Welcome to the Friends of CVAD Update!

Message from Dean Hutzel

Sept. 24, 2025

Hello, Friends,

Sincerely,

Karen Hutzel, Ph.D.
Dean and Professor

College of Visual Arts and Design
#UNTCVAD Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

As CVAD's part of the UNT System, our actions, decisions, and approach to challenges and opportunities are guided by our shared values: Courageous Integrity, Curiosity, We Care, Better Together, and Show Your Fire!

Do you remember your first week at UNT? 

Before school started, CVAD faculty and staff were delighted to welcome first-year and transfer students to the Art Building, where they engaged with faculty, toured the building, and participated in special activities. Do you remember your First Flight? Email us a photo of you as a freshman to  cvad.Information@unt.edu.

"CVAD Faculty / Teaching Juried Exhibition"

Featuring 34 works by 32 faculty and teaching artists, the exhibition offers a rare opportunity for audiences to encounter the art-making practices that thrive beyond the classroom. Visitors will see the breadth of CVAD’s creative disciplines — from the tactile allure of hand-thrown ceramics to the precise craftsmanship of fashion design, the layered narratives of artist books and exhibition catalogs, and the immersive environments of installation art.

Department of Design

Fashion Design in Florence, Urbania, and Solemeo, Italy: Fashion Design students participated in the Fatto a Mano con Passione (“Handmade with Passion”) study abroad program in Italy, where they explored artisanal traditions, such as bobbin lace-making, and toured companies like Carriagi and Brunello Cucinelli. The program offered behind-the-scenes access to Italy’s culture of craftsmanship, sustainability and luxury, inspiring students to rethink design through a legacy of creativity and quality. This program was led by Jeremy Bernardoni, assistant professor, and Cynthia Gentzel, lecturer in Fashion Design.

Berlin and Munich, Germany: The Germany Culture, Art, and Design study abroad program, now in its fourth year at UNT, provides students with the opportunity to explore art and design in relation to German culture. The program included visits to significant sites, such as the Reichstag, German Parliament in Berlin and the baroque palaces of Munich, along with an excursion to a Bavarian village. Students also received behind-the-scenes access to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and the Munich Residence. Led by Hepi Wachter, chair of CVAD's Department of Design, the program emphasized research, cultural immersion and hands-on experiences that connected students to Germany’s rich artistic and cultural heritage.

Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic — InSEA World Congress presentation by Jeremy Bernardoni: “Fashion Aesthetics, AI, and Digital Landscapes: Masculinity, Identity and Authenticity in Shifting Visual Territories,” 

This study examines how masculinity and fashion aesthetics are negotiated in digital spaces, particularly under the influence of AI-generated imagery. Using Python-based scraping and analysis of more than 131,000 Reddit comments, researchers identified eight themes, from tailoring and fit to algorithmic beauty standards. Findings indicate that fashion serves as a contested site where masculine identity is expressed, critiqued, and reshaped in real-time. While AI amplifies narrow ideals, online communities also create space for reflection and alternative expressions. Presenting this work at Palacký University in Olomouc underscored the global relevance of these questions.

Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic — InSEA World Congress presentation by Chanjuan Chen: “Beyond Control: A Case Study on the Integration of Generative AI in Fashion Design Education Through Actor-Network Theory”

A recent case study explored how generative artificial intelligence is reshaping fashion design education. Conducted over five weeks in a university-level course, the study examined how students and instructors used AI in the creative process while navigating questions of originality, ethics and authenticity. Using surveys, interviews and design documentation, researchers found that AI served both as a tool and as an active participant in the classroom, expanding creative possibilities while raising significant challenges. The findings highlight how AI is changing not only design practices but also the way identity, creativity and learning are understood in art and design education.

Kelly Donahue-Wallace has published her research essay, "La luz que merecen. El círculo de pintores y grabadores en México 1720-1780," [The Light They Deserve: The Circle of Painters and Engravers in Mexico 1720-1780] in "La circulación de imágenes entre los pintores y grabadores mexicanos del siglo XVIII" [The circulation of images among Mexican painters and engravers of the 18th century] (Madrid: Silex Ediciones). With essays by leading scholars of Mexican colonial art, including Paula Mues Orts, Jaime Cuadriello, and Luisa Elena Alcalá, the book addresses the complex network of artists and images within and beyond Mexico. Donahue-Wallace's chapter demonstrates that printmakers participated with painters in previously unrecognized collaborations in the mid-18th century.

A digital art history project edited by Carey Gibbons, “Annotating The New Union Club: A Case Study on Critical Praxis for Digital Art Histories,” was recently published for the journal "Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide."

Authored by Temi Odumosu, an art historian and curator, and David Schwittek, associate professor of graphic design and digital media at Lehman College, Bronx, New York, the project examines "The New Union Club" (1819), a racist caricature by George Cruikshank (d. 1878) and Frederick Marryat (d. 1848) that satirizes antislavery efforts. Using critical annotation as a curatorial strategy, the project contextualizes this complex and troubling print while exploring broader questions about the description, reproduction, and online circulation of problematic artworks made freely available through open-access digital collections.

Gothenburg, Sweden — Professors Michael R. Gibson and Keith Owens of UNT’s College of Visual Arts and Design joined the Human-Computer Interaction International Conference, June 24–27, in Gothenburg, Sweden. As members of the International Board of the “Design, User Experience, and Usability” sub-conference, they chaired panels on AI in design education and experience design for shared spaces. Owens’ presentation included Cassini Nazir, CVAD assistant professor, with collaborators from Georgia Tech and Toyota. Their papers, along with Gibson’s and Owens’, were published in the Springer proceedings.

Kyoto, Japan — Ana M. Lopez, professor of metalsmithing and jewelry, conducted research in Japan from May 14–30, 2025, to advance her knowledge of enameling and reduction printing. At the Namikawa Cloisonné Museum in Kyoto, she studied firing sequences, surface preparation, and culturally specific materials. The exhibition “Shin-hanga: Japanese Woodblock Prints after Ukiyo-e” at the Tokyo National Museum broadened her understanding of the possibilities of reduction printing. At the Sumida Hokusai Museum in Tokyo, Lopez examined registration, pigment layering, and substrate preparation, insights that now inform her studio practice, teaching, and future creative work.

Amsterdam, Netherlands — Christopher Meerdo, assistant professor of Studio Art: New Media Art and Photography, co-organized "The Hallucinating Archive" symposium in Amsterdam with artists Marissa Lee Benedict and David Rueter of the Terminal Institute. Supported by UNT’s CREATE program, the event brought together artists, curators, and scholars from across Europe and the United States to examine the role of archives in the age of artificial intelligence. Over several days, participants engaged in talks, workshops and an evolving “hallucinating mind map” that became a living archive of ideas. Sessions ranged from hands-on training with open-source AI tools to discussions on museums, synthetic imagery and large language models. The symposium highlighted AI as both a medium and a cultural force while fostering networks for future exhibitions, publications and collaborative research.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada — At the Environmental Design Research Association’s conference, EDRA56, Phillip Park presented “Investigating Client Preferences for Interior Color Schemes in Dental Treatment Rooms.” Widely recognized as a leading international forum, EDRA brings together scholars, designers, and practitioners to advance understanding of how the built environment shapes human experience. Park’s study examined how color schemes in dental treatment rooms affect patient perception, offering evidence that thoughtful design can help reduce anxiety, foster comfort, and improve overall well-being in healthcare settings.

Celebration of a Life and Legacy

CVAD Upcoming Events | UNT Events Calendar | Gallery Exhibitions
Oct. 13–18: UNT Homecoming — "Mean Green Roundup"
Oct. 16, 4:30 p.m.: Ribbon Cutting of New Art, including sculpture by CVAD undergraduate students Frank Green, Brooke Thompson and Christi Stidham, at the Corinth Butterfly Garden, 3901 Corinth Pkwy, Corinth, TX 76208
Nov. 27–28: Fall Holiday Break
Dec. 24–26, 2025 & Dec. 29–Jan. 2, 2026: Winter Holiday Break

Mark your calendar!

More information to come!
March 21: CVAD Celebrates 2026, a collegewide special event 
Summer 2026: Creative U, a summer arts & design experience for high school students

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Gif courtesy of alumna Megan Lockhart, Class of 2010