In this week’s roundup of SVA community members in the press, alumni and faculty make their mark on sports, film, design, public spaces and illustration.
An image of the mural Migratory Pathways, created by SVA faculty member George Boorujy (MFA 2002 Illustration as Visual Essay).
An image of the mural Migratory Pathways, created by SVA faculty member George Boorujy (MFA 2002 Illustration as Visual Essay).
This week’s edition of “The Five,” a roundup of press clips spotlighting the work of SVA community members, celebrates a BFA Film alumnus featured in the New York Times, a department chair adding another honor to her list of accolades and a faculty member and graduate who is painting an inspiring new mural in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn.
1. The SVA community and the baseball world lost a legend last week when Marc Levine (BFA 1980 Photography), the longest-tenured photographer for the New York Mets, passed away, as reported by Essentially Sports and other outlets. A part of the Mets organization since the late 1980s, Levine was a significant fixture at games, capturing some of the team’s most iconic moments. Working for the Mets was a dream job for Levine, a lifelong fan to whom countless people paid tribute across social media. In an interview from 2014, Levine said, “One of my favorite things to do is to roam around the ballpark finding new angles.”
Filmmaker Ti West (BFA 2003 Film and Video) with actor Mia Goth, featured in The New York Times.
Filmmaker Ti West (BFA 2003 Film and Video) with actor Mia Goth, featured in The New York Times.
2. On the trail of MaXXXine, the latest and final entry in his X trilogy, filmmaker Ti West (BFA 2003 Film and Video) has been scooping up numerous high-profile interviews, including, notably, in The New York Times Magazine. Delving into what shaped him as a filmmaker, West credits a course he took at SVA taught by celebrated indie director Kelly Reichardt, saying she is “very much responsible in many ways for me having a career.” Reichardt introduced him to producer Larry Fessenden, which led to an internship, and well, the rest is history. MaXXXine is in theaters now.
Carol Bentel, chair of BFA Interior Design: Built Environments.
Carol Bentel, chair of BFA Interior Design: Built Environments.
3. SVA’s own Carol Bentel, chair of BFA Interior Design: Built Environments, was just one of six people inducted into the American Society of Interior Designers College of Fellows. This is the Society’s highest honor, bestowed to just 1% of members and celebrates achievements and contributions to the design profession. This distinction adds to Bentel’s already long list of awards and recognitions.
4. Xinyue Song (MFA 2018 Computer Arts; BFA 2016 Design), an illustrator who has worked with such notable clients as Adidas, Cartoon Network, Converse, Greenpeace, The New York Times and W Hotels, was interviewed this week by Our Culture magazine. Song talks about her inspiration, her heritage and recurring themes in her work. “While I was studying graphic design and computer arts, I always enjoyed creating, but it wasn’t until I finished school that I truly fell in love with illustration,” Song says. “My work often focuses on East Asian women, differing from traditional aesthetic stereotypes of delicate and graceful femininity. I strive for them to have a strong, powerful physique, as well as greater mental strength.”
Illustrator Xinyue Song (BFA 2016 Design, MFA 2018 Computer Arts), featured in Our Culture magazine.
Illustrator Xinyue Song (BFA 2016 Design, MFA 2018 Computer Arts), featured in Our Culture magazine.
5. Walking around Red Hook this summer? Keep an eye out for SVA faculty member and MFA 2002 Illustration as Visual Essay graduate George Boorujy’s 963-foot mural, Migratory Pathways, painted on a retaining wall near the Red Hook Ball Fields and recently covered by NY1. The mural, which depicts birds that may pass through Brooklyn on their migratory paths, was done in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the Audubon Mural Project and the Red Hook Conservancy. Not only is the mural a vibrant beautification of a public space, it aims to educate passersby on the effects of climate change and its most vulnerable species.