All the News That is Fit to Blog

Khoi Vinh ('93), the design director for NYTimes.com, gave an eloquent address to Otis' graduating class of 2007 on May 12th.

In his remarks Khoi extolled the virtues of failure to the students, imploring them to "...FAIL early and often. Don’t waste any time — get out there TODAY and start failing..." there was a clear bit of tongue-in-cheek in that recommendation but he also encouraged them to "Start doing WHAT YOU WANT TO DO now, and be willing to lose at it as much as you want it to succeed. Let your dreams get BEATEN and KICKED AROUND a little, let them leave the cozy confines of your imaginations and live in the REAL WORLD, so that they can realize their full potential."

I appreciated his very personal approach to the entire address, the contents of which he posted on his personal blog Subtraction. Read the whole thing, it's worth it.

Red Got Inside Their Heads

In announcing why they picked Otis senior Jesse Kersey's entry as the winner for the 2007 Heineken USA/AAF Public Service Advertising Competition contest, the judges felt that her project was most effective in addressing all of the contest parameters-

This year, students were tasked with communicating the importance of not getting into a car with someone who has been drinking. Their campaign submissions were required to feature creative executions in media that speak to the post-graduation audience -- print, radio and Internet advertising.

Using a combination of traditional word games, puzzles and accompanying radio spots, Jesse's campaign would give people an opportunity to test their skills and therefore, their ability or their friend's to drive.

In addition to a $3000 cash prize, Jesse was flown to Heineken's US headquarters where she and the second place winner met with company officials and pitched their campaigns for possible use in the Enjoy Heineken Responsibly program.

Among the honorable mention winners was one of Jesse's classmates- Arlene Fontanilla.

Oh, and why the title Red...? If you've ever had a chance to meet Jesse, you'll understand.

This Dr is Up in Smoke

That would be Dr. Cheech Marin. He was honored at Otis' commencement ceremonies on May 12th with an honorary doctorate.

While many known him only as half of the famous duo of inhalers in all the Cheech and Chong movies, Dr. Marin has also been amassing a very strong collection of Chicano art, including work by several Otis alums including Eloy Torrez and Patssi Valdez. In a recent Los Angeles Times article Agustin Gurza identified him as "...the nation's leading advocate for Chicano art." In the same story he was lauded for his donation of prints to several museums and universities.

Otis Sophomore in Great Demand

Charlie Edmiston is just finishing his second year at Otis and it looks like the Fine Arts major won't be wondering what to do with his summer. Thanks to his mural work at Paliskates, he has been approached by several other business owners to create original pieces for their stores. Today's edition of the Palisadian-Post has a feature on his work at the skate shop, where he has been a member of the skate team since he was a student at Palisades High School.

In describing the variety of media he uses in his work Charlie said "You don't have to follow any rules for art,' 'You find a medium that you're comfortable with." He further describes his recent projects- "...I have been working on mixed media, which includes tempera, spray paint and cel vinyl, a medium that cartoonists use for cartoon cels."

The article is also a nice endorsement of Otis' Foundation year program and the College's admission process.

Second to One

Just one design team finished ahead of Otis' pairing of Matthew Gilio-Tenan and Eunice Yoon in the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Interior Architecture Committee's 15th annual Student Competition. Gilio-Tenan and Yoon took second place, winning $6000 in scholarship money according to a story in the Orange County Register.

They competed against students from Art Center, Sci-Arc, Woodbury University and the winning team from Cal State Long Beach. In addition to the scholarships, all the winning teams will be honored at the association's annual gala this September.