The Ashland Academy of Art
Encyclopedia
The Ashland Academy of Art was an art school
located in Ashland
, Oregon
, United States
. The Ashland Academy of Art was a classically based, independent school. The Academy's program was mainly based on the Russian Academic System. This system followed the artistic achievements of the Renaissance
, developed and practiced by European academies until the end of 19th century.
The Ashland Academy's curriculum combined academic art education with the latest advancements in psychology
of visual perception
. The Academy's drawing curriculum was rooted in the Construction Method. This analytical method emphasizes a sculptural approach to form, by studying comparative measurements, structure, planes, function, and perspective
.
, traditional art was rejected by European and American art schools. During this time, Soviet-Russian Art Academies built their program on the best features of classical European academies, adding a tremendous body of theoretical work, uniquely developed by Russian artists-teachers of eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, continued and expanded into the twentieth century.
Preserving this unique academic system, Semyon Bilmes
, founder of Ashland Academy of Art, brought this knowledge directly to his students. Semyon Founded the Bilmes Art School in 1990 in Medford, Oregon
. In 2003, Semyon Bilmes founded The Ashland Academy of Art.
In 2004, the Ashland Academy was listed as one of Art Renewal Center
Approved Ateliers.
The school was located in the former Temple Emek Shalom synagogue.
In late 2009, the Bilmes Family announced that the Ashland Academy of Art would close its doors in October 2010, with the faculty and some of the students relocating immediately to a then unspecified facility in Portland, Oregon, where the school's classes would continue, uninterrupted.
In February 2010, Semyon Bilmes announced that instead of moving to Portland, Oregon, he would relocate to Hawaii and take only ten students with him. According to the Ashland Academy of art website, "With a new name and a new location, Atelier Maui will bring superior classical European instruction in painting and drawing to a lush tropical paradise."
Art school
Art school is a general term for any educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. The term applies to institutions with elementary, secondary, post-secondary or undergraduate, or graduate or...
located in Ashland
Ashland, Oregon
Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, near Interstate 5 and the California border, and located in the south end of the Rogue Valley. It was named after Ashland County, Ohio, point of origin of Abel Helman and other founders, and secondarily for Ashland, Kentucky, where other...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The Ashland Academy of Art was a classically based, independent school. The Academy's program was mainly based on the Russian Academic System. This system followed the artistic achievements of the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, developed and practiced by European academies until the end of 19th century.
The Ashland Academy's curriculum combined academic art education with the latest advancements in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
of visual perception
Visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
. The Academy's drawing curriculum was rooted in the Construction Method. This analytical method emphasizes a sculptural approach to form, by studying comparative measurements, structure, planes, function, and perspective
Perspective (visual)
Perspective, in context of vision and visual perception, is the way in which objects appear to the eye based on their spatial attributes; or their dimensions and the position of the eye relative to the objects...
.
History
After the advancement of 20th century modernismModernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
, traditional art was rejected by European and American art schools. During this time, Soviet-Russian Art Academies built their program on the best features of classical European academies, adding a tremendous body of theoretical work, uniquely developed by Russian artists-teachers of eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, continued and expanded into the twentieth century.
Preserving this unique academic system, Semyon Bilmes
Semyon Bilmes
Semyon Bilmes is an Azerbaijani-American painter and the founder and master instructor of The Ashland Academy of Art, in Ashland, Oregon, United States.Bilmes has achieved national recognition as an advertising, editorial, and book illustrator...
, founder of Ashland Academy of Art, brought this knowledge directly to his students. Semyon Founded the Bilmes Art School in 1990 in Medford, Oregon
Medford, Oregon
Medford is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 US Census, the city had a total population of 74,907 and a metropolitan area population of 207,010, making the Medford MSA the 4th largest metro area in Oregon...
. In 2003, Semyon Bilmes founded The Ashland Academy of Art.
In 2004, the Ashland Academy was listed as one of Art Renewal Center
Art Renewal Center
The Art Renewal Center is an organization led by New Jersey millionaire, businessman, and art collector Fred Ross dedicated to the promotion of what it terms classical realism in art, as opposed to the Modernist developments of the twentieth century...
Approved Ateliers.
The school was located in the former Temple Emek Shalom synagogue.
In late 2009, the Bilmes Family announced that the Ashland Academy of Art would close its doors in October 2010, with the faculty and some of the students relocating immediately to a then unspecified facility in Portland, Oregon, where the school's classes would continue, uninterrupted.
In February 2010, Semyon Bilmes announced that instead of moving to Portland, Oregon, he would relocate to Hawaii and take only ten students with him. According to the Ashland Academy of art website, "With a new name and a new location, Atelier Maui will bring superior classical European instruction in painting and drawing to a lush tropical paradise."
See also
- Atelier MethodAtelier MethodAtelier is the French word for "workshop", and in English is used principally for the workshop of an artist in the fine or decorative arts, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students and apprentices worked together producing pieces that went out in the master's name...
- Classical RealismClassical RealismFor Classical Realism in International Relations, see Realism Classical Realism refers to an artistic movement in late 20th century painting that places a high value upon skill and beauty, combining elements of 19th century neoclassicism and realism.-Origins:The term "Classical Realism" first...
- List of art schools
- Russian Academic System
External links
- The Ashland Academy of Art (official website)