Art

Emphasis in Art History

Nine art history courses including 100*, 400, and 402 and two studio courses below the 200-level in two different media.  Of the remaining six art history courses, at least one course must fall into each of the following three categories:  art prior to 1800; art after 1800; and the history of architecture.

*AP 4 or 5 in Art History gives the student credit for ART 100.

Art history courses begin with a general survey of Western art. Subsequent courses cover art and architecture from the classical period to the present as well as the theory of art. Courses on Greek and Roman art, taught by faculty members in the Classics Department, count toward the major.

The Visual Resources Curator and VRC student assistants make the images covered in each class available for study through the online Image Review (visitor authentication required).

We try to engage our students in “doing” art history both in and outside the classroom. We encourage you to travel to exhibitions and apply for internships in local museums and galleries. Each spring a student is selected to offer a paper at the Collegiate Art History Symposium at the Mint Museum in Charlotte. Most art history majors also study abroad during their junior year.

Senior art history majors enroll in a capstone seminar on a subject of interest to our art historians that includes a travel component. Recent offerings have included trips to fin de siécle Vienna, Ancient Greece, the Gothic cathedral, Orientalism in French painting, Spanish art, the art of Edouard Manet, and the art of Gustave Courbet.

The highlight of each seminar is a trip to visit museums, galleries, and historical sites related to the subject. You also may travel to New York (usually over spring break) as part of the modern and contemporary art courses.

Emphasis in Studio

Nine studio courses including 397 in the junior year and 401 in the senior year and two art history courses, one of which must have an emphasis in the 20th, and/or 21st century (ART 218, 220, 222, 224, or 234).

The studio art track begins with a foundation course, in which you will be introduced to the artist’s work through the studio. You’ll learn about artists’ tools, ways of seeing, methods, and media. From there, you will move into basic courses available in the five areas listed below.

Digital - investigation of methods of artmaking using digital technologies to improve our digital literacy, visual thinking, and technical craft.

Drawing - the structure and articulation of natural and non-objective forms through the use of line and tone, analysis of composition in a variety of media.

Painting - the exploration of oil, watercolor, and acrylic media, pictorial organization, and critical dialogue.

Printmaking - the history and techniques of intaglio (etching, dry point, soft ground, and aquatint) and lithography (stone and plate).

Sculpture - three-dimensional concepts in a variety of media focus on material and spatial relationships, technical processes, and critical dialogue. Ceramics is offered as part of a total program in sculpture, but does not focus on pottery.

Notes

• Up to five transfer/abroad credits can apply toward the major with the approval of the Art Department after the courses are completed.
• One course may fulfill two requirements, but that does not reduce the total number of overall requirements (11 for major).
• A student can major in Studio and minor in Art History (or vice versa), but may not double major in Studio and Art History.

Emphasis in Art History

Six courses in art history, including 100*, and at least one course in the history of architecture.  One studio course may be substituted for one art history course.

*AP 4 or 5 in Art History gives the student credit for ART 100.

Emphasis in Studio

Six courses in studio, of which at least two must be at the 200 level.  One course in art history may be substituted for one studio course.

Notes

• One course may fulfill two requirements, but that does not reduce the total number of overall requirements (6 for the minor).
• A student can major in Studio and minor in Art History (or vice versa), but may not double major in Studio and Art History.

Honors in Art History

Candidates for honors must have a 3.2 overall GPA by the end of the junior year and a 3.5 GPA in art by the time of graduation. For requirements, see Art 496. If, in the opinion of the faculty the thesis does not warrant “Honors,” a letter grade will be assigned for ART 496.

Honors in Studio

Candidates for honors must have a 3.2 overall GPA at the end of the junior year and a 3.5 GPA in the major at the time of graduation, including an “A” in Art 401.  All students will complete a solo exhibition in the spring semester of the senior year as a requirement toward graduation.  If, in the collective evaluation of the studio faculty, the exhibition and accompanying statement reflects an exceptional level of quality and ambition, honors may be awarded.