On Creativity with Paula Wallace

Doubly deFINEd...

When Paula Wallace founded the SCAD Museum of Art in 2011, today's programming was exactly what she envisioned for the teaching museum - an international forum for cultural conversation. Within its walls, visitors and current students interact with and learn from legendary masters, contemporary icons, and notable alumni through exhibitions, gallery talks, and lectures. In today's episode, you'll experience a piece of that magic through two conversations. In part one, you'll hear from the interdisciplinary virtuoso and 2021 SCAD deFINE ART honoree Sanford Biggers. In part two, you'll hear from SCAD graphic design alumna Emily Furr. Both artists opened exhibitions during deFINE ART 2021 along with previous season five guests Albert Watson and the Haas Brothers. The Sanford conversation comes from Paula Wallace's zoom interview during the festival, and the Furr interview comes from a one-on-one walkthrough with Paula and Emily through her exhibition space in the SCAD MOA Alumni Gallery.

Atelier Day II...

In keeping with SCAD and Paula Wallace's commitment to championing our alumni, today we bring you a conversation with our fall 2020 Alumni Atelier Ambassadors: Kacie Willis and Eric Ross. The pair were our first-ever virtual Atelier Ambassadors, and their presence was felt through zoom classroom visits and one-on-one virtual mentor meetings with current students. Kacie Willis is an M.F.A. sound design alumna working and living in Atlanta, GA. Her Atelier project was creating and producing a new podcast series called "White-Angle." The show examines perspective and privilege in art and culture by pairing white directors of race-related documentaries with black filmmakers. Eric Ross is a B.F.A. and M. Arch. SCAD alumnus who currently works as a director at the leading "cradle-to-cradle" architecture firm McDonough + Partners in Charlottesville, VA. His Atelier project titled "A Return to Zero" is a case study that examines the critical eco-conscious building material mass timber. Both Kacie and Eric represent historic firsts for the Atelier Ambassadorship and today's conversation comes from Paula Wallace's virtual Atelier pinning ceremony with the Ambassadors in November 2020. You'll hear more about their projects, virtual Atelier experience, and time spent with SCAD faculty and students.

I'm Me...

Oscar Wilde's wise council, "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." is lived to the fullest by today's special guest, Daniel Lismore. Lismore's life thesis is to "live as art." He seeks to promote and foster suitability in the fashion industry through the imaginative reuse of discarded clothing, broken jewelry, and material scraps. In using what he discovers in his environment, Lismore creates bold and unforgettable looks of complex layers. He becomes a living statue, and his committed work has led to multiple high-level collaborations and artistic ventures. He's designed costumes for the English National Opera, worked to improve sustainability at H&M, taught jewelry-making skills in Kenya, been a fashion model, journalist, and creative director — he has done it all and always stayed true to himself. In today's interview from summer 2020, Paula Wallace reconnects with Lismore over Zoom before a live student audience via SCAD's ongoing Guests and Gusto program. You'll also hear from SCAD fashion alumna and current M.F.A. design for sustainability candidate Laura Ramirez as she moderates the post-interview Q&A between Lismore and current SCAD students.

A Master In Focus...

During SCAD deFINE ART 2021, The SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion and Film in Atlanta opened the first-ever U.S. exhibition dedicated solely to photography master Albert Watson. The exhibition, "The Light Behind the Lens," unites fifty definitive images from Watson's nearly fifty years of professional work. He's photographed royalty, music icons, the brightest stars, and the most alluring of landscapes. As a student of graphic design, his eye designs compositions that immediately capture the viewer. On today's episode, Paula Wallace interviews Watson from the museum gallery adorned with his seminal works. The two explore Watson's preparation, how he refers to other disciplines for inspiration, his embrace of new techniques over the years, and more. You'll also hear from SCAD M.F.A. photography candidate Emma Hopson as she moderates the post-interview Q&A between Watson and current SCAD students.

Atelier Day...

In 2016, Paula Wallace launched and endowed a unique artist in residency for SCAD alumni: the Alumni Atelier Ambassadorship. Every quarter, alumni are eligible to submit proposals for patronage and, if chosen, receive the resources and support to bring it to life. The program is a glowing reminder of SCAD's commitment and encouragement for its alumni. Atelier projects have helped alumni launch new careers, dive into unexplored mediums, and dedicate themselves entirely to creative initiatives. During the winter 2021 academic quarter, the Atelier program operated remotely with two alumni participating from California: fashion designer Caroline Mae Heidenreich and furniture designer CoCo Ree Lemery. Today on SCADcast, you'll hear from CoCo and Mae as they present their work to Paula Wallace, reflect on the Atelier experience, and describe their careers since graduating.

Never Out Of Style...

During the 2020 holiday season, famed illustrator and fine artist Marc-Antoine Coulon visited the SCAD family virtually to create a holiday card for the SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion and Film in Atlanta. The museum was the site of his first solo museum exhibition in 2018, the start of a cherished friendship between SCAD and Coulon and SCAD. His elegant portraits and fashion sketches evoke a sense of life, wonder, and beauty. They produce a sense of movement and feel organic and alive. In today's conversation, Paula Wallace talks with Coulon about the resurgence of illustration in commercial publications, how a portrait session evolves, and how illustrators can best market themselves.

This Room Is So You...

On "Nate and Jeremiah by Design," Jeremiah Brent and Nate Berkus make dreams come true under circumstances that often feel impossible. They prove that even marginal inspired changes to a space can vastly improve a person's quality of life. Their humor, tremendous love, and care for their clients give millions of viewers the call to look around their homes and begin the redesign they've been mulling for years. Brent and Berkus spoke with Paula Wallace and the SCAD community as part of our ongoing Guests and Gusto program. The three spoke before a live virtual audience and explored the realities of home makeover television production, balancing bi-coastal businesses, and how the interior design industry is evolving. You'll also hear from SCAD interior design alumna Ria Menon as she moderates a Q&A from the virtual student audience.

A Most Heartfelt Journey...

In "Lovecraft Country," Jurnee Smollett as Leti Lewis navigates a horror fantasy adaptation of 1950s America - a dangerous and eerie saga with piercing similarities to our present cultural reality. The HBO series reconnected Smollett with "Underground" series creator, Misha Green, for another brave examination of the African American experience and meaningful television drama. During the 2021 SCAD aTVfest, Smollett returned to SCAD and received the Distinguished Performance Award for her portrayal of Leti Lewis. Her virtual visit included masterclasses and mentorship for current SCAD students, as well as today's interview with Paula Wallace. The two reconnected on Smollet's journey from child actress to leading voice, the research she employs in crafting her characters, and a glimpse into future projects.

Twin Wins...

Welcome back to SCADcast for season five of On Creativity with Paula Wallace! We re-launch just as SCAD begins deFINE ART 2021, an event that brings together an international roster of culture-defining arts leaders to engage with audiences in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, through curated experiences and encounters with thought-provoking work. The three-day event is open to the public, and many of its exhibitions are on view through the summer of 2021. Included in this year's star-studded lineup of contemporary artists are this episode's special guests, the Haas Brothers. Twin brothers Nikolai and Simon Haas are unstoppable forces in art and design. Their work transcends "rules" of what is functional and what must be displayed. The two create with playful whimsy and profound handcrafting skills. Through the plethora of joy brought about in their creations, they pronounce acute conversations on sexuality and identity. That's who the Haas brothers are, conversation masters through visuals as well as words. Today's conversation was recorded virtually with Paula Wallace zooming with the brothers from their deFINE ART exhibition "Beast in Show," a Seussian display on view at the SCAD Museum of Art now through July 3.

7 Lessons...

For our final episode of season four, we're mixing up the format a bit! We are excited to announce SCAD University Press's latest publication, "7 Lessons for Dreamers & Makers," with each of you. Today, I'll share with you the seven lessons as you hear from some of our favorite guests from the past four seasons. The all-star lineup includes inspiring words from Olivia Wilde, Carrie Mae Weems, Phillip Lim, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Jean Paul Gaultier, Eric McCormack, and Ruth E. Carter. Through this look back, we recognize some of the constant virtues and attributes artists and creatives live by, and we explore the transformative power of curiosity and how dreamers can turn their passion into a profession. Learn more at www.sevenlessons.scad.edu