Students News

Film Program's Gray Sally Scores Big with Night/Light Audience

Posted on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, by Jim Norrena

The CCA Film Program's 2010 end-of-year show, titled Night/Light, was a smashing success. The event took place in Timken Lecture Hall and was filled with wonderful energy, films, and installations.

Congratulations to the following award winners:

Faculty Award: Erinn Clancy
Audience Award: Gray Sally, by Jim Allison, Adam Bhermann, Hannah Jewett, Fred Kolouch, and Chun-Ping Wang
Best Installation: Julie Henson

Featured above is the Audience Award winner, Gray Sally, made in the Film Program's Advanced Production course.

Categories: Awards and Accolades Film Students

Apply Now for 2010–11 Community Service Fellows Work-Study Jobs

Posted on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, by Jason Engelund

Applications for Community Service Fellows (CSF) positions are being accepted September 3–17

The Community Student Fellows program offers work-study opportunities in arts education and community arts to CCA students across all disciplines. CSFs are trained and work in schools and community organizations throughout the Bay Area. Students—sophomore through graduate level—are eligible to apply. (Second-semester freshmen are eligible to apply for spring semester positions.)

CSF positions pay $13 per hour. Federal work-study allotment is not necessary.

View the CSF map

View the Community Service Fellows map to see community partner sites throughout the Bay Area.

Fall 2010 available positions:

ArtsChange
Berkeley Art Center
Berkeley High School Arts and Humanities Academy
Center for Art and Public Life
Chabot Elementary School
Creative Arts Charter School
Creativity Explored
Creative Growth Art Center
The Crucible
Far West High School
The Factory Program at Bay Area Video Coalition
Fostering Art Program at a Home Within
The Imagine Bus Project
Intersection for the Arts
Kala Art Institute
La Cocina
Media Enterprise Alliance—KDOL Television
The National Institute of Art & Disabilities
Out of Site Center for Arts Education
Peralta Elementary School
Public Architecture
REBAR—Art, Design, Activism Studios
Redwood Heights Elementary School
Richmond Art Center
Rock Paper Scissors Collective
Root Division
SomArts Cultural Center
Youth Roots Program at ARISE High School
Zeum: San Francisco’s Children’s Museum

To apply

CCA’s Career Services online job board will list CSF positions starting September 3. A limited number of CSF positions is available. Please get your application in early.

Students interested in applying for a CSF position should email a cover letter, résumé, and CSF application (available at the CCA job board), to csf@cca.edu.

For more information about the program, please visit Community Student Fellows, or email csf@cca.edu.

Categories: Center for Art and Public Life Community Arts Students

CCA Now Offers Student Chiropractic Coverage!

Posted on Monday, August 30, 2010, by Jim Norrena

Back Pain Got You Down?

Chiropractic benefits have been added to the college's Kaiser Permanente student health plan, which means students now have access to chiropractic treatment—up to 20 visits per calendar year . . . and no physician referral is required.

To learn more about this new benefit, including how to schedule an appointment, visit the Student Health section of the college website.

You may also download the Kaiser Permanente chiropractic benefit sheet.

Categories: Students

Attn: CCA Residence Hall Students: R.A.W. Photos Wanted!

Posted on Thursday, August 26, 2010, by Clay Walsh

Break out your digital camera for CCA’s inaugural R.A.W. (Real Artists at Work) Photo competition—the college’s newest juried student competition that awards a $100 cash prize to each winner!

Students enter the competition by submitting their digital photographs online. Each image should offer an artistic, original perspective and follow the designated theme.

This year’s theme: Life within CCA’s residence halls.
That’s right—here’s your chance to show others in the community what CCA’s on-campus residential life looks like, as well as turn fellow hall residents into stars!

All student submissions are due by October 8, 2010.

Go now to the R.A.W. Photo Submission Form for entry rules and participation guidelines. Possible subjects:

• Community building on campus
• Late-night “studying”
• Community BBQs
• Roommate spotlights
• Door decor
• Residence hall potlucks
• Virtual room tour
• Themed community activities
• My RA: A day in the life
• Dining with friends
• College Avenue adventures
• More than a dorm . . .
• Webster Hall Hangouts
• Art projects in the making
• Lawn worshipping
• What’s up at Clifton
• Coffee talks
• Off to class

Students must be current living in CCA’s residence halls to be eligible. All submissions must be unique, high-resolution digital images (300 dpi recommended) and become the property of CCA. See R.A.W. Photo Submission Form for additional information and guidelines.

Oh, and remember the results of the competition will be made public in order to market the college, so keep it clean! (wink)

Categories: Featured First Year Photography Students Undergraduate Admissions

San Francisco to Shanghai: CCA's StitchLink Studio Course Visits Sister City on the Other Side of the Pacific Rim

Posted on Wednesday, August 25, 2010, by Samantha Braman

The group at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai with the Expo Mascot

Slideshow »

You've surely heard the term "sister cities," but what does it actually mean? And here's an even tougher one: Name even one of San Francisco's sisters.

The designation is actually an official one, meaning that the two geographically and politically distinct cities in question have entered into a formal agreement committing to the promotion of cultural and commercial ties. And San Francisco's 18 siblings include Bangalore, Barcelona, and Shanghai. This last was the focus of the spring 2010 edition of the CCA StitchLink Studio, which every year focuses on some element of world architectural design that is progressive, current, and future-focused, but also conscious of the historical and cultural context of the place in question.

In spring 2010 Lisa Findley, professor and chair of the Bachelor of Architecture Program, along with Architecture associate professor Peter Anderson, led 12 undergraduate and three graduate students through an investigation of the thriving and architecturally rich metropolis of Shanghai. They focused on specific areas where new buildings and urban development bleed into older structures and patterns of living. Such zones are too often dismissed as poorly designed, unsustainable, and unproductive; the goal of this course was for each student to narrow in on one site in particular and examine opportunities for new-wave architecture and design to subtly yet effectively negotiate new and old cultural, spatial, and aesthetic values.

Given the "sister city" premise, Anderson and Findley sought to narrow the scope of the studio by identifying a set of urban problems common to both San Francisco and Shanghai. They focused on the fact that both cities have significant opportunities to fight increasingly untenable traffic by taking advantage of water transportation possibilities, and that water transportation nodes such as ferry landings can be significant "stitches" between water and land, old and new, tradition and the future. Over the past 100 years, both cities have abandoned ferry service in favor of private vehicles, but now both are rethinking this move. The studio investigated possible water-bus and ferry opportunities in the Bay Area, and in Shanghai the students looked at sites along the east-west-running Suzhou Creek, designing ferry landings that tied back into their neighborhoods in terms of form and cultural function.

During their 10-day trip to China in March, the group worked diligently on their project sites, but they also took time to walk the streets of Shanghai's downtown. Destinations included the French Concession, the high-rise haven of Pudong, the Old City, and Xintiandi (this last is a car-free eating, shopping, and entertainment district). They visited the offices of architects working in the city (including BArch 1995 alum John Leung, who runs his own successful firm), attended an event for Chinese students who would be headed to CCA in the fall, and sampled traditional regional cuisine. Their three-day, two-night venture outside the city brought them to numerous ancient water towns, including Zhouzhuang, an old canal city with a history of nearly 1,700 years; Suzhou, known for its gardens and canals; and Tongli, a very traditional village nearly void of Westernized urban influences.

Reported Findley and Anderson: "Tongli is a small place that is only lightly influenced by contemporary tourism, and a good opportunity to see multiple approaches to preserving traditional culture and architecture while at the same time making it available to outside visitors."

2010 is not only the 30th anniversary of Shanghai and San Francisco's sistership, but it is also the year of Shanghai's much-anticipated World Expo, a great opportunity for the students to see a variety of architecture and design. Anderson has a long-standing connection to Tongji University in Shanghai, home of one of the top two architecture programs in China, and Findley spent a portion of her 2008–9 sabbatical in Shanghai and the surrounding water towns. Both faculty members are thus very familiar with this rich and varied region.

"It is a sophisticated, complex, and exciting global city with a fascinating history and uncountable layers," they say. "Given China's obvious global importance in this century, an introduction to at least one region is, to our minds, critical for our students. The portion of the trip that was outside the city, where we came into contact with more traditional village atmospheres and other windows into a broader range of historical and contemporary Chinese culture, was also crucial."

Findley and Anderson like to think of architecture as a four-dimensional, embedded practice—meaning that it takes place in space and unfolds over time and through experience. It exists within specific contexts: physical (city, landscape, climate), cultural, historical, social, purposeful, and so on.

"Traveling with an architect's eye and mind is not a natural thing. It isn't merely a matter of wandering around and taking in the sights. It requires slowing down, and a kind of systematic seeing. Traveling while in architecture school is a great way to begin to learn this discipline, since the teachers are there solely to direct and focus your attention, offering important techniques for absorbing the lessons to be learned from a place.

"This is one of the best studio experiences we have ever had. The students were intelligent, talented, and motivated. They worked very hard and produced very strong projects. They were a joy to travel with, and it was particularly notable how they saw themselves as a group with a shared purpose, watching out for one another and being very inclusive in group activities. We were particularly pleased that the graduate and undergraduate students mixed so seamlessly."

Categories: Architecture Diversity Faculty Featured International Students

CCA Students: R.A.W. Video Wanted!

Posted on Tuesday, August 24, 2010, by Clay Walsh

That’s right folks, the rumor’s true: It’s time again to break out your video camera and hit the streets for CCA’s R.A.W. (Real Artists at Work) Video competition.

This year’s theme: Bike Culture at CCA—as you define it!

What’s CCA’s R.A.W. Video competition? It’s the college’s annual student video competition that awards $500 cash to each juried winner of an original artistic point of view submitted in the form of a short video that depicts a designated theme.

For inspiration and to review past winning videos, see the collection of awarded short videos playing in the CCA channel on YouTube.

All student submissions are due by October 8, 2010.

Go now to the R.A.W. Video Submission Form for entry rules and participation guidelines.

• Demonstrate safe riding practices
• Pop a wheelie
• Show us your fixie
• Exercise your right to exercise
• Haul your art project on two wheels
• Commute with friends
• Design or build a bike
• Explore cycling history
• Participate in Sunday Streets
• Ride your bike to class
• Take it on public transportation
• Share a favorite parking spot
• Celebrate your favorite bike lane (thanks to San Francisco Bike Coalition!)
• Park it using an indoor bike rack

Share your vision of how bicycles are a part of daily life at CCA and become eligible to win $500 cash! Just don’t forget to wear your helmet (and have fun)!

Categories: Animation Featured Film Graphic Design Students Sustainability Undergraduate Admissions

Up, Up, and Away!: CCA's Animation Program Sends Students off to Prestigious Internships and Jobs

Posted on Monday, August 9, 2010, by Samantha Braman

Andrew Guiyangco (Animation 2011) and Yesenia Ayala (Animation 2010)

CCA's Animation Program, launched in 2007, has already gained a stellar reputation for sending its students off excellently prepared for professional life. The chair of the department is Andrew Lyndon, whose job as a digital imaging and video instructor at Pixar Animation Studios has helped create invaluable connections with that company. A few students have secured internships and other positions at the world-renowned studio, including 2009 graduate Daniel Gonzales, who recently scored himself a job at Pixar after spending two summers there! Our students have also received internships at DreamWorks, Tippett Studio, and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

Here, two Animation students discuss their experiences at CCA and in their internships.

Andrew Guiyangco

Meet current Animation student Andrew Guiyangco (2011), who is currently engaged in a summer internship with the manga/anime company TOKYOPOP:

Why animation?

I've always liked animation. I grew up watching anime and Looney Tunes. They really helped me forget how tough my childhood was. I've always thought that animation is the ultimate storytelling tool. It's a blank canvas for the creation of a whole world.

I'm receiving a CCA scholarship award called the Creative Achievement Award, which was based on my portfolio. I suppose you could say that now I am giving back through my work—helping others escape their troubles.

On interning with TOKYOPOP:

TOKYOPOP is a company that licenses manga and anime (Japanese comics and animations) to be read in English. Lately they've begun dabbling in media arts, which is really interesting. Right now I am doing preproduction work, like commercials, editing, media marketing, and research, for a reality show. I can't tell you exactly what I'm working on because I am bound to secrecy! But I can say that I actually directed a commercial by myself, which was very exciting and scary at the same time. I'm also spearheading many creative media projects, going to marketing events, and meeting people in the industry, and now I'm actually animating something for the company that is BIG (although again I cannot tell you exactly what it is, sorry!).

Though no one referred me to this opportunity, I did get immense support from CCA faculty, staff, and other classmates. I am working in San Francisco, but TOKYOPOP is also based in Tokyo, Hamburg, and London. Yup, TOKYOPOP is global! I go to many of the conventions in Southern California, including E3, Anime Expo, and Comic-Con, to represent the company in the giant "nerd industry."

Working at TOKYOPOP has shown me how a company works, and all the steps and procedures it takes just to approve one drawing. I am awestruck at how many emails, phone calls, and Google searches it takes just to find and get, for instance, music that I can use. Or how laborious it is to find an approved logo.

But beyond all that—and I swear this is not the capitalist in me talking!—it's been so great to work at what is truly a genuine company. I enjoy working here and getting to know my coworkers.

About getting an arts education at CCA:

My CCA courses have given me a good grasp of media arts and animation. Even though running an entire commercial by yourself—which is being judged by a huge number of random people—and doing an animation without much guidance and lots of critique from your boss is not really a class you can take at CCA (or anywhere!), I still came here with a great foundation and actual confidence to say "Yes! I can do that." I have solid ideas and the confidence to execute any project.

CCA's Animation Program is unique. I learned not only animation, but also storytelling, cutting, editing, acting, staging, sound engineering, and the necessary computer applications. When I arrived at TOKYOPOP I felt like I was ready to plunge into Live Action and/or Illustration (those are animation computer programs) without too many problems. At CCA my main focus is animation, but at work I'm very much peppered with a variety of projects that may or may not be animated projects. I am essentially an artist whose expertise revolves around a time-based medium.

At work I mainly edit live-action footage, but I've never had any trouble switching gears. It's the same thing with illustration, I think, because your coursework forces you to think about the principles of storytelling and the skeletal basis of art making instead of being pressured to learn 10 animation computer programs in a semester.

Current projects:

You should totally watch TOKYOPOP's reality show, America's Greatest Otaku, when it comes out later this year (at a popular website which again I cannot disclose, hehe). In the show, Stu Levy, the company's CEO, is traveling in a bus with six other people for 62 days trying to find America's biggest anime/manga enthusiast. We hope to bring a positive light to the growing subculture here in the United States.

Yesenia Ayala

Meet new Animation graduate Yesenia Ayala (Animation 2010), who is interning with the San Francisco–based advertising firm Goodby, Silverstein & Partners:

Why animation?

I arrived at animation through my combined interest in storytelling, fine art, and the movies. I started off as a Painting/Drawing major, then realized that painting alone couldn't create the narratives I was imagining. I took a Media Arts course as an elective. I learned to edit and enjoyed making short films, but it seemed too separate from fine art. When the Animation Program launched in 2007 I jumped on board. It was the perfect balance of fine art and storytelling.

I am very fortunate to have been able to study under CCA's brilliant and talented faculty, including Andrew Lyndon, Andrew Gordon, Bret Parker, Mark Andrews, and Michal Makarewicz. I learned so much about animation and film from them. I love how the program is small enough to enable the students to develop personal relationships with their professors.

CCA has changed my whole life by giving me the resources and mentors I needed to prepare myself for a career in the professional world. The experience has helped me grow, figure out how to learn from my mistakes, and become the person that I am today. It has given me a positive perspective and created pathways to all kinds of opportunities.

Interning with Goodby, Silverstein & Partners:

My internship at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners is a perfect opportunity for a postgraduate. It's fun and I am happy to learn and be part of the team. I recently worked on a commercial set for our client Hewlett Packard, and I now have the opportunity to shadow and follow the editors and motion graphic artists in creating a polished commercial. Additionally, I've been archiving footage for the senior and assistant editors to help sell pitches to various clients.

Categories: Alumni Animation Awards and Accolades Diversity Featured Students

ATTENTION CCA STUDENTS: HERE'S A RAVE YOU DEFINITELY DON'T WANT TO MISS!

Posted on Thursday, August 5, 2010, by Jim Norrena

Rave might just be the most important text or email message you ever send.

Introducing Rave—CCA's Emergency Notification System

As part of the ongoing efforts to supply California College of the Arts community members with support and information in the event of an emergency, natural or otherwise, the college has implemented a new FREE emergency notification system, called Rave.

Through Rave, college administers can deploy approved CCA emergency communications and other important information via text message and email to registered, active subscribers (e.g., faculty, staff, and students).
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Note: Rave does not charge subscribers to send or receive SMS messages. (Standard or other messaging charges apply depending upon your wireless carrier plan and subscription details.) Once registered, which is required, you may opt out of SMS messages at any time by texting "STOP" to 67283 or 226787.

Register Now!

As part of this CCA-provided safety benefit, all current students are already a part of the CCA Rave group. However, each student must register first to activate membership in the group, as well as indicate which method of alert notification is preferred.

Visit the Rave Wireless registration page
Register securely by using your CCA login user name ("jdoe") and password ("1234")
Once registered, you will need to provide the following to complete setting up your account (including confirming your cell phone carrier—at&t, Verizon, Sprint, etc.):

name
mobile phone number
preferred email address (if different from your registered CCA email address)

At this point, you will be sent a four-digit code to your cell phone. Retrieve the code from your phone and enter it online as instructed. This confirms your ability to receive an alert message sent using Rave. This concludes the registration process.

Each member of the CCA community is strongly encouraged to register with Rave Wireless today. It takes only a few minutes; it's completely free; your information is secure and safe; and this CCA-provided service could keep you safe, too. It just may be the most important text message or email you receive, so please sign up now.

If you have any questions about Rave, please contact the Student Affairs Office on either campus at

Categories: Students

Zach Gibson to Host 48-Hour Book Project at Levi's Workshop August 6-7

Posted on Thursday, July 22, 2010, by Samantha Braman

On August 6–7, Zach Gibson, a student in CCA's Graduate Program in Design, will host Strangers, a 48-hour bookmaking project at the Levi's Workshop at 580 Valencia in San Francisco. He and 10 other Bay Area artists will gather to produce content for a book about the work they do.

While some of the artists involved know each other very well, some have never met face to face, some have only met because of this project, and others will arrive the day of as total strangers . . . thus the project's title, Strangers. Although the group has discussed content, ideas, and production strategies over the past few months, nothing will be definitely decided until August 6. And by the end of the day on August 7, a book will have materialized.

The Levi's Workshop is the first of what the well-known San Francisco–based company hopes will become an annual event across the country. For the months of July and August, they have converted their 580 Valencia store into a community print shop. Local artists, in collaboration with local businesses and community groups, are teaching workshops in their various areas of passion and expertise: classic letterpress machinery, screenprinting, typesetting, and generally getting one's hands dirty.

Gibson says: "Earlier this year I was approached by Adam Katz, a friend of a friend, who was curating artists and designers to host workshops. I proposed Strangers. I'm interested in what I consider relational design: relationships and possibilities as aftereffects of a production between people or inanimate objects when they are forced into a specific situation.

"My plan is to document what happens when a group of artists makes content for a book that is about the content they produce. Will they work together to find a common thread? Will they work separately? Will a common thread arise even if they don't work together? How will they document their experience for reproduction? Everything about the book, from the content to the design to the production, will be decided upon during the 48 hours. I will be there the entire time, starting at 12:01 a.m. on August 6, whether the shop is open to the public or not!"

A total of 61 copies of the book will be made, one for each artist involved and 50 for Levi's. Gibson hopes Levi's will offer its 50 copies for free. The event is open to the public from noon–8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, August 6–7, and Gibson welcomes any and all interested parties out there to jump into the shenanigans and collaborate.

Many of the other 10 artists involved are CCA students: Ian Cooley (MFA Design), Ammo Eisu (MFA Design), Parker Ito (MFA), Jake Sollins (Industrial Design), David Kasprzak (MA Visual and Critical Studies, Curatorial Practice), Nanci Ikejimba (MFA Design), and recent alum Nick Demarco (Industrial Design 2010).

Two CCA Graphic Design alums, Ed Ng (2008) and Harrison Pollock (2009), each of whom participated in the college's Sputnik design studio, are employed as resident silkscreeners at the Levi's Workshop, lending the general public the benefits of their printmaking expertise.

Said Ng: "It's been a great experience meeting people from all sorts of backgrounds, yet we all have a common thread-we love prints!"

The other artists are Brion Nuda Rosch, Stephanie Mufson, and Liam Devowski.

Learn more about these and other CCA programs of study.

Categories: Alumni Curatorial Practice Design Design and Craft Featured Fine Arts Graphic Design Industrial Design Students Visual and Critical Studies

The 2010 Hamaguchi Awards for Printmaking Announced

Posted on Tuesday, July 20, 2010, by Jim Norrena

(image: Oliver Dillon, monotype)

Slideshow »

The 15th Annual Yozo Hamaguchi Printmaking Scholarship Awards Exhibition is set for August 25–September 17, 2010, in the Isabelle Percy West Gallery on the Oakland campus. (See the college's event calendar for complete exhibition details.)

The 2010 Winners . . .

The six undergraduates listed below each received a $3,000 tuition scholarship.

Gaelan Baird
Daniel Bortz
Oliver Dillon
Adoria Elias
Parker Ito
Cianna Valley

About the Printmaking Scholarship Awards

The purpose of the Printmaking Scholarship Awards Exhibition is to foster excellence and dedication in the study and practice of printmaking. Students must be enrolled full-time and in good academic standing to be eligible. Additionally, students must be enrolled in printmaking during one of both semesters of the current academic year. Read more.

Students are not, however, required to be Printmaking majors; all majors are eligible provided the virtue of the character of the work submitted in print media contribute substantially to the quality of the whole body of work.

The following three persons comprised the jury committee.

Mikae Hara (MFA 1986), now an Osaka University of Arts faculty member
Margo Humphrey (guest juror), faculty, University of Maryland Art Department
Aaron Terry, CCA Printmaking faculty

The 2010 Hamaguchi graduate scholarship was awarded to Maria Torres.

Categories: Alumni Awards and Accolades Faculty Fine Arts Printmaking Students