Issue #5 - Class Notes

Class Notes

Class Notes are featured regularly in each issue of The Pool. Share your personal and professional accomplishments with your fellow CalArtians! Send your note to classnotes@calarts.edu and include a photo if you wish.

Sixties

Roberta Griffith ’60 checks in, “In August 2018, I was awarded the prestigious NSDAR American Heritage Award, Women in the Arts. I had two new ceramic installations in Taiwan, StreetStuff, King’s Road, Hong Kong, which were acquired by the museum for its permanent collection; they exhibited New Orientalia last fall. In addition, Unpleasant Conversations at 3-NO, NOT, NOPE was included in the Member’s Exhibition in the Yingge Ceramics Museum in Taipei. I also just received notice that my porcelain installation, Debris Contained, will be included in the collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art. The exhibition will include 35 works by 28 artists—9 artists with Hawaiian connections—and will be on view until the end of September 2019.”

Ken Graning ’66 writes, “Attached is a new painting that represents a radical departure from my usual post impressionistic realistic painting style. This painting is called Thanksy Banksy. The title is imprinted on the face of the painting using pieces of wooden type (which I had collected as historical artifacts) that were used in poster reproduction dating back to the 1940s through 1960s. I painted each piece of type one at a time and impressed them onto the surface of the board. This painting is an ‘homage’ to the famous New York graffiti artist Banksy. Coincidently I just completed a new abstract painting that I painted with gouache on Yupo paper, which is a bit of a misnomer since it’s not really ‘paper,’ but a derivative of polyurethane plastic that is pressed into sheets and is about the thickness of 150 lb Arches watercolor paper. After finishing the painting, I cut it into sections with the idea of reassembling the pieces on a backing board mounted in such a way that they had a dimensional appearance. After watching the Banksy shredding video on national news, it gave me the idea to pay homage to Banksy by attaching the pieces of the painting inside the frame, as strips that ‘floated’ freely inside the frame, thus placing it into the category of ‘interactive’ painting. If you blow on the painting, the strips dangle inside the frame.”   B

Patrick Murphy ’67 says, “Rather than write a long letter I invite you to take a look at what I have been up to, namely my TEDx Talk, How I Turned My Parkinson’s Diagnosis into Fine Art.”

Jack Enyart ’69 writes, “It may not be a pipe, but that is Jack Enyart having a last look at Magritte’s masterpiece before LACMA shuts down its galleries for reconstruction. I just concluded a successful four-month run at the La Peer Hotel in West Hollywood doing quick, elegant sketches of the hotel patrons, and I’m looking forward to more such appearances in the LA area. Until next time, keep it surreal!”  A

Seventies

Mario Uribe ’71 says, “I have worked in many art mediums: illustration, animation, painting, printmaking, and public art. Since 1971, I have completed many murals, large-scale sculpture, and mosaics across the country, plus more than 60 published posters. I served 20 years as creative director of Artstart, a nonprofit dedicated to mentoring young artists. I was director of The American School of Japanese Arts, and founding member of Matsuri Japanese Arts Festival in Sonoma County. My wife Liz and I led trips to Japan from 1998–2017, with a focus on studying traditional arts. My art was transformed by my study of Japanese Arts with masters here and in Japan. My works are in the San Diego Museum of Fine Arts; the Laguna Beach Art Museum; Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts; Musée de L’Affiche, Paris; Amerika Haus, Berlin; and The Sonoma County Museum. I enjoy supporting the arts, and at 76, I am not ready to slow down; I am in the process of opening a café/gallery to support and feature local artists. I thank John Baldessari, who drove me to Chouinard from San Diego in 1967 and pushed me into applying for a scholarship— which I got! I’ve been very lucky.”  C

John Collins ’72 writes, “My new art/poetry book is completed and on its way to the printer! Subtitled Antics of Siddhartha (something’s fishy), it promises to be an original creative effort. Also, my long overdue location work, other news, is ready for installation in a storefront window near you. And, of course, I hope to show my epic film, Pit Viper, at CalArts's 50th birthday party in 2021. Did I mention that I currently live in a van, down by the river? Seriously. Live in a Roadtrek, parked next to Bear Creek. Very sweet.”

Steven Gaydos ’72 reports, “Just presented a workshop production of 12 original songs from a new stage musical, The Most Dangerous Song in the World, at the Savannah Film Festival, in conjunction with the Entertainment Arts Department of Savannah College of Art and Design.”

Darius Gottlieb ’72 “Since my last communiqué with CalArts, my photo work has literally caught fire, with collectors vying for limited editions of my film photos, called Natural Surrealism. I take shots of Nature with an old, antique Canon film camera and then radically transform them, digitally. My fan base is throughout the Western US, as well as art lovers in Australia, England, Germany, and Holland. I continue to work as a recording artist on my turquoise electric cello, built by the late Art Jarvinen, as well as on a rare Stazel acoustic cello. My next fiery album, Tabasco Cello, will be released this year.”

Jon Barlow Hudson ’72 shares, “I was in the class of 1972, the first year in the new building. I have continued with my sculpture and also the Tai Chi Chuan that I learned from Marshall Ho’o in the School of Theater. My last public art commission was installed in Cooper Park by the Dayton, Ohio, library. Titled The Common Good, it was commissioned by the retired city manager to honor public servants. It includes 14 quotes on public service carved in granite. I will be going to Minquin, Gansu, China for a sculpture project this July; will also be creating a public sculpture in May in Nashua, NH, my second in that state. My public sculptures are installed throughout the US and in 27 different countries.”  D

Peggy Wolf ’72 checks in: “I’m a journalist now focused on food essays and features. However, in addition to writing a few food stories for the Chicago Tribune, I have developed a project that is starting to take off—helping refugees in Chicago launch a catering business. My job is to keep all the

moving parts in working order, be a culinary watchdog, develop a menu and a website, figure out a business name, and most importantly find catering jobs. I also blog and post on their Instagram pages.”

Donald Beagle ’73 says his new book, The Hopwood Poets Revisited: Eighteen Major Award Winners, presents a series of Q&A conversations with his fellow Hopwood Award-winning poets spanning decades, including Robert Hayden, John Ciardi, Anne Stevenson, Frank O’Hara, Marge Piercy, Nancy Willard, Keith Waldrop, X. J. Kennedy, Patricia Hooper, Lawrence Joseph, Jane Kenyon, and others. Donald himself was interviewed for this book by Barbara Tierney of the University of Central Florida. In December, the book was named winner of the 2018 Gail O’Day Award for Outstanding Achievement in Poetry.

Tina Bennett-Kastor ’73 “The past year has brought both life and death, travel and travails, joy and despair. Two new grandsons arrived, but my husband passed away in February of complications from Myelodysplastic Syndrome, and a week later my younger big-hearted nephew died, suffering, literally, from an enlarged heart. We rode the train to Southern California, flew by plane to New Orleans—wasn’t that Roger Stone sitting at the end of the bar at NOLA?— and drove our new Subaru to Wisconsin and Illinois, where in Chicago we saw Stacy Keach play Papa in the one-man show, Pamplona, at Theatre Goodman. We flew from Wichita, headed for Dublin, but instead ended up in the hospital ER back in Chicago. Trump continues his Reign of Error. I have returned to painting and singing, sometimes simultaneously, and am reluctantly learning to walk the ways of widowhood. Soon I will meet my middle daughter, her daughter, and my 90-plus-year-old mother for our annual four-generations’ reunion in Palm Springs. Life does go on, as ever.”   E

Megan Anderson Bohigian ’73 shares that her second collection of poems, Vanishing Point, was recently published by The Orchard Street Press, Ltd. In the words of the award-winning poet Corrinne Clegg Hales, “This is an extraordinary new collection by a poet who has mastered her craft and who speaks of life in this world with precision, grace, and often startling clarity.” The poet and editor Christopher Buckley has written of Megan, “She knows the names of things and their music. These poems are full of care, keen attention, and hard-won understanding––line by line, Vanishing Point offers a song and wish for our lives.” Books can be purchased, signed, from the author, or from The Orchard Street Press. Her work has been widely published in journals and anthologized. Her first poetry collection, Sightlines, published in 2013, by Tourane Poetry Press, is available on Amazon.

Nancy Karp ’73 says she’s divided her time between the San Francisco Bay Area and Sicily for the past 10 years. Recent projects

by her company, Nancy Karp + Dancers, have included On Beauty, a site-specific dance work created and designed for the David Brower Center in Berkeley, CA. Inspired by the Douglas R. Tompkins exhibition honoring the life and work of the late-conservationist Doug Tompkins, with music by long-time collaborator-composer Charles Amirkhanian. Memory/Place, the full-evening work, premiered in San Francisco in 2017, with commissioned music by Kui Dong and Robert Honstein. There’s also a limited edition publication of Memory/Place dance scores from this work. Upcoming projects include a site work for BAMPFA (Berkeley Art Museum, Pacific Film Archives) in December 2019, and a new full-evening work for the dance company in February 2020 in San Francisco (titles and premiere dates TBA).  A

Tim Owens ’74, Edward Henderson ’73, and Steve Galloway ’73   B

C Penney Peirce ’73 checks in: “My degree in Social Design evolved into an interest in intuition development, metaphysics, and the dynamics of consciousness and personal transformation. It seemed to me that design principles and thinking applied to our inner life as well as to societal problem-solving. In the San Francisco Bay Area, I worked with the Center for Applied Intuition and The Intuition Network, and taught at various institutes and graduate programs in consciousness. I worked in Japan annually for more than 20 years, leading trainings and private intuitive readings for both the public and business executives. Similarly, I traveled widely around the country and the world, from South Africa to Portugal to Norway, speaking at conferences like IONS, leading spiritual tours to Egypt and Peru, and doing trainings for a variety of companies. In 2013, I moved from Marin County to Florida to help my mother, whose health was failing. Since 1997, I’ve written 10 mainstream nonfiction books— among them are The Intuitive Way, The Present Moment, Be the Dreamer Not the Dream, Dream Dictionary for Dummies, Frequency, Leap of Perception, and the latest, released in 2018, is Transparency: Seeing Through to Our Expanded Human Capacity. Several of my books have won awards for Best Alternative Science and Spirituality Book, best book in Science and Cosmology, and best Visionary Book of the Year. I continue to work individually with clients and have a number of writing projects waiting to land. I am also working with a group in NYC to create a company and experiential space based on the material in my book, Frequency: The Power of Personal Vibration.”

Mira Schor ’73 is a recipient of the 2019 Women’s Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award for her work as a feminist painter, art historian, and critic. In 2017 she was elected to the National Academy of Design. In May 2018 a solo presentation of her work from the late ’80s and early ’90s was featured in the Spotlight Section of Frieze New York 2018. In April 2019, she will exhibit work from her 1973 CalArts MFA show at Lyles & King Gallery in NYC in Mira Schor: California Paintings 1971–1973. Schor has written about her experiences at CalArts and the CalArts Feminist Art Program in the light of what she learned about art, art education, and rare moments of freedom and radicalism, in her books Wet: On Painting, Feminism, and Art Culture; and A Decade of Negative Thinking: Essays on Art, Politics, and Daily Life. Schor and fellow CalArts MFA and FAP friend and colleague, Faith Wilding ’73, recently held a conversation at MAD in New York City. Schor is Associate Teaching Professor at Parsons Fine Arts.  C

Alan Toy ’73 “I recently presented on Designing for Diversity at the 2019 World IA Day in Los Angeles, so I am feeling very up-to-the-minute and groovy for an ‘old fart.’ But mostly I am delightfully retired and spend much of my time growing vegetables, working my way through The New York Times Cookbook, and traveling, while I live off of my SAG pension and residuals from M*A*S*H, The Aviator, and 20 years of other film and TV acting credits.”

Laurie Raskin ’74, MFA ’83 informs us about her recent work, including a solo show at Skidmore Contemporary Arts in Santa Monica that ran from February to

March in 2019, a solo show at Paris Gallerie 55Bellechasse in May 2018, a three-woman show at Rachel Kline Arts Las Vegas in Summer 2018, the Designer Carpet Line Belgium Tiger Lily Rugs, a two-page feature in Paris Match in October 2017 on the rug collaboration, and features in various galleries and art fairs, as well as various collections and magazines internationally.

Brian Bailey ’75 writes, “I have been working on a personal photo history of my days at CalArts. During the last 20 some-odd years, I have been sorting and compiling images I made during my time at the Institute, starting from when I arrived in 1971 as a junior in the design school to when I left at the end of the 1988 school year as a technical faculty member in the film school. It is currently in the form of three photo books containing almost 700 photos. If it is ever published, it will be in very limited release.”  A

Devo Cutler-Rubenstein ’75 tells us of his interactive Viola Spolin Peace Bench Dedication Tea. “In reaction to the pink wall down the street (which is all about selfies), I wanted to create a space that was all about community and ‘us,’ so I claimed a 20' x 10' space and made a public garden with flags made from kids’ drawings answering the question, ‘What does peace mean to you?’ I then invited folks to create this gigantic necklace that we all made together, with huge beads, and hung in the space with trunks as peace benches. Improvisers, comics, and spoken word, with an art table and yoga meditation—Catered food and lots of donated time—it was super fun and a lovely day of art and sharing and food!”

Michael Pliskin ’75 “One of my photographs, Coronado Chrome, was selected for the Street Shooting Around the World exhibition at the Los Angeles Center of photography. It was one of 40 photographs selected from more than 700 submissions from all over the world. Also, I taught Photoshop classes in March at the Moviola Education Center in Burbank, and taught Adobe Lightroom at the Creative Photo Academy in Torrance in March, and the Los Angeles Center of Photography in April.

Adam Stern ’75, MFA ’77 (pictured with legendary Police drummer Stewart Copeland, left) is happily maintaining a busy conducting schedule in Seattle. As Music Director of the Seattle Philharmonic, he continues to program the widest possible variety of music, from time-honored classics

to important contemporary works. Last June, he and the Philharmonic gave the Northwest premiere of Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s final composition, The Ecclesiastical Action. Adam is particularly devoted to presenting works by neglected 20th-century women. Recent and upcoming concerts include local and US premieres of music by Ruth Gipps, Elsa Barraine, Helvi Leiviskä, and Grazyna Bacewicz. “I am perpetually grateful to CalArts and my dear late teacher, Gerhard Samuel, for encouraging and nurturing a musical outlook that isn’t nearly so much about style and period as it is about quality and expressive sincerity.”   B

Durinda Wood ’75 was recently interviewed for the Star Trek podcast Earl Grey for Trek FM. She discusses her career and design of costumes for Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Dan Barber ’76 “In 2016, I retired after 34 years at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where I worked as a mechanical technician. Since then I have used my metal working skills to make some fun sheet metal sculptures.”  C

Ben Garfinkle ’76 writes, “I’m continuing my photographic journey while running my 95-year-old family business manufacturing signs and store fixtures for the supermarket industry. Along the way, I’ve received more than 60 patents for a wide range of products. Last year I submitted photographs that were accepted by four juried shows: two at the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel and two at the Viewpoint Photographic

Art Center in Sacramento. I received one second place award and two honorable mentions. I was recently selected for another show in April at Viewpoint. I am currently serving as President of The Foundation for Photographic Preservation (FfPP) a nonprofit founded by my CalArts mentor, Al Weber, who passed away in 2016. In 1975, Al became one of the first visiting instructors in the rejuvenated photography program, then part of the Design Department. FfPP is dedicated to helping photographers find the right path for their archive in order to preserve it for future generations. The fundamentals of how to accomplish this readily applies to all the visual arts. Check out the website at ffpp.org. I’d like to hear from my CalArts classmates.”

Gar LaSalle ’76 says, “After semiretiring from my 40-year clinical and administrative career in emergency medicine, I began writing again. Pleased to note that my first novel, Widow Walk, published in 2013, was recently optioned for a TV production; it’s the ‘#1 best seller’ in Northwest fictional literature, and in the top 0.5 percent of all paid US Kindle sales. Books II (Isthmus) and III (The Fairness of Beasts) in the five-part saga continue the story of the protagonist and her family. Currently, I am completing the series pilot’s screenplay and bundle for presentation to distributors. Very happy to re-establish my friendship with Barbara Halperin at Gersh; maintain my friendship with Sergei Tschernisch, Kate Purwin, and Tom Polizzi; and also to be working again with John Mandel, this time on his second novel.”

Pat Ward ’76 “Through the miracle of science (orthopedic surgery), I was able to have a successful dance career, even though my CalArts advisers had, at one point, suggested I go into costume design! One knee surgery later, however, and I was in Las Vegas, dancing at the MGM Hotel (now Bally’s) in Hallelujah Hollywood. I thought it would be relatively simple choreography and easier on my knee—ha! Nothing like dancing 13 shows a week and running up and down a million flights of stairs from the dressing room to the stage to wear out the joints (and polish your performance skills)! I went on to dance for 12 more years or so in shows in Mexico, Paris (Lido de Paris), London, LA, and New York. Lots of television in both Europe and the States with the highlight being the Opening Ceremonies of the Statue of Liberty in 1986, which starred all the major stars of the day—Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli, Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley MacLaine, etc. I rarely auditioned and was just called by choreographers and consider myself very, very lucky to have been a dancer and to have had the opportunity to live all over the world doing what I loved. Did need 5 knee surgeries, however, including a total knee replacement a few years back. I moved back to California (Carmel-by-the-Sea) from NYC in 1992, and have been a real estate agent for 20 years. Still kicking up my heels, however, dancing with an incredible choreographer in Santa Cruz, Joy Smith, and having a ball … even if I am 30 years older than everyone else!”

Gregg Barbanell ’77 has won two Golden Reel Awards at the 66th Annual Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Awards held last February. In the Animation Short Form category, Gregg won for his work on Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch Reunion. In the Computer Cinematic category he won for his work on Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth. Gregg has received 29 career MPSE Golden Reel nominations with 9 wins. He has also received 10 career Emmy nominations with one win.  D

Gary Chang ’77 has won 14 awards and has screened in 46 film festivals internationally with his abstract animated film, Hallowstide (2018), created by Chang and Stephen Socki ’80. Current film festivals include the Ann Arbor Film Festival and the CineKasimanwa in the Phillipines.

Fiona Kelley ’77 “I’m still happily in private practice as a doctor of Oriental Medicine in Nevada and an active member of

Acupuncturists Without Borders (for international humanitarian work). I am an active supporter of Contemporary West Dance Theater here in Las Vegas under the guidance of Bernard Gaddis.”

Richard Green ’78 says, “I’m happy and proud to announce that we raised more than $290,000 on Kickstarter for the feature documentary, I Know Catherine, The Log Lady. The film celebrates Catherine Coulson, a world-class theater actress with 22 seasons at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She’s one of the first women in the camera union (Eraserhead, Killing of A Chinese Bookie, StarTrek II: The Wrath of Khan), and is a cult icon in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. We have finished interviews and are now in post-production. Thanks to all CalArts alumni, students, and faculty that contributed. It promises to be a very interesting film.”

Roger Holzberg ’78 “In addition to running Reimagine Well, I am honored to be back at CalArts as a professor, teaching the Healthcare By Design class with Shannon Scrofano for the new Experience Design track. This multidisciplinary class has students from the dance, animation, film, music, and theater schools, and will deliver a patient-experience pilot for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in May for pediatric and adolescent patients in chemotherapy infusion. I have tapped several of my former Imagineering colleagues as guest lecturers, including Joe Lanzisero ’78, Joe Garlington ’77, as well as Martin Casella ’78.”

L. Martina Young, Ph.D. ’78 reports that she premiered Black Swans, an opera poem: An International Collaboration and Conversation in October 2018 (USA/Reno). She is currently

developing an Australia-based creative team of indigenous, nonindigenous, aboriginal and nonaboriginal artists to reimagine and perform the work. It will be shown at the 2021 opening of the National Museum of Australia’s Black Swan Gallery. Young will present an artist talk, The Mythopoetic Image and Poetic Perception, at the 2019 BOLD II Festival at the National Library of Australia in Canberra ACT, Australia.   E

Edward Done ’79 writes, “This is a side note to talk about a sideways direction. I studied at CalArts as a dancer and lighting designer. I’ve since switched to a career in filmmaking and have been making films for 30 years. Now I am exploring the world of sculpture and functional art, working with cocreator Andrew Patch. We have created some fun items. I do believe my two years at CalArts gave me the foundation to continue to explore.”  A

John Squier ’79 “Shout out to Jett Jackson ’80 for unwittingly helping to make me a ‘graffiti artist’ in NYC in the ’80s. Also to

Davey Crockett Feiten ’79 for inspiring the Collinsville Halloween parade—25 years running.”

Eighties

Lisa Popeil ’80 shares, “Greetings! I’ll be touring with ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic on his big 2019 summer tour called Strings Attached. It’ll be a 64-city tour of the US and Canada, and each show will have a full orchestra. I’ll be singing back-up and experiencing the realities of the rock ’n ’ roll lifestyle!”

Dana Berman Duff ’81 writes, “In January, I mounted an 8-channel video and sculpture installation at Aspect/Ratio in Chicago—a collaboration with my best friend of 35 years, Sabina Ott—entitled What Does She See When She Shuts Her Eyes. Sabina passed away from cancer six months into our year-long collaboration and I finished the work with the spirit of Sabina in the studio. The exhibition culminated with performances and a group

discussion of ‘The Dear Friend’ with writers and artists whom Sabina had affected—and there are many. She was called “the art mother of Chicago” by the Chicago Tribune in 2015, when she was named “Chicagoan of the Year in Art” and won a Guggenheim Fellowship. Documentation of the show can be seen on my website. The installation will be mounted in Scotland at Alchemy Film Festival in May 2019, and we are currently looking for a venue in Los Angeles where Sabina grew up and still has many friends.”

Richard Mann ’81 “CalArts’s silent auction, a fund-raising campaign to benefit the CalArts Community Arts Partnership (CAP), was conducted at Susan Disney Lord’s Bel-Air restaurant in January 2019. Art was donated by various CalArts alumni. Our Rollercoaster-Art donation is titled, Life Is Like A Ride In The Park. The concept of this multicompilated image is that of living notables who have overcome hardships and adversities in their lives, yet succeeded to carry on in light of their difficult situations. The winning bid was $1,000.”   B

Eric Post ’81 “I’m celebrating 20 years of my show in Vegas—the longest running show in town—called Marriage Can Be Murder. Two years in a row voted best show in Southern NV.”

Gail Rebhan ’81 tells us, “I’m very happy with my new public art project with Arlington County, Virginia, called Immigration/ Assimilation. I collected immigration/assimilation stories from six Arlington residents. My artwork features recent immigrants, a family that immigrated from England in the 1600s, a Jewish family escaping European anti-Semitism in the 1930s, and an AfricanAmerican family that has lived in Arlington since the Civil War. In this project, my goal is to convey a message of tolerance and promote understanding. The exhibit is part of Arlington Arts’s Art on the ART Bus program. The artwork has two components: an installation of 13 panels on an Arlington Public Transit bus and a display at the

Arlington County Bozman Government Center. During the reception the ART bus will come by for a slightly prolonged stop. This provides a rare opportunity to see the artwork displayed on the bus. The installation will be aboard one ART Bus from March 14, 2019 through summer 2020.  C

Dave Bossert ’83 In 2014, while working on a Beauty and the Beast iPad App project at Disney, Bossert came up with a concept to repurpose the left and right eye images from the 3-D conversion of the animated classic. The idea was to blend between the left and right eye images using the iPad’s built-in gyroscope to create a 3-D effect without having to wear the 3-D glasses. Disney colleagues at the time—Bryan Whited and Lewis Segal—wrote the algorithm that made it possible, building off some code developed by Robert Neuman. The United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded a patent in November 2018 to Bossert and his colleagues, through Disney, for the invention now known as Parallax Based Monoscopic Rendering.

Rob Bekuhrs ’83 has departed from the board and presidency of ASIFA Portland after 8 years. He’s worked for the last 7 years directing and animating, and humbling

himself among the talent at SuperGenius Studios in Oregon City. His rubber-stamp short Stamp Out Animation! recently played as the opener for the Center for Book Arts print/animation exhibition in NYC. Last year he presented (to a crowd of a dozen or so in a rainy tent at a Portland film festival) about his 35+ year career in traditional/vfx/stopMo film, and TV attraction and game animation at Disney, Laika, DoubleNeg, Bagdessarian, Kroyer, and other studios. “That was a treat, actually,” says Bekuhrs. “Nice to know that’s been done.” He’s now steeply inclined to continue the character and narrative voice work that he initially cultivated at CalArts so many years ago. “Truly, vigorously, memorably: Viva 1983, a great year for CalArts Animation!”

Adriane Jach ’83 says, “I recently completed a comprehensive certificate program in The Art of Death Midwifery from the Institute for Conscious Dying and Family-Directed Funerals. I plan to proselytize the options we have at end of life to the community at-large. This is my evangelical calling as part of the Positive Death Movement.”

Fred Cline ’84 is a storyboard artist at Wild Canary Animation for Disney Jr. —shows such as Miles From Tomorrowland, Puppy Dog Pals, and Sheriff Callie’s Wild West. He also teaches design/color fundamentals and character design at Dodge College of Film and Media Arts/Chapman University in Orange, CA.

Alexis Krasilovsky ’84 conducted a five-day workshop on screenplay adaptation at the International Academy of Film and Media in Dhaka, Bangladesh, based on

her book, Great Adaptations: Screenwriting and Global Storytelling, and served as one of two American delegates at the Dhaka International Film Festival. She also authored Sex and the Cyborg Goddess under the pseudonym Alexis Rafael, Fall 2017.

Brian Evans ’84 updates: “Now happily retired from being a digital media artist/ composer and Professor Emeritus from the University of Alabama (Department of Art and Art History), I’m currently living in the Pacific Northwest exploring the compositional complexities and nuanced jazz intricacies of the tenor ukulele.”

Christian Lukather ’84 writes to say, “Greetings! I recently wrote a book on midcentury ranch homes in the San Fernando Valley. The book is titled: A Birdhouse in Paradise: William Mellenthin and the San Fernando Valley Ranch Homes.”

Cynthia Pepper ’84 “I wrote and directed a 30-minute tween film called PIXIE & Dust, which I’m using to teach creativity and innovative thinking classes. My day job: teaching dance in the public elementary schools of San Francisco.”   E

Linda Tadic ’84 touches base: “After graduating, I continued playing harpsichord and making experimental films, but it’s hard to make a living doing either of those activities, so I eventually found my career path from my other main activity at CalArts: working in libraries and archives. I’ve spent more than 30 years leading various audiovisual and digital archive organizations and initiatives, eventually founding my own company, Digital Bedrock, that offers managed digital

preservation services. We’ve preserved Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh’s films; a studio’s high-value episodic content; works by independent producers; collections held at museums, archives, and distributors; and even digital archives from the CalArts Library, where I first received training as a student-worker cataloger back in the early 1980s! Life comes full circle. I’m also teaching as an Adjunct Professor at UCLA; and while in New York, I taught at NYU. On a personal note, I have a wonderful 25-year-old son. And after 20 years in exile—living in Berkeley; Athens, GA; and New York—I finally came home to LA for good in 2011. After all these years, degrees, and professional experiences, I still say that the best education I received was in Michael Asher’s epic seminars. That’s where I learned how to think.”

Michael Buckley ’85 During the ’80s, with his actor/producer parents, Michael Buckley founded the American Historical Theatre in Philadelphia, bringing interactive history-based characters to life in theaters and nontraditional performance spaces across the nation. For the past 25 years, Michael has produced and hosted The Sunday Brunch on 103.1 WRNR-FM Annapolis/Baltimore/DC, a unique radio show that is home to multiple musical genres. The innovative radio show offers a thoughtful blend of deep cuts, atmospheric soundscapes, and a balance of new and classic musical selections, plus arts and cultural interviews. The show also features the acclaimed oral history interview series, Voices of the Chesapeake—nearly 20 years running—and 750 interviews with folks from the 6-state 64,000-square mile watershed. Buckley authored a 400-page book of the same name, a CD called Songs of the Chesapeake Bay (featuring three Grammy Award-winners), and a series of voices gallery exhibitions. Buckley produces an annual Riverfront Concert Series at Washington College in historic Chestertown, Maryland, where he also teaches students to shatter the proverbial fourth wall—to knock on doors and record the stories of the people they meet in oral history interviews for archival preservation and web presentations from the college’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.  D

Jeanette May ’85 will have a solo exhibition of her Tech Vanitas photography series at Alter Gallery in Shanghai, China, June 1–30.

May’s photographs embrace our anxiety over new technology and love for beautifully designed, obsolete machines. Her still-life photos reference 17th century Dutch vanitas paintings and their air of craft guilds, international trade, and personal wealth. At the same time, the carefully disheveled compo-

sitions of sleek objects allude to product photography and advertising imagery. The sheer quantity of gadgets collected suggests mass production, waste, recycling, and the passing of time. Finally, these photos reflect our nostalgia for old technology and yearning for the latest, must-have, enchanted objects.

William McGuigan ’85 writes, “I’m teaching a class at Stockton University called Technology & Science in Communication. Was hoping to work with Michael Scroggins ’75, MFA ’87 to save a piece of video history, the Wobbulator! Always thinking of how important CalArts is and what is possible! Thanks.”

Amy Vuckovich ’85 “Back at set design for season 3 of The Fix!”

Melissa Berger Brennan ’86 is celebrating 17 years this May as a talent agent at CESD. She holds two positions: Talent Agent for Film/TV/Theatre and Vice President of Youth Voiceover. Married to William Martin Brennan ’86.

Michael McDonough ’86 “During last issue’s Class Notes, my writing partner David Nathan Schwartz and I had just completed our screenplay, O’Malley’s Critter Control. I am happy to report that the script has been doing well in screenplay competitions such as the Fade In Awards, Emerging Writers Awards, and Screencraft’s Family Screenplay Competition. We have also acquired a literary agent, Liz Raci, at Bicoastal Talent Agency. We just finished a new script titled A Girl Like That, about the misadventures of a young man who confuses beauty for love and his quest for the ‘perfect woman.’ Currently, we’re working on a script called The Detail Guys, about two broke adventurers who are mistakenly hired for assassins, but instead of killing, they improve the health/lives of two old guys until the real assassins show up. Wish us luck.”

Lynn Norton (Hammill) ’86 says, “I have been working for the past four years at the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund. We’re a nonprofit organization that distributes royalties from internet, digital, and satellite radio to nonfeatured musicians. I love being able to use my knowledge of musicians and music to find musicians who are owed money.”   B

Douglas Rushkoff ’86 writes, “My new book, Team Human, launched in January 2019. I’ve never written to everyone in my address book before, but this is by far the most important publication of my career: a manifesto arguing for human dignity and prosperity in a digital age. Autonomous technologies, runaway markets, and weaponized media seem to have overturned civil society, paralyzing our ability to think constructively, connect meaningfully, or act purposefully. Yet the root causes for our collective disempowerment are based on some very old, false ideas about competition, individuality, scarcity, and progress. We needn’t embed these values in the digital landscape of tomorrow. They are obsolete. We must stop optimizing human beings for technology, and start optimizing technology for us. It’s time we reassert the human agenda. And we must do so together, not as individual players, but as the team we actually are. Team Human. I would be grateful if you purchase this book, which also supports the Team Human podcast.”

Morgan Rusler ’86 “I—and fellow CalArts alum Beth Kennedy ’91—held a staged reading of A Julius Weezer Teaser with the Troubadour Theater Company in March, at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood. The full production of Julius Weezer will go up at the El Portal in May.” Two Troubies do mash-ups of Shakespeare and pop music (Fleetwood Macbeth, All’s Kool That Ends Kool, The Comedy of Aerosmith, Much a Doobie Brothers About Nothing, As U2 Like It, Romeo Hall and Juliet Oates, 12th Dog Night, etc.) as well as mash-up Christmas shows (A Christmas Carole King, It’s a Stevie Wonderful Life, The First Jo-el, etc.).  C

Cynthia Blackstone ’87 reminds us, “‘Be who you are and say what you feel, those that matter don’t mind and those that mind don’t matter.’ —Dr. Seuss”

Nancy Floyd ’87 In 2018, Nancy Floyd received an Aaron Siskind Photography Fellowship and was a finalist for The Print Center’s 93rd Annual International Competition and the Hopper Prize. In July, her 37-year self-portrait series, Weathering Time, will open at the Blue Sky Gallery in Portland, OR.  D

Rich Goodhart ’87 For more than 20 years, Rich has been on the seasonal Core Faculty at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, serving as Qigong & Taiji teacher and musician, as well as shamanic sound healing practitioner, in residence. This past spring, he led his second Sound Medicine Expansive retreat weekend there. His seventh and most recent album of multicultural world music and shamanic sound medicine meditations is titled Forest River Pathway, and is his second double-CD album in a row. (“You know, extended classic-style ‘concept album’ now that very few people are buying albums anymore!”)

Patti Preiss-Harris ’87 writes, “2018 was a rough year for me. In August, I was diagnosed with breast cancer that metastasized to the liver. After months of difficulty, pain, and a week-long hospitalization, I am coming back to life. Using a combination of chemotherapy and alternative plants, teas, and flowers, I’ve reduced my tumor by 80 percent. Although my cancer is considered incurable, I am now able to live a normal life teaching, performing, walking the dogs, and being with friends. I am grateful—and thanks, CalArts, for all your inspiration!”   E

Julian David Stone ’87 released a new coffee table book, No Cameras Allowed: My Career as an Outlaw Rock and Roll photographer, which tells the story, in words and photos, of how Stone amassed an incredible archive of more than 10,000 rock and roll photos

by sneaking his equipment into concerts. Starting by simply stashing a camera in his socks, then taping equipment all over his body, to finally customizing a jacket to hide equipment from security guards, he shot dozens of the greatest acts—Prince, U2, the Police, David Bowie, R.E.M., the Ramones, Elvis Costello, the Talking Heads, the Grateful Dead, Joan Jett, and many, many more—all from the unique vantage point of the audience, capturing exactly what the fans were seeing and the way the band meant the show to be seen. Culled from this incredible, never-before-seen archive, No Cameras Allowed contains more than 250 of his best photos, along with stories of some of the craziest adventures he had evading oversized roadies, aggressive security, and more than a few drunken fans.

Peter Duschenes ’88 As cofounder and F artistic director of Platypus Theatre, Peter Duschenes has been lauded for his innovation in presenting symphonic music to young audiences. For nearly 30 years, his ability to bring the concert stage to life by combining theater and music has led to commissions with orchestras from coast to coast. An award-winning playwright, Peter’s writing credits include all eight of Platypus’s symphony plays, the television adaptation of How the Gimquat Found Her Song (winner Best Children’s Program at the 2008 Banff World Television Festival), and the one-act play, Lost River (winner of Theatre BC’s Canadian National Playwriting competition). As an actor, Peter has worked with companies across Canada and the United States. Among his favorite stage roles are Richard in Shakespeare’s Richard II for Quantum Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA, and Louis Ironson in Angels In America at the Centaur Theatre in Montreal. Peter lives in Ottawa with his wife, Sarah, and their two children, Magda and Theo.

Joanne Giannino ’88 checks in: “Since graduating from the School of Art with a focus on visual and performance art and writing, I have worked as a reporter and editor (per advice of Norman Klein) for 3 years (not 10 years, as

advised). I received a Master’s in Education in expressive arts therapies, which allowed me to work as an expressive arts therapist in a psychiatric day treatment center and as adjunct faculty at Lesley College graduate school, teaching the thesis writing seminar. I also published a poetry chapbook, JourneyWoman, with a Massachusetts Cultural Council arts grant. I’ve found myself attracted to the Unitarian Universalist faith tradition, and became a religious educator in a local congregation. I published a curriculum, Meetings at the Moon: a six-week spiritual journey for pre-teen girls. Further, I received an M. Div., was ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister, served four congregations (in Boston; Flagstaff, AZ; and Urbana, IL), got married, raised two boys, and became a grandmother to a smart and beautiful granddaughter. Currently, I am set up in Westmore, VT, on Willoughby Lake in the ‘Northeast Kingdom’ writing poetry, preaching occasionally, and finding ways to make a difference while awaiting the next adventure. Would love to hear from others.”

Loch Phillips ’88 After filming for more than 2 years, Loch has begun post production on his feature documentary about the rust belt city of Utica, NY. Utica—The Last Refuge (working title) provides an intimate portrait of a city and the refugees it has welcomed for the past 30 years. Having lost nearly half its population, Utica is now a showcase for postindustrial renewal, rebuilding itself with refugees from Bosnia, South Asia, and Africa, that now comprise 25 percent of the population. This story of community building flies in the face of most of the current talk about immigration in the United States.

Todd Licea ’89 is currently playing Ed Boone in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime at Florida Studio Theatre, Sarasota, Florida.

Michael Darmody ’89 informs us: “The latest version of Right-of-Way (a temporary art installation consisting of a line of preliminary centerline survey stakes, bisecting civic or public lands, running due north-south, after ownership rights have been determined and permits obtained) has been approved for Santa Fe’s Railyard Park this coming spring.”

Nineties

Jenifer Anisman ’90 is working as a real estate lawyer and commercial litigator in the greater Los Angeles area. Ms. Anisman continues to enjoy playing piano, writing music, and creating art with her 14-year-old musical daughter. She also remains in awe of her incredibly talented 22-year-old, two-time CSSSA-attending daughter, who left a full scholarship at CalState LA to become a bohemian.

Robin Cottle ’90 had a recent feature in the LA Times about her Marmol Radziner jewelry.

Jim Byrkit ’91 recently traveled to China with fellow CalArtian Hugo

Armstrong ’98 for B screenings of their film, Coherence, which has gained cult status in China for its independent spirit and narrative complexity. The film is currently being remade in India, where it is enjoying similar success. It was directed by Byrkit, from a story written by him and Armstrong (photo by CalArts graduate Peter Konerko ’97).

Barbara Carrasco ’91 writes, “So happy to share my portable mural with everyone at the Natural History Museum—on display for more than a year now. It will be exhibited until September! Please visit this wonderful museum.”

Patricia Galvis Assmus ’91 says she’s “still leading a busy/fun/productive/ questioning life. Currently working on a 360° stop-motion animation and investigating VR accessibility issues. “I’m now a full professor at UMass Amherst, teaching Animation in the art department. I am also director for the academic Information Technology Program in the College of Information & Computer Sciences, so, I live in two worlds on one campus. Always challenging, always interesting. How technology driven can/should art get? How artistic can technology get?”

Bradley Hughes ’91 is the founder and director of the School of Music Production & Sound Design for Visual Media at Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

David Fain ’92 is currently working as an Animatic Editor for the animated series, The Rocketeer, to eventually air on Disney JR. The Rocketeer “follows Kit, a young girl who receives a surprise package on her birthday revealing that she’s next in line to become the Rocketeer, a legendary superhero who has the ability to fly with the help of a rocket-powered jet pack. Armed with her cool new gear and secret identity, Kit is ready to take flight and save the day with her gadget-minded best friend, Tesh, and airplane-mechanic uncle, Ambrose, who join her on epic adventures.” This is a reboot of the Disney live-action film produced back in the 1990s, based on the Dave Stevens comic book of the same name.

Marc Ratner ’92 is back in Switzerland, undergoing treatments for a long-standing illness. The creator of “Cal the Artian” and the UC Santa Cruz “Banana Slug,” among other memorable characters, Marc hopes to return beefy, strong, and flexible—like Miley Cyrus’s tongue. Check out his art, posted daily on Instagram, @CaricatoonsStudio.

Jacqueline Wright ’92 writes, “My play, Driving Wilde, will have its world premiere in Los Angeles. Produced by Theater Of Note, it opens August 16. Driving Wilde is a postmodern reimagining of The Picture of Dorian Gray.”  C

Paul Livingstone ’93, MFA ’97 is a sitarist, composer, educator, and activist who’s had a seven-concert tour in Pakistan last year as well as performances in Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. He plays regularly around Los Angeles, and teaches world music at GCC as well as in his home studio. Paul has diversified his palette of strings to include upright bass, on which he performs South Asian ragas, jazz, and Latin music. He has played on two Grammy Award records with LA’s iconic Ozomatli and Ricky Kej from Bangalore, India. Paul founded the Soul Force Project, a multimedia musical journey celebrating the relevance of nonviolent action with his ensemble Arohi, including fellow CalArtians Pedro Eustache MFA ’91 and Peter Jacobson ’05. Soul Force presented an interfaith, zero waste, climate-conscious, world music festival in Pasadena this past April.

Janice Margolis ’93 writes that after receiving her MFA in film from CalArts, she was an assistant professor of film at the University of Texas in Austin, and became the artistic director and choreographer of Semaphore Dancetheatre. As a choreographer, she was awarded a Massachusetts Artists Foundation grant, and her work was reviewed in The New York Times, Dance Magazine, and The Boston Globe, as well as presented or commissioned by Harvard University’s Fogg Art Museum and Boston University. Her screenplay, Charlotte, is a regional winner of Creative Europe and has been awarded an Irish Film Board Grant. Her short story collection, Termination Shocks, won the 2018 Juniper Prize for Fiction. Her short story, “21 Days,” was runner-up in the Mountain West Writers’ Contest and published in Western Humanities Review. She is also an AFI Film Finalist, has four films in development, has recently completed a play called God’s Green Earth, and has finished her first novel, World Full of Noise.

James and Penny (Pehl) Moore MFA ’93 & MFA’04 write that they are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of running their boutique graphic design studio, Tenderling Design, in Austin, Texas.

Barry Morse ’93 modeled for Steven Hull’s ’97 painting for his show Our Little Chapel by the Lake: the transformation of Jesus Christ, exhibited March 23–May 25 at Meliksetian and Briggs.   E

Yvonne Papanek ’93 checks in: “Since graduating from the School of Dance, I traveled to Japan and France, where I continued to study dance and develop an authentic style of AgitProp performance art. Last year, in November, I made a site-specific dance in Culver City near the Platform. We danced on September 21, 2018—World Peace Day—wearing white and holding peace flags, complementing the world calendar with images of love, light, and peace, to hold the idea of peace strong in the peoples’ mind’s eye. For my next project, I’m making a service team that will teach dance to underserved communities. The community will NOT pay for the classes. It’s called Yogi Civilian Service Team dancers. Om. Dance is, like art, an expression of freedom. Thank you for sharing.”

Marion Garver ’95 has been furthering her interest in low-register flutes with three solo concerts in San Diego this year. She’s also forming the San Diego Flute Orchestra—The Santa Ana Winds—with flutist Elena Yarritu and composer Chikako Iverson.   F

Rachel Schreiber ’95 , most recently Provost and Senior Vice President at San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI), has been appointed Executive Dean of The New School’s Parsons School of Design, one of the world’s leading art and design schools, effective July 1, 2019. As Executive Dean, Schreiber will serve as Parsons’ principal academic and strategic leader, overseeing an innovative curriculum; financial growth and resource management; fundraising and partnerships; and administration and culture. Schreiber has taught design, studio arts, and interdisciplinary humanities at all levels from first year through graduate studies. She holds a Ph.D. in History from Johns Hopkins University, an MFA in Art and Critical Writing from California Institute of the Arts, and a BFA in Graphic Design from Rhode Island School of Design. Her research explores histories of gender, labor, activism, and visual and print culture. Her visual works have been screened and exhibited internationally, and she has published two books with academic presses, numerous peer-reviewed articles, and other writing.  G

Eugene Vlassis ’95 writes, “I earned my Practical Nursing certificate at Fort Bliss and served in the US Army for 6 years. I have been a nurse for 11 years. Recently, I returned to college for a bachelor’s degree in software engineering. I would like to work for the government when I graduate. I still play cello repertoire for myself, or sing it in my head (except for the music learned at CalArts. LOL!)”  H

Tamlyn Wright ’95 is a partner at Silent House Productions, a boutique design firm where she has branched into the concert tour and festival world designing shows for Taylor Swift, Cardi B, Selena Gomez, H.E.R., Usher, One Direction, Ricky Martin, k.d. lang, Miley Cyrus, and Lorde. Recent music event design and creative producing include this year’s American Music Awards and Grammy Awards performances of Cardi B and H.E.R. She is still very much a part of the broadcast variety show world, designing stages for music and awards shows. Last year, she created a gameplay league environment for Overwatch at Burbank Studios. This summer she is producing and designing Ignite Equality at Caesar’s Palace, a concert and comedy benefit event for women’s charities. Most recently Tamlyn won the 2019 Parnelli Award for Best Scenic Design for Taylor Swift’s REPUTATION Stadium World Tour. Designing live events and environments that blur the lines of architecture and digital media is a passion in her current work.

Denise Gillman ’97 is an Associate Professor of Directing & Dramatic Literature at Christopher Newport University (CNU) in Newport News, VA, and a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. She coauthored a book chapter with her CNU colleague, Ann Mazzocca Bellecci, for the Oxford University Press Handbook, Shakespeare and Dance. The chapter featured her direction and collaboration with Bellecci on an Afro-Caribbean adaption of Pericles, Prince of Tyre. In support of her teaching, research, and creative activity on sciencethemed plays, she created the first annual Science Play Festival at CNU in the Trible Library Theater. The Festival presented The Children by Lucy Kirkwood, Isaac’s Eye by Lucas Hnath, and The How and The Why by Sarah Treem. Denise collaborated with Kristin Skees, CNU Studio Artist and Lecturer, on The Elegant Universe, an interdisciplinary collaborative art installation and theatrical performance of Nick Payne’s play, Constellations, that explores the mysteries of love, the multiverse, and string theory. In 2017, she launched the science play online database, scienceplays.org, and continues to build this vital resource with her students.

Ashanti Miller ’97 C writes that she now works primarily in the games industry, but her passion is her self-published comic series, HipChick Comics. She completed her second graphic novel, Superficial, in 2017 and is wrapping up a third book, Sabbatical, due later this year. “With so few hip female characters in animation nowadays, studio and game work has become merely a day job. HipChick Comics, my opus, keeps me sane.” You can find HipChick Comics online.  C

Megumi Nakai ’97 checks in: “It’s been more than 20 years since I graduated from CalArts. Surviving kidney cancer taught me the importance of eating well and working out, so now I’ve got my culinary license and international Sake Sommelier license. I have been working in the kitchen/service staff. The attached photos are of myself learning to make sake at Senkin Brewery in Tochigi-Prefecture, at Nanbu Bijin Brewery in Iwate-Prefecture, and serving sake dressed in our traditional Kimonos. I’m looking forward to serving you delicious sake in Tokyo next year for the 2020 Olympics.”

Bobby Brewer-Wallin ’98 During the 2018/19 theater season, Bobby designed costumes for Dead City, directed by Jonathan Cole at Willamette University; Cop Out, directed by Kevin Jones and Damaris Webb at The August Wilson Red Door Project; Everybody, directed by Damaso Rodriguez and Jessica Wallenfels ’97; A Doll’s House Part 2, directed by Luan Schooler ’84; and The Revolutionists, directed by Lava Alapai ’00 at Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, Oregon. Bobby is Professor of Theatre at Willamette University.

Juliana Haubrich ’99 says, “After leaving NYC, I’ve been lucky enough to be a working Scenic Designer in Berkshire, Massachusetts for the past 10 years. I’m an Associate Artist and Resident Designer for WAM Theatre Company, and was recently accepted into the Scenic Artists Union, Local 829, NYC. I’ve designed shows for Shakespeare & Company, Berkshire Theatre Group, Dorset Theatre Festival, and Chester Theatre Company. This year, I’ll be designing shows at The Arena Theater in Washington, DC, Dallas Theatre Center, and Laguna Playhouse. I’ll also be taking a show to The Atlantic and NYC.”

Etta Lilienthal ’99 “Last year, I spent an amazing month in Skagastr ö nd, Iceland, at the NES Artist Residency, where I reconnected to my painting roots, and began an inquiry into combining my light sculpture practice with my painting practice. My small watercolors and larger scale ink paintings explore the way light connects the space between the land and sky—the place humans regularly inhabit. At the core of this new work is how these connections explode out of the two-dimensional painted plane, into three-dimensional space. I have begun using sculpted paper, liquid pigments, clear filament, and light to describe multiple planes and invisible membranes. Silfurá, a new art installation at Mithun’s Threshold Gallery, allows for many angles of view. The installation can be seen from below, above, eye-level, and can inhabit the walls, floor, and hanging volume of the space. Guests are encouraged to record their own inner conversations for others to read. In this way, a shared body of emotional experiences will develop over the course of the installation. This living document will follow both the individual journey and the journey of the group as a whole.”

Todd Simon ’99 tells us his horns have been featured on the new Weezer Black LP, and in arrangements for a new UK artist named Celeste. His DJ/trumpet sets have electrified venues around Los Angeles while his #HodgePodgeLA project has joined forces with the Subsuelo crew for some magical blends of Flamenco, DJs, and live instrumentation. Todd is moving over to Camino Nuevo Charter Academy–Miramar High School in Downtown Los Angeles to pilot a new music program.

Pablo Wehby ’99 “I designed an exhibition at Urbanspace gallery in Toronto for part of Canada’s Design TO week. The exhibition, entitled Urban Sensorium, explores the future of the built environment in cities through the lens of sensory experience, and deals with urban planning and climate change.”   B

Double Ohs

Vincent Goudreau ’00 is continuing his work on Recordings of an Immigrant, a nonfiction narrative that inspired a multidisciplinary project, including a book compiled from transcribed audio recordings. Partially funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation and Grand Central Art Center, the work includes video/sound pieces, works on paper, and sculptural installations. This is a contemporary narrative amid the US immigration debate that confronts taboo issues and explores how we, as people, judge one another. After Goudreau’s solo exhibition at Grand Central Art Center, he is actively seeking new venues, as well as working toward the project’s multimedia e-book, audio, and Spanish versions. recordingsofanimmigrant.com

Arabella Proffer ’00 “I’ve recently celebrated the 17th year of Elephant Stone Records, a record label I founded with my husband, and this past December celebrated 8 years of being cancer free. In between a variety of group exhibitions, I have come off two solo shows—one of drawings in Cologne, Germany, and one of paintings in Cleveland, Ohio, during the first FRONT Triennial. I’m currently working on paintings for an upcoming solo show at Boxheart Gallery in Pittsburgh this summer, and one of my paintings made the cover of an upcoming issue of The Portland Review. In the past six years, I’ve moved away from portraiture and have been creating surreal biomorphic compositions, delving into the alchemy of oil painting and relationships to anatomy, biology, and emerging sciences.”

John Churchville ’01 has worked with the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum to present the Sonic Workshop, an ongoing public program that features interactive sound exhibits, music creation technologies, and opportunities for visitors to create their own instruments. He also became a member of the inaugural New Directions in Music Education Committee for the Michigan Music Education Association. John is also presenting with his group, Sumkali, at the Association for Popular Music Education’s National Conference in New York City. They will be presenting on the influence of Indian music and culture in the music of the Beatles. John will also be presenting with Dylan Larkins on the use of open source modular synthesizer software in music education. John presents nationwide seminars on accelerating success in elementary music programs for the Institute of Educational Development.

Jonathan Thomas Miller ’02 writes, “Anthroposcenes is my new experimental album. Recorded throughout 2016–2018, the record embraces many of the ideas I’ve had about imperfect music and the joy of finding inspiration in broken materials. Travels to Alaska, Iceland, and Thailand cemented the concept of creating a soundtrack for a world in which climate change had created irreparable and irreversible damage, but reflected through a more personal and emotional lens. I began to think of what music would accompany people thinking back to a time when action could have prevented the inevitable. The result is a collection of often melancholy and challenging musical collages. It’s my homage to the planet. If this all sounds too high-concept, do not despair! The metaphors are only my own, and I want listeners to imagine their own scenes and, perhaps, to use the music to contemplate their current emotions, or just enjoy the visceral experience. Improvised performances with video coming soon.”  D

Jesse Lee Stout ’02, MFA ’11 Since May 2018, Jesse has taken the role of Creative Director for the Grammy Award-winning British rock band MUSE. As CD he oversees and directs all visual aspects of the band’s career: albums, videos, merch, VR video games, photo shoots, and live performances. The band’s current arena and stadium tour, The Simulation Theory Tour, launched on February 22, 2019 in Houston, Texas.

Elaine Avila ’03 is the 2019 Fulbright Scholar to Azores, Portugal, where she will write two new plays. Her play, Fado: the Saddest Music in the World, won Best Musical in Victoria, where it received its Canadian premiere at Puente Theatre, directed by Mercedes BátizBenét. Fado was also named one of the Top Unproduced Latinx Plays in America in 2018, and one of the top 23 plays in Canada, on The Sure Fire List, from the Playwrights Guild of Canada.

April Fletcher ’03 says, “In the past year, my creative interests have expanded into video streaming, renewable energy, and autonomous vehicles. Projected for late 2020, I will be launching a streaming channel to be an entertainment and educational resource for the performing arts with the purpose of inspiring interest and stimulating creativity. Related to the channel, but not exclusive to it, I am developing a series focusing on the history of jazz. Lastly, I’ve been inspired by EVShare, an autonomous vehicle company, to become an advocate for their cause, as well as increasing involvement in the clean air, renewable energy, and IoT spaces.”

Carole Kim ’03 “Lots of news to share! 2019 began with a collaboration with pianist and former CalArts faculty member, Vicki Ray, for a performance at REDCAT in January, followed by an ongoing collaboration with multimedia performer Dohee Lee in Oakland. I am currently a year-long artist in residence at Descanso Gardens, furthering my interest in landscape as a three-dimensional canvas for video projection. These experiments will culminate in a solo exhibition and monthly performances from July 14 to October 27 of this year. I was awarded a residency at the Headlands Center for the Arts this spring, where I will be constructing two of the installations for the exhibition at Descanso. It’s a deep dive. Come join me.”   E

Goh Kurosawa ’03 writes, “I made my Cuban debut last year, and with the help of the Japanese Embassy, my shows were a part of the 120th Anniversary of Japanese Migration to Cuba celebration. 2019 began with First Night Monterey festival, followed by my February trip to St. Louis, where I received the Wilson School Achievement Award and conducted a music assembly. In April, I fly to Japan for my spring tour, which will include my first appearances in Okinawa. Next year, I perform in Hungary for the first time. Thank you always, CalArts!”   F

Marco Neves ’03 “I’m an actor and the Creative Director/CoFounder of the Pasadena International Film Festival, now in its 6th year. For more information, check us out

online. I hope to see you guys throughout the year at CalArts events!”

Josh Stone ’03, MFA ’05 “Hi, Pool! Finishing up getting my teaching credential in art at Cal State Long Beach. Also, I have a solo exhibition of my watercolors of Haunted Houses in the fall, at Kopeikin Gallery in Culver City.”

Kelly Woessner ’03 updates us: “I took my BFA from CalArts and went on to get a job in marketing for Dark Horse Comics. I’m the Digital Marketing Manager and I oversee the creation of digital assets, including directing and editing comic book trailers. I’m also a collage artist and have had several shows in Portland. My art was recently licensed for the cover of Portland Cello Project’s new album, Homage to Radiohead. You can check out my collages online.”  A

Mary Cohen ’04, MFA ’07 “I’m regularly exhibiting in galleries, including Blue 7 on Pico.”

Kelly Fogel ’04 says, “I love the alumni magazine and have been working on a project documenting the people of the Omo Valley in Ethiopia. I’ve had a few shows and was recently selected as a finalist to be shown at Photo LA at the end of the month. I’ve also self-published a book about the work. Let me know if you’d have any interest in featuring some of my photos/writing in an upcoming issue. VoyageLA published an interview with me that came out this week.”

Ami Molinelli ’04 received a grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission to record an album with collaborators Rogerio Souza and Edinho Gerber from Rio, Brazil. The album, A Historia do Choro, was released in March. The album chronicles many different genres. The band Duo Violão Plus 1 toured in March and will tour again in October of 2019. The album art was designed by another CalArts alumna,

Juliana Sankarin-Felix ’97.

Tamar Salibian ’04 is currently a Media Studies Ph.D. candidate in the Cultural Studies program at Claremont Graduate University. Later this year, she intends to defend her dissertation, which addresses questions of labor, surveillance, and self-commodification in reality TV and contemporary culture. In addition to her scholarly pursuits, Tamar teaches dance/ fitness classes in Los Angeles.   B

Rebecca Whitehurst ’04 enjoyed cohosting a CalArts alumni event in Austin, TX, during the zany Fusebox Festival, where she has presented performance work. Recently, she moved to Flagstaff, where she is the Assistant Professor of Practice for movement, voice, and acting at NAU. She remarks, “Still choreographing, and thanking CalArts for it!”

Christine Beebe ’04 was hired in August 2018 as the Director of Non-Fiction Development for LucasFilm.

Sebastian Boher ’05 has combined his experimental creative mind and his love of working with his hands to create Miwak Junior—a ceramics company that creates handmade sculptures, vases, and smoking pipes. The most recent Outsiders pipe collection features one-of-a-kind pipes painted with Sebastian’s signature weird animation. Check them out online.  C

W. S. Cheng ’05 writes, “I am currently an Information Security Specialist at Cboe Global Markets. Although I work for a stock exchange company, I am trying to get back to making art these days. Easier said than done!”

Nathan Meier ’05 “I have worked for the School of Film/Video at CalArts since 2008 as both Equipment Coordinator and Equipment Supervisor. During that time, I have continued making films, paintings, and drawings. My film feature, Logan’s Syndrome, was released online by Cinedigm in 2018. Centered on disabled artist Logan Madsent he documentary can be viewed on Amazon and iTunes. This past March, I took part in a giant group art show at Serious Topics in Los Angeles. Dreamhouse vs. Punkhouse features miniature works from nearly 200 artists, including CalArts alumnx Dave Muller, Aaron Axlerod, and Violet Hopkins.”  D

Milly Sanders ’05 checks in: “Milly Sanders here, cofounder of SiniSisters Productions. I wanted to share my company’s latest horror short, Casting Couch. I was an actress, writer, and one of the producers on the project. Whoo-hoo!”   E

Emery Martin ’06 and Kerstin Hovland ’12 (aka Electronic Countermeasures) just finished working on The 1975’s ABIIOR World Tour. They were the screens producing, video design, and animation team that brought to life the massive LED video surfaces, including an 80-ft.-tall wall. The show has been described as “Gobsmacking” by NME and “A Stunning Assault” by LiveDesign. It was a massive undertaking combining traditional handmade animation, computer-generated imagery, software programming, live-action video, practical special effects, photogrammetry, and

more. To make it possible, they brought in a number of CalArts alums to collaborate on the project, including Meejin Hong ’12; Melody Yenn ’14; Julian Petshek ’14; Erica Larsen-Dockray ’09, MFA ’12; Tempe Hale ’14; and Oliver Franklin Anderson ’11. The show will tour worldwide throughout 2019 and hit both the Coachella and Governors Ball music festivals.  A

Mark So ’06 “I composed the music for The Trip, a new short film by Eileen Myles and David Fenster. It premiered at the Poetry Foundation in Chicago and will show again at CineMarfa in May. A collection of nearly 300 scores from my Ashbery series was recently published as a box of wind by the Marfa Book Company, available at the store and through its website.”

Daniel Corral ’07 “I premiered a new piece called Summits on March 20, and performed it in San Francisco on April 13. I also played my solo piece, Comma, at the MATA Festival on April 12 in New York. I’m still special faculty in composition at the CalArts School of Music. I released an album in October 2018, called Polytope.”

Will Kim ’07 As an animation supervisor, Will participated in Cosmic Debris, a short documentary film directed by Patrick Waldrop about Gábor Csupó, an influential and renowned animator, Hungarian immigrant, and lifelong Frank Zappa enthusiast. The film won Best Animated Documentary at DOC LA Awards and was nominated for Best Documentary Short at Tribeca Film Festival 2018. Another feature-length documentary film Will worked on, River of Gold, directed by Reuben Aaronson, won the Best Documentary Film at ARPA International Film Festival in November 2018. The film was screened at the United Nations in Geneva in June 2018, organized with Ciné-ONU Geneva

and UN Environment, with the support of the Amazon Aid Foundation.   B

Moro Rogers ’07 “I have been raising a toddler and working on a long, sprawling, semicoherent sci-fi satire/slob comedy graphic novel called Human Capital.”  C

Florencio Zavala ’07 In February of this year, Florencio (Flo) Zavala joined Apple as a Design Director in its Culver City offices. Previously, Flo was Head of Design at Mullen Lowe, working across Acura, Whole Foods, Caesar’s Entertainment, and EVA Air. Additionally, Flo’s work is being featured in the exhibition Ding / Unding, a curated collection of artists’ books at the Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich.  D

Timur Bekbosunov ’08 “Highlights of 2018 included my debut with Hawaii Opera Theater, a US premiere of Ton Image Charmant by Edison Denisov, the European premiere of Night of Tarantula by Kate Moore at Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, and a special runway performance, part of LA Fashion Week. Two opera recordings have been released: Young Caesar by John Harrison with the LA Phil, and Naked Revolution by Dave Soldier. 2019 started with a sold-out recital in DC at the Embassy of France, with songs by legendary Soviet entertainers of opera and the cabaret stage. It took me two years to bring together a performance of a chamber cantata, One Body, by John Kennedy and, finally, we’ve had an extremely successful first concert performance in February. We are now developing a staged version. And just when I think I learned how to sing, life changes; last year I became a VP of Creative Affairs of the new film investment company, ACE Pictures Entertainment. I advise on strategic planning, project development, and expansion plans in the US, and overall, serve as an executive producer on films. While singing continues to have a major presence in my life, I am thrilled to be spearheading the creative vision of the company.”

Nicholas Grider ’08 recently began his first professional music work, writing an orchestral reduction of an unproduced opera by a nationally known composer. He will have both experimental and “dub classical” albums done this summer, and has nearly completed training to apply to MD/Ph.D. programs (autonomic neuroscience). He’s currently working on a novel, an essay collection about social class and chronic illness, and a video/sound installation exploring gestural languages of masculinity.

David Mack ’08 was recently hired as the Executive Director of Invertigo Dance Theatre, one of the leading contemporary dance companies in Los Angeles.

Joe Milazzo ’08 “In July, my chapbook, From Being Things, To Equalities In All, will be published by The Operating System. This manuscript was one of 12 chosen for The Operating System’s inaugural Monthly Digital Chapbook Series. It will also be available as a print-on-demand title. You can learn more on my website, which contains links to The Operating System’s marketing materials for both the chapbook and the chapbooks series.”

Silas Munro ’08 In October, 2019, the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University will present Great Force, an exhibition that uses painting, sculpture, photography, video, and performance to examine racial constructs in the United States. The exhibition will feature new commissions and recent work by an intergenerational group of 21 established and emerging artists, including Pope.L, Sable Elyse Smith, Charlotte Lagarde, and Tomashi Jackson. Great Force will be accompanied by a fully illustrated and interactive publication produced by Silas Munro and Brian Johnson, who run the bicoastal studio Poly-Mode. Taking design and typographic inspiration from W.E.B. Du Bois’ migration maps and charts, the publication will include contributions by Nicholas Mirzoeff, Claudia Rankine’s Racial Imaginary Institute, and Rebecca Walker.

Steph Richards ’08 is a trumpeter who has released her sophomore record, Take The Neon Lights (Birdwatcher Arts), with fellow CalArtians Sam Minaie ’08, Andrew

Munsey ’08, and James Carney ’90. Written as an homage to places and poetry of NYC, the record has been awarded four stars on Downbeat and four and a half stars on Free Jazz Collective, which states, “the music’s sense of scale truly lives up to the title... Steph Richards proved herself a virtuoso of nonlinear trumpet playing.” The group celebrated the release with premieres in Boston, Montreal, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn. Richards is faculty at UC San Diego and regularly works with Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, and other luminaries of the avant/jazz world.

Paul Turbiak ’08 is playing Cassius in Independent Shakespeare Company’s Julius Caesar alongside Sam Breen ’11 as Antony, and Faqir Hassan ’15 as Brutus. Runs until May 11.

Maria Judice ’07 and Amanda Vigil ’08 Over the last 14 months, San Francisco– based filmmaker/educators Maria Judice and Amanda Vigil founded Indigo Impact, an autonomous filmmaking/impact production collective. Indigo Impact is a meditation on creative strategies. The collective has worked on more than 25 left of center films in all stages of development. Maria is currently in production for her feature-length project, Elephant. Amanda is in preproduction for her new-media project, Habit. Indigo Impact will launch both projects in 2020. As two deeply committed people born and raised in San Francisco, we have focused our work on developing and activating the local film and radical justice communities.

Amanda, with San Francisco Unified School District, focuses on youth education and career pathway development, and Maria is a champion of progressive media culture and social action.  D

Vonzell Carter ’09 has just returned from working in India and Thailand on the Netflix feature film, Dhaka. He was part of the core stunt team, in addition to booking a speaking role. He was last seen on the Freeform TV show, Good Trouble.   E

Marsian De Lellis ’09 Stuck Together: Simone Gad, Marsian De Lellis, + Debra Broz opened at Track 16 and features the work of De Lellis. In it, three Los Angeles-based artists create a handmade response to mass-produced images and objects, recontextualizing and repurposing through collage and assemblage. The work consists of anthropomorphic imagery—animals and representations of bodies. Marsian is an interdisciplinary artist and writer who constructs installations and time-based visual narratives that memorialize obsessional lives. Both obsessive and playful, De Lellis’s work for this exhibition draws on a larger installation, which consists of more than 1,000 handmade dolls— damaged objects that show evidence of use, frailty, and their own impermanence. The work invites its viewers to relate to the inanimate objects and contemplate the idea of identity: a repetition of a repetition for which there is no original. The work aims to create authentic, shared, and tactile experiences in response to a life bombarded by an evershifting landscape of technologies.

Flint ’09 says, “In the summer of 2017, the incomparable Lidia Yuknavitch doubledog-dared me to write the world’s first prose villanelle, and I am delighted to share that Michael Martone selected the creature-beast I wrote in response, as the winner of the 2018 Arts & Letters Unclassifiable Contest.

A Villanelle By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet appears in the 2019 Spring Issue, which hits the stands and e-streets in just a few weeks.”

Twenty Tens

Hilary Darling ’10 writes, “Life is fun because Sophie and Zuzu are now old enough to go to clubs—all age-appropriate shows, of course. They are really into bands, as teenagers should be, and so they want nothing more than to go out and hit the town—we love Los Angeles! We had the pleasure of seeing fellow CalArtian Oliver Tree ’17 (my kids LOVE him) at the Roxy in February. It was his very first headlining show, and it was pretty great to be part of the sold-out crowd.”

Anne-Marie Talmadge ’10 “I’m so grateful for the inspiration I found at CalArts. When thinking about the past year, I’m blown away by major accomplishments. I’m a Season 12 finalist of America’s Got Talent, where I performed with the innovative dance company, Diavolo. This gave me the opportunity to travel and perform in seven countries around the world. While dancing with Diavolo, my choreographic work also exploded. I won the 2018 Stage Raw Award for Choreography and was commissioned for set work by numerous theater companies around California. My nonprofit organization, Art and Action, produced eight fundraiser events that not only created awareness of topics impacting our community, but gave back to the dance community, the Veteran community, and the environment. The past two years are unforgettable. I couldn’t have done any of it on my own. It was a year of being fully self-expressed and lining up with others to powerfully create and inspire.”  A

Natalie Metzger ’11 informs us, “I was nominated for a Film Independent Spirit Award for my work as a producer on Thunder Road. My newest film, Greener Grass, is an Official Selection of the Sundance Film Festival!”

Miriam Nouri ’11 “My partner Zachary Huber and I opened a specialty general store called The Millstone Workshop. The store is inside of a historic post office, circa 1795, in Hillsborough, NJ. We wanted a space that supports artisans while inviting the local community to get cozy. Currently, we’re working to expand the store to include a sitting area, the Book Nook. Opening the store grew out of our love for coffee, but it was important for us to be able to foster a sense of tangible personal connection in a technology overdosed world. Our fouryear-old son Hunter and our three rescue dogs, Odie, Duke, and Bandit, fill out our team. Pop by if you’re in town.”

Heather Sorensen ’11 “Titmouse, the great lords of animation, have instructed you to check out the latest Tongue and Pencil episodes on YouTube. Watch the latest episode of The Tongue and Pencil, featuring Nasty Neckface, and check out the latest trailer.”

Michael Vanderbilt ’11 was promoted to Associate Production Manager at DreamWorks Animation.

Dame-Jasmine Hughes ’12 won an OBIE Award for her performance in Is God Is by CalArts graduate Aleshea Harris MFA ’14 at the SOHO Rep World Premiere. This is followed by Hughes’s 2016 IVEY Award for her performance in Sunset Baby (Penumbra Theatre), directed by Lou Bellamy.

Charles Levin ’12 continues to colead and play drums with A Celebration of Joni Mitchell featuring Kimberly Ford. Recent appearances include stops at Yoshi’s Oakland, Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, Reel Fish in El Verano, Namba Performing Arts in Ventura, Fenix in San Rafael, and El Campanil

Theatre in Antioch. Charles also continues to front his jazz quartet, Coda, and recently performed with Pulse Percussion Ensemble featuring CalArts alumni Larry Stein ’74; Austin Wrinkle ’99; Gregg Johnson ’77, MFA ’79; and Leonice Shinneman ’82.

Moira MacDonald ’12 “My new shadow puppetry show, Selkie, was accepted into the Skirball Puppetry Festival. The family-friendly festival took place on April 28, 2019.”   B

Kristen Rea ’12 let us know that her short musical, End of the Line, was a finalist in the Theater Now New York Soundbites Festival, and she is currently completing the BMI Musical Theater Workshop as a composer. She also oversees the newly opened Birdland Theater in NYC and tours regularly as the French horn soloist in Blast!

Victoria Sendra ’12 writes, “A few months ago, I was cast as an on-stage camera operator for the Broadway play Network, starring Bryan Cranston, that Lee Hall adapted from Paddy Chayefsky’s original screenplay. Directed by Ivo Van Hove, with scenic and lighting design by Jan Versweyveld, and video design by Tal Yarden, the show opened on December 6 and will be running (as of now) through June 8, 2019. The show received some nice press in The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, and Vulture.”

Leah Olbrich ’13 “I was blessed to have a phenomenal performance encounter this past October with Dundu Giants of Light from Stuttgart, Germany. A handful of Los Angeles puppeteers joined forces with Dundu and performed on the CBS variety competition show, The World’s Best, hosted by James Corden and judged by Drew Barrymore, Faith Hill, Rupaul, and The Wall of the World judges. The puppets are around 15-feet tall and require 5 people to puppeteer each character. It was such a profound lesson in collaboration and nonverbal communication, and it was INCREDIBLE to hear the audience respond so passionately to our performances. The show currently airs on Wednesday nights on CBS, but episodes can also be viewed on The World’s Best website. One of Dundu’s missions is to ‘share the light’ all across the globe, creating encounters and human connection through art and whimsy. Keep a look-out for them as it continues expanding into farther reaches of our world!”

Graham Peck ’13 says, “Hello CalArtians! I have spent the past year in a music therapy master’s program at Lesley University in Boston. I’ve spent my internship hours working on a dementia care unit as a music therapist, and just received my mental health counseling placement for next year with the prestigious Perkins

school for the blind. My side projects include scoring a community production of the original play, Never Land, leading guided musical meditation sessions, and playing indie rock gigs in the Boston area. Looking forward to coming back to campus this August to check in on things!”  C

Molly Allis ’14 “Hi! I am creating an LGBTQ/ Social Justice Animated children’s show! I will be doing a Kickstarter campaign soon to raise money to produce a pilot episode for the show. Find me on Instagram to get updates about the project (@mollyallis).”   E

Braden Diotte ’14 tells us that avant-garde noise ensemble, EXO//ENDO, released its eponymous debut album on May 16. The album is a joint effort between composer Andrea Young ’14 and collaborators Michael Day ’14, Derek Stein ’10, Sharon Kim ’14, Micaela Tobin ’17, and of course,

Braden, plus others. Recorded in part by John Baffa (staff) and mixed in part by Brendan Byrnes ’12, the album features artwork by

Lily Gottlieb ’14 “I was recently accepted to the Harvard Graduate School of Education to study in the Arts in Education program. Since attending CAP as a high schooler and graduating from the CalArts Photography and Media Program, I’ve worked full time for a summer camp, and currently run programming for teens in Los Angeles and the Bay Area. I am grateful for, and ecstatic about, the opportunity to study in Cambridge, and I look forward to returning to the California sunshine soon! A solo show of my work will open this spring at the Osher Marin JCC, and I’m working on self-publishing an artist book to accompany the exhibition. Shout out to my first student to attend CalArts, Gabe Perluss ’22!”

Suzanne Kite ’14 has recently acted as the global research assistant for the first Indigenous Protocols and Artificial Intelligence workshop, asking, “How do we imagine a future with A.I. that contributes to the flourishing of all humans and nonhumans?” The workshop stems from the journal article, “Making Kin with the Machines,” by Jason Edward Lewis, Noelani Arista, Archer Pechawis, and Kite. She is elated to be promoting and contributing to this essential research by a community of indigenous artists and scholars.

Quayla Bramble ’15 tells us that on November 18, 2018, under the colorful autumn trees, she and Benjamin Hubbard ’15 were married. A day filled with such joy and love, surrounded by those dearest to their hearts.

Muriel Naim ’15 says her short film, Janek/ Bastard, recently won a bunch of awards and international recognition, such as directing awards at the Bali International Film Festival and Watersprite Cambridge Film Festival, Best Short Film at George Lindsay UNA

Film Festival, Official selection to screen at the 2018 edition of HollyShorts, Firenzi FilmCorti, 2019 edition of CBFF, GPJFF, LDS, Cascadia Womens’ International Film Festival, and more. Muriel spoke about directing, user experience prototyping, and involving emotions in data analysis products at Applause’s conference, DIGITALXCHANGE, held in Boston and at LWD Summit in San Francisco.

Richard Shanks ’15 has expanded E his West Coast offices of Upshift, the boutique lifestyle branding firm he founded in Chicago after graduation in 1995. UpShift recently opened a new office in Downtown Los Angeles and hired additional staff at its Santa Barbara location. UpShift was recently named one of America’s “Top Boutique Branding Firms” by UpCity!, a peer voting platform in the design community.

Susanna Battin ’16 had her first solo show, Key Observation Point, installed at Los Angeles Contemporary Archive. It addressed one of the largest and oldest landfills in California, the Chiquita Canyon Landfill, which is 15 minutes from CalArts and less than half a mile from where she lived as a student. The show aimed to understand and critique the visual politics of environmentalism through collage, painting, and installation. She began making work about the landfill 10 years prior, while living in the small town of Val Verde and attending CalArts. Susanna is the 2019 recipient of the Davyd Whaley Foundation Emerging Artist Grant. She is currently working on a small edition of artist books about the landscape politics around the landfill and Val Verde area. She is the founding member of OOLA, an environmental philosophy reading group in LA.

Diana Cioffari-MacPhee ’16 writes, “I am happy to say that I continue my work in the Alumnx & Family Engagement Office at CalArts as the Program Associate. Outside of my higher education career, I am active in many collaborations with students, alumnx, and other artists. These projects include (but are not limited to) film scoring, performance, composition, and voice acting. I still pursue creative and teaching opportunities, including participating in the Alumnx-toAlumnx Mentoring Program offered by the Alumnx & Family Engagement Office, as both a mentor and mentee. I also continue to create independently in many fields.”

Artur Da Silva ’16 is the recipient of the Christel DeHaan Artist of Distinction Award 2019. This funding is being used to develop an experimental documentary film called Americae, exploring the inheritance of European representation starting with the work of 16th-century Belgian engraver, Theodor de Bry, who created some of the earliest images of Native Americans without ever visiting the continent. The film also investigates the occupation of public space by monuments and their role in writing and interpreting history, as well as an analysis of the images published in the media.

Jordan Dykstra ’16 was credited as a Featured Composer for his work on Hail Satan?—a documentary film that explores The Satanic Temple’s fight for equality, its focus on community, and its devilish sense of humor. It debuted at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival in January. He is also a cocomposer (along with Brian McOmber) on the upcoming feature, Blow the Man Down, which will premiere in May at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.  A

Sarah Van Sciver ’16 “I’m psyched to be getting married in June! Keeping busy and loving every minute as the CalArts Alumni team’s Assistant Director. I also run my own freelance company, Songbird, as a composer, arranger, singer, songwriter, pianist, ukulele player, and harpist. I’m always excited to be writing music, sound designing, or editing and mixing for screen, stage, and studio productions. In addition to teaching private lessons, I lead community music and a pre-k/ kindergarten class at a Sunday school in Culver City. For anyone with film, theater, album, or other music/narrative projects brewing, I would love to collaborate and contribute score, songs, sound, or some combination.”   B

Preston Butler III ’17 “Fellow CalArtians! This past year has been a knockout—literally! I had the privilege of playing not one, but two Heavyweight World Champions, ‘The Greatest’ Muhammad Ali and Jay ‘The Sport’ Jackson (based on Jack Johnson, the first African American heavyweight world champion). I had the honor of collaborating with fellow alum Nataki Garrett ’02 (Dir.) at Dallas Theater Center, and we’ll be teaming up again this summer for a production of Antionette Nwandu’s Pass Over, at ACT Seattle. I’ve also been working with Creative Youth Theater, a program that provides theater education to elementary age students in the Los Angeles area. Catch me on Adventures in Odyssey, as Cooper, or on the radio, pitching you some Popeye’s chicken!”  D

Linda Lockwood ’17 tells us, “I finally licensed my business, Mage Music, with the City of Palmdale. I am proud to say that I’m doing most of my work through my own business. Most of what I am doing is teaching music lessons, but every now and then I get recording work. Soon I will be performing, which has always been my dream. It is not easy to move 1,000 miles away from another country and establish oneself without knowing anyone beforehand.

Marketing has cost me tons of $$$, but it is working! A rough version of my newest song, Slippin’ Back (performed in my living room/ teaching studio because there’s no time to record properly), is available on YouTube. Thanks for checking it out!”

Paola Pilnik ’17 “Since graduating in 2017, I’ve moved to MA, NYC, Czech Republic, and now I’ve established myself in Berlin. I’m currently working on a show called Banana Pride, which will premiere as part of the Expat Expo Festival 2019. Looking to meet other CalArtians in Berlin!”

Cemre Su Salur ’17 updates us: “This past August, my original dance-theater piece titled V O I D, was selected for the Co-Op Sublet Series at HERE Arts Center in NYC. Subsequently, one of the performance photos from V O I D was selected by LoosenArt to be part of an exhibition, Bodies in Movement, that will be exhibited in a gallery in Rome.”

Logan Amaral ’18 “Since finishing school in December, I’ve become faculty at CalArts where I teach two classes in the school of music. In other super-exciting news, I am going to be a dad in April! Can’t wait to meet my little one. Will we be seeing a new musician, dancer, or artist?!”  C

Morgan Day (nee Camper) ’18 signed with CESD talent Agency, theatrically, and Holly Shelton Management. She is currently in a play directed by Edgar Arceneaux ’01 titled Boney M, which is now in residency at the Ford Theatre.

Greta Ruth Melcher ’18 “Under the artist name Greta Ruth, I recently released a Super 8 music video for my single, “Sweet Pace.” Soon after, I released my first album titled The Quiet While, and a music video for my song “A World Perhaps.” The album is a collection of four experimental acoustic folk songs, three of which feature musician Connor Nolan ’20 on guitar. In addition to performing my songs around the Midwest, I’ve continued designing jewelry with repurposed instrument strings for my jewelry line, tsii, and enjoy coaching students in vocal empowerment.”  G

Marissa Osato ’18 writes, “As a 2019 winner of The Joffrey Ballet’s Winning Works Choreographic Competition, I premiered a new work for The Joffrey Studio Company and Academy Trainees at the MCA Chicago, exactly one year after my CalArts MFA thesis concert premiere!”   E

Felicia St. Cyr ’18 “I am residing in LA with two part-time jobs: a resident position as a teacher/choreographer at a local LA dance studio, and intern with renowned dance agency, Movement Talent Agency in

North Hollywood. Most importantly, I’m in the process of curating my first show as a director/choreographer for my self-titled dance company, st.cyr. The work will be premiering this year in a yet-to-be-determined space here in LA. The work will explore the past few decades and how advances in technology have affected current social and political dynamics. We question: What are we exploiting and why? Do we even know we are doing it?”   F

Ariyan Kassam ’18 “I’m excited to share what I’ve been up to so far. On TV, I’ve been a guest star on Fuller House, and FX Legion costar. I did voice-over and dubbing on Mickey Roadster Racers for Disney, Nike Dreamerz, Amazon’s 4 Blocks, and more. In theater, I played Galiana/Nikolchev in The Useless Room, a collaboration with Grotowski Institute.”