Category Archives: News

Meet Dr. Penny Florence, New Chair of HDS

Next month, Art Center will welcome Dr. Penny Florence to her new post as Chair of the Humanities and Design Sciences Department. Florence comes to Art Center from The Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, where she led the research programs. Prior to that, Florence was a professor of contemporary arts and director of research at University College Falmouth, U.K., where she inaugurated and led the Ph.D. program.

We recently spoke with Florence about her educational philosophy, goals for the department and her interest in electronic poetry.

What compelled you to move halfway across the globe and join Art Center?
Art Center is a great school, and I have always been impressed with the students, faculty and staff during my visits. But there’s something more—the College feels very dynamic at the moment and I want to contribute to this. HDS is a cross-disciplinary program whose potential interests me a great deal, and I aim to bring my experience to benefit and develop it. It’s so relevant today because jobs change so fast that you can’t just train to do one thing. You have to be able to transfer skills. Thinking across disciplines is really useful in assessing how best to move from one arena into another. That’s a big reason why a background in the humanities and design sciences is valuable for artists and designers. Another is that it enables you to look at the field of art and design in its entirety. This will always be useful, and sometimes essential.

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Art Center Joins Designers Accord

We are pleased to announce that Art Center has joined the Designers Accord, a global coalition of designers, educators and business leaders working together to create positive environmental and social impact.

very green and wallSustainability is a subject of great concern at Art Center, and we recognize that design has a responsibility to address its many challenges and opportunities. The College believes that design, with its ability to see the big picture and integrate multiple interests, is uniquely capable of creating sustainable systems and solutions.

Over the past five years, Art Center has been introducing a comprehensive design approach recognizing environmental, social and economic interests. Through new courses, research in design process and lifecycle methodology, and active partnerships with other colleges, communities and organizations, this College-wide initiative is slowly transforming how design is taught.

At the same time, Art Center is in the often difficult stage of integrating teaching with doing. Progress with re-making the campus is slow, but steady. Support for sustainable practices comes from all parts of the college community, though students remain the strongest advocates.

Through participation in the designers accord, Art Center hopes to learn from others and share what we know. We want to keep improving in all aspects of what we do. We also hope to inspire and mobilize the ingenuity of our students and faculty towards creating solutions that support human and natural systems, over the long term.

Art Center Inaugurates Fifth President

President Buchman

“Come Art Center—meet your own demand,” Dr. Lorne Buchman urged the crowd assembled for his inauguration at Hillside Campus. “Let us bring to our future the very fortitude we exact from those we educate. Some of the same magic that for 80 years, brought to life those gods of design, art and human expression. It’s a mammoth but vital task. We know how to do this—it’s in our DNA. Conjure and imagine things that don’t yet exist. Designers, design your school.”

On Thursday, April 22, Art Center ushered in a new era as it inaugurated Buchman, its fifth president and chief executive officer. Named president last year after a nationwide 10-month search, Buchman is the former provost and president of Oakland’s California College of Arts and Crafts. Most recently, Buchman served as President of Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center. A trained theater director and scholar, he has held a number of faculty and administrative positions at the University of California, Berkeley.

Graduate Media Design Department Chair Anne Burdick, who served as Department Chair’s representative on the Presidential Search Committee, said that while many leaders in the art and design world were interviewed for the position, just one candidate was both a team builder and a change agent. “Only Lorne had that precise combination of empathy and chutzpah,” she told the audience.

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In Memoriam: Norman Schureman

Image of Norman Schureman

Norman Schureman

It is with deep sadness and grief that I write to inform you of the passing of our dear friend and colleague Norman Schureman.  A tragic accident took his life this past weekend, and we join his family and friends in mourning the loss of this celebrated and adored member of our community.

Norman was a beloved instructor, colleague, mentor and friend of hundreds of Art Center students, faculty, staff and alumni.  Norm’s relationship with Art Center began almost 40 years ago when his father, Bob Schureman, taught classes in the ID department and Norm would tag along as a young curious creative.  Years later, Norm launched his official design career after graduating from Art Center in Industrial Design.  He returned to the College to teach at Art Center Europe and then Pasadena.  Both Norm and Bob have inspired hundreds of design students over the years.

For over 20 years,  Norm devoted himself tirelessly to the College, instilling in his students a passion for design, a love for drawing and an eye for excellence. In his Viscom and Dynamic Sketching classes, as well as his Product Design classes, Norm brought criticality tempered with humor to his students and their work. Each term would generate new and constantly innovative ideas, images and prototypes. A place in the student gallery was always reserved for the great projects from Norm’s classes.

Our hearts go out to Norm’s entire family.  At the appropriate time we will discuss with them the option of a memorial service on campus to celebrate Norm’s life and his extraordinary contributions to Art Center.  We will keep you posted on time and date.  We will also offer grief counseling to those in need through Human Resources and the Center for Student Experience.  Details will follow on Monday.

We join as a community in grieving this painful and devastating loss.

Lorne M. Buchman, PhD
President
Art Center College of Design

***EDITED, 3/22 11:15 am***

The Office of Alumni Relations and the Office of Academic Affairs are hosting an impromptu memorial for Norm at 4 pm today in the Sinclaire Pavilion. Please join members of the Art Center community in remembering a remarkable teacher, colleague and friend. There will be sketchbooks at the event for you to record memories of Norm and condolences to his family.

Details about a formal memorial being planned in conjunction with the family will be forthcoming.

Davidson Elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees

Art Center’s Board of Trustees announced today that Robert C. Davidson Jr. has been elected board chairman. His appointment continues a new era of leadership at the College, following the announcement of a Lorne Buchman as president last October.

Davidson is the first African-American to serve as board chairman at Art Center, and among the first African-Americans to assume board leadership of a member institution within the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. He has served on Art Center’s Board of Trustees since 2004.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be asked to serve as board chairman for an institution as distinguished as Art Center,” Davidson says. “As the College celebrates its 80th anniversary, it is with a sense of excitement and renewed commitment that we will partner with Buchman to help Art Center achieve new levels of greatness.”

Read the full press release here (PDF format).

Words, Words, Words! Marion Bantjes brings her candor to Art Center

Marian Bantjes, fresh from her appearance at TED, stopped by the Ahmanson Auditorium last Thursday to share some riveting stories behind her internationally-recognized work. The Canadian artist, typographer, designer and writer touched on her project selection process, the philosophy behind her unique aesthetic and the difficulty of finding something worth saying.

Did you hear Bantjes speak? What did you think?

Here are a few highlights:

On her early career as a typesetter:

As a typesetter, I didn’t do any creative work at all. The designer told me what to do and my job was to know typography well enough to get it right. I did this for ten years. Most people who want to be designers think of this as tedious. But I learned a lot about typography and I loved that job. It’s something undervalued in most design today. People want to do the fun stuff, the crazy stuff, the stuff that I do now, but it’s really important to be able to get pleasure in the fine details.

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EcoCouncil Meets the President

Art Center President Lorne Buchman recently met with the EcoCouncil, a student-run organization which works closely with faculty and administration to find practical and creative solutions to reduce the College’s ecological impact. The group conducted a presentation for Buchman outlining their vision for sustainability initiatives at the College, including their desire for required courses in responsible design for all students, improved recycling efforts on campus during peak periods of the term, increasing accessibility to public transportation, and finding better ways to maintain and incorporate the Art Center community into our hillside environment.

Po the Panda is Here!

Williamson Gallery Director Stephen Nowlin gives us a behind-the-scenes peek at the installation of the upcoming exhibit DreamWorlds, opening March 4. A partnership between the College and DreamWorks Animation, the exhibit will highlight the artistry and craftsmanship behind today’s most successful animated features.

Become a fan of the Williamson Gallery on Facebook for exclusive updates as the exhibit takes shape. And speaking of Facebook, the official College Facebook page has officially launched—become a fan today!

Awards Honor Exceptional Alumni

Each December, the College and Office of Alumni Relations present the Art Center Alumni Awards to three outstanding alumni. The winners, chosen by the Art Center community, are recognized during the Fall Term graduation ceremony. We are honored to announce the following Art Center Alumni Award winners:

  • Kenji Ekuan PROD ’57, awarded the Lifetime Achievement Alumni Award in recognition of his professional and creative accomplishments with his design company, GK Design Group. Founded in 1957, it is Japan’s largest design consultancy.
  • Michael Osborne GRPH ’78, awarded the Outstanding Service Alumni Award in honor of his humanitarian impact through his nonprofit design studio, Joey’s Corner. Named in honor of his late son, Joey’s Corner provides pro bono, strategic creative services to nonprofit groups focusing on health care, children’s issues and social causes.
  • Eric Benjamin Nyquist ILLU ’07, awarded the Young Alumni Innovator Award in recognition of his notable professional and creative innovation working with a range of clients including NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Goldie Cosmetics, Walt Disney, Heineken USA, VIBE magazine, Jeep, Lexus and Wall Street Journal Magazine.

Congratulations to our alumni for these well-deserved marks of distinction!