Art and Art History

PROFESSOR

David P. McCarthy. 1991. B.A., Gettysburg College; Ph.D., University of Delaware. (Modern, contemporary, and American art history.)

ASSOCIATE PROFESSORS

A. Victor Coonin. 1995. B.A., Oberlin College; M.A. Syracuse University; Ph.D., Rutgers University. (Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque art history.)
Erin Harmon. 2003. Chair. B.A., San Diego State University; M.F.A., Rhode Island School of Design. (Painting and Drawing.)

ASSISTANT PROFESSORS

Ben Butler. 2008. B.A., Bowdoin College; M.F.A. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. (Sculpture.)
Elizabeth Daggett. 2010. B.A., University of Memphis; M.F.A., University of North Texas. (Digital Art, Filmmaking, New Media.)
Francesca Trunchin. 2010. B.A., Smith College; Ph.D., Boston University. (Classical Art and Archaeology.)

 

PART-TIME INSTRUCTORS

Hamlett Dobbins. 2001. B.F.A., University of Memphis; M.F.A., University of Iowa. (Painting, Drawing, and Alternative Media.)
Laurel Sucsy. 2009. B.A. Bowdoin College; M.F.A. Tyler School of Art. (Painting.)

DIRECTOR, CLOUGH-HANSON GALLERY

Hamlett Dobbins. 2001. B.F.A., University of Memphis; M.F.A., University of Iowa.

CURATOR, VISUAL RESOURCES COLLECTION

Karen Brunsting. 2008. B.F.A., School of the Art Institute of Chicago; M.S. University of Tennessee.

STAFF

Karen M. Winterton. Departmental Assistant.

The Clough-Hanson Gallery, located in Clough Hall, brings to campus exhibitions of contemporary art from September through March. In April and early May, the gallery hosts two student exhibitions: the Juried Student Exhibit and the Senior Thesis Exhibit.

The Department of Art and Art History offers three majors to meet students’ particular interests and post-graduate goals: Art, Art History, and a combined Art and Art History sequence.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A MAJOR IN ART

For the student interested in art as a vocation, for teaching, or for further study in graduate school, a program of studies balanced between studio and art history is preferable. The following courses are required.
A total of forty-eight (48) credits as follows:

1. Studio Art: two of the following 100-level courses: 101, 105, 107.
2. 485, 486.
3. Art History: 151, 152.
4. Three additional courses in studio at the 200 level or above (at least one of which must be at the 300 level)
5. Three additional courses in the department of Art and Art History

REQUIREMENTS FOR A MAJOR IN ART HISTORY

For those students interested in the study of art history with graduate school as a possible goal, this program of study is suggested. The following courses are required.
A total of forty-eight (48) credits as follows:

1. Studio Art: two 100-level courses.
2. Art History: 151, 152, 485, plus 7 additional courses, two of which will come from ancient studies (Prehistoric through Roman), two of which will come from Medieval through Baroque, and two of which will come from Modern (post 1800).

German and/or French through the 201-level are strongly recommended for those students planning to pursue graduate work in art history.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A MAJOR IN ART AND ART HISTORY

A total of sixty-four (64) credits as follows:

1. Studio Art: two of the following 100-level courses: 101, 105, 107.
2. Art 485, Art 486, and Art History 485.
3. Art History: 151, 152.
4. Three additional courses in studio at the 200 level or above (at least one of which must be at the 300 level).
5. Three additional courses in Art History, one of which will come from ancient studies (Prehistoric through Roman), one of which will come from Medieval through Baroque, and one of which will come from Modern (post 1800).
6. Three additional courses in the department of Art and Art History

REQUIREMENTS FOR A MINOR IN ART

A total of twenty-eight (28) credits as follows:

1. Studio Art: two 100-level courses.
2. Art History: 151, 152.
3. One 200-level studio course and Art 485
4. One additional course at 200-level or above in the department of Art and Art History.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A MINOR IN ART HISTORY

A total of twenty-eight (28) credits as follows:

1. Studio Art: two 100-level courses.
2. Art History: 151, 152.
3. One 200-level Art History course and Art History 485.
4. One additional course at 200-level or above in the department of Art and Art History.

HONORS IN ART AND ART HISTORY

1. In the spring of the junior year, an art major, in consultation with an Art 106 appropriate member of the art faculty, may write a proposal for honors work in the senior year. The department must approve the proposal.
2. An overall grade of A- on the thesis or project itself is required for honors credit.

COURSE OFFERINGS

Introductory Studio Art.

Introductory Studio Art Students interested in commencing studio work are encouraged to enroll in the introductory studio courses in their first year. These courses are designed for students with no previous background in the designated areas. Special emphasis is given to introducing media, exploring basic techniques, and problem solving. Studio courses require 138 hours of work per term for four credits. A studio fee may be required for studio courses to cover the expense of materials and equipment.

101. Drawing.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
Degree Requirements: F5.
An introduction to drawing in various media.  

103. Life Study.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
Degree Requirements: F5.
An introduction to figure drawing in various media. A major component to the course is drawing from nude models.

105. Painting.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
Degree Requirements: F5.
An introduction to the fundamentals of painting, including its formal and conceptual properties.  

107. Sculpture.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
Degree Requirements: F5.
Emphasis will be on the development of ideas as they relate to traditional and non-traditional approaches to making art. Students will develop skills in the use of metal working, wood working, casting, and alternative media. Students will develop skills in modeling, casting, wood working, and alternative media. This course situates students within the contemporary art world and challenges them to articulate thoughts and concepts through the art making process.

113. Digital Arts: Still Images..
Fall. Credits: 4.
Degree Requirements: F5.
An introduction to digital arts, focused on the exploration and production of still images, including but not limited to digital photography, through electronic media.

114. Digital Art: Moving Images.
Spring. Credits: 4.
Degree Requirements: F5.
Students will make digital projects, including, but not limited to: narrative, documentary, and experimental filmmaking, and/or animation projects. Cameras and editing software are provided.

166. Topics in Studio Art.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
Topics will vary from year to year with the instructor. Course may be repeated as long as topics are different.  

Intermediate Studio Art.

Students taking intermediate studio courses will explore issues concerning media and methods relevant to individually designated concepts and investigations. Students are expected to spend twelve hours per week on research and production. Students must have permission from the instructor before registration. Studio courses require 138 hours of work per term for four credits. A studio fee may be required for studio courses to cover the expense of materials and equipment. 

201. Intermediate Drawing.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
Prerequisites: Art 101, 103 or 105.  

203. Intermediate Life Study.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
Degree Requirements: F5.
Figure drawing from life.
Prerequisites: Art 101, 103, or 105.  

205. Intermediate Painting.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
Prerequisites: Art 105.  

207. Intermediate Sculpture.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
Prerequisites: Art 107.  

213. Digital Art: Intermediate Projects.
Spring. Credits: 4.
Advanced studio work in digital arts, focused on creating electronic media-based projects geared toward individual student interests. Students can work with either still or moving images.
Prerequisites: Art 113 or 114.  

266. Intermediate Topics in Studio Art.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
A studio, open to both majors and non-majors, on varying subjects. May be repeated for credit. Topics courses include landscape painting and figure painting.

Advanced Studio Art.

Students taking advanced studio courses will further explore issues concerning media and methods relevant to individually designated concepts and investigations. Students are expected to spend twelve hours per week on research and production. Directed Inquiries can be accommodated through any of the advanced studio offerings. Studio courses require 138 hours of work per term for four credits. A studio fee is required for every studio course to cover the expense of materials and equipment. A 300-level class may be repeated at the 400-level course designation, however, this is reserved for rare instances in which a student is already performing at a graduate school level. Permission of instructor is required.

366. Advanced Topics in Studio Art.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
A studio, open to both majors and non-majors, on varying subjects. May be repeated for credit as long as topics are different. Topics courses include landscape painting and figure painting.

301. Advanced Drawing.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
Prerequisites: Art 201, 203, or 205.

305. Advanced Painting.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
Prerequisites: Art 205.  

307. Advanced Sculpture.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
Prerequisites: Art 207.  

313. Digital Art: Advanced Projects.
Spring. Credits: 4.
Advanced studio work in digital arts, focused on creating electronic media-based projects geared toward individual student interests. Students can work with either still or moving images.
Prerequisites: Art 213.  

460. Art / Architectural Internship.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 1-4.
Students are placed with local artists and/or regional galleries, design firms or architectural firms.
Prerequisites: Art major with junior or senior standing; successful completion of all one-hundred level courses and at least one 200-level course in the department of Art and Art History as required for the appropriate track; and approval of the department of Art and Art History. May be repeated for a total of six credits. Students may apply a maximum of four credits towards the Art major or minor. 

485. Senior Seminar.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
Individually designed creative projects or research undertaken with the approval and guidance of the art faculty. Students are required to propose a fifteen-week program of research, develop a relevant body of work and artist statement, meet weekly for critiques with the instructor, and maintain a digital portfolio of their work. In addition each student will participate in two formal critiques with art faculty and a peer group at midterm and final.
Prerequisites:Senior standing and successful completion of all 100- and at least two 200 -level courses required for the major. 

486. Senior Thesis.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
The continuation of the senior seminar in which students further develop and refine creative projects with the approval and guidance of the art faculty. This course culminates in a Thesis Gallery Exhibition.
Prerequisites: Art 485.  

 

ART HISTORY
INTRODUCTORY COURSES

120. Classical Archaeology
Fall. Credits: 4.
Degree Requirements: F5.
This course will address the material remains of the ancient Mediterranean, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Aegean, Greece, Etruria, and Rome. By examining the history of the rediscovery of the classical world we will come to understand “How do we know what we know about antiquity?” through the personalities and methodologies of more than two centuries of archaeological practice. We will also study ethical and legal questions related to classical archaeology and the broader question of “Who owns the past?” by looking into case studies of looting, theft, and museological issues.

151. History of Western Art.
Fall. Spring. Credits: 4.
Degree Requirements: F5, F3.
A survey of Western art from prehistory to the twentieth century. In the first half of the semester emphasis is placed on examining art within the producing cultures of ancient Egypt, the Near East, classical Greece and Rome, the Byzantine world, and medieval Europe. The second half of the semester emphasizes the development and expansion of Renaissance ideals of art, and the reassessment of these ideals in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Students will be exposed to the basic methods of art historical analysis as well as the major artists, movements and objects in the history of Western art.

152. Survey of Contemporary Art
Spring. Credits: 4.
Degree Requirements: F5, F3.
A comprehensive introduction to European and American art and art criticism since 1940. Movements and sensibilities to be studied include Abstract Expressionism, Pop, Minimal, Feminist, and Neoexpressionism. Themes examined will include modernism and postmodernism, mass culture, art and politics, gender, race, and other markers of identity. Artists include Pollock, Warhol, Spero, Chicago, and Ringgold.

INTERMEDIATE COURSES

Before enrolling in these courses students are expected to have completed Art 151, earned AP credit, or obtained permission of instructor.

209. Art and Architecture of the Ancient Near East.
Spring. Credits: 4.
A chronological study of the visual and material culture of the Ancient Near East. Students will be introduced to current scholarship on the art and architecture of the Ancient Near East and emphasis will be placed on understanding these forms in their social and political contexts. (Course offered every third year; scheduled for 2014-2015.)

210. Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt.
Spring. Credits: 4.
A chronological study of the visual and material culture of ancient Egypt. Students will be introduced to current scholarship on the art and architecture of ancient Egypt and emphasis will be placed on understanding these forms in their social and political contexts. (Course offered in alternate years; scheduled for 2012-2013.)

218. Greek Art and Architecture.
Fall. Credits: 4.
A chronological and thematic examination of the visual and material culture of ancient Greece from its Bronze Age (ca. 3rd millennium B.C.E.) to the end of the Hellenistic era (1st century B.C.E.). Special attention will be given to the historical and ideological context of cult buildings, monumental sculpture, and vase paintings as they might have been experienced by Greek viewers. (Course offered in alternate years; scheduled for 2013-2014.)

219. Roman Art and Architecture.
Spring. Credits: 4.
This course traces the development of Roman art and architecture in its variable contexts with an eye to understanding the cultural and political institutions that created it, from Rome’s earliest Etruscan roots in the 8th century BCE to its relocation to Byzantium in Asia Minor in the 4th century CE. (Course offered in alternate years; scheduled for 2013-2014.)

221. Art and Spirituality in the Middle Ages.
Fall. Credits: 4.
An examination of the visual arts in Europe during the period normally known as the Middle Ages, ca. 313-1348. Attention will also focus on the art emanating from the Byzantine east. Art works discussed will include both secular and religious objects, and topics covered will include issues of aesthetics, iconography, style, functionality, and spirituality. (Course offered in alternate years; scheduled for 2012-2013.)

223. Italian Renaissance Art.
Fall. Credits: 4.
This course examines Italian art from about 1260-1580, with emphasis on the historical and social context. Such themes as patronage, functions, theory, materials and techniques, style, and the profession of the artist will be discussed. Artists treated include Giotto, Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Donatello, Botticelli, Leonardo, Bramante, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, and Palladio. (Course offered in alternate years; scheduled for 2013-2014.)

226. Northern Renaissance Art.
Spring. Credits: 4.
An examination of painting, sculpture, and the graphic arts in the Netherlands, Germany, and France, from 1400 to 1600, with emphasis on the historical and social context. Such themes as the status of the artist, art and mysticism, art and the Reformation, theory, and the relationship of Northern European and Italian art and culture will be discussed. Artists include Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Hieronymus Bosch, Albrecht Dürer, and Pieter Bruegel. (Course offered in alternate years; scheduled for 2012-2013.)

228. Baroque Painting from Caravaggio to Rembrandt.
Spring. Credits: 4.
The course investigates European art ca. 1580-1750. Students will be introduced to the major artists, subjects, and stylistic developments during this time period. Additional emphasis will be placed on issues such as patronage, collecting, technique, women artists, and recent discoveries. Artists covered include Caravaggio, Bernini, Gentileschi, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Velasquez, and Rubens. (Course offered in alternate years; scheduled for 2013-2014.)

234. American Art.
Fall. Credits: 4.
A thematic examination of art produced in the United States from the colonial period to WWII with special emphasis on the place of art and artists within a democracy. Themes include the relationship between political and visual representation, landscape as metaphor, race and ethnicity in art, and the tension between private and public patronage. Artists include Thomas Jefferson, Stuart Davis, and Frank Lloyd Wright. (Course offered every third semester, next offered Fall, 2012.)

241. Modern Art I.
Fall. Spring. Credits: 4.
ecial emphasis is given to the interplay between politics and the emergence of new styles and subject matter in painting. Artists covered include David, Goya, Constable, Delacroix, Friedrich, Courbet, Manet, and Monet. (Course offered every third semester; scheduled for Spring, 2013.)

243. Modern Art II.
Fall. Spring. Credits: 4.
A survey of European art from 1880 to 1960. Themes examined include primitivism, the tension between modern art and mass culture, the attempt to combine radical politics with formal innovation, and the development of nonobjective styles of painting. Movements discussed include symbolism, fauvism, cubism, futurism, dada, surrealism, and abstract expressionism. (Course offered every third semester; scheduled for Fall, 2013.)

253. Art and Life in Pompeii.
Spring. Credits: 4.
This course will focus on Pompeii and Herculaneum, also addressing material from sites like Stabiae, Boscoreale, Boscotrecase, and Oplontis. To complete a picture of Roman urbanism in Italy, we will also touch upon Ostia—Rome’s port city at the mouth of the Tiber River—as well as the Urbs itself (Rome). (Course offered every third year; scheduled for Spring 2013.)

260. Gallery Management.
Spring. Credits: 4.
Degree Requirements: F11.
This course is a one semester class designed to teach students the basics of running a gallery as well as examining theoretical issues including but not limited to: the mission of a gallery, understanding a gallery’s audience, and the role of exhibition spaces in a community. Working with the gallery director students may be involved in: crating, shipping, publicizing, printing, preparing and designing of exhibits, proper handling of works of art, hanging, lighting, labels, receptions, security, etc. for all exhibits during the spring semester year. The class is only open to juniors and seniors or with permission of the instructor.

265. Topics in Art History.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
Topics will vary from year to year with the instructor. Course may be repeated as long as topics are different.

ADVANCED COURSES

345. Art History: Theory and Criticism.
Spring. Credits: 4.
An advanced course concentrating on the history and methodologies of Art History. Prerequisites: Art History 151, 152, and at least two 200-level Art History courses.

352. Writing Art.
Fall. Spring. Credits: 4.
A writing-intensive course focusing on theory and criticism as practiced by artist, art critics and art historians. Recommended for students considering graduate study. (Course offered occasionally.)

356. Michelangelo.
Spring. Credits: 4.
An examination of the life and art of Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564). Special attention will be paid to stylistic, interpretive, and methodological issues, as well as the many controversies that have surrounded his life and art from the Renaissance to the present. Works studied will include painting, sculpture, architecture, drawings, and poetry. Class will combine both lecture and seminar formats. Either Art History 151 or Art History 223 is strongly recommended but not required. (Course offered every third year; scheduled for 2013-2014.)

365. Advanced Topics in Art History.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4.
A seminar, open to both majors and non-majors, on varying subjects. May be repeated for credit so long as topics are different.

399. Tutorial for Honors Candidates.
Spring. Credits: 1.
Students interested in reading for honors in the department of Art and Art History are required to enroll in a preparatory tutorial in the spring semester of their junior year. Successful completion of the tutorial does not necessarily guarantee acceptance into the Honors Program.

461. Museum/ Gallery Internship.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 1-4.
An internship with a gallery or museum with a focus on the visual arts. Prerequisites: Approval of department Chair and offer of placement from an approved gallery or museum. Normally open only to art majors and minors with junior or senior standing. Students may apply a maximum of four credits towards the Art major or minor.

485. Senior Seminar.
Fall. Credits: 4.
Art History Track. Advanced seminar involving theory, methodology, and historiography. Students will submit a major research paper and conduct an oral presentation. Topics vary with instructor. Required of all majors in the art history track. Prerequisites: Art History 151, 152, and at least three 200-level Art History courses.

495-496. Honors Tutorial.
Fall, Spring. Credits: 4, 4.