Visiting Speaker: Frank Lisciandro
Talk: Your Unfolding Arts Career
–stories, ideas, hacks & tips about how to survive rejection & invite success
If you’re in college and considering a career in the arts, you might have had lots of encouragement from family and friends along with sincere compliments for the works you created. You might have half-convinced yourself that once your have that degree, you’ll land a decent-paying, entry-level position with a reputable firm that will let you unleash your talents on interesting projects.
OR... with degree in hand, you might consider being independent and making works that galleries will readily show.
OR... you might be unsure of your skills and thinking of staying in college another year to avoid daring the leap into the job market.
No matter how you’re envisioning your future, now might be a good time for a hard look at what awaits you, the creative artist, when you make the change from student to full-time worker. I was there once, with all the units and courses I needed to graduate, and for awhile I did not know where to go or what to do to find employment.
I struggled, made mistakes, missed opportunities, but continued learning my craft. I managed to survive and I’m still working on cool and original projects with enthusiasm. And for most of the last 50 plus years, I’ve been able to earn a living doing what I enjoy. My talk today is a review of where I’ve been and what I learned along the way. By sharing antidotes about my arts adventures, I hope to leave you with information that could make the odyssey of your career less erratic, more sustainable and profitable and greater fun.
Frank Lisciandro is an American filmmaker, writer, photographer, and book publisher born in Brooklyn, New York. He studied photojournalism at Michigan State University and motion picture production and screenwriting at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), earning a BA and MFA. While at UCLA, he studied photography with the renowned American photographer Robert Heinecken.
His photography has appeared in books, magazines, documentary films, newspapers, and record albums. His photographs have been shown in solo exhibitions and group shows in the USA, Italy, and France. He has directed, produced, and written more than 20 documentary films, including The Sugar Film, The Target Zone, Under the Influence, and Siamo Fuori.
While a student at UCLA, Lisciandro developed a friendship with Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek – the singer and keyboardist of The Doors. In 1968, he edited The Doors documentary film Feast of Friends; in 1969, he was one of the filmmakers of HWY, a non-narrative film written by Morrison. Lisciandro has played a part in several posthumous Jim Morrison projects. In 1979, he co-produced Jim Morrison's album of poetry An American Prayer, which was nominated for a Grammy Award and won the Dutch Edison Award.
His music photographs have appeared in Rolling Stone, the French magazine Rock & Folk, the British publications New Musical Express (NME), Uncut, and Mojo, as well as the Italian publications La Repubblica and L’Unità.
Event Hosted by Shannon Ralkie and supported by the School of Art Visiting Speaker Series Fund.