- Date
10.24.2019
- Time
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
- Location
JAPAN HOUSE Salon, Level 5
- Fee
Complimentary
A collaborative educational project from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California and Tama Art University in Tokyo, Japan, the Pacific Rim joint studio project’s key purpose is to uncover what is real and authentic in each culture and leverage this in the pursuit of new perspectives in art & design. It is this sense of raw authenticity that bubbles up from the streets of Los Angeles and Tokyo, that will be this year’s point of departure. No matter what the discipline, street culture influencers in art, fashion and music from the Pacific Rim continually impact global culture and shape our experience of art in the public realm.
This one day event will offer the public an opportunity to view and experience the creative process the ArtCenter and Tama students activate as they explore LA’s vast multi-cultural urban enclaves in an effort to continue the dialogue about the juxtaposition of creative expression and urban space. Come see how design can be the catalyst for the creation of meaningful experiences and public spaces.
Through their presentations students will propose designs and spaces that will have the ability to elevate creative expression while encouraging self-expression, sensitive to the needs of the individual and to the dynamics of public realm, ultimately facilitating community engagement and dialogue.
*This is a walk-in event.
About Faculty & Organizations
Pacific Rim is an international collaborative educational project that began in 2006 between Tama Art University and ArtCenter College of Design. This event features their 14th collaboration. Students studying in the design field of both universities explore global and local themes, from aging issues to traditional Japanese crafts. They explore the role that design should play, and present innovative solutions. The Tama/ Pacific Rim exchanges have been and continue to be, a relevant and contributing element of our Environmental curricular experience.
Speaker Profiles
Tatsuya Wada, Professor, Product Design, Tama Art University, Japan
After graduating from Tama Art University in 1981, Tatsuya Wada started his career as a designer at Design Center, Hitachi, Ltd. He was mostly involved with designing home electric appliances. He was also engaged in researching color, materials, and finishing. In 1992, he established a design office, G PLUS Co., Ltd., and acted as a design consultant for manufacturers such as Sony or Panasonic.
Apart from consulting, he started teaching on the Product Design Course at Tama Art University in 1993, and had been Head of Product Design. Now he has been assigned as Dean of educational affairs and also member of the board of dircetors from April, 2019. With cooperation from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, he opened CMTEL (Color Material Trend Exploration Laboratory) at Tama Art University in 2007, and has been its director since then. He has organized various exhibitions, presentations and workshops with cooperation from domestic and overseas companies related to color, materials, finishing or trends in order to support students’ research. He is one of the leading experts on industry-university joint research among Japanese Art and Design schools. Tatsuya Wada was appointed a jury member of the G-Mark (Good Design) Award hosted by Japan Institute of Design Promotion in 2001. As part of Japan's ODA program, he has also worked as a professor and designer in Thailand and India, and has given workshops on product design management using company case method.
James Meraz, Pacific Rim XIV faculty
James Meraz works and teaches in the field we call Environmental Design. This field represents a multi-faceted and emerging profession which encompasses and blurs the line between many design disciplines. James has a unique vision and understanding of this complex field. He brings rich academic and professional expertise to the departments he teaches in. Principle of Studio Meraz, Inc. - A multi-disciplinary design firm providing exhibit, furniture, product, interior, set, architectural design services.
Yo Oshima, Pacific Rim XIV faculty
Yo Oshima is a designer/entrepreneur/educator from Tokyo, Japan. After receiving a master of architecture degree from SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture) in 2006, he worked on residential and institutional architecture projects at deegay day design in Los Angeles. In 2015, Yo established a multi-disciplinary design studio, Amisoy, LLC in Los Angeles. Amisoy's philosophy is "We only design cool stuff." In other words, Amisoy will design anything that is cool, including architecture, interior, furniture, products, motion graphics and graphic design. Since 2010, Yo has been teaching at Environmental Design department of ArtCenter College of Design.
David Mocarski, Chairman, Graduate and Undergraduate Environmental Design Departments
David Mocarski has explored the boundaries of the creative process for more than thirty-five years. He is the principal of Arkkit forms design, as well as Department Chair of the Graduate and Undergraduate Environmental Design Department at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California.
David has also been involved with art and design education for more than thirty-five years. He has been instrumental in the development of ArtCenter’s Environmental Design program and its focus on “Designing Spatial Experience.” He has been an educational leader at ArtCenter since 1978. In addition to developing both Graduate and Undergraduate curricular directions for Environmental Design, he has taught Fine Arts, Illustration, Graphics & Packaging, photography and Industrial design. Many of his students have gained significant global recognition for their efforts. His sponsored studios with Bernhardt design have defined a new model for how industry interfaces with education. He has been instrumental in the evolution of ArtCenter ’s International Study Abroad programs in Copenhagen “Designing Index,” Fresh Eyes and TESTLAB Berlin 1-6 and Pacific Rim 1-10 Tokyo, Japan and has worked closely with Designmatters on humanitarian projects for: GE Healthcare Africa project, Un Techo Para Chile “Safe Agua Chile, Peru and Columbia,” “Living Home India” and “Safe Niños” Chile.