Monthly Archives: October 2009

Big Picture Lecture Series: Richard Meyer

Don’t miss Monday’s Big Picture Lecture Series featuring Richard Meyer.

Meyer’s work has appeared in a variety of venues, ranging from art journals and museum publications to anthologies of lesbian and gay theory and literary criticism. He is author of Outlaw Representation: Censorship and Homosexuality in Twentieth-Century American Art, and is currently working on a book titled What Was Contemporary Art? Meyer is associate professor of art history and fine art at USC.

Big Picture Lecture Series:
Richard Meyer
Monday, November 2, 1 pm
Ahmanson Auditorium

Through the Eyes of an Alumnus

The Pasadena Museum of California Art (PMCA) presents Population: Portraits by Ray Turner, an exhibition of 150 portraits by the Art Center alumnus and former faculty member.

Turner ILLU ’58 fashions a uniquely seductive and engaging fusion of lyrical realism and abstraction in portraiture. A prescient interpreter, Population features intimate portraits of Pasadena residents.

The exhibit runs through Jan. 31. Read more about the exhibit at artdaily.org.

Under Canstruction

It’s that time of year again—canned food drive time. You’ve seen them and donated to them, too. But you’ve probably never seen a canned food drive quite like this one.

The fourth annual Canstruction LA will be held from Oct. 30 through Nov. 15 at 5900 Wilshire Blvd., located across the street from LACMA. Organized by a collaboration of design industry leaders and AIA Los Angeles, Canstruction LA invites teams of prominent Los Angeles architects, engineers and designers to create exciting exhibits made entirely of cans of food.

Exhibits are on view to the public and awarded prizes by a panel of judges. Art Center’s Randall Wilson, Environmental Design instructor, is a judge this year.

Check out the Canstruction LA site for information, photos and video of the event.

Designmatters Project Creates Solar Water Distiller

 Adjunct professor Tony Luna writes on the Designmatters blog about the Agua Pura project, which tackled the problem of finding clean water in Guatemala.

The project arose from a joint class, Product Design for the Developing World, participated in by students from Art Center, Caltech and Universidad Rafael Landivar in Guatemala. The goal was to create useful products for populations that make less than two dollars a day.

Luna explains: “What transpired over approximately the next ten months was truly amazing as our four students, together with their Landivar University counterparts, took the most basic low-tech concepts, built prototypes, did field studies and tests, and refined the products. Most importantly, they learned from each other.”

Read more about this exciting project on the Designmatters blog.

What Makes You Happy?

Balance = happy = creative = productive. Or so says creative director Joe Duffy (and we must admit that we agree!)

Duffy writes: “We need inspiration to continue to stretch and truly reach our creative potential. I don’t believe that inspiration is sufficiently served up in even the most compelling office environments, nor among the most creative cultures. So we need to get out of the office. Design how you’re going to work. Dial it into the rest of your life and vice versa. Be purposeful about what you do, where you are, where you really need to be in order to be happy and productive.”

Check out his great posting today at Fast Company: A Plea to All Creatives: Stop Going to Work

Big Picture Lecture Series: Marc Barasch

Don’t miss Monday’s Big Picture Lecture Series featuring Marc Barasch, founder of the Green World Campaign.

Barasch is an activist, thinker and meditator whose bestselling books speak eloquently about wholeness, including The Compassionate Life, Healing Dreams, Remarkable Recovery, and the award-winning classic, The Healing Path. Barasch has also worked in television and radio, writing and producing the Emmy-winning One Child, One Voice for TBS and serving as an original producer of NPR’s E-Town.

Big Picture Lecture Series:
Marc Barasch
Monday, October 26, 1 pm
Ahmanson Auditorium

2009 BMW 750i: Returning to its Spiritual Home

Edmunds.com editor Kelly Toepke recently visited campus, bringing along the new 2009 BMW 750i for Transportation Design students and faculty to examine.

Toepke writes: “Of all the cars in the Inside Line fleet, the 2009 BMW 750i seemed the most logical, given that the last two BMW design chiefs were Art Center graduates: Chris Bangle (’81) and current head of design Adrian van Hooydonk (’92). (Maybe this was why there was a reserved, curbside parking spot for me when I arrived?)”

Read more about Toepke’s visit, and see photos of the BMW 750i: 2009 BMW 750i: Returning to its Spiritual Home

Opening Reception for TOOLS

The Art Center community is invited to attend tonight’s opening reception for TOOLS at the Williamson Gallery. The reception will take place tonight, Oct. 22, in the Williamson Gallery from 7 to 9 pm.

For millennia, tools have transcended biological limits, playing a role in human physical and cultural evolution. TOOLS explores this theme by mixing art with artifacts from natural history and science. TOOLS is a part of ORIGINS: Art & Ideas 2009, the fifth in a series of theme-based collaborations among Pasadena arts and sciences organizations.

(Pictured: Untitled Self Portrait, 2007 by Tom LaDuke)

An Evening with Matthew Rolston

We’re super excited to welcome acclaimed photographer, director and alumnus Matthew Rolston to campus on Oct. 29 for a conversation with celebrity journalist Merle Ginsberg.

Widely recognized as one of the leading photographers and directors of his generation, Rolston’s imagery has helped define today’s aesthetics of celebrity and beauty photography. In 1998, he endowed the Matthew Rolston Scholarship for Photography and Film, and in 2008 he renewed his support for the scholarship, adding the very special privilege of serving as a mentor to recipients.

Join us for a lively evening of conversation, imager and a unique viewing of his latest book, beautyLIGHT.

Seating is extremely limited for this event, and reservations are required to attend. RSVP by Oct. 27 to rsvpaccd@artcenter.edu or 626.396.4327.