BA and BFA programs
Undergraduate Programs
BACHELOR OF ARTS (BA)
THE BA DEGREE is primarily intended as a program for art students who wish to receive a broad experience in studio practice within the context of a liberal arts education. Students are required to complete the Foundations curriculum plus a minimum of four courses at the 300-level in different studio areas. Well prepared students may take up to six additional hours at the 500-level with the consent of their advisor and the instructor of the course. All undergraduate students in the Department of Fine Arts are required to complete a non-art academic program of General Education requirements. Students in the Bachelor of Arts program are also required to achieve competency in a foreign language.
Admission Admission to this program is selective. All students wishing to major in fine arts specializing in studio art must submit an Application for Admission for a Major in Fine Arts to the Department of Fine Arts (available from the Department or www.art.louisville.edu). Acceptance depends on satisfactory academic performance, as well as artistic, educational, and career goals which meet departmental standards. Studio Art applicants must submit a portfolio which shows artistic potential and demonstrates an aptitude for perceptual and conceptual development. (Students without a portfolio should complete ART 101 – Fundamentals of Drawing and Design to acquire more experience and build a portfolio toward application.) Applicants must meet the minimum overall grade point standards for the College of Arts & Sciences. This means students must be in “Good Standing” and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 for consideration. In addition, a grade of “D” in any department course 300-level or above may not be used to fulfill a departmental requirement.
University of Louisville Hite Art Institute
AP Credit
BA in Studio Art
The College awards credit on the basis of scores on the
The Department of Fine Arts and the Hite Art Institute of the
Advanced Placement Examination of the College Board [http://
University of Louisville offers undergraduate Studio Art majors the
admissions.louisville.edu/apply/ap-credit.html]. Three hours
choice of two degrees: Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Fine Arts.
credit awarded for scores of 4 or 5 on the Studio Art “2-D Design
The faculty are committed to providing our graduates with
Portfolio” may be used in place of ART 105 – Foundation 2-D
technical competence, aesthetic judgment and a strong
Design; on the “3-D Design Portfolio” in place of ART 106 –
dedication to artistic quality within the framework of a solid liberal
Foundation 3-D Design; and on the “Drawing Portfolio” in place
arts background.
of ART 115 – Foundation Drawing I. Scores should be submitted to the Admissions Office as soon as they are available.
Completing the BA
BA in Art History The Department of Fine Arts offers the BA in the History of Art. The BA is awarded to students who have completed both
Completion of this program requires work to be submitted for
college-wide requirements and the requirements of the major.
the department’s Learning Outcome Measurement. To meet
The Art History Program introduces students to the history and
this requirement, graduating seniors must submit eight images
appreciation of the visual arts. For the undergraduate wishing
from 300-level studio art courses, a statement, and complete a
to major in Art History, the Program provides in-depth study in
short questionnaire. For details, contact the Fine Arts Office, 104
Ancient, Medieval, Byzantine, Islamic, Renaissance, Baroque,
Schneider Hall, 502.852.6794.
American, Modern, and Contemporary western, as well as Asian and Non-western art and architecture.
Bachelor of Arts 1
in the history of art. Our graduates have taken their place in a wide variety of professional fields requiring art historical expertise, including historic preservation, university teaching, scholarly research and writing, elementary and secondary education, art galleries, museum professions, art auctions and appraisals, visual resources, and archaeological investigations. The curriculum includes a broad range of courses, from introductory classes for non-art majors through advanced graduate seminars. The Art History Program offers specialized courses at all levels in the areas of faculty expertise, covering Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Early Christian, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, African, AfricanAmerican, Modern, and Contemporary art and architecture. Courses are also available in the history of photography, history of ceramics, history of graphic design, historic interiors, museum methods, curatorial studies, and the history of prints.
University of Louisville Hite Art Institute
ART HISTORY
THE ART HISTORY PROGRAM offers the B.A., M.A. and Ph.D.
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Bachelor of Arts 3
Undergraduate Programs
BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS (BFA)
2D Studios Painting
Drawing
Printmaking
Photography
3D Studios Glass
THE BFA DEGREE is primarily intended for professionally oriented art students and those planning to pursue graduate work in studio arts. The BFA provides the opportunity for a student to go into more depth in the studio arts. The 2D and 3D Studio tracks allow students to customize their degree to either focus primarily on a specific studio area or to work cross-media taking courses in several studio areas.
Admission
Sculpture
Admission to this program is selective and competitive.
Ceramics
Enrollments are limited. Current BA students may apply to the
Fiber/Mixed Media
program after having completed the Foundations Program in Studio Art, or equivalent, plus having completed or are currently
Communication Art & Design
enrolled in the 300-level course in the program track area for which they intend to apply (ART 301, 305, 341, or 351, for 2D Studios; ART 311, 321, 331, or 381 for 3D Studios; ART 371 for
Interior Architecture
Communication Art & Design; ART 361 for Interior Architecture). Students must also have a minimum GPA of 3.01 in studio art and art history classes and a minimum overall GPA of 2.25 to be admitted and to remain in the program. If accepted to the BFA
University of Louisville Hite Art Institute
program, students take additional courses at the 500-level in one
candidates must meet with their mentor each semester to
of the four BFA program tracks: 2D Studios, 3D Studios,
ensure they are performing adequately and following the
Communication Art & Design, or Interior Architecture.
proper class sequence.
BFA Candidacy
Completion of the Degree
Once admitted to the BFA program students are expected to
In addition to completing the curricular requirements, BFA
work with their mentor towards completion of the degree.
candidates must also pass their program’s capstone
• All candidates must maintain an overall GPA of 2.25 or above
requirement, part of the department’s Learning Outcome
and a departmental GPA of 3.00 or above to remain in the BFA
Measurement.
program once accepted.
• 2D and 3D Studios capstone consists of BFA Oral Review
• 2D and 3D BFA candidates must initiate a meeting with their
and participation in BFA Exhibition. BFA Oral Review should
mentor each semester to review their progress. The best time
take place one semester prior to graduation (2D and 3D
to meet with your mentor is in mid-semester before pre-
BFA reviews are usually scheduled in April and November).
registration for the subsequent semester. During this meeting
This review includes a presentation to a panel of faculty of a
you should be prepared to present examples of your current
coherent body of work reflective of the direction and scope of
portfolio and discuss your immediate plan of work and longer
your portfolio and a written artist’s statement.
term goals. This is especially important if you are not taking a class with your mentor during that semester. • Communication Art & Design and Interior Architecture
Bachelor of Fine Arts 5
upon the premise that excellent painting may occur within a tradition, or outside of it, our program adheres to no single school of thought, but is structured to allow students to begin to develop their own vision through disciplined training. While beginning painting students are given a solid foundation in the discipline, advanced students, depending upon their respective stages of development, are encouraged to explore avenues of expression pertinent to their own interests. A primary objective of the program is to encourage awareness among students that learning about oneself and the world in which one lives is as important as developing visual skills. Large studios, with north light, afford painting students on all levels ample working space. Studios remain open for students' use at times other than class hours. An unencumbered area in advanced painting is reserved for viewing paintings in progress and for critiques. Models are available for those students involved in figurative work. The department's Visiting Artists Program continues to bring notable painters to campus to speak about their own work and to critique students' efforts. For further information, please contact: Professor Mark Priest E-mail: mark.priest@louisville.edu Phone: 502.852.1016 Professor Gabrielle Mayer E-mail: g.mayer@louisville.edu Phone: 502.852.0803
University of Louisville Hite Art Institute
PAINTING
THE PAINTING PROGRAM offers instruction at all levels. Based
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advanced level courses for students who wish to pursue drawing as an area of specialization or to develop their drawing skills in relation to other studio areas. Students may work in a variety of traditional media, including graphite, charcoal and pastel, and are encouraged to explore the use of new and mixed media as well. Our program allows work in either abstract or realistic idioms. Regular courses are supplemented by a visiting artist program and by special topic courses, such as Landscape Drawing and Anatomy and Life Drawing. A large well-equipped studio provides individual working spaces for non-figurative drawing and ample community space for complex projects and drawing from live models. For further information, please contact: Professor James Grubola, Chair E-mail: grubola@louisville.edu Phone: 502.852.6794
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DRAWING
THE DRAWING PROGRAM consists of intermediate and
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traditional printmaking techniques: Relief (Woodcuts and Linocuts), Intaglio (Etching and Engraving), Silkscreen and Lithography. Students are able to work with newer technologies such as photo processes and computer designs. The program emphasizes personal expression and encourages original and serious contemporary concepts in printmaking. Visiting artists in the field are invited to participate in the program and often show their work and demonstrate special techniques. Field trips to important print exhibitions and to museums are also a feature of the printmaking program. For further information, please contact: Professor John Whitesell E-mail: whitesell@louisville.edu Phone: 502.852.0828
University of Louisville Hite Art Institute
PRINTMAKING
THE PRINTMAKING PROGRAM provides instruction in all
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of the medium and its possibilities for personal expression. Through a series of visual assignments students experiment with the various reasons for making photographs: as documents, as images designed and directed by the photographer, and as social commentary. Instruction is tailored to the individual student's needs and abilities with the hope that each one will find her or his own voice. Students learn fundamental camera, darkroom and electronic imaging skills necessary for convincing picture making. While photographic technique is stressed, emphasis is always given to ideas and how to make those ideas visual and exciting. In addition to the studio courses, all photography students are required to take a class in the history of photography. The photographic facilities include a large (fourteen person) darkroom for beginning classes and a smaller (four to six person) darkroom for advanced students. There are individual darkrooms for printing both color and black and white. One studio is equipped with professional lighting equipment and view cameras. For further information, please contact: Professor Mitch Eckert E-mail: eckert@louisville.edu Phone: 502.852.0870 Professor Mary Carothers E-mail: carothers@louisville.edu Phone: 502.852.0836
University of Louisville Hite Art Institute
PHOTOGRAPHY
THE PHOTOGRAPHY PROGRAM explores the unique qualities
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300 level course intended for beginners with no experience. In it students learn the fundamentals of hot glass and glassblowing. The focus is on the primary skills needed to create basic shapes from hot glass. Students learn techniques including gathering glass, using tools and creating different shapes on the blowpipe. A variety of vessel forms are demonstrated with an emphasis on teamwork and communication. Hot Glass is a 500 level course offered to students who have completed the 300 level introductory class. In this level students expand upon the techniques learned at the introductory level and experiment with and create new shapes in their work. Classes are taught at the Cressman Center, on the corner of First and Main. Please note: Permission for ART 390 Introduction to Glass and ART 590 Hot Glass is by separate application only. Glass Applications are available from the Department Office, 104 Schneider Hall, or download a PDF Application Form. You must complete the application and return it to the Department by March 15 for fall semester admission and October 15 for Spring semester admission. For further information, please contact: Professor ChĂŠ Rhodes E-mail: che.rhodes@louisville.edu Phone: 502.852.1079
University of Louisville Hite Art Institute
GLASS
THE HITE ART INSTITUTE offers Introduction to Glass, a
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Bachelor of Fine Arts 15
opportunity for development on many levels. Entering the program, students learn basic skills with tools and materials, and begin an investigation of spatial organization and communication through three-dimensional form. Advanced courses offer an opportunity to develop both conceptually and technically in sculpture. Working with a variety of media, students are introduced to genres within the discipline, from fabrication of the discrete object to installation. Through group discussion and critique, students develop the skill of critical thinking, and learn to view their work within a social and historical context. The sculpture studio is a spacious, modern facility with a complete woodshop, metal fabrication equipment, and areas for working with plaster, clay, and stone. Graduate students accepted into the M.A. program are eligible based on availability for a private graduate studio located within the sculpture facility. The Visiting Artists program brings a number of nationally recognized sculptors to campus each year to lecture on their work. It provides students with the opportunity for individual instruction from sculptors of national significance, enriching the critical dialogue within the program. For further information, please contact: Professor Scott Massey E-mail: s.massey@louisville.edu Phone: 502.852.6863
University of Louisville Hite Art Institute
SCULPTURE
THE SCULPTURE PROGRAM provides an
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Bachelor of Fine Arts 17
curriculum, the ceramics program places strong emphasis on developing a repertory of fundamental techniques that give students a basis for further experimentation. An unusually high number of our graduates continue to work professionally in the field, teaching and supporting themselves as ceramicists. The program has studio facilities equipped for throwing, handbuilding, and firing clay, with electric and gas kilns for high temperature reduction techniques. In addition to the regular course offerings of our faculty, we feature annual workshops conducted by internationally acclaimed artists. For further information, please contact: Professor Todd Burns E-mail: todd.burns@louisville.edu Phone: 502.852.6796
University of Louisville Hite Art Institute
CERAMICS
TAUGHT WITHIN THE CONTEXT of a broad liberal arts
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areas: surface design and fiber construction. The fiber curriculum includes traditional as well as nontraditional techniques, not as an end in themselves, but as a means to develop a vocabulary for contemporary expression. The design process and its relationship to materials and techniques is stressed at introductory levels while the advanced student is encouraged to focus and develop a strong personal direction. Nationally recognized artists and professionals in textile related fields are often invited to lecture and conduct workshops. We use our regional galleries and museums as resources for both contemporary and historical work in fiber. The fiber studio has facilities for dying, printing and papermaking, and is organized to accommodate a broad range of surface design processes. An adjacent weaving area provides space for loom and off-loom processes including tapestry, basketry, and feltmaking. For further information, please contact: Professor Lida Gordon E-mail: lida.gordon@louisville.edu Phone: 502.852.0906
University of Louisville Hite Art Institute
FIBER /MIXED MEDIA
THE FIBER PROGRAM provides instruction in two major
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communication, is a very broad discipline. Designers create books, magazines, visual identification systems, web sites, packaging, advertising, architectural graphics, information graphics, museum displays, and many other applications. However diverse in its usage, all graphic design shares the same purpose–the articulate exchange of information between people through the use of image and word. The Communication Art & Design studio art track is a professional preparatory program leading to the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. It is intended to prepare students to eventually assume leadership positions in the field of graphic design. The Communication Art & Design program at the Hite Art Institute is focuses on three aspects: conceptual development, compositional eloquence, and technical proficiency. These aims are accomplished through both hand and computer-based work. For further information, please contact: Professor Steven Skaggs E-mail: s.skaggs@louisville.edu Phone: 502.852.0807 Professor Leslie Friesen, Designer-in-Residence E-mail: leslie.friesen@louisville.edu Phone: 502.852.3605
University of Louisville Hite Art Institute
COMMUNICATION ART & DESIGN
GRAPHIC DESIGN, the planning and development of visual
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Bachelor of Fine Arts 23
strategies: conceptual development and technical proficiency. Creative thinking in Interior Design has a close relationship to all forms of artistic activity. Good designers use an understanding of society and culture to form critical judgments about people's lives. Conceptually, our Interior Architecture program is based upon the principles of Interior Architecture as defined by John Kurtich and Garret Eakin in their book Interior Architecture. These include an emphasis upon the enclosing structure, both as a reference, and as a guide for the selection of furnishings, the importance of both three and four dimensional design thinking, the importance of light, and the use of color and materials to impart a human character. University of Louisville studio and seminar settings are used to integrate these and other diverse liberal arts ideas with the practical and technical requirements of Interior Architecture. For further information, please contact: Professor Moon-he Baik E-mail: moon@louisville.edu Phone: 502.852.0945 Professor Stow Chapman E-mail: stow@louisville.edu (email is the preferred method of contact) Phone: 502.852.0979
University of Louisville Hite Art Institute
INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE
THE INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE Program is based upon dual
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Bachelor of Fine Arts 25
Hite Art Institute
Faculty
THE HITE ART INSTITUTE, the Department of Fine Arts at
James Grubola, MFA, Professor and Chair
the University of Louisville, is the largest studio art program and
the only PhD program in Art History in the Commonwealth of
Moon-he Baik, MFA, Associate Professor
Kentucky. The Department currently has over 450 undergraduate
majors, 60 graduate students, 22 full-time faculty members and
Karen Britt, PhD, Assistant Professor
a full-time staff of seven.
Drawing Interior Architecture, 2-D Design Medieval and Byzantine Art History
Todd Burns, MFA, Associate Professor The Fine Arts program in enriched by the Institute’s Exhibition
program and the Visiting Artist’s and Scholars Program which
Mary Carothers, MFA, Associate Professor
Ceramics, 3-D Design
invites eminent artists and experts to lecture and exhibit at the
institute. The Institute’s Galleries also provide students a venue to
Ying Kit Chan, MFA, Professor
exhibit work in Student, BFA, and MA Thesis Shows.
Photography, Video, 2-D Design Drawing, Web Design, 2-D Design
H. Stow Chapman, M.Arch, Associate Professor The Frederic Lindley Morgan Chair of Architectural Design brings
a distinguished scholar or architect to campus for a semester
Mitch Eckert, MFA, Associate Professor
each academic year. The Visual Resources Center provides
services for classes throughout the University and is available
Leslie Friesen, Power Creative Designer-in-Residence
for student use. The Margaret M. Bridwell Art Library, one of
the finest art libraries in the region, houses art journals, texts, a
Christopher Fulton, PhD, Associate Professor
video library, and a collection of rare books. The University Art
Collection offers Fine Arts students the opportunity to research
Linda Gigante, PhD, Associate Professor
and work with an outstanding collection of prints, drawings,
and paintings. The Cressman Center for Visual Arts, located in
Lida Gordon, MFA, Professor
downtown Louisville, houses the department’s glass program,
expanded sculpture facilities, and additional exhibition galleries.
Barbara Hanger, MFA, Associate Professor
Interior Architecture, Drawing Photography, 2-D & 3-D Design Graphic Design Renaissance Art History Ancient, Classical Greek and Roman Art History Fibers, Mixed Media, 2-D Design Art Education, 2-D Design, Drawing
Outstanding art majors are eligible to apply for Hite Scholarships
Benjamin Hufbauer, PhD, Associate Professor
awarded through the department. These scholarships are
awarded on a competitive basis and offer full or partial tuition
Susan Jarosi, PhD, Assistant Professor
for undergraduate students. Applicants for these awards
are evaluated according to merit (overall GPA above 3.0 and
Delin Lai, PhD, Assistant Professor
departmental GPA above 3.5), faculty recommendation, and
financial need. Students are eligible to receive these awards for
Scott Massey, MFA, Associate Professor
more than one academic year, however, they must complete a
new application form each year in order to be reconsidered.
Gabrielle Mayer, MFA, Assistant Professor
American Art History, History of Architecture Contemporary Art and Theory Asian Art History Sculpture, 3-D Design Painting, Drawing
Hite Art Institute
Mark Priest, MFA, Associate Professor
College of Arts & Sciences
University of Louisville
Ché Rhodes, MFA, Assistant Professor
Louisville, KY 40292
Painting, Drawing Glass, 3-D Design
Steven Skaggs, MS, Professor Phone: 502.852.6794
Fax: 502.852.6791
John Whitesell, MFA, Professor
E-mail: fineart@louisville.edu
www.art.louisville.edu
Graphic Design, 2-D Design Printmaking, 2-D Design