Category Archives: Events

From Breaking Bad to Modern Family: 2013′s Emmy noms confirm TV’s at the top of its game

Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad

Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad

I write this day before the Emmy nominations are announced. As a member of the TV Academy I vote for the Primetime Emmys; and for several years now it’s been hard to choose a favorite in each category.  This year in particular has had an embarrassment of riches when it comes to outstanding TV.

Rather than try to predict the nominees (to be announced tomorrow) or the winners (revealed during the live broadcast on September 22), here is a very subjective list of can’t-miss current series. I am also including some guilty-pleasure shows I’ve been known to watch, none of which run the risk of getting an Emmy nomination.

Sometimes I come late to a series that has already become a phenomenon (24). Or I’ll skip it all together (Lost.)  I mention this to explain why I am the last person on the planet not to be caught up in Game of Thrones mania.  I watched the first episode and didn’t find a good reason to come back to that world or those characters.  But everyone tells me it grows on you, so I will catch up one of these days.

Another reason I’m not actively seeking another series to watch is that there are so many great ones that I’m hooked on already.

Continue reading →

The Collective Action Toolkit workshop equips designers and changemakers with versatile problem-solving techniques

David Sherwin leads the Collective Action Toolkit workshop.

David Sherwin leads the Collective Action Toolkit workshop. Photography by Takayuki Mark Kasuya

“Go ahead and join a group.” This was David Sherwin’s opening directive to the students and faculty members spilling into Art Center’s faculty dining room for the Designmatters-sponsored Collective Action Toolkit workshop.  Sherwin, interaction design director and researcher at frog design in San Francisco, was not merely suggesting attendees sidle up to strangers. It was a non-negotiable requirement, which I discovered when I suggested I would not join a group because I only present to observe and report. “This is all about collaboration, so why don’t you find a group and participate?”

Roger that. Next thing I knew, I had wedged myself into a table full of students seated near the back of the room. We then embarked on our first assignment — writing our names and special talents on separate pieces of paper, which we’d then merge into one document listing our group’s core competencies. This exercise represents the Collective Action Toolkit’s first step in assessing the resources available to each collaborative cohort. In our case, we possessed an unsurprising abundance of design, drawing and drafting skills along with singing, writing and storytelling. Though we had no idea what task we would be asked to perform; it was hard, at that point, to see how this hodgepodge of talents would meld into a whole that was stronger than the sum of its parts.

Continue reading →

Film Alum Zack Snyder Screens “Man of Steel” for Art Center Movie Fans

Ten days prior to the official release date, a community of Art Center movie lovers attended a private screening, hosted by Warner Bros. and the College’s Film Departments, of the highly-anticipated summer blockbuster, Man of Steel.  Nearly 500 students, faculty, staff and special invited guests crowded in to ArcLight Cinemas in Pasadena on June 5 to see the emotional and action-packed story unfold and hear from the director, film alumnus Zack Snyder.

Man of Steel director and Art Center Film alum Zack Snyder answers audience questions with Film Department Chair Ross LaManna after an exclusive screening of the movie for the Art Center community on June 5. Photo by Seo Hiroyuki.

Man of Steel director and Art Center film alum Zack Snyder answers audience questions with Film Department Chair Ross LaManna after an exclusive screening of the movie for the Art Center community on June 5. Photo by Seo Hiroyuki.

Continue reading →

Visual Storytelling Examined Through the Work of Jerry Uelsmann and Maggie Taylor

He experiments in a darkroom. She composes on a computer screen. Together, husband-and-wife artists Jerry Uelsmann and Maggie Taylor create haunting, layered dreamscapes that push the boundaries of photography’s possibilities.

Jerry Uelsmann's "Untitled" and Maggie Taylor's "Magnolia Charmer"

Jerry Uelsmann’s Untitled and Maggie Taylor’s Magnolia Charmer showcase their unique approaches to visual storytelling. A new documentary from lynda.com explores the artists’ work and creative relationship.

Art Center hosts a special screening and panel discussion Wednesday, June 12 of the documentary “Jerry & Maggie: This is Not Photography,” new from lynda.com, which takes viewers inside the artists’ quiet Florida compound for a peek at their complementary work, contrasting processes and inspiration-seeking expeditions through an alligator-dwelling swamp. The documentary explores both the technical and emotional aspects of the couple’s unique form of visual storytelling, from the composition to the criticism, with insight from other preeminent voices in photography.

“Whether it’s graphic design, branding, environments, illustration, photography or film, the art of visual storytelling is a powerful method to convey messages in an elegant, entertaining and informative way,” said Graphic Design professor Petrula Vrontikis, who helped spearhead the event and will moderate the panel discussion.

Jerry Uelsmann's "Journey Into Night" and Maggie Taylor's "The Collector," side by side. “Jerry & Maggie: This is Not Photography,” new from lynda.com, shows the artists and their complementary yet contrasting work and processes.

Uelsmann’s Journey Into Night and Taylor’s The Collector.

On hand to discuss the film and the larger subject of visual storytelling will be the documentary’s executive producer Bruce Heavin ILLU 93, director Scott Erickson and cinematographers Aron Ives and Mia Shimabuku.

Celebrated for its pioneering spirit in the realm of online education, lynda.com was co-founded by Art Center alumnus Heavin and former faculty member Lynda Weinman. Art Center continues to benefit from their creative vision and often partners with lynda.com to offer special events for its students, faculty, alumni and members of the general public.

The screening and discussion are free and open to the public, no reservations needed. Join us Wed., June 12, 7 p.m., in Ahmanson Auditorium at Art Center College of Design’s Hillside Campus, 1700 Lida Street, Pasadena, CA 91103. For more information call (626) 396-2251 or email promotion@artcenter.edu.

 

Related:

Sold-out conference features Art Center faculty, highlights vitality of photographic education 

 

 

Art Center Student Artwork on Display at Jones Coffee

Opening Reception Tuesday, June 11, 5—8 p.m.

Marking the first in a series of events to be held at Jones Coffee Roasters in partnership with Art Center, Community is an art exhibition debuting more than 25 new works from Art Center students on June 11, 2013 in Pasadena.

"Community" by Jess Zhang
“Community” by Jess Zhang will be part of the Community art exhibition at Jones Coffee Roasters, exploring the nature of community, identity and social connection.

“We’re thrilled to be kicking off our Art Center collaboration with Community,” said Chuck Jones, owner of Jones Coffee Roasters.  “Like Art Center, we value public discussion around important issues, and it’s an honor to serve as the forum for such reflection and dialogue.”

Community explores the intersection of identity and social connection, examining individuality and group identity in everyday life. Participating artists include Dylan Bocanegra, Kristina Halcromb, Luis Angel Sanchez, Brenda Chi, Jessica Portillo, Vladimir Almonnord, Valerie Pobjoy, Leonardo Santamaria, Jessica Zhang, Tyler Bennet, Simon Estrada, Taleen Keldjian, Rachel Moore, Sarang Byrne, TK Kuk, Antoinette Adams and Ana Maria Pino.  Community will feature works produced from a variety of art mediums including illustrations, paintings, digital photography, silkscreen and mixed media.

In the Company of Others by Simon Estrada is one of 25 new works from Art Center students at Jones Coffee Roasters.
In the Company of Others by Simon Estrada is one of 25 new works from Art Center students at Jones Coffee Roasters.

“The phrase Community came to embody a unique way of approaching interpersonal dynamics and creativity,” said Simon Estrada, illustrator and curator of the show.  “We took great care to craft an exhibition that would be an impactful and surprising in-person experience.”

Tribute to Woody Guthrie by Taleen Keldjian is a participating artist in the Community art exhibit at Jones Coffee Roasters.
Tribute to Woody Guthrie by Taleen Keldjian is a participating artist in the Community art exhibit at Jones Coffee Roasters.

Community will be on exhibit at Jones Coffee Roasters located at 693 S. Raymond Ave. in Pasadena. The show, which is free and open to the public, will open Tuesday, June 11, with an opening reception from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and run through August 1.

 

 

 

Getty “Overdrive” Exhibition Designed in Collaboration With Environmental Design Students

getty-overdrive

The exhibition “Overdrive: L.A. Constructs the Future, 1940–1990,” organized by the Getty Research Institute and the J. Paul Getty Museum and on view through July 21, 2013, is the first major examination of the innovation and influence of Los Angeles architectural history. As Los Angeles in the second half of the 20th century grew rapidly into an industrial and creative capital, its architecture transformed the city’s landscape.

Designing the installation of “Overdrive” was a collaborative project between Art Center and the Getty. To develop the spatial and graphic design of the exhibition, the museum’s curatorial and design teams worked closely with a Transdisciplinary Studio class of 20 Art Center students in Environmental Design and Graphic Design, led by Art Center Environmental Design faculty member and alumnus Rob Ball, with the additional participation of Environmental Design instructor Dewi Schoenbeck.

Related:

Environmental Design Students Take Top Prize in 2013 LAIAC Competition

 

 

Robert and Faye Davidson Named Arts and Culture Ambassadors by Pasadena Community Foundation

Robert and Faye Davidson share a passion for the arts and have long appreciated and supported the unique cultural mix that makes Pasadena special. Now they are doing it officially.

The Pasadena Community Foundation (PCF) has appointed the Davidsons as Arts and Culture Ambassadors to lead the organization’s 60th anniversary celebration.

Robert and Faye Davidson have been appointed Arts and Culture Ambassadors by the Pasadena Community Foundation (PCF). Photo credit Evan Robinson.

Robert and Faye Davidson have been appointed Arts and Culture Ambassadors by the Pasadena Community Foundation. Photo credit Evan Robinson.

“The artistic and cultural resources in this community are vast,” says Robert Davidson.

Continue reading →

Illustration Students Awarded Scholarships from Society of Illustrators, Works on View in New York

Three works by Art Center Illustration students Hannah Chi, Michael Kuo and Ellen Surrey were recently selected from more than 5,000 entries as being among the “best of the best” in the Society of Illustrators annual Student Scholarship Competition. The artists were awarded monetary scholarships at an opening reception for the 2013 Student Scholarship Exhibition.

Chi’s Burdens depicts a humanoid zebra pedaling a bicycle cart overflowing with cast-off items. In Kuo’s Ramen Time, an Alice in Wonderland-like figure peers into a giant bowl of soup. And Surrey’s Normal Abnormal reveals the colorful inner workings of the brain inside the heads of two otherwise dark silhouettes.

Student Michael Kuo is one of the Society of Illustrators 2013 Student Scholarship Awards winners with his printmaking piece "Ramen Time."

Student Michael Kuo won a Society of Illustrators 2013 Student Scholarship Award for Ramen Time.

The students’ winning illustrations are now on view at the Society’s Museum of Illustration in New York, through June 5, joining those by 10 other Art Center students whose work was also recognized by the jury of professionals assembled by the Society of Illustrators that selected winning entries based on the quality of technique, concept and skill with medium used.

Continue reading →

Art Center Takes Manhattan During 25th Annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair

As design industry professionals converge in New York this week, Art Center College of Design is prominently featured as part of the 25th annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), taking place May 18–21. Attracting more than 26,000 professionals from the worlds of interior design, architecture, retail, manufacturing, distribution and development, ICFF is considered North America’s premier showcase for contemporary design.

Leading the College’s presence at this influential summit is David Mocarski, chair of graduate and undergraduate Environmental Design.

Art Center’s Booth 3016 at the show’s main venue, the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, features an exhibition of work by eight students in the College’s Environmental Design program, and presents visitors an opportunity to mingle with the design community and learn more about the undergraduate and graduate programs.

Alumnus Brandon Kim and his work, Solace, will be featured in Booth 1073 at ICFF this year.

Alumnus Brandon Kim and his work, Solace, will be featured in Booth 1073 at ICFF this year.

Additionally, several alumni are represented in the prestigious ICFF Studio, which serves as a platform to match selected designers and their products with potential manufacturers.

It all takes place during NYCxDesign, a city-wide design celebration continuing through May 21 and packed with events and showcases.

Continue reading →