Mathematics Senior Seminar Presentations – April 6, 8

Come see the mathematics senior seminar presentations.

Monday, April 6
Gerstacker 123
4:30 p.m. Julia Janosko – “Brochard Geometry”
5:30 Alicia Hess – “Cryptograph: Attacks on the RSA Cryptosystem”

Wednesday, April 8
Hinsdale 202
4:30 p.m. Taiji Tsutsui – “The Minimum Semidefinite Rank of a Graph”
5:30 p.m. Brian Wilthew – “Linear Programming: The Simplex Method with an Application to Currency Arbitrage”

English Majors Offer Tips for Senior Capstones

Graduating seniors in the English department recently presented their capstone projects, a significant work that is required for graduation. This year, 14 graduates selected papers or substantial writing from their prior upper-level courses to refine and expand for their senior capstones.

Kristen Weidus of Brunswick and a graduate of Brunswick High School is among this year’s senior English majors. She presented her paper, “A Gendered Journey: A Personal Study of Literary Theory,” on March 18 in Bonney Castle.

“Throughout my time here at Hiram, my professors and peers have literally watched me grow into a confident, vocal feminist,” says Weidus. “So, it seemed only natural that I would do my project on that which I am most passionate about.”

Most seniors will tell you that writing a senior capstone is an evolutionary process that includes obtaining feedback from others. Wadsworth native and Highland High School graduate Dominique Blanc says that input from professors helps improve a paper, as long as you’re willing to listen to criticism.

“It’s really difficult sometimes to implement the changes you know need to happen, especially when it’s a revision instead of a rewriting,” Blanc says. “But it was extremely helpful to have Professor Swenson as an advisor. He wasn’t afraid to tell me what I needed to change, but he was also willing to hear me out if I thought I could leave something the way I wanted it to be.” Blanc also presented her paper, “Sublime Satanic Destruction: Moby Dick and the Book of Job,” on March 18.

Like Blanc, Weidus revised her paper after conversations with her advisor. “My paper was originally an exploration of the lack of female representation in the most famous philosophers’ works,” she explains, “but at the suggestion of Professor Parkinson, I have since incorporated a personal voice.” By incorporating her own experiences into her study of philosophy, her capstone has become the story of her journey towards becoming a feminist.

While writing about personal experiences is not a prerequisite requirement for senior capstones, Weidus recommends that students pick topics they are passionate about so that they are motivated to maintain their focus. “It is a really long, stressful process, but at the end of it you will have a paper that you can be proud of, and you will have learned things about writing, editing, and yourself that are invaluable.”

As for the presentation of the paper in front of a room full of faculty, staff, and their peers, “horrifying” is the first word that comes to Blanc’s mind. “It was a whole sea of faces when I got up there,” she recalls, “but I think it’s awesome that everyone has to go. It’s nice to know you’re not alone.” A formal presentation of the final capstone paper is part of the requirements to graduate with an English major.

Blanc provides sound advice for underclass students who are planning ahead for their senior capstones: “Listen to your advisor! And start working on your paper about four months before you think you should.”

In addition to Weidus and Blanc, the following students presented senior capstones in English this month:

Degina Bowman of Warren (Lordstown High School) presented “Co-Creating Truth and Reality in Midnight’s Children”

Jarrad Davis of Mogadore (Waterloo High School) presented “Family Metal: A Search for the Roots of Love”

Steve Franceschi of Pittsburgh, Pa. (Keystone Oaks High School) presented “’Der Doppelganger’: The Enchanting Persain Savage”

Jonathan Hartzmark of Chicago, Ill. (The Orme School, Mayer, Ariz.) presented “Naturalism and the Whale”

Vanessa Jakse of Chesterland (West Geauga High School) presented “The Monstrous Masculine Master in Emily Dickinson’s Poetry”

Ryan King of Olmsted Falls (Olmsted Falls High School) presented “Illuminated Shadows”

Dane Leimbach of New London (New London High School) presented “His Entropic Holiness: Matthew Lewis’ The Monk and Sigmund Freud’s Theory of the ‘Death Drive’”

Michael Rory Lenehan of Chagrin Falls (Gilmour Academy) presented “Etched into Brass”

Grace Martin of Geneva (Geneva Secondary School) presented “Male Readership, The London Prostitute, and Eighteenth Centry Pornography: An Examination of John Cleland’s Fanny Hill”

Robert Sackett of Broadview Heights (Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School) presented “’Where the Acts of Man and God are of a piece’: Cormac McCarthy’s Preachers”

Dan Scott of Chesterland (West Geauga High School) presented “Assuming the Creator is True and Other Poems”

Myles Wallace of Dripping Springs, Tex. (Lake Travis High School) presented “The Day Mama Quit Pool,” “Killing Mom,” and “Static”

Environmental Studies Senior Seminars – April 1

Come listen to the evironmental studies senior seminar presentations, Wednesday, April 1, 2009, in Gerstacker 123, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Light refreshments will be served

Presenters:
David Benninger – Stimulating Forest Reintegration Into Human Landscapes Through Experiential Education
Susan Blair – Marketing a message of Conservation: Citizen Science – Meanings, Challenges & its Contribution
Troy Bussinger – “Practical Solutions to Deter Avian Nesting”
Erin Carver – “A Look at the Ecological and Economic Impact of West Nile Virus in the United States”
Craig Dobos – “Permeable Surfaces: An Alternative Solution”
Jessica Houmard – “Analysis of human-based wildlife conflicts in NE Ohio”
Jeffrey Kish – “Western Reserve Greenway: A Promotional Tool for Trumbull County MetroParks”
Daren Niemi – “Dams and the decline of Pacific Salmon”
Elizabeth Palda – “The Ecological and Political Entanglements of Japanese Whaling”
Caitlin Tillman – “Preserving biodiversity through wildlife rehabilitation”
Danae Wolfe – “A Path Towards Environmental Appreciation”

Focus on Faculty: Assistant Art Professor Chris Ryan

Ryan came to Hiram in 2003 from his position teaching at the Studio Art Centers International (SACI) in Florence, Italy. After completing his undergraduate studies in history and art history at John Carroll University, he went on to receive an M.A. in modern European history at the University of Virginia in 1991 before continuing his studies in art. He received his M.F.A. in painting and drawing from Bowling Green State University in 2001.

Ryan teaches all levels of painting and drawing (including life drawing), as well as 2-D design. Since coming here he has enhanced the painting and drawing program by designing new courses such as intermediate painting, water-based painting, figurative painting and drawing, as well as offering numerous independent study courses in advanced painting and drawing problems. Ryan also created a new course for students with minimal art background titled “studio art process: ideas and issues,” that enables students to “live” the artistic process while examining the topic as scholars. Students select single poignant “issues” which become the focus of their studio art projects through which they learn to effectively communicate their views on their topics.

Additionally Ryan contributes to the core curriculum at Hiram by offering a freshman colloquium course “unearthing the secrets of Pompeii.” And his most adventuresome new class is “creative space: Studio art experience in Florence and Tuscany,” which provides students with an intensive three weeks of exploring the theme of “space” in Florence and environs. This course, which will take off again this April, enables students to respond to the uniqueness and unfamiliarity of their new environments using traditional and unconventional art-making approaches (course description at http://abroad.hiram.edu/travel/italy.html). In fall of 2007, the group from that year mounted an exhibition in Hiram’s gallery of works produced while in Italy.

Ryan serves as the director of Hiram’s art gallery and has brought such notable artists as Masumi Hayashi, Emily de Araujo, Matthew Kolodziej, Lynn Saville and Hui-Chu Ying to Hiram’s campus. He also has a growing resume of exhibitions where he has been showcased, including a solo exhibition at the Dayton Visual Arts Center, a three person show at the Canton Museum of Art’s titled “Director’s Choice: the Art of Christopher Ryan, Anthony Schepis, and Julian Stanzack,” and his works were on display in a three person exhibition at Washington & Jefferson College near Pittsburgh in February. Countless individual works have been shown in local and national juried exhibitions, and Ryan has also served as a juror for numerous exhibitions locally.

As an artist, Ryan is a realist painter whose current work springs from a fascination with the flat planes of ancient mosaic and inlaid stone floors found throughout Italy. His paintings treat such floors as a sort of stage for human actions, where the debris and residue of contemporary life is juxtaposed with the narratives found in the ancient designs, patterns and images, but also as metaphors for that which is trod upon, passed over or disregarded.

Stepping on Out: Matthew Mullane

A senior art history major, Matthew Mullane ’09, who is from Cortland, Ohio, and is a graduate of Lakeview High School, spent last spring as an exchange student at Kansai Gaidai University, Osaka, Japan. There he was enrolled in the Asian studies program/Center for International Education, where he studied spoken Japanese, written Japanese, Japanese art history and Japanese history.

As soon as he returned stateside, Mullane was off again to Leiden, Netherlands to present a paper titled “A Consideration of Pragmatic Aesthetic Experience in the Inclusive Model,” at The International Conference on the Inclusive Museum, June 8-11, 2008. This paper resulted from an independent study Mullane completed with Professor Lisa Safford while engaged in a summer internship at The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown in 2007. Mullane’s paper, focused on the social importance of museums and other exhibiting bodies in the current cultural climate, is also slated for publication in an upcoming issue of “The International Journal of the Inclusive Museum,” published by The University Press.

Mullane followed up the Butler internship with another at SPACES Gallery in Cleveland last summer. In April, Matt will present a second conference paper, this time at the Cultural Studies Association Conference in Kansas City, where he will address his second area of interest: The study of sound and its intersection with traditional art history and cultural theory. His paper is titled “The Radical Ear: Field Recording, Sound Art and Listening to the Everyday.”

When he’s not traveling or presenting, Mullane is busy serving as teaching assistant to Dr. Safford in her Japanese art and early modern art courses, as well as applying to graduate schools. We imagine we will hear a lot more about Matthew Mullane in the future.

Pertinent Printmaker: Mason Milani

Mason Milani ’09 has been a fixture in the art department for the past three years, and has served as the student assistant for printmaking classes for instructor Jack Carlton for two years. He also had two works on display early this year at The Area Artists Annual, a juried exhibition at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown. This is considered one of the most important local arenas for exhibiting art. Several of Hiram’s faculty have exhibited there in the past.

Milani’s two works, “Old Enough to Fit in your Father’s Shoes,” is a 2008 etching; “Stripes, Zippers, Mirrors, and Mongrals,” is a 2007 dry point and watercolor.

While he finishes out his final semester at Hiram, Milani makes plans to apply to graduate schools to attain an M.F.A. degree.

Painting Abroad, Winning Awards at Home

Christina Ruff ’09 is completing her major in painting and drawing by going to Florence with Professor Ryan in April. She is also completing an internship with the Department of College Relations at Hiram where she has been busy learning photo-editing and making posters for special events and packets for study abroad programs. She has been accepted into graduate school in the fall to study graphic design.

According to Professor Christopher Ryan, Ruff’s art focuses on using mixed media in richly layered works that address themes related to the human body and information systems. Her talent was recognized also in the 2009 Annual Juried Student Art Show, where she won the Ellen Jagow Award for Painting (and $150) for her mixed media paintings, “Human Condition I, II, III” – mixed media paintings.

Ruff knows the beauty of her Hiram experience. “At bigger schools there are more programs,” she says, “but you have far more opportunities here at Hiram. It is easier to connect with your professors and peers, and build networks.”

A Review of Art Students’ Study Abroad

Art tours abroad, a staple of the art department for over 40 years when George Schroeder (professor of painting and drawing) and Paul Rochford (art historian) made regular excursions to Europe, continue apace today. Most recently, Professor Lisa Safford took a group of students to France for the three-week session of spring semester, 2008. Students spent ten days in Avignon, making excursions to Arles, Nimes, Orange, Vaison la Romain, Tarascon and the villages of Gorde, Fontaine-de-Vaucluse and Isle sur la Sorge, steeped in Ancient Roman and Medieval history. Then a quick TGV bullet train ride brought them to Paris for ten more days to study the Gothic, Renaissance and modern periods of French art and history.

Our effort was directed toward defining what is unique about French culture and its historical framework, as well as seeking to identify those aspects of other cultures and traditions from the past that the French have borrowed to assist in their over 400-year efforts at nation building.

Assistant Professor Chris Ryan will lead his second tour to Florence to teach studio art – drawing and painting – amidst the great monuments of that Medieval and Renaissance city and surrounding area this coming April. In the Spring of 2007 11 art students participated in the study abroad course “Creative Space: Studio Art Experience in Florence & Tuscany” led by Chris Ryan. For almost three weeks, these artists explored the theme of “space” as they traveled, lived, and created in Florence and surrounding areas in Tuscany.

Immersing themselves in the unique and diverse spaces of Florence & Tuscany, students navigated the bustling streets, climbed ancient ruins, hiked through the idyllic countryside, and explored walled cities and maze-like hill towns. These locations offered opportunities to study unique spaces ranging from cramped passageways to wide-open plazas, from soaring towers to subterranean crypts, from crowded markets to silent churches, and from intimate gardens to sprawling fortresses. By examining the theme of “space,” participants became more acutely aware of their physical surroundings, how they perceived and moved through them, and how these experiences of space could have an impact intellectually, psychologically, and emotionally.

Working on-site and in rented private studio space, students explored ways to pictorially present their new experiences. Assignments investigating maps and mapping techniques, found materials, collaborative approaches and observation exercises helped generate ideas. In addition, students undertook their own projects based on personal perceptions and interests. They used journals to record thoughts, respond to readings and react to experiences. In the following fall, students presented an exhibition of works produced in Italy in the Gelbke Fine Art Center’s new gallery.

While many works produced on the trip were “finished” works, the hope is that the experience will continue to serve as a catalyst for each of these artists as they continue their artistic journeys – whether those journeys are at home, or abroad.

Winners of 2009 Annual Juried Student Art Show

The 2009 annual juried student art show is complete. Congratulations to the winners:

Alex and Tamara Brady Pendleton Best in Show ($250)
Ryan King ’09, “Little King King” – comic strip digital design

Paul A. Rochford Award for Excellence ($150)
Kyle Kresge ’09, “Primary Low Art?” and “Primary High Art?” – digital photography

Ellen Jagow Award for Painting ($150)
Christine Ruff ’09, “Human Condition I, II, III” – mixed media paintings

Abigail Fling Award for Photography ($150)
Emma Strong ’10, “Series of Nine Photographs” – infrared photography

Juror’s Mention ($50)
Kanako Goto ’10, “I love shoes” – series of charcoal drawings
Kristopher Grady ’09, “Untitled (Nude)” – mixed media
Kristopher Grady ’09, “Untitled (Figures in Passage)” – ink drawing

Many of these works of art are for sale, with prices list available in the art department office or by contacting the artist directly.

Susan Schroeder, a former art professor at Hiram, juried the competition, and offered the following thoughts.

Ryan King’s “Little King King” evokes whimsy with an underlying message of aspiration beset by failure until the goal is reached. The work needs no text as the frames speak visually. The viewer needs to sit quietly with this and allow it to expand. It transcends age and experience.

Kyle Kresge’s photographs seem reminiscent of the lectures that Paul Rochford would deliver in “Color & Design” 30 years ago. The titles “Primary High Art?” and “Primary Low Art?” remind me of Rochford’s quirky mindset as well. They suggest Dover Press publications on the subject of ornament, gone awry.

Christine Ruff’s work speaks of a painter’s sensitivity to color regardless of the medium. It goes beyond the traditional still lives encountered in beginning painting classes to achieve a richness in handling whether in a small oil study, mixed media with Photoshop, or in the group of three, “Human Condition I, II, III,” for which she received the award.

Emma Strong’s photographs are haunting in their pulsing darks, subtle lights, and lush textures. I think they reveal love for, and intimacy with, her subjects.

Kristopher Grady’s nude has a monumental quality that continues studio tradition but also engages contemporary issues with its emphasis on the edges. His ink drawing is mysterious in its narrative as well as in its play of light and shadow, silhouette and detailed form.

Kanako Goto uses charcoal for image and text. Three of the five works use English, the last two go mute for the English-only readers among us as the texts are now in two other languages. This causes the viewer/reader to draw up short, focus on the shoes and wonder about the text which now evades our understanding while exposing us to another culture.

I am most surprised that freshmen and sophomores are not adequately represented in the total number of submissions to the exhibition. I hope that this year’s underclassmen resolve to enter a greater number of pieces in next year’s show.

Susan Schroeder was awarded a Master of Fine Arts degree from Kent State University with a major in Fiber Arts. She has enjoyed a long career as an artist-teacher, having taught at all levels, from primary school to college, including stints at Hiram College and Kent State University, Kent and Trumbull campus, where her courses included batik, design, painting and drawing, and art history ranging from pre-historic to contemporary. Professor Schroeder has exhibited widely throughout her career, in Ohio, New York, Europe and Asia. Examples of her work may be found inside the entrance to the Hiram College Library.

Hiram to Host Annual “Day With Hiram” Golf Outing in June

HIRAM, OHIO — The Hiram College Athletic Department along with the Terrier Club will host its annual “Day With Hiram” golf outing on Friday, June 19 at Sugar Bush Golf Club in Garrettsville. This year will mark the 49th time that the College has sponsored the golf scramble.

The day will include a continental breakfast, a round of golf and a catered awards dinner following the day’s events. Golfers will also have the opportunity to take part in various contests including hole-in-one, longest drive, longest putt, skins challenges and others. There will also be raffles and door prizes for participants to win.

Registration has already begun and those interested can register online at www.hiram.edu/athletics/dwh.html. The deadline for entry is May 22, 2009. Space is limited and is on a first-paid, first-served basis. All proceeds benefit the Hollinger Fund, which supports all Hiram College athletics.

For more information, visit the “Day With Hiram” website listed above or contact Gery A. Henkels at (330) 569-5190 or email him at henkelsga@hiram.edu

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