Adam Beckett's 'Infinite Animation, Ltd.' (1976)
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Posters that publicize guest lectures, concerts and exhibitions are ubiquitous at CalArts. In use since the founding of the Institute, they line the walls calling for attention—and are often works of art in themselves.
24700 borrowed The CalArts 10th Year Poster Book from the CalArts Archives. Published in 1980, it documents the history of the Institute’s first decade through its posters. Designed by Catherine Tuttle, then a third-year design student, with assistance by faculty member Frans Evenhuis, the book contains dozens of posters, with some recognizable names among the credits. The work of Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, who founded the first design program for women at CalArts, is featured in the book, as is Adam Beckett, FX Feeney, Alison Knowles and James Tenney.
In the introduction, former CalArts president Robert J. Fitzpatrick writes:
The artistic output of the school has been prodigious from the beginning. Hundreds of exhibitions and performances of every imaginable variety are produced each year. Most of these events are publicized with a poster. It is these posters, many of them for internal use, that record ten years of intense creative effort, and that are herein collected, edited and annotated.
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The CalArts 10th Year Poster Book shares in this celebration of a school that perceives life as joyous and magical and of a community of professionals who understand the importance of artistic accomplishment in the development of our humanity.
It’s nice to know that nearly 30 years later, the Institute’s core values—and its appreciation of community and great poster art—are still intact at CalArts.
For additional information on The CalArts 10th Year Poster Book or the archives, please contact Kathy Carbone, Performing Arts Librarian.