Ellen Frank
Encyclopedia
Ellen Frank is an artist, writer, and educator, currently based in New York.
; her Master of Arts and Ph.D in literature and visual arts from Stanford and Yale
universities, prospectively. Also, she was Assistant Professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley
from 1973-1977.
Frank is an artist known for her illuminated manuscripts, which showcase the ancient art form of incorporating precious metals like 22-karat gold leaf on murals and scrolls, linens and panels
Frank has published several written works, among them Literary Architecture: Essays Toward a Tradition (University of California Press) and other various essays on the topics of painting, architecture, and literature. Literary Architecture: Essays Toward a Tradition (University of California Press) has won several awards, including the "Best of All Award Winning Books" by Book Builders West, The Ronce & Coffin Club Design Award, and the New York Institute for Graphic Arts 50 Best Books. She co-wrote a play titled Frida@chiapas.net with Maria Pessino who is the founder and director of Oddfellows Productions. The Theatre for the New in New York City
hosted the play for its first reading, and Robert Wilson's Watermill Center hosted the second reading in July 1999.
Frank has received various awards and recognition for her work in both painting and writing. She was accepted as a Fulbright Fellow to further her studies in Aesthetic Theory under Sir Ernst Gombrich. Frank also received the Ford Foundation
Grant in Lithography, a Pollock-Krasner Award in Painting, and a New York Foundation of the Arts Award in 1997 for her illuminated manuscript.
Frank's art has been exhibited throughout the United States, including the Soho Guggenheim to inaugurate "T", where she showed a sequence of 18 paintings. Also, in 1999 J/Brice of Boston, MA commissioned Frank to create an 84-foot mural in copper, gold, and silver leaf on linen.
In 2001, Frank was invited to be Professor and Guest Artist at Barnard College
and at Rutgers University
.
In 2005, the organization created the Illumination Arts Atelier, a workshop that is modeled after the traditional Renaissance ateliers. Accepting interns from South Korea, the United States, Columbia, Japan, and Poland, the atelier teaches the students about manuscript illumination and illuminated painting using 22 karat gold leaf, silver leaf, copper leaf, linen, vellum, paper, papyrus, and egg tempura.
Cities of Peace
was the first work created at the Illumination Arts Atelier and consists of nine, 6x8 foot paintings that are illuminated with gold. Each of the nine paintings represents a different city that has been traumatized by war and honors the particular city's history and culture. The cities include Beijing, Hiroshima, Kabul, Baghdad, and New York City. Cities of Peace premiered in the Laurie M. Tisch Gallery in New York City
in 2005. In 2009, it was exhibited in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City
.
Life
She was born in Los Angeles. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los AngelesUniversity of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
; her Master of Arts and Ph.D in literature and visual arts from Stanford and Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
universities, prospectively. Also, she was Assistant Professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
from 1973-1977.
Frank is an artist known for her illuminated manuscripts, which showcase the ancient art form of incorporating precious metals like 22-karat gold leaf on murals and scrolls, linens and panels
Frank has published several written works, among them Literary Architecture: Essays Toward a Tradition (University of California Press) and other various essays on the topics of painting, architecture, and literature. Literary Architecture: Essays Toward a Tradition (University of California Press) has won several awards, including the "Best of All Award Winning Books" by Book Builders West, The Ronce & Coffin Club Design Award, and the New York Institute for Graphic Arts 50 Best Books. She co-wrote a play titled Frida@chiapas.net with Maria Pessino who is the founder and director of Oddfellows Productions. The Theatre for the New in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
hosted the play for its first reading, and Robert Wilson's Watermill Center hosted the second reading in July 1999.
Frank has received various awards and recognition for her work in both painting and writing. She was accepted as a Fulbright Fellow to further her studies in Aesthetic Theory under Sir Ernst Gombrich. Frank also received the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
Grant in Lithography, a Pollock-Krasner Award in Painting, and a New York Foundation of the Arts Award in 1997 for her illuminated manuscript.
Frank's art has been exhibited throughout the United States, including the Soho Guggenheim to inaugurate "T", where she showed a sequence of 18 paintings. Also, in 1999 J/Brice of Boston, MA commissioned Frank to create an 84-foot mural in copper, gold, and silver leaf on linen.
In 2001, Frank was invited to be Professor and Guest Artist at Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
and at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
.
Ellen Frank Illumination Arts Foundation, Inc.
In 2004, Ellen Frank founded the not-for-profit organization, Ellen Frank Illumination Arts Foundation, Inc., where she remains as the artistic director. The organization focuses on the art of illumination and the creation of new works of art in this genre. The art form of illumination is centuries old and incorporates pictures, paint, and precious metals to adorn sacred documents of particular civilizations. These sacred documents include Hebrew marriage contracts, New Testament manuscripts, and a Koran, and are kept in archives and museums to protect the ancient art form. The goal of the Ellen Frank Illumination Arts Foundation is to revitalize the art form of Illumination, while promoting peace education and bridging religious gaps.In 2005, the organization created the Illumination Arts Atelier, a workshop that is modeled after the traditional Renaissance ateliers. Accepting interns from South Korea, the United States, Columbia, Japan, and Poland, the atelier teaches the students about manuscript illumination and illuminated painting using 22 karat gold leaf, silver leaf, copper leaf, linen, vellum, paper, papyrus, and egg tempura.
Cities of Peace
Cities of Peace
The Ellen Frank Illumination Arts Foundation's Cities of Peace exhibition displays areas of the world that have been wrought with conflict.Her website reads: “Frank’s visit to Jerusalem in 1999 inspired her to produce the first painting in the series and to visualize the creation of other works...
was the first work created at the Illumination Arts Atelier and consists of nine, 6x8 foot paintings that are illuminated with gold. Each of the nine paintings represents a different city that has been traumatized by war and honors the particular city's history and culture. The cities include Beijing, Hiroshima, Kabul, Baghdad, and New York City. Cities of Peace premiered in the Laurie M. Tisch Gallery in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 2005. In 2009, it was exhibited in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Awards and recognition
Ellen Frank has received awards during her career. They include (in chronological order):- Ford Foundation Grant, Tamarind Lithography Workshop, 1968.
- Leverhulme Trust Fund Fellow, 1971-1972.
- Fulbright Fellow, London, 1971-1973.
- Fellow, Courtauld and WarburgWarburgWarburg is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia on the river Diemel near the three-state point shared by Hessen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is in Höxter district and Detmold region...
Institutes, 1973. - National Endowment Matching Grant (Pequod) 1982, 1981, 1980, 1979.
- C.C.L.M] Award (Pequod: A Journal of Contemporary Literature, 1982, 1981, 1980, 1979.
- Bookbuilders' West, "Best of Show," 1980.
- Rounce Coffin Distinguished Books Award, 1980.
- American Institute of Graphic ArtsAmerican Institute of Graphic ArtsAIGA is an American professional organization for design. Organized in 1914, AIGA currently has more than 22,000 members throughout 66 chapters and more than 200 student groups nationwide...
, "50 Best Books," 1981. - "Highest Excellence in 50 Years," University of California Press, 1986.
- Pollock-Krasner FoundationPollock-Krasner FoundationThe Pollock-Krasner Foundation was established in 1985 for the purpose of providing financial assistance to individual working artists of established ability. It was established at the bequest of Lee Krasner, who was an American abstract expressionist painter and the widow of fellow painter Jackson...
Award in Painting, 1986. - Al YoungAl YoungAl Young is an American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and professor. On May 15, 2005 he was named Poet Laureate of California by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In appointing Young as Poet Laureate, the Governor praised him: "He is an educator and a man with a passion for the Arts...
Distinguished Artist, Knox College, Galesburg, IL, 1989. - New York Foundation for the Arts Award for Hanukkah Illuminated: A Book of Days, 1996.
- Jump Start the Arts Ninbark International , NYSCA & Consortium of Arts Councils, 1999.
- Individual Artist Award for Illumination Atelier Project, New York State Council for the Arts, 2000.
- New York State Council for the Arts, Ninbark International, 2000, 2001.
- She, and her foundation, have been featured in many newspapers, including The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Southampton Press and, East Hampton Star