Ellen McMahon (born 1951) is a professor in the School of Art and Associate Dean for Research in the Arts in the College of Fine Arts at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

Biography

McMahon attended Southern Oregon State College and in 1978 received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology, she continued her education at the University of Arizona and earned her Master of Science degree in Scientific Illustration in 1983. McMahon continued her education at

Vermont College Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level art school in Montpelier, Vermont. It offers Master's degrees in low-residency and residential programs. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award winners, ...

and received a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Art in 1996. She uses a range of media to examine the relationship between visual art and how people might apply artistic practice to address environmental issues.

Work

McMahon's early work, from the 1990s to 2005, looked at the intimacy of relationships between a mother and child. Since 2005 she has focused her educational approach on how creative practice might contribute to environmental awareness. She received a Fulbright Fellowship in 2007 to work at the Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans in Mexico
CEDO
) and presented at the ICOGRADA World Design Congress in Cuba. She has developed projects that connect artists, students, scientists and community organizations in this effort. McMahon was the project director and co-editor of the publication ''Ground, Water: The Art, Design and Science of a Dry River'' in 2010. The book looks at how different factors such as environmental change and water policy have affected groundwater in the Southwest. Her work has been featured in ''Mother Reader: Essential Writings on Motherhood,''

AIGA The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) is a professional organization for design. Its members practice all forms of communication design, including graphic design, typography, interaction design, user experience, branding and identity ...

Journal of Graphic Design, in an essay titled ''Outside the Cookie Cutter: Approaches to Teaching Graphic Design'', Representations: Journal of the Design Communication Association, in an essay titled ''Exchanges: A collaborative Teaching Project'', The Education of the Graphic Designer, edited by Steve Heller, in an essay titled ''Have Sign Will Travel: Cultural Issues in Design Education'', and in the Longwood Arts Journal, a publication of the Longwood Arts Project,in an essay titled ''Maternity, Autonomy, Ambivalence and Loss''.

Group exhibitions

2002 –2004 “Rounce and Coffin Western Books Exhibition,” traveling to over thirty public and academic libraries over two years. Originating at Occidental College, Los Angeles 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003 “Arizona Biennial," Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona 1997, 1998, 2002 “Generations," A.I.R. Gallery, New York City 1998 “Cleavage: an exhibition on the breast,” Adams State College, Luther Bean Museum, Alamosa, Colorado (traveled to Jonson Gallery of the University of New Mexico Art Museum) 1998 “The Fragmented Body: Violence or Identity?” W. Keith and Janet Kellogg University Art Gallery, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California 1998 “Low Land Horizon,” Cullity Gallery, Western Australia University School of Architecture and Fine Arts, Perth, Australia 1998 “Visual Arts Fellowship Recipients Exhibition,” Tucson/Pima Arts Council Gallery, Tucson, Arizona 1996 “Transforming the Mirror: Women in Photography,” Marshal/Reade Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts 1996 “International Photography and Digital Imaging Exhibition,” Wellington B. Gray Gallery, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina 1996 “An Invitational Exhibition of U.S. Posters in Rzeszow," originating in Rzeszow Poland, venues to date: Rzeszow Art Gallery, Czestochowa Town Art Gallery, Krosno Art Gallery, Przemysl Center of Artbeen, and locations in Bydgoszcz and Zakopane, traveled to several locations in Hungry and Slovakia in 1998 1995 “Josten, McMahon, Penn,” three-person exhibition, funded by grants from the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Tucson/Pima Arts Council, Dinnerware Artist's Cooperative Gallery, Tucson, Arizona 1995 “Billboards for Democracy,” Hunter College, New York City 1995 “Deadly Responses: Murder and Suicide by Women,” Longwood Arts Project, a program of the

Bronx Council on the Arts The Bronx Council on the Arts (established 1962), is an art based culture agency that has grown to become the official cultural agency of the Bronx, New York City. It provides a “lifeline” to more than 4,800 artists and over 250 arts and comm ...

, Bronx, New York 1995 “Public as Private,” Boulder City Arts Commission Gallery, Boulder, Colorado 1994 “The University and College Designers Association Annual Exhibition,” Minneapolis, Minnesota 1993 “It’s All Relative,” Galleria Mesa, Mesa, Arizona, Juror's Award 1993 “Beyond Words,” Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, Illinois

Solo Exhibits

2002 “Maternal Matter: Books, Cards and Drawings,” California State University, San Marcos, California 1997 “Redressing the Mother: Photographs, Text, and Objects,” A.I.R. Gallery II, New York City 1997 “Mama Do You Love Me,” an installation of objects, light, and sound, Icehouse Alternative Art Space, Phoenix, Arizona 1996 “Maternity, Autonomy, Ambivalence and Loss,” Wood Gallery, Vermont College of Norwich University, Montpelier, Vermont

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:McMahon, Ellen 1951 births American graphic designers American women graphic designers Living people Southern Oregon University alumni University of Arizona alumni