Art Directors/Set Decorators
Dwight C. Jackson
Dwight C. Jackson, a native Texan, came to California in the early 1970s to pursue a graduate design degree at California Institute of the Arts. M.F.A. in hand, he quickly and fortuitously got a job assisting one of television’s leading designers. This early introduction to television work led to a cavalcade of jobs in music, variety, situation comedy and drama for broadcast. Jackson, a Primetime Emmy winner and multiple Emmy nominee, belongs to both art department unions and works as production designer, art director or set decorator, depending upon the project. He has served two previous terms as a Television Academy governor and was the co-chair of the 2008 Creative Arts and Governors Ball committees. Jackson’s latest design work is the forthcoming film, Southern Comfort, written and produced by Linda Bloodworth Thomason.
James Robert Yarnell
James Yarnell grew up in England, where he earned a B.A. (Hons) degree in 3 Dimensional Design. In 1995 he came to the U.S., where he found work as a production assistant on Dallas. This led to work on various television shows. He eventually began working as an assistant art director, and then art director with the renowned Roy Christopher and Bruce Ryan. Today, Yarnell works as a production designer and art director; he has earned multiple Primetime Emmy nominations, and in 2009 won an Emmy for the art direction on American Idol. Yarnell’s recent credits include Dancing with the Stars, America’s Got Talent and So You Think You Can Dance, and he is currently working on Season 9 of American Idol. He has served on the Art Directors/Set Decorators Peer Group Executive Committee for two years and is honored to serve on the Television Academy’s Board of Governors.
