FLASHPOINT ACADEMY PRESIDENT/CEO HOWARD TULLMAN SPEAKS ON SOCIAL NETWORKING AT TECHEXPO

FLASHPOINT ACADEMY HOSTS EARLY VOTING PRESS CONFERENCE FOR ILLINOIS STATE TREASURER ALEXI GIANNOULIAS

TULLMAN COLLECTION ARTIST WILLIAM BETTS FEATURED IN NEW AMERICAN PAINTINGS

TULLMAN ART COLLECTION ARTISTS GREENWOLD, NEHRBASS, NOLAN, PECOU, THOMAS & WRIGHT IN PORTRAIT SHOW "THE REFLECTED GAZE"AT TORRANCE ART MUSEUM

One of the basic primary forms of painting is the self-portrait. With a long and distinguished history the self-portrait has told us about people, their times and their attitudes. They tell us of scrutiny, of desire, of ego and of the passage of time too, but they can also seem like a whispered secret sometimes, that winks knowingly to us of shared knowledge and experiences and has the added frisson for us of knowing that this is the artist ‘talking’ directly to us through time and geography. A great self-portrait tells you something of the artist but of ourselves too.

Following the first known self-portrait by Jan van Eyck, in 1433, to Durer’s self promotional works and the haunting self-portraits of Rembrandt, art history has since been full of the subjective gaze of the artist upon themselves. Today the practice continues, often for very widely differing conceptual reasons, but the telling self study still hints at mortality as well as exploring that strange meeting point where the introspective self gaze meets the objective outward look and attunes itself in order to displace the subjective/objective dichotomy.


These self-portraits acknowledge and play with this, telling us about the artist and telling us about modes of representation, about a time and place and last, but by no means least, about us.

CINDY WRIGHT



FAHAMU PECOU



GAVIN NOLAN



JENNIFER NEHRBASS



MARK GREENWOLD



TERRI THOMAS

FLASHPOINT ACADEMY DEPARTMENT CHAIR PERRY HAROVAS SPEAKS ON 3-D FOR ABC CHANNEL 7

LG introducing 3-D TVs in May; no exact price yet

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Leah Hope

FLASHPOINT ACADEMY DEPARTMENT CHAIR PERRY HAROVAS ON ABC-TV from HOWARD TULLMAN on Vimeo.

January 6, 2010 (WLS) -- 3-D is coming to your television. 3-D television sets will soon be in stores and several networks including ESPN will provide 3-D programming.

What's being done to prepare for this new wave in entertainment? ABC 7's Leah Hope has more.

"Avatar" watchers say the 3-D was extraordinary. Some are ready for a new wave of 3-D viewing at home.

"I love it," said Fei Chen. "It's the second time I watched this movie. I would like to have 3-D TV at home."

"It would be awesome just to see it in home instead of having to come here," said Christian White.

3-D is becoming more accessible with more programming and televisions that are 3-D enabled. ESPN will launch a 3-D network in the summer and other 3-D channels are in the works.

In Chicago's Loop, students at Flashpoint Academy are learning to use the technology -- not only to make action more exciting, but to make the experience richer.

"Even if it's a dramatic scene between two characters, you're gonna feel like you're sitting there watching them do this, talk or cry, it doesn't have to be an explosion," said Perry Harovas, Flashpoint Academy of Media Art & Sciences.

Harovas is the chairman of animation and visual effects at Flashpoint. He explains that one eye sees one thing and the other sees another. Watching through the 3-D glasses, the two perspectives make the image more lifelike.

"When you see those images it's like you're seeing them with your own eyes, because we're limiting what one eye sees and what the other eye sees," said Harovas.

Harovas is preparing his students to work in 3-D as the demand for programming will only increase.

While some are eager for more 3-D, some Chicagoans are okay limiting 3-D to only special viewings.

"It'd be great, but not for more than a couple of hours at a time, because it's disorienting," said Jafer Hasnain. "You're not sure if the hand is really in front of you or it's on the screen."

"At home I don't think you get the same effect. In the home you get the big screen, the surround sound. The theatre is worth coming out and bringing your family out. Keep it in the theatre," said Mark Clark.

Companies often show off their newest and coolest stuff at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It's happening this week and already we've heard from several manufacturers who announced their new 3-D TVs.

Wednesday, LG says its new 3-D televisions will be about $200-$300 more than comparable TVs without 3-D.

You can expect the price for the latest and greatest will be a bit pricier until the excitement wears off.


(Copyright ©2010 WLS-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

WTTW ART BEAT FEATURES TULLMAN ART COLLECTION AND THE "LOFT"

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FLASHPOINT GAME GRADUATES AT METAMOOREPHOSIS - BITFLIP GAME SELECTED AS TPG PICK OF 2009

2009 saw the App Store break out in mammoth fashion with thousands upon thousands of new releases hitting the iPhone and iPod touch. As such, awarding just one game a game of the year award seems unfair when there were so many great games on the platform. Our editors and writers consulted, and have deemed the following games to be worthy of our TPG Picks of 2009:

BitFlip | Metamoorephosis



BitFlip has got a unique take on the gem matching casual game that has been so popular for the last several years. By giving each piece two sides, there are multiple ways to create your combos. Add to that the variety of power-ups that are available, and you have a game that is always different. Whether you have a few minutes, or all the in the world, the multiple game modes have an option to fit into your schedule. Honestly though, one of the best things BitFlip has going for it is the music by Robert Clouth, it’s energetic and fun which sets the tone for gameplay well. – Frank Delaney

FLASHPOINT ACADEMY FEATURED IN NEW CITY ARTICLE ON EDUCATION 2010

Jan 05
Education 2010: Digital Planet


The starving-artist stereotype has unfortunately maintained a decent amount of credibility, which could explain why myriad parents scoff at kids who harbor Dawson Leary-like dreams of being the next Spielberg past adolescence. Flashpoint Academy, with its combination of real-world practicality and a passion for the digital arts, is helping to dispel that notion. “Thanks to the ubiquitous nature of media, and the downscaling of technology, anyone can make a living in the arts—with the right education to get them started,” says Academic Dean Paula Froehle.

Founded in 2007, the fledgling digital-arts college in downtown Chicago offers intensive two-year programs in one of four areas: Game Development, Film & Broadcast, Recording Arts and Visual Effects & Animation.

Flashpoint differs from other four-year colleges in its cross-disciplinary, immersive approach to teaching that keeps current with the pace of the industry. “Today keeps changing to tomorrow; it’s a constantly evolving field,” says Perry Harovas, Chair of the Digital Effects and Animation Department. Timeless skills, like the ability to follow a project through from start to finish, teamwork and problem-solving skills are emphasized. “Rather than having them be button jockeys, [they] learn how to use all the tools together and have them know everything that’s going on behind the scenes.”

Flashpoint’s faculty are all strongly encouraged, if not required, to continue working professionally in their respective industries, keeping up to date with current developments and software changes. Harovas has just completed some film trailers for Liongate Entertainment. “When a new piece of technology comes out and does things better and faster, we can change the curriculum to reflect that,” says Harovas. “This flexibility keeps us attentive, alive and current for the students—a vital aspect of teaching the digital arts,” says Froehle. “As soon as it becomes outdated, you’re teaching history, not contemporary approaches.”

Flashpoint students are on a schedule that is far from typical for a college student: they are expected to be on site forty-to-sixty hours a week. Additionally, students are expected to adhere to Flashpoint Professional Standards, including accountability, collaboration and initiative, traits considered vital to succeeding as a professional in any field. Students can gain or lose FPS points based on their behavior outside the classroom. “In a lot of ways we are more like a graduate program—we expect a dedication that is at that level, and in return, we offer a student a two-year immersion in professional education,” says Froehle.

“We aren’t a place where a student can spend time ‘finding themselves’ or trying to discover what it is they want to do,” says Froehle. “A Flashpoint student must know the field they want to enter before being accepted.”

For the right student, however, Flashpoint seems to have held up its end. Froehle easily lists impressive job placements by Flashpoint’s first—and as of yet only—graduating class, freshly minted in May 2009. Film grads litter the West Coast, placed with top production companies, while others make their way in freelance gigs on reality TV crews. Still others have stayed in Chicago, working for outfits like WriteGoal, a local production company. A group of Recording Arts students work audio for area concerts, having done the Elton John/Billy Joel at Wrigley and several Broadway shows, including “The Addams Family.”

“When I see our students at graduation, and hear how well they’re doing in their new careers,” Froehle says, “I feel absolutely certain that for the right student, this approach is the best education for media artists in the twenty-first century.”

(Emily Torem)

WATCH THE NEW PODCAST ON FLASHPOINT ACADEMY AT WWW.BEYONDTHEPEDWAY.COM

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