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Spring appeal springs ahead: Total giving jumps 330%

Karen Hofmann, chair of the Product Design department.

The results are in from the Art Center 2012 Annual Fund spring fundraising appeal, and the numbers are impressive indeed. The Fund, which provides critical support for the College’s most immediate needs and initiatives, saw a surge in support from alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and other friends.

Total giving jumped a whopping 330 percent over last year, and overall participation was up 42 percent.

Why the sudden (and deeply appreciated) increase? Kristine Bowne, Art Center alumni relations director, and Karen Hofmann, chair of the Product Design department, offered their thoughts.

Art Center: Kristine, what are alumni telling you about their increased interest in supporting their alma mater?

Kristine Bowne: Many alumni are telling me they feel good about the direction of the College. They also feel more connected. We’ve made an effort to rebuild lines of communication between them and the president, and I think they are excited about the thoughtful way they’ve been involved in planning Art Center’s future.

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WATCH: Art Center President Lorne Buchman talks conscious design

Bill Gross, CEO, Idealab in conversation with Lorne Buchman, President, Art Center College of Design from Ted Habte-Gabr on Vimeo.

What defines innovation? Art Center College of Design President Lorne Buchman and Idealab CEO and Art Center Trustee Bill Gross describe it through frugal, real-world projects that make the planet a better place.

During a recent Live Talks Business Forum, Buchman and Gross discussed works-in-progress highlighting Gross’ Idealab, a Pasadena-based think tank for startups.

Through Idealab, Gross created WorldHaus, which manufactures eco-friendly, modular housing in more rural parts of India starting at $2,000.

Gross said his for-profit company has the goal of adding 200 homes in India this year and increasing that number to 1 million houses by decade’s end.

Buchman talked about Art Center’s Designmatters program, which allows students to design for communities in developing countries including India.

Just a warning: The 50-minute video has some static, but the ideas are solid.

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Driverless car gets green light in California

Google's self-driving car and the technology to power it.

Commuters could soon be sharing the road with self-driving cars: Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Tuesday that would allow the vehicles to be tested and operated on California roads.

“We are looking at science fiction becoming reality in a self-driving car,” Brown said during a ceremony at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.

Caltech, Google and other companies have been developing the cars, which use radar, video cameras and lasers to navigate freeways sans human input. (The legislation, S. 1298, requires a licensed driver to be at the wheel in case something goes wrong.)

L.A. artists turn Carmageddon into Artmageddon

With the second coming of Carmageddon set for Saturday and Sunday, a grass-roots effort has been timed to offer Angelenos a reprieve from the freeways.

More than 100 artists, arts organizations, advocacy groups and community partners have teamed up to launch Artmageddon, a two-day event featuring art and performance through 16 neighborhoods in Los Angeles County.

With the tagline “Less Car. More Art,” the group recently launched Artmageddonla.com, an online database that allows users to search thousands of nearby events and offers directions by foot, bike and train.

The events — which include visual, performing and media arts — aren’t necessarily themed for Carmageddon 2, but some galleries and museums will extend hours or host special receptions.

So far, nearly 20 events will be spread out across Pasadena this weekend. Here are a few highlights from different corners of arts and culture.

WATCH: Should art be profitable? Shepard Fairey says yes


Los Angeles street artist Shepard Fairey recently visited Art Center to discuss the art of profiting off his pieces — something critics have accused him of doing too well.

Fairey narrated a 22-minute show focused mostly on his personal rather than commercial works, including his first “Obey” sticker of Andre the Giant, as part of the Graphic Design Department’s 3×3 lecture series featuring Creative Entrepreneurs.

The stencil with Andre’s weight and height Fairey created after his freshman year of college is a far cry from the Obey propaganda-style street art (and fashion line) that was to come.

“I was making posters of things I cared about, criticizing capitalism while selling stuff to people,” he said. “Scrutizing capitalism is the less hypocritical way of putting it.”

Fairey, who says he’s a proponent of socially conscious capitalism, shared his career low points, including a screen printing business that went belly up and his much publicized and legally contested “Hope” poster of Barack Obama.

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Art Center gears up for Car Classic ’12

Top transportation designers, car collectors and auto enthusiasts merge minds Sunday, Oct. 21 at the annual Art Center Car Classic.

Held at the Hillside campus, this year’s theme “Inspired Design” will showcase a highly curated field of rare automobiles, surprising classics and innovative vehicles from the 1930s to present that served as inspirations for Art Center alums around the world.

Special guests include Ron Hill, Art Center alum and former Chair of the Transportation Design Department, who counts Corvettes, Camaros and Cadillacs among his designs.

Auto aficionados Dave Kunz, KABC automotive reporter; Barry Meguiar, host of Speed Channel’s Motor Trend; and Ed Justice Jr., co-host of Motor Trend radio, will serve as emcees.

Impromptu interviews with transportation designers and car collectors called “Stories Behind the Design” will be broadcast during the event. Patrons can also tour Art Center’s design studios, rapid prototyping facilities and galleries.

The event is free for students, faculty, staff; $35 for their guests; and $35 for alumni. General admission is $55 online, $65 at the door.

Art Center Car Classic
When: Sunday, Oct. 21, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Art Center College of Design, Hillside Campus, 1700 Lida St., Pasadena
Info: artcenter.edu/carclassic

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Fine arts photographer Pedro Guerrero dies at 95

Self portrait, Manhattan studio, 1950. (c) Pedro E. Guerrero

Pedro E. Guerrero, a former Art Center student who photographed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, died Thursday at his home in Florence, Ariz. He was 95.

Guerrero had battled cancer for several years.

Upon hearing the news of his passing, Dennis Keeley, Chair of Art Center’s Photography department, said, “He was a remarkably kind and generous man who represented the highest qualities of professional excellence that we hope for all our students.”

Guerrero photographed Wright and his buildings from 1939 until Wright’s death in 1950. Guerrero’s 1994 book, “Picturing Wright: An Album from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Photographer,” features 150 photographs captured during the artist’s 20-year relationship with the famed architect.

Guerrero also turned his lens on other artists, including sculptors Alexander Calder and Louise Nevelson; architects Marcel Breuer, Eero Saarinen and  Edward Durrell Stone; and shot interiors for Vogue, House & Garden and Harper’s Bazaar.

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Fast Company honors Designmatters students, staff

Giradora, designed by Alex Cabunoc and Ji A You, cuts the water and time needed for laundry.

Students and staff at Art Center’s Designmatters program will make their mark on Fast Company’s upcoming issue dedicated to design.

The magazine has named three students from Designmatters as finalists in its annual Innovation by Design competition in the Student Designs category for their designs dedicated to those in developing countries.

Kim Chow designed the clip-on faucet device, Balde A Balde, that turns any water basin into a source of flowing water for those who lack running water in their homes. And Alex Cabunoc and Ji A You created a $40 foot-powered washer, Giradora, which cuts the water and time needed for laundry.

Innovative design in India topic at Live Talks

President Lorne Buchman, left, and Trustee and Idealab CEO Bill Gross at Live Talks

Art Center College of Design President Lorne Buchman and Idealab CEO and Art Center Trustee Bill Gross bonded over socially conscious design in India Thursday morning at Live Talks Business Forums, a one-hour conversation focused on innovation and design held in downtown Los Angeles.

Through WorldHaus, longtime entrepreneur Gross has ventured into creating eco-friendly, modular housing in more rural parts of India starting at $2,000. Buchman highlighted furniture created by a Designmatters student that features creative seating with storage for low-income city-dwellers in Bangalore.

“We have to go make a deal with that student and start that right away!” said Gross.

WorldHaus has the goal of adding 200 homes in India this year and increasing that number to 1 million houses by decade’s end. The for-profit company manufactures the structures for $1,800 and owners pay $200 down and $10 a month.

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Designmatters alum wins grant with ‘Where’s Daryl?’

"Where's Daryl?" includes YouTube videos, posters and Facebook pages

A faculty member and alumna from Art Center’s Designmatters program is among the 13 grant recipients in this year’s SAPPI Ideas that Matter, a program that helps designers create print projects for charitable causes.

Maria Moon developed the Where’s Daryl Teachers Guide, a series of curriculum tools to teach teens the realities of gun violence.

The concept and campaign was conceived by students Thomas Banuelos, Damon Casarez, Rhombie Sandoval and Alex Cheng in the Designmatters UNCOOL Studio, along with instructors Elena Salij, Advertising, and Allison Goodman, Graphic Design.

Instead of using images and statistics, which can be too abstract for pre-teens, “Where’s Daryl?” consists of YouTube videos, posters and Facebook pages showing Daryl missing basketball and his girlfriend while he deals with criminal charges.

The pilot program will be implemented this fall and spring in partnership with Los Angeles Unified School District.

The annual SAPPI  Ideas that Matter, now in its 13th year, focuses on using design to create social change by pairing designers with nonprofits from around the world to implement their ideas.

“[Ideas that Matter] is a rare platform that brings to the forefront outstanding talent and initiatives that speak loud and clear about the potency of design driven by purpose,” said Mariana Amatullo, vice president of the Designmatters department.

This year’s SAPPI judging panel included five designers from across the country recognized for their commitment to solving social problems.

Sappi Fine Paper North America launched Ideas that Matter in 1999, and since that time, has awarded more than $12 million in grants worldwide.

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