On today’s episode of Art Center Stories, Art Center Transportation Design alumnus and famed designer Richard Holbrook remembers the impact the students and faculty had on him both at Art Center and after graduation.
Tag Archives: Alumni Work
Connecting With Art Center Alumni In Israel
Front, from left: Tally Kelner-Gazit, Cecilia Vitas-Kasher, Lorne Buchman, Leon Botner. Back, from left: Dan Porges, Dori Regev, Micha Reshef, Zev Harari
Guest Post by Advertising Alumnus Zev Harari
When I learned that Art Center President Lorne Buchman was coming to Haifa, Israel, I was excited. It’s a great and rare opportunity to arrange a meeting with Israel-based Art Center alumni—many of whom I was not even acquainted with. I only knew of one or two fellow alums here, and set out to find more our tiny country.
A 1976 Advertising graduate myself, I contacted Leon Botner PHOT ’74, who I first met when I was majoring in Advertising at Art Center’s Third Street campus (I graduated two years later at Hillside Campus). Back then, in the mid- ’70s, there were two other Israeli students at Art Center, but as far as I know they settled in the U.S. after graduation. Leon helped me to locate two of his photography colleagues: Dan Porges PHOT ’72 and Micha Shelef PHOT ’69. I contacted an alumna I hadn’t met: Avital “Tally” Kelner-Gazit, GRPH ’85, and she directed me to two more alums: Avidor “Dori” Regev TRANS ’87 and Cecilia Vitas, ENVL’98.
So now there were seven of us, and we were excited to meet Art Center’s president and each other.
We met at the Dan Carmel Hotel, located atop Mt. Carmel overlooking the beautiful port of Haifa. After getting acquainted, we decided to go to a restaurant in town for our informal meeting. While walking to our destination, we found that we were speaking with each other and Lorne like old friends—the immediate connection and camaraderie we felt was amazing! It felt so much like our past at Art Center—while much time has passed and things are much different in our lives today, Art Center was connecting us, and naturally we shared memories and mutual experiences.
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:
- Advertising alum Lacey Waterman art directs a great TV spot for Discounthotels.com, shot at her former high school in Woodland Hills. YouTube
- Architect Alla Kazovsky on teaching in Art Center’s Saturday High program. Huffington Post
- Alum Everett Katigbak, a communication designer at Facebook, to speak at September’s Brand New Conference. Brand New
- Hot Wheels creator, Mattel toy company co-founder and Art Center alum Elliot Handler died last week at 95. What’s your favorite Hot Wheels memory? MotorTrend
- Art Center faculty member and author Krystina Castella on making ice pops at home. Columbia Tribune
- Broadcast Cinema alum Steve Hwang’s documentary FOCUS—filmed and edited during his last term at Art Center, and screened here earlier this year—has been picked up by the G4 for distribution online. It’s the first installment of the network’s newly launched G4 Films series. View the entire feature online.
Creative Inspirations: Stefan G. Bucher
Don’t miss this exclusive screening of the new film produced by lynda.com on Art Center alum, designer, illustrator and writer Stefan Bucher. It will be screened Thursday at the Ahmanson, and is free and open to the public. RSVP to alumni@artcenter.edu by July 25.
Looks like a great film—take a look at the preview below.
Creative Inspirations: Stefan G. Bucher
Thursday, July 28, 7 p.m.
Ahmanson Auditorium
Hillside Campus
RSVP to alumni@artcenter.edu by July 25
Imagining New Worlds with Patrick Hruby
Last year we told you about the amazing collaboration between Venice-based Blik and Art Center Illustration alumnus Patrick Hruby.
We’re excited to announce that Blik has just launched a new wall graphic designed by Hruby. The graphic, Imaginary Castle, is the same design that Hruby created for his final project at Art Center, on display in the Student Gallery last year.
Hruby first paired up with Blik in 2010 when he was a graduating student and Art Center’s Spring 2010 valedictorian. Earlier in the year, Blik had mentored Hruby’s fellow Art Center peers in the Advanced Illustration Studio class.
This serendipitous connection led Hruby to turn to Blik to manufacture his final project, Imagine Something Beautiful.
Each year, the Art Center gives the wall in the main school entranceway to one star student to display their final project during Graduation Show. Hruby’s project was selected for the space in spring 2010, and he approached Blik to help execute his vision and overcome the challenge of placing the design on the school’s grad wall. The transformation of Hruby’s illustration into a wall graphic was easy as Imaginary Castle was always conceived as a wall decal.
“I wanted to create a magical place that was large enough to make you feel as if you were there,” Hruby says. “Imaginary Castle pays respects to my Eastern European heritage and grandparents. I’ve always been fascinated with that design aesthetic and wanted to try my hand at it.”
The punchy colors add dimension to the large-scale design, making the decal “pop-off” the wall and appeal to children’s vivid imaginations and fairy tale sensibilities.
“We were captivated by Patrick’s style,” says Blik co-founder Scott Flora. “Imaginary Castle is a vibrant cityscape reminiscent of Mary Blair’s It’s a Small World. With its interesting shapes and modern aesthetic, we envision Imaginary Castle transporting kids into a color-filled playground. Keep your eye on Patrick, he is definitely an illustrator to watch.” Imaginary Castle is available in two sizes: a 36-inch wide wall decal and a 6-foot wide wall decal at Blik.
In Case You Missed It
Photo by Eric Curry
As you know, there’s always something going on when it comes to Art Center alumni, students and faculty.
Some of the latest:
- Photography and Imaging alum Eric Curry’s photo shoot with the Downy Fire Department produces some beautiful results. Flickr and The Downey Patriot
- Architect and Saturday High instructor Alla Kazovsky’s insights on her Saturday High class. Huffington Post
- Student Max Ostap’s idea for a super-speed car inspired by Tesla Motors. Earth Techling
- Stopping by the studio of Photography and Imaging alumna—and acclaimed knitter—Lisa Anne Auerbach. New York Times Magazine
- Art Center alum Frank Nuovo and his father, Frank Sr. Monterey County Herald
- Will someone fork over $95,000 for Art Center alum Henrik Fisker’s gorgeous design? Jalopnik
- Larry Wilson on the Williamson Gallery’s HYPERBOLIC exhibit. Pasadena Star-News
Walking in the Consumer’s Shoes: Product Design Alum’s Urshuz is All About Customization
Grant Delgatty's Urshuz line of shoes allow consumers to mix and match a shoe's uppers and soles
Never heard of Urshuz? You will soon enough.
Perhaps you’ve read about Art Center Product Design alumnus and faculty member Grant Delgatty’s entry, the Soleman Redemption, into last month’s Red Bull Soapbox Race in downtown L.A. The vehicle Delgatty drove—which could shed its layers to transform from a shoe, to a sandal, to a sole—was essentially a moving advertisement for his new line of footwear, Urshuz, whose main hook is that consumers can mix and match shoe uppers and soles into a variety of material and color combinations.
Urshuz (pronounced “yer shoes”) are currently available for purchase at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, DNA Footwear in Brooklyn, ShoeLab in Quebec and a number of other retail locations. And next month, Delgatty’s line hits the big time when the customizable shoes will be available at Urban Outfitters stores nationwide.
We sat down with Delgatty—whose history in the footwear industry includes stints designing for K-Swiss, heading up design at DVS Shoes and holding the position of Vans’ director of design for seven years—to get to the very sole of Urshuz.
Dotted Line: How did Urshuz come about?
Grant Delgatty: I’ve been in the footwear industry for a long time, and one of the growing trends I’ve observed is that consumers want to express themselves and they want to feel connected to their products. I set out to develop a method in which a consumer could become more involved in the design process of their footwear.
Art Center at Night Instructor on New Book, Film
Art Center at Night instructor Robert Mehnert recently completed the cinematography of Jinn, a supernatural thriller written and directed by Art Center Film alum Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad.
Jinn is based on the Middle/Far East myth of the Jinn, a race of beings that occupied the earth long before mankind evolved. The problem is that some of them want the world back for themselves. The story follows Shawn, the one man who can save humankind, on his quest to save mankind from a terrible fate.
The planned release date is this Halloween. Mehnert and Ahmad have worked together on three other films.
In a departure from the world of motion pictures, Mehnert has written a series of books, the first of which, Looking Down at the Sky, is now available on Kindle from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com. An adventure in time and alternate reality, the story tells the story of a brilliant mathematician lost in a mysterious earthquake—only to wake in her own bed, discovering that seven years have passed.
Visit Mehnert’s website at bobmehnert.com.
Art Center Stories: Keith Longino
In today’s installment of Art Center Stories, Art Center Advertising alumnus Keith Longino talks about getting work after his graduation in 1967, and how the skills he learned here helped him make a radical career change years later.
Product Alum Taking on Soapbox Race
Art Center Product Design alum and faculty Grant Delgatty is taking a unique approach to tomorrow’s Red Bull Soapbox Race in downtown Los Angeles, based on his new Urshuz line of footwear.
From the Pasadena Star-News:
Utilizing fasteners, buyers can attach and swap different styles of tops to Urshuz soles, or convert them into sandals. That’s pretty much how Soleman Redemption, Delgatty’s entry in the 10th annual event race, will work.
While he’s hurtling at 35-40 mph down South Grand Avenue, Delgatty will rip away Soleman Redemption’s foam top resembling a giant shoe to reveal a giant sandal underneath.
“Then at some point in the course, I’ll rip off the sandal, so it’ll just be the sole,” said Delgatty, who teaches product design at Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design.
We’ll be bringing you more on Delgatty’s Urshuz next month, so stay tuned.
Be sure to read the rest of this great article, and check out the slideshow: Pasadena team will compete in this weekend’s Red Bull Soapbox Race
Good luck, Grant!