Renaissance & Rebellion - Flipbook - Page 73
Hopps organized groundbreaking shows that not only introduced Angelenos
to modern masters like Marcel Duchamp and Frank Stella, but also the
legendary talent which comprised the Ferus roster.
Opposite, top to bottom, L-R: Nelbert
Chouinard, Chouinard House, 1938;
Original Chouinard School, 1930s;
Chouinard School of Art under
construction in South Pasadena, 2002
While P.A.M. and Ferus were displaying and promoting contemporary art, the
local art schools and colleges were growing it. Each of the area’s art schools were
vital artistic hubs and critical to the history of art in Los Angeles, however the
school central to this history was the Chouinard Art Institute.
Established in Downtown L.A. in 1921 by Nelbert Chouinard, the multidisciplined art school was a mecca for artists near and far for over 50 years,
after which it was reorganized as CalArts and moved to Valencia, Ca. in
1972. Chouinard offered students access to influential artist/teachers and an
environment of free thinking that allowed for essential cross-pollination of
like-minded individuals. Every major 20th Century fine art movement in L.A.
had ties to Chouinard and its contribution to contemporary art history was
staggering. Some categories and names of these movements include but are
not limited to: Painting/Pop Surrealism (Llyn Foulkes, Ynez Johnston, Sandra
Fisher, Robert Williams, Gary Wong), Hard Edge (Frederick Hammersley,
Lorser Feitelson), Printmaking (Corita Kent, Matsumi Kanemitsu, Nobuyuki
Hadeishi), Surf/Rock (Rick Griffin, Boyd Elder, John Van Hamersveld),
Muralism (David Alfaro Siqueiros, Millard Sheets, Phil Dike), the Light and
Space and Finish Fetish movements (Terry O’Shea, Ron Cooper, Judy Stabile,
Robert Irwin, Mary Corse, Larry Bell, Ken Price, Doug Wheeler), West
Coast Pop (Ed Ruscha, Billy Al Bengston, Joe Goode), Conceptualism (John
Baldessari, Allen Ruppersberg, Terry Allen, Jack Goldstein), Graffiti (Chaz
Bojórquez), Performance (Hirokazu Kosaka, Norton Wisdom), Assemblage
(Wallace Berman, Ed Bereal, Noah Purifoy), Ceramics (Vivika Heino, Otto
Heino, Jun Kaneko, Peter Shire, Ralph Bacerra), Sculpture (Guy Dill, Daniel
LaRue Johnson, Laddie John Dill), California Watercolor (Mary Blair, Rex
Brandt, Robert Perine, Barse Miller) among others and not even to mention
Animation and Design in all forms.
Born too late to attend Chouinard (attending Art Center and UC Santa
Barbara), Tourjé became affiliated with Chouinard by virtue of reinvigorating
its renowned influence after buying a 1907 estate home in South Pasadena,
not knowing the significance of its prior owner Nelbert Chouinard, and in
1999 founding the Chouinard Foundation with Robert Perine and original
Board members Nobuyuki Hadeishi, Lou Paleno and Chuck Swenson. The
home became a Cultural Landmark in 2000 and was the central meeting place
for the Foundation for the next 15 years. Tourjé founded the California Locos
CALIFORNIA 140
LOCOS
Chouinard House, 2022
RENAISSANCE
141
REBELLION
