Mar 29, 2024  
2014-15 Catalog 
    
2014-15 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Department of Art and Art History


Art and Art History

 

Art 117
541-552-6386
Margaret Sjogren, Chair

Professor Associate Professor Assistant Professor Senior Instructor Adjunct Professor
Marlene Alt David Bithell Melissa Geppert Jennifer Longshore Karen Finnegan
Cody Bustamante Robin Strangfeld     Steven LaRose
Miles Inada       Scott Malbaurn
Erika Leppmann       Robin Wyshak
Margaret Sjogren        

 

The Art and Art History program is committed to professional art training within the context of a liberal arts education. The program is an essential part of SOU’s mission to prepare students for an active life as perceptive, creative, and conscientious citizens and professionals. The program fosters an interdisciplinary and critical approach to studio research of both traditional and new media. Emphasizing the development of critical thinking, creative innovation, and effective communication in today’s image-saturated world, the Art and Art History program advances technical, conceptual, and historical skills necessary to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Students drawn to Art and Art History are interested in investigating, developing, and refining their understanding of artistic production, theory, and history within the dynamic intellectual atmosphere of The Center for the  Visual Arts.

Majors

The major in studio art is designed for students wanting to become creative artists or professionals in visual media production. The curriculum combines hands-on experiences with the development of technical and conceptual skills considered in the context of art history, criticism, theory, and the questions explored in contemporary art practice. Foundation courses build skills common to the creative execution of ideas in a variety of media, and the critical or historical assessment of art. Advanced classes emphasize the intellectual and creative skills necessary for post-graduate studies or careers as arts or media professionals. Committed to a rigorous and interdisciplinary approach, our program challenges students to be innovative and responsible leaders in the field. [Note: the art history concentration is being discontinued and no new students will be accepted into this concentration.

Faculty/pedagogy

Headed by a faculty of professional artists and scholars that exhibit and present work nationally and internationally, we integrate a strong grounding in contemporary art-making with historical and interdisciplinary approaches to visual media and culture. We share a commitment to preparing new generations of arts professionals through hands-on instruction, encouraging risk-taking, intellectual curiosity, and imaginative problem solving. Distinguished scholars from across SOU’s campus as well as a roster of visiting artists and scholars at the Center of the Visual Arts complement the department faculty with an influx of new ideas and methodologies. We also work in close collaboration with SOU’s pioneering Emerging Media & Digital Arts program, encouraging the interplay of ideas at the intersection of the fine arts, digital technology, and a variety of emerging new media.

Facilities

The Center for the Visual Arts invites participation in a variety of innovative programs, projects, and exhibitions throughout the year. Students actively investigate artistic materials, techniques, and practices with the support of spacious, well-equipped facilities, which include studios, an auditorium and the Schneider Museum of Art. . Classroom studios support a diverse range of media, including sculpture, ceramics, animation, painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, digital and performance. The Museum and six student-run galleries provide the opportunity to develop practical skills involving arts exhibition, preparation, curating, and marketing.

Emerging Media & Digital Arts

The programs of Art and Art History, Communication, and Emerging Media & Digital Arts provide interdisciplinary instruction in visual narrative, design, and creation of visuals in a digital age. Students develop fundamental analytical and practical skills in constructing, composing, and evaluating digital media. Emphasis in this area reflects the increasing digitalization of society, as well as the dispersion of multi-mediated, non-linear forms of knowledge in the twenty-first century. See Emerging Media & Digital Arts for course descriptions.

International Study At The University of Guanajuato Department of Visual Arts

The Department of Art and Art History encourages international study experiences in the Department of Art at our sister institution, the University of Guanajuato, Guanajuato Mexico. Their art programs offer a comprehensive and complementary fine art curriculum, in addition to providing an actively engaged contemporary art community in the culturally and historically rich city of Guanajuato, Mexico. Contact Professor Cody A. Bustamante for more information.

Teacher Licensing/Art Endorsement

Students who would like to teach Art at the middle or high school level should schedule an advising session with the Art Education instructor and contact the School of Education regarding admission requirements for the Master of Arts in Teaching program (MAT).

Students are advised to begin their planning during their junior year to assure that they will have completed all the prerequisite course work as well as documented volunteer experiences working with youth. A list of prerequisite courses is available in the Art Department Office, along with contact information for the Art Education instructor.

Interdisciplinary Studies

Students completing requirements for an interdisciplinary degree in the College of Arts & Sciences may meet a portion of the major requirements with upper division courses in the field of art.  See the Interdisciplinary Studies section for a complete description of the electives and requirements for this program. Interdisciplinary majors must have a planned program and a chosen department or program of emphasis approved by the time they have completed 121 credits.

Degree Options

BA or BS in Art, Studio

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art

Program Requirements

 

Programs

Major

Option

Minor

Courses

Art

Creative Activities

Art History

Page: 1 | 2