Frank Cossa

"The college has been very good at allowing me a very wide range, in accepting not only scholarly historical research, but creative work as well," Cossa says.

Cossa plans to research the portrayal of female artists on film. He is interested in the depiction of Frida Kahlo, Pan Yulian, Camille Claudel, and Artimesia. He is particularly interested in the problems female artists have encountered during their careers.

Cossa began playwrighting in high school and his plays have run in regional theaters throughout the United States. "The Expert," a play that was converted into a short film, won a short subject award for comedy at the 1998 Worldfest Film Festival in Houston. "The Queen's Knight" won the Mildred and Albert Panowski Playwrighting Award in 1987. Among the organizations that have presented his plays are New York's American Theatre of Actors, Charleston Repertory Theatre for the 1992 Piccolo Spoleto Festival, and Common Ground Theatre in New York. He has written about a dozen plays in his career and his films continue to appear on the film circuit. Cossa has other film projects in mind, and is currently seeking funding sources.

Cossa has mostly recently written fictional short stories, but began by publishing novels. His short story, "Cloud Shadows," was a finalist for the Short Story Awards for Writers and was published in an Irish anthology in 2000. He has since written four or five more short stories.

For the 25th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, Cossa wrote an essay about photojournalism of the war and its influence on public opinion. This essay was originally published at College of Charleston and later made its way to the Internet. He was interviewed last spring on National Public Radio about the Iraqi prison photographs and how they differed from Vietnam photographs. He has also been published in "Eighteenth Century Life," "The Shakespeare Quarterly," and "Shakespeare Bulletin."

Cossa has been a professor at College of Charleston for 20 years. He currently teaches six art history classes, which cover prehistoric times through the mid-nineteenth century. In addition, he teaches two upper level courses in film art and camera and the visual perspective. Cossa says his long stay at College of Charleston can be attributed to the plethora of opportunities that the college has given to him. They have allowed him to shape new majors and offer film classes that were previously unavailable. "I do research that interests me, I've never really been driven by getting tenure or promotion," he says. "I've always done the research that I've wanted to do and hope people would except it."

As an undergraduate, Cossa majored in theater at Syracuse University and City University of New York. He earned two graduate degrees at Rutgers University. In Cossa's free time he plays tennis, watches sports, and keeps up with films. He frequents museums, theaters, and galleries and usually spends his summer in New York or Europe. This summer he will be teaching a Maymester course in London and hopes to study Italian Fascism on film at the American Academy in Rome.

###
Back to Featured Faculty

FOCUS ON THE FACULTY
PLAYS AND FILMS (INCLUDING HIS OWN) DRIVE ART HISTORY PROFESSOR
*By Grace LeSueur*
Frank Cossa Art History	When Frank Cossa began his artistic career, he envisioned himself as a playwright. He soon discovered that art history better fit him, so he pursued a teaching career. Since then, Cossa has found a way to be successful in all of his areas of interest, having won awards as a playwright and filmmaker and as a published short story writer and poet. Cossa's research has focused on art historical topics, such as filmmakers. He also analyzes the depiction of artists on film. He has written essays on Stanley Kubrick, who is recognized for such films as "A Clockwork Orange," "Full Metal Jacket," and "The Shining." Kubrick was known for the many genres he tackled and for his sometimes controversial films. He has also studied Peter Weir, who is a screenwriter, director, producer, and sometimes actor. Weir has been involved in "The Truman Show," "Master and Commander," and "Dead Poet's Society." Cossa has also researched George Lucas, whose most acclaimed works are the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" movies. Michael Haga, School of the Arts Program Coordinator and Art History professor, says, "Dr. Cossa has presented numerous papers and lectures during his academic career at venues and for groups, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Southeast American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies, and the Southeastern College Art Conference. He has also studied the prints of Piranesi and themes in French cinema.
"The college has been very good at allowing me a very wide range, in accepting not only scholarly historical research, but creative work as well," Cossa says. Cossa plans to research the portrayal of female artists on film. He is interested in the depiction of Frida Kahlo, Pan Yulian, Camille Claudel, and Artimesia. He is particularly interested in the problems female artists have encountered during their careers. Cossa began playwrighting in high school and his plays have run in regional theaters throughout the United States. "The Expert," a play that was converted into a short film, won a short subject award for comedy at the 1998 Worldfest Film Festival in Houston. "The Queen's Knight" won the Mildred and Albert Panowski Playwrighting Award in 1987. Among the organizations that have presented his plays are New York's American Theatre of Actors, Charleston Repertory Theatre for the 1992 Piccolo Spoleto Festival, and Common Ground Theatre in New York. He has written about a dozen plays in his career and his films continue to appear on the film circuit. Cossa has other film projects in mind, and is currently seeking funding sources. Cossa has mostly recently written fictional short stories, but began by publishing novels. His short story, "Cloud Shadows," was a finalist for the Short Story Awards for Writers and was published in an Irish anthology in 2000. He has since written four or five more short stories. For the 25th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, Cossa wrote an essay about photojournalism of the war and its influence on public opinion. This essay was originally published at College of Charleston and later made its way to the Internet. He was interviewed last spring on National Public Radio about the Iraqi prison photographs and how they differed from Vietnam photographs. He has also been published in "Eighteenth Century Life," "The Shakespeare Quarterly," and "Shakespeare Bulletin." Cossa has been a professor at College of Charleston for 20 years. He currently teaches six art history classes, which cover prehistoric times through the mid-nineteenth century. In addition, he teaches two upper level courses in film art and camera and the visual perspective. Cossa says his long stay at College of Charleston can be attributed to the plethora of opportunities that the college has given to him. They have allowed him to shape new majors and offer film classes that were previously unavailable. "I do research that interests me, I've never really been driven by getting tenure or promotion," he says. "I've always done the research that I've wanted to do and hope people would except it." As an undergraduate, Cossa majored in theater at Syracuse University and City University of New York. He earned two graduate degrees at Rutgers University. In Cossa's free time he plays tennis, watches sports, and keeps up with films. He frequents museums, theaters, and galleries and usually spends his summer in New York or Europe. This summer he will be teaching a Maymester course in London and hopes to study Italian Fascism on film at the American Academy in Rome. ### Back to Featured Faculty