California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)&raquo;Pacific Standard Time at the Getty

Delve into the postwar Los Angeles art world in this online archive, which provides additional material related to the exhibitions on view at the Getty Center. Learn about hipsters and happenings, and the venues across the city where all the action took place through images from the archives and first-hand accounts with the artists.

California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)

Womanhouse installation in Los Angeles, featuring Robin Weltsch’s Kitchen and Vicki Hodgetts’s Eggs to Breasts (Sponsored by Feminist Art Program at CalArts), 1972. The Getty Research Institute, 2000.M.43.1. Photo courtesy Lloyd Hamrol

The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) was founded in 1961 as a merger between two institutions (Chouinard Art Institute and the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music) that was funded by Walt Disney. In 1971 CalArts moved to a campus in Valencia, California, where it is still located today. CalArts provides instruction in a range of disciplines including art, animation, film, and music, and it was home to the Feminist Art Program. Notable faculty members have included Judy Chicago, Allan Kaprow, Miriam Schapiro, Michael Asher, and John Baldessari, whose “post-studio” approach influenced a new generation of conceptual artists.

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Explore more historic art world locations in this neighborhood.

Tap Dancer, 1967, Stephan von Huene. Wood, metal, and mechanical components. 47 1/4 x 35 7/16 x 29 1/2 in. Collection of Nancy Reddin Kienholz. © Petra von Huene. Photo: Sebastian Hartz
Quality Material, 1966–68, John Baldessari. Acrylic on canvas. 67 3/4 x 56 1/2 in. Collection of Danielle and David Ganek. © John Baldessari
In Mourning and In Rage media performance at Los Angeles City Hall, December 13, 1977, Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz-Starus. Gelatin silver prints documenting the event by Susan Mogul. 7 15/16 x 10 3/16 in. The Getty Research Institute, Lawrence Alloway Papers, 2003.M.46. Photo courtesy of Susan Mogul
Entr’Acte Happening at CalArts, 1972, Allan Kaprow. Courtesy Allan Kaprow Estate
Car Hood, 1964, Judy Chicago. Sprayed acrylic lacquer on Corvair car hood. 42 15/16 x 49 3/16 x 4 5/16 in. Moderna Museet, Stockholm. Acquired 2007 with means from The Second Museum of our Wishes. © Judy Chicago, 1964. Photo © Donald Woodman
Ablutions performance at Guy Dill’s studio, with Judy Chicago, Suzanne Lacy, Sandra Orgel, and Aviva Rahmani (Sponsored by Feminist Art Program at CalArts), 1972. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Art in the Public Interest and 18th Street Arts Center, 2006.M.8.42. Photo courtesy Lloyd Hamrol