The SJSU Pictorial Art Program sees itself in a unique position in both time and place to examine the inherent and complex ability of painting to produce thinking with an explosion of new technologies that also aspire to produce knowledge. The pictorial arts simultaneously display knowledge and provoke new intellectual and physical activity. This power, argues Havard Art, Film, and Visual Studies Professor David Joselit, has a unique ability to visualize digital and social networks. SJSU’s geographic location in the Bay Area is a strength. As part of the California State school system, our students have access to the region's economic and intellectual industries, influences, and resources.