The Undergraduate Program in Studio Art
CHAIR Mel Ziegler
DIRECTOR OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES Michael L. Aurbach
PROFESSOR EMERITUS Donald Evans
PROFESSORS Mel Ziegler, Michael L. Aurbach, Marilyn L. Murphy
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR Mark Hosford
SENIOR LECTURERS Susan DeMay, Ronald Porter, Libby Rowe, Robert Durham
Courses in studio are offered in a variety of media, which provide wide-ranging
methods and perspectives about art. Our courses emphasize the creative and
critical approaches to learning.
Many students will use the program in Art as a foundation for careers in which creativity and visual are especially valued as the basis for advanced training in professional schools (such as art, architecture, museum studies) and for employment in galleries, museums, commercial art, or design-related fields. An important goal of the department is to help students become readers of the rich visual environment in our culture throughout their lives, as well as to encourage creative approaches to learning.
There are several campus organizations in the arts. The Printmakers Club, a lively organization of studio majors who gather to attend art openings, discuss contemporary issues and develop art related projects. The Blueprint Society is for students interested in entering the field of architecture. The Sarratt Visual Arts Committee allows students to have a hand in curating and hanging exhibitions, as well as hosting art openings at the Sarratt Gallery. VISION sponsors lectures and discussions about the history art as well as a roundtable of alumni art history majors, who discuss their current careers and how they arrived at them
Program of Concentration in Art
The studio track of the art and art history major requires 33 hours and presents our students with the opportunity to explore their ideas in a visual language, as well as to learn the technical skills involved in the creation of art. The program offers a wide range of classes and media. Our students are offered a strong grounding in traditional processes such as drawing, painting, and sculpture, as well as the opportunity to explore contemporary processes involving video, digital, and photographic media. Our diverse faculty of artist/educators represents a wide range of teaching styles and aesthetic philosophies. We consider how ideas have been developed through the centuries as well as how specific techniques have been used to enrich the expression of the idea. In addition to early modern-contemporary art history offerings, studio track majors are encouraged to take courses in pre-Renaissance and/or non-Western art history.
Requirements for the Program of Concentration in Art
Drawing (6 hours) •Options: ARTS 102, 202, 203 (Drawing and Composition), or ARTS 105, 205 (Life Drawing)
Studio electives (15 hours), which must include at least: •One 2-D course (Printmaking, Painting, Photography, or Digital) and •One 3-D course (Sculpture, Assemblage, or Ceramics) •Within the 15 hours, students must take at least two 200-level ARTS courses
AHST 111 History of Western Art: Renaissance to Modern Art (prerequisite for entry into 200-level ARTS courses), plus one course from AHST 231, 239, 242, PHIL 240 or 241, and one additional upper-level art history course—AHST 200 to 290 (9 hours)
Directed Study: Senior Show and Contemporary Practices (3 hours)
Minor in Studio Art
The minor in studio art requires 18 hours of course work, including the following:
AHST 111 (History of Western Art: Renaissance to Modern), ARTS 102 (Drawing and Composition), and four other ARTS courses, with at least two at the 200 level. (One independent research course may be substituted with permission of a studio art professor toward additional advanced work in a medium.)
Art Studio (ARTS)
101. Introduction to Studio. (Formerly Art and Art History 103) Experimentation with color, mixed-media, graphic media, and other processes. Stress on development of ideas. FALL, SPRING. [3] Aurbach, Hosford, Murphy, Porter, Rowe, DeMay.
102. Drawing and Composition I. (Formerly Art and Art History 102) Introduction to drawing: visual problems related to observation, idea formation, composition, media and various forms of expression. Figure and landscape may be included. FALL, SPRING. [3] Aurbach, Durham, Hosford, Murphy, Porter.
105. Life Drawing. (Formerly Art and Art History 135) The expressive potential of the human figure as a subject through experience with models in a variety of figure-environment situations. Prerequisite: 102. FALL. [3] Hosford, Porter.
110. Relief Printing. (Formerly Art and Art History 107) Introduction to printmaking media including monotype and relief. Traditional and experimental approaches. Prerequisite: 102. FALL, SPRING. [3] Hosford, Murphy.
111. Screen Printing. Medium of screen printing as an art-making process. Traditional and experimental approaches. Prerequisite: 102. SPRING. [3] Hosford.
120. Photography. (Formerly Art and Art History 108) A studio course in black-and-white photography. Composition, quality of image, and photographic manipulation. FALL, SPRING. [3] Rowe, Wilkinson.
121. Alternative Photography. (Formerly Art and Art History 109) Lensless imaging; creation of pinhole cameras and images. Issues that affect contemporary art. FALL, SPRING. [3] Rowe.
122. Digital Imaging. (Formerly Art and Art History 124) Creation of still, photo-based images using digital cameras, scanners and Photoshop software for digital output. Issues that affect contemporary art. FALL. [3] Rowe.
130. Painting. (Formerly Art and Art History 150) Technical and conceptual aspects of painting. Individual instruction based on ability and experience. Prerequisite: 102. FALL, SPRING. [3] Durham, Murphy, Porter.
140. Ceramics. (Formerly Art and Art History 165) Introduction to ceramic design and preparation of clay objects. Hand-building, wheel-throwing, ceramic sculpture, surface enrichment, glazing, and kiln-firing. FALL, SPRING. [3] DeMay.
141. Sculptural Ceramics. Expressive art forms in clay. Figurative, abstract, box construction, and trompe l’oeil. Assembled components, surface enrichment, and firing technique. SPRING. [3] DeMay.
150. Sculpture. (Formerly Art and Art History 160) Changing concepts, materials, and processes in sculpture. Individual instruction based on ability and experience. FALL. [3] Aurbach.
151. Assemblage. (Formerly Art and Art History 161) Additive processes in sculpture. Problems involving found objects, kinetic/time-based ideas, and site-specific installations. SPRING. [3] Aurbach.
160. Digital Art. (Formerly Art and Art History 125) Art made with the aid of computers. Programs and processes vary. Digital imaging, manipulation, motion, and interactivity. SPRING. [3] Hosford.
170. Multimedia. (Formerly Art and Art History 143) Relationships of video, computer graphics, new materials, electronic music, and performance. Technical processes and creative expression. FALL. [3] Hosford.
171. Video Art. (Formerly Art and Art History 144) Video as an art form. Group and individual productions. Viewing and discussion. Project analysis and critique. Relationship to such traditional media as photography and film. [3] Hosford.
202. Drawing and Composition II. (Formerly Art and Art History 202) Prerequisite: 102. FALL, SPRING. [3] Murphy, Porter.
203. Drawing and Composition III. Prerequisite 102/202. FALL, SPRING [3] Murphy, Porter.
205. Life Drawing II. (Formerly Art and Art History 235a) Prerequisite: 105 or 135. SPRING. [3] Porter.
206. Life Drawing III. (Formerly Art and Art History 235b) Prerequisite: 205 or 135. SPRING. [3] Porter.
207a–207b. Advanced Art Studio: Printmaking. Prerequisite: 107. FALL, SPRING. [3–3] Murphy, Hosford.
210. Printmaking II. (Formerly 208a) Prerequisite: ARTS 110 or 111. FALL, SPRING. [3] Murphy, Hosford.
211. Printmaking III. (Formerly 208b) Prerequisite: 210. FALL, SPRING. [3] Murphy, Hosford.
220. Photography II. The Zone System of pre-visualization, studio lighting, and advanced darkroom techniques. Prerequisite: 120. SPRING. [3] Rowe.
221. Alternative Photography. (Formerly Art and Art History 209) Use of non-silver emulsions on paper, fabric, and other substrates that encourage personal expression and allow for the incorporation of photographic imagery into other media. Presentations and discussions of issues that affect contemporary art. Prerequisite: 120, 121. [3] Rowe.
230. Painting II. (Formerly Art and Art History 250a) Prerequisite: 130. FALL, SPRING. [3] Murphy, Porter.
231. Painting III. (Formerly Art and Art History 250b) Prerequisite: 230. FALL, SPRING. [3] Murphy, Porter.
240. Ceramics II. (Formerly Art and Art History 265a) Development of ceramic design, both traditional and contemporary, functional and sculptural. Projects develop technical and aesthetic goals. Instruction includes demonstrations, slide presentations, field trips, guest artists, reports. Demonstrations include advanced throwing, complex constructions, glaze development with applications and kiln-firing. Prerequisite: 140. SPRING. [3] DeMay.
241. Ceramics III. (Formerly Art and Art History 265b) See description of 240. Prerequisite: 140. SPRING. [3] DeMay.
250. Sculpture II. (Formerly Art and Art History 260) Prerequisite: 150. FALL, SPRING. [3] Aurbach.
260. Digital Art II. (Formerly Art and Art History 225) Prerequisite: 160. SPRING. [3] Hosford.
270. Multimedia II. (Formerly Art and Art History 243) Prerequisite: 170. FALL. [3] Hosford.
288. Selected Topics. May be repeated with change of content up to a total of 9 hours. FALL, SPRING. [3] Staff.
289. Independent Research. Supervised work in extension of regular offerings in the curriculum. Registration only with agreement of instructor involved and with written approval of the director of undergraduate studies. FALL, SPRING. [Variable credit: 1–3 per semester, not to exceed a total of 6] Staff.
290. Directed Study: Senior Show and Contemporary Practices. Theoretical and practical concerns including professional practices for artists. Students visit exhibitions and discuss contemporary art with directed readings and lectures, participate in critiques, and exhibit their work. Seniors with a concentration in studio art only. FALL. [3] Staff.