Chris Janzen
Warkentine Hall, Room 107
Telephone: 559-453-2238
Fax: 559-453-5558
Email: chris.janzen@fresno.edu
What programs do you teach in?
- Art and music
Education
- B.A., studio art, Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas
- M.F.A., studio art, emphasis: painting, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota
Scholarly interests
- Studio art-making, painting, drawing, collage, etc.
- Cross-disciplinary collaborative art projects
- Art education, encouragement for future generations to exercise minds creatively
- Musical experimentation/improvisation
- Music performance, jazz guitar
- Music composition, jazz ensemble
Selected exhibitions
- Dinner (Or, A Deranged Event Staged in a Theoretical Mansion, in Which Time and History Have Been Grossly Suspended and What We Know as the Laws of Physics Wildly Subverted, Conducted as an Inquiry into the Genius of Madness and the Art of the Faux Pas, and Having as a First Course to be Served to a Cast of Sixteen Eccentrics A Dish of Carrot Cabbage Salad Meant to Tickle Every Palate), with Jesse Nathan, Krehbiel Auditorium, North Newton, Kansas, October 6, 2008
- Recent Work, solo exhibit, Bethel College Gallery, North Newton, Kansas, October 2008
- In the World, Not of it: Recent Works by Chris Janzen, solo exhibit, North Fresno Mennonite Brethren Church Gallery, Fresno, California, February 2008
- Marcos Dorado and Chris Janzen, with Marcos Dorado, Tower Mosaic, Fresno, California, February 2008
- Paintings, solo exhibit, McDonald Hall Gallery, Fresno, California, September-October 2007
- Conflict and Resolution, Gallery 110, Vermillion, South Dakota, May 2007
- Popular Confusion, solo exhibit, Nuance Gallery, Beresford, South Dakota, April-May 2007
- Briar Cliff Review Art Exhibit, Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City, Iowa, April 2007
- The Color of Sound, Touch of Europe, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, April 2007
- Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition, Warren M. Lee Center for Fine Arts, South Dakota, April 2007
- Stillwell Student Exhibition, Juried Exhibition, University of South Dakota Main Gallery, Vermillion, South Dakota, February 2007
- Recent Paintings, Coffee House Gallery, Vermillion, South Dakota, February 2007
- South Dakota Student Artwork, Juried Exhibition, Craftsman Creeks Gallery, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, December 2006
- Draw!, Washington Arts Center, Vermillion, South Dakota, November 2006
- Be Heard, Riverwalk Café, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, October 2006
- Recent Graduate Student Work, South Dakota touring exhibit, September-December 2006 Stillwell Student Exhibition, Juried Exhibition, University of South Dakota Main Gallery, Vermillion, South Dakota, January 2006
- Chris Janzen and Matt Schaefer, with Matt Schaefer, Washington Arts Center, Vermillion, South Dakota, January 2006
- Paintings and Prints, Gallery 110, Warren M. Lee Center for Fine Arts, Vermillion, South Dakota, June 2005
- Vermillion Artworks, South Dakota Board of Regents Gallery, Pierre, South Dakota, April 2005 Dakota History Conference, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, SD, April 2005
- Stillwell Student Exhibition, Juried Exhibition, University of South Dakota Main Gallery, Vermillion, South Dakota, February 2005
- Recent University of South Dakota Student Work, South Dakota State University Gallery, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, December 2004
- New Graduate Student Paintings, Gallery 110, Warren M. Lee Center for Fine Arts, Vermillion, South Dakota, October 2004
- Paint and Sound, Bethel College Gallery, North Newton, Kansas, May 2004
Honors and awards
- Special Painting Award, Stillwell Annual Juried Exhibition, 2007
- Best of Show, Stillwell Annual Juried Exhibition, 2006
- Chair's Award, Stillwell Annual Juried Exhibition, 2005
- Bethel College Thresher (Outstanding Student) Award for Fine Art, Bethel College, 2004
- Special Recognition for Outstanding Musicianship (Small Ensemble Soloist), Wichita Jazz Festival, 2004
- Special Recognition for Outstanding Musicianship (Large Ensemble Soloist), Wichita Jazz Festival, 2004
- Honorable Mention: Cartoons, Kansas Associated Collegiate Press, 2003
- Honorable Mention: Cartoons, Kansas Associated Collegiate Press, 2002
Professional and service experiences
- Art show organizer and musician for Building a Culture of Peace Week, September 2008
- Provided solo jazz guitar music for gallery opening, Fresno Art Museum, April 2008
- Guest artist for FPU Jazz Ensemble Christmas Concert (under the direction of Patricia DeBenedetto, December 2007
- Art show organizer and musician for Building a Culture of Peace Week, September 2007
- Musician for The Color of Sound, an event in which Sioux Falls area painters and musicians collaborate on the same stage to explore the common creative spirit of both mediums, April 2007
- Art show organizer for the African/American Heritage Celebration, an event celebrating black history, African-American culture and the challenges of racism in society, March 2007 (The art show entitled, "I Have a Dream," featured students' artistic reflections on MLK's historic speech and was juried by African American Historical & Cultural Museum artist-in-residence Will Portis.)
- Musician for the African/American Heritage Celebration, March 2007
- Musician for The Color of Sound, October 2006
- Musician for South Dakota Festival of Books, an annual event honoring writers from South Dakota and featuring nationally renowned author, Marilynne Robinson, speaking on her work during the final festival meeting accompanied by live music and broadcast statewide on South Dakota Public Radio, September 2006
- Musician for South Dakota Festival of Books, featuring nationally renowned author, Quincy Troupe, September 2005
- Founding member and musician for Jazz Night, a weekly event where a variety of musicians perform for the benefit of the community and for their own continuing experience with the art of creating in the moment, Vermillion, South Dakota, May-August 2005
- Musician for The Color of Sound, March 2005
Professional affiliations
- College Art Association, member, fall 2006 - present
- Fresno Pacific University African/American Heritage Celebration Committee, member, fall 2007 - present
- Building a Culture of Peace Committee, member, fall 2007 - present
- San Joaquin Chorale, member, spring 2008 - present
- Mennonite Relief Sale Art Exhibit Committee, member, spring 2008 - present
Recommended resources
Other information
- Art is a unique subject. Unlike many areas of study which require the student to find the “correct” answers to given assignments, art courses encourage students to explore the unknown, sometimes discovering solutions to problems that even their instructors don’t see coming!
- It is through artistic expression that we as a society can exercise our brains to see creative new answers to the problems in every walk of life. Whether your goal is to solve our society’s larger problems of poverty and global warming or you are tackling smaller tasks like designing a successful website, redecorating your office or painting a mural in a public park, a fertile creative mind is vital.
- My goal as an educator is to help students realize their unique potential in life, whatever their professional interests may lay.
