A student of mine works in the ports for AT&T repairing phones… I think, but she told me that an aircraft carrier was in, and if I wanted to get a tour now would be a great time. So she contacted the USO and then told me to contact a person there. Two days later I’m touring the ship.

So I don’t know what I enjoyed more, just being around all those Americans, or seeing the ship. Both were great, but I have to admit, on my way back to town I started to feel a little homesick for America. This was the first time since I’ve lived in Dubai that I can honestly say that I wished I was there.

So anyway, the carrier is in port for a few days and I took the opportunity to see what it was like. The USS Eisenhower is probably one of the older carriers in commission, but it was so cool to actually be on it, to walk through the passages, to go up into the tower, and mingle around the aircraft on deck. It’s one of those things that I should have had in my goals page here on the web site. I mean I was so excited to see it I was pretty much just grinning the whole time.

Mon 16/03/09 13:13

The Fleeting Moment was the title, and the reception was tonight. It had a good showing and all the work looked good. I took some pics and will post them here. Other than that, there isn’t too much to say.

Nine Dubai-based artists showcase their latest artwork in an exhibition of contemporary painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, and video.  This group of artists all address different themes in their work, however their current show converges around the idea of the fleeting moment, the passing of someone on the street, the opportunity taken or missed, the instant in time that is recorded.  We look at this recording for an instant, a minute, maybe even five minutes.  Sometimes the impression stays with us, sometimes it fades away.  Sometimes the constant din of a city that never stops regains control of our senses, and the fleeting moment is just that.

I am one of the faculty members participating in this exhibition. It should be nice to get back into the art scene with my own work, but I will be showing older stuff that I did over a year ago. Maybe this will be the incentive to start working on some new stuff.

Reception is on the 15th of March at Dubai Community Theatre and Art Centre (Mall of the Emirates)

Sun 15/02/09 22:47

After a week of touring Dubai, and meeting with the faculty and students here at AUD, Maris Bishofs has left for home in Latvia. Though I can’t speak for him, but I really enjoyed having him here for the week. His insight to illustration, along with his genuine curiosity in life made him a pleasure to show Dubai to.

Thanks go out to all the people that helped me prepare for Maris’ visit, Dalal especially. Without her help I don’t know if I would have been able to get the visit under control.

Fri 06/02/09 00:13

Introducing Maris Bishofs

Maris Bishofs, a noted and respected illustrator will be visiting American University in Dubai in February. Maris made a name for himself with his caricature style of rendering and his unique conceptual interpretations of current affairs. His work has been seen on the covers of such high profile periodicals as The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Washington Post, The Nation, Smart Money, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Barron’s, Rolling Stone and US News & World Report. First gaining recognition in the early nineteen-eighties, his successful career as an illustrator spans nearly forty years with ten books about him and his illustration.

Biography:

Bishofs was born in 1939 in Rujiena, Latvia in what was then the Soviet Union. In 1965 he became the first artist to graduate from the Latvian Art Academy with an interior design degree. In 1972 the artist fled Latvia to the Middle East where he worked and exhibited his art until he moved to Paris, France in the early 1980s. In 1984 he moved to New York City, to what would become a highly celebrated career as a commercial illustrator. In 2003, after nineteen years in New York, he moved back to Latvia, and continues even now to publish books featuring his own art. His first book entitled “The Exhibition” was published in1978. Since then, he has had no less than ten books published all featuring his own special brand of illustration. His latest, entitled; “The Book of Drawings” was published in 2007. In addition to books, Maris’ illustrations have been featured in solo exhibitions across the world, from North America to the Middle East, and from Western Europe to Eastern Europe.

During his week to AUD:

Maris will hold two workshops for the Visual Communication students, a lecture, and an exhibition and reception open to the general public.

Workshop: February 10 & 11, 1:00-4:00 pm, (open only to AUD VC students)

Lecture: February 12, 6:30 pm, Room C 227 (open to the general public)

Exhibition: February 12, 7:30 pm, Rotunda Gallery in A Building (open to the general public)

Last night I went to a lecture and exhibition of a very influential designer, Jiwon Shin. To be honest at first I really didn’t know much about her, and wasn’t convinced I was going to go. When I found out though that she has designed logos and branding for such companies as Quest, Amtrak, UPS, FedEX, Japan Airlines, Nautica, and much more, I decided that there was a chance that her… fortune, talent, or whatever her secret is, could possibly rub off on me that I had to go. I spoke to her for a little bit, and I asked her how she managed to land such huge clients, her response was, “good fortune.” I hear that a lot, that luck pays a big part in getting well known, or established. She also mentioned going to “mixers” and “rubbing shoulders” with influential people. So it’s probably more of her tenacity than anything else that has made her who she is. What a nice person though, very humble, and very cordial. She seems to deserve every good thing that she has gotten out  of life.

Images:TOP, A couple professors mingle during the exhibition. BOTTOM-LEFT,Krassen, the typography professor at AUD poses with Shin. Krassen is the person who invited the artist to the university. BELOW-RIGHT:Nadwa, a student at AUD , and Shiwon in front of the JAL poster.