Otis C

olleg

e of A

rt and

Desig

n Otis College of Art and Design Magazine

25 Years of Fashion Design

2006 Vol.2

INTH

ISIS

SU

E:A

Green

Ro

om

Gro

ws in

So

uth

Cen

tral • 20

0 H

app

y Meals M

ake a M

isfit Diet

Wh

at is iTun

es U? • Life B

eyon

d th

e Fifth R

ing

• “Livin

g D

esign

” in

Dar es S

alaam

Otis C

olleg

e of A

rt and

Desig

n9045 Lin

coln

Blvd

.Lo

s An

geles, C

A 90045

ww

w.o

tis.e

du

No

n-P

rofit O

rgU

.S. P

ostag

eP

AID

Perm

it No

. 427Lo

s An

geles, C

A

© Otis College of Art and DesignPublication of material does not necessarily indicate endorsement of the author’s viewpoint by Otis College of Art and Design

Otis prepares diverse students of art and design to enrich our world through their creativity, their skill, and their vision.

President Hoi with Betye Saar, former Otis faculty member.Otis honored the Saar family at a closing reception forFamily Legacies: The Art of Betye, Lezley and Alison Saar(’81, MFA Fine Arts) at the Pasadena Museum ofContemporary Art in August. The exhibition traveledto the San Jose Museum of Art.

02 20 24 28

Otis College of Art and Design

Editor: Margi Reeve,Communications DirectorCo-editor: Sarah Russin,Alumni DirectorPhotography: Marcie Begleiter,Lee Salem, Ian Brooks, Krista Kahl (’07) Skye Moorhead (’94)

Contributing Writer: George Wolfe,Freelance writer, Founder/Editorof The LaLa Times [lalatimes.com](Fashion Profiles, pgs. 10-13, and pgs. 14-15)

Creative: Intersection StudioDesign Direction: Greg LindyDesign: Mark Caneso (’04)

At recent alumni gatherings in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, I spoke

with Otis graduates from no fewer than seven decades. It was gratifying to hear

their consensus that the rigorous studies at Otis prepared them well for life after

college. The vastly different journeys they have taken since Otis were also impres-

sive. Indeed, excellence and diversity, two defining values of Otis College of Art and

Design, are reflected throughout this issue of OMAG.

Educational excellence at Otis is amply demonstrated by our renowned Fashion

Design Program, which has just celebrated its 25th anniversary. Since the inception

of the program, a stunning array of top professionals has come to the Otis studios

to mentor our talented and hard-working students (see pgs. 4-5). Having learned to

balance real world industry concerns with blue-sky creativity, our alumni become

creative leaders who enjoy career success (see pgs. 8-9) and shape the fashion

design landscape with their own paths and visions (see pgs. 10-13). Congratulations

and kudos to Rosemary Brantley, Founding Chair of Fashion Design, and her dedi-

cated faculty. Other departments throughout the College share this commitment to

excellence (see College News beginning on pg. 24).

Diversity at Otis goes beyond the standard racial/ethnic framework. Our goal is

to foster a diverse educational environment where each student’s individual voice

can come into its own; in which creative individuals learn from each other, collabo-

rate, and contribute to a future of openness and possibility. Learning across discipli-

nary boundaries and across the traditional divide between academic and real life

contexts is increasingly important in preparing our students for a constantly chang-

ing and more global future. Since the next generations of thinkers and makers carry

our hope for a better world, Otis has also become more mindful of teaching the

impact of responsible art and design. Otis alumna and mentor Wanda Weller guides

her students to consider the impact their action will have seven generations from

now (see pg. 12). The world-bridging Tanzania project (see pg. 16) and the local

community-based Integrated Learning project at Ballona Wetlands (see pg. 19) are

two other examples of Otis’ forward-looking curriculum. The diverse practices and

achievements of our alumni around the world (see pgs. 20-23 as well as Class Notes

on pgs. 28-30) are directly enabled by this unique education.

—Samuel Hoi, President

Excellence and Diversity

Cover Image: Cirque de Soleil finale at2006 Scholarship Benefit Fashion Show

Back cover (detail) and opposite:

Sandow Birk (’88, Fine Arts), Poster forDante’s Inferno, a puppet-animated filmwith voices by Dermot Mulroney andJames Cromwell. www.dantefilm.com

Founded in 1918, Otis is L.A.’s first independent professional school of art. Otis' 1100students pursue degrees in architecture/landscape/ interiors, communication arts, digi-tal media, fashion design, fine arts, interactive product design, public practice, toydesign, and writing. Alumni shape contemporary visual culture—from fine arts to theHollywood screen, from the clothes we wear to the toys that engage our children.

College News Class Notes

2006 Vol.2 In This Issue:

02 Fashion Design @ 25

A Green Room Grows in South CentralThe Allure of Otis College of Art and DesignWatching the Great White Heron Living Design in Dar es Salaam Masami Teraoka: Passion is his Guide

200 Happy Meals Make a Misfit DietThree Legged Legs and Exopolis win

Digital Awards New Leaders in DesignWhat is iTunes U?Commencement ’06 What Did a Frenchman Tell us

About America?

Award-Winners, Cool Designers, Soloists,Entertainers, Alumni In Print, In MemoriumOtis Connects, Designing Otis, Otis Gear

14

24 28

Otis MonitorLife Beyond the Fifth RingNordic Amnesia: An Introduction to

Rethinking Nordic ColonialismMarking a Solemn AnniversarySounds for the Grand Promenade, Athens

20 Alumni Around the World

“Perfect Fit,” the June 5, 2006, Los Angeles Business Journal’s profile of Fashion

Design Chair Rosemary Brantley, tells the story of this Texas native who brought

her keen understanding of fashion design to L.A. In her first 25 years as founder

and chair of the department, Brantley has “molded the department into one of the

most influential in the country, churning out design talent for some of the country’s

largest apparel companies.” After spending time in New York and London as a

designer, Brantley accepted the challenge of starting a program on the West Coast.

She sees L.A. now as “the home, the heart, the core of the contemporary market.”

Brantley considers L.A.’s lack of rules one of the main factors in its fashion promi-

nence—this freedom sparks originality and fresh approaches.

@25Perfect Fit

03 OMAG OMAG 02

Dominque Lemieux of Cirque du Soleil acted as a design mentor in 2006, working with students tocreate costumes based on Salvador Dali’s famous tarot card designs.

2006 Scholarship Benefit Runway Show

FEATURE

As juniors and seniors, students work with outstanding visiting designers each year. These designers, many of whom are alumni, donate their time to present a design direction, and work closely with students throughout the year. Among mentors since 1982 are:

Yeohlee

Design Mentors

2006 Design Mentor Yeohlee Teng challenged her students to create garments with respect for limited global resources, withoutthe use of power machines or textiles by the yard. These garmentswere presented on the runway at the annual Scholarship Benefitand Fashion Show. The kick-off party for the event, held at mentorTrina Turk’s mid-century modern home, was co-sponsored by ELLE magazine. Among the guests were “Project Runway” contest-ants Andrae Gonzalo (’99) and Daniel Franco (’95).

At the May Scholarship Benefit, Otis honored Joseph Abboud, Cirque du Soleil, and Roxy with creative vision awards.Approximately 1,000 guests at the Beverly Hilton Hotel enjoyedthe runway show featuring student designs produced with mentors Morgane Le Fay, Nicole Miller, John Varvatos, Isabel and Ruben Toledo, Dominque Lemieux for Cirque du Soleil, Lloyd Klein, Yeohlee Teng, La Blanca, Abercrombie & Fitch, Trina Turk, Volcom, James Perse, Pac Sun, Nike-Dance, and Speedo. The finale included acrobats, jugglers, and other members of the Cirque du Soleil troupe. $1.1 million was raised for studentscholarships. Special thanks go to Benefit Committee co-chairsJoyce Arad and Lisa Janian, and all of the members of this group.

BURLAPBURLAP EVENING GOWN WITH MOPHEAD CAPE AND GLOVES MADE FROM VINTAGECASHMERE SOCKS

LACE GOWN MADE FROMBLEACHED, RECYCLED BLACKLACE; AND FEATHER WRAPMADE FROM RECYCLED BOAS

BOASCOCOON KNIT CAPE MADEFROM RECYCLED SWEATER,AND SUEDE PANT CREATEDFROM RECYCLED JACKETS

JACKETSBROWN OMBRÉ HALTER DRESSMADE FROM CURTAINS, ANDSHRUG MADE FROM RECYCLEDSUEDE JACKET

CURTAINS

The 2006-07 roster of mentors includes: Luba Azria for BCBG; Rod Beattie (’86) forLa Blanca; Red Carter (’92), Natalie Chaninfor Project Alabama; Francisco Costa forCalvin Klein Collection; Kristopher Enuke(’84); Bob Mackie; Mandy Robinson for Billabong; Behnaz Sarafpour; Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor for JuicyCouture; Alan Shu and Susan Lee forArmani Exchange; Julie Ann Silverman(‘95) for Betsey Johnson Swimwear; andWanda Weller (’88) for Patagonia.

OMAG 04 05 OMAG

Abercrombie & FitchAdidasAnne KleinBanana RepublicBarbie/MattelBillabongBob MackieCosabellaCynthia RowleyDiane Von FurstenbergDKNYGAPGUESS?HalstonHurley InternationalJohn VarvatosLeon Max, Inc.Levi StraussMichelle MasonMossimoNIKE Ocean PacificOscar de la RentaPac SunPerry EllisQuiksilverRichard TylerRoxyRozae NicholsSean JohnSpeedoSt. JohnTargetThe North Face Todd OldhamTrina TurkVera WangVolcom

n Q&A

OMAG 06

Rosemary Brantley,

Founding Chair

Susan Baker

Maribeth Baloga

Pamela Banks

Aiko Beall

Eddie Bledsoe

Anne M. Bray

Leigh Cairo

Doug Coulter

Gus DeGuzman

Jackie Doyle

Jane Engelman

Rosi Gabi

Kathryn Hagen

Farnaz Harouni

Jill Higashi-Zeleznik

Linda Holler

Julie Hollinger

Morrison Jackson

Jane Mountney

Jones

Karolyn Kiisel

Lada Kirich

Gail Knierim

Sumi Lee

Amanda B. Linder

Michelle Lucas

Evelyn McInerney

Alexis Montgomery

Sarah Nichols

Justine Parish

Deborah Patterson

Aaron Paule

Evelyn Poghosyan

Sandy Potter

Mitra Rajabi

Karen Regoli-Arthur

Diane Sisko

Terri Slater

Francis Spitta

Pat Stiles

Elizabeth Strozewski

Dat Tran

Jennifer Uner

Robert Valerio

Jacqueline Wickser

Tony Young

Susan Zarate

Tadd Zarubika

Tuula Zivin

Staff

Bea Calderon

Jane Engelman

Byron LiCausi

Marytza Rubio

Shelly Sachs

FashioChair Rosemary Brantley credits her faculty

with the program’s success. Many of them

have taught for more than 20 years in the

department, and several are alumni. What

follows are their responses to questions

about teaching, designing, and shopping.

What do you think of the statement: “If it can’t get into a taxi, it’s not valid”?

• Agree!

• Art to wear is different from fashion, which must be mingledwith human life.

• I have always savoured eccentricity, and the creative approach to individuality.

• Cirque du Soleil costumes don’t need to get to the theater inthe back of a taxi.

What would you characterize as the biggest change in fashion design education in the last ten years?

• More concentration in fabric/graphic treatments.

• Dominant influence of street fashion.

• Importance of teamwork.

• Emphasis on creativity and good ideas.

• Increased attention to merchandising.

• Layering, complexity, diversity of approaches.

• Influence of computer graphics. Photoshop and Illustratorskills are entry-level requirements.

How do you get students to think independently, to develop a unique point of view or style?

• Research! Research! Research! Encourage them to explorelots of ideas.

• Teach them to arrive at a fresh solution through researching,distilling, and developing two or three ideas in a new way.

• Encourage thinking about the unexplored areas of fashion.

• Help them solve their technical problems to achieve theirdesign goals.

• Stimulate innovation by emphasizing that there is rarely awrong way to do something, and many right ways.

• Direct them to look at influence and ideas outside of the fashion magazines and trade reports.

• Teach them to develop the good idea until it becomes great.

What advice do you give young designers who want to develop careers in fashion design?

• Be aware of cultural trends and other ways of thinking aboutclothes. Look at everything!

• It’s a competitive jungle out there. Go to a respected school, get aBFA degree. Learn to draw, because no one can see good designthrough a bad drawing.

• Explore the fashion industry through summer internships; seekthe top designers for employment.

• Develop a creative work process—generate ideas throughresearch, study construction.

• Learn to be organized and multitask. Pay attention to what’s happening and what’s new—runway shows, designers, labels, etc.

• New ideas are the most important things to develop. Innovation is what counts.

• Develop the skills to be strong and patient.

What fashion designer do you most admire and why?

• Rei Kawakubo, Donna Karan, Ann Demeulemeister, JunyaWatanabe, Marni, and Anna Sui have distinctive styles thatdemonstrate strong points of view, year after year.

• Isabel Toledo has a unique sense of style and an architecturalapproach to developing her patterns.

• Giorgio Armani, for his elegant and sophisticated classic style.

• Marc Jacobs’ clothing and Martin Margiela’s ideas.

• Vivienne Westwood, because she uses fashion as a subversiveinfluence, bases her designs on historical precedents, and takestime to educate young designers. She wants to make people think about what they wear and why.

What is your biggest satisfaction from being a fashion design faculty member?

• Combining the Western way of thinking with the formalJapanese aesthetic, from my formal education in flowerarrangement, calligraphy and fashion design.

• I greatly admire the fashion designers who make time to mentor and teach. They are the special ones. The list of greatclothing designers worldwide is a mile long.

Where do you like to shop?

• Rose Bowl, Pasadena City College swap meet, Barneys, Neiman Marcus, Fred Segal, odd little boutiques,sample sales.

What is unique about the L.A. fashion industry?

• Like a magnet, it attracts hoards of young talent. As a young frontier, with few rules, it is a developing force.

• Doesn’t take itself too seriously.

• Allows freedom to be young, hip, and seasonless.

• Values innovation in fabric treatments, denim, casual sportswear.

• Swimwear, and the influence of Hollywood, new music and clubs.

• Pervasive influence of O.C. board/surf wear.

07 OMAG

03 OMAG

Otis FashionDesign Alumni

Otis graduates lead in all segments of the fashion industry: couture, costume design,

textile design, fashion editorial and education. They are entrepreneurs, leaders of design

teams, and contributors to the looks we wear and see in the media and in retail locations.

Sporting World

ActiveAdidasElement

SkateboardNauticaSpeedoNIKENorth FacePatagoniaPumaSwiss Army

SurfwearBillabongJantzenLunada BayOcean PacificPac SunQuiksilverRoxyRip CurlVolcomAnne ColeBeccaBetsey JohnsonLa BlancaTommy BahamaWarnaco

SwimwearRobin Piccone

Designer

Adrienne VittadiniAnne KleinBarneys New YorkCalvin KleinDonna KaranEduardo LuceroHervé LégerIsabel ToledoJohn VarvatosOligo TissewRozae NicholsSt. John KnitsTommy HilfigerLloyd Klein

Large Retail

Stores

Ann TaylorDillardsEddie BauerFederated StoresLimitedMervynsNeiman MarcusNordstromTarget

Specialty

Claire Pettibone bridal couture

Frederick’s ofHollywood

Jenny Lee BridalGymboreeGAP accessoriesIsabel FioreRemy Leather

FashionsToy

Mattel Inc(Barbie)

DisneyConsumerProducts

Teens and Jeans

Abercrombie& Fitch

American EagleOutfitters

GapForever 21Juicy Couturel.e.iMossimo/TargetOld NavyPaul FrankRampageSkinny MinnieUrban OutfittersVansXoxoJeanswearAG Adriano

GoldschmeidEarl JeansGUESS? IncJoe’s JeansJordacheLevi StraussLucky BrandLee JeansRoc and RepublicTrue Religion

Film, Television

and

Performance

Nashville BalletThe Pointer SistersTaledega Nights:

(2006)Blue Crush (2002)Empire Falls (2005)

(TV)Ali (2001)One True Thing

(1998)The Station Agent

(2003)Minority Report

(2002)Monkeybone (2002)Titanic (1997)Legends of the Fall

(1994)The Indian in the

Cupboard (1995)

Contemporary

and GlamourArmani ExchangeAeroposteleBanana RepublicBCBGBebeBlue Dot ClothingClub MonacoGAPEspritJ. CrewJames PerseLeon MaxPetrozilla12th Street by

Cynthia Vincent

OMAG 08 09 OMAG

11 OMAG

PROFILES

If looks could kill, why can’t clothes have stories?After getting a business degree, would-be Skinny Minnie founder

Evelyn Choi (’95), worked as a plant manager for a computer manufacturer.She wore a suit, and did a lot of walking through yawning industrialspaces. Over the course of her five years there, her mind occasionallywandered to the suits she wore, and the suits began to obsess her. In asense, they spoke to her: “From one suit to another, there was a big difference in the way they looked and felt on the body. At the time, I hadno idea what made them so different. Granted, suits all appear similar:lapels, sleeves, pockets, etc., but sometimes one fit far better than another.”

After burning out on that job, she took a year off to soul-search aboutwhat she would do next. Thinking back to her interest in the constructionand fit of the suits, she realized that she’d always been fascinated byfashion. She decided to go back to school and study fashion design. Otiswas perfect for her in terms of location and reputation.

“Having been in the working world, I knew this was a rare opportunity:working with the instructors—and, of course, Rosemary (Brantley) andher expertise and experience—and all the critics who came in. I grabbedeverything. You’ve got to value that time.”

Choi got her questions about the ins and outs of suits—and muchmore—answered, and she moved on. She worked under a lead designerfor years, eventually getting promoted to sweater designer, and later beingin charge of a social dress division. By the time Choi decided to ventureout on her own, she had married classmate and fine artist Jon Riddle(’95), and had her first child. As often happens with family, priorities tendto change.

“I didn’t want to travel as much. I couldn’t really work late or doweekends. I wanted to be on my own, so that I could spend more timewith my baby,” says Choi, chuckling. “Of course, that was very naïve.”But a little naiveté never stopped Evelyn.

“If I wanted my own business, I needed to find a unique concept thatwould set it apart from the rest of the industry.”

Several serendipitous events would lead to the creation of her noveltyt-shirt company, Skinny Minnie. In 2000, one of those “seize it or lostit” career moments arose. 20th Century Fox wanted to do a promotionalshirt for the movie Moulin Rouge, but didn’t want it to be a simple give-away. They wanted something consumers would actually buy and value,and planned to sell it through Bloomingdale’s. Choi was contacted byKal Ruttenstein, the Vice President for Fashion Direction at Bloomingdale’sto create the Moulin Rouge t-shirt for his famous shop concepts. She andher husband then started working with costume designer CatherineMartin. Choi’s challenge was now: How to make garments look vintage,echoing the movie’s aesthetic of Paris in a bygone era?

Choi and her husband had the opportunity to experiment with amachine that had been virtually abandoned since the ‘60s. It functionedin a way that was different from the regular screen-print process. Thenormal silkscreen process is oil-based, and the ink sits on top of fabric.But Choi and Riddle devised a wet-printing process in which shirts soakin water and the ink gets embedded in the fabric, giving it that aginglook. They created a unique look by placing graphics in a non-conven-tional way on the vintage-style fabric.

20th Century Fox and Bloomingdale’s were pleased with the results—even more so when the shirts broke Bloomingdale’s records by selling5,000 within the first month. This led to more collaborations between Choiand Ruttenstein, with Hair Spray, Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia, and Rent.

This gave Choi the financial security to branch out. With the technique developed for Moulin Rouge, Choi set the identity for SkinnyMinnie. Choi and Riddle continued to experiment with breaking theboundaries between image and seam, making designs that tied the garment together as a whole. They spent the next six months developingthe printing process for the contemporary t-shirt market. As with herprevious fascination with suits, she became completely immersed in andobsessed with shirts.

By the time they had their first show—with 10 different shirts—theywere anxious about how they’d be received. The show turned out to be a huge success—“it was so crazy, we couldn’t write all the orders.” Thisproved that the market didn’t need more plain t-shirts, but somethingfresh. “I always try to find something that’s missing in the market, andtrust that the financial part will follow.” From then on, the (business) hasbeen very successful.

After a new idea has been introduced, the competitors jump in.Choi estimates that it took about a year and a half for others to duplicatethat unique vintage look; in that time, she basically had a monopoly.“Everybody’s always hungry for the next new thing, and ournovelty/niche shirts have gone a long way toward filling that hunger.”But what happens when that craze is so ‘in’ that it goes ‘out’? “There will always be knock-off companies. But there’s always the ‘intellectualproperty of the design,’ which is not always obvious to imitators. Theyoverlook the intellectual side of garments, and can’t fully replicate it.We’re validated by that. We’re still around, doing a lot more (business)than when we started, and still growing.”

Later that year, Vanilla Sugar, a “missy” line, took off. Then came theidea for a men’s line, which Choi delivered a year after that: Salvage. “We

didn’t want the men’s line to be too decorative;we wanted it more masculine.” Again, with herhusband’s help they borrowed the basic SkinnyMinnie technique and created a line “based onrock, punk rock and post-punk.” It took on a lookand a voice of its own, more higher-end than theother lines, and has been getting a lot of attention.It’s worn by the likes of Mötley Crüe, Slash fromGuns ‘n’ Roses, and Bono.

A dozen or so years after she quit her job atthe computer manufacturer, Choi finds herselfstrolling along seemingly endless aisles of clothing,

hanger after hanger—all inside a giant hangar, southeast of downtownLos Angeles. Like the computer manufacturing facilities she managed,this is a yawning space of industry: the size of a football field, and tallenough to house jumbo jets. But it’s not yawning in a dull sense. With the help of 170 employees (including many Otis alumni), she’ll do about$38 million in sales this year. This is her space, her design, her company.By listening to that little voice inside—call it the subtle voice of the clothing itself—she has arrived.

This suits her just fine.

Every Shirt Tells a Story

Vince Neil and Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe in Salvage Supply Nicole Kidman and Baz Luhrmann promote Skinny Minnie’s Moulin Rouge t-shirt at Bloomingdale’s, April 2000 (inset)

OMAG 10

by George Wolfe

OMAG 12

PROFILES PROFILES

If there’s a sliver of optimism to be found in a time of war and a worldchallenged by incessant forces of destruction, it’s embodied in companieslike Patagonia and people like Wanda Weller (’88), design director ofthe company’s outdoor clothing.

“Yes, I’m hopeful—absolutely hopeful. In fact, you have to be hopeful . . .or you’ll slit your wrists.”

Enveloped in a benevolent corporate shroud that’s committed tochanging the world by action and example, Weller’s viewpoint is buoyedby the numerous speakers who make their way through Patagonia forone event or another.

“There’s an exhibition going around now: ‘Massive Change’ by BruceMau,” says Weller, “with the tagline: ‘It’s not about the world of design,it’s about the design of the world.’ These speakers are doing amazinglyproactive things in the world. They’re so uplifting and powerful. Itbecomes infectious.”

Weller’s comments are far from empty hyperbole. Patagonia’s commit-ment is multi-faceted and backed by financial muscle. Their EnvironmentalGrants program has donated more than $20 million to more than 1,000grassroots organizations (often ones overlooked by or too radical for moretraditional funders). Their 70-member Conservation Alliance works withcompanies in the outdoor industry to build a central fund that has savedmore than 34 million acres of wilderness and dozens of waterways.Their 1% For The Planet program encourages businesses todonate at least 1% of their annual net revenues to environ-mental organizations worldwide. Their Common ThreadsGarment Recycling program provides the incentive forcustomers to send back worn-out base layers of Capilene,which are then recycled into new polyester garments.

“At work, we’re constantly faced with reminders of theunderlying company values. We empty our own garbageand recycling, bring our own coffee mugs, etc. That affects your home life,too. Today, I traded in my car for a hybrid Prius—not thatI was driving a gas guzzler, but I felt that I needed to do better. And maybe it won’t save the world, but who knows?—one little action can affect yourwhole circle of friends . . . and grassroots movements have been known tochange the world.”

For someone in Weller’s position, she certainly must’ve been a staunch,environmentally conscious kid. “Actually, no. I grew up in Topanga [Canyon]in Los Angeles. In hindsight I know there were things I was taught by myparents about the environment. But at the time, I wasn’t conscious of whatthose were.” Weller followed her sister (who was studying graphic design) to Otis, and found herself at home. “I felt like I made the right choice. I wasone of those people who always made their own clothes. People said, ‘Youshould be in fashion.’ So that’s what I did. Still, the environmental anglewould happen later. Otis was stimulating and exciting, all in one building at the time. Going to school with people of all ages and backgrounds was fantastic—people with more worldly experience influenced people like me who were just a year or so out of high school. That dynamic wasinvaluable for me.”

After graduation, Weller found a job in Oregon. She remained in theNorthwest for ten years, working in athletic and outdoor clothing design at such companies as Adidas America and ZIBA Design. She garnered a reputation “as someone who could communicate with creative types.”

Since joining Patagonia in 2001, the concept of “sustainable design” hasremained paramount. Does Weller feel at odds with the world of high fashionor other segments of the fashion world? For instance, what about the whole timely notion of “distressed clothing?” “Because one of Patagonia’siron-clad ethics is that every part of the garment should last equally, yes,that sets us apart. In today’s society, we don’t have time to wear things inanymore, so the trend of distressing garments fulfills society’s immediateneed. And of course with practices like distressing, there is the environmentalimpact of the chemicals used. In addition, distressing something may wellmake it last half as long, which then requires new resources to replace it.Patagonia is committed to working so that garments will have a renewedlife.We’re really doing a lot of work in that area.We feel that that’s definitelythe next phase. The tricky thing, however, is communicating the need tochange ways. There’s often a huge learning curve.”

But there are certain aspects of designing for the outdoors—includingthe consideration of technical and safety issues—that bear some similaritiesto the world of high fashion. “For example, take something like couture. It’ssimilarly meticulous, specific and endlessly detail-oriented. The obsessiveprocess, the way it’s built, is actually very technical. In both cases, you’re stillvery much listening and responding to what people want. And, as with morecommercial fashion markets, we found that climbing apparel is moving inthe direction of streetwear, because that’s what people are comfortable in.”

Student designs in Weller’s most recent Otis mentorship ended up beingcloser to high fashion than outdoor fashion. “It wasn’t so similar to whatyou’d see at Patagonia—rather, it focused on the materials (using only plant-based dyes), and the thought process. What the students came up with wasso beautiful and amazing, so deep and rich, like tribal wear—only usingwhat’s available. It’s sort of like ‘Build locally, think globally.’ You derive yourinspiration and beauty from the community at hand.” This notion rings truefor Weller, and is in sync with Patagonia’s global mission.

“If I can communicate one thing to the students, it’s that we all needto think of this concept of ‘total beauty,’ and the impact we’re having. TheTotal Beauty of Sustainable Products, by Edwin Datschefski, encourages us all to look at the gestalt of a design (instead of just the final result), and notto separate how it was made from how we evaluate its beauty. We needto move away from the disposable and think about the impact our actionswill have seven generations from now. It may sound trite, but what couldbe more important?”

Renew/Recycle: Patagonia’s Global Mission

To get to Otis, and to follow his path toward becoming a world-renownedindependent fashion designer, Nigerian-born, England-educated KristopherEnuke (’84) had more than just a portfolio under his arm—he had an ace uphis sleeve. “My father saw me as an architect or an engineer,” says Enuke,creator of the knitwear collection Oliver Twist, and the Oligo Tissew line ofdenim. “He definitely did not see me as a fashion designer. Plus, he insistedon an accredited program, but the school I had my eye on in England,though excellent, didn’t offer that. Frustrated, I moved out of the house.”

Eventually, Enuke’s father agreed that textile design or graphic arts“could be OK” as long as it offered a bachelor of arts degree. His fatheragreed that studying in America was an option. Wanting some distancefrom family at that point, Enuke applied as far west as he could go—to Otis—and got accepted in fashion design. Pleased, but not out of thewoods yet, he still needed a way to get around his father’s stipulation.

Enuke went to a former dance instructor with whom he’d studied inLondon. “I asked him to make me an offer to be a dancer in his travelingdance troupe, which he did.” With the dance contract in one hand, andthe Otis acceptance in the other, he approached his father. “To my father,fashion designing compared to dance was—relatively speaking—fantastic.What could he really say? My father conceded: ‘OK, fine,’ he said. ‘If youfought for this, then you believe in this, then you’ll succeed in it, andI’ll support you.’” From that point on, both his father and mother firmlyadvocated their son’s career decision.

But no sooner had he arrived at Otis than he suffered cultural shock.Enuke felt a clash of different value systems. “Here I was coming fromLondon, where we lived fashion, it was all about individual expression, andsuddenly I saw kids coming to school in jeans, cut-off shorts and t-shirts. Itdidn’t feel right. I just didn’t get how these people—art and fashion students—were not living their passion with their whole being. So I stuck out like asore thumb. Still, I came to Otis knowing what I wanted, so it didn’t matter.”

“School was immersive, intense and involved in terms of giving you thework. But I didn’t have the American habit of ‘protocol,’ where things likeorder and punctuality—non-emotional elements—rated high.” Rosemary(Brantley) was like The Mom. I swear, she was born for the job. She had thepatience. She knew our strengths, weaknesses, how to pump us up, how tobeat us up.”

At times, Enuke felt that if he didn’t stick out enough, then it was a signthat something must be wrong. “My whole approach was: If my classmatesliked my croquis (small drawings presented to the class), then I hadn’tthought enough. Most students assumed that when they finished school,they’d work for somebody; but I knew I always wanted to work for myself.The main thing is to know who you are, your style . . . and work toward it.”

“But all together,” says Enuke, “it was an exciting time, and good to goto Otis. My favorite instructor and biggest influence had to be Aiko Beall.She would say, “ Anything you can draw, you can make.” She understoodintricacies, she appreciated “dare” . . . you have to dare to create, to be in the

zone, otherwise, you’re pretty much regurgitating what’sout there.”

Enuke decided to stay in America after he finishedOtis. But the workaday world soon proved to have itsown obstacles and frustrations. Although he was earninga decent salary, he was haunted by the feeling that some-thing was wrong. Over time he would come to articulate

what bothered him.“It just felt . . . corrupt. It was like my hands were tied: ‘Just sit here,

be a good boy, collect your pay.’ For other people, that was fantastic, ‘Wow,I get to take all this money home?!’ But I began to understand that yourboss either recognizes your ability (and can use it in a mutually construc-tive way) or wants to keep you confined (in which case you stagnate).Sometimes there’s just not enough time to indulge your individuality.”

While continuing to move his way up the designer route, he essentiallylearned the routine of knocking off other people’s things (because that’swhat his employers wanted). “At that rate, I could see that I’d pretty muchdie being that kind of designer.” How to break out of the system? By free-lancing, Enuke got his portfolio exposed. He also learned new skills, likehow to hand-knit sweaters. He sold his first collection to high-end retailerssuch as Maxfield and Bergdorf.

He explains that his growth as a designer derived from his belief inindividuality. “If star pockets on jeans are ‘in,’ everyone chases that money.But as a student, you shouldn’t chase money; you should chase your abilityto evolve a product so it’s always fresh in the eye of the market—becausethat’s your strength. Always. Let them copy you instead of you chasingthem. And you have to build the ability to do that while in school.”

His jeans brand, Oligo Tissew, is characterized by a three-dimensionalstar on one back pocket and a red remembrance bow on the opposite backpocket. The remembrance bow is a reminder of all children born intounderprivileged circumstances, while the star signifies the possibilitiesavailable for all children who are given an opportunity. A percentage ofsales of Oligo Tissew garments is donated to Nigerian school children.

Enuke imagines that if he came back to Otis 40 years from now, he’dwant to see Otis as the campus where “the world comes for innovation. Itshould be a combination of innovation and balance. Rosemary taught ushow to emphasize both, and I can’t tell you how important that was; in thebig picture, it’s balance that brings back the ability to relate to the cus-tomer. Ideally, I’d like to see Rosemary’s legacy as balance combined withextreme innovation.”

Oligo Tissew = Refined Cloth

Men’s “Quilt Again” Jacket exterior of chlorine-freewool and recycled polyester; interior lining of plushfleece scraps from the cutting-room floor

13 OMAG

by George Wolfe by George Wolfe

A Green Room Growsin SouthCentral

OTIS MONITOR OTIS MONITOR

by George Wolfe

OMAG 14 15 OMAG

The students then used community feedback to hone theirindividual proposals and develop a team proposal that incorpo-rated the most successful design elements. Their project, titled“Green Room,” uses the notion of the room to organize themain components. “The notion of the room,” explains Guida,“organizes the design’s main components.”

Doors: An unsightly chain-link security gate is replaced with apivoting, transparent learning wall outfitted with chalkboards,environmental graphics, and display panels for student work.

Windows: New openings in the administration building areproposed as a way of increasing security through visibility.

Walls: In order to address limited opportunities for newplantings, the designers devised a “sustainable mural” strategyinspired by California landscape paintings. Composed of eight-foot squares and limited to eight paint colors, it resists graffitiand is easily repaired or expanded.

Floors: Pervious materials route storm water to the soil andplantings; surface patterning directs circulation through the space.

Furnishings: New benches facilitate impromptu use as anoutdoor classroom.

Ceiling: New sycamores and deciduous trees provide shade,shelter drought-tolerant ground plantings, and teach studentsabout the change of seasons.

How did the students feel about what they created?“I feel that the final design re-emphasizes the school’s atti-

tude and vision,” says Gary, “and in the end the design came

down to the idea: Can design advance positive ideas in theworld, in order to lead to a greater social community?”

Daniel agrees, echoing the group’s lofty aspirations:“Although the proposed design addressed the specifics of thesite, the hope was that the overarching concept of the GreenRoom would be ‘projective’ — potentially serving as an earlymodel for the sustainable adaptation of aging inner-city schoolsnationwide.”

Currently, the design aspect of the project is finished.Implementation will begin after the school district's approval.Regardless of how the lives of those at Woodcrest are changedby their altered environment in years to come, some successescan already be felt within the boundaries of Otis’s campus.

“In thinking back,” says Gary, “I truly believe that we finishedas much different people than when we began.”

When Katie Phillips, Chair of Otis’ first-year Foundation Program, was contacted by Global

Green, she jumped at the opportunity for students to work with a progressive, green-friendly

non-profit organization.

“We had the idea to partner with Otis,” says Global Green’s Walker Wells, “to develop a

sustainable landscape proposal for the entry to Woodcrest Elementary, a school in South

Central Los Angeles.”

Global Green, the U.S. affiliate of former Russian PresidentGorbachev’s organization Green Cross International, focuses onpromoting renewable energy and green building. The Woodcrestproject (which would come to be known as the “GreenscapeChallenge”) was funded by the Annenberg Foundation, which traditionally funded education programs, but has branched out to include environmental initiatives.

“Personally,” Katie Phillips says, “my interest in the environ-ment is informed by living in [semi-rural] Topanga where I amsurrounded by warning signals. We no longer get deer, bobcatsand fox regularly on our property. The mountain lion who usedto sun himself on the rocks above our house is gone. The frogsno longer inhabit the creeks, and many of the creeks which usedto run are dry.

“And because Otis is an art and design college, many facultyand staff members are by nature acute observers, and are notingthe same sorts of things as I am. They bring these issues into theclassroom whenever appropriate. And although everyone who isinterested in issues of global climate change, diminishingspecies, or world population has not gathered and decided toplan an Otis “response,” the subject often pops up during dis-cussions. It has been more intuitive and individual. Our firstresponsibility is to develop and graduate artists and designers,but we also have a responsibility to educate students as to thechallenges they will face as professionals. Concerns about sus-tainability on the planet will certainly be one of them.”

Senior Architecture/Landscape/Interiors Lecturer AnthonyGuida led the Woodcrest project in spring 2006. “I viewed the project as an opportunity to develop design skills with a ‘green’emphasis,” says Otis student Gary Garcia. “This project was realand it deserved a real look into the green philosophy. I felt thiswould be the perfect opportunity to inform myself, and that theproject would present me with a larger world, not only of designbut also of social views.”

Other students involved were Jesus Aguilar, Gary Garcia,Cindy Kogure, Kevin Lee, Myung Lee, Danny Phillips, KatrinaSilva and Deborah Taieb. These designers were presented with aspace that is currently little more than a paved and fortified out-door corridor where students assemble and wait for school tobegin or buses to depart. The challenge was to “greenify” it.

Daniel Phillips recalls that “We assessed the existing situationand took stock of the pressing concerns of the teachers andadministrators. We noted a number of specific issues we wantedto address with the proposed design—a need for seating, improvedtraffic flow at the gated entry, and a need for green space.”

After the assessment period, the students came up withmany different ideas to tackle the various challenges. GaryGarcia notes that “when the first design presentations tookplace, everyone presented an idea. My idea ignored the socialconditions of the school. As a result, my idea was ignored, andI’m glad it was. I had forgotten that site research is key to thesuccess of a project.

More and more Otis students are being exposed to environmentally-oriented partners outside the school though Integrated Learningprojects (see pg. 19 for a description of the Ballona Wetlands designproject). Foundation Chair Phillips estimates that 200 freshmenwere exposed to such partnerships last year.

Proposed site plan with hardscape and plantings

N O T E :

OTIS MONITOR

Livıng Design in Dar es Salaam

(PK) Dan, what was your main focus during your year in Dar esSalaam as a Fulbright scholar? (DF) My focus overseas was twofold. First, I was teaching at theUniversity of Dar es Salaam, so I had a distinct professorial focusthroughout the year. Teaching there is not like teaching at Otis, onany level. My second focus was a research project: “Aesthetics andInterface design for Tanzanian Youth and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic.” Isought out youth-focused community-based organizations, andNon-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and partnered with themto provide self-service, touch-screen, video-enabled interfaces forhealth and social welfare education, training, and outreach. I stud-ied how the interfaces were adopted and used by an audience withlittle history of, or experience with, participatory communication.These interfaces recorded video directly to the computer, and pre-sented the audience with a direct feed, so that all those whoapproached the display would instantly see themselves in a live-capture environment. (PK) It sounds like you stayed very close to the vision you sharedwith me about a year and a half ago, when we met in Venice andyou agreed to partner with my Interactive Typography class at Otis.Both your research project and your teaching last year catapultedyou into a much larger global context. It seems that both groups ofour students enjoyed this new immersion, too. How did your stu-dents respond to this project? (DF) The UDSM students greatly enjoyed the meetings. They weresuper-excited that an art school on the other side of the world was interested in them, in their works, in their lives. Many of thestudents had never even seen anything like what your class wasworking on before: interactive media, typographic exploration, and

narrative in a participatory concept that maps multiple perspec-tives. These processes are not part of the critical communicationsdialogue in Tanzania, or for that matter, large swaths of the world.Experiencing these processes directly, for the first time, andthrough the authors themselves (your students), was an excitingand challenging experience for the UDSM crowd. It inspired awhole new way of thinking about what the students were doingand some new ideas of approaching the world around them. (DF) What was it like for the students at Otis? Was there a sharedsense of discovery that the whole class was experiencing, or werethe interactions more individualistic and unique to the student?Traci, can you comment on this? (TL) The video conferencing/live chats we held over iChat duringour class sessions offered that sense of collective experience youmentioned. But the fact that we then chose individual areas offocus for our projects allowed us to have a personal connection. Igreatly appreciate you putting me in contact with the dance troupeMsewe Cultural Group. By chatting with them outside of class(and receiving a package of video tapes in the mail!) I was able tolearn more about music and dance in Tanzania, and then feed thatinformation back to the community through my final project. Danand Patty, what do you feel is the relevance of global learning in aliving design environment? (DF) We live in a Big Damn World (name for a project I am work-ing on). There is really no way to appreciate the scale of our worlduntil you experience it firsthand. It is precisely this experience —working in it, living in it and using design to try to improve whatwe can — that is perhaps the best learning of all. It’s “living learn-ing,” living design.

This creates whole new challenges for the designer. Living designasks: How can you, the designer, make your mark by makingmeaning? How can you add to the world? How can you improveit? I see this as a whole new frontier for design. The next-est, best-est designers, the ones capable of working in a global context, willcome from an expanded set of horizons, a deeper experientialfield. As educators, we need to accommodate a broader, global-ized context in students’ thinking, training, and doings. (PK) Otis and other schools are addressing this relevance withprograms like Integrated Learning. These projects explore a moreinterdisciplinary, experiential approach to learning in a broadercommunity context. They are platforms that support the develop-ment of the next generation of makers — those who need to gobeyond posing questions like “How can I make a good design?” to arrive at “How can I change the world through design?”

I feel that Otis should educate the students to estab-lish their voices at the beginning of their curriculum.The sooner you find your own being, the sooner youhave a chance to survive as an artist. Passion shouldbe your guide, not class assignments. This takesintense focus that demands philosophical, aesthetic,and conceptual creative processes.

Otis needs to offer inspiring educators who canencourage the students to explore and evolve their own voice atan early stage. Otis needs to help students express themselvescreatively. For this creative mission you need to focus on what youwant and where your passion leads you.

I was inspired by Shane Blackbourne’s wave sculpture (below).Conceptually and aesthetically, his work writhes. I wish I could seethe finished piece in driftwood.

Marjan Vayghan’s unique installation pieces also inspired metremendously. Her tiles and fish installation was a special treat.She integrated her cultural background as an Iranian (with fish thatmeant so much to her) in her work. She also mentioned that sheherself was moved to organize a peaceful exhibition called “TheBridge Exhibition,” between the United States and Iran. This showMarjan is organizing could be a very timely exhibition in terms ofthe current nuclear war threats. Marjan’s work and activity seem tohave edges where she speaks to people and shares her view of aglobal humanitarian relationship.

Eric Medine’s wall installation derived from the current digital world, and high-tech culture seems to reveal what we may come to see in the near future. Its unknown visual languagecontains a great deal about where our culture may evolve. It's avisionary work.

The seniors were articulate about their work. Some have unique

voices; others have strong concepts, but it seems they still have

a long way to go before they materialize their vocabularies.

I wished to see the students investigate aesthetic aspects as

well as conceptual aspects in art so that their expression would

benefit and their conceptual work would be brought to full

scale. If either one lacks, work suffers.

Masami Teraoka (’64, ’68 MFA) was invited to be the spring 2006 JenniferHoward Coleman Artist in Residence, a program supported by the SamuelGoldwyn Foundation. Returning to Otis almost four decades after gradua-tion, Teraoka presented his work to the public, explaining his passion forthe social and political issues in which he is engaged. He also displayed hisinquisitive and gentle manner, visiting fine arts students in their studiosand encouraging them to grow and challenge themselves. The commentsabove are excerpted from his email summary of the residency.

N O T E :

OTIS MONITOR

OMAG 16

Masami Teraoka: Passion is his Guide

17 OMAG

During the spring 2006 semester, students from the University of Dares Salaam (UDSM) and Otis College of Art and Design interacted via e-mail, iChats, message boards and video conferencing. This collaborationwas facilitated by Dan Frydman (a former Otis Communication Artsprofessor and Fulbright scholar), and Patricia Kovic (Otis CommunicationArts Associate Professor). Frydman’s Fulbright proposal involved aninvestigation of interface design and the AIDS epidemic in Tanzania, inorder to provide a human face to the faceless statistical tragedy of thisepidemic. UDSM students were asked to participate in this interactivemedia project.

N O T E :

The following email exchanges involve Dan Frydman (DF), Patty Kovic (PK) and Communication Arts senior Traci Larson (TL).

OTIS MONITOR

OMAG 18

The Allure of Otis College of Art and Design

As a graduate student at USC, I routinely found myself stop-ping off at the old Otis campus at MacArthur Park to visit withstudents I knew there, to check out shows in the gallery, or just to hang out and get caught up in the vibe that people whoknow Otis know it to have. The school’s Westchester campusstill has that feeling about it; you go there to see a show, andyou find yourself wanting to linger. And as I have both developeda broad familiarity with the Los Angeles art of my generation,and continued to observe the emergence of new artists, Ialways am reminded, though I’m never really surprised, of how many of the artists who interest me have come throughthis school. The “Otis: Nine Decades of L.A. Art” exhibition earlier this year at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Galleryreminded me yet again how important Otis has been to LosAngeles, and to me. With that exhibition’s view of past Otisstudents still in mind, I jumped at the chance to organize ashow of work by current Otis faculty. The promise of curatingfor me is the chance to get to know something better. Becauseof what I knew of people who currently teach at Otis, andbecause of how much I knew I didn’t know, this was an oppor-tunity I wasn’t going to pass up, and it’s been an opportunityI’m glad I took. I came to this project with no agenda in mindand no assumptions about what I would see—just a sparked

sense of curiosity, and an interest in presenting a sampling of the vast body of work presented to me by Otis faculty. My only regret is that the number of participants prevented mefrom showing more work by each. I don’t know what exactlythis show might say about this school, and frankly I am wary of the idea of a show that could sum up a school. If there is aconclusion I can draw from this exhibition, it is that the show’seclecticism, combined with the vitality and quality of the individual works within the show, is yet another expression of the allure Otis has had for me almost as long as art has.

Though I never studied at Otis, the school has been a key part in my fascination with Los

Angeles art since I was young. As a teenager falling in love with art, mainly as a result of

exposure to Los Angeles art of the 50s, 60s and 70s, I found that among those artists who

most inspired me were individuals who had studied or taught at Otis during its long history.

by Christopher Miles, Assistant Professor of Art Theory and CriticismCalifornia State University, Long Beach

“Omage,” an exhibition curated by Cristopher Miles, was presentedat Track 16 Gallery, Santa Monica, from July 15 – August 31. The 74faculty members who showed their work included painters, webdesigners, sculptors, performance artists, illustrators, graphic designers,photographers, installation artists, fashion designers, architects, videoartists, lighting designers, ceramic artists, and writers. The showclearly demonstrated the creative skills of a community of teachers.

N O T E :

It is low tide when we arrive at the overlook. Although the Ballona Wetlands are circled by

residential and commercial tracts, these coastal lands continue to react to the daily pull of

the moon. Watching as a Great White Heron took flight, the 18 students (participants in

the first phase of Otis’ new Integrated Learning curriculum) set to work, cameras and

sketch books in hand, to observe and record this dynamic natural habitat just a two-mile

drive north of the Goldsmith Campus.

Watching theGreat White Heronby Marcie Begleiter, Director of Integrated Learning

These wetlands are being restored, in part, by the Friends ofBallona, who acted as our hosts for the site visit. The students’visits to the site during the semester included a memorable trek onto government land with Brad Henderson. As a CaliforniaDepartment of Fish and Game biologist, Henderson was conversant with the extraordinary biological diversity of this area, which is ordinarily not accessible to the public. Onthese field trips, the students mapped the terrain and gathered additional materials for a variety of art and design projects that expanded their understanding of how their art and designeducation fits in with the world around them.

One of next year’s projects will expand Otis’ engagementwith environmental sustainability by committing to re-design the Friends of Ballona Restoration Center. A team of interdiscipli-nary juniors will study the site and propose ways to support the partner organization’s mission: to educate the public and preserve the wetlands. Proposals might include designs for a new structure to house equipment, new plant I.D. tags, and stylish docent uniforms.

The Friends are but one of the numerous community organi-zations that are partnering with Otis in this new and transformingcurricular initiative. Collaboratorations include the HyperionWater Treatment Plant, the largest plant of its kind west of theMississippi, and the L.A. River Project’s ambitious restorationprogram. In addition, students study the history of our localwatershed with a project that investigates Centinela Springs, the first fresh water source for the Native AmericanTongva/Gabrielinos, who once thrived in the Centinela Valley.

Archeologists, biologists, eco-historians and tribal eldershave spoken on campus as well as accompanied the students to partner sites, helping to reveal layers of meaning that are not available to the casual observer. The Foundation (first-year)class of 2005-06 was the first to participate in this new curriculum.From now on, every undergraduate will participate in threeIntegrated Learning projects, developing skills in research, project planning, teamwork, and the execution of professional-quality proposals.

Huber and Hutchings observed in their essay “IntegratedLearning: Mapping the Terrain” that “One of the great challengesin higher education is to foster students’ abilities to integratetheir learning across contexts and over time.” This thoughtreflects current educational pedagogy, and Otis addresses thischallenge and responds to current educational pedagogy by taking students out of the classroom and into fresh environmentsthat offer new context to their endeavors. Through the three-yearsequence, young artist/designers participate in a series of uniqueexperiences. Through repetition and comparison, the insights theygain become embedded in their developing practices.

Otis’ Integrated Learning program develops partnershipswith environmental, educational, arts-related and even commer-cial partners. Within the next few years, the program will have a discernable impact on the method and implementation of artseducation locally and beyond.

OTIS MONITOR

19 OMAG

ALUMNI AROUND THE WORLD

OMAG 20 21 OMAG

Life Beyond the Fifth Ring

Brian Wallace of Red Gate Gallery met me at the Beijing airport. “What a great day toarrive!” he exclaimed. The sun had warmed acold December day. As our taxi sped down thehighway, my first impression was of rows androws of bare trees painted white at the bottomthat sunk to the brown of the barren groundbeneath them.

Beijing is cold. The double red doors of my studio entrance had no clasps or locks, so I used an exactoblade container to close them. The wind blew through theopening. My studio boasted the ubiquitous cinder block wallsfound everywhere in China, a stove, phone, and washingmachine. I hung my rice paper drawings from the upstairs balcony to dry, showered early (before the hot water cut out,)and wore multiple layers until a weak, yellow sun heated mybedroom to 40 degrees.

The Red Gate studios in Fejia Cun are in a gated enclosureoff a long, narrow street that leads to Tong Da’s, a restaurantbuilt around ancient trees. Its massive interior resembles a jungle with large, round tables under hanging lamps on whichbean, eggplant, tofu dishes, and pots of tea are served on lazySusans. On the other side, the street becomes a dirt path thatpasses oil rigs and rice fields en route to vendors selling persimmons, baby carriages, anything in their open air stalls.“Tai guei la!” (too expensive!) opens all negotiations, which are conducted with mandatory impassiveness. I found this chal-lenging after meeting Yan, the calligrapher and framer, whoworks, eats, and sleeps in a single room without heat.

Beijing as a city is broad and expansive, like L.A. It takestime to get anywhere. The city has five ring roads and high-

ways; loads of cars often sit, clogged in traffic. You know youare in China when a Ming Dynasty fortress suddenly loomsfrom a cavalcade of office buildings. I usually traveled by taxiinto the city or rode my $24 bicycle alongside a mélange ofbuses, taxis, cars, bikes, and horses (with carts).

Before departing, it became essential to experience theGreat Wall. With a driver in a decrepit Volkswagen, nested withfriends beneath a workman’s coat (drab green, gold buttons,faux fur lining), I breakfasted on dried grapefruit during thetwo-and-a-half hour drive north. Our van ascended a mountain,and we eventually disembarked, crossed a moat, and paid asmall fee for admittance to the wall. The temperature plummet-ed below zero; we were alone. The wall rose 12 feet from theground, accommodating two visitors across at most. Its gradewas so steep in spots that climbing with both hands and feetwas necessary. We climbed for several hours. The mountainsrose around us while the sun moved over Beijing far below. Inthe silence, rocks slipped beneath my feet and the shadowslengthened. I suddenly realized that Chinese painting traditionswere based on this experience. On the descent, I saw how spa-tial intervals and compositional devices in scrolls echo a day inthe mountains. Returning to the cold of my studio, I begancomposing “Life Beyond the Fifth Ring” from ink paintings,words, and postcard images cut out and presented on a wall totell the story of my passage through Beijing.

Elizabeth Condon (Fine Arts, ’86) spent December, 2005, in Beijing at theRed Gate International Artist Residency Program. Life Beyond the Fifth Ring(11 x 21 in), composed of postcards and painting on rice paper, represents a contemporary version of fresco painting.

N O T E :

“Rethinking Nordic Colonialism: APostcolonial Exhibition Project in Five Acts”set out to shed light on a largely forgotten,repressed, or romanticized history of colonial-ism in the Nordic region. We hoped not onlyto explain why this past has been forgotten insome parts of the region, but also to showhow this history continues to structure Nordicsocieties today, and how our contemporaryproblems of intolerance, xenophobia, sexism,homophobia, and nationalism have their rootsin this history. Furthermore, we wanted toengage the alternative modernities that haveemerged as more subversive legacies of colo-nialism and postcolonial healing in the regionand beyond.

We are now more than halfway through,and the project has been a great success sofar. There is of course no singular “diagnosis”of the region and its postcolonial state.However, there does seem to be an immenseneed for rethinking in the entire region inorder to deal with a series of unfinished busi-nesses and particular problems. We need newfora and alternative ways of speaking aboutthe issues that hurt. We need reconciliation,and we need to keep complicating the post-colonial, as it harbors many phobic inequali-ties yet to be addressed.

With its global participation, the projecthas been able to untie psycho-social “knots”by showing that Nordic colonialism is part of a larger fabric, and that there are legions of people who are going through the sameprocesses of self-determination, healing, and reconciliation. Furthermore, staging therethinking of the intersection between art and discourse, and art and politics has provenfruitful, as people have been fed up with upwith prevailing ways of talking about the past.The field has been dominated by localRealpolitik, which has seemed circular inas-much as it has served to reproduce privilegefor some, but not all people locally andregionally. In this respect, “Rethinking NordicColonialism” has resonated especially wellwith younger generations. (continued) 3

Nordic AmnesiaAn Introduction to RethinkingNordic Colonialism

I was invited earlier in the year to visit the area and select possible

sites, and ended up working with an indoor space—(the original

Turkish baths)—and an outdoor space (a large tree in front of one

of my favorite buildings in the world: The Byzantine Church of

St. Dimitris Loumbardiardis, which was transformed by architect

Dimitris Pikionis in the mid-1950s). Both works were inspired by

my initial contact with these spaces, and both were modular; sound

composition and sculptural units were prepared off-site, and overall

form was determined and built on-site. In both works, the sound

was composed using elements related to the sites and their histories,

and was quietly added to the existing audio landscapes. My wife,

Sari, also an Otis alum, participated in all the wiring and constructing.

Sound for the GrandPromenade, Athens

Alumnus Steve Roden (Fine Arts, ’86)was invited to create a site-specificsound installation at the Turkish Baths inAthens for “The Grand Promenade,” anexhibition from July 17-September 29,2006. Curated by Anna Kafetsi, the exhi-bition is the first of two large-scale inter-

national exhibitions organized by the National Museum ofContemporary Art. Amish Kapoor, Jannis Kounellis,Wolfgang Laib, Julie Mehretu, Rachel Whiteread, andThomas Hirschhorn are among the 44 artists from around theworld who displayed recent works or in situ commissions.The Grand Promenade of the Unification of ArchaeologicalSites refers to a large urban intervention around theAcropolis, completed for the 2004 Olympics, that creates an“open” museum.

When I graduated Otis in 1993, these are justa few of the things that I simply couldn’t haveimagined: a devastating attack on our shoresthat would level the World Trade Center, theInternet as a pervasive delivery vehicle forinformation of all kinds, and my name on thedoor, above the title ‘Design Director,’ at TheNew York Times.

These particular circumstances all came to a head on the recent fifth anniversary of theattacks of September 11th, 2001. Five yearshad snuck up on all of us quite suddenly, andas the creative authority at NYTimes.com, Ipersonally wanted to make sure that our teammade its own humble contribution to markthe day.

When one of the designers in my groupsuggested that he invest extra hours over theweekend preceding the anniversary to preparespecial presentations on the NYTimes.comhome page, I wholeheartedly agreed.

Times reporters and editors had prepareda slate of truly superb journalistic pieces topay tribute to the occasion, and we felt itwould be a disservice to publish them usingjust the Web site’s standard toolbox of layouts.Like many online publications, NYTimes.comis published using a series of highly articulatedbut nevertheless regimented templates. Eachtemplate provides a different set of displayoptions for news; they’re all capable of a certain amount of latitude, but none of themseemed to be appropriate for the articlesbeing prepared.

So, working together, our designer and the home page editor crafted a series of customizations—new CSS rules and XHTMLmarkup—to the top portion of the home page; these were unique designs that we hadn’t used before. They started appearing at NYTimes.com on Sunday evening, rollingout the pre-planned September 11th articlesalongside breaking news coverage.

I didn’t have a direct hand in designingthese, but they still make me feel very proudof the work we’ve done at the Web site since I arrived at the beginning of this year. Thoughthese custom designs look modest by comparison to the way the newspaper’s own

talented art directors are able to design thesame content—which is to say, the range ofexpression on the site is somewhat modest in contrast to what’s possible in print—thiswork still represents, for me, a nontrivialadvancement in the kind of design we practiceat NYTimes.com.

When I try to explain what it is exactly thatwe do in our design group, the point I reallytry to bring home is that we focus on design-ing the NYTimes.com platform, rather than onart directing the NYTimes.com content. Thereis so much demand for designers’ skills andsmarts to be applied to complex new featuresand functionality throughout the site thatwe’re consistently preoccupied with develop-ing new sections.

This work largely consists of developingdesign templates into which our editors andproducers pour new content; rarely do we getto design in a way that responds directly to a specific piece of content. This is a function,as I said, of the design needs for our ever-expanding platform; but it’s also a function ofthe state of Web design today. We simplydon’t yet have the tools or the business modelto support art direction.

That’s why it’s so satisfying to see worklike this done, to see the Web site—if only justfor twenty-four hours—start to reflect thenature of the content it’s presenting in a veryspecific manner. It took a bit of extra effortand it’s not without its own difficulties, but foran event like this fifth anniversary, it seemedworth it.

from Khoi Vinh's blog at www.subtraction.com

The once-colonizing countries can be saidto be compensating for the loss of empire andthe melancholia resulting from this largelyunconscious loss with the self-projection ofprogressive social democracy. This image,however, does not sit well with the hard factsof our colonial past. On the other hand, theonce-colonized countries can be said to respondto feelings of shame, guilt, inferiority andparalysis with nationalistic sentiments and thedesire to live up to the success of dominantWestern values. In this manner, they reproducestructures of inequality by uncritically adoptinga Scandinavian modus operandi when substi-tuting the colonizers for local administratorsand policy makers without critically question-ing the system as such.

The project’s many postcolonial voices willreach the past colonizers of the Nordic regionand become audible to their present popula-tions—and to the world at large through theDVD release.

OMAG 22 23 OMAG

ALUMNI AROUND THE WORLD

“Rethinking Nordic Colonialism: A Postcolonial ExhibitionProject in Five Acts” was curated by Frederikke Hansen & Tone Olaf Nielsen. After opening at the Living ArtMuseum, Reykjavik, Iceland, it was shown at theGreenland National Museum; Faroe Islands Art Museum;and VRn Veturitalli, Rovaniemi, Finland. At the end ofNovember, the DVD boxed set documenting the exhibi-tions, discussions, and activities generated during theproject was launched in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo, andStockholm. Nielsen and Hansen founded their curatorialpractice Kuratorisk Aktion in spring 2005. They see curat-ing as a political-critical act, and devise exhibitions thatcriticize the present order and propose alternatives. Theirmission is rooted in social change, public service, andcommunity mobilization.

Kuratorisk Aktion (Frederikke Hansen & Tone Olaf Nielsen (FineArts, ’98)) during the opening of Rethinking Nordic Colonialism’sAct 3 in The Faroe Islands Art Museum, Tórshavn, May 12, 2006.Photo: ©Allan Broekie.

Marking a Solemn Anniversary

Khoi Vinh (Communication Arts, ’93) is the art directorfor NYTimes.com, the industry-leading news site. He was born in Saigon, Viet Nam, and immigrated to theUnited States with his family in 1975. He grew up inGaithersburg, Maryland, and headed west to attend Otis.Focusing initially on illustration, he decided to pursuegraphic design by his senior year. He worked as a printdesigner before moving to New York City in 1998, anddedicated himself to interactive media design. Khoi was a founding partner at the groundbreaking design studioBehavior LLC, where he worked with such clients as The Onion, ResortQuest, Smithsonian, and HBO. Afterfour successful years, he became the Design Director ofNYTimes.com. He serves on the board of directors forthe New York chapter of AIGA.

(continued from pg 21)

Excerpted from the essay for the exhibition “From theIsland of Misfit Toys,” Ben Maltz Gallery, February 10 –April 15, 2006. Participating artists included ElizabethBerdann (blu), Deborah Brown, Nathan Cabrera, JonathanCallan, Jeroen deVries, Dan Goodsell, Kelly Heaton, WalterMartin & Paloma Munoz, Anne Walsh, and 8 Bit Weapon.

The title “From the Island of Misfit Toys” is taken fromthe 1964 stop-action classic Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer.The exhibition featured the work of eleven artists whomanipulate toys to create sculpture, video, performance,and music that push the conceptual boundaries of theseseemingly benign “toys” in every direction. It was a showabout exaggeration, customization, and consumption;about inserting the “hand” back into the manufactured.It reinvests the mass-produced cliché with individualpotential and imagination.

The seeds for this exhibition were planted when I firstsaw Jonathan Callan’s sculptures in the wall-work Empires(at right). Taking 200 McDonalds “premiums” (usuallylicensed by Disney), Callan ripped out their stuffing andinjected them with white or black silicon caulking. Theoriginal objects, designed to entice children to plead withtheir parents for a Happy Meal, have been turned insideout, filled beyond their capacity into repellant, gluttonoussymbols of corporate manipulation of our youth’s con-sumer appetites.

**** Many other projects began percolating in my head,

combined with the knowledge that only three toy designprograms exist in this country; Otis being the acknowledgedleader in the field. Dozens of shows have been done in Los Angeles over the years with artists who work with or are inspired by toys, like Mike Kelley, Kim Dingle, PaulMcCarthy, Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, DavidLevinthal, the Yes Men, and Rubén Ortiz Torres. My intentwith this “toy” exhibition was to bring together a relativelysmall group of artists who are crisscrossing the boundariesof their disciplines, media, and markets. “From the Islandof Misfit Toys” is a nod to the interdisciplinary nature of

Otis, and to all artists who have felt like misfits, as well as a chance to show humorous, imaginative and provocativeartwork that inspires a sense of wonder and perplexity.

200 Happy MealsMake a Misfit Diet

President Hoi announced the appointments of three new leaders indesign departments. “These new leaders bring to Otis a profoundunderstanding of design education and administrative expertise,” saysHoi, “as well as uncommonly rich perspectives as designers in theworlds of academia and professional practice.”

Kali Nikitas, new Chair of the Communication ArtsDepartment, brings dynamic energy and vision to theprogram. Previously Chair of the Department of VisualArts at Northeastern University in Boston, Ms. Nikitaswas also Chair of the Design Department atMinneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) for six

years, and professor of visual communications at the School of the ArtInstitute of Chicago from 1991-1997. Nikitas holds an MFA in GraphicDesign from the California Institute of the Arts, and a BA in GraphicDesign with a minor in English Literature from the University ofIllinois at Chicago. In addition to her academic roles, she founded herown design firm, is a fellow of the Design Institute in Minneapolis, andChief Editor of LOOP: AIGA’s Experiment in Design Education Website. She frequently curates exhibitions and writes about design.

Deborah Ryan, new Chair of Otis’ nationally recognizedToy Design Department, has served as a faculty membersince 2001. Ms. Ryan holds a BS in Design from theCollege of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning atthe University of Cincinnati. A 20-year veteran of the toy industry, Ms. Ryan was Senior Project Designer for

Mattel Toys for more than a decade, and held key creative positions at Applause, Inc.; The Walt Disney Company; and Aurora World, Inc.Ryan’s experience encompasses design and development, licensedproducts, apparel, collector and fashion dolls, feature plush, novelties,and gifts. Her educational objectives include enhancing the role of tech-nology and electronics, and expanding community outreach.

David Fletcher has been appointed to the newly estab-lished position of Assistant Chair in the Department ofArchitecture/Landscape/Interiors (A/L/I). Mr. Fletcherwill assist current Chair Linda Pollari in the manage-ment of this expanding program. An urban andlandscape designer, he holds a Master of Landscape

Architecture degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, anda BA in Sculpture and Public Art and BS in Landscape Architecturefrom the University of California at Davis. Fletcher is project managerwith Mia Lehrer + Associates for the Los Angeles River RevitalizationMaster Plan, and principal of his own firm, Blue Room Collaborative.

by Meg Linton, Director of the Ben Maltz Gallery and Curator of the Exhibition

COLLEGE NEWS

OMAG 24 25 OMAG

New Leaders in Design

Three Legged Legs and Exopolis Win Digital Awards Otis graduates and students once again dominated the annualBroadcast Designers of America/Promax awards ceremony in New York.

Brien Holman (’03) won the Rocket Award for the best newtalent (for five or less years in the business). His company, Exopolis(www.exopolis.com), won a Gold award for a Nickelodeon campaign.This fall, he created the animation and effects for the iPod TV spot,co-directed with Mark Romanek, and produced in collaboration withTBWA/Chiat/Day (at right).

Other winners were the team of Three Legged Legs (Reza Rasoli,Greg Gunn, and Diffan Norman, all ’06), who won Best StudentWork for their animation “Let’s Be Friends.” In the World category,the Gold award went to Three Legged Legs, the Silver went tostudents Casey Hunt, Brandon Martynowicz and Chin Ko for“Ricochet,” and the Bronze to Diffan Norman for his senior reel.

In addition, Three Legged Legs (now comprised of Greg Gunn,Casey Hunt, and Reza Rasoli) won First Prize in animation and Bestof 2006 at the Global Student Animation Awards, hosted by Stashmagazine. Their 60-second animation, “Humans,” (below) is a publicservice announcement on global awareness. In the VFZ (visual specialeffects) category, two of the four runners-up were Otis students:Chin Ko and Garrett Norlin. These winners were selected fromamong hundreds of entries by an international panel of 16 judgesfrom all parts of the animation, VFX, and motion design industry.

Mr Toast, created by Dan Goodsell

POSTSCRIPT:After an exhibition like “From the Island of Misfit Toys,” I alwaysask what I learned from this project. My lingering realization is how dependent the toy industry is on plastics. I knew this, butit was brought to conscious articulation when Nathan Cabreraarrived with his life-sized sculpture The Cost of Fun is Going Up.With gas prices fluctuating so drastically, sustainability is the keyissue these days, and Cabrera’s work has raised many questionsfor me: What will take the place of plastics in all industries? How are our lifestyles going to change and when? How shouldwe change our lifestyles now? Which Sci-Fi movie is our fate:Mad Max, Star Wars or Tank Girl?Otis, as an institution, has been asking lots of questions aboutsustainability and responsibility. Our faculty has been urging ouryoung designers and artists to use their creativity, skill, and visionto rethink the world they are inheriting. As much as it is a time of worry about our global predicament, it is also an opportunity togo beyond our wildest imaginations to find achievable solutions.

The world is changing. Over 10 million people currently spendmore than 25 hours per week in synthetic worlds, at inhabitable onlinespaces like MMORPGs (Massively Multi-player Online Role-PlayingGames). The number of synthetic worlds is doubling every two years,and by 2030 the population of synthetic worlds is expected to reach100 million people.

Education is changing to adapt to this by inventing new ways of learning and communicating. College students, at home in the digital world, are comfortable both finding information for themselvesand creating individualized text, images, audio, and video.

One of Otis’ technology initiatives, developed by the newTechnology Learning Center funded by a grant from the Fletcher JonesFoundation, is iTunes U. Apple selected Otis to be among the first experimenters with this feature, which allows professors to createaudio and video podcasts. Over the summer, several members ofthe Liberal Arts and Sciences faculty created more than 50 podcasts with subjects that range from basic concepts of visual culture tothe depiction of the Virgin Mary in folk art. A recent addition is atime-lapse movie of the installation of Joan Tanner’s “On Tenderhooks”exhibition at the Ben Maltz Gallery.

Students use the podcasts 24/7 via laptop, iPod, MP3 player, orstationary computer. They listen, review, replay and practice, carryingtheir classroom experiences with them wherever they go.

What is iTunes U?

COLLEGE NEWS

class

lecture

MENU

notes

OMAG 26

Moving BetweenThe LinesHonorary degree recipient Bill Viola addressed 242 graduates at the 2006Commencement. “Those who move between the lines control the board,” headvised, exhorting the graduates to make their own places in the world. The Collegehonored Viola, a visionary contemporary artist who works in video, sound, music,and performance art, for work that “excites the eye, challenges the imagination, andenriches the spirit.” Kira Perov, his wife and creative collaborator, was recognized forher accomplishments as curator and photographer.

Two days earlier, over 400 recruiters from firms such as Electronic Arts, Hasbro,Fox Sports, Imaginary Forces, Disney, MGA, Sony, Ogilvy & Mather, SkidmoreOwings & Merrill, Dreamworks, Nickelodeon, Condé Nast, Liz Claiborne, Microsoft,and Abercrombie & Fitch attended the year-end Career Night. More than 3,500 visi-tors viewed the Class of 2006 exhibitions.

The graduates embarked on a variety of career paths. Employers include LucasFilms; Apple iTunes; fashion designers Rozae Nichols, Isabel Toledo, and JohnVarvatos; and companies such as Mattel, Target and Warnaco. Others are pursuinggraduate degrees at UCLA in architecture and art.

The Otis Speaks spring ’06 events includedwriter/philosopher/polemicist Bernard-HenriLévy (BHL) in conversation with impresario/instigator/provocateur Paul Holdengräber. One ofFrance’s leading philosophers, BHL retraced thefootsteps of Alexis de Tocqueville in his controver-sial book American Vertigo. He and guest moderatorHoldengräber discussed prisons and mega-churches,high rises and military facilities, brothels and malls,Hillary Clinton, George Soros, and Sharon Stone.

Other events were lectures and demonstrationsby several of the artists featured in the Ben MaltzGallery exhibition “The Island of Misfit Toys (see pg. 24), and a lecture by Distinguished GuestProfessor/Curator in Residence Dave Hickey onthe exhibition “Step into Liquid,” which he curatedat Otis’ Maltz Gallery.

Other prominent speakers at the College during spring ’06 included artists Laura Owens,Francesca Gabbiani, Guerrilla Girls, JenniferBornstein, and Sandeep Mukherjee (’96) whospoke to graduate fine arts students; and film-maker Morgan Fisher, new Hammer MuseumCurator Gary Garrels, Jewish lesbian folksinger/performance artist phranc, and contemporaryart writer Linda Weintraub, who spoke to under-graduate fine arts students.

Graduate Writing presented readings bybest-selling author Christopher Rice and poetAmy Gerstler, and hosted a publication partyfor Norman Klein's Otis Books/SeismicityEditions publication, Freud in Coney Island andOther Tales.

Architecture/Landscape/Interiors hosted land-scape architect Mia Lehrer and architect MatthiasSauerbruch, who discussed their pioneering workwith issues of environmental sustainability.

27 OMAG

Honorary Degree Recipient Bill Viola Class of 2006 members

Wanda Weller (’88), mentor for Patagonia, with 2005award-winner Kirk Heifner

Co

mm

en

cem

en

t ’0

6

What Did a Frenchman Tell usAbout America?

Karla Klarin

(’78, MFA Fine Arts)Schomburg Gallery, BergamotStation, Santa Monica.

Bonita Helmer

(’79 Fine Arts)George Billis Gallery, Culver City.www.georgebillis.com

Sharon Kagan

(’79, MFA Fine Arts)“Entwined,” Santa Monica CollegeGallery, Santa Monica.

Sarah Perry

(’83, Fine Arts)“Caught from Below,”Hunsaker/Schlesinger Gallery,Bergamot Station, Santa Monica.

Maryrose Mendoza

(’85, Fine Arts)“Yield,” Solway Jones Gallery, L.A.www.solwayjonesgallery.com

Keiko Fukazawa

(’86, Fine Arts)“Dennis O. Callwood & KeikoFukazawa,” L2 Contemporary, L.A.http://www.l2kontemporary.com

Lawrence Gipe

(’86, MFA Fine Arts)Mid-Career Retrospective: “3 Five-Year Plans: 1990-2005,” Arizona StateUniversity Art Museum, Tempe, AZ.http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu/gipe/

Rebecca Morales

(’86, Fine Arts)BravinLee Programs, New York, NY.http://bravinleee.com/past.html

http://upload.flipsidedesigns.com/RM_13D.jpg

Elizabeth Grier

(’90, ’04 MFA Fine Arts)Creative Artists Agency (CAA)offices, L.A.

Kevin Appel

(’89, Fine Arts)New Paintings, Angles Gallery,Santa Monica; Wilkinson Gallery,London, UK. www.anglesgallery.com

www.wilkinsongallery.com

Daniel Atyim

(’91, Communication Arts)“Livid: Proud Flesh,” EversonMuseum of Art, Syracuse, NY.www.everson.org/exhibits/past.php

Carmine Iannaconne

(’93, Fine Arts)“Re-Public Works,”Solway Jones Gallery, L.A.www.solwayjonesgallery.com.

Colin Roberts

(’01, Fine Arts)Patricia Faure Gallery, BergamotStation, Santa Monica.

Blaine Fontana (Hogg)

(’02, Communication Arts)“The Animal Council,” paintingsand installations, Scribble TheoryGallery, Santa Ana, CA; “The ManifestSoup Transcripts of Four Corners,”Lineage Gallery, Philadelphia, PA.www.totembookmedia.com/

“Sedimental Promises,” FIFTY24Gallery, San Francisco, December2006; Cover feature Juxtapozmagazine, August 2006.

Tami Demaree

(’03, MFA Fine Arts)“A Searing Lesson Every Girl ShouldKnow,” Steven Wolf Fine Arts,San Francisco. “I’ll Cross MyFingers but I won’t Hold MyBreath,” Angstrom Gallery, L.A.www.angstromgallery.com

Whitney Stolich

(’04, MFA Fine Arts)“Third Space,” Angel’s Gate Gallery,San Pedro.

EntertainersGary Lloyd

(’70, MFA Fine Arts)Owner, Sky Drops Inc., digitalbackdrops and on-site custom scenic backdrops. www.skydrops.com

Jim Rygiel

(’81, MFA Fine Arts)Visual Effects Supervisor, “Night atthe Museum,” (2006) with BenStiller, Robin Williams, Dick VanDyke, Mickey Rooney, Owen Wilsonand Ricky Gervais.

Karen Aviles

(’92, Fashion Design)Assistant Costume Designer,“Thief,” FX television show, firsttwo episodes. Assistant Wardrobe for “El Cantante” with JenniferLopez and Mark Anthony, AugustRush with Robin Williams.

Raymond Sanchez

(’99, Communication Arts)Creative Director of OnlineMarketing, Trailer Park (newlymerged with Creative Domain).Recent projects include “Pride andPrejudice” and “BrokebackMountain” (Focus Features).www.brokebackmountain.com/home.html

Liuba Belyansky

(’02, Fashion Design)Assistant Costume Designer,“Chasing 3000” with Ray Liotta,Lauren Holly and Rori Culkin.

Natasha Presler

(’02, Digital Media)Character Layout Artist, “Simpsons”TV show (Film Roman/Starz), DisneyTelevision Animation.

Hyun Sun Yun

(’03, Digital Media)Production Animator, 1k Studios,Burbank.

Jinnie Choi

(’04, Architecture/Landscape/Interiors) Producer, “ExtremeMakeover”: Home Edition, ABC

Judy Kim

(’04, Digital Media)Senior Computer Artist,TBWA\Chiat\Day, Venice.

Michael Zimmerman

(’04, Digital Media)Concept Designer, Electronic Arts,L.A. www.premiumscribble.com

David Duong

(’05, Digital Media)Concept Artist, Activision, SantaMonica. www.haidavid.com

Gilbert Martinez

(’05, Digital Media)3D Environment Artist, IndianaJones game project, Lucas Arts,San Francisco.

Hunter Woo

(’05, MFA Fine Arts)Art Department Assistant andCameo Actor for “American Dreamz”and “Art School Confidential.”

Award-Winners, Cool Designers,Soloists, Entertainers, Alumni inPrint, In MemoriumAward-WinnersTyrus Wong

(’32, Fine Arts)Annie Award, Winsor McCay Awardfor recognition of lifetime or careercontributions to the art of animation,2005. Scroll to bottom for juriedawards at www.annieawards.com/

foryourconsideration.htm

Coleen Sterritt

(’79, MFA Fine Arts)City of Los Angeles (C.O.L.A.)Individual Artist Fellowship,2006/2007. Exhibitions: d.e.n. con-temporary art, Culver City; “RecentSculpture and Drawings,” Riverside.www.dencontemporaryart.com

Mark Dean Veca

(’85, Fine Arts)Pollack-Krasner Foundation Grant,2006. Exhibition: Schmidt CenterGallery, Florida Atlantic University,Boca Raton, FL. Feature: Juxtapozmagazine (March 2006), andillustrations, Paper magazine,(March 2006).

Cynthia Harper

(’87, Fine Arts)Pollack-Krasner Foundation Grant,2006. Exhibition: “Drawing:Tradition & Innovation,” ArlingtonArts Center, Arlington, VA.Publication: Manifest, CreativeResearch Center and Drawing

Center, Cincinnati, OH, RegionalDrawing Annual, exhibition in print, 2006.

Zoe Hong

(’02, Fashion Design)Gen Art Perrier “Bubbling Under”Award, New York, N.Y., 2006.http://verbalcroquis.wordpress.com

Cool DesignersMark Bryan

(’74, MFA Fine Arts)Illustrator and Fine Artist.www.artofmarkbryan.com

Lisa Stein

(’87, Environmental Design)Project Manager, The WestfieldGroup, for Valencia Town CenterExpansion. Company will developretail and entertainment portion ofdevelopment at Stratford-on-Avon,U.K. for 2012 Olympics.

Ed Engel

(’88, Communication Arts)Creative Proprietor: Engle Creative,St. Louis, MO. www.EngelCreative.net

and www.EdwardEngel.com

Ingred (Fink) Sidie

(’89, Communication Arts)Principal, Design Ranch, KansasCity, MO. Creative focus onyouth/teen fashion, entertainmentand lifestyle brands for Target,Hallmark, Lee Jeans, H&R Block,

Nike, AT&T, and Binney & Smith.www.design-ranch.com

Naomi Sanders

(’96, Fine Arts)Masters in Landscape Architecture,USC. Landscape Architect, ah’bélandscape architects, Culver City.Founder, Plein Air landscape design.

Douglas Jones

(’99, Communication Arts)Creative Director, AsylumEntertainment, Hollywood.

Chris Chacon

(’01, Communication Arts)Senior Graphic Designer, M.Cre8ive.Major clients include Activision,Jamdat and Encore.

Joyce Shin

(’04, Communication Arts)Graphics Coordinator, GehryPartners, L.A.

SoloistsErnest Lacy

(’60, Fine Arts)“Ernest Lacy: A Fifty-YearRetrospective in Liberating Color”Lev Moross Gallery, L.A.www.levmorossgallery.com

John White

(’69, MFA Fine Arts)Sylvia White Gallery, Santa Monica.www.johnmwhite.com

Gerald Westgerdes

(’73, MFA Fine Arts)“Passages & Tributes: 3-D Narratives,”Zanesville Art Center, Zanesville, OH.www.zanesvilleartcenter.org

Christine Taylor Patten

(Christine Patten Powell)

(’74, Fine Arts)“Micro/Macro: 251 Drawings,” TheDrawing Gallery, London, UK;“Drawing Time/Drawings from theMicro/Macro” series, LeedsUniversity Gallery, Leeds, UK; 300drawings from the “Micro/Macro”series, The Drawing Center, NewYork, NY. www.thedrawinggallery.com

Rose Lynn Fisher

(’78, Fine Arts)“Liminal Spaces: Photographs ofMorocco,” UCLA Fowler Museum.Goldenberg Galleria, UCLA, L.A.

OMAG 28 29 OMAG

This is a small sampling of recent alumni accomplishments. To keep up with Otis’

ever-active alumni, and to see the fully illustrated monthly news archive, click on

“Class Notes” at www.otis.edu/alumni. To submit news and images, contact Sarah

Russin, Director of Alumni Relations at otisalum@otis.edu. To receive a monthly

message with a link to the most up-to-date news and Class Notes, click “Register”at

www.otis.edu/alumni. It’s easy and we don’t spam you! Also, feel free to call Sarah in

the Alumni Office at 310.665.6937. Regular readers of the online alumni news reconnect

with old friends, and take advantage of opportunities for professional development.

If you haven’t already, we hope you will join the Otis alumni online community!

CLASS NOTES

Coleen Sterritt (’79, MFA Fine Arts), Daddy-O, 2006, wood, glue,

insulation foam, cork, paint, shellac, found furniture, 83 x 38 x 40"

Tami Demaree (’03, MFA Fine Arts)

Pining, mixed media on paper, 24 x 19," 2005

Richard Pettibone, Andy Warhol,Campbell’s Soup Can (Pepper Pot),1962, 2005, 7 1/2 x 5 7/8"

(’62, Fine Arts)

“Richard Pettibone: A Retrospective,” Institute

of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, and Laguna

Art Museum, CA. In her review of the exhibition

of 215 works spanning more than four decades,

New York Times art critic Roberta Smith stated

“It is unlikely that so much artistic ground has

ever been covered outside of an art history

survey book or a museum postcard display and

probably never quite as pleasurably.”

Richard Pettibone

Kathleen Ahmanson Hall has been updated with the new logo on banners, cube,

and roof sign. The next time you are on the LAX runway, look towards Otis!

I got a big kick out of seeing Andre’s [Andre Bombonatti de Castro (’85)] face inthe latest magazine!!!! . . . He had that veryserious face on . . . that same serious facethat he “wore” when we all were chums inart school . . . !

Most interesting to see such a wonderfularray of talent . . . especially the fine artsgroup. My impression in the 1980s and 1990swas that the focus on the institutional “face”shifted from fine arts to communicationdesign, with an understanding that by spon-soring a more perceived “safe” major, Otiswould attract more students interested inapplying to a four-year program.

As head of the LACMA design dept., and a fellow Otis graduate, I felt stronglythat Otis's true strength lies in its fine artsprogram and that, historically, from Billy Al Bengston to the ceramists from the 1950s,Otis always has made its mark by demon-strating and attracting true renegades thatwant to make individual marks of expres-sion. We all feed off that energy that stemsfrom the fine artist.

I will never forget my first days at Otis inmy Foundation Year. On the day of registration,the institution gave us all a 10-pound bag of clay. I felt that symbolically this was an amazing gesture, expecting that no matterwho we were or what our declared majormight be, we should all be ready to get our hands dirty, and create fearlessly, andmost important of all, MAKE MISTAKES.

I was very fortunate in being at Otis from 1981-85. I remember quite vividlystanding in line at Murray’s to order a sand-wich. At the time, we were all hungry, bothmetaphorically and literally. In front of me was Liz Young (‘84, Fine Arts), andbehind me was a (cute cute cute) fellownamed Tom Ford (an environmental designerwho was a guest transfer from Parsons inNYC who later, after his graduation, switched to become our most wonderful fashiondesigner del mundo) . . . to the left of me wasPeter Shelton, one of my teachers . . . andthen there were Sheila de Bretteville and AvePildas talking out loud about typography . . .and what did we all have in common? We all desired the last of Murray's chickensalad sandwiches!

Cheers-Amy McFarland (’85, Communication Arts)

Letter to the Editor

In PrintGeorge Maitland Stanley

(deceased) (’20s, Fine Arts)Featured in L.A. Times story byBob Pool, “Hollywood Bowl’s fountain gets a splash from thepast.” “Neglected for decades,refurbished Streamline Moderne-style fountain is greeting visitorsto the Hollywood Bowl.”

Masami Teraoka

(’69, MFA Fine Arts)Ascending Chaos: The Art ofMasami Teraoka 1966-2006(Chronicle Books), spring 2006.

Bruce Kalberg

(’78, Fine Arts)Author of crime novel Sub-Hollywood(under pseudonym Bruce Caen), YesPress, with cover art by Gary Panter.

Anthony Ausgang

(’83, Fine Arts)Included in L.A. Artland by ChrisKraus, Jane McFadden, Jan Tomlic.Also included are Fine Arts alumniKim Fisher (’98), Liz Craft (’94),Sandeep Mukherjee (’97) and

faculty members Carole Caroompasand Meg Cranston.

Roxana Villa

(’85, Communication Arts)Illustrations featured in L.A. Times,“Women’s Health,” May 8, 2006.

Rod Beattie

(’86, Fashion Design)Swimwear Designer, LaBlanca,Apparel Ventures, L.A. residencefeatured in Better Homes and Gardens,August 2006.

Val Loh

(’89, Fine Arts)Photographer, “Kahea Maoli:Hawaiian Voices, Portraits andWords.” www.honolulumagazine.com/

archives/1105/currentissue.aspx

Camille Rose Garcia

(’92, Fine Arts)Cover Story: Juxtapoz Magazine,March 2006. Graphic Novel:The Magic Bottle (Fantgraphics)Exhibition: “Subterranean DeathClash,” Jonathan Levine Gallery, N.Y.www.jonathanlevinegallery.com/

Nizan Shaked

(’00, MFA Fine Arts)Curator and Writer. Review of artistIzaak Julien, Xtra magazine.Assistant Professor, Art History andMuseum Studies, California StateUniversity, Long Beach.

Robert Dobbie

(’01, Communication Arts)Communication Arts Annual 2006Sept/Oct feature.

Kelly Culp

(’03, Fashion Design)Market/Fashion News Editor,Jane magazine, N.Y.

Brian T. Jones

(’04, Communication Arts)Children’s Book Illustrator,You Can’t Milk a Dancing Cowby Emmy award-winnerTom Dunsmuir

Meghan Moran

(’04, Communication Arts)MOCA holiday card from 2005/06 featured in Print Regional Design Annual.

In MemoriamHarold Lehman

(’32, Fine Arts)Harold passed away on April 2,2006 at the age of 92. One ofhis paintings was included in thecatalogue for Otis: Nine Decades ofLos Angeles Art. Harold’s daughter,Lisa Lehman Trager, created a Website about her father several yearsago, and invites friends to visit.www.haroldlehman.com

OW Gray

(’76, Fine Arts)Wailehua (also known as Orville andBubba) passed away June 7, 2005.At Otis he studied with Matsumi Kanemitsu, Charles White, andEmerson Woelffer. He was a success-ful artist in L.A., and his work isrepresented in international collec-tions. In 1987 he returned to hisplace of birth in Hawaii. His wifewants everyone to know how veryproud he was to have attended Otis.

Peter Zahorecz

(’86, Fine Arts)Peter passed away June 4, 2006,from head-related trauma followinga skateboarding accident in England.He worked as a gallery preparatorfor Maryland Institute College of Art,and was a well-known figure in theart and music scene in Baltimore.http://www.citypaper.com/arts/

story.asp?id=11927

Joan Hugo

Joan Hugo passed away on February7, 2006. She was the Otis librarianfor 25 years, and was known for beginning and developing theLibrary’s important collection ofartists’ books and ephemera. She was a critic for Artweek and otherpublications and later worked asassistant to the Provost at Cal Artsfor several years. A celebration ofJoan’s life, organized by her friendsand family, was held at LA Artcore in the Brewery. Many Otis graduateswrote to the College expressing their affection for Joan, and citingthe deep influence she had on themas a teacher and friend.

OMAG 30

CLASS NOTES

Mark Bryan (’74, MFA Fine Arts), Dick, oil on

canvas, 30 x 24" 2006Gary Lloyd (‘70, MFA), Sky Drops Studio

31 OMAG

In October, Pablo Rodriguez y Pantoja (’87, Fashion Design) hosted a gathering of 50 alum-ni and friends at his “June” studio in New York’s fashionable meatpacking district. Recentgraduates working in New York enjoyed connecting with alumni from previous years, andmeeting President Hoi and the Career Services team, Laura Kiralla and Laura Daroca (’03,MFA). Thanks to Pablo for hosting the third N.Y. reunion.

New York

Otis Connects with Alumni

Elizabeth Grier (‘88, ’04 MFA Fine Arts),

untitled oil on panel, 24 x 24," 2006

Alumni Mario Ybarra (’99, Fine Arts) and Bruce Yonemoto (’79, MFA FineArts) were two of the six artists commissioned to create installations for “Consider This,” on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art(LACMA), April 9, 2006 – January 14, 2007. Organized by LACMALab,and designed by artist Barbara Kruger.

Consider This

In November, painter Darren Waterston (’88, Fine Arts) hosted alumni and friends at his beautiful home and studio in the heart of San Francisco. Thanks to Darren forhosting the first-ever gathering in San Francisco!

Otis celebrated the work of Sarah Perry (’83, Fine Arts) at a closing reception forher exhibition “Caught From Below” at Hunsaker/Schlesinger Fine Arts at BergamotStation in Santa Monica. Sarah led a tour for guests (l to r), including mentor BetyeSaar, classmates from ’83, and her students from the early ’90s. In addition, she signedcopies of her best-selling children’s book If, commissioned by the Getty Museum.

Santa Monica

San Francisco

CLASS NOTES

OMAG 32

Designing OtisOtis is developing a publication that

will chronicle alumni contributions to the

design world. Designing Otis (working

title) will be a companion piece to the

fine arts exhibition catalogue Otis: Nine

Decades of Los Angeles Art. We are

seeking work by designers to include in

this important publication.

What to Submit

Posters, theme park design, book illustration,animation, photography, production design,toys, fashion, exhibition design, and furniturecan be submitted. (Sound and motion may berepresented by a DVD insert.) All eras will berepresented, including the years before Otisoffered a formal design curriculum. Fine Artalumni who have produced design work arewelcome to submit. Alumni do not need to becurrently working in the design world.

How to Submit

High-resolution digital images are needed(300 dpi, 4”x5” or larger). Send them to Sarah Russin atotisalum@otis.edu throughwww.yousendit.com. Send motion work as DVDs. Supply as muchinformation as possible about the images,including credit for any collaborating photog-raphers, designers, etc.

When to Submit

Deadline: April 30, 2007.

Feel free to send work earlier!We are hoping to hear from alumni who havebeen out of touch, so pass on this opportunityto your Otis friends!

Contact

Sarah Russin, Director of Alumni Relations310.665.6937 or otisalum@otis.edu

Opposite page:

Blaine Fontana

(‘02, Communication Arts)

A Dojo on the Morning After,

acrylic on board, 18 x 24"

Otis GearHave you noticed Otis’ new logo? After seven different names and two campuses, Otis has a new four-letter word mark that clearly and directly communicates strength and confidence. This new institutional identity serves as a serious backdrop for exuberant and diverse—but blunt and honest—expressions of the students, faculty, and alumni. Nowyou can share your Otis connection on your chest, head, or car.

Beefy T-Shirt

Black with white logo, L, XL$23.00*

Women’s Fitted T-Shirts

Black with white logo, S, M $21.50*

Hooded Zippered Sweatshirts

Heather gray with black appliqued logoM, L, XL$62.50*Bumper Stickers (static, not glue)

$3.50*

Baseball Cap

Black “flex fit” with white embroidered logo and url, One Size$24.50*

Otis Beanie

Black with white embroidered “O” and urlOne Size$20.00*

License Plate Holders

Chrome with black logo$12.50*

Place your credit card order with the art supply store Graphaids (Westchester Location)by calling 310-216-6300. They ship around the country/world.

* plus tax and shipping

Karla Klarin

(’78, MFA Fine Arts)Schomburg Gallery, BergamotStation, Santa Monica.

Bonita Helmer

(’79 Fine Arts)George Billis Gallery, Culver City.www.georgebillis.com

Sharon Kagan

(’79, MFA Fine Arts)“Entwined,” Santa Monica CollegeGallery, Santa Monica.

Sarah Perry

(’83, Fine Arts)“Caught from Below,”Hunsaker/Schlesinger Gallery,Bergamot Station, Santa Monica.

Maryrose Mendoza

(’85, Fine Arts)“Yield,” Solway Jones Gallery, L.A.www.solwayjonesgallery.com

Keiko Fukazawa

(’86, Fine Arts)“Dennis O. Callwood & KeikoFukazawa,” L2 Contemporary, L.A.http://www.l2kontemporary.com

Lawrence Gipe

(’86, MFA Fine Arts)Mid-Career Retrospective: “3 Five-Year Plans: 1990-2005,” Arizona StateUniversity Art Museum, Tempe, AZ.http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu/gipe/

Rebecca Morales

(’86, Fine Arts)BravinLee Programs, New York, NY.http://bravinleee.com/past.html

http://upload.flipsidedesigns.com/RM_13D.jpg

Elizabeth Grier

(’90, ’04 MFA Fine Arts)Creative Artists Agency (CAA)offices, L.A.

Kevin Appel

(’89, Fine Arts)New Paintings, Angles Gallery,Santa Monica; Wilkinson Gallery,London, UK. www.anglesgallery.com

www.wilkinsongallery.com

Daniel Atyim

(’91, Communication Arts)“Livid: Proud Flesh,” EversonMuseum of Art, Syracuse, NY.www.everson.org/exhibits/past.php

Carmine Iannaconne

(’93, Fine Arts)“Re-Public Works,”Solway Jones Gallery, L.A.www.solwayjonesgallery.com.

Colin Roberts

(’01, Fine Arts)Patricia Faure Gallery, BergamotStation, Santa Monica.

Blaine Fontana (Hogg)

(’02, Communication Arts)“The Animal Council,” paintingsand installations, Scribble TheoryGallery, Santa Ana, CA; “The ManifestSoup Transcripts of Four Corners,”Lineage Gallery, Philadelphia, PA.www.totembookmedia.com/

“Sedimental Promises,” FIFTY24Gallery, San Francisco, December2006; Cover feature Juxtapozmagazine, August 2006.

Tami Demaree

(’03, MFA Fine Arts)“A Searing Lesson Every Girl ShouldKnow,” Steven Wolf Fine Arts,San Francisco. “I’ll Cross MyFingers but I won’t Hold MyBreath,” Angstrom Gallery, L.A.www.angstromgallery.com

Whitney Stolich

(’04, MFA Fine Arts)“Third Space,” Angel’s Gate Gallery,San Pedro.

EntertainersGary Lloyd

(’70, MFA Fine Arts)Owner, Sky Drops Inc., digitalbackdrops and on-site custom scenic backdrops. www.skydrops.com

Jim Rygiel

(’81, MFA Fine Arts)Visual Effects Supervisor, “Night atthe Museum,” (2006) with BenStiller, Robin Williams, Dick VanDyke, Mickey Rooney, Owen Wilsonand Ricky Gervais.

Karen Aviles

(’92, Fashion Design)Assistant Costume Designer,“Thief,” FX television show, firsttwo episodes. Assistant Wardrobe for “El Cantante” with JenniferLopez and Mark Anthony, AugustRush with Robin Williams.

Raymond Sanchez

(’99, Communication Arts)Creative Director of OnlineMarketing, Trailer Park (newlymerged with Creative Domain).Recent projects include “Pride andPrejudice” and “BrokebackMountain” (Focus Features).www.brokebackmountain.com/home.html

Liuba Belyansky

(’02, Fashion Design)Assistant Costume Designer,“Chasing 3000” with Ray Liotta,Lauren Holly and Rori Culkin.

Natasha Presler

(’02, Digital Media)Character Layout Artist, “Simpsons”TV show (Film Roman/Starz), DisneyTelevision Animation.

Hyun Sun Yun

(’03, Digital Media)Production Animator, 1k Studios,Burbank.

Jinnie Choi

(’04, Architecture/Landscape/Interiors) Producer, “ExtremeMakeover”: Home Edition, ABC

Judy Kim

(’04, Digital Media)Senior Computer Artist,TBWA\Chiat\Day, Venice.

Michael Zimmerman

(’04, Digital Media)Concept Designer, Electronic Arts,L.A. www.premiumscribble.com

David Duong

(’05, Digital Media)Concept Artist, Activision, SantaMonica. www.haidavid.com

Gilbert Martinez

(’05, Digital Media)3D Environment Artist, IndianaJones game project, Lucas Arts,San Francisco.

Hunter Woo

(’05, MFA Fine Arts)Art Department Assistant andCameo Actor for “American Dreamz”and “Art School Confidential.”

Award-Winners, Cool Designers,Soloists, Entertainers, Alumni inPrint, In MemoriumAward-WinnersTyrus Wong

(’32, Fine Arts)Annie Award, Winsor McCay Awardfor recognition of lifetime or careercontributions to the art of animation,2005. Scroll to bottom for juriedawards at www.annieawards.com/

foryourconsideration.htm

Coleen Sterritt

(’79, MFA Fine Arts)City of Los Angeles (C.O.L.A.)Individual Artist Fellowship,2006/2007. Exhibitions: d.e.n. con-temporary art, Culver City; “RecentSculpture and Drawings,” Riverside.www.dencontemporaryart.com

Mark Dean Veca

(’85, Fine Arts)Pollack-Krasner Foundation Grant,2006. Exhibition: Schmidt CenterGallery, Florida Atlantic University,Boca Raton, FL. Feature: Juxtapozmagazine (March 2006), andillustrations, Paper magazine,(March 2006).

Cynthia Harper

(’87, Fine Arts)Pollack-Krasner Foundation Grant,2006. Exhibition: “Drawing:Tradition & Innovation,” ArlingtonArts Center, Arlington, VA.Publication: Manifest, CreativeResearch Center and Drawing

Center, Cincinnati, OH, RegionalDrawing Annual, exhibition in print, 2006.

Zoe Hong

(’02, Fashion Design)Gen Art Perrier “Bubbling Under”Award, New York, N.Y., 2006.http://verbalcroquis.wordpress.com

Cool DesignersMark Bryan

(’74, MFA Fine Arts)Illustrator and Fine Artist.www.artofmarkbryan.com

Lisa Stein

(’87, Environmental Design)Project Manager, The WestfieldGroup, for Valencia Town CenterExpansion. Company will developretail and entertainment portion ofdevelopment at Stratford-on-Avon,U.K. for 2012 Olympics.

Ed Engel

(’88, Communication Arts)Creative Proprietor: Engle Creative,St. Louis, MO. www.EngelCreative.net

and www.EdwardEngel.com

Ingred (Fink) Sidie

(’89, Communication Arts)Principal, Design Ranch, KansasCity, MO. Creative focus onyouth/teen fashion, entertainmentand lifestyle brands for Target,Hallmark, Lee Jeans, H&R Block,

Nike, AT&T, and Binney & Smith.www.design-ranch.com

Naomi Sanders

(’96, Fine Arts)Masters in Landscape Architecture,USC. Landscape Architect, ah’bélandscape architects, Culver City.Founder, Plein Air landscape design.

Douglas Jones

(’99, Communication Arts)Creative Director, AsylumEntertainment, Hollywood.

Chris Chacon

(’01, Communication Arts)Senior Graphic Designer, M.Cre8ive.Major clients include Activision,Jamdat and Encore.

Joyce Shin

(’04, Communication Arts)Graphics Coordinator, GehryPartners, L.A.

SoloistsErnest Lacy

(’60, Fine Arts)“Ernest Lacy: A Fifty-YearRetrospective in Liberating Color”Lev Moross Gallery, L.A.www.levmorossgallery.com

John White

(’69, MFA Fine Arts)Sylvia White Gallery, Santa Monica.www.johnmwhite.com

Gerald Westgerdes

(’73, MFA Fine Arts)“Passages & Tributes: 3-D Narratives,”Zanesville Art Center, Zanesville, OH.www.zanesvilleartcenter.org

Christine Taylor Patten

(Christine Patten Powell)

(’74, Fine Arts)“Micro/Macro: 251 Drawings,” TheDrawing Gallery, London, UK;“Drawing Time/Drawings from theMicro/Macro” series, LeedsUniversity Gallery, Leeds, UK; 300drawings from the “Micro/Macro”series, The Drawing Center, NewYork, NY. www.thedrawinggallery.com

Rose Lynn Fisher

(’78, Fine Arts)“Liminal Spaces: Photographs ofMorocco,” UCLA Fowler Museum.Goldenberg Galleria, UCLA, L.A.

OMAG 28 29 OMAG

This is a small sampling of recent alumni accomplishments. To keep up with Otis’

ever-active alumni, and to see the fully illustrated monthly news archive, click on

“Class Notes” at www.otis.edu/alumni. To submit news and images, contact Sarah

Russin, Director of Alumni Relations at otisalum@otis.edu. To receive a monthly

message with a link to the most up-to-date news and Class Notes, click “Register”at

www.otis.edu/alumni. It’s easy and we don’t spam you! Also, feel free to call Sarah in

the Alumni Office at 310.665.6937. Regular readers of the online alumni news reconnect

with old friends, and take advantage of opportunities for professional development.

If you haven’t already, we hope you will join the Otis alumni online community!

CLASS NOTES

Coleen Sterritt (’79, MFA Fine Arts), Daddy-O, 2006, wood, glue,

insulation foam, cork, paint, shellac, found furniture, 83 x 38 x 40"

Tami Demaree (’03, MFA Fine Arts)

Pining, mixed media on paper, 24 x 19," 2005

Richard Pettibone, Andy Warhol,Campbell’s Soup Can (Pepper Pot),1962, 2005, 7 1/2 x 5 7/8"

(’62, Fine Arts)

“Richard Pettibone: A Retrospective,” Institute

of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, and Laguna

Art Museum, CA. In her review of the exhibition

of 215 works spanning more than four decades,

New York Times art critic Roberta Smith stated

“It is unlikely that so much artistic ground has

ever been covered outside of an art history

survey book or a museum postcard display and

probably never quite as pleasurably.”

Richard Pettibone

Kathleen Ahmanson Hall has been updated with the new logo on banners, cube,

and roof sign. The next time you are on the LAX runway, look towards Otis!

I got a big kick out of seeing Andre’s [Andre Bombonatti de Castro (’85)] face inthe latest magazine!!!! . . . He had that veryserious face on . . . that same serious facethat he “wore” when we all were chums inart school . . . !

Most interesting to see such a wonderfularray of talent . . . especially the fine artsgroup. My impression in the 1980s and 1990swas that the focus on the institutional “face”shifted from fine arts to communicationdesign, with an understanding that by spon-soring a more perceived “safe” major, Otiswould attract more students interested inapplying to a four-year program.

As head of the LACMA design dept., and a fellow Otis graduate, I felt stronglythat Otis's true strength lies in its fine artsprogram and that, historically, from Billy Al Bengston to the ceramists from the 1950s,Otis always has made its mark by demon-strating and attracting true renegades thatwant to make individual marks of expres-sion. We all feed off that energy that stemsfrom the fine artist.

I will never forget my first days at Otis inmy Foundation Year. On the day of registration,the institution gave us all a 10-pound bag of clay. I felt that symbolically this was an amazing gesture, expecting that no matterwho we were or what our declared majormight be, we should all be ready to get our hands dirty, and create fearlessly, andmost important of all, MAKE MISTAKES.

I was very fortunate in being at Otis from 1981-85. I remember quite vividlystanding in line at Murray’s to order a sand-wich. At the time, we were all hungry, bothmetaphorically and literally. In front of me was Liz Young (‘84, Fine Arts), andbehind me was a (cute cute cute) fellownamed Tom Ford (an environmental designerwho was a guest transfer from Parsons inNYC who later, after his graduation, switched to become our most wonderful fashiondesigner del mundo) . . . to the left of me wasPeter Shelton, one of my teachers . . . andthen there were Sheila de Bretteville and AvePildas talking out loud about typography . . .and what did we all have in common? We all desired the last of Murray's chickensalad sandwiches!

Cheers-Amy McFarland (’85, Communication Arts)

Letter to the Editor

In PrintGeorge Maitland Stanley

(deceased) (’20s, Fine Arts)Featured in L.A. Times story byBob Pool, “Hollywood Bowl’s fountain gets a splash from thepast.” “Neglected for decades,refurbished Streamline Moderne-style fountain is greeting visitorsto the Hollywood Bowl.”

Masami Teraoka

(’69, MFA Fine Arts)Ascending Chaos: The Art ofMasami Teraoka 1966-2006(Chronicle Books), spring 2006.

Bruce Kalberg

(’78, Fine Arts)Author of crime novel Sub-Hollywood(under pseudonym Bruce Caen), YesPress, with cover art by Gary Panter.

Anthony Ausgang

(’83, Fine Arts)Included in L.A. Artland by ChrisKraus, Jane McFadden, Jan Tomlic.Also included are Fine Arts alumniKim Fisher (’98), Liz Craft (’94),Sandeep Mukherjee (’97) and

faculty members Carole Caroompasand Meg Cranston.

Roxana Villa

(’85, Communication Arts)Illustrations featured in L.A. Times,“Women’s Health,” May 8, 2006.

Rod Beattie

(’86, Fashion Design)Swimwear Designer, LaBlanca,Apparel Ventures, L.A. residencefeatured in Better Homes and Gardens,August 2006.

Val Loh

(’89, Fine Arts)Photographer, “Kahea Maoli:Hawaiian Voices, Portraits andWords.” www.honolulumagazine.com/

archives/1105/currentissue.aspx

Camille Rose Garcia

(’92, Fine Arts)Cover Story: Juxtapoz Magazine,March 2006. Graphic Novel:The Magic Bottle (Fantgraphics)Exhibition: “Subterranean DeathClash,” Jonathan Levine Gallery, N.Y.www.jonathanlevinegallery.com/

Nizan Shaked

(’00, MFA Fine Arts)Curator and Writer. Review of artistIzaak Julien, Xtra magazine.Assistant Professor, Art History andMuseum Studies, California StateUniversity, Long Beach.

Robert Dobbie

(’01, Communication Arts)Communication Arts Annual 2006Sept/Oct feature.

Kelly Culp

(’03, Fashion Design)Market/Fashion News Editor,Jane magazine, N.Y.

Brian T. Jones

(’04, Communication Arts)Children’s Book Illustrator,You Can’t Milk a Dancing Cowby Emmy award-winnerTom Dunsmuir

Meghan Moran

(’04, Communication Arts)MOCA holiday card from 2005/06 featured in Print Regional Design Annual.

In MemoriamHarold Lehman

(’32, Fine Arts)Harold passed away on April 2,2006 at the age of 92. One ofhis paintings was included in thecatalogue for Otis: Nine Decades ofLos Angeles Art. Harold’s daughter,Lisa Lehman Trager, created a Website about her father several yearsago, and invites friends to visit.www.haroldlehman.com

OW Gray

(’76, Fine Arts)Wailehua (also known as Orville andBubba) passed away June 7, 2005.At Otis he studied with Matsumi Kanemitsu, Charles White, andEmerson Woelffer. He was a success-ful artist in L.A., and his work isrepresented in international collec-tions. In 1987 he returned to hisplace of birth in Hawaii. His wifewants everyone to know how veryproud he was to have attended Otis.

Peter Zahorecz

(’86, Fine Arts)Peter passed away June 4, 2006,from head-related trauma followinga skateboarding accident in England.He worked as a gallery preparatorfor Maryland Institute College of Art,and was a well-known figure in theart and music scene in Baltimore.http://www.citypaper.com/arts/

story.asp?id=11927

Joan Hugo

Joan Hugo passed away on February7, 2006. She was the Otis librarianfor 25 years, and was known for beginning and developing theLibrary’s important collection ofartists’ books and ephemera. She was a critic for Artweek and otherpublications and later worked asassistant to the Provost at Cal Artsfor several years. A celebration ofJoan’s life, organized by her friendsand family, was held at LA Artcore in the Brewery. Many Otis graduateswrote to the College expressing their affection for Joan, and citingthe deep influence she had on themas a teacher and friend.

OMAG 30

CLASS NOTES

Mark Bryan (’74, MFA Fine Arts), Dick, oil on

canvas, 30 x 24" 2006Gary Lloyd (‘70, MFA), Sky Drops Studio

31 OMAG

In October, Pablo Rodriguez y Pantoja (’87, Fashion Design) hosted a gathering of 50 alum-ni and friends at his “June” studio in New York’s fashionable meatpacking district. Recentgraduates working in New York enjoyed connecting with alumni from previous years, andmeeting President Hoi and the Career Services team, Laura Kiralla and Laura Daroca (’03,MFA). Thanks to Pablo for hosting the third N.Y. reunion.

New York

Otis Connects with Alumni

Elizabeth Grier (‘88, ’04 MFA Fine Arts),

untitled oil on panel, 24 x 24," 2006

Alumni Mario Ybarra (’99, Fine Arts) and Bruce Yonemoto (’79, MFA FineArts) were two of the six artists commissioned to create installations for “Consider This,” on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art(LACMA), April 9, 2006 – January 14, 2007. Organized by LACMALab,and designed by artist Barbara Kruger.

Consider This

In November, painter Darren Waterston (’88, Fine Arts) hosted alumni and friends at his beautiful home and studio in the heart of San Francisco. Thanks to Darren forhosting the first-ever gathering in San Francisco!

Otis celebrated the work of Sarah Perry (’83, Fine Arts) at a closing reception forher exhibition “Caught From Below” at Hunsaker/Schlesinger Fine Arts at BergamotStation in Santa Monica. Sarah led a tour for guests (l to r), including mentor BetyeSaar, classmates from ’83, and her students from the early ’90s. In addition, she signedcopies of her best-selling children’s book If, commissioned by the Getty Museum.

Santa Monica

San Francisco

CLASS NOTES

OMAG 32

Designing OtisOtis is developing a publication that

will chronicle alumni contributions to the

design world. Designing Otis (working

title) will be a companion piece to the

fine arts exhibition catalogue Otis: Nine

Decades of Los Angeles Art. We are

seeking work by designers to include in

this important publication.

What to Submit

Posters, theme park design, book illustration,animation, photography, production design,toys, fashion, exhibition design, and furniturecan be submitted. (Sound and motion may berepresented by a DVD insert.) All eras will berepresented, including the years before Otisoffered a formal design curriculum. Fine Artalumni who have produced design work arewelcome to submit. Alumni do not need to becurrently working in the design world.

How to Submit

High-resolution digital images are needed(300 dpi, 4”x5” or larger). Send them to Sarah Russin atotisalum@otis.edu throughwww.yousendit.com. Send motion work as DVDs. Supply as muchinformation as possible about the images,including credit for any collaborating photog-raphers, designers, etc.

When to Submit

Deadline: April 30, 2007.

Feel free to send work earlier!We are hoping to hear from alumni who havebeen out of touch, so pass on this opportunityto your Otis friends!

Contact

Sarah Russin, Director of Alumni Relations310.665.6937 or otisalum@otis.edu

Opposite page:

Blaine Fontana

(‘02, Communication Arts)

A Dojo on the Morning After,

acrylic on board, 18 x 24"

Otis GearHave you noticed Otis’ new logo? After seven different names and two campuses, Otis has a new four-letter word mark that clearly and directly communicates strength and confidence. This new institutional identity serves as a serious backdrop for exuberant and diverse—but blunt and honest—expressions of the students, faculty, and alumni. Nowyou can share your Otis connection on your chest, head, or car.

Beefy T-Shirt

Black with white logo, L, XL$23.00*

Women’s Fitted T-Shirts

Black with white logo, S, M $21.50*

Hooded Zippered Sweatshirts

Heather gray with black appliqued logoM, L, XL$62.50*Bumper Stickers (static, not glue)

$3.50*

Baseball Cap

Black “flex fit” with white embroidered logo and url, One Size$24.50*

Otis Beanie

Black with white embroidered “O” and urlOne Size$20.00*

License Plate Holders

Chrome with black logo$12.50*

Place your credit card order with the art supply store Graphaids (Westchester Location)by calling 310-216-6300. They ship around the country/world.

* plus tax and shipping

© Otis College of Art and DesignPublication of material does not necessarily indicate endorsement of the author’s viewpoint by Otis College of Art and Design

Otis prepares diverse students of art and design to enrich our world through their creativity, their skill, and their vision.

President Hoi with Betye Saar, former Otis faculty member.Otis honored the Saar family at a closing reception forFamily Legacies: The Art of Betye, Lezley and Alison Saar(’81, MFA Fine Arts) at the Pasadena Museum ofContemporary Art in August. The exhibition traveledto the San Jose Museum of Art.

02 20 24 28

Otis College of Art and Design

Editor: Margi Reeve,Communications DirectorCo-editor: Sarah Russin,Alumni DirectorPhotography: Marcie Begleiter,Lee Salem, Ian Brooks, Krista Kahl (’07) Skye Moorhead (’94)

Contributing Writer: George Wolfe,Freelance writer, Founder/Editorof The LaLa Times [lalatimes.com](Fashion Profiles, pgs. 10-13, and pgs. 14-15)

Creative: Intersection StudioDesign Direction: Greg LindyDesign: Mark Caneso (’04)

At recent alumni gatherings in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, I spoke

with Otis graduates from no fewer than seven decades. It was gratifying to hear

their consensus that the rigorous studies at Otis prepared them well for life after

college. The vastly different journeys they have taken since Otis were also impres-

sive. Indeed, excellence and diversity, two defining values of Otis College of Art and

Design, are reflected throughout this issue of OMAG.

Educational excellence at Otis is amply demonstrated by our renowned Fashion

Design Program, which has just celebrated its 25th anniversary. Since the inception

of the program, a stunning array of top professionals has come to the Otis studios

to mentor our talented and hard-working students (see pgs. 4-5). Having learned to

balance real world industry concerns with blue-sky creativity, our alumni become

creative leaders who enjoy career success (see pgs. 8-9) and shape the fashion

design landscape with their own paths and visions (see pgs. 10-13). Congratulations

and kudos to Rosemary Brantley, Founding Chair of Fashion Design, and her dedi-

cated faculty. Other departments throughout the College share this commitment to

excellence (see College News beginning on pg. 24).

Diversity at Otis goes beyond the standard racial/ethnic framework. Our goal is

to foster a diverse educational environment where each student’s individual voice

can come into its own; in which creative individuals learn from each other, collabo-

rate, and contribute to a future of openness and possibility. Learning across discipli-

nary boundaries and across the traditional divide between academic and real life

contexts is increasingly important in preparing our students for a constantly chang-

ing and more global future. Since the next generations of thinkers and makers carry

our hope for a better world, Otis has also become more mindful of teaching the

impact of responsible art and design. Otis alumna and mentor Wanda Weller guides

her students to consider the impact their action will have seven generations from

now (see pg. 12). The world-bridging Tanzania project (see pg. 16) and the local

community-based Integrated Learning project at Ballona Wetlands (see pg. 19) are

two other examples of Otis’ forward-looking curriculum. The diverse practices and

achievements of our alumni around the world (see pgs. 20-23 as well as Class Notes

on pgs. 28-30) are directly enabled by this unique education.

—Samuel Hoi, President

Excellence and Diversity

Cover Image: Cirque de Soleil finale at2006 Scholarship Benefit Fashion Show

Back cover (detail) and opposite:

Sandow Birk (’88, Fine Arts), Poster forDante’s Inferno, a puppet-animated filmwith voices by Dermot Mulroney andJames Cromwell. www.dantefilm.com

Founded in 1918, Otis is L.A.’s first independent professional school of art. Otis' 1100students pursue degrees in architecture/landscape/ interiors, communication arts, digi-tal media, fashion design, fine arts, interactive product design, public practice, toydesign, and writing. Alumni shape contemporary visual culture—from fine arts to theHollywood screen, from the clothes we wear to the toys that engage our children.

College News Class Notes

2006 Vol.2 In This Issue:

02 Fashion Design @ 25

A Green Room Grows in South CentralThe Allure of Otis College of Art and DesignWatching the Great White Heron Living Design in Dar es Salaam Masami Teraoka: Passion is his Guide

200 Happy Meals Make a Misfit DietThree Legged Legs and Exopolis win

Digital Awards New Leaders in DesignWhat is iTunes U?Commencement ’06 What Did a Frenchman Tell us

About America?

Award-Winners, Cool Designers, Soloists,Entertainers, Alumni In Print, In MemoriumOtis Connects, Designing Otis, Otis Gear

14

24 28

Otis MonitorLife Beyond the Fifth RingNordic Amnesia: An Introduction to

Rethinking Nordic ColonialismMarking a Solemn AnniversarySounds for the Grand Promenade, Athens

20 Alumni Around the World

“Perfect Fit,” the June 5, 2006, Los Angeles Business Journal’s profile of Fashion

Design Chair Rosemary Brantley, tells the story of this Texas native who brought

her keen understanding of fashion design to L.A. In her first 25 years as founder

and chair of the department, Brantley has “molded the department into one of the

most influential in the country, churning out design talent for some of the country’s

largest apparel companies.” After spending time in New York and London as a

designer, Brantley accepted the challenge of starting a program on the West Coast.

She sees L.A. now as “the home, the heart, the core of the contemporary market.”

Brantley considers L.A.’s lack of rules one of the main factors in its fashion promi-

nence—this freedom sparks originality and fresh approaches.

@25Perfect Fit

03 OMAG OMAG 02

Dominque Lemieux of Cirque du Soleil acted as a design mentor in 2006, working with students tocreate costumes based on Salvador Dali’s famous tarot card designs.

2006 Scholarship Benefit Runway Show

FEATURE

As juniors and seniors, students work with outstanding visiting designers each year. These designers, many of whom are alumni, donate their time to present a design direction, and work closely with students throughout the year. Among mentors since 1982 are:

Yeohlee

Design Mentors

2006 Design Mentor Yeohlee Teng challenged her students to create garments with respect for limited global resources, withoutthe use of power machines or textiles by the yard. These garmentswere presented on the runway at the annual Scholarship Benefitand Fashion Show. The kick-off party for the event, held at mentorTrina Turk’s mid-century modern home, was co-sponsored by ELLE magazine. Among the guests were “Project Runway” contest-ants Andrae Gonzalo (’99) and Daniel Franco (’95).

At the May Scholarship Benefit, Otis honored Joseph Abboud, Cirque du Soleil, and Roxy with creative vision awards.Approximately 1,000 guests at the Beverly Hilton Hotel enjoyedthe runway show featuring student designs produced with mentors Morgane Le Fay, Nicole Miller, John Varvatos, Isabel and Ruben Toledo, Dominque Lemieux for Cirque du Soleil, Lloyd Klein, Yeohlee Teng, La Blanca, Abercrombie & Fitch, Trina Turk, Volcom, James Perse, Pac Sun, Nike-Dance, and Speedo. The finale included acrobats, jugglers, and other members of the Cirque du Soleil troupe. $1.1 million was raised for studentscholarships. Special thanks go to Benefit Committee co-chairsJoyce Arad and Lisa Janian, and all of the members of this group.

BURLAPBURLAP EVENING GOWN WITH MOPHEAD CAPE AND GLOVES MADE FROM VINTAGECASHMERE SOCKS

LACE GOWN MADE FROMBLEACHED, RECYCLED BLACKLACE; AND FEATHER WRAPMADE FROM RECYCLED BOAS

BOASCOCOON KNIT CAPE MADEFROM RECYCLED SWEATER,AND SUEDE PANT CREATEDFROM RECYCLED JACKETS

JACKETSBROWN OMBRÉ HALTER DRESSMADE FROM CURTAINS, ANDSHRUG MADE FROM RECYCLEDSUEDE JACKET

CURTAINS

The 2006-07 roster of mentors includes: Luba Azria for BCBG; Rod Beattie (’86) forLa Blanca; Red Carter (’92), Natalie Chaninfor Project Alabama; Francisco Costa forCalvin Klein Collection; Kristopher Enuke(’84); Bob Mackie; Mandy Robinson for Billabong; Behnaz Sarafpour; Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor for JuicyCouture; Alan Shu and Susan Lee forArmani Exchange; Julie Ann Silverman(‘95) for Betsey Johnson Swimwear; andWanda Weller (’88) for Patagonia.

OMAG 04 05 OMAG

Abercrombie & FitchAdidasAnne KleinBanana RepublicBarbie/MattelBillabongBob MackieCosabellaCynthia RowleyDiane Von FurstenbergDKNYGAPGUESS?HalstonHurley InternationalJohn VarvatosLeon Max, Inc.Levi StraussMichelle MasonMossimoNIKE Ocean PacificOscar de la RentaPac SunPerry EllisQuiksilverRichard TylerRoxyRozae NicholsSean JohnSpeedoSt. JohnTargetThe North Face Todd OldhamTrina TurkVera WangVolcom

n Q&A

OMAG 06

Rosemary Brantley,

Founding Chair

Susan Baker

Maribeth Baloga

Pamela Banks

Aiko Beall

Eddie Bledsoe

Anne M. Bray

Leigh Cairo

Doug Coulter

Gus DeGuzman

Jackie Doyle

Jane Engelman

Rosi Gabi

Kathryn Hagen

Farnaz Harouni

Jill Higashi-Zeleznik

Linda Holler

Julie Hollinger

Morrison Jackson

Jane Mountney

Jones

Karolyn Kiisel

Lada Kirich

Gail Knierim

Sumi Lee

Amanda B. Linder

Michelle Lucas

Evelyn McInerney

Alexis Montgomery

Sarah Nichols

Justine Parish

Deborah Patterson

Aaron Paule

Evelyn Poghosyan

Sandy Potter

Mitra Rajabi

Karen Regoli-Arthur

Diane Sisko

Terri Slater

Francis Spitta

Pat Stiles

Elizabeth Strozewski

Dat Tran

Jennifer Uner

Robert Valerio

Jacqueline Wickser

Tony Young

Susan Zarate

Tadd Zarubika

Tuula Zivin

Staff

Bea Calderon

Jane Engelman

Byron LiCausi

Marytza Rubio

Shelly Sachs

FashioChair Rosemary Brantley credits her faculty

with the program’s success. Many of them

have taught for more than 20 years in the

department, and several are alumni. What

follows are their responses to questions

about teaching, designing, and shopping.

What do you think of the statement: “If it can’t get into a taxi, it’s not valid”?

• Agree!

• Art to wear is different from fashion, which must be mingledwith human life.

• I have always savoured eccentricity, and the creative approach to individuality.

• Cirque du Soleil costumes don’t need to get to the theater inthe back of a taxi.

What would you characterize as the biggest change in fashion design education in the last ten years?

• More concentration in fabric/graphic treatments.

• Dominant influence of street fashion.

• Importance of teamwork.

• Emphasis on creativity and good ideas.

• Increased attention to merchandising.

• Layering, complexity, diversity of approaches.

• Influence of computer graphics. Photoshop and Illustratorskills are entry-level requirements.

How do you get students to think independently, to develop a unique point of view or style?

• Research! Research! Research! Encourage them to explorelots of ideas.

• Teach them to arrive at a fresh solution through researching,distilling, and developing two or three ideas in a new way.

• Encourage thinking about the unexplored areas of fashion.

• Help them solve their technical problems to achieve theirdesign goals.

• Stimulate innovation by emphasizing that there is rarely awrong way to do something, and many right ways.

• Direct them to look at influence and ideas outside of the fashion magazines and trade reports.

• Teach them to develop the good idea until it becomes great.

What advice do you give young designers who want to develop careers in fashion design?

• Be aware of cultural trends and other ways of thinking aboutclothes. Look at everything!

• It’s a competitive jungle out there. Go to a respected school, get aBFA degree. Learn to draw, because no one can see good designthrough a bad drawing.

• Explore the fashion industry through summer internships; seekthe top designers for employment.

• Develop a creative work process—generate ideas throughresearch, study construction.

• Learn to be organized and multitask. Pay attention to what’s happening and what’s new—runway shows, designers, labels, etc.

• New ideas are the most important things to develop. Innovation is what counts.

• Develop the skills to be strong and patient.

What fashion designer do you most admire and why?

• Rei Kawakubo, Donna Karan, Ann Demeulemeister, JunyaWatanabe, Marni, and Anna Sui have distinctive styles thatdemonstrate strong points of view, year after year.

• Isabel Toledo has a unique sense of style and an architecturalapproach to developing her patterns.

• Giorgio Armani, for his elegant and sophisticated classic style.

• Marc Jacobs’ clothing and Martin Margiela’s ideas.

• Vivienne Westwood, because she uses fashion as a subversiveinfluence, bases her designs on historical precedents, and takestime to educate young designers. She wants to make people think about what they wear and why.

What is your biggest satisfaction from being a fashion design faculty member?

• Combining the Western way of thinking with the formalJapanese aesthetic, from my formal education in flowerarrangement, calligraphy and fashion design.

• I greatly admire the fashion designers who make time to mentor and teach. They are the special ones. The list of greatclothing designers worldwide is a mile long.

Where do you like to shop?

• Rose Bowl, Pasadena City College swap meet, Barneys, Neiman Marcus, Fred Segal, odd little boutiques,sample sales.

What is unique about the L.A. fashion industry?

• Like a magnet, it attracts hoards of young talent. As a young frontier, with few rules, it is a developing force.

• Doesn’t take itself too seriously.

• Allows freedom to be young, hip, and seasonless.

• Values innovation in fabric treatments, denim, casual sportswear.

• Swimwear, and the influence of Hollywood, new music and clubs.

• Pervasive influence of O.C. board/surf wear.

07 OMAG

03 OMAG

Otis FashionDesign Alumni

Otis graduates lead in all segments of the fashion industry: couture, costume design,

textile design, fashion editorial and education. They are entrepreneurs, leaders of design

teams, and contributors to the looks we wear and see in the media and in retail locations.

Sporting World

ActiveAdidasElement

SkateboardNauticaSpeedoNIKENorth FacePatagoniaPumaSwiss Army

SurfwearBillabongJantzenLunada BayOcean PacificPac SunQuiksilverRoxyRip CurlVolcomAnne ColeBeccaBetsey JohnsonLa BlancaTommy BahamaWarnaco

SwimwearRobin Piccone

Designer

Adrienne VittadiniAnne KleinBarneys New YorkCalvin KleinDonna KaranEduardo LuceroHervé LégerIsabel ToledoJohn VarvatosOligo TissewRozae NicholsSt. John KnitsTommy HilfigerLloyd Klein

Large Retail

Stores

Ann TaylorDillardsEddie BauerFederated StoresLimitedMervynsNeiman MarcusNordstromTarget

Specialty

Claire Pettibone bridal couture

Frederick’s ofHollywood

Jenny Lee BridalGymboreeGAP accessoriesIsabel FioreRemy Leather

FashionsToy

Mattel Inc(Barbie)

DisneyConsumerProducts

Teens and Jeans

Abercrombie& Fitch

American EagleOutfitters

GapForever 21Juicy Couturel.e.iMossimo/TargetOld NavyPaul FrankRampageSkinny MinnieUrban OutfittersVansXoxoJeanswearAG Adriano

GoldschmeidEarl JeansGUESS? IncJoe’s JeansJordacheLevi StraussLucky BrandLee JeansRoc and RepublicTrue Religion

Film, Television

and

Performance

Nashville BalletThe Pointer SistersTaledega Nights:

(2006)Blue Crush (2002)Empire Falls (2005)

(TV)Ali (2001)One True Thing

(1998)The Station Agent

(2003)Minority Report

(2002)Monkeybone (2002)Titanic (1997)Legends of the Fall

(1994)The Indian in the

Cupboard (1995)

Contemporary

and GlamourArmani ExchangeAeroposteleBanana RepublicBCBGBebeBlue Dot ClothingClub MonacoGAPEspritJ. CrewJames PerseLeon MaxPetrozilla12th Street by

Cynthia Vincent

OMAG 08 09 OMAG

11 OMAG

PROFILES

If looks could kill, why can’t clothes have stories?After getting a business degree, would-be Skinny Minnie founder

Evelyn Choi (’95), worked as a plant manager for a computer manufacturer.She wore a suit, and did a lot of walking through yawning industrialspaces. Over the course of her five years there, her mind occasionallywandered to the suits she wore, and the suits began to obsess her. In asense, they spoke to her: “From one suit to another, there was a big difference in the way they looked and felt on the body. At the time, I hadno idea what made them so different. Granted, suits all appear similar:lapels, sleeves, pockets, etc., but sometimes one fit far better than another.”

After burning out on that job, she took a year off to soul-search aboutwhat she would do next. Thinking back to her interest in the constructionand fit of the suits, she realized that she’d always been fascinated byfashion. She decided to go back to school and study fashion design. Otiswas perfect for her in terms of location and reputation.

“Having been in the working world, I knew this was a rare opportunity:working with the instructors—and, of course, Rosemary (Brantley) andher expertise and experience—and all the critics who came in. I grabbedeverything. You’ve got to value that time.”

Choi got her questions about the ins and outs of suits—and muchmore—answered, and she moved on. She worked under a lead designerfor years, eventually getting promoted to sweater designer, and later beingin charge of a social dress division. By the time Choi decided to ventureout on her own, she had married classmate and fine artist Jon Riddle(’95), and had her first child. As often happens with family, priorities tendto change.

“I didn’t want to travel as much. I couldn’t really work late or doweekends. I wanted to be on my own, so that I could spend more timewith my baby,” says Choi, chuckling. “Of course, that was very naïve.”But a little naiveté never stopped Evelyn.

“If I wanted my own business, I needed to find a unique concept thatwould set it apart from the rest of the industry.”

Several serendipitous events would lead to the creation of her noveltyt-shirt company, Skinny Minnie. In 2000, one of those “seize it or lostit” career moments arose. 20th Century Fox wanted to do a promotionalshirt for the movie Moulin Rouge, but didn’t want it to be a simple give-away. They wanted something consumers would actually buy and value,and planned to sell it through Bloomingdale’s. Choi was contacted byKal Ruttenstein, the Vice President for Fashion Direction at Bloomingdale’sto create the Moulin Rouge t-shirt for his famous shop concepts. She andher husband then started working with costume designer CatherineMartin. Choi’s challenge was now: How to make garments look vintage,echoing the movie’s aesthetic of Paris in a bygone era?

Choi and her husband had the opportunity to experiment with amachine that had been virtually abandoned since the ‘60s. It functionedin a way that was different from the regular screen-print process. Thenormal silkscreen process is oil-based, and the ink sits on top of fabric.But Choi and Riddle devised a wet-printing process in which shirts soakin water and the ink gets embedded in the fabric, giving it that aginglook. They created a unique look by placing graphics in a non-conven-tional way on the vintage-style fabric.

20th Century Fox and Bloomingdale’s were pleased with the results—even more so when the shirts broke Bloomingdale’s records by selling5,000 within the first month. This led to more collaborations between Choiand Ruttenstein, with Hair Spray, Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia, and Rent.

This gave Choi the financial security to branch out. With the technique developed for Moulin Rouge, Choi set the identity for SkinnyMinnie. Choi and Riddle continued to experiment with breaking theboundaries between image and seam, making designs that tied the garment together as a whole. They spent the next six months developingthe printing process for the contemporary t-shirt market. As with herprevious fascination with suits, she became completely immersed in andobsessed with shirts.

By the time they had their first show—with 10 different shirts—theywere anxious about how they’d be received. The show turned out to be a huge success—“it was so crazy, we couldn’t write all the orders.” Thisproved that the market didn’t need more plain t-shirts, but somethingfresh. “I always try to find something that’s missing in the market, andtrust that the financial part will follow.” From then on, the (business) hasbeen very successful.

After a new idea has been introduced, the competitors jump in.Choi estimates that it took about a year and a half for others to duplicatethat unique vintage look; in that time, she basically had a monopoly.“Everybody’s always hungry for the next new thing, and ournovelty/niche shirts have gone a long way toward filling that hunger.”But what happens when that craze is so ‘in’ that it goes ‘out’? “There will always be knock-off companies. But there’s always the ‘intellectualproperty of the design,’ which is not always obvious to imitators. Theyoverlook the intellectual side of garments, and can’t fully replicate it.We’re validated by that. We’re still around, doing a lot more (business)than when we started, and still growing.”

Later that year, Vanilla Sugar, a “missy” line, took off. Then came theidea for a men’s line, which Choi delivered a year after that: Salvage. “We

didn’t want the men’s line to be too decorative;we wanted it more masculine.” Again, with herhusband’s help they borrowed the basic SkinnyMinnie technique and created a line “based onrock, punk rock and post-punk.” It took on a lookand a voice of its own, more higher-end than theother lines, and has been getting a lot of attention.It’s worn by the likes of Mötley Crüe, Slash fromGuns ‘n’ Roses, and Bono.

A dozen or so years after she quit her job atthe computer manufacturer, Choi finds herselfstrolling along seemingly endless aisles of clothing,

hanger after hanger—all inside a giant hangar, southeast of downtownLos Angeles. Like the computer manufacturing facilities she managed,this is a yawning space of industry: the size of a football field, and tallenough to house jumbo jets. But it’s not yawning in a dull sense. With the help of 170 employees (including many Otis alumni), she’ll do about$38 million in sales this year. This is her space, her design, her company.By listening to that little voice inside—call it the subtle voice of the clothing itself—she has arrived.

This suits her just fine.

Every Shirt Tells a Story

Vince Neil and Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe in Salvage Supply Nicole Kidman and Baz Luhrmann promote Skinny Minnie’s Moulin Rouge t-shirt at Bloomingdale’s, April 2000 (inset)

OMAG 10

by George Wolfe

OMAG 12

PROFILES PROFILES

If there’s a sliver of optimism to be found in a time of war and a worldchallenged by incessant forces of destruction, it’s embodied in companieslike Patagonia and people like Wanda Weller (’88), design director ofthe company’s outdoor clothing.

“Yes, I’m hopeful—absolutely hopeful. In fact, you have to be hopeful . . .or you’ll slit your wrists.”

Enveloped in a benevolent corporate shroud that’s committed tochanging the world by action and example, Weller’s viewpoint is buoyedby the numerous speakers who make their way through Patagonia forone event or another.

“There’s an exhibition going around now: ‘Massive Change’ by BruceMau,” says Weller, “with the tagline: ‘It’s not about the world of design,it’s about the design of the world.’ These speakers are doing amazinglyproactive things in the world. They’re so uplifting and powerful. Itbecomes infectious.”

Weller’s comments are far from empty hyperbole. Patagonia’s commit-ment is multi-faceted and backed by financial muscle. Their EnvironmentalGrants program has donated more than $20 million to more than 1,000grassroots organizations (often ones overlooked by or too radical for moretraditional funders). Their 70-member Conservation Alliance works withcompanies in the outdoor industry to build a central fund that has savedmore than 34 million acres of wilderness and dozens of waterways.Their 1% For The Planet program encourages businesses todonate at least 1% of their annual net revenues to environ-mental organizations worldwide. Their Common ThreadsGarment Recycling program provides the incentive forcustomers to send back worn-out base layers of Capilene,which are then recycled into new polyester garments.

“At work, we’re constantly faced with reminders of theunderlying company values. We empty our own garbageand recycling, bring our own coffee mugs, etc. That affects your home life,too. Today, I traded in my car for a hybrid Prius—not thatI was driving a gas guzzler, but I felt that I needed to do better. And maybe it won’t save the world, but who knows?—one little action can affect yourwhole circle of friends . . . and grassroots movements have been known tochange the world.”

For someone in Weller’s position, she certainly must’ve been a staunch,environmentally conscious kid. “Actually, no. I grew up in Topanga [Canyon]in Los Angeles. In hindsight I know there were things I was taught by myparents about the environment. But at the time, I wasn’t conscious of whatthose were.” Weller followed her sister (who was studying graphic design) to Otis, and found herself at home. “I felt like I made the right choice. I wasone of those people who always made their own clothes. People said, ‘Youshould be in fashion.’ So that’s what I did. Still, the environmental anglewould happen later. Otis was stimulating and exciting, all in one building at the time. Going to school with people of all ages and backgrounds was fantastic—people with more worldly experience influenced people like me who were just a year or so out of high school. That dynamic wasinvaluable for me.”

After graduation, Weller found a job in Oregon. She remained in theNorthwest for ten years, working in athletic and outdoor clothing design at such companies as Adidas America and ZIBA Design. She garnered a reputation “as someone who could communicate with creative types.”

Since joining Patagonia in 2001, the concept of “sustainable design” hasremained paramount. Does Weller feel at odds with the world of high fashionor other segments of the fashion world? For instance, what about the whole timely notion of “distressed clothing?” “Because one of Patagonia’siron-clad ethics is that every part of the garment should last equally, yes,that sets us apart. In today’s society, we don’t have time to wear things inanymore, so the trend of distressing garments fulfills society’s immediateneed. And of course with practices like distressing, there is the environmentalimpact of the chemicals used. In addition, distressing something may wellmake it last half as long, which then requires new resources to replace it.Patagonia is committed to working so that garments will have a renewedlife.We’re really doing a lot of work in that area.We feel that that’s definitelythe next phase. The tricky thing, however, is communicating the need tochange ways. There’s often a huge learning curve.”

But there are certain aspects of designing for the outdoors—includingthe consideration of technical and safety issues—that bear some similaritiesto the world of high fashion. “For example, take something like couture. It’ssimilarly meticulous, specific and endlessly detail-oriented. The obsessiveprocess, the way it’s built, is actually very technical. In both cases, you’re stillvery much listening and responding to what people want. And, as with morecommercial fashion markets, we found that climbing apparel is moving inthe direction of streetwear, because that’s what people are comfortable in.”

Student designs in Weller’s most recent Otis mentorship ended up beingcloser to high fashion than outdoor fashion. “It wasn’t so similar to whatyou’d see at Patagonia—rather, it focused on the materials (using only plant-based dyes), and the thought process. What the students came up with wasso beautiful and amazing, so deep and rich, like tribal wear—only usingwhat’s available. It’s sort of like ‘Build locally, think globally.’ You derive yourinspiration and beauty from the community at hand.” This notion rings truefor Weller, and is in sync with Patagonia’s global mission.

“If I can communicate one thing to the students, it’s that we all needto think of this concept of ‘total beauty,’ and the impact we’re having. TheTotal Beauty of Sustainable Products, by Edwin Datschefski, encourages us all to look at the gestalt of a design (instead of just the final result), and notto separate how it was made from how we evaluate its beauty. We needto move away from the disposable and think about the impact our actionswill have seven generations from now. It may sound trite, but what couldbe more important?”

Renew/Recycle: Patagonia’s Global Mission

To get to Otis, and to follow his path toward becoming a world-renownedindependent fashion designer, Nigerian-born, England-educated KristopherEnuke (’84) had more than just a portfolio under his arm—he had an ace uphis sleeve. “My father saw me as an architect or an engineer,” says Enuke,creator of the knitwear collection Oliver Twist, and the Oligo Tissew line ofdenim. “He definitely did not see me as a fashion designer. Plus, he insistedon an accredited program, but the school I had my eye on in England,though excellent, didn’t offer that. Frustrated, I moved out of the house.”

Eventually, Enuke’s father agreed that textile design or graphic arts“could be OK” as long as it offered a bachelor of arts degree. His fatheragreed that studying in America was an option. Wanting some distancefrom family at that point, Enuke applied as far west as he could go—to Otis—and got accepted in fashion design. Pleased, but not out of thewoods yet, he still needed a way to get around his father’s stipulation.

Enuke went to a former dance instructor with whom he’d studied inLondon. “I asked him to make me an offer to be a dancer in his travelingdance troupe, which he did.” With the dance contract in one hand, andthe Otis acceptance in the other, he approached his father. “To my father,fashion designing compared to dance was—relatively speaking—fantastic.What could he really say? My father conceded: ‘OK, fine,’ he said. ‘If youfought for this, then you believe in this, then you’ll succeed in it, andI’ll support you.’” From that point on, both his father and mother firmlyadvocated their son’s career decision.

But no sooner had he arrived at Otis than he suffered cultural shock.Enuke felt a clash of different value systems. “Here I was coming fromLondon, where we lived fashion, it was all about individual expression, andsuddenly I saw kids coming to school in jeans, cut-off shorts and t-shirts. Itdidn’t feel right. I just didn’t get how these people—art and fashion students—were not living their passion with their whole being. So I stuck out like asore thumb. Still, I came to Otis knowing what I wanted, so it didn’t matter.”

“School was immersive, intense and involved in terms of giving you thework. But I didn’t have the American habit of ‘protocol,’ where things likeorder and punctuality—non-emotional elements—rated high.” Rosemary(Brantley) was like The Mom. I swear, she was born for the job. She had thepatience. She knew our strengths, weaknesses, how to pump us up, how tobeat us up.”

At times, Enuke felt that if he didn’t stick out enough, then it was a signthat something must be wrong. “My whole approach was: If my classmatesliked my croquis (small drawings presented to the class), then I hadn’tthought enough. Most students assumed that when they finished school,they’d work for somebody; but I knew I always wanted to work for myself.The main thing is to know who you are, your style . . . and work toward it.”

“But all together,” says Enuke, “it was an exciting time, and good to goto Otis. My favorite instructor and biggest influence had to be Aiko Beall.She would say, “ Anything you can draw, you can make.” She understoodintricacies, she appreciated “dare” . . . you have to dare to create, to be in the

zone, otherwise, you’re pretty much regurgitating what’sout there.”

Enuke decided to stay in America after he finishedOtis. But the workaday world soon proved to have itsown obstacles and frustrations. Although he was earninga decent salary, he was haunted by the feeling that some-thing was wrong. Over time he would come to articulate

what bothered him.“It just felt . . . corrupt. It was like my hands were tied: ‘Just sit here,

be a good boy, collect your pay.’ For other people, that was fantastic, ‘Wow,I get to take all this money home?!’ But I began to understand that yourboss either recognizes your ability (and can use it in a mutually construc-tive way) or wants to keep you confined (in which case you stagnate).Sometimes there’s just not enough time to indulge your individuality.”

While continuing to move his way up the designer route, he essentiallylearned the routine of knocking off other people’s things (because that’swhat his employers wanted). “At that rate, I could see that I’d pretty muchdie being that kind of designer.” How to break out of the system? By free-lancing, Enuke got his portfolio exposed. He also learned new skills, likehow to hand-knit sweaters. He sold his first collection to high-end retailerssuch as Maxfield and Bergdorf.

He explains that his growth as a designer derived from his belief inindividuality. “If star pockets on jeans are ‘in,’ everyone chases that money.But as a student, you shouldn’t chase money; you should chase your abilityto evolve a product so it’s always fresh in the eye of the market—becausethat’s your strength. Always. Let them copy you instead of you chasingthem. And you have to build the ability to do that while in school.”

His jeans brand, Oligo Tissew, is characterized by a three-dimensionalstar on one back pocket and a red remembrance bow on the opposite backpocket. The remembrance bow is a reminder of all children born intounderprivileged circumstances, while the star signifies the possibilitiesavailable for all children who are given an opportunity. A percentage ofsales of Oligo Tissew garments is donated to Nigerian school children.

Enuke imagines that if he came back to Otis 40 years from now, he’dwant to see Otis as the campus where “the world comes for innovation. Itshould be a combination of innovation and balance. Rosemary taught ushow to emphasize both, and I can’t tell you how important that was; in thebig picture, it’s balance that brings back the ability to relate to the cus-tomer. Ideally, I’d like to see Rosemary’s legacy as balance combined withextreme innovation.”

Oligo Tissew = Refined Cloth

Men’s “Quilt Again” Jacket exterior of chlorine-freewool and recycled polyester; interior lining of plushfleece scraps from the cutting-room floor

13 OMAG

by George Wolfe by George Wolfe

A Green Room Growsin SouthCentral

OTIS MONITOR OTIS MONITOR

by George Wolfe

OMAG 14 15 OMAG

The students then used community feedback to hone theirindividual proposals and develop a team proposal that incorpo-rated the most successful design elements. Their project, titled“Green Room,” uses the notion of the room to organize themain components. “The notion of the room,” explains Guida,“organizes the design’s main components.”

Doors: An unsightly chain-link security gate is replaced with apivoting, transparent learning wall outfitted with chalkboards,environmental graphics, and display panels for student work.

Windows: New openings in the administration building areproposed as a way of increasing security through visibility.

Walls: In order to address limited opportunities for newplantings, the designers devised a “sustainable mural” strategyinspired by California landscape paintings. Composed of eight-foot squares and limited to eight paint colors, it resists graffitiand is easily repaired or expanded.

Floors: Pervious materials route storm water to the soil andplantings; surface patterning directs circulation through the space.

Furnishings: New benches facilitate impromptu use as anoutdoor classroom.

Ceiling: New sycamores and deciduous trees provide shade,shelter drought-tolerant ground plantings, and teach studentsabout the change of seasons.

How did the students feel about what they created?“I feel that the final design re-emphasizes the school’s atti-

tude and vision,” says Gary, “and in the end the design came

down to the idea: Can design advance positive ideas in theworld, in order to lead to a greater social community?”

Daniel agrees, echoing the group’s lofty aspirations:“Although the proposed design addressed the specifics of thesite, the hope was that the overarching concept of the GreenRoom would be ‘projective’ — potentially serving as an earlymodel for the sustainable adaptation of aging inner-city schoolsnationwide.”

Currently, the design aspect of the project is finished.Implementation will begin after the school district's approval.Regardless of how the lives of those at Woodcrest are changedby their altered environment in years to come, some successescan already be felt within the boundaries of Otis’s campus.

“In thinking back,” says Gary, “I truly believe that we finishedas much different people than when we began.”

When Katie Phillips, Chair of Otis’ first-year Foundation Program, was contacted by Global

Green, she jumped at the opportunity for students to work with a progressive, green-friendly

non-profit organization.

“We had the idea to partner with Otis,” says Global Green’s Walker Wells, “to develop a

sustainable landscape proposal for the entry to Woodcrest Elementary, a school in South

Central Los Angeles.”

Global Green, the U.S. affiliate of former Russian PresidentGorbachev’s organization Green Cross International, focuses onpromoting renewable energy and green building. The Woodcrestproject (which would come to be known as the “GreenscapeChallenge”) was funded by the Annenberg Foundation, which traditionally funded education programs, but has branched out to include environmental initiatives.

“Personally,” Katie Phillips says, “my interest in the environ-ment is informed by living in [semi-rural] Topanga where I amsurrounded by warning signals. We no longer get deer, bobcatsand fox regularly on our property. The mountain lion who usedto sun himself on the rocks above our house is gone. The frogsno longer inhabit the creeks, and many of the creeks which usedto run are dry.

“And because Otis is an art and design college, many facultyand staff members are by nature acute observers, and are notingthe same sorts of things as I am. They bring these issues into theclassroom whenever appropriate. And although everyone who isinterested in issues of global climate change, diminishingspecies, or world population has not gathered and decided toplan an Otis “response,” the subject often pops up during dis-cussions. It has been more intuitive and individual. Our firstresponsibility is to develop and graduate artists and designers,but we also have a responsibility to educate students as to thechallenges they will face as professionals. Concerns about sus-tainability on the planet will certainly be one of them.”

Senior Architecture/Landscape/Interiors Lecturer AnthonyGuida led the Woodcrest project in spring 2006. “I viewed the project as an opportunity to develop design skills with a ‘green’emphasis,” says Otis student Gary Garcia. “This project was realand it deserved a real look into the green philosophy. I felt thiswould be the perfect opportunity to inform myself, and that theproject would present me with a larger world, not only of designbut also of social views.”

Other students involved were Jesus Aguilar, Gary Garcia,Cindy Kogure, Kevin Lee, Myung Lee, Danny Phillips, KatrinaSilva and Deborah Taieb. These designers were presented with aspace that is currently little more than a paved and fortified out-door corridor where students assemble and wait for school tobegin or buses to depart. The challenge was to “greenify” it.

Daniel Phillips recalls that “We assessed the existing situationand took stock of the pressing concerns of the teachers andadministrators. We noted a number of specific issues we wantedto address with the proposed design—a need for seating, improvedtraffic flow at the gated entry, and a need for green space.”

After the assessment period, the students came up withmany different ideas to tackle the various challenges. GaryGarcia notes that “when the first design presentations tookplace, everyone presented an idea. My idea ignored the socialconditions of the school. As a result, my idea was ignored, andI’m glad it was. I had forgotten that site research is key to thesuccess of a project.

More and more Otis students are being exposed to environmentally-oriented partners outside the school though Integrated Learningprojects (see pg. 19 for a description of the Ballona Wetlands designproject). Foundation Chair Phillips estimates that 200 freshmenwere exposed to such partnerships last year.

Proposed site plan with hardscape and plantings

N O T E :

OTIS MONITOR

Livıng Design in Dar es Salaam

(PK) Dan, what was your main focus during your year in Dar esSalaam as a Fulbright scholar? (DF) My focus overseas was twofold. First, I was teaching at theUniversity of Dar es Salaam, so I had a distinct professorial focusthroughout the year. Teaching there is not like teaching at Otis, onany level. My second focus was a research project: “Aesthetics andInterface design for Tanzanian Youth and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic.” Isought out youth-focused community-based organizations, andNon-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and partnered with themto provide self-service, touch-screen, video-enabled interfaces forhealth and social welfare education, training, and outreach. I stud-ied how the interfaces were adopted and used by an audience withlittle history of, or experience with, participatory communication.These interfaces recorded video directly to the computer, and pre-sented the audience with a direct feed, so that all those whoapproached the display would instantly see themselves in a live-capture environment. (PK) It sounds like you stayed very close to the vision you sharedwith me about a year and a half ago, when we met in Venice andyou agreed to partner with my Interactive Typography class at Otis.Both your research project and your teaching last year catapultedyou into a much larger global context. It seems that both groups ofour students enjoyed this new immersion, too. How did your stu-dents respond to this project? (DF) The UDSM students greatly enjoyed the meetings. They weresuper-excited that an art school on the other side of the world was interested in them, in their works, in their lives. Many of thestudents had never even seen anything like what your class wasworking on before: interactive media, typographic exploration, and

narrative in a participatory concept that maps multiple perspec-tives. These processes are not part of the critical communicationsdialogue in Tanzania, or for that matter, large swaths of the world.Experiencing these processes directly, for the first time, andthrough the authors themselves (your students), was an excitingand challenging experience for the UDSM crowd. It inspired awhole new way of thinking about what the students were doingand some new ideas of approaching the world around them. (DF) What was it like for the students at Otis? Was there a sharedsense of discovery that the whole class was experiencing, or werethe interactions more individualistic and unique to the student?Traci, can you comment on this? (TL) The video conferencing/live chats we held over iChat duringour class sessions offered that sense of collective experience youmentioned. But the fact that we then chose individual areas offocus for our projects allowed us to have a personal connection. Igreatly appreciate you putting me in contact with the dance troupeMsewe Cultural Group. By chatting with them outside of class(and receiving a package of video tapes in the mail!) I was able tolearn more about music and dance in Tanzania, and then feed thatinformation back to the community through my final project. Danand Patty, what do you feel is the relevance of global learning in aliving design environment? (DF) We live in a Big Damn World (name for a project I am work-ing on). There is really no way to appreciate the scale of our worlduntil you experience it firsthand. It is precisely this experience —working in it, living in it and using design to try to improve whatwe can — that is perhaps the best learning of all. It’s “living learn-ing,” living design.

This creates whole new challenges for the designer. Living designasks: How can you, the designer, make your mark by makingmeaning? How can you add to the world? How can you improveit? I see this as a whole new frontier for design. The next-est, best-est designers, the ones capable of working in a global context, willcome from an expanded set of horizons, a deeper experientialfield. As educators, we need to accommodate a broader, global-ized context in students’ thinking, training, and doings. (PK) Otis and other schools are addressing this relevance withprograms like Integrated Learning. These projects explore a moreinterdisciplinary, experiential approach to learning in a broadercommunity context. They are platforms that support the develop-ment of the next generation of makers — those who need to gobeyond posing questions like “How can I make a good design?” to arrive at “How can I change the world through design?”

I feel that Otis should educate the students to estab-lish their voices at the beginning of their curriculum.The sooner you find your own being, the sooner youhave a chance to survive as an artist. Passion shouldbe your guide, not class assignments. This takesintense focus that demands philosophical, aesthetic,and conceptual creative processes.

Otis needs to offer inspiring educators who canencourage the students to explore and evolve their own voice atan early stage. Otis needs to help students express themselvescreatively. For this creative mission you need to focus on what youwant and where your passion leads you.

I was inspired by Shane Blackbourne’s wave sculpture (below).Conceptually and aesthetically, his work writhes. I wish I could seethe finished piece in driftwood.

Marjan Vayghan’s unique installation pieces also inspired metremendously. Her tiles and fish installation was a special treat.She integrated her cultural background as an Iranian (with fish thatmeant so much to her) in her work. She also mentioned that sheherself was moved to organize a peaceful exhibition called “TheBridge Exhibition,” between the United States and Iran. This showMarjan is organizing could be a very timely exhibition in terms ofthe current nuclear war threats. Marjan’s work and activity seem tohave edges where she speaks to people and shares her view of aglobal humanitarian relationship.

Eric Medine’s wall installation derived from the current digital world, and high-tech culture seems to reveal what we may come to see in the near future. Its unknown visual languagecontains a great deal about where our culture may evolve. It's avisionary work.

The seniors were articulate about their work. Some have unique

voices; others have strong concepts, but it seems they still have

a long way to go before they materialize their vocabularies.

I wished to see the students investigate aesthetic aspects as

well as conceptual aspects in art so that their expression would

benefit and their conceptual work would be brought to full

scale. If either one lacks, work suffers.

Masami Teraoka (’64, ’68 MFA) was invited to be the spring 2006 JenniferHoward Coleman Artist in Residence, a program supported by the SamuelGoldwyn Foundation. Returning to Otis almost four decades after gradua-tion, Teraoka presented his work to the public, explaining his passion forthe social and political issues in which he is engaged. He also displayed hisinquisitive and gentle manner, visiting fine arts students in their studiosand encouraging them to grow and challenge themselves. The commentsabove are excerpted from his email summary of the residency.

N O T E :

OTIS MONITOR

OMAG 16

Masami Teraoka: Passion is his Guide

17 OMAG

During the spring 2006 semester, students from the University of Dares Salaam (UDSM) and Otis College of Art and Design interacted via e-mail, iChats, message boards and video conferencing. This collaborationwas facilitated by Dan Frydman (a former Otis Communication Artsprofessor and Fulbright scholar), and Patricia Kovic (Otis CommunicationArts Associate Professor). Frydman’s Fulbright proposal involved aninvestigation of interface design and the AIDS epidemic in Tanzania, inorder to provide a human face to the faceless statistical tragedy of thisepidemic. UDSM students were asked to participate in this interactivemedia project.

N O T E :

The following email exchanges involve Dan Frydman (DF), Patty Kovic (PK) and Communication Arts senior Traci Larson (TL).

OTIS MONITOR

OMAG 18

The Allure of Otis College of Art and Design

As a graduate student at USC, I routinely found myself stop-ping off at the old Otis campus at MacArthur Park to visit withstudents I knew there, to check out shows in the gallery, or just to hang out and get caught up in the vibe that people whoknow Otis know it to have. The school’s Westchester campusstill has that feeling about it; you go there to see a show, andyou find yourself wanting to linger. And as I have both developeda broad familiarity with the Los Angeles art of my generation,and continued to observe the emergence of new artists, Ialways am reminded, though I’m never really surprised, of how many of the artists who interest me have come throughthis school. The “Otis: Nine Decades of L.A. Art” exhibition earlier this year at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Galleryreminded me yet again how important Otis has been to LosAngeles, and to me. With that exhibition’s view of past Otisstudents still in mind, I jumped at the chance to organize ashow of work by current Otis faculty. The promise of curatingfor me is the chance to get to know something better. Becauseof what I knew of people who currently teach at Otis, andbecause of how much I knew I didn’t know, this was an oppor-tunity I wasn’t going to pass up, and it’s been an opportunityI’m glad I took. I came to this project with no agenda in mindand no assumptions about what I would see—just a sparked

sense of curiosity, and an interest in presenting a sampling of the vast body of work presented to me by Otis faculty. My only regret is that the number of participants prevented mefrom showing more work by each. I don’t know what exactlythis show might say about this school, and frankly I am wary of the idea of a show that could sum up a school. If there is aconclusion I can draw from this exhibition, it is that the show’seclecticism, combined with the vitality and quality of the individual works within the show, is yet another expression of the allure Otis has had for me almost as long as art has.

Though I never studied at Otis, the school has been a key part in my fascination with Los

Angeles art since I was young. As a teenager falling in love with art, mainly as a result of

exposure to Los Angeles art of the 50s, 60s and 70s, I found that among those artists who

most inspired me were individuals who had studied or taught at Otis during its long history.

by Christopher Miles, Assistant Professor of Art Theory and CriticismCalifornia State University, Long Beach

“Omage,” an exhibition curated by Cristopher Miles, was presentedat Track 16 Gallery, Santa Monica, from July 15 – August 31. The 74faculty members who showed their work included painters, webdesigners, sculptors, performance artists, illustrators, graphic designers,photographers, installation artists, fashion designers, architects, videoartists, lighting designers, ceramic artists, and writers. The showclearly demonstrated the creative skills of a community of teachers.

N O T E :

It is low tide when we arrive at the overlook. Although the Ballona Wetlands are circled by

residential and commercial tracts, these coastal lands continue to react to the daily pull of

the moon. Watching as a Great White Heron took flight, the 18 students (participants in

the first phase of Otis’ new Integrated Learning curriculum) set to work, cameras and

sketch books in hand, to observe and record this dynamic natural habitat just a two-mile

drive north of the Goldsmith Campus.

Watching theGreat White Heronby Marcie Begleiter, Director of Integrated Learning

These wetlands are being restored, in part, by the Friends ofBallona, who acted as our hosts for the site visit. The students’visits to the site during the semester included a memorable trek onto government land with Brad Henderson. As a CaliforniaDepartment of Fish and Game biologist, Henderson was conversant with the extraordinary biological diversity of this area, which is ordinarily not accessible to the public. Onthese field trips, the students mapped the terrain and gathered additional materials for a variety of art and design projects that expanded their understanding of how their art and designeducation fits in with the world around them.

One of next year’s projects will expand Otis’ engagementwith environmental sustainability by committing to re-design the Friends of Ballona Restoration Center. A team of interdiscipli-nary juniors will study the site and propose ways to support the partner organization’s mission: to educate the public and preserve the wetlands. Proposals might include designs for a new structure to house equipment, new plant I.D. tags, and stylish docent uniforms.

The Friends are but one of the numerous community organi-zations that are partnering with Otis in this new and transformingcurricular initiative. Collaboratorations include the HyperionWater Treatment Plant, the largest plant of its kind west of theMississippi, and the L.A. River Project’s ambitious restorationprogram. In addition, students study the history of our localwatershed with a project that investigates Centinela Springs, the first fresh water source for the Native AmericanTongva/Gabrielinos, who once thrived in the Centinela Valley.

Archeologists, biologists, eco-historians and tribal eldershave spoken on campus as well as accompanied the students to partner sites, helping to reveal layers of meaning that are not available to the casual observer. The Foundation (first-year)class of 2005-06 was the first to participate in this new curriculum.From now on, every undergraduate will participate in threeIntegrated Learning projects, developing skills in research, project planning, teamwork, and the execution of professional-quality proposals.

Huber and Hutchings observed in their essay “IntegratedLearning: Mapping the Terrain” that “One of the great challengesin higher education is to foster students’ abilities to integratetheir learning across contexts and over time.” This thoughtreflects current educational pedagogy, and Otis addresses thischallenge and responds to current educational pedagogy by taking students out of the classroom and into fresh environmentsthat offer new context to their endeavors. Through the three-yearsequence, young artist/designers participate in a series of uniqueexperiences. Through repetition and comparison, the insights theygain become embedded in their developing practices.

Otis’ Integrated Learning program develops partnershipswith environmental, educational, arts-related and even commer-cial partners. Within the next few years, the program will have a discernable impact on the method and implementation of artseducation locally and beyond.

OTIS MONITOR

19 OMAG

ALUMNI AROUND THE WORLD

OMAG 20 21 OMAG

Life Beyond the Fifth Ring

Brian Wallace of Red Gate Gallery met me at the Beijing airport. “What a great day toarrive!” he exclaimed. The sun had warmed acold December day. As our taxi sped down thehighway, my first impression was of rows androws of bare trees painted white at the bottomthat sunk to the brown of the barren groundbeneath them.

Beijing is cold. The double red doors of my studio entrance had no clasps or locks, so I used an exactoblade container to close them. The wind blew through theopening. My studio boasted the ubiquitous cinder block wallsfound everywhere in China, a stove, phone, and washingmachine. I hung my rice paper drawings from the upstairs balcony to dry, showered early (before the hot water cut out,)and wore multiple layers until a weak, yellow sun heated mybedroom to 40 degrees.

The Red Gate studios in Fejia Cun are in a gated enclosureoff a long, narrow street that leads to Tong Da’s, a restaurantbuilt around ancient trees. Its massive interior resembles a jungle with large, round tables under hanging lamps on whichbean, eggplant, tofu dishes, and pots of tea are served on lazySusans. On the other side, the street becomes a dirt path thatpasses oil rigs and rice fields en route to vendors selling persimmons, baby carriages, anything in their open air stalls.“Tai guei la!” (too expensive!) opens all negotiations, which are conducted with mandatory impassiveness. I found this chal-lenging after meeting Yan, the calligrapher and framer, whoworks, eats, and sleeps in a single room without heat.

Beijing as a city is broad and expansive, like L.A. It takestime to get anywhere. The city has five ring roads and high-

ways; loads of cars often sit, clogged in traffic. You know youare in China when a Ming Dynasty fortress suddenly loomsfrom a cavalcade of office buildings. I usually traveled by taxiinto the city or rode my $24 bicycle alongside a mélange ofbuses, taxis, cars, bikes, and horses (with carts).

Before departing, it became essential to experience theGreat Wall. With a driver in a decrepit Volkswagen, nested withfriends beneath a workman’s coat (drab green, gold buttons,faux fur lining), I breakfasted on dried grapefruit during thetwo-and-a-half hour drive north. Our van ascended a mountain,and we eventually disembarked, crossed a moat, and paid asmall fee for admittance to the wall. The temperature plummet-ed below zero; we were alone. The wall rose 12 feet from theground, accommodating two visitors across at most. Its gradewas so steep in spots that climbing with both hands and feetwas necessary. We climbed for several hours. The mountainsrose around us while the sun moved over Beijing far below. Inthe silence, rocks slipped beneath my feet and the shadowslengthened. I suddenly realized that Chinese painting traditionswere based on this experience. On the descent, I saw how spa-tial intervals and compositional devices in scrolls echo a day inthe mountains. Returning to the cold of my studio, I begancomposing “Life Beyond the Fifth Ring” from ink paintings,words, and postcard images cut out and presented on a wall totell the story of my passage through Beijing.

Elizabeth Condon (Fine Arts, ’86) spent December, 2005, in Beijing at theRed Gate International Artist Residency Program. Life Beyond the Fifth Ring(11 x 21 in), composed of postcards and painting on rice paper, represents a contemporary version of fresco painting.

N O T E :

“Rethinking Nordic Colonialism: APostcolonial Exhibition Project in Five Acts”set out to shed light on a largely forgotten,repressed, or romanticized history of colonial-ism in the Nordic region. We hoped not onlyto explain why this past has been forgotten insome parts of the region, but also to showhow this history continues to structure Nordicsocieties today, and how our contemporaryproblems of intolerance, xenophobia, sexism,homophobia, and nationalism have their rootsin this history. Furthermore, we wanted toengage the alternative modernities that haveemerged as more subversive legacies of colo-nialism and postcolonial healing in the regionand beyond.

We are now more than halfway through,and the project has been a great success sofar. There is of course no singular “diagnosis”of the region and its postcolonial state.However, there does seem to be an immenseneed for rethinking in the entire region inorder to deal with a series of unfinished busi-nesses and particular problems. We need newfora and alternative ways of speaking aboutthe issues that hurt. We need reconciliation,and we need to keep complicating the post-colonial, as it harbors many phobic inequali-ties yet to be addressed.

With its global participation, the projecthas been able to untie psycho-social “knots”by showing that Nordic colonialism is part of a larger fabric, and that there are legions of people who are going through the sameprocesses of self-determination, healing, and reconciliation. Furthermore, staging therethinking of the intersection between art and discourse, and art and politics has provenfruitful, as people have been fed up with upwith prevailing ways of talking about the past.The field has been dominated by localRealpolitik, which has seemed circular inas-much as it has served to reproduce privilegefor some, but not all people locally andregionally. In this respect, “Rethinking NordicColonialism” has resonated especially wellwith younger generations. (continued) 3

Nordic AmnesiaAn Introduction to RethinkingNordic Colonialism

I was invited earlier in the year to visit the area and select possible

sites, and ended up working with an indoor space—(the original

Turkish baths)—and an outdoor space (a large tree in front of one

of my favorite buildings in the world: The Byzantine Church of

St. Dimitris Loumbardiardis, which was transformed by architect

Dimitris Pikionis in the mid-1950s). Both works were inspired by

my initial contact with these spaces, and both were modular; sound

composition and sculptural units were prepared off-site, and overall

form was determined and built on-site. In both works, the sound

was composed using elements related to the sites and their histories,

and was quietly added to the existing audio landscapes. My wife,

Sari, also an Otis alum, participated in all the wiring and constructing.

Sound for the GrandPromenade, Athens

Alumnus Steve Roden (Fine Arts, ’86)was invited to create a site-specificsound installation at the Turkish Baths inAthens for “The Grand Promenade,” anexhibition from July 17-September 29,2006. Curated by Anna Kafetsi, the exhi-bition is the first of two large-scale inter-

national exhibitions organized by the National Museum ofContemporary Art. Amish Kapoor, Jannis Kounellis,Wolfgang Laib, Julie Mehretu, Rachel Whiteread, andThomas Hirschhorn are among the 44 artists from around theworld who displayed recent works or in situ commissions.The Grand Promenade of the Unification of ArchaeologicalSites refers to a large urban intervention around theAcropolis, completed for the 2004 Olympics, that creates an“open” museum.

When I graduated Otis in 1993, these are justa few of the things that I simply couldn’t haveimagined: a devastating attack on our shoresthat would level the World Trade Center, theInternet as a pervasive delivery vehicle forinformation of all kinds, and my name on thedoor, above the title ‘Design Director,’ at TheNew York Times.

These particular circumstances all came to a head on the recent fifth anniversary of theattacks of September 11th, 2001. Five yearshad snuck up on all of us quite suddenly, andas the creative authority at NYTimes.com, Ipersonally wanted to make sure that our teammade its own humble contribution to markthe day.

When one of the designers in my groupsuggested that he invest extra hours over theweekend preceding the anniversary to preparespecial presentations on the NYTimes.comhome page, I wholeheartedly agreed.

Times reporters and editors had prepareda slate of truly superb journalistic pieces topay tribute to the occasion, and we felt itwould be a disservice to publish them usingjust the Web site’s standard toolbox of layouts.Like many online publications, NYTimes.comis published using a series of highly articulatedbut nevertheless regimented templates. Eachtemplate provides a different set of displayoptions for news; they’re all capable of a certain amount of latitude, but none of themseemed to be appropriate for the articlesbeing prepared.

So, working together, our designer and the home page editor crafted a series of customizations—new CSS rules and XHTMLmarkup—to the top portion of the home page; these were unique designs that we hadn’t used before. They started appearing at NYTimes.com on Sunday evening, rollingout the pre-planned September 11th articlesalongside breaking news coverage.

I didn’t have a direct hand in designingthese, but they still make me feel very proudof the work we’ve done at the Web site since I arrived at the beginning of this year. Thoughthese custom designs look modest by comparison to the way the newspaper’s own

talented art directors are able to design thesame content—which is to say, the range ofexpression on the site is somewhat modest in contrast to what’s possible in print—thiswork still represents, for me, a nontrivialadvancement in the kind of design we practiceat NYTimes.com.

When I try to explain what it is exactly thatwe do in our design group, the point I reallytry to bring home is that we focus on design-ing the NYTimes.com platform, rather than onart directing the NYTimes.com content. Thereis so much demand for designers’ skills andsmarts to be applied to complex new featuresand functionality throughout the site thatwe’re consistently preoccupied with develop-ing new sections.

This work largely consists of developingdesign templates into which our editors andproducers pour new content; rarely do we getto design in a way that responds directly to a specific piece of content. This is a function,as I said, of the design needs for our ever-expanding platform; but it’s also a function ofthe state of Web design today. We simplydon’t yet have the tools or the business modelto support art direction.

That’s why it’s so satisfying to see worklike this done, to see the Web site—if only justfor twenty-four hours—start to reflect thenature of the content it’s presenting in a veryspecific manner. It took a bit of extra effortand it’s not without its own difficulties, but foran event like this fifth anniversary, it seemedworth it.

from Khoi Vinh's blog at www.subtraction.com

The once-colonizing countries can be saidto be compensating for the loss of empire andthe melancholia resulting from this largelyunconscious loss with the self-projection ofprogressive social democracy. This image,however, does not sit well with the hard factsof our colonial past. On the other hand, theonce-colonized countries can be said to respondto feelings of shame, guilt, inferiority andparalysis with nationalistic sentiments and thedesire to live up to the success of dominantWestern values. In this manner, they reproducestructures of inequality by uncritically adoptinga Scandinavian modus operandi when substi-tuting the colonizers for local administratorsand policy makers without critically question-ing the system as such.

The project’s many postcolonial voices willreach the past colonizers of the Nordic regionand become audible to their present popula-tions—and to the world at large through theDVD release.

OMAG 22 23 OMAG

ALUMNI AROUND THE WORLD

“Rethinking Nordic Colonialism: A Postcolonial ExhibitionProject in Five Acts” was curated by Frederikke Hansen & Tone Olaf Nielsen. After opening at the Living ArtMuseum, Reykjavik, Iceland, it was shown at theGreenland National Museum; Faroe Islands Art Museum;and VRn Veturitalli, Rovaniemi, Finland. At the end ofNovember, the DVD boxed set documenting the exhibi-tions, discussions, and activities generated during theproject was launched in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo, andStockholm. Nielsen and Hansen founded their curatorialpractice Kuratorisk Aktion in spring 2005. They see curat-ing as a political-critical act, and devise exhibitions thatcriticize the present order and propose alternatives. Theirmission is rooted in social change, public service, andcommunity mobilization.

Kuratorisk Aktion (Frederikke Hansen & Tone Olaf Nielsen (FineArts, ’98)) during the opening of Rethinking Nordic Colonialism’sAct 3 in The Faroe Islands Art Museum, Tórshavn, May 12, 2006.Photo: ©Allan Broekie.

Marking a Solemn Anniversary

Khoi Vinh (Communication Arts, ’93) is the art directorfor NYTimes.com, the industry-leading news site. He was born in Saigon, Viet Nam, and immigrated to theUnited States with his family in 1975. He grew up inGaithersburg, Maryland, and headed west to attend Otis.Focusing initially on illustration, he decided to pursuegraphic design by his senior year. He worked as a printdesigner before moving to New York City in 1998, anddedicated himself to interactive media design. Khoi was a founding partner at the groundbreaking design studioBehavior LLC, where he worked with such clients as The Onion, ResortQuest, Smithsonian, and HBO. Afterfour successful years, he became the Design Director ofNYTimes.com. He serves on the board of directors forthe New York chapter of AIGA.

(continued from pg 21)

Excerpted from the essay for the exhibition “From theIsland of Misfit Toys,” Ben Maltz Gallery, February 10 –April 15, 2006. Participating artists included ElizabethBerdann (blu), Deborah Brown, Nathan Cabrera, JonathanCallan, Jeroen deVries, Dan Goodsell, Kelly Heaton, WalterMartin & Paloma Munoz, Anne Walsh, and 8 Bit Weapon.

The title “From the Island of Misfit Toys” is taken fromthe 1964 stop-action classic Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer.The exhibition featured the work of eleven artists whomanipulate toys to create sculpture, video, performance,and music that push the conceptual boundaries of theseseemingly benign “toys” in every direction. It was a showabout exaggeration, customization, and consumption;about inserting the “hand” back into the manufactured.It reinvests the mass-produced cliché with individualpotential and imagination.

The seeds for this exhibition were planted when I firstsaw Jonathan Callan’s sculptures in the wall-work Empires(at right). Taking 200 McDonalds “premiums” (usuallylicensed by Disney), Callan ripped out their stuffing andinjected them with white or black silicon caulking. Theoriginal objects, designed to entice children to plead withtheir parents for a Happy Meal, have been turned insideout, filled beyond their capacity into repellant, gluttonoussymbols of corporate manipulation of our youth’s con-sumer appetites.

**** Many other projects began percolating in my head,

combined with the knowledge that only three toy designprograms exist in this country; Otis being the acknowledgedleader in the field. Dozens of shows have been done in Los Angeles over the years with artists who work with or are inspired by toys, like Mike Kelley, Kim Dingle, PaulMcCarthy, Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, DavidLevinthal, the Yes Men, and Rubén Ortiz Torres. My intentwith this “toy” exhibition was to bring together a relativelysmall group of artists who are crisscrossing the boundariesof their disciplines, media, and markets. “From the Islandof Misfit Toys” is a nod to the interdisciplinary nature of

Otis, and to all artists who have felt like misfits, as well as a chance to show humorous, imaginative and provocativeartwork that inspires a sense of wonder and perplexity.

200 Happy MealsMake a Misfit Diet

President Hoi announced the appointments of three new leaders indesign departments. “These new leaders bring to Otis a profoundunderstanding of design education and administrative expertise,” saysHoi, “as well as uncommonly rich perspectives as designers in theworlds of academia and professional practice.”

Kali Nikitas, new Chair of the Communication ArtsDepartment, brings dynamic energy and vision to theprogram. Previously Chair of the Department of VisualArts at Northeastern University in Boston, Ms. Nikitaswas also Chair of the Design Department atMinneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) for six

years, and professor of visual communications at the School of the ArtInstitute of Chicago from 1991-1997. Nikitas holds an MFA in GraphicDesign from the California Institute of the Arts, and a BA in GraphicDesign with a minor in English Literature from the University ofIllinois at Chicago. In addition to her academic roles, she founded herown design firm, is a fellow of the Design Institute in Minneapolis, andChief Editor of LOOP: AIGA’s Experiment in Design Education Website. She frequently curates exhibitions and writes about design.

Deborah Ryan, new Chair of Otis’ nationally recognizedToy Design Department, has served as a faculty membersince 2001. Ms. Ryan holds a BS in Design from theCollege of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning atthe University of Cincinnati. A 20-year veteran of the toy industry, Ms. Ryan was Senior Project Designer for

Mattel Toys for more than a decade, and held key creative positions at Applause, Inc.; The Walt Disney Company; and Aurora World, Inc.Ryan’s experience encompasses design and development, licensedproducts, apparel, collector and fashion dolls, feature plush, novelties,and gifts. Her educational objectives include enhancing the role of tech-nology and electronics, and expanding community outreach.

David Fletcher has been appointed to the newly estab-lished position of Assistant Chair in the Department ofArchitecture/Landscape/Interiors (A/L/I). Mr. Fletcherwill assist current Chair Linda Pollari in the manage-ment of this expanding program. An urban andlandscape designer, he holds a Master of Landscape

Architecture degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, anda BA in Sculpture and Public Art and BS in Landscape Architecturefrom the University of California at Davis. Fletcher is project managerwith Mia Lehrer + Associates for the Los Angeles River RevitalizationMaster Plan, and principal of his own firm, Blue Room Collaborative.

by Meg Linton, Director of the Ben Maltz Gallery and Curator of the Exhibition

COLLEGE NEWS

OMAG 24 25 OMAG

New Leaders in Design

Three Legged Legs and Exopolis Win Digital Awards Otis graduates and students once again dominated the annualBroadcast Designers of America/Promax awards ceremony in New York.

Brien Holman (’03) won the Rocket Award for the best newtalent (for five or less years in the business). His company, Exopolis(www.exopolis.com), won a Gold award for a Nickelodeon campaign.This fall, he created the animation and effects for the iPod TV spot,co-directed with Mark Romanek, and produced in collaboration withTBWA/Chiat/Day (at right).

Other winners were the team of Three Legged Legs (Reza Rasoli,Greg Gunn, and Diffan Norman, all ’06), who won Best StudentWork for their animation “Let’s Be Friends.” In the World category,the Gold award went to Three Legged Legs, the Silver went tostudents Casey Hunt, Brandon Martynowicz and Chin Ko for“Ricochet,” and the Bronze to Diffan Norman for his senior reel.

In addition, Three Legged Legs (now comprised of Greg Gunn,Casey Hunt, and Reza Rasoli) won First Prize in animation and Bestof 2006 at the Global Student Animation Awards, hosted by Stashmagazine. Their 60-second animation, “Humans,” (below) is a publicservice announcement on global awareness. In the VFZ (visual specialeffects) category, two of the four runners-up were Otis students:Chin Ko and Garrett Norlin. These winners were selected fromamong hundreds of entries by an international panel of 16 judgesfrom all parts of the animation, VFX, and motion design industry.

Mr Toast, created by Dan Goodsell

POSTSCRIPT:After an exhibition like “From the Island of Misfit Toys,” I alwaysask what I learned from this project. My lingering realization is how dependent the toy industry is on plastics. I knew this, butit was brought to conscious articulation when Nathan Cabreraarrived with his life-sized sculpture The Cost of Fun is Going Up.With gas prices fluctuating so drastically, sustainability is the keyissue these days, and Cabrera’s work has raised many questionsfor me: What will take the place of plastics in all industries? How are our lifestyles going to change and when? How shouldwe change our lifestyles now? Which Sci-Fi movie is our fate:Mad Max, Star Wars or Tank Girl?Otis, as an institution, has been asking lots of questions aboutsustainability and responsibility. Our faculty has been urging ouryoung designers and artists to use their creativity, skill, and visionto rethink the world they are inheriting. As much as it is a time of worry about our global predicament, it is also an opportunity togo beyond our wildest imaginations to find achievable solutions.

The world is changing. Over 10 million people currently spendmore than 25 hours per week in synthetic worlds, at inhabitable onlinespaces like MMORPGs (Massively Multi-player Online Role-PlayingGames). The number of synthetic worlds is doubling every two years,and by 2030 the population of synthetic worlds is expected to reach100 million people.

Education is changing to adapt to this by inventing new ways of learning and communicating. College students, at home in the digital world, are comfortable both finding information for themselvesand creating individualized text, images, audio, and video.

One of Otis’ technology initiatives, developed by the newTechnology Learning Center funded by a grant from the Fletcher JonesFoundation, is iTunes U. Apple selected Otis to be among the first experimenters with this feature, which allows professors to createaudio and video podcasts. Over the summer, several members ofthe Liberal Arts and Sciences faculty created more than 50 podcasts with subjects that range from basic concepts of visual culture tothe depiction of the Virgin Mary in folk art. A recent addition is atime-lapse movie of the installation of Joan Tanner’s “On Tenderhooks”exhibition at the Ben Maltz Gallery.

Students use the podcasts 24/7 via laptop, iPod, MP3 player, orstationary computer. They listen, review, replay and practice, carryingtheir classroom experiences with them wherever they go.

What is iTunes U?

COLLEGE NEWS

class

lecture

MENU

notes

OMAG 26

Moving BetweenThe LinesHonorary degree recipient Bill Viola addressed 242 graduates at the 2006Commencement. “Those who move between the lines control the board,” headvised, exhorting the graduates to make their own places in the world. The Collegehonored Viola, a visionary contemporary artist who works in video, sound, music,and performance art, for work that “excites the eye, challenges the imagination, andenriches the spirit.” Kira Perov, his wife and creative collaborator, was recognized forher accomplishments as curator and photographer.

Two days earlier, over 400 recruiters from firms such as Electronic Arts, Hasbro,Fox Sports, Imaginary Forces, Disney, MGA, Sony, Ogilvy & Mather, SkidmoreOwings & Merrill, Dreamworks, Nickelodeon, Condé Nast, Liz Claiborne, Microsoft,and Abercrombie & Fitch attended the year-end Career Night. More than 3,500 visi-tors viewed the Class of 2006 exhibitions.

The graduates embarked on a variety of career paths. Employers include LucasFilms; Apple iTunes; fashion designers Rozae Nichols, Isabel Toledo, and JohnVarvatos; and companies such as Mattel, Target and Warnaco. Others are pursuinggraduate degrees at UCLA in architecture and art.

The Otis Speaks spring ’06 events includedwriter/philosopher/polemicist Bernard-HenriLévy (BHL) in conversation with impresario/instigator/provocateur Paul Holdengräber. One ofFrance’s leading philosophers, BHL retraced thefootsteps of Alexis de Tocqueville in his controver-sial book American Vertigo. He and guest moderatorHoldengräber discussed prisons and mega-churches,high rises and military facilities, brothels and malls,Hillary Clinton, George Soros, and Sharon Stone.

Other events were lectures and demonstrationsby several of the artists featured in the Ben MaltzGallery exhibition “The Island of Misfit Toys (see pg. 24), and a lecture by Distinguished GuestProfessor/Curator in Residence Dave Hickey onthe exhibition “Step into Liquid,” which he curatedat Otis’ Maltz Gallery.

Other prominent speakers at the College during spring ’06 included artists Laura Owens,Francesca Gabbiani, Guerrilla Girls, JenniferBornstein, and Sandeep Mukherjee (’96) whospoke to graduate fine arts students; and film-maker Morgan Fisher, new Hammer MuseumCurator Gary Garrels, Jewish lesbian folksinger/performance artist phranc, and contemporaryart writer Linda Weintraub, who spoke to under-graduate fine arts students.

Graduate Writing presented readings bybest-selling author Christopher Rice and poetAmy Gerstler, and hosted a publication partyfor Norman Klein's Otis Books/SeismicityEditions publication, Freud in Coney Island andOther Tales.

Architecture/Landscape/Interiors hosted land-scape architect Mia Lehrer and architect MatthiasSauerbruch, who discussed their pioneering workwith issues of environmental sustainability.

27 OMAG

Honorary Degree Recipient Bill Viola Class of 2006 members

Wanda Weller (’88), mentor for Patagonia, with 2005award-winner Kirk Heifner

Co

mm

en

cem

en

t ’0

6

What Did a Frenchman Tell usAbout America?