The Art program emphasizes the rich diversity of human experience as it is expressed in visual form. The transmission of personal and cultural values through objects is a phenomenon that can be observed around us constantly in daily life; it is also something that happens over time, through space, and across cultures. Indeed, our need to make, experience, and comprehend art is as old and as profound as our need to speak. It is through art that we can understand ourselves and our potential, and it is through art that we will be understood and remembered by those who will come after us.
The Art major, as part of the broad liberal arts tradition, fosters the development of analytical skills, engagement with ideas, and the exploration of social and personal values. Consequently, students majoring in Art have found their study a good point of departure for careers in education, professional art, advertising, communications, architecture, art criticism, and museum work, as well as law, business and government.
Through creative work, Studio Art courses develop skills that emphasize visual perception and articulation, conceptual and practical problems, and technical skills in a variety of media and processes. Foundation courses in basic design and composition prepare students for creative work in courses dealing with particular media or processes, such as painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, mixed media, electronic media, and photography. Upper level courses develop students' conceptual and artistic skills needed for successful completion of a final thesis project highlighted in the annual Senior Show at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art.
The Art Building is located on the northwest corner of the campus at State and Winter Streets. Built in 1905 as a medical school and later used as the science building and then the College of Music, the building was completely renovated for use by the Department of Art and Art History in 1977, and remodeled with a 6,600 square foot addition in 2002-2003. In 2014, Art History relocated and the building became specific to Studio Art, i.e., the creation of art. The building includes studios for drawing and design, painting, printmaking, photography, and digital media; a student gallery; and faculty and administrative offices. The department is well equipped with studio equipment needed to make works of art in a variety of media. The Germaine Fuller Japanese Garden adjacent to the building is another educational and aesthetic resource.
Integral to the program in Art is the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, one block from the Art Building. The museum enriches the Art program, offering opportunities to study, firsthand, works of American, European, Asian, and Native American art, to conduct research projects on particular objects or groups of objects in the University's growing collection, and to prepare for a possible career in museum work.
Requirements for the Studio Art Major (44 semester hours)
100-level Art Courses (8 semester hours)
- ARTS 110 Sculpture I (4)
- ARTS 116 Drawing I (4)
- ARTS 121 Introduction to Digital Media (4)
- ARTS 130 Introduction to Photography (4)
- ARTS 135 Painting I (4)
- ARTS 152 Introduction to Printmaking (4)
- ARTS 242 Photography: Experimental Processes (4)
Three-Dimensional Art-Making (4 semester hours)
- ARTS 110 Sculpture I (4)
- ARTS 254 Material Exploration in Sculpture (4)
- ARTS 340 Sculpture II (4)
- ARTS 342 Topics in Sculpture (4)
- ARTS 331 Installation Art (4)
Studying Art History (4 semester hours)
- ARTH 117 Introduction to Modern and Contemporary Art History (4)
- ARTH 243 Contemporary Art: 1970-Present (4)
- ARTH 339W Post-War Art: 1947-1970 (4)
- ARTH 376W History of Photography (4)
200- and 300-level ARTS courses (16 semester hours)
- ARTS 216 Video Art (4)
- ARTS 231 Etching: Processes and Themes in the Printed Age (4)
- ARTS 232 Black and White Photography (4)
- ARTS 239 Drawing Concepts (4)
- ARTS 254 Materials Exploration in Sculpture (4)
- ARTS 321 Drawing Inquiry (4)
- ARTS 331 Installation Art (4)
- ARTS 336 Painting: Contemporary and Conceptual Practices (4)
- ARTS 340 Sculpture II (4)
- ARTS 342 Topics in Sculpture (4)
- ARTS 343 Printmaking: Monoprints and Mixed Media (4)
- ARTS 345 Performance Art (4)
- ARTS 355 Advanced Photography (4)
- ARTS 357 Photography Now (4)
- ARTS 360-377 Independent Projects (2-4)
Elective in ARTS (4 semester hours)
- One additional course in ARTS at any level (4)
Senior Studio (8 semester hours)
- ARTS 496 Senior Studio (two semesters of senior seminar taken in the senior year) (4 semester hours each semester)
Requirements for Studio Art Minor (20 semester hours)
Introductory Course in Art Media: (4 semester hours)
- ARTS 110 Sculpture I (4)
- ARTS 116 Drawing I (4)
- ARTS 121 Introduction to Digital Media (4)
- ARTS 130 Introduction to Photography (4)
- ARTS 135 Painting I (4)
- ARTS 152 Introduction to Printmaking (4)
- ARTS 242 Photography: Experimental Processes (4)
Intermediate and Advanced Studio Courses (8 semester hours)
- ARTS 216 Video Art (4)
- ARTS 231 Etching: Processes and Themes in the Printed Age (4)
- ARTS 232 Black and White Photography (4)
- ARTS 239 Drawing Concepts (4)
- ARTS 254 Materials Exploration in Sculpture (4)
- ARTS 321 Drawing Inquiry (4)
- ARTS 331 New Media, Historical Themes (4)
- ARTS 336 Painting: Contemporary and Conceptual Practices (4)
- ARTS 340 Sculpture II (4)
- ARTS 342 Topics in Sculpture (4)
- ARTS 343 Printmaking: Monoprints and Mixed Media (4)
- ARTS 355 Advanced Photography (4)
- ARTS 357 Photography Now (4)
Electives (8 semester hours)
Any two additional ARTS courses (4 semester hours each)
Indicators of Achievement
Students who graduate with a major in studio art at Willamette will:
- Employ critical visual and textual analysis of their own artwork and that of others.
- Use the form(s) and tools of art to create intentional communication to audiences.
- Demonstrate (through a unified body of work) engagement with concepts and practices in current art discourse.
- Participate in an art-making community.
Non-majors who take studio art course(s) will experience Introductory:
- Exposure to critically engaged fine arts practice.
- Visual literacy skill-building.
- Individualized experience of communication through visual media.
- Participate in an art-making community.
Faculty
- Alexandra Opie, Department Co-chair, Professor of Art (Sabbatical for 2022-2023)
- Cayla Skillin-Brauchle, Department Co-chair, Associate Professor of Art
Part-Time and Visiting Faculty
- Ambrin Ling, Visiting Assistant Professor, Drawing + Expanded Practices
- Holden Head, Visiting Assistant Professor, Sculpture in the Expanded Field
- Yoshi Kitai, Visiting Assistant Professor, PNCA, Printmaking
- Ketzia Schoneberg, Visiting Assistant Professor, Painting
Professors Emeriti
- Mary Ann Johns, Professor Emerita of Studio Art
Administrative Assistant
- Ahna Piatt, Administrative Program Coordinator
Course Listings
ARTS 110 Sculpture I (4)
This course will introduce students to the fundamental sculptural processes of addition, subtraction and substitution. Emphasis will be on students executing, understanding and discussing quality craft, successful composition, productive conceptualization and creative problem solving. Students will explore various sculptural methods including steel fabrication, wood construction, plaster construction, assemblage and mold-making.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Offering: Every semester
- Instructor: Staff
ARTS 116 Drawing I (4)
Students explore processes used to produce drawings on two-dimensional surfaces. A series of studio problems provides direct experience with the instruments and materials employed to produce drawings. Instruction and assigned work emphasizes skill-building in observational drawing and engagement with two-dimensional design principles and visual communication.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: Open to First and Second Year Students Only
- Offering: Annually
- Instructor: Skillin-Brauchle
ARTS 121 Introduction to Digital Media (4)
This course introduces students to art-making in a variety of forms including mixed media combinations of traditional and experimental art materials, installation, and time-based media such as performance and video. Through a series of studio assignments, students will learn to generate creative ideas, explore materials and techniques, and develop artworks that communicate their ideas. Emphasis will be placed on understanding practices in contemporary art.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: Open to First and Second Year Students Only
- Offering: Annually
- Instructor: Staff
ARTS 130 Introduction to Photography (4)
This class introduces both digital and black and white photography practices with an emphasis on strong technique and creative communication. Students learn to shoot manual photography digitally and on film and darkroom printing of black and white photographs. Principles of composition and photographic fundamentals including the function of light, time and focus are introduced. Students will work in thematic series as well as on short visual explorations as they examine the photographic potential to communicate their perspectives on the world..
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Offering: Annually
- Instructor: Opie
ARTS 135 Painting I (4)
A series of studio problems using systems of design, composition and techniques that study past and modern problems in painting. Demonstrations are presented to show the integration of past drawing systems in the making of paintings. Open to beginning students.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: Open to First and Second Year Students Only
- Offering: Annually
- Instructor: Staff
ARTS 152 Introduction to Printmaking (4)
A series of studio problems using systems of design, composition and techniques that study the diverse ways of producing prints. Demonstrations will be presented on the techniques necessary to produce intaglio etching, woodcuts, monoprints, collagraphs and digital prints.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: Open to First and Second Year Students Only
- Offering: Annually
- Instructor: Staff
ARTS 199 Topics in Studio Art (1-4)
A semester-long study of topics in Studio Art. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Topic dependent
- Prerequisite: Topic dependent
- Offering: Occasionally
- Professor: Staff
ARTS 216 Video Art (4)
This course introduces video as a medium for artistic expression, personal, and social inquiry. Students gain an understanding of the video art-making process and develop proficiency with video equipment, using single-camera shooting and non-linear editing. Assigned work will guide students in exploration of video as an art-making tool. Theoretical texts and work by video artists will be viewed and discussed.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: Any ARTS course
- Offered: Annually
- Instructor: Staff
ARTS 231 Etching: Processes and Themes in the Printed Image (4)
Studio demonstrations are given in the use of tools and materials needed to produce etchings. Color printing techniques are introduced with an emphasis on modern and contemporary techniques.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: Any ARTS course
- Offering: Alternate years
- Instructor: Staff
ARTS 232 Black and White Photography (4)
This course introduces technical and conceptual uses of black and white photography. Students explore technique through shooting, developing and darkroom printing of 35mm film. Periodic student presentations and critiques of artwork address uses of photography as an art form to communicate ideas. Camera, lenses and accessories provided.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: Any ARTS course
- Offering: Every Semester
- Instructor: Opie
ARTS 239 Drawing Concepts (4)
Students will explore and analyze conceptual strategies in contemporary drawing in order to generate projects that use traditional and experimental approaches. Students will develop projects that are in dialogue with contemporary art practices using strategies such as exploring personal research through a thematic series, engaging in a daily drawing practice, and developing a visual vocabulary or system to shape a drawing project.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: ARTS 116 or ARTS 135 or ARTS 152 or ARTS 231 or ARTS 336
- Offering: Alternate Years
- Instructor: Skillin-Brauchle
ARTS 242 Introduction to Experimental Photography (4)
This course engages photography through experimental techniques including hand-building pinhole and lensed cameras and working in historic and new media processes. It is designed for beginners but will also be enlightening for students familiar with photography. Students will gain a deep understanding of photographic principles as they learn techniques and create photographs in response to thematic prompts.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: Any ARTS course
- Offering: Annually
- Instructor: Opie
ARTS 254 Material Exploration in Sculpture (4)
This course requires students to pick a specific sculptural material and to examine thoroughly its inherent meaning, physical properties, qualities and characteristics for three-dimensional expression. The structure of the course will allow the student to produce a unified body of work that reflects his/her specific interest. Emphasis will be on experimentation, the development of technical skill, and creative problem solving. The course will also involve a critical analysis on the use of materials by prominent contemporary sculptors.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Offering: Alternate Springs
- Professor: Staff
ARTS 299 Topics in Studio Art (1-4)
A semester-long study of topics in Studio Art. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Topic dependent
- Prerequisite: Topic dependent
- Offering: Occasionally
- Professor: Staff
ARTS 321 Drawing Inquiry (4)
This course introduces drawing as a means to explore and convey the nature of mark-making through traditional and experimental approaches that push the boundaries of what we define as drawing. Students will use strategies such as site-specificity, interdisciplinary work, and digital mixed media to engage with unconventional approaches to drawing.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: ARTS 116 or ARTS 239
- Offering: Alternate Years
- Instructor: Skillin-Brauchle
ARTS 331 Installation Art (4)
Installation Art is an inherently interdisciplinary contemporary art practice in which artists construct artwork designed to transform the perception of space. This course will introduce analog (material exploration and transformation) and digital (video, sound, digitally rendered graphics) studio techniques, as well as provide a historical and contemporary context for Installation Art. Emphasis will be on site specificity, perception and the senses, and conceptually driven art-making practices.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: Any ARTS course
- Offering: Alternate Years
- Instructor: Skillin-Brauchle
ARTS 336 Painting: Contemporary and Conceptual Practices (4)
A series of studio problems using systems of design, composition and techniques that study current problems in contemporary painting.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: Any ARTS Course
- Offering: Annually
- Instructor: Staff
ARTS 340 Sculpture I (4)
In this advanced sculpture course students will use sculptural skills and tools to engage dynamic current approaches to sculptural practice including use of found objects, materiality, site-specificity and installation. Students will pursue projects in response to shared thematic prompts.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: ARTS 110 or ARTS 254 or ARTS 331 or ARTS 342
- Offering: Alternate years
- Professor: Staff
ARTS 342 Topics in Sculpture (4)
This course allows students to conduct an in depth, focused exploration of topics, genres and modes of expression not covered by the regular sculpture curriculum, and could address such areas as: sculptural installation, site specific sculpture, the sculpture of the body/figure, multi-media sculpture, environmental sculpture, sculpture and the preformative aspect, and the found object in sculpture. The class will focus on one assigned topic, and the topic will vary from semester to semester. An experimental, innovative approach to the topic will be encouraged. May be repeated for credit if the topics varies.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: ARTS 110 or ARTS 254 or ARTS 331 or ARTS 340
- Offering: Alternate Years
- Instructor: Staff
ARTS 343 Printmaking: Monoprints and Mixed-Media (4)
Monoprinting is the perfect platform for introducing the elements of mixed-media that incorporate drawing, collage, painting, cut paper, digital printing and the three-dimensional aspects of image making. Since monoprints are unique and not editioned, this medium allows us the opportunity to explore contemporary processes of image making that stress the concept of working in a series, rather than creating a single, end-in-itself piece. Demonstrations will be given in color monoprinting and the introduction of mixed-media elements into the contemporary practice of producing series-based works that integrate these various media within the discipline of printmaking.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: Any ARTS Course
- Offering: Alternate Years
- Instructor: Staff
ARTS 344 Art and Public Engagement (4)
Art and Public Engagement will introduce students to art making processes and strategies that develop a dialogue with the greater public. This course will ask students to plan and execute public projects in a variety of media including: producing and disseminating printed materials; orchestrating public interventions; and live performance. Social Practice, activism, forms of resistance, community building, information gathering and sharing, and participatory art will be explored through lectures, demonstrations, field trips, and assignments.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: Any ARTS course
- Offering: Alternate Years
- Instructor: Skillin-Brauchle
ARTS 345 Performance Art (4)
Performance Art will introduce students to approaches in art making that critically examine the history and contemporary practice of performance art. This course will ask students to develop, plan, and execute performative projects in a variety of media, including the creation of images (still and/or moving), printed materials, sculptural objects, and live performance. Social Practice, participatory art, duration, documentation, the role of the body, spatial awareness, and the social contract between audience and performer will be explored through lectures, readings, demonstrations, discussions, projects, and assignments.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: Any ARTS course
- Offering: Alternate Years
- Instructor: Staff
ARTS 355 Advanced Photography (4)
This advanced photography course will strengthen students' skills in darkroom and digital practices and in photographic lighting. Medium and large format film photography will be introduced, and students will learn to intentionally tweak black and white photographic process. Students will also be introduced to working in tintype, a historic form. Students will be directed to engage critically with the tradition of photography, learning an expanded range of photographic forms and engaging with themes in photography including the body and power. Students will create complex artworks through a series of assigned thematic prompts. Course can be repeated for credit.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisites: ARTS 132 or ARTS 232
- Offering: Alternate Years
- Instructor: Opie
ARTS 357 Photography Now (4)
In this advanced photography course, the material presence of photographs will be of central focus as students deepen skills in darkroom and digital photography. Medium and large format film photography will be introduced. Emphasis is placed on the photographic process as a medium for critically engaged art-making. Students will be directed to create complex artworks through a series of assigned thematic prompts. Course is repeatable for credit.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisites: ARTS 132 or ARTS 232
- Offering: Alternate years
- Instructor: Opie
ARTS 360-377 Independent Projects (2 or 4)
For advanced art students. Individual study and work in areas of the Art major's special interest. Printmaking (360 & 361), Painting (362 & 363), Drawing (364 & 365), Sculpture (368 & 369), Photography (374 & 375), and Video (376 & 377).
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities
- Offering: On demand
- Instructor: Staff
ARTS 399 Topics in Studio Art (1-4)
A semester-long study of topics in Studio Art. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Topic dependent
- Prerequisite: Topic dependent
- Offering: Occasionally
- Professor: Staff
ARTS 429 Topics in Studio Art (1-4)
A semester-long study of topics in Studio Art. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Topic dependent
- Prerequisite: Topic dependent
- Offering: Occasionally
- Professor: Staff
ARTS 496W Senior Studio (4)
The Senior Studio is the culminating experience in the Art major program. The course is devoted to all aspects of conceptualizing and preparing a major work or series of works, the thesis project, that demonstrates technical mastery, conceptual engagement and thematic coherence. Students work on their projects independently throughout the fall and early spring semesters with supervision of a studio faculty advisor. Successful theses are exhibited in the Hallie Ford Museum of Art. Coursework emphasizes productive staging of a major project. Special guest lectures and topics are presented. This is offered as a year-long double-credit course, 1 in the fall and 1 in the spring. Students must register each semester.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Writing-centered; Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: Completion of 1 300-level ARTS course. Enrollment by instructor consent.
- Offering: Every Semester
- Instructor: Opie, Skillin-Brauchle