Kirk LeClaire: Who Knows Where the Time Goes

Written by Abby Rodriguez from The Pioneer

Kirk LeClaire, an art lecturer at Cal State East Bay since 1994, has accumulated a lifetime of experiences. He regularly shares these with his students, drawing on everything from his adolescent years to his teaching career, and remains eager to share his story with as many people as possible.

LeClaire always knew he wanted to pursue art as a career, adding, “It was really the only thing I was ever really good at.” Growing up in Montana, LeClaire never felt confident at sports or academics, but he received praise for his artwork from teachers and peers. Although Montana shaped him, LeClaire felt that it was important for him to leave the state. 

“Like the Hero’s Journey, you have to leave what you’re familiar with to find new things,” he said. 

Although LeClaire left Montana, he often reflects on his early life and upbringing through his art and filmmaking.

LeClaire moved to San Francisco to study art in 1977, at a time when the city was undergoing a significant cultural shift with the emergence of punk rock and political activism amid severe social unrest. 

“San Francisco was a big influence. I had excellent teachers that steered me and guided me,” LeClaire stated.

LeClaire went to school with artists such as Karen Finley, and roomed with notable artists including writer V. Vale and photographer Ruby Ray, both of whom were major influences in the early punk movement in San Francisco. 

“I learned more from [Vale] than I did in graduate school. He had a huge library and was really knowledgeable about films,” LeClaire recalled. 

LeClaire worked 20 years in hospitality as a bellman at a San Francisco hotel in order to fund his master’s degree from San Francisco Art Institute. As a student and throughout his life, LeClaire has worked across a wide range of artistic mediums, creating large-scale paintings, mixed media portraits, photography and films. 

He has also exhibited his work at group shows, art galleries, and film festivals across the Bay Area, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Arts and the 2022 San Francisco Documentary Film Festival. 

LeClaire began teaching in his early 40s, and became an art lecturer at CSUEB in 1994. Course cancellations initially made lecturing difficult for LeClaire, as he did not teach enough courses to retain health benefits. After about six years, he became eligible for a three-year lectureship.

LeClaire claims Cal State East Bay’s Art and Design Department has changed dramatically since he began teaching, particularly due to a severe reduction in tenured studio arts faculty. Around the 2000s, the department also pivoted to digital media, which attracted more students. 

“You can’t hold it back, it’s like the Red Sea, you can’t do that,” LeClaire said. 

However, LeClaire has mixed feelings about the shift, saying, “I’m a little bit saddened…there was a seriousness about a career in the arts that is somewhat lacking now.” 

A traditional artist himself, LeClaire notices the impact technology has had on the arts.

“It’s changed from traditional arts to more commercial-oriented with graphic design, tying themselves to tech,” LeClaire stated. “But was that ever warranted? Should they even be teaching art in college? I don’t know.”

LeClaire believes that teaching is most effective when students feel intellectually challenged. He stated that he makes it his goal “to provide an environment where students can exceed their own expectations.” 

LeClaire’s approach to teaching often resonates beyond the classroom, as one memorable experience shows. LeClaire recalled when a CSUEB alum, who claimed to have taken one of his introductory art courses, presented a $1,000 scholarship to an art student at the Art and Design Department’s Student Award Ceremony. LeClaire was touched by the impact he had unknowingly left on the alum. 

“To think that, in some small part, his experience in the art department was a motivation to his giving back to the university was an eye opener. Our efforts here are often realized in ways we are not aware of at the time only to be felt years later,” LeClaire said.

LeClaire continues to teach in the Art and Design Department, tell stories, and create a wide variety of art, with the hope of inspiring his students for many years to come.

This story was originally published in The Pioneer Online on March 20, 2026