Mark Tribe Named Chair of the MFA Fine Arts Department at School of Visual Arts

Jun 23, 2013, New York, NY—School of Visual Arts President David Rhodes announced today the appointment of Mark Tribe as chair of the MFA Fine Arts Department. Tribe is an artist, educator and the founder of Rhizome, an organization that supports the creation, presentation, preservation and critique of emerging artistic practices that engage technology. He has been on the faculty of the MFA Art Practice Department at SVA since 2011 and served as a thesis advisor in the MFA Photography, Video and Related Media Department in 2001 and 2003. Tribe has also taught at Brown University, Columbia University School of the Arts and Williams College. His new appointment at SVA begins July 1.

“Mark has proven himself an innovator in the truest sense of the term,” said President Rhodes in an email to the SVA community. “As an artist, writer and frequent lecturer on art, politics and technology, he has also distinguished himself as an essential guide to our culture. I’m confident he will bring the same passion and critical acumen to his new role at SVA.” 

 “My main goals as chair of this department will be to foster rigorous critical engagement with contemporary culture and to encourage students to take risks,” Tribe said. “What excites me most about this position is the opportunity to participate in a conversation.”

Tribe’s art explores the aesthetics of political performances such as protest speeches, street protests and militia training exercises. His photographs, installations, videos and performances are exhibited widely, including recent solo projects at Momenta Art, New York; G-MK, Zagreb; LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions), the San Diego Museum of Art; and the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio. Tribe is the author of two books, The Port Huron Project: Reenactments of New Left Protest Speeches (Charta, 2010) and New Media Art (Taschen, 2006) and numerous articles. His work has been discussed in Artforum, Art in America, Art Papers, Artscope, Bomblog, Brooklyn Rail, Daily Beast, Flash Art Italia, Framework, Freize, Hyperallergic, Killscreen, Newsweek, New York, October, The New York Times, Village Voice, Wired, X-tra, and Zing, among others. He has taught courses on radical media, the art of curating, open-source culture, digital art and techniques of surveillance. Tribe’s Posse Comitatus, a collaboration with Chelsea Knight that employs dance and video to examine the activities of American paramilitary groups, is on view at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris, through September 9.

The MFA Fine Arts Department reflects the diversity of New York’s many art worlds. Together, the faculty and students form a community of established and emerging artists from many backgrounds who work across disciplines and modes of practice. While some students may remain committed to a single medium for the duration of their study, most experiment with multiple modes of production. In addition to drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture, students may explore animation, digital art, installation, performance, photography, public projects, social practice, video, and numerous other disciplines. This two-year, 60-credit program attracts ambitious emerging artists from many countries and backgrounds. In their commitment to art, and to one another, they provide a foundation for artistic growth that extends beyond graduation and forms an ongoing platform of professional support.

School of Visual Arts is a comprehensive college of art and design offering the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in advertising; animation; cartooning; computer art, computer animation and visual effects; film and video; fine arts; graphic design; illustration; interior design; photography; and visual and critical studies; the degree of Master of Fine Arts in art criticism and writing; art practice; computer art; design; design criticism; design for social innovation; fine arts; illustration as visual essay; interaction design; photography, video and related media; products of design; social documentary film; and Visual Narrative; the degree of Master of Professional Studies in art therapy; branding; digital photography; fashion photography; and live action short film; and the degree of Master of Arts in Teaching in art education.

School of Visual Arts is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. SVA is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), the International Association of Independent Schools for Art and Design (AIAS) and the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD).

School of Visual Arts has been a leader in the education of artists, designers, and creative professionals for more than six decades. With a faculty of distinguished working professionals, dynamic curriculum, and an emphasis on critical thinking, SVA is a catalyst for innovation and social responsibility. Comprised of more than 6,000 students at its Manhattan campus and 35,000 alumni in 100 countries, SVA also represents one of the most influential artistic communities in the world. For information about the College’s 31 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, visit sva.edu.

Media Contact: Michael Grant, 212.592.2011, mgrant@sva.edu.