Motion Graphics Exhibit Highlights Los Angeles Studios

In 1983, the first exhibit on computer graphic design to be held on the California State University, Dominguez Hills campus was described in a Los Angeles Times article as “a looking glass into a revolutionary new melding of art and science.” Twenty-five years later, those old stills from Walt Disney’s “Tron” and experimental printing methods such as Cibachrome (now known as ilfochrome) prints created at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory give way to a new generation’s vision of computer graphics, one that has set new industry standards for music videos, film and television.

“Los Angeles Design in Motion: Graphics in Film and Television” opens on March 26 and runs through April 24 at the CSU Dominguez Hills University Art Gallery. The exhibit will feature motion graphics created by six Los Angeles-based design companies, including BeliefDesign, Blind, Colourmovie, Exopolis, Fuel, and Twothousandstrong.

Michele Allan, chair of the Art Department and associate professor of visual arts, who co-curates the show with Bernard Baker, professor of art, says that the show will afford Dominguez Hills students a real-life glimpse of what it’s like to be a graphic designer in the digital age.

“It’s great that the industry is coming to us,” Allan notes. “Some of them have expressed interest in setting up internships. The six studios that are showcased are extremely creative. They haven’t been around that long, most since the early 2000s. And they’re young, dynamic and hip people. On opening night, we’ll have a panel discussion with the designers, so that students can ask questions and get a sense of the industry.

“Nowadays as a graphic designer, you’re not expected to just be working on still and print surfaces,” she says. “With the Web and television, it’s expanded. I think [it will be] interesting for students to understand how some of the companies break down [the methods of] how their work is created with the whole process, such as storyboards and pre-vis[ualization].”

On display in a uniquely designed environment will be innovative motion graphics projects shown on flat-screen televisions in a mix of independent and commercial themes. Large-scale digital print stills from the projects and production storyboards and concept sketches show the creative process behind the ideas. Highlights include a unique pre-visualization animation clip of a Los Angeles Zoo ad for a white alligator by Colourmovie; glowing turquoise stills from Justin Timberlake’s music video “Lovestoned” by Blind; and a striking iPod ad by Exopolis featuring a dancer painting with light.

According to Allan, since her arrival on the CSU Dominguez Hills campus in 2002, the graphic arts department has grown steadily. Currently there are 70 students enrolled in motion graphics. In addition, each year approximately 70 digital media arts students are required to take related classes in motion graphics.

Kathy Zimmerer, director of the University Art Gallery, co-curated the 1983 computer graphics show with Baker. She says that while “Los Angeles Design in Motion” may target an audience of computer graphic students, others will find the show of interest, such as studio art and art historians who will “get to view cutting-edge design projects.”

Allan underscores the relationship between the traditional art disciplines and computer graphics, saying, “I think that in order to be a designer today, you first need to learn the past in order to be innovative. You also need to know the fundamentals of composition, color theory, and value. I think it’s always interesting to see a sketch on paper and then its [digital] translation.”

Admission to the gallery and related events is free. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and is located in La Corte Hall A-107. From March 31 to April 4, the gallery will be closed for spring break.

To preview “Los Angeles Design in Motion,” click here.

- Kathy Zimmerer and Joanie Harmon

Photos above: "Lovestoned," Justin Timberlake music video, www.blind.com

Yuko, television commercial, www.colourmovie.com