daniel barney

Seven faculty members from the College of Fine Arts and Communications were recognized — four with university awards and three with college awards Several faculty members from the College of Fine Arts and Communications were recognized during BYU’s 2019 annual University Conference for their outstanding accomplishments and service. Kelly Loosli, Claudine Bigelow, Daniel Everett and Kori Wakamatsu received university faculty awards. Stephanie Breinholt, Daniel Barney and Nathan Balser were presented with college awards. University awards were announced at the opening session of University Conference on Monday, August 26. College awards were presented by associate dean Amy Jensen and dean Ed Adams during the college meeting on Wednesday, August 28. University Awards Kelly Loosli | Department of Theatre and Media Arts | Karl G. Maeser Excellence in Teaching Award Loosli, a professor of animation, was awarded the Karl G. Maeser Excellence in Teaching Award. This award highlights the masterful teaching accomplishments of faculty members at BYU. Loosli has had a passion for media arts since a teenager working as a clay animator for television commercials. While an undergraduate at BYU, Loosli won a Student Emmy for a claymation film. After his time at BYU, Loosli went on to work on major productions, including DreamWorks Feature Animation films “Shrek” and “Spirit.” Over the past 12 years, Loosli has dedicated himself to growing and expanding the BYU animation program into the nationally recognized program it is today. He teaches animation, storyboarding and screenwriting. Claudine Bigelow | School of Music | Karl G. Maeser Research and Creative Arts Award Bigelow, head of viola studies and chamber music coordinator, was awarded the Karl G. Maeser Research and Creative Arts Award. This award — given by the Karl G. Maeser Scholarship Society — honors faculty members for exceptional research and creative accomplishments. As an avid recitalist, Bigelow continues to perform locally and nationally throughout the year, including performing at the Grand Teton Music Festival each year. She has played with the National and Utah Symphonies, Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra, National Chamber Orchestra and at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Bigelow was chosen to be a Fulbright Senior Scholar in 2012 and served as artist-in-residence at the Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music in Wellington. Daniel Everett | Department of Art | Young Scholar Award Everett, a professor of art, was awarded the Young Scholar Award. This award acknowledges faculty members who demonstrate immense potential and achievement in the early stages of their university careers. Currently, Everett serves as the LEP Coordinator for the Department of Art and oversees its BFA program. At BYU, he teaches new genre, photography and advanced studio courses. Everett specializes in many forms of media, including photography, video and installation. A solo exhibition by Everett has been featured in the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. His work has been displayed in more than 90 exhibitions in 16 countries throughout North America and Europe. Kori Wakamatsu | Department of Dance | Joseph E. White Teaching and Learning Faculty Fellowship Wakamatsu, the contemporary dance program coordinator, was awarded the Joseph E. White Teaching and Learning Faculty Fellowship. Fellowships acknowledge the time and effort sacrificed by “the university’s support services in providing a transfer of positions and budget to enhance teaching and learning.” As contemporary dance program coordinator, Wakamatsu oversees dance education within the Department of Dance. Prior to teaching at BYU, she taught dance at public middle and high schools in Utah. Wakamatsu has collaborated on projects including “The Thought of You” animation, “The Nightingale” play, “Dance Engine” and “On Site” mobile dance series. College Awards Stephanie Breinholt | Department of Theatre and Media Arts | Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Work Brienholt, the BFA acting area head, was awarded the Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Work during the college awards portion of University Conference. “Stephanie is continually involved in creative work in a mixture of directing and acting,” said associate dean Amy Jensen. “She is uncommonly adept at helping students accomplish great things; she has proved herself to be a professor who is helpful and caring.” As a nationally recognized director and award-winning educator, Brienholt helps students in the Department of Theatre and Media Arts prepare for a successful career in the theatre world. In addition to teaching, she is a professional actor, voice over artist, voice and dialect coach and designer. Brienholt is a member of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association. Daniel Barney | Department of Art | Excellence in Teaching Barney, a professor of art, was awarded the Excellence in Teaching for his accomplishments as a teacher and educator. Barney currently teaches classes in curriculum development and theory and methods in contemporary art. “Daniel is continuously described as being rigorous, current, inspirational and concerned for his students,” said Jensen. In addition to his time in the classroom at BYU, Barney serves as the assistant editor of “Journal of Social Theory in Art Education” and associate editor of “Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy.” He also participates in the review boards of several key research journals. Barney has co-edited the book “Arts Education and Literacies” and has authored articles for various art journals and publications. Nathan Balser | Department of Dance | Excellence in Citizenship Balser, a professor of dance, was awarded the Excellence in Citizenship, recognizing his service on several department committees and as associate chair in the Department of Dance. “His wisdom and insight is relied upon, along with his unique ability to bring people to a consensus,” said Jensen. “His colleagues describe him as understanding, peacemaking, generous, collegial and collaborative. He is an engaged artist who seeks opportunities to serve and advocate for the art of dance.” Balser teaches contemporary dance and musical theatre dance techniques and theories. During his time as a BYU professor, Balser has choreographed for The Young Ambassadors and Contemporary Dance Theater, as well as BYU productions of “The Count of Monte Cristo” and “Wonderland.” He has also choreographed multiple productions at Sundance Summer Theatre and Hale Center Theatre. Prior to coming to BYU, Balser performed on Broadway, toured nationally and appeared on Tony Award programs and Kennedy Center Honors programs on CBS. He is a consultant at Utah Conservatory of the Performing Arts (COPA) and is a member of Actor’s Equity Association and Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG/AFTRA). College Staff and Administrative Employee Recognition (SAERA) Award Bridget Benton | Dean’s Office Francie Jenson | Dean’s Office Melinda Semadeni | Dean’s Office Becca Weidner | Advisement Center New Faculty and Staff Kitsa Behringer | Museum of Art | Museum Educator Jason Cassel | Music | Piano Technician Ty Davis | Dean’s Office | Creative Services Manager, BYU Arts Marketing Adam Dyer | Dance | Assistant Professor Eliza Tanner Hawkins | Communications | Visiting Faculty Desiree Gonzalez-Miller | Music | Visiting Instructor Tony Gunn | Theatre and Media Arts | Visiting Assistant Professor Devin Knighton | Communications | Assistant Teaching Professor Korianne Orton Johnson | Music | Assistant Teaching Professor Brian Smith | Communications | Associate Professor Jamie Kalama Wood | Dance | Assistant Teaching Professor

BA Art student Elisabeth Baird feels most inspired when making art —not in the solitude of her studio, but with other people. As a future teacher (she is earning an art education licensure), Baird draws on the power of art to inspire understanding and connection. So when she learned about socially engaged art in a class from Professor Dan Barney, it seemed a natural fit. Read more on the Department of Art's website.

Students worked across disciplines and made contemporary connections

Kelly T. Loosli On Aug. 22, animation Professor Kelly T. Loosli received the Karl G. Maeser Professional Faculty Excellence Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in fulfilling professional faculty responsibilities. Loosli was one of five individuals at the conference to receive the award. Kelly T. Loosli has worked in animation and live-action media production for 23 years, 15 of which he has managed and taught in BYU’s nationally recognized animation program, of which he is the co-creator. Loosli began his animation career at age 15 as a clay animator for television commercials. In 1996, he graduated from BYU with a bachelor’s degree in film. Throughout his career, Loosli has also played a significant role in many widely acclaimed productions such as DreamWorks’ “Shrek,” Disney’s “Spirit” and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ “Meet the Mormons.” He also has experience with Buena Vista Motion Pictures, and has worked with the popular rock band “The Killers.' Loosli is currently working with students to complete several large computer-animated group projects, two live-action and animated mixed films and one traditionally animated film. Even with 17 Student Emmys and five Student Academy Awards, Kelly is known to care more about the student learning than the quality of the creative work being produced. An award-winning work being produced is just further evidence to the quality of the teaching and mentoring that Kelly and his colleagues provide, and has been integral in building one of the most effective learning centers on the BYU campus. Much of its success is attributed to the dedication that Kelly has to student learning, quality mentoring, honest feedback and hard work. Kelly is a model citizen and a wonderful professional faculty member. Daniel T. Barney On Aug. 22, art professor Daniel T. Barney received the Joseph E. White Teaching & Learning Faculty Fellowship. This fellowship recognizes the sacrifice and efforts by the university’s support services in providing a transfer of positions and budget to enhance teaching and learning. Daniel Barney graduated from Brigham Young University in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in printmaking and a certification in Art Education K-12, and in 2004 with a master's degree in art education. Barney is currently faculty in the Art Department at BYU. Although his degree was in printmaking and drawing, Barney has shown jewelry, glass work, photography, paintings, videos, drawing, and sewn work in galleries and museums across the US and Canada, including Ayden Gallery in Vancouver, BC, Coda Gallery in Park City and Exit9 Gift Emporium in New York City. His artwork has also been exhibited on campuses that include the University of Utah, The University of Illinois, Maryland Institute College of Art and The University of British Columbia. As an arts education research professor, Dan Barney’s research and writing contributes to the education of students not only at BYU but across the United States. He is a dynamic, committed, and inventive teacher and excels in his ability to make students feel comfortable and engages while challenging them in meaningful ways and helping them to stretch intellectually and creatively. He is continually seeking ways to improve student learning and to involve students in active learning. He is known to be demanding and to have high expectations, but students respect him for his knowledge, intelligence, and experience. He is a fine and loyal colleague, an effective and engaging teacher, and an accomplished scholar.

How do we make our life more artistic? How does our life influence our art? To answer and interpret these questions, Professor Daniel Barney’s art classes, Theory, Method and Practice and Issues in Contemporary Art, created this piece inspired by Oliver Herring’s TASK Area for Action concept. A TASK party is an improvisational event with few rules. For this TASK, the students were told they had to keep a three-foot boundary around the piece and only add to the artwork, no subtracting. Barney’s two classes each had a different role with the TASK. The first class was instructed to create the piece starting with a few students standing as statues and then adding any material they could find. Papers, tape and foil were draped around the students and tied up the staircases and walls. “It became not just artist-object, something pristine and curated, but to improvisation galore,” Barney said. The second class was charged with repurposing the materials already used and adding to the creation even further. “Everyone might not be an artist but everyone is a creative agent,” Barney said. “How we interpret the world is based off our own agency.” PHOTOS: Hailey Stevens For more information on Oliver Herring and TASK visit: https://oliverherringtask.wordpress.com/

Dr. Dan leads students to transform, inspire and create new artistic connections By Sarah Ostler Hill Printmaking, beads, sewing, film, book binding, painting, photography, bread – Dr. Daniel Barney doesn’t let his medium define him as an artist. He is an art omnivore, immersing himself in various media, processes and their cultural contexts as a way to discover how and what people learn through artmaking. Today, as a professor in BYU’s Department of Visual Arts, he serves as educator, researcher and artist. Barney has always been interested in finding answers, and perhaps that was one reason he was initially drawn to the sciences. He had taken some art classes, but it was only the encouragement from his future wife, Cassandra Christensen, that led him to apply for a scholarship in the arts. He was pleasantly surprised when he won that scholarship. The arts encouraged and expanded that initial interest in finding answers. At first, Barney didn’t considering pursuing a career as an educator, even though Christensen was working on her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting with licensure in K-12 Art Education. “Teachers don’t always get the respect they deserve,” he laughs. “Cassandra was working on her teacher certification, so I began to substitute teach for her. That’s when I began to rethink my reticence towards teaching.” Art as a Process Once Barney graduated, he didn’t have access to the printmaking equipment found at BYU, so he moved into more traditional materials like painting and drawing. Barney began teaching at Timpview High School in Provo and was asked to teach a crafts class. He laughs as he says “crafts” with a tone that implies he wasn’t about to teach kids how to make friendship bracelets or paper mache. It was his class to teach, so he began to explore beyond technique to the philosophies that deal with a process and then materiality. “I’m not intensely interested in making, but what can be learned through the making,” he explains. Barney says his students were attracted to making beads, so he took it a step farther to learn the art from a historical and cultural perspective. He talks about wood, bone and shell beads, Egyptian faience beads, and 2700-year-old Zhou Dynasty and Warring States period beads, and what they mean to different cultures and times. Barney’s extensive research on technique led to some extraordinary lampwork beadmaking. His work has been exhibited and sold throughout North America. “I did glasswork and jewelry making for 10 years just because I was teaching and interacting with high school students,” he says, as if anyone could gain national recognition after being asked to teach a beginning art class. When students expressed an interest in clothing, Barney threw himself into analyzing dress as an artistic process. Clothing intrigues him, he says, particularly how it relates to politics and ethics, such as power, modesty and oppression. Much of his early scholarly writing is focused on dress as an artistic, albeit problematic, concept. Barney’s most recent self-proclaimed obsession has been making bread. He says he makes four loaves a day using only wild yeast, flour, water and salt. Most people would say they bake bread, but Barney examines the entire process. “I have no idea how it will relate to my artistic practice just yet,” he muses. “But I’m seeing what happens when the conditions are set for great things to happen, but don’t force it. Most of the time, the resting is doing the work.” Barney’s many successes perhaps emerge from his drive to learn new things. After teaching high school for about nine years, Barney decided to get his master’s degree in art education at BYU. He continued to work at Timpview High School until he went to the University of British Columbia to get his doctorate in curriculum studies. As he was finishing his coursework, he saw a position at a highly selective New York art school was coming open. While he considered this the perfect fit for what he had been studying, he hadn’t yet finished his research so he knew it was a long shot. He was shocked when he was shortlisted. He was further stunned when he was shortlisted by another prestigious art school. Then, both schools made him offers. “That’s when I thought maybe I’d have a chance at BYU,” Barney says. He contacted BYU faculty members, a call for applications was opened, and BYU offered him a position as well. He had three very attractive offers, all when he was still just a PhD candidate, meaning his dissertation research was only in the initial phases. He had to write his dissertation while he was a full-time instructor at BYU. “Ultimately, BYU was the right fit for my family,” Barney says. “Everyone has been really supportive and thinks outside what I thought was BYU’s box. As a student, I had a different idea of what the faculty was thinking.” From Beadmaking to BYU As a professor at BYU, Barney has had some unique experiences in teaching and learning from students. Sometimes he presents project ideas, but then lets students apply their own voice. He doesn’t believe that learning is always best when everyone follows the same assignment. Teaching students to create their own assignments is a foundational art skill for which Barney strongly advocates. Barney recently instructed students they would be doing a project in canning. Conventional canning involves preserving things that are physically sustaining. This project would involve putting something spiritually or emotionally sustaining into a mason jar. Barney was moved by the work his students came back with. Some were incredibly personal, he says, relating to their own life experience or culture. “I cry all the time in my classes,” Barney admits, almost resignedly. “I get overwhelmed to be here and to have these conversations with the students.” While most of his students are LDS, they bring different life experiences from across the world. Their common faith lends to some redundancies not necessarily visible at other institutions. Barney highlights this because he believes his LDS perspective helps him make connections as an artist he wouldn’t otherwise make. “The concept that we need to be taught by the Spirit doesn’t really exist outside Mormonism,” he says, and then elaborates by talking about how humility plays a large role in learning more. “Before you can learn more, and become an expert, you have to humble yourself. It has helped me transform my practice from one who knows to one who knows provisionally, tentative to the contextual insights of the Spirit.” Absorbing and Sharing Influences One of the greatest influences on Barney’s artistic life has been his father-in-law, an artist in his own right. Though their approaches to art differ, he saw early on that being an artist is acceptable and legitimate. “He has shown me I can be a positive force for our community and abroad,” Barney says. “Knowing there’s a person in my life who is successful in his career, family and community has made a huge impact in my life.” On a grander scale, Barney is inspired by artists such as Alfredo Jaar, Eduardo Kac, Vic Muniz and Tom Friedman. He is intrigued by Andrea Zittel’s motto “liberation through limitation” and how this might play out in art educational settings. From these artists, and his research, Barney has developed his own motto: Curriculum is an improvisation within a scene of constraint. He points out the constraints that surround us on a daily basis: classrooms, institutions, workplaces and political entities. But with these limitations come a lot of agency and the ability to make choices. “What can we do within these boundaries, and when do we need to trespass those boundaries?” he asks. “We engage in the world artistically and wonder what we can learn from such engagement. Through our collective inquiry, we can be transformed and learn more than we would have independently.” Barney’s teaching style seems more collaborative than usually found in a classroom. Long ago he dismissed the notion that students passively learn from teachers. He views his role as both teacher and learner and believes students should come to class with the same mentality. “It’s not that one person is smarter and one is lacking,” he explains. “We just have a different set of experiences and together we’ll learn and teach. I want to be surprised. I want to learn when I teach. I want students to come in thinking it is as much their responsibility as mine to teach.” In 2012, Barney collaborated with a former high school student who was working on her master’s of fine arts degree in creative writing. Ashley Mae Hoiland was frustrated by the amount of negativity she saw on billboards during her commute. With Barney, they initiated the Billboard Poetry Project, funded by the Laycock Center for Creative Collaboration in the Arts. They presented poetic messages on several billboards, along with other artistic and pedagogical interventions, within the Wasatch Front to inspire community members to think and act differently. Barney doesn’t let his medium define him as an artist. His constant curiosity and desire to know more drive him in his discovery for why and how people create and what such creation incites. He looks forward to teaching and learning from students in the upcoming school year.