ARt & Art History
For the ancient Greeks, an artist was demiorgos or "the 1 who works for the people." In Renaissance Italy, an artist was identified as a skilled craftsman who was inspired by God to create fantastic images and objects. During the Enlightenment, art was a symbolic carrier of ideas. Today, artists are free to work in the public sphere or in the studio, exhibit on city streets or in museum galleries, creating works of art that address a vast array of human experiences.
The Department of Art and Art History offers a program of study for majors and non-majors in the history and practice of visual art. Courses in a variety of subject areas inspire students to consider and create art within a social, cultural, religious, and aesthetic context. The focus of both interrelated fields, is the diverse history of art and its status in contemporary society.
The departmental faculty encourages their students to embrace the liberal arts tradition with respect to critical thinking, self-discovery, and personal expression. The coursework in the history of art presents the rich tradition of art within the Catholic faith, while also inviting students to experience the artistic production of many other cultures and time periods. In accordance with our Lasallian teachings, art history and studio art coursework place special emphasis on the role that art has and can play in encouraging positive social change.
A degree from the Department of Art and Art History has provided alumni with an appreciation of visual art as a way of knowing. It has also afforded them a base from which to enter fields as diverse as advertising, business, journalism, law, religious studies, and many other fields in the humanities.
Through independent study, the department also prepares students to further their studies at the graduate level in museum studies, studio art, art history, art therapy, and other related fields.
The department offers 2 emphases for majors:
- Bachelor of Arts: Art History Emphasis
- Bachelor of Arts: Studio Art Emphasis
Both art history and studio art students undertake an inclusive series of lower division courses in visual art production and history. These courses are intended to give a general overview of the variety and breadth of visual art production. On the upper division level, art history students are required to take courses that consider the history of visual art in its specific social, cultural, religious, and aesthetic context. In so doing, students gain a clear understanding of the role of art as way of telling the story of humankind.
Students choosing the studio art emphasis can select from courses in a variety of media including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and more experimental new media. These upper division classes, while allowing for further individual exploration, place higher standards on the concepts in, and execution of, students' artistic production. As in art history, the emphasis is on making art that reflects its particular social, cultural, religious, and aesthetic context.
Acknowledging the importance of direct contact with diverse artistic practices, students in both emphases are encouraged to travel abroad, either through January Term or a semester program.
The senior thesis, for art history students, involves an in-depth study of works of art in the permanent collection of the Hearst Art Gallery. For their senior project, studio art majors are required to create a cohesive body of artwork to be included in the Hearst Art Gallery spring exhibition. Students will contribute to the organization selection, and hanging of their work in this thesis exhibition. They are also required to write a comprehensive, well-researched artist statement to accompany their work in the show.
Art and Art History Podcast
Anna Navakov, Martha King, Peter Freund, Tiffany Holder
