School of Critical Studies Class Notes

Spring 2013

Since January 1, 2009, Jonathan Mann (MFA 06) has made his living writing a song every day, and he is now up to more than 1,550. The prolific Brooklyn-based songwriter crafts a song each day with an accompanying video that he posts to his YouTube channel, where you can hear his life story and learn about his batting average for crafting gems. Some of his songs have gone viral over the past four years, getting coverage in Time, The Huffington Post, and CNN. His 77th song about Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman caught the attention of MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, who invited Mann to perform the song live on The Rachel Maddow Show in April 2009.

The Dallas art collective, In Cooperation with Muscle Nation,
co-founded by Robin Myrick (Critical Studies MFA 08), opened its latest show in April at the Davis Foundry Gallery in Oak Cliff, Texas. The show runs through May 25. Muscle Nation was listed in the Dallas Observer's "Best of 2012" issue in the category of Best Art Trend.

Having continued her interests in philosophical aesthetics, world music, design, theater, and dance, while pursuing a career in public health and environmental policy, Zabelle Zakarian (Humanities BFA 73) is departing for Kenya in June to train and serve as a Peace Corps volunteer from 2013 to 2015. As a health care volunteer, Zakarian will live and work in a rural community to support efforts to prevent HIV, malaria and parasitic diseases; promote hygiene and safe water supplies; and educate young people on how to protect their health and lead healthy lives. Her scholarly love of books has also enabled her to work as an editor specializing in personal memoirs, including Medic: The Mission of an American Military Doctor in Occupied Japan and Wartorn Korea by Crawford F. Sams, and Government for the People: Reflections of a White House Counsel to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson by Lee C. White. Zakarian holds an MPH from the University of Illinois and an ScD from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

Winter 2012/13

Kathie Foley's (Writing MFA 99) artwork will be included in the multidisciplinary arts project Project Bronzeville, opening in June 2013. The project, which has received funding from the Department of Cultural Affairs, the California Arts Council and the LA County Arts Commission, draws its name from the period in Los Angeles' history when African Americans lived in the section of the city known as Little Tokyo, following the internment of Japanese citizens. 

Caribbean Fragoza (Writing MFA 06) is co-director of South El Monte Arts Posse (SEMAP), a nonprofit "collective of artists, writers, urban planners, educators, scholars, farmers, ecologists, swap meet vendors, and youth dedicated to engaging with the South El Monte and El Monte community through the arts by rethinking our use of space and transforming how we inhabit it." The organization was recently featured by KCET.

"The Labor of Stagger Lee: Boar," a poem by faculty member Douglas Kearney (Writing MFA 04) appears in the March issue of Poetry Magazine. The on-line version of the journal also features a podcast with a reading of the poem.

Nate Schulman (Aesthetics and Politics MA 09) was awarded the 2012/13 American Friends of the Victoria and Albert Museum scholarship, which supports an American student's enrollment in the V&A/RCA History of Design MA program, one of the leading international postgraduate design history programs. Nate is a graphic designer from Scottsdale, Arizona. He is a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design (BFA Graphic Design) and has a Masters in Aesthetics and Politics from Cal Arts (California Institute of the Arts). He has worked in the design studios of such influential figures as April Greiman and CalArts Art faculty Ed Fella. He also has experience working in an archive of political graphics. Since training as a graphic designer, he has been increasingly drawn to the fields of design history, criticism and writing, and is interested in the use of critical theory within the design field."

Fall 2012

Brad Spence (MFA Art & Critical Studies '96) is the feature of Press Enterprise's Artist Spotlight.

Spring 2012

Anne-Marie Kinney (MFA Critical Studies '08) will release her debut novel Radio Iris on May 15th

Grace Krilanovich (MFA Critical Studies '05), Mathew Timmons (MFA Critical Studies '05), Sam Benjamin, and Janice Lee (MFA Critical Studies '08) read from their new works on April 22nd at CalArts.

Spring 2011

Ama Birch's (MFA Critical Studies '09) film A Plumber's Tale
will be screened on June 1st at 7pm at Anthology Film Archives in New York.

Suzanne Danziger's (MFA Critical Studies '01) essay was included in Still Developing: A Story of Instant Gratification.

Hillary Darling (MFA Critical Studies '10) was appointed as CalArts' Summer Session Coordinator.

This is New York's Strongest, A Photo and Narative Exhibition About Who They Are, a collaborative effort by Lisa Dowda (MFA Critical Studies'04)and Liz Ligon was presented at 411 Lafayette NoHo.

Alanna Lin (MFA Critical Studies ’03) just completed a public safety concept album titled, Emergency Songs: Before, During, and After.

CalArts Community Arts Partnership/CAP has named Nadine Rambeau (MFA Critical Studies '07) as its first Deputy Director.