News and Media

Article By: Laura Swanson
Published: Aug 22, 2011

Atop the highest hill within the Eternal City's walls, the American Academy in Rome sits as a beacon to international artists and scholars. Through a SCAD Presidential Fellowship and the university's affiliated membership at the academy, SCAD Atlanta art history professor Dr. Rosemary Erpf spent the month of April researching at the academy's inspiring complex. While in Rome, Erpf examined the Italian Trans-avantgarde Movement - an influential group of artists that emerged in Italy during the late 1970s and continued through the 1980s. As a historian who specializes in contemporary art, she delighted in the opportunity to broaden her scope of knowledge and enhance her teaching abilities with the support of SCAD and the resources of the academy.

"There are so many ways that this fellowship benefits me, but it benefits my students first and foremost," Erpf said. "My field is contemporary so the context of the way we're thinking about the art is always changing. I was able to rethink many of my ideas. It enlivened me to represent my material in the classroom in a new way and that's always exciting for students and for me."

SCAD Presidential Fellowships are awarded annually to full-time professors to enhance teaching skills or contribute to professional, scholarly or creative development. SCAD's affiliate membership with the Academy allows the university to send one representative to the center for four weeks in the spring quarter. Situated atop the Gianicolo in the heart of Italy's capital, the academy is a leading American overseas center for independent studies and advanced research in the fine arts and humanities. More than 400 years ago the Gianicolo grounds hosted Galileo's first telescope demonstration, and today the Academy cultivates a modern intellectual community. To study at the center is a prestigious honor for artists and scholars in pursuit of creative goals within an innovative and progressive atmosphere.

During her research, Erpf supplemented her time at the academy with study at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome and the MAXXI - National Museum of the 21st Century Arts. These cultural centers offered her unmatched resources for her area of inquiry, but she experienced one of her most memorable encounters within the academy complex.

"While I was in Rome one of the residents was Chuck Close, the famous contemporary artist," Erpf said. "We became cordial friends, and I was invited to his studio. That's a bonus: to have conversations about art with someone like Chuck Close is thrilling because he's so bright and so interesting."

Erpf plans to introduce the knowledge garnered through her research and discussions with contemporary artists and scholars to add a new level of interest and complexity to the classes, both graduate and undergraduate, she teaches at SCAD Atlanta. "When I tell stories of my experiences with artists and critics in the classroom, students are totally absorbed," Erpf said. "It's very different than just giving facts." She plans to integrate lessons on the Italian Trans-avantgarde Movement in graduate courses such as Contemporary Art and Art Criticism. Erpf will also use the information gathered in Rome to write a chapter in a book on late 20th-century painting.

As an inaugural member of SCAD Atlanta's art history faculty, Erpf serves as a sounding board for the department and regularly mentors art history students as they navigate their areas of interest. Winter quarter 2012 she will speak on the Italian Trans-avantgarde group at the Ivy Hall lecture series as a way to share her experience with the entire SCAD community and speak to the university's significant contributions to academia through its endorsement of such opportunities.

"It's remarkable that SCAD offers this opportunity to its faculty," she said. "The encouragement of faculty is extraordinary. I can't imagine any other school that would make you feel so appreciated and supported in your academic endeavors."