The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is where the arts, sciences, and technology interact with and influence each other by using the same facilities and technologies.

The facility is host to artists and researchers to produce and present new work in a building designed with sophisticated architectural and technical infrastructure.

Four exceptional venues and studios enable its occupants to inquire, experiment, develop, and experience the ever-changing relationship between ourselves, technology, and the worlds we create around us. 

EMPAC produces various marketing materials for seasonal curated events, with an average of 20–30 events each season.

empac.rpi.edu

This book presents a vivid mosaic of all the events, projects, and works developed and presented at Rensselaer's Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center from 2014 back to its inception. In the first decade, hundreds of people from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines came to create new work—artists, scholars, researchers, and students—all in collaboration with EMPAC’s team.

Over 688 pages, Programming EMPAC offers a comprehensive listing of all 413 projects that have taken place, between 2004 to 2014. It begins with EMPAC in its current state, and ends with its first project. Each project entry is a snapshot, with a brief description and vivid images, which combine to form a portrait of EMPAC.

Recognitions: Print Magazine Regional Design Annual and ADDY Award winner.

empac.rpi.edu

EMPAC—The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is where the arts, sciences, and technology meet under one roof and breathe the same air. Four exceptional venues enable audiences, artists, and researchers to inquire, experiment, develop, and experience the ever-changing relationship between our senses, technology, and the worlds we create around us. EMPAC is an icon of the New Polytechnic, a new paradigm for cross-disciplinary research and education at Rensselaer.

Both a performing arts center and research and production facility, EMPAC provides an environment that supports the realization of complex artworks and research projects at any stage, from inception to completion. The EMPAC artist-in-residence program runs year-round, developing new and commissioned projects, many of which receive their premiere here.

EMPAC's programming (events, residencies, and campus productions) is divided into two seasons. We debut each season with a 24 page brochure detailing the event details, and artist biographies, as well as highlight special projects and ongoing research. These materials are our gateway to the student body, our local, and international communities.

empac.rpi.edu

Tsunami is a document bearing witness to one of the worst and unprecedented natural catastrophes of our time. The disaster’s enormity dictates the large-scale format of this book, which attempts to capture, in two-dimensional form, the sweeping magnitude of this event. Profits are being donated to Doctors Without Borders. A de.MO project with VII Photo Agency.
Size 26 x 19 inches (52 inches full spread). 72 pages. Cased in a flat cardboard box. 46 color photographs. Softcover: not bound. Limited Edition packaged in a tube with signed limited edition print by Antonin Kratochvil.

Recognitions: Coupe Magazine Design Annual, Communication Arts Design Annual, Art Directors Club Gold and Silver Cubes, and AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers

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HELP EDUCATE AT RISK ORPHANS
United Nations' initiative to aid and educate children and their families vulnerable to the spread of diseases in struggling countries around the world.

Recognitions: Print Magazine Regional Design Annual and Communication Arts Design Annual.

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PT PROPERTY MAINTENANCE
An Independent Contractor

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LEXI & LUCA
An organic beauty products company focusing on the pre-teen market.

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OIL and WATER
The theme of the annual EPIIC (Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship) Symposium at the Institute for Global Leadership, Tufts University

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THE GAMEKEEPERS
Cobra/Puma/Golf

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SORTASOFT
An independent gaming company with a focus on developing educational, nonviolent game play.

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EVAN’S ALE
The Albany Pump Station brewery that survived prohibition wanted to update their brand while honoring its tradition and family name.

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JJT EMPIRE
Incubator for local tech start up companies.
 

Albany Medical Center has one of the top cardiac surgery programs in the nation. Working with the newest surgical techniques, equipment and devices, the cardiac surgeons perform a wide range of cardiac surgery available on patients of all ages. They have led the way in heart care for decades, performing many of the region's first heart procedures including the first heart transplant and the first open heart surgery on an infant.

id29.com

Design agency id29 was COBRA PUMA Golf's agency of record. From 2011–2014, the team at id29 helped build the brand, spur sales and make considerable market share leaps. The work spans all media and applications from marketing strategy, integrated product launch campaigns, broadcast TV spots, digital and print advertising, environmental, point-of-sale and package design to product naming and mobile apps.

id29.com

Book cover design, interior design, and typesetting in various languages for translated literary works. New Directions Publishing Corp. is an independent book publishing company.

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CITY GATE, OPEN UP
“Bei Dao uses words as if he were fighting for his life with them. He has found a way to speak for all of us.” (Jonathan Spence)

A magical, impressionistic autobiography by China’s legendary poet, Bei Dao.

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THE INVENTION OF INFLUENCE
Peter Cole is an esteemed and prolific translator, concentrating on Hebrew literature, notably poetry from medieval Spain, and the recipient of many honors, including a MacArthur “genius grant.” The Invention of Influence is his fourth collection.

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GOOD OFFICES
“Translated into a dozen European languages, published by the finest houses in Spain and Latin America, praised by critics, studied in universities, Rosero’s dark worlds have managed to reach a wide audience. He is an oddity indeed, a writer who in spite of the considerable recognition he has attained has never come out of hiding. . .  Rosero affirms unashamedly that literature can and should change social reality, and that this is one of its main functions.” (Bomb )

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HELLO THE ROSES
American poet Mei-mei Berssenbrugge makes her New Directions debut with this breathtaking new collection of poetry.

The book’s cover is painted by and designed with her husband, contemporary artist Richard Tuttle. It is now a part of the permanent collection at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

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NOTES ON THE MOSQUITO
Notes on the Mosquito introduces English readers to  Xi Chuan, one of the most revered poets of contemporary China. 

“In the crevices of history, mosquitoes are everywhere.” 

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TIME OF GRATITUDE
“Night is the best time for believing in the light.” These words, attributed to Plato, are the epigraph to Time of Gratitude, a book or cycle of poems composed in 1976-77 by the Russian and Chuvash poet Gennady Aygi.

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CHILD OF NATURE
A fresh voice from the Balkans by an award winning poet from Albania, Leljeta Lleshanaku’s Child of Nature explores her country’s past in intense and powerful lyrics.

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FOR THE FIGHTING SPIRIT OF THE WALNUT
Winner of a PEN Translation Fund Award: A lyrical, supercharged, dizzying collection in a unique bilingual format: like two halves of the walnut, the English text meets the Japanese half way.

ndbooks.com

WALTER BENJAMIN'S ARCHIVE
This unique book, produced in association with the Benjamin Archive, delves into these archives. They include carefully laid-out manuscripts; photographs of a home with luxurious furniture, arcades, Russian toys; picture postcards from Tuscany and the Balearics; meticulous and unconventional registers, card indexes and catalogs; notebooks, in which every single square centimeter is covered; a collation of his son’s first words and sentences; riddles and enigmatic Sibyls. Everything here is subtly interlinked with everything else.

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CHE, A GRAPHIC BIOGRAPHY
“Spain’s take on Che is brilliant and radical.” (Art Spiegelman)
This dramatic and extensively researched book breathes new life into his story, portraying his struggle through the medium of the underground political comic—one of the most prominent countercultural art forms since the 1960s. Spain Rodriguez’s powerful artwork illuminates Che’s life and the experiences that shaped him, from his motorcycle journey through Latin America, his rise to prominence as a leader in Fidel Castro’s revolutionary movement, his travels in Africa, his involvement in the insurgency that led to his death in Bolivia, and his extraordinary legacy.
 

versobooks.com

Low Relief connects research into bas-relief sculpture in both India and the United States to the illusion of depth created in stereoscopic 3D films, and the globally-connected, labor-intensive processes of post-production involved.

lucyraven.com

Vanishing is a riveting collection of 16 photo essays taken over 16 years by one of the world’s most acclaimed photojournalists. It is a tour through endangered life forms and ruined environments, human catastrophes and destruction—resulting in vanishing cultures. From the book’s introduction: “Vanishing speaks on behalf of life, despite man’s ever-threatening presence. This body of work offers nothing in the way of answers, neither is it a sermon in hopes of brighter days . . . Vanishing gives those who go about their business, living their lives, a chance to look beyond their worlds and into others.” Included are Guyana, Bohemia, Beirut, Bolivia, Congo, Louisiana, Zimbabwe, Ecuador, Prague, Chernobyl, Angola, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Iraq and New York City.

Recognitions: Communication Arts Design Annual, Print Magazine Regional Design Annual, Art Directors Club, and AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers

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Hue magazine is the reinvention of FIT's alumni magazine. Empire Design Studio worked closely with the editors trying to capture the college's creativity and diversity. The magazine went from a black and white publication to color, and is printed using FSC paper and practices. Hue is well received by alumni and the related fashion industries and is helping to position FIT as the go-to place for business and creativity.

Empire Design Studio worked closely with the Hue team to create a magazine that showcases both alumni achievements and their work. We also commissioned photography and illustration by alumni to create artwork for the issues.

Recognitions: The magazine has won 14 awards including Gold for best new design in the CASE awards, and SUNY CUAD has awarded Hue the title of 'best college magazine’ from a State University of New York, twice.

empiredesignstudio.com

ONCE UPON A TIME (Es War Einmal)

The id29 Design Studio hosts an annual Oktoberfest party complete with cornhole, bratwurst, and of course, beer. This year each of the studio's designers designed a postcard in his or her own particular style, depicting one particular aspect of the tradition of Oktoberfest. When packaged together they told the entire history from the food, music, and regalia, to how it had its beginning. It began in true Grimm Brothers fashion, with the marriage of a prince and princess. This card, the first in the series, is a graphic illustration of that celebration. And the party was, as always, a success. Glücklich bis ans enden.

id29.com

Empire Design Studio was commissioned to redesign and art direct the first two new issues of the Columbia Law School's alumni magazine. The goal was to create a magazine that had the high-production values of a newsstand magazine, both visually and editorially-to reflect the law school's esteemed reputation.

In addition, to celebrate the 150th anniversary, we designed a book of collected essays from faculty. The cover was blind embossed, and foil stamped on a linen cloth that gave the book a modern but timeless feel.
 

empiredesignstudio.com

The Wonder Years is a visual celebration of the National Senior Games for athletes who defy their age and continue to compete. Rick Rickman's photographs capture the inspiration and personalities behind the games.

Chronicle Book

empiredesignstudio.com

A side project, I recently launched a small business featuring quality handmade wood products. Named after my great grandmother, it is important to me to highlight my own history as well as the tradition of the craft.

nellgoods.com