Art and Art History
Division V Chair: E. Pearson
Department Chair: K Gardner
Director of Visual Art: A. Elston
Faculty: B. Anderson, A. Elston, D. Feinberg, K. Gardner, L. Kriner, M. Litzau, E. McKiernan Gonzaléz, P. Kelleher and P. Wiggs
Website: http://www.berea.edu/art/
Courses: ARH Courses; ART Courses
Course Sequencing Tables: Art History; Art
Entrance to the Major Information: Progression for Studio Art; Progression for Art History
Major/Minor Requirements: Art: Studio B.A.; Art: Art History B.A.; Art History Minor; Art Studio Minor
The Art & Art History Department offers an integrated program of courses in studio art and art history. Courses are grouped to provide a firm foundation in visual fundamentals, a broad base of art involvement, and focus within a specific area. Coursework meeting General Education requirements and the needs of non-art majors is also provided and students may take classes outside of the major or minor.
For those who wish for more in-depth study, there are two concentrations offered in the Art major: Art History and Studio Art. For entrance into the Studio Art concentration, four foundational core ART classes are required (ART 134, ART 135, ART 136, and ART 137) along with a portfolio review of 100-level artwork. For entrance into Art History, ARH 121 and ARH 124 are necessary.
Each studio medium may be taken through the fourth level, developing the student’s skills, concepts, and intention, culminating with an exhibition-related capstone course for students in the major. In the curricula below, media are defined as fibers, drawing and painting, printmaking, and sculpture and intermedia. For Studio Art, students in the major should plan on completing all core 100-level classes by the start of their 3rd year.
Art History students progress through a variety of topic-specific intermediate and advanced-level courses, concluding in an advanced seminar in Art History and an independent research project. For Art History, ARH 340, the seminar in Art History, should be taken by the spring of the 3rd year.
The capstones in Studio Art and Art History should be planned for a student’s last spring term.
Images and final papers from the capstone requirement must be submitted in electronic form for the permanent collection of the Art & Art History Department.
Guidelines and Policies for Transfer Students in Art
All transfer students, or high-school students with Advanced Placement Studio Art or Art History course work, who are planning to major in Art must present a portfolio of previous course work, additional visual materials, or written papers for review by the Art & Art History faculty prior to entry before any transfer credit will be given. This portfolio also will serve to guide the Art & Art History faculty in advising the student during registration. The Admissions Office will provide details for applicants.
On the basis of the portfolio and other documents, the Art faculty will indicate which required course is needed (if any) and at what level the student may enter studio or art history courses. A minimum standard of achievement, as determined by the Art & Art History faculty, will be required for admission to all Art majors.
Courses in art transferred from accredited programs may count toward the Art major. Students must take a minimum of six courses in ART or ARH depending on the concentration at Berea College to earn the B.A. degree in either of the two Art major concentrations.
In addition to supporting students' achievement of the Aims of General Education, the Art Department seeks to assist students in meeting the following learning goals and associated learning outcomes:
Art History Student Learning Goals & Outcomes
Learning Goal 1: Understanding of Art History
Develop an understanding of art history through material, historical, critical, and theoretical approaches.
Learning Outcome 1.1: Knowledge of Visual and Material Culture
Demonstrate knowledge of visual and material culture from a diverse range of periods and places.
Learning Outcome 1.2: Interaction Between Art and Context
Articulate an understanding of the interaction between art and its contexts.
Learning Goal 2: Possess a high degree of visual and art historical literacy.
Learning Outcome 2.1: Analyze Visual and Textual Sources
Analyze visual and textual sources clearly and convincingly both in writing and orally in order to demonstrate increasingly sophisticated visual literacy.
Learning Outcome 2.2: Conduct Research
Conduct research grounded in relevant, high-quality sources.
Studio Art Student Learning Goals & Outcomes
Learning Goal 1: Introduce art foundational language, artistic investigation and research, the context and history of artmaking, and technical skills and practice.
Learning Outcome 1.1: Students understand and appropriately use precise language in the analysis of artwork.
Learning Outcome 1.2: Students appropriately use materials and techniques in their creative work.
Learning Goal 2: Integrate formal and conceptual understandings into creative practice. Course curricula transitions from instructor-guided projects to student-directed work.
Learning Outcome 2.1: Students demonstrate intention with formal analysis, using materials and methods, and supporting their work with theory or criticism.
Learning Outcome 2.2: Students identify and express their own artistic interest.
Learning Goal 3: Guide students in their creation of a cohesive body of art, unified by form and concept, with opportunities for students to analyze, discuss, and critique each other’s artwork in both discipline-specific and multi-disciplinary contexts.
Learning Outcome 3.1: Students create a cohesive body of art presented professionally in an exhibition supported by oral and written statements that describe artistic intentions, methods and processes, theoretical support, and/or artistic influences/inspiration.
Learning Outcome 3.2: Students demonstrate the ability to discuss and analyze artwork both within their discipline and from an interdisciplinary context.