Dafna Lemish
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Award-winning photographer and author Carl Corey will share insights into his career next week at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
For Corey, a 1976 graduate of SIUC’s Department of Cinema and Photography, the visit not only marks his first return to campus since then but an opportunity to give students a chance to have their work critiqued.
Corey will give a projected presentation of his new book, “Tavern League,” at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 14, in the John C. Guyon Auditorium in Morris Library. Admission is free, and the public is welcome to attend.
Corey will also be in residence offering individual critiques of students’ work from 9 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 5 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 15, and participate in a digital printing seminar from 8 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 5 p.m., Friday, Sept. 16. The critiques and seminar will be in Communications Building, room 1101.
Reporters, photographers and camera crews are welcome to cover the visiting artist lecture and associated workshops and seminar by Carl Corey. For more information, contact the Department of Cinema & Photography at 618/453-2365 or Professor Daniel Overturf by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Corey is visiting at the invitation of Gary P. Kolb, dean of the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts.
Corey is the recipient of more than 100 awards, including the New York Art Directors Club, Communication Arts, and Print Annual. Kolb said he is “particularly taken with a number of his regional documentary projects such as ‘Wisconsin Tavern League’ and ‘On Ice’.”
“He has amassed an impressive body of work and our students will benefit from the opportunity to interact and learn form him,” Kolb said.
Corey said he is looking forward to returning and has fond memories of his time in the college. Corey earned his associates degree in graphic design at Northern Illinois University and a former professor recommended he transfer to SIUC because of a belief that Corey showed promise as a photographer.
Corey said SIUC students “were given encouragement to think on our own and gain a command of the medium that became second nature allowing us to focus on content.”
“I adhere to that philosophy to this day,” he said.
Walter Metz, chair of the Department of Cinema & Photography, said he’s pleased Corey is returning to meet with students and share his experiences and expertise.
“Mr. Corey’s far-ranging art work -- from local studies of Wisconsin culture to a project on national monuments -- will inspire our students, and I am delighted he will be joining us for a few days next week.”
Much of Corey’s work focuses on what many people would easily pass by, such as a roadside stand. Corey said his work centers on “things and people that define our cultural identity.”
“I want people to be aware of this identity and think about who they are,” he said.
Corey also said he is very honest with students when working with them and offering critiques of their work. He recalls a time in 1979 when he was first starting out and an art director in Chicago told him some of his pictures were okay, “but no better than many others he could get and not as good as some.” While the assessment was depressing, Corey said the art director continued to encourage him to return with work that was unique. Corey said it is the best critique he ever received.
“I feel there is no value to a critique if the truth is held back,” he said. “I want to see the students’ best work; pictures that reflect their voice as an artist. Bodies of work are always preferred to random work with no continuity. I want to see pictures they feel a need to make.”
Corey said he enjoys working with students and gives him an opportunity to “give back” to the profession.
“If I reach one person and give them the motivation to persevere in the arts then it is worth it,” he said.
Corey’s visit is possible through the SIUC Student Fine Arts Activity Fee.
C&P Fine Arts Event, visiting artist cinematographer and lighting director/designer, Richard Sands.
Visiting Artist: Director of Photography and Lighting Director/Designer - Richard Sands
Presentation: March 31st, Thursday at 7 PM in the Lesar Law Building Auditorium
Professional Lighting Workshop - April 1st, Friday, 9 AM to 11:30 AM in the CP Soundstage Communications Building 1116.
“I always call him ‘the genius of light.’ He puts all of the lighting scenes together…he thinks differently than anyone else I know.
He just responds to light. It’s remarkable.”
- Gregory Crewdson
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Award-winning and Emmy-nominated cinematographer and director James Chressanthis says he cannot emphasize enough that whatever career a person chooses, “It better be something you absolutely love.”
Chressanthis, who returns to Southern Illinois University Carbondale next week to share his work and creative insights with students, well remembers the moment more than 30 years ago while pursuing his Master of Fine Arts degree from SIUC when that sentiment hit home. Working as a part-time orderly at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, he was transporting a man dying of cancer to treatments and therapy when the man asked Chressanthis one day what he was studying.
Chressanthis said he was “making sculpture, painting and art,” to which the man replied, “I always wanted to do that …”
Chressanthis’ own affection is synonymous with success through a variety of mediums in more than two decades in studio motion pictures, television movies, drama series, and documentaries.
Chressanthis’ visit on campus, Wednesday, Jan. 19, through Friday, Jan. 21, will feature screenings and discussions of two of Chressanthis’ acclaimed films, “No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo and Vilmos,” and “Four Minutes.” There is also a mixed media photography exhibit by Chressanthis and his wife, Robin Becker, and a workshop with students in directing and cinematography courses.
Chressanthis and his wife earned their MFA degrees from the School of Art and Design in 1977. Robin Becker is unable to make this trip as she prepares for their concurrent art exhibition at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, Chressanthis said. The “Beyond the Image” exhibition of the couple’s work is available Jan. 18-28, in the Vergette Gallery. Chressanthis will discuss the exhibit from 3 to 5 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 19.
All of the lectures, screenings and discussions -- with the exception of the student workshop from 1 to 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21 -- are open to the public. The events are free, and supported by the University’s Student Fine Arts Activity Fee. Links
“We’re very pleased to have James Chressanthis returning to campus to share his expertise, his film work, and his photography with our students,” said Gary P. Kolb, dean of the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts. “He is a wonderfully talented individual with significant achievements in his career. The Master Class he will teach for our students will be an excellent opportunity for them to learn from a very accomplished professional.”
Walter C. Metz, professor and chair of the Department of Cinema and Photography, recalls meeting Chressanthis with Ronald Graves, the college’s constituency development officer, in August 2009 on the set of the critically acclaimed television drama, “Ghost Whisperer.” Chressanthis was director of photography and also directed some episodes in the series.
Chressanthis was “incredibly nice,” talking with Metz and Graves between shots, and gladly agreeing to visit with students, Metz said. Chressanthis’ expertise and insight will benefit students, Metz said.
Students will learn “what is going on in the industry right now,” and get a glimpse into what it’s like to be on sets that can have more than 100 people, he said. Metz also anticipates Chressanthis will discuss with students various lighting setups and directorial moves.
“It’s that kind of information that if students can get in the classroom then going and being on a set will not be that intimidating,” Metz said.
Chressanthis said he has always been interested in traditional art forms and “the most cutting-edge modern developments.” He had varied interests while at SIUC, noting, “The idea of multi-media and interdisciplinary work which we take for granted today was very new then.” Chressanthis was primarily doing cast bronze sculptures but also created installations and environments with them, what Chressanthis calls “psychological sets.” He was also learning traditional cinematography and editing, while also creating experimental film works and collaborating with dancer-choreographers in performance, he said.
Chressanthis said he had “terrific support” from his sculpture professor Thomas Walsh, and film professors Don Zirpola and Michael Covell. Covell “was really an inspiring filmmaker-teacher pushing us to learn both traditional film craft and test the boundaries of experimental cinema,” Chressanthis said. “It was a perfect training ground for a cinematographer, though I did not realize it at the time.”
Chressanthis’ documentary, “No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo and Vilmos,” which premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, is the story of cinematographers Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond, their escape from Hungary in the wake of the Soviet Union invasion, and their success in the United States. Kovacs and Zsigmond were two of Chressanthis’ teachers at the American Film Institute and made a deep impression on Chressanthis “both artistically and for their tremendous spirit and love of life,” he said.
Lauded in Variety and The New York Times, the documentary includes commentary from a wide range of actors, directors and cinematographers including Sandra Bullock, Peter Bogdanovich, Vittorio Storaro, Peter Fonda, Sharon Stone, and is one of the last film appearances of the late Dennis Hopper, Chressanthis said.
“They came out of revolution, without friend, family or country. They came to America and literally changed world cinema,” said Chressanthis, who apprenticed with Vilmos on “The Witches of Eastwick.”
“I don’t think it’s an accident that I have shot on an Oscar-winning picture and had the success I’ve had in film,” he said. “I felt it was my duty to capture and convey their spirit and the stunning achievements of their lives.”
The documentary has won awards and been screened as an official selection at more than 30 film festivals worldwide. The television version received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Cultural Programming. At SIUC, Chressanthis will show his director’s cut.
Chressanthis’ other work includes the Emmy-nominated mini-series “Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows,” “Urban Legend,” and television movies “The Reagans,” “3: The Dale Earnhardt Story,” “The Music Man,” “Eloise at the Plaza,” and the 2001 “Brian’s Song.”
Chressanthis said he’s currently juggling several potential projects, from a large studio action feature to several new television dramas.
Having Chressanthis and Becker exhibit their work and the interaction with students “represents just one way that our alumni can give back to the institution and reconnect with their alma mater,” Kolb said.
“It’s always great to have alumni return and share their passion and knowledge with our students and faculty. It reminds us of what we do right, and we are very proud of them,” he said.
To learn more about Chressanthis’ work, visit http://chressanthis.com/; to learn more about Robin Becker’s work, visit http://www.robinbeckerartist.com/.
Chressanthis’ public schedule at SIUC:
Wednesday, Jan. 19
Thursday, Jan. 20
Permalink: http://news.siuc.edu/news/January11/011311par11006.html
Theaster Gates and the Black Monks will be in town, November 10th giving a performance at the University Museum Auditorium at 7:00pm. Gates is recognized as a Sculptor, Performance Artist, and Urban Planner. The Black Monks are a group of Baptist-Buddhist musicians who mix slave spirituals, monastic chants, and jazz to create a singular sonorous experience.
Most recently Gates participated in the Whitney Biennial with his work entitled “Cosmology of Yard,” and an installation at the Pulitzer Museum of Art in St. Louis entitled “Dry Bones and Other Parables From the North." Gates is the 2010 recipient of the Harvard Loeb Fellowship.
Born and raised in Chicago, Gates received his BS from Iowa State University in Urban Planning and Ceramics, an MA in Fine Arts, and Religious Studies from the University of Cape Town, M.A., and an MS at Iowa State University in Urban Planning, Ceramics and Religious Studies.Paul Cotter will present his professional and video production work.
Monday, May 24 at 7pm
Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium
The MCMA undergraduate and graduate students will present the products of their two-week intensive narrative production course, taught by Paul Cotter.
Friday, May 28 at 6pm
Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium
Screening: Before the Rain (1994)
Tuesday, April 27, 6:30 PM
Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium
Screening: Shadows (2007)
Wed, April 28, 7:30 PM
Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium
For information on a workshop the artist will conduct for student filmmakers and actors, contact the Department of Cinema and Photography (618) 453-2365 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Supported by the SIUC Student Fine Arts Activity Fee and Film Alternatives.
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Award-winning film director, writer and Southern Illinois University Carbondale graduate Milcho Manchevski will return to campus next week to screen two of his critically acclaimed films and talk with students.
The College of Mass Communication and Media Arts' Department of Cinema and Photography is hosting Manchevski as part of its visiting artist series.
Manchevski will screen two of his films, "Before the Rain," and "Shadows," in addition to visiting classrooms and conducting a workshop, said Susan Felleman, an associate professor in cinema studies and women's studies.
The screening of Manchevski's Academy Award-nominated first feature film, "Before the Rain," produced in 1994, is at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 27, in Morris Library's John C. Guyon Auditorium. The film was a 1995 Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, and was on the New York Times' list of the best 1,000 films ever made.
The screening of Manchevski's 2007 film, "Shadows," will be at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 28, also in Guyon Auditorium. The drama was Macedonia's entry in the foreign-language category for the 2008 Academy Awards.
The screenings are free. Both films do have adult themes, Felleman said.
"I'm excited about his visit because he's the kind of writer-director who is extremely knowledgeable about film history and has taken in a lot of really diverse ideas about film art," Felleman said. "You can see the way his knowledge of film history, history, and theoretical and philosophical ideas infuses his work, which is both very artistic and fun."
Manchevski is coming to SIUC from his hometown in Skopje, Macedonia. It was when Manchevski was 19 years old that he heard the late Richard Blumenberg, an SIUC film professor, present a lecture in Manchevski's hometown in the former Yugoslavia. Blumenberg helped Manchevski, who was already involved in film, win a scholarship, and also after arriving in Carbondale.
Manchevski earned a bachelor's degree in cinema and photography in May 1983. He returned to campus in April 2005 for showing of his films.
In addition to his feature work, which also includes the 2001 film, "Dust," Manchevski has also written and directed more than 50 short forms, including experimental films, documentaries, commercials and music videos. He earned an MTV Award for the 1992 music video, "Tennessee" by Arrested Development, an effort that Rolling Stone in 1994 labeled one of the 100 best videos ever. He is currently working on another feature film, "Mothers."
Manchevski "is one of our most accomplished alumni" in cinema and photography, Felleman said, noting the list also includes 1994 Academy Award nominee Steve James and filmmaker Joe Swanberg. "And as with these other two he stands for one of our ideals in the program which is producing independent artists.
"As someone who teaches film theory to future filmmakers I think the example of someone who can bring intelligence and knowledge to the art of filmmaking is fantastic," she said.
The SIUC Student Fine Arts Activity Fee makes the Department of Cinema and Photography Visiting Artist Series possible. Film Alternatives is also supporting the series.
Cinema & Photography Visiting Artist
Colombian Director, Ruben Mendoza
Screening: La Cerca (The Fence) and other films
Wednesday, April 7, 6:30pm
Cinema Soundstage (Communications 1116)
Roundtable: Prospects for Latin American Cinema
Thursday, April 8, 1-3pm
Dean's Conference Room (Communications 1031)
Production Workshop
Friday, April 9, 10am-4pm
Cinema Soundstage (Communications 1116)
Supported by the SIUC Student Fine Arts Activity Fee and Film Alternatives
Download Susan Felleman's CVHistory and theory of film in relation to art, classical and contemporary Hollywood cinema, European "art" film, surrealism, psychoanalytic and feminist theory.
Susan Felleman, Associate Professor of Cinema Studies is the author of two books, Botticelli in Hollywood: The Films of Albert Lewin (Twayne 1997) and Art in the Cinematic Imagination (Texas 2006), as well as numerous other publications. She is currently at work on a book project, Real Objects in Unreal Situations: Modern Art in Fiction Films, a series of case studies, ranging from the use American academic sculpture in The Song of Songs (Paramount Pictures 1933), Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) in Venus vor Gericht (a 1941 National Socialist entertainment), abstract painting in Alfred Hitchcocks The Trouble with Harry (1955), to 19th century Neoclassical sculpture in the recent British adaptation of Pride & Prejudice (2005). The bookfor which Professor Felleman received a 2010 William A. Minor Grantwill not only look closely at the way that art is engaged in these and other fiction films and how cinematic and narrative reframing alters the experience of art objects, but also investigate the material, economic, social and political currents through which the art comes to appear on screen.
Last year Professor Felleman was the keynote speaker at a symposium about film studies and art history, Image and Movement, held at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts, which brought together leading scholars from both fields. This Fall, Professor Felleman will travel to Belgium where she will lecture, and confer with Steven Jacobs, her co-investigator on a University College Ghent grant project, Cinematic Visualizations of Visual Arts. A Little Infidelity: La femme infidle becomes Unfaithful, her speculative essay on cinephilia, memory and intextuality, will appear in Cinephilia in the Age of Digital Reproduction: Film, Pleasure, and Digital Culture, Volume II, edited by Scott Balcerzak and Jason Sperb, due out soon from Wallflower Press; and A Two Way Mirror: Francis Bacon and the Deformation of Film, will appear in A Museum without Walls? Film, Art, New Media, edited by Angela Dalle Vacche, forthcoming next year from Palgrave-Macmillan.
In the 2010-2011 academic year, Felleman is teaching a new course, Understanding Visual Media, to undergraduate cinema and photography students, as well as a History of Experimental Cinema and a graduate course on the History of Media Art and Culture. Among other service activities, Professor Felleman represents the Department of Cinema and Photography to the SIUC Fine Arts Activity Fee committee and is actively involved in organizing fine arts activities, including a new occasional Friday afternoon screening series to be held at Carbondales Varsity Center for the Arts.
SIU Foundation