Kansas City Art Institute
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is a private, independent, four-year college of fine arts and design founded in 1885 that has taught Walt Disney and other artists in Kansas City, Missouri.
Ranked among the nation's top 10 art schools by U.S. News and World Report, KCAI is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) and the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
KCAI comprises nearly 600 students (representing more than 45 states and several foreign countries) and approximately 75 talented artists and educated scholars who serve as KCAI's faculty.
Students pursue the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, in which a comprehensive liberal arts program is complemented by emphasis in one of the following studio majors: Animation, Ceramics, Design, Fiber, Painting, Photo & New Media, Printmaking, Interdisciplinary Arts, and Sculpture. Majors in Art History as well as Studio Art with an Emphasis in Creative Writing are also available.
[edit] History
The school started in 1885 when art enthusiasts formed the "Sketch Club" with the purpose of "talking over art matters in general and to judge pictures." Meetings were originally in private homes and then moved to the Deardorf Buildling at 11th and Main in downtown Kansas City.
The club had its first exhibition in 1887 and 12 benefactors stepped forward to form the Kansas City Art Association and School of Design.
In 1915 Walt Disney took drawing classes as a child at the school.
In 1927 Howard Vanderslice purchased the August R. Meyer residence and 8 acres at 44th and Warwick Boulevard adjacent to the about to be built Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The residence was later renamed "Vanderslice Hall" and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places along with another building on the campus -- Mineral Hall. The campus has since expanded to 15 acres (61,000 m²).
In 1935 Thomas Hart Benton left New York City for a teaching job at the school.
In 1992 the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art opened on the west side of the campus.
[edit] Notable names associated with school
- Martin Arnold - filmaker
- Thomas Hart Benton - famed painter turned KCAI teacher
- Robert Berdella - serial killer
- Richard Corben - comic book artist
- Walt Disney - Mickey Mouse designer who attended as child
- Ellen Fullman - inventor of long string instrument
- Jon Gnagy - author of "New Television Art Instruction Book"
- April Greiman - page layout designer
- Christian Holstad - conceptual artist
- Dennis Hopper - actor who attended classes during high school
- Ronnie Landfield - abstract painter
- Robert Morris - performance and installation artist
- Jackson Lee Nesbitt - Artist famous for his regionalist etchings and lithographs, student of Benton
- William F. Nolan - Original Twilight Zone author
- Victor Papanek - Campaigned against unsafe design
- Archer Prewitt - Chicago cartoonist, musician with The Sea and Cake
- Robert Rauschenberg - Grammy Award-winning album designer
- Mikel Rouse - Composer who developed Totalism (music)
- Akio Takamori - Ceramic artist
- Delmer J. Yoakum - Artist, Disneyland and movie set painter
- Lance Friedman - Sculptor and conceptual artist
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
