News & Events

Interview: Alumna choreographer Kate Weare discovered her creative voice at CalArts

August 2012
DanceU101

My Post-College Life, with Kate Weare

Choreographer Kate Weare discovered her creative voice and a passion for collaboration as a student at California Institute of the Arts. Since graduating, she's created works on companies including Scottish Dance Theatre, Australia's Buzz Dance Theatre, CityDance Ensemble and NYC's Paradigm, and she founded the Kate Weare Company in 2005. In 2009, she was awarded a Princess Grace Award and in 2011, a Joyce Theater Foundation Fellowship. DanceU101 spoke to Weare about being a successful post-college choreographer. —Rachel Zar Read story

Posted by dthatt on Mon, 08/20/2012 - 10:30am

Recent graduate Heidi Smith created original character illustration for animated film 'ParaNorman'

August 19, 2012
Los Angeles Times

ParaNorman costume designs no small effort

ParaNorman's off-kilter costumes demand a giant amount of artistry and precision — on a micro-scale.

HILLSBORO, Ore. — Movie buffs probably have some idea of what goes into designing a costume for film.

But what about when the star is a 9-inch-tall puppet named Norman?

As I learned a few months ago during a visit to the Laika Studios set of ParaNorman, the 3-D stop-motion animation film that opened Friday, it was all about sweating the small stuff. Read story

Posted by dthatt on Sun, 08/19/2012 - 4:00pm

Artist creates public sculpture for Alaska state crime lab and cites influence of studies at CalArts

August 18, 2012
Anchorage Daily News

Public art sculpture intended to reflect the purpose of new crime lab

Osman Akan first saw Alaska on a gloomy November day in 2010. The artist, born in sunny Turkey and now based in New York City, was flying back to America after attending a contemporary art fair in Europe. He'd scheduled a stop in Anchorage to evaluate making a proposal to create a statue for the new state crime lab as a Percent for Art project. Read story

Posted by dthatt on Sat, 08/18/2012 - 11:00pm

Interview with Alex Hirsch—alumnus creator of animated series 'Gravity Falls'

August 17, 2012
The New York Times

An Undercurrent of Darkness, Even at Disney

Hotshot tv animators used to knock on Disney Channel’s door very infrequently. For a generation of cartoonists raised on The Simpsons, Disney had a reputation as too worried about protecting its brand to have fun. The cool kids wanted to work elsewhere. Read story

Posted by dthatt on Fri, 08/17/2012 - 2:00pm

Alumnus Ariel Pink releases album

August 17, 2012
The New York Times

It’s Nearly Impossible to Stay Unknown

If you believe the myth, Ariel Pink is home a lot.

On a Monday morning in July, Ariel Pink was idly wandering through his house in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, speaking by phone and giving a virtual tour. In the room where he sleeps, he said, an eight-track recorder was stationed on a shelf; in the living room he described a haphazard stack of instruments, guitars on top of keyboards on top of amplifiers. Read story

Posted by dthatt on Fri, 08/17/2012 - 2:00pm

School of Art Dean Thomas Lawson discusses the future of Los Angeles' Museum of Contemporary Art

August 16, 2012
Los Angeles Magazine

To Understand the Future of MoCA, Look at its Past

With the recent decision of the MoCA board of trustees to reverse itself and open a search for a chief curator, the museum’s identity crisis may have reached a temporary respite. But a more permanent resolution isn’t in the cards until a sustainable budget is achieved, and all interested parties, including a passionate public, can agree on what that budget means in terms of programming, collection development and support, and educational outreach. It’s past time to analyze, consider, and restate the museum’s mission. Read story

Posted by dthatt on Thu, 08/16/2012 - 9:00am

Faculty member Steve Erickson writes about the upcoming election: 'The GOP's Kamikaze Candidate'

August 8, 2012
The American Prospect

In their desperation to oust President Obama, Republicans have selected the worst presidential candidate in recent memory.

I spent most of July in the upper Midwest and was reminded that not everyone in America passes the summer fixated on politics. They go to the beach, catch fish, grill burgers, eat ice cream, try to stay cool, see The Dark Knight Rises without recognizing it as the fascist tract that shrewder observers from Rolling Stone do. In the Bear Lake Tavern where I would have dinner not far from Lake Michigan, the TV over the bar is set to the Olympics before being turned to CNN or Fox or occasionally NBC (but not MSNBC). Read story

Posted by dthatt on Wed, 08/08/2012 - 10:00am

Interview with School of Art alumnus Eric Fischl

August 8, 2012
Art in America

The View from Sag Harbor: Q+A with Eric Fischl

Passing through Southampton where traffic is snarled by yet another summer event, I arrive in the quieter Sag Harbor to catch up with Eric Fischl in the Arts and Crafts-style contemporary home he shares with his wife of 37 years, painter April Gornik. He's just helped her move a mammoth canvas in her studio, which matches his exactly. Their identical spaces sit side by side, with wide open views of lush gardens. The artists have inhabited this idyllic setting full-time since 2009, when they left Manhattan following a studio fire. Read story

Posted by dthatt on Wed, 08/08/2012 - 9:00am

Sony Pictures Media Arts Program and CalArts Provide Free Drawing and Animation Programs to Local Youth

August 8, 2012
Variety

... For a decade now, Sony Pictures Media Arts Program has provided free drawing and animation programs for kids in L.A. area, bringing artistic and technical training to middle school students. ... The program is a public-private educational partnership between CalArts, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and SPE. Read story

Below: Sony Pictures Media Arts Program celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Posted by dthatt on Wed, 08/08/2012 - 4:00am

CalArts Alumnus and Pixar Filmmaker Pete Docter Writes Inspirational Letter to Middle School Students

July 31, 2012
Business Insider

A letter just popped up online written by Pixar filmmaker Pete Docter ("Monsters, Inc.," "Up") in which he encourages middle schoolers not to give up on their dreams and do what they love. Read story

Posted by dthatt on Tue, 07/31/2012 - 1:00pm