The BA in Studio Art will offer will provide students with skills and knowledge necessary for contemporary art practices.
Objective
Foundation Skills
Students will demonstrate basic skills in drawing and design, and have an awareness of contemporary art.
Indicator
Drawing Portfolio
Students will be required to take ART 163 and produce a group of drawings. The drawings will: • show developed craftsmanship and expertise with a variety of materials. • demonstrate an ability to depict spatial illusion and volume. • demonstrate a descriptive and expressive use of value. • demonstrate a descriptive and expressive use of line. • demonstrate an understanding and use of 2 point and 3 point perspective. • demonstrate an understanding of negative space and the ability to combine various elements into a cohesive composition.
Criterion
Evaluation By Art Faculty
The drawing portfolios will be evaluated by a committee of Art faculty. The faculty will use a rubric developed and adopted by the committee. Using a scale of 0-100% to determine successful completion of the portfolio, it is expected that at least 80% of the students will score 75% or higher.
Finding
Weakness In Composition
While over 80% of the portfolios received scores above 75%, the lowest scores in the evaluation were on composition and use of negative space. Faculty comments indicated weakness in the students' ability to incorporate negative space as part of the composition and use the entire page in the composition.
Indicator
BFA Review
BFA review portfolios will be required of all students pursuing the BFA before they enroll in upper level Art courses.
The BFA Portfolio Review will be held at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters and include a selection of coursework from Art 130 and 131 (WASH) Art 163 (Drawing) Art 164 (Life Drawing 1) Art 262 (Foundations in Digital Art)
Students who do not pass the BFA Review will become BA majors in Studio Art. Students who choose the BA at the outset of their art studies are not required to take the BFA Review, but the Review provides an assessment of work done in the Foundation courses that the BA students are required to take.
All BFA Candidates participate in BFA Review after completion of Sophomore level art foundation courses to assess their retention and integration of skills learned. Students bring work from these classes to the review and are assessed by a panel of faculty.
Students will be expected to demonstrate the ability to make sophisticated compositions using the elements of line, shape, color, form, texture, value and scale and the principles of balance, movement, symmetry, organization, and figure-ground relationships. Students will be evaluated on their ability to keep a sketchbook and to creatively solve problems by exhibiting works that are unique examples of harmonious design. Students will be expected to demonstrate the ability to convey concepts through the use of the elements of design.
Criterion
Passing The BFA Review
The BFA review will be held once a semester. A panel of at least 5 Art faculty will review each portfolio. The Faculty will develop a rubric to asses the work from WASH, Drawing 1, and Life Drawing 1. The evaluation will judge the students' ability to understand and use color in a composition, to use the elements of design to create works in 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional forms, and to use line, value, shape texture, plane, space and volume to render still life and figure drawings and to understand the abstract nature of these elements. A scale of 1-10 will be used to evaluate the portfolios. It is expected that at least 80% of the students will pass the review by receiving a score of 7 or higher.
Finding
Weaknesses In Foundations
94 students were evaluated in the Portfolio Reviews in the Fall and Spring Semester. 28% (26 students) failed the review. 72% passed and this was below expectations.
Faculty comments and scores indicated that there was a lack of quality in the 3-Dimensional work, that sketchbooks did not appear to be emphasized in the curriculum, and that the conceptual basis for the WASH projects was weak. The faculty noted that in the figurative work from Life Drawing, students had very similar styles of rendering and compositions consistently excluded hands and feet. The work indicated that students were being taught a "right" way to draw rather then being taught to use technical skills to express their own style or "voice". The figurative work demonstrated a failure to teach a gestural approach to drawing.
Action
Revise The Foundation Curriculum And Evaluate Instructors
Change the course descriptions of ART 163 (1316) Drawing to include Gesture. Teach the traditions of drawing and place it in a historical context that emphasizes its importance in contemporary art.
Change the course description of ART 164 (1317) Life Drawing 1 to include Gesture and Compositional strategies.
Change the course description of ART 269 (3317) to emphasize personal expression and a study of the use of the figure in contemporary art.
Evaluate the Adjunct Faculty and adjust teaching assignments to ensure that qualified instructors are teaching the core classes and that the course descriptions are being followed.
Goal
The History Of Art
The BA in Studio Art will require students develop a strong foundation in contemporary art history.
Objective
Art History
Students in the BA Program in Studio Art will demonstrate knowledge of the History of Art and understand theories and trends in Contemporary Art in relation to the continuum of history.
Indicator
3 Questions On Exam 2
Students will be required to take ART 370 and be able to identify elements of style that are particular to different periods in art. In "Exam 2" students will be shown 3 artworks and asked to describe stylistic elements of each and identify the Historical period in which they were made.
Criterion
Identifying Historical Periods By Recognizing Elements Of Style
80% of the students will correctly describe the stylistic elements of 3 works of art and identify the historical periods during which they were made.
Finding
Improvement Needed In Understanding The Stylistic Elements Of Historical Periods.
54% of the students correctly described the stylistic elements and identified each historical period. 33% correctly described and identified 2 of the 3. 11% correctly described and identified 1 of the 3. 4% failed to correctly identify any of the 3.
Action
Revise The Art History Curriculum
The Art Department is currently searching for a full time tenure track Art Historian. This new faculty member will evaluate and revise the Art History Program with the goal of providing support classes for the BFA and BA programs and creating a degree program in Art History. For now, the current curriculum will be adhered to and contemporary art will be emphasized in Advanced Studio courses.
Goal
Advanced Studio Techniques
The BA in Studio Art will ensure students are competent in advanced studio techniques.
Objective
Demonstrate Advanced Techniques
The BA student will demonstrate advanced studio techniques with the ability to express concepts in 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional forms.
Indicator
Final Project In Advanced Drawing
Students will be required to take 12 hours Advanced Art Courses. Students in ART 463, Advanced Drawing, will develop a concept and produce a series of drawings that are visual expressions of the concept. The drawings will • be a unified, cohesive body of work. • be personal expressions. • demonstrate expertise with materials and techniques. • be sophisticated in execution and design. • clearly convey the concept through technique and subject matter.
Criterion
Advanced Drawing Criteria
The projects will be evaluated by a committee of Art faculty. The faculty will use a rubric developed and adopted by the committee. Using a scale of 0-100% to determine successful completion of the project, it is expected that at least 90% of the students will score 80% or higher.
Finding
Projects Need Improvement In Areas Of Personal And Conceptual Expression
50% of the students scored below 80% on the evaluation of the projects. The majority of the scores were lowest in the area of personal expression and conveying a concept through technique and subject matter.
Action
Require A Course That Emphasizes Content Development
A Course in Advanced Studio will be added to the curriculum. Advanced studio will be a course in which students will work in the medium of their choice (photography, painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, etc.) and focus on the development of content and the creation of a series. The course will be required for all studio and photography majors and will emphasize lectures and discussions of themes and ideas related to contemporary art practice.