Category Archives: Events

Great Fun at Car Classic

Sunday’s Car Classic ’10: Freedom of Motion, was a success! While a little drizzly at times, the crowds were not deterred, visiting Hillside Campus to tour studios, look at student work, hear guest speakers and, of course, check out the automobiles (and aircraft, watercraft and motorcycles!)

Keynote speaker was Transportation Design alumnus Frank Stephenson, design director for McLaren Automotive.

“The Mini was the first car I ever stole,” joked Stephenson. He was referring to sneaking out in his mother’s as a young teenager. “It was that easy to drive,” he explained. Fitting that fate would have him involved in the redesign of the vehicle decades later.

Also speaking was Photography alumnus Jeff Zwart, award-winning automotive photographer and commercial film director who recently set a new record racing up Pike’s Peak in a Porsche 911 GT3.

“You never realize how much your childhood interests will influence your life later on,” Zwart said as he remarked on growing up (with childhood friend, alum and automotive design superstar Freeman Thomas) with a love of everything automotive.

Highlights of the show included the new McLaren MP4-12C, a 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic and an ICON A5 sport aircraft.

Enjoy images from the event in the slideshow below, and check out our tweets from the event as well:

The Mini Show This Saturday

This Saturday, October 23, The Mini Show will be held at South Campus to raise money for the Mini Lai Scholarship Fund. The show is being produced by Mini’s family and friends, and will showcase the work of Art Center Illustration alumni with all proceeds going to the fund. The group exhibition will feature high-quality and affordable artwork, each piece priced at no more than $300.

The Mini Lai Scholarship Fund was created out of love for the late Mini Lai, a talented illustrator and Art Center alum. The fund honors her memory by granting scholarships to Art Center Illustration students, inspiring them to pursue their dreams no matter what challenges they face.

“In Between” by Ming Ong

While a student at the University of California, Irvine, Lai was diagnosed with congenital heart disease, ultimately requiring a heart transplant. With this second chance at life, she pursued her life-long passion for art, studying Illustration at Art Center.

Lai received scholarships while at the College, and this fund exists to continue the cycle of giving.

“Mini leaves behind a legacy of love, kindness and hope,” says Ming Lai, Mini’s brother. “Through the Mini Lai Scholarship Fund, we can cherish her memory and inspire Art Center Illustration students to take on the world.”

The fund is made possible by the generous donations of her family and friends, and is managed by the California Community Foundation and scholarships are awarded by the College’s Illustration Department.

To learn more about the Mini Lai Scholarship Fund, and donate through the California Community Foundation, visit minilai.com and calfund.org/give/minilaischolarship.php.

Art Center’s 80th Anniversary Weekend is Here

Art Center continues our 80th anniversary celebration with a special anniversary weekend Saturday and Sunday.

Tomorrow, October 16, Art Center will honor four prominent alumni—industrial designer Yves Béhar, car designer Frank Stephenson, contemporary artist Pae White and blockbuster filmmaker Zack Snyder—with the Creative Spirit award at a gala to raise scholarships for students in Art Center’s undergraduate, graduate and public programs.

The following day, Sunday, October 17, is Art Center’s beloved Car Classic. This year’s theme, Freedom of Motion, celebrates the powerful combination of technology and passion that allows humans to move well beyond their own physical abilities.

Also on Sunday, we’ll be participating in the Art & Design Open Market at One Colorado in Pasadena.

We hope you’ll join us!

Car Classic ’10 Is Almost Here!

It’s almost time for the ninth annual Car Classic! This year’s theme, Freedom of Motion, celebrates the powerful combination of technology and passion that allows humans to move well beyond our physical abilities. Whether it’s hurtling down the road in a vintage Bugatti, pulling 5G around a corner in a Formula One racecar, hitting 50 mph on a 15-pound Tour de France bike, or winning the 100 meter dash on a pair of prosthetic legs, we continually seek the freedom of moving beyond our physical limitations. This year’s event will focus on the design and technology being used to break free from these limitations.

Keynote speaker will be Transportation Design alumnus Frank Stephenson, design director for McLaren Automotive, who will unveil the new McLaren MP4-12C. Also speaking will be Jeff Zwart, an award-winning automotive photographer and videographer who recently set a new record racing up Pike’s Peak in a Porsche 911 GT3.

An incredible array of more than 100 rare and exotic automobiles, motorcycles, aircraft, watercraft and other vehicles will be on display in Art Center’s panoramic Sculpture Garden. Some of the spectacular vehicles already confirmed are a 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, the world’s first production Cobra and an ICON A5 sport aircraft.

Attendees will have the opportunity to tour Art Center’s studio classrooms and rapid prototyping facilities to view the work of tomorrow’s top designers. KABC automotive reporter Dave Kunz and host of Speed Channel’s Car Crazy Barry Meguiar will again emcee the event and awards ceremony. Twelve honors will be presented to vehicles of exceptional design, as judged by a team of design experts.

Car Classic ’10 tickets are $60 at the door, or $50 when purchased online. Check out the Car Classic website for more information.

For a peek into what to expect, check out the Car Crazy video below:

Art Center Car Classic ’10: Freedom of Motion
Sunday, October 17, 10 am-4 pm
Hillside Campus

ENERGY Opening Friday

This Friday, October 8, ENERGY, a new exhibition at the College’s Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery, will open as part of the annual ArtNight Pasadena. The exhibit’s opening reception will be from 6 to 10 p.m.

ENERGY investigates how natural forces shape not only material things, but affect our emotions and intellect.

As part of the Williamson Gallery’s mission, students in Art Center’s Design for Sustainability 2 class will use a section of the gallery as their studio, studying and displaying their exploration of the question, “Where do energy and design intersect?”

ArtNight Pasadena kicks off Pasadena ArtWeekend, a three-day, citywide arts festival.

Acclaimed Production Designer to Speak Today

Art Center is honored to welcome to campus production designer Scott Chambliss to discuss his craft and more as part of the Art Center Film Department Distinguished Filmmakers Series. Film Department student Matthew Epstein will host a Q&A discussion with Chambliss, who has done production design on hit films including Salt; Mission Impossible III; the TV series Alias, Gideon’s Crossing, Felicity and the upcoming feature Cowboys and Aliens, directed by Jon Favreau and produced by Steven Spielberg.

The event starts at 10 a.m. at the L.A. Times Media Center and is open to Art Center students, faculty, alumni and staff.

Scott Chambliss
Wednesday, October 6, 10 am
Hillside Campus, L.A. Times Media Center

In Case You Missed It

As you know, there’s always something going on when it comes to Art Center alumni, students and faculty. Some of the latest:

  • Alumna and painter Theresa Paden is on a mission to save horses: Ventura County Star

    Theresa Paden

  • Visual effects supervisor and Art Center alum Eric Barba talks about the upcoming sci-fi extravaganza Tron: Legacy: Cnet
  • Francis Pollara is producer, founder and chief executive of Ladeson Productions—and also still a student at Art Center. La Canada Valley Sun
  • Broadcast Cinema alum Hilton Carter talks about his new short, Moth, and music video for Baltimore musicians including Blaqstarr:  Baltimore Sun
  • Pasadena Federal Credit Union unveils new 90-square-foot mural, “Building Pasadena,” painted by alumnus Jerry Ortega: Pasadena Star-News
  • Art Center alumna Denise Assad has done it all: industrial design, transportation design, public relations, advertising and now, baking: Brand X
  • An electric concept car created by Clemson University students and dubbed “Deep Orange” will be making an appearance at Art Center’s Car Classic (Art Center students collaborated on the design and styling): Fast Company
  • And speaking of Car Classic, it’s coming up Oct. 17: Car Classic ’10

Big Picture Lecture Series: Hershel Parker

Don’t miss Monday’s Big Picture Lecture Series featuring Hershel Parker.

Parker is the author of Herman Melville, A Biography; Flawed Texts and Verbal Icons and Reading Billy Budd, among others.

Professor emeritus of English at the University of Delaware, Parker co-edited the Norton Critical Edition of Moby Dick and served as editor of the Norton Critical Edition of The Confidence Man. He is associate general editor of the Northwestern-Newberry edition of The Writings of Herman Melville.

And don’t forget—podcasts of the lectures are up at Art Center’s iTunes U site.

Big Picture Lecture Series: Hershel Parker
Monday, October 4, 1 pm
Ahmanson Auditorium

Big Picture Lecture Series Kicks Off Today

It’s the start of the term and that means one thing: a new Big Picture Lecture series. The Toyota Motor Corporation Endowed Lecture Series brings visionary thinkers from around the world to campus to discuss the cultural and political currents shaping art and design.

The series kicks off today at 1 pm in the Ahmanson Auditorium at Hillside Campus. All lectures are free and open to the public. Coming up for Fall Term:

September 27: Joann Kuchera-Morin, Composing in N-Dimensions
Joann Kuchera-Morin is a composer, professor and researcher in multi-modal media systems, content and facilities design. The culmination of Kuchera-Morin’s research efforts is the one-of-a-kind Allosphere Research Facility—of which Kuchera-Morin serves as director—at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her years of experience in digital media research led to the creation of the University of California’s multi-million dollar sponsored research program, the Digital Media Innovation Program, of which Kuchera-Morin served as chief scientist from 1998 to 2003.

October 4: Hershel Parker, My 50 Years with the Confidence-Man
Hershel Parker is the author of Herman Melville, A Biography; Flawed Texts and Verbal Icons and Reading Billy Budd, among others. Professor emeritus of English at the University of Delaware, Parker co-edited the Norton Critical Edition of Moby Dick and served as editor of the Norton Critical Edition of The Confidence Man. He is associate general editor of the Northwestern-Newberry edition of The Writings of Herman Melville.

October 25: Lisa Margonelli, Designing for Cognitive Dissonance: The Weird Relationship Between Gas Pumps and US Energy Policy
Lisa Margonelli directs the energy policy initiative at the New America Foundation, a non-partisan think tank based in Washington, D.C. She spent four years following the oil supply chain to write Oil on the Brain: Petroleum’s Long, Strange Trip to Your Tank , published in 2008. Recognized as one of the 25 Notable Books of 2007 by the American Library Association, Oil On the Brain also won a 2008 Northern California Book Award for general nonfiction.

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