Category Archives: Fine Art

Art Matters: Julie Deamer Speaks Tuesday

Julie Deamer will be on campus Tuesday to discuss how artists meaningfully contribute to communities and cultures in a global context as well as how they create civic artwork as sites for public discourse and expression. She’ll also share her thoughts on the role of art in response to social and environmental urgency.

Deamer has a history of creating and guiding successful art venues supporting contemporary artists. In 1995, she founded an exhibition space in San Francisco called Four Walls. Serving as director for five years, she presented enterprising projects by many successful artists exhibiting today. In 2004, Julie founded Outpost for Contemporary Art, a nonprofit residency and exchange program in Los Angeles that promotes cross-cultural exchange by developing international artistic projects that stimulate social interaction between people. She is also executive director of Harpo Foundation, established in 2006 to support under-recognized artists.

The event is free and open to the public.

Art Center’s Office of Career Development and Fine Art Department present:
ART MATTERS: Reconsidering Art’s Purpose, Spaces and Practices
Julie Deamer
Tuesday, March 15, 7-9 p.m.
Hillside Campus Boardroom

OutNetwork Presents Mapping at Brewery Annex

OutNetwork, Art Center’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, Questioning, Intersex and Allies (GLBTQIA) student club, will exhibit the work of a dozen artists and designers the L.A. Artcore Brewery Annex in downtown Los Angeles throughout March. The exhibit, Mapping, examines the GLBTQIA community and their location geographically, politically, internationally and locally.

Mapping is an extension of the mission of OutNetwork, which not only supports and embraces a variety of individuals from every socio-economic background, but also provides opportunities for networking and advancement for its members.

An opening reception will be this Sunday, March 6, from 2 to 7 p.m. at the Brewery. Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Art Center students exhibiting in the show include:

Lauren Coffin (Advertising)
Adam Cottingham (Environmental Design)
Natalie Embrey (Photography and Imaging)
Richard Funsten (Graphic Design)
Braden Graeber (Environmental Design)
Jaime Lopez (Graphic Design)
Jessamyn Prince (Photography and Imaging)
Rene Rodriguez (Photography and Imaging)
Bryce Shawcross (Graphic Design)

Alumni exhibiting:

Takayuki Shimada (Fine Art)
Jason Shorr (Illustration)
Jennifer Whitney (Illustration)

The exhibition will be on display through March 31 at L.A. Artcore Brewery Annex. Regular gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

Alumnus Creating New Work for Metro Station

Fine Art alumnus and Art Center at Night/Saturday High faculty member Ronald J. Llanos has been hard at work the past three years creating Ephemeral Views: A Visual Essay, for Metro’s Expo/Western Station constructed at Western Avenue in Los Angeles. He is creating 24 mosaic panels (each 8’ x 3’) that comprise the work under construction.

The Source brings us an update on the progress. From the article: “Ronald’s watercolor paintings have a fresh, spontaneous quality to them. The task of translating his translucent washes of color into a hard, permanent material was a challenge. Artisans at Mosaika Art & Design traced Ronald’s designs onto ceramic tile and added thin layers of glaze to preserve the feel of the artist’s hand in the work. Next the work was fired, cut into small pieces and placed within the panels.”

Read more, and also check out Llanos’ blog for details from the beautiful mosaic.

West Coast Bright Design Challenge Brings Scholarships to Art Center

In December, five Art Center students were awarded generous scholarships through the inaugural West Coast Bright Design Challenge.

Sponsored by the National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF), the West Coast competition was co-sponsored by the Metal Finishing Association of Southern California (MFASC).

The West Coast Bright Design Challenge was incorporated into last term’s Material Explorations class, led by Art Center instructors Catherine McLean and Krystina Castella. A transdisciplinary team made up of Product Design, Environmental Design, Fine Art and Graduate Industrial Design students spent the term learning about surface finishing technologies and applications, and worked with local electroplating companies to enhance their understanding of the process. Students were challenged to create innovative works utilizing these technologies.

At the end of the class, students presented finished 3-D prototypes and presentations to a panel of faculty and MFASC judges. The students with the top three concepts as judged by the panel were each awarded $5,000 scholarships, and two additional students received honorable mentions and $2,500 scholarships.

Scholarship Winners:

Viirj Kan, Environmental Design: $5,000 Prize
Carlos Vides, Environmental Design: $5,000 Prize
Ed Schofield, Graphic Design: $5,000 Prize
Byron Wilson, Product Design: $2,500 Prize
Ji Hyun Lee, Product Design: $2,500 Prize

Art Center and the MFASC were thrilled with the collaboration and plan to continue the West Coast Bright Design Challenge in 2011. Congratulations to the student winners!

(Pictured, from left to right: Edward Schofield, $5,000 scholarship award recipient; Virginia Kan, $5,000 scholarship award recipient; Bryan Leiker, K&L Anodizing; Carlos Vides, $5,000 scholarship award recipient; Dan Cunningham, MFASC executive director; Alan Olick, MFASC president and president, General Plating Co.; Byron Wilson, $2,500 scholarship award recipient; Ji Hyun Lee, $2,500 scholarship award recipient; Gregg Halligan, former MFASC president.)

Alumnus Jorge Pardo Named MacArthur Fellow

A hearty congratulations to Fine Art alumnus and installation artist Jorge Pardo, who has been named a 2010 MacArthur fellow, and recipient of the MacArthur ‘genius’ award.

Pardo, as the other 22 recipients, recently learned through a surprise phone call from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation that he will receive $500,000 in “no strings attached” support over the next five years. MacArthur fellowships come without stipulations and reporting requirements, allowing fellows unprecedented freedom and opportunity to reflect, create and explore.

The Los Angeles-based Pardo’s projects include his personal home and LACMA’s pre-Columbian gallery exhibition hall.

Congrats, Jorge! Read more:

Now Showing: Art Center Alumni, Faculty and Students

Danger, Set Free, by Rob and Christian Clayton (2008)

A few current exhibits featuring work of Art Center students, alumni and faculty:

Clayton Brothers: Inside Out, a new major exhibition at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, presents paintings and mixed-media installations created collaboratively by Illustration alums Rob and Christian Clayton. The exhibit will be on view through January 2, 2011. Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
Graduate Art faculty member Taft Green’s new show, Settings, opens at Praterstrasse48 Berlin on Sept. 30. Praterstrasse48
Graduate Art faculty member Skip Arnold, Graduate Art alums Jennifer Moon and Jeff Ostergren, and Fine Art alumnus Jorge Pardo are in a group show opening Sept. 25 and curated by Grad Art faculty member Jan Tumlir, Jerry/Jury Rigged, at the Glendale College Art Gallery. Glendale College Art Gallery
Fine Art alum Devin Strother currently has a solo show at Richard Heller Gallery in Santa Monica. Richard Heller Gallery
The Blab! Show features work by Illustration alums Marc Burckhardt, Owen Smith and Lou Beach. Through Oct. 2 at Copro Gallery in Santa Monica. The Blab! Show
Grad Art alumna Emilie Halpern’s latest show, Eclipse, on display at Pepin Moore through Oct. 23. Pepin Moore
Painting faculty member Kent Williams has a solo show at Evoke in New Mexico through Sept. 30. Evoke Contemporary
Alumna Korin Faught has an opening September 25 at Corey Helford Gallery. Corey Helford Gallery
MDP student An Xiao Mina participating in a poetry reading this Saturday at the Pacific Asia Museum. Southern California Haiku Study Group Anthology

What did we miss? If you know of any student, alumni or faculty shows, let us know.

Save the Date: Art Center’s 80th Anniversary Weekend

We’re celebrating 80 years of excellence in art and design education at Art Center. Following the inauguration of our fifth president in April, and a community-wide Day of Service in June, the College continues its celebration with a special 80th Anniversary Weekend.

On Saturday, 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.

For more information about the gala, call 626.396.2338. Tickets and details about Car Classic are available at artcenter.edu/carclassic.

Reflecting Back at 80: Mystery Photo

This photograph shows Chair of the Fine Art Department Lorser Feitelson and a group of students viewing a selection of paintings to be used in a traveling exhibit. We know that the student standing behind Feitelson is Greeley Wells FAPT ’69, but not much else.

Do you recognize any of these sharply dressed students? If so, contact Art Center Archivist Robert Dirig at 626.396.2208 or robert.dirig@artcenter.edu. For more information about the Art Center College of Design Archives, including how you can donate or access materials, visit artcenter.edu/archives.

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