Get Your Kicks on Route 66
That old highway’s a-callin' this month as ArtCenter Film Chair Joe Petricca curates On Route 66, a free film series at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena that celebrates 100 years of the famous thoroughfare. Petricca will be on hand to introduce each of the four films—Easy Rider (pictured above) on 8/1, Hollywood or Bust on 8/8, The Grapes of Wrath on 8/15, and Cars on 8/22—that present a range of journeys, from a grueling migration to radical soul searching, along the famous stretch between Los Angeles and Chicago. Each film features or takes inspiration from the California section of Route 66, one of the original highways in the U.S. and “the main street of America.”
|
|
Look to the Sky
Coyotes, tortoises and burros roam among angels, cowgirls and flying saucers in Celestial Road Trip, an exhibition of works by alum and former faculty Esther Pearl Watson (BFA 95), currently on view at Vielmetter Los Angeles (through 8/21). Watson relocated to Joshua Tree in 2025, and many of the new paintings and works on paper in the exhibition feature the region’s flora and fauna. The works also explore Watson’s journey with her late father, whom she cared for and corresponded with until his final days. Featuring visuals “situated somewhere between recollection and fantasy,” Watson blends the desert landscape with “imagery gathered from her father’s prolific visions and vast trove of writings about UFOs and angels.”
|
|
Short and Sweet
Congratulations to directors and recent Entertainment Design graduates Sooyeon Bae (BS 25) and Taylor Kim (BS 25), whose animation capstone projects were selected to screen as part of LA Shorts, the longest-running short film festival in Los Angeles. In Bae’s Dokkaebi, a young Korean goblin (dokkaebi) must care for a baby to prove himself worthy of becoming a guardian spirit. In Kim’s Flight of Atlas, two friends grow close and build a set of wings for each other but, due to clashing beliefs, their relationship turns toxic. The films screen on Tuesday, August 4 at 1 p.m. at Laemmle NoHo 7 in North Hollywood.
|
|
ArtCenter Heads to Monterey Car Week
ArtCenter is once again making its mark at Monterey Car Week, the world-renowned celebration of automotive excellence. Alumni are invited to attend the College’s annual reception on Saturday, August 15 at 5 p.m. in the Asilomar Seascape Dining Room for drinks, appetizers and an opportunity to connect with President Karen Hofmann (BS 97), Transportation Design Chair Marek Djordjevic (BS 91), Associate Chair Alan Macey (BS 06), Professor Leon Paz (BS 06) and others! Not an alum? Keep an eye out for ArtCenter at several events throughout the week, including The Quail (8/14), Exotics on Broadway (8/15) and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (8/16).
|
|
Students Win Prestigious Award
Congratulations to Spatial Experience Design students Sophie Metzger and Mary Nersesyan, who have been selected as recipients of this year's Donghia Foundation Scholarship, each receiving a $30,000 award. Metzger was recognized for her project Oya, an oyster bar concept shaped by the anatomy of an oyster. Nersesyan was recognized for her mocktail bar concept Nectar, an ikebana space inspired by the aromas and colors of nature. Both projects were created as part of the Materials Advanced course in the Spatial Experience Design program. “Sophie and Mary have demonstrated outstanding commitment to their work, and I am very happy to see their talent recognized with this award,” said Stella Hernandez (BS 11), co-chair of Industrial and Spatial Experience Design.
|
|
Go Doorless
Co-founded by alum and former Apple designer Julien Hoenig (BS 02), Amble is a Portugal-based EV startup that recently announced the Amble One, a doorless, street-legal buggy it hopes will become a lightweight alternative to cars for school drop-offs, neighborhood errands and everyday travel in small communities. With a top speed of 65 km/h and range of 100 km, the $25,000 vehicle is now available to reserve with a $100 deposit and is expected to deliver in 2028. “We believe that for the past 40 years, there hasn't been a vehicle that has served this short-range mobility," Hoenig told Dezeen. "What we're doing today is building this platform as a first step in that direction.”
|
|
Play Ball
Industrial Design alum Dan Winger (MS 09) spent nearly 18 years at LEGO, where, as part of the company’s innovation team, he fused traditional brick building with digital technology for toy lines like LEGO Pokémon and Hidden Side. “After two decades of designing the future of play, I’m now reimagining its past,” says Winger, who left LEGO last year to launch Unplugged Arcade, a collection of handcrafted tabletop sports games built for bars, social venues and living rooms. The company’s first game, Baseball Shuffle, a “dice-flicking mashup of baseball and shuffleboard," recently sold its first 50 units. “It’s taken off quickly and I’m scrambling to scale much quicker than I originally intended,” says Winger. “A good problem to have.”
|
|
Monthly Prompt
Send us an example of work created during a time of change.
Submit Here
|
|
|
Thanks for reading!
Now, send this Prompt on to a fellow creative and keep the spirit alive.
Click to Share
|
|
|
|
|
