Title: Student Publication Collection

Dates: 1945-2022

Collection Number: SFAI.006

Creator/Collector: California School of Fine Arts (San Francisco, Calif.) San Francisco Art Institute

Extent: 3 linear feet

Repository: San Francisco Art Institute Archive

Abstract: This collection consists of student publications–including student newspapers, newsletters, literary magazines, and other publications–that were produced at the San Francisco Art Institute (also known from 1916 through 1961 as the California School of Fine Arts.) Through articles, essays, original artwork, letters, interviews, news, fiction, poetry and more, these publications provide an in-depth look at the life of art students in San Francisco from many eras, as well as glimpses of the cultural, artistic, and literary history of Northern California. These holdings are particularly rich in their detailing of the Beat Era of San Francisco’s North Beach artistic and literary community in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the 1960s hippie scene, and the punk era of the 1970s and early 1980s.

Language of Material: English

The collection is open for research use.

Contact the San Francisco Art Institute Legacy Foundation + Archive for questions or requests regarding use of these materials.

[Identification of item]. Student Publication Collection. Collection Number: SFAI.006. San Francisco Art Institute Archive

Material in this collection was internally generated by the San Francisco Art Institute

The San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private fine arts college dating back to 1874 when the San Francisco Art Association, an organization founded in 1871 to promote and exhibit local artists, first began offering art classes to the public. The school was known as the California School of Design from 1874 through 1916, and as the California School of Fine Arts from 1916 through 1961, when it became the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI). Throughout its history, SFAI was known for its innovative and often experimental curriculum, and for its substantial influence on art and culture in the Bay Area and beyond. SFAI closed permanently in 2022.

This collection consists of student publications produced at the San Francisco Art Institute (also known from 1916 through 1961 as the California School of Fine Arts.) Wide-ranging in content and format, and published under frequently-changing titles, these publications reflect the interests and aesthetics of their student editors and contributors. Some are conceived as student newspapers and newsletters, disseminating updates about goings-on at the school, announcing upcoming art exhibitions and other events, and editorializing about SFAI’s faculty, curriculum, administrative leadership, tuition, student government, and other issues. Others are primarily collections of student artwork, poetry, and prose. Many include contributions to a larger conversation about the importance of art and art education from a broad cultural perspective. This collection is primarily focused on serialized rather than one-off publications, although some stand-alone publications are included as well. In many respects these publications paint a portrait of a student experience specific to SFAI as a small, experimental, fine-arts college in San Francisco, and reflect the ethos of the time and place of their creation. Publications from the 1950s and 1960s capture aspects of the city’s North Beach Beat-era artistic and literary scene, including, for example, show announcements for exhibitions and performances held at counter-cultural art galleries like the Dilexi Gallery and the 6 Gallery (founded by SFAI students and faculty, and home to the first reading of Allen Ginsberg’s seminal poem Howl). Campus controversies of this free-wheeling era include the ongoing challenge of students’ dogs roaming unleashed on campus. Publications of the 1970s reflect the political climate of that time and include accounts of student political protest against the Vietnam War through SFAI’s “Students for a Creative Involvement.” A series of issues in 1975-1976 focus on student dissatisfaction with SFAI President Arnold Herstand, who took steps to move the school’s curriculum and culture away from the experimental and towards the commercially viable until he was forced to step down after a student-led tuition strike. A 1978 issue features a long interview with Angela Davis, an instructor in the Humanities Department at the time. Another interview with Angela Davis appears in the January 16, 1981 student newspaper. Issues from the late 1970s and 1980s are influenced by the punk aesthetic and feature announcements of local punk shows, including those of student-formed bands such as Romeo Void fronted by singer Deborah Iyall. In a 1980 interview, Lawrence Ferlinghetti (then a regular at SFAI’s Friday open model-drawing studio sessions) bemoans changes at the school and in the art world. Publications of this period document the creation of an SFAI student “Gay League” and include discussions on coming out at SFAI. 1990s-era publications include references to faculty member Carlos Villa’s groundbreaking symposia highlighting cultural diversity in contemporary art. The final issues in this collection reflect the challenges of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic and the permanent closure of SFAI in 2022 from the perspective of students, faculty and staff.