EWING, NJ, JUNE 20, 2012–The College of New Jersey School of the Arts and Communication, along with the Department of Art and Art History, is happy to announce the appointment of Mr. Amze Emmons to the position of Associate Professor of Fine Arts, and Mr. Gregory Thielker to the position of Assistant Professor of Fine Arts. Both Emmons and Thielker bring with them an awareness of the importance of how visual culture impacts the way we conceptualize our histories and helps construct our future dreams. They will strengthen the studio teachings and engage our students in work that both conveys and influences greater societal themes.
Emmons is an artist, illustrator, and curator who received an MA and MFA from the University of Iowa with a focus in printmaking, digital media, and photography. He was recently awarded the 2011 Arts Writers Grant from the Warhol Foundation/Creative Capital’s Arts Writers Program for his blog, Printeresting. The blog highlights the ways in which print serves art and design and influences popular culture. It engages artists and art enthusiasts while highlighting innovative print work and spreading awareness of developments and happenings in the field. Emmons focuses his artwork on the impact of events on the community, such as flood wreckage, bombed buildings, and refugee migrations. He creates awareness not of tragic events, but rather of the visual elements hidden in plain view. Emmons’ art suggests how interconnected we are to these events that often times we overlook. He takes an interdisciplinary approach with his art, and uses his work as a catalyst for further community discussion and engagement.
Thielker received an MFA in Painting from Washington University in St. Louis. In 2010, he was awarded a Fulbright-Nehru Senior Research award, allowing him to live and work in Delhi, India. He is focusing on the Grand Trunk Road, one of India’s ancient highways that recently underwent major renovations. Thielker travels the road to create drawing and collect information from locals to get a sense of what this road used to be, how it has progressed, what people remember about its past, and how will it continue to affect the people near to it. This is common in his work, as he continuously finds ways to incorporate community and portray different perspectives. In 2010, he created a project at the Arthuna temple site, a protected Hindu temple dating from 1000 AD. Thielker interviewed visitors to the temple and asked them to create a drawing of text and imagery that showed how he or she traveled to the temple to worship. The drawings were displayed, allowing visitors to view the different paths, thus perceiving the complex and varied ways that people experienced their journey to the temple site.
Dean John Laughton states, “We are very pleased to announce these appointments. I am especially happy that these artists understand that their work can make a difference in the lives of the greater community. Making a difference in how we understand ourselves and others is a guiding principle for the School of the Arts and Communications at The College of New Jersey.”
For more information on Amze Emmons, please visit: www.amzeemmons.com or http://www.printeresting.org
For more information on Gregory Thielker, please visit: www.gregorythielker.com