Still Life
Commencement across Penn State: Spring 2012
Spring commencement 2012 under way
Penn State, Moroccan students problem-solve together
Finals Week Spring Semester 2012
Children explore career options at University Park
Painting the Lines at Beaver Stadium
Did They Get It Right? - RedTails
Iconic Penn State elm taken down over spring break 2012
We ... are Penn State (December 19, 2011)
Disease stricken matching elm tree slated for removal
Penn State's creamery, from the cow to the cone
One hundred years ago this spring, Manierre Dawson, a 22-year-old civil engineer working in a spare room in his childhood Chicago home, became the first American artist to create abstract paintings. What makes this accomplishment particularly remarkable, according to Randy Ploog, a Penn State art historian who has studied Dawson's life and work, is the fact that the engineer had no art training beyond a high school art class. (more)
The first American artist to paint an abstract painting was civil engineer Manierre Dawson (1887-1969). His profession, far from a deterrent to his creativity, was his primary source of inspiration, especially during the formative years of his career. "Manierre Dawson: Engineer/Artist," an exhibit, traces the evolution of his work and shows how elements of his paintings leading up to and including his first abstractions and his conception of abstract art itself are directly related to his civil engineering training. The exhibit is the result of 10 years of research by Penn State alumnus Randy Ploog and is on display through Jan. 8, in the Diversity Studies Room at 109 Pattee Library. (more)
On Monday (March 3), Penn State civil engineering professor Andrew Scanlon's senior Capstone Structural Design course (CE 448W) had a guest speaker who addressed a topic unusual for an engineering class -- abstract art and one man's crossover from civil engineer to artist. (more)
