Aaron Bjork, “Tectonics.” Single channel video installation. Debut screening 9/11/15 at Fisk Gallery.
You’ve stocked up on coconuts, let the lawn die and sworn off all social engagements before 8pm. But the unflagging pace of alum achievements won’t wait for cooler weather. Continue reading
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.
Product Design alumna Bryce Butcher, an industrial designer at Bradshaw International, visited Hillside Campus last week with Graphic Design alumna Grace Karabachian to hand out Pancake Creators.
Wendee Lee's Pooh Pancake
Did you pick one up? Well, you’re in luck—the deadline to submit your pancake designs to the Pancake Creator contest has been extended to Oct. 7.
Get to work on whipping up some original designs, and you could win a $200 gift card to Swain’s.
Just email your designs to pancakecreator@goodcook.com or visit pancakecreator.com for more information.
This super-cool product was designed by Bryce along with Graphic Design alums Karabachian and Annie Gonzalez, so this product is a real Art Center success story. Bryce tells us that the product is just beginning to hit store shelves.
“The Pancake Creator scores a perfect trifecta for me: it’s a kitchen gadget, it made me laugh, and it was designed by a former student of mine,” says Product Design faculty member and alumna Wendee Lee, who tipped us off about last week’s giveaway.
Check out the video of the Pancake Creator below:
Product Design alumna Bryce Butcher, an industrial designer at Bradshaw International, is returning to Hillside Campus today to hand out Pancake Creators at the south entrance (off the student parking lot). 
Students can submit their own pancake designs to the Pancake Creator website for view in their gallery—and one lucky designer will win $200 to Swain’s!
This super-cool product was designed by Bryce along with Graphic Design alums Grace Karabachian and Annie Gonzalez, so this product is a real Art Center success story. Bryce tells us that the product is just beginning to hit store shelves.
“The Pancake Creator scores a perfect trifecta for me: it’s a kitchen gadget, it made me laugh, and it was designed by a former student of mine,” says Product Design faculty member and alumna Wendee Lee, who tipped us off about today’s giveaway.
Stop by, pick one up, and have some fun playing with your food! Bryce and friends will be there between noon and 2:30 p.m.
Check out the video of the Pancake Creator below:
Transportation Design alum Gabriel Wartofsky has started a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to build his lightweight, compact, folding electric bike for commuters. (Plans are to launch his Conscious Commuter at Art Center later this year.) So far, backers have pledged $17,045 of his $25,000 goal needed to bring his bike to market. (The deadline to pledge is Sept. 29.) KCET just ran a story on Wartofsky—be sure to check it out.
Another project is currently on Kickstarter, this one created by a group of Art Center students for a class project. They are looking for funding to help them film and produce a short film inspired by an epic DC Comics vignette. The six-day shoot will take place throughout Pasadena with sets built from scratch at Art Center. Students leading the project are Domenic Moen (writer/director), Stephen Reedy (editor), Chris Saul (cinematographer) and Jake Viramontez (producer).
Check them out:
In this special Labor Day weekend edition of Art Center Stories, alumnus and Board of Trustees member Kit Hinrichs talks about giving back to the next generation of artists and designers through scholarships–and why it’s important to do so.
As you know, there’s always something going on when it comes to Art Center alumni, students and faculty.
Work by Vincent Robbins
Two Art Center alums have been nominated for Emmy Awards for their animation work. Both nominations are in the same category: “Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation.”
Illustration alumna Jill Daniel, an art director at Disney, was nominated for her background painting on the cartoon series Phineas & Ferb.
Fine Art alumna Vanessa Marzaroli, director at Bl:nd, is nominated for production design of a music video. Lilac Wine (shown above) was directed by Marzaroli to celebrate Dr. Marten’s 50th anniversary. The video previously won the gold in motion graphics for the 2010 London International Award for the video.
The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards will be Sunday, Sept. 18. Good luck, Jill and Vanessa!
A bulletproof lemonade stand, a tender childhood moment captured in the Southern California sun, a futuristic car that stores energy in chemical bonds, and a sneak peek at the future of the written word—all of these were made possible due to the generosity of Art Center scholarship donors.
This past February, Art Center President Lorne Buchman and Student Government President Erik Molano addressed the student body at an event titled “Meet the Presidents.” There, Buchman offered a preview of the College’s new strategic plan and discussed one of its most important elements: easing the financial burden to students.
While pointing out that Art Center delivers an expensive form of education—equipment, labor and team teaching all add to a per-student cost that actually exceeds tuition—Buchman said easing students’ financial commitment is critical to maintaining a diverse student body and a robust learning environment.
“A huge part of my job is to find the philanthropy and scholarships that are going to help,” said Buchman. “I think about this every day.”
He’s done more than think about it. In the last year, thanks to targeted budgetary reallocations and fundraising projects like the “80 for 80” initiative, Art Center made an additional $3 million available for student scholarships. And with a full 80 percent of current Art Center students receiving financial aid, you can be sure that every additional dollar counts.
Annually, Art Center allocates $9.6 million for scholarships; of that amount, 18 percent comes from donors. And for many students who come to Art Center seeking a bachelor’s degree, but who already have a prior degree—as is true for three of the students profiled here—those scholarships are fundamental, as they’re ineligible for either federal or California state grants.
Increasing scholarship support is a key priority for Art Center, as laid out in Create Change, the College’s new strategic plan. Here are three current students and one recent alumnus whose visions we can all delight in thanks to Art Center scholarships.
Work from Schaefer's Website
A fascinating story in the L.A. Times focuses on Art Center alumnus and faculty member Alex Schaefer, questioned by L.A. police after painting a bank branch on fire.
“They said they had to find out my intention. They asked if I was a terrorist and was I going to follow through and do what I was painting.”
No, Schaefer said. He explained that the artwork was intended to be a visual metaphor for the havoc that banking practices have caused to the economy.
A terrorist certainly would not spend hours on a public sidewalk creating an oil painting of his intended target, he told the officers.
The police took down his name, address and telephone number on a form — Schaefer declined to provide his Social Security number — and departed.
“They were friendly. They weren’t intimidating,” he said. “I figured that when they left, they probably decided the episode was stupid and they’d just wad up the form and throw it away.”
Wrong. On Tuesday, two more officers showed up at Schaefer’s home. This time they were plainclothes detectives.
Read more: An artist’s incendiary painting is his bank statement