James McMullan will discuss his career with designer, SVA Acting Chairman and Masters Series laureate Milton Glaser. “McMullan’s work achieves what we all aspire to. It’s unique, memorable and heartfelt. What else could you want?” says Glaser.

James McMullan was born in 1934 in Tsingtao, China and studied art at the Pratt Institute in New York City. He joined the venerated Push Pin Studios–founded in 1954 by Milton Glaser, Seymour Chwast, Reynold Ruffins and Edward Sorel—in 1966. He departed Push Pin in 1969 just as Milton Glaser and Clay Felker were starting New York magazine; he was one of the core group of artists who helped establish that magazine’s graphic style. A highlight was a series of five illustrations—including the cover—for the June 1976 story “Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night,” which was the basis for the feature film Saturday Night Fever. McMullan has also done magazine work for Rolling Stone, Sesame Street magazine, New York Times Magazine, Esquire, McCall’s, Vogue and Sports Illustrated, among others.

McMullan designed his first Broadway poster in 1976, and has had a long relationship with Lincoln Center, producing many evocative and highly expressive posters for the theater. Theater posters included in “The Master Series: James McMullan” include “Comedians,” “Carousel,” “Twelfth Night,” “Six Degrees of Separation,” “Anything Goes,” “Dinner At Eight” and “South Pacific,” among others.

McMullan has also collaborated on six popular children’s books with his wife, children’s book author Kate McMullan: I Stink! (HarperCollins, 2006), I’m Dirty! (HarperCollins, 2006), I’m Fast! (HarperCollins, 2012), I’m Bad! (HarperCollins, 2008), I’m Big! (HarperCollins, 2010), and I’m Mighty! (HarperCollins, 2003).

Beginning in 1969, McMullan taught at SVA for 30 years, and in 1987 he inaugurated his High-Focus Drawing Program, which later resulted in a book on his distinctive approach to life drawing.

Presented in conjunction with "The Masters Series: James McMullan," on view at the Visual Arts Gallery from November 26 - December 15.

Event

James McMullan in Conversation with Milton Glaser

Amphitheater