4. COOL
BIANCA WILCOX
4TH QUARTER PHOTOGRAPHY (BFA)
CHINA
MORGAN ADDY
3RD QUARTER PHOTOGRAPHY (BFA)
I chose to shoot an abstract to represent a cooltoned photograph. I used a digital Sony Alpha 360
and shot at a very slow shutter speed and high
aperture. I manipulated my zoom during exposure
to create the implied vortex.
I took this picture while on a trip to China. It
was shot with a long exposure at night. I used a
Nikon D200.
ANTHONY STREED
6TH QUARTER PHOTOGRAPHY (BFA)
5. A FINAL DINING TO KITCHEN
ANNA MOLANDER
7TH QUARTER INTERIOR DESIGN (BS)
6. CALLING ALL
MENTORS
By Kelsey Voorhees
10th Quarter Graphic Design (BS)
A
iGA is the national professional association for design. According to
information provided on their website, AiGA’s mission is to advance
design as a professional craft, a strategic tool, and a vital cultural force.
“We’re committed to design—and to more than 22,000 members in
66 chapters who create, inspire and appreciate good design. AiGA’s members are
the lifeblood of the organization.”
The Art Institutes International Minnesota’s (Ai Minnesota) AiGA student organization was formally known as AiGD, until the group’s recent official status was established with AiGA. The mission of Ai Minnesota’s AiGA student organization is
to bring the professional and student design communities together and to provide
networking opportunities for students within the extended community.
When I first came to Ai Minnesota, I was fresh out of high school and had no idea
what I was doing. I wasn’t really involved in high school, but I was determined
not to slack in college.
I decided to be involved and active in extra-curricular activities. I joined AiGD
and a few other groups. I really had no idea what the AiGD was, let alone what
AiGA was, I just did what people told me to do.
Today, I am the president of the student group affiliated with AiGA. We have
made great progress and plan on continuing it, but the most common questions I
receive are, “What is it?” and “What am I suppose to do?” This is a problem.
AiGD is all about networking and building connections between the student
design community and the professional design community. We provide opportunities for students by engaging them in different AiGA events, like lectures, design
competitions, and networking social events, just to name a few.
We also host different competitions at school, and have peer critiques as well. In
general, we provide a co-curricular community for students to learn about design
and prepare for their future career.
To build enthusiasm and support education, we are starting up a mentor program,
and we need involved students who have been here for at least 5 quarters. The
goal is to help new students by going to events with them, by helping them with
critiques, and by assisting with class assignments.
Ideally, we want new students to participate in their community of learning,
and we want them to experience value as a result. We also want to maintain the
excitement of discovery that new students feel when they first begin, and which
may fade as students near graduation.
If you are interested in being a mentor, or would like to participate in any way,
please contact the student chapter of AiGA through the office of Student Affairs,
or look it up on the college’s website. Remember, there is no student community
without the involvement of students.
7. SCARLET SUNSET
KELSEY STEINMETZ
11TH QUARTER GRAPHIC DESIGN (BS)
After a recently completing a painting of a peacock, I
decided to do another, similar painting. This time the
subject of choice was a macaw. With the combination of the tropics, a parrot, and a sunset, I knew this
painting would look amazing.
8. LINDSAY LEE
JOSH SCHNEIDER
8TH QUARTER MEDIA ARTS & ANIMATION (BS)
MUSICTOWN
BIANCA WILCOX
4TH QUARTER PHOTOGRAPHY (BFA)
The reference for this piece was a photograph of a model who
owns a DeviantArt page. This was one of my first charcoal
portraits. I rendered the image on newsprint using a variety of
charcoal pencils ranging from 2H to 6B.
This is from my photographic study of Lacrosse, Wisconsin. I used my preferred
camera type: the large-format Toyo View camera. With this camera, I was able to
distort the buildings enough to create a surrealist environment.
10. Call for Entries
2011 Student Poetry Contest
The 2011 Student Poetry Contest is now accepting submissions through Friday, October
21, 2011 at 5pm. Participants must follow contest rules and submission guidelines and
contest rules to be eligible.
Contest Rules
Submission Guidelines
• Only current students of The Art Institutes International Minnesota are eligible
• Entrants may submit no more than three poems
• Entries must follow submission guidelines
• Individual poems must not exceed one page in length (12pt font,
single spaced), text only, no images
• Entries must be previously unpublished, original works of poetry, as distinct from
prose (essay, creative non-fiction, or fiction)
• One poem will be chosen as the winner from all entries by a panel of instructors
(Communications Instructor Sarah Orman, Communications Instructor Michael
Courteau, and Graphic Design Instructor Douglas Westendorp) based on
the quality and combination of any or all of the following aesthetic criteria:
narrative, structure, music, and imagination
• This is a “blind” contest, which means the judges will not know the names of the
authors; they will base their decisions solely on the quality of the poems
• The winning poem will be framed and displayed in the school library
• The winning poem will be published, with author’s signed permission, in the
student magazine C² (create·connect)
• The winning poet will receive a $50* gift certificate to Target (*due to regulatory
constraints this prize has recently been reduced)
• Entrants will be notified of results via email by the end of fall quarter 2011
• Do not include name or other identifying information within the
poem documents
• Submissions must be sent as separate Word documents (.doc or
.docx) attached to a single email addressed to ctitle@aii.edu (do
not paste poems into the body of the email)
• Entrants must include the phrase “2011 Student Poetry Contest
Submission” in the subject line of the email
• The body of the email must contain the following information: the
titles of all submitted poems, student name (as it should appear
in publication), student program of study, current address, and
telephone number
15. RUGS
KATE ENGELMANN
6TH QUARTER PHOTOGRAPHY (BFA)
This image was taken over Summer break in
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on the Big Island with a
Canon AE-1 Program and Kodak Ektar 100 film.
16. Higher
Learning
Commission
Initial Accreditation Update
By Christopher Title
Communication and Humanities Instructor
T
he Art Institutes International Minnesota (Ai Minnesota) has been
nationally accredited by the American Council of Independent
Colleges and Schools (ACICS) since it was founded in 1997. In
fact, the College’s current national accreditation by ACICS was
recently extended through 2015. So, why request regional, Initial Accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association
of Colleges and Schools (HLC)?
National accreditation agencies, like ACICS, typically accredit institutions
that specialize in instruction and training for specific professions and careers.
Many nationally accredited institutions are proprietary, independent, and
privately supported. ACICS was a good “fit” with the original status of our
school. Regional accreditation agencies, like HLC, have typically accredited
institutions such as community colleges and state universities, as well as
private liberal arts colleges.
As Ai Minnesota has grown in student population, expanded the number of
academic programs, and developed comprehensive General Education offerings, it has developed into the kind of organization that meets the criteria
required for regional accreditation. As our institution continues to evolve
and grow, HLC Initial Accreditation aligns more closely with our school’s
mission. HLC Initial Accreditation is an important strategic goal for our
institution, and our ongoing efforts demonstrate our College’s commitment to
provide a high quality education to our students.
In the process of seeking HLC accreditation, the following events have occurred:
• Ai Minnesota’s Board of Trustees authorized submission of our Preliminary Information Form (PIF) to HLC in 2006
• Upon HLC approval, the institution conducted a comprehensive twoyear, self-study inclusive of students, faculty, staff, and administrators
17. The Art Institutes International Minnesota is seeking comments from the public about the
College in preparation for its evaluation for Initial Accreditation by a regional accrediting
agency. The College will undergo a comprehensive visit November 7 - 9, 2011, by a team
representing The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of
Colleges and Schools. The Art Institutes International Minnesota is currently accredited by
the Accreditation Council of Independent Colleges and Schools and is now pursuing
accreditation by the Commission.
The public is invited to submit comments regarding the college:
Public Comment on The Art Institutes International Minnesota
The Higher Learning Commission
230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500
Chicago, IL 60604
Comments must address substantive matters related to the quality of the institution of its
academic programs. Comments must be in writing and signed; comments will not be
treated as confidential.
All comments must be received by October 7, 2011.
• In the fall of 2009, Ai Minnesota submitted its request for Initial Candidacy
along with its self-study report titled, Enhancing Quality: A Passion for
Excellence (available in the library)
• In October of 2009, HLC conducted an evaluative site visit on our campus
• In spring of 2010, HLC approved the status of Initial Candidacy for Ai
Minnesota, enabling us to move forward toward Initial Accreditation
• In summer of 2010, Ai Minnesota began the self study process anew, again
including students, faculty, staff, and administrators
Now, during the summer of 2011, Ai Minnesota is preparing to share its latest
self-study titled Creating Tomorrow, along with its formal request for Initial
Accreditation. The development of the self-study has allowed our College the
opportunity to reflect on who we are and how we operate as a College. As a
result of the reflective nature of the self-study process, Ai Minnesota has learned
that it is committed to develop new ways of supporting students and engaging
them in quality learning experiences. The recent campus-wide effort to review
and revise our mission statement is a perfect example of improvement efforts
growing out of the self-study process.
As part of the self-study process, a “call for comment” is being issued by the
school to the general public (see graphic). In the coming days, students, faculty,
staff, and our industry partners will be increasingly involved in preparing the
campus for a site visit by an HLC evaluative team scheduled for November
7-11, 2011. There is no guarantee that Ai Minnesota will be granted Initial Accreditation by HLC, but one thing is certain, we will be ready to demonstrate
our commitment to quality learning and effective teaching when the visiting
team arrives.
18. SAXAPHONE 3D MODEL
JOSEPH SIEMSEN
9TH QUARTER MEDIA ARTS & ANIMATION (BS)
ROCKABILLY
ANNA FLEISSNER
9TH QUARTER MEDIA ARTS & ANIMATION (BS)
Created with Autodesk Maya and Adobe Photoshop.
A commission piece I did for a friend. My interpretation of his
original character.
19. AMELIA
EVIE ROMBAL
12TH QUARTER MEDIA ARTS & ANIMATION (BS)
This is a 3D model of my character Amelia in her environment—her family’s barn.
The Character Design was completed in Character & Object Design class and she
and the barn were modeled, textured & lit in Autodesk Maya.
20. It’s All Relative
Our Expanding Universe: Part 2
by Jeff Burkett, Mathematics & Natural Sciences Instructor
P
erhaps the single most important consequence of the European
Renaissance was that great thinkers like Copernicus, Galileo,
and Newton shattered previous notions of a geocentric universe.
Science, religion, and philosophy were thrown into upheaval by
the new reality that Earth was not the central object of creation. This was a
mere prelude, however, to the dawn of our understanding of the true vastness
of the cosmos.
As early as approximately 400BC, Democritus had proposed that stars were
actually distant suns, and in 1600 Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake
for suggesting this heretical idea. Nevertheless, Isaac Newton, and others,
soon adopted the notion. Then, in 1838, Friedrich Bessel successfully
measured the first interstellar distance using the technique of trigonometric
parallax 1. He calculated the star 61 Cygni to be about 10.4 light years2
distant, an error of only about nine percent from the modern accepted value
of 11.4 light years. Other measurements soon followed, and it was quickly
established that Alpha Centauri was our closest stellar neighbor, 4.2 light
years away. That’s roughly 24,000,000,000,000 (24 trillion) miles!
circumference of the actual Earth3. As incomprehensible as these distances
may have seemed to early scientists, the story became even stranger.
In the 1920’s, Edwin Hubble proved that not only were the billions of visible
stars in our night sky, all part of the same Milky Way galaxy, but also that the
Milky Way itself was only one of billions of galaxies in the universe. More
astoundingly, all of these galaxies seemed to be rushing out at incredible
speed from a singular point in space: the universe itself was expanding!
Later, in 1949, Fred Hoyle coined the term “Big Bang” to describe this
phenomenon. The term stuck, and after nearly a century of observation,
experiment, and accumulated evidence, the Big Bang theory4 remains the
most complete and comprehensive explanation of the early development of
the known universe.
Such vast distances defy human comprehension and are best understood
through analogy. If the Earth were represented by a standard-size marble,
the moon would be the size of a BB placed 17 inches away; the sun would
be represented by a sphere 5 feet in diameter, placed 180 yards (about
two football fields) from our model Earth. On this same scale, Alpha
Centauri would be about 27,000 miles distant, or slightly further than the
1. For an explanation of this technique, take my physics class or
stop by my office.
3. This model is based on that of Dr. James Pierce, Professor of Astronomy at
Minnesota State University, Mankato.
2. Note that the modern unit of light years is used here for
convenience. Accurate measurements of the speed of light
would not be realized until the following century.
4. It is worth noting that the Big Bang theory deals with the behavior of the
universe after its moment of inception. It is not a ‘creation’ theory and does not
attempt to explain the actual causation of the universe.
21. 2011
Blockhead Festival
By Robb Main,
11th Quarter Media Arts & Animation (BS)
I
n its 6th year, the Blockhead Festival has “come of age,” according to
Media Arts & Animation Instructor Steve Paul.
It’s taken a while, but Blockhead has become one of the premiere
student animation, live-action film, and visual effects festivals in the Midwest.
Categories include: Animation, Modeling and Rendering, Visual Effects,
Motion Graphics, and Short Film. There’s also an Alumni category. Taken
together, this festival of student work is a visual extravaganza!
Each category is open to all students, no matter their program of study. The
festival is judged by prominent industry professionals. Though generally local,
last year there were some national judges for the Short Film category. Winners
receive cash prizes and a commemorative icon, but the real reward for participants is having their work showcased on the big screen in front of an enthusiastic
audience.
This is the first year that there has been a committee to organize and promote the
event, as well as acquire judges. Media Arts & Animation Instructors Steve Paul,
Shannon Gilley, and Lafe Smith; Visual Effects & Motion Graphics Instructors Mike
Heagle and Kinsey Engelmann; Digital Film & Video Editing Instructor Ben Gottfried;
and Academic Advisor Claire Hilgeman comprise the Blockhead Committee.
Engelmann and Hilgeman have been the ‘PR dynamic duo,’ marketing the event
with banner on the school’s website and posters in display cases around campus.
Engelmann was the architect of the Blockhead Festival web page;
www.blockheadfestival.com. Interested parties visiting the website will find submission guidelines, the Best of Blockhead reel, archives, and other highlights.
This year’s Blockhead Festival will take place at 5:00pm on October 27 at
Block E Theater in downtown Minneapolis. To stay on top of developments,
follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Entries are now being accepted through
Monday, October 10th, 2011 in room 316.
22. FOX: GREYSCALE
KATIE OVERSON
8TH QUARTER MEDIA ARTS & ANIMATION (BS)
FOX: COLORED VERSION
KATIE OVERSON
8TH QUARTER MEDIA ARTS & ANIMATION (BS)
This was the first step in digitally painting the character. Doing
a basic outline of the shapes and shading them according to the
shapes help prepare to shade the final image.
Using the greyscale experience I just had, I first shaded the character.
Color was added afterwards, blending a few different shades of the
one color. The background gives the character a simple backdrop, so
it’s not floating in space.
23. RED RIDING HOOD
KELSEY STEINMETZ
11TH QUARTER GRAPHIC DESIGN (BS)
This was a project completed for my Advanced
Illustration class. Our assignment was to illustrate our
own version of, the classic fairytale, Little Red Riding
Hood. Having an interest in Tim Burton’s work, and
understanding his style, I knew I could make this
project creepy and interesting. I am very happy with
the results.
25. Senior Practicum Presents
Silk Road Street Foods:
A Charitable Adventure in
Food Trucks
By Mary Matthews,
11th Quarter Culinary Management (BS)
Silk Road Street Foods is a sampling of handheld street foods from across the
Mediterranean and into Asia. The menu consisted of such items as Kefta, a
lamb kebab; Samosas, an Indian pocket-pastry; Asian pot stickers; and ribs, to
name a few. The menu also features Kulfi, an Indian pistachio ice cream. All the
recipes were created and prepared by the class with the assistance of fantastic
volunteers that helped with the preparation and execution of the event.
The idea to use a food truck felt natural, as food truck service has recently
blossomed in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The class wanted to be the first group
to use one for such a unique and charitable event opportunity. The class was
fortunate enough to have the Smack Shack, 1029 Bar’s food truck, donate the
use of their vehicle for a day.
By Ally Wurts (8th Quarter Photography (BFA)
I
n the spring of 2011, the Senior Practicum class in the Bachelor
of Science Culinary Management degree program was asked to
create a charitable event to highlight the catering, food service, and
event planning skills students have learned here at The Art Institutes
International Minnesota. The result is Silk Road Street Foods: A Food Truck
Experience.
Chef Instructor Pat Weber and students Emily Magnuson, Martha Mayhew,
Geji McKinney Banks, and Mary Matthews put on an event to support the
Minneapolis area Cooking Matters Organization. Cooking Matters is an
organization that empowers families with skills, knowledge, and confidence to
prepare healthy and affordable meals. The group accomplished this by going out
into the community and teaching families, children and adults, how to cook.
Through careful and relentless planning, prepping, and marketing, the event
was a great success. Over the course of nine weeks, the class created a
concept, planned a menu, ran an e-marketing campaign, and executed a fullservice food truck experience. The Senior Practicum class provided a great
opportunity for students to learn how to open a business to benefit charity, and
the class ran with it full steam. The chance to be part of such a class honed the
knowledge and skills students have learned while attending our college.
The money raised for Cooking Matters will be used to help buy groceries and
supplies for upcoming classes across the Twin Cities. The lessons about creating
a small business will pay off for the student participants as they go forth into the
culinary industry.
For further information, or if you’d like to volunteer, search for Cooking Matters
Minnesota online.
27. STAFF
DISCLAIMER
Brad Stulc - Editor in Chief
9th Quarter Interior Design (BS)
Eric Winkelmann - Managing Editor/ Layout Assistant
9th Quarter Graphic Design (BS)
The information and opininions exspressed and/or any
artwork displayed herein this publication represent the
indidvuial opinions and ideas of individidual contributors and
do not represent the opinions or ideas of The Art Institutes
International Minnesota.
Ronald Farber - Business Manager
10th Quarter Visual Effects & Motion Graphics (BS)
THANK YOU
Chelsea Hammerbeck - Layout Editor
7th Quarter Graphic Design (BS)
C² would like to thank Express Press for the superior quality
and service they provide in support of our publication.
M.R. Mackey - Staff Photographer
7th Quarter Photography (BFA)
DEGREE PROGRAM KEY
Robb Main - Contributor
11th Quarter Media Arts & Animation (BS)
ADVISORS
BS
BFA
— Bachelor of Science
— Bachelor of Fine Arts
COVER
Christopher Title - Content/Editorial Advisor
Communication Arts Instuctor
Jennifer Thompson - Business Advisor
Advertising Instuctor
Tim Armato - Design Advisor
Graphic Design Instructor
Deb Weiss - Editorial Advisor
Communication Arts Instuctor
Jeremy Frandup - Editorial Advisior
Communication Arts Instuctor
COLOPHON
C² is printed using a four color process on 80 lb Discovery Dull (text) and 100 lb. Discovery Dull (cover).
Header text is Seconda Demi, Seconda Demi Italic,
Bebas, Moderna, Engebold, Chunk, CharralPro, and
CharralPro-Bold. Body text is Optima.
DISCLOSURE
See aiprograms.info for program duration, tuition,
fees, and other costs, median debt, federal salary
data, alumni success, and other important info.
ENTROPY
ZACHARY TRAPPEN
10TH QUARTER VISUAL EFFECTS & MOTION GRAPHICS (BS)
