This is the first volume of a symposium-based series organized by the Southern California Consortium of Art Schools [SoCCAS].

Set out in four sections, with a series introduction by SoCCAS chair John C. Welchman, and a topical introduction by cultural critic Norman Klein, it offers a creative and original overview of the Southern Californian art scene from 1990 to the present.

"Inside" examines new initiatives from within the institutional or commercial sectors of the art world, "Outside" discusses developments situated outside of this more sanctioned sphere, whether in alternative spaces, art/music crossovers, or the public domain, "New Locations" takes on innovative art-related activities in sites, such as the Southern California deserts and San Diego-Tijuana border that are relatively remote from the culturally dominant LA basin, "Endpapers" rounds out the book with short presentations by five artists and critics whose independent thinking and constructively targeted polemic has helped shape art-world discourse in Southern California in recent years.