"Powder Beauty"

Program

BFA 79 Photography and Imaging

Mark Arbeit transferred from the University of Hawaii to ArtCenter to study photography. During his third year of studies, he met photographer Helmut Newton—an event that changed his life. Following college, Arbeit worked as a photographic retoucher for Irving Penn in New York before moving to Milan, where he began shooting for "Linea Italia," "Donna" and "Vogue Bellezza." In 1985, he settled in Paris and formed an experimental photography group with fellow ArtCenter friends called The Cauldron. During this time he created his “In & Out-of-Focus” series (1986); split time between Paris and New York while shooting for "French Vogue," "Marie Claire," "In Style," "People" and "Forbes;" and launched his “Artist Atelier” series (1992). In 2004, Arbeit married and moved to Honolulu, where he continued his editorial work and created his “Torso” (2010) and “Photograms” (2012) series, before moving his family to Florida in 2015.