Artist-in-Residence at Emory

Rossin spent 2017-2018 at Emory University as the Donna and Marvin Schwartz Artist in Residence through the Ethics and the Arts Program at the Center for Ethics. The Ethics and the Arts Program is committed to inspiring innovative thought by using creative expression to elevate moral discourse while bringing together communities while prompting ethical dialogue among students, artists, scholars, and the general public. Visit Ross Rossin’s site at https://rossinartstudio.com/

200^th Anniversary of Frankenstein

On the occasion of the bicentennial anniversary of the monumental novel, ‘Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus,’ Rossin created his own view of this timeless figure. Published in 1818 by 19 year-old Mary Shelley, Frankenstein continues to shape debates surrounding science and its complications. This tale is now a permanent part of global contemporary pop culture. Countless films have been made about Victor Frankenstein and his creation. But most of these depictions stray far from the image of the creation portrayed in Shelley’s work . . . until now.

About the Artist

Rossin has established his reputation as one of the world’s leading artists. The Bulgarian-born American and his family relocated to the United States in 2001. Throughout the 1990’s Rossin traveled extensively around the world, exhibiting and working on commissions. Rossin has four portraits in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC: Ambassador Andrew Young, baseball legend Hank Aaron, famed actor Morgan Freeman and legendary poet and civil rights leader Dr. Maya Angelou. In 2015, a US Forever Stamp was unveiled in Washington, DC featuring Rossin’s image of Angelou. Rossin has created exhibitions for governments in numerous world capitals.

Turner Classic Movies (TCM)

TCM is the exclusive corporate sponsor of the Frankenstein Anniversary Celebration at Emory (FACE) and a corporate partner of the Ethics & the Arts Program. TCM’s fall Frankenstein 200^th anniversary programming includes a series of videos they produced about the portrait. Frankenstein’s Creation – Making of the Portrait documents Rossin’s creative process to generate this new image. The other video highlights the public unveiling event at Emory University.

Ross Rossin on Mary Shelley’s Creation

“It is precisely Mary Shelley’s youth that inspired me to approach my subject differently. Unlike all other portrayals before, I prefer to see the Creature as a young man. Victor Frankenstein intended to create something beautiful, young, powerful and promising, like Prometheus. The Creature was supposed to have a future, open a new chapter in human history.”