Senior Aaron Bueg named a winner of national illustration competition

This illustration by Fredonia student Aaron Bueg was one of the winning entries at the 2010 Student Scholarship Competition sponsored by the Society of Illustrators.

Aaron Bueg, a double BFA major in Graphic Design and Illustration/2D Animation from Webster, N.Y., was recently announced as one of the winners of the 2010 Student Scholarship Competition through the Society of Illustrators in New York City.

Bueg’s work will be presented at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators in Manhattan. The award ceremony and opening reception will take play Friday, May 7. His work will be exhibited May 5 through May 29 at the museum, and will also be featured in an annual catalog that is produced along with the exhibition.

Bueg entered the competition after meeting with a professional Graphic Designer and Illustrator, Jim Mattiucci, who was impressed with his illustration series done last year for a Chapter of Homer’s Iliad. After Mattiucci told him about the competition, he recommended Bueg to submit his work.

“I knew it would be a bit of a long shot,” said Bueg, “as it is a nationwide competition that a lot of extremely talented art students submit work for. The entry cost was only $5 per piece though, which is quite cheap compared to a lot of competition submissions, so I figured… what the hell?”

The Society of Illustrators has awarded more than $1.5 million to students in this unique competition, since it started in 1981. Over 5,000 entries are received for the show each year, and the jury only accepts about 100. Only two weeks after Bueg submitted his work, he was announced as one of the winners of this prestigious competition — and news traveled fast among his artistic circles.

“A past teacher of mine (at Fredonia), Lessa Rittleman, had left a post on my Facebook wall congratulating me on being a winner of the competition,” Bueg added. “I was extremely confused as to how she even knew I had submitted work, and how I could have possibly been a winner, having just submitted my work two weeks prior.”

Aaron approached Jill Johnston-Price, assistant professor of Illustration/Animation at SUNY Fredonia, approximately one week prior to the deadline for assistance with his submission. “Upon hearing the news that he was one of the winners, I was extremely proud of Aaron and notified him immediately,” said Johnston-Price. “It was amazing. I’ve known Aaron for three years and his work has always stood out as superior in our illustration area. We are lucky to have him at SUNY Fredonia.”

Johnston-Price was also excited to note that SUNY Fredonia was the only SUNY institution listed among the winning institutions.

Bueg said that he felt not only a great sense of achievement, but that it was like all of his hard work was finally paying off upon finding out he was a winner.

“I’ve seen the Society of Illustrators annuals that they printed before and the student work exhibited in them. I had always dreamt of one day being one of those students. It’s absolutely mind-boggling that the dream finally came true,” he said.

His work was one piece from a series of four images produced last spring for an animation/illustration capstone course that Johnston-Price taught.

“He is currently in an independent studio with me and attends our spring capstone class, which I believe is a positive influence on other seniors in the Illustration/Animation curriculum,” Johnston-Price said.

Bueg is active in the Visual Arts and New Media program at SUNY Fredonia. He recently collaborated with students on a street art-inspired collaborative wall piece in the Emmitt Christian Art Gallery of the Rockefeller Arts Center, which will be on display until Feb. 26. In the past, he’s had illustration work selected as one of the “Best in Show” at the 2008 SUNY Art Exhibition Series. That work was later selected for display in the Albany Airport Art Exhibition, and is still on exhibit today. Bueg is also a member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) student chapter at SUNY Fredonia.