Issue 7

Features

John Baldessari in his studio in the ’90s.

Summerhill for John

I began CalArts just when the Valencia campus opened in the fall of 1971. On the first day of class, School of Art students assembled in a large room with clerestory windows. Dean Paul Brach stood at a podium and brought the gathering to order with these memorable words, “Summerhill is over.” Summerhill, the radically…

50+50: Alumni Support Scholarships With New Works

In February, CalArts launched 50+50: A Creative Century from Chouinard to CalArts, an unprecedented alumni artist-led scholarship endowment initiative. In partnership with publisher Lisa Ivorian-Jones, CalArts commissioned and is selling editions and limited series...

John Baldessari’s Quack (2018) in front of Laddie John Dill’s CalArts Light (2018) at REDCAT.

Turn the Tide

The island of trash floating upon the sapphire seas between California’s coastline and Hawaii has swelled to perhaps twice the size of Texas, and that’s a conservative estimate. This garbage-strewn oceanic gyre is a...

Stills from ‘Recipe for Action.’ The character’s choice between meat and seafood protein becomes a teaching opportunity about the environmental effects of food.

Screen shots of Shiqi Zhang and Heehyun Choi’s desktop films created for Rebecca Baron’s The Essay Film course.

Learning in Quarantine

How can we collaborate creatively when we’re all locked up in our own little worlds? When the coronavirus pandemic hit earlier this year, the world—and CalArts—pressed the “pause” button. Students dispersed across time zones as campus cleared out. No one knew with any certainty when they might return. The faculty took a moment to regroup…

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FROM THE PRESIDENT

In less than a month’s time, we were forced to winnow down our Valencia campus operations as much as we could. This dramatic change was driven by COVID-19 and our mutual efforts as a country to slow its spread. Faculty members scrambled to redeploy the spring curriculum into a remote learning framework. Students were forced…

Shortly before social distancing orders were implemented in March, CalArts President Ravi Rajan checks in on students living in the dorms.

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FROM VISUAL ESSAY

Signs and Sass

Portrait of a Human (Pathos, Ethos, Logos, Kairos #10)

Portrait of a Human (Pathos, Ethos, Logos, Kairos #10), 2018, Cel-vinyl and spray paint over linen mounted on wood panel.

The Senseless Cycles

The Senseless Cycles, Tender and Benign, Bring Great Comfort, 1988, acrylic on wood panel.

Transfigurative and Needy

Transfigurative and Needy, 1991, acrylic and enamel on mahogany panel.

The Sounds of Belief

The Sounds of Belief, To an Atheist, Are Very Touching, 1988, acrylic on panel.

Spiritual and Needy

Spiritual and Needy, 1991, acrylic and enamel on mahogany panel.

Portrait of a Textile

Portrait of a Textile (Glazed Chintz), 2018, Cel-vinyl, spray enamel on canvas over wood panel.

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From In Memoriam

Carla Herrera-Prats (1973–2019)

The world lost an important critical thinker, activist, and artist when internationally respected Mexican...

Donald B. Marron (1934–2019)

Donald Marron, a founding trustee of CalArts, passed away on Dec. 6, 2019. At...

F.X. Feeney (1953–2020)

F.X. Feeney (Film/Video BFA 76), the renowned film critic, historian, screenwriter, author, filmmaker, and...

Joe Smith (1928–2019)

CalArts lost a friend and supporter when Trustee Emeritus Joe Smith passed away in...

Scott Courtlandt Davis (1954–2020)

Artist and CalArts alum Scott Courtlandt Davis (Art MFA 05) passed away suddenly on...

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From Class Notes

Ismael de Anda III (Art MFA 00)

Ismael de Anda III (Art MFA 00) reports on two exhibitions: Alptraum (nightmare), Jan. 18...

Barry Schrader (Music MFA 71)

Barry Schrader (Music MFA 71) and Wadada Leo Smith released a limited-edition CD single...

Sarah Vogwill (Art MFA 90)

Sarah Vogwill (Art MFA 90) says, “I’ve set aside my art practice to become...

Mellissa Tong (Music MFA 93)

Mellissa Tong (Music MFA 93) tells us: “Two of the compilation books that I’m...

Haeyong Moon (Film/Video MFA 04)

Haeyong Moon (Film/Video MFA 04) checks in to say: “I completed my first feature-length...

Roger Holzberg (Theater BFA 78)

Roger Holzberg (Theater BFA 78) reports, “As creative director for Island of Dreams, a...

Sarah Schneiderman (Art MFA 84)

Sarah Schneiderman (Art MFA 84) says, “The Ely Center for Contemporary Art’s show Witchy...

Zak Kyes (Art BFA 05)

Zak Kyes (Art BFA 05) has been elected a member of the Alliance Graphique...

Danielle Ash (Film/Video MFA 08)

Danielle Ash (Film/Video MFA 08) writes, “Since my thesis film Pickles for Nickels, I...

Damon Zick (Music MFA 03)

Damon Zick (Music MFA 03) says, “My world chamber jazz ensemble Quarteto Nuevo was...

Tanja Raaste (Theater MFA 04)

Tanja Raaste (Theater MFA 04) says, “I’m living in South London, working as a...

Juliana von Haubrich (Theater MFA 99)

Juliana von Haubrich (Theater MFA 99) checks in: “I’m still doing the work and...

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FROM THE BUZZ

‘Hair Love’ Wins Oscar for Best Animated Short

CalArtians Star in Award Season Representation matters. That was the underlying theme of this year’s Academy Awards, held on Feb. 9 in Hollywood. Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite made history as the first (South) Korean and...

‘I heard you paint houses’ in 29 Languages

Visuals Effects and Title Designer Randy Balsmeyer There’s a sequence in Martin Scorsese’s film The Irishman that consumed Randy Balsmeyer (Art BFA 73) for weeks. It’s a seemingly simple series of text seen a...

Visuals Effects and Title Designer Randy Balsmeyer, Courtesy of the Artist

An Intolerable Loss

John Bache (1940–2019) Beloved member of the CalArts community, John Bache, passed away suddenly on Dec. 11, 2019. Bache was an artist, photographer, and instructor who had a profound impact on CalArts for nearly...

John Bache at Community Arts Partnership Saturday Photography Class.

Bem-vindo, João Ribas

Internationally Renowned Curator to Lead REDCAT REDCAT is often recognized for bolstering global connections across the arts, and now with the announcement of João Ribas as the Steven D. Lavine Executive Director of REDCAT...

Members of the search committee celebrate with João Ribas (center), the newly appointed executive director of REDCAT. Edgar Miramontes (second from right) was promoted to deputy executive director and curator. Also, left to right: Michael Ned Holte (faculty), Berenice Reynaud (faculty), Tracie Costantino (provost and search committee chair), and Chi-wang Yang (faculty). Not pictured: Tim Disney (chair of CalArts Board of Trustees and search committee member).

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