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Art and Design
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Thomas Mapp, Midway Studios, 753-4821
Departmental Secretary: Gerry Mularski, Midway Studios, 753-4821
Program of Study
The Committee on Art and Design (CAD) is concerned with the practical and
theoretical aspects of artistic creation. Its courses are designed for students
in the College who are interested in developing an understanding of visual
structures as part of their liberal arts education. The CAD 100-level courses
are intended for students with no studio background and are courses appropriate
for meeting the Common Core musical and visual arts requirement. More advanced
courses presume that students have taken at least one of these, usually
Art and Design 101. (Consult individual course descriptions for specific
prerequisites.)
Range of Course Offerings. Art and Design 101, 102, and 103 serve as
introductory courses to the elements of visual communication and the critical
investigation of art. Art and Design 101 and 102 introduce elementary visual
communication through the manipulation of various materials in the studio.
As in other studio courses, these are intended to serve as the laboratory
for examining principles of visual design, stressing comprehension, not
craft. Art and Design 103 is a theoretical course centering on definitions
of art and creation. Although they are considered intermediate-level studio
courses, Art and Design 200-249 are also conceptual and do not presuppose
technical skills. In this group of courses, single aspects of visual vocabulary
(e.g., drawing, color, and composition) and particular media (e.g., graphics,
photography, and film) are explored for their potential in visual communication.
Art and Design 250-269 are nonstudio courses in the theory and criticism
of art.
Art and Design 270-298 are more advanced studio courses that require a certain
level of technical proficiency.
Program Requirements
The Bachelor of Arts program in the Committee on Art and Design is intended
for students interested in an interdisciplinary approach to the study of
the visual arts. The committee's faculty consists of a core of humanists
and practicing artists interested in the philosophy, history, and criticism
of art. All concentrators in art and design take an individually arranged
program of studio, lecture, and seminar courses that may include some courses
outside the Humanities Collegiate Division. The program seeks to foster
understanding of art from several perspectives: the context and intention
of the creator, the visual conventions employed, and the perception and
critical response of the audience. To understand the creator's context and
intention might require a grasp of art history and intellectual history;
to understand the visual conventions might require explorations in a studio
context; to investigate particular critical responses might involve the
study of psychology, criticism, aesthetics, and the history of taste.
Because of the diversity of student interests and the CAD's interdisciplinary
orientation, requirements for the concentration are extremely flexible.
All students must take a core of Art and Design 101, 102, and 103 as early
in their careers as possible. After taking the core courses, but no later
than the end of the third year, concentrators meet with the director of
undergraduate studies to plan the rest of their program. This program must
be presented in written form for the approval of the CAD. At least two of
the courses beyond the core must be drawn from the second level of predominantly
studio-oriented offerings (200-249). The remaining five courses may be any
programmatically consistent combination of art and design critical and theoretical
courses (250-269), art and design studio courses, and any other relevant
offerings in the College. (Consult following sample Programs of Study.)
As preparation for the senior project, students must take Art and Design
295. This studio seminar examines research methodologies for independent
studio projects. The culminating experience of the CAD concentration is
a senior project consisting of an extended paper and/or studio project in
which students are expected to tie together the diverse threads of their
interdisciplinary experience in the committee. This project, for which students
may receive credit in Art and Design 298, is done under the supervision
of a primary adviser and must also be approved by the director of undergraduate
studies.
Summary of Requirements
Concentration 2 ArtDes 101-102
1 ArtDes 103
1 ArtDes 295 (junior seminar)
1 ArtDes 298 (senior project)
2 from ArtDes 200-249
5 electives
12
Sample Programs. The CAD encourages its students to construct interdisciplinary
concentration programs that focus on a particular theme. The examples given
below should be taken as suggestions only:
1. An architecture and city planning program combining drawing courses with
art history, geography, sociology, and history courses.
2. A program exploring visual aspects of the performing arts combining studio
courses with courses in drama and music.
3. A program focusing upon the human figure combining studio courses with
courses in art history and human physiology.
4. A film program combining practical filmmaking, photography, and video
courses with critical courses from a variety of disciplines.
Grading. CAD students must receive letter grades for the twelve courses
that constitute the concentration, but may receive P/N grades for
free electives. Students taking CAD courses in fulfillment of the required
series in the humanities must also receive letter grades. Students concentrating
in other departments may take art and design courses for P/N grades
with the consent of their adviser and instructor.
Honors. CAD students who have a 3.0 overall grade point average for
all undergraduate work and a 3.5 average for all CAD course work may be
nominated for honors. The work submitted for honors must be recommended
to the divisional master by two members of the CAD faculty. The master will
then review both the project and the faculty recommendations and elect on
the basis of this information whether or not to recommend the student to
the registrar for graduation with honors.
Faculty
CHARLES E. COHEN, Professor, Department of Art, Committee on Art & Design,
and the College
TED COHEN, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Committees on Art &
Design and General Studies in the Humanities, and the College
HERBERT GEORGE, Associate Professor, Committee on Art & Design
REINHOLD HELLER, Professor, Departments of Art and Germanic Studies, Committee
on Art & Design, and the College
LAURA LETINSKY, Assistant Professor, Committee on Art & Design
THOMAS MAPP, Associate Professor, Committee on Art & Design and the
College; Director, Midway Studios
W. J. T. MITCHELL, Gaylord Donnelley Distinguished Service Professor, Departments
of English Language & Literature and Art, Committees on Art & Design
and General Studies in the Humanities, and the College
JANEL M. MUELLER, William Rainey Harper Professor in the Humanities; Professor,
Department of English Language & Literature and the College
NANCY D. MUNN, Professor, Department of Anthropology and the College
ROBERT C. PETERS, Associate Professor, Committee on Art & Design
JOEL M. SNYDER, Professor, Department of Art, Committees on Art & Design
and General Studies in the Humanities, and the College
MARTHA WARD, Associate Professor, Department of Art and the College
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