Category Archives: Photography and Imaging

Art Center announces Alumni Award winners

Art Center is proud to announce the Alumni Award winners in the categories of lifetime achievement, outstanding service and young innovator. The annual honors allow Art Center to publicly recognize the talent, service and design influence of our alumni. Awards will be presented at the Fall Graduation ceremony Dec. 15 at 4 p.m.

Bruce Burdick ENVL 61: Lifetime Achievement Alumni Award

Bruce Burdick at Art Center in 1961

Bruce Burdick’s credits include designs for Charles and Ray Eames, John Follis and Herb Rosenthal. The flexible office furniture Burdick designed for Herman Miller was named Time magazine’s the Best of 1981 for Industrial Design.

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Film student’s photography nominated for Lucie Award

Eric Chang's "Time-Trap" was nominated for a Lucie Award.

Art Center College of Design Student Eric Chang has been nominated for a Lucie Award for “Time-Trap,” a photo series that could soon adorn Elton John’s walls.

The 22-year-old is among the eight nominees in the Discovery of the Year category — which recognizes emerging image-makers in editorial, advertising, fine art and other photo-centric industries — and carries a $5,000 prize.

Winners will be announced Oct. 8 at the 10th annual Lucie Awards, presented by the Lucie Foundation, which works to cultivate the craft of photography worldwide.

The gala dinner and awards presentation at the Beverly Hilton hotel will feature stars from both sides of the lens, including Jessica Lange, Aisha Tyler, Ryan Murphy and Joel Meyerowitz, who will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement award.

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Fine arts photographer Pedro Guerrero dies at 95

Self portrait, Manhattan studio, 1950. (c) Pedro E. Guerrero

Pedro E. Guerrero, a former Art Center student who photographed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, died Thursday at his home in Florence, Ariz. He was 95.

Guerrero had battled cancer for several years.

Upon hearing the news of his passing, Dennis Keeley, Chair of Art Center’s Photography department, said, “He was a remarkably kind and generous man who represented the highest qualities of professional excellence that we hope for all our students.”

Guerrero photographed Wright and his buildings from 1939 until Wright’s death in 1950. Guerrero’s 1994 book, “Picturing Wright: An Album from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Photographer,” features 150 photographs captured during the artist’s 20-year relationship with the famed architect.

Guerrero also turned his lens on other artists, including sculptors Alexander Calder and Louise Nevelson; architects Marcel Breuer, Eero Saarinen and  Edward Durrell Stone; and shot interiors for Vogue, House & Garden and Harper’s Bazaar.

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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.

Three Boys from Pasadena Return Home to Art Center

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.

On June 14, a packed house celebrated the Williamson Gallery’s opening reception for Three Boys from Pasadena, an exhibition of work by Art Center photography alums Mark Arbeit, George Holz, and Just Loomis.  The exhibit is accompanied by a tribute to famed fashion photographer Helmut Newton, with whom Mark, George, and Just each maintained a close and lifelong friendship after working for him early in their careers. In June 2010, Three Boys from Pasadena premiered at the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin. The companion book, with a foreword by June Newton, was published in France and is available in the Art Center student store. The Williamson Gallery exhibit is an expanded version of the original show, featuring an additional seventy prints, and will continue through August 26, 2012.

This exhibition 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 Mark, George and Just, a direct line of influence can be traced from Newton to his apprentices, while at the same time each of the three photographers’ body of work shows a departure from Newton’s strong influence and the development of a unique and independent voice.

Listen to the 3 Boys from Pasadena panel discussion

Space Stories Attracts Full House of Final Frontier Fans

Local Scientists Reveal Behind-the-Scenes Secrets of the Universe

At Art Center, being sandwiched geographically between the experimental and exploratory resources of innovative places like Caltech and Jet Propulsion Laboratory has its advantages – particularly for an ongoing series of exhibitions superimposing the domains of art and science at the college’s Williamson Gallery.

On Tuesday evening, May 1, one of those exhibitions, the Williamson’s landmark The History of Space Photography, took advantage of Art Center’s strong relationship with its nearby neighbors.  Lured from their star-studded light year calculations, exoplanet forays, and search for life-out-there, five space mission veterans interacted with an enthusiastic sold-out audience for SPACE STORIES, an informal meandering walk-around laced with spontaneous anecdotes, hidden facts, behind-the-scenes observations, and insider secrets on the history and future of the Final Frontier.

Introduced to the audience by Art Center Vice President and Williamson Gallery director Stephen Nowlin, were exhibition curator Jay Belloli; Dr. Randall Friedl, Deputy Director for Research, Engineering and Science Directorate, JPL; Dr. Robert Hurt, Spitzer Space Telescope Visualization Specialist, JPL/Caltech; David Doody, Realtime Flight Operations Lead Engineer, Cassini Mission, JPL; Jurrie van der Woude, Image Coordinator, Public Affairs Office, JPL (retired); and Dr. Randii Wessen, Science Systems Engineer and Deputy Manager, Project Formulation, JPL.

From the scientists’ outer-space to the gallery’s 4,600 square-foot inner-space where 150 spectacular photographs are on display, the spirit of exploration and discovery was present throughout as an abundance of tidbits and insights consumed the five roaming islands of rapt questioners and story-tellers.  It was a truly memorable evening, just what one might expect at the intersection of these three renowned art/science institutions in Pasadena.

The History of Space Photography’s premiere engagement began at the Williamson Gallery continues through May 6.  The exhibition is presently scheduled to travel to Florida, New York, and India.

Los Angeles Times’ Art Critic Christopher Knight Raves About History of Space Photography Exhibition

infrared photograph of Helix Nebula

An infrared photograph of Helix Nebula in deep space, part of "The History of Space Photography" at Art Center College. (Art Center College of Design / September 21, 2011)

May 1 “Space Stories” Reception and Tour Open to Public

“Spectacular” is how Los Angeles Times’ Art Critic Christopher Knight describes some of the pictures in the Williamson Gallery exhibition “The History of Space Photography” on campus through May 6.

To create the dazzling collection of images, guest curator Jay Belloli worked with several consultants from the nearby Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), founded at Caltech and affiliated with NASA. The exhibit features 150 noteworthy images, most from the last 50 years of space exploration plus video projections of various celestial animations.

“The sheer grandeur of these scientific images, the awe inspiring beauty of them, is what reminds us of art,” says Williamson Gallery Director Stephen Nowlin who is featured in an NBC TV news story about the show. Also featured in the piece is Dr. Randii Wessen, a JPL space scientist and an advisor to Belloli who will also be available at the May 1 event.

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Filling in the Blank: Students Bringing TEDx to Campus

Class shot of the TEDx Art Center College of Design Studio. Photo: June Korea.

Orange will mix with red this summer when the student-driven TEDx Art Center College of Design conference takes over the Hillside Campus on Saturday, June 9 to explore the event’s theme: “Design a ________ for Social Impact.” The “blank” in that title is a call-to-action designed to inspire conference attendees to come up with their own idea for how to effect positive change in the world.

Also on hand to inspire attendees will be an impressive lineup of speakers, including Doug Powell, national president of AIGA and the individual spearheading that association’s Design for Good initiative; and Cameron Tonkinwise, chair of Design Thinking and Sustainability at Parsons The New School School for Design, whose current research is exploring design-enabled sharing of resources. And for something completely different, Art Center Product Design alumnus and KILLSPENCER founder Spencer Nikosey has been tapped to provide the day’s musical entertainment.

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Screening of “Somewhere to Disappear” this Friday Night. FREE!

Art Center’s Photography Department will be hosting a free film screening of Somewhere to Disappear, a documentary film with Alec Soth, on Friday, March 23 at 7:30 pm at the Ahmanson Auditorium on Hillside Campus. Light refreshments will be available before the screening. Students, faculty, staff and the public are all invited.

Somewhere to Disappear is a 57 minute documentary that features photographer Alec Soth. Alec’s project Broken Manual undertakes to write a guide that will provide the basic tips on how to disappear in America. Filmmakers Laure Flammarion & Arnaud Uyttenhove follow Alec Soth on his search for men who live on the margins of society; people who ran away from their natural environment, to find their own world. As modern day hermits, they find peace in unaffected places of the country, whether it be a cabin in the mountains, a dark cave or in the expansive desert. Each of these people chose to live in a different way. The filmmakers wanted to find out why they live like this: did they deliberately make this choice? Do they regret it? What are they really looking for? Did they find it?  Check out the trailer at http://www.somewheretodisappearthefilm.com/trailers.

Alec Soth (b. 1969) is a photographer born and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His photographs have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including the 2004 Whitney and São Paulo Biennials. In 2008, a large survey exhibition of Soth’s work was exhibited at Jeu de Paume in Paris and Fotomuseum Winterthur in Switzerland. In 2010, the Walker Art produced a large survey exhibition of Soth’s work entitled From Here To There. Alec Soth’s first monograph, Sleeping by the Mississippi, was published by Steidl in 2004 to critical acclaim.  Since then Soth has published NIAGARA (2006), Fashion Magazine (2007) Dog Days, Bogotá (2007) The Last Days of W (2008), Broken Manual (2010). In 2008, Soth started his own publishing company, Little Brown Mushroom. Soth is represented by Sean Kelly in New York, Weinstein Gallery in Minneapolis, and is a member of Magnum Photos.

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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