Art Field Group

Pitzer Advisers: T. Berg, C. Ennis, J. McCoy, K. Miller (Studio Art); B. Anthes (Art History & Studio Art).

Studio Art

In studio art, the relation of the artist-teacher to the students precludes the possibility of overly specific course descriptions, other than general indications of media and level of advancement. However, it is important to note that entry-level courses assume no prior knowledge. First-year students are encouraged to enroll in these classes. Lower division studio art courses focus on the development of individual ideas in the context of class assignments. Additionally, but no less important is acquiring an understanding of tools, materials and techniques for the successful manifestations of those ideas. The artist-teacher presents material from her/his experience, convictions, technical knowledge and aesthetic sensibilities in the order and at the rate which, in her/his judgment will best related to the needs of the class and the individual student. Classroom activities are placed in the context of an historical perspective. Ample opportunity for dialogue among the students and artist-teacher is encouraged. The advanced studio course offerings have prerequisites and as such, are oriented toward more complex problem-solving and projects, both for the individual and for the group.

Requirements for the Major in Studio Art

A major in studio art requires the successful completion of 12 courses.

Seven (7) Studio Art Courses working towards competence in three different media, with excellence in one.

Three (3) Art History courses, including one (1) in contemporary art or art theory.

Art 189 and Art 199, Art Innovation and Exhibition and Senior Projects in Art.

In the last semester of the senior year, studio art majors are required to mount an exhibition of their work as a part of the course Art 100: Senior Projects in Art. This involves the creation of a body of work that has a cohesive rationale, which will be discussed/critiqued with the entire Art Faculty and graduating peer group.

Studio Art Majors who intend to pursue graduate studies are encouraged to take at least 4 Art History courses as well as to apply for internships in museums, galleries, and conservation labs, and to study abroad.

Honors: Art majors with a cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.5 overall will be invited to have their work evaluated for honors. Students will submit a written proposal that will be evaluated by Art faculty in the fall of their senior year. Selected students will go on to write a thesis to accompany their artwork in the senior exhibition and prepare an oral defense of their work. Students who complete these required thesis components and receive a grade of "A" will be recommended by the Art Field Group for honors.

There are four exhibition spaces to accommodate these exhibitions. The Salathé Gallery, located in the lower level of McConnell Center, functions as a classroom lab and a gallery and is administered by members of the art faculty. The Nichols Gallery, located in Broad Center, is a spacious gallery that lends itself to large-scale painting, sculpture and performance activity. The Hinshaw Gallery, is an intimate domestic space located in the Grove House and is administered by the Grove House Committee. The Circle Gallery, located in the Gold Student Center, is a medium sized gallery that can accommodate free-standing and pedestal-based objects, as well as two-dimensional work. The Lenzner Gallery is appropriate for works in all mediums and is particularly suitable for film and video.

Minor in Studio Art requires 6 graded courses, 5 in studio art and 1 in art history.

Combined Major in studio art requires 10 courses, which allows for a reduction of one (1) studio art class in the major. Art students are encouraged to consider combined and full majors with other disciplines. Recent combined and full majors include art and Environmental Studies, art and anthropology, art and art history and art and psychology, among others.

Students in the studio art and art history majors will be encouraged to enroll in no less than one semester of study abroad, usually during the junior year. Such study may be taken through one of Pitzer's many study abroad programs. No honors program is available in the studio art major.

Art/Media Studies Combined Major: A combined major in Art and Media Studies requires: seven (7) Media Studies courses (one introductory critical/theoretical Media Studies course; one introductory production course; one media theory course; one media history course; and three additional electives); six (6) Studio Art courses in at least three different media, and two Art History courses. Up to two courses can count for both fields if approved by the student's major advisers. In addition, students should take both Capstone courses (Senior Projects in Art and Senior Seminar in Media Studies) or can choose to substitute an independent study for one Capstone course as approved by major advisers.

Art History

Requirements for the Major in Art History

A major in art history at Pitzer College invites students to understand the history of art through interdisciplinary approaches, a global outlook and an interest in ethnic and gender diversity. Through the Five College Coordinated Art History Program, Pitzer College cooperates with Pomona College and Scripps College in offering courses in the history of African, Asian, European and North American art. Course offerings are designed to provide students with a broad grounding in the history of art, with attention to European as well as non-European traditions and to invite students to learn to analyze artworks in their complex relations to cultural, historical, political and philosophical/spiritual contexts. Specialties of art history faculty in the Five colleges Coordinated Art History Program include architecture and fresco painting in Italy; the art of Africa and of artists of African descent in the Americas; the history of cities and gardens; issues of gender and the body in Early Modern art; the social history of North American art, including the United States, Canada, Mexico and Native American traditions, from the 16th century to the present and contemporary art as a global discourse.

Art history majors will take two introductory art history courses, six additional art history courses, one studio art course, the senior seminar, and the senior thesis, for a total of 11 required courses.

• Two introductory courses: 51a or 51b, and 51c.
• One course in the art of Asia, Africa, or the African Diaspora.
• One course in the art of the Americas.
• One course in the art of Europe before 1840.
• One course in art since 1840.
• Two additional art history courses. 7. One studio art course.
• Senior Seminar in the fall semester (Art History 190).
• Senior Thesis in the spring semester (Art History 191).

Majors who intend to pursue graduate studies should study at least two foreign languages appropriate to their areas of interest. Students are strongly encouraged to apply for internships in museums, galleries, and conservation labs, and to study abroad during their junior year.

Minor in Art History

The minor in art history requires the successful completion of six courses:

• • Introductory surveys: Arhi 51A or 51B; Arhi 51C
• • Four additional courses in art history, including at least one course in non- European art.

Honors in Art History

A student who wishes to graduate with honors in art history must achieve a minimum grade point average of 3.5 in the major and earn an A or A- in a two-semester thesis that is more substantial than that of students not graduating with honors. The honors thesis must be proposed to the student's advisor by the end of the first semester of the senior year. The honors student will write and then orally defend the thesis before a faculty honors committee comprising at least three members—the two thesis readers and an additional member to be selected by the student in consultation with the advisor and/or first reader.

Art - Studio Art and Art History in Pitzer College course catalog