College of Fine Arts and Communication

Art alumna wins selective fellowship
Credits time at Western for finding her own style

Kristin Beaver, a 2000 Bachelor of Fine Arts art alumna, has been named one of theKristin Beaver photo prestigious Kresge Artist Fellows in the Visual Arts.

Beaver was one of only 18 recipients out of hundreds of applicants for the inaugural award. The fellowships, each including a $25,000 prize funded by The Kresge Foundation, are awarded annually to visual, performing and literary artists and are the largest such awards available to individual artists in metropolitan Detroit.

A Macomb native, Beaver teaches figure and basic painting and life drawing at Wayne State in Detroit, where she completed her master’s degree in 2004. She is represented by the David Kline Gallery of Birmingham, MI, where her work will be displayed in a solo exhibition that runs through Oct. 17 (dkgallery.com).

Her artwork is also featured in the collections of the David Klein Gallery and the Meadow Brook Art Gallery in Rochester, MI, and the WIU Art Gallery. She is also the subject of an article in an upcoming issue of the American Art Collector magazine. According to the Kresge website, Beaver paints ”larger-than-life portraits of friends in cinematic poses inspired by fashion photography, album cover art and the history of painting. Dramatic lighting and punchy color illuminate subjects in photo-shoot environments, exposing different attitudes and personalities.”

WN: Tell us about your life growing up in Macomb.

KB: I was born in Macomb to Phyllis and David Beaver. My father taught P.E. at Western for 24 years, and my mother is the managing editor of Palaestra magazine, which was founded by my father in 1984.

WN: Is the painting-based-on-photos your sole choice of artwork for public/gallery display, or do you work in other mediums?

KB: I am primarily a painter, preferring oil as my medium. My work is photo-based; however, I have never shown my photos. They are like notes or preliminary drawings for the paintings; perhaps sometime in the future I will show them.

WN: How, why and when did you get started with this style?

KB: I had always wanted to be a painter, and as a child I tried to draw people. It wasn’t until I was enrolled at Western that I really learned how to do both of these things. My favorite classes were in figure drawing and painting. Once I learned how to manipulate, paint, and document what was in front of me, it allowed me to move on conceptually, using other tools, like the photograph. I’ve always loved photography, so it was a natural progression to create photo-based paintings.

WN: Had you always planned to get a master’s degree?

KB: When I was younger I never thought about getting an MFA, but as soon as I was mid-way through college, I realized it was necessary to further a professional career in art by studying intensively for another three years.

WN - Why did you choose Wayne State for your master’s degree program?

KB: I learned a lot about Wayne State and Detroit through Michael and Julie Mahoney, two of my painting professors who had moved from Detroit and are WSU alumni. I had applied to a few other schools in other cities, but chose Detroit because of its rich history and gritty environment. It is and always has been a breeding ground for visual arts and music. It is a very unique, exciting yet struggling city.

WN: What plans do you have for Kresge Fellowship’s “unrestricted” $25,000?

KB: It will allow me to work in the studio more this year. I will be teaching less and focusing more on painting, which is a nice change. It takes the edge off in terms of financial stress, too. I can acquire supplies needed to work hard and produce new work.

WN: Looking back again to Western, who would you name as your top one (or two) teachers, and why?

KB: My education at Western would not have been the same without the Mahoneys, and Jan Clough. They were very generous instructors. I not only gained skill from their instruction, but I learned a lot about being an artist, and life in general. Obviously, others in the art department had significant impact on my education, too.

WN: Anything else you would like to add?

KB: Western has a great art department! I almost didn’t attend school there because I was from Macomb, but decided to take some art classes after graduating from high school a semester early and ended up loving it.

Photo: Kristin Beaver, a WIU ’00 graduate, paints “larger-than-life” portraits of friends in cinematic poses inspired by fashion photography, album cover art and other elements.

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