For Immediate Release
May 3, 2012
Contact: Felicia E. Molnar, 248-645-3329
Click here to download as a PDF

Cranbrook Academy of Art to Confer Distinguished Alumni Award on
Artist Anne Wilson (CAA ’72 Fiber)
Friday, May 11, 2012

Bloomfield Hills, MI—Cranbrook Academy of Art is pleased to announce that it will confer its Distinguished Alumni Award on the Chicago-based artist Anne Wilson at the 2012 Commencement Ceremony on Friday, May 11, 2012. The Distinguished Alumni Award is one of the highest honors bestowed by the Academy and recognizes graduates who have demonstrated creativity, innovation, leadership, and vision through their contributions to the practices of architecture, art, and design, as well as to Cranbrook Academy of Art.

For more than 75 years, Cranbrook Academy of Art has been home to some of the world’s most renowned designers and artists. Eero Saarinen, Charles Eames, Daniel Libeskind, Michael and Katherine McCoy, and Jun Kaneko have all taught here, to name only a few. Academy students have included Florence Knoll, Harry Bertoia, Jack Lenor Larsen, Nick Cave, Tony Matelli, Niels Diffrient, Ed Fella, Masamichi Udagawa, Lorraine Wild, and Hani Rashid. The work emanating from Cranbrook has in many ways changed the way people live, and the way they understand art and design.

Anne Wilson is a 1972 graduate of the Academy’s Fiber Department and a visual artist who creates sculpture, drawings, performances and video animations that explore themes of time, loss, and private and social rituals. Her work is exemplary of an artistic practice that is rooted in hands-on processes of making, forming, and creating.

“In the same way that Anne Wilson learned from the pioneers in the field of fiber here at Cranbrook, she has now has gone on to transform that very field herself,” says Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum.

Wilson has participated in a wide range of gallery and important museum exhibitions during her ongoing and distinguished career both in this country and around the world. Most recently her work has been shown in the Global Threads exhibition at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester, England. Wilson's work is in the permanent collections of the Cranbrook Art Museum; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Detroit Institute of Arts; the Museum of Glass, Tacoma; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan, among others. Wilson is the recipient of grants from the Driehaus Foundation, Artadia, the Tiffany Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Illinois Arts Council. She is currently Professor of the Fiber in the Material Studies Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Past recipients of Cranbrook Academy of Art’s Distinguished Alumni Award include Peter Bohlin (CAA ’61 Architecture) and Niels Diffrient (CAA ’54 Design).

Cranbrook Academy of Art
Cranbrook Academy of Art is the country’s top ranked, graduate-only program in architecture, design and fine art. Each year, just 75 students are invited to study and live on our landmark Saarinen-designed campus, which features private studios, state-of-the art workshops, a renowned Art Museum, and 300 acres of forests, lakes, and streams, all a short drive from the red-hot art, design, and music scene of Detroit. The focus at Cranbrook is on studio practice in one of ten disciplines: Architecture, 2D and 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media, and Sculpture. The program is anchored by celebrated Artists- and Designers-in-Residence, one for each discipline, all of whom live and practice on campus alongside our students. For more information, visit us at www.cranbrookart.edu.

For Immediate Release
April 4, 2012
Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
248-645-3329

Cranbrook Academy of Art Announces the Appointment of Shannon Stratton Critical Studies Fellow for Fall 2012

Bloomfield Hills, MI -- Cranbrook Academy of Art is pleased to announce the appointment of the Chicago-based curator and critic Shannon Stratton as the Critical Studies Fellow for the 2012-2013 academic year. Operating as a critic at-large at the Academy, Ms. Stratton will meet directly with students to promote dialogue on issues of prominence in the world of art and design. The general public will also be invited to meet Shannon Stratton and hear about her work during two public lectures at Cranbrook in the fall of 2012.

As one of the top leaders in the arts in Chicago, Stratton was named a Chicagoan of the Year in 2011 by the Chicago Tribune for her work as a founder and current Executive and Creative Director of threewalls Chicago. Founded in 2003, threewalls is a not-for-profit residency and exhibition space that supports contemporary visual arts in the city.

“We are thrilled to welcome Shannon Stratton to campus. Her work at threewalls combined with her teaching represents the seamlessness of her creative practice” says Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art. “She knows what it takes to be successful in the world of art and design and we expect her to lead some great conversations about the workplace, economy, and contemporary culture during her time at the Academy.”

At Cranbrook, Stratton has developed a theme for the semester entitled, "The Social Capital of the Amateur." She will present a series of lectures, discussions, and projects that address the shift in the “amateur” in contemporary culture: from a renewed interest in DIY practices (small business, home brewing, vernacular shelter, free schools, hacking) to a surge in hobby methodologies, aesthetics, and materials in culture.

Shannon Stratton travelled from her hometown of Alberta, Canada to Chicago in 2001 to pursue a master's degree in Fiber Art at the School of the Art Institute (SAIC). She subsequently received a master's in contemporary theory in 2008 from the SAIC, where she currently teaches in the Art History, Theory, and Criticism Department as well as the Fiber and Material Studies program. In 2010, Stratton was named one of the top 5 most vital people in the visual arts in Chicago by NewCity. And in 2011, she was a fellow of the NAMAC Visual Arts Leadership Institute and a finalist for the Chicago Community Trust Emerging Leader Award. Her curatorial projects are wide-ranging and have been presented across the country, including at: The Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland; The Glassel School of Art in Houston; and the Soap Factory in Minneapolis. With the Green Lantern Press, she founded and published Phonebook, a guide to contemporary and independent artist-run projects which is now in its third volume.

The Critical Studies Fellowship at Cranbrook Academy of Art was launched in 2009 in conjunction with the annual Critical Studies academic program. The Fellowship program is designed to respond to the most current intellectual climates within contemporary art, design and architecture. The addition of the one-semester Critical Studies Fellow creates an opportunity for students to have a sustained and active role in exploring the ideas of a noted scholar, artist, and critic from outside the Cranbrook community.

Cranbrook Academy of Art
Cranbrook Academy of Art is the country’s top ranked, graduate-only program in architecture, design and fine art. Each year, just 75 students are invited to study and live on our landmark Saarinen-designed campus, which features: private studios, state-of-the art workshops, a renowned Art Museum and 300 acres of forests, lakes and streams, all a short drive from the red-hot art, design, and music scene of Detroit. The focus at Cranbrook is on studio practice in one of ten disciplines including Architecture, 2D and 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media, and Sculpture. The program is anchored by celebrated Artists- and Designers-in-Residence, one for each discipline, all of whom live and practice on campus alongside our students. Dozens of internationally acclaimed artists, critics, curators and gallerists visit each semester to supplement the individualized instruction, critiques, and mentoring by the Artists-in-Residence and the Critical Studies Fellow. For more information, visit us at www.cranbrookart.edu.

For Immediate Release
August 15, 2011
Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
248-645-3329
Download this release as a PDF

Cranbrook Art Museum's Grand Reopening Exhibition

No Object is an Island: New Dialogues with the Cranbrook Collection Opens November 11, 2011

First Exhibition in the Newly Renovated and Expanded Museum Explores Cranbrook’s Continued Influence in the World of Contemporary Art and Design

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan – No Object is an Island: New Dialogues with the Cranbrook Collection is the provocative exhibition that will reopen the expanded and renovated Cranbrook Art Museum at Cranbrook Academy of Art on November 11, 2011. Inside and around the landmark building, designed by renowned Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, the exhibition will pair the work of 50 leading contemporary artists and designers with an equal number of objects from Cranbrook’s outstanding permanent collection of 20th- and 21st-century art and design. Visitors will discover a Nick Cave Soundsuit side-by-side with a tapestry by Arts and Crafts master May Morris. A conceptual partnership that Maarten Baas projects between himself and Marc Newson meets a very real early collaboration of Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames. And Whitney Biennalist Tony Mattelli’s hyperrealist sculpture, The Hunter, faces off with one of fellow sculptor Kate Clark’s ravishing taxidermy beasts with a human face.

The pairings reinstate the challenging dialogue that has characterized Cranbrook since the revolutionary graduate school and museum opened more than 80 years ago. In so doing, No Object is an Island is an analog for Cranbrook Art Museum itself, the renovation of which transcends common notions of museum practice. At Cranbrook, the era of museum collections hidden in remote and dusty storage lockers is over. After the museum’s two-year, $22 million upgrade, the entire collection will now be visible—and accessible—to students, scholars, and visitors. Classes will occur in view of, or actually inside, the museum’s glass-walled vaults, where the art will reside in cabinetry custom-designed to display it exhibition-style at all times. Objects in the galleries will be keyed to additional collections materials readily available for study in a research center within the new 20,000 square-foot Collections Wing. The buildings and their holdings will become one integrated teaching and learning machine, an educational resource like no other.

For Director Gregory Wittkopp, who has guided the museum as its curator or director for 26 years, No Object is an Island is an opportunity to showcase a cross-section of the museum’s permanent collection—including numerous recent “never-before-seen” acquisitions—while also demonstrating its continued relevancy to contemporary practitioners. “At a moment when most museums would simply trot out their 100 greatest hits, Cranbrook will use its collection to challenge and inspire a new generation of artists and designers and other museum visitors,” says Wittkopp. “While the 20th-century museum saw its mission as preservation, we are leading the charge of 21st-century museums to educate through objects.”

Often called the American Bauhaus, Cranbrook Academy of Art has long been hailed for its prescient embrace of interdisciplinary art and design education. No Object is an Island and the enhanced museum will embody and update that tradition. Nowhere is this more evident than in the exhibition’s unexpected pairings, such as that of Cranbrook’s legendary designer, Harry Bertoia and contemporary metalsmith Dorothea Pruhl. Here we find Bertoia working not at the expected scale of his iconic furniture or Sound Sculptures but as a jeweler, next to one of Europe’s most influential craftswomen. Or the dialogue between Asymptote Architecture and Eero Saarinen, both of whom have helped redefine the form of architecture and how we model it. In the case of Asymptote, visitors will see a “fly-through” projection of their award winning, 2011 YAS Hotel in Dubai next to a rare original model of Saarinen’s structurally daring Dulles International Airport. Separated by half a century of thought and technology, both buildings nevertheless share a tradition of radical form-making (and advanced technology) that are characteristic of Cranbrook’s leading role in contemporary architecture.

No Object is an Island is organized around six themes—Craft, Site, Comfort, Resistance, Process, and Fiction– each of which connotes a period of innovation at Cranbrook Academy of Art and presents a body of work that suggests common points of departure in the pursuit of creative expression and original art. While “Craft,” for example, reflects the important role that Cranbrook’s founder George Booth played in shaping the American Arts and Crafts movement (giving it physical form through the architecture and collections of Cranbrook), “Process” explores the work of contemporary artists who give physical form to the activity of making. “Comfort” suggests both the Academy’s role as the cradle of mid-century modernism, as well as the work of contemporary designers who are continuing to challenge and redefine the nature of domestic and work environments. The themes of “No Object” are by no means exhaustive; nor are they meant to be prescriptive. Instead, they offer a starting point for exploring the remarkable influence Cranbrook has had on contemporary creative culture.

No Object is an Island will open on 11-11-11 in conjunction with an eleven-day program of events, lectures, films and performances—during which the museum will be open 11 hours each day—and will run through March 25, 2012. This is the first of many exhibitions that will build on Cranbrook Art Museum’s mission to bridge visual art and design, scholarship and accessibility, tradition and innovation in its programs, and in so doing, document the ongoing creative achievements of the faculty and alumni of Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Curators
Gregory Wittkopp, Director of Cranbrook Art Museum, and Sarah Margolis-Pineo, the Art Museum’s Jeanne and Ralph Graham Collections Fellow, are the co-curators of No Object is an Island.

Publication
Cranbrook Art Museum will publish a fully illustrated catalog in conjunction with this exhibition. The catalog will include an introductory essay by Gregory Wittkopp with section essays by Emily Zilber (Craft), Jana Cephas (Site), Reed Kroloff (Comfort), Sarah Margolis-Pineo (Resistance), Sarah Turner (Process), and Christopher Ho (Fiction).

Museum Hours and Admission
Cranbrook Art Museum will reopen to the general public on Friday, November 11 from 9pm – Midnight. During the first 11 days following the Grand Reopening—Saturday, November 12 through Monday, November 21 — the museum will be open daily from 10am - 9pm. A special 11-day membership will be available during this time that will provide unlimited admission to the exhibition and all programs for just $11. From November 22, 2011 through March 25, 2012, regular Art Museum hours will be Wednesdays, 10am – 5pm; Thursdays and Fridays, 10am – 8pm; and Saturdays and Sundays, 10am – 5pm. Regular admission is: $8 for Adults; $6 for Seniors; $4 for Full-time Students with ID; FREE for Children 12 and under. For more information, please call 248-645-3320.

About Cranbrook Art Museum
Cranbrook Art Museum is a contemporary art museum, and an integral part of Cranbrook Academy of Art, a community of Artists-in-Residence and graduate-level students of art, design and architecture. The Art Museum, which was established in 1930 and opened at its current site in 1942, is Eliel Saarinen’s final masterwork at Cranbrook. Today, the Art Museum presents original exhibitions and educational programming on modern and contemporary architecture, art, and design, as well as traveling exhibitions, films, workshops, travel tours, and lectures by renowned artists, designers, artists, and critics throughout the year. For more information, please call 248-645-3320, or visit www.cranbrook.edu.

About Cranbrook Academy of Art
Cranbrook Academy of Art is the country’s top ranked, graduate-only program in architecture, design, and fine art. Each year, just 75 students are invited to study and live on Cranbrook’s landmark Saarinen-designed campus, which in addition to the Art Museum features private studios and state-of-the art workshops, all a short drive from the art, design, and music scene of Detroit. The focus at Cranbrook is on studio practice in one of ten disciplines including Architecture, 2D and 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media, and Sculpture. The program is anchored by celebrated Artists- and Designers-in-Residence, one for each discipline, all of whom live and practice on campus alongside the Academy’s students. Dozens of internationally acclaimed artists, critics, curators, and gallerists visit each semester to supplement the individualized instruction, critiques, and mentoring by the Artists-in-Residence and Critical Studies Fellow. For more information, please call 248-645-3300 or visit www.cranbrookart.edu.

About Cranbrook Educational Community
Cranbrook is an internationally renowned educational community dedicated to excellence in the arts, education, and science. George and Ellen Booth founded Cranbrook in the early years of the 20th century with the hope of realizing the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement and creating a community where artists could live and work. Their ideas took concrete form when they donated a sizeable portion of their money and much of the estate they had named Cranbrook, to be used as an educational and cultural center. In 1904, the Booths commissioned Albert Kahn to design a house on the property in a style reflecting the American Arts and Crafts Movement. In 1925, Eliel Saarinen was commissioned to begin designing many of the buildings that unfolded throughout the property, with Swedish artist Carl Milles arriving in 1931 to grace the grounds with sculptures and fountains. Over its 107-year history, Cranbrook has earned an international reputation for educational and cultural excellence. The 320-acre historic campus today comprises the Academy of Art, Art Museum, Institute of Science, Cranbrook Schools, and other affiliated cultural and educational programs. For more information, please call 248-645-3000 or visit www.cranbrook.edu.

For Immediate Release
July 27, 2011
Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
248-645-3329
Download this release as a PDF

At the Birthplace of Modernism, A Rebirth

Cranbrook Art Museum to reopen on November 11th after a two-year, $22 million restoration and expansion – the first since the landmark Eliel Saarinen building opened in 1942.

New Wing will allow the museum’s full collection of design, textiles, ceramics and fine art to be displayed and accessed, underscoring the pedagogical mission of Cranbrook by bringing the collection to life for a new generation of artists, students, and visitors.

Inaugural exhibition to create dialogue between the magnificent collection and contemporary works.

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan – On November 11, 2011, Cranbrook Art Museum will reopen after a two-year construction project that encompassed both a complete renovation of its landmark 1942 Eliel Saarinen-designed building and a new 20,000-square-foot Collections Wing. While the restored galleries (including a new state-of-the-art climate control system and other sophisticated museum technologies) will continue to provide the Art Museum with a venue for innovative and thought-provoking exhibitions, the new Collections Wing will house and make accessible the Museum's celebrated permanent collection of nearly 6,000 works of art, architecture, and design from the Arts and Crafts Movement to the present. Cranbrook Educational Community's extensive Archives and Cultural Properties collections will also move to the facility, creating a dynamic new center for exhibition, research, and educational programming.

HISTORY OF CRANBROOK ACADEMY OF ART, "AMERICA'S BAUHAUS"
Founded by newspaper magnate George Gough Booth and his wife Ellen Scripps Booth, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum represent an ongoing educational experiment that the whole Cranbrook Educational Community embodies—"an original and radical plan to integrate all the arts in a perfect ensemble," according to Museum Director Gregory Wittkopp.

Cranbrook Academy of Art has been described as "America's Bauhaus," in recognition of the singular impact the school – one of the nation's leading graduate schools of art, architecture, and design – has as a place of artistic creation. Charles and Ray Eames, Florence Knoll, Harry Bertoia, Ralph Rapson, and Eero Saarinen created mid-century modernism at Cranbrook. Michael and Katherine McCoy started Product Semantics at the school. Daniel Libeskind, Jun Kaneko, Hani Rashid, Nick Cave, Richard De Vore, Tony Matelli, Niels Diffrient, Ed Fella, John Glick, Duane Hanson, Jack Lenor Larsen, and Lorraine Wild all studied or taught at Cranbrook. Today, the Academy graduates more than 70 young artists and designers each year. The school's faculty of ten Artists-in-Residence are award-winning practitioners in their fields with work exhibited at some the world's most distinguished venues, including the Venice Biennale, the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, The Detroit Institute of Arts, the Museum of Modern Art, The American Academy of Arts, and many others.

As Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum, says, "People may not realize it, but Cranbrook art and design is everywhere. Whether you're sitting in an Eames office chair or riding in a new subway car in New York City, you are experiencing design by Cranbrook graduates [Antenna Design, which created the most recent subway cars, is co-directed by Masamichi Udagawa, a Cranbrook graduate]. The impact of this school on American life is ongoing and profound."

The Art Museum represents the culmination of Booth's plan. The Museum's collection of art and objects includes sculpture, paintings, models and drawings, ceramics, glass, furniture, textiles, and metalwork, and it is renowned for its variety – with the decorative, applied and fine arts all represented–its depth, and its unrivaled quality. Among the many treasures owned by Cranbrook Art Museum are works by Agnes Martin, Donald Judd, Bridget Riley, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Maija Grotell, Peter Voulkos, Eliel, Eero, Loja and Pipsan Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Florence Knoll, Marianne Strengell, Marshall Fredericks, Carl Milles, Arthur Neville Kirk, Paul Manship, and William Morris.

RENOVATION AND EXPANSION
Designed originally by Eliel and Eero Saarinen (with later buildings by Steven Holl, Lake/Flato, Rafael Moneo, Peter Rose, and Tod Williams and Billie Tsien), Cranbrook is a National Historic Landmark, located on 320 acres of rolling, wooded landscape approximately 18 miles northwest of downtown Detroit. And, on a campus famous for its architecture, Cranbrook Art Museum is considered one of Eliel Saarinen's masterpieces.

The complete renovation and expansion accomplishes two things, according to Museum Director Wittkopp. "On a fundamental level, we are making a commitment to the infrastructure of the museum by raising Saarinen's masterwork to the standards of 21st-century museum practice, in terms of mechanical systems, lighting, communications, and other technology," he says. "But Cranbrook is, ultimately, a community where art and life are inextricably linked, and we believe that a museum and its collections are important only if they can continue to inspire new generations of artists." To that end, and in keeping with Cranbrook's tradition as a center of educational innovation, the new Collections Wing creates a model that is unprecedented: a museum whose collections in their entirety are visible and accessible. "The Academy has always seen the collection as a critical component of our pedagogy," explains Kroloff. "So we decided early on to create a very different kind of environment for viewing it. Instead of seeing only the fraction of the collection that most museums offer, our students, faculty, and visitors will have access to all 6,000 objects in a way that's never been possible before. Cranbrook Art Museum and its collections will be an integrated teaching environment like no other."

In order to accommodate this program, the building project encompassed two primary aspects: renovating and restoring the original Saarinen museum, and adding the 20,000-square-foot Collections Wing, where much of the collection will be displayed. Creating a conservation environment within the existing building required substantial improvements to achieve current standards for lighting, temperature, and humidity. Restoration of the Saarinen building also included a new roof, windows, and brick repair, as well as the disassembly and rebuilding of the building's famed plazas and ceremonial exterior stairs, which will now include a snow melting system that eliminates the need for destructive winter salting. An original Saarinen-designed coffered gallery lighting system (believed to be the first of its kind, and the forerunner of Eero Saarinen's revolutionary integrated lighting systems at the nearby General Motors Technical Center) was also restored.

The new Collections Wing is located to the northeast of the historic Saarinen museum and houses the new, visible collections spaces, a woodshop, photography studio, loading dock, and a 10'x15' freight elevator to facilitate the transport of artworks within the building. A seminar/conference space is intended for focused instruction regarding the collection. The SmithGroup was the architect for both the restoration and the new building.

The $22 million-project at Cranbrook Art Museum was funded by Cranbrook Educational Community as one of several important restoration projects made possible by a recently completed $181 million Comprehensive Fundraising Campaign. Of this total, the Academy of Art and Art Museum raised nearly $46 million in annual and endowed support for programming, financial aid, faculty support, and new equipment. The $10 million lead gift to the Campaign was received from Maxine and Stuart Frankel and family.

REOPENING EXHIBITION
Since their founding, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Cranbrook Art Museum have been committed to catalyzing discourse surrounding cultural production, including art and design theory. The Museum will reopen on November 11, 2011 with an exhibition that will underscore this idea, while firmly establishing the relevance of Cranbrook and its collections today. The opening exhibition will juxtapose selections from the Museum's collection with work by contemporary artists, setting up conversations between the pieces that will cross barriers of time, typology, and theoretical discourse.

About Cranbrook Educational Community
Cranbrook is an internationally renowned educational community dedicated to excellence in the arts, education, and science. George and Ellen Booth founded Cranbrook in the early years of the 20th century with the hope of realizing the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement and creating a community where artists could live and work. Their ideas took concrete form when they donated a sizeable portion of their money and much of the estate they had named Cranbrook, to be used as an educational and cultural center. In 1904, the Booths commissioned Albert Kahn to design a house on the property in a style reflecting the American Arts and Crafts Movement. In 1925, Eliel Saarinen was commissioned to begin designing many of the buildings that unfolded throughout the property, with Swedish artist Carl Milles arriving in 1931 to grace the grounds with sculptures and fountains. Over its 107-year history, Cranbrook has earned an international reputation for educational and cultural excellence. The 320-acre historic campus today comprises the Academy of Art, Art Museum, Institute of Science, Cranbrook Schools, and other affiliated cultural and educational programs.

About Cranbrook Art Museum
Cranbrook Art Museum is a contemporary art museum, and an integral part of Cranbrook Academy of Art, a community of Artists-in-Residence and graduate-level students of art, design and architecture. The Art Museum, which was established in 1930 and opened at its current site in 1942, is Eliel Saarinen's final masterwork at Cranbrook. Today, the Art Museum presents original exhibitions and educational programming on modern and contemporary architecture, art, and design, as well as traveling exhibitions, films, workshops, travel tours, and lectures by renowned artists, designers, artists, and critics throughout the year.

About Cranbrook Academy of Art
Cranbrook Academy of Art is the country's top ranked, graduate-only program in architecture, design, and fine art. Each year, just 75 students are invited to study and live on Cranbrook's landmark Saarinen-designed campus, which features private studios, state-of-the art workshops, a renowned Art Museum and 320 acres of forests, lakes, and streams, all a short drive from the art, design, and music scene of Detroit. The focus at Cranbrook is on studio practice in one of ten disciplines including Architecture, 2D and 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media, and Sculpture. The program is anchored by celebrated Artists- and Designers-in-Residence, one for each discipline, all of whom live and practice on campus alongside the Academy's students. Dozens of internationally acclaimed artists, critics, curators, and gallerists visit each semester to supplement the individualized instruction, critiques, and mentoring by the Artists-in-Residence and Critical Studies Fellow. For more information, call us at 248-645-3300 or visit us at www.cranbrookart.edu.

For Immediate Release
May 7, 2011
Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
248-645-3329

More than $100,000 in Awards for Excellence in the Arts Presented to Students of Cranbrook Academy of Art

Bloomfield Hills, MI – On the eve of its 2011 commencement ceremonies, Cranbrook Academy of Art celebrated another year of outstanding work by its faculty and graduate students at its annual Academy Awards event. Before a gathering of more than 200 students, families, friends and donors in the auditorium of Cranbrook Institute of Science, the Academy conferred more than $100,000 in grants, awards and scholarships, including six distinguished awards for artistic excellence, and merit scholarships to more than 25 current students. The awards—designed to support study at the Academy and to aid 2011 graduates in the transition from student to practicing artist --- included: The Mercedes Benz Financial Services Emerging Artist Award; the $10,000 Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship; and the Stewart Thompson Fellowship at Haystack Mountain School.

“We are a small school with a unique program, but Cranbrook remains a driving force in contemporary architecture, art, and design due to the accomplishments of our students, graduates, and faculty,” says Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art. “The awards granted this year recognize – through the important support of donors and corporate support—our exceptional program and students.”

The 2011 Mercedes Benz Financial Services Emerging Artist Award recognizes artistic promise with a grant to study and exhibit in the
Berlin, Germany, and was awarded to Carson Grubaugh, a Master of Fine Arts candidate in the Painting Department, a native of Modesto, California. The Mercedes Benz Financial Services Emerging Artist Award is presented this year for the sixth time, and is a result of the long partnership between Mercedes Benz Financial Services, which maintains its North American Headquarters in Farmington Hills, MI and Cranbrook Academy of Art. The award is presented annually in recognition of a particularly innovative work presented during the Graduate Degree exhibition, which is the thesis show mounted by MFA graduate-candidates of the Academy. The Mercedes award allows talented young artists the opportunity to enter into dialogue with fellow artists in Europe, and further develop their creative capacity during a two month-long residency at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin. Before commencing his studies at Cranbrook in 2009, Grubaugh received degrees in both Art and Philosophy from the University of California Berkeley. During the course of his studies, Carson became engaged in the newly emergent Philosophy of Information, and choose to pursue an exploration of these themes through the Painting at Cranbrook. His current work mixes his philosophical interest in information with his personal attraction to occult mysticism.

The $10,000 Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship was awarded to Ryan Clark, a Master of Fine Arts candidate in the Print Media Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art and a native of Des Moines, Iowa. This award was created by the philanthropist, art collector, author and curator, Toby Devan Lewis, who has been a constant supporter of young and emerging artists. She recently created the Toby Fund, to give graduating Master of Fine Arts students at more than 15 schools of art around the country, grants of $10,000 each. As a former curator of the Progressive Collection, Lewis has been known for finding and nurturing young and unknown artists. Clark received his BFA from the University of Iowa. Clark’s studio practice is studio practice originates from an interest in the philosophy of time. This broad concept is explored more selectively, through visual metaphor and atmosphere by utilizing video, photography, electronics and installation. The concept of linear time is of particular interest to me and I have explored it in relation to self-identity and memory, historical/cultural narratives, infinity paradox, and many other approaches.

The Robert Larson Art, Design and Architecture Venture Fund was awarded to Academy students Sonja Dahl (Fiber), Stacy Jo Scott (Ceramics) and Rebekah Frank (Metalsmithing). The award recognizes and supports the work of innovative and inspired Academy graduate students. The award was established by Bonnie Larson to celebrate her husband Robert’s 70th birthday. Robert C. Larson, who recently passed away, was a long-time volunteer leader and donor at Cranbrook who served as the Chair of the Board of Trustees from 1996-2002. He was also a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy and Art Museum from 1986-2000.

The 2010 Cranbrook Art Museum Purchase Award was presented to Sae Jung Oh, a Master of Fine Arts candidate in the 3D Design Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art. Oh’s work, currently on display in the 2010 Graduate Degree Exhibition at Cranbrook Art Museum was selected for purchase by the Museum’s governing board and will be accessioned into the permanent collection of Cranbrook Art Museum. Oh recently was recently awarded first prize in the Design Quest 2011 Furniture Competition for a similar work in her series of jute-based furniture, which consists of everyday objects, wrapped in plant fiber. Iain Thorp, one of the competition judges, praised Jay’s work as, “Wonderfully imaginative, crafted, and conceived. The very tangible, human connection to the use is familiar and yet never seen before.”

Also during the ceremonies it was announced that Brittany Nelson, a Master of Fine Arts candidate in the Photography Department received the Academy Director’s Award. Nelson, who hails from Montana, came to Cranbrook following her work as an adjunct professor of photography at Montana State where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Photography.

Twenty-eight students, who will continue their second year of studies at the Academy in 2010-2011, were awarded Merit Scholarships in recognition of their talent and for meeting high-academic standards during the past year. Merit Scholarships are supported by gifts and independent sponsors, including alumni, private philanthropists, corporations, company foundations, and professional organizations.

Cranbrook Academy of Art
Founded in 1932, Cranbrook Academy of Art is a preeminent graduate school of architecture, art, and design. The Academy is the only institution in the United States dedicated solely to graduate art education, granting the Master of Architecture degree and the Master of Fine Arts degree in 2D Design, 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media and Sculpture. Renowned alumni and faculty Carl Milles, Harry Bertoia, Charles and Ray Eames, Maija Grotell, Eero Saarinen, Florence Knoll, and Daniel Libeskind among others, have had a major impact on the art, design, and architecture for more than 75 years.

Images available upon request.

For Immediate Release
May 5, 2011
Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
248-645-3329

Cranbrook Academy of Art Commencement 2011 Friday, May 6
New York Times Art Critic Roberta Smith to Deliver Address to Graduating Class + Award-Winning Architect and Designer of Apple Store Peter Bohlin to Receive Distinguished Alumni Award

Bloomfield Hills, MI – The 2011 commencement ceremonies at Cranbrook Academy of Art will take place on Friday, May 6 at 2 pm in Christ Church Cranbrook and will feature an address by the renowned New York Times Art Critic, Roberta Smith. More than 80 students of the Academy will receive either a Masters of Architecture or Master of Fine Arts Degree from the country’s leading independent graduate school of architecture, art and design. Director Reed Kroloff will also confer the Distinguished Alumni Award on the Peter Bohlin for his groundbreaking contribution to the field of architecture. The annual commencement ceremony attracts more than 400 parents, friends and members of the Cranbrook community that culminates the Academy’s two-year program at the cutting edge of contemporary arts education.

A brief history on the commencement speaker and this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award recipient can be found below.

Roberta Smith is the New York Times senior art critic and has written for newspaper since 1986. Her career in the arts started in 1968 while an undergraduate summer intern at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Smith has written numerous essays for catalogues and monographs on contemporary artists, and wrote the featured essay in the Judd catalogue raisonné published by the National Gallery of Canada in 1975. In 2003, the College Art Association awarded Smith the Frank Jewett Mather Award for Art Criticism. She is well-known for her clear, insightful and accessible writing style. She not only writes about contemporary art but also about the visual arts in general, including decorative arts, popular and outsider art, design, and architecture.

Peter Bohlin, is a 1961 graduate of Cranbrook Academy of Art, and a 2010 Gold Medal recipient from the AIA. Bohlin represents a long-line of distinguished graduates and faculty of the Academy’s architecture department that includes the 2011 AIA Gold Medal Winner and alumni Fumihiko Maki, Daniel Libeskind, Eero and Eliel Saarinen, and Hani Rashid among others. Bohlin is the founding principal of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and has been instrumental in establishing the firm’s consistent record of design achievement that includes their award-winning designs for the Apple stores around the world, most notably the iconic Apple store on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Founded in 1965, with offices in Wilkes-Barre, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Seattle and San Francisco the firm's work is known for an extraordinary aesthetic, and its responsiveness to particularity of place and user, and a quiet rigor that is both intellectual and intuitive. Award-winning civic, university, corporate and residential projects span the United States and around the globe. Bohlin is the second recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award. It was first conferred in 2006 to Niels Diffrient, a graduate of the Design Department.

Cranbrook Academy of Art

Founded in 1932, Cranbrook Academy of Art is a preeminent graduate school of architecture, art, and design. The Academy is the only institution in the United States dedicated solely to graduate art education, granting the Master of Architecture degree and the Master of Fine Arts degree in 2D Design, 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media and Sculpture. Renowned alumni and faculty Carl Milles, Harry Bertoia, Charles and Ray Eames, Maija Grotell, Eero Saarinen, Florence Knoll, and Daniel Libeskind among others, have had a major impact on the art, design, and architecture for more than 75 years.

Images available upon request.

For Immediate Release
April 19, 2011
Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
248-645-3329

Cranbrook Academy of Art Announces the Appointment of Jana Cephas
Critical Studies Fellow for Fall 2011

Bloomfield Hills, MI -- Cranbrook Academy of Art is pleased to announce the appointment of scholar Jana Cephas as the Critical Studies Fellow for the 2011-2012 academic year. Operating as a critic at-large at the Academy, Ms. Cephas will meet with students and faculty in their studios to promote dialogue on issues of prominence in the world of art and design.

The general public will be invited to meet Jana Cephas and hear about her work during two public lectures at Cranbrook in the fall of 2011.

“While her formal education is in architecture and urbanism, Jana's research while at Harvard has been at the crossroads of art and design,” says Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art. “We believe her cross disciplinary approach parallels much of the thinking and processes of our students, and we expect her to lead some great conversations and scholarship during her time at the Academy.”

Jana Cephas is currently a PhD candidate in History and Theory of Architecture, Landscape and Urbanism at Harvard University, with secondary studies in the field of Science, Technology and Society Studies. She will complete her dissertation and earn her degree in 2012. Before entering Harvard, Ms. Cephas pursued her education in architecture and urbanism at the University of Michigan and the University of Detroit Mercy, where she is held in high esteem as a gifted original thinker and as a teacher. She has served as an instructor and guest critic in architectural design and in the history and theory of architecture and urbanism at Harvard University, Northeastern University, and Rhode Island School of Design. Her dissertation work is focused on the urbanization of Detroit in the early twentieth-century through examining the metaphors associated with working (class) bodies, modern buildings, and efficient machines.

The Critical Studies Fellowship at Cranbrook Academy of Art was launched in 2009 in conjunction with the annual Critical Studies academic program. The Fellowship program is designed to respond to the most current intellectual climates within contemporary art, design and architecture. The addition of the one-semester Critical Studies Fellow creates an opportunity for students to have a sustained and active role in exploring the ideas of a noted scholar, artist, and critic from outside the Cranbrook community.

Cranbrook Academy of Art

Cranbrook Academy of Art is the country’s top ranked, graduate-only program in architecture, design and fine art. Each year, just 75 students are invited to study and live on our landmark Saarinen-designed campus, which features: private studios, state-of-the art workshops, a renowned Art Museum and 300 acres of forests, lakes and streams, all a short drive from the red-hot art, design, and music scene of Detroit. The focus at Cranbrook is on studio practice in one of ten disciplines including Architecture, 2D and 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media, and Sculpture. The program is anchored by celebrated Artists- and Designers-in-Residence, one for each discipline, all of whom live and practice on campus alongside our students. Dozens of internationally acclaimed artists, critics, curators and gallerists visit each semester to supplement the individualized instruction, critiques, and mentoring by the Artists-in-Residence and the Critical Studies Fellow. For more information, visit us at www.cranbrookart.edu.

For Immediate Release
March 16, 2011
Contact: Felicia E. Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art, 248-645-3329

Cranbrook Architect-in-Residence William Massie
Receives the 2011 Arts and Letters Award in Architecture

Bloomfield Hills, MI—Cranbrook Academy of Art is pleased to announce that the Head of its Architecture Department William Massie has been awarded the prestigious Architecture Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, continuing the school’s 75-year tradition of design leadership and innovation. In receiving this honor from the American Academy, Massie joins a distinguished list of America's finest architects including Maya Lin, Michael Rotundi and Thom Mayne, and Daniel Libeskind (who earlier held the same position at Cranbrook that Massie holds now). Massie was selected for the award -- which carries a $7500 prize and is considered one of the highest recognition of artistic merit in this country -- in recognition of his groundbreaking work in architecture research, design and digital fabrication.

“Massie is a free-spirited constructivist inventor who has expanded the architectural canvas,” said James Polshek, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2011 selection committee.

The American Academy’s 250 members nominate candidates for the awards, and a rotating committee of architects selects winners each year. The winners this year were chosen from a group of 30 architects nominated by the members of the Academy. The members of the selection committee for 2011 were: Henry N. Cobb, Peter Eisenman, Hugh Hardy, Richard Meier, James Polshek, Billie Tsien (chair), and Tod Williams.

"I'm delighted for Bill," said Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art, Reed Kroloff, who was one of the first people to publish Massie’s work in a national magazine when he was editor of Architecture. "But I'm not surprised. He has been at the forefront of our profession almost since the moment he entered it. And he is known equally for his buildings, his teaching, and his scholarship, a rare combination."

Massie is highly regarded for his pioneering work in digital design and fabrication--the use of computers to design and then manufacture objects, furniture, and in Massie's case, entire buildings. His exquisite houses have landed him on the pages of nearly every major design publication in the world, ranging from Architectural Record to Wallpaper. Dwell magazine recently included him in a ranking of the 10 most important architects alive today. Massie has won dozens of significant awards in architecture including four coveted P/A awards. He lectures and participates on reviews at schools of architecture and professional conferences around the country. At Cranbrook, he is leading the graduate Architecture Department with a focus on the practical application of digital design at full scale.

Massie, a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, received a Bachelor of Fine Art in Architectural Studies from Parsons School of Design, New York, NY. He subsequently received a Master of Architecture from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture. In 2005, he was appointed Architect-in-Residence of Cranbrook Academy of Art. For more information, www.cranbrookart.edu.

An exhibition of work by Massie and the five architectural winners will be on view from May 19 through June 12, 2011, in the American Academy’s galleries on Audubon Terrace in New York City. For more information, www.artsandletters.org.

American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters was established in 1898 to “foster, assist, and sustain an interest in literature, music, and the fine arts.” Election to the Academy is considered the highest formal recognition of artistic merit in this country. The Academy is currently comprised of 250 of America’s leading voices in the fields of Art, Architecture, Literature, and Music. The Academy presents exhibitions of art, architecture, and manuscripts, and readings and performances of new musicals throughout the year. It is located in three landmark buildings designed by McKim, Mead &White, Cass Gilbert, and Charles Pratt Huntington, on Audubon Terrace at 155 Street and Broadway, New York City.

Cranbrook Academy of Art
Cranbrook Academy of Art is the country’s top ranked, graduate-only program in architecture, design and fine art. Each year, just 75 students are invited to study and live on our landmark Saarinen-designed campus, which features: private studios, state-of-the art workshops, a renowned Art Museum and 300 acres of forests, lakes and streams, all a short drive from the red-hot art, design, and music scene of Detroit. The focus at Cranbrook is on studio practice in one of ten disciplines including Architecture, 2D and 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media, and Sculpture. The program is anchored by celebrated Artists- and Designers-in-Residence, one for each discipline, all of whom live and practice on campus alongside our students. Dozens of internationally acclaimed artists, critics, curators and gallerists visit each semester to supplement the individualized instruction, critiques, and mentoring by the Artists-in-Residence and Critical Studies Fellow. For more information, please visit www.cranbrookart.edu

For Immediate Release
May 11, 2010
Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
248-645-3329

Cranbrook Artist Anders Ruhwald Receives $150,000 Grant from The Danish Arts Foundation

Bloomfield Hills, MI --The Danish Arts Foundation-- Statens Kunstfond -- announced today that Cranbrook Academy of Art's Artist-in-Residence and Head of Ceramics Anders Ruhwald, a native of Denmark, is one of 28 Danish artists to a receive a three-year working stipend in the amount of $150,000 (DKK 840,000). The award, on behalf of the Danish Ministry of Culture, is designed to promote Danish creative arts and provide Danish artists--who have shown extraordinary talent and promise-- with support to continue to grow and mature their work.

"With this three-year working stipend, Ruhwald is hereby given the free space to move in whichever direction he pleases," wrote the Danish Arts Foundation Committee for Design and Craft in the letter to Ruhwald recognizing this honor. "We know that he will keep on moving and relevantly so."

Anders Ruhwald was appointed Artist-in-Residence and Head of the Ceramics Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2008. He was born 1974 in Randers, Denmark and graduated in 2005 from the Royal College of Art in London, England. Recent solo exhibitions include “The state of things,” at The Museum of Art and Design in Copenhagen, “You in Between” at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art in the UK, as well as various gallery shows in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Stockholm, London, Copenhagen, and Brussels. His work is represented in the collections of The Victoria and Albert Museum, The British Crafts Council, The National Museum of Decorative Art (Norway), The National Museum (Sweden), The Swedish Arts Council, The Museum of Art and Design (Denmark) and several other public and private collections around the world. Ruhwald was awarded the Sotheby’s Prize in the United Kingdom in 2007 and the Annie and Otto Detlefs Prize in Denmark in 2005. He lectures regularly and has taught at many universities and colleges throughout Europe and the United States.

Long one of the nation's highest-ranked graduate programs, the Ceramics Department at Cranbrook under the leadership Ruhwald offers a research environment leading students to question the boundaries of the ancient tradition of working in clay through new technologies, practices and theoretical discipline. Ruhwald leads a program that has featured a great heritage of well-known ceramic artists including: Tony Hepburn, Maija Grotel, Toshiko Takeazu, Jun Kaneko, and Richard De Vore.

The Danish Arts Foundation was established in 1964 by the Danish Government. The Foundation's area of activity includes the visual arts,
literature, music, crafts and design, architecture, cinema, and theater, as well as other comparable forms of creative art that do not have other avenues for state support. It has awarded more than DKK 91.4 million in grants and other activities, to artists in its efforts to promote Danish arts. For more information, please visit.

Cranbrook Academy of Art
Founded in 1932, Cranbrook Academy of Art is a preeminent graduate school of architecture, art, and design. The Academy is the only
institution in the United States dedicated solely to graduate art education, granting the Master of Architecture degree and the Master of
Fine Arts degree in 2D Design, 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media and Sculpture.
Renowned alumni and faculty Carl Milles, Harry Bertoia, Charles and Ray Eames, Maija Grotell, Eero Saarinen, Florence Knoll, and Daniel Libeskind among others, have had a major impact on the art, design, and architecture for more than 75 years.

For Immediate Release
May 7, 2010

Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum

248-645-3329

More than $100,000 in Awards for Excellence in the Arts Presented to Students of Cranbrook Academy of Art

Bloomfield Hills, MI – On the eve of its 2010 commencement ceremonies, Cranbrook Academy of Art celebrated another year of outstanding work by its faculty and graduate students at its annual Academy Awards event. Before a gathering of more than 200 students, families, friends and donors in the auditorium of Cranbrook Institute of Science, the Academy conferred more than $100,000 in grants, awards and scholarships, including six distinguished awards for artistic excellence, and merit scholarships to more than 40 current students. The awards -- designed to support study at the Academy and to aid 2010 graduates in the transition from student to practicing artist --- included: The Daimler Financial Services Emerging Artist Award; the $10,000 Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship; the Cranbrook Art Museum Purchase Award, and the announcement of the 2010 Fulbright grant winners.

“We are a small school with a unique program, but Cranbrook remains a driving force in contemporary architecture, art, and design due to the accomplishments of our students, graduates and faculty,” says Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art. “The awards granted this year recognize – through the important support of donors and corporate support -- our exceptional program and students.”

The 2010 Daimler Financial Services Emerging Artist Award, which recognizes artistic promise with a grant to study and exhibit in the Berlin, Germany, was awarded to Suzanne Beautyman, a Master of Fine Arts candidate in the Metalsmithing Department and a native of Lee, Massachusetts. The Daimler Financial Services Emerging Artist Award is being presented this year for the sixth time, and is a result of the long partnership between Daimler Financial Services, which maintains their North American Headquarters in Farmington Hills, MI and Cranbrook Academy of Art. The award is presented annually in recognition of a particularly innovative work presented during the Graduate Degree exhibition, which is the thesis show mounted by MFA graduate-candidates of the Academy. The Daimler award allows talented young artists the opportunity to enter into dialogue with fellow artists in Europe and thus further develop their creative capacity during a two month-long residency at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin. Before commencing her studies at Cranbrook in 2008, Beautyman received a BA in Economics from Carleton College in Minnesota and studied contemporary jewellery at the Alchimia School in Florence, Italy where she will return as Assistant Director and to teach in the fall of 2010.

The $10,000 Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship was awarded to Adam Shirley, a Master of Fine Arts candidate in the Metalsmithing Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art and a native of the metro Detroit region. This award was created by the philanthropist, art collector, author and curator Toby Devan Lewis, who has been a constant supporter of young and emerging artists. She recently created the Toby Fund, to give graduating Master of Fine Arts students at more than 15 schools of art around the country, grants of $10,000 each. As a former curator of the Progressive Collection, Lewis has been known for finding and nurturing young and unknown artists. Shirley received his BFA in 1993 from the College of Creative Studies in Detroit and is a graduate of the Wiley S. Groves High School in Birmingham, MI. He currently resides in Hamtramack, MI.

The Robert Larson Art, Design and Architecture Venture Fund was awarded to Academy students Katie Wynne (Sculpture) and Kate Daughdrill (Print Media). The award recognizes and supports the work of innovative and inspired Academy graduate students. The award was established by Bonnie Larson to celebrate her husband Robert’s 70th birthday. Robert C. Larson, who recently passed away, was a long-time volunteer leader and donor at Cranbrook who served as the Chair of the Board of Trustees from 1996-2002. He was also a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy and Art Museum from 1986-2000.

The 2010 Cranbrook Art Museum Purchase Award was presented to Bob Turek, a Master of Fine Arts candidate in the 3D Design Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art. Turek’s work, currently on display in the 2010 Graduate Degree Exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), was selected for purchase by the Museum’s governing board and will be accessioned into the permanent collection of Cranbrook Art Museum (now closed for renovations until 2011). The work will be drawn from Turek’s series entitled “Microstages,” which includes various platforms for performing music.

Also during the ceremonies it was announced that Willie Wayne Smith, a Master of Fine Arts candidate in the Painting Department was awarded the Academy Director’s Award. Smith, who was born in Limbe, Haiti, came to Cranbrook from New York following his work with the artist Mickalene Thomas.

2010 Fulbright Grant recipient Jacqueline Gleisner, a 2010 Master of Fine Arts candidate in the Painting Department was recognized for her award-winning proposal to study in Finland; and Carrie Fonder, a 2009 graduate of the Academy’s Sculpture Department has been awarded a Fulbright grant to study in India in the upcoming year. The Fulbright Program is the United States. government's flagship program in international educational exchange. Chosen for academic merit and leadership potential, students from the Academy have received more than 32 Fulbright grants since 1990 and the institution has been recognized by the Chronicle for Higher Education for out performing other institutions of similar size in per capita receipt of Fulbright grants.

Twenty eight students, who will continue their second year of studies at the Academy in 2010-2011, were awarded Merit Scholarships in recognition of their talent and for meeting high academic standards during the past year. Merit Scholarships at the Academy are supported by gifts and independent sponsors that include alumni, private philanthropists, corporations, company foundations, and professional organizations.

Images available upon request.

Click here to download the PDF

For Immediate Release
April 15, 2010

Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum

248-645-3329

Critic, Curator and Artist Christopher Ho Appointed Critical Studies Teaching Fellow at Cranbrook Academy of Art

Bloomfield Hills, MI -- Cranbrook Academy of Art has announced the appointment of the critic, curator and artist Christopher Ho as the Critical Studies Teaching Fellow for the 2010-2011 academic year. Operating as a critic at-large, the fellow meets with students and faculty in their studios to promote dialogue on issues of prominence in the world of art and design. The general public is invited share in this experience during two lectures presented by Ho under the theme “Critical Curating and Contemporary Modes of Collaboration" scheduled on September 21 and October 26, 2010 at 6 pm (see full schedule below). Admission is free.

Christopher K. Ho is a critic, curator, and artist who lives and works in New York. Since 2000, he has taught at the Rhode Island School of Design in the departments of History of Art and Visual Culture, Painting, and Graduate Studies. His many reviews and articles have appeared in Modern Painters, Flash Art, PAJ, and Arco Magazine. Recent curatorial projects include El Museo del Ghetto: Jefferson Pinder and José Ruiz at G Fine Art, Washington, D.C.; JamaicaFlux at JCAL, New York; The Shallow Curator at Winkleman Gallery, New York; Points of View at DAC, New York; Dynasty at Gallery MC, New York; and Jack, at Cuchifritos, New York. He has lectured at Columbia University, Yale University, and NYU, among others, and has served on the boards and committees of the Bronx River Art Center, the Center for Book Arts, apexart curatorial program, Art in General, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and the Asian American Arts Center, all in New York. His collaboratively produced art has been featured at the Queens Museum, the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, the Dallas Contemporary Art Center, as well as internationally at the Freies Museum, Berlin; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Srpska; the Incheon Biennial, Korea; the Busan Biennale, Korea; and the Chinese Biennial, Beijing. He is represented by Winkleman Gallery in New York and Galeria EDS in Mexico City. He received his B.F.A. in Architecture and B.S. (Hons) in History of Architecture and Urbanism from Cornell University and his M.Phil in Art History from Columbia University.

The Critical Studies Teaching Fellow position at Cranbrook Academy of Art was launched in 2009 in conjunction with the annual Critical Studies academic program. The program is developed each year to respond to the most current intellectual climates within contemporary art, design and architecture. The addition of the one-semester Critical Studies Teaching Fellowship creates an opportunity for students to have a sustained and active role in exploring the ideas of a noted scholar, artist and critic from outside the Cranbrook community.

“This Fellowship position is envisioned as one with a general, rather than a specific portfolio; a wandering critic whose role it is to engender spirited critical engagement and conversation,” says Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum. “The Fellowship offers a challenge, but also offers a chance to experience teaching in its purest form.”

On Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 6:00 pm in the Auditorium at Cranbrook Institute of Science, Ho will present his first public lecture, “Curating.” As the Critical Studies Fellow, Ho will present two public lectures during the fall 2010 semester (see schedule below) and he will also conduct a series of discussion sessions with Academy students. His theme for the semester lectures and discussions is “Critical Curating and Contemporary Modes of Collaboration," which he says will “look at how both practices demand, and allow for, subtle, even paradoxical, combinations of theory and practice”

Cranbrook Academy of Art

Founded in 1932, the Cranbrook Academy of Art is acknowledged world wide as a preeminent graduate level school of art, design and architecture. This independent degree-granting institution offers an intense studio-based experience where artists-in-residence mentor students in art, architecture and design to creatively influence contemporary culture. Master's of Fine Arts degrees are offered in nine disciplines including 2D Design, 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metal, Painting, Photography, Printmaking and Sculpture and a Master's of Architecture degree. Cranbrook is an internationally renowned educational community dedicated to excellence in the arts, education and science. Cranbrook is located at 39221 Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and is comprised of the Academy of Art, Art Museum, Institute of Science, Schools and other affiliated cultural and educational programs. For more information, call (248) 645-3300 or visit the web site at www.cranbrookart.edu.

_____________________________________

Christopher K. Ho
Visiting Fellow at Cranbrook Academy of Art
2010 Lecture Dates

Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 6 pm
“Curating”
Cranbrook Institute of Science Auditorium

Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 6 pm
“Collaboration”
Cranbrook Institute of Science Auditorium

Cranbrook Art Museum and Cranbrook Institute of Science present North American Début
“Cape Farewell: Art & Climate Change”
January 31- June, 13, 2010
As part of Artology: the Fusion of Art and Science at Cranbrook

Bloomfield Hills, MI ---"Cape Farewell – Art & Climate Change" -- the second exhibition in the series Artology: the Fusion of Art and Science at Cranbrook --explores the most challenging environmental issue of this century and is making its North American début at Cranbrook Institute of Science on January 31, 2010.

Created by the artist David Buckland in 2001, the Cape Farewell project is widely acknowledged to be the most significant sustained artistic response to climate change anywhere in the world. “Art & Climate Change” brings together specially commissioned work from the artists who have voyaged with Cape Farewell on the 100 year-old sailing schooner, the Noorderlicht. Over the course of three expeditions in 2003, 2004 and 2005, the artists traveled to Spitsbergen and the Svalbard Archipelago in the Artic. Inspired by the work of the on-board climate scientists and having experienced the effects of climate change in this cruel but fragile environment, each of the artists has responded in a unique way.

Internationally renowned artists with work in the “Cape Farewell” exhibition include: Heather Ackroyd & Dan Harvey, Kathy Barber, David Buckland, Peter Clegg, Siobhan Davies, Gautier Deblonde, Max Eastley, Nick Edwards, Antony Gormley, Alex Hartley, Michele Noach, and Rachel Whiteread. Through images, sound, sculpture, dance and the power of the word, their work expresses the wonder of nature together with the drama of destruction. A truly collective endeavor, the “Cape Farewell” exhibition engages and inspires audiences to participate in our shared future. The common message of the exhibition is that while we mourn the loss of our natural environment, we still are inspired to create and change the way we live in a bid to
save it.

In its North American première at Cranbrook, “Cape Farewell” already has had substantial success at international venues, seeing attendance of over a quarter of a million people at Natural History Museum in London and over 45,000 at The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, Tokyo.

Cranbrook Institute of Science has developed a complementary exhibit entitled “The Changing Earth,” to enhance the Cape Farewell experience. Covering the history of large-scale environmental changes as recorded in ice and sediment cores from Antarctica, Greenland and the glacial landscape of southeast Michigan, a special component of this exhibition about abrupt climate change examines the fate of the extinct American Mastodon community. Fossils from the Institute’s collections and other local Universities, as well as artifacts of Paleo-Indian mastodon hunters found in southeast Michigan, are featured. Visitors will have the opportunity to do their own analysis of a sediment core and directly examine rocks and fossils that tell the story of past climate shifts. The centerpiece of the exhibit is an assessment of the human footprint on planet Earth and how, for the first time in Earth’s history, humanity has emerged as a major agent of large-scale climate and environmental change and--closer to home--how global warming could affect the Great Lakes. A live and extinct fossil reef display in the exhibition emphasizes how climate change and human activity are pushing modern coral reefs to extinction.

“Cape Farewell: Art & Climate Change,” is the second exhibition in the Artology series collaborative between Cranbrook Institute of Science and Cranbrook Art Museum. Artology focuses on creating visual and experiential examples of the ways in which art and science frequently parallel or complement each other and offers exhibits and related lectures, films, and field trips that simultaneously immerse museum visitors in the arts and the sciences. While Cranbrook Art Museum is closed to the public for construction, art exhibitions at the Institute will be paired with related topical scientific artifacts, objects and specimens from the Institute’s collection to illustrate the Artology concept. A Cranbrook-designed Artology logo visually designates related events and activities.

The following series of lectures and special events will enrich the Cape Farewell and Changing Earth experience:

Opening day features a lecture by Dr. David M. Harwood, Department of Geosciences and ANDRILL Science Management Office University of Nebraska-Lincoln, who will present “Drilling Back to the Uncertain Future: The Andrill Project” on Sun., Jan. 31 at 1 p.m. This project involves more than 300 scientists, technicians, educators and students who have drilled two research holes in Antarctica both reaching a depth of more than 1,100 meters beneath the sea-floor.

On Friday, February 12 at 7 p.m., Henry Pollack Ph. D., University of Michigan Professor and co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Vice President Al Gore will discuss his research and the potential consequences we face as ice masses disappear. Pollack will sign his book A World Without Ice following the lecture.

Artology Family Day: Cape Farewell on Sunday, March 7 from 1-4 p.m. offers family fun for lovers of both art and science! This event focuses on themes found in “Cape Farewell: Art & Climate Change,” and includes family tours of the exhibition and hands-on art-making activities led by Cranbrook Academy of Art graduate students.

David Buckland, Artist and Director/Curator of Cape Farewell, will present “Burning Ice: Art and Climate Change” on Tuesday, April 6 at 6 p.m. Buckland’s lens-based works have been exhibited in galleries in London, Paris and New York and collected by numerous museums. Buckland will discuss the creation of the Cape Farewell project.

All Artology lectures and events are free with admission or Membership at Cranbrook Institute of Science or Cranbrook Art Museum.

For more information about the Cape Farewell expeditions, visit www.capefarewell.com.

Cape Farewell – Art & Climate Change runs January 31 through June 13, 2010 and is free with admission.

Artology exhibits, lectures and related events are sponsored by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, The Erb Family Foundation and the MASCO Corporation Foundation.

Cranbrook Art Museum is building for the future! In December 2008 we started a construction project that will result in the complete renovation of our landmark 1942 Eliel Saarinen-designed museum, including the installation of climate control and the addition of a new state-of-the-art Collections Wing. During construction, our galleries will be closed through Spring 2011 and we are collaborating with Cranbrook Institute of Science to present a pioneering year of collaborative exhibitions and programming called Artology, which showcases the work of artists whose practices intersect with science at a fundamental level.

Cranbrook Institute of Science is located at 39221 Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Cranbrook Institute of Science is open daily 10am-5pm with extended hours on Friday until 10pm. Museum admission is $9.50 adults, $7.50 children 2-12 and senior citizens (65+); children under 2 and members admitted free. Friday evening admission 5-10pm, $5.50 Adults, $4.50 children ages 2-12 and seniors 65+, children under 2 and Members are free. Planetarium and bat program tickets are $4 general admission; $3 for CIS and OBC members; $1 for children under 2. Non-members must also pay museum admission. For more information about becoming a member of Cranbrook Institute of Science call 248 645.3200 or visit http://science.cranbrook.edu.

“Cape Farewell: Art and Climate Change” was created in partnership with the Natural History Museum, London, where it was presented in 2006, following Cape Farewell’s first three expeditions to Spitsbergen and the Svalbard Archipelago in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Within the UK, the exhibition toured to the Liverpool Biennial of Visual Arts, The Sage Gateshead and the Bodleian Library Oxford. In 2007 “Art and Climate Change” toured to the Kampnagel Cultural Complex in Hamburg, in partnership with the British Council. With its opening at the Fundacion Canal, Madrid, the exhibition embarked on a world tour with Barbican Touring Arts.

The international tour of the exhibition is supported by the Natural History Museum, London, and the Arts Council England. The exhibition was organized by Barbican International Enterprises, London. The Barbican Centre is provided by the City of London Corporation as part of its contribution to the cultural life of London and the nation.

AXA Art Insurance Corporation and Cranbrook Academy of Art announce collaboration

New York - October 26, 2009 - AXA Art, the worlds leading fine art insurance specialist and Cranbrook Academy of Art announced a creative collaboration. Under the terms of the relationship, AXA Art has commissioned the prestigious art academy to conceptualize, design and create a 21st Century experiential environment to be installed in the AXA Art lounge at Art Basel Miami Beach 2009. The space will serve as a respite, where the company will host its collector clients and guests in attendance at the fair.

President and CEO of AXA Art’s North American operations, Christiane Fischer noted: “We are extremely enthusiastic about AXA Art’s alliance with the venerable Cranbrook Academy of Art and look forward to sharing the creative results with attendees to Art Basel Miami Beach, which continues to be recognized as one of the most important art market events on the international calendar”.

The Cranbrook design-build team, lead byfour of the Academy’s s artists-in-residence, includes Beverly Fishman, Elliott Earls, William Massie, and Heather McGill. AXA Art requested that they use The Thrill of Creating as inspiration and consider modernity, functionality and innovation while transforming the lounge space. Elements of the installation will employ design and lighting disciplines, consisting of undulating, pixilated walls constructed out of laser-cut cardboard over a steel armature, layered with applied patterns. Moving patterns will be projected onto the walls and LCD displays running video loops will also be employed. In addition to the ambient light created by the various projectors and displays, lighting design will be used to further shape the space. Seating for fifteen will be provided out of the same laser-cut cardboard over steel armature”.

”We’re delighted to be working with a company that has taken such a strong position in supporting art and design and look forward to bringing Cranbrook’s unique and renowned creative energy to Art Basel Miami 2009,” says Reed Kroloff. Director, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum.

Visit AXA Art in the Collector’s Lounge

Attendees to Art Basel Miami Beach 2009 are invited to visit AXA Art in the Collector’s Lounge. There will be opportunities to engage the artists in residence from Cranbrook Academy of Art on the design elements of the installation.

Expertise on hand at the fair

Art insurance is one of the main business activities that help the art market thrive. And, with more than 40 years of experience as a fine art insurance specialist; AXA Art is among the forefront of businesses that helps the art world move. Protecting the economic and emotional investments of collectors through art insurance products and services is AXA Art’s only business focus. The company’s business models calls for assisting clients in all aspects of collection management.

Members of AXA Art’s senior management from its international offices, as well as its in-house Fine Art Experts, underwriting and business development representatives will be available at the lounge to answer questions or concerns on collecting and insuring cultural artifacts. In addition to their own proficiency, they work in tandem with a global network of art industry experts and can offer access to expertise on packing, shipping, storage, loss prevention, disaster recovery and restoration.

VIP Guided Tours

As the official provider of VIP guided tours of Art Basel and Art Basel Miami Beach, AXA Art’s fine art experts will conduct tours of the fair in English, French and German. VIP card holders and members of the press may arrange booking for a guided tour by contacting – Brian Shannon BShannon@axa-art-usa.com, Telephone: (312) 469-5156. Participants will be introduced to treasures, rare objects and sensations on exhibition.

About Cranbrook Academy of Art

About AXA Art

International reach, unrivalled competence and a high quality network of expert partners distinguishes AXA Art, the only art insurance specialist in the world, from its generalist property insurance competitors. Over the past 40 years and well into the future, AXA Art has and will continue to redefine the manner in which it serves and services its museum, gallery, collector and artist clients, across Asia, America and Europe, with a sincere consideration of the way valuable objects are insured and cultural patrimony is protected. For more information visit www.axa-art.com

Cranbrook Artist Anders Ruhwald Receives $12,000 Ole Haslund Artist Foundation Grant in Denmark Today

Bloomfield Hills, MI --Anders Ruhwald, Artist-in-Residence and Head of the Ceramics Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art will be honored today in Denmark with an Ole Haslund Artist Foundation honorary award. This annual award recognizes significant Danish artists for their contribution and accomplishments in the field of art and design.

A leading Danish ceramic artist, Ruhwald was named Artist-in-Residence and Head of the Ceramics Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2008. Ruhwald is best known for his conceptual work and is considered a brilliant and skilled craftsman and talented sculptor whose practice revolves around direct, hands-on engagement with clay.

Ruhwald was born in Denmark, and was educated at the Glass and Ceramics School in Bornholm, Denmark, and the Royal College of Art in London. In March of 2009, Ruhwald received a $30,000 grant from Danish Arts Foundation. He was awarded the Sotheby Prize from the Victoria & Albert Museum in London in 2007. In 2005, he received the Anni and Otto Detlefs Award for young, experimental ceramic artists from the Museum of Art and Design in Denmark, and in 2002, he was awarded first place in the Danish Biennale for Craft and Design. Ruhwald's work is also represented in the permanent collections of: The Victoria and Albert Museum; The Swedish National Museum; The Danish Museum of Art and Design; and The National Museum of Decorative Arts, Norway.

About Cranbrook Academy of Art:
Founded in 1932, the Cranbrook Academy of Art is the country's top-ranked independent, preeminent graduate level school of art, design, and architecture. Offering an intense studio-based experience, artists-in-residence mentor students in art, architecture, and design to creatively influence contemporary culture. The program offers both Master of Fine Arts degrees are offered in nine disciplines including: 2D Design, 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metal, Painting, Photography, Printmaking and Sculpture and a Master of Architecture degrees. Cranbrook is an internationally renowned educational community dedicated to excellence in the arts, education and science. Cranbrook Educational Community is located at 39221 Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and comprises the Academy of Art, Art Museum, Institute of Science, Schools and other affiliated cultural and educational programs. For more information, call (248) 645-3300 or visit the web site at www.cranbrookart.edu.

Art Critic and Scholar Lane Relyea Appointed Critical Studies Teaching Fellow at Cranbrook Academy of Art

Bloomfield Hills, MI -- Cranbrook Academy of Art brings creative talents together in unexpected ways. With the appointment of the art critic and scholar Lane Relyea as the inaugural Critical Studies Teaching Fellow for the 2009–2010 academic year, the Academy is launching a new model for teaching, outside the formal structure of the classroom. Operating as a wandering critic, the fellow will meet with students and faculty in their studios to promote dialogue on issues of prominence in the world of art and design. The general public will also be invited share in this experience during three public forums presented by Relyea over the course of the Fall 2009 semester. All public events are free.

“The Critical Studies Fellow is envisioned as one with a general, rather than a specific portfolio, whose role it is to engender spirited engagement and conversation,” says Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum. “The Fellowship will be a challenge, but also a pleasure, teaching in its purest form.”

A well-respected critic and writer, Relyea will be in residing on campus during the Fall 2009 semester. Relyea is currently Associate Professor of Art Theory and Practice at Northwestern University. Since 1985, he has written for magazines and journals including: Art Journal, Art in America, Artforum, Afterall, Frieze and Parkett. He has also published monographs on the artists Polly Apfelbaum, Richard Artschwager, Jeremy Blake, Vija Celmins, Toba Khedoori, Monique Prieto and Wolfgang Tillmans among others. Relyea has contributed to exhibition catalogs for “Helter Skelter” and “Public Offerings.” He has delivered lectures at New York's Museum of Modern Art, Harvard University and the Art Institute of Chicago. Before his appointment at Northwestern in 2002, he spent a decade teaching at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia and he also served at the Director of the Core Program at the Glassell School of Art in Houston. His book D.I.Y. Culture Industry is forthcoming from MIT Press.

The Critical Studies Teaching Fellow position will benefit the Academy by creating an opportunity for students to have a sustained and active role in exploring the ideas of a noted scholar and critic from outside the Cranbrook community over the course of one-full semester. The Academy faculty will also gain through important dialog in this peer-to-peer program. In addition to conducting lectures, workshops and participating in occasional departmental critiques, the Fellow will pursue his own research while in residence.

On Tuesday, September 22, 2009 at 6:00 pm in deSalle Auditorium at Cranbrook Art Museum, Relyea will present the lecture, “When Exhibition Sites Become Scenes.” As the Critical Studies Fellow, Relyea will present two more public lectures during the fall 2009 semester (see schedule below). His theme for the semester lectures and discussions is “D.I.Y Culture: Signifying Practices, Social Networks and Other Instrumentalizations of Everyday Art,” which he says will “stress an analysis of network structures as today’s privileged means of organizing not only the art world but art itself…namely their horizontal, multidirectional and reciprocal capacity.”

Cranbrook Academy of Art
Founded in 1932, the Cranbrook Academy of Art is acknowledged world wide as a preeminent graduate level school of art, design and architecture. This independent degree-granting institution offers an intense studio-based experience where artists-in-residence mentor students in art, architecture and design to creatively influence contemporary culture. Master's of Fine Arts degrees are offered in nine disciplines including 2D Design, 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metal, Painting, Photography, Printmaking and Sculpture and a Master's of Architecture degree. Cranbrook is an internationally renowned educational community dedicated to excellence in the arts, education and science. Cranbrook is located at 39221 Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and is comprised of the Academy of Art, Art Museum, Institute of Science, Schools and other affiliated cultural and educational programs. For more information, call (248) 645-3300 or visit the web site at www.cranbrookart.edu.

Lane Relyea Visiting Fellow at Cranbrook Academy of Art 2009 Lecture Dates

Tuesday, September 22, 2009
6:00 pm
deSalle Auditorium
“When Exhibition Sites Become Scenes”

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
6:00 pm
deSalle Auditorium
“From Spectacular Commodities to Bricolaged Objects”

Tuesday, December 1, 2009
6:00 pm
deSalle Auditorium
“Cosmopolitans and Nomads: The (Net)work of Art in the Age of Compulsory Circulation”

2009 Fellowships and Grants Awarded at Academy Awards Night
Thursday, May 8, 2009

Cranbrook Academy of Art is pleased to announce the award of three major 2009 Fellowships that aid recipients in the transition from graduate student to practicing artist: The Daimler Financial Services Emerging Artist Award, featuring a two month fully supported residency in Berlin; the Tony Devan Lewis Fellowship; and the Fulbright Award. More than 40 awards --including Merit Scholarships for students completing their first year of study -- were conferred at the awards ceremony marking the end of the academic year on Thursday, May 8 in Cranbrook Art Museum's deSalle Auditorium.

Zack Ostrowski (aka Beverly Fresh), graduating from the 2D Design Department and a Detroit native, was awarded the Daimler Financial Services Emerging Artist Award. The Emerging Artist Award was created by Daimler Financial Services and Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2005 to honor a particularly innovative work by a graduate the Academy. The winner of the Award is selected from among the graduates across all disciplines at the Academy by a jury of curators. Award winners in previous years have been Mark Moskowitz (2005), Andrew Simsak (2006), Marty McElveen and Dharmesh Patel (2007), Annica Cupatelli (2008). Ostrowski will travel to Berlin, Germany for a two-month full-supported residency in the Fall of 2009 that includes the use of a car, apartment and living stipend.

Seth Papac, graduating from the Metalsmithing Department, was awarded the Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship. This fellowship was established in 2006 by the Toby Fund, a private foundation started by the philanthropist, art collector, author and curator Toby Devan Lewis, to foster creativity in the arts, education, health, environment, and the development of progressive institutions. The fellowship is intended to help a promising graduate student in the visual arts transition form graduate school to professional artistic practice. Academy Award winners to date have been David Duncan Hendren (2008), Tara Pelletier and Jeff Kurosaki (2007).

Drew Ippolitti a student in the Ceramics Department received a 2009 Fulbright award to study in China. The Fulbright Program operates in more than 155 countries and has provided over 285,000 participants — chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research in each others' countries and exchange ideas. Since 1990, Cranbrook Academy of Art students have been recognized with more than 20 Fulbright awards, and the Academy stands out for one of the highest per capita producers of Fulbrights in the country.

Andy Warhol Photographing SuSu Sosnick, Paris, September 1981.

Photograph by Robert Sosnick; Photography Courtesy of SuSu Sosnick.

For Immediate Release
September 5, 2008

Contact: Felicia E. Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum, 248-645-3329

Cranbrook Art Museum presents Andy Warhol: Grand Slam
With more than 200 signature works by the celebrated pop artist
Opening October 19, 2008
Press Interviews with Warhol Associate and Collector—Richard Weisman
Friday, October 10, 2008
Press Exhibition Previews October 13-17, 2008

Bloomfield Hills, MI-- Exclusive to Cranbrook Art Museum, the retrospective “Andy Warhol: Grand Slam,” brings together more than 200 signature works spanning all areas of his practice from the 1960s until his death in 1987 — paintings, photographs, prints and films. “Andy Warhol: Grand Slam,” opens to the public on Sunday, October 19 and will run through January 11, 2009.

One of the most influential and important artists of the late-twentieth century and the figurehead of Pop art, Andy Warhol created some of the most recognizable images of modern culture. The exhibition includes the recent gift to Cranbrook Art Museum of 150 photographs previously held by the Andy Warhol Foundation; his important Athlete Series from the Collection of Richard Weisman; and Warhol’s famous screen printed works including the iconic Campbell’s soup cans and Electric Chair Series as well the later works Ten Jews of the Twentieth Century and Endangered Species. The exhibition also will provide insight on Warhol’s career as a maker of art through the presentation of a new film by the artist each week in the Center Gallery at Cranbrook Art Museum.

“Grand Slam” focuses on the ten paintings that comprise The Athletes Series from the collection of Richard Weisman. On request from Weisman, an extremely important collector of modern and contemporary art and longtime friend of the artist, between 1977 and 1979 Warhol created paintings of ten of the greatest sports figures of the late 1980s, including Muhammad Ali, Jack Nicklaus, and Chris Evert. Weisman will be at the opening of “Andy Warhol: Grand Slam” to lecture on his experiences as a patron and friend of Warhol’s, as well as to sign copies of his book Picasso to Pop: The Richard Weisman Collection. The general public may purchase tickets for the lecture, book signing, and reception on Friday, October 10 for $10 at Cranbrook Art Museum’s Front Desk.

In 2001, Cranbrook Art Museum received an extraordinary gift of the Dr. John and Rose M. Shuey Collection of modern and contemporary art, which included one painting from The Athletes Series that may already be familiar to local audiences: an image of the Brazilian soccer star Pelé. Cranbrook Art Museum’s current presentation of The Athletes Series unites this work with the other nine paintings from the series, showcasing in full Warhol’s uncanny ability as a portraitist of contemporary personalities.

“Grand Slam” also celebrates the gift of over 150 photographs previously held by the Andy Warhol Foundation to Cranbrook Art Museum. These images, many of which were taken using a Polaroid camera, showcase Warhol’s use of the camera as a compositional aid for the creation of prints and paintings, including Warhol’s portrait of Pelé from The Athletes Series. They also provide a glimpse into the avant-garde world of downtown New York through images of Warhol’s intriguing social circle, including such personalities as Julian Schnabel, Jerry Hall, Buzz Aldrin, Lou Reed, and Carolina Herrera.

Cranbrook Art Museum will also present an unprecedented look into Warhol’s process working as an artist through a presentation of two large paintings of Susu Sosnick, a local collector, alongside snapshots by Sosnick’s husband Robert that document Warhol at work on his preparatory photographs for the paintings. The exhibition also includes two polaroids that Warhol took of Mrs. Sosnick in his apartment in Paris in September 1981.

Grand Slam finally, demonstrates the richness of Warhol’s famous screen printed works in regional collections. Cranbrook Art Museum will feature four important print series by Warhol, including both well-known early works and later treasures. Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup I” (1968) and “Electric Chair Series”(1965) helped to establish the artist as an American pop icon. Subsequent works such as Warhol’s “Endangered Species Series” (1983) and “Ten Jews of the Twentieth Century” (1980) suggest the artist’s continuing fascination with serial images, celebrity, and the power of art to both affirm and question cultural myths and ideas.

The final component of “Andy Warhol: Grand Slam” focuses on Warhol’s extraordinary career as a maker of art and narrative films. For the duration of the exhibition, Cranbrook Art Museum will present a veritable Warhol film festival, showcasing a new film by the artist every week. Highlights include both classic Warhol films such as, lesser seen gems like Mrs. Warhol, Sunset, and Paul Swan, and screen tests of personalities such as Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp, Lou Reed and Cass Elliot (Mama Cass) shot at Warhol’s Factory studio in New York. Many of the figures who grace Warhol’s films are also subjects of his photography. Cranbrook Art Museum’s unique display of works in both media allows the viewer to draw parallels between Warhol the filmmaker and Warhol the photographer.

In addition to works from The Andy Warhol Museum and Cranbrook Art Museum Collection, the exhibition includes loans from: the Grand Rapids Art Museum; and the private collections of Robert and Lisa Katzman, Marc Schwartz, Susu Sosnick, and Richard Weisman.

CRANBROOK ART MUSEUM: GENERAL INFORMATION

MUSEUM HOURS

Regular museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm; 4th Friday of each month, 11:00 am – 9:00 pm. The Museum is closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and selected holidays, including Thanksgiving Day.

ADMISSION FEES AND LOCATION

Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum are located at 39221 Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Enter on the west side of Woodward Avenue between Lone Pine and Long Lake Roads. Free parking is available adjacent to the Art Museum and in the parking deck, located between Cranbrook Art Museum and Cranbrook Institute of Science. Museum admission is free for ArtMembers@Cranbrook. General admission for the Grand Slam: Andy Warhol exhibition is: $10 adults; $5 teens and full-time students with ID; children 12 and under are admitted free with adult admission. For more information, please call 1-877-GO-CRANBrook (1-877-462-7262) or visit the website at www.cranbrook.edu.

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Images available upon request.

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Liz Cohen

For Immediate Release
July 21, 2008

Contact: Felicia E. Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum, 248-645-3329

Cranbrook Academy of Art Appoints Liz Cohen as Artist-in-Residence and Head of the Photography Department

Bloomfield Hills, MI -- Following a national search, Cranbrook Academy of Art is pleased to announce the appointment of Liz Cohen as Artist-in-Residence and Head of the Photography Department effective July 25, 2008. Cohen is a photographer and performance artist who is noted for her recent "Bodywork" project to transform an East German 1987 Trabant automobile into a 1973 Chevrolet El Camino. Long one of the nation's highest-ranked graduate programs, the Photography Department at Cranbrook under the leadership Cohen will focus on non-traditional and interdisciplinary methodologies, mirroring the nature of contemporary art practices.

“We are pleased to welcome Liz Cohen to the Academy as its newest Artist-in-Residence. Many thanks go to the search committee, students and faculty for their dedication and conviction in holding up the standards of the Academy’s graduate programs and highly recommending the appointment of Liz,” said Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum. “She is a talented and committed artist whose critical engagement with photography, studio work, exhibition activities and respect for the reciprocal relationship between the artist-teacher and artist-student will be important in leading the department into the future.”

“I am looking forward to continuing an intensive studio practice in conjunction with a full teaching career at Cranbrook,” said Liz Cohen. “Given the high caliber of the students and the Academy’s distinct teaching model, I am extremely interested honored to be appointed as the Artist-in-Residence.”

Liz Cohen holds an MFA in photography from The California College of Arts and Crafts, now, California College of the Arts, where she has taught. Cohen grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and received a BA from Tufts University in Philosophy. She also received a BFA in studio art from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Cohen’s honors include a Traveling Scholars’ Award from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, an Artist’s Project Grant from the Arizona Commission for the Arts, and a Creative Capital Foundation Project Grant, among others. Her work has been exhibited around the globe including galleries and institutions in Paris, Budapest, Brussels, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.

About Cranbrook Academy of Art
Cranbrook Academy of Art has earned a worldwide reputation as the preeminent two-year Masters of Fine Arts program in fine arts, design and architecture in the country. Today, with more than 4,00 alumni, the Academy enrolls 150 graduate students from throughout the United States and 35 countries in ten disciplines including 2D Design, 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metal, Painting, Photography, Printmaking and Sculpture. Students experience an intense, studio-based, self-directed study of their artistic discipline in an extraordinary, national-landmark campus setting designed by Finnish architectural master Eliel Saarinen. Each student defines and develops his or her own master’s degree project, with the guidance of the Department Head/ Artist-in-Residence. During the year, the Academy also hosts prominent and accomplished artists, critics, and educators to its campus. Included within the Academy is Cranbrook Art Museum, which offers world-class temporary exhibitions and houses a collection of art objects documenting the contribution of Cranbrook to the history of art, design and architecture as well as the latest in contemporary art. For more information go to, www.cranbrookart.edu.

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Sarah Turner

For Immediate Release
July 21, 2008

Contact: Felicia E. Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum, 248-645-3329

Cranbrook Academy of Art Appoints Sarah Turner as Assistant Director for Academic Affairs

Bloomfield Hills, MI –Following a national search, Cranbrook Academy of Art is pleased to announce the appointment of Sarah Turner as Assistant Director for Academic Affairs, effective July 15, 2008. In this position, Turner will focus on academic programs and recruitment for the Academy’s graduate programs in fine art, design and architecture.

“We are honored to welcome Sarah Turner to the Academy as an integral member of my leadership team. Many thanks go to the search committee, students and faculty for their dedicated efforts in seeking the perfect fit, which they found in Sarah,” said Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum. “Sarah will be instrumental in developing and leading academic programming for our students as well as marketing the Academy to our potential students.”
“I’m delighted to be joining the Academy at this pivotal time in the school’s history,” said Turner. “I hope to offer students a more active role in shaping their intellectual experience and I plan to work with the Artists-in-Residence to recruit the highest-quality applicants for the Academy’s programs.”

Turner comes to the Academy following three years serving as a faculty member in the graduate programs at Rhode Island School of Design and at the State University of New York at New Paltz. She began her career in arts administration at Oregon College of Art & Craft where she served as Admissions Director, after receiving a Certificate in Metalsmithing.
Turner received a Masters in Fine Arts Degree in 2005 from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Metalsmithing, and a B.A. Sociology in 1993 from Smith College. Following two years of study at the Academy, Turner was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in 2005 to the Netherlands to conduct research in the field of Dutch contemporary jewelry. In association with the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, she produced the exhibition “Long Strides In Tiny Shoes” that opened in Amsterdam in May, 2005. Turner has lectured about her own work as well as Dutch and American contemporary jewelry and metalsmithing both nationally and in Europe.

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Ander Ruhwald

Anders Ruhwald

For Immediate Release
June 16, 2008

Contact: Felicia E. Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum, 248-645-3329

Cranbrook Academy of Art Appoints New Head of Ceramics Danish-artist Anders Ruhwald to Lead Graduate Program

Bloomfield Hills, MI –Cranbrook Academy of Art has named the leading Danish ceramic artist Anders Ruhwald as its new Artist-in-Residence and Head of the Ceramics Department. Long one of the nation's highest-ranked graduate programs, the Ceramics Department at Cranbrook under the leadership of Ruhwald will offer a research environment leading students to question the boundaries of the ancient tradition of working in clay through new technologies, practices and theoretical discipline. Ruhwald joins a program with a remarkable heritage of well-known ceramic artists including: Tony Hepburn, Maija Grotell, Toshiko Takeazu, Jun Kaneko and Richard De Vore.

Anders Ruhwald is a London-based Danish artist best known for his conceptual work. He is a brilliant and skilled craftsman and talented sculptor whose practice revolves around a very direct, hands-on engagement with clay. Ruhwald was born in Denmark and educated at the Glass and Ceramics School in Bornholm, Denmark and the Royal College of Art in London. He was awarded the Sotheby Prize from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2007. In 2005, he received the Anni and Otto Johannes Detlef’s Award for young, experimental ceramic artists from the Museum of Art and Design in Denmark, and in 2002, he was awarded first place in the Danish Biennale for Craft and Design. Ruhwald’s work is also represented in the permanent collections of: The Victoria and Albert Museum; The Swedish National Museum; The Danish Museum of Art and Design; and The National Museum of Decorative Arts, Norway, to name just a few. Ruhwald will begin as Artist-in-Residence at Cranbrook Academy of Art in July, 2008.

“We welcome Anders Ruhwald to our celebrated Academy faculty, who are all in their own right internationally renowned artists, as well as highly dedicated teachers, researchers and mentors,” said Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum. ”The faculty and students at Cranbrook represent a community of artists that has been at the forefront of art and design time and time again.”

The Academy’s ceramics program enrolls 15 graduate students with a wide range of backgrounds. All applicants accepted into the program have a Bachelors of Arts degree or equivalent foreign degree. A significant number are practicing artists who chose to attend graduate school to further their knowledge and professional/ teaching opportunities. Other students in the program come from the related fields of sculpture and the fine arts.

The two-year Masters of Fine Arts program at Cranbrook Academy of Art enrolls 140 students in nine disciplines including 2D Design, 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metal, Painting, Photography, Printmaking and Sculpture. They experience an intense, studio-based, self-directed study of their artistic discipline in an extraordinary, national-landmark campus setting designed by Finnish architectural master Eliel Saarinen. Each student defines and develops his or her own master’s degree project, with the guidance of the Department Head/ Artist-in-Residence. Upon successful completion of the course of study, each student presents a thesis project in a group exhibition at Cranbrook Art Museum.

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For Immediate Release
May 30, 2008

Contact: Felicia E. Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum,

248-645-3329

Cranbrook Academy of Art Announces 2008 Awards for Excellence in the Arts

Bloomfield Hills, MI – Cranbrook Academy of Art celebrated another year of outstanding work by its faculty and graduate students at the Academy Awards ceremony on Thursday night. The recipients of six distinguished awards for artistic excellence and Merit Scholarships were announced at the Cranbrook Art Museum in an event that also recognized the accomplishments of retiring faculty members Tony Hepburn and Carl Toth. Cranbrook Academy of Art was recently named the country’s top graduate-only Masters of Fine Arts program by US News and World Report in the 2009 edition of “America’s Best Graduate Schools.”

“We are a small school with a unique program, but Cranbrook remains a driving force in contemporary art, architecture, and design due to the accomplishments of our students, graduates and faculty,” says Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art. “The awards granted this year recognize -- through important support of donors and corporate support -- our exceptional program and students.”

The 2008 Daimler Financial Services Emerging Artist Award, which recognizes artistic promise with a grant to study and exhibit in the Berlin, Germany during the month of October, was awarded to Annica Cuppetelli, a Master of Fine Arts candidate in the Fiber Department and a resident of Royal Oak, Michigan. The Daimler Emerging Artist Award is being presented this year for the fourth time, and is a result of the long partnership between Daimler Financial Services and Cranbrook Academy of Art. The award is presented annually in recognition of a particularly innovative work presented during the Graduate Degree exhibition at Cranbrook Art Museum, which is the thesis show mounted by MFA graduate-candidates of the Academy. The Daimler award allows talented young artists the opportunity to enter into dialogue with fellow artists in Europe and thus further develop their creative capacity during a month-long residency at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin.

The Tony Devan Lewis Fellowship was awarded to David Duncan Hendren, a Master of Fine Arts candidate in the Painting Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art and a native of Arkansas. This award was created by the philanthropist, art collector, author and curator Toby Devan Lewis, who has been a constant supporter of young and emerging artists. She recently created the Toby Fund, to give graduating Master of Fine Arts students at more than 15 schools of art around the country grants of $10,000 each. As a former curator of the Progressive Collection, Lewis has been known for finding and nurturing young and unknown artists.

The Robert Larson Art, Design and Architecture Venture Fund was awarded to Aaron Peterman, a Master of Fine Arts candidate in the Sculpture Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art and a resident of Bloomfield Hills. The award recognizes and supports the work of an innovative and inspired Academy graduate student. Peterman’s work features wallpaper, floor and ceiling treatments accompanied by sculptural elements to create dimensional environments. The award was established by Bonnie Larson to celebrate her husband Robert’s 70th birthday. Robert C. Larson is a long-time volunteer leader and donor at Cranbrook who has served as the Chair of the Board of Trustees from 1996-2002. Her was also a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy and Art Museum from 1986-2000.

The 2008 Cranbrook Art Museum Purchase Award was presented to David Lambert, a Master of Fine Arts candidate in the Photography Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art and a resident of Troy, Michigan. Lambert’s work, currently on display in the Graduate Degree Exhibition at Cranbrook Art Museum, was selected for purchase by the Museum’s governing board and will be accessioned into the permanent collection of Cranbrook Art Museum. The work includes a series of photographs and objects about the current state of the environment.

Also during the ceremonies it was announced that Kimberly Faler, a Master of Fine Arts candidate in the Sculpture Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art and resident of Amherst, Massachusetts, has been awarded the prestigious grant from the Joan Mitchell Foundation. Faler was one of only 20 contemporary painters and sculptors to receive the $25,000 award, which is granted annually through nominators in the arts community selected from across the country. Faler was also the recipient this year of the Fulbright Grant. The Fulbright Program, the U.S. government's flagship program in international educational exchange, was proposed to the U.S. Congress in 1945. Chosen for academic merit and leadership potential, the Fulbright will allow Faler to continue her study in Brazil during 2008-2009.

The celebrated Artist-in-Residence and Head of the Ceramics Department Tony Hepburn is retiring after 16 years at Cranbrook Academy of Art. Hepburn is an internationally recognized artist who has received many awards for his work including: The Distinguished Koopman Fine Arts Chair from Hartford University, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Friends of Contemporary Ceramics, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, two New York Council on the Arts Fellowships, and the Gold Medal at the Faenza Ceramics Biennale, Faenza, Italy. His work is in many private collections around the world. Including the: Victoria and Albert Museum, London and The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. Hepburn was educated at the Camberwell College of Art and London University. Prior to coming to Cranbrook, Hepburn was Professor of Ceramics and Head of the Division of Art and Design at the New York College of Ceramics at Alfred University.

Carl Toth, Artist-in-Residence and Head of the Photography Department, is retiring after more than 30 years at the Academy. In 2006, Toth was named Educator of the Year by the Society of Photographic Education. Toth joined the Academy in 1992 and was instrumental in the education of more than 300 graduates of the Photography Department. His work can be found in the permanent collections of many museums both here and abroad including the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Cranbrook Academy of Art

Founded in 1932, Cranbrook Academy of Art is a preeminent graduate school of art, design and architecture. The Academy is the only institution in the United States dedicated solely to graduate art education, granting the Master of Architecture degree and the Master of Fine Arts degree in 2D Design, 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media and Sculpture. Carl Milles, Harry Bertoia, Charles and Ray Eames, Maija Grotell, Eero Saarinen, Florence Knoll, Daniel Libeskind and numerous other Cranbrook artists have had a major impact on the art, design, and architecture of our time. Further information is available on the Internet at www.cranbrookart.edu.

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For Immediate Release
April 4, 2008

Contact: Felicia E. Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum,

248-645-3329

Cranbrook Grabs Top Honors in US News and World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools”

Renowned Art Academy—home to Bertoia, Eames, Knoll and Saarinen—sustains its record as a leader in the arts

Bloomfield Hills, MI— Cranbrook Academy of Art is once again named the country’s top graduate-only Masters of Fine Arts program. The 2009 edition of “America’s Best Graduate Schools” published by US News and World Report ranks the Academy fourth overall among the 220 Master of Fine Arts programs across the United States. Cranbrook’s departments are all ranked in the top ten for excellence in the survey’s “specialties” categories, including: Ceramics, Fiber, Graphic Design (2D Design), Industrial Design (3D Design), Metals/Jewelry (Metalsmithing), Painting, Photography, Print Media and Sculpture (Cranbrook also offers a graduate degree in Architecture, but US News does not include this subject in its reviews). The US News and World Report rankings are based on a survey of art and design school deans, administrators and faculty completed every five years. Cranbrook Academy of Art has appeared at the top of the magazine’s rankings since they first appeared in 1990.

“The US News rankings indicate how our peers see us, which speaks very well of our programs, our artists-in-residence, and our students,” says Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum. “We are a small school with a unique program, so this is not only a complement, but a confirmation that Cranbrook remains a driving force in contemporary art, architecture, and design.”

Cranbrook is a true atelier, where ten Artists-in-Residence mentor 15 students each on a National Landmark campus designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen. Over its 75 years, the Academy’s alumni and faculty have included some of the country’s most renowned artists, architects and designers including the Saarinens, Harry Bertoia, Richard DeVore, Charles and Ray Eames, Maja Grotell, Florence Knoll, Jack Lenor Larson, Daniel Libeskind, Tony Matelli, Hani Rashid, Marianne Strengell, Toshiko Takaezu, Lorraine Wild, and Anne Wilson.

Cranbrook Academy of Art is part of the Cranbrook Educational Community, which includes primary and secondary schools, museums, and a science institute on its 320 acre campus in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

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For Immediate Release
February 25, 2008

Contact: Felicia E. Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum, 248-645-3329
David Bright, Knoll, 212-343-4030

Cranbrook Educational Community Announces $1 Million Gift from Knoll to Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI- (February 25, 2008) --- Knoll Inc. -- internationally renowned for innovation in residential and corporate furniture and textiles-- has announced a $1 million gift to the Campaign for Cranbrook in support of the Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum. This gift, which supports endowment, preservation, renovation and other needs for the Academy and Art Museum, is the largest ever made to Cranbrook from Knoll. It recognizes Knoll's historical legacy and ties to Cranbrook: co-founder Florence Knoll Bassett (neé Schust) is an alumna of both the Cranbrook Kingswood School and the Cranbrook Academy of Art.

"Knoll is honored to make this gift to Cranbrook," says Andrew Cogan, CEO of Knoll. "Since our founding in 1938 by Florence Schust and Hans Knoll, our commitment to innovation and modern design has evolved through very direct ties to the Cranbrook Academy of Art, whose alumni and faculty have contributed to our success."

Knoll is headquartered in East Greenville, Pennsylvania. The company's large portfolio of products are exhibited in major art museums, with more than 40 pieces in the permanent Design Collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York. While a student at the Cranbrook Kingswood School, Florence Knoll Bassett (neé Schust) became a protegée of Eero Saarinen, whose work the company still produces. In addition to the long collaboration with Saarinen, Knoll has commissioned work from a long list of noted Cranbrook Academy of Art faculty and graduates, including, Harry Bertoia, Niels Diffrient, Michael McCoy, Hani Rashid, Ralph Rapson, Marianne Strengell, and Masamichi Udagaw.

"The shared legacy of Knoll and Cranbrook is nothing short of the re-invention of the American workplace," says Reed Kroloff, Director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum. "This gift memorializes that relationship, supports the unique environment that made it possible, and ensures that the Cranbrook Academy of Art will remain at the forefront of design innovation."

About Knoll
Since 1938, Knoll has been recognized internationally for creating workplace and residential furnishings that inspire, evolve and endure. Today, Knoll's commitment to modern design, understanding of the workplace and dedication to sustainable design has yielded a unique portfolio of products that respond and adapt to changing needs. Knoll is aligned with the U.S. Green Building Council and can help companies, healthcare organizations and educational institutions achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) workplace certification. Knoll is the contract furniture industry's first member of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX®) and is the founding sponsor of the World Monuments Fund Modernism at Risk program.

About Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
Founded in 1932, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum is acknowledged world wide as a preeminent graduate level school of art, design and architecture. This independent graduate degree-granting institution offers an intense studio-based experience where artists-in-residence mentor students in art, architecture and design to creatively influence contemporary culture. The Academy is the only institution in the United States dedicated solely to graduate art education, granting the Master of Architecture degree and the Master of Fine Arts degree in 2D Design, 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media and Sculpture. Cranbrook is an internationally renowned educational community dedicated to excellence in the arts, education and science. Cranbrook is located at 39221 Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and in addition to the Academy of Art and Art Museum, is comprised of the Institute of Science, Schools and other affiliated cultural and educational programs.

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For Immediate Release
October 1, 2007

Contact: Felicia E. Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum,
248-645-3329

DaimlerChrysler Financial Services honors Cranbrook Academy of Art Graduates with the 2007 Emerging Artist Award

Winners' works to be exhibited in Berlin

Bloomfield Hills, MI - This year's DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Emerging Artist Award has been won by the architects Dharmesh Patel and Marty McElveen, recent graduates of Cranbrook Academy of Art's Architecture Department. The prizewinners will exhibit their works in the atrium of DaimlerChrysler Financial Services headquarters at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin from October 5-14, 2007. In addition, both artists' have received stipends for a one-month stay in Berlin and a networking and mentoring program run by the city's Künstlerhaus Bethanien, an artists' residency project.

The Emerging Artist Award, which is being presented this year for the third time, is a result of the long partnership between DaimlerChrysler Financial Services and Cranbrook Academy of Art. The award is presented annually in recognition of a particularly innovative work by a graduate of Cranbrook Academy of Art. It gives talented young artists the opportunity to enter into dialogue with fellow artists in Europe and thus further develop their creative capacity.

"The relationship between DaimlerChrysler Financial Services and Cranbrook Academy of Art has grown steadily over the past five years and today represents an inspiring example of the impact corporate patronage can have on art, education and culture in the community," says Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum. "The DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Emerging Artist Award is an extension of this groundbreaking partnership, offering the Academy's graduate students the opportunity to present their work to new audiences in Berlin, one of the world's capitals of contemporary art, as they are launching their careers and seeking their own paths as artists."

The award winners -- Dharmesh Patel, who was born in Gujrat, India, and is currently a resident of Pontiac, Michigan, and Marty McElveen, a current resident of New Orleans, Louisiana -- have been working on architectural and design projects for several years. Both of them received Master of Architecture degrees in 2007 from Cranbrook Academy of Art.

"We bring these talented young people to Berlin so that they can benefit from the artistic and cultural environment of Berlin and Europe and gather a wealth of impressions and inspiration here," explains DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Board of Management Chairman Jürgen Walker. "Our experiences of the past two years and our employees' strong sense of identification with this partnership has increased our commitment to this project."

The award-winning outdoor installation created by the two artists consists of two pavilions and a reflecting wall that refer to elements of the Cranbrook grounds, which were designed by Eliel Saarinen. The installation invites viewers to linger, observe, and contemplate. "Technological progress has subordinated craftsmanship to industrial monotony and degraded our man-made environment to a state of apathy," says Patel. "Our works begin where human understanding and the human body 'fail' and look to technology for assistance." McElveen adds, "Digital technology enables us to take an entirely new approach to the way we perceive, create, and ultimately experience space."

"The special combination of creative design, skilled craftsmanship, and technology is clearly evident in the works of these two artists," says Walker concerning the jury's choice of Patel and McElveen for the award. "Their approach to architecture as well as their technical construction process are marked by tremendous innovative power."

Also on exhibition at the DaimlerChrysler Financial Services headquarters in Berlin will be the works of nine other Cranbrook Academy of Art graduates who were nominated for the award: Alexander Tochilovsky (2D Design), Amy Elizabeth Feigley (Sculpture), John Falley (Metalsmithing), Jung Min Lee (Print/Media), Katie Hinton (Painting), Matt Alexander (3D Design), Nancy VanDevender (Textiles), Suk Jin Choi (Ceramics) and Tommy Reynolds (Photography).

DaimlerChrysler Financial Services
DaimlerChrysler Financial Services provides tailor-made financial services that help promote the sale of vehicles from the DaimlerChrysler Group worldwide. On the strength of its comprehensive range of leasing, financing, insurance, and fleet management services, the company manages a contract volume of €113 billion. DaimlerChrysler Financial Services leases or finances the sale of over one third of all the vehicles produced by DaimlerChrysler worldwide. The company, which has its headquarters in Berlin, operates in more than 40 countries and has around 11,000 employees. DaimlerChrysler Financial Services is extensively involved in various social and cultural projects around the world with the aim of opening up new prospects for young people.

Cranbrook Academy of Art
Founded in 1932, Cranbrook Academy of Art is a preeminent graduate school of art, design and architecture. The Academy is the only institution in the United States dedicated solely to graduate art education, granting the Master of Architecture degree and the Master of Fine Arts degree in 2D Design, 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media and Sculpture. Carl Milles, Harry Bertoia, Charles and Ray Eames, Maija Grotell, Eero Saarinen, Florence Knoll, Daniel Libeskind and numerous other Cranbrook artists have had a major impact on the art, design, and architecture of our time. Further information is available on the Internet at: www.cranbrook.edu

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For Immediate Release
October 1, 2007

Contact: Felicia E. Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum,

248-645-3329

Reed Kroloff Appointed Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art

Bloomfield Hills, MI- Following a national search, Reed Kroloff has been appointed director of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum, effective September 1, 2007. Currently dean of the Tulane University School of Architecture and the former editor-in-chief of Architecture magazine, Kroloff will succeed Gerhardt Knodel, who is retiring from the Academy after more than 30 years of service.

"Given Reed's national prominence, varied experiences and remarkable accomplishments, we are confident he will help lead the Academy to new heights of artistic greatness," says Rick Nahm, president of Cranbrook Educational Community.

"After a seven month national search, Reed emerged as the unanimous choice," says Maxine Frankel, board chair of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum. "Reed brings wisdom, vision, energy and passion to this position and is looking forward to working collegially and collaboratively with our staff, board and the other Cranbrook institutions."

Kroloff is looking forward to joining the Cranbrook community. "Being asked to help translate Cranbrook's remarkable legacy into an engine for 21st century creativity is an honor," he says. "I can't wait to get started."

During his tenure at Tulane, Kroloff had a significant impact on the School. He arrived there one year before Hurricane Katrina and helped lead the School to recovery and prominence in the post-storm environment, including raising a record $3 million in gifts and research grants; retaining 97 percent of the School's students and 100 percent of its faculty after the storm; and playing a significant role in citywide planning and rebuilding efforts.

The recipient of the American Academy in Rome's 2003 Rome Prize Fellowship, Kroloff previously served as the Editor-in-Chief of Architecture magazine. Under his direction, Architecture received more awards for editorial and design excellence than any magazine of its type, and quickly became the leading design publication in the nation. His writing has appeared in many other magazines and newspapers as well, including recent features in Artforum and Metropolis. Kroloff has been interviewed and profiled by national newsmedia such as NBC News, NPR's "All Things Considered," and The New York Times.

Before joining Architecture in 1995, Kroloff taught at Arizona State University, where he was a tenured professor, and the assistant dean. At ASU, he received the first-ever "Award for Academic Excellence" from the Arizona chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Through his practice Jones/Kroloff Design Services, Kroloff advises a range of institutions on architect selection and design strategy. His clients have included, among others, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Ministry of Culture of the Federal Government of Mexico, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art, the
University of Connecticut, the History Channel, and Detroit's own Motown Center Project. The combined construction value of the projects on which Jones/Kroloff has advised now exceeds $500 million.

Kroloff lectures widely, and is a regular visiting critic at architecture schools and professional organizations across the country. He holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and Yale University, and has practiced architecture in Texas and Arizona. Kroloff serves on numerous boards and advisory councils, ranging from the Register of Peer Professionals of the United States General Services Administration to the Public Architecture Foundation.

Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
Founded in 1932, Cranbrook Academy of Art is a preeminent graduate level school of art, design and architecture. Offering an intense studio-based experience, artists-in-residence mentor students in art, architecture and design to creatively influence contemporary culture. The two-year Masters of Fine Arts program at Cranbrook Academy of Art enrolls more
than 150 students who pursue degrees in nine disciplines including 2D Design, 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metal, Painting, Photography, Printmaking and Sculpture and a Master of Architecture degree. Upon successful completion of his or her course of study and work, each student presents a thesis project in a group exhibition at Cranbrook Art Museum. One of the region's leading contemporary art museums, Cranbrook Art Museum provides access to Cranbrook's remarkable past through its collections and tours while offering changing exhibitions by the world's most innovative artists including Cranbrook Academy of Art students and faculty. Cranbrook is an internationally renowned educational community dedicated to excellence in the arts, education and science. Cranbrook is located at 39221 Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and in addition to the Academy of Art, is comprised of the Art Museum, Institute of Science, Schools and other affiliated cultural and educational programs.

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For Immediate Release May 3, 2012 Contact: Felicia E. Molnar, 248-645-3329 Click here to download as a PDF

For Immediate Release April 4, 2012 Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum 248-645-3329

For Immediate Release August 15, 2011 Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum 248-645-3329 Download this release as a PDF

Cranbrook Art Museum's Grand Reopening Exhibition

For Immediate Release July 27, 2011 Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum 248-645-3329 Download this release as a PDF

At the Birthplace of Modernism, A Rebirth

For Immediate Release May 7, 2011 Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum 248-645-3329

More than $100,000 in Awards for Excellence in the Arts Presented to Students of Cranbrook Academy of Art

For Immediate Release May 5, 2011 Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum 248-645-3329

Cranbrook Academy of Art Commencement 2011 Friday, May 6 New York Times Art Critic Roberta Smith to Deliver Address to Graduating Class + Award-Winning Architect and Designer of Apple Store Peter Bohlin to Receive Distinguished Alumni Award

For Immediate Release April 19, 2011 Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum 248-645-3329

Cranbrook Academy of Art Announces the Appointment of Jana Cephas Critical Studies Fellow for Fall 2011

For Immediate Release March 16, 2011 Contact: Felicia E. Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art, 248-645-3329

Cranbrook Architect-in-Residence William Massie Receives the 2011 Arts and Letters Award in Architecture

For Immediate Release May 11, 2010 Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum 248-645-3329

Cranbrook Artist Anders Ruhwald Receives $150,000 Grant from The Danish Arts Foundation

For Immediate Release May 7, 2010

Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum

248-645-3329 More than $100,000 in Awards for Excellence in the Arts Presented to Students of Cranbrook Academy of Art

For Immediate Release April 15, 2010

Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum

248-645-3329 Critic, Curator and Artist Christopher Ho Appointed Critical Studies Teaching Fellow at Cranbrook Academy of Art

AXA Art Insurance Corporation and Cranbrook Academy of Art announce collaboration

Cranbrook Artist Anders Ruhwald Receives $12,000 Ole Haslund Artist Foundation Grant in Denmark Today

CRANBROOK ART MUSEUM: GENERAL INFORMATION

For Immediate Release February 25, 2008

Cranbrook Educational Community Announces $1 Million Gift from Knoll to Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum

For Immediate Release October 1, 2007

DaimlerChrysler Financial Services honors Cranbrook Academy of Art Graduates with the 2007 Emerging Artist Award

Winners' works to be exhibited in Berlin

For Immediate Release
May 3, 2012
Contact: Felicia E. Molnar, 248-645-3329
Click here to download as a PDF

For Immediate Release
April 4, 2012
Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
248-645-3329

For Immediate Release
August 15, 2011
Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
248-645-3329
Download this release as a PDF

For Immediate Release
July 27, 2011
Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
248-645-3329
Download this release as a PDF

For Immediate Release
May 7, 2011
Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
248-645-3329

For Immediate Release
May 5, 2011
Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
248-645-3329

Cranbrook Academy of Art Commencement 2011 Friday, May 6
New York Times Art Critic Roberta Smith to Deliver Address to Graduating Class + Award-Winning Architect and Designer of Apple Store Peter Bohlin to Receive Distinguished Alumni Award

For Immediate Release
April 19, 2011
Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
248-645-3329

Cranbrook Academy of Art Announces the Appointment of Jana Cephas
Critical Studies Fellow for Fall 2011

For Immediate Release
March 16, 2011
Contact: Felicia E. Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art, 248-645-3329

Cranbrook Architect-in-Residence William Massie
Receives the 2011 Arts and Letters Award in Architecture

For Immediate Release
May 11, 2010
Contact Felicia Eisenberg Molnar, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
248-645-3329

For Immediate Release
May 7, 2010

248-645-3329

More than $100,000 in Awards for Excellence in the Arts Presented to Students of Cranbrook Academy of Art

For Immediate Release
April 15, 2010

248-645-3329

Critic, Curator and Artist Christopher Ho Appointed Critical Studies Teaching Fellow at Cranbrook Academy of Art

For Immediate Release
February 25, 2008

For Immediate Release
October 1, 2007