UCIArts Quarterly Spring 2008 New Media Arts Center Breaks Ground Nobody can put on a show like the folks ing some of the at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. invited guests – a People are still talking about the spectacu- world-class cast of lar February 21 groundbreaking ceremony and artists, perform- reception for the New Media Arts Center – a ers, and thinkers five-story, $42.4 million, glass-and-brick who in the 1960s building that will house the School’s played major roles programs combining high technology with in the School’s dance, drama, music and studio art. foundation. From the string quartet to the dancers, Key members singers, jazz pianist, live mannequins of the founding of drama characters, art works, even faculty include musical plants – guests were treated to Robert Cohen, a dazzling variety show of talent and a professor of drama sumptuous menu of catered food. Start- and former depart- ing in a tent over the outdoor patio at ment chair and From left, Kris Elftmann of Dean’s Leadership Council, UCI Chancellor Claire Trevor Theatre, the crowd moved acting dean; Tony Michael V. Drake, Dean Nohema Fernández, and Executive Vice Chancellor indoors to the backstage area for food, DeLap, professor of and Provost Michael R. Gottfredson. beverages and more entertainment. studio art; Clayton Local media outlets covering Garrison, founding dean and professor of box” stage, and a motion capture studio. It will the event included The Orange drama; the late Eugene Loring, professor of also provide new offices, studios for students County Register, KOCE-TV, The dance; Mehli Mehta, former conductor of earning their master of fine arts degrees, Daily Pilot, Orange County Business Journal the UCI Symphony; Sid Odegard, professor computer labs, and production spaces. and New U, the UCI student newspaper. of music; James Penrod, current associate “The integration of technology in the UCI Chancellor Michael V. Drake, dean and professor emeritus of dance, and arts has resulted in an increasing emphasis M.D., Executive Vice Chancellor and Colin Slim, professor emeritus of music. on more collaborative, multidisciplinary Provost Michael R. Gottfredson and These founding faculty members and work,” says Fernández. “For example, studio Dean Nohema Fernández spoke at the visiting artists such as Frank Stella, Roy artists team with dancers to digitize their ceremony, along with Kris Elftmann, mem- Lichtenstein and Roger Wagner were trailblaz- movements and convert them to anima- ber of the Dean’s Leadership Council. ers at the newly established University of tion. Another example is actors, musicians, Dance department Chair Alan Terricciano, California, Irvine campus. They changed the and dancers sharing the stage with the a noted musician and composer, was a hit face of the arts throughout Orange County, projected images of colleagues half a as he played potted plants – a miniature California, and the nation, says Fernández. world away, via a live internet feed. date palm, a cactus and tall grass wired with “As the Claire Trevor School of the “As a result, the School of the Arts has sensors. The Orange County Register posted Arts grows and broadens its horizons, we come to rely as heavily on technology as an online video interview. “This celebrates have new programs in traditional areas some science disciplines,” she says. the imaginative use of technology as part such as curatorial studies and musical A related part of the construction of the creative process,” said Terricciano. theatre, as well as cutting-edge, tech- project will be a separate addition to the Construction of the 38,564-square-foot nologically dependent areas like sound Production Studio, facing Mesa Road and facility signals a new era for the arts school, design and multi-media performance.” the Bren Events Center. Steven Erlich one that celebrates the School’s traditions The New Media Arts Center will create Architects designed the center with “green” while creating new futures, said Dean dynamic public spaces, including a profes- principles in mind. Construction is expected Fernández. She honored the past by recogniz- sional exhibition gallery, a multi-media “black to be completed in March 2010. ● Funding Set for Robert Cohen Th eatre Financial commitments made by many alumni The gifts represent the contribu- more than 70 and friends have made it possible to proceed tions of many alumni from the earliest productions on on a long-standing plan to rename Studio days of UCI to the present, friends of campus and 30 Theatre the Robert Cohen Theatre, after the the School, and close friends of Cohen, on the profes- School’s iconic and illustrious drama professor including his childhood friends from sional stage, and internationally-renowned stage director. Kamp Kewanee in upstate New York. published 12 Dean Nohema Fernández announced “Robert Cohen’s name is synonymous with books on acting the news in her remarks at the ground- the pinnacle of achievement and leadership in and theater, breaking ceremony for the New Media the field of drama,” says Fernández. “Naming written new Arts Center. The total cost of the project a theater after him is one way of immortal- plays and is approximately $1 million, which will go izing his stellar career and contributions to translated toward remodeling the Studio Theatre and our School and the field of drama in general. classic ones. its Mesa Street façade, as well as creat- “His textbooks are considered the Cohen ing a new entrance plaza to the School. bibles of drama education and have is Claire The remodeling project will coincide been translated into 30 languages.” Trevor Professor of Drama at UCI. In with the construction of the New Media Cohen has spent his entire career 1993 he was awarded the UCI Medal, Arts Center, scheduled for completion in at the School, starting as a founding the campus’s highest honor. 2010. Features will consist of a stairway to faculty member in the 1960s. He went His career is the subject of a retrospec- the Theatre Plaza, large signage above a on to serve as chair of Drama several tive exhibit, Stage to Stage: The Theatrical proscenium, new signage above the theater times and interim dean in the School. Work of Robert Cohen that runs April 29 and a new box office facing Mesa road. Since arriving in 1965, he has directed through October at the UCI Libraries. ● University of California, Irvine Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Claire Trevor School of the Arts PAID Santa Ana, CA 200 Mesa Arts Permit No. 1106 Irvine, CA 92697-2775 18 create • explore • innovate From the Dean’s Desk To remember is to understand. Good parents remember what it was like to be a child. Good teachers remember what it was like to be a student. Good artists remember the foundations laid by those who came before. We remember the amazing people who, in the 1960s, had a vision for a new university in the gentle hills of the Irvine Ranch, south of Los Angeles. In a bucolic setting, surrounded by buffalo and rabbits, the University of California, Irvine arose with a daring vision for the future. One of the initial schools within UCI, Fine Arts was shaped by the enthusiasm and determination of its founding dean, Clayton Garrison. He quickly gathered around him a spectacular roster of artists as the first generation of our faculty: the young and promising theater director Robert Cohen (now holder of a Claire Trevor Endowed Chair), the influential editor of Artforum and artist John Coplans, sculptor Tony DeLap, dancer/choreographer Eugene Loring, orchestral conductor Mehli Mehta, renowned musicologist Colin Slim, scenery and costume designer Richard Triplett, and choral conductor Roger Wagner. Within the first few years, the excitement and the very persuasive Dean Garrison brought both established luminaries and young, promising additions to the budding school. Musicologists Peter Odegard and William Holmes and performer/conductor Maurice Allard joined Colin Slim in laying the foundation for the Music Department. Dancers James Penrod (now Associate Dean) and Janice Plastino, dance historian Olga Maynard, and legendary choreographer Antony Tudor, with Eugene Loring, created an uncommon legacy for the Dance Department. As Chair of the Studio Art Department, John Coplans’ renown and passion brought celebrated artists who had tremendous impact on the world of the visual arts: Frank Stella, Larry Bell, David Hockney, John McCracken, Roy Lichstenstein, and Craig Kaufman. Our heritage is rich. The vibrant atmosphere of possibility is understandable when we remember our foundations. As I frequently use these lines to celebrate the wonderful talents of our creative faculty, I want to salute those who infused their passion and vision into what would become the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. We remember with gratitude. Nohema Fernández Lending a Hand to a Student: Th e Medici Way Do you remember your student days? Were you Medici patrons are connected bubbling with creative ideas and ambitions for your with their scholars and share in the future, yet short of the resources needed to fulfill unique experiences of these young those dreams? You can play a transformative role people. If you are considering becom- in students’ lives today and give them the oppor- ing a Medici patron for 2008, the time tunity to test their ideas and spread their wings. to act is now! Please contact Mia The Medici Circle provides students who win Martinez ([email protected] or 949/824- this award with $1,500 to carry out a creative 0085) for more information. ● project during the summer. Under the guidance of faculty mentors, winners have recently par- ticipated in music festivals in Alaska and Italy and dance festivals in North Carolina and San Victor Klein, member of the Dean’s Leadership Council, sponsored Medici Francisco, exhibited work in Seoul, Korea, taught Scholar Gabrielle Strong (MFA Candidate, youth in Cambodia, and developed online, par- Studio Art) in Summer 2007 to create ticipatory performances that defied traditions.