海角社区

The Department of Art congratulates Professor Teague McDaniel for being selected as one of four University-wide recipients of the 2025/26 Faculty Award of Excellence in Teaching (FAET) from the 海角社区 Faculty Senate.

The FAET is awarded to faculty members who demonstrate teaching excellence by showing enthusiasm for their subject matter and imparting that enthusiasm to students, demonstrating innovative and inclusive teaching practices, and cultivating accessibility and open rapport with students. Nominees were evaluated according to teaching philosophy, inclusive pedagogy, innovation in teaching, and student written comments, and selected based on applications and in-person class observations. Teague was previously honored by the 海角社区 College of Letters, Arts and Sciences (CLAS) Deans Office and received the 2024 CLAS Award for Excellence in Teaching.

The Art Department, Faculty Senate and CLAS are proud to recognize Teague’s outstanding hard work and dedication to our students and mission.

Professor of Studio Art and Communication Design Kelly Monico was selected as a Fulbright Specialist and taught at the during the Fall of 2025. Supported by the Fulbright Commission and hosted by at the Universidad ORT, Monico led a series of workshops centered on art, ecology, and environmental research.

The Fulbright Program is an international academic exchange program founded in 1946 to increase mutual understanding and support friendly and peaceful relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Today, the U.S. government oversees partnerships with more than 160 countries worldwide. For Professor Monico, what began as an international exchange evolved into a cross-cultural conversation about landscape, biodiversity, and environmental responsibility.

The experience deeply informed Monico’s teaching and studio practice. It led directly to the development of Nature in Flux, an upper-division studio art course at 海角社区. Students engage in fieldwork, documentation, and experimental printmaking to explore local ecosystems and environmental change. Studies include:

• Cyanotype Workshop: Participants create prints using sunlight and water to explore the beauty and fragility of species (endangered or otherwise) and to raise awareness about the conservation and protection of their habitats.
• Block Printing Patterns Workshop: Students create engravings of invasive plants and aquatic species through block printing, collage, and image transfer, exploring the impact of these species on ecosystems.
• Botanical Monotypes: Students create monoprints and botanical collages to capture nature’s patterns.
• Natural + Experimental Processes (Cyanotype): Participants learn eco-printing, anthotypes, and natural dyeing using materials found in nature.

Monico’s Fulbright experience culminates in an exhibition of the students’ works at 海角社区’s (CVA). Titled “Nature in Flux,” the exhibition is currently on view in the 965 Project Gallery at CVA through March 21, 2026. The exhibition features student work from 海角社区 and Universidad ORT in Uruguay, responding to ecology, place, and resilience, with a focus on Colorado鈥檚 shifting landscapes. The exhibition highlights ecological investigations and reflects Professor Kelly Monico鈥檚 commitment to student learning and professional growth.

from Universidad ORT.

Titled “” and published in the journal Latin American Antiquity, Dr. Jillian Mollenhauer’s article explores how Olmec elite helped legitimize their political power through art and how the Olmec civilization incorporated rock art aesthetics and rituals into their sculptures to legitimize their political power. In it, she highlights the deliberate choices made by Olmec sculptors and emphasizes the importance of rock art as a unique and influential art form in Mesoamerica.

Abstract: The development of freestanding stone sculpture by the Olmec people of Mesoamerica’s Gulf lowlands has long been considered one of the defining artistic achievements of the Formative period. However, by the Middle Formative period the production of freestanding sculpture was often eclipsed by the contemporaneous creation of rock art outside the Gulf lowlands. In this article I argue that Gulf Olmec sculptors and audiences occasionally co-opted the aesthetic and ritual treatments of rock art at topographic shrines to construct and reinforce the sacred geographies of primary site cores. In so doing, Olmec elites converted the ideological power of the wild and the animate earth into a form of political capital.

.
published by Phys.org.

As the academic year begins, a leadership change is taking place in the Department of Art at 海角社区. Professor Matt Jenkins has accepted the position of Chair, and Dr. Deanne Pytlinski鈥檚 nine year term has come to a close.

Deanne is transitioning back to full-time faculty, focusing on the Art History, Theory, and Criticism program鈥檚 launch of new introductory courses, more general studies courses, and further globalizing 海角社区 Art鈥檚 modern and contemporary curriculum. Deanne states, “It has been such an honor to serve the students, faculty, and staff as Chair of this incredible department, and I am so proud of everything we have been able to create together. It has been an incredible 9 years as Chair, filled with more ups and downs than any of us could have ever predicted.鈥�

On the first day in his new role, August 1st, 2024, Matt celebrated Deanne鈥檚 stewardship, writing鈥� 鈥淎 GIANT heartfelt thanks to Dr. Pytlinski for her nine years of leadership as Chair! We are in a very strong position thanks to your leadership and vision. We look forward to supporting you in your teaching and research going forward!鈥� He added, 鈥淚 am so excited and ready to get to work, have a lot to learn, and I want to thank you for the opportunity.鈥�

Matt has been teaching in the Art Department at 海角社区 since 2008. Before that, he taught at the University of New Mexico, the University of Denver, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. His research interests include performance art, socially engaged art, internet art, video art, and environmental art. His work has been exhibited and published nationally and internationally and he is currently a member of the Arquetopia International Honors Alumni Residency program. He earned his BA in Art with a minor in Chicano/a Studies from Adams State University, an MA in American Studies from the University of New Mexico, and an MFA in electronic media art and design from the University of Denver. He says,鈥淚鈥檓 so excited and grateful for the opportunity to lead the 海角社区 Department of Art! I look forward to helping our wonderful students, faculty, and staff thrive while collaborating with other departments on campus, working towards the important goals of the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, and bringing energy and creativity to the exceptional mission of 海角社区.”

Deanne wishes students, faculty and staff the best, saying, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait to see you in the classroom鈥攎ake great work and be brilliant!”

We鈥檙e excited to share that Professor Nima Bahrehmand with collaborators Laurids Sonne and Eric Coombs Esmail from the University of Colorado Boulder have published a media artwork and accompanying text in the latest issue of the Journal of Media Art, Study, and Theory (MAST). This special issue focuses on media art and archaeology, and the piece is titled “Unearthed Objects: S3026 and Michael Marder’s object earth.”

The article is open-access and can be .

May 24 – July 20, 2024

Opening May 24, 2024, Collective Nouns brings together聽diverse and distinguished artists working across a wide variety of media representing each artist鈥檚 unique experiences, influences, and interests. This exhibition offers a peek into the studio art and design practices of 海角社区鈥檚 art faculty and staff, celebrating聽our vibrant visual art community.

IMAGES, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: NATASCHA SEIDENECK, UNCANNY TERRITORY: THE TOPOGRAPHY OF RUIN, DECAY AND REGENERATION (DETAIL), 2024; HEATHER LINK-BERGMAN, VALANCE, 2023: TSEHAI JOHNSON, BREACH, 2023

Marin Abell
Nima Bahrehmand
Peter Bergman
Michael Bernhardt
Leslie D. Boyd
Meredith Dale
Rachael Delaney
Melanie Finlayson
Anna Goss
Matt Jenkins
Tsehai Johnson
Yunjin La-mei Woo
Liz Langyher
Maeve Leslie
Heather Link-Bergman
Ismael Lozano
Teague McDaniel
Jenna Miles
Kelly Monico
Carrie Osgood
Red Sagalow
Natascha Seideneck
Kenzie Sitterud
Katie Taft
Anne Yoncha

Deanne Pytlinski, Chair of the Year &
Teague McDaniel, Excellence in Teaching: Affiliate Faculty

Two outstanding faculty from the Department of Art earned College of Letters, Arts and Sciences (CLAS) Deans Awards for the 2023-24 academic year. The CLAS Deans Awards recognize faculty and staff who have demonstrated excellence in their roles and contributions to 海角社区. Winners are recognized during the CLAS Faculty and Staff Appreciation and Awards Ceremony, receive an award certificate and a monetary award incentive. The award winners represent those who have received the highest honor and distinction for CLAS.

Excellence in Teaching: Affiliate Faculty, awarded to Teague McDaniel, recognizes affiliate faculty who have demonstrated excellence in teaching and educating 海角社区 students. They have shown excellence in the classroom and consistent dedication to students by creating welcoming and inclusive classrooms that support the growth, learning and education of 海角社区 students.

Chair/Director of the Year, awarded to Deanne Pytlinski, recognizes one CLAS Chair/Director for the highest honor and distinction in CLAS. The Chair of the year goes beyond the role and scope of their department and displays outstanding leadership qualities. The Chair of the year fosters a positive departmental environment by mentoring and supporting the development of their faculty and staff. They have also shown dedication to diverse hiring and recruiting. They contribute significantly to the strategic planning and vision of the University, demonstrate innovation, and encourage
collaboration and cross-disciplinarity. They are a resource for problem-solving often lending expertise, addressing challenging issues, while creating a culture that values civic leadership and driving change. They promote the University’s core set of values: Excellence, Community, Access, Diversity and Respect.

More about CLAS Awards and Achievements

is Painting Area Coordinator at Metropolitan State University Denver. Her work combines digital sensing technology, such as bio-data sonification, and analog, traditional processes including painting with ink she makes from locally-sourced plant matter. Her ongoing research with the HAB (High Altitude Bioprospecting) working group began in Fall 2019 at Field Notes, a residency of Finland鈥檚 Bio Art Society at Kilpisj盲rvi Biological Station in subarctic Lapland, where she worked with artists, biologists, and programmers to detect high-altitude microbes using a heli-kite. Join a painting class where we will spend some time exploring ideas like this! Anne is also part of a team developing a Bio-art course where students can collaborate with microbes to make artworks.

is an Iranian-American interdisciplinary artist and educator. His artistic research explores bodies, archives, and places that became suppressed and desertified due to being subjugated by political, economic, and technological progress. Via a digital voyage, he builds worlds that allow relocating the desertified from their initial setting into a new environment or platform, thus allowing the creation of new stories about them. Nima received his BFA from the University of Kerman, Iran; MA from the School of Art, Ghent, Belgium; MFA in studio art (Transmedia) from the University of Texas at Austin, and Ph.D. in Emergent Technology and Media Art Practices from the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Bahrehmand is developing new courses in Digital and Emerging Art Practices to launch in Fall, 2024 and will also be teaching Performance Art coming up the Spring. He is looking forward to incorporating virtual reality, video installation, and other time-based processes into the Art curriculum.

June 17 – August 13, 2022

Opening June 17, 2022, Collective Nouns brings together diverse and distinguished artists working across a wide variety of media representing each artist鈥檚 unique experiences, influences, and interests. This exhibition offers a peek into the studio art and design practices of 海角社区鈥檚 art faculty and staff, celebrating our vibrant visual art community.

Featured artists include:

Marin Abell
Peter Bergman
Michael Bernhardt
Leslie Boyd
Joelle Cicak
Racheal Delaney
Christopher Empson
Melanie Finlayson
Carlos Fr茅squez
Abby Gregg
Juntae Teejay Hwang
Samara Johnson
Tsehai Johnson
Aliza Lelah
Sean Leftwich
Heather Link-Bergman
Charles Livingston
Teague McDaniel
Kelly Monico
Lola Montejo
Jonathan Nicklow
Carrie Osgood
Natascha Seideneck
John Sullivan
Katie Taft
Anne Thulson
Kimberly Wendt

In its first international venue outside of the United States, the Design for the Common Good Network, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and Budapest Metropolitan University Faculty of Art and Creative Industries are pleased to present the , curated by Professor Lisa M. Abendroth, as a collection of over thirty network-nominated, peer-reviewed, and/or curator-invited public interest design projects from six continents and twenty-three countries. Exhibition projects exemplify the way communities, organizations, teams of designers are creating positive change together from the ground up. These typically localized scale-appropriate efforts are transformative in the places where they matter most鈥攕ettings where there is a distinct call to action, a needed response to critical issues affecting people and their ability to live life at its fullest.

is a coalition of purpose-driven networks committed to design practice, education and research that improves social, economic and environmental outcomes.

海角社区 Art Communication Design Associate Professor and Program Coordinator Shawn Meek and Professor Lisa Abendroth collaborated on a mobile app project that has garnered regional and national praise. Abendroth curated and authored all project-based content and Meek designed and developed the mobile app for the international exhibit Design for the Common Good. Their mobile app earned:

The GDUSA Design Showcase reflects the increasingly expansive ways in which graphic design serves and shapes commerce and culture. The Meek/Abendroth design was chosen from 14,000 entries submitted.

When 海角社区 Professor Carlos Fr茅squez began painting murals in Denver鈥檚 Chicano neighborhoods in the 1970s, he was looked down upon by the larger city community.

Today, murals are everywhere 鈥� and treasured throughout the city 鈥� as testimony to 鈥渨hat鈥檚 going on right now,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 call murals 鈥榳alls with tongues鈥� because that鈥檚 what they鈥檝e been all along,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a way to instantly communicate and document a time. And voice your opinion.鈥�

This summer as Fr茅squez, a Metropolitan State University of Denver alumnus and professor, embarked on teaching his popular Community Painting: The Mural course, he was forced to adapt the collaborative process to the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here, Fr茅squez and his 海角社区 students show how they came together to paint a new mural while staying physically apart.

鈥淚t鈥檚 another way to learn and teach this process,鈥� Fr茅squez said, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 been a positive challenge. It forced me to rethink how to teach.鈥�

Story by Amanda Schwengel,

Associate Professor 聽has been recognized with an award聽for his 2020 work聽,听产测听.听聽in the category of “Out-of-Home / Experiential & Installations,” and is being exhibited at聽The One Show, a prestigious聽exposition in advertising, design and digital marketing. For 40 years, The One Club has had a rich legacy of honoring some of the most groundbreaking ideas, created by some of the most remarkable minds in creativity.

Specializing in UX/UI design and front-end web development, Meek is a designer who also codes; building from concept to completion. Having always been drawn to rose windows “for reasons unexplored,” Meek was fascinated by the structural mastery and craftsmanship of these detailed objects. He found himself tracing the pattern in these physical objects and asking himself, “How can that be coded?”

Rose Code鈥檚 purpose centers upon the idea of聽聽as a solo medium. As a digital installation, users are drawn into a curated space driven by code (HTML5 & CSS3) that is visually generated onto two opposing walls with the creation of the rose window displayed in the center. Conceptual unity is realized by intersections of auditorial cues referencing repetitive religious systemic underpinnings, patterns of code in continual progress and rose window form creation.

“I am a tourist of my personal faith, a weekend window shopper for salvation,” Meek ruminates. “Religion, after all, is just an organized system, isn鈥檛 it?”

Our newest full-time faculty member, Assistant Professor聽聽is a socially-engaged artist and a cultural-studies researcher. Born as the granddaughter of a Korean shaman, her artistic practice is informed by her research on various notions of humanness and how such notions intersect with issues of power, gender, class, and ethnicity. Her creative work ranges widely from installation to video, performance, sculpture, writing, and participatory projects. Woo has exhibited, published, and presented her creative work and research in various venues both internationally and nationally. She earned her BFA and MFA from Seoul National University, South Korea, and is currently working on her PhD dissertation in Communication and Culture at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA.听You can find more about the material structures that聽Yunjin has built聽.

聽Assistant Professor – Art History, Theory, and Criticism,聽presented a paper, titled “Castilian Legacy and Juan de Flandes’ Miraflores Copy,” at the International Colloquium “Flandes by Substitution: Copies of Flemish Masters in the Hispanic World聽(1500-1700)” sponsored by the Royal Institute of Cultural Heritage (kik-irpa) in Brussels, Belgium.

, Associate Professor – Integrated Media, showed his work聽The World鈥檚 Largest PDF聽in an international juried exhibition on聽聽and presented the same work at the American University in Paris for the聽Arts in Society听肠辞苍蹿别谤别苍肠别.

, Professor – Art Education Coordinator, was honored at the 2017 Colorado Art Education Association fall conference as the Art Educator of the Year. Colleague Dale Zalmstra reflects, “I have known and at times worked with Rachel over a number of years. As an elementary art teacher, I have been the cooperating teacher for her student teachers. I know from the students what the priorities and focus are in their art education classes. I know the efforts Rachel has made to mentor and facilitate the growth of her students. I know she has a very high standards and high expectations for her students. She calls for their best in ways that both inspires and motivates them as they grow in understanding and confidence.”

, Associate聽Professor – Art History, Theory, and Criticism, presented papers at the聽Association for Latin American Art Triennial Conference:聽Art at Large: Public and Monumental Arts of the Americas, at the deYoung Museum, San Francisco; at Annual Meetings of the聽Society for American Archaeology in聽Orlando, Florida; and at the聽, Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

In 2017 Dr. Mollenhauer presented “Identifying the Quintessence of Olmec Centers in Formative Olman,” in the session, “Quintessential Places: Analyzing the Character of Pre-Columbian Sites” at the聽2017 Annual Meetings of the Society for American Archaeology,聽in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

,聽Associate聽Professor – Communication Design, presented a paper entitled 鈥楩onts of My Family: The Fleeting Craft of Cursive Writing鈥� at the聽聽(STEM/STEAM) in Honolulu, along with publishing in the conference proceedings. Meek was honored by聽. His work,聽Boyan Slat: UX/UI Design, was published in this annual showcase of the best websites, microsites and apps nationwide. This same work was also awarded a Silver by the聽.

,聽Assistant Professor – Art History, Theory, and Criticism, presented聽a paper titled “Reconstructing Antiquity: Alternative Research Projects in Classical Art and Archaeology” at the 2017聽Annual Meeting of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South ()聽at the University of Waterloo聽in Kitchener, Ontario. She also聽authored two articles, one with illustrations by an 海角社区 student, related to her research on domestic decoration聽in Roman Pompeii.

, Associate Professor – Ceramics, installed聽Zest, a permanent commission at the new CU Boulder Village Center Dining and Community Commons building.

This work is a collaboration between Johnson and the chef in consultation with KSQ Architects. The piece explores the explosive flavors and textures of fresh foods and spices. The design originates in the upper left corner of the niche where a plate gradually morphs into to fiery spices, lush flora and bursts of pleasure. In a sense, the plate becomes an explosion of colors, flavors, and textures.

笔丑辞迟辞:听窜别蝉迟;听2016; Porcelain; 5.5鈥檟 8.5鈥檟 6鈥�

Photo credit: Wes Magyar