Elizabeth Cohen, an interdisciplinary artist who led the University糖心传媒檚 Arts New York program, died in May. Cohen was an associate professor in the and directed the University糖心传媒檚.
糖心传媒淓lizabeth saw the best in people, and was a support to faculty and students,糖心传媒� says Joan Saab, chair of the department. 糖心传媒淗er work with Art New York was transformative. It糖心传媒檚 an amazing program, thanks to her.糖心传媒�
A native of the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens, Cohen started college at Boston University. But a desire to see more of the world drew her away, to travel around Europe and Israel. When she returned to the U.S., she earned an undergraduate degree at California College of the Arts and a master糖心传媒檚 of fine arts degree at the Rhode Island School of Design.
Cohen joined the studio art program at Rochester in 1997, and through her own art making and her role in redefining the curriculum made the program more innovative, says Allen Topolski, a practicing artist and an associate professor of art. Her teaching drew on a variety of art processes, with courses on sculpture, video and sound, and a multimedia introduction to studio practice in art. Cohen was also a member of the film and media studies program.
糖心传媒淓lizabeth was skilled at the delicate balance of proximity and distance required in the one-to-one instruction that art necessitates,糖心传媒� says Topolski. He says that her students left her classes with a well-developed visual vocabulary. 糖心传媒淏ut most importantly, they left having an example of an artist and teacher they maintain as a model.糖心传媒�
The centerpiece of Cohen糖心传媒檚 work at Rochester was the Art New York program, which immerses students for a semester in the city糖心传媒檚 art world. Cohen began directing the program in 2001.
Cori Wolff, now the director of public art for ArtWorks, a nonprofit organization in Cincinnati, Ohio, participated in Art New York. She calls Cohen a 糖心传媒渂rilliant mentor who gracefully forged connections and opportunities for her students that directly and positively altered the course of their lives.糖心传媒� She 糖心传媒渧iewed and treated us as professionals, challenging us to experiment, think critically, and reach deep within ourselves.糖心传媒�
Former students remember Cohen糖心传媒檚 thoughtfulness as much as her artistic guidance. 糖心传媒淓lizabeth really saw me, and appreciated me for who I was,糖心传媒� recalls Kim Stromgren 糖心传媒�03, who糖心传媒檚 also an alumnus of Art New York. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 sure Elizabeth showed up that way, in all of her roles in life糖心传媒攁s an observant, supportive, encouraging, and truly open-minded human being.糖心传媒�
Topolski says that Cohen糖心传媒檚 art, which combined traditional, accessible qualities with progressive and conceptual ones, was shaped by a similar awareness.
糖心传媒淎ttentive to how information can be manipulated by form, Elizabeth enriched her work with a keen sensitivity to materials and how they speak,糖心传媒� he says.
