Tag: ryann cooley

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Stories In Focus

Ryann Cooley

By Aivery Shuck ('26)

Ryann Cooley has been serving the Houghton community as a professor for 11 years now, but has spent the majority of his life doing photography work. He provides his knowledge and energy in the art department, teaching digital media and photography.

Before Prof. Cooley came to Houghton, he began his journey as a military and business man who dreamed of traveling the world taking photos. To pursue this dream, Prof. Cooley went to college in Santa Barbara, Calif. and then started his career in New York City.

Soon after, Cooley was given an amazing opportunity to follow a missions program to Mexico—escaping the cold of New York—where he photographically documented the missionaries’ work. This experience opened up more opportunities for Prof. Cooley to take photos in a multitude of other countries, and he was able to pursue his dream of traveling the world for many years. Although traveling was thrilling, Prof. Cooley decided to settle back in New York City with his family. There, his advertising career took off as he began photographing for many different companies and magazines. After finding advertising less fulfilling than his past photography work, Prof. Cooley turned to teaching, and ended up at Houghton.

While deciding on which college to teach at, Prof. Cooley said that Houghton was the only school with students who “grilled him with questions for the full hour and a half.” He followed this by saying that Houghton was also the only school that got him thinking, “Holy cow… this is a lot of fun!”

Current art major Rachael Smith (‘26) said, “Professor Cooley’s classes are consistently enjoyable and full of energy. His witty humor and interactive approach makes every class fun. He takes time to involve everyone in discussions, and his thoughtful feedback inspires personal growth and development.” 

Prof. Cooley fosters meaningful and close relationships with his students, and his students appreciate all of the hard work he does connecting with them on a personal level.

Alumna Rachel Smith (Class of ‘22) said that Cooley “supported us outside and inside the classroom as a friend and a professor … we always felt so seen and so valued as one of his art majors.” 

His classes are open to people who have experience taking photos, as well beginners. Chesnie Waddingham (‘26), who is taking Prof. Cooley’s intro to digital photography class, stated that “even before I knew him, I met him, just because his reputation precedes him of being an amazing professor and amazing person. … He finds a good balance of encouraging us and reminding us that there is grace in trial and error when perfecting your craft.” 

Prof. Cooley has had an adventurous career thus far, but it’s far from over. One of the greatest adventures in life is being a teacher, and having the gifts to cultivate knowledge in students. Prof. Cooley is excited to continue building up the art program at Houghton. 

For the first time this spring, Prof. Cooley will be offering a class that prepares students for a photography trip to Puerto Rico during the Spring 2025 semester’s March Break. If you love photography and traveling, join Prof. Cooley on this 10 day adventure! There are limited spots, so start planning soon! ★

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Stories In Focus

Senior Art Exhibition 2016

On Monday April 18th, the Houghton Art Department opened its annual Student Art Exhibition. At this year’s show, twelve graduating students working toward a BFA in studio art will present work across a range of materials, including drawing, ceramics and sculpture, photography, painting, and mixed media.

“As you get closer to a show, students realize how fast that deadline is approaching,” Cooley said with a chuckle. “But it’s a great learning experience to be put in that situation,” he added, because it forces students to grapple with the realities of the professional world.

artshow2In fact, the Senior Exhibition aims to simulate the practical realities of professional work as fully as possible. “We don’t guarantee anybody to be in the show,” Cooley explained. “You have to present your work, and it has to be approved, just like you would in an actual gallery.” In order to coordinate a successful exhibition, students must consider how each element of the viewing experience coordinates with all the others.

Participating students are also responsible for the practical aspects of the show—such as setting up the gallery and organizing refreshments for the artists’ reception—which provides a glimpse into a visual artist’s day-to-day work. “They all learn in a collaborative effort to pull all those details together,” said Cooley. “It’s a very real-world experience.”

Organizing such a large show with such a diversity of styles can be an exercise in flexibility, but Cooley is confident in the students’ ability to put out their best work. “Somehow every year, we miraculously pull it off,” he mused. “This year’s not any exception—the work is coming out really strong.” The artists have flourished under what Cooley refers to as the “refining pressure” of a hard deadline. “The students are realizing what they’re really capable of doing. As they head into it, it’s this daunting scary thing. But then they realize what they’re really capable of.”

All this work gives students the opportunity to welcome hard-earned encouragement and recognition from the Houghton community. “Exhibiting seniors are working across a broad range of processes to each create a body of work that articulates their voice as an artist in today’s visual culture,” commented Professor Alicia Taylor, director of the Ortlip Gallery. “The senior exhibition is an opportunity for the community to recognize the achievements of our students in the conclusion of their study here as they move forward to engage in communities that reach out beyond our walls.”

Is it difficult to cultivate a show that draws on so many different media and artistic styles? Challenging, perhaps, but rewarding as well. “It’s really interesting to see some of the overlaps, and see where the work speaks to each other. You see some of the influence of the professors, but I intentionally allow them to think in their own ways, to find their own voice and style. They all do have a uniqueness to their work.”

And this diversity makes for a viewing experience that’s never dull. “It makes a very interesting show. It expands the conversation, it gets fun,” Cooley said. With a grin, he added: “You’re certainly not going to get bored.”

The Senior Student Art Exhibition opens at theGallery on Monday, April 18th. An artists’ reception will be held in the CFA atrium at 7 P.M. on Friday, April 22nd, with refreshments to follow.

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News

Houghton’s Got Talent Cancelled

Despite initial hype, Houghton’s Got Talent will no longer be premiering as planned.

CAB was hosting HGT as an opportunity for students to exhibit their passions, expose hidden abilities, and get involved by competing for the title of being Houghton’s most talented through various acts.  CAB member Josh Duttweiler says “due to the show’s previous success a few years ago, it made sense to give students a platform for their interests again.”

PrintYet, due to a lack of student commitment through act sign-ups, CAB was forced to cancel the event.  This proved to be surprising, says Duttweiler, especially due to the excitement HGT had brought in the past.  Possible reasons for the shortage of performers could be the lack of preparation time available and the event being scheduled so close to the beginning of the semester.

The show was intended to be different from other student entertainment, such as SPOT, in that it would promote all types of performance without a basis in comedy.  Instead, the show was anticipated to be an engaging set of acts that displayed the variety and diversity within the Houghton campus.  It was also an attempt to provide a way to showcase talent that may otherwise be overlooked.

In remaining true to American’s Got Talent, HGT was to also offer entertainment through a select group of faculty and student judges.  Featured judges included students Simba Kamuriwo and Alyssa Figueroa, admissions counselor Zina Teague, Professor Ryann Cooley, and Dr. Doug Gaerte.

As seen in CAB’s “Meet the Judges” promotional video, the panel came together to create a humorous spin on each judge’s reveal of what they were interested in seeing during the show.  Figueroa says she “looked forward to the chemistry” between herself and the other judges as well as the chance to play off their various personalities.

Having participated as an act in a previous Houghton’s Got Talent, Zina Teague remembers the “buzz” that was created over the various contestants.  Previously HGT was divided to extend over two weekends with acts either advancing or being cut between.  Teague and her partner “stepped” their way to the second round before being eliminated.  Teague views this show as a way in which students can “come together and share a piece of who they are.”

This year’s show was set to run similarly, with commentary by the panel of judges and concluding with an audience vote.  Votes would be placed through text message as experienced before in this past fall SPOT.  Besides students being able to showcase their range of skills, they were also competing to win cash prizes.

Teague commented that this event was a way for students to “break out of boxes.”  She makes the point that there is not just one type of person who can show off talent.  Whether it is a biology major or athlete on the stage, they are equal.

According to Ryann Cooley, it made sense that Houghton in particular would find interest in holding such an event.  With the Music Department as an obvious hub for talent, Cooley expected it to be a driving force behind various acts.

Cooley also points to the excitement of the unknown and the unique quality that Houghton has as being a “safe area to have fun taking a chance with the support of genuine and encouraging students.”

Despite Houghton’s Got Talent’s cancellation, CAB encourages students to come to the Chapel at 8 pm on Saturday, January 25th for the showing of Star Trek Into Darkness.

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Arts

Houghton Hires New Photography Professor

Houghton welcomed 11 new faculty members this year, including new photography and digital imaging professor, Ryann Cooley.  Professor Cooley comes to Houghton after several stints as a photographer in both the advertising and missionary fields.

However, before pursuing his career in photography, Cooley worked as a financial planner. In the late 80s, on what is known as Black Monday, the stock market crashed and Cooley marks this as the start of a series of events that happened in his life where he said God started speaking in his life, “convicting [him] of [his] motivations for being in the financial sector.” After the revelation that money was his “primary motivation”, Cooley said that he realized he could “only serve one master”, something which “shook [his] world.”

Cooley_RyannEventually Cooley stepped away from the financial sector and said that this time in his life was one without “a sense of direction, motivation, or drive.” The next six months were spent in prayer, Cooley said, almost “like [he] was in a monastery.” This intense period of prayer ultimately left Cooley with a dream in which he was “a photographer for missionaries, traveling the world to document various missions” as a graduate of Brooks Institute, a school he heard about in high school.

Initially following his dream, Cooley contacted Brooks Institute and learned that both the tuition and admission requirements were out of reach. Dismayed, he began to look elsewhere. Yet a month later he received a call from Brooks offering him admission and scholarship. After being accepted into the undergraduate program at the Brooks Institute under the Alumni Scholarship Program, Cooley immediately enrolled and successfully completed his degree. Following his graduation, he began to contact missionaries to see if he could come along on their missions and take photos. When Cooley was denied these opportunities, he said his next step was to “go and make a name for [himself] as a photographer,” so he moved to New York City, “the hub of photography”, in order to do so.

In NYC, Cooley worked as an assistant photographer for several years with his first client being Levi’s. His work in advertising gradually grew and was followed by an opportunity to shoot for a Presbyterian mission organization while they were on a mission in Mexico for three weeks, an opportunity Cooley said he “jumped at.” His work with missions organizations continued with groups like the Arab World Missions in Morocco and the International Bible Society based in Colorado Springs.

Following the birth of his son and the start of his family, Cooley said that his career direction changed. “My dream had come true,” he said, and it was now time to return to the advertising world, which Cooley said he sees as “much [of] a mission field” as those he had worked in before, calling advertising a “foreign country itself.” In 2012, after a reasonable stint in advertising, Cooley pursued and received his MFA in Photography, Video, and Related Media from the School of Visual Arts in NYC so that he could teach.

Before coming to Houghton, Cooley looked into and interviewed at several schools, but he said it was the students at Houghton that stood out to him because they were “easy to talk to and articulate;” students he wanted the chance to work with. After receiving and accepting the position at Houghton, Cooley and his family moved from New York City to Angelica, and he said that the transition was big, but that he was “ready to move on from the city.”

When asked what he hopes to bring to Houghton, Cooley said that he wants to bring an “NYC edge,” and introduce more conceptual art that will help in his goal of “pushing the boundaries of what people expect of art.” Additionally, he would like to see the number of photography classes grow to include more advanced classes that offer students the opportunity to specialize in areas such as lighting. Also important to Cooley is the relationship between the music and art departments. He hopes to help bring the departments together in combined performances, and said that there may be a collaboration with Professor Brian Johnson in the works for this year’s Christmas Prism.

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Arts

Annual Faculty Art Exhibition

The start of the new school year offers opportunities not only to grow academically and spiritually on campus, but also to enjoy what the art department has to offer with this year’s Faculty Art Exhibition. Originally featuring the work of two professors, this exhibition has occurred annually since the art department was founded at Houghton College and was expanded eight years ago to become the comprehensive group faculty exhibition that it is today.

Faculty_Art_Show_1Jillian Sokso, chair of the art department, said that the purpose of the Faculty Art Exhibition is to “engage the community in what’s happening with the art faculty,” similar to the faculty recitals that happen within the music department. Twelve different medias from six professors are featured this year, which Sokso said would help students to get a good idea about what is available to study in the art department. Additionally Sokso said that the exhibit also “benefits the faculty” involved, as it is “good to get to work together” and will foster “helpful conversation” amongst colleagues. Faculty members featured this year include Ted Murphy, Ryann Cooley, Jillian Sokso, Dave Huth, John Rhett, and Gary Baxter.

Professor Ted Murphy, who teaches fundamental art courses such as painting, drawing and Intro to 2D Design, as well as the art history course, Renaissance to Early Romanticism, has over 26 pieces featured in the exhibition. One of his series, Drawings In and Out of Context, was completed “during the lectures and seminar discussions of the past year in the Contemporary Context class” he helped to teach, according to his artist’s statement, noting that “in order to better concentrate on [the class] discussions [he] began to draw.” Concerning his part in the exhibition overall, Murphy said in his artist’s statement, “these works grew out of a process” and that this “current body of work reflects [his] overlapping interest in representational art and degrees of abstraction,” as well as reflecting “an interest in Zen painting”.

Houghton’s new photography and digital imaging professor, Ryann Cooley is also featured in the exhibition, and is showing an installation conceptual piece entitled “The Last Supper”. Cooley’s typical work in the light-based mediums of photography and video is reflected in this piece, which employs twelve working TVs. The twelve TVs represent the Twelve Apostles, giving the piece its name. Cooley plays Mel Gibson’s “The Passion” on a loop while arranging the TVs to face the wall, allowing the viewer to only observe the light given off as its reflected. He said that as observers walk amongst the piece they are unaware that “Christ is continually being crucified” and that this “mirrors the conditions of the Last Supper where Christ said that his disciples didn’t ‘get it’,” as the viewers will at first miss the true meaning of the exhibit. “Yet,” Cooley said, “one can still enjoy the piece just like the apostles enjoyed Christ’s presence,” by evoking a reflective nature in the observers.

Chair of the art department and professor Jillian Sokso said that her work in this exhibition is “all relatively recent and was done over the summer.” Her works include drawings, an installation piece and book sculptures. When asked about the inspiration for her work here, Sokso said that much of it stemmed from her recent residency at the Woodside Art Center in Troy, NY.  Her installation piece is also inspired by the concept of “strategic reuse,” something Sokso said she is interested in.

The exhibition formally opened the 30th of August and will continue to run through the 6th of October. A reception will take place the 20th of September complete with live music and food, as well as featuring the artists themselves speaking about their work.