Artist Sterling Ruby, who graduated from Art Center’s MFA program in 2005, is on one of the covers of the latest issue of Flash Art.
In an interview with João Ribas, the artist talks about how his work becomes a place where formalism and representation coexist, and how the hostile element of his work can at times overshadow its sincerity. Check out a PDF of the article courtesy of Foxy Production.
(Pictured: The Masturbators, Sterling Ruby, 9 channel video with sound)
There is a new way to support the Norm Schureman kids’ college fund—car decals featuring a sketch by Norm. Pick yours up today for a $5 minimum donation. You can find them in the Department Chairs Office, Model Shop, or arrange to pick one up by emailing Mariana Prieto at mpdc326@gmail.com.
Advertising alum Stefan Bucher talks to Sean Adams of Felt & Wire about his time at Art Center, specifically studying with Norm Schureman and the impact he had on Bucher’s work.
Bucher says: “[Schureman] taught me how to enjoy having ideas. Which opened a whole new world for me. I remember drawing the first of my hybrid animals in his class and thinking, “This is FUN! … I must be doing it wrong.” It took Norm a while to set me straight, but he did it. He also took one look at the Wart-Hen, whipped out his pen, and added that wart-covered egg.”
Happy Monday, Art Center! It’s going to be a busy week, hope you’re rested and ready for: 
It’s going to be a jam-packed week. Don’t worry—there’s still time to sneak in a nap before the fun begins!
Join us Wednesday evening for 4 Hours Solid, an evening of work and ideas from Art Center’s graduate programs. Art Center’s Art, Broadcast Cinema, Industrial Design and Media Design departments will offer four jam-packed hours of exhibitions, screenings, discussions and presentations.
The event will feature “Screen/Culture,” a panel discussion of the ubiquity of screens in our everyday lives and their impact on makers of design, art and film. Panelists include Scott Watson, chief technology officer of Walt Disney Imagineering R&D; Kevin Mack, artist and Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor of What Dreams May Come; Mackenzie Wark, chair of culture and media at Eugene Lang College and author of Gamer Theory and Hacker Manifesto; and Anne Bray, founding director of Freewaves, a global arts organization dedicated to collecting and connecting innovative and culturally relevant independent new media.
The free event will offer an array of programming throughout the evening along with food from the Flying Pig Truck, Grilled Cheese Truck and Coolhaus. Yum! Find out more at the 4 Hours Solid Facebook page. See you there!
4 Hours Solid
Wednesday, April 21, 6-10 pm
South Campus
As you know, there’s always something going on when it comes to Art Center alumni, students and faculty. Some of the latest:
(Image: The Secret Life of a Rustling Brush by Edwin Ushiro)
Film student Francis Pollara, along with fellow students Saman Keshavarz, Y-C Tom Lee and Romson Niega, recently won a College Television Emmy Award for a commercial they produced. “Trigger Happy” is a spot about friends playing freeze tag with cameras, filmed at Hillside Campus.
Pollara also won best music video award at South by Southwest last month for his work producing the band Cinnamon Chaser’s “Luv Deluxe” music video. The video wasn’t even submitted for South by Southwest; instead festival organizers asked for it to be submitted after seeing it online.
Read more about Pollara in the La Cañada Valley Sun: Prodigal son takes home two awards, and watch the commercial below. Congrats on a job well done!
Pimp My Ad poster
If you’ve walked through Art Center recently, chances are you’ve seen posters for Pimp My Ad.
The first poster that caught the Dotted Line’s attention was designed by second-term Advertising major Chris Gilbert and was a visual nod to William Bernbach’s classic 1959 Volkswagen ad campaign.
Printed on larger stock than most anything else adorning the College’s hallways, the poster featured a black-and-white photograph of, well, a “pimp hat,” paired with copy about a campus group whose existence was no longer a mystery.
Pimp My Ad, which borrows its name from MTV’s popular car customization show Pimp My Ride, is a weekly art direction workshop in which Advertising majors have their work critiqued informally by Advertising Department Acting Chair James Wojtowicz, guest speakers like Art Center Advertising alumnus Zhorab Gevorkian and, most importantly, their academic peers. Continue reading
Art Center’s Saturday High program is collaborating with the Los Angeles Education Partnership’s Humanitas program in support of a student arts festival this Friday, April 16, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown L.A.
The Humanitas Arts Festival, developed in conjunction with the Los Angeles Opera’s Ring Festival LA, brings 270 students from nine Los Angeles schools into direct collaboration with local artists. The students created work engaging in an interdisciplinary, arts-integrated exploration of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, including contemporary responses to Wagner’s work in mediums ranging from film to fashion to fine art.
Saturday High instructors worked with fashion students at Downtown Magnets High School and photography students at Fremont High School for the event. Fashion students responded to Wagner’s classic opera by designing, and with the help of a seamstress, sewing outfits reflecting themes from the classic opera. Other students documented their lives by taking photographs reflecting personal struggles with friendship, love, betrayal and identity. These creative pieces, well as work from more than 200 other students, will be exhibited April 16. The event is free and open to the public, with a suggested donation of $5.
Humanitas Arts Festival
Friday, April 16, 6-9 pm
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles
213.622.5237
Great news: Art Center’s website has been selected as an Official Honoree for the 2010 Webby Awards in the School/University category!
Out of the nearly 10,000 entries submitted to the 14th Annual Webby Awards, less than 15% are awarded the status of Official Honorees.
Established in 1996 during the Web’s infancy, the Webbys are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, which includes an executive 750-member body of leading Web experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries and creative celebrities, and Associate Members who are former Webby Award Winners and Nominees and other Internet professionals.
We’re so excited about this huge honor. Thanks to all students, staff and faculty who helped create our new site—we couldn’t have done this without you!