SCHOOL OF
ART
2009–2011
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
The School of Art offers programs for the professional training of fine artists, graphic designers and photographers. It actively promotes both the creative environment and the intellectual context for artistic experimentation. The school’s programs prepare graduates to thoughtfully challenge the prevailing conventions of artistic expression, develop new forms, and become innovators and leaders in their chosen fields.
DEAN’S INTRODUCTION T H O M A S L AW S O N
As a sanctuary for experimentation and crossdisciplinary artmaking, the School of Art provides a forum in which to set forth new ideas in art and an intellectual framework in which to understand such work.
This commitment to artistic innovation and critical reflection has been the key to our enviable success in training the artists, photographers and designers who go on to make important contributions to their respective fields. Our faculty seeks out highly motivated, independent-minded students with a strong desire to make art and to challenge conventional ideas. With mentoring and one-on-one critiques at the heart of an intensive educational experience, students are guaranteed the flexibility to chart their creative development, whether in painting or video, photography or performance, typography or sculpture, digital imaging or sound installation, or, increasingly, new options in multimedia technologies. We give students the necessary room to find their own voices. Our Programs in Art, Graphic Design, and Photography and Media offer specific courses of study—and yet none is isolated from the others.
WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO COLLABORATE WITH ONE ANOTHER ACROSS DISCIPLINES AND TO INVESTIGATE HYBRID ART FORMS—NOT ONLY WITHIN THE SCHOOL OF ART BUT ALSO THROUGHOUT ALL OF CALARTS. All members of our faculty maintain active careers beyond the classroom. As a result, they are able to share insights on concerns and issues common to working artists, even as their backgrounds, philosophies and practices are richly diverse. This level of experience provides students with the information and intellectual skills they need to fully understand the complexities facing the professional artist today. The school also invites some 75 visiting artists, designers and theorists to the campus each year to broaden the debate on contemporary art. This accumulation of expertise provides an invaluable foundation on which students can build an independent practice and expand, as many School of Art alumni already have done, the limits of artmaking.
RIGHT: Gravity and Grace (a sum
of all my hopes and fears), by James Melinat BELOW : Installation view and detail of an exhibition entitled Cruiserweight, by Siri Kaur BELOW RIGHT: Spreads by Silas Munro from his thesis Poly-Mode
SCHOOL OF
ART
Alexandra Olson, MFA Program in Art
The information contained in this publication is subject to change. For the most up-to-date information about CalArts and the School of Art, see calarts.edu.
01 02 08 15 24 26 28 36 38 40
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE DEAN’S INTRODUCTION, Thomas Lawson SCHOOL OF ART AT A GLANCE PROGRAMS FACULTY SPECIAL RESOURCES FACILITIES VISITING ARTISTS ALUMNI APPLICATIONS
SCHOOL OF ART AT A GLANCE EMPHASIS ON THOUGHTFUL, INNOVATIVE ARTMAKING The School of Art is committed to artistic innovation and intellectual rigor. The school’s programs emphasize critical thinking about art and design in terms of context and use, and encourage work that challenges established ideas.
FORWARDLOOKING PROGRAMS Embracing the most contemporary movements in art and design, the school endeavors to anticipate, and even influence, what artists will do in the future instead of adhering to prevailing conventions and doctrines.
EXCEPTIONAL PEER GROUP CalArts attracts some of the most talented, daring and motivated young artists and designers at work today—a collection of fresh voices who, as a group, represent one of the most creative student populations in American arts education.
RIGOROUS REVIEW PROCESS Faculty reviews and peer-critique classes challenge students to sharpen and refine their work. This ongoing review process helps students to acquire important analytical and critical tools and the ability to shape their own practices once they graduate.
MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SHOWING WORK CalArts has seven dedicated galleries and a variety of more informal spaces for the presentation of student artworks. Ongoing shows provide students with the indispensable experience of mounting exhibitions and making more unconventional presentations.
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DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI School of Art alumni are prominent in the art and design communities at the local, national and international levels. Many keep close ties to CalArts and return to the School of Art as faculty members and visiting artists.
A FACULTY OF ACCLAIMED WORKING ARTISTS The school’s diverse faculty consists of noted innovators and leaders in contemporary creative practice. Since all faculty members are working artists with an abundance of real-world experience, they can better prepare students for the creative and professional demands of contemporary art and design.
EXTENSIVE ARTMAKING TOOLS AND FACILITIES The school features comprehensively equipped computer, photo, video, print and media labs, while the Super Shop is used for processes such as woodworking, metalworking, machining, moldmaking, spraying and sandblasting.
calarts.edu/art
PERSONAL ATTENTION AND MENTORING The low student-faculty ratio and small class sizes allow each student to work closely with members of the faculty—including a mentor who serves as that student’s artistic advisor.
SPACIOUS STUDIOS Graduate students and most upperlevel undergraduates in the Program in Art and the Program in Photography and Media are assigned private studios. Students in the Program in Graphic Design work in communal studios.
COLLABORATIVE, INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS INFLUENCING THE DISCOURSE ON ART LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY In addition to the work of faculty and alumni, and close interaction with a large network of artists and designers worldwide, CalArts helps to shape the discourse on art through the publication Afterall, the semiannual art journal produced jointly with London’s Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, and through ongoing exhibitions and other programming at the Gallery at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT).
CalArts’ distinctive educational philosophy has always promoted cross-pollination across all the arts. In addition to collaborations with their School of Art colleagues, students may pursue interdisciplinary projects with peers from other CalArts schools. This pool of collaborators includes musicians, composers, filmmakers, animation artists, writers, directors, producers, actors, dancers and choreographers.
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ZACH KELLOGG From Calabasas, California
BFA PROGRAM IN ART
“
I had a multiracial upbringing, half Asian, half white, and growing up I spent a lot of time in Hawaii. I wasn’t allowed to watch much TV, but I did see American, Japanese and Chinese cartoons, and they definitely had an influence on my drawing style in terms of layout and framing of the figure. “My favorite classes in high school were in science and I considered studying science in college. I was in a weird place at that time, and realized that I was coming at science from an artistic perspective. I was using science as a means of making art—exploring the process of making scientific diagrams and creating fictional biospheres—little worlds and the hierarchies that existed within them. “I knew I wanted to do fine art and wasn’t really happy with the structure of many of the other schools I applied to. They were very regimented and technically oriented—‘this is the project you have to do, then you’re going to present it.’ It just didn’t make sense to me to have them tell me what kind of art I was going to make. And they also had a strong focus on art as a craft—which wasn’t as important to me as learning the conceptual process of making art. “There are foundation classes here too, but they’re not as regimented. That’s ultimately why I decided on CalArts.
MY PROCESS IS TO FIND A FOCUS FOR MYSELF— WHATEVER I’M INTERESTED IN AT THE TIME—AND JUST EXPLORE IT TO MY FULLEST UNDERSTANDING, AND GET TO A PLACE WHERE I FEEL THAT I’VE EXHAUSTED THE IDEAS AND CONTENT OF WHATEVER IT IS. “I’ve only had great experiences with the faculty here. I’m constantly meeting with faculty and having private meetings and in-class critiques. That’s one of the most valuable parts of my CalArts experience—they constantly challenge my ideas, making me think more deeply about what I’m doing, and suggesting books I haven’t read or artists I haven’t seen. I don’t know where I would be as an artist without knowing these people and having their perspectives on my work. The faculty viewpoint is always well thought-out and grounded in art history.
”
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RIGHT: Posters by Gretchen Nash (LEFT)
and collage by Gali Erez BELOW : Poster by Nikelle Orellana and Stephanie Chen (LEFT) and poster by Julie Mattei
ABOVE : Installation view of the end-of-year
exhibition entitled For Ever RIGHT AND BELOW : Photography by Siri Kaur, from the series Cruiserweight
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP : Photography by
Theresa Masangkay; poster by Amun Levy; and an installation by Heather Rasmussen
PROGRAMS
THE SCHOOL OF ART OFFERS UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN THE AREAS OF ART, GRAPHIC DESIGN AND PHOTOGRAPHY.
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS LEAD TO THE BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS (BFA) DEGREE.
GRADUATE PROGRAMS LEAD TO THE MASTER OF FINE ARTS (MFA) DEGREE.
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Prospective students are invited to apply to one of the following: PROGRAM IN ART (BFA, MFA) PROGRAM IN GRAPHIC DESIGN (BFA, MFA) PROGRAM IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND MEDIA (BFA, MFA) Coursework for these programs is drawn from a range of more than 80 classes offered by the School of Art each semester. The BFA programs require students to complete a minimum of 120 semester units—including a series of liberal arts/general education classes—while students in the MFA programs must complete at least 60 units. All students also have the option of taking various electives courses offered by the CalArts Schools of Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music and Theater. To graduate, students must fulfill all program and course requirements and pass regular faculty reviews of their artistic and academic progress.
See detailed program requirements and current course listings at calarts.edu/courses.
OPPOSITE, TOP : A studio lighting Practicum, part of a series of skills-based and theme-oriented workshops that are held during the first three weeks of the spring semester INSET: Visiting Artist Lane Relyea RIGHT: A graphic design exhibition entitled Love and Heartbreak, curated by Stephanie Chen
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CRITICAL STUDIES UNDERGRADUATE REQUIREMENTS Candidates for the BFA degree must complete at least 46 Critical Studies semester units as part of the overall 120 units needed for graduation. This amounts to an average of three Critical Studies classes per semester and represents nearly 40 percent of each BFA student’s course load over four years. Courses on art history and other subjects related to art and design can fulfill a portion of this requirement.
To see more detailed information about the Critical Studies Undergraduate Requirements, go to calarts.edu/undergrad.
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PROGRAM IN ART BFA, MFA
A forum for the sustained exploration of possibilities in cultural production, the Program in Art pushes students to question conventional ideas about contemporary art. It challenges every artist to develop a critical self-awareness about his or her own work and better understand the issues and contexts that inform artmaking in today’s world.
To apply to any one of the programs offered by the School of Art, go to calarts.edu/apply.
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Encompassing both studio practice and theory, the Program in Art offers instruction in a wide range of media, including painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, digital imaging, sculpture, installation, video, film, writing and performance. The program does not require students to concentrate on a particular medium; instead, it relies on a flexible structure of individualized instruction and mentoring to emphasize the
A R T I C U L AT I O N O F I D E A S , THE DE VELOPMENT OF WORKING ME THODOLOGIES, A N D T H E R E A L I Z AT I O N O F INDEPENDENT STUDIO WORK .
The four-year BFA curriculum begins with a series of foundation courses in which students investigate various media, art-historical traditions and theoretical positions. Additional coursework includes a combination of seminars, group critique classes and independent studies. With the guidance of faculty mentors, students can concentrate on those areas that best serve their personal goals. By the third year in residence, undergraduates are expected to pursue independent studio projects. To earn the BFA degree, candidates must pass two faculty reviews of their overall artistic and academic progress—once at mid-residence and again prior to graduation. The two-year MFA program grants students a great deal of freedom to design a course of study that best suits their individualized needs. Each student confers closely with his or her mentor, who, in turn, evaluates that student’s progress periodically. The program culminates with a final project during the second year of residency, when every MFA candidate must mount an exhibition or equivalent project and pass a faculty review in order to fulfill the requirements for graduation.
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PROGRAM IN GRAPHIC DESIGN BFA, MFA
Graphic design plays an increasingly important role in today’s culture. The Program in Graphic Design prepares its students for a wide range of professional options—from publication design to web design, from film title and broadcast design to exhibition design, from type design to careers in design education.
To apply to any one of the programs offered by the School of Art, go to calarts.edu/apply.
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The program emphasizes both practical and conceptual skills, and enables each designer to integrate a command of visual language with imagination, theory and technology. The highly rigorous and structured BFA curriculum is centered around a core class covering all aspects of graphic design practice. Each year in residence builds on the experience of the previous as a sequence of additional classes explore imagemaking, typography and design history. This coursework is followed by more specialized classes in areas such as web design, motion graphics and type design. The BFA program typically admits 15 students each year and all students are required to pass faculty reviews at the end of every academic year. The MFA curriculum focuses on the advanced exploration of methodology and practice, within a context formed by contemporary practice, theory, craft, history, and the media environment.
INDIVIDUAL CRITIQUE WITHIN A COMMUNAL STUDIO STRUC TURE HELPS DESIGNERS TO DE VELOP A PERSONAL DIREC T ION and agenda pointed at work beyond graduate school. The first-year curriculum consists of a sequence of weekly seminars in which research and studio projects are examined and discussed. The second year in residence is dedicated to developing and realizing a major thesis project that contributes to—and, at best, challenges—the graphic design community at large. In each of the two years, graduate students deepen and refine their work though a set of required and elective courses covering subjects such as type design, typography, motion graphics, design theory and design history. Visiting designers who
lead short-term projects are another important aspect of the CalArts program, which consciously seeks to broaden the types of experiences offered to students within the focused studio environment. The MFA Program in Graphic Design also offers a three-year track for talented students who have a background in visual work but only limited experience in graphic design. The first year of this track is an intensive educational experience in form-making and conceptual skills, after which students move on to the two-year curriculum described above. Each year, the MFA program accepts approximately eight students for the two-year track and five students for the three-year track. Selected MFA applicants are invited to CalArts to interview with faculty and meet with their prospective peer group. Applicants from outside the United States and those who cannot travel for an interview may be interviewed by telephone.
To learn more about the BFA and MFA curricula and see examples of student work, visit design.calarts.edu.
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PROGRAM IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND MEDIA BFA, MFA
The Program in Photography and Media prepares artists for independent practice in a world saturated with photographic imagery and new media strategies.
To apply to any one of the programs offered by the School of Art, go to calarts.edu/apply.
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From foundation work through graduate studies, the program’s curriculum closely examines and questions the various modes of optical representation in art and culture, and encourages students to engage in critical analysis, debate, experimentation and the development of new forms.
A S A C E N T R A L PA R T O F T H I S I N Q U I R Y, T H E P R O G R A M U S E S CURRENT AND HISTORIC AL DISCOURSES ON PHOTOGR APHY A S A CONCEP TUAL BA SE AND SPRINGBOARD FOR A B R O A D E R E X P L O R AT I O N OF CONTEMPOR ARY IMAGE CONS TRUC TION IN P H O T O G R A P H Y, V I D E O , I N T E R N E T- B A S E D W O R K A N D EMERGING FORMS.
Accordingly, the program’s faculty represents a broad spectrum of art practices, ranging from photography and digital media to video, film, writing, publishing, net art, assemblage and installation. The BFA curriculum begins with a year of intensive foundation work. This is followed by a mixture of courses that includes classes on specific issues in photography, video and Internet practice, the histories of photography and film, media theories and semiotics, as well as critique classes, technical workshops and independent studies. Students receive ample feedback through a progression of independent studies, faculty reviews and one-on-one meetings. The MFA curriculum of the Program in Photography and Media centers on graduate critiques, seminars and independent studies as students devote most of their time to creating a distinctive body of work. The seminars stress relevant critical theory while the critique classes form the basis for dialogue about ongoing work. During the second year of residency, all MFA candidates must present a final project and pass a faculty review of this work in order to graduate.
LEFT: Natalie Bookchin, co-director of the
Program in Photography and Media
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FACULTY Thomas Lawson
Darcy Huebler
Dean
Associate Dean
FACULTY Program in Art
Program in Graphic Design
Program in Photography and Media
Anoka Faruqee
Gail Swanlund
Natalie Bookchin
Program Co-Director
Program Co-Director
Program Co-Director
Martin Kersels
Scott Zukowski
Andrew Freeman
Program Co-Director
Program Co-Director
Program Co-Director
Michael Asher
Caryn Aono
Ellen Birrell
Karen Atkinson
Tom Bland
Shari Bond
Jessica Bronson
Edward Fella
Kaucyila Brooke
Leslie Dick
Jeffery Keedy
Jo Ann Callis
Sam Durant
Louise Sandhaus
Judy Fiskin
Lorraine Wild
Allan Sekula
Michael Worthington
Billy Woodberry
Robert Fitzpatrick Chair
Charles Gaines Connie Hatch Darcy Huebler
TECHNICAL FACULTY
Thomas Lawson John Mandel Shirley Tse Millie Wilson
Tom Bland
See faculty bios online at calarts.edu/art/faculty.
Technology and Facilities Supervisor
Shari Bond Alexandria Carrion Robert Dansby Chris Peters Shelley Stepp
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Darrell Walters
VISITING FACULTY The School of Art’s regular faculty is supplemented by visiting faculty members who each spend one or more semesters at CalArts. In recent years, the visiting faculty has included:
Program in Art Amy Adler
Program in Graphic Design
Sadie Benning
Ryan Corey
Program in Photography and Media
Andrea Bowers
Sean Donahue
Uta Barth
Julie Burleigh
Joyce Lightbody
Cindy Bernard
Russell Crotty
Mark Owens
Walead Beshty
Maria Eichhorn
Brian Roettinger
Lewis Baltz
Lecia Dole-Recio
Terry Stone
Noel Burch
Karen Finley
Jon Sueda
David Bunn
Fritz Haeg
Scott Taylor
Dorit Cypris
Salomón Huerta
Brad Tucker
Allan deSouza
Eungie Joo
Martin Venezky
Critical Art Ensemble
Hilja Keading
Natalie Zimmerman
Miles Coolidge
Patrick Killoran Alix Lambert Charles Long Rodney McMillian Yunhee Min Marcos Ramirez “ERRE” David Reed Allen Ruppersberg
Andrea Geyer Diego Gutierrez Lyle Ashton Harris Anthony Hernandez Carole Ann Klonarides Sharon Lockhart Susan Meiselas Kelly Tribe
Corrina Schnitt Superflex Benjamin Weissman Liz Young
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FACILITIES SPECIAL RESOURCES
VISITING ARTIST LECTURE SERIES
PRACTICUM SESSION The first three weeks of the spring semester each year are devoted to the school’s Practicum Session, a unique series of skills-based and theme-oriented workshops that supplement regular classes. The Practicum workshops provide short-term, high-intensity skills training for the undergraduate population and quick introductions to new technologies for graduate students. Offerings range from metal fabrication to DVD authoring, bookbinding to studio lighting for photographers, 3-D animation to sound art production. Sign-up priority is given to BFA students, who are required to take two workshops during each year of residency.
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The school’s Paul Brach Visiting Artist Lecture Series brings an eclectic array of artists, designers, curators and theorists to the CalArts campus each year. Graduate students representing the school’s three programs select the guests and coordinate the series. Presentations are made at least once a week, usually on Thursday nights.
CENTER FOR INTEGRATED MEDIA Integrated Media (IM) is a supplemental concentration offered by many MFA programs at CalArts and supported by the Center for Integrated Media. Advanced artists who wish to combine their creative work with an exploration of digital and interactive technologies are invited to apply to the MFA program of their choice and ask to be considered for the IM concentration. For more information, go to calarts.edu/cim or see the Center for Integrated Media brochure.
AFTERALL The School of Art and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London jointly publish Afterall, a leading international journal of contemporary art. Afterall also publishes a line of books and monographs, and maintains a web site with separate content. Dean Thomas Lawson serves as co-editor alongside Mark Lewis in London, Charles Esche in Eindhoven, and Dieter Roelstraete in Antwerp. Afterall has its U.S. editorial office on the CalArts campus and is staffed in part by CalArts students. See afterall.org.
GALLERY AT REDCAT The Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) is CalArts’ downtown Los Angeles center for the presentation of innovative visual, performing and media arts. The Gallery at REDCAT, a 3,000-square-foot space, features an ongoing series of exhibitions, art talks and panel discussions. Many of the artists who present work there also come to the CalArts campus as visiting artists, while other projects may directly involve School of Art students. Other
programming at REDCAT comprises experimental work in film, music, theater, dance, multimedia and literature by a mix of emerging artists and internationally renowned practitioners.
COMMUNITY ARTS PARTNERSHIP (CAP) CalArts’ Community Arts Partnership works with community art centers and public schools throughout Los Angeles County to provide free college-level arts education to middle and high school students. Many School of Art students teach CAP workshops and classes and take part in the installation of exhibits and the documentation of various programs. CAP affords students the opportunity to share their knowledge and abilities with youth, work directly with faculty artists to create innovative pedagogical approaches, and test and refine ideas about interdisciplinary art practice. CalArts students involved in CAP gain valuable teaching experience and benefit from real-world engagement with diverse local communities.
THIS PAGE : Installation views of the exhibition Two Lines
Align: Drawings and Graphic Design by Ed Fella and Geoff McFetridge at the Gallery at REDCAT. Fella is a member of the design faculty while McFetridge (MFA 95) is an alumnus of the Program in Graphic Design. OPPOSITE : A Practicum workshop covering the work of the late Allan Kaprow, an original member of the CalArts faculty
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FACILITIES
The School of Art’s various facilities integrate both traditional and new technologies to encourage creativity across a broad spectrum of artmaking mÊtiers. Lab and shop directors, aided by student staff, are available to provide instruction and guidance, ensuring that all facilities are used effectively and safely. Students have 24-hour access to their studios and the school’s production facilities throughout the academic year. Labs and shops are open to all School of Art students, across all programs, who have demonstrated proficiency in using the relevant equipment.
STUDIOS Beginning undergraduate students in the Program in Art share studios while those in the Program in Photography and Media share workspace in the comprehensively equipped Photo Lab. MFA students and most upper-level undergraduates in these programs are assigned individual studios. Students in the Program in Graphic Design are assigned individual desks and workspaces in shared studios. Students have 24-hour access to their studios and work areas during the academic year.
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MAC LAB Using Macintosh workstations with an extensive array of software packages, the Mac Lab enables students to carry out a wide variety of digital and print projects. This production facility supports drawing, painting, photo manipulation, editorial design, type design, 3-D rendering, motion graphics, sound and web design, and CD and DVD authoring. The lab also features broadband access, high-resolution printers, video projectors, flatbed and slide scanners, digital still and video cameras, and CD and DVD recorders. Two adjunct labs support the Mac Lab: Prepress offers fee-based large-format color printing while the Media Lab provides motion graphics, digital editing, and DVD authoring facilities. Digital video and still cameras are also available for checkout at the Media Lab.
PHOTO LAB The Photo Lab supports both traditional photographic processes and digital media production. This lab holds a large-format color processor, black-and-white printing bays, color darkrooms, film developing rooms, a lighting studio, a copy room, a print finishing room, and an 8-by-10-inch color mural enlarger.
The Photo Lab’s digital darkroom features Macintosh workstations that support flatbed and film scanning, large-format printing, and film recording. Students may also check out a variety of cameras (from 35mm to 8-by-10-inch), digital cameras, camera accessories, printing equipment, slide projectors and lighting equipment.
available is a range of equipment for the exhibition of video work, such as monitors, projectors and synchronizers for multichannel video installations. Post-production facilities feature Macintosh workstations with Final Cut Pro for editing video and authoring media, Pro Tools for editing music and sound, and After Effects for motion graphics.
PRINT AND MEDIA LABS The Print and Media Labs accommodate both traditional and digital printmaking processes. Featuring large work spaces in an openfloor plan, the Print Lab is used for producing multiples through silk-screening, etching, lithography and letterpress. The facility contains oversize worktables, multiple paper cutters, light tables and several large exposure units. Equipped with Macintosh workstations, the Media Lab supports print and screen-based work, including CD and DVD authoring and web publishing. The Media Lab also offers more specialized, fee-based output such as largeformat, photo-quality color inkjet printing and computer-controlled vinyl and stencil cutting.
SUPER SHOP The Super Shop is an institute-wide resource that provides facilities and technical instruction for three-dimensional production. This shop features work areas and equipment for woodworking, metal fabrication, machining, moldmaking, sandblasting and spraying. A variety of hand tools are also available for checkout.
VIDEO LAB The Video Lab offers an assortment of highquality professional equipment for time-based media production and post-production, plus facilities for classroom instruction and exhibition. Various formats of cameras from Hi-8 to 24p digital video, microphones, lighting kits, digital sound recorders and other production equipment are available for checkout. Also
GALLERIES Students in the Program in Art and the Program in Photography and Media exhibit their work in seven dedicated gallery spaces as well as in various unconventional or informal settings around campus. First- and second-year undergraduates participate in several group shows, while many upper-level undergraduates and all graduate students have solo exhibitions in each year of residency. Beginning in early October and continuing for the remainder of the academic year, the school presents seven exhibitions each week, plus additional projects put on display in a student-run space for longer periods. Shows are accompanied by opening receptions and parties organized by students. Openings are held on Thursday evenings.
DIGITAL IMAGE AND SLIDE COLLECTIONS CalArts Image Services, part of the Division of Library and Information Resources, is expanding its archive of digital images for use in research and teaching. Image Services’ slide collection, meanwhile, contains more than 135,000 slides, which focus, in particular, on the art, design and performance practices of the 20th and 21st centuries. The Library also maintains a comprehensive collection of exhibition catalogues dating from the 1960s to the present.
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GRETCHEN NASH From Saginaw, Michigan
BFA PROGRAM IN GRAPHIC DESIGN
“
In high school, I got into illustration, painting and sculpture. But what I was really interested in was the digital aspects of design, and I started fooling around with Photoshop and InDesign. When it came time to decide on college, I knew that I wanted to do something that involved computers and typography design. CalArts was the only graphic design program that I applied to—I was really taken by the campus and teachers, and I liked that there were different schools at CalArts, which would allow collaboration, or if I wanted to get away from my program and go see a theater or dance production, I could. Since I didn’t have much exposure to design in high school, it was a shock when I first got here. But the program is very accelerated and I was able to learn all the software quickly. “I’ve found that my background in drawing and color theory has helped. I also did internships every summer, so I’ve gotten a good look at the ‘design world.’
WHILE WE DO PROJECTS THAT ARE DESIGNED FOR CLIENTS, THE FACULTY REALLY ENCOURAGES MORE EXPERIMENTAL FORM-MAKING—AVOIDANCE OF CLICHÉS—AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR OWN STYLES. “By the end of four years here (or two as an MFA), you’ll have your own personal style, which is important. All of the teachers influence us, though all of their work is completely different from one another. The faculty motivates you to do a lot of work and to go through many processes to get to the final result. But much of what you get out of the program is of your own making, and I really have to push myself. There’ve been a lot of all-nighters, but when I look back, I’ll have a huge portfolio. “Even though we don’t have a thesis in undergrad, we do get introduced to the conceptual aspect of graphic design and we have a guest lecture just about every week. These really help us think about our work and where we want to go with it. It’s important to see how other people use graphic design. In the fourth year, our projects focus on our own interests and our own points of views—whether it’s political or social or anything else. I’ve been focusing on American consumerism and its effects on the world. By taking a stand on that and using the assignments to express how I feel, I’ve learned more about myself, and about how a personal view can be explored and expressed through graphic design.
”
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TOP : Photography by Yanai Toister,
from the series Visible Color BELOW : CalArts students re-enact Allan Kaprow’s Publicity, the late artist’s seminal 1970 Happening, at Vasquez Rocks, some 20 miles from campus.
ABOVE : The graphic design exhibition Love
and Heartbreak, curated by Stephanie Chen LEFT: Another graphic design show, called Re: Valencia, curated by Roman Jaster and Cameron Ewing BELOW : Installation view and photography from the MFA art exhibition We Want A New Object
CARLIN WING From Brooklyn, New York
MFA PROGRAM IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND MEDIA
“
I went through the art program at Harvard with a joint degree in social anthropology, so I was always involved in both documentary and journalism. I became very cynical about media and the agency that you have within it as a producer. I think that’s one of the reasons I’ve ended up in art. I had never taken the possibility of me being an artist seriously. There were a lot of artists whose work I really respected, but I could never turn that possibility of respect or usefulness onto work that I made. I think I really needed to pay attention to how to make a practice that would hold up a possibility for me. “Working toward an MFA is an incredibly selfish two years—and it has to be—to just focus on production and ways of production. It’s certainly not a lot of time to wrap up many projects, but it is a time in which you can start to see what your over-arching interests are—what comes up again and again. I feel like I have enough raw material from these two years to last me for five to 10 years. The reading list alone could last a lot longer. I’ve made things that need to be finished and started work that needs to be developed. “The faculty really teaches here and engages with the students, which I think is wonderful. In many other grad programs there aren’t as many classes because MFA faculty aren’t also teaching undergrads. At CalArts, the MFA faculty is here, on campus. “I had some confrontations when I was doing street photography, which made me think about what it means to take someone’s photograph. I also read Susan Sontag (‘the camera is a gun’) and looked at a lot of war photography in classes. I also looked at typical anthropological photography in which photographers from the West go to underdeveloped countries. That dynamic has always bothered me. Because we know how to read images and we categorize them in our mind, we don’t have that much control over how the images we make are read.
ONE OF THE THINGS CALARTS IS REALLY GOOD AT, THAT’S BEEN USEFUL, IS TALKING ABOUT HOW TO ACHIEVE CONTROL OF OUR IMAGES, CONTROL OF THE CONTEXT THEY’RE SHOWN IN, AND WHEN AND HOW THAT’S POSSIBLE OR NOT POSSIBLE. “I think that that’s a really important conversation.
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VISITING ARTISTS In order to give students the opportunity to examine the widest possible crosssection of contemporary practices, the School of Art invites a diverse group of visiting artists, designers, photographers, film- and videomakers, performers, curators, writers and theorists to come to CalArts as part of the Paul Brach Visiting Artist Lecture Series. These guests—selected by MFA students representing the School’s three programs— share their vision and experience with student artmakers in lectures, class discussions, workshops and one-on-one studio visits. Recent visitors have included:
Visiting artist Miranda July
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PROGRAM IN ART PROGRAM IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND MEDIA Kevin Appel Ron Athey Judith Barry Uta Barth David Batchelor Linda Besemer Monica Bonvicini Mathieu Briand Glenn Brown Christoph Büchel Matt Coolidge Stan Douglas Kevin Jerome Everson Urs Fischer Robert Frank Andrea Fraser Adam Fuss Liam Gillick Gimhongsok and Sora Kim Luis Gispert Michelle Grabner Dan Graham Renée Green Johan Grimonprez Rachel Harrison Richard Hawkins Edgar Heap of Birds Mary Heilmann George Herms Matthew Higgs Thomas Hirschhorn Jens Hoffman Evan Holloway Jacqueline Humphries
Miranda July Louise Lawler Glenn Ligon Liz Magor Christian Marclay Albert Maysles Paul McCarthy Jennifer and Kevin McCoy Kori Newkirk Rubén Ochoa Damián Ortega Pepón Osorio Jorge Pardo Philippe Parreno Jennifer Pastor Hirsch Perlman Raymond Pettibon Glenn Phillips Pipilotti Rist Dario Robleto Ralph Rugoff Carolee Schneemann Richard Serra Lorna Simpson Sally Stein Mayo Thompson Rirkrit Tiravanija Margarita Tupitsyn Kara Walker Jeff Wall Colin Westerbeck Pae White David Wilson Andrea Zittel
PROGRAM IN GRAPHIC DESIGN Philippe Apeloig Stuart Bailey Jeroen Barendse COMA: Cornelia Blatter and Marcel Hermans Andrew Blauvelt Letterror: Erik van Blokland and Just van Rossum Laurenz Brunner Matthew Carter Roman Coppola Kyle Cooper Johanna Drucker Paul Elliman Thom Faulders Pablo Ferro Karin Fong April Greiman Peter Hall Jessica Helfand and William Drentell Kim Hiorthøy Allen Hori Christophe Jacquet dit Toffe Harmen Liemburg
TEXTFIELD: Jonathan Maghan and Harsh Patel Karel Martens Marlene McCarty Armand Mevis and Linda van Deursen Mike Mills Dimitri Nieuwenhuizen Brand New School: Jonathan Notaro and Jens Gehlhaar Santiago Piedrafita Rick Poynor Fiona Raby Stefan Sagmeister Adrian Shaughnessy Graphic Thought Facility: Andy Stevens Alice Twemlow and David Womack Rick Valicenti Rick Vermeulen
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ALUMNI
Alumni of the School of Art’s three programs include:
PROGRAM IN ART Mark Allen (MFA 99)
Jason Tomory Dodge (MFA 04)
Adia Millett (MFA 00)
Edgar Arceneaux (MFA 01)
Kate Erickson (MFA 82)
Dave Muller (MFA 93)
Judie Bamber (BFA 83)
Eric Fischl (BFA 72)
Matt Mullican (BFA 74)
Ericka Beckman (MFA 76)
Jill Giegerich (MFA 77)
Rubén Ortiz-Torres (MFA 92)
Guillermo Gomez-Peña
Tony Oursler (BFA 79)
Jeremy Blake (MFA 95) Nayland Blake (MFA 84) Ross Bleckner (MFA 73) Barbara Bloom (BFA 72) Andrea Bowers (MFA 92) Mark Bradford (BFA 95, MFA 97) Anthony Burdin (BFA 94) Jeff Burton (MFA 89) Ingrid Calame (MFA 96) Barbara Carrasco (MFA 91) James Casebere (MFA 79) Sofia Coppola (94) Meg Cranston (MFA 86) Dorit Cypis (MFA 77) 38
(BFA 81, MFA 83)
Sharon Greytak (MFA 82) Kira Lynn Harris (MFA 98) Steven Hull (BFA 95, MFA 97) Jim Isermann (MFA 80)
Laura Owens (MFA 94) Lari Pittman (BFA 74, MFA 76) Monique Prieto (BFA 92, MFA 94) Stephen Prina (MFA 80) Marina Rosenfeld
Cameron Jamie (BFA 95)
(Art-Music MFA 94)
Mike Kelley (MFA 78)
David Salle (BFA 73, MFA 75)
Tran T. Kim-Trang (MFA 93)
Jim Shaw (MFA 78)
David Kordansky (MFA 02)
Ed Suman (BFA 89, MFA 91)
Rachel Lachowitz (BFA 88)
Lesley Vance (MFA 03)
Suzanne Lacy (MFA 73)
Faith Wilding (MFA 73)
Erlea Maneros (MFA 03)
Christopher Williams
Rodney McMillian (MFA 02) John Miller (MFA 79)
(BFA 79, MFA 81)
Mel Ziegler (MFA 82)
PROGRAM IN PROGRAM IN GRAPHIC DESIGN PHOTOGRAPHY AND MEDIA Sean Adams (BFA 86) and Noreen Morioka (BFA 88) Anne Burdick (BFA 91, MFA 92) Ryan Corey (BFA 05) Denise Gonzales Crisp (MFA 96) Kim Dulaney (BFA 05) Bucky Fukumoto (BFA 98)
Angus Andrews (BFA 99)
Daniel J. Martinez (BFA 79)
James Baker (MFA 99)
Yurie Nagashima (MFA 01)
Nancy Barton (BFA 82, MFA 84)
Catherine Opie (MFA 88)
Julie Becker (BFA 94, MFA 96)
Kelly Poe (MFA 02)
Cindy Bernard (BFA 83, MFA 85)
Jeff Roe (BFA 96)
Jérôme Saint-Loubert Bié
Alex Slade (MFA 93)
(MFA 96)
Barry Deck (MFA 89)
Monica Chau (MFA 92)
Tahli Fisher (BFA 05)
Anne Collier (BFA 93)
Jens Gehlhaar (MFA 97)
Miles Coolidge (MFA 92)
Barbara Glauber (MFA 90)
Zoe Crosher (MFA 01)
Hillary Greenbaum (MFA 05)
Christina Fernandez (MFA 96)
Sibylle Hagmann (MFA 96)
Todd Gray (BFA 79, MFA 89)
Yasmin Khan (MFA 05)
Lyle Ashton Harris (MFA 90)
John Kieselhorst (MFA 96)
Violet Hopkins (MFA 02)
Zak Kyes (BFA 05)
Doug Ischar (MFA 87)
Deborah Littlejohn (MFA 94)
Adria Julia (MFA 03)
Kevin Lyons (MFA 96)
Robert Glenn Ketchum
Geoff McFetridge (MFA 95) Kali Nikitas (MFA 90) Jonathan Notaro (BFA 99) Michael Polish (BFA 92) Brian Roettinger (BFA 04) Riley Swift (BFA 03) Andrea Tinnes (MFA 98) Brad Tucker (BFA 02)
Lucy Soutter (MFA 93) Haruko Tanaka (MFA 03) Jan Tumlir (MFA 88) Carrie Mae Weems (BFA 81) James Welling (BFA 72, MFA 74) Al Winn (MFA 91)
(MFA 73)
Helen Kim (MFA 99) Liz Larner (BFA 85) Miranda Lichtenstein (MFA 93) Michael Mandiberg (MFA 03) Carter Mull (MFA 06) Megumi Nakai (BFA 97) Kelly Nipper (MFA 95)
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APPLICATIONS
To apply to the CalArts School of Art, go to calarts.edu/apply. All application and portfolio instructions are listed on the CalArts application web page.
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BELOW : Visiting artist Steen Madsen conducts
a basket-weaving workshop as part of the school’s Practicum Session. INSET: Another Practicum workshop, dealing with wilderness survival skills
LEFT: Installation by Gina Clark BELOW : Spreads from PUB, a journal
produced by students in the Program in Graphic Design INSET: Joel Evey during a Practicum workshop dealing with wilderness survival
TOP : An interface design thesis
project by Nikelle Orellana ABOVE : Photography work from the MFA Graduate Art show For Ever LEFT AND INSET: Sculpture by Wendy Mason
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP : An installation by Cindy
Santos Bravo; detail and installation view of an exhibition by Theresa Masangkay; and the typeface design Monoblack by Rosanne Wong
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:
Photography work from the MFA Art Show For Ever; The Island of Florida: A Foundation Myth, a performance by John Hogan; poster by Joel Evey; artwork from the show A Not So Simple Case for Torture
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP : Motion graphics
storyboard by Gretchen Nash; screen captures from a personal portfolio web site designed by Tiffany Malakooti; an installation from the MFA Art show For Ever; detail from an exhibition by Kaari Upson