Sculpture at UCLA
The Sculpture Area enables students to develop proficiency in fundamental sculptural materials and techniques, including woodworking, metal working, mold-making and casting, and some digital fabrication. Doing and thinking, hands-on learning and the construction of meaning, are emphasized in equal measure; haptic engagement and the construction of metaphor permeate every sculpture class.
Sculpture Faculty
Professor and Chair of the Department of Art, Sculpture Area Head
Rodney McMillian
Professor
Hirsch Perlman
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Lecturer
David Roy
Sculpture Lab Supervisor
Andrea Hidalgo
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Location & Contact Information
Sculpture Area Location
The Sculpture Area is located on the 1st floor of the Broad Art Center, Suite 1256
Sculpture Resource Room – 1256D
Sculpture White Room – 1200
Sculpture Lab Supervisor
Andrea Hidalgo
E: andreahidalgo@arts.ucla.edu
T: (310) 206-6972
Office: 1256A Broad Art Center
Faculty Office Hours
Email faculty directly to arrange virtual office hours
Sculpture Faculty
Rodney McMillian, Professor and Chair of the Department of Art, Sculpture Area Head
T: (310) 825-3281
Office: 1256E Broad Art Center
Hirsch Perlman, Professor
E: hirschperlman@sbcglobal.net
T: (310) 825-3281
Office: 1256E Broad Art Center
David Roy, Lecturer
Facilities & Equipment
Sculpture Area facilities support fabrication in a variety of materials and include six different areas: a Wood Shop, a Metal Shop, a Mold-Making Area, a large 4 × 8′ CNC router, a Textile and Sewing Area, and a Resource Room. These work spaces are integrated with a multiuse, all-weather outdoor Sculpture Yard and a loading dock to support the fabrication of large-scale work. The White Room gallery attached to the lab is available for student exhibitions, installations, and class critiques.
Instructional Materials Fee
All students must pay an Instructional Materials fee each quarter they are enrolled in sculpture classes. As of April 2024, the fee is $120 and payable to UC Regents. This quarterly fee supports access to tools and other area equipment for use in the fabrication of sculpture. Students must undergo training by the lab supervisor to ensure that equipment is used safely.
| Product/Service | Unit Measure | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Lab Use and Supplies | Per Quarter | $120.00 |
| Lab Use Only | Per Quarter | $55.00 |
| Medium Density Fiberboard* | Per Unit | $55.00 |
| 1/4" Steel Round Rod* | Per Unit | $6.00 |
| 3/8" Steel Round Rod* | Per Unit | $9.00 |
| 1/2" Steel Round Rod* | Per Unit | $14.00 |
| 4'x8'x3/4" Birch Plywood* | Per Unit | $90.00 |
| 1"x2"x96" Lumber* | Per Unit | $3.70 |
| 2"x4"x96" Lumber* | Per Unit | $7.40 |
| 4'x8'x3/4" CDX Plywood* | Per Unit | $53.00 |
| 36"x36" Fabric* | Per Unit | $8.80 |
*denoted items are subject to price change based on current market price
CNC Equipment
There is a CNC router that can accommodate 4 × 8′ sheets of material, including wood, plastic, nonferrous metals, foam, and plaster.
Metal Shop Equipment
The Metal Shop and designated hot-work area includes three MIG welders, two mini-MIGs, an oxy-acetylene rig, and a plasma cutter. The welding area uses a heavy-duty platen table with multiple points for clamping and rigging as well as a dual-arm snorkel fume extractor. The Metal Shop also includes a 40-ton Scotchman hydraulic shear/punch, a cold-cut metal saw, a 4-foot box brake, a 16-gauge foot shear, and a rotex turret–type punch. For metal bending, there is a Hosfeld bender equipped with dies, as well as an electric-powered tube roller.
Mold-Making Area
The Mold-Making Area is a flexible outdoor work space for plaster, clay, alginate, latex, wax, and silicone mold-making. A supply of plaster is included with the student’s Instructional Materials fee.
Resource Room
The Sculpture Resource Room is located in room 1256D. It contains over three thousand books and catalogs and an extensive collection of art periodicals. The Resource Room also serves as a screening room and is outfitted with a digital projector and surround sound.
Textiles and Sewing
For sewing, there is a Juki industrial sewing machine and a cutting table available for student use. There are also two Brother home sewing machines capable of a variety of stitching patterns.
White Room
The Sculpture Area includes a one-thousand-square-foot critique and exhibition space. Equipped with a Unistrut for easy rigging and plywood-backed walls for hanging, the White Room provides a flexible infrastructure for student work.
Wood Shop Equipment
The Wood Shop is equipped with a 10″ SawStop table saw, 18″ Laguna bandsaw, Bosch compound-mitre saw, Festool router table, belt/disc sander, oscillating spindle sander, edge sander, Nova Voyager drill press, Milwaukee panel saw, Dewalt planer, and a variety of battery-operated Milwaukee power tools. There is also a selection of Festool sanders and plunge saws. Most of our equipment is connected to an extensive dust-collection system.
Sculpture Undergraduate & Graduate Courses
Undergraduate Sculpture Courses
Art 1B. Beginning Sculpture
Units: 4
Studio, eight hours; five hours arranged. Introduction to concepts and forms of contemporary sculpture to become familiar with tools and material to enable students to visually manifest their individual ideas. Presentation of work by contemporary artists.
Art 145. Advanced Sculpture
Units: 5
Studio, eight hours; seven hours arranged. Requisite: course 1B. Selected studies in sculpture, historical and contemporary; modeling, carving, casting, welding, and other media; forms in space, including installations and nonstudio pieces. May be repeated for a maximum of 20 units.
Art 145A. Advanced Sculpture: Topics in Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Units: 5
Studio, eight hours; seven hours arranged. Requisite: course 1B. Varied approaches to historical and contemporary sculpture that highlights its social impact and cultural content. Themed lectures and studio assignments develop students' technical, expressive, and conceptual tools to understand and explore anti-racism, equity, diversity, and inclusion as expressed in objects, sculpture, and built environment. Combination of courses 145 and 145A may be repeated for maximum of 20 units. Letter grading.
Art 197. Individual Studies in Art
Units: 2 to 4
Tutorial, to be arranged. Preparation: 3.0 grade-point average in major. Corequisite: course 190. Limited to junior/senior art majors. Individual intensive studio project or independent study, with scheduled meetings to be arranged between faculty member and student. Tangible evidence of project or mastery of subject matter required. May be repeated for maximum of 8 units. Individual contract required. Letter grading.
Art 198. Honors Research in Art
Units: 2 to 4
Tutorial, to be arranged. Preparation: 3.0 grade-point average overall, 3.5 grade-point average in major. Corequisite: course 190. Limited to junior/senior art majors. Development and completion of comprehensive research or studio project under direct supervision of faculty member. May be repeated for maximum of 8 units. Individual contract required. Letter grading.
Sculpture Graduate Studies
Sculpture is one of six areas of study offered in the M.F.A. art program. This area enables graduate students to develop proficiency in various analog and/or digital fabrication processes, materials, and techniques. The Sculpture Area’s basis is the exploration of three-dimensional contemporary expression where questions about context and culture at large inform every sculpture candidate’s studies. No matter the medium or method, the aim is to explore, strengthen, and focus each student's sense of personal direction in the arts.
Sculpture faculty Rodney McMillian and Hirsch Perlman serve as the primary advisors to students admitted to this area of study. Students may also work with faculty from other areas within the Department of Art or other departments across the university.
All M.F.A. students are offered the use of off-campus individual studios in the UCLA Margo Leavin Graduate Art Studios, located in Culver City. In addition to individual studio spaces, the studio building houses photography, sculpture, ceramics, and computer labs, as well as open spaces for exhibitions, lectures, and group critiques. Although the Department of Art does not offer graduate-level courses in the summer, the graduate studios are open year round.
Graduate Sculpture Courses
Art 273. Graduate Sculpture
Units: 2 to 8
Studio, eight hours. Studies in sculpture with specific attention to the ongoing nature, specificity, and approach of each student’s particular practice. Individual studio visits and cons
Art 276. Graduate Group Critique
Units: 4
Discussion, four hours; tutorial, to be arranged. Group critique/discussion of students' research. Additional tutorial meetings by arrangement with instructor. May be repeated for credit. Letter grading.
Art C280. Graduate Seminar
Units: 4
Seminar, three hours. Advanced topics in critical theory and study of contemporary art, with emphasis on individuals, issues, and methodologies. Possible areas of study include structuralism, deconstruction, feminist and psychoanalytic theory, commodification, and censorship. May be repeated for credit. Concurrently scheduled with course C180. Letter grading.
Art 284. Technical Studio
Units: 2 to 4
Studio, three hours; outside study, three to nine hours. Limited to Art MFA students. Selected topics in techniques related to advanced studio projects. May be repeated for credit. Letter grading.
Sculpture M.F.A. Candidates
Farshid Bazmandegan, farshidbazmandegan.com
Zenobia
Raghvi Bhatia, www.raghvi.work
Ron Asulin, ronasulin.com