The black Bauhaus-style main building of Art Center College of Design spans windy Lida Road and a lush green deer gully, and is nestled within a park-like forest halfway up the side of a small mountain in Pasadena, CA. Surely, the 270 degree view of the Los Angeles metropolis influences the heady ideas of Art Center’s students, many of whom develop the world’s next great automobiles, products and design trends while still attending classes in these stark white halls.
We met Justin's dad at the airport so that he, too, could enjoy this seminal trip. Was it his dad's influence, or was it his mood? Yesterday, Justin tried as hard as possible to be cool, wearing his sunglasses, distancing himself from me on the tours, growling at me whenever I asked questions. Today, he said far less, but stopped occassionally and leaned gently against me, like my golden retriever used to when she wanted me to know she was by my side.
I’d heard that Art Center was the West Coast version of Pratt Institute, the art school I attended decades ago. In some ways, yes – both schools’ students are bright, incredibly talented and driven beyond measure – but in many ways, no.
Pratt’s 120-year-old ivy-covered brownstone halls, wrought iron stairwells and leaky pipes could not be more different from Art Center’s rectangular, all black and white, modernist structure, dappled late afternoon sunlight streaming through black floor-to-ceiling mini-blinds.
Pratt uses a classical art school curriculum with an emphasis on foundational art courses such as drawing in the first semesters (even the architecture majors are required to take figure drawing), while Art Center students jump right into their major design courses after a few basic classes in studio design. Depending on the major, a student could easily go through Art Center without ever taking a single drawing class.
Because of this emphasis on fine art, the work of Pratt’s students reflects a broader range of influences. While this might give Pratt’s students a more personally fulfilling artistic life, it doesn’t necessarily give them a marketplace advantage. The gallery show and student work we saw at Art Center portrayed a remarkable professionalism and maturity, likely a product of the sharp focus of the school’s curriculum and the driven nature of its students. Better, the work was breathtaking.
But is this the place for Justin? I thought my son, who once debated between being an automotive designer and a filmmaker, would have found in Art Center his joie de vivre. Instead, he found the school too focused on design for his taste, and the opportunity for collaboration with music, drama and writing students on his film projects too limiting.
And so, we take a last lingering look at the panaromic view from Art Center's tremendous windows, breathe in the cool, clear air of Pasadena's hillside breezes, then head down to I-10 and another afternoon battle with L.A. traffic.
Friday: Disney's CalARTS
parenting teenagers daily life
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