California College of the Arts
Founded in 1907, California College of the Arts (formerly California College of Arts and Crafts) is a regionally accredited, independent school of art and design in Oakland and San Francisco, California, USA. It is one of the leading art and design schools in the country.
The college offers undergraduate and graduate majors in the areas of fine arts, architecture, design, and writing. The college confers bachelor of architecture, bachelor of arts, bachelor of fine arts, master of architecture, master of arts, and master of fine arts degrees.
History
CCA was founded in 1907 by Frederick Meyer in Berkeley as the School of the California Guild of Arts and Crafts during the height of the Arts and Crafts movement. The school's first site was the old Kellogg Primary School at the corner of Oxford and Center Street in downtown Berkeley, across from the campus of the University of California. In 1922 the school moved to a new campus on the former James Treadwell estate in Oakland located just east of the intersection of College Avenue and Broadway, where it was renamed the California School of Arts and Crafts. In 1936 the school became the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC).
In recognition of the growth of the college and its broad curriculum as well as for image reasons, the college was renamed California College of the Arts. CCA dropped the word "Crafts" from its name in 2003 and is now simply known as "CCA", Many students and faculty voiced objection about the name change, and still refer the school as CCAC.
CCA's faculty and graduates have influenced, and in many cases led, many mid- and late-twentieth-century art movements. CCAC was closely linked to the emergence of the 1960s ceramics movement. Alumni Robert Arneson and Peter Voulkos and faculty member Viola Frey helped initiate the ceramics revolution, which established that medium as a fine art. The photorealist movement of the 1970s is represented by current faculty member Jack Mendenhall and alumni Robert Bechtle and Richard McLean. Alumni Nathan Oliveira and Manuel Neri were leaders in the Bay Area figurative art movement.
Campuses
Oakland Campus
The campus is located on the four-acre former James Treadwell estate in Oakland at the intersection of College Avenue and Broadway. It is home to the college's undergraduate programs in art. Treadwell Mansion and Carriage House, used as administrative buildings (Also known as Macky Hall) were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
San Francisco/Montgomery Campus
The Alpha building is a refurbished 160,000 square foot 1950s Greyhound Bus maintenance facility. Opened in 1996, it is home to the college's undergraduate programs in architecture, design and wood furniture programs. The adjacent Beta building is home to the college's graduate studies program.
Notable alumni
Painters
Ceramicists
Filmakers
Conceptual artists
Lance Friedman