Professor: Gloria Frym
Writing & Literature Program
California College of the Arts
May 19, 2005
In Fall 2003, California College of the Arts (formerly CCAC) in Oakland and San Francisco launched a new B.A. program in Writing and Literature. Students in this program take required courses in literature, writing, as well as many visual art studio courses and history of art seminars.
I designed the introductory course, Writing Studio (which is open to other art students outside the major). We first examine a number of traditional and hybrid genres of literature, and use the ancient strategy of “writing from the model.” We work with the premise that a poem, story, play, etc., is a literary art object. After creating a number of literary art objects, students make artists books using their own poems or narratives as texts. I introduce a variety of other text/image work that incorporates photography, drawing, painting, graphics, cartooning, etc. Students visit artist studios, attend visual art exhibits, as well as poetry and prose readings, and respond with text/image objects.