Model and Proposed Commemorative Poster for Opening of CalArts

 Plaster topographic relief model and proposed poster. 

From Earthquakes, Mudslides, Fires & Riots:

English-born, with an MFA from Yale, Godard headed west in 1970 to join the faculty at CalArts, recently established by Walt Disney. The invitation came from Craig Hodgetts, Godard’s partner in the New York–based architecture, planning, and design group Works (and then, associate dean of the CalArts School of Design). Once Godard arrived in Los Angeles, he and Hodgetts quickly re-formed their studio as Works West. The group, which included other Yale classmates, created original and imaginative projects such as Punch-Out Furniture—flat, colorful constructions of Tri-Wall, a corrugated cardboard, that could be assembled into seating—and UniverCity Now, a utopian reenvisioning of academia.¶ Godard also worked on some promotional materials for CalArts, including this poster commemorating the opening of the institute’s permanent home in Valenica, 30 miles north of Los Angeles. The poster exemplifies Godard’s interest in “experimental 3-D media and other technologies [that were of] great excitement to me at CalArts.” This literal yet intelligent and witty solution involved a plaster topographic relief model that would be employed to create a holographic poster. The school’s deans rejected the design, likely because of ongoing disputes over the direction of the curriculum and, thus, uncertainty over what message the announcement should convey.