chitects Richard Neutra and painter.

As he told the audience Rudolf Schindler, Disney ani- during an artists' panel dism ator Marc Da., costum e cussion at the Getty Research designer Edith Head and critic Institutes recent "Metha Pop" hiles Langsner. In addition to conference, he .tended to enthose who had lengthy gigs roll at Art Center School (now at Chouinard, Russian-born Art Center College of Design in

ging t.ough required c.rses at USC on GI Bill in the late 1940s when he decided to transfer to Chou.a.. "I was . heave, he said "Every day I could draw and paint:An 1978, 28 years after his graduation, Perim was still so .fatuated iAth the school - and so distressed by C transformation .to CalArts, .th the help of Disney money - that he began conductin g in terviews and compg information for a boo, "Chouinard: An Art Vision Betrayed; his chatty, opinionated but ambitiously reseuched account of the school's history, was published in 1985. The othib ition is .tend.

house at 2606 W. 8th St. It was a modest operation .t cmbodied the .ion of a woman remembered for upholding high st.danis while tr eat. g her students members of her family and insisting that "taltht is more valuable than tuition, Firm but nurturing, she was a for.dable character .th two faults, Perine said."Focusing on art, she paid too little attention to finances and, where students were concerned, ,vas generous to a fault. While awarding too many scholars.p, she was failing to keep an eye on bookkeeper, he said, noting that two of them embezzled funds and p. the school in debt on

is ',lent (1971) by Matson, Konemitsu, 0 Choulnard

to "put Chouinard inLos its proper twomoccasions. context as the vital Angeah Y a P r les art institution it was" and lem 771:in an7 tt it I iVt to give "full credit to Nelbert Disney discovered the school Chou.ard, a woman who was in 1929 and began sending ahead of her t.e," said Perine, his employees there to perfect w h o cu r a t e d " Ch ou . . . A their drawing skills. The followLiving Legacy" with artists ing year, the sthool was flush lames Aitchison and Ed Flynn. enough to move into a new les the first public project of the building on Grand View Street 2-year-old Chouinard Foundadesigned by the architectural tion, and the orgar.ers hope firm Morgan. Walls and Cleft .1 inspire other curators to ments. In 1935, the school was delve .to the school's history. reincorporated as Chouinard

A::r7

turpf7d2hNouli

Art Institute.

sculptor Alexander A.iipenby French painter by Charlot, Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros and other .ternational art stars passed through as g professors. For m any alum ni, Ch ouinard (pronounced ShuhNARD) was exacdy the right artist Edward Ruscha, LAI quituessential art... head. west in 1956, fresh out of high school in Oldahoma City and full of plans to become a sign

Pasadena). He was cruthed to discover that the sch.1 of his dreams had no room for h., but it tumed .t to be a good thing. "Art Center had a dress code - no facial hair, no sandal, no affectations of beatnik culture; Ruse. said, ro.g his eyes. After asking around, he Chouinani, which suited him much better. Robert Perine, a painter and graphic designer who lives in Encinitas, Calif, was slog-2-

nard was bom in 1879 in Monbyd an inve:m;r: sc doiro rsanit tevideo, Minn., and stuthed art an I at Pratt Institute . New York was an affordable arrangement She moved to California is at the time, but World War 11 1909 to teach design and crafts dec.ated enrolknent and the at the lhroop Polytechnic Inschool was forced to move into stitute (now Caltech). 1916, a less expensive facility nearby. she m arried Horace "Be, After the war. the GI Bin reChouinard, an old friend from versed Chouinards fortunes. Minnesota who was urving as Overflowing with veterans who a U.S. Army chaplain, and they were .anced by government moved to Washington, D.C. He funds for education, the school died of cancer a year later and moved back to Grand View and Nelbert returned to California. bought the building in 1949 She taught art h.ory at Artist Ned jocoby rememOtis Art InstituteI ple bered Chouinard in the 1940s of years and opened her OVM as place that had an almost school in 1921. With S250 in magical sense of common spirpension of $75 a month and pline but everything you needtwo other teacher, F. Tones ed to learn was there to have if Chamberlin and Patti Patteryou wanted it. And we wanted son, she established Chouinard it Often we learned as much School of Art in a two-story from the others in the class as

The building was financed