Category Archives: Alumni Relations

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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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.

Related:

Art Center Students Rack Up Core77 Design Awards

Emmy Fever: Alum Talents Featured on Top Nominee “Mad Men”

Three Boys From Pasadena: A Tribute to Helmut Newton Opens at the Williamson Gallery

UPDATE:  You’re invited to the closing party Thursday, Aug. 23 at 7 p.m.
Last chance to see exhibition honoring Helmut Newton

Join the photographers, models and friends for a celebration of this critically praised exhibition featuring the photography of three Art Center alumni who were mentored by Helmut Newton.  Please RSVP to suzanne.valles@artcenter.edu or call 626.396.2368 for more information.

Art Center’s Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery is proud to present Three Boys from Pasadena: A Tribute to Helmut Newton curated by June Newton. The show features the photographs of Helmut Newton’s proteges Mark Arbeit, George Holz, and Just Loomis, exploring both their individual talents and their longstanding friendship with Newton and each other. In June 2010, Three Boys from Pasadena premiered at the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin. An expanded version of the original show will be on exhibit in the Williamson Gallery, opening June 14, 2012 and continues through August 26, 2012.  The opening reception and panel discussion at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 14 is free and open to the public. A companion book originally published in France with a foreword by June Newton, will be available for purchase. If you wish to attend, please RSVP to events@artcenter.edu.

Photographers Mark Arbeit, George Holz and Just Loomis first met Helmut Newton in 1979 while students at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. All three became Helmut’s assistants during one of the most exciting and prolific times in his career. For almost thirty years, as each went on to his own professional lives as photographers, they kept in touch and shared their personal work with both Helmut and June Newton. After Helmut’s death, his widow and longtime artistic collaborator June conceived of a tribute exhibition for Helmut by showcasing his influence on their “three boys.” In her words: “They were the only three assistants who worked with him and became photographers in their own right. Each had a unique relationship with Helmut. They’ve become his offspring – each with his own voice. It was a special time in their lives, and I was the witness.”

This show is a homecoming, arriving back at the site of the first meeting between the Boys and Helmut. The exhibit consists of each photographer’s individual work, as well as several vitrines of memorabilia, consisting of snapshots, handwritten notes, journal pages, contact sheets, and other souvenirs. In the sensual, striking fashion editorial and portraiture by Arbeit, Loomis and Holz, the viewer is able to trace a direct line of influence from Newton to his apprentices. Three Boys from Pasadena: A Tribute to Helmut Newton is an unusual memorial to one of the 20th century’s most iconic photographers, and an exceptionally revealing look at personal and professional relationships among artists and proteges.

Mark Arbeit trained under Irving Penn as well as Newton and is the author of Mark Arbeit Work (2009), featuring an introduction by June Newton. Many of the pieces in the show come from his exquisite ‘Artist Atelier’ series, in which Arbeit shot female nudes in Parisian artists’ studios, posed next to sculptures or draped on canvases. His work, much of it composed in natural light, is concerned with the abstract interplay of light and shadow, of empty and filled space. He has shot for InStyle, Marie Claire, Vogue Paris, People, Forbes, and many other publications.

George Holz’ work betrays a sensuous, nuanced vision, especially in the black and white nudes that he has been perfecting since 1974. In the mid-90′s, Holz began a unique project of photographing nudes with animal bones and antlers, contrasting living flesh with ancient relics. Like Newton, George Holz has moved smoothly between personal projects and commercial work. Having published his imagery in Vanity Fair, Vogue Italia, Madame Figaro, Harper’s Bazaar, Interview, and The New York Times Magazine, his forthcoming book of celebrity portraiture, Holz Hollywood, will be published by Damiani.

Just Loomis worked as a fashion photographer for Harper’s Bazaar and The New York Times Magazine before turning to documentary work. His uncompromising portraits of people in the American West – from diner waitresses and cowboys to strippers and skate punks—are at once stark and compassionate, and were recently collected in his monograph As We Are, published by Hatje Catz.

All three artists are represented by Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles.

Founded in 1930, Art Center College of Design is recognized as a global leader in art and design education. The Photography and Imaging department dates back to the College’s earliest days, with such notable instructors as Will Connell, Charlie Potts, Fred Archer and legendary photographer Ansel Adams.  The 4,600 square-foot Williamson Gallery draws inspiration from all the fertile domains of Art Center’s educational programs, producing three major exhibitions per year. Previous exhibitions in the Williamson Gallery have focused on the work of photographers Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Andre Kertesz and alumnus Hiroshi Sugimoto, but Three Boys from Pasadena is the first group showcase of its kind.

Emmy Fever: Alum Talents Featured on Top Nominee “Mad Men”

Congratulations to all the talented professionals who worked on Emmy-nominated shows including Alumna Ellen Freund for her work on “Mad Men”

Art Center Alumna Ellen Freund FILM 79 is prop master on the hit AMC show “Mad Men.”  The show tied with “American Horror Story” for the most Emmy nominations with 17 each.  Among the many accolades, the steamy period drama series about Madison Avenue was honored for outstanding art direction.

Freund’s credits include “Twilight,” “Night at the Museum” and “Vanilla Sky.” To learn more about her career, check out this profile that recently ran on Huffington Post.

In the story, she says “Mad Men” is definitely the biggest challenge of her career. “It is my first time on a television series and the combination of a compressed time frame, limited budget and relentless schedules are very demanding. ‘Mad Men’ requires massive amounts of research to attain the level of accuracy that creator Matthew Weiner seeks and the entire crew strives for every day. The period is fascinating and visually stimulating, making it a real pleasure to work on.”

Spring 2012 Graduation Events

Students completing final projects in the Technical Skills Center.

The creative energy around campus is reaching a fever pitch as the College prepares for its series of Spring graduation events.

Wednesday, April 18
Join us from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. for 4 HOURS SOLID, an annual event at South Campus featuring the work and ideas of Grad Art, Broadcast Cinema and Grad Media Design. This year’s event also includes a preview of our new graduate programs in Environmental Design and Transportation Design. Enjoy four jam-packed hours of performances, demos, thesis work, screenings, discussions, Admissions Q&A, food trucks and music. Free and open to the public. More info.

Thursday, April 19
If you’re lucky enough to be on the invite list for Graduation Show Preview, you’ll get a sneak peak at the work of the next generation of artists and designers. Held from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. at Hillside Campus, the preview gives potential employers, alumni, donors and industry professionals an opportunity to preview the Graduation Show and meet our graduating students.

Immediately following the preview, all guests are invited to a reception hosted by Alumni Relations to welcome our graduating students into the alumni family.

Saturday, April 21
Join us at Hillside Campus from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. as we celebrate the accomplishments of our newest graduating class, present the Art Center Student Leadership Award to Product Design student Kenji Huang, and award an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters to designer and artist April Greiman.

Can’t join us for the graduation ceremony? Watch our live online webcast.

After the ceremony, Graduation Show opens to the public from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. so everyone can enjoy the work of our newest Art Center graduates.

Let the celebration of our creative community begin!

Below: Scream at the Dot by graduating Graphic Design student and Spring 2012 Valedictorian Aldis Ozoliņŝ.

“Bad Weather” T-Shirts Offered This Friday During ArtNight Pasadena

Proceeds from the sale of the "Bad Weather" T-shirt directly benefit Pasadena's Bad Weather Shelter.

In addition to The History of Space Photography, which explores the beauty, mystery, science and meaning of images depicting our planet and worlds beyond, and a free dress rehearsal of John Cage’s 4′33″ (no. 2) (0′00″) in preparation for Saturday’s performance by Grammy Award-winning Southwest Chamber Music, visitors to Art Center’s Hillside Campus during ArtNight Pasadena this Friday, March 9 from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. can support the ”Friends of the Bad Weather Shelter” by purchasing a T-shirt for only $20.00.

Bus shelter poster designed by alumnus Patrick Hruby to create awareness of "Friends of the Bad Weather Shelter."

In the Fall of 2011, due to budget restraints and the recent economic downturn, local and federal funds were cut considerably, negatively impacting the Bad Weather Shelter, which provides numerous services to Pasadena’s homeless during the winter months. In response, Rebecca Huang, a local high school senior, started a creative program that encourages 100 local businesses and/or individuals to become “Friends” of the shelter for only $600 a year, which would offset the funds lost due to budget cuts and enable the shelter to continue to provide this important humanitarian service.

Soon after Rebecca launched her campaign, Art Center’s Designmatters and Illustration Departments partnered with the City of Pasadena to develop an effective campaign to create awareness of the program. In January of this year, the City of Pasadena implemented three posters art directed by Ann Field (Chair, Illustration Department) and illustrated by recent alumnus Patrick Hruby (Illustration, ’10) on 20 bus shelters throughout the city.

As a continuation of that campaign, proceeds from the sale of the “Bad Weather” T-shirt directly benefit the Pasadena Bad Weather Shelter. So far, the entire campaign has raised roughly $15,000 from local businesses and individuals.

Irene Vermeers, Art Center’s First School Photographer

Irene Vermeers, circa 1936. Gift of Irene Vermeers PHOT '37.

Guest post by Art Center Archivist Robert Dirig

This week for Women’s History Month we spotlight one of Art Center’s earliest students and the College’s first school photographer, Irene (Gutterman) Vermeers.

Irene was a Photography major who graduated from Art Center in 1937.

Working as the school photographer to help pay tuition, Vermeers documented Art Center’s faculty, students, student work and classes across all academic departments.

A number of her images appeared in the 1937 catalog, including her portrait of a man, which can be seen on this page from the 1937 catalog showcasing Photography Department student work.

1937 Art Center catalog (click to enlarge).

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Looking Back on a Year of Change

Art Center President Lorne M. Buchman.

Earlier this year, Art Center College of Design launched Create Change, our strategic plan for becoming the preeminent college of art and design in the 21st century.

With Fall graduation events set for tomorrow and the winter break nearly upon us, we felt it was the perfect time to sit down with Art Center College of Design President Lorne M. Buchman to hear his thoughts on the past year, get an update on the strategic plan and find out what’s in store for the coming year.

Dotted Line: Looking back at the past year, what are your first thoughts?

Lorne M. Buchman: I’d like to begin by expressing how deeply gratified I am by all that we’ve accomplished. This has been a banner year for Art Center. We’ve seen record enrollment of talented and gifted students, we launched our strategic plan and we are set to begin new degree programs in Fall 2012. We’re closing in on the purchase of the post office property adjacent to South Campus, a facility for which we’ve raised significant funds to purchase. We’ve built the Board and we’ve recruited some dynamic new faculty. We are connecting with alumni the world over. We’ve offered some fabulous new courses and we’ve made significant strides in acquiring new technology and equipment for our students. I could go on and on. It’s been remarkable. And all of this doesn’t happen by accident. The driving force of our success is the focused and diligent work of our trustees, faculty and staff. We should recognize with much gratitude the quality of this extraordinary community.

More questions with President Lorne M. Buchman after the jump.

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Say Hello to The New Dot Magazine

Screenshot of the redesigned website for the newly reimagined Dot magazine.

The wait is over! Art Center’s flagship publication, Dot magazine, has been reimagined and redesigned from the ground up. The hardcopy will begin landing in mailboxes shortly, but the online version is available for you to peruse right now.

What’s new in Dot? As always, the magazine will continue to cover noted alumni, programs and trends in the larger art and design fields. But now we’ll be bringing you this coverage twice a year! Stories in the new issue include: a profile of alumnus Ian Sands, a pioneer in the field of interaction design; a peek into the future of Art Center’s Environmental Design program; and a remembrance and appreciation of Art Center’s second president, Don Kubly.

Additionally, Dot has been expanded to include several new sections, including: Around the World, highlighting the work of Art Center alumni and faculty; In the Studio, a behind-the-scenes look at recent studio classes (this issue we look at the recent Purina Remix trandisciplinary studio sponsored by the Nestlé Purina); Spotted, social pages covering Art Center events around the world; and Dot News, a new home for campus news.

We hope you enjoy the new Dot and we look forward to hearing what you think of the changes. Let us know in the comments below or send an email to editor@artcenter.edu.

Art Center Launches a Network on Behance [VIDEO]

Art Center College of Design is launching its own network on Behance, the world’s leading platform for creative professionals to showcase and discover creative work online.

Behance believes great work deserves to be seen, so they allow users to upload and showcase their work, track other creatives and gain exposure to millions of viewers.

Students, alumni and faculty members will now all be grouped together on one single platform–all revolving around creative work and portfolios–creating new opportunities for collaboration and networking.

Membership is free.

This motion graphics piece and a vast array of promotional efforts surrounding the launch of Behance have been spearheaded by Youmna Chamcham and Kevin Wansa. As official Behance Student Ambassadors, Youmna and Kevin have had the opportunity to work as an extension of the Behance Team and gain professional and leadership experience.

Learn more, take a tour or browse the Behance network.

And stay tuned to the Dotted Line for updates on future Behance information sessions with Youmna and Kevin.