Academics Visual Arts

Martina Lantin (see Ceramics)
Cathy Osman (see Painting, Drawing and Mixed Media)
Tim Segar (see Sculpture and Drawing)
John Willis (see Photography)

The visual arts at Marlboro are distinguished by a commitment to the idea that the study of form and expression in our various media leads not just to further work in the discipline, but also to ways of seeing and engaging with the world. A complex set of experiences is encouraged in all students who concentrate in the visual arts. These include:

• The study of drawing
• The study of art history with emphasis on the direct experience of art works in museums and galleries
• Significant work in more than one medium
• A developed formal and critical vocabulary with which to discuss both their own work and the work of others
• The completion of a substantial body of work that is presented in a final individual exhibition

In addition, we welcome all students who wish to work in the visual arts as part of other studies. Many students whose Plans of Concentration are focused elsewhere include art work in their Plans.

Areas of Interest for Plan-level Work:

• Psychology and the visual arts
• Artistic pedagogy in the support of education
• Mixed media sculpture
• Architecture and landscape
• Illustration

Good Foundation for Plan

A student considering a Plan in the visual arts should consult appropriate faculty members in the freshman or sophomore year for advice in planning a course of study. Their Plan will probably include a broad background in the visual arts and other liberal arts, as well as a significant body of work in more than one medium.

Any twocourses in art history is considered a minimum requirement, with the expectation that Plan students will be asked to work in tutorial on the written portion of the Plan. Plan sponsors have the option of requiring students to do more work in art history as needed. Students concentrating in the visual arts should understand the fundamental link between their own work and the historical tradition out of which they come. These classes are an opportunity for students to get information, inspiration, feeling and content conveyed visually across time and cultural boundaries. This experience also is valuable as students situate themselves in a tradition, whether that tradition is one they seek to perpetuate, change or subvert.

Plan students are also required to take two semesters of Art Seminar Critique (ART359). This course meets weekly and provides an opportunity for students to share the work they are doing on Plan and a forum for discussion of pertinent issues.
Preparation for a Cross-Disciplinary Plan
We encourage students doing Plans in other areas of the curriculum to consider the inclusion of a percentage in the visual arts. For thsorry ose doing Plans in which visual arts constitutes more than 20 percent but less than 55 percent of the work, we ask the following:

• Drawing I, Studio Art I, or one introductory course outside their chosen medium
• One semester of art history
• One intermediate art class

Upon completion of a Plan in the visual arts, we require that students submit, with the written portion of their Plan, two sets of digital images: one to be bound with their Plan and kept in the library and the other to be added to the collection of the college.

Sample Tutorial Topics

• Printmaking Techniques
• Landscape and the Human Body
• Etching Technique and Process
• Five Artists Working with Technology
• Consumer Culture in Sculpture
• Completing the Farm and Greenhouse Design
• Exposures: Teaching a Cross-cultural Youth Program
• Ways of Being: Perceptions of Reality and Identity, Mixed Media and Works on Paper
• Creation of a Multi-media Thesis Exhibition
• Documentary Photography