terri Wheeler (’96 painting) exhibited her
demographic. The campaign, a reinvention
in
the creative economy. Starowitz also
work in “Some More Flowers” in March
of the company’s brand, was developed as a
was
named
one
of
three
recipients
of
the
2014 at the Underground Gallery at The
way to gain recognition for young artists.
2014 Charlotte Street Visual Artist Award
Kansas City Artists Coalition in Kansas
Sandy Scott (attended 1961–1962) received
Fellowship, receiving an unrestricted cash
City, Missouri.
the Briscoe Museum of Western Art’s Legacy
award of $10,000. Work by the Fellows
William Wilmott (’08 painting) hosted
Award for lifetime achievement. The award
was featured in fall 2014 at the Nerman
a First Friday in February 2014 at The
was presented in March 2014 in San Antonio, Museum of Contemporary Art at Johnson
Guild
in Kansas City, Missouri. Willmott
Texas, where the museum is located. In
County Community College.
collaborated with his father, Kevin
2013, Scott was selected by Southwest Art
Maegan Stracy (’12 fiber and art history)
Wilmott, a Lawrence, Kansas-based
magazine as one of the 10 most prominent
debuted her spring and summer 2014
filmmaker, who showed his new film,
people in Western art. After leaving KCAI
collection
at Fashion Week San Diego in
“Destination: Planet Negro!”
in the early 1960s, she worked as an
October 2013. The collection was focused
animation background artist for the motion
Ceramics Monthly featured “V,” a piece
on wearable garments inspired by streetpicture industry. She turned her attention
by Maura Wright (’13 ceramics), in
wear trends and unique textures. The artist
to etching and printmaking in the 1970s
the September 2013 issue as part of the
incorporated
materials
such
as
rubber,
vinyl
and to sculpture in the 1980s. She has won
publication’s 2013 Undergraduate Showcase.
and water into her designs.
awards for sculpture and etching, and her
monumental “Presidential Eagle” is installed
Figurative sculptures by Akio Takamori
at the entrance to the Clinton Presidential
(’76 ceramics) were on view in summer
“Glass Labyrinth” by
Library in Little Rock, Arkansas.
2013 in “Akio Takamori: LUST” at Red
Judy Goldstein Richard (’79 sculpture)
received a 2013 Pollock-Krasner
Foundation Grant.
The International Review of African
American Art recently published a review of
Star Studios in Belger Crane Yard Studios
in Kansas City, Missouri. Co-sponsored by
former student Robert
Morris was installed at
the Nelson-Atkins.
23
“Creativity Lives Here,” David Terrill
“Light Ramp (Device),” (detail), James Woodfill
“Starburst 5,” Laura Berman
“Frenzy,” Jim Sajovic. Image courtesy of Todd Weiner
Gallery.
“Space Gate,” Caleb Taylor
“Assembly
Unknown,” Maura
Cluthe
“Cloudy,” Brett Reif
“Manhattan Bridge New York,” John Ferry
24
Faculty accomplishments
and Vancouver, British Columbia.
selected highlights
Work by James Brinsfield and Laura
Berman was on display in spring 2014 in
two solo exhibitions at Haw Contemporary,
Kansas City, Missouri. “Self-Titled”
by Brinsfield, a lecturer in painting,
investigated the emotional, gestural work of
painters such as Jackson Pollock. Stars were
the inspiration for “Pulsar,” an exhibition
by Berman, professor of printmaking.
Corey Antis, assistant professor of painting;
Miki Baird, former adjunct professor of
sculpture; Cary Esser, professor and chair
of ceramics; Rashawn Griffin, assistant
professor sculpture; Diana Heise, assistant
professor of digital filmmaking; along
with alumni Ricky Allman (attended) and
Linda Lighton (’89 sculpture) participated
in “The Center is a Moving Target,” an
exhibition highlighting artists whose
evolving practice and works speak to the
impact of and meaningful shifts in the
term “regionalism” in contemporary art.
The exhibition was on view April through
August 2014 at Kemper at the Crossroads
in Kansas City, Missouri. Antis also had
a solo exhibition in winter 2014 at Haw/
Contemporary, Kansas City, Missouri, and
his work was included in fall 2013 a threeperson show at Galerie Zurcher in New
York and in winter 2014 in “Crosscurrents
in Contemporary Abstraction” at Taylor
University in Upland, Indiana.
Laura Berman, professor of printmaking,
had a solo exhibition entitled “Rotations”
on view in winter 2014 in the Main Gallery
at the University of Central Missouri in
Warrensburg, where she also conducted a
gallery talk.
Anne Boyer, assistant professor of liberal
arts, gave readings in fall 2013 at the Poetry
Project at St. Mark’s Church in New York,
St. Bonaventure University in upstate New
York, at the Typo Festival in Fayetteville,
Arkansas, and in Philadelphia. In summer
2013, she was an invited reader at The
East Bay Poetry Summit, an international
poetry festival with more than 40 poets,
showcasing multiple venues in Berkeley
and Oakland, California. At the Public
School of Oakland, she gave a solo reading
of the 100-poem series she wrote in 21
days, and she was one of four invited guests
to present a paper and give a reading at
“Beyond Oakland,” a conference exploring
the relationship of poetry and politics in
Kansas City, Missouri; Detroit; Montreal;
Kelly John Clark, lecturer in printmaking,
participated in several exhibitions in 2014,
including “Sum of Us,” a group show at
the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts
in Omaha; “Synchronized,” a group show
at City Ice Arts in Kansas City, Missouri;
and “Sunday Painter” at Greenlease
Gallery at Rockhurst University, also in
Kansas City, Missouri.
Maura Cluthe (’93 illustration), associate
professor of illustration, was selected for
inclusion in The Society of Illustrators
show “Illustrators 56.” Her work,
“Assembly Unknown,” was on display in
winter 2014 during the first part of the
two-part annual exhibition at the Museum
of American Illustration at the Society
of Illustrators in New York. The exhibit
featured works by leading contemporary
illustrators worldwide, selected by a
prestigious jury of professionals.
Cyrus Console-Soican, assistant professor
of creative writing, gave a poetry reading
in December 2013 at the University of
Chicago as part of The Renaissance Society’s
“Suicide Narcissus” exhibit. In addition,
together with co-translator Paula ConsoleSoican, he published “The Devil’s Grinder,”
a translation of the poems of Romanian
political figure Mircea Ionescu-Quintus.
Jonah Criswell, special instructor in
painting, attended a one-month residency
program in June 2014 in Berlin. While
there, he participated in group exhibitions
and researched potential faculty-led travel
abroad programs.
Paul Donnelly, assistant professor of
ceramics, taught a two-week ceramic
intensive in summer 2014 at Visual Arts
Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua,
New York. He also curated “Taming
Nature,” a group exhibition at Red Star
Studios at Belger Arts Center, a show
that included works by Donnelly as
well as by KCAI alumni Guy Michael
Davis (’03 ceramics), Ryan Fletcher (’10
ceramics), Meredith Host (’01 ceramics),
Brad Johnson (’94 ceramics), Matthew
Jorgenson (’10 ceramics), Katie Parker (’03
ceramics), and Daniel Teran (’07 ceramics).
Donnelly’s own work was featured on
the cover of the February 2014 issue of
Ceramics Monthly, and pieces by Donnelly
and Rain Harris were on view in December
2013 in “Confluence” at Red Star Studios at
the Belger Arts Center.
Jill Downen (’89 painting and printmaking),
assistant professor of sculpture, spent the
first part of June 2014 in Mount Vernon,
Illinois, where she and Dara Katzenstein, a
recent sculpture and art history graduate
of Washington University in St. Louis,
installed new sculptures in the GoldmanKuenz Sculpture Park at Cedarhurst
Center for the Arts. Earlier in the year,
she exhibited a site-specific installation
titled “Alignment” at American University
Museum in Washington D.C. The
installation was part of a group exhibition
entitled “Sightlines,” curated by Tim Doud.
In conjunction with the exhibition, Downen
was a visiting artist for the spring 2014
semester, presented a public lecture about
her art and worked with graduate students
in a seminar and studio visit format. In fall
2013, she had an installation on view in
“Place is the Space,” marking the start of a
yearlong celebration of the 10th anniversary
of Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis’
critically acclaimed building.
Rebecca Dubay, assistant professor of art
history, was invited to participate in an
interdisciplinary symposium at Bryn Mawr
College in Pennsylvania in April 2014. She
presented new work entitled “Mapping Sites
of Conflict: Mark Bradford, Julie Mehretu
and Zarina Hashmi.” In June 2014, she
25
Donnelly’s work was
featured on the cover of
the February 2014 issue
of Ceramics Monthly
26
presented a paper at the international,
interdisciplinary conference “Things to
Remember: Materializing Memories in
Art and Culture” at Radboud University
Nijmegen, The Netherlands. The title of
her paper was “Ana Mendieta: Body Tracks
and the Referential Return.”
“Under the Orange Sky,” an exhibition of
work by Julie Farstad, associate professor of
painting, was the inaugural exhibition in May
and June 2014 at PLUG Projects in Kansas
City, Missouri. Her work explored themes
of childhood, religion and mysticism, with
paintings, both in oil paint and fabric, which
focused primarily on the doll as subject.
“New World Ionas,” a solo show of new
work by Russell Ferguson, associate
professor of foundation, was on view in
fall 2013 at the Telephonebooth Gallery
in Kansas City, Missouri. Continuing a
series of narrative figuration but currently
drawing with graphite on paper, this body
of work incorporated multiple points of
view and created encapsulated scenes using
analog methods of production, imagination
and weaving of content with context.
The Gladstone Arts Commission
presented the work of John Ferry, assistant
professor of illustration, in the Gladstone
Community Center Public Art Space as one
of their featured artist exhibits. The show,
entitled “Roots,” was on view in fall 2013.
Jessie Fisher, associate professor of painting,
and Scott Seebart, lecturer in painting
and ceramics, were among a 16-member
collective working under the name
Dialoghi dell’Arte, or A Discourse on Art,
whose work was on view in June 2014 at
the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas
City, Missouri. The exhibition was the start
of a 2014–2015 international tour that will
travel to the Guilin Museum in China, the
SACI Gallery at Palazzo dei Cartelloni
and Montecastello di Vibio in Italy. Fisher
and Seebart also will have a two-person
exhibition in summer 2015 at SACI’s
second gallery space at the Jules Maidoff
Center for the Visual Arts.
from late September 2013 through early
Along with Misty Gamble, assistant
February 2014 at the Tucson Museum
professor of foundation, Fisher and
of Art in Arizona. In June and July
Seebart completed an exhibition of works
2013, Gamble exhibited “Luminosity,”
in summer 2013 during a Guangxi Arts
“Decadence” and “Luxuriant” from her
Institute Residency at Qinzhou Huayi
body of work “Abject Reverie” during the
Nixing Pottery Company and Bangmin
show “A Selection of Echt Gallery Artists”
Nong Studios in southern China. A newly
at the Echt Gallery in Chicago.
formed artists’ collective, made up of eight
artists and educators from the United States
Diana Heise, assistant professor of
and China, lived, worked and traveled
photography and digital filmmaking,
together in an intensive environment that
participated in the Indian Ocean
centered its focus on sculptural form. The
Conference
in March 2014 at
exhibition marked the first in a series of
Stanford University in California. The
international residencies and exhibitions for
conference emphasized the strengths
this group. The group will work together
in the United States in the summer of 2015, of multidisciplinary research, bringing
moving between Memphis and Kansas City, together environmental and historical
archaeologists, historians, anthropologists
Missouri, meeting again in Kansas City
and artists. Heise discussed part of the
later that year for the 50th anniversary of
film “Lame La Kone (the Hand That
the National Conference for the Education
Knows),” on which she is currently working.
of Ceramic Arts. Additionally, this group
In addition, Heise’s work was featured in
has been invited to return in the summer
Drain
magazine.
of 2016 with the possibility of additional
invited American artists for the purpose of
“Driven by Winds,” a film by Doug Hudson,
expanding the residency program.
associate professor of animation, was
released in February 2014. The film is a
Misty Gamble, assistant professor of
nine-minute, digitally-animated portrait of
foundation, taught a figurative sculpture
a year. “Conceptually, the idea was to create
workshop in June 2014 in Rome. Entitled
an animated portrait of how I experience
“Reverie, Rome and the Self-Referential
the passing of a year, with the emphasis
Bust,” the workshop provided participants
being on my lifelong spiritual connection
with an opportunity to work in a
to autumn,” Hudson said. The film was
shared studio and create a once-fired
conceived and designed to be projected on
clay sculpture that explored different
large-scale surfaces such as drive-in movie
hand-building techniques and surface
screens or the sides of large architectural
treatments. She also was published in the
facades. Hudson is submitting the piece
new Lark Books 500 series “500 Figures
to
film festivals and scouting locations for
in Clay, Volume 2,” which included a
four-image, two-page spread. This was her screenings. To view the film, visit
www.drivenbywinds.com.
fourth publishing with Lark. In addition,
Gamble was chosen as a semi-finalist for
the “Ceramic Top 40 | 2013,” presented
by Ferrin Contemporary and Red Star
Studios, on view November through
January at Red Star Studios in Kansas
City, Missouri. The show featured 20
artists over the age of 40 and 20 artists
under the age of 40 curated through a
process that combined 475 invited and
juried submissions from 22 countries. Her
work “Tan Hands” was featured in “A
Show of Hands,” an exhibition that ran
Joel Jenkins, an instructor for KCAI’s
School of Continuing and Professional
Studies, received an Excellence in Education
award from the Northland Regional
Chamber of Commerce for his work in the
CPS Multimedia Certificate Program.
Milton Katz, Ph.D., professor and associate
vice president for academic affairs, was
one of three Rockford University alumni
to receive an Award of Distinction from
the university in October 2013. According
27
George Timock was
accepted as a member
of the International
Academy of Ceramics
to the university’s website, the award is
given to alumni for fulfilling the ideals of
the school and bringing honor and esteem
to the university in one or more of the
following ways: by their vision, dedication
and initiative in a purposeful endeavor,
by their responsive and sustained efforts
in community improvements, or by their
notable achievements in a profession. Dr.
Katz, who celebrated his 40th anniversary
at KCAI in spring 2014, teaches American
studies; art, literature and film of the
Holocaust; and peace and conflict resolution.
Karen McCoy, associate professor of
sculpture, had work in an exhibition that
opened in June 2014 at Epsten Gallery
at Village Shalom in Leawood, Kansas.
Entitled “Re-Imagine,” the group show
included work by two KCAI alums —
Miles Neidinger (’00 sculpture) and Matt
Jacobs (’10 sculpture). In addition, McCoy’s
work was included in the 2014 Flatfile
Exhibition at the H&R Block Artspace at
KCAI — drawings started at a recent stay
at the Bogliasco Foundation in Liguria,
Italy. The subject of the drawings was
landslides. In summer 2013, she spent five
weeks as an artist-in-residence at a music
festival in the Blue Ridge Mountains
near Charlottesville, Virginia. Along with
Robert Carl, composer-in-residence, they
led a series of Sight and Sound Walks that
were open to the community and festivalgoers. For the walks, McCoy carved a set
of 10 hand-held wooden listening trumpets
made from burls of box elder, elm, maple
and oak, all of which grow in the region. In
addition, she had a solo show at Chroma
Projects Art Lab in Charlottesville.
Cyan Meeks, assistant professor of
photography, filmmaking, animation and
digital media, along with MK12 partner
and designer Shaun Hamontree, directed
the music video “Romance Dawn” for the
band Radkey. The video premiered on
NME TV in the United Kingdom. Fellow
filmmaker and cinematographer Chris
Durr (’12 digital filmmaking) along with
Steve Gardels (’09 digital filmmaking)
and Taylor Wallace (’13 photography)
28
also were part of the collective effort.
Inspired by Radkey’s love for graphic
novels and the world they encompass,
zoetrope, text and color effects were
employed to create a “hyperdelic” video.
The video also received praise in Spin
magazine, stating, “The whole video is
like a splash page set in motion.”
Hugh Merrill, professor of printmaking,
and Jim Sajovic, professor of foundation,
had work on view in “The Gallery Show”
in spring 2014 at the Todd Weiner Gallery,
Kansas City, Missouri. In addition,
Merrill exhibited work in spring 2014 in
“Butterfly Effect” at the Kemper Museum of
Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri.
Wilbur Niewald’s exhibition of “Still
Life-Figure-Landscape” was on view in
spring 2014 at Haw Contemporary in
Kansas City, Missouri. Niewald (’49
B.F.A., ’53 M.F.A.) is professor emeritus
at KCAI, where he taught for 43 years,
including as chair of the painting and
printmaking departments.
Brett Reif, associate professor and
director of foundation, participated as
a panelist in the Kansas Foundation in
Art Theory and Education Organization
regional conference in spring 2014 at Fort
Hays State University. His presentation
was entitled “Technology Fusion.” In
fall 2013, he had an exhibition of work
entitled “Bathworks” at Du Mois Gallery
in New Orleans. The show was featured
in the Sept. 17, 2013, issue of Perversion
magazine. The exhibition showcased
tile works from Reif ’s “Bedlam, Bath &
Beyond” series, drawing on imagery from
the body and from bathroom architecture.
Miguel Rivera, associate professor and
chair of printmaking, made a presentation
in March 2014 at the University of
Colorado Boulder at Crossing &
Connecting: A Three School Printmaking
Event for MoPrint 2014. In addition,
Rivera was part of a panel at the Southern
Graphics Council International Conference
that same month in San Francisco.
Warren Rosser, professor of painting, had
an exhibition in winter 2014 at Sherry
Leedy Contemporary Art, Kansas City,
Missouri. The show was entitled “The
Space Between.”
Jim Sajovic, professor of foundation,
showed work in fall 2013 in the exhibition
“Hix Fragments & (pash’n)” at the Todd
Weiner Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri.
In fall 2013, Jordan Stempleman, lecturer
in creative writing, was named one of “The
Top 200 Advocates for American Poetry”
by Seth Abramson of The Huffington Post.
Stempleman was selected for his Common
Sense Reading Series.
Missouri Bank’s Crossroads branch
bank debuted four new large-scale
commissioned images by Kansas City
artists Rie Egawa and Caleb Taylor,
special instructor in foundation, on their
“Artboards” in March 2014. Taylor created
the east-facing Artboard to “contribute
to an ongoing investigation of the act of
extraction for perceptual effect.” Taylor
said the work features an intricate
photographic layering technique, wherein
he documented architectonic paper
structures in arrangements that respond
to his observations of constructed spaces
and rhythms within urban grid layouts. In
addition, in winter 2014, Taylor presented
new work at dm contemporary in New
York. It was his first one-person show with
the gallery and his first one-person show in
New York. The exhibition featured acrylic
and oil paintings on canvas from Taylor’s
ongoing Space Gate series.
fiberglass insulation and helped to build a
giant kiln using the product.
Digital Print Exhibition and KC Studio
hosted a Cover Release Party in February
David Terrill, assistant professor of illustration, 2014 for Michael Wickerson, associate
professor and chair of sculpture, to
had an advertising piece he created for the
celebrate a cover story in the March/April
American Advertising Federation-KC’s Addy
issue of KC Studio about Wickerson’s
awards selected to be displayed during the
“FIRE OVER KANSAS” project.
annual American Institute of Graphic Arts
Wickerson worked on the project with
KC design exhibition and competition in
Jaroslaw Rodycz and Erik Meulenbelt of
September 2013. The piece, “Creativity Lives
Holland. In addition, Wickerson exhibited
Here,” was chosen as one of 76 out of 400
artwork in January at Naked Architecture
entries submitted.
and Workshop of Wonders in Holland and
George Timock, professor of ceramics, was
in February in Krakow, Poland.
accepted as a member of the International
Jim Woodfill, assistant professor of
Academy of Ceramics. A 10-member jury,
painting, has completed numerous projects
composed of members of the academy, met
in the last couple of years, including “Light
in September 2013 in Geneva to review
Ramp,” a permanent public artwork at the
85 applications for membership. Only 51
Crosstown Substation in downtown Kansas
applications were successful.
City, Missouri, commissioned by KCPL.;
Pauline Verbeek-Cowart, professor and
Carver Bank Project, a collaborative effort
chair of fiber, received the first place award
of Bemis Center and Theaster Gates
in fall 2013 in the Wichita National All
in Omaha, Nebraska, where he worked
Media Craft Exhibition, sponsored by The
to build “improvisational” furniture;
Wichita Center for the Arts. Juror Harlan
and “Sum Minus,” a temporary project
Butt selected Verbeek-Cowart’s “Silk Vortex” installation at La Esquina in collaboration
from among 90 works on exhibit. The show with David Dowell, principal, el dorado
included works in ceramics, enamel, fiber,
inc. He acted as a design team member
glass, wood and jewelry.
in collaboration with el dorado for the
redesign of the Main Street Bridge over
The year 2014 marks the 75th anniversary
I-670
downtown. This bridge was originally
of the year Europe faced what Winston
part of the Pedestrian Strands project and
Churchill called “the gathering storm”
was
being replaced to facilitate the new
— a period of escalating political tensions
street car system. In addition to these
that culminated in the German blitzkrieg
projects,
he completed a commission in
of Poland and the outbreak of World War
Omaha at the new Temple Israel for the
II. Hal Wert, professor of history, spoke
Ner Tamid (Eternal Light) in the main
about several of the key moments from
sanctuary and is now working on a project
this memorable year in January 2014 at the
in
the same city with Min | Day Architects,
Kansas City Public Library. The program
in which he is designing lighting and
was entitled “1939: Into the Abyss.”
furniture for Blue Barn Theater, a project
Tracie Whiting Kipper, lecturer, who
entitled “Stagecraft.” Woodfill, along with
teaches Japanese at KCAI, was in Japan in
Matt Wycoff (’02 sculpture), showcased
summer 2014 with three KCAI students,
work in the exhibition “Drift” at the
Paul Kisling (’13 animation), Hikari
Beta Pictoris Gallery in Birmingham,
Okawara (’14 animation) and Hiromi
Alabama. Finally, he participated in two
Kanada (senior, ceramics). Based in
different group shows at Dolphin Gallery.
Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki, Japan, the group
All of these projects can be viewed at
was interpreting at a factory that makes
jameswoodfill.com.
29
“Monster Mosh,” Kelsey Wroten
“Layered Depths,” Kahlil Irving
Ag Day poster, Brittany Plachecki
“Double Bass Sketchbook Spread,” Andy Ozier
“Hairdress,” Shenequa Brooks
“Bok,” Kelsey Borcherding
30
“Resteesen,” Melanie Sherman
“Babe in the Woods,” Tierra Nelson
Student accomplishments
selected highlights
(Years/majors are as of spring semester 2014)
Cassandra Allen (junior, illustration), Luis
Arias (junior, painting),
Blaze Christopher
(junior, painting), Abraham Diaz (senior,
painting),
Amy Erickson (senior, painting),
Jennifer Green (sophomore, sculpture),
Brandon Kintzer (senior, sculpture),
Katerina Landwher (junior, painting),
Tess Lawson (senior, painting),
Samantha
Ludwig (senior, painting), Juliana Lynn
(senior, painting),
Knaide Rosenberg
(sophomore, ceramics), Taylor Wallace
(’13 photography) and Molly Kaderka (’10
painting) all had their work featured in
“Site as Seen” in fall 2013 at the Undergrads/
Underground gallery at the Leedy-Voulkos
Art Center, Kansas City, Missouri.
Christen Baker (senior, ceramics) was
selected by the National Council on
Education for the Ceramics Arts to
present a lecture during the 2014 NCECA
conference in Milwaukee. A part of
the Student Perspectives lecture series,
Baker’s presentation was titled “Clay: The
Everlasting Memento.” She explored how
the significance of clay objects in daily life
is deeply rooted beyond the physical object,
with an ability to depict, mimic and evoke
memory through narrative, form, function
and image.
Twelve works created by nine KCAI
illustration students were accepted into
the Society of Illustrators national student
competition. According to Steve Mayse, chair
of illustration at KCAI, only about 200 works
from 9,000 national entries were accepted.
He noted that the previous year’s seniors as
well as current students were eligible for the
competition. Juniors Kelsey Borcherding
and Kelsey Wroten and Andy Ozier (’13
illustration) each had two pieces accepted into
the competition. Class of ’13 graduates Celina
Curry, Claire Faulhaber and Tierra Nelson;
senior Emmy Jennings; and juniors Spencer
Pullen and Clinton Walker each had one
work accepted into the competition.
Briana Bosworth (senior, photography),
Casey Holden (senior, photography) and
Victoria Meyers (senior, photography and
creative writing) opened an exhibition in
April 2014 as part of their thesis entitled
“Continent: three bodies of environment
and experience.” The show was in a newly
renovated gallery space called The Red
Lady, Kansas City, Missouri.
Brianna Bosworth (senior, photography)
and Casey Holden (senior, photography)
were selected to show work in the
exhibition “Survey of the Plains” at the
University of Kansas Art and Design
Gallery in December 2013.
Shenequa Brooks (senior, fiber) and
Melanie Sherman (senior, ceramics), won
2014 Windgate Fellowships. The $15,000
fellowships are awarded annually to 10
senior students, nationwide, working in the
field of craft. The fellowship program is
supported and administered by the Center
for Creativity, Craft and Design, based in
Asheville, North Carolina. Brooks used
her fellowship to travel to the Volta region
in Ghana to study with master weaver
Sebastian Dayi in Afiadenyigba and to
learn about traditional Ghanaian textiles.
She also traveled to Atlanta to attend the
Bronner Bros. International Hair Show
and the Madam C.J. Walker Museum
to research contemporary hairstyles for
African-American women. Sherman used
her fellowship to travel to Asia, where she
explored the origins of porcelain, evaluating
the qualities of Asian wares and studying
the commonly used materials, designs
and production techniques of craftsmen
in Japan and China. She also participated
in a five-week residency at the Pottery
Workshop in Jingdezhen. This is the second
time a KCAI ceramics major has won the
Windgate Fellowship and the third such
fellowship for a student from the KCAI
fiber department.
Shenequa Brooks (senior, fiber) displayed
work during a solo exhibition in April at the
Silver Screen Salon, Kansas City, Missouri.
The exhibition, entitled “Synthetic Ties,”
focused on heightening and beautifying the
undertone of synthetic hair in the AfricanAmerican hair culture while exploring the
interaction of African-American women
and their hair.
Kimberly Davidson (senior, sculpture and
art history) spoke in May in the museum
store of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
on the topic of woodturning. The program
was part of a series entitled “The Artist
Is In,” which provides opportunities for
the public to see the handmade process of
an artistic piece and allows insight into
how much time and attention goes into
creating each piece. Davidson showed a
video demonstrating her studio process and
brought carving tools to help the audience
better visualize the physical work of making
a wooden bowl.
Sondy Bojanic (’13 illustration) with John
Ferry, assistant professor in illustration
and Amy Erickson (senior, painting) with
Jessie Fisher, associate professor in painting,
were chosen to take part in the fourth
annual “TAPPED” exhibition at Manifest
Gallery in Cincinnati. In response to the
call for student/teacher pairings of recent
work, Ferry and Fisher invited Bojanic and
Erickson, respectively, “out of a respect
for their developing studio practice as an
homage to their work and critical inquiry
as KCAI students.” The exhibition, which
opened in December 2013, focused on
the relationship between art students and
their professors. Chosen from more than
150 submissions, the show highlighted the
artistic dialogue between eight student/
teacher pairs from institutions that included
Indiana University, Bowling Green
University and Arizona State’s Herberger
Institute for Art, among others.
The producers of the play “JFK: A Ghostly
Evening” selected a poster designed by
Katherine Dodson (junior, illustration)
for the November 2013 opening of the
show at the Just Off Broadway Theater
in Kansas City, Missouri. Students in
Hector Casanova’s “Paper & Ink” class
had partnered with MeltingPot KC, an
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32
“Fields,” Kelsey Borcherding (junior, illustration)
organization that aims to produce or assist
in producing original works by local, ethnic
talent. The students’ first assignment was to
create posters for the upcoming play. The
students who participated in this project all
received tickets to the preview night of the
show, where their work was exhibited at a
small, informal reception.
Kahlil Irving (senior, ceramics and
art history) was named a finalist for
the 2014 NICHE Award, sponsored by
NICHE Magazine. He also was one of a
few chosen undergraduates for the 2014
National Student Juried Exhibition at the
National Council on Education for the
Ceramic Arts conference that was held in
March in Milwaukee.
Emily Kenyon (senior, fiber) was
interviewed in January 2014 on KKFI-FM
Radio. The focus was Kenyon’s “American
Dreamgirls” series. Kenyon’s work consists
of costume design, stop-motion animation
and community collaborations. In addition
to her studio practice, she has collaborated
with artists in the performance realm
including Paul Mesner Puppets, Stonelion
Puppet Theatre and ArtSounds. She also
has been involved in community projects,
such as writing and designing for The
Bohemian magazine, a collaborative mural
project for the Miami Children’s Hospital
and in a costuming project for Hello Art in
Kansas City.
Kristopher Martin (junior, illustration),
Spencer Pullen (junior, illustration) and
Jacob Robinson (junior, illustration) were
chosen to work with the National World
War I Museum at Liberty Memorial to help
design a concept for a donor wall. According
to Steve Mayse, illustration chair, they were
picked during their sophomore year and the
challenge was to come up with a unique,
creative and workable solution, visually, for
the wall. In fall 2013, they presented their
3-D model solutions to the museum’s CEO
and vice president of development.
Three KCAI junior-year printmaking
students participated in the Invitational
Print Exhibition in February 2014 at the
Nashville Print Revival in Tennessee.
Daiana Oneto, Samantha Mendoza and
Kevin Schuette exhibited work alongside
students from 15 other universities
and colleges at Two Tone Gallery in
Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Brittany Plachecki (senior, illustration)
won the 2014 National Ag Day poster
competition with artwork she describes as
reminiscent of “a quilt pattern, with the
Earth as the sun, playing a critical role in
feeding the entire world.” The winning
artwork was on display in March 2014 at
National Ag Day events in Washington,
D.C. In addition to having her artwork
selected for the 2014 poster, Plachecki
received a $1,000 Successful Farming
magazine scholarship.
Monica Roesner (junior, graphic design),
was named a 2014 “Student to Watch” by
Graphic Design USA magazine. Her photo
and profile appeared in the January 2014
issue of the publication.
A sculpture by foundation student Nick
Ruby was installed in the law offices of
Bryan Cave LLC, Kansas City, Missouri.
“Art,” as the piece has been dubbed, is on
the 38th floor of the building, in new space
recently acquired by the firm. Herb Kohn,
a partner in the firm and a member of the
KCAI board of trustees, saw the work at
the college’s end-of-semester exhibition in
December 2013, during a Patron Preview
event, and acquired it for Bryan Cave.
Two seniors from KCAI’s ceramics
department, Melanie Sherman and Joey
Watson, were awarded Regina Brown
Undergraduate Fellowships from the
National Council for the Education
of the Ceramic Arts. NCECA awards
six fellowships annually, three to
undergraduates and three to graduate
students. This year, for the first time, two
students from one undergraduate program
received fellowships. Sherman and Watson
were recognized during the NCECA
conference, which took place in March
2014 in Milwaukee. Students in the KCAI
ceramics department have been awarded
Regina Brown Fellowships in five of the last
six years, but having two winners in one
school year is unprecedented, according
to department chair Cary Esser. Sherman,
from Grayslake, Illinois, is using her
fellowship funds to research 18th century
European porcelain in visits to Dresden,
Germany, home of the Meissen porcelain
factory, and other historical sites. Watson,
from Phoenix, has an interest in ceremonial
objects of ancient and contemporary
cultures and is using his fellowship to study
the collections of the Metropolitan Museum
of Art, the American Museum of Natural
History and other institutions in New York.
Kelsey Wroten (junior, illustration) worked
on a project for DC Comics and had a page
of her drawings published in the comic
book “Justice League #23.3: Dial E.” The
issue came out in September 2013.
KCAI ranked #6 among
top 20 animation
programs in Midwest
AnimationCareerReview.com has ranked
KCAI sixth among the top 20 animation
and game design schools throughout the
Midwest. The Midwest region was defined
as Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois,
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri,
Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and
North Dakota. Hundreds of schools in the
U.S. that offer programs geared toward
animation were considered. Selection
criteria included:
• Academic reputation
• Admission selectivity
• Depth and breadth of the program
and faculty
• Value as it relates to tuition and
indebtedness
• Geographic location
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Thank you to our donors
Giving Circles for cumulative gifts received
July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014
President’s Circle
Gifts of $50,000 or more
Stanley H. Durwood Foundation
Hallmark Corporate Foundation
Linda and Topper Johntz
Mrs. Robert A. Marshall
Mr. Marshall V. Miller
Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation
Ms. Margaret H. Silva ’85
Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts
William T. Kemper Foundation
Visionary
Gifts of $25,000–$49,999
Mr. Dick Belger and Ms. Evelyn Craft
Fireside Committee
Francis Family Foundation
Arvin Gottlieb Charitable Foundation
Ms. Catherine Asher Morgan ’98
J. B. Reynolds Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. John F. Zander
Innovator
Gifts of $10,000–$24,999
Aristocrat Motors Co.
H & R Block Foundation
Bryan Cave LLP
Capitol Federal Savings
City of Kansas City, Missouri Neighborhood Tourism
Devemopment Fund
Commerce Bank
Mr. Robert E. Gould and family
Mr. William C. Hammond III
Herbert Vincent Jones Jr. Foundation, Bank of America
Kansas Speedway
Mr. and Mrs. Herbert M. Kohn
Suzanne Aron and Joseph Levin
Mr. Stephen A. Metcalf ’72
Mr. C. Stephen Metzler and Mr. Brian Williams
Missouri Arts Council
Sue Seidler Nerman
Mr. and Mrs. Bradley W. Nicholson
Nordstrom Inc.
Oppenstein Brothers Foundation
Sosland Foundation
The Japan Foundation
Advocate
Gifts of $5,000–$9,999
Mr. Darren Abbott
Baron BMW
Bernstein-Rein Advertising Inc.
Mr. Robert A. Bernstein
Mr. and Ms. Jim Cox
Ms. Kathy Cox
Dorothy F. ’93 and William H. Curry
GE Foundation
Golden Star Inc.
Pam and Gary Gradinger
Hagerty Insurance Agency LLC
Halls Kansas City
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Shirley & Barnett C. Helzberg Jr.
Shirley & Barnett Helzberg Foundation
Mr. Henry J. Herrmann
Mr. John B. Hodgdon
Ms. Mamie G. Kanfer Stewart ’04
and Mr. R. Justin Stewart ’03
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan M. Kemper
Mr. and Mrs. William M. Lyons
Mr. Roger Morrison
Mr. Richard Morrison
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel F. Musser
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis E. Nerman
Mr. and Mrs. Jerome S. Nerman
Seidler Foundation
State Street Bank and Trust
George Terbovich
Mr. and Mrs. Frank D. Uryasz
Jane Voorhees
Mr. and Mrs. Clyde F. Wendel
Mark and Pam Woodard
Believer
Gifts of $1,000–$4,999
Anonymous
Ameriprise
Mr. and Mrs. Dick M. Anderson
André’s Confiserie Suisse
Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Andrews
Aon Risk Solutions
Art Study Club
ARTSKC Regional Arts Council
DeVette and Dr. Lillard Ashley
Automotorplex Kansas City
Bank of Kansas City
Mr. and Mrs. G. Kenneth Baum
Mr. Irvin V. Belzer and Mrs. Sue McCord-Belzer
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis A. Berey
Mr. and Mrs. Bart S. Bergman
Bluescope Foundation, N.A.
BNIM Architects
Cathi and David Brain
Mr. and Mrs. Tim Brake
Mr. Robert D. Brents and Mrs. Catherine T. Brents ’73
Mrs. Jordan F. Bushman
Mr. and Mrs. John W. Callison
Mrs. Christa A. Cavanaugh
Dr. Jacqueline Chanda
Ms. Patricia A. Chasnoff
Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Cohen
Mrs. Eileen Cohen
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Copaken
Dr. and Mrs. Ira Cox
Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Davis
Mr. and Mrs. Larry Dickerson
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Donovan
Mr. Philipp Eirich and Mrs. Melanie Sherman ’14
Mr. and Mrs. Saul Ellis
Arthur & Carolyn Elman
EPR Properties
Hon. and Mrs. Arthur Federman
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Flanigan
Gail’s Harley Davidson
Mr. and Mrs. Kirk A. Gastinger
Mr. and Mrs. William Gautreaux
Mr. Gregory M. Glore
Mrs. Glenda Goodman
Gould Evans Associates
Greater Kansas City Community Foundation
Mr. John Groendyke
Mr. and Mrs. Donald J. Hall Jr.
Mr. Donald J. Hall Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Howard J. Harris ’71
Mr. and Mrs. James B. Hebenstreit
Helix Architecture + Design
Ms. Leslie K. Hendrix ’77
Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Herman
Mr. and Mrs. William L. Hess
Mr. and Mrs. Roger Hibbard
Highwoods Properties Inc.
Jack and Karen Holland
Ms. Joan J. Horan
Bill and Ann Howie
Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Hudson
Mr. Michael Huele
Mr. David H. Hughes Jr.
Mr. and Ms. Mark P. Johnson
Kansas City Power & Light Company
Mr. and Mrs. Ward A. Katz
Kawasaki Motors Mfg. Corp.
Mr. and Mrs. John C. Kornitzer
Mr. and Mrs. William B. Kort
Mr. and Mrs. Gary B. Krings
Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Kunz
Ms. Myra Kyrasik
Sandy and Joel Leibsohn
Mr. and Mrs. Ross W. Lillard
Ms. Susan Lordi Marker and Mr. Dennis Marker
Mr. and Mrs. Michael R. Lyon ’75
Manns Restoration Inc.
Master Craftsmen Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Kirk T. May
Mr. Patrick McCown
McCownGordon Construction
Mr. Michael J. McDermott
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. McDonnell
Mrs. Joyce McInerney
Byron ’60 and Deanne ’60 McKeown
Mr. and Mrs. C. Patrick McLarney
Meguiar’s Inc.
Mrs. Elaine Merriman
Merriman Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Merriman
Missouri Bank & Trust Co.
Mr. and Mrs. James L. Moffett
Bill and Sara Morgan Family Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. William V. Morgan
Ms. Sherrill A. Mulhern
Mr. and Mrs. John D. Muller ’73
Dr. and Mrs. Robert A. Nash
Nichols Co. Charitable Trust
Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Norden
James B. Nutter & Company
Mr. and Mrs. Gregg D. Ottinger
Peterson Manufacturing Company
Polsinelli PC
Mr. and Mrs. Richardson K. Powell
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Rainen
Rash McReynolds Foundation
Sandy and Randy Rolf
Drs. Robert and Marilyn Rymer
Mr. J.B. Saunders III
Mr. Thomas L. Schneider ’68
Sketch Box Committee
Ms. Lora Smith
Mr. and Mrs. Frederick M. Solberg
Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Sosland
Sosland Companies Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Morton I. Sosland
Mr. Timothy S. Sotos
Linda and Fred Soucie
Mr. Mark J. Spencer
Sprint Corporation
Sprint Foundation
Dr. and Mrs. Jack L. Stuber
Mr. and Mrs. William D. Sullivan
Tension Envelope
The Stueck Family Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Jay Tomlinson
United Way
Vantrust Real Estate LLC c/o Colliers International
Mr. and Mrs. Bud Vick
Mr. Maurice Watson, Esq.
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Weiner
Weld Racing LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Frank J. Wewers
Wholesale Banners
Mr. and Mrs. Ted G. Wiedeman
Dr. and Mrs. Douglas J. Willhoite
Mrs. Twyla R. Wilson
Mr. Michael Wright
Ms. Gina Young
Friend
Gifts of $250–$999
A&A Royal Auto Trim
Alaskan Fur Company
Mr. Burnside Anderson
Art & Frame Warehouse
Mr. Perry D. Atha
Bank of Blue Valley
Bank of Kansas City Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Barrow ’63
Bo Ling’s Chinese Restaurant Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Jim J. Brewer
Brighton Retail
Mary Bruck, Ph.D.
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen K. Bubb
Mr. and Mrs. J. Grant Burcham
Mr. and Mrs. John M. Burgess
Cafe Trio
Carlton Plaza Condo Association
Ms. Sharon Carter
CBIZ
Centric Projects
Mr. Frank J. Cherrito
Dr. Robert L. Claassen, D.D.S.
Mrs. Sherry Cromwell-Lacy ’72 and Mr. James W. Lacy
Mr. and Mrs. Don Culp
Design Mechanical Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Dickey
Mr. and Mrs. David Dowell
Mr. and Mrs. Timothy M. Dunbar
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald B. Finney
Mr. and Mrs. Chris Foster
Mrs. Theresa Freilich and Dr. Bradley Freilich
Mr. Gerald W. Friend
Mr. Anthony Frizzo
Mr. Ignacio Galarza
Gallagher Metzler Insurance
Mr. and Mrs. J. Peter Gattermeir
George’s Imports, Ltd.
Mr. David M. Hartley
Mr. Gary R. Hartman
Mr. William Haw
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Hildreth
Mr. Bob Hindson
Mr. and Mrs. John E. Hoffman
Mr. and Mrs. Michael R. Holdgraf
Mr. Lynn C. Hoover
Kenny Howard
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Hunt
Dr. Anton K. Jacobs and Mrs. Jean R. Jacobs
Mr. and Mrs. Leon Jacobs
Jacor Contracting Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Donald E. Jeffers
Johnson County Automotive
Kansas City Better Homes and Gardens
Ms. Judy C. King
Mr. and Mrs. Steve Klein
Mr. Steven Koenig and Ms. Anastasia Condron
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lammers
Mrs. Adele Levi
Mrs. Barbara A. Lewis-Godfrey
Kit Lindsay
Lindsay Transmission LLC
Mr. William G. Lovell ’59
Dr. and Mrs. Charles M. Luetje
Mr. Thomas W. McIntyre
Dr. and Mrs. Lon C. McCroskey
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas C. McKenna
Mr. and Mrs. Bud McLeroy
Metro Ford Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. David Mitchell
Mr. Larry V. Mokofsky ’60
Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Monson ’60
Mr. Jackson S. Morisawa ’49
Janet Niewald ’76 and David Crane
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Nixon
Mr. and Mrs. James B. Nutter Sr.
Overland Park Leasing & Rental Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. John E. Oxler Jr.
Padgett Family Foundation Inc.
Mrs. Sharon L. Pearce
Piersol Foundation Inc.
Jeffrey C. ’76 and Michelle Pike ’81
Mr. and Mrs. Scott Pioli
Planet Sub
Ms. Carole Ramsey
Nicolle and Harley Ratliff
Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Rau ’70
Ms. Eva Reynolds
Mr. Richard S. Ryan ’64
Santa Fe Garage
Mr. and Mrs. Todd Schellhase
Mr. J. Stan Sexton
Ms. Robert Long
Mr. Robert S. Short
Mrs. Michael R. Shultz
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Sloan
Mrs. Mary Lou Spalding
Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Steinberg
Mr. Dennis Strait
Suburban Rod & Custom Classics Suburban Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Kent Sullivan
The Collection
Ms. Joanna M. Thomas
Mr. Byron Thompson
Mr. and Ms. Geoff Tolsdorf
UMKC Professional Development
Uncommon Threads
Mr. and Ms. Lawrence Walsh
Mr. Jim Wanser
Mr. Christopher T. Webb ’98
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Weilert
Ms. Julia C. Welles ’92
Western Roofing Co.
Mrs. Roger L. Wilkie
Ms. Barbara J. Willson
Mr. and Ms. Gary Wolf
Mrs. Marilynn K. Wright-Hoover
and Mr. Lynn C. Hoover
Zenith Motor Co. LLC
Supporter
Gifts of $1–$249
Mr. Paul H. Adair
Ms. Beverly J. Ahern ’86
Mr. and Mrs. Hobart K. Allebach
Mr. and Ms. William A. Allen
Mrs. Lillian R. Almeida ’83
Mr. Charles L. Anderson ’64
Mr. Reed Anderson
Mr. David B. Angell ’92
Ms. Linda Bailey
Mr. and Mrs. C. Bruce Barksdale
Dr. and Mrs. Richard N. Barr
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Battmer
Dr. and Mrs. Robert E. Battmer
Mr. Robert W. Bayless Jr.
Mrs. John W. Beeks
Mrs. Jan H. Behner
Ms. Gayle A. Bergman ’56
Bill Ireland & Associates
Bill’s Tropical Greenhouse Inc.
Mr. John Bingham
Mr. Carl R. Blair ’57
Ms. Cynthia Blaser
Mr. and Mrs. Craig V. Blouin ’74
Bob Bond’s Artistry
Bolder Vision Projects LLC
Mr. Allen N. Bolte
Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Bonn
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth R. Borger ’52
Mr. and Mrs. Keith Bowden
Ms. Roberta Bowles
Mr. Jess M. Brallier
Mrs. Mark R. Braswell
Ms. Roberta A. Brazier ’68
Evonne C. Briones
Mr. John A. Brunk
Dr. Bambi Burgard
Mr. Tim Burke
Ms. Helen Byram
Ms. Anne S. Canfield
Ms. Hafiza Capehart
Ms. Clare Carlson
Dr. Alberto Castaneda
Mr. Amador Castaneda
Ms. Carol Cattaneo
Megan A. Channell ’01
Ms. Kristi Chapman
Brigette Chirpich
Mr. and Mrs. David C. Clark
Mr. Jackson Clark
Ms. Maura G. Cluthe ’93
Dr. Patricia Cochran
Ms. Sarah Cohen
Components LLC
Creative Planning Services
Mr. Richard S. Crump
Mr. Frank Daharsh ’87
Mr. and Mrs. Ron Davidow
Mr. M. Wayne Davidson
Mrs. Julia C. Devins
Mr. Garry Dial
Mr. Chris Diekman
Douglas County Bank
Phyllis Holter Dunn
Mr. Robert J. Dunn
Ms. Wendy Eisele
Mr. and Mrs. Leon Emas
Mr. and Mrs. Patrick W. Emmett
Mr. Bobby Epsten
Mrs. Gloria Everhart
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Supporter (cont.)
Faultless Laundry Company Inc.
Mrs. Janet J. Fehr
Mrs. Charles D. Ferm
Leo and Victoria Ferreira
Mr. John R. Ferry ’92
Mrs. Anna L. Finfrock ’47
Mr. and Mrs. Jack N. Fiorella
Ms. Brenda Fitzgerald
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest M. Fleischer
Mr. Lance T. Flores ’11
Mr. and Mrs. R. Stafford Forbes
Dana Forrester
Mr. Jake Fowler
Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Froese ’67
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gangel
Edward O. Gaus
Marie A. Gautier Dugger ’70
Mr. John Gearhart and Ms. Stacy Greenes
Gibbens Drake Scott Inc.
Ms. Barbara Glasberg
Mr. James O. Glasgow ’63
Ms. Paige Glenn
Ms. Gina Golba
Ms. Tiffany Gravis
Mrs. Margie Greenlee
Mrs. and Mr. Nancy K. Greenlee
Amy Gross
Ms. Marion V. Gross
Group Voyagers Inc.
Mrs. Mary E. Grubb Potzmann ’71
Ms. Donna E. Gutek
Mr. Carlos Gutierrez-Solana ’70
Mr. L. Joe Haas ’62
Mrs. Linda Hall
Ms. Megan Hanna
Mr. and Mrs. Gary R. Hanson
Mr. Bob L. Harness ’61
Mrs. P. Stephen Harris
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hastings ’54
Mr. and Mrs. Stanley R. Hattaway ’67
Ms. Denise Haymaker
Mr. and Mrs. Forrest M. Haynes
Heart of America Z Car Club LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Roy E. Heilman
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Hendrix
Thomas & Emily Hess
Mr. George Hess
Mr. and Mrs. Richard G. Horn
Mr. Bradley Host
Mrs. Susan A. Houdek
Mrs. Marjorie D. Hubbard
Mrs. Deborah K. Hull ’75
Mr. Jeffrey Hull ’73
Ms. Alice G. Humphreys
Henry Putsch & Sharon Hunter-Putsch
Ms. Leila J. Hybl ’09
Mrs. Beth E. Ingram
J. E. Dunn Construction Company
Ms. Ellen S. Jacobson ’79
Ms. Joan B. Jehlen ’51
Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City
Mr. William R. Johansen ’60
Mrs. Dot Johnson
Ms. Lauren Johnston
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Johntz, III
Mr. Jeffrey C. Jones
Mr. and Mrs. Laurence R. Jones Jr.
Dr. J. June Jordan
Ms. Shellie R. Kacillas
Ms. Calder G. Kamin ’09
Mr. Dennis L. Kauffman
Dr. Lisle Kauffman, III
Mr. Thomas E. Keegan
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Jan Kennedy
Mr. and Mrs. Robert T. Kenney II
Drs. John and Ann Kenney
Mr. J. A. Kenyon ’76
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Kerr
Ms. JoAn Ketchum-Harden
Ms. Wasim Khan
Mrs. Judith L. King
Mr. James J. Kinnealey ’75 and Ms. Cynthia Hyde
Kiva
Mr. Mark Klett and Ms. Emily Matyas
Caitlin Knoll
Mr. and Ms. Ada Koch
Mrs. Jacob P. Kraft
Mr. Mark Kramer
Ms. Robin Krieger
Mrs. Barbara R. Krug
Krystal Kuhn ’11
Ms. Deborah Langdon
Leawood Lions Club
Ms. Carroll Leffler
Mr. Glen S. LeRoy
Mr. Ron M. Levene and Mrs. Sheryl Levene
Mr. Thomas J. Lewis
Keith and Susan Livingston
Ms. Kelsey S. Livingston ’12
Mr. and Mrs. John Lungstrum
Ms. Mary-Lucille Mantz
Mr. Gary A. Martin
Dr. Gerald L. Martincich, D.D.S.
Mr. Jack Martinosky
Mr. and Mrs. John T. Massman
Mrs. Margot H. Matteson
Ms. Crystal Matthews
Ms. Ta Vee A. McAllister Lee ’82
Mr. and Mrs. Carl L. McCaffree
Mr. and Mrs. James McDowell
Ms. Lori McKinley
Mr. and Mrs. Larry G. Meeker
Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Meeker
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Mellon
Mrs. Constance Mendolia and Mr. Anthony Mendolia
Ms. Gretchen S. Meyer
Mr. and Mrs. W. Ted Middendorf
Ms. Alison L. Miller ’03
Ms. Rita Miller
Ms. Dorothy K. Modlish ’42
Mrs. Judy S. Moody
Ms. Nancy Morris
Ms. Dia Moya
Ms. Lola M. Muller ’02
Mr. Kevin Mullins ’72
Ms. Jessica Munyan
Ms. Barbara Musgrave-Hamilton
Ms. Suzette Naylor
Mr. and Mrs. Lester A. Neidell
Mr. Rob Neufeld and Ms. Bev Robertson
Ms. Janet A. Neuwalder ’84
Ms. Deanna J. Nichols ’65
Mr. and Mrs. David J. Nicol
Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Niewald ’53
Ms. Nancy Noble
Richard Notkin ’71 and Phoebe Toland
Mrs. Carol W. Nugent Lord
Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Olson
Claudio and Monica Oneto
Mr. and Mrs. Frederick P. Ostby
Mr. Michael Owens
Mr. Bart Parish and Ms. Sue Yoakum
Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Park
Parkville Chamber of Commerce
Mr. Richard K. Pate ’79
Mr. Max E. Penner ’60 and Mrs. Joan Penner
Mrs. Braden Perry
Mr. Larry Peterson
Mimi E. ’88 and Ronald K. Pettegrew
Mr. and Mrs. Larry C. Plaisance
M. J. Poehler and S. Scott Randolph
Mr. and Ms. Robert Radefeld
Rag and Bone
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph K. Reid
Mrs. Esther Chris Rice
Mr. and Mrs. Harry D. Rice
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Rieder
Mr. Larry R. Rieke
Ms. Jean Rose
Mr. Jeffrey J. Rowell
Ms. Katherine DeBlase Scaglia
Ms. Betty J. Scherzinger
Mrs. Tabitha C. Schmidt
Mr. Michael Schonhoff
Mr. Will Schroeder ’12
Mr. Emil J. Schutzel Jr.
Mr. Charles S. Schwall ’87
and Mrs. Jill Downen Schwall ’89
Mrs. Flaucy Schwenk ’43
Mr. and Ms. Matthew Scott
Mr. Douglas C. Scribner ’72
Mr. Murray C. Seymour ’75
Mr. and Mrs. Ben Sharp
Mr. and Mrs. Pete Sherrow
Ms. Marianne J. Sherwood
Ms. Sharon Shiver
Mr. Russell N. Shoemaker ’09
Mrs. Olie Shupe
Mr. and Mrs. David Sibor
Mr. and Mrs. Lester Siegel Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Myron E. Sildon
Ms. Paula G. Simkins
Mr. Don Simpson
Ms. Tori Sinclair
Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Siragusa
Dr. and Mrs. Robert E. Smith
Ms. Raechell M. Smith
Snowmen Inc.
Mr. Brian Spano
Ms. Carla Sparks
Mr. and Mrs. Jack S. Spilker
Spin Concepts Inc.
Spirit of St. Louis Region
Mr. and Mrs. Lee E. Stanford
Stern Brothers Valuation Advisors
Mrs. Sallie Stewart ’57
Stinson Leonard Street LLP
Mrs. Jacqueline Stokes
Mrs. Richard Strafer
Mr. and Ms. Tom Strongman
Mr. Larry Stuckey
Ms. Ellen Stutman ’70
Dan & Sarah Sullivan
Summit Sportswear
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas L. Sutton
Tallant’s Inc.
Ms. A. Susanne Taylor ’91 and Mr. Stephen Kampme
Ms. Dawn M. Taylor ’95
Mrs. Jennifer M. Templin
The H. Alan & Karen K. Bell Family Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Thompson
Mrs. Nancy J. Thornhill
Joe Timson
Trapp & Company
Mr. Robert Trapp
Mrs. Muffet M. Triggs
Mrs. Dominic F. Tutera
Mr. Jeffrey Unger
Mr. Gerald Valet
Mr. G. William VanKeppel
Mr. Donald L. Vernon ’58
Mrs. Chris A. Wahlert
Ms. Amy Ottinger Walters
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ward
Mrs. Claire Ward
Mr. Phillip D. Ward
Debbie Kirk Warren
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Watkins
Mr. Davin Watne ’94
Ms. Darci Webster
Mr. Hal E. Wert
Mrs. Tinsley J. Wert ’78
Mr. and Mrs. Eldredge W. White
Dr. and Mrs. Richard Whitehead
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas S. Wiese
Mr. and Mrs. Bryn Wiley
Mr. and Mrs. David L. Williams
Dawn M. Williams
Mr. and Mrs. Randy Williams
Mr. Larry F. Windrum ’60
Karol Winegardner ’60
Women’s Executive Club
Mrs. Matthew Wood
Mr. Christopher J. Wright
The Hon. and Mrs. Scott O. Wright
Gifts in Kind
Mr. Randall Arms
Ms. Edie Ballweg
Mr. Steven H. Bridgens
Mr. Charles M. Butterly and Ms. Rebecca Shea
Ms. Elizabeth C. Carroll
Mr. and Mrs. William Carroll
Mr. and Mrs. John Cashion
Mr. Christopher R. Daharsh
Mrs. Gertrude Ferguson
Ms. Margaret E. Forck
Mr. and Mrs. John L. Hoffman
Ms. Brita Horowitz
Mrs. Constance Huerter
Ms. Amy J. Kephart
Mr. Maury Kohn
Ms. Amy Lenharth
Ms. DeVonne McClinton
Mr. Byron and Mrs. Deanne McKeown
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Nerman
Mr. Lewis E. Nerman and Sue Seidler Nerman
Mrs. Sue E. Parsons
Dr. Jane E. Ratcliffe-Coakley, Ph.D.
Ms. Frances S. Schilling
Mrs. Tabitha C. Schmidt
Ms. Irma Starr
Mr. Gary L. Sutton
Ms. Angela Tangen
Ms. Dawn M. Taylor
Ms. Gerry Trilling
Ms. Sandra Wilkes
In Memory/Honor
In Memory of Eric Abraham
Mr. and Mrs. Keith Bowden
Ms. Carla Sparks
The H. Alan & Karen K. Bell Family Foundation
In Memory of Leon Emas
Fireside Committee
In Memory of Ken Ferguson
Mr. Richard Notkin and Mrs. Phoebe Toland
In Memory of Cary Goodman
Mr. Emil J. Schutzel Jr.
In Memory of Lester Goldman
Ms. Ta Vee A. McAllister Lee
In Memory of Karen W. Gould
Ms. Linda Bailey
Carlton Plaza Condo Association
Mr. Jackson Clark
Creative Planning Services
Ron and Sheryl Davidow
Douglas County Bank
Mr. Robert N. Epsten
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gangel
Gibbens Drake Scott Inc.
Gould Evans Associates
Mr. Robert E. Gould and family
Mr. and Mrs. J. Gary Gradinger
Ms. Alice G. Humphreys
J. E. Dunn Construction Company
Mr. Jeffrey C. Jones
Mr. Mark Kramer
Mr. Glen S. LeRoy
Mr. and Mrs. John Lungstrum
Mrs. Judy S. Moody
Mr. Bart Parish and Ms. Sue Yoakum
Stern Brothers Valuation Advisors
Mrs. Nancy J. Thornhill
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ward
Mr. and Mrs. Bryn Wiley
In Memory of Victoria K. Hammond
Mr. Jess M. Brallier
Mr. William C. Hammond III
Ms. Gretchen S. Meyer
Mr. and Mrs. David Sibor
In Memory of Janet K. Meyer Miller
Mr. Burnside Anderson
Mr. and Mrs. J. Peter Gattermeir
Mr. and Mrs. J. Gary Gradinger
Mr. David M. Hartley
Mr. Michael J. McDermott
Mr. C. Stephen Metzler and Mr. Brian D. Williams
Spirit of St. Louis Region
Mr. Jim Wanser
In Memory of Ann Steele
Mrs. Gloria Everhart
Fireside Committee
In Honor of Jill Downen
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey C. Pike
In Honor of Susan Klein
Sosland Companies Inc.
In Honor of Brian Park
Mr. Gerald W. Friend
Warwick Society members
Mr. and Mrs. Don H. Alexander
Mr. and Mrs. Dick M. Anderson
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony J. Andrade
DeVette and Dr. Lillard Ashley
Mr. and Mrs. G. Kenneth Baum
Mr. Dick Belger and Mrs. Evelyn Craft
Mr. Irvin V. Belzer and Mrs. Sue McCord-Belzer
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis A. Berey
Mr. and Mrs. Bart S. Bergman
Ms. Sharon L. Blickensderfer
Mr. and Mrs. Mark A. Bluhm
Cathi and David Brain
Mr. and Mrs. Tim Brake
Mary Lou and Thomas Brous
Ms. Patricia A. Chasnoff
Mrs. Eileen Cohen
Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Cohen
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Copaken
Dr. and Mrs. Ira Cox
Mr. and Mrs. Paul DeBruce
Mr. Philipp Eirich and Mrs. Melanie Sherman
Mr. and Mrs. Saul Ellis
Arthur and Carolyn Elman
The Hon. and Mrs. Arthur Federman
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Flanigan
Mr. and Mrs. Kirk A. Gastinger
Mr. and Mrs. William Gautreaux
Mr. Gregory Glore
Mrs. Glenda Goodman
Pam and Gary Gradinger
Mr. Donald J. Hall Sr.
Shirley and Barnett C. Helzberg Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Herman
Mr. and Mrs. William L. Hess
Mr. and Mrs. Roger Hibbard
Mr. and Mrs. Michael R. Holdgraf
Jack and Karen Holland
Ms. Joan J. Horan
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Horner
Bill and Ann Howie
Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Hudson
Mr. David H. Hughes Jr.
Mr. and Ms. Mark P. Johnson
Linda and Topper Johntz
Mr. and Mrs. Ward A. Katz
Mr. James M. Kemper Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Herbert M. Kohn
Mr. and Mrs. William B. Kort
Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Kunz
Sandy and Joel Leibsohn
Mr. and Mrs. Ross W. Lillard
Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom
Mrs. Robert A. Marshall
Mr. and Mrs. Kirk T. May
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas C. McKenna
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. McDonnell
Mrs. Joyce McInerney
Mr. and Mrs. C. Patrick McLarney
Jim and Virginia Moffett
Mr. and Mrs. William V. Morgan
Dr. Harold H. Morris III and Dr. Melinda L. Estes
Ms. Sherrill A. Mulhern
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel F. Musser
Dr. and Mrs. Robert A. Nash
Mr. and Mrs. Jerome S. Nerman
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis E. Nerman
Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Norden
Mr. and Mrs. John Power
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Rainen
Ms. Laura Robinson
Sandy and Randy Rolf
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence A. Rouse
Drs. Robert and Marilyn Rymer
Mr. and Mrs. Morton I. Sosland
Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Sosland
Dr. and Mrs. Jack L. Stuber
Mr. and Mrs. William D. Sullivan
Mr. and Mrs. Frank D. Uryasz
Jane Voorhees
Mr. Maurice Watson, Esq.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank J. Wewers
Mr. and Mrs. Ted G. Wiedeman
Dr. and Mrs. Douglas J. Willhoite
Mr. Brian D. Williams and Mr. C. Stephen Metzler
Mark and Pam Woodard
Mr. and Mrs. John F. Zander
37
FINANCIAL
OVERVIEW
Fiscal 2014
During the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2014, the
annual operating budget was $18.3 million and the
college operated with a surplus for the 14th consecutive
year. Net tuition revenue, endowment income and
annual fund gifts continued as the college’s three
main sources of revenue, with tuition accounting for
nearly two-thirds of total revenue. Enrollment was
703 for the two-semester average. The market value of
KCAI’s endowment reached an all-time high of $51.5
million. Net assets increased $7.5 million to $81.9
million, due to the increase in the market value of the
college’s investments. The college continued to provide
substantial institutional scholarships to students,
totaling $11.2 million for 2013–2014, and the annual
fund generated $1.45 million.
Richard Rieder
Vice President for Administration/CFO
38
In 2013–2014, KCAI
students received merit
scholarships totaling
$11 million and endowed
scholarships of $200,000.
Annual operating budget: $18.3 M
Revenues
Net tuition and fees*
67%
CPS and other
14%
Endowment income
10%
Annual fund
8%
Restricted, gov’t, other
1%
* After $11,212,292 awarded
in KCAI scholarships
Expenditures
Academic instruction
23%
Student support
23%
Faculty/staff benefits
15%
Administration
13%
CPS and other
12%
Facilities
10%
Fundraising
4%
39
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