Jake Beckman
EDUCATION:
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Master of Fine Arts with Honors– Sculpture, 2011
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
Bachelor of Arts – Art, 2005
Studio Arts Center International, Florence, Italy. Spring 2003
Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning at Brown University, Providence, RI
Teaching Certificate, 2011
EXHIBITIONS:
2011 Recent Work, solo exhibition, Feick Arts Center, Green Mountain College, Poultney, Vermont.
2011 New Contemporaries, invitational exhibition, Gelman Gallery, RISD Art Museum. Providence, Rhode Island.
2011 Rapture-Proof, group exhibition, 25CPW Gallery. New York, New York.
2011 RISD Graduate Selections Show, invitational exhibition, Sol Koffler Gallery. Providence, Rhode Island.
2011 RISD Master's Thesis Exhibition, group exhibition, Rhode Island Convention Center. Providence, Rhode Island.
2010 RISD Sculpture Department Biennial, group exhibition, Sol Koffler Gallery. Providence, Rhode Island.
2010 America, America, juried group exhibition, Gelman Gallery, RISD Art Museum. Providence, Rhode Island.
2010 Boston Young Contemporaries, juried group exhibition, 808 Gallery, Boston University. Boston, Massachusetts.
2010 Salt of the Earth, solo exhibition, Black Sheep Project Space. Providence, Rhode Island.
2010 Working Drawing, group exhibition, Arts Council of Greater New Haven Gallery. New Haven, Connecticut.
2009 5th Annual “19” Invitational Exhibition, group exhibition, Asterisk Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio.
2009 Embodied, solo exhibition, The Sculpture Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
2008 Living in Your Imagination, group exhibition curated by William Busta, Spaces Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio.
2007 On a Pedestal and off the Wall, juried exhibition, curated by Don Harvey, The Sculpture Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
2007 The 60 Second Southern Video Festival, Fugitive Art Center, Pegram, Tennessee.
2007 Art in Fact, group exhibition curated by Kristin Rogers, Progressive Insurance Campus, Mayfield Village, Ohio.
2007 Spacelab Installation, Spaces Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio.
2006 After Hours, group exhibition, Coffee House Gallery, The Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio.
2006 Indelible Marks, group exhibition curated by Abe Olvido, The Galleria at Lakeview, Cleveland, Ohio.
2006 Street Repairs, group exhibition curated by Don Harvey, Spaces Gallery, Cleveland Ohio.
2006 In/Between, group exhibition, Gordon Collins Bostwick, Cleveland, Ohio.
2005 Unseen, solo installation and exhibition, Cleveland Public Art, Cleveland, Ohio.
2005 Thesis Exhibition, two person exhibition, List Gallery, Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania.
2003 Student Exhibition, Studio Art Centers International, Florence, Italy.
2002 Student Exhibition, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.
2000 20th Annual Cuyahoga County Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio.
1999 19th Annual Cuyahoga County Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio.
UNSANCTIONED EXHIBITIONS:
Outdoor Installations, Swarthmore College Campus, Fall 2001 to Spring 2005.
PUBLIC ART:
Rotaflora (2010) Morgana Run Bicycle Path Trailhead, Slavic Village Development Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio.
Flow of Time (clock) (2004) Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.
Adirondack Chair (2002) Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.
COLLECTIONS:
Amor Perdido 7, 9, 13, and 14 (2005) The Progressive Corporation, Mayfield Village, Ohio.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE– Swarthmore, PA:
"Art in Public." Visiting Assistant Professor. A studio-based course exploring the process of designing, proposing and constructing art in public space. Through drawings, conceptual designs, and maquettes students work towards developing proposals for specific projects around campus. Additionally, we consider public-art-related issues through readings, discussions, site visits, critical analyses and presentations. We examine the social, historical and conceptual context in which various artists have approached working in the public, as well as the role of humor, scale, activism, and political commentary. Guerilla acts of art intervention and basic construction techniques also covered. Spring 2012.
RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN – Providence, RI:
"Constructing the Infinite: Sight, Sound and Substance." Teacher. Designed and co-taught an introductory undergraduate sculpture studio course focusing on the various ways in which scientific research can interface with one’s sculptural practice. The course emphasized self-directed research into scientific imagery and phenomena coupled with the conceptual and physical synthesis of that research into sculpture. Basic fabrication techniques in wood, wax, plaster, foam, plaster mold-making, electronics and rubber mold-making were covered. The class fostered the use of a formal sculptural vocabulary, an awareness of craft, and a sensitivity towards the exhibition and display of the student’s own work. Winter term, 2011.
Sophomore Major Sculpture Studio, Teaching Assistant, Fall 2010. Professors Lee Boroson and Ellen Driscoll.
Senior Major Sculpture Studio, Teaching Assistant, Spring 2010. Professors Lauren Kalman and Ellen Driscoll.
THE CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART – Cleveland, OH:
Technical Associate, Department of Sculpture. Operated and maintained the sculpture department woodshop, metal shop, and foundry. Managed student employees and taught material and safety lessons. Fall 2005- Spring 2007. Professors Amie McNeel, Charles Tucker, Nathaniel Parsons.
VISITING ARTIST AND PUBLIC-SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS:
Visiting Artist Lecture, Workshop, and Studio Visits. Green Mountain College. Poultney, Vermont. November 2011. Professor Jessica Cuni.
Visiting Artist Lecture and Studio Visits with Senior Art Majors. Swarthmore College. Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. November 2010. Professors Logan Grider and Randall Exon.
Visiting Artist at the Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland. Led an afternoon studio workshop for 9 to 15 year old students. Using simple materials, students created imaginary buildings for their neighborhoods. Cleveland, Ohio. March 2009.
Presenter, “From the Studio to the Streets,” Cleveland Public Art Workshop Series, Cleveland, Ohio, June 2006.
Visiting Artist Lecture and Studio Visits with a Public Art Class. Bowling Green State University. Bowling Green, Ohio. November, 2005. Professor Greg Meuller
Informal Lecture, Art Day, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, April 2002.
RESIDENCIES:
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, planned Summer 2012.
Vermont Studio Center, June, 2010.
AWARDS AND HONORS:
2010 Trails and the Arts Award for Rotaflora, The American Trail Association.
2010 S.L.Y. Herman Scholarship, The Rhode Island School of Design.
2005 Dean's Award, Swarthmore College.
2004 Dean's Award, Swarthmore College.
2003 Awarded the commission for the 100th anniversary of the Daniel Burnham Group Plan for the
City of Cleveland Mall B Installation Competition. (Project was never fully realized)
2003 Katharine Scherman Scholarship for the Arts and Humanities. Swarthmore College.
2000 Silver key and Two Places, ceramics. 20th Cuyahoga County Scholastic Art Exhibition, CIA, Cleveland, Ohio.
1999 Silver key and Two Places, ceramics. 19th Cuyahoga County Scholastic Art Exhibition, CIA, Cleveland, Ohio.
1998 Certificate of Recognition, ceramics. Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition.
PRESS:
Litt, Steven. “Jake Beckman Transforms the Sculpture Center.” The Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 1, 2009.
Max Utter, Douglas. “Off Their Pedestals.” The Cleveland Free Times, April 11, 2007.
Tranberg, Dan. “Sculpture Reveals Secret Interior.” The Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 26, 2007.
Max Utter, Douglas. “Not So Mean Streets; Spaces Hits the Road.” The Cleveland Free Times, September 20, 2006.
Wheatt, Dalia. “Art Breaker.” Cleveland Magazine, February, 2004.
Bly, Liz. “Dragging the Line.” The Cleveland Free Times, November 12, 2003.
Louderback, Joseph. “For Swarthmore Sculptor, the Campus is his Canvas.” Delaware County Daily Times, April 14, 2002.
Assorted Development and Alumni Publications, Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania, Fall 2001-Present
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Kadan Productions. Set Production Assistant. Assisted in the fabrication, installation and on-site support for various design and fashion related productions. New York, New York. December 2007- June 2008.
Philipp Haemmerle Design Studio. Set Production Assistant. New York, New York. November 2007- June 2008.
Master Planning Team for 120th Street Rapid Transit Station. Public Art Consultant. Worked with a team of architects, designers and engineers to perform site analyses and planning recommendations for a transit station. Part of my responsibilities included creating the public art master plan for the site. Cleveland, Ohio. January 2007- January 2008.
Department of Facilities Management, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Assistant to the project manager of a $14 million campus renovation project. Planned, coordinated, and executed various related projects. Assisted with construction scheduling, design decisions, and contractor issues. August 2004- June 2005.
Arizona Bronze Fine Arts Atelier, Tempe, Arizona. Full Time Foundry Worker. Summer 2002.
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio. Full time researcher in a yeast genetics lab. Summer 2000 and Summer 2001.