Art

Terry Wells, Chair
         wellst@wcsu.edu
         VPA 143A, Westside campus
         (203) 837-8407
         (203) 837-8945 (fax)

Karen Walsh, Department Secretary
          walshk@wcsu.edu
          VPA 143, Westside campus
          (203) 837-8250
          (203) 837-8945 (fax)

Lori Robeau, Visual Art Assistant
          robeaul@wcsu.edu
          White Hall 326, Midtown campus
          (203) 837-8403
          (203) 837-8945 (fax)

Melissa Ralston-Jones, Gallery Curator
           ralstonjonesm@wcsu.edu
           VPA 243, Westside campus
           (203) 837-8889
           (203) 837-8945 (fax)

Faculty

T. Wells, Chair, Graphic Design
D. Cardonsky, MFA Coordinator
M. Portnow, Painting
D. Skora, Graphic Design
J. Tom, Illustration
C. Vanaria, Photography

Adjunct Faculty

R. Alberetti, Painting
M. Ashcom, Photography
V. Baldasanno, Painting
D. Boyajian, Sculpture
D. Bradford, Painting
R. Brewster, Painting, Printmaking
S. Bruno, Painting
B. Dunbar, Photography
C. Hartman, Painting
J. Jones, Sculpture
J. Lanzrein, Ceramics
T. Laslo, Graphic Design
J. Leneker, Graphic Design
E. Little, Painting, Art History
J. Mueller, Art History
S. Marques, Painting
P. Nixon, Painting, Art History
F. Patnaude, Sculpture
M. Ralston-Jones, Gallery Studies
K. Scaglia, Graphic Design
M. Serao, Painting
E. Shapiro, Photography

Overview

The Art major at WCSU provides challenging visual arts training within the context of a liberal arts education. This approach infuses in our students a broad, diverse range of knowledge and experience along with the ability to think critically and analytically. Our faculty are professional art practitioners who create engaging and challenging learning environments for our students.

Our curriculum incorporates comprehensive instruction integrated with the development, stimulation and increased awareness of the creative process. This ensures that our Visual Art majors become proficient creative problem solvers capable of freely expressing themselves.

Department of Art faculty are professional practitioners who have close ties with the New York City art world. The Gallery at Higgins Hall serves as a venue for a broad range of professional and student exhibitions, while the Visiting Artist Lecture Series features an impressive array of practitioners. Bus trips provide our students the opportunity to visit galleries and museums in Manhattan each semester.

Mission

Western Connecticut State University’s distinctiveness in the visual arts is based on our philosophy. The curriculum incorporates a structure consistent with C.A.A. guidelines, based on classic design principles inspired by the Bauhaus and through exploration of traditional and emerging media. The areas of concentration are Graphic Design, Illustration, Photography and Studio Arts, comprised of Painting and Sculpture. All areas of emphasis share a common two-year foundation program leading into the technical specializations of the final two years. This foundation program is of critical significance as it instills in each student a comprehensive background in aesthetic form, structure and dynamics. Additionally, our students have the opportunity to participate in professional internships and must participate in the annual Senior Thesis Exhibition.

The liberal arts component is vital; it promotes and develops a set of skills that are of fundamental importance to any citizen and critical for the successful artist or designer. These include the ability to think critically, the development and refinement of verbal and writing skills, and the acquisition of a diverse and extensive visual vocabulary and knowledge base.

This powerful combination of professional artistic training and acquired liberal arts skills enables visual artists to transcend boundaries so that they may successfully develop, create and articulate their creative visual dialogues.

Objectives

The Department of Art provides challenging visual arts training within the context of a liberal arts education including the following goals:

Acquisition of a comprehensive set of creative, intellectual and technical skills, along with an ability to make connections between them. Students will have an understanding of scale, perspective, tone, color, line, form, light, texture, pattern, balance, and tension.
Development and creation of a significant body of work along with the ability to understand and evaluate works of art.
Familiarity with the works and philosophies of major artist/designers and a familiarity with contemporary thinking on art and design.
Graduating majors participate in the annual Thesis Exhibition, which serves as the capstone event, showcasing implementation of acquired skill sets.

Core Portfolio Review Process

The Portfolio Review Process will be implemented to assure that art majors have attained an appropriate level of proficiency for their area of concentration and to assure that the level of high standards established by the Department of Art is maintained.

The Portfolio Review Committee shall be comprised of two or more faculty members
Art majors must submit a portfolio consisting of 12 pieces representing a range of work developed in the entire range of studio foundation courses
An assessment matrix with ranked categories shall be utilized to assess submitted portfolios (See Department of Art Website for Assessment Matrix)
The review process occurs for all 1^st semester Sophomores prior to the spring semester
Students must successfully meet the review criteria before admission into concentration level courses
Students who fail to meet review criteria must meet with the coordinator of their chosen area of concentration to develop a remedial solution

Transfer Course Credits

Western Connecticut State University is currently assessing art foundation courses ^[1] offered at institutions within the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU) to determine whether courses will transfer without any additional review. As art foundation courses at other CSCU institutions are recognized for transfer credit they will be posted on WCSU’s Course Equivalency Lookup Website – https://webapp.wcsu.edu/transfer/. Transfer students can utilize the website to determine whether their art foundation course will transfer to WCSU.

For courses not listed as equivalent on the website, transfer applicants will be assessed for competency in art foundation courses to determine eligibility for transfer credits. The student shall provide a transcript and course descriptions for eligibility assessment of art foundation courses for course-to-course transfer consideration. The student shall also present a portfolio of work from those courses. Portfolios may be submitted directly to the department (in-person) or electronically via Slideroom. To schedule an in-person portfolio review, please contact Lori Robeau, Visual Arts Assistant at robeaul@wcsu.edu or 203-837-8403. To submit your portfolio via Slideroom click here.

Transfer Review Process

Transfer students must submit a portfolio consisting of 12 pieces representing a range of work developed in the entire range of studio foundation courses, as well as the course descriptions from the foundation courses they wish to transfer to WCSU.
The Portfolio Review Committee shall be comprised of two or more Department of Art faculty members
Students must successfully meet the review criteria for a specific course before admission into the next course in the sequence of concentration level courses
An assessment matrix with ranked categories shall be utilized to assess submitted portfolios (See Department of Art Website for Assessment Matrix)
The review process occurs as soon as possible after academic acceptance to WCSU, prior to course registration
Concentration specific courses will be considered for credit transfer with a transcript grade of B- or higher
Students who fail to meet review criteria must meet with the coordinator of their chosen area of concentration or the Department of Art Chair to develop a remedial solution

^[1]At WCSU Art Foundation Courses include Drawing I, Drawing II, Design I, Design, II, Color I, Painting I, Advanced Figure Drawing, Photography I

Advanced Placement (AP) Credit

AP credits for Art courses are not accepted by the Department of Art.

Awarding of Credit

Credit Hour: A semester hour of credit is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than:

One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately 15 weeks;
or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time;
or at least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph 1 of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.

DEGREE PROGRAMS IN ART

Bachelor of Arts
Options:
      Graphic Design
      Illustration
      Photography
      Studio Art

Minor Programs
Art
Photography

BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ART (B.A.)

Requirements:
Students must complete all general education requirements, the courses and credits listed below, and additional free electives to total 122 semester hours, including foreign language and exercise science. Students must earn a minimum “C” grade in each Art department course that counts toward the major. Art courses with grades below “C” must be retaken to satisfy this requirement.

Course Restrictions
For a complete list of prerequisites, corequisites and other restrictions for all courses, please consult the Course Description section of this catalog.

Art Core Required Courses (33 SH)
       ART 100 History and Appreciation of Western Art: Beginnings to the Renaissance
       ART 101 History and Appreciation of Western Art: Renaissance to the Present
       ART 108 Design I
       ART 109 Color I
       ART 111 Drawing I
       ART 152 Photography I
       ART 209 Design II
       ART 211 Drawing II
       ART 217 Etching I*
       ART 219 Lithography I*
       ART 312 Production Processes
       ART 370 Art Portfolio (appropriate to chosen option)

* One of these courses is required to complete Studio Art, Graphic Design or Photography option.

Options (select one) — Required in addition to general education and Art core.

Graphic Design Option (27 SH)
      ART 213 Painting I
      ART 222 Typography
      ART 225 Communication Design I
      ART 275 Illustration I
      ART 305 Illustration II
      ART 311 Advanced Figure Drawing
      ART 325 Communication Design II
      Two art electives (6 SH)

Illustration Option (27 SH)
      ART 213 Painting I
      ART 214 Painting II
      ART 219 Lithography I or ART 217 Etching I
      ART 222 Typography
      ART 275 Illustration I
      ART 305 Illustration II
      ART 311 Advanced Figure Drawing
      ART 328 Illustration III/Animation Production
      One art elective (3SH)

Photography Option (27 SH)
      ART 145 History of Photography
      ART 252 Photography II
      ART 340 Advanced Photographic Methods
      ART 346 Color Photography I
      ART 348 Photography III
      Four art electives (12 SH)

Studio Art Option (27 SH)
ART 213 Painting I
ART 311 Advanced Figure Drawing

Choose one sequence (9 SH)
      Painting ART 214/313/314, Painting II, III, IV
      Printmaking ART 219/217, Lithograph I, Etching I
      Sculpture ART 112/212/115, Sculpture I & II, Ceramics
      Two directed art electives (6 SH)
      Two art electives (6 SH)

Learning Outcomes

All students pursuing the Bachelor of Arts in Art degree at WCSU will demonstrate the following upon graduation:

In General Education:

The ability to think, speak, and write clearly and effectively, and to communicate with precision, cogency, and rhetorical force.
An informed acquaintance with the mathematical and experimental methods of the physical and biological sciences, and with the main forms of analysis the historical and quantitative techniques needed for investigating the workings and developments of modern society.
An ability to address culture and history from a variety of perspectives.
Understanding of, and experience in thinking about, moral and ethical problems.
The ability to respect, understand, and evaluate work in a variety of disciplines.
The capacity to explain and defend views effectively and rationally.
Understanding of and experience in one or more art forms other than the visual arts and design.

Studies in the Visual Arts

Acquisition of a comprehensive set of creative, intellectual and technical skills, along with an ability to make connections between them. Students will have an understanding of scale, perspective, tone, color, line, form, light, texture, pattern, balance, and tension.
Development and creation of a significant body of work along with the ability to understand and evaluate works of art.
Familiarity with the works and philosophies of major artist/designers and a familiarity with contemporary thinking on art and design.

Graduating majors participate in the annual Thesis Exhibition, which serves as the capstone event, showcasing implementation of acquired skill sets.

MINOR IN ART

       Eighteen semester hours are required:
       ART 100 History & Appreciation of Western Art I
       ART 101 History & Appreciation of Western Art II
       ART 108 Design I
       ART 111 Drawing I
       Plus any two 3-credit courses offered by the Department of Art, for which the student has proper prerequisites.

MINOR IN PHOTOGRAPHY

       Eighteen semester hours are required:
       ART 108 Design I
       ART 140 or 152 Introduction to Photography or Photography I
       ART 252 Photography II
       ART 340 Advanced Photographic Methods
       ART 346 Color Photography I
       ART 348 Photography III

Any appropriate substitute course must have departmental approval.