California College of The Arts: San Francisco Oakland
California College of The Arts: San Francisco Oakland
California College of The Arts: San Francisco Oakland
oakland
Art
Arc hitec tu re
o f th e arts
Des i g n
c ollege
Writi n g
cali forn ia
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o a k l a n d ca m p u s
best work.
sa n fra n c i sc o ca m p u s
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personal and passionate.
It should tell us who you are and what you truly care about.
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Every portfolio is
unique
unique
r
always evolving.
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your potential
first connections
The First Year Program immerses you in an artistic community. The curriculum prepares you for the challenges
of college through a set of studios tailored to your
intended discipline, including courses in the humanities and sciences. You will explore your established
areas of interest, discover new ones, and develop into a
self-motivated student and creator. You will be based on
CCAs Oakland campus, a traditional college setting with
impressive facilities and residence halls. Eighty percent
of first-year students live on campus. The residence halls
are home to several themed communities, which bring
together students with specific shared interests.
On campus and off, you will develop your expanded community, making memories and developing relationships
that will last a lifetime. Connect with fellow students
at exhibitions, yoga classes, and potluck dinners. Bike
to College Avenue to visit bookstores and cafs, or take
the train to San Francisco to check out galleries and
museums. Both San Francisco and Oakland are diverse
and dynamic, with thriving, world-class arts scenes
that are waiting to be explored.
i
A few suggestions to
.
get
you going,
.
motivate
you to continue,
Take risks.
Dont worry or overthink things.
Give yourself permission to createeven if it turns out bad.
This is how you set yourself free to develop your work.
visiting artists
Vito Acconci, sculptor /// David Adjaye, architect /// Laylah Ali, painter /// Rae
Armantrout, poet /// John Baldessari, multimedia artist /// Constantin Boym,
designer /// Chris Burden, sculptor /// Ingrid Calame, painter /// Janet Cardiff,
multimedia artist /// Stephen Cassell, architect /// Maurizio Cattelan, multimedia
artist /// Yung Ho Chang, architect /// Chuck Close, painter /// Phil Collins,
multimedia artist /// Matthew Coolidge, Center for Land Use Interpretation director ///
Martin Creed, multimedia artist /// Douglas Crimp, critical theorist /// Amy Cutler,
painter /// Jeremy Deller, multimedia artist /// Pierre de Meuron, architect /// Steve
Dietz, curator /// Mark Dion, multimedia artist /// Stan Douglas, photographer,
filmmaker /// Winka Dubbeldam, architect /// Cheryl Dunye, filmmaker /// Dave
Eggers, novelist, publisher /// Andrea Fraser, multimedia artist /// Tom Friedman,
multimedia artist /// Aurlien Froment, conceptual artist /// Jeanne Gang, architect
/// Liam Gillick, multimedia artist, theorist /// Guillermo Gmez-Pea, multimedia
artist, critic /// Hans Haacke, multimedia artist /// Fritz Haeg, writer, curator, architect
/// Doug Hall, video artist, photographer /// Rachel Harrison, sculptor /// Mary
Heilmann, painter /// Werner Herzog, filmmaker /// Thomas Hirschhorn,
multimedia artist /// Roni Horn, multimedia artist /// Pierre Huyghe, multimedia artist
/// David Ireland, sculptor, installation artist /// Christian Jankowski, multimedia
artist /// Ilya Kabakov, painter, installation artist /// Mike Kelley, multimedia artist ///
Chip Kidd, graphic designer, editor, novelist /// Michael Kimmelman, art critic, journalist
/// Walter Kitundu, sculptor, musician /// Ken Lum, multimedia artist /// Rodolfo
Machado, architect /// Greil Marcus, critic, music historian /// Jrgen Mayer H.,
architect /// Josiah McElheny, sculptor /// Barry McGee, painter /// Roy McMakin,
designer /// Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid, multimedia artist
/// Ernesto Neto, sculptor, installation artist /// Hans Ulrich Obrist, curator ///
David Pagel, art critic /// Gaetano Pesce, industrial designer /// William Pope.L,
multimedia artist /// Rick Poynor, design critic /// Richard Prince, photographer, painter
/// Rob Pruitt, multimedia artist /// Walid Raad, Atlas Group founder, multimedia
artist /// Yvonne Rainer, filmmaker, choreographer, theorist /// Karim Rashid, industrial
designer /// Bridget Riley, painter /// Terry Riley, musician, composer /// Stanley
Saitowitz, architect /// Scanner, musician /// Kaja Silverman, film theorist, essayist
/// Jorge Silvetti, architect /// Rebecca Solnit, critic, essayist /// Bruce Sterling,
novelist /// James Turrell, installation artist /// Bill Viola, video artist /// Catherine
Wagner, photographer /// Kara Walker, multimedia artist /// Carrie Mae Weems,
photographer, installation artist /// Lebbeus Woods, architect, theorist /// Erwin Wurm,
photographer, sculptor /// Mario Ybarra Jr., sculptor, installation artist /// Andrea
Consume art.
Art is everywhere.
Look at all the work you can, talk to other artists, view films,
and attend slams and readings.
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crossroads.
Emily
Jon
Documentin both pictures and writingyour own art and the art you see.
What are you looking at, reading, hearing, and thinking about lately?
What new materials excite you?
What new art-making processes challenge you?
Write down all of your thoughts and ideas.
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Art
Architecture
Design
Writing
Animation
Architecture
Ceramics
Community Arts
Fashion Design
Film
Furniture
Glass
Graphic Design
Illustration
Industrial Design
Interaction Design
Interior Design
Jewelry / Metal Arts
Painting/Drawing
Photography
Printmaking
Sculpture
Textiles
Visual Studies
Writing and Literature
Show us everything
youre capable of.
www.cca.edu/academics
These drawings are an essential part of your portfolio, no matter what art school you are applying to.
They are made directly from lifethat means live-in-person looking, seeing, and interpreting.
They are translations of three-dimensional objects onto two-dimensional paper.
core program
In your first year of cross-disciplinary study, you will
develop solid foundational skills in two, three, and four
dimensions as you prepare to enter your intended major.
Core studio courses focus on visual literacy, effective
communication, craft, research, presentation, collaboration, and the art of constructive critique. Writing and
humanities courses will strengthen your writing proficiency and critical skills as well as your familiarity with
the history of art, design, architecture, and literature.
Through a choice of studio electives you will investigate
various media and possible majors.
At the end of the first year is Portfolio Review, a capstone
experience in which faculty members review your work
and help you define your path for the years to come.
Consider subjects
Everything around you is potential subject matter,
from friends and flowers to the objects on your desk
and the shoes under your bed.
Challenge yourself to draw contrasting textures: glass, fur, metal, lace . . .
Humanitiesand Sciences
Consider media
You will approach the same subject differently with a pen in your hand
versus a paintbrush.
Try painting and drawing the same thing and
see how changing the medium changes the results.
fine arts
There has never been a better time to pursue an education in the fine arts, nor a better place to do it than CCA.
People around the world are seeking creative solutions
to complex issues, and making art that matters is more
importantand more relevantthan ever. CCAs eleven
programs in the fine arts combine studio practice,
critical inquiry, project-based learning, and interdisciplinarity.
You will experiment, hone your technical skills, develop
your own conceptual framework, and be challenged to
explore new creative territory. Critique is a cornerstone
of all studio courses and a particular strength of CCAs
programs. As you move through the curriculum, youll
be encouraged to experiment with many different media
and take courses outside your discipline, collaborating
with others and benefiting from their perspectives.
You can also take advantage of the proximity of MFA
students enrolled in CCAs world-renowned Graduate
Program in Fine Arts.
Our faculty members, themselves accomplished artists,
will encourage you to be a rigorous thinker and creator.
Every semester CCA brings to campus visiting artists
and lecturers from around the globe to teach, critique
student work, and connect you to the international
art world. Interning with practicing artists, museums,
galleries, community organizations, schools, studios,
and production companies will build your network of
professional connections.
Your senior year will culminate in the production of a
cohesive body of work and a solo exhibition. You will
graduate with the ability to realize your most adventurous ideas and the motivation to make a positive impact
on the worldready to succeed in studio practice, the
professional workplace, or a top-tier graduate program.
Consider techniques
Experiment with working fast
andand
looseloose
versus tight
and controlled.
fast
versus
tight and
controlled.
Loose drawings are more about motion and rhythm. They are fluid,
gestural,
and spontaneous.
fluid,
gestural,
and spontaneous.
outlines
ofsubject.
your subject.
Contour drawings show the outlines
of your
Imagine that your pencil is moving along the edges and ridges.
Idea Development:
architecture
Architecture programs
Architecture
Interior Design
Idea Development:
Consider a theme
As an exercise to help you shape your ideas, try focusing on one idea or subject.
Lets say you like cats . . . but what about cats?
Why do they grab your attention?
What is it you want to say about them?
Idea Development:
design
Design programs
Fashion Design
Furniture
Graphic Design
Illustration
Industrial Design
Interaction Design*
As creativity and innovation become increasingly appreciated throughout the world, professional opportunities
for designers continue to grow. CCAs six programs in
design prepare students to offer intelligent, creative
solutions to the worlds most difficult and interesting
problems. You will graduate with a wide range of skills,
a deep body of knowledge in your chosen discipline,
and a comprehensive conceptual framework upon
which you will continue to build throughout your career.
Businessweek has recognized the strength of our
design programs by naming CCA one of the best design
schools in the world.
The San Francisco Bay Area is at the edge of the Pacific
Rim, a hub of design activity and cutting-edge technology, and home to many of the worlds best-respected
firms in every design-related field. CCAs faculty members are active professionals and will help you connect
with leading companies and organizations relevant to
your interests. You will have many opportunities to participate in project-based courses that examine specific
real-world issues related to sustainability, social justice,
and more.
CCA students participate in global competitions in
illustration, fashion, furniture, and more; complete prestigious internships in California, New York, and beyond;
work for CCAs award-winning graphic design studio; and
engage in industry-sponsored projects. Our students
while they were still studentshave been recognized by
such highly respected institutions and publications as
Wired, Graphis, the Society of Illustrators, the Industrial
Designers Society of America, the International Housewares Association, the Western Art Directors Club, and
the Type Directors Club.
Idea Development:
K.I.S.S.
Getting Feedback:
a good thing!
Getting Feedback:
Writing programs
Visual Studies
Writing and Literature
forward thinking
A CCA degree can translate directly into a job with
important names in design, fashion, technology, media,
and publishing. Our alumni have competed on the
television show Project Runway, designed the graphic
identity for MTVs Video Music Awards, and worked on
characters for Ratatouille, WALL-E, and Transformers.
They have illustrated editorials for Rolling Stone, Time,
and Wired. They have created Emmy Awardwinning
motion graphics for the Showtime series Dexter and an
animated short that made the cut at the Cannes Film
Festival. They have exhibited their work at the Whitney
Museum of American Art and SFMOMA, published
novels and short stories, and been lauded in the New
York Times, Artforum, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
The accomplishments of CCAs graduates are as
impressive, diverse, and innovative as the graduates
themselves.
CCA alumni have worked at: /// Abercrombie & Fitch ///
Adobe Systems Inc. /// Apple Inc. /// Asian Art Museum
of San Francisco /// Autodesk Inc. /// BMW Designworks/
USA /// California Academy of Sciences /// Chronicle
Books /// Clif Bar /// Communication Arts /// Converse
Inc. /// Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum /// Crate
and Barrel /// Curious Pictures /// Dreamworks /// Dwell
Magazine /// eBay /// Eleanor Harwood Gallery /// Elixir
Design /// Exploratorium /// frog design /// fuseproject
/// Gap Inc. /// Gensler /// Getty Research Institute ///
Gymboree /// HDR Architecture /// IA Interior Architects
/// Industrial Light & Magic /// International Studio &
Curatorial Program /// John Berggruen Gallery /// KQED
/// Landor Associates /// Leapfrog /// Loebl, Schlossman
and Hackl /// LucasArts /// Microsoft /// Monterey Bay
Aquarium /// Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
/// Museum of Modern Art, New York /// Narciso Rodriguez
/// NBC Universal /// Newsweek /// Nickelodeon /// Nike
/// The North Face /// Oracle /// Paramount Digital
Entertainment /// Pixar Animation Studios /// Pottery
Barn /// Ralph Lauren /// Ratio 3 /// Salon.com /// San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art /// Skidmore, Owings &
Merrill /// Studio Museum in Harlem /// Sun Microsystems
/// Surface Magazine /// Thom Browne /// Tippett Studio
/// Triple Base Gallery /// United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum /// Vanity Fair /// Walker Art Center ///
Walt Disney Imagineering /// Warner Bros. /// West Elm
/// Williams-Sonoma /// Wired /// XM Satellite Radio ///
Yahoo! /// Young & Rubicam ///
Consider presentation.
Consider presentation.
Realize that how you present your work can influence others interpretation of it.
All the pieces should be clear, unsmudged, and not damaged in any way.
Use loose techniques if you like, but if youre going to be messy,
do it intentionally.
a pp l y i n g t o c c a
Admissions Requirements
All applicants must submit:
1. online application
2. $60 application fee (CCA honors the College Board
application fee waiver)
3. personal essay
4. official high school and/or college transcripts
5. portfolio (submitted via SlideRoom.com or on CD;
first-year students should include 1015 images;
transfer and second-degree applicants should include
1520 images)
6. two letters of recommendation
For details on all of these, see www.cca.edu/
admissions/undergrad/application. In addition to the
above, international applicants must submit proof of
English language proficiency and begin procedures
to obtain their student (F-1) visa. Visit www.cca.edu/
admissions/international/applicants for full details.
Transfer Credit
Application Deadlines
Am I in this?
Financial Aid
CCA is strongly committed to making its arts education
accessible and affordable. We award more than $17 million
annually in scholarships to nearly 75 percent of our
students. You must complete the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be considered for all
forms of financial assistance, including CCA need-based
scholarships, federal and state grants, federal loans, and
federal work-study. For details on applying for financial
aid, visit www.cca.edu/financialaid.
Visit Us
www.cca.edu/mypov
> Apply online
> Review admissions requirements
> Watch campus videos
> Take a virtual tour
> Learn more about our programs
> Make a reservation for a campus
visit or an admissions event
> Explore campus life
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2010 by California College of the Arts, 1111 Eighth Street, San Francisco CA 94107-2247. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without permission.
All artworks pictured are reproduced with the permission of the college and/or the artists / Principal photographers: Nikki Ritcher, Navid Baraty / Artwork courtesy the CCA Sputnik
design studio spring 2010 class and Emily Aufuldish, Hunter Buck, Grace Chang, Tiffany Childers, William Clark, Tina Curiel, Griffin Goldsmith, Sung Hyun Lee, and Carly Rushton.