The Game Has Changed
Annis Naeem ENTD 6TH TERM
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.
Not Your Father's Magic 8 Ball
Audrey Liu PROD 03
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.
A Portrait of a Celebrated Artist
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.
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.
Appetite for Discussion
Amie Thäo ILLU 07
This summer, Amie Thäo 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. Thäo 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 Thäo 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."
A Ghostly Win
Thanks to the combined talent of eight 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.
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 community oriented, 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 Fifth and Mission. "It's going to grow in all directions, all over the walls, ceiling, everywhere," says MacNaughton of the project's expansion.
The "Three Boys" Return Home
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 snapshots, hand-written notes, journal pages, contact sheets and other mementos. The exhibition debuted in Berlin, travelled to Paris and New York, and this summer the boys return home—an expanded version of the original show will run in the Art Center's Williamson Gallery from June 14 to August 26, 2012.
Men in Vintage Black
Craig Shoji ENTD 06
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.
These Shoes Were Made for Skating
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 fivefold and the first factory shipment is due to arrive this spring. Dubbed "wearable mobility," Treadway's spnKiX use a handcontrolled wireless remote to direct both shoes at once. All hardware and electronics are integrated into the fiberreinforced 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.
