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Otis College of Art and Design

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Otis Art Institute
TypePrivate art school
Established1918
PresidentSamuel Hoi
Undergraduates1153
PostgraduatesMFA 60
Location
Los Angeles
,
California
,
United States
CampusUrban
Websitehttp://www.otis.edu

Otis College of Art and Design is an art and design college in Los Angeles, California.

The school's programs, accredited by WASC and National Association of Schools of Art and Design, include four-year BFA degrees in illustration, fine arts, graphic design, architecture, landscape design, interior design, fashion design, digital media, toy design, and product design. It also offers MFA degrees in fine arts, graphic design, public practice, and writing. Undergraduate students choose a major in their second year, after completing a battery of traditional drawing, painting, composition, and construction classes in their first or "Foundation" year. In addition to studio work, standard liberal arts courses are required, although traditional history courses are replaced by art history.

The movie Art School Confidential was partially filmed at Otis. Otis Foundation Professor Gary Geraths worked as a consultant on the film.

History

Otis, long considered one of the major art institutions in California, began in 1918, when Los Angeles Times founder Harrison Gray Otis bequeathed his MacArthur Park property to start the first public, independent professional school of art in Southern California. The current main campus (since Spring 1997), located in Westchester, close to the Los Angeles International Airport, is anchored by the 1963 IBM building (famous for its computer "punchcard" style windows) and a contemporary fine arts facility.

A ceramics school was begun by Peter Voulkos at Otis in the 1950s and was part of art movements like the Craft-to-Art movement, also known as the American Clay Revolution, which influenced the Ferus Gallery scene of the 1960s. Many prominent artists associated with Southern California’s Light and Space movement were involved with the school, as well as leaders of the conceptual art world of the 1970s. Moreover, Otis nurtured significant Latino artists, and the mural group Los Four also originated at Otis in the 1970s.

The school was originally named Otis Art Institute. From 1978 until 1991, it was affiliated with New York's Parsons School of Design and known as Otis-Parsons (full name: Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design). This affiliation allowed students to spend a semester or more at the Parsons schools in New York and Paris. In 1991, it became independent and known as Otis College of Art and Design.

Today it is one of the most culturally diverse private schools of art and design in the country.[1] Its students come from 39 states and 26 countries, and mirror the world as well as the emerging work place.

BFA programs

Otis is well-known for its BFA degrees offered in fashion design. Under the direction of Rosemary Brantley, this program is considered one of the top fashion design programs of its kind in the U.S. [2][3] Otis Fashion Design is housed at the California Market Center in downtown Los Angeles. Students benefit from working closely design mentors and are trained in all aspects of the design process while emulating a fashion design studio, and following the industry’s seasonal schedule. Visiting critics have included designers such as Bob Mackie, Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein, Vera Wang, Diane von Furstenberg, Isabel Toledo, Isaac Mizrahi, and Todd Oldham.[4] Major designers such as Eduardo Lucero[1] and Rick Owens are alumni of the program.

Selected faculty

Notable faculty members include Guy Bennett, Rosemary Brantley, Linda Burnham, Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, Carole Caroompas, Meg Cranston, Roy Dowell, Rogan Ferguson, Peter Gadol, Gary Geraths, Scott Grieger, Lewis Hall, Samuel Hoi, Annetta Kapon, Suzanne Lacy, Helena J. Min, Harry Mott, Christian Mounger, Kali Nikitas, Joan Takayama-Ogawa, Paul Vangelisti, Charles Wilbert White and Michael Ragsdale Wright.

Artist-in-Residence

Distinguished alumni

The Ben Maltz Gallery at Otis College is a professional art space that presents group and solo exhibitions in a variety of media. The Gallery's main focus is showcasing contemporary art that pushes the boundaries of form and subject matter in the context of national and international programming. Serving the local art community, the public, and Otis students and faculty, the Maltz Gallery presents emerging and established Los Angeles talent as well as international artists.

References

  1. ^ http://www.lalouver.com/resource/otis/otis.pdf
  2. ^ http://www.thefutureschannel.com/conversations_archive/wickser_conversation.php
  3. ^ http://www.vault.com/articles/Major-Fashion-Programs-16653125.html
  4. ^ http://www.otis.edu/about/press/fashion_mentors_07.html
  5. ^ Paul, Arthur G. Riverside Community Book, A. H. Causton, Riverside, CA, 1954. Page 269.

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