Assistant Professor
Art Department
Phone: 201.559.3626
Email: MacAlpinm@felician.edu
Positions Held
- Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, Felician College, Lodi, NJ (Fall 2004 – Present )
Academic Accomplishments
- Master of Fine Arts in Book Arts/Printmaking, University of the Arts (1999-2001)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture, Rutgers University (1994-1998)
Biography
For the past 19 years, Melissa has been making books and comics. Cosmic Comics, Forbidden Planet, Jim Hanley’s Universe, and Midtown Comics in New York City have carried her work. Her books are also part of the permanent collections in the Rare Books Collection at the Newark Public Library, Newark, NJ, the Special Collections Library, Penn State University, Abington, PA, the Visual Arts Library, SVA, New York, NY and in Sallie Bingham Center Women’s Zine Collections, Duke University, Durham, NC.
Field(s) of Interest/Expertise
I am drawn to the metaphorical content of objects. How an action of a person is matched by the function of an object. By focusing on the object we can cut away from the specifics of our own experience and gain an understanding of the common experiences we share. Shared experiences- our stories- tell us who we were and who we are. I am interested in how stories change as objects do- they break and fracture and wear- but are reassembled and repaired. When I collect stories I think about the way the story is told. Is it a complaint or a confession? Or is it a way of reliving a moment that has passed. The accuracy of these stories is secondary to the life they take on for us. Stories have sentimental value- the same way objects can. These objects and stories are the starting point for my projects.
Courses Taught at Felician University
- FYE 100, Freshman Year Experience (part 1)
- FYE 101, Freshman Year Experience (part 2)
- ART 102 Two Dimensional Design
- ART 122 Introduction to Graphic Design
- ART 225 Art for Non-Majors
- ART 225 BUS Art for Non-Majors, Federal Reserve and on campus
- ART 239 Mixed Media
- ART 240 Introduction to Computer Graphics
- ART 246 Computer Graphics: Image
- ART 247 Computer Graphics: Type
- ART 248 Computer Graphics: Layout
- ART 311 Printmaking: Monoprint and Relief
- ART 314 Book Arts
- ART 320 Comics and Zines
- ART 361 Women in Art
- ART 362 History of Graphic Design
- ART 431 Advanced Projects I
- ART 450 Senior Seminar II Graphic Design Concentration
- ART 449 Senior Seminar I Graphic Design Concentration
- ALCS 003 American Culture and Language Studies through Art
Publications/Research
- …and all this is metaphor, ink jet and stamped
When Lips Press (2011) - Tie Tuesday, ink jet
When Lips Press (2011) - Love Stories- inspired by The New York Times, ink jet and stamped
When Lips Press (2011) - Cardboard Weapons, screen-print
- I Hate To Go To Bed, I Hate To Wake Up, I Hate To Be Alone, inkjet
When Lips Press (2009) - This Is How We Walk On The Moon, inkjet
When Lips Press (2008) - Oh, Youʼre Married, inkjet
When Lips Press [ 2008 ] - Night Sky In July
When Lips Press (2007) - Phone Call, LaserJet
When Lips Press (2007) - The Library, inkjet
Ace Press (2006) - Driving Home, laser print
Ace Press (2002) - Tuesday Kissing, Heidelberg KORS One-Color Press
Ace Press (2001) - Broken Heart, Broken Head(band), Heidelberg KORS One-Color Press
Ace Press (2001) - My Bluebird Of Happiness, Heidelberg KORS One-Color Press
Ace Press (2001) - I Have Trouble Remembering Her
Action Girl, Issue 18, Slave Labor Graphics (1998) - Mrs. Miller, How I Became Beautiful
Action Girl, Issue 11, Slave Labor Graphics (1997)
