Richard J. Navin (1934–2006) was a professor in the Art Department of various universities and was also an artist. He worked out of his art studio in Long Island City creating sculptures and creating translucent pieces. He is most famous for his sculpture, the Myceanae Circle which was on display at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. He was well known for developing computer art programs to educate inner city children in Brooklyn.

Early career

Richard J. Navin was born and raised in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He attended college at Notre Dame and also graduated with an M.F.A in Design. At age 30 he moved from Chicago to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where he became a faculty member at St. John's University for 2 years, before moving to

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

. At Brooklyn College he received a tenured position in the Art Department where he remained a faculty member for over 30 years. He also lived in Kuesnacht,

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, for many years where he studied

Jungian psychology Analytical psychology (, sometimes translated as analytic psychology; also Jungian analysis) is a term referring to the psychological practices of Carl Jung. It was designed to distinguish it from Freud's psychoanalytic theories as their s ...

and became a proponent of the Bauhaus theory of minimalist art design.

Art career

In the 1970s Navin opened an art studio in

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brook ...

where he spent most of his time creating sculptures and pioneered the use of resins and lights to create translucent sculpture pieces. He is most famous for his sculpture, ''the Myceanae Circle'' which was on display at the

Guggenheim Museum The Guggenheim Museums are a group of museums in different parts of the world established (or proposed to be established) by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Museums in this group include: * The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Ne ...

in New York City, on the first floor along with a number of additional sculptures. He published a book on his sculpture work which featured many photographs o
the Myceanae Circle
and his other pieces. Navin also exhibited his sculptures at the

Whitney Museum The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

, United Nations and many hospitals in the Greater New York area.

Grants, awards and mentoring

Richard received many grants and awards for pioneering the use of computers in artwork and design. He set up the Digital Media Center, which was a computer lab that gave students of Brooklyn College access to high-end equipment and software to construct 3D imaging and video projects. Navin was well known for developing computer art programs to educate inner city children in Brooklyn. He frequently presented his work at the international computer meetings

SIGGRAPH SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques) is an annual conference centered around computer graphics organized by ACM, starting in 1974 in Boulder, CO. The main conference has always been held in North ...

and

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, where he often gave lectures on education.College Art Biography
Richard Navin, Professor of Art, Brooklyn College, Member ACM-SIGGRAPH He mentored many graduate students at Brooklyn College and was well known for his love of academia and education.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Navin, Richard American artists 2006 deaths 1934 births Brooklyn College faculty