Tag Archives: Students

Who Said Creatives Can’t Be Athletes?

While many students were feeling the pressures of final exams and likely recovering from recent all-nighters, a team of Art Center students rallied together to participate in the second Annual Collegiate Field Tournament last Friday night.

Art Center, along with Caltech, PCC, Le Cordon Bleu, Pacific Oaks and Fuller Theological Seminary competed in an array of challenges that included the Lego Car Design Challenge, Capture the Flag, Amazing Russet Race, Monster Croquet, and Frisbee Challenge. The Art Center team was comprised of 10 students both undergraduate and graduate across majors. Although smaller than the other teams in sheer number, the Art Center team brought a spirit of collaboration and passion to each event. Teams created unique uniforms, and Art Center chose to represent various tools used by artists and designers—such as an X-Acto knife and Sharpie maker.

“Quality is more important than quantity,” said Team Captain, Advertising student Dante Barsotti, who was visibly unphased by the larger teams Art Center faced. “I love competition and the opportunity to bring some glory to Art Center. Not to mention, to show people that we don’t just sit around behind computers all day.”

Representatives from ACSG, CSE, Marketing and Communications, and alumni came out to PCC’s Robinson Field to support the team. “It was great to see students off campus, outside in the fresh air, and having fun,” says Hannah Huang, director of International Exchange and Study Away.

A great time was had by all. Check out the slideshow from the event below.

Reflecting Back at 80: A Department is Born

Guest post by Art Center Archivist Robert Dirig

The year was 1931. Nevada legalized gambling. The Empire State building was completed. And Art Center created its Photography (now called Photography and Imaging) Department.

Pictured: Advanced Photography students shooting dancers outside, 1949 (photographer unknown)

Initially led by Will Connell, the department offered coursework in amateur and professional photography.

By 1935, there were 12 faculty members and in addition to the core classes, there were specialized courses in portraiture, color photography, 16mm cinematography, and composition and lighting.

Ansel Adams joined the growing program’s faculty in the early 1940s, joining such faculty members as Fred Archer, Otto Halmer, Edward Kaminski, Albert King and Charlie Potts.

In this photograph from 1949, advanced photography students are shooting dancers outside. Do you recognize anyone in the photo?

What are your memories of our Photography Department? To visit the Archives, or if you recognize anyone in the photo, contact Art Center Archivist Robert Dirig at 626.396.2208 or robert.dirig@artcenter.edu.

Ducha Halo at the 2011 NCIIA Open Minds Conference

The following post is reprinted from the Designmatters blog.

Bright and brilliant minds gathered at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History on Saturday, March 26, for Open Minds 2011, the student exhibition organized by the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) in conjunction with the organization’s 15th Annual Conference, Open: Catalyzing Innovation. The conference was attended by more than 380 faculty and students throughout the country who share NCIIA’s vision and benefit each year from its mission: “to support technology innovation and entrepreneurship in universities and colleges to create experiential learning opportunities for students, and successful, socially beneficial businesses.”

NCIIA was established in 1995 with the support of The Lemelson Foundation, legacy of prolific inventor Jerome Lemelson. NCIIA provides student start-ups with early stage funding, business strategy development training, mentoring, and investment, as well as provides staff and faculty with funding for courses and programs, opportunities for recognition, and entrepreneurship education training and networking. Since its founding, NCIIA has funded 325 experiential courses and new programs throughout hundreds of universities around the country and has leveraged more than 140 million dollars in additional funding, helping propel projects that have resulted in more than 100 new businesses.

Jessica and Narbeh at the NCIIA Open Minds event.

The Safe Agua “Ducha Halo” team, Jessica Yeh (ENV) and Narbeh Dereghishian (PROD) were selected among the innovator teams of the Open Minds exhibition and were one of 3 teams whose video of their social innovation was chosen as a top finalist by public vote as part of the 2011 Open Minds video competition.

The weekend also served as a valuable opportunity for students to network and seek out potential investors and collaborators who can help advance their ideas. “I can’t believe we had the opportunity to meet these wonderful people that are just as passionate about their projects as much as we are about ours. I have never met so many social impact innovators and bright minds in one setting. I learned so much and gained a different perspective about the whole business side of the project. I am still in the process of trying to soak all of it in! It was a really great experience and we did get some business cards and good questions that definitely challenge us to push the Ducha Halo forward,” reflects Yeh.

For the Art Center faculty engaged in 2 distinct NCIIA -funded projects through Designmatters, NCIIA was an important opportunity to be part of panel discussions and paper presentations. Safe Agua lead faculty Dan Gottlieb, Penny Herschovitch (ENV) and Liliana Becerra (PROD) attended as well Steve Montgomery (GRAD ID), who along with Becerra (PROD) taught the Creating Social Value through Design TDS in 2010.

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Art Center Vies for the Tourney Cup Tomorrow

Photo Courtesy of Ann Erdman

Who said creatives can’t be athletes, too?

Pasadena City College’s Jackie Robinson Stadium will be a colorful and competitive place tomorrow evening as teams from area colleges compete for the second annual Pasadena Collegiate Field Tournament Cup. Art Center, Caltech, PCC, Fuller Seminary, Le Cordon Bleu and Pacific Oaks College will battle it out for the coveted title. And we need you to cheer Art Center on and witness us crush the competition!

Everyone is invited for a day of fun, games and collegiality. Creative challenges will include Amazing Russet Race, Monster Croquet, Frisbee Touchdown Toss, Lego Car Design Challenge, Tower of Babel and Capture the Flag.

Free parking for the event will be available in Lots 5 and 5A at the corner of Del Mar Boulevard and Bonnie Street. Robinson Stadium is located on the south side of the PCC campus near Del Mar Boulevard between Hill and Bonnie avenues.

The Pasadena Collegiate Field Tournament is sponsored by the city of Pasadena. Art Center’s participation is spearheaded by Art Center Student Government and Center for the Student Experience.

Photo Courtesy of Ann Erdman

Immediately following the tournament, participants and spectators are invited to a tailgate party at Caltech’s Avery House where the Championship Cup will be presented to the winning team.

Avery House is located down the street from Jackie Robinson Stadium on Holliston Avenue at Del Mar.

Can you think of a better way to spend a Friday evening?

Go Art Center!

Pasadena Collegiate Field Tournament
Friday, April 8, 6 p.m. arrivals; 6:30 p.m. opening ceremony
Pasadena City College
Jackie Robinson Stadium

Celebrating Art Center’s Many Cultures

Last week marked the annual Celebration of Cultures, organized and presented by the Center for the Student Experience (CSE). A week’s worth of fun and activities are organized to celebrate the dynamic cultural diversity of Art the campus community.

The events included a Cultural Desserts event presenting a variety of delicious deserts from across the globe; an International Cheese Tasting class taught by the Cheese Store of Pasadena; a travel slideshow featuring travel images from students, faculty and staff; the Chill Out Cart, which passed out frozen treats across campus; a Global Village featuring food, games and music from around the world; and a Food Club Outing to Wat Dong Moon in Silver Lake.

The celebration was a lot of fun for everyone—view the images below from the week!

Ducha Halo Up for Open Minds Award

Last month we told you that Ducha Halo, a low-cost, portable shower designed by Art Center students Narbeh Dereghishian and Jessica Yeh in 2009’s Designmatters Safe Agua studio, was in the running for the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA)’s Open Minds video competition.

The top three teams have been chose by a judging panel and the general public—and Ducha Halo has placed in the top three!

They will travel to Washington, D.C., where the winners will be announced March 26 at the Open Minds event, held at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Congrats, Narbeh and Jessica, and good luck!

OutNetwork Presents Mapping at Brewery Annex

OutNetwork, Art Center’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, Questioning, Intersex and Allies (GLBTQIA) student club, will exhibit the work of a dozen artists and designers the L.A. Artcore Brewery Annex in downtown Los Angeles throughout March. The exhibit, Mapping, examines the GLBTQIA community and their location geographically, politically, internationally and locally.

Mapping is an extension of the mission of OutNetwork, which not only supports and embraces a variety of individuals from every socio-economic background, but also provides opportunities for networking and advancement for its members.

An opening reception will be this Sunday, March 6, from 2 to 7 p.m. at the Brewery. Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Art Center students exhibiting in the show include:

Lauren Coffin (Advertising)
Adam Cottingham (Environmental Design)
Natalie Embrey (Photography and Imaging)
Richard Funsten (Graphic Design)
Braden Graeber (Environmental Design)
Jaime Lopez (Graphic Design)
Jessamyn Prince (Photography and Imaging)
Rene Rodriguez (Photography and Imaging)
Bryce Shawcross (Graphic Design)

Alumni exhibiting:

Takayuki Shimada (Fine Art)
Jason Shorr (Illustration)
Jennifer Whitney (Illustration)

The exhibition will be on display through March 31 at L.A. Artcore Brewery Annex. Regular gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

Focus Screening Saturday

Mike Ross

Broadcast Cinema student, filmmaker Steve Hwang, is bringing an interesting topic to the big screen: a feature-length documentary on professional gamer Mike Ross.

For Focus, Hwang followed Ross throughout 2010 as he travelled the country, competing in Street Fighter 4 contests and preparing for the big tournament.

The film premieres tomorrow evening at Hillside Campus. Admission is free, and you can RSVP here. Check out the trailer below.

More From Meet the Presidents

Molano and Buchman

On Monday, Art Center Student Government (ACSG) hosted a “Meet the Presidents” event in the College’s cafeteria for Art Center students.

The event provided students an opportunity to hear directly from Art Center President Lorne Buchman and ACSG President Erik Molano on changes they could expect to see in the immediate future, and also offered a sneak preview of Art Center’s new strategic plan, which will be presented to the College’s Board of Trustees later today.

Today: Origins of the strategic plan, the Sinclaire Pavilion, and staying in touch with ACSG.

Lorne Buchman on the origins of the strategic plan:

“I came to Art Center 18 months ago and brought a central question to the community: What does a great art and design school of the 21st century need to be to serve its students, and provide the best education possible? Great institutions ask these kinds of questions. They ask them regularly, and they ask them rigorously.

“Asking this kind of question is how you stay responsive to a world that is changing and evolving. That applies to institutions as much as it applies to artists, designers and teachers. And that was the question that we went forward with.”