The Department of Art and Art History offers courses that satisfy the degree requirements toward the B.A. degree by offering majors in Art or Art History. The art discipline prepares individuals for a life in the arts with a grounding in the technical, aesthetic, and critical aspects of artistic production and exhibition; art history provides students with the methodological and critical tools for the analysis of visual culture and its role in history. The study of art and art history can significantly enrich a liberal-arts education, especially in a world that is increasingly shaped by images and the exchange of visual information.
The Art program is thriving here at Sewanee. Our courses cover a broad range, and include introductory to advanced-level classes in digital art and new media, drawing, photography, painting, sculpture and video. An essential element of our curriculum is that methods, technique, content and meaning are stressed in tandem throughout all the courses, regardless of the level. We are interested in bringing the young artist to as full an awareness of the philosophic, emotional and cultural bases from which work takes shape. Thus, the Art faculty works closely with students, and particularly so with Art majors. Our working and mentoring relationships with students frequently continue upon graduation, as they go on to graduate school, teaching, and being art professionals.
Like many of its graduates, the (studio) art faculty are actively involved in the larger artistic community. All three professors have made recent trips to Europe, either exhibiting or speaking; one spoke in NYC at a conference. They exhibit on a very regular basis, and are deeply involved with artistic expression as a way of life. This dedication to meaning and to personal creative growth in art manifests both outside and inside the classroom. The faculty strongly believes that teaching and learning occur far beyond the formal classroom encounter. These qualities are emblematic of our department, and they manifest frequently.
The department has excellent facilities. Its digital art, video and photography spaces are the envy of many of our sister institutions. A new million-dollar structure, the Nabit Art Building, houses state-of-the-art facilities for painting, drawing and sculpture, as well as the Carlos Gallery for students and visiting artists.