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Division of Humanities
Sheldon Tapley (chair),
Chris Bohach, Judith Jia, William Levin, Stephen Powell; students: Lisa
Brown, Nick Holmes
The visual arts have an impact upon each of us every day of our lives. The houses we live in and the buildings where we work are designed to accommodate us and satisfy our needs. Pictures hang on walls and sculptures rest on tables or floors to decorate those buildings, and perhaps to explain and elaborate upon the uses to which the buildings are put. Members of the Art Program believe that an understanding of various forms of the visual arts—both traditional and innovative—enhances our experience and enjoyment of our surroundings, especially its aesthetic aspects, and that art can provide greater meaning to the lives of those seeking to come to terms with it.
The Art Program offers instruction in both studio practice and art history, with major and minor concentrations available in both areas. All classes are held in the new Jones Visual Arts Center, at the western edge of campus. Media taught include drawing, oil painting, printmaking, ceramics, and hot glass. Courses in art history cover the entire chronological range of the Western tradition, examining artworks from stylistic, historical, and iconographical points of view. The major in studio art culminates in an exhibition held in the gallery of the Visual Arts Center at the end of the student’s senior year, while an individual concentrating in art history presents a written thesis and public lecture likewise at the end of the senior year. Majors and minors may choose to continue their education in the visual arts in graduate school as preparation for careers as artists, educators, or staff members in museums, galleries, and other collection venues. But virtually every course in the Art Program also enrolls students from a broad variety of other disciplines. They come in search of parallels among the visual arts to other forms of human expression—historical, anthropological, literary, musical, and dramatic—both past and present, or merely with a wish to complement their other undergraduate experiences in the liberal arts by grasping more fully the bases of aesthetic meaning and judgment. Whatever motivation might bring a student into the Visual Arts Center, however, an appreciation for the enduring values of art provides solid support for the life of any educated and inquisitive person.
Requirements for the Major
Emphasis in Studio Art
ART 110 or FRS 119;
ART 210;
Two of: ART 220, ART 230 or FRS Ceramics or ART 251, ART 240;
ART 260 and 261;
Two of: ART 310, 320, ART 330, ART 340;
One course from ART 450-459;
ART 499;
One art history course at the 300-level or higher.
Emphasis in Art History
ART 110 or FRS 119;
ART 260 and 261;
Three of ART 360-379;
One additional ART 360-379 course or one ART 480-489 course;
One additional art history or studio course at or above the 200-level
or an FRS studio art course or PHI 160;
One of CLA 220, FRE 220, GER 220, SPA 220, or equivalent;
ART 500.
Requirements for the Minor
Emphasis in Studio Art
One of: ART 110 or FRS 119;
Two of: ART 220, ART 230 or FRS Ceramics or ART 251, ART 240;
Two of: ART 210, ART 320, ART 330, ART 340;
One additional studio art course at the 300-level or higher, excluding
ART 499.
Emphasis in Art History
ART 260 and 261;
Two of ART 360-379;
One additional ART 360-379 course or one ART 480-489 course.
Art Courses
ART 110 Drawing-I
An introductory course, requiring no previous instruction in art.
The course emphasizes charcoal drawing and teaches the skills needed to
draw still life, landscape, and the human figure. In addition to studio
work, students learn the fundamentals of design by studying and copying
from master drawings. Periodic class discussions and written assignments
help students learn visual analysis and a general approach to the criticism
of art.
ART 210 Drawing-II
Continued study and practice of drawing principles and skills. Prerequisite:
ART 110 or FRS Drawing or ART 250.
ART 220 Painting-I
An introduction to oil painting. The course teaches both traditional
and modern methods. Students are introduced to historical and contemporary
painters as they learn both technical and creative approaches to the major
genres: still life, interior views, landscape, the human figure, and abstraction.
Prerequisite: ART 110 or FRS Drawing or ART 250.
ART 230 Ceramics-I
An initial studio experience in ceramic techniques which includes
art theory and ceramic history. Processing, forming, and firing are studied
in concert with an aesthetic consideration of the articulation of form
and surface decoration.
ART 240 Hot Glass-I
From traditional vessels to sculptural forms, students learn the fundamental
techniques of glass blowing and casting. Attention is given to the history
of glass and to the formulation of a personal expression through the creation
of glass objects. Prerequisite: One previous art course (studio or art
history).
ART 250 Drawing Intensive Workshop
ART 251 Ceramics Intensive Workshop
ART 253 Hot Glass Intensive Workshop - 2002-2003 offering
ART 253/453 The Art and History of Glass Furnaces
A survey of glass furnaces from ancient times to the present. The
focus of the class is on furnace design and understanding refractory materials,
culminating in the re-construction of the Centre College glass furnace.
Prerequisite: ART 240 or permission of the instructor.
ART 260, 261 Survey of Western Art-I, II
An introduction to the language and processes of art history. Focus
is placed on the understanding of historical periods—their social,
political, and aesthetic values—through the interpretation of the
visual arts. ART 260 emphasizes the arts of the West from prehistory through
the High Middle Ages. ART 261 emphasizes the arts of the West from the
end of the Middle Ages through the 20th century.
ART 310 Drawing-III
This course offers the experienced drawing student a chance to continue
building life-drawing skills. Life drawing constitutes about half the
studio work of the term. The other half of the portfolio will be a series
of drawings (in any of several media) that explore one idea or genre in
depth. Prerequisite: ART 210.
ART 320 Painting-II
Continued study and practice in painting. Prerequisite: ART 220.
ART 321 Painting-III
Advanced study in oil painting. Prerequisite: ART 320
ART 330 Ceramics-II
Refinement of building methods and artistic intent. Further technical
exploration of glazes and firing methods. Prerequisite: ART 230 or ART
251.
ART 331 Ceramics-III
Students work in conjunction with the instructor to plan and create
a series of coherent and resolved works while continuing technical experiments.
Prerequisites: ART 330.
ART 340 Hot Glass-II
Refinement of techniques and artistic intent. Prerequisite: ART 240
or ART 252.
ART 341 Hot Glass-III
An advanced study of glass. Students focus on one long-term project
that culminates in a series of highly resolved works. Prerequisite: ART
340.
ART 360 Classical Art
A survey of the artistic heritage of Classical Antiquity, placing
primary emphasis on Ancient Greece. Prerequisite: ART 260 or permission
of the instructor.
ART 361 Medieval Art
A survey of sculpture, architecture, and the two-dimensional art forms
from the decline of the Roman Empire to approximately the year 1150. Emphasis
is placed on the changes caused by the shift from pagan to Christian culture,
the impact of non-Classical societies on art forms, and the crystallization
of Church art in the Byzantine and Romanesque cathedrals. Prerequisite:
ART 260 or permission of the instructor.
ART 362 Northern Gothic and Renaissance Art
An examination of North European manuscript illumination, panel painting,
and sculpture of the 12th through the 15th centuries in its historical
setting, with emphasis placed on France, the Low Countries, and Germany.
Prerequisite: ART 261 or permission of the instructor.
ART 363 Italian Gothic and Renaissance Art
An examination of the painting and sculpture of Central Italy from
the revival of panel painting and church sculpture during the 12th century
and continuing through the 15th century, emphasizing the work of masters
such as Giotto, Masaccio, and Donatello. Prerequisite: ART 261 or permission
of the instructor.
ART 364 Northern Mannerist and Baroque Art
An examination of painting and sculpture in Belgium, the Netherlands,
France, Germany, and England from the early 16th through the 17th centuries,
focusing on such major artists as Rubens, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Poussin,
and Cranach. Prerequisite: ART 261 or permission of the instructor.
ART 365 Southern Mannerist and Baroque Art
A survey of Italian and Spanish painting and sculpture from the early
16th through the 17th centuries, with special attention paid to such masters
as Caravaggio, Bernini, El Greco, and Velazquez. Prerequisite: ART 261
or permission of the instructor.
ART 366 Rococo to Romanticism
A survey of the work of major artists in Europe and America from the
early 18th through the mid-19th centuries. Special attention is given
to French painters of the Neoclassical and Romantic movements and their
reactions to contemporaneous political developments. Prerequisite: ART
261 or permission of the instructor.
ART 367 Modern Art
An overview of artistic developments from the middle of the 19th century
to the mid-20th century. Artistic movements such as Realism, Impressionism,
Cubism, Fauvism, Expressionism, Surrealism, and Abstract Expressionism
are considered. Prerequisite: ART 261 or permission of the instructor.
Special Topics in art history offered 2002-2003
ART 371 Colonial Art and Architecture in Mexico
A study of artistic production from the Pre-Columbian period (particularly
Aztec and Maya civilizations) to the early 20th century when Mexican colonial
artistic style and tradition was deeply rooted in religious and secular
environments. Conducted in Mexico.
ART 372 Modern Art: Strasbourg and France
The art and architecture of Strasbourg and France from the middle ages
to Modernism. Includes field trips to Colmar, Nancy, and Paris with an
emphasis on 19th century art. Offered in Strasbourg.
ART 410
Drawing-IV
Advanced study, in which students meet with the Drawing-II and -III
classes to take advantage of on-site drawing trips and life drawing sessions.
Students do significant independent work in consultation with the instructor.
A wide variety of media may be used. Prerequisite: ART 310.
ART 420 Painting-IV
Continuation of ART 321. Prerequisite: ART 321.
ART 430 Ceramics-IV
Continuation of ART 331, culminating in a coherent and resolved body
of work. Prerequisite: ART 331.
ART 440 Hot Glass-IV
Continuation of ART 341. Prerequisite: ART 341.
ART 450 Advanced Drawing Workshop
Prerequisite: ART 110 or FRS 119.
ART 451 Advanced Ceramics Workshop
see ART 251
ART 453 Advanced Hot Glass Workshop
see ART 253
ART 454 Abstract Images
Cubism, Suprematism, De Stijl, Action painting, Color-field painting:
The many styles of the 20th-century resulted from a profound re-examination
of the elements of painting. All art is abstract, but in the 20th century
many artists made this point forcibly. They "abstracted" their
images from the world, sometimes partly, as in Cubism, sometimes wholly,
as in Abstract Expressionism. Today, abstract imagery is firmly entrenched
in our culture. Students will make images in a variety of modes using
common drawing, painting and collage materials, invoking the Apollonian
and Dionysian spirits that guide expressive design. Prerequisite: One
course in studio art. The course includes a three-day field trip to New
York City.
ART 499 Senior Exhibition
Directed studio work in consultation with a faculty member. The term
culminates in an exhibition of a coherent series of original creative
works, usually in one medium. Prerequisite: Senior studio art major.
ART 500 Senior Thesis in Art History
In consultation with the instructor, students write a substantial
research paper on a topic of their choice and present a public reading
of the paper at the end of the term. Prerequisite: Senior art history
major.