Success with the SIMS

The SIMS in the Hands of Artists opened at Otis' Ben Maltz Gallery on July 14th and it received a strong write up in the Los Angeles Times this past Thursday. Sixteen Otis students had their work selected from among all the entries. In addition to being in the exhibition, several students won cash awards from exhibition sponsor Electronic Arts. The first place winner in the coveted Machinima category was Olivier Chatard ('07 Communication Arts). His winning piece "H20=Life" can be seen on the Otis College YouTube channel. The exhibition runs through August 11.

Oldham Awed by Harper

Otis alum Todd Oldham used to be known primarily as a fashion designer. These days like so many others he's entered into the "life style" market- making objects, creating interiors, hosting a television reality show- Top Design, etc. Now you can add book author to the list. On Wednesday (07/18) Oldham will be signing his new book "Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life" at Hennessey and Ingalls bookstore in Santa Monica from 7 to 9 PM.

Charlie Harper was a prolific illustrator whose work Oldham first saw as a kid. In the July 12 edition of the LA Times Calendar section he commented- "Charley illustrated my favorite childhood book, 'Giant Golden Book of Biology.'" It wasn't until 2002 however that he linked the artist to the work had been enjoying for so many years.

After making a pilgrimage to Harper's home in Cincinnati Oldham began work on the book. Describing Harper's style Oldham said in the same article- "It's like he never saw painting before. He's completely unattached to the tenets of someone who went through art school. His brain is very open."

Oldham finished the project in time to show Harper a proof this past May. The artist passed away the following month at age 84.

Otis in the Galleries

Otis faculty, alums and students are routinely showing all over LA and beyond. I've added a new list section to the bottom of the blog where current shows are called out. I've made special mention of receptions that are coming up.

Am I missing an exhibition listing? Give me a shout and I'll add it!

Where's Your Otis Been?

So the focus of this blog has been to catalog and comment on the many mentions of Otis in the world, primarily in the press (broadly defined). It occurs to me however, that those of us at Otis go out into the world all the time. Near and far, mundane and exotic, the locations vary as does the purpose for being there.

I want to know where "your Otis" has been. If you are on a trip, out for the day or just wanted an excuse to take a photo, take your Otis tee shirt with you and document it! Send me the picture along with where you were and what you were doing. To get you started, Meg and I each took a photo on recent trips in California. They are posted on the Otis Admissions Flickr pages.

Don't have an Otis tee? You can get them from the folks at GraphAids Westchester store(heck they'll even mail them to you after you buy one) or be one of the first three people to email me about this and I'll send you a shirt to wear.

So get out there and let us know where your Otis has been lately!

Hanging out in the SFMOMA Bookstore

On a recent trip up to San Francisco I stopped into the musuem shop at SFMOMA. Among the seemingly endless books, posters, note cards and the like, I saw publications by several Otis alums, including Blaine Fontana ('02), Camille Rose Garcia ('92 ) and Darren Waterston ('88)!

I've Seen Fire and I've Seen Rock

Mike Gravel is a candidate for the Democratic Presidential Nomination in 2008. By all measures his is a campaign long on hope and short on prominence, he is polling in the 1% range in a crowded field that includes heavy hitters Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Otis faculty members, Matt Mayes and Guston Sondin-Klausner are two of Gravel's supporters and they believed in him enough to produce two videos for his campaign. The twin pieces "Rock" and "Fire" were posted to YouTube last month and enjoyed some immediate buzz for their unusual content. Things really took off a few days ago when John Stewart featured the Rock video in a segment of The Daily Show. Rock has now been viewed over 100,000 times and Fire is closing in on 50,000 views.

Following the Daily Show appearance, the story of the videos has been picked up by CNN, whose reporter Jeanne Moos did a profile, The New York Times blog, The Chicago Tribune blog, The Washington Post blog and MSNBC.com to name a few. Even some of the responses are garnering their own buzz.

Senator Gravel seems very pleased with the videos and with the resulting attention. Will it make a difference for his campaign? Who knows, but at a minimum it is a great example of the power of mass collaboration at work.

Otis is the First Art School to be Honored by the NMC

Otis was honored at the 2007 New Media Consortium (NMC) summer conference as one of three recipients of the Center of Excellence Award. The College was recognized for "their creative, technical, and artistic support of the campus community"

It was the first time the NMC honored a professional school of Art and Design with such distinction. In addition to fellow 2007 honorees- The University of British Columbia and The University of Wisconsin, Madison other recipients have included- the California State University System, Johns Hopkins University and University of California, Berkely.

NMC CEO Larry Johnson noted that- “The NMC organizations recognized this year represent the best of our field, and each has had a tremendous history of accomplishment.” Lev Gonick, NMC Board of Directors Chair further noted that all three of the 2007 recipients "...exemplify the highest values of the NMC, and each has compiled a history of accomplishment that has helped set the standards in the application of new media forms to teaching, learning, and creative expression."

Gama-Go Gets the Green for Otis

The Underwire, one of Wired Magazine's blogs had a nice plug for Gama-Go's event last night at 111 Minna Gallery. In addition to launching their new limited edition book, the "GG" folks also held a silent auction to raise scholarship money for Otis.

Nice deeds and good fun all at the same time, not a bad way for folks to spend an evening...

Eye on iTunes

iTunes, the predominant site for downloading music and video debuted its "iTunes U" recently to much acclaim. Otis was one of only 16 colleges in the country to be included by Apple as a "launch" school and the only professional school of art and design. Visitors to the site can download lectures, features on world culture and current events and lots of "how to" pieces including a whole series by Otis faculty and staff on everything from drawing fundamentals to how to attend a National Portfolio Day.

The launch has been covered by several media outlets including The Chronicle of Higher Education, Technorati and The Daily Galaxy.

So have a look for yourself! If you have iTunes, just open it up and look for the iTunes U section. If you need to get iTunes first, just start here.

Like what you see? Let me know! Have a request for Otis content, tell me what it is.

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.

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.