Mar 28, 2024  
2018-2019 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2018-2019 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Art



Professor Ira Greenberg, Division Chair

Professors: Michael Corris, Barnaby Fitzgerald, James W. Sullivan, Philip Van Keuren
Assistant Professor: Brian Molanphy
Senior Lecturer: Eileen Maxson
Visiting Lecturers: Tamara Johnson, Jonathan Molina-Garcia, Lauren Woods
Adjunct Professor: Susan Kress, Peter Ligon, Maureen Munley, Juan Negron, Tabatha Trolli

General Information

The study and practice of art offers a unique experience for the exercise of imaginative freedom, the opportunity for the independent organization of work, and the promise of self-knowledge and personal satisfaction. Contemporary art is also increasingly a source of knowledge about the world and, for many, an active agent in the transformation of social life. The Division of Art embraces these values in its art courses leading to the B.A., B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees.

At the heart of the student’s experience is the acquisition of skills, concepts and strategies relevant to an expanded notion of studio culture in contemporary art. Students are encouraged to explore and develop art in a challenging environment that rewards experimentation and risk-taking. The Division of Art offers a program of study that prepares students for the successful continuation of professional practice as an artist, the pursuit of graduate study in art or the application of visual art to other fields of study.

The program is marked by its wide range of supporting resources: studio courses that offer grounding in techniques and concepts; courses in the critical and historical study of art; well-equipped workshops, galleries and exhibition areas that provide ample opportunities for the public presentation of student work; field trips to public and private collections of art and to artists’ studios; and a lively series of lectures and seminars by distinguished contemporary practitioners, critics and curators. Small class size coupled with an approach that takes full advantage of the division’s setting within a distinguished school of the arts of a major university offers a transdisciplinary educational experience that few, if any, specialist colleges of art can match. More information is available at www.meadows.smu.edu/art.

Instructional Facilities

Facilities for the study of art include well-lighted studios, individual work spaces and excellent equipment to support all media taught, as well as individual experimentation. Facilities span both new and traditional approaches to studio art, including digitally based studios for photography, video, computer-generated imaging, 3-D imaging and rapid prototyping (3-D printing), and physical computing (microcontrollers/Arduino boards and sensors). Art students work as broadly and as experimentally as they wish within an environment of open artistic exchange, surrounded by artists in dance, music, theatre, film and communications. Additional facilities comprise a variety of spaces for the installation of artwork, including the Pollock Gallery – the art exhibition space of the Division of Art located in Hughes-Trigg Student Center. The Pollock Gallery provides students, faculty, staff and the surrounding community with opportunities to experience a wide and thought-provoking array of exhibitions representing diverse artists, time periods and cultures, as well as the B.F.A. and M.F.A. qualifying exhibitions. The Meadows School and SMU offer excellent library and technological resources, including the Hamon Arts Library (incorporating the Meadows computer center), the Center of Creative Computation (an interdisciplinary research center open to all Meadows’ undergraduate and graduate students), as well as specific facilities within the Division of Art.

The division runs an extensive visiting artist program, ranging from visiting artist lectures and workshops to the Meadows distinguished visiting professor. Through these programs, artists, critics and curators of note are brought to campus to teach, lecture and conduct upper-level undergraduate and graduate critiques.

The division also offers two special programs of importance to graduate and undergraduate students: the New York Colloquium (a winter interterm program in New York) and SMU-in-Taos, a summer program at SMU’s campus near Taos, New Mexico. During the New York Colloquium, students visit a range of museums, galleries, artists’ studios and other venues appropriate to the development of their critical and professional studies in art. The program at Fort Burgwin, Taos, offers coursework as well as independent and directed study each summer in a wide range of studio and external exhibition projects. The University offers a range of programs for study abroad during all phases of study.

The Dallas/Fort Worth area has a large artistic community with rich and varied resources. These include many internationally and nationally significant museums and contemporary exhibition spaces: the Dallas Museum of Art, SMU’s Meadows Museum, the Nasher Sculpture Center, the Dallas Contemporary, the Crow Collection of Asian Art, the Latino Cultural Center of Dallas, the Kimbell Museum, the Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art and the Amon Carter Museum. There are also vibrant, artist-run alternative and cooperative galleries, and a growing commercial gallery system.

Admission and Financial Aid

In addition to meeting University admission criteria, students wishing to pursue the B.A. in art or B.F.A. in art degrees must submit a portfolio for admission to the degree program.

All students admitted to the University and to the B.A. in art or B.F.A. degree program are considered for artistic scholarships based on artistic merit as they enter the University. The deadline for incoming portfolios to be reviewed for artistic scholarships is February 1 of every year for scholarships beginning in the fall term, and November 15 for early admission/early action candidates. Portfolios must be submitted through SlideRoom (www.smu.slideroom.com), the online digital portfolio system, for full consideration. A guide to aid the student in the preparation of the portfolio of images is available through the Division of Art and on the division website. In addition, the Division of Art hosts regularly scheduled portfolio review days for prospective students where faculty critique and discuss student work in an open review. More information is available at www.meadows.smu.edu/art.

In addition to meeting University transfer admission criteria, students wishing to transfer to the B.A. or B.F.A. degree program from another university must be accepted by portfolio review prior to admission to study. For more information, students should contact the Division of Art.

Financial aid from the Division of Art for entering and continuing students is based upon artistic accomplishment. Continuing scholarships are reviewed each year based on satisfactory progress toward the degree. To receive an award for artistic merit, students must submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (www.fafsa.ed.gov) or a waiver, and a CSS/Profile (www.collegeboard.com).

Programs of Study

The Division of Art offers two undergraduate degrees – the B.F.A. in art and the B.A. in art – and minors in art and photography. In addition, the Division of Art contributes to the continuous development and delivery of interdisciplinary courses throughout the Meadows School of the Arts.

Programs

    Major(s)Minor(s)

    Courses

      Painting
      Sculpture
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