Written by Regina Ender
To help APU students engage with contemporary art on a grand scale, three professors spearheaded a first-of-its-kind trip to New York and England that allowed both art and graphic design students to see world-renowned art up close and meet the artists in person. The 10 students, led by Professors Kent Anderson Butler, Stephen Childs, and Terry Dobson, set off to see top-tier galleries in both cities with art that is revered worldwide.
"Experiencing art on a first-hand account allows us to engage with amazing artwork from all over the world. It is a special experience that we have had with our students," Professor Anderson Butler said. “We can talk about photographs and pieces of art that are in textbooks, we can project them on a screen in a classroom, but it’s not the same.”
While in New York, the group visited several museums including the Museum of Modern Art, where they had a private walk through with museum curators, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they connected with museum staff member and APU alumna Jenna Julien. Other stops included tours at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the New Museum, and the Cooper Hewitt Museum , as well as visits to Gagosian, Pace, and Chelsea Art District art galleries.
Another highlight of the trip was a private walkthrough at Christie’s, an auction house where they met Tim Balboni, an artist famous for his geometric and landscape paintings and collages. While there, students also had an engaging discussion about professional art and design practices with distinguished artists Tom Geismar, Sagi Haviv, and Mackey Saturday, who is best-known for re-designing Instagram.
Many of the professionals shared about the importance of being open to different types of art, Professor Childs recalled, citing an artist who earned an art degree in metal making and went on to become a successful logo designer.
“To hear this meshing of creative arts and all of the various paths I think really opened the students’ eyes that there is not one path or expectation of what to do with a certain degree, it’s the idea of living a creative life,” Professor Childs said.
The group then flew to London, where they visited Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Victoria & Albert Museum, The National Gallery, the Design Museum, and Hayward Gallery. At Peter Anderson Studios, the students met with Peter Anderson himself to ask questions about his career path. They also went to Holborn Studios, where they toured photo and film facilities.
Meeting industry professionals helped graphic design major Erika Kaler envision herself as a professional artist and reminded her that people in the industry with successful careers were once students themselves.
“Catching a ‘behind the scenes’ look at the workflow of the studios was enlightening, as I was exposed to a side of the creative industry I hadn’t had the opportunity to experience before,” Kaler said. “I was strengthened as a designer through this trip because I felt empowered and capable of creating success in the creative industry. Meeting so many different types of people with different jobs helped me see the vast nature of the industry and that I never have to limit myself because there are so many opportunities out there.”
One of the most special moments of the trip, according to Professor Anderson Butler, was the group’s visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral, an iconic centerpiece of London’s skyline. The experience lent itself to a lesson about how art can become ministry. “There’s this really interesting juxtaposition that takes place. God chooses to use anybody as a vehicle to communicate his message to people,” he said. “I think that was really engaging for the students because they are able to see how contemporary art is being used as a catalyst to engage the community of the church.”
The students also took day trips to Stonehenge and Oxford, proving to be a source of fun and artistic inspiration in their own right, and served as a bonding experience for the students and professors.
“I think this is a great attribute of APU faculty’s teaching style,” Professor Dobson said. “Just the right balance of guided tours and structured time together, mixed with small group discovery and self-initiated teachable moments through personal exploration.”
