UCLA Extension Closed 5/28 - 5/31

Hello,

Just a reminder that UCLA Extension will be closed (and no classes will meet) from May 28, 2010 through May 31, 2010. This closure is due to the salary reduction/furlough plan adopted by the University of California Regents in response to the State of California’s budget crisis.

We'll be back on Tuesday! In the meantime, you can get a lot of information (including summer schedule, details about certificate programs, etc) at our website, www.uclaextension.edu.

Here are some of the more amusing Google images results for "Closed".

Si Scott Event June 16

One of the perks of being a DCA certificate student is an AIGA membership. Having access to networking, events and a community of designers is a great benefit, especially if you're just starting out in the field.

The other good thing is that they set up events with awesome graphic designers that you can go to for FREE. On June 16, Si Scott will be coming to Dodd Hall to discuss his practice.

Si Scott has developed a signature style featuring ornate typographic illustrations and has the ability to render entire worlds within the arc of a single letter. He specializes in a unique blend of hand-worked design with modern and traditional typography. He has collaborated on a variety of projects for clients including Hugo Boss, Volvo, Pentagram, Miller, Nike, Guinness, Levi's, MTV and the BBC. The studio has also been featured in Creative Review, Grafik, IDN, Graphic International, Notion and Type-Addicted. For more info and showcase of Si’s work go to www.siscottstudio.com

Here are the details:

Wednesday, June 16th, 7:00 – 9:30 pm
Dodd Hall at UCLA, room 161
To see more info or RSVP, visit the UCLA Extension AIGA student group Facebook page.

Instructor Interview: Jay Stuckey

This summer, the ever-popular Mixed Media and Collage for Artists and Designers will be returning. Previously taught by artist extraordinaire James Fish, this summer the helm will be taken by Jay Stuckey.

Jay comes to us from a previous teaching position at Brown University. Want to learn more about Jay? Check out our interview below.

Can you describe your own artistic practice – what type of media do you prefer, what themes does your work deal with?

Right now my main focus is on painting and collage. The work has both representational and abstract elements. For me the main goal with these recent pieces is to initiate an idea within the viewer, to have the images ask questions versus posing answers or making statements. It gets tricky because ideally the questions asked are unique to each viewer, as each viewer is indeed unique. I also hope that the images are visually engaging. That they have visual presence when one comes upon them, and, if a viewer feels so moved to sit with a painting or collage for 10-20 minutes, they can actively wind their way in and around throughout the image while subtle nuances and new bits of information reveal themselves.



What advice would you have for beginning art students, or those who are considering making art a part of their lives? Is there anything you know now that you wish you had known when you started?

Wow, a lot, I actually taught a seminar on this subject at Brown. Yes it is difficult to forge a life where the creative act is part of your weekly if not daily existence, but at the same time if I figured it out, and number of my friends have figured it out, it can't be rocket science. If you really want to make it happen, you'll make it happen. I would say, perserverance furthers, always make sure you are enjoying, engaged, or challenged with what you're doing, if not change your approach. It's so difficult to find/carve out the time to make things, that you want to be stimulated by what you're doing. Community has always been a high priority to me, surrounding yourself with like minds, so I would suggest getting to know your art community. Luckily for us Los Angeles has an AMAZING, thriving, international art community. We really are lucky, on a global level there are not many places for art that compare to L.A. right now. Oh and don't walk into a gallery cold asking them if they're looking at work. Yes this has worked for some artists I know, but it's like playing the lottery. Sure you could win, but your odds suck, and the experience is a little embarrassing....for everyone.

What benefits and challenges does working with collage and mixed media present?

One of the main benefits I see is being able to take an image and recontextualize it. Perhaps it's an advertisement familiar to everyone, but by cutting or manipulating it and placing it in a different context, you can take that preconceived association everyone has of that image and amplify it, subvert it, nullify it, you name it. It's wonderful. On the flip side, I find one of the greatest challenges is the options available within the broad scope of 'collage', it can at times be overwhelming there are so many possibilities.



What do you hope your students accomplish by the end of your class?

In general I hope everyone walks away with a love for the creative process and the physical act of making things. Specific to collage I hope that everyone will have a solid foundation with the mechanics and materials behind making a collage (various forms of cutting and gluing, composition of shapes, basic design/layout ideas, etc..), AND, more importantly how these mechanics and materials behind collage are the vocabulary for this non-verbal form of communication which has great seductive powers.



Was there a moment when you officially began to consider yourself “an artist”?

I can't think of a specific date. However, I do remember walking through Jonathan Borofsky's retrospective in Washington, D.C. when I was 18 and thinking, "I might have to do this for the rest of my life."



(paintings by Jay Stuckey, from top to bottom: Forming a Communist Party, The Apartment But It's Different, Chinese Map of Paris and Chicago)

It's a Fine Line Between Cute and Creepy

Look, maybe I'm not the first person to point this out, but the 2012 London Olympic mascots look like Kodos and Kang.



It's definitely related to the eyes. Or rather, eye.

Well, what are ya gonna do? I hope the little guys get a warmer welcome during the actual Olympics than they've recevied so far (not Kodos and Kang, they are always trying to enslave us).

Lil’ Inappropriate Golden Books

Animation artist Josh Cooley (he works for Pixar) took the concept of Little Golden Books and updated them with scenes from great classic movies (and by "classic" I mean "fun, awesome, cult classic" not Spartacus.)

Remember Little Golden Books? Here:





I don't know if we actually had any of these growning up, but they are etched in my cultural memory nonetheless.

Here are the cinematic versions. They may be inappropriate for children, but for adults they are just right.






Ha ha, the people with their cartoony expressions and giant 24pt. bold serif font. My favorite pieces are the little icons decorating the front and back inside covers.



It's Jones the Cat, from Alien! He got into so many scrapes on that ship!

Do you want to know some trivia about Jones the Cat?

"To get Jones the cat to react fearfully to the descending Alien, a German Shepherd was placed in front of him with a screen between the two, so the cat wouldn't see it at first, and come over. The screen was then suddenly removed to make Jones stop, and start hissing."

Thanks IMDB! Also I hope that cat was getting paid, because that seems pretty harrowing.

Via Videogum

Ready...Set...Cry!

As noted above, this animated video entitled "Crater Face" will make you cry. It relies heavily on the "Bambi Eyes" phenomenon, which is pretty effective, in the sense that you are completely aware of being crudely manipulated, but yet your heart still goes "Whaaaagh" and you cry.



At first I thought the moral was going to be that humans are awesome and can fix anything, but then (spoiler alert) the astronaut DIES! So the craters can be together! I totally did not see that coming and was actually pretty moved and saddened by it.

Also, several scenes reminded me strongly of Ren and Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi's work. Any time a face or body is aggresively contorted and you see veins and stuff, I think of John. Did you know that he has a pretty cool blog? It's true.

Via Best Week Ever