And why not? UCLA has earned a reputation as a superb training ground for men and women serious about a career in the visual arts. That tradition dates back to 1919 when the art department was part of the Teachers College in the southern branch of the University of California (UCLA). The Bachelor of Arts degree was offered beginning in 1939 with the opening of the College of Applied Arts. Two decades later, in 1960, the College of Fine Arts was established under Chancellor Franklin D. Murphy.

Today, housed in the School of the Arts and Architecture, the Department of Art is headed by Barbara Drucker. She points out the exceptional aspects of the department: “Over the years, our program has included an extremely high percentage of internationally-known artists as part of our regular and visiting faculty roster, enabling our students to work on a one-to-one basis with top professionals. We believe this early and regular contact with highly regarded artists is extremely important for the mentorship of our students—a rare opportunity within a public liberal arts institution.”

The program encourages each student to develop his or her own art practice, with guidance from such noted faculty members as John Baldessari, Jennifer Bolande, Roger Herman, Mary Kelly, Catherine Opie, Lari Pittman, Charles Ray, Adrian Saxe, James Welling and Patty Wickman. As UCLA faculty, they conduct weekly classes and provide valuable feedback to both undergraduate and graduate students, many of whom go on to major careers in the field.

This year, the importance of Los Angeles as a nexus of contemporary art has been recognized in a landmark show at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. “Los Angeles 1955-1985: Birth of an Artistic Capital” (through July 17) includes UCLA Department of Art faculty members Baldessari, Pittman, Welling; emeriti faculty Chris Burden, Paul McCarthy and Nancy Rubins; and UCLA Arts alumni Peter Alexander, Tony Berlant, Vija Celmins, Judy Chicago, John Divola, Robert Heinecken, Craig Kauffman, Michael McMillen, Ed Moses, Betye Saar and Peter Shelton.

Meanwhile, art that incorporates new technology is redefining our notions of art, writes Suzanne Muchnic in a 2005 article for the Los Angeles Times. “More students enter art schools with portfolios of computer skills.” Such explorations into new media are primarily addressed by the Department of Design | Media Arts (D | MA), chaired by Victoria Vesna. It was Vesna who transformed the design department into a more encompassing program that trains students to become designers and media artists who use new technology as it converges with art and design disciplines.