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| COURSES | DEPARTMENTS | DEGREES | EVENTS | FACULTY | |
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The art history program emphasizes the study of visual art as a means of understanding the intellectual and cultural history of humanity. The program provides a firm grounding in both western and non-western art history within the context of a liberal arts education. Undergraduate work covers the broad range of art history while graduate work leading to both the M.A. and the Ph.D. degrees is organized into two major fields of specialization: Arts of the Americas and Art of the Modern Age. The curriculum in each area of concentration is nationally and internationally recognized. Arts of the Americas brings together the arts of pre- and post-contact cultures of North, Central, and South America. Integral fields of specialization include Mesoamerican and South American art and architecture, ancient and modern Native American arts, Spanish Colonial art and architecture, and nineteenth and twentieth century Latin American arts. Along with the study of acknowledged discontinuities in form and series brought about with European invasion, this concentration also promotes the study of continuity in the history of American art and architecture. These combined viewpoints promote a clearer understanding of art within American art traditions. Art of the Modern Age encompasses the history of painting, sculpture, architecture, decorative art, drawing, graphic art, photography and film in Europe and the Americas from 1750 to the present. It explores the democratization and consequent growth of intellectual and stylistic pluralism during a time of rapid technological, social, political, and aesthetic changes. Such contextual studies and wide-ranging theoretical frameworks together with more traditional studies of style, iconography and medium illuminate modern art.
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One of the continuing strengths of the Department of Art and Art History has been its determination to integrate, rather than separate, studio art and art history. Aspiring to the highest goals of a true university the department holds that the education of an artist should be more than mastery of mere technical proficiency; the making of art should be guided by and steeped in sound historical perspective and critical thinking. Reciprocally, the history of art is a much richer, more productive and insightful discipline when conducted in the surrounds of making art.
The studio program maintains national academic standing on both the graduate and undergraduate levels. While both photography and printmaking have been consistently ranked among the top programs in the nation, all studio areas provide a strong grounding in the fine arts; no courses in commercial art are offered. Concentrations are available in photography; 3-D including sculpture, ceramics, and small metals; and painting and drawing. Studio's collective goal is to cultivate critical and creative approaches to the making of art by expanding the use of traditional media and encouraging interdisciplinary and experimentation while stressing the importance of a solid foundation in studio fundamentals. Specialized courses such as Pueblo Pottery enhance concentrations within the art history program while providing unique opportunities for the study of art made within a specific cultural setting.