The career of 2010 AIGA/LA fellow, John Coy, is a story of transformation and transcendence shaped by his evolving relation to art, spirituality, philosophy and nature. In fact Coy frames his understanding of design in terms of ecology: “design and function are synonymous,” he says in a modification of Louis Sullivan’s tenet. “A leaf is beautiful not just because someone thought, ‘hey that’s neat,’ but because it functions.” He attributes this outlook specifically to the energy of Los Angeles, something that has influenced his work since he moved here from Chicago to attend Art Center College of Design in the 1960s. “I don’t think you can live in a place and not be affected by it. A sunset in California looks different from a sunset anywhere else; it gives you a certain type of freedom in the colors where you can pretty much go year round and play. ”
www.jmcoy.com
The GAUGE Speaker Series brings design industry professionals to campus to stimulate discussion, inspire excellence and build community among the design students, alumni, faculty and staff of California State University Los Angeles.Established in the 2006-2007 academic year, GAUGE has brought one speaker each quarter to campus. Past speakers have included: Deborah Sussman, Agustin Garza, Stefan Bucher, Kim Baer, Ricardo Cardeñas, Michael Hodgson, Rebeca Méndez, Noreen Morioka, Yu Tsai, Petrula Vrontikis, Cynthia Murnane, David Lai, Ismael Obregon and Lorraine Wild.
GAUGE is the AIGA student group, at Cal State L.A. AIGA, the professional association for design. AIGA’s mission is to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force.
