Article | Three New RISD Global Summer Courses Explore the Arts in Greece, Japan and the Philippines
Seven three-week travel courses were offered this summer—four popular offerings in the Azores, Denmark, Italy and Japan and three new classes:Truth, Beauty, Goodness: Illustrating Mythologies in Contemporary Greece, taught by Dean of Liberal Arts Patricia Barbeito and Illustration Department Head Robert Brinkerhoff; Japan: Manga Immersion at Kyoto Seika, led by Associate Professor of Illustration Eric Telfort 05 IL and graphic novelist Cat Huang 19 IL; and Tuldok, Linya, Anyo (Point, Line, Pattern): Drawing and Weaving in the Philippines, led by Associate Professor Cheeny Celebrado-Royer and recent grad and Fulbright awardee Bhen Alan MFA 22 PT—both native Filipinos.
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Tuldok, Linya, Anyo (Point, Line, Pattern) Drawing and Weaving in the Philippines
“The Spanish conquistador called the natives of the Visayas, the first locals they encountered, pintados (painted people) because their bodies conveyed zigzags, diamonds, circles, lines, and other geometric configurations. They appeared to be dressed in a kind of handsome armor engraved with very fine work, a dress so esteemed by them they take it for their proudest attire...By their own resplendence, tattoos project a sense of heightened physical beauty, though they’re worth much more than that. Never just skin-deep, they reflect the Filipino soul.”
-Who is the Pintados, Anita Feleo
Japan | Manga Immersion at Kyoto Seika
Manga, a term that represents a style and tradition of comics and cartooning developed in Japan during the late 19th century, has spread in global popularity the last few decades. As the artform increases its profile and influence on popular culture comics, animation, film, and art academics, many Illustrators and academics are becoming interested in learning the craft, and unique aspects of the artform. What better way of exploring the culture of manga and it’s many intricacies than traveling to its birthplace, Japan, and interfacing with an institution that specializes in teaching the craft?
Truth | Beauty | Goodness: Illustrating Mythologies in Contemporary Greece
How is the idea of “Beauty” embodied in the ruins of Athens, and what does it mean to us today? What are contemporary notions of “Truth” and how have they been shaped by the ambiguous concoction of history and myth in Delphi, whose Oracle prophesied for hundreds of years? What impact has the mashup of pagan and Christian belief systems had on modern notions of “Goodness” in the unique Cycladic island culture of Naxos?
This studio course–set against the backdrop of three inspiring sites in Greece–examines the intersection of mythology, literature and visual arts in Athens, Delphi and Naxos. In a partnership between studio and liberal arts faculty, this course encouraged students to consider the development of three interrelated ideas–Beauty, Truth and Goodness–through illustration projects that trace their manifestation in the contemporary Greek visual and literary lexicon. Tours, lectures, journaling and on-site making culminated in independently defined projects in this three-week course.