Now You See Her

Zeal, one of our graduate Fine Arts students made a brief appearance on the KNBC show "Your LA." She was participating in a group show at 626 Gallery and Wine Bar and the program highlighted the gallery as a place to check out in downtown.

Them's Fightin' Words

At least that is what the Los Angeles Times would have you believe in their April 15th edition of the "Image" section. In what was clearly an attempt to create a rivalry that doesn't exist, the article "Ready to School You" pits the Fashion Design program at Otis against that of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising or FIDM as it is commonly known.

To their credit neither Rosemary Brantley, our Fashion chair, or Tonian Hohberg, founder and president of FIDM took the bait. In response to the reporter's question about a rivalry, Ms. Hohberg commented "There isn't a rivalry." Rose was even more succinct offering a simple and declarative "No."

While both schools offer education in Fashion and yes, both schools have had multiple contestants on Project Runway, their missions are appropriately different and the two co-exist quite peacefully.

FIDM seeks to place its students into the Fashion industry with a specific skill set and in a short amount of time. Their students complete one of the institute's associate degree programs and then head into entry level positions. Many also transfer to Otis to enroll in our Fashion program and earn their BFA. As a proprietary entity, FIDM has resources that I wish we had including additional funding for marketing and infrastructure. They also have the pressure that comes with being in the business of making a profit.

As a non-profit professional school of art and design, Otis does not share that burden. We routinely place our Fashion graduates as assistant designers with all the major labels and they regularly win, in fact sometimes sweep, major industry based scholarship competitions such like the ones sponsored by Council of Fashion Designers of America. When I talk with parents and prospective students about our program I say it is one of the very best in the world. Simple, straight-forward and true.

Los Angeles is fortunate to have two significant Fashion programs. There is no quarrel, no feud and no rivalry because there is no need for one.

One Man- One Great Show

Done Suggs: One Man Group Show opened to a large and appreciative crowd on April 14th in Otis' Ben Maltz Gallery and it's receiving strong reviews.

In his Los Angeles Times piece, David Pagel said "At a time when the sheer volume of information available seems to swamp the individual's capacity to synthesize and discriminate — to think — 'One Man Group Show' stands out. It is a testament to open-minded curiosity and patient deliberation, to the value of individual activity in the face of all sorts of collective chicanery." He also seems to encourage multiple visits to the exhibition- "The complexity of Suggs' art makes an adventure of every visit, fueling one's sense of discovery and inviting further exploration. Every time you turn your head, there is something new to see...far from the streamlined, prepackaged experiences mainstream culture serves up."

Holly Myers of the LA Weekly reports that Suggs is "...all over the place- in a good way." She conducted a four hour interview with the artist in his Atwater Village studio, talking about his show at Otis, the upcoming solo show at LA Louver and his more than 30 years of teaching at UCLA and other universities- "Don Suggs has the verbal ease and subtle theatricality of one who’s accustomed to standing in front of a classroom." The article does a nice job of bridging the two shows- "Between the vertiginous bull’s-eye pattern, the delectable color, and the seductive sensuality of the oil paint (most modern concentric-circle paintings, Suggs is clear to point out, are acrylic), not looking is almost not an option with these paintings — or with most of the work in these two indefatigable 'group shows.' Looking, however, is only the beginning." -and providing us with a bit of Suggs' back story. A real treat since the artist has traditionally not been particularly enthusiastic about discussing his career.

Co-curated by the Weekly's art critic and Otis' Meg Linton, Doug Harvey, "One Man Group Show" runs through June 23rd. Sugg's show at LA Louver "Concentric" opens May 19th.

Confounding the Conventional Exhibition

In his review in the May edition of Artillery magazine about the just closed Cindy Smith exhibition at Otis' Ben Maltz Gallery, Tucker Neal states that the showed worked because it was "powerful specifically because it confounds traditional essentialist exhibition tendencies." In his praise of Cindy's efforts he cites "Smith embraces this idea, takes it to a place where events, both real and imagined, exist on a similar playing field and in doing so encourages her viewers to question the entire notion of an archive..."

I think Cindy's project joins others such as The Museum of Jurassic Techonogly and Bill Burns' Safety Gear Museum for Small Animals in using a tongue in cheek approach to blurring the line between authentic and imagined. It will be interesting to see what follows next in this vein of art that does not rely on April Fools day to have a bit of fun with us.

Cindy Smith's "Moral Museum: Selections from the Bick Archive" was on display at Otis January 20 to March 31, 2007. A summary of the show is archived on the Ben Maltz website and a brochure is available from the Gallery.

Jux the Facts for Suggs

May's edition of Juxtapoz Magazine includes a plug in the Events section (pg 130) for the Don Suggs exhibition in Otis' Ben Maltz Gallery (opens this Saturday 04-14-07). Somewhere between a "go see this" calendar listing and a reprinting of a press release , it includes a single photo and a brief description of the show.

The exhibition is also listed in the calender section of the magazine's website, offering an enhanced description and complete contact information.

Rose Buzz

Rosemary Brantley- Tastemaker. That has a nice ring to it. As the founding chair of Otis' Fashion Design program, Rose has shepherded over a 1000 students through the program and into some of the most well known design houses in America (Anne Klein, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Eduardo Lucero ('87), John Varvatos to name a few).

Los Angeles Magazine has taken note, featuring Rose in the April issue (pg 72), noting her ability to continue to draw the biggest names and brands in Fashion to the College: "Brantley wrangles top designers (Isabel Toledo, Francisco Costa, Vera Wang) to guide students..." There is also a reference to the Scholarship Benefit Show, to be held this year on May 5th at the Beverly Hilton. The event features the best work by Otis' juniors and seniors and regularly raises over a million dollars for student scholarships.

Slacker? Maybe Fool? Definately Not

In Flavorpill's plug for the upcoming April Fool's day reception for Otis faculty member and interim chair of Fine Arts Scott Grieger's show at Patricia Faure Gallery, the artist is good naturedly labeled an "old school slacker..."

The event- 2 to 4PM, which is being co-sponsored by Otis celebrates this show's 30 year retrospective of Scott's work.

In describing Scott's work in the show, Flavorpill editor Shana Nys Dambrot cites "His ceaseless connoisseurship of ready-made images and unintended compositions...has produced a litany of paintings and mixed-media works...the cheekiest of which are on view..."

So whether you think he is a bit cheeky or a slacker, come out to Bergamot on Sunday and see for yourself why Flavorpill encouraged you to do so.

The Omnidisciplinary Artist and the Omnivorous Collectors

Jennifer Vanderpool is a multidiciplinary artist. Sirje and Michael Gold are Los Angeles based collectors. Both the Golds and Jennifer are profiled in the March edition of art ltd.

The magazine's artist profile of Jennifer describes her work saying "...in her own wacky way, she seems almost omnidisciplinary." In addition to a nice review of her recent show at Bandini Art, the piece gives the reader a brief history lesson on her work and a partial listing of upcoming shows including a summer installation at the Riverside Art Museum, which Jennifer suggests might look like "...a confectionary shop." "an explosive, overwhelming confectionary shop." Oh and she teaches at Otis.

Speaking of overwhelming, I felt just a bit so after finishing the piece on the Golds. Writer George Melrod describes his long association with the couple and does a very nice job of highlighting their extensive and quite varied collection that includes pieces by Otis alum Steve Roden and Otis faculty member Maura Bendett among others.

Art is Much More than a Game

This art is for sure...

MTV announced on its website that Otis' Ben Maltz Gallery will host "The Sims: In the Hands of the Artist," an exhibition of that brings together characters from "The Sims" and the art of our students. Presented in conjunction with Electronic Arts, the makers of the Sims, the show will be on display this summer from July 11 to August 14. Works will include original machinima films, virtual fashion and other mashups of art and the simulation game world. In addition to Otis, exhibitions will be mounted at Parsons in New York and the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Additional coverage:

London Free Press
Ypulse
PHYSORG
Pro Game News
Shashum
Indianapolis Star

Juxtapoz- It is From the Fifteenth Century and it is Slick

If you've read the last couple of editions of Juxtapoz magazine, you've probably noticed an increased focus on graffiti art. April is no different. The edition- just about to hit newsstands- includes feature stories on alums Andrew Schoultz and "Slick" aka ?

In his interview with Caleb Neelon, Schoultz describes his work as "being influenced by a cross-section of fifteenth century German map making and fifteenth century Indian miniature painting as they meet the more contemporary influences of comic and graffiti art, with a political undertone." The piece also covers his growth from primarily muralist- authorized and otherwise- to his current work that he describes as "...working on paper. That purpose was mixed media, which currently my favorite way to work."

Mear One talks with Slick touching on many areas of the artist's rise in the west coast graffiti scene, including crediting his work for "...bringing graffiti into the public eye..." One of the more compelling parts of the interview is the way Slick describes the change in the art world. "Time is money. Rather than hire a Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel, which would take four years, the church could now hire David LaChapelle to photograph that image with models and decorated sets, then do a digital wrap on the whole dang church interior for a fraction of the cost and a fraction of the time." I found this to be an original and rather accurate way to characterize where much of the art market is at the moment.

Perhaps Not Only In LA

Steve Harvey writes the column "Only in L.A." for the Los Angeles Times and in his Sunday edition (B4) he cites Otis' report on the creative economy when listing a few things to be proud of as an Angelino including: "strapless bra, tooth-whitening toothpaste, the Hula Hoop, Bugs Bunny..."

The twist of course is the the origin of the fortune cookie, which is included in the report (LA Noodle Company 1918) but an alternative is offered by Mr. Harvey, namely that it was actually created in 1914 in San Francisco by Makota Hagiwara. He also cites the "Court of Historical Review" that was held by our neighbors to the north to determine who should claim the cookie. We did not fare well. Seems like another example of "In Smog and Thunder" to me.

There was "Otis-Parsons" and then there was "Otis Parsons"

Otis has been around since 1918. In fact, we like to say that we've been in the art education business longer than anyone else in Los Angeles. So far no one has called us on it so we'll keep saying so.

During its nearly 90 year history, the College has been identified by several names including- Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles County Art Institute, Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design (commonly referred to as Otis-Parsons) and of course our current (and hopefully final) name: Otis College of Art and Design.

Well one way that I keep up about Otis being mentioned in the world is with "Google Alerts" and I have set them for the many different configurations of our name. Several times an alert for Otis Parsons has come up and it is usually linked to one of our graduates from that time in the school's history.

However tonight, in a case of don't take anything too literally, my Google Alert for Otis Parsons was in fact about a gentleman by that name who lived in the 1800's and whose family tree is on-line.

So now you know two things- how I find out about mentions of the school and that we weren't the first ones to be known by that name.

It is Definately Not Paint By Numbers

Otis student Justine Serebrin was featured in a Long Beach Press Telegram article about the 6th annual Women's Art and Music Festival, held last Saturday. In addition to a photo of Justine at work, the article provides a brief summary of her work and how her upbringing framed her artistic desires- "Growing up with a mother and grandmother who were both artists, Serebrin says her affinity toward art came natural, as well as her association between art and female empowerment."

Paul Vangelisti Back in His Old Stomping Grounds

Paul Vangelisti, the head of the Otis MFA:Writing program is heading back to the bay area for what the Berkeley Daily Planet cites as "...a rare East Bay reading..." in conjunction with writing Debra Di Blasi. He will be reading from his new book- Days Shadows Pass (Green Integer 129, Los Angeles). Describing Paul's work- "The influence of the Italian Neo-Avantgarde on Paul’s poetry gives it a different sound, more musical than we’re used to."

The event will be held on Monday, March 11 at Moe's Books and starts at 7:30.

The article includes the following excerpt:

Sound of hard freight before dawn

a few lights and chill in the arroyo,

considering the lie of the strangers

and later on the flock of pigeons

at noon soaring and tumbling

silver then white then sunlight

against the weight of air.

—Paul Vangelisti

an excerpt from “Absolutely Like Spring,” Days Shadows Pass

Art Scene Says Go See The Moral Museum

The March issue of Art Scene (page 24) gives a nice plug for Cindy Smith's exhibition in the Ben Maltz Gallery- "The Moral Museum: Selections From the Bick Archive." Describing the exhibition as a "...tableaux 'mockumentary' of the fictional life of Violet Bick..." the reviewer comments "what is really exciting about this information and artifact collection is how simultaneously through provoking and funny it is" and "It is research that is both poignant and unsettling."

The exhibition runs through March 31st.

There's Porn and then there's Library Porn

Writing in his column "Academia in America" (part of the Chronicle of Higher Education) Thomas Benton confesses a long time fixation with "library porn" describing a book featuring the New York Public Library as "...a beautiful coffee-table book with photos of the library's most notable holdings and, more important, a few tantalizing pictures of the library itself, showing the exquisite architectural details of the public catalog room."

Alas, while the New York Library is a major turn on for Mr. Benton, our own Millard Sheets Library is apparently the equivalent of a cold shower. Referencing the book Libraries by the noted photographer Candida Höfer, he laments Höfer's willingness to include mundane images, citing Otis as having a "...dreadful, concrete room at the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. As one of the few images showing people, perhaps it is meant to convey the ugliness of so much contemporary library architecture: cheap, ephemeral, and bookless."

I suspect our Library staff might take issue with such a characterization, particularly since the space was not built as a library at all but as the areospace headquarters for IBM, having assumed its next life as a library space when we moved the College to Westchester in 1997.

LA's the Place...

One million jobs. That is how many can be attributed directly and indirectly to the creative economy according to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation in a report that Otis commissioned. Released today during an event at the Omni Hotel in downtown, the findings show that graduates of schools like Otis, Cal Arts, Art Center, UCLA and the like are shaping how we spend our time and resources.

PDF of complete report:

Otis presents...

Mentions of the report:

Los Angeles Times
LA Weekly
Hollywood Reporter
Daily News
Daily Breeze
Media Bistro
Art Updates
Fashion Report Online

Bob Dob Says...

Bob Dob (aka Robert Dobbie '01) played 20 questions with the new on-line magazine "Pipe Bomb." Turns out he did not originally set out to be an artist, has played in punk bands and thinks young illustrators are not being properly compensated. Read the whole interview here.

Multiple Vantage Points Indeed

I attended the opening reception yesterday for the Multiple Vantage Points show at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery. Among the 50 artists- all female- in the show were many from the Otis family including current and former faculty members: Lita Albuquerque, Carole Caroompas, Phyllis Green, Alexis Smith and Betye Saar, and alums Camille Rose Garcia ('92), Sarah Perry ('83), Alison Saar ('81), Patssi Valdez ('85) and Carrie Whitney ('96).

Lots of folks at the event, enough so that I had to park well off-site and it had a really nice energy about it.

Co-sponsored by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Southern California Women's Caucus for Art and the Southern California Council of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the exhibition remains on view through April 15.

Robert Irwin- This is What I Do

Jason Schmidt's new book "Artists" (Edition 7L) features Robert Irwin ('50) among others in their native element- making and talking about their work. In Sunday's Los Angeles Times Arts & Music portion of the Calendar (F3) Irwin's entry in the book is featured along with that of Chris Burden.

In the story when prompted by Schmidt "I'm here to take a picture of you doing what you do" Irwin- pictured at work at his drafting table- is quoted as saying "This is what I do."