UAB Briefs: Cool photos at AEIVA, jobs and honors for former Blazers
Welcome to another installment of UAB Briefs.
In this weekly online feature, we keep track of interesting people and events on campus.
Know people, places and programs on the UAB campus that deserve a mention? Email us at jchambers@starnespublishing.com.
‘Playland’ with toys and cameras
Selected works by American artist David Levinthal -- a prolific, acclaimed photographer who uses toys and miniature figures as the subjects for his images -- will be on display at the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts on the UAB campus from Jan. 8-March 10.
The closing reception for the exhibit, called “David Levinthal: Playland,” will take place at AEIVA on Friday, March 2, from 6-8 p.m., according to a UAB news release.
Prior to the reception, at 5 p.m., Levinthal will offer a talk about his work.
Both events are free.
Levinthal, a San Francisco native who now lives and works in New York, is thought to be one of the first “postmodern” photographers and uses his work to question the role of photography as a truthful record of historical fact.
He has been active since the early 1970s, and -- according to his web site -- his projects have included such diverse subjects as Hitler, Barbie, baseball, hockey, pin-ups, pornography and the Wild West.
Most of the works in “David Levinthal: Playland” come from the most recent addition to the permanent collection at AEIVA, a gift of 59 large-format Polaroids by Levinthal recently donated anonymously.
“This is a very significant acquisition for AEIVA,” said the facility's curator, John Fields, in the news release. “AEIVA already houses many large-format Polaroids by several notable artists.”
For more information, call 975-6436 or go to uab.edu/cas/aeiva.
Rising to the top
Musician, entertainment lawyer and UAB graduate John P. Strohm was recently named president of Rounder Records, a legendary label created in 1970 and based in Nashville.
And Strohm said that he is grateful for his time at UAB.
“I really owe a debt of gratitude to UAB and my professors for making it easy to find my way on this professional journey,” said in a UAB news release. “None of it would have been possible without that beginning.”
Strohm came to UAB in 1998 at age 30 to finish his undergraduate degree after years of performing and producing music, including time with indie bands Blake Babies and The Lemonheads.
He majored in history at UAB with a minor in music. “Music technology was my minor, but it really helped me to learn emerging technologies,” Strohm said in the news release.
He enjoyed the Department of Music’s music technology ensembles and classes and became more proficient on piano.
He is getting used to his new job as president of Rounder Records, according to the release. “It really feels like what I’ve spent my whole life preparing to do,” he said.
As an entertainment lawyer at the firm of Loeb & Loeb in Nashville, Strohm helped develop the careers of such artists as Bon Iver, Sturgill Simpson, Alabama Shakes, Dawes, Julien Baker and The Civil Wars, according to music industry publication Billboard.
Billboard reports that Strohm will oversee Rounder’s day-to-day operations in Nashville.
Rounder, home to such artists as Steve Martin, Bela Fleck and George Thorogood was purchased by Concord Music in 2010 and moved to Nashville from Boston in 2014.
One of 30 under 30
Hernandez D. Stroud of Huntsville, a UAB graduate, has been named to Forbes’ 2018 list of 30 Under 30 in Law and Policy.
Stroud earned a B.A in history and political science from UAB in 2010, according to a university news release. He was also a Hess-Abroms and Spencer Scholar and a student in the UAB Honors College University Honors Program.
“My UAB days, without question, helped me realize my passion, which is helping others,” Stroud said.
As a student in the honors program, Stroud said he “learned from a diverse group of faculty and students” and encountered a greater “variety of perspectives” than he had before.
“That experience made me more empathetic,” he said in the news release.
After graduating from UAB, Stroud postponed enrollment to Washington and Lee University School of Law, where he now is a visiting assistant professor, to teach at an inner-city high school in Philadelphia.
At Washington and Lee, Stroud -- the first person in his family to graduate from college -- teaches and researches civil rights, federal courts, federalism, legislation and statutory interpretation.
“Based on my formative experiences, I understood that I needed to transcend in the realm of law and policy to truly advocate to use my passion to help others, even if it’s just being an example to someone who grows in similar circumstances as my own,” Stroud said.
He also earned a master’s degree in urban education and education policy from the University of Pennsylvania and will soon clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit.