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Professors Carr (Chair), Brand, Burleigh, Rich, Thomas

The department firmly believes that art is fundamental to liberal arts education and that the opportunities provided for the study of artistic forms and concepts reflect the College’s commitment to creativity.

The department’s major programs are designed to develop a broad intellectual grounding in the traditions of the visual arts through an understanding of studio and art history, coupled with knowledge from other disciplines. Students learn to discriminate between the processes of production, interpretation, and evaluation and to think creatively about all aspects of artistic problem solving. Through the examination and creation of original works of art, students learn to contextualize works of art and understand the relationship between praxis, theory, and history.

Courses in Studio Art, Art & Technology, and Art History are offered to meet the needs of majors and minors as well as students taking art courses as electives in the Humanities. Our curriculum is designed to be hierarchical in structure. Studio Art and Art & Technology have breadth in their foundation courses and depth in their media focus requirement, and the programs lead students to accept increasing responsibility for the concepts, imagery and media with which they work. Through courses such as the Junior Seminar, Advanced Studio Projects, and the Senior Comp, students learn to write about, speak about, research, produce, exhibit, and document their work.

Students in art history take courses ranging from surveys to specialized courses in historical eras and seminars on methodology. They acquire a knowledge of formal and conceptual analyses of the art object, learn to apply the research principles and critical methodologies of the discipline to specific areas of historical study, and investigate the cultural contexts of world art throughout history.

The Bowman, Megahan, and Penelec Art Galleries provide a major exhibition facility for northwestern Pennsylvania, offering a lively and varied exhibition program with an accent on contemporary art. Field trips to the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, or the Carnegie Museum of Art, Andy Warhol Museum, and the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh each provide contact with major art collections. Other resources include a College collection of paintings, prints, drawings and photographs.

Special Minors

The Art Department offers courses in support of the following interdisciplinary minors: Classical Studies, French Studies, and Middle East and North African Studies.

Courses

To see the courses offered in this department or program, please use the “Course Search” link from the menu at the right of this page.

Programs

• Art and Technology Major
• Studio Art Major

• Studio Art Minor

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