Art Center College of Design

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Art Center College of Design

Image:Artcentercollegeofdesignlogo.gif
Established 1930
Type Private
President Richard Koshalek
Location Pasadena, CA,, USA
Telephone (626) 396-2200
Campus Suburban
Website http://www.artcenter.edu
Photo of Art Center during the night.
Photo of Art Center during the night.

Art Center College of Design (commonly referred to as Art Center) is a private college located in Pasadena, California. It is one of the leading graphic and industrial design colleges in the world. The school logo is an orange circle, also known as the Art Center "Dot", which has been a part of the school identity since its beginning. Art Center is particularly known for its Transportation (Automobile) Design program. It also has notable photography, graphic design, advertising design, illustration, fine art and film programs among others. The school maintains two campuses in Pasadena, both are considered architecturally notable.

Art Center built its reputation as a vocational school, essentially, preparing returning GIs for work in the commercial arts fields. It has traditionally maintained a strong "real-world" focus, emphasizing craftsmanship, technique, and professionalism while somewhat de-emphasizing theory. Instructors are working professionals, for the most part, and projects are intended to map to real-life assignments.

The challenge for schools like Art Center is maintaining the balance between talent and revenues. Tuition in 2006 is over $14,000 per term (3 terms per year - trimester), with no offering of room and board, plus the not inconsiderable costs of supplies. There are currently plans to build on campus housing.

That said, the tuition is on par with other private and/or fine art institutions. As indicated above, the college operates on a trimester system. Students can obtain their degree in about 2 trimesters (completing 8 terms) -- graduating with a four-year degree in just over two and a half years. (Though most students take a term off for independent study or to take formal internships in industry.) The accelerated learning environment stems from the college's trade school roots. Administrators and faculty wanted to mimic as much as possible the "real world" where there is no such thing as a summer vacation. Graduates are in the work force earlier than their counterparts at other colleges or universities. So, students may be paying as much or a bit more for supplies, etc. but they're ostensibly able to pay off their education earlier too.

The Art Center is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges [1]. As a result, their Liberal Arts course offerings are quite extensive while having an art and design bent. Additionally, research methodologies and design theory have increasing importance alongside the aforementioned craftsmanship, technique and professionalism. One other aspect of art and design is finding prominence at the college. That's the social and humanitarian aspects, as evidenced by the college's affiliation with the United Nations.

Contents

[edit] History

Art Center was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. During and after World War II, the Art Center ran a technical illustration program in conjunction with the California Institute of Technology. In 1947, the post-war boom in students caused the school to expand to a larger location in building of the former Cumnock School for Girls in the Hancock Park neighborhood, while still maintaining a presence at its original downtown location. The school began granting Bachelor's and Master's degrees in arts in 1949, and was fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in 1955. In 1965, the school changed its name to the Art Center College of Design. The school expanded is programs, including a film program in 1973. The school moved to its trademark Hillside Campus in Pasadena in 1976. The school operated the Art Center Europe in Vevey, Switzerland for ten years starting in 1986. In 2003, the Art Center was granted Non-Governmental Organization status by the UN Department of Public Information. After mulling locations in Pasadena and downtown Los Angeles, the Art Center opened the South Campus in Pasadena in 2004.

[edit] Facilities

The Art Center College of Design maintains two campuses in Pasadena: Hillside Campus and South Campus.

[edit] Hillside Campus

Designed by noted modernist architect Craig Ellwood, the Hillside Campus broke ground in November 1974. The trademark "bridge building" dramatically spanned an arroyo and roadway on 175 wooded acres in the hills above Pasadena. Openning in 1976, the building was expanded with the south wing, designed by former Ellwood associate James Tyler, which was constructed between 1989-91.

[edit] South Campus

The South Campus opened in 2004 in a former aircraft-testing facility built during World War II. Renovated by the Santa Monica-based firm Daly, Genik, it houses the graduate art program and studios, a print shop, a letterpress studio, and a full range of public programs (Art Center at Night, Art Center for Kids, Design-Based Learning Lab), as well as a unique 16,000-square-foot exhibition space known as the Wind Tunnel. The award-winning building received the first LEED rating in the city of Pasadena and its sustainable features include a "green" roof and sculptural skylights made of Texlon ETFE. The Wind Tunnel has hosted major events including the biannual Art Center Design Conference, like 2006's Stories From The Source: Radical Craft; large exhibitions such as "Supersonic: 1 Wind Tunnel, 8 Schools, 120 Artists," "Gardenlab," and "Open House: Architecture and Technology for Intelligent Living" (with Vitra Design Museum); and various community meetings and events. Although some within the Art Center community questioned the use of financial resources for the building, the creation of the South Campus has raised the college's public profile within the region and assisted Art Center's educational mission in providing much-needed space for its growing public programs and future expansion of the graduate programs. Student housing on an adjacent site is now in the planning stages.

[edit] Notable graduates

[edit] Notable teachers past and present (if not listed above)

[edit] See also

[edit] External link


Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design
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United States:

• Art Academy of Cincinnati • Art Center College of Design • Art Institute of Boston • CCA • CalArts • CIA • CCSCAD • CCAD • Cooper Union • Corcoran College of Art and Design • Cornish College of the Arts • Cranbrook Academy of Art • KCAI • LCAD • Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts • MECA • MICA • MassArt • MCA • Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design • MCAD • Montserrat College of Art • Moore College of Art and Design • Oregon College of Art and Craft • Otis College of Art and Design • Pacific Northwest College of Art • Parsons • Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts • Pratt Institute • RISD • RSAD • SFAI • School of the Art Institute of Chicago • SMFA • SVA • UArts
International:

• Alberta College of Art and Design • Burren College of Art • Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design • NSCAD University • OCAD • Osaka University of Arts • VCA
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