First Look at ArtCenter Grads

Le Tian Zhou’s work at ArtCenter

Estevan Ramos | Monday, December 19, 2016

Twice a year, I get invited to review portfolios for the photography and imaging graduating class at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. Each time I attend, I leave more and more inspired by the amazing talent the school creates. This past week’s group of 12 students did not disappoint at all. In fact, this could have been one of the strongest groups I’ve ever reviewed. The talent and creativity among the graduates is infectious—I can’t wait to collaborate with some of these students someday.

Each student had his or her own unique presentation and branding to showcase their personal style of photography. Subjects ranged from fashion, architecture and product to photo manipulation, food and environmental images. Some students used life-size shadow boxes, vacuum-form molds and even a fast food trash dispenser to tell their stories. Typically, students give away promotional cards, lookbooks and pieces of their work after each review. Among this year’s graduates, one gave away a Viewmaster with fashion images. Another gave a mini backpack with graphic screen print. There was a Plexiglas promo shadow card and postcard with a cheeseburger pin.

The review session is one of the first opportunities the students have—while still in school—to have a one-on-one review session of their grad show work with industry professionals. Professional photographers, art directors, gallery owners, photo producers, visual and photo directors, stylists and many other industry types are invited by the school to attend the review session. It’s an amazing opportunity for the students to network and make new contacts for their future careers. Plus they receive honest and constructive feedback from their industry peers.

Congratulations to the ArtCenter Grad Show, Fall 2016!

A Mexico City native, Sylvana Burns’s work explores themes such as voyeurism and moody emotions. She says she likes her models to think of her as invisible while she’s shooting them. She loves to capture the moment while they’re unaware of themselves being photographed. A peek through the Viewmaster captures that voyeurism!

Anthony Filipelli’s vacuum-form-molds installation shows his love for materials and textures in his photography. He molded these himself for his grad show project. Some of his photography like the “Reflective Insulation” series was beautiful and graphic!

Shannon Rose’s work had a great story telling feel to it. Her series of self portraits showed her vulnerable side while in school and, at the same time, showed the struggles students go through. They were powerful and attention-getting photos. Her portfolio could easily get her work with many lifestyle and fashion brands.

Food photography is Stephanie Contreras’ specialty. Many of her images draw from her Mexican roots. The love of chilis and citrus fruits create the vibrant colors that pop in her photos. “A Clockwork Orange” movie inspired her for her orange slice image with an eyelash—bizarre yet graphic and beautiful!

"A Personal Journey” is how I would describe Le Tian Zhou’s body of work. A native of China, her work had a strong message from her personal life’s experiences. Her shadow boxes represented herself pushing out into the world. She had two portfolios to view. One titled “LE,” which means ‘Happy” in Mandarin, included her series of dark-sided images. The other, titled “TIAN,” which means “Sky" or "Everyday" in Mandarin, included some of her documentary images of orphanages and world travels. Fascinating and amazing storytelling with her work.

David Lopez tells me that his mother’s water broke in a McDonald’s when he was born which made him obsessed with fast-food life. Also, his parents’ first jobs when they came here from Mexico were in fast-food restaurants. This made him want to document restaurants and the life that surrounds them—from the employees to the food to the structures and graphics. In his presentation he invited people to look into a food trash dispenser, which contained some of his images and his exploration of food.

Downtown L.A.–born Aaron Sinclair’s work looked like that of a seasoned photographer. Already shooting for Vice magazine among others, he is already creating his own buzz while finishing school. Born and raised on 2nd Street and Figueroa, he is immersed in downtown life, the traffic and the noise. He says he’s an night owl and loves the action and fast pace that surround the fashion, music and the environment.

Danny Duarte describes his architecture and product photography as clean and simple. He used his California neighborhood of Reseda as the subject for his grad project. His photos had an air of Mid-Century postcards.

Unique twist of product photography is how I would describe Jay Park’s work. He combined at least four separate images to create one. His “Rock, Paper, Scissors” image was one of my favorites. I would easily have that framed for my house. Great composition and use of photo manipulation.

Aimee Nicholas’ fashion photography is inspired by her love for many things vintage—like in the lifestyle of Dean Martin, 60s glamour and nostalgic music. Her step father does a great Elvis impersonation—so good that he even had a suit made for his routine which she used for one of her series of photos as seen here. Beautiful and dreamy photos were part of her show.

Japanese-born Yuya Parker’s work had a humorous, joyful essence in the compositions. His love for children books and art helps him create his photo series of plants and objects. The “Giving Tree” is one of his inspirations and also Japanese “Ikebana” flower arrangements. It was a very happy experience seeing his work.