Catherine Opie named Lynda and Stewart Resnick Endowed Chair in Art
UCLA continues to support and attract world-renowned artists as instructors
Today, the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture announced that photographer Catherine Opie has been named the inaugural Lynda and Stewart Resnick Endowed Chair in Art.
Established with a $2 million gift from philanthropists and entrepreneurs Lynda and Stewart Resnick, co-owners of The Wonderful Company, the new endowed chair continues UCLA Arts’ defining tradition of world-renowned working artists teaching the next generation of culture creators.
In addition to funding the chair, the Resnicks have also made a $500,000 gift to renovate and upgrade the undergraduate photography suite that will now be known as the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Photography Lab. The UCLA Department of Art’s photography program has been a leader in the field since it was established in 1962 by Robert Heinecken. Influential photographers such as James Welling and Opie have been a vital part of the department ever since. Prominent alumni and former students of Opie include Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Lucas Blalock, Carmen Winant, and Amy Adler among others.
Professor Opie joined the art department faculty in 2001. One of the preeminent artists of her generation working with photography, Opie is known for her evocative images of contemporary America that have been featured in major museum exhibitions and collections throughout the world. Opie has chosen a myriad of subjects throughout her career, including the S/M community, city buildings, domestic life, high school football players, surfers, and President Barack Obama’s first inauguration. At UCLA, Opie teaches both graduate and undergraduate students in photography.
“I am incredibly grateful to both Lynda and Stewart Resnick for their continued recognition of UCLA’s Art Department,” said Opie. “This gift will allow my area to move forward in both rebuilding and hiring photography faculty for teaching commitments of one to two years—much longer than previously possible—providing tremendous enhancement and support to the education of both the undergraduate and graduate students in photography.”
Read more in the Los Angeles Times.
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