{"id":1135,"date":"2013-05-30T13:59:52","date_gmt":"2013-05-30T18:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uwpowerswi.com\/?p=1135"},"modified":"2015-04-10T13:18:47","modified_gmt":"2015-04-10T18:18:47","slug":"alexander-landerman-artist-entrepreneur-uw-stevens-point-class-of-2013","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/alexander-landerman-artist-entrepreneur-uw-stevens-point-class-of-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Alexander Landerman: Artist, entrepreneur, UW-Stevens Point class of 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alexander Landerman had a rocky start academically.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was kicked out of kindergarten, failed first grade and spent most of second grade in the hallway,\u201d he said. Junior high and high school involved more recreation than the other three R\u2019s of education.<\/p>\n

If that doesn\u2019t sound like a deserving winner of a first-time entrepreneurial award, consider:<\/p>\n

Landerman now has his own art studio. He exhibits his charcoal drawings and letterpress art in galleries across the country. He was awarded \u201cbest of show\u201d at the Stevens Point Festival of the Arts in April, the latest in a long list of accolades for the 24-year-old.<\/p>\n

He graduated from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a bachelor of fine arts degree in two-dimensional art on May 18.<\/p>\n

\u201cArt was really a refuge for me,\u201d Landerman says of his early years growing up near Stevens Point. \u201cI was always drawing things. I was really forced into this because this is all I was good at.\u201d<\/p>\n

In high school, he realized he needed to improve his 2.8 grade point average if he wanted to go to college.\u00a0 He took night classes at Midstate Technical College then enrolled at UW-Stevens Point, initially planning to major in business. He took an introductory art class his first semester and met Mark Brueggeman, senior lecturer in the Department of Art and Design.<\/p>\n

\u201cMark Brueggeman was the first person who took me under his wing. He said, \u2018why are you here? Why are you doing what you\u2019re doing?\u2019\u201d Those questions and encouragement from faculty, staff and students in the College of Fine Arts helped guide Landerman to pursue his passion.<\/p>\n

Caren Heft, senior lecturer and director of Edna Carlsten Gallery at UW-Stevens Point, was his mentor. \u201cShe forced me to explain myself. If I wanted opportunities, she would help me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heft taught a letterpress class, and he loved the art form. Landerman asked her to employ him as a personal studio assistant.\u00a0 In exchange for four hours of work each day, he would be allowed to use her studio equipment for four hours.<\/p>\n

He used her extensive collection of wood block letters from old proofing presses to create a letterpress art series. He also draws expressive portraits and bold gestural images of animals and birds using charcoal and other mixed media.<\/p>\n

Landerman\u2019s drive to learn from other artists, to exhibit and promote his art and run a small business is rare in undergraduates, Heft said. \u201cAlex is one of the most outstanding students I have encountered. He has a clear vision for the future and his place in it.\u00a0 He works extremely hard, focused on becoming a self-supporting professional artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Landerman was awarded the first-ever Hipstamatic Entrepreneurship Award from UW-Stevens Point. The award will annually recognize and award $5,000 to an exceptional graduating student in the College of Fine Arts and Communication Department of Art & Design.<\/p>\n

The award was established by two entrepreneurial alumni, Ryan Dorshorst (\u201806) and Lucas Allen Buick (\u201805), both of the San Francisco, Calif., area. They created Synthetic Infatuation design firm after graduating from UW-Stevens Point, and developed the Hipstamatic iPhone application, among others. The intent is to jump-start a graduate\u2019s entrepreneurial venture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one more way the university has shaped me. This award will help me focus fully on making artwork,\u201d Landerman said. He will buy equipment and supplies needed to continue his business, the Art of Alexander Landerman.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone I worked with closely was very supportive of me,\u201d Landerman said, also acknowledging the college\u2019s dean, Jeff Morin; Professor Rob Stolzer; and Brian Borchardt, Scarabocchio Art Museum curator in Stevens Point.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came into this program and became a very different person,\u201d he said. Instead of being told what he couldn\u2019t do, UW-Stevens Point faculty and the arts community had such a positive effect on Landerman that they are part of his growth and success. The message he received here was: \u201cIf you don\u2019t do well, you\u2019re not living up to the potential we see for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was a powerful motivator for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in an environment influenced by the right people who love and enjoy their jobs,\u201d Landerman said.<\/p>\n

He is fully aware that only 3 percent of artists make a living at their passion. He\u2019s determined to be among them. In addition to making art, he plans to apply for additional grants, residencies and assistantships to add to his already long, impressive resume. And someday, Landerman hopes to give back what he got from UW-Stevens Point.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back on how I was embraced here, I hope to influence kids the way I was influenced, to help kids the way I was helped.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information, visit http:\/\/alexander-landerman.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"artist<\/a>
Alexander Landerman in his Stevens Point studio with a drawing from his rabbit series.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alexander Landerman had a rocky start academically. \u201cI was kicked out of kindergarten, failed first grade and spent most of second grade in the hallway,\u201d he said. Junior high and high school involved more recreation than the other three R\u2019s of education. If that doesn\u2019t sound like a deserving winner of a first-time entrepreneurial award, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":2431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[95],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-1135","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-stevens-point"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/1135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=1135"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=1135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}