LET`S TALK ART - Academy of Art University

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LET’S TALK ART,
India
a p u b l ic at io n o f ac a d e m y o f a rt u n ve r s i t y fo u nd e d i n s an fr anci s co 1929
FEATURED ALUM
Meet Rajiv Chilaka, Founder & CEO of
Green Gold Animation Pvt. Ltd., a pioneer
in creating wholesome entertainment for kids
of all ages and known for its hugely popular
cartoon Chhota Bheem, the Number One
entertainment character in India with nine
shows, fifty television movies, over four hundred episodes plus licenses, toys and more.
Academy of Art University graduate Rajiv
Chilaka started his animation studio in 2000
with only four people. Today he has three
offices, employing 350 people.
rajiv chilaka, founder and ceo of
green gold animation.
“When I was growing up back home in
India, my inner calling was animation, not a
career in engineering. I wanted to tell stories.
One fine day, I decided to pursue my passion.
I wanted happiness.
Academy of Art University took me in with
open arms although I had absolutely no background in Fine Arts. I couldn’t even draw.
Sometimes, all you really need is encouragement and my lecturers were so generous
with it. They let me explore by my will and I
chose to spend most my time in their amazing
library, full of books on great art and artists.
Honestly, the Academy was the foundation of my company, Green Gold. My lessons
here were going to be our fuel for coming
years. Technical skills were only a part of my
course. The Academy also let me reflect on
life, and accept some profound truths. It’s my
privilege to share them here:
Talent and hard work come to nothing
without the ‘right attitude’. Find it and
practice it on a daily basis. Don’t worry about
success. It will find you. As long as you work
really very hard for it. Have a goal and build a
way towards it, in small, meaningful steps.”
—Rajiv Chilaka
CHHOTA BHEEM, THE
NO. 1 ENTERTAINMENT
CHARACTER IN INDIA,
CREATED BY AAU ALUM,
RAJIV CHILAKA
Making Connections | by Gladys Perint Palmer
Welcome to the First Issue of Let’s Talk Art —India, April 2015. After spending
January 2015 in India, I have come to appreciate the art of conversation, the art of
spiritual thought and perhaps most of all, the art of the Taj Mahal. It is a marble
miracle that must be seen to be believed. It is embellished with black onyx from
Belgium, green malachite from South Africa, blue lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, green
jade from China and Sri Lanka, turquoise from Turkey, and carnelian — that glows at
night — from Yemen. It took three days to carve a carnelian rose, by hand, out of 164
tiny pieces. The Taj Mahal was designed by the Turkish architect Isaf Fendi who
incorporated thousands of carnelian roses.
All for the love of one man, Emperor Shah Jahan, for one woman, his Queen, Mumtaz
Mahal. Here at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, we continue our devotion to
Architecture, Jewelry and Metal Arts.
But we have yet to find some way to offer you a School of Supreme Love. Give us time.
——Gladys
FIVE FACTS | Mary Scott, Director, School of Graphic Design
To see some of their work you are invited to look at the department’s
blog www.79nm.com. It features student awards, honors and news
about what is happening in this vibrant program. Most recently, five
students from the School of Graphic Design were named Top 100
Designers of 2014 by GDUSA magazine. Director Mary Scott is very
proud of the many students who have gone on to work in some of the
world’s best companies. One such company Ammunition, was named
the Top 50 Most Innovative Companies in the world. This firm has
employed several of AAU’s graduates and continues to do so.
—See next page>
LET’S TALK ART, INDIA / a p ub l i c at io n o f ac a d e m y o f a rt u n ve r sit y / pag e 2
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THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A
L’ O F F I C I E L L O V E
“I have had a memorable association with
French and Russian L’Officiels, drawing and
writing for them. I like the Jalouse family
and the fact that it’s a family firm. When I
started, Marie-Jose’s mother and father were
lovely to me. I couldn’t get into shows, and
they would get me in and I would sit on
the floor, next to Madame Jalouse’s legs.
There is one particular incident that I love
to narrate. We were going to a show and
we were late. We were in a small L’Officiel
bus and there was a huge crowd outside the
venue, with no tickets. We had to push our
way through. The show was about to begin
and the doors were closing and the only
person who slipped through was MarieJose. She had a bag of film and I saw her
hitting the guard with her bag of film to
open the door because we were all outside.
Eventually, we got in. But I still can’t get
that image of Marie-Jose out of my head.”
FASHION ARTIST
Gladys Perint Palmer, the critically acclaimed fashion illustrator and the force
behind the Academy of Art University, San Francisco, is a true artist at heart.
And a very talented one, indeed. From writing and drawing for leading
magazines to illustrating for top-of-the-lot designers such as Valentino and Dior,
her pen has been there, done that. But fashion is only the point from where her
world begins, and from there on, it goes everywhere…
BY JUHI DUA, L'Officiel India, February 2015
H
er curious eyes are always searching
for her next subject—something her
skilled fingers could immortalise by
translating on paper instantly. For a lady
who has been drawing since she was a
small child, it’s a quality that’s quite awe-inspiring.
Gladys Perint Palmer, the Executive Vice President
of Artistic Development, Academy of Art University
at San Francisco, agrees that curiosity makes her who
she is. “I have been a journalist and you can’t take my
curiosity away from me,” she says. It’s only one of the
many stellar qualities that make her unique.
BORN TO DRAW
For Gladys, drawing was a normal state of being. She
reminisces, “I would climb into the lap of my mother,
who was an artist, and she would draw for me. Then
I would climb into someone else’s lap with paper and
pencil and they couldn’t draw. I couldn’t understand
it.” She developed the skill at an early age and realised
she was good at it. She says, “If I wanted to get attention
from adults, I would start drawing.” Encouraged by her
mother, she registered for an arts course at Saint Martin’s
School of Art in London, and then accidentally switched
to fashion. She shares, “I was in my foundation year. Two
weeks before we ended the summer, we had to choose our
department for specialisation and I chose illustration,
not fashion. Most of my friends had chosen illustration.
Unfortunately, we had a very stupid instructor. He told
us, ‘You’re 18; all of you are professional artists now. I
expect you back in September with sketchbooks filled
with work.’” Gladys chuckles with delight as she lives
oscar de
la renta
Gladys Perint Palmer drawinG
armani for
russian
l’officiel
up those moments from many years ago. “That summer was beautiful, so
we all went to the beach and had a time of our lives. None of us did any
work and nobody dared to go back into the illustration class. We all went
into fashion. That’s how I got into fashion.”
Gladys reveals that it was the best thing that could have happened to her
because it was there that she met her mentor Muriel Pemberton, who
invented fashion education. Gladys confesses, “I was closer to her than I
was to my mother. After graduation, she offered me a job to teach fashion
drawing two days a week at the school, while I pursued a career outside. I
learnt to be a teacher from the best teacher in the world. If I had stayed in
illustration, I would not have met her.”
After working as the fashion editor for magazines for many years, she
joined the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. For 19
years, she served as the executive director of fashion at the academy.
Within this period, she helped build an international reputation
for excellence and fostered a strong student body that grew tenfold.
BREAKING THE RULES
Gentle and soft-spoken, everything that Gladys says is adorned with
thinly sliced wit. Blended with her passion for art, it makes her a
delightfully energetic teacher, who holds on to her teaching
principles. “Drawing lays the foundation for design,” she
reveals, “but unfortunately fashion design students often
find it difficult to accept.” She has made drawing an
essential module at the school of fashion. “I insisted on
a strong foundation course in drawing and the academy
has continued it. And when Gaultier and later Rosita
Missoni visited, they were impressed that we were taking
drawing very seriously.”
Gladys Perint Palmer enjoys
the “autorickshaw” ride in
Chennai. —Drawn by
Gladys’ friend and artist,
Biswajit Balasubramanian.
Academic Calendar
Semester Dates
Spring 2015:
January 26 – May 16, 2015
Summer 2015:
June 15 – August 5, 2015
Fall 2015:
September 2 – December 19, 2015
Academy Events
aau fashion show
may 14, 2015
aau film festival
May 15, 2015
aau spring show
may 18, 2015
GRADUATE COMMENCEMENT (MFA)
MAY 21, 2015
undergraduate commencement
may 22, 2015
dior for
l’officiel
Aaron Cardozo, Official Representative (right)
Phone: +91-9561961996
ACardozo@academyart.edu
facebook.com/AcademyofArtUniversityIndia
More information is also available at AAU.com
Aaron Cardozo, Official Representative — India.
I am pleased to announce that Cardozo Design of India has been appointed
Official Representative for Academy of Art University. As such, I will shortly
be visiting schools to meet students interested in furthering their education
and in creating rewarding careers in art and design. My schedule will be
published in the June issue of Let’s Talk Art, India. We will also be setting up
Alumni Associations throughout India. In the meantime, if you know of anyone looking for information about Academy of Art University, entry requirements, courses offered, living arrangements etc., please ask them to
contact me.