Author Archives: admin

Sustainable solutions: by bike, on a plane or by hand

Pop quiz:

What do the following design concepts have in common: a streamlined re-design of in-flight meal preparation and service that reduces air-travel waste; a bicycle for tourists that collects environmental data as cyclists explore the city; and a human-powered washing machine and spin dryer for families living on $4 to $10 per day?

a. They were all designed by Art Center students.
b. They reflect the growing awareness of sustainability within art and design.
c. They are the winning concepts of the 2012 Denhart Family Sustainability Scholarship Prize.
d. All of the above

Too easy? The answer (d) shouldn’t surprise anyone who is familiar with the cutting-edge role Art Center students are playing in environmentally and socially responsible art and design. This year’s Denhart Prize winners, chosen from a highly competitive pool of undergraduates from Fine Art, Film, Photography, Illustration, and Industrial and Environmental Design, represent some of the year’s top design ideas in sustainability at Art Center.

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Explore ‘Spaces In-Between’ before Sunday

“Spaces In-Between,” an interactive exhibition organized by Media Design Practices faculty member Sean Donahue, will close Sunday.

The exhibition, on display at the Hollywood WUHO project space, is a series of apparatus, temporaries, places, spaces and conversations intended to advance broader participation in community discourse.

“It’s these in-between spaces that my practice aspires to intervene and explore different trajectories,” Donahue told KCET of the project.

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Art Center to host student-only film festival

On March 16, Art Center will host the first annual Dot Independent Film Festival, which will screen and award student projects from around the world.

“There’s no other film festival that only caters to students,” says Kevin Wansa, a film student who coordinated the event along with fellow film student Mike Reyes and faculty member Andrew Harlow.

DIFF will award films in several different categories including narrative short, documentary, music video, and commercial and PSA. The festival is also about forming collaborative relationships across schools and communities.

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Trustee-produced ‘Red Tails’ wins motion picture prize at NAACP’s Image Awards

The action-adventure World War II film “Red Tails” won the prize for best motion picture at the NAACP’s Image Awards.

The high-flying feature, produced by George Lucas and Art Center Trustee Charles Floyd Johnson, was inspired by the heroics of America’s first all African-American aerial unit.

“Look, I beat Quentin Tarantino,” joked the Star Wars creator upon accepting the award (Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” was also up for the honor).

Lucas choked up while thanking the Tuskeegee Airmen, whose story is chronicled in the film.

The 44th NAACP Image Awards, hosted by talk show host Steve Harvey, were held Friday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

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Photographer Mona Kuhn reveals her body of work

Brazilian-born photographer Mona Kuhn’s disarming nude portraits aim to redefine ways of looking at the body.

“It’s the idea of totally disrobing your status symbols, where by being naked you’re just like the other person,” she recently told New York Magazine. “You don’t have a watch to compare, you don’t have the latest trendy jeans, and you don’t have the latest shoes.”

Kuhn will discuss her past and current work during a lecture Friday at 7 p.m. at Hillside’s L.A. Times Auditorium. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be followed by a book signing.

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Font support for Art Center students, from Arcadia to Zeitgeist

As any graphic design student will tell you, the cost of quality fonts can really add up during the course of one’s studies. But thanks to a recent forward-looking gift from Monotype, Art Center students will soon be relieved of this major expense. Beginning this year the global provider of typeface solutions is providing all full- and part-time students enrolled at the College with free access to and use of 58 desktop fonts in a “Student Font Pack” as well as the company’s complete slate of web fonts — from Arcadia to Zeitgeist.

The commitment, valued at approximately $3.7 million, is the second largest in-kind gift in the College’s history.

According to Nik Hafermaas, Graphic Design department chair, the gift will have a significant impact on Art Center student work. “Using quality fonts is a key to successful graphic design,” he explains. “Their expense can limit creative exploration. On behalf of the Graphic Design department I’m extremely grateful to Monotype providing this opportunity to Art Center’s next generation of artists and designers.”

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Art Center to offer free digital media workshops

This term, Art Center will again offer a series of free, noncredit digital media workshops dedicated to editing, designing and coding. The six-hour courses, taught by Art Center instructors, are open to degree-enrolled day students, and (space permitting) staff and faculty on a first-come, first-seated basis. No reservations required.

All classes take place at the Hillside Campus in room 144 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., unless otherwise noted.

Here’s the lineup through Febuary:

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Welcome our new Advertising instructors

This term, Art Center’s Advertising Department welcomes five industry leaders whose clients include Chevy, Burger King, eBay and Google.

The first is Javier Torok, who has done some of the most acclaimed work, at some of the most highly regarded agencies over the past several years, including Crispin Porter Bogusky, Goodby Silverstein & Partners and RGA.

His revolutionary work for the launch of the Chevy Sonic at Goodby earned him a One Show Gold, a One Show Silver and a Bronze Lion at Cannes in 2012.

A graduate of Art Center (photography) and Miami Ad School (advertising), Javier brings a diverse and contemporary perspective to his work. Javier will be teaching Ad Lab 3, an 8th term required class, and will be helping you push your work to the edge during the crucial, final phase of our program.

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Art Center to host Kickstarter workshop

Students and alums can learn more about the relationship between Art Center and Kickstarter, including Art Center’s curated page.

Kickstarter’s Art Program Director Stephanie Pereira will host a workshop at Hillside campus Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. to discuss the power of Kickstarter and best practices to reach your funding goals.

An alumni reception will follow. RSVP by Feb. 4 to alumni@artcenter.edu.

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Alum Dan Goods to speak at youth-focused TEDx


TEDx will host a daylong creative conference Feb. 10 for Southern Californian youth ages 14 to 19.

Dubbed TEDxYouth@Hollywood, presenters include visual strategist for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and alum Dan Goods, who has drilled a hole into a grain of sand and recast Jupiter’s storms as art.

A half dozen presenters will speak at the inaugural event, which will focus on the inspirational theme of “jumping.”

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