A half-dozen School of Art and Design students and recent graduates from University of Wisconsin-Stout have been recognized this spring, ranging from advertisement design to sculpture to filmmaking.
Four students took first places in a Minneapolis advertising competition, one student had his film chosen for the Chippewa Valley Film Festival and a recent graduate received a national honorable mention for his sculpture.
UW-Stout’s School of Art and Design has six undergraduate programs and one graduate program.
Advertising awards
The advertising awards were from the student division of the annual American Advertising Federation — AdFed — regional contest.
UW-Stout graphic design and interactive media majors who took gold awards are:
- Rachel Guck, of Elk River, Minn., with “Quest for Honesty: Brandless,” integrated campaign
- Ashley Ketcham, of Eden Prairie, Minn., with “Pick Issue with Tissue,” art direction campaign
- Sabrina Peitz, of Chanhassen, Minn., with “20 Years of Evenness,” integrated campaign
- Erin Worner, of St. Michael, Minn., a 2017 graduate, with “Outhere,” digital creative technology
Guck’s entry, for example, covered a concept and comprehensive promotional materials for an online grocery store, including experiential events, social media, augmented reality, app design, and a commercial.
Taking a silver award was Tayler Gerou, of Waterford, “More than Campaign,” integrated campaign.
All of the projects were created in 2017 in classes taught by Professor Nagesh Shinde.
Film chosen
Jon Wheeler, of Kohler, from the Master of Fine Arts in design program, will see his eight-minute sci-fi film “Sweep” screened at the annual Chippewa Valley Film Festival.
The festival is Saturday, April 21, at Micon Downtown Cinemas in Eau Claire. More than 700 films were submitted, and about 20 have been chosen.
Wheeler said his film “illustrates how a utopia for some could lead to a dystopia for others. I wanted to tell a story about a guy who is being crushed under the weight of endless labor and an oppressive robotic bureaucracy as he tries, futilely, to find meaning in his sculpture.”
“Sweep” was created in the Digital Cinema class taught by Associate Professor Peter Galante. It stars Howard Rakes and Angela Wheeler. UW-Stout students Jacob Conner and Josh Beyer helped with production.
Films with a UW-Stout connection also will be highlighted at the festival. The event’s featured guest is Kevin Pontuti, a former UW-Stout professor now of the University of Pacific in Stockton, Calif. Pontuti’s Penitent Productions directed a series of three short films, including the award-winning “Vanità,” which was filmed and produced at UW-Stout and involved four faculty and staff, Galante, Ed Jakober, Keif Oss and Jennifer Sansfacon.
Sculpture award
Dustin Steuck, who graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, recently received one of 16 honorable mention awards for the 2017 Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture sponsored by the International Sculpture Center.
The competition included 354 nominees from 137 schools, with 15 students earning awards and 16 earning honorable mentions.
Steuck first focused on drawing then switched to sculpture at UW-Stout. He graduated with a degree in studio art, concentrating in contemporary sculptural practices and drawing.
“I think what captivated me most was the critique process and the amount of information one could digest from a single gesture with physical material. Sculpture is more personal because it exists with you in the real world; it challenges you,” he said.
Steuck, of Minneapolis, will have a monthlong artist residency in May at the Vermont Studio Center and has been selected as a semifinalist for the annual Manifest Prize.
At UW-Stout, Steuck worked with Assistant Professor Kelly O'Brien.
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Photo
The short film “Sweep” by Jon Wheeler, at UW-Stout MFA in design student, has been selected for the Chippewa Valley Film Festival.
