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SPRING 2012
Art Center College of Design
• 01
SCAN QR CODE FOR INSTANT
ACCESS.
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
BESPOKE INNOVATIONS’ CUSTOMIZED
“FAIRINGS” FOR PROSTHETIC
LIMBS ADDRESS THE HUMAN NEEDS
OF THE USER. SEE PAGE 8.
Dot magazine is published by the
Department of Marketing and
Communications
Art Center College of Design
1700 Lida Street, Pasadena, CA 91103
artcenter.edu
Cover: Stellar Axis: Antarctica by Lita
Albuquerque. Photo by Jean de Pomereu.
Photography: © Art Center College of
Design/Steven A. Heller; Vahé D’Ala;
Catherine R. Wygal & Deanna McClure
© 2012 Art Center College of Design.
All rights reserved. Dot, Art Center, and
Art Center College of Design are trademarks of Art Center College of Design.
Student works reproduced or referenced
in this publication are for educational
purposes only. No part of this publication
may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or any information storage
or retrieval system, without written
permission of the publisher.
Lita Albuquerque
Printed on Utopia 1X: Green with 20%
post-consumer waste and French Paper,
Construction, both FSC-certified Mix.
Photograph: Marissa Roth
For her 2006 work Stellar Axis: Antarctica (see cover), artist
and Graduate Art faculty member Lita Albuquerque led a team of scientists, researchers and artists to Antarctica to create a sculpture and ephemeral event on an unprecedented scale—99 fabricated blue spheres were placed on
the ice, each corresponding to a specific star in the sky
above, resulting in an earthly constellation at the planet’s pole. For more on Albuquerque and her most recent large-scale ephemeral work in Los Angeles, Spine of the
Earth 2012 (pictured here), see page 27.
litaalbuquerque.com
VISIT US ON
FACEBOOK AND TWITTER
FACEBOOK.COM /ARTCENTER.EDU
TWITTER.COM /ART_CENTER
mart products, exhibitions, ventures
S
and experiences by Art Center students, alumni and faculty.
08
feature
Custom Made for the Soul
Student Seth Astle, designer of an award-winning foot and pedal system for para-cyclists, and
Bespoke Innovations, the makers of “Fairings” for prosthetic limbs,
share the same goal: improving the quality of people’s lives.
15
annual report
A look at many of Art Center’s
accomplishments for fiscal year 2010–2011, including the “80 for 80”
scholarship initiative, Art Center’s strategic plan, the Designmatters concentration and more.
27
feature
Replacing Pigment with People
Artist and Graduate Art faculty
member Lita Albuquerque revisits and expands her seminal 1980
earthwork, Spine of the Earth, in
Los Angeles’ Baldwin Hills Scenic
Outlook for the Getty’s Pacific
Standard Time.
35
dot news
Campus news: TEDx meets Art
Center, Dwell on Design, Kickstarter,
South Campus expansion, Honoring
Civility, DOT Launch.
39
spotted
Were you there? Recent events both
on and off campus.
SPRING 2012
Board Chairman: Robert C. Davidson, Jr.
President: Lorne M. Buchman
Senior Vice President, Development and
External Affairs : Arwen Duffy
Associate Vice President, Advancement
Services : Armik Allen
Associate Vice President, Development :
Maya Chalich
Associate Vice President, Marketing and
Communications : Wendy Shattuck
Director, Communications: Teri Bond
Director, Design Office: Ellie Eisner
Director, Promotion and Public Affairs:
Jered Gold
02
around the world
Art Center Dot
Interim Co-Editors: Jered Gold,
Mike Winder
Writer s: Rebecca Epstein, Jered Gold,
Mike Padilla, Mike Winder
Art Director : Winnie Li
Designers : Andrea Carrillo, Winnie Li,
Miguel Ramirez
Production Manager : Audrey Krauss
Web Designer: Eliana Dominguez
Web Production: Chuck Spangler
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SPRING 2012
• 03
AROUND THE WORLD
Are you a “Tunnel Visionary,” “Fuzzy Forecaster” or “Idle
Achiever?” Better download Unstuck, an iPad app that
promises to kick-start “personal growth for anyone who
wants to live better every day.” An offshoot of SYPartners, a creative consultancy whose clients range from Johnson
& Johnson to Target, Unstuck was designed by SYPartners’
Audrey Liu PROD 03 and offers interactive tools to help
“stuck” users get motivated, make decisions and overcome
obstacles. In other words, the free app offers the same
services that SYPartners offers all its big-name clients.
“(SYPartners Founder and Chairman) Keith Yamashita really
believes in making what we do accessible to anyone,” says Liu, who believes that with Unstuck, her company is
blazing a trail for others to follow. Signs point to yes. unstuck.com
The Game Has Changed
Annis Naeem ENTD 6TH TERM
coming
summer
2012
Fans of Tron and its 2010 sequel, Tron: Legacy, are already
well acquainted with heroes Flynn, Sam and Quorra and the
Light Cycles, Light Jets and Light Runners they use to blaze
across the digital frontier. Now, with this summer’s Tron:
Uprising animated series, Disney upgrades the grid with
new characters—Beck (Elijah Wood), Mara (Mandy Moore)
and Pavel (Paul Reubens)—new vehicles—Light Crawlers and the mass transit Light Rail—and a narrative that bridges
the gap between the two films. And right there in the middle
of the uprising is current Entertainment Design student Annis Naeem, who began working on the Disney XD channel
show between his fourth and fifth terms and whose “user
powers” touched both the show’s vehicles and futuristic
environments. End of line.
disney.go.com/disneyxd
DIANE LANE,
ROBERT PULCINI,
SHARI SPRINGER
BERMAN, AFFONSO
BEATO.
PHOTOGRAPHER:
PETER LOVINO,
COURTESY HBO
FILMS.
Richard Bunkall ILLU 75
Art Center alumnus and former faculty member Richard
Bunkall ILLU 75 passed away from Lou Gehrig’s disease
in 1999, but his influence and impact lives on. During his
25-year career as a painter and sculptor, he created a
significant body of artwork that was both original and
emotionally compelling. The Pasadena Museum of California Art recently mounted an exhibition, Richard Bunkall: A
Portrait, and hosted a book launch celebration for Richard
Bunkall, the first published survey of the artist’s work.
Featuring more than 200 color plates of paintings, works on paper, sculptures and personal sketches, as well as essays
by art critics Peter Frank, B.R. Gilbert and Peter Clothier, the
300-page tome is the definitive homage to the man and his
extraordinary talent.
richardbunkall.com
Keeping it Real
Affonso Beato FILM FACULTY
Long before Snooki got punched or Jon and Kate had eight,
there were the Louds of An American Family. That groundbreaking 12-part PBS documentary series from 1973
chronicled the events that led to the divorce of Bill and
Patricia Loud, the couple at the head of an upper-middle
class American family living in Santa Barbara, and effectively gave birth to the reality television genre. Last year the HBO
film Cinema Verite told the behind-the-scenes story of the
series, and there to recapture the look and feel of early 1970s
California was Film instructor Affonso Beato, the picture’s
director of photography. The film, whose predominant look Beato described to American Cinematographer as “a
Kodachrome dream: colorful, bright and sunny,” stars Tim
Robbins and Diane Lane and is now available on Blu-ray.
hbo.com/movies/cinema-verite
PATRICK FUGIT,
SHANNA COLLINS,
TIM ROBBINS,
DIANE LANE.
PHOTOGRAPHER:
PETER LOVINO,
COURTESY HBO
FILMS.
Art Center Dot
TRON: UPRISING
COURTESY
DISNEY XD.
Audrey Liu PROD 07
A Portrait of a Celebrated Artist
AROUND THE WORLD
Art Center Dot
around
the
world
Not Your Father’s Magic 8 Ball
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
• 04
SPRING 2012
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ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
Appetite for Discussion
Amie Thăo ILLU 07
This summer, Amie Thăo ILLU 07 and Finnish musician Olli
Tumelius will cycle 15,000 miles across Europe and Asia to document “real people, real food, and real stories,” for
their storytelling project “The International Supper Club,”
which aims to build connections among people using the
social space of shared meals and stories. Thăo believes
stories are important because they help us empathize and connect with each other and remind us of our shared
humanity. The idea came to Thăo during a solo cycling trip
she took through 15 different European countries in 2011.
“Everywhere I went, I found that people were struggling
with how to make meaning from their lives,” she says. “Meal
time is the perfect space to sit together and tell stories.” internationalsupperclub.org
Thanks to the combined talent of nine Art Center alumni
—David Goodwin TRAN 97, Derek Hibbs ENVL 05, Sameer
Kawash ENVL 96, Ed Li ILLU 98, Chuck Roberts ILLU 84, Ken
Saba GFILM 01, Lidat Truong ILLU 07, Kyle Valentic GRPH 07
and Nathaniel West ILLU 03 —BRC Imagination Arts recently
took home the Themed Entertainment Association’s 2012
Thea Award for Best Cultural Heritage Attraction on a
Limited Budget for The Ghost of the Castle. The focal point
of the visitor experience at the Louisiana Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge—the former statehouse now acts as a political
history museum—The Ghost of the Castle is an immersive
theatrical presentation in which the ghost of Sarah Morgan,
an authentic Civil War-era heroine, tells the castle’s history
as chronicled in her book, A Confederate Girl’s Diary.
louisianaoldstatecapitol.org
Of Maps and Men
Wendy MacNaughton FINE 99
For years, Wendy MacNaughton FINE 99 has documented
San Francisco residents — everyone from Market Street
chess players to Civic Center Farmer’s Market farmers —
in their own words. Now she’s been named a 2012 Artist in Residence at the Intersection for the Arts, a communityoriented, multidisciplinary artists’ space in the City by the Bay. During her residency, she’ll be building upon the
installation she created at Intersection as part of the recent
group show Here Be Dragons: Mapping Information and
Imagination. Titled “Around Here,” her installation used
portraits and “corresponding psychological and physical
maps” to document the populations in the neighborhoods
and communities near Fifth and Mission. “It’s going to grow in all directions, all over the walls, ceiling, everywhere,”
says MacNaughton of the project’s expansion. theintersection.org
HELMUT NEWTON
(ABOVE) BY
MARK ARBEIT PHOT
Art Center Dot
Art Center Dot
A Ghostly Win
While enrolled in Art Center’s Photography program in
1979, Mark Arbeit PHOT 79, George Holz PHOT 80 and Just
Loomis PHOT 80 found themselves in the enviable position
of assisting fashion photographer Helmut Newton during
one of his most prolific periods. Following his death in
2004, Newton’s wife conceived of and curated Three Boys
from Pasadena: A Tribute to Helmut Newton, an unusual
memorial to the iconic photographer and a revealing look
at the personal and professional relationships that exist
between artists and their protégés. The exhibition includes
each photographer’s individual work as well as snap-
shots, hand-written notes, journal pages, contact sheets
and other mementos. The exhibition debuted in Berlin,
traveled to Paris and New York, and this summer the boys
return home — an expanded version of the original show
will run in Art Center’s Williamson Gallery from June 14 to
August 26, 2012.
threeboysfrompasadena.com
AROUND THE WORLD
AROUND THE WORLD
“Three Boys” Return Home
79
ATELIER SYLVIE
BERRY (BELOW) BY
MARK ARBEIT PHOT 79
• 06
SPRING 2012
BEHANCE NETWORK
These Shoes Were Made for Skating
Art Center Dot
AROUND THE WORLD
Men in Vintage Black
MEN IN BLACK 3,
COURTESY
SONY PICTURES.
Craig Shoji ENTD 06
opens
05.25.20 12
It’s been 10 years since actors Will Smith and Tommy Lee
Jones donned their signature black sunglasses as extraterrestrial-busting Men in Black Agents J and K. Now the
boys—and director Barry Sonnenfeld—are back for another
intergalactic smackdown in Men in Black 3. This time around,
J (Smith) travels back in time to 1969 to prevent the younger
K, played by Josh Brolin, from being assassinated. When it came time to reimagine MIB headquarters in the ‘60s, the
filmmakers turned to Craig Shoji ENTD 06, who designed
a space filled with sweeping curved benches, egg chairs,
glass stairs and two columns of outrageously supersized
torchiere lamps. Sadly, his Art Center-centric suggestion of
orange upholstery didn’t make the final cut. The film opens
Memorial Day weekend. meninblack.com
Peter Treadway MS INDU 04
Peter Treadway MS INDU 04 recently launched a Kickstarter
campaign to cover the final production costs for spnKiX,
battery powered, motorized skates that strap on to your
shoes. Thanks to help from Nikolai Cornell’s MDP 04 and
Eric Boisvert’s MDP 04 marketing and creative firm PUSH,
within weeks the $25,000 goal was surpassed nearly five-
fold and the first factory shipment is due to arrive this spring.
Dubbed “wearable mobility,” Treadway’s spnKiX use a hand-
controlled wireless remote to direct both shoes at once. All hardware and electronics are integrated into the fiber-
reinforced nylon frame that affixes to your shoe, with one
motor and battery pack per foot. SpnKiX also come with
training wheels to help get you on your (motorized) feet.
www.spnkix.com
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Created exclusively for the Art Center
community, the Art Center Gallery
provides a space for alumni, students,
faculty and staff to promote their work
and collaborate with peers.
And since Behance seamlessly
integrates with LinkedIn, the world’s
largest professional network, the
Gallery doubles as a powerful tool to
seek out new opportunities.
• 08
SPRING 2012
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ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
FEATURE
FEATURE
BY MIKE WINDER
PRODUCT DESIGN
STUDENT SETH ASTLE
AND BESPOKE
INNOVATIONS SHARE
THE SAME GOAL:
IMPROVING THE QUALITY
OF PEOPLE’S LIVES
Art Center Dot
Art Center Dot
CUSTOM MADE
FOR THE
KINESTHETICALLY PLEASING
Last year, upper-term Art Center student
Seth Astle made waves when he won the
International Design Society of America’s
(IDSA) Gold IDEA Award for Cadence, his
prosthetic and pedal system designed for
below-the-knee amputee para-cyclists.
While winning the award was an achievement in itself, equally noteworthy is how
the Product Design major’s project came
to fruition and how its success put him
in touch with Bespoke Innovations, a
pioneering human-centered design firm
that creates what it calls “Fairings”—
3D-printed coverings that surround an
existing prosthetic leg and are customized for each individual.
SETH ASTLE AND HIS PROSTHETIC AND
PEDAL SYSTEM FOR PARA-CYCLISTS.
Astle’s Cadence project began two years
ago in instructor Fridolin Beisert’s INDU 08
Product Design 2 course. Beisert’s brief
for the course was deliberately vague:
“Design an innovative product for the
Olympics.” As somebody who grew up
active—running, swimming, surfing,
skateboarding and, above all else, cycling (“I started riding a two-wheeler
when I was three years old,” said Astle)
—the assignment intrigued him. As he
began exploring ideas, the notion of
designing a product for the Paralympics
took shape in his mind. He relished
the idea of focusing on an event that
receives nowhere near the amount of
attention as the Olympics, yet contains
just as many dramatic stories of perseverance and triumph over adversity.
Then it all clicked: he would design a
prosthetic to assist para-cyclists, specifically for below-the-knee amputees,
the biggest group of amputees in the
United States.
Astle began his research by going to
the Home Depot Center Velodrome in
Carson, Calif., to observe competitive
indoor cycling. While there he acquired
several good leads for para-cyclists,
conducted several interviews, and
gained valuable insights into three challenges para-cyclists face:
• 10
SPRING 2012
• 11
A) Below-the-knee amputees experience a “dead zone” in the
circular phase of pedaling because they are unable to create
forward or backward movements;
B) Amputees have difficultly “clipping in” to a clipless pedal
system—the system favored by professional cyclists that
eschews pedals with toe clips for shoes with sole-mounted
cleats that snap into the pedals—because they can’t feel their
way into the pedal’s receptacle; and
C) Para-cyclists often fall when “clipping out” because doing so
FEATURE
Art Center Dot
requires pivoting the ankle to unlatch the cleat from the pedal,
an action which a below-the-knee amputee cannot do.
Over the course of 14 weeks, Astle developed his Cadence
system that solves these challenges in a number of innovative
ways. That dead zone due to a lack of forward and backward
pedaling movements? Cadence solves this with an elastomeric
band that accumulates potential energy—as the foot rotates
to the bottom phase of the pedaling cycle, kinetic energy
snaps the foot and leg back up and around to the top phase.
The difficulty of clipping in without being able to feel if the
foot is in the correct position? The Cadence foot features a
split-toe design, so that para-cyclists can visually line up the
cleat with the receptacle on the pedal. And the issue of paracyclists falling while trying to clip out? Rather than relying on a
pivoting motion to unfasten, the Cadence utilizes a magnetic
system that disengages when the cyclist pedals backwards.
While a prosthetic that tackles as many problems as the
Cadence does is reason enough to celebrate, Astle’s design
is so visually striking that it wows purely based on its aesthetics. “I didn’t want it to look exactly like a leg, but I also
didn’t want it to look like a super-engineered piece,” said
Astle of his design that both echoes the dramatic lines and
forms of a cycling helmet while also looking like a natural
extension of the human body. “I wanted it to land somewhere
in between.”
And where exactly did the Cadence land? Everywhere. Last
July it won IDSA’s Gold IDEA award for Product Design. A few
months later it won the U.S. James Dyson Award. And this July
it will be on display in a special exhibition at the London 2012
Olympics. With all this attention, Astle’s phone began ringing
off the hook, with calls coming in from Brazil, Chile, Australia
and New Zealand. “People were asking me, When is it coming
out?” said Astle. “And then the prosthetics companies started
calling me.”
BESPOKE CREATES FAIRINGS, CUSTOMIZED
PROSTHETIC COVERINGS.
(TOP) SKETCHES FOR ASTLE’S IDEA GOLD
AWARD-WINNING CADENCE SYSTEM.
BESPOKE’S FAIRINGS ADDRESS THE HUMAN
NEEDS OF THE USER.
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
BEYOND NUTS AND BOLTS
One of those companies that called
was San Francisco-based Bespoke
Innovations, a firm founded by industrial designer Scott Summit and Ken
Trauner, a practicing orthopedic surgeon, whose Fairings—3D-printed and
customized coverings that surround an
existing prosthetic leg—had also won
a Gold IDEA Award (Astle won in the
Student Designs category; Bespoke in
the Personal Accessories category).
Summit had seen the Cadence, recognized a like-minded designer in Astle,
and contacted him to see if he was
looking for work. Astle told him he
was still studying, but that he’d love to
do an internship. He went up to San
Francisco, met with the company, and
was hired the next day.
Summit describes Bespoke as an
experiment in bringing industrial design to devices where design is typically more utilitarian and pragmatic.
“Things which are pretty lifeless and
soulless for anybody who has to use
them,” Summit explained. As the son
of a special education teacher, Summit
has a lifelong understanding of how
poorly designed products tasked with
addressing an individual's special
needs can negatively impact feelings
of self-worth.
“They are usually such a mechanically
driven product when you see them,”
said Summit, who believes prosthetic
limbs have been stuck on the bottom
level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
pyramid for far too long. While they
may address the immediate utilitarian
needs of the user, prosthetic limbs fail
to tap into the individual’s personality.
“They have every hallmark of something that was designed by engineers
—they’re essentially a titanium pipe,
couplings and lots of nuts and bolts.
There’s very little consideration of
the human being as something more
nuanced than a robot. Our goal is to
address the human needs—the personality, life and soul of the person.”
One major way Bespoke’s Fairings
address human needs is by restoring
its user’s symmetry, which is achieved
digitally: Bespoke 3D-scans the amputee’s remaining limb, mirrors the scan
and then 3D-prints a part that perfectly
blends in with the user’s symmetry. But
as innovative as that technology might
be, the true magic behind Bespoke’s
Fairings lies in how the company goes
one step further by soliciting and incor-
porating the aesthetic preferences of
the user.
Those preferences can come in
many forms—whether it’s a unique
interpretation of the contours of their
body (creating division lines for a
bodybuilder that don’t violate his body
shape) or in the choice of materials
used to create the Fairing (copper
fairings for a client who wants her pro-
sthetic limb to match her red hair).
One of Summit’s favorite case studies
is James, a motorcycle rider in the San
Francisco Bay Area who lost his leg in
a motorcycle accident two decades
ago. The Fairing Bespoke created for
him perfectly accentuates his Harley
Davidson—a black carbon fiber interior,
a polished chrome exterior embossed
with tattoos similar to those on his
arm, and contours that blend seamlessly with his bike (at left). “The net
effect is fascinating because the
Fairing becomes an aesthetic liason
of sorts,” said Summit. “It really looks
like man meets machine through this
surrogate body part."
• 12
SPRING 2012
• 13
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
“WE HAVE A COMMUNITY
OF STUDENTS WHO WANT
TO LEVERAGE THEIR
CREATIVITY TO IMPACT
PEOPLE’S LIVES”
FEATURE
LEVERAGING DESIGN
“That was an incredibly special moment” said Karen Hofmann,
Chair of Art Center’s Product Design Department, on how Astle and Bespoke, both IDEA Gold winners working on solving similar problems, came to work together. And for
Hofmann, just as special was the fact that Astle wasn’t the
only student in the Olympics-themed class who focused on
individuals with similar needs.
(BOTTOM) IN CLASS, ASTLE CREATED MANY
MOCKUPS OF HIS CADENCE SYSTEM.
(TOP RIGHT) ASTLE’S CADENCE SYSTEM ACTS
AS A NATURAL EXTENSION OF THE BODY.
“When Frido [Beisert] told me his Product Design 2 course
was centered on the Olympics, we imagined we’d have a lot
of interesting performance apparel and footwear projects,”
said Hofmann. “But as the midterms approached, Frido came
into my office and said, ‘You’re not going to believe this. We
have half a dozen students who have, on their own, decided
to focus on the Paralympics instead of the Olympics.’”
Projects in that class ranged from Astle’s Cadence to Product Design student German Aguirre Raeder’s Centaur
High Performance Quad Rugby Wheelchair to Daniel Huang’s
PROD 11 Tanggo, a futuristic concept that enables amputees
to move fluidly and dance while atop a robotic Segway-
like device. And the thing that impressed Hofmann the most
is that all these projects were student-driven. “We have a community of students who want to leverage their creativity to impact people’s lives,” said Hofmann. “That’s the most
meaningful work designers can do.”
For Summit, the appeal goes back to infusing design into
products where it has traditionally been lacking. “It’s a lot cooler
to be working on the next sports car or motorcycle than it is
to be working on a crutch for the elderly, but the impact you
can have is so much greater.”
And Astle concurs. “I’m not a big fan of cell phones or
gadgets. But something that helps people achieve their best?
That excites me.”
BESPOKE’S FAIRINGS RESTORE THE
USER’S BODY SYMMETRY.
FEATURE
Bespoke also sees a good deal of veterans who have lost
limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan, as the U.S. Department of
Veteran Affairs is very receptive to improving the quality of
life, and often covers the cost of Fairings, for soldiers. “In
many ways, soldiers are ideal candidates because some of
them are larger-than-life characters and they’re typically in
their 20s and still very much in touch with their body image,”
said Summit, who adds that while veterans and motorcycle
accident victims make up a good share of his business, there’s
a much larger demographic out there in need of prosthetic
limbs. “As morbid as it sounds, the wars only add up to a few
thousand people a year,” said Summit. “That’s a small number
considering that limbs lost to diabetes account for more than
100,000 people a year.”
Art Center Dot
Art Center Dot
— KAREN HOFMANN
artcenter.edu/giving
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Art Center's artists and
designers are transforming
our world for the better.
Every day. And there's no
better way to support
their extraordinary efforts
than with a gift to the
Art Center Annual Fund.
Annual Report
2010–11
Dear Friends,
Chris Hatcher
ANNUAL GIVING
In recent months you have probably heard about many extraordinary changes taking place at Art Center. From the launch of our community-created strategic plan for 2011–2016, to the development of new leading-edge degree programs, to the purchase
of a new property that will double the size of South Campus (see page 38 for the
complete story), the progress we are making in re-imagining Art Center for future
generations represents a pivotal moment in our history.
In this issue of Dot, I’m delighted to be able to introduce yet another change—the
inclusion of the Art Center Annual Report, which will now appear in the first magazine
of each calendar year.
Why this new addition? Because as we prepare to seize new opportunities that will
advance our mission, it is of utmost importance that we understand our strengths. On
the surface, annual reports are about numbers—from a summary of audited financial
statements to endowment market value to total philanthropic support—but reflected
in these numbers is a human story about our students’ growth and their efforts to improve lives and empower communities. It is this story that reminds us of the value
of the work we do, and encourages us as we look to the future to do it even better.
Total philanthropy for fiscal year 2010-2011, the best we have seen in three years, aligns with a range of milestones that are quickly reshaping the landscape of Art Center.
Becoming the preeminent college for art and design in the 21st century will, however,
require the ongoing dedication of the entire Art Center community—trustees, alumni,
faculty, staff, families and friends alike. Gifts of every size are helping us realize our
vision, and all of us at the College are profoundly grateful for your support. We hope
you will be inspired by what you read here, and recognize the very real ways you are
making a difference. Because of your commitment, the future of Art Center has never
looked brighter.
Robert C. Davidson, Jr.
Chairman
Art Center College of Design Board of Trustees
• 16
SPRING 2012
• 17
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
Annual Report
“Invigorating and transformative.”
That’s how President Lorne M. Buchman
recently described Art Center’s accomplishments of fiscal year 2010–2011.
During the period starting July 1, 2010,
and ending June 30, 2011, the College
saw growth in private giving for the
second year in a row. Moreover, FY2011
set the stage for even greater achievements to come as Art Center re-imagines
itself as the world’s leading college for
art and design. We chose six milestones
and asked a different person from the
College community to talk about what
one of them means to him or her—and
to the future success and relevance of
Art Center in the 21st century.
Art Center Dot
Completed
The “80 for 80”
Scholarship Initiative
FY2011 was a banner year
for new student support at
Art Center. As part of the
College’s 80th anniversary
in 2010, Art Center launched
the “80 for 80” Scholarship
Initiative to raise $2 million
for annual and endowed
scholarships. Friends, alumni
and other partners joined
together to surpass that
goal by 56 percent, for a
total of more than $3 million
— the equivalent of 124
$25,000 scholarships.
“Students want to be able to easily
access a good education, and more
scholarships allow that to happen.
As president of Art Center Student
Government, I would often hear
stories about the financial challenges that many students face.
When I reported back to my fellow
Student Government officers regarding the success of ‘80 for 80,’
they were astounded. The Office
of Development not only met their
goal, they exceeded it. Initiatives
like this provide hope for students
in need, and assure us that the
College is headed in the right
direction.”
Erik Molano
graphic design student, former Student
Government president
Art Center Dot
Six Art Center
Milestones
and what they mean
for the Future of
the College
ANNUAL REPORT 2010–11
ANNUAL REPORT 2010–11
2010–11
“In 2011, I had the opportunity to
meet regularly with Art Center’s
Office of Development, and was
pleased to discover the level of
effort that went into looking for new
scholarships. When I first heard of
the ‘80 for 80’ Initiative, I was excited to see our 80th anniversary
being used to remind everyone in
the Art Center community about
what is really most important—
the ability for students to attend
a great college.
• 18
SPRING 2012
• 19
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
Launched
The Art Center
Strategic Plan
The Designmatters
Concentration
ANNUAL
AROUND
REPORT
THE WORLD
2010-11
Art
Art Center Dot
Dot
Created
In FY2011, Art Center
launched the Designmatters
concentration, a new course
of study offered to undergraduates wishing to focus
on the use of art and design
for meaningful social impact.
From innovating design
solutions to overcome water
poverty in Peru to designing
an art park to foster safe,
artistic expression among atrisk teenagers in Pasadena,
Art Center students can now
declare the concentration
during their third term.
“Improving the lives of others is
not just a part of governments or
charitable organizations anymore.
Every person has the opportunity
to confront issues; the skills to
understand, research, analyze and
tackle conflict are an essential
part of any education.
“Designmatters gives students
at Art Center the opportunity to
create innovative solutions to
overcome challenges within our
society by collaborating with
people outside of one’s major and
career path. Tackling real-world
problems through Designmatters
has given me a new passion to
supplement the skills I have already
acquired. Working with people
from federal agencies and being
exposed to their issues, capabilities
and understanding, and learning
to apply a designer’s research and
knowledge to co-create strategic
solutions, have been invaluable
parts of my Art Center experience.
These projects have permanently
changed how I view myself as a
designer. Designmatters is permanently changing our understanding
of what a design school can do.”
Bianca Chin Fuchs
graphic design student
Built
The Parsons
Demonstration Shop
In FY2011 a generous grant
from The Ralph M. Parsons
Foundation created a new
Demonstration Shop, where
students from all majors
are able to learn and apply
skills such as woodworking,
metal fabrication, vacuum
forming, and plastic sheet
fabrication. The shop is
where many students now
have their first experience
working with power tools.
“The Parsons Demonstration Shop
is enhancing Art Center’s level of
instruction, allowing us to provide
students with greater knowledge
and flexibility in the types of projects they’re tackling in the early
terms. When it is not in use as a
classroom, Industrial Design and
other students may use it as an
additional shop and work space.
The purchase of model-scale tools
complements the current array
of equipment we already have,
and allows all students access to
appropriate tools for their projects,
regardless of major. The Parsons
grant also funds upgrades to
another classroom, and creates a
clean space for our popular rapid
prototyping equipment. At the end
of the term the Shop also functions
as an exhibit space for critiques.
“What does the Shop mean for the
future of Art Center? Our ability
to program this space for multiple
uses acts as the perfect model
for the kinds of multifunctional
classrooms we are seeking to create in the remodel of the Ellwood
building and the development of
the South Campus. We are all very
grateful to The Ralph M. Parsons
Foundation for their generosity and
for recognizing the far-reaching
value of such a venture.”
Wendy Adest
chair of the Integrated Studies
Department
If you’ve been paying attention to goings-on at Art
Center this past year, you’ve
probably seen two words
appear in our publications
again and again: Create
Change. It’s what the College
faculty, staff, trustees
and students named their
collective new vision for
2011–2016. The plan’s three
pillars—The Conservatory
Spirit, Convening Diverse
Communities & Disciplines,
and New Spaces for Learning—are aligning Art Center
with the needs and aspirations of future generations
of designers and artists.
“As Chair of the Advancement
Committee, I was thrilled to be
able to work closely with so many
talented and thoughtful people
in our Art Center community to
create the strategic plan. Together
we rolled up our sleeves and took
on the complex task of examining
the many interconnected questions
surrounding the direction the
College should take. In our first 80
years, Art Center has undoubtedly
created an extraordinary educational tradition. Yet, to remain
relevant in today’s fast-changing
world, we must strengthen our
core values, adapt to change, and
promote innovation at every level.
“Ultimately, we discovered that
the strategic plan is not about any
one program, initiative or building.
It is about serving students. It is
about providing them with the
tools they need to succeed in their
desired professions and in making
our world a better place. It’s the
reason that I and many others
joined the Board of Trustees to
begin with, and the reason I have
found this year to be so personally
rewarding. I am confident that
we are strengthening Art Center
in a way that will create leaders
for decades to come.”
Judy Webb
trustee, founder and president of
Lothrop Ventures, Inc.
• 20
SPRING 2012
Engaged
Global Alumni Events with
the President
Beginning in July 2010 and
continuing through June
2011, Art Center President
Lorne Buchman set off
around the globe to meet
with College alumni. His
mission: to strengthen and
invigorate relationships
among alumni and the
school, share the College’s
new strategic plan, and
create new opportunities for
internships and for students
abroad. He hosted events
from Berlin to Portland, from
Vevey to San Diego, affirming at each step that alumni
are one of Art Center’s most
valuable assets.
• 21
“I liken my relationship with Art
Center to a marriage. It requires
unconditional dedication on both
ends to make it work. Art Center
enjoys its legendary reputation for
fostering innovative designers
and problem solvers due, in large
part, to its commitment to alumni;
and Lorne’s dedication to fostering this bond with the alumni
network ensures that the school
will continue to remain at the cutting edge of innovation.
“As one of Art Center’s (many)
husbands, I must say it is essential that we continue to grow and
prosper together— we’ve always
managed to keep it fresh. I’ve
transitioned from a student taking
an unconventional educational
path, to a faculty member in the
Transportation Design Department,
to establishing a professional
partnership between my company,
Conscious Commuter Corporation,
and the College’s Entrepreneurial
Mentorship Initiative. Art Center
has supported every level of
engagement I’ve asked of it; and
I continue to commit myself to
Art Center because it continues
its commitment to me.
“It’s the way a meaningful relationship works.”
Gabriel Wartofsky TRAN 09
cofounder of Conscious Commuter
Corporation
Programmed
LAYAR DAY L.A.
In May, augmented reality
leader Layar sponsored
a full day of space- and
time-hacking at Art Center,
consisting of a hands-on
workshop teaching how to
make augmented reality
experiences on the Layar
platform, and a symposium
with visionaries in the field.
Among the luminaries
featured who are changing
the way we view the world:
Layar co-founder Maarten
Lens-FitzGerald, Scott
Fisher of USC’s School of
Cinematic Arts, and Dutch
artist Sander Veenhof.
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
“Augmented reality is changing
how people interact with information, artifacts and spaces, and
how we navigate through life. It is
challenging our perceptions and
changing the very way we think
about how to employ technology.
LAYAR DAY L.A. provided Art Center
students with an invaluable opportunity to explore this fascinating
area that is blurring the lines
between what is real and what is
computer-generated, and to meet
and be inspired by the creative
minds driving this field.
“The project also reflects the way
Art Center is moving forward,
where new boundaries are constantly being pushed. For the
College to be at the center point
of innovation, this is how it must
continue to imagine itself— at the
border between what we know
and what we have yet to imagine.”
Karen Hofmann
chair of the Product Design Department;
director of the Color, Materials and
Trends Exploration Laboratory
Art Center College of Design’s strategic
plan, “Create Change,” challenges us
to be ever more nimble, strong and purposeful. It asks us to innovate, to adapt
and to create. We have always done this
exceptionally well. The challenge is to
now do these things with a view toward
broader outcomes and more ambitious
goals. The accomplishments of the past
year, as well as the bold initiatives we are
undertaking for the future, are shaped by
our understanding that, more than ever,
education must be an effort that combines
expertise from both inside and outside
the institution, from the academic to the
philanthropic, from the nonprofit to the
corporate, working together as a team to
create change that not one of us could
fully imagine on our own.
Fred Fehlau
provost
• 22
SPRING 2012
• 23
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
Gifts and Government Grants
by Source
Art Center College of Design
Statement of Activities for the Year Ended June 30
(IN THOUSANDS)
Unrestricted
Net Assets
Temporarily
Restricted Net
Assets
Gifts
Permanently
Restricted Net
Assets
Total
Operating Revenues
Net tuition and fees
Private gifts and grants
404
1,263
3,337
Investment and other income
716
716
Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises
507
Other sources
558
Amounts released from restrictions
5,013
(4,426)
(587)
Total revenues
67,820
(1,702)
676
1,670
60,622
507
1,054
1,612
66,794
1,165,286
218,434
24,700
17,749
272,756
1,912,631
952,812
Government Grants
$
4,564,368
90,000
Total
$
4,654,368
Operating Expenses
44,642
44,642
Student services
5,935
5,935
Administration
8,413
8,413
Advancement
2,606
2,606
Auxiliary services
565
Total revenues
62,161
(1,702)
676
62,161
Increase (decrease) in net assets in operations
5,659
(1,702)
676
62,161
1,054
565
Gifts and Government Grants
by Purpose
Other Changes in Net Assets
Endowment income
Net change in actuarial obligations
Net appreciation in fair value of investments
Loss on interest rate swap
Donor re-designation
Other expenses
Increase in net assets from other changes
397
8,240
41
8,678
Increase in net assets
6,056
6,538
717
13,311
Net Assets at June 30, 2010
35,418
5,077
43,953
84,448
Net Assets at June 30, 2011
$
41,474
44,670
97,759
999
999
46
1,481
46
7,282
8,763
(1)
(41)
(1)
(1,129)
$
11,615
$
THE FAIR MARKET VALUE OF ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN’S ENDOWMENT ON JUNE 30, 2011 WAS $50,393,000.
ENDOWMENT
29%
41
(1,129)
$
CURRENT
EXPENDITURE
71%
Art Center Dot
Education
$
ANNUAL REPORT 2010–11
60,622
Trustees
Alumni
Parents
Faculty / Staff / Administration
Other Individuals
Corporations
Foundations
• 24
SPRING 2012
[d] = deceased
$1M AND MORE
Judy C. Webb
$100,000–$999,999
The Ahmanson Foundation
CODA Automotive
The Nathan Cummings Foundation, Inc.
Honda R & D Co., Ltd.
Hutto-Patterson Foundation
Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc.
Nestle Purina PetCare
Nestlé S.A.
The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
United States Geological Survey (USGS)
$50,000–$99,999
The Richard and Jean Coyne Family Foundation
Dai Nippon Printing Company
Daimler Trucks North America
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company Fund
General Motors Corporation
General Motors Foundation
Phil Hettema (ILLU 81)
Linda (ADVT 64) and Kit Hinrichs (ADVT 63)
Doug Johnson and Valerie Gordon Johnson (FILM 78)
Lowell Milken Family Foundation and Professor Leah Toby Hoffmitz, Honorary Alumna
Art Center Dot
$25,000–$49,999
Anonymous
Aquarium of the Pacific
The Ayrshire Foundation
Cavalli Motors, LLC
Bettina Chandler
The Chrysler Foundation
Corbis Corporation
Faye and Robert Davidson
Fujitsu Ten Corporation of America
Herman Miller, Inc.
Adelaide Hixon
Nancy and Jerry V. Johnson (ADVT 59)
Legendary Pictures
LG Electronics Inc.
lynda.com
Emily and Sam Mann
Elise Mudd Marvin [d]
Metal Finishing Association of Southern California, Inc.
National Association for Surface Finishing
Pasadena Art Alliance
David and Fela Shapell Family Foundation
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin (ILLU 93)
Alyce and Warren Williamson
$10,000–$24,999
Kathleen and Frederick Allen
Grace Ray Anderson
Laura and John Babcock
Anita and Michael Bates
Bernhardt Design
Linda and Douglas Boyd (TRAN 66)
Margaret A. Cargill Foundation
Collectors Foundation
Christian Denhart (PROD 10)
Eight, Inc.
GE
Jeffrey Glassman
Bill Gross and Marcia Goodstein
The Kinyon Family
Tim Kobe (ENVL 82)
Layar
Lockton Insurance Brokers, LLC
The McKelvey Foundation
McLaren Automotive Ltd.
Raylene and Bruce Meyer
Clement K. Mok (GRPH 80)
Ramone C. Muñoz (ADVT 77, MFA ART 90) and
Tom Jacobson
National Endowment for the Arts
National Science Foundation
Nokia Inc.
The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation
Wilhelm Oehl (PROD 94)
James R. Powers (TRAN 56)
Project Concern International
The Richards Group
Rustic Canyon Partners
Joanna and Julian Ryder (ADVT 72)
Esther Sinclaire
Sodexo, Inc.
Tavat Eyewear
Tides Foundation
Reiner Triltsch
Palencia Turner
Tom Unterman
Susan and Clark Valentine (PROD 71)
Paul A. Violich
Wallis Foundation
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
$5,000–$9,999
adidas North America, Inc.
ALIPH
Avery and Andrew Barth
Kathy and Frank Baxter
Beatrice and Paul F. Bennett
Lorne Buchman and Rochelle Shapell
Courtney and John Hotchkis (TRAN 86)
Joan and John Hotchkis
Johnson Controls, Inc.
Stacy and George H. Ladyman, Jr. (TRAN 87)
John Love
Michelin North America, Inc.
The Organization of American States
Pasadena Community Foundation
Ann Peppers Foundation
Peggy Phelps
Tom Price
Rick Rosenfield
Carole Spence
John and Beverly Stauffer Foundation, Inc.
Universal City Studios
$2,500–$4,999
Douglas S. Andelin (ILLU 87)
Ann Dobson Barrett
David C. Bohnett
Hilary E. Crahan
Creative Artists Agency
Dandelion Foundation
Stephen T. Daugherty (ADVT 71)
Dito Devcar Foundation
Mark Fennimore (ADVT 86)
fuseproject
The Getty Foundation, Los Angeles
Hagerty Insurance Agency
Matthew A. Haligman (ADVT 81)
Bradford Hall
Kelsey Browne Hall
The Hathaway Family - Brian Hathaway Memorial Scholarship
Yvonne and Wayne Herron
Mr. and Mrs. William D. Horsfall
Marie and Louis Jones
Judith G. Kelly
Neiman Marcus
Donald R. Pennell (THE LIGATURE)
Helen M. Posthuma
Tadatoshi Sato (GRPH 74)
Barbara Mann Steinwedell
Uliko Studio
Joyce and Harold Ward
$1,000–$2,499
Anonymous
Connie and Mel Abert (ADVT 66)
Apple, Inc.
Argonaut Charitable Foundation
Daniel Ashcraft (PROD 73)
Desdy Kellogg Baggott
Rob Ball (ENVL 83)
Chantal and Stephen Bennett
Edward (Ted) Bethune (ADVT 50)
The Beulah Fund
Paul Bielenberg (PHOT 98)
Helen and Peter S. Bing
Jeannie Blackburn
Joan and Roger Blackmar, Jr.
Marsha and Vern Bohr
Judith B. Brandt
Virginia B. Braun
Wendy West Brenninkmeijer
Susan Brown (PROD 76)
Linda Brownridge and Edward Mulvaney
Wendy Bruss
John R. Burrows
California Community Foundation
Sioux Cann
Paul and Sherrill Colony
Jon Conrad (ILLU 82)
Arthur L. Crowe
Timothy J. Delaney (PROD 72)
Design Studio Press
Linda Stewart Dickason
Jennifer Diener
Kristen Ding (GRPH 94) and Mitchell Chang
Louise O. Dougherty
Darian Marvin Dragge
Arwen and Sean Duffy
Betty and Brack Duker
Jay M. Eitel
Phyllis and Donald Epstein
Georgianna and Paul Erskine
Fred Fehlau (FINE 79, MFA ART 88)
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund
Barbara Kitasako Finn
Constance and Gordon Fish
Follett Corporation
Mary Alice and Richard Frank
Earl Gee (GRPH 83)
Gensler
THE GROOP
Carol and Warner Henry
Christine and Curt Hessler
Josh Higgins Design
Ethie and Steve Hitter (PROD 69) (Hitter Family
Foundation)
Gail H. Howland (PHOT 03)
Donald Huie (PROD 62)
Wayne Hunt and Carla Walecka
Roberta Huntley
Ann Hazeltine Hyde
IMAX Corporation
Innovative Office Solutions
Aya and Akira Ito (PROD 91)
Barbara and Frank Jameson
Ryan Jimenez
Sally and Allan Johnson (PROD 51)
Stephen A. Kanter, M.D.
Patricia H. Ketchum
Robert Knechel
Terri and Jerry Kohl
G. Kondrup (MFA GRPH 93)
Andrew Kramer (ENVL 73)
Deanna M. Kuhlmann-Leavitt
Ming Lai
Frank L. Lanza (ADIL 57)
Richard Kenneth Law (INDU 58)
Joyce and Tom Leddy
Ronald and Elaine Lee
Barbara and Geza Loczi (PROD 65)
Spencer L. MacKay (PROD 74)
Jon A. Masterson
Kaholyn and Carson McKissick
Meguiar’s, Inc.
Gary M. Meyer (ILLU 59)
Stanley Mikolajczk (PROD 55)
Fred A. Miwa (ADVT 57)
Lorraine Molina (PHOT 96) and Jose Caballer (GRPK 96)
D. Harry Montgomery
Seeley W. Mudd Foundation
Dave Muhs and Jill Farrer Muhs
Wendy Munger and Leonard Gumport
Maggie W. Navarro
Eric Newman
Cory Noonan (ADVT 93)
Eric C. Otto
Panavision
Phoenix Decorating Co., Inc.
Judy and Ben Reiling (Reiling Family Foundation)
Gloria R. Renwick
Andrew Scott Robertson (TRAN 90)
Matthew Rolston (PHOT 78)
Ray and Janet Scherr Foundation
Yvonne de C. Segerstrom
David Shannon (ILLU 83)
Charles M. Smith
Joni J. Smith
Sony Corporation
Katie Johnson Sprague (GRPH 91)
Ginny Stever
Herbert W. Swain, Jr. (ADVT 76)
Carol and Charles R. Swimmer
Ginny and David Sydorick
Mark Tansey (FINE 72)
Laney Techentin
Geneva and Charles Thornton, Jr.
Steven A. Trank (PHOT 80)
Universal Protection Service, LP
Elizabeth P. Urban
Andrea Van de Kamp
Volvo AB
Christian von Sanden (GRPH 96)
Carolyn Watson
Aaron and Valerie Weiss
Sally and Russell White
Mr. and Mrs. Norman B. Williamson
Nina and Stephen Winterbottom
Doyald Young (ADVT 55) [d]
$999 AND BELOW
Anonymous (9)
Aalto University
Meredith Abbott (ILLU 62)
Antoinette Adams and Frederic Cohen
Laine Dunham Akiyama (ILLU 81)
Gene Albert (PHOT 57)
Lynn Aldrich (MFA ART 86)
Mary and Nicholas Alexander
Roy Alexander (ILLU 65)
Ashley and Theodore Alexopoulos (MFA MEDE 07)
Charles L. Allen, Jr. (PROD 68)
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Walter Andrus (FILM 75)
David R. Arnold (ADIL 63)
Gale and Dokson Arvanites
Chris Arvetis (ADVT 49)
Marla (ILLU 83) and Michael Baggetta (ILLU 84)
Dave Bailey (MFA ART 95)
Robert L. Bailey (PROD 60)
Roberta Bailey (ADVT 61)
Patricia and Charles Bakaly
Joan and Robert Banning
Jacques Barret
Adele Bass (GRPH 81, MFA NEWM 01)
Jeannie and Kurt Beckmeyer
Roger Behrens (PHOT 68)
Richard Biersch (ADVT 70)
Carolyn and Mac Billups (ENVL 69)
Mia Carpenter Block (ADVT 56)
Peter L. Bloomer (PHOT 67)
Betty and Duane L. Bohnstedt (TRAN 51)
Archie Boston Graphic Design
Gail Bove (PROD 73)
Robert Brackenbury (PROD 50)
Claire and Brad Brian
Victoria Bromley (FINE 74)
Seth Buchman
Henry and Czarina Buckingham (PHOT 95)
Anita Bunn (PHOT 90)
William P. Burchett
Bruce Burdick (ENVL 61) and Susan Burdick
David Buxton and Domenique Sillett (ILLU 94)
Kristine Bybee (GRPK 83)
M. Estelle Byrne (ADVT 58)
Bruce Carroll (PHOT 75)
Caruso Management Co. Ltd.
Karen and Murray Chalmers
Wayne Chang (GRPH 06)
Judy M. Chin and Gary L. Woods
Ophelia Chong (FINE 89)
Ivan Chu and Hua Ling (ENVL 94)
Wayne Clark (GRPH 78)
Russ Cohen (ADVT 88)
Bob Cooley (ADVT 49)
Francine Tolkin Cooper and Herbert Cooper
David Coulson (ADVT 81)
David Cunningham
William Wesley Davis (ILLU 51)
Mrs. Arden Day, Jr.
DC Shoes, Inc.
Alphonsus H. de Klerk (PHOT 84)
Lorinda P. de Roulet
Kenneth R. Deardoff (ILLU 56)
Joe Del Rosario (PROD 95)
Jane Delancey (ILLU 74)
Pia DeLeon and Michael Neumayr (PROD 91)
Warren Dern
Susan Dewey
John R. Dickson
Patti Digh
Elaine Dine
Neda and Timothy Disney
Michael J. Doyle II (GRPH 94)
Beth Duffy and Erik Kistel
Haruko Eann (ADVT 71)
Tim Effler (ILLU 79)
Arthur W. Ellsworth (PROD 57)
Erma Engels and Joanne Engels
Rose Friesen Faler (ILLU 82)
Donald Far (PROD 50)
Rosa M. Farrer
Natalie Montoya Farrow
Ferrari Club of America
Jack Richard Finegan (TRAN 59)
William J. Finnegan
Lisa and Brad Freer
Margaret and James Galbraith
Daniel Gambito (FILM 93)
Beverly (ILLU 57) and William Geck (PHOT 57)
Glenn C. Gee (PROD 73)
R. Gerstenberger (TRAN 70)
Alfred Gescheidt (PHOT 49)
Bruce Geyman (PROD 65)
Mal Giaimo
Mary and Robert Gilmartin
Thomas A. Gleason (ADVT 57)
Katherine Go (ADVT 78)
Goethe-Institut Los Angeles
Jered Gold
Walter H. Gollwitzer (PROD 63)
Mrs. Douglas Goodan
Tom Graboski (ENVL 71)
Mr. and Mrs. Max L. Green
David Griffiths (PROD 65)
Dora A. and William H. Grover, F.A.I.A. (PROD 62)
Evi and Daniel S. Gurney (Gurney’s All American
Racers, Inc.)
Thomas Hale (TRAN 66)
Anthony B. Haller (ADVT 48)
Emily and Henry Hancock
John Hanna (PROD 62)
Mitchell B. Harmon (ADVT 78)
Cherie W. and Mark Harris
Frances Harvey (ILLU 99)
Richard B. Hatch (PROD 67)
Kasey Worrell Hatzung (GRPH 95)
Kathryn E. and Jack Hermsen (ADVT 72)
Art Center Dot
The support of our generous
donors makes all that we do at
Art Center possible. This honor
roll acknowledges all contributors to the College in 2010–2011,
including active pledges and
gifts made from July 1, 2010,
through June 30, 2011. On behalf
of the Art Center community,
we thank you, our friends and
supporters, for helping to make
Art Center the leading college
of art and design. We have
made every effort to ensure the
accuracy of this document. If an
error or omission has occurred,
please contact the Office of
Development at 626.396.4267
so that we can correct our
records. Contributions made
by two or more individuals with
different surnames are listed
alphabetically by only one of the
surnames; please check under
all related surnames to find the
acknowledgment.
National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance
Nestlé USA, Inc.
State Farm Insurance
Surdna Foundation
Toyota Motor Corporation
Un Techo para Chile
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
ANNUAL REPORT 2010–11
ANNUAL REPORT 2010–11
Donor Honor Roll
July 2010 – June 2011
• 25
Phyllis and Ronald Hill (TRAN 54)
Karen Hofmann (PROD 97)
Gina Knox Holzman
Maura and Martino Hoss (ADVT 87)
Annie S. Huang (GRPH 91)
Sally and Bill Hurt (William H. Hurt Foundation)
Suk Hyon and Yong Hyon Kim (Western Building Cleaning Co.)
Baruch Inbar (ILLU 01)
Christopher Ince
Norman K. Inouye (PROD 68)
Kunihisa Ito (TRAN 77)
Gabrielle Jennings (MFA ART 94)
Jewish Community Fund
Kyle Jochai (ILLU 03)
Avery and Fred Johnson
Carolyn and Ernest Johnson
George Johnson
Andrew Kaiser
Yasushi Kato (TRAN 90)
Kristin Keller (GRPH 04)
Paul Kleiter (ADVT 66)
Daniel Ko (GRPH 90)
Phillip Komai (ADVT 71)
Lisa and Stan Kong (PROD 83)
Kubly Family Scholarship
Suzanne Labiner
George Larkins II (PHOT 93)
Sandra and Chuck Law
Anita Lawson
Elaine Lax
Wendee H. Lee (PROD 02)
Harvey A. Lerner (ADVT 68)
David Ligare (ILLU 65)
Gary Lim (PROD 87)
Beverly and Chester Limbaugh (PROD 58)
Helen R. Litt
Carol and Sarah Lobb
Eileen Longacre (FINE 73)
Paul D. Loomis (ADVT 76)
Eleanor Cohen Louis (ILLU 89)
Lorraine Lum (ADVT 76)
Judy MacCready
Rosie and Pedro Magdaleno (PHOT 87)
Jay Malloy (PROD 84)
Diana Taylor Malotte (GRPH 85)
Peter M. Marino (TRAN 61)
Dorothy and John Matthiessen
Jeanne and John Matthiessen
Charles McVicker (ILLU 57)
Thomas Franklin Meredith, Jr. (GRPH 04)
Pablo Meyer (PROD 82)
Microsoft Corporation
Brian Moreno (ILLU 71)
Jennifer Morita (ADVT 99)
Caroline Labiner Moser and Franklin Moser
Heidrun Mumper-Drumm
Matt Murphy (ENVL 93)
NBC Universal
Mateo Neri (GRPK 93)
Helen Ng (ENVL 82)
Marilyn (ILLU 74) and Dale Nordell (ILLU 73)
Trina (GRPK 88) and Frank S. Nuovo (PROD 86)
Kay and Steve Onderdonk
Victor and Sandra Faye Oppegard (ILLU 63)
Harry L. Oppenheimer, Jr. (PHOT 66)
Original Paint & Equipment Inc.
Randy Oxley (ILLU 95)
Justine Limpus Parish (ILLU 73)
Gordon J. Pashgian
Joanna Paterson
Robert J. Pedersen (ADVT 69)
Richard Pietruska (TRAN 70)
Pascal Pinck (GRPH 96)
Stanley Pisakov
David L. Provan (PROD 52)
• 27
Niki and Andy Rapattoni (Rapattoni Corporation)
Maria Rendon (ILLU 92) and Robert Giaimo
(ADVT 74)
Barbara Davis Reynolds (ILLU 80)
Debby and Bill Richards
Ruth and Steven L. Rieman (PROD 74)
Ricki and Marvin Ring
Hector Robledo (ADVT 56)
Bobbiedine Rodda
Phillip Ross (GRPH 76)
Robert Ruby
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Mark Ryden (ILLU 87)
William L. St. Clair (PROD 56)
Steven Saitzyk and Anne Anderson Saitzyk (ILLU 91)
San Marino League
Leonard Schachner (PROD 65)
Joseph H. Schmidt
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Eileen Schoellkopf
Harry Schoepf (PROD 66)
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The Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving
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Amy and Mark Swain
Delbert A. Swanson (PROD 68)
Gail and William Taber
Naomi (Hata) Taube (ADVT 79)
TerryTours.com, LLC
Keith Thorne (PROD 70)
Erick Thorpe (ILLU 96)
Maximilian Toth (FINE 03)
Susan and Michael Toth
Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A, Inc.
Lenna Tsutsumi (GRPH 01)
A.T. Ueland (PHOT 89)
Takao Umehara (GRPK 02)
Mary and Bill Urquhart
Julie Veitch (PHOT 82)
Charles Wackerman
Torey and Erik Wahlstrom
Steve Walag (PHOT 88)
Dana L. Walker (PHOT 95)
Judith and Roger Wallenstein
Jenny W. Wang (GRPH 99)
Ralph Waycott III (PHOT 78)
Ardyss and John Wherry
Renee and Galen Wickersham (TRAN 59)
Robert A. Wilson (PROD 52)
George Windrum (PROD 52)
Glen Winterscheidt (PROD 57)
Jo Ann and Edward Yamada (ENVL 66)
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
Ed Young (ILLU 57)
Susan Zehnder (ILLU 88)
Bob and Patty Zuber
GIFTS-IN-KIND
Aquarium of the Pacific
AutoPacific
Elizabeth Bayne (MFA FILM 11)
Maria Biber-Ferro (MFA FILM 10)
Theresa and Jeff Burnett
Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Clear Image Printing Co.
David Curry
Spencer G. Davis (ILLU 90)
Pamela (PHOT 75) and James Elyea (ILLU 73)
Frank Garcia
Greater Los Angeles Auto Show
Kristina Halcromb
Joseph R. Henry and S. Stanley Gordon
Gweneth H. Hourihan
Huntington Library
Japanese American National Museum
Jan Kesner Gallery
Jill Kollmann
Amanda Lane
Mary E. Lee
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
lynda.com
Jillian Mamey (FINE 10)
Wendy E. McClay
Meguiar’s, Inc.
Museum of Contemporary Art
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
The Petersen Automotive Museum
Ed Thaden
Diana and Randy Triplett
Kevyn Wallace (ILLU 90) [d]
Ronald R. Wilkniss
Replacing
Pigment
with People
LITA ALBUQUERQUE REVISITS
AND EXPANDS HER SPINE
OF THE EARTH FOR PACIFIC
STANDARD TIME.
By Rebecca Epstein
Trustees
Mr. Robert C. Davidson, Jr., Chairman Mr. Carl Bass
Mr. Douglas C. Boyd (TRAN 66)
Dr. Lorne M. Buchman
Mr. Wesley A. Coleman Mr. Jeffrey L. Glassman
Ms. Linda M. Griego
Mr. William T. Gross Mr. Kit Hinrichs ( ADVT 63)
Mr. William D. Horsfall
Mr. Charles Floyd Johnson
Mr. Timothy M. Kobe (ENVL 82)
Mr. George H. Ladyman, Jr. (TRAN 87)
Mr. Samuel J. Mann
Mr. Peter W. Mullin
Mr. Reiner M. Triltsch
Mr. Raymond C. Vicks, Jr.
Mr. Paul A. Violich Mrs. Judy C. Webb
Mrs. Alyce de Roulet Williamson
THE LANDSCAPE IS LISTENING
THIS IS SUNDAY, JANUARY 22 OF THE YEAR 2012
AT 11:45 A.M.
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
WESTERN HEMISPHERE
PLANET EARTH
PAY ATTENTION TO THE FEET
YOU EXTENDED FROM EARTH TO SKY
RED EARTH
BLUE
FROM INSIDE THE RED
BLUE PLANET
YOU ARE
SURROUNDED IN BLUE
ONE VERTEBRAE IN THE SPINE OF THE EARTH
FEATURE
Art Center Dot
SPRING 2012
Art Center Dot
ANNUAL REPORT 2010–11
• 26
• 28
SPRING 2012
• 29
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
IMAGE #1
Notes: PST
[Pacific Standard Time]
1945-1980
IMAGES:
EARLIER THIS YEAR, ARTIST AND GRADUATE ART
FACULTY MEMBER LITA ALBUQUERQUE CREATED A
CONTEMPORARY RE-ENACTMENT OF HER SEMINAL
1980 EARTHWORK, SPINE OF THE EARTH, IN LOS
ANGELES’ BALDWIN HILLS SCENIC OUTLOOK.
OCTOBER 2, 2011
FEATURE
Art Center Dot
IMAGE #2
JANUARY 22, 2012
7 p.m. / The Getty Center / BRENTWOOD
2:13 p.m. / Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook / CULVER CITY
On the night of October 2, 2011, the Getty Foundation
and Getty Research Institute held a long-anticipated grand
party. The occasion was the launch of Pacific Standard
Time: Art in L.A, 1945-1980, a six-month arts initiative
more than 10 years in the making. What began as an archival
project had become an unparalleled exhibition and event
program inclusive of more than 60 Southern California cultural institutions, featuring the work of more than 1,300
artists who had lived and worked in postwar Los Angeles.
Despite predictions of rain, it is a sparkling winter
day in L.A. Two thousand feet above Culver City, a skydiver
in a red jumpsuit leaps from an airplane. Red smoke trails
from her shoe, tracing her path toward Earth.
PST advertisements enticed visitors to “celebrate the
birth of the L.A. art scene.” Yet before long, one of the
initiative’s greatest strengths proved its declaration
of not one, but multiple art scenes previously hidden from
view. Suddenly the city known best for putting conceptual
art, the Light and Space movement, and the Ferus group
of white male artists on the contemporary art map was
diversifying and adding nuance to its narrative. Curators
presented work that reflected innumerable styles and influences made by artists of varying ethnic groups, as well
as artists who were female and ardently feminist.
Although the majority of participating institutions
presented work in the fine arts, postwar literature,
architecture and design were also warmly illuminated by PST
light. Then, in January 2012, an 11- day Performance and
Public Art Festival presented more than 30 performances,
including “contemporary re-enactments” by renowned local
artists Judy Chicago, Suzanne Lacy and James Turrell. Lita
Albuquerque, an acclaimed environmental artist since the
1970s and a Graduate Art instructor at Art Center since
1987, also answered a call to revisit an earlier work.
IMAGE #3
--Notes:
Skydiver
Red smoke
Spiral
* LITA
ALBUQUERQUE
THE RE-CREATION ELABORATED ON HER ORIGINAL
WORK AND INVOLVED A SKY DIVER (5) WITH
RED SMOKE TRAILING FROM HER SHOE (2) AND
300 VOLUNTEERS IN RED JUMPSUITS, INCLUDING
SOME ART CENTER STUDENTS, FORMING A
MASSIVE MOVING SPIRAL (3–4, 6, 11–14).
Two minutes later the diver lands, exactly hitting
her mark. Waiting to greet her are approximately 300
volunteers dressed in similar red suits. As soon as she
touches down, 100 of the volunteers begin their walk,
creating a spiral around her. They hold onto each other’s
shoulders and count aloud to keep pace, filling the space
with sound in addition to color, movement and line. Soon,
the remaining volunteers lead the entire group toward an
immense stretch of stairs on which they will all stand,
one volunteer on each of the 287 steps, for four minutes.
Today those stairs connect earth and sky, each red-suited
person a vertebrae in Spine of the Earth 2012.
IMAGE #4
A half hour before the performance began, Albuquerque,
the only performer dressed in white, read aloud the following instructions:
THE LANDSCAPE IS LISTENING
THIS IS SUNDAY, JANUARY 22 OF THE YEAR 2012
AT 11:45 A.M.
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
WESTERN HEMISPHERE
PLANET EARTH
PAY ATTENTION TO THE FEET
YOU EXTEND FROM EARTH TO SKY
RED EARTH
BLUE
FROM INSIDE THE RED
BLUE PLANET
YOU ARE
SURROUNDED IN BLUE
ONE VERTEBRAE IN THE SPINE OF THE EARTH
IMAGE #5
SPRING 2012
IMAGE #6
Spine of the Earth
(1980/2012)
-- Los Angeles
Notes:
[Pacific Standard Time]
1945-1980
“I was interested
in that impossibility of vision:
being able to
perceive only
what is around
us, yet aware
there is a much
larger picture.”
PST
Indeed, while numerous artists who taught at Art Center
in the 1970s and ’80s were showcased in PST exhibitions
--including but not limited to Karen Carson, Richard
Diebenkorn, Lorser Feitelson, Llyn Foulkes, Roger Herman,
Mike Kelley, Ed Ruscha and Allen Ruppersberg--Albuquerque’s
participation proved uniquely spectacular.
And this reinvention of her 1980 earthwork Spine of the
Earth, which itself was a reinvention of a two-dimensional
drawing into a “social sculpture” in three-dimensional
space, involved significant changes in not only physical
but also conceptual terrains.
In the 1980 performance, participants used red, yellow
and black pigment to draw a 600-foot diameter spiral
coming out of two intersecting lines on the flat Mojave
Desert. In Spine of the Earth 2012, she “replaced pigment
with people,” as she likes to say, bringing geometry to
life with a human line attaching earth and sky. Because
of the performance’s scale and verticality, only individuals who flew overhead (including fine art photographer
Michael Light, who documented the event) could see the
entire performance. This was deliberate. “I was interested
in that impossibility of vision: being able to perceive
only what is around us, yet aware there is a much larger
picture,” Albuquerque later told Whitehot Magazine.
IMAGE #7
Alexandra Noel, a student in Art Center’s Graduate Art
program, was among the volunteers particularly moved by
that idea. “What most impressed me about the performance
was my overall consciousness that resulted from being part
• 31
-- Lita Albuquerque
• 30
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
of the ‘spine’,” she says. “While we focused intently
on our own breaths and footsteps, we were simultaneously
connected to the other volunteers, most of whom were
strangers. It was a powerful representation of our connection to each other as well as our relationship to the
sky and earth.”
Of course, perception is in the eye of the beholder, and
Raymie Iadevaia, another Graduate Art student and volunteer,
perceived something more visceral than visual: “The most
thrilling aspect for me was the sense of energy that kept
building while waiting for the skydiver to drop,” he
says. “Then, when she landed, she produced a force that
reverberated, unclasping the spiral of bodies, propelling
them down the mountain. I was really struck by the rise
and fall of energy in the performance.”
FEBRUARY 20, 2012
IMAGE #9
IMAGES:
IN ALBUQUERQUE’S ORIGINAL SPINE OF THE
EARTH (1, 9 –10), PARTICIPANTS USED RED,
YELLOW AND BLACK PIGMENT TO DRAW A 600-FOOT
DIAMETER SPIRAL ON THE FLAT MOJAVE DESERT.
HER RECENT SHOW, 287 STEPS, AT CRAIG KRULL
GALLERY IN SANTA MONICA INCLUDED HER
SERIES OF WIND PAINTINGS (7), WORKS IN
WHICH STREAKS OF RED PIGMENT WERE RELEASED
ABOVE AN ULTRAMARINE CANVAS AND SCATTERED
BY THE WIND.
11:44 a.m. / Albuquerque Studio /
18th St. Art Center, #4 / SANTA MONICA
Two days after attending a walkthrough of 287 Steps, her
show at Craig Krull Gallery — created while planning Spine
of the Earth 2012 and also dealing with “bodies in space,
transmutation, and shifts in materiality” (visit Dot’s
website for additional information on the show)-- I’m
sitting with Albuquerque in her Santa Monica studio, asking
her about her early years in L.A. A large ultramarine
sphere from Stellar Axis: Antarctica (2006) lurks behind
me. The color, she tells me, was a chemical invention
made through a process of mixing clay with sulphur. She
uses it to explore how unnatural colors shift perception
of the natural environment in which they are placed.
Albuquerque moved to L.A. in 1964 to study art history
at UCLA. Once she started meeting artists --including
Robert Irwin, Alice Aycock, Allan Kaprow, Billy Al Bengston,
among countless others-- she decided to become one, too.
“It was right when so much was going on in art with
Conceptualism, performance art, earth art and Minimalism,”
she says. “There was a lot happening. And nothing really
IMAGE #8
IMAGE #10
• 32
SPRING 2012
“I was interested
in that impossibility of vision:
being able to
perceive only
what is around
us, yet aware
there is a much
larger picture.”
• 33
Notes:
a) Desire/kids
b) LA: diversity, extraordinary
b) PST description
Although she had initially gravitated toward painting, the
expansive ideas around her and the sense that her paintings
were “getting too personal” led her to globally shift her
practice. “I decided, I want to stop painting and just go out
into the world. I thought ‘the world,’ but it turned out it
was the Earth.”
IMAGE #11
Albuquerque also became interested in anthrophosophy
-- a “spiritual science” developed by Austrian philosopher
Rudolf Steiner in the early 20th century that posits a
spiritual world is not only real, but tangible and accessible
-- a philosophy which still informs her work. “I felt I was
blazing my own path,” she recalls, “especially with those
kinds of esoteric ideas. At least then, they weren’t especially accepted in the art world.”
This also explains why although her work has spiritual
dimensions concerning humans’ ‘place’ in the universe,
Albuquerque has a scientist’s devotion to details: She is
routinely noting dates and times and atomizing location as
she did on the overlook: 11:45 AM, CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WESTERN HEMISPHERE, PLANET EARTH.
Albuquerque began teaching art in 1982. Five years later,
Laurence Dreiband, chair of Art Center’s Fine Art program,
invited her to join the faculty at Art Center’s new Graduate
Art program, where she’s been ever since.
“I’m in the best place now that I’ve ever been with
teaching. The kind of work I do and the ideas I have are a
little more accepted,” she says. “I also think we’re in a
really good place in terms of the department itself. It’s
a really varied faculty and the students are terrific.”
IMAGE #12
-- Lita Albuquerque
-- Lita Albuquerque
Notes:
Anthrosphosophy
[*Spiritual Science]
humans/devotion to detail
made me want to leave. The quality of the environment and
landscape were things I also really responded to. It made
sense to me coming from North Africa, which is desert and
sea, and California is desert and sea.”
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
IMAGE #13
Remarkably, after 30 years of showing work based on
light, perception, and the cosmos, Albuquerque agreed to
exhibit some deeply personal 1977 paintings in the PST show
Breaking in Two: A Provocative Vision of Motherhood at Santa
Monica’s Arena 1 Gallery. Desire and Memory is a series of
small oil paintings on fragile plastic paper about “the kind
of a personal desire for what would happen at the horizon
line -- hoping that the ship would appear,” she says. “In the
process of making it, I realized that the desire for me was
about having children.”
Her practice may have changed dramatically since 1977,
but her desire to make art in L.A. has not. “I travel a lot
but when I’m here it is the most exciting place because it
has such diversity,” she says. “It’s one of the most diverse
cities socially, economically, racially. It’s become just
extraordinary that way.”
IMAGES:
FOR SPINE OF THE EARTH 2012, ALBUQUERQUE,
DRESSED IN WHITE (11), LED 300 VOLUNTEERS
IN RED SUITS DOWN THE 287 STEPS OF THE
BALDWIN HILLS SCENIC OUTLOOK.
VIEWED FROM ABOVE, THE PERFORMERS RESEMBLED
A RED SPINE IN THE FISSURE OF THE LANDSCAPE
(3, 8, 14).
-PHOTO CREDITS:
1, 9, 10: LITA ALBUQUERQUE
2, 5, 11: MARISSA ROTH
3, 4, 8, 14: MICHAEL LIGHT
6, 12, 13: IRIS SCHNEIDER
ART CENTER’S
ON BEHANCE,
Such diversity is also reflected
in NEW
theBRANDED
youngNETWORK
artists
A BETA VERSION OF WHICH IS PICTURED, IS FREE TO
living in L.A. today, for whom ART
PSTCENTER
was an
exceptional
boon.
STUDENTS, ALUMNI, FACULTY AND STAFF.
Many Art Center classes this school year included field trips
to PST exhibitions. “PST has provided our students with an
opportunity to see the actual art created in Los Angeles,
and learn our unique art history,” Dreiband says.
Albuquerque agrees. She describes PST as an extraordinary gift to the community, and to the students, she feels
it’s been a revelation, “I lived that time, and all my
friends lived that time. But to see the current generation...
I took one student to see the Phenomenal show on Light and
Space artists at the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego.
She was so blown away, she kept saying, ‘I can’t make art
anymore.’ And then she ended up making this pretty incredible
work, which came out of that experience.”
FOR MORE ON
ALBUQUERQUE AND HER WORK
VISIT: ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
IMAGE #14
NEW PROGRAMS
artcenter.edu/new
626 396 2373
same rigor
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
dot
news
her fellow TEDx co-organizer, recent
Graphic Design alumnus and former
Student Government President Erik
Molano GRPH 12, realized they had
independently decided they wanted
to bring TEDx to Art Center. The two
spent months meeting with TEDx organizers, rallying Art Center administration
NOW
ACCEPTING
APPLICATIONS
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New pro
in Fall 2012
renowned curriculum
Orange will mix with red this summer
when the student–driven TEDx Art
Center College of Design conference
takes over the College’s Hillside Campus
on Saturday, June 9 to explore the topic “Design a _________ for Social Impact.”
For the uninitiated, TED is a non-
profit organization that brings together
luminaries from a multitude of disciplines to disseminate “ideas worth
spreading.” The foundation holds two
annual conferences, hosts free videos
of the conferences’ talks on its website,
and has spurred the development of
TEDx events, independently organized
TED events that stimulate dialogue at a
community level.
“TED believes in spreading ideas and
Art Center teaches us how to implement them,” said Mariana Prieto, TEDx
co-organizer, eighth-term Product
Design major and president of Art
Center’s Impact student organization.
“It seemed natural for us to put these
two organizations together and to
create the first TEDx at our school.”
Natural? Yes. Easy? No. The road
to bringing TEDx to Art Center began
in June of last year, when Prieto and
and setting goals for the conference.
Things really took off when they
organized a transdisciplinary studio
course for the Spring 2012 term with
the goal to bring the event to fruition.
The course is being sponsored by the
College’s Designmatters Department,
hosted by the Environmental Design
Visit artcenter.edu/tedx for more
information.
TEDX ART CENTER
COLLEGE OF DESIGN
CO-INSTRUCTOR
ROBERT BALL.
THE TEDX ART
CENTER COLLEGE OF
DESIGN CLASS
DOT NEWS
new
s
m
a
r
g
pro
Art Center and TEDx Team
Up to Fill in the Blank
Department, and co-taught by instructors Robert Ball (Environmental) and
Petrula Vrontikis (Graphic Design).
“Our challenge, in 14 weeks, is to
curate a memorable and unique expe-
rience,” said Molano. “As a class, we’re
asking ourselves. What does it look like when Art Center takes on a TEDx event?
And the bigger question is why do the
topics of social change and sustainability have a place at a design school?”
At press time, the TEDx event has
confirmed five outside speakers who
have all advocated for sustainability
and more responsible approaches to
design: Douglas Powell, the president
of AIGA; Terry Irwin, head of the School
of Design, Carnegie Mellon University; Allan Chochinov, chair of the MFA Products of Design Department, School of Visual Arts; Charlie Cannon, a designer
at Local Studios; and Robin Bigio, an
industrial designer at IDEO.
“The response from students, faculty
and staff has been wonderful, which
has led us to dream a second dream,”
said Prieto. “We’d like to turn this into
an annual experience where students
choose their theme, choose their
speakers and continue to inspire our growing community of talented artists
and designers that can—and will—make
a difference in the world.”
Art Center Dot
(M.S.)
Transportation Design
(M.F.A. Track)
s
r
e
t
at
M
n
ig
s
e
D
ia
Med
(M.S.)
n
ig
s
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D
l
ta
n
e
m
n
o
ir
v
En
Interaction Design (B.S.)
• 35
• 36
DOT NEWS
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
Living Large at Dwell
on Design
How Will You Kickstarter
Your Next Project?
This summer, Art Center is proud to be
an official partner of the West Coast’s
largest design event, Dwell on Design,
which boasts three days of the best
and brightest products, services and
thought leaders in modern design.
Dwell on Design will be held from June
22–24 at the L.A. Convention Center.
As the only educational institution
named a Silver Sponsor, Art Center
will make a significant impact during
the event. The College will occupy
1,000 square feet of exhibition space;
lead a series of creative, hands-on
workshops on the show floor; and has
lined up students, faculty and alumni
presentations on three separate stages
at the event. Additionally, Art Center and Dwell are discussing ideas to secure a keynote speaker, host a special
event for Dwell VIPs and a private
alumni/industry reception.
The genesis of this collaboration occurred last year when Product Design
Chair Karen Hofmann, after serving on
the jury at last year’s Dwell on Design
awards, was approached by Michael
Sylvester, Dwell on Design Managing
Director, with thoughts about striking
up a partnership. “We were asked if
rather than just having a booth on the
showroom floor, if we’d like to curate a
compelling design experience for the
event,” Hofmann said of her initial conversation with Sylvester. “We thought
it would be an exciting opportunity for
our Product Design and Environmental
Design departments to connect with
the Dwell design community, the general public and to convey a clear message about our innovative programs at
Art Center.”
Of the collaboration, Sylvester
said, “Art Center College of Design is
renowned as a center of excellence for
education and intelligent discourse on
important design questions. The experience, insight and creativity of Art
Center alumni, faculty and students is
an invaluable resource for Dwell as we
look to develop the stature of Dwell
on Design on the international design
calendar.”
Dwell on Design and Dwell Design
Week, a series of L.A.-design focused
activities leading up to the main event,
encourages both design professionals Conscious Commuter. One Bad Thing.
[SIC] Apparel. spnKiX. Turtle / Turtle.
These are just a few of the projects Art
Center students, faculty and alumni
have successfully launched with backing from the Kickstarter community.
Kickstarter recently acknowledged
Art Center as one of the world’s foremost creative communities by inviting
the College to curate a page of its very own. This allows Art Center to curate
all the great projects being dreamed up
by our talented students, faculty and
alumni in one place. One important
distinction: Kickstarter projects are all
individual efforts. This isn’t the College
view t ed
our curaat
page
er.
Kickstartrt /a
m
o
c
center
and consumers to experience the best in modern design. Free admission is offered to those working in the design
trade, including faculty and alumni, on Friday, June 22 and Friday attendees
will receive a free weekend pass for the rest of the show. Students with valid
ID will be admitted for free throughout
the weekend as well. Don’t miss out.
For more information and to get your
tickets, visit dwellondesign.com.
Civil Discourse for a
Civil Society
What does it mean to be “civil” in a
world that seems at times to be on the
verge of falling apart? What is the role
of higher education in encouraging
civil discourse, whether discussing art,
politics, science, religion, healthcare,
literature, lifelong learning or when
engaging in everyday business activities,
community relationships, and house-
hold matters? What does civility mean
in the context of an art and design
education? This month, Art Center
President Lorne M. Buchman will
engage with leaders from Pasadena’s
other higher education institutions
in a panel discussion moderated by
Southern California Public Radio’s
Larry Mantle to discuss the notion
of civility. Honoring Civility for a Civil
Society is the first event of its kind—a
forum organized by Pasadena’s higher
educational community and inspired by Pasadena’s City of Learning initiative to generate intelligent, thought-provoking
discussion and connect Pasadena’s
academic leaders with the community.
Organizing partners include Art Center,
California Institute of Technology, Fuller
Theological Seminary, The Huntington
Library, Pacific Oaks College, Pasadena Community College and Flintridge
Center.
What is Kickstarter? Kickstarter is
the world’s largest “crowd funding” platform, providing individuals an outlet to ask friends and strangers alike to
support creative projects by making a
small (or large) donation in exchange
for a modest award, which may be a
magazine hot off the press, a limited
edition print, or your name in the credits
of a film.
At the same time, Kickstarter says,
“This is about more than money. It’s
about enabling pure creativity, outside of the constraints of traditional
systems.” Project creators always keep
full ownership and control of their work,
and in the process gain direct access
to an audience deeply connected to their efforts—an audience which is more
likely to provide financial backing.
Film student Domenic Moen was
one of the first to inform Art Center of
the possibilities. “One Bad Thing was
such an ambitious project but Kickstarter enabled us to reach out to a
vast network of generous and creative
people,” the film’s writer and director
said. “We not only raised the money
we needed, but formed professional
relationships that have opened many
doors for us, and built a huge buzz on
the Internet that is helping us promote
the film in ways we never dreamed of.”
asking for money. The request comes directly from the artists or designers themselves and the money goes directly to them as well. A curated
page simply allows Art Center to round up the Kickstarter projects being conceived of by our creative community
to help generate awareness for those
bold ideas that need a little funding to get off the ground. Much like the College’s recent partnership with Behance, the promotional opportunities afforded Art Center students, faculty
and alumni with this online platform are limitless. To inform the College of any
recent, current or future Kickstarter
projects that you’d like us to feature,
email [email protected].
DOT Launch Event Peeks
Inside Incase
If you own an Apple product, chances
are you own an accessory designed by
San Francisco-based company Incase.
The company, known for its minimal
and functional products ranging from
iPhone cases to backpacks, visited
Art Center’s L.A. Times Media Center
this February for “Inside Incase,” a
standing-room only lecture and Q&A
featuring company co-founder and
alumnus Joe Tan PROD 94 and Vice
President of Design Markus Diebel
PROD 94. The event was presented
by Art Center’s Alumni Relations
Department and the College’s new
DOT Launch Entrepreneurial Initiative.
Tan and Diebel's presentation
provided insight into their company’s
background, projects and design process. The two shared stories behind
several of their company’s products,
including: an iPhone case inspired by the Beijing National Stadium; a
Macbook sleeve made out of Neoprene (“There’s quite a few surfers at Incase.”);
products designed in collaboration
with others (artist Shepard Fairey,
skateboard designer Paul Rodriguez);
and its latest endeavor, the Audio line of “natural sound” headphone products.
DOT Launch Director Mateo Neri
GRPK 93 called the event a huge success
and said both the presentation and the networking that took place afterward
fit perfectly into DOT Launch’s goal
of putting entrepreneurial students,
alumni and faculty in touch with like-
minded individuals. “The whole mission of DOT Launch is to empower design
entrepreneurs,” said Neri, who added
that upcoming DOT Launch events
include a crowdfunding event in the
summer and a pitch event in the fall.
DOMENIC MOEN ON
THE SET OF “ONE
BAD THING.”
PHOTO: TOR ROLF
JOHANSEN.
DOT NEWS
• 37
Art Center Dot
Art Center Dot
THE MOLO
EXHIBITION, A
CROWD FAVORITE
AT LAST YEAR’S
DWELL ON DESIGN
EVENT. PHOTO:
LAURE JOLIET.
SPRING 2012
ALUMNI JOE TAN AND
MARCUS DIEBEL,
BOTH PROD 94, INCASE
SONIC OVER-EAR
HEADPHONES,
PART OF INCASE
MINIMALIST AUDIO
LINE OF PRODUCTS.
SPRING 2012
ART CENTER HAS
ACQUIRED THE
FORMER U.S. POSTAL
SERVICE PROPERTY
ADJACENT TO SOUTH
CAMPUS.
DOT NEWS
spotted
Recent events both
on and off campus
FALL 2011 GRADUATION: JONATHAN JARVIS GRAD MDP 09
ACCEPTS YOUNG ALUMNI INNOVATOR AWARD.
NYC ALUMNI EVENT: (L > R) LORI LUM ADVT 76 AND ROYA PARTOVI ADVT 04
AT J&J GLOBAL STRATEGIC DESIGN OFFICE.
SPOTTED
President Lorne M. Buchman recently
announced that Art Center will expand
its educational reach and resources
with the acquisition of the former U.S. Postal Service property adjacent to
South Campus. The acquisition is part of the College’s strategy to create three
centers of learning— an expanded
South Campus, a renovated Hillside
Campus, and a virtual campus— each
optimized for the particular needs of
promising artists and designers, while
at the same time fostering new collaborations among disciplines. The expansion also provides opportunities
to strengthen Art Center’s engagement with diverse communities because
of the proximity of South Campus to
public transportation and the continued presence of Art Center’s Public
Programs at that location.
The need to further develop South
Campus from a satellite of our Hillside
operations into its own fully functional
center of learning and activity boils
down to the education of our students.
“They need more space to work,”
Buchman stated. “This new property
enables expansion and development of our programs and infrastructure and enhances our capacity for teaching,
learning, creating and collaborating. We are ensuring that Art Center is able to
fulfill its mission to educate students,
now and into the future.”
property, in an urban environment on
the edge of Old Pasadena where all
the action is, as well as public transit,
is a great example of renewing older
areas, creating a vital, energetic place. In today’s culture, this is exactly how a
campus should be.”
Plans to develop a shuttle service
between campuses and to move some
programs to the expanded South
Campus will further relieve stress on
our students but are also, in part, a response to neighbor concerns. “I have a lot of respect for our Hillside neighbors,” Buchman said. “While it’s my
responsibility to provide our students
with the best art and design education
possible, I want to do so in a way that’s
in sync with our environment.”
Buchman is no stranger to thought-
ful and sensitive approaches to campus Not only do students need more
expansion. As president of California
space, they need different kinds of
College of Arts and Crafts (now spaces. Early ideas for an expanded
California College of the Arts) in the
South Campus include areas for full-
‘90s, he spearheaded the development
scale prototyping, “clean” and “dirty”
of the college’s San Francisco campus,
spaces for learning and making, dediadapting a former Greyhound Bus shed cated studios for transdisciplinary
into what is now among the most
projects, collaborative environments
notable “green” buildings in the city.
in which to convene diverse disciplines, Buchman reinforces that expansion
and, eventually, student housing—an
of Art Center’s resources must be in
important step toward lessening our
service to the College’s educational
students’ financial burden.
values and mission. “Not too long ago,
The focus on students is what
our community came together to envimany alumni have responded to. So
sion Art Center’s future and create a
far, alumni have donated $5 million
strategic plan to realize it. Expanding toward the $7 million cost to acquire
our academic programs—and providing
the new property. Significant gifts
the facilities they require—plays a ceninclude three seven-figure irrevocable
tral role, and this purchase is a crucial
bequests made by award-winning
first step in achieving our goals,” said
environmental designer Richard Law
Buchman. “All our plans are rooted in
INDU 58 kinetic sculptor Steven Rieman
strong educational values and prinPROD 74 and his wife, Ruth; and Bruce
ciples. It’s all about our students."
Heavin ILLU 93 and his wife, former
Art Center faculty member Lynda
Weinman, owners of the innovative
online learning company, lynda.com.
“We aren’t as interested in a new
building as we are in the education
inside that building, and in recognizing
the excellence of Art Center students
and the critical importance and impact
of what they do,” the Riemans said of
their bequest. “It’s clear to us that Art
Center is serious about broadening
students’ opportunities and experience
by embracing new technologies and
new ways of collaborating and creating
in new spaces.”
“This is exactly what Art Center
should be doing,” Law said. “The
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
ALUMNI RELATIONS AND DOT LAUNCH ENTREPRENEUR INITIATIVES: (R) SPENCER NIKOSEY PROD 08 AND SEVERAL CURRENT
STUDENTS ENJOY THE RECEPTION FOLLOWING THE INSIDE
INCASE PANEL DISCUSSION AT ART CENTER.
Art Center Dot
Art Center Dot
College Expansion Serves
Students, Generates
Strong Alumni Support
• 39
WUNDERKIND PANEL DISCUSSION: (L > R) ANN FIELD, CHAIR
ILLUSTRATION; PATRICK HRUBY ILLU 10; ANDREW HEM ILLU 06;
SARAH AWAD ILLU 07 AND FACULTY MEMBER AARON SMITH ILLU 88.
• 38
• 40
SPRING 2012
• 41
ARTCENTER.EDU/DOT
MONSTROUS AMBITION, GIGANTIC TALENT SCREENING: (L ) STEFAN BUCHER
ADVT 96 INTERVIEWED BY FACULTY MEMBER TERRY LEE STONE, PRESENTED BY
ART CENTER AND LYNDA.COM.
LEGACY CIRCLE SPRING 2012 ORIENTATION BREAKFAST: (L > R)
FREDERIC COHEN, CO-CHAIR GAIL HOWLAND PHOT 04, MEMBER AND
NEW STUDENT ANTOINETTE ADAMS WITH NICHOLAS ADAMS-COHEN.
SYD MEAD PROGESSIONS SHOW AT FOREST LAWN
MUSEUM: (L > R) TRUSTEE DOUG BOYD INDU 66 AND
RAMONE MUÑOZ ADVT 77/GART 90.
MONSTROUS AMBITION, GIGANTIC TALENT:
(L> R ) LYNDA WEINMAN AND BRUCE HEAVIN ILLU 93 OF
LYNDA.COM INTRODUCE THE STEFAN BUCHER DOCUMENTARY.
SPOTTED
Art Center Dot
FALL 2011 GRADUATION:
WENDY MACNAUGHTON FINE 99 ACCEPTS
OUTSTANDING SERVICE ALUMNI AWARD.
SYD MEAD PROGESSIONS SHOW AT FOREST LAWN MUSEUM:
PASADENA CITY COLLEGE STUDENTS ENJOY THE SHOW.
LAUNCHING IDEAS AT DESIGN
GUILD SAN FRANCISCO: (L> R )
MELISSA STONE MFA NEWM 99
AND PARTNER CHERYL MASSE.
LEGACY CIRCLE FALL 2011 EVENT:
HOME OF SUSAN AND TIM DELANEY PROD 72.
IN
G
ID
RA
EAS
N F
A
S
AT D
ESIGN GUILD
I
NC
SC
O
SYD MEAD PROGESSIONS: GROUP OF ART CENTER
TRANSPORTATION STUDENTS.
CH
:
LA
UN
RA
FA
EL
A
DA
SH
VID
MAR
SON
AND HIS WIFE,
.
SYD MEAD PROGESSIONS SHOW AT FOREST LAWN MUSEUM:
SYD MEAD TRAN 59 FOLLOWING HIS LECTURE.
STUDENT GALLERY TOUR SPRING 2012: SAN MARINO LEAGUE
DOCENTS RECEIVE TOUR TRAINING FROM WILLIAMSON GALLERY DIRECTOR
STEPHEN NOWLIN GRAD ART 87.
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