Art

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GRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED:

Master of Fine Arts
Master of Arts

Department of Art
Fine Arts Building, room 108
Phone: 812-237-3697
Fax: 812-237-4369
E-mail: artdept@indstate.edu
Web site: http://www.indstate.edu/art-dept

Department Chairperson: Dr. Alden Cavanaugh

GRADUATE FACULTY 

Professors

Anderson, Alma Mary, (SAMy), M.F.A., Rochester Institute of Technology
Professor of Art
Specializations: Graphic Design, Computer Imaging

Benjamin, Lloyd W., Ph.D., Chapel Hill
Professor of Art

Dunlap, Glenn, M.A., Iowa State University
Professor of Art
Specialization: Graphic Design

Lattanzio, Fran, M.F.A., University of Michigan
Professor of Art
Specialization: Photography

Associate Professors

Cavanaugh, Alden, Ph.D., University of North Carolina
Department Chairperson and Associate Professor of Art History
Specializations: Early Modern Art History

Nichols-Pethick, Nancy, M.F.A., Indiana State University
Associate Professor of Art
Specializations: Painting, Drawing

Smithers, Stephen, Ph.D., University of Iowa
Associate Professor of Art History
Specialization: Classical Art History

Venable, Bradford B., Ph.D., Purdue University
Associate Professor of Art
Specialization: Art Education

Assistant Professors

Chen, Ray, M.F.A., Rochester Institute of Technology
Assistant Professor of Art
Specialization: Ceramics

Wong, Sala, M.F.A., University of Maryland
Assistant Professor of Art
Specialization: Digital Art

INTRODUCTION

The graduate programs of the Department of Art are designed to prepare students for professional practice in the art disciplines served by their respective creative fields. The master of fine arts (M.F.A.) and master of arts (M.A.) degrees are recognized and accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and by the College Art Association of America.

The programs of the Department of Art are conducted in over 60,000 square feet of professionally organized and well-equipped space. The Fine Arts Building houses departmental offices, the graphic design and computer graphics studios, and classrooms; Art Annex, a vast factory-like space, houses ceramics, sculpture, and sculpture–wood/sculpture furniture; and the studios for painting, photography, printmaking, papermaking, and drawing are in historic Fairbanks Hall. The graduate painting studio is located off campus. The Bare-Montgomery Gallery, located in Fairbanks Hall,  provides students with the opportunity to exhibit their own work or to curate exhibitions of student work.  The department conducts a regular schedule of exhibitions in the University Art Gallery and the Turman Art Gallery.  An exemplary program of visiting artists and scholars enriches the curriculum. In addition, the Indiana State University Permanent Art Collection contains a significant inventory of twentieth-century artworks in all media.

HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM

The M.A. graduate degree in the Department of Art predates the M.F.A. degree, which was inaugurated in the mid-1970s. In 1974, the Commission of Higher Education of the State of Indiana approved the establishment of the M.F.A degree and the first group of students to receive the M.F.A. degree graduated in 1975. The graduate program was first accredited by the National Association for Schools of Art and Design in 1984 and has been accredited since that time.

GENERAL PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The graduate degree programs are offered with emphases in the following areas: ceramics, drawing, graphic design, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture.  The programs are open and flexible enough to allow students to pursue studies that are suitable to their area. Career counseling, advanced instruction, and research consultation are provided in programs that are especially designed to satisfy the needs and expectations of each individual student. The objective of each area of emphasis is to develop the professional technical knowledge and expertise relevant to the emphasis that would allow graduates to perform well in a professional milieu. Further, the M.F.A. Program strives to develop in the student creative, experimental, and independent qualities, as well as an appropriately professional aesthetic.

Traditionally, the M.A. is intended to meet the needs of those students who do not choose to develop their professional studio skills to the terminal level. Many graduates have used this degree to pave the way for entry into the job market, particularly for those positions in which a terminal degree is neither demanded nor desired. The M.F.A. degree is pursued by students who desire a program that is more studio-intensive and offers the professional standard of a terminal art degree.

MAIN OBJECTIVES

The graduate programs of the Department of Art are directed toward developing broad and versatile creative abilities in the student. The curricula of the department are designed to provide the student with a sequence of experiences that challenges the student and provides meaningful content. The objective is to foster the student’s development of intellectual, communicative, formal, and technical knowledge. The goals of the graduate program within the Department of Art are: to deliver a suitably professional, quality education by bringing graduate students across the threshold of accomplishments within the studio; to develop in the student creative, experimental, and independent qualities, and an appropriately professional aesthetic; to provide those students who wish to teach at the university level with the knowledge of, and practice in, the visual arts; to provide varied and flexible pedagogic techniques and expertise in varied technical procedures in the visual arts; and to extend to the community and other constituents beyond the community, assistance and leadership consistent with the various areas of expertise within the Department of Art.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

All applicants for admission to the M.F.A. and to the M.A. are required to submit with their applications a digital portfolio (CD or DVD) of color slides, or other appropriate visual evidence of 15 recent works in the area(s) of specialization to which the application is directed.

Applicants must meet the requirements for admission to the College of Graduate and Professional Studies and hold the bachelor of fine arts degree (B.F.A.) or other appropriate undergraduate degree.

Upon receipt of inquiry, details regarding admission to the M.F.A. or M.A. Programs will be mailed by the Department of Art. Application is available on-line at: http://.indstate.edu/art-dept/application.htm 

TEACHER LICENSURE

Individuals interested in teacher licensure are encouraged to consult with Education Student Services, Bayh College of Education 812-237-3131.

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