December 19, 2024
ArtCenter College of Design has named renowned artist, photographer and educator Matthew Rolston the recipient of the College's Lifetime Achievement Award for 2023
ArtCenter College of Design is pleased to announce alumnus Matthew Rolston as the 2023 ArtCenter Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and will honor him at the College’s Alumni Awards ceremony on September 27, 2025. Rolston is being recognized for his meaningful contributions to the College as an educator, supporter, and mentor and, to the world, as a leading force of cultural inspiration and creativity.
While still a student in the Photography and Imaging program at ArtCenter College of Design, Andy Warhol hired Rolston to shoot a portrait of Steven Spielberg for Interview magazine. From that beginning, he went on to a career as one of the world’s most sought-after fashion and editorial photographers. Rolston’s artistic voice has continued to resonate far and wide, shaping our concept of glamour with his unconventional lighting techniques, detailed sets and dramatic mise en scène. In addition to Interview, his images have appeared in Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar and on the cover of more than 100 issues of Rolling Stone. He has also directed music videos for numerous iconic artists, including Madonna, Janet Jackson and Beyoncé Knowles.
Rolston’s artistic work spans the gamut: magazine covers, advertising, creative direction, music videos, publishing, education and, in more recent years, the development of a significant fine art practice. And all his work is united by a powerful sense of what he calls “romantic notions about humanity.”
Rolston’s works have been exhibited domestically and internationally in galleries and institutions and are held in the permanent collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, NY, and the National Portrait Gallery (Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture at The Smithsonian, Washington D.C.) among others.
Rolston has stated his purpose with artmaking is to "pose questions about the things that make us most human."
"Matthew is an extraordinary individual and a rare talent whose expertise spans a remarkable breadth of disciplines," said Karen Hofmann, president of ArtCenter College of Design, about Rolston. "He possesses a unique ability to weave complex knowledge into creative solutions, translating intricate ideas into visually and intellectually compelling narratives."
In 1998, Rolston endowed the Matthew Rolston Scholarship for Film and Creative Direction at ArtCenter. He remains actively involved at the College as a mentor and lecturer about modern communication techniques, from fashion aesthetics to social impact messaging, and continues to divide his professional time between photography, fine art, publishing, filmmaking, creative direction and arts education.
In 2006, ArtCenter honored Rolston with an honorary doctorate degree. He was featured by the College in its Change Lab Podcast series and he produced, wrote and directed videos honoring ArtCenter’s 2021 Alumni Award winners, providing meaningful tributes at a time when celebration was postponed due to the pandemic. A testament to his influence as an educator, the next installment of Alumni Award videos were directed by a former student of Rolston’s.
Rolston joins a lineup of luminaries who have been awarded Lifetime Achievement Awards from the College, including most recently, the last standing original Disney Imagineer, Bob Gurr and legendary fine art photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto. Other Lifetime Achievement Award winners include photographer and artist Lee Friedlander, boundary-defying multidisciplinary artist Doug Aitken, futurist Syd Mead, and graphic design great Lou Danziger.
To further explore a complete list of past ArtCenter Alumni Award categories and honorees, visit: http://www.artcenter.edu/about/alumni/alumni-awards.html.
About ArtCenter: Founded in 1930 and located in Pasadena, California, ArtCenter College of Design is a global leader in art and design education. ArtCenter offers 11 undergraduate and 10 graduate degrees in a wide variety of industrial design disciplines as well as visual and applied arts. Renowned for both its ties to industry and its social impact initiatives, ArtCenter is the first design school to receive the United Nations’ Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status. Throughout the College’s long and storied history, ArtCenter alumni have had a profound impact on popular culture, the way we live and important issues in our society.
Contact:
ArtCenter Media Relations
pressoffice@Artcenter.edu
626 396-2205
Social Media:
@artcenteredu
@artcenter_alumnetwork
For more information about Matthew Rolston please visit:
https://www.matthewrolstonartpeople.com/artistbio
