Monthly Archives: January 2012

Come Hear Artist Jeff Wall Speak

Tuesday, January 17, 7:30 pm, L.A. Times Media Center

Vancouver-based artist, Jeff Wall (b. 1946), widely recognized for both his pioneering photography and his trenchant writing on the medium and its place in contemporary art, will be speaking at Art Center Tuesday, January 17 at 7:30 pm in the L. A. Times Media Center. The event, sponsored by the Graduate Art program, is open to the entire Art Center community.

Wall has exhibited regularly at the Marian Goodman Gallery in New York since 1989, and he has been the subject of numerous museum shows, including a comprehensive 2005 European survey, “Jeff Wall, Photographs 1978-2004,” which opened at the Schaulager Museum, Basel, Switzerland, before traveling in a reduced version to London’s Tate Modern as “Photographs 1978-2004.” “Jeff Wall,” a retrospective organized by New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the San Francisco Museum of Art, opened two years later, in 2007, and subsequently traveled to The Art Institute of Chicago. To mark the occasion, MoMA published “Jeff Wall: Selected Essays and Interviews,” a collection bringing together 25 years of the artist’s words. This past summer, the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, mounted an exhibition entitled “Jeff Wall: The Crooked Path,” a selection of his own work together with that of a broad range of artists with whom he has felt affinities.

Wall earned his Masters of Arts at the University of British Columbia, where he graduated in 1970 with a thesis entitled: “Berlin Dada and the Notion of Context”. He subsequently traveled to London in pursuit of his doctorate at The Courtland Institute (1970-73), where he studied with noted art historian T.J. Clark. Returning to Canada, Wall served as assistant professor at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (1974-5), and at Simon Frasier University (1976-87), and went on to lecture at the University of British Columbia.

A galvanizing figure in the Canadian art world since the early 1970s, Wall has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement (2008). In 2006 Wall was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and named an Officer of the Order of Canada the following year.

WORLDS Exhibition Extended

If you haven’t had a chance to view WORLDS, currently showing at the Williamson Gallery, you are in luck. The exhibition has been extended through January 29, 2012.

Galileo Spacecraft IO, Satellite of Jupiter, 1999, NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

WORLDS continues the theme of superimposing two domains traditionally imagined to be distant and estranged—art and science. The exhibition is a medley of objects, images, sounds and videos exploring celestial phenomena by examining the products of art and science.

Meteor rocks borrowed from UCLA’s Meteorite Collection, an illuminated manuscript from 1568, a Copernicus engraving and other scientific works (many borrowed from the rare books collection of the Huntington Library) are on display alongside more contemporary space-themed art by Jonathan Cecil, Richard Selesnick and Nicholas Kahn.

In the Los Angeles Times, WORLDS curator and Williamson director Stephen Nowlin explained the purpose of the exhibition, “We have an Earth focus. This show is about reinvestigating that perspective. It’s a space object we live on.”

According to Nowlin, exhibitions like WORLDS fit well with Art Center’s mission because the College trains artists and designers who innovate “at the boundary of art and science.”

The gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. and Friday, noon to 9 p.m.

Richard Selesnick and Nicholas Kahn Liftoff, from the "Apollo Prophecies" series, 2002-06. Courtesy: the artists

Just call him Stan: Art Center at Night’s Stan Kong

Instructor Stan Kong reviews his students' work. Photo: Four Eyes Photography

“I hate being called ‘Mr. Kong’ because that puts a barrier between you and me,” says Art Center at Night (ACN) instructor Stan Kong, who’s teaching Sketching for Designers, among other courses, for the upcoming Spring 2012 term. “And I don’t think there should be any barriers.”

For Stan, who graduated from Art Center in 1983 and created ACN’s very first Introduction to Product and Transportation Design course shortly thereafter, removing barriers isn’t about becoming best friends with his students; it’s about facilitating honest communication in order to meet their needs. “A lot of what I do in the classroom is getting the students to talk about themselves,” says Stan. “If somebody were to ask a student of mine what they learned from me, I’d be totally disappointed if they answered ‘how to design a product’ or ‘how to draw.’ The best answer would be, ‘I learned to care about myself and about the world. I learned that I could go out there and achieve and make this world a better place.’”

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In Case You Missed It

As we return from break we thought it would be a good time to check in on what is going on with Art Center alumni, students and faculty.

The Williamson Gallery’s current exhibition, Worlds was featured in The Los Angeles Times. Haven’t seen it yet? You’re in luck. The exhibition has been extended through January 29, 2012.

Art Center was well represented in the December issue of THE Pasadena Foothills Magazine. The magazine’s cover story, 50 Creative People 2011, featured President Lorne Buchman and recognized faculty and staff members Mariana Amatullo, Dan Gottlieb, Penny Herscovitch, Karen Hofmann, Stephen Nowlin and Geoff Wardle; student Holly Wren Hofgaarden; and alumni Edgar Arceneaux, Dan Goods and Steve Roden. The issue can be read here.

Student Maria Meehan received a 2011 Bill Bernbach Scholarship, earning herself $5,000 to put towards tuition. The scholarships are made possible through the Bill Bernbach Diversity Scholarship Fund, established in 1998 by DDB Worldwide to provide financial assistance to creatively talented, culturally diverse students seeking an education in copywriting, art direction and design.

Jayne Vidheecharoen demonstrating her Portals project

Media Design student Jayne Vidheecharoen, whom we’ve covered previously,  is still creating an Internet buzz around her Portals alternate reality project, funded by Kickstarter. We found her project covered here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Transportation Design Chair Stewart Reed participated as a jury member for The Michelin Challenge Design. The jury made final selections based on the theme, “City 2046: Art, Life and Ingenuity.” More than 200 projects, submitted by more than 1,700 registrants representing 88 countries, were reviewed. The jury selected the work of 27 participants for display at the 2012 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.

Alumnus Christopher Chapman, formerly with BMW, was hired as chief designer of the Hyundai Design Center in Irvine, California.

Alumnus Eric Tu, co-founder and creative talent curator at F360, a studio with offices in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, was interviewed by Studio Daily.

Alumnus Matt Cunningham’s role as designer of the interior train car shots for the thriller “Source Code” was explored in the Aiken Standard.

Spring 2012 Orientation Week Welcomes New Students

This week, Art Center officially welcomes the Spring 2012 incoming class with a number of orientation activities, which is organized by Art Center’s Center for the Student Experience to help students get the most out of their education, both inside and outside the classroom.

Dean of Students Jeffrey Hoffman, says, “New student orientation sets the stage for the success of our students during their time at Art Center. As the first few weeks of college set the tone for their experience, helping students feel connected to each other and the College is critical.”

Students relax on the lawn before the Spring 2012 term officially begins.

Tuesday, January 10
Art Center President Lorne Buchman, Dean of Students Jeffrey Hoffman and Admissions Vice President Kit Baron welcome our new students before they head off to campus tours and lunch with their peer mentors.

Wednesday, January 11
On Wednesday morning, we have a special orientation program for our international students and a financial literacy seminar for those domestic students receiving state and federal aid. In the afternoon, a round of sessions take place for all students to learn about everything from campus sustainability to educational technology to campus safety and more.

Thursday, January 12
After learning about the services provided by our Career Development and Alumni Relations offices, an exciting panel discussion takes place with our current students. Current students will give the inside scoop on all things Art Center to help incoming students get involved, stay engaged and find support. Next, our Provost gives a lesson on the famous Art Center critique! Following lunch, the afternoon is all about registration and the library, with a special peer mentor activity planned just for fun.

Friday, January 13
On Friday, we welcome parents, spouses, partners and other family members to an informal breakfast hosted by Legacy Circle. Then, family members get an orientation of their very own while students meet with their Department Chairs. Orientation concludes with an optional tour of Pasadena to explore the city we call home.

Reminder
Classes officially begin Saturday, January 14. We wish everyone a happy start of term!