Gary Faigin
Encyclopedia
Gary Faigin is an American artist, author, co-founder and Artistic Director of the Gage Academy of Art
, Seattle.
at the University of Michigan
to travel to San Francisco to participate in the communal movement, at its high point in the early 1970s.
In 1976, determined to train as a realist artist, he hitchhiked from the West Coast to New York City specifically to study with famed anatomist, Robert Beverly Hale
, at the Art Students League of New York
. He remained a student at the League for 4 years, focusing on figure drawing, anatomy, and perspective. In addition, he pursued art studies part-time at the National Academy of Design
, School of Visual Arts
and Parsons School of Design.
In 1979, Faigin travelled to Paris where he spent a year studying at the famed École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts
.
He currently resides in Seattle with his wife Pamela Belyea (m. 1976) and two children (b. 1991 and 1996).
, the National Academy School of Design, the School of Visual Art and Parsons School of Design. He opened his own studio in Hells Kitchen
and began personal work focused on self-portraits and still lifes.
In the summer of 1984, Faigin began a ten-year summer residence in Santa Fe
, NM, a locale that afforded him exposure to the burgeoning realist painting scene of the Southwest. His works included pastel landscapes and printing making with shows at the Frank Croft and the Realist Art Galleries.
In 1989, Faigin and his wife decided to open a summer art school in Santa Fe; the next summer saw the launch of the “Academy of Realist Art” at St. John’s College
with two sessions and 44 students. That school grew into the current year-round Gage Academy of Art
in Seattle. Faigin currently serves as Artistic Director of Gage, as well as leading annual Gage art tours to European and American museums, and teaching painting and drawing. A now-famous 2005 http://www.mariangoodman.com/exhibitions/2007-04-04_thomas-struth/#/images/10/ by Thomas Struth
captured Faigin lecturing in front of Las Meninas
at the Prado to a group of Gage tour participants.
In 1990, Faigin's The Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression was published. It is now in its 17th printing and has also been published in French, Italian, German, Japanese, Russian, and Korean. While the book is employed by artists, it is also popular with digital animators, cartoonists, portrait artists, forensic artists, puppeteers, actors, and art directors, as well as psychologists and plastic surgeons; in the extra features of Shrek
, The Artist's Guide is seen in several shots during interviews. In 2010, Faigin and Barbara Mones, the Creative Director of the Computer Animation Lab at the University of Washington
, organized an interdisciplinary research team to explore the way human expressions are interpreted on stylized (i.e. animated) faces.
The Frye Art Museum
in Seattle presented a retrospective exhibition of Faigin's work in 2001. The show included work from the "Moving Pictures" still life series, as well as the "City of Billboard" series. Another ongoing series of paintings have featured houses in peril, a sort of foreshadowing of the mortgage crisis of 2008. In 2006, Faigin's Seattle studio was featured in the first public demonstration of Microsoft's Photosynth using the details in his paintings and drawings to show off its high-resolution capabilities.
Since 2001, Faigin has had a monthly spot as an art critic on the KUOW-FM
radio station in Seattle. He also posts monthly reviews on the Seattle arts website artdish.com.
Faigin is represented by Linda Hodges Gallery in Seattle's Pioneer Square.
Gage Academy of Art
Gage Academy of Art is a fine art school located in Seattle, Washington, specializing in drawing, painting and sculpting. The core of its programming is traditional observational training, with an emphasis on the foundational skills of figure drawing and painting...
, Seattle.
Life
Gary Faigin was born on September 17, 1950 in Detroit, Michigan. His parents were both teachers. As a college student during the Vietnam War, Faigin dropped out of the Residential CollegeResidential college
A residential college is an organisational pattern for a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship with the overall...
at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
to travel to San Francisco to participate in the communal movement, at its high point in the early 1970s.
In 1976, determined to train as a realist artist, he hitchhiked from the West Coast to New York City specifically to study with famed anatomist, Robert Beverly Hale
Robert Beverly Hale
Robert Beverly Hale was an artist, curator of American paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and instructor of artistic anatomy at the Art Students League of New York and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art...
, at the Art Students League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
. He remained a student at the League for 4 years, focusing on figure drawing, anatomy, and perspective. In addition, he pursued art studies part-time at the National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
, School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
and Parsons School of Design.
In 1979, Faigin travelled to Paris where he spent a year studying at the famed École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts
École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts
The École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts is the distinguished National School of Fine Arts in Paris, France.The École des Beaux-arts is made up of a vast complex of buildings located at 14 rue Bonaparte, between the quai Malaquais and the rue Bonaparte, in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Près,...
.
He currently resides in Seattle with his wife Pamela Belyea (m. 1976) and two children (b. 1991 and 1996).
Work
Upon the retirement of Hale in 1983, Faigin was asked to teach his Figure Drawing class at the League, a program he presented continuously over the next decade. Concurrently, he taught Perspective and Portrait Drawing at the newly founded New York Academy of ArtNew York Academy of Art
The New York Academy of Art or the Graduate School of Figurative Art is an American private, not-for-profit art university, located at 111 Franklin Street in the Manhattan borough of New York City.-Foundation:...
, the National Academy School of Design, the School of Visual Art and Parsons School of Design. He opened his own studio in Hells Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
and began personal work focused on self-portraits and still lifes.
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, NM, a locale that afforded him exposure to the burgeoning realist painting scene of the Southwest. His works included pastel landscapes and printing making with shows at the Frank Croft and the Realist Art Galleries.
In 1989, Faigin and his wife decided to open a summer art school in Santa Fe; the next summer saw the launch of the “Academy of Realist Art” at St. John’s College
St. John's College, U.S.
St. John's College is a liberal arts college with two U.S. campuses: one in Annapolis, Maryland and one in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Founded in 1696 as a preparatory school, King William's School, the school received a collegiate charter in 1784, making it one of the oldest institutions of higher...
with two sessions and 44 students. That school grew into the current year-round Gage Academy of Art
Gage Academy of Art
Gage Academy of Art is a fine art school located in Seattle, Washington, specializing in drawing, painting and sculpting. The core of its programming is traditional observational training, with an emphasis on the foundational skills of figure drawing and painting...
in Seattle. Faigin currently serves as Artistic Director of Gage, as well as leading annual Gage art tours to European and American museums, and teaching painting and drawing. A now-famous 2005 http://www.mariangoodman.com/exhibitions/2007-04-04_thomas-struth/#/images/10/ by Thomas Struth
Thomas Struth
Thomas Struth is a German photographer whose wide-ranging work includes depictions of detailed cityscapes, Asian jungles and family portraits. He is one of Germany's most widely exhibited and collected fine art photographers...
captured Faigin lecturing in front of Las Meninas
Las Meninas
Las Meninas is a 1656 painting by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age, in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. The work's complex and enigmatic composition raises questions about reality and illusion, and creates an uncertain relationship between the viewer and the figures...
at the Prado to a group of Gage tour participants.
In 1990, Faigin's The Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression was published. It is now in its 17th printing and has also been published in French, Italian, German, Japanese, Russian, and Korean. While the book is employed by artists, it is also popular with digital animators, cartoonists, portrait artists, forensic artists, puppeteers, actors, and art directors, as well as psychologists and plastic surgeons; in the extra features of Shrek
Shrek
Shrek is a 2001 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. Loosely based on William Steig's 1990 fairy tale picture book Shrek!...
, The Artist's Guide is seen in several shots during interviews. In 2010, Faigin and Barbara Mones, the Creative Director of the Computer Animation Lab at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, organized an interdisciplinary research team to explore the way human expressions are interpreted on stylized (i.e. animated) faces.
The Frye Art Museum
Frye Art Museum
The Frye Art Museum is an art museum located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, USA . The museum emphasizes painting and sculpture from the nineteenth century to the present. Its holdings originate in the private collection of Charles and Emma Frye...
in Seattle presented a retrospective exhibition of Faigin's work in 2001. The show included work from the "Moving Pictures" still life series, as well as the "City of Billboard" series. Another ongoing series of paintings have featured houses in peril, a sort of foreshadowing of the mortgage crisis of 2008. In 2006, Faigin's Seattle studio was featured in the first public demonstration of Microsoft's Photosynth using the details in his paintings and drawings to show off its high-resolution capabilities.
Since 2001, Faigin has had a monthly spot as an art critic on the KUOW-FM
KUOW-FM
KUOW-FM 94.9 is a National Public Radio affiliate radio station in Seattle, Washington. It is a top-ranked radio station in the Seattle/Tacoma media market...
radio station in Seattle. He also posts monthly reviews on the Seattle arts website artdish.com.
Faigin is represented by Linda Hodges Gallery in Seattle's Pioneer Square.