Tag Archives: Faculty Work

Art … or Terrorism?

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.

From the article:

“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.

MDP Showcased in Little Tokyo Design Week

Art Center’s Graduate Media Design (MDP) program will be among the international designers, architects, filmmakers, corporations and other educational institutions exploring the “New Urban Lifestyle” as part of Little Tokyo Design Week: Future City (LTDW) this week. LTDW celebrates the power and energy of cutting-edge design and technology emerging from Japan and its relation to current trends materializing in Los Angeles.

“We look forward to participating alongside world class designers, artists and creative thinkers and engaging the public in an exciting dialogue about the future of our cities and the future of design,” says MDP Chair Ann Burdick.

Taking place July 14 through 17, the free, four-day public festival will span the geographic breadth of downtown Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district with a series of museum exhibitions, student installations, public happenings and temporary galleries in the form of shipping containers placed throughout the public plazas of Little Tokyo. Under the auspices of the MDP program, the College will produce three separate projects for LTDW exploring how design and technology will shape lives in the cities of the future.

“Grad Media Design emphasizes an approach that responds to issues without the assumption of a particular type or mode of outcome and, similarly, to resist the adaptation of common assumptions for topics of technological or social concern,” says Tim Durfee, core faculty and director of amp: Projects in Media and Architecture within the MDP program. “This ethic is in evidence for both our PLAN C installation and Metropolis of Me symposium, in which we approach familiar topics from somewhat novel directions in order to reveal overlooked opportunities or implications.”

There are three projects being produced by Grad Media Design for LTDW.

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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.

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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.

Cannes Palm d’Or Winner Edited by Art Center Faculty

Terence Malick’s new film Tree of Life has won the 2011 Cannes Film Festival Palm d’Or Award, the festival’s top prize. The film was co-edited by Art Center Film Department instructor and mentor Billy Weber.

Tree of Life is the story of a Midwestern family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son (played as an adult by Sean Penn) through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (played by Brad Pitt).

Weber earned an Academy Award nomination for editing Malick’s Thin Red Line as well as one for editing Top Gun. His many editing credits include Nacho Libre, Miss Congeniality, Bulworth, Days of Thunder, Midnight Run, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, 48 Hrs and Beverly Hills Cop.

He directed Josh and S.A.M. and served an associate producer on The New World. He is currently editing Madagascar 3 for DreamWorks Animation. Congrats!

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!

Visiting Sunday’s Open Market

Sunday was the Art & Design Open Market, a free event allowing the public a rare opportunity to purchase prints, photography, sculpture and fine art created by Art Center students, faculty and alumni. About 25 from the Art Center community participated—check out the images below provided by the CSE:

Open Market This Sunday

This Sunday is the Art & Design Open Market at One Colorado.

Open Market is free and open to the public. It allows a rare opportunity to purchase prints, photography, sculpture and fine art created by students, faculty and alumni form Art Center and PCC. All of the proceeds from sales will go to the artists.

Since its launch in 2003, the Open Market has provided visibility for more than 700 artists and has served as a destination for thousands of art collectors and enthusiasts. Art for sale includes photography, fine art, paintings, illustrations, graphic design, ceramics, sculptures and more. For photos of the Fall 2010 Open Market, click here.

For more information, visit onecolorado.com or call 626.564.1066.

Art + Design Open Market
Sunday, May 1, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
One Colorado
24 East Union Street, Pasadena, CA 91103

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