Art Center artists show how their majors—and the scholarships that support them—can be powerful investments in creating community.
So why call it “Control Room”?
Like Kristy Lovich, these artist-curators are interested in the relationship between space and power. Ruether, who recently completed her MA in Art and Curatorial Practices in the Public Sphere at USC, says, “We wanted to be cognizant of and highlight the power structures that are part of the system we are participating in. Who is in control? The space? The artist? The curator?”
As with Lovich, scholarships from some of Art Center’s key alliances played a role in helping Ruether and Kaminski complete their degrees. Kaminski received a scholarship from the San Marino League, a nonprofit organization of local women committed to philanthropic work and furthering their own knowledge of fine art. Ruether received support from the Pasadena Art Alliance, which fosters appreciation for contemporary visual arts throughout Southern California and for nearly four decades has been a generous supporter of annual scholarships for undergraduate Fine Art majors at Art Center.
Says Kaminski, “While the experience of a fine art education is dependably transformative, there isn’t always a clear occupational destination for art majors. The support provided by these organizations shows a lot of courage and deserves not just appreciation, but also tremendous respect.”
Photographs by
Jennie Warren PHOT 05
Kristy Lovich
Sixth-term Fine Art major Kristy Lovich was becoming increasingly frustrated with her commute between her home in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles and Art Center in Pasadena. The lengthy chain of trains and buses that took her to and from campus sometimes meant getting up as early as four in the morning. And all that commuting was eating into cherished studio time.
Then one day the artist, poet and activist had a revelation. Says Lovich, “I asked myself, what if I make the bus my studio? And the train station? And the train? What if I embrace this aspect of my life and transform it into an opportunity?”
Embrace it she did, and today Lovich can often be found making art and teaching all along her route on the Metro Gold Line. You might see her conducting spirited art classes in Union Station’s iconic waiting room. Or creating chalk designs with a group of kids at one of the 21 Gold Line stations. Or hand stitching newspaper images into quilts while riding the train.
The result of her work has been an explosion of small, vibrant communities — sometimes planned, sometimes unexpected, often temporary — where creativity and conversation reign, and where participants learn about drawing, painting, photography and a host of other art forms.
