Art
Studio Program
Architecture, Drawing, Painting, Photography, Printmaking,
Sculpture, and Typography
The Art Studio
Program enables students to become fluent in visual language—its analytical and critical vocabulary and the rigors of
its technique and method—as a means to explore
intellectual issues and human experience. To this end,
students learn technique while searching for a personal
vision, beginning with basic studies in drawing and
introductory art history, proceeding through study of
various media, and working toward the successful completion
of the major's comprehensive requirement—the presentation
of a one-person exhibition in the spring of their senior
year. The program seeks to reflect the diversity of
technical and intellectual approaches practiced in the field
of visual art and is open to interdisciplinary
experimentation as well as traditionally focused studies.
Major requirements.
Students
majoring in art studio must satisfactorily complete 11
courses in the department:
That breaks down
to five art studio courses, four art history courses, and two
semesters of thesis. Further course study in art studio and
art history is recommended. On occasion, 100-level art
history courses may be substituted for the requirement of
200-level courses. Majors are expected to fulfill their
general education requirements as described by the
University guidelines, since all are required to complete a
senior thesis for honors.
In the final year
of study, each student will develop a focused body of work
and mount a solo exhibition. That exhibition is the
culmination of a two-semester thesis tutorial and is
developed in close critical dialogue with a faculty advisor.
The exhibition is critiqued by the faculty advisor and a
second critic and must be passed by a vote of the faculty of
the Art Studio Program. The senior thesis exhibition
provides a rare opportunity for the student to engage in a
rigorous, self-directed, creative investigation and in a
public dialogue about his/her work.
At the time of
application for major status, a student is expected to have
completed Drawing I and one art history course, and,
preferably, another art studio course. The prospective major
must consult with an art studio faculty member (usually in
the proposed area of study) who is willing to serve as
advisor. Some faculty may expect the student to have
completed outstanding work in a second-level course within a
particular medium (for example, Photo II or Painting II)
before agreeing to support a major applicant. Together,
student and major advisor devise a program of study for the
final two years. Admission to the major requires a review by
the art studio faculty and a minimum academic average of B
and an average of B+ for at least three courses in the
department, two of which must be in the art studio program.
A major is
obliged to consult with his/her advisor and receive approval
for off-campus study, leaves, or addition of a second major.
Off-campus study in the senior year is not encouraged and
requires additional approval of the program director.
Students should also consult carefully when planning
off-campus study before they have been accepted to the
major. An art studio faculty member must approve course work
taken outside of Wesleyan by a matriculated student in
advance, and a portfolio review is required after the course
is completed to transfer credit toward the major.
Transfer of course credit toward the major is not automatic,
even from a Wesleyan-approved program. A student may count
no more than three art studio and art history courses taken
outside the Wesleyan department toward the major without
specific permission of the faculty. Students transferring to
Wesleyan who wish to receive credit toward the major for art
studio courses taken at another institution should seek
approval from the department prior to enrollment. Portfolio
review is required; transfer of course credit is not
automatic.
Advanced
Placement credits in art studio are not accepted.
*In the rare case
students finish all graduation requirements in
January, they may complete the major with only one semester of
thesis tutorial, still exhibiting in the spring.
