_SCHOOL OF ART
ART
ART HISTORY
GRAPHIC DESIGN
IPEF
PA I N T I N G
PHOTOGRAPHY
SCULPTURE
_SCHOOL OF ART
ART
ART HISTORY
GRAPHIC DESIGN
IPEF
PA I N T I N G
PHOTOGRAPHY
SCULPTURE
15 PHOTOGRAPHY D I G I TA L M E D I A B FA , M FA
05 SOA OVERVIEW Letter from the Director About SOA
11 PA I N T I N G B FA , M FA
13 GRAPHIC DESIGN B FA , M FA
17 SCULPTURE B FA , M FA
27 SOA PORTFOLIO
24 STUDIO ARTS B FA , M FA `
19
25
IPEF
GENERAL ART
M FA
BA
23 ART HISTORY BA, MA`
31 FA C U LT Y & S TA F F
05
LETTER f r o m t h e I
t’s a privilege to serve as the director of Houston’s chief laboratory in the visual arts—the University of Houston School of Art. I write to you today to share some of the school’s successes and our vision for the future. Our students, alumni and faculty are central to the cultural and intellectual life in this region and are an important part of what has led to the university’s Tier One ranking among America’s research universities. We are proud of our accomplishments thus far, but are eager to show the country and the world what many Houstonians already know: a key motor of the burgeoning creative scene in the country’s fourth largest city is found at UH, in the School of Art. Faculty excellence is paramount to that effort. Open any important national art publication or stroll through Texas’ finest galleries and you will see our faculty’s work in print and on view. A commitment to teaching and mentoring by our accomplished faculty forms the foundation of our MFA program. Our MFA students form a graduate community that continues to be the locus of sophisticated art making in the region. Our MA in Art History attracts emerging scholars who desire an excellent grounding in art history coupled with significant opportunities in the city’s museums and galleries.
_
06
While an excellent faculty is essential to our students’ artistic development, so are other experiences that encourage them to challenge and expand their creative boundaries. Our emerging artists have the resources of a significant urban research institution at their disposal, where experts in fields as disparate as computer science, theater, optics, history, music, engineering, and many other fields can be brought into the student’s creative process. We also know that having a taste of working in the “real world” can give students an important perspective on their own work. The School of Art is increasingly using the city as its classroom. Partnerships with museums and other arts organizations give students great professional development opportunities and support the work of the community. Our students are working as interns and staff at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Menil Collection, the Museum of Printing History, the Blaffer Museum, and others. They are also helping with major public projects, such as the award-winning redesign of Japhet Creek Park. With more than 750 art students—larger than many freestanding fine art colleges—it’s challenging to encapsulate all that we do in a single letter, and this one merely scratches the surface. The vision for the UH School of Art is to harness and focus the resources necessary to make us a national destination for art students and scholars and one that sustains and grows Houston’s vibrant visual arts scene. I invite you to be a part of it! Sincerely,
Rex Koontz
Director
“Portrait of Rex Koontz” Vladimir Alexander
07
ABOUT SCHOOL OF ART
ABOUT SOA_
ART
DESIGN
RISKTA K I N G
THE SCHOOL OF ART Art and design are never products of the assimilation of a body of knowledge, but rather the result of risk-taking within a field of discovery. We prepare young artists and designers by providing them with a supportive environment in which challenges are presented and then met with technical, conceptual and contextual tools. Our programs are designed to encourage curiosity, and we work with our students to capitalize on their commitment, and to realize their potential. Our academic environment provides exposure to many cultural “languages” while also encouraging the uniqueness of speech. To create a dynamic and enriching environment, we maintain both an institutional agility—an ability to respond appropriately and meaningfully to change—and a clear sense of the primacy of each student. In the School of Art, we provide each student with expertise in a particular discipline, coupled with the possibility of exploring and combining multiple disciplines. Each students degree program develops and expands based on individual needs and interests. We have that flexibility because while our programs are atelier in structure, our numbers (over 700 majors) and our home at the University of Houston, give us access to the vast resources of a Tier One research institution.
Erica Chaikin, Graphic Design, MFA
“It is the best of both worlds, and it is available to each and every one of our students.”
08 PROGRAMS We offer the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in Painting, Photography/Digital Media, Sculpture and Graphic Design, and the MFA in Interdisciplinary Practices and Emerging Forms (IPEF). We offer the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Art, as well as the BA and MA degrees in Art History. In addition to these solid programs, we are able to expand our areas of expertise in a seemingly limitless way, redefining interdisciplinary study. Through a cooperative network within the university, a student with an interest in sociology, anthropology, biology, computer sciences, or poetry (to name a few), would have access to some of the finest scholars and fully developed programs in those fields. This extends the potential reach of each student, so that he or she is working within a fundamentally dynamic, multidisciplinary environment, with the ability to hybridize research to address unique interests and areas of investigation. Other assets that support our academic structures include The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, a leader in the field of interdisciplinary programming and the Blaffer Art Museum, one of the country’s most influential university art galleries. Both organizations present innovative, challenging exhibitions and programs that bring the university and the extended community into closer engagement with important cultural issues of our time.
Emily Sloan Sculpture, MFA
UNIVERSITY
HOUSTON
The University of Houston, founded in 1927, is the most ethnically diverse research university in the nation, and the leading urban teaching and research institution in Texas. UH is home to over forty research centers and institutes, and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic, and governmental entities.
Houston (our extended campus) is the fourth largest city in the country and third-largest visual arts center outside of New York City and Los Angeles. It is a city with worldclass cultural institutions including:
Located just a few miles from downtown Houston, UH offers well equipped classrooms, high-tech laboratories, generous study facilities, and rich and varied cultural resources, affording students an optimum environment for study and research. Outstanding facilities include six campus libraries with total collective holdings of more than 2.4 million volumes, 4 million micro-form units, 20,000 research journal subscriptions, and networked workstations accessing numerous electronic databases, journals and books. In addition to an extensive collection of public art, campus landmarks include the Moores School of Music, the Science and Engineering Research and Classroom Complex, and LeRoy and Lucile Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting, which houses KUHT-TV/Houston PBS (the nation’s first educational television station), KUHF-FM, the Center for Public Policy polling center, three theaters and performing arts venues, and much more.
The Menil Collection, with exquisite concentrations in Antiquity, Medieval, Tribal, and Twentieth-Century Art, as well as annexes with permanent installations of work by Cy Twombly and Dan Flavin. The Contemporary Arts Museum, with recent major exhibitions of Pipilotti Rist, Kiki Smith, and Glen Ligon, to name a few. The encyclopedic Museum of Fine Arts Houston, boasting a total of 300,000 square feet of space dedicated to a collection of more than 55,000 artworks dating from antiquity to the present. In addition, Houston has an established and thriving commercial gallery structure, dynamic alternative spaces, and a large and generous community of practicing artists. Houston is also home to the largest number of performing arts seats in a metropolitan district outside of New York, with internationally recognized organizations including the Houston Ballet, the Houston Symphony, the Houston Grand Opera, and the Alley Theater. The benefits of a School of Art located within an established, international visual arts center cannot be underestimated.
A KEY MOTOR OF
THE BURGEONING
CREATIVE SCENE
IN THE COUNTRY’S
FOURTH LARGEST
CITY IS FOUND
AT UH _
_IN
THE
SCHOOL
OF
ART
11
PAINTING
PAINT_ ING
B FA M FA THE PAINTING PROGRAM
The intention of our area is simple - to facilitate intellectual development and the practical making of work, as defined by the needs, interests and affinities of each individual student. Painting is both a rich and formidable tradition that is steeped in history, and an evolving, expansive and dynamic field of activity. We encourage permeability within and outside of our discipline to remain responsive not only to paintings’ venerable traditions, but also to its increasing hybridity and ongoing redefinitions. The diverse practice within our program mirrors both the definition of what painting “is” and what it can be. Our approach is resolutely pluralistic.
Zaeed “Z” Kala, Painting, MFA
“The diverse practice within our program mirrors both the definition of what painting “is” and what it can be.”
12 BFA IN PAINTING The structural backbone of our BFA program is intensive, self-motivated studio investigation, faculty mentoring, rigorous critique and peer-group support. Classroom instruction at every level includes the introduction and use of tools, techniques, vocabulary, and concepts of contemporary painting and drawing. Painting BFA degree students are given dedicated studio space (24/7 access) for three consecutive semesters. Coursework is supplemented by visiting artist lectures and critiques, and internships in Houston’s world-class institutions, alternative spaces and galleries.
MFA IN PAINTING Graduate painting is a studio focused three year course of study, supplemented with graduate seminars and art history courses. The program is driven by a dynamic peer group, active engagement with accomplished faculty mentors, and a strong visiting artist program. Our students function as working artists and usually begin building and acting on professional relationships while making their way through the program. We consider all of Houston to be an extension of our campus, and thus the city is central to our graduate’s studio practice and their development. Our students are encouraged to follow their curiosity, and they are well mentored to make their way in the world of culture.
INTERNSHIPS Advanced undergraduate painting majors with a 3.0 studio art GPA are eligible for internships in area museums, alternative spaces and commercial galleries, including DiverseWorks Artspace, Lawndale Art Center, The Contemporary Arts Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Interns gain invaluable insight into the operations of for-profit and non-profit visual arts venues as gallery assistants, curatorial and research assistants, exhibition preparators, and education and outreach program assistants. Internships are an invaluable practicum supplement to academic programs and studio practice.
Charis Ammon, Painting, MFA
13
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Ashley Cole, Graphic Design, BFA
Portfolio Review, Graphic Design, BFA
Graphic designers enrich society by creating culturally significant forms of communication and experiences. Students in the Graphic Design program at the University of Houston build their knowledge of graphic design through a diverse curriculum, which includes course work in design history, theory, methods, and practice. Research and concept development are integral to this curriculum, as it investigates contemporary culture and emergent communication media. Through the processes of individual inquiry and group collaboration students become critical and imaginative thinkers. A low student-to-faculty ratio ensures effective classes where learning includes hands-on design as well as analysis and discussion. Students learn a range of design methodologies and techniques in addition to interdisciplinary collaboration, presentation skills, team building, community outreach, ethics and sustainable practices—all tools to become top competitors in the national design-job market and leaders within the profession. The culmination of a student’s education is a senior exhibition that showcases a diverse portfolio of work including environmental, interactive, motion, print and web projects. Students in Graphic Design engage with design and community leaders through lectures, social gatherings and interdisciplinary project collaboration. The Graphic Design program is well supported by UHGAP, an outstanding alumni organization, whose goal is to provide additional educational and scholarship opportunities for students .
14 BFA IN GRAPHIC DESIGN Upon completion of 12 hrs. of fundamentals and between 15 to 18 hrs. of 3000 level related arts, any student majoring in Graphic Design at the University of Houston has their portfolio reviewed in the selection process called Block Review. In November of the Fall semester and April of the Spring semester, a review is conducted to select students for the following fall Block class. Students must display their portfolio containing work from Fundamentals, Intermediate, Drawing for Graphics, Color and other art classes they may have taken. (ie: Photography, Painting, Sculpture, etc.) Dates for the review are published mid-Fall and mid-Spring.
MFA IN GRAPHIC DESIGN The Graduate Program in Graphic Design at the University of Houston promotes advanced research in graphic design and critical theory. Personal investigations converge cultural, social, historical, methodological and/or technological ideas within a graphic design context. Students define an area of specific interest and concentrate their research and development on this new direction. Students and advisors work together to push the boundaries of theory and practice. The graduate program brings together students from a variety of places and backgrounds. This group is a vital component to the program, with each graduate informing and extending to others their areas of knowledge and interest. Additional expertise, support and opportunities are available through the strong design undergraduate program, a wide range of university programs and distinguished faculty, and from Houston itself, a large and dynamic city with a thriving arts community. We encourage our graduates to extend their conceptual base beyond the graduate studio and investigate these other avenues.
Jairo Razo, Graphic Design, BFA
Engulf Exhibit, Graphic Design, BFA
“Graphic designers enrich society by creating culturally significant forms of communication and experiences.�
15
PHOTOGRAPHY | DIGITAL MEDIA
B FA
PHOTO_ GRAPHY
M FA
D I G I TA L MEDIA THE PROGRAM We live in the midst of a profound and pervasive digital revolution, which makes it both an exciting and challenging time to be an artist. Today’s lens-based media artist has access to more image-capturing options and methods for distributing images and ideas than ever before. The Photography/Digital Media (PDM) curriculum prepares artists to be at the center of this revolution, learning to take full advantage of traditional and contemporary tools in pursuit of creating significant, conceptually rigorous artwork.
16 BFA IN PDM BFA students are expected to develop their own artistic identities supported by a solid grounding in the technical, historical, and critical approaches to studio practice. Classroom technical instruction focuses on a thorough study of digital photography and video art, but also includes studio lighting, traditional photographic forms and large format photography. Technical skills are fortified with historical and theoretical studies, and an examination of current practices in lens-based media. Most importantly, the PDM curriculum and pedagogy is aimed at developing in our students the ability to adapt to an ever-changing media environment.
MFA IN PDM The MFA program in Photography/Digital Media is a three year program recognized for its comprehensive approach to creative lens, media and time-based artwork. Aesthetic diversity and the development of individual artistic vision are emphasized and discussed in regular individual critiques and as a part of the group dialog in a seminar offered each semester. Graduate students are provided with their own studio spaces within a studio complex equipped with digital workstations. In addition, students have broad access to medium and large format cameras, DV/HD video equipment, well-equipped wet lab and studio facilities, and also eligible to have individual black and white enlarger suites of their own. Alonso Tapia Benitez, PDM, BFA
Houston is a great city for photography. The Houston Center for Photography and numerous commercial galleries exhibit photography and media on a regular basis. Additionally, every two years the entire city focuses on photography for Houston’s Fotofest. During this bi-annual conference, photography enthusiasts flock from around the world to see exhibitions, share their portfolios and attend lectures. Nearly every commercial and non-profit gallery space participates with a photography related event or exhibition during the conference.
INTERNSHIPS Internships with Houston-based exhibition spaces are encouraged. Advanced undergraduate students whose Studio Art GPA are 3.0 or better, and MFA students may submit proposals to the area coordinator to do internships with alternative spaces, non-profit arts organizations, or museums for 3 semester credit hours. FotoFest continues to be a major resource for student internships. Other organizations that have participated are the Houston Center for Photography, Southwest Alternate Media Project, DiverseWorks, the Blaffer Gallery, Project Row Houses, the Aurora Picture Show and the Contemporary Art Museum Houston.
CAREERS For our most enthusiastic and committed graduates, the BFA is the beginning of a dynamic career making and exhibiting art. Graduates contribute to the cultural vitality of the Houston community as well as other cultural centers around the world. PDM graduates are well positioned for acceptance into competitive graduate programs and many PDM graduates do choose to pursue an MFA. Specific career options include educator, freelance or staff videographer/photographer, digital technician, photographic editor or video editor. Many students find employment in art institutions such as galleries, museums and non-profit art spaces as well as in support industries like documentation, archiving and art handling.
17
SCULPTURE
B FA
SCULP_ TURE
M FA
THE SCULPTURE PROGRAM The Sculpture Program is an open laboratory for the investigation and manipulation of the world around us. The exploration begins with the physical world of objects and materials and extends through the conceptual realm of ideas and cultural dialogue. An inter-disciplinary approach allows for all forms of creative expression and encourages collaboration and hybridization in the practice of art. A well-equipped facility, a diverse faculty of reputable artists, an active visiting artist program and strong connections with Houston’s vibrant art community provide a lens into the world of contemporary sculpture.
Anthony Colicci Sculpture, BFA
BFA IN SCULPTURE The Block Program is the heart of the Sculpture Program at UH. “Block” consists of three semesters of individualized studio work, group critiques and critical discussions, and culminates in a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA). The Block Program allows motivated students the opportunity to develop their own voice within the broad field of sculpture, with the ongoing support of faculty, visiting artists and their peers. Sculpture Block is characterized by the independence, ambition, intelligence and humor of its outstanding students. We encourage our Block students to develop the breadth of their practice by taking courses in Interdisciplinary Art at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center, working as a docent at the Blaffer Art Museum on campus, or interning at a local museum – all for course credit. In addition, Sculpture Majors are allowed to substitute up to 3 credits of Block per semester in order to take related art courses such as Community Art, Materiality, Digital Editing, White, Sound Art, 3D Fabrication, or History of Film and Video.
18 MFA IN SCULPTURE The graduate program in sculpture provides the space and critical guidance for developing uniquely personal and critically viable work. Private studios and access to a wide range of technical facilities affords the opportunity to investigate a variety of sculptural mediums. Inter-media and hybrid work is encouraged through contact with a diverse group of faculty, students, visiting artists and critics. Exposure to Houston’s vibrant art community provides exhibition opportunities and real life experience in becoming a professional artist. MFA candidates have 24-hour access to their own private studios as well as to fabrication facilities in the sculpture area. Support is available to MFA candidates through financial aid, scholarships, internships, assistantships and teaching fellowships.
Woody Golden, Sculpture, MFA
INTERNSHIPS Sculpture majors with a studio art GPA of 3.0 or higher are eligible for internships in area museums, alternative spaces and galleries including DiverseWorks Artspace, Lawndale Art Center, the Contemporary Arts Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Houston Center for Contemporary Crafts. Interns learn about the operation of for-profit and non-profit institutions by working as gallery assistants, curatorial and research assistants, and in educational programming and preparations departments.
VISITING ARTISTS, CRITICS, AND CURATORS On average the sculpture area brings in 4-5 visiting artist, critics, curators and arts professionals each semester. Through lectures, critiques, workshops and site-specific projects, students are exposed to a variety of artistic perspectives and provided first hand experience into professional art making practices.
19
IPEF
INTER_ DISCIP– LINARY PRACTICE
M FA
IPEF
& EMER G _
I N G FORMS THE IPEF PROGRAM
IPEF, MFA Exhibit
IPEF, MFA Exhibit
The influence of ubiquitous information, geopolitics and technology has profoundly changed the ways in which we understand and engage the world. Fields of artistic practice have expanded to respond to those influences with new languages, tools, and hybrid forms. The MFA program in Interdisciplinary Practice and Emerging Forms (IPEF) recognizes that contemporary practice is often located between or beyond traditional disciplines, and defines art-making as a series of approaches supported by theory, analysis and conceptualization. IPEF functions as an intermedia laboratory with students working collaboratively and individually in an intensive, critical environment. Students are encouraged to explore and combine systems of knowledge, to challenge conventions of production and presentation, to identify new fields of investigation as well as new media, and to embrace experimentation as an operating premise.
20 Studios include focused workshops in live performance, sound, experimental writing, 3D design, site-practice, robots and sensors, interactive agents, networks, geolocative media, animation and gaming, among other topics. Seminars support the refinement of critical and contextual awareness—essential tools in the development of both art and artist. The IPEF program is supported by unique resources and collaborations across the university including the Faculty Affiliate Network (FAN) and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts. FAN is a network of faculty from across the university who are interested in collaboration, mentorship, sharing expertise, and establishing meaningful interface with artists. Affiliates are leading scholars drawn from, but not limited to research units such as Architecture, Biology, Engineering, Computer Science, Economics, Psychology, Religion and Anthropology. The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts cultivates interdisciplinary collaboration in the performing, visual, and literary arts, by offering public events, residencies, and courses that fuse artistic disciplines, ignite dialogue, and present new ways of experiencing the arts in contemporary life. Admission to IPEF is based primarily on portfolio and statement of purpose. We encourage not only candidates holding degrees in new media or emerging fields, but also candidates who are motivated, enthusiastic, experimenters involved in original research.
“IPEF functions as an intermedia laboratory with students working collaboratively and individually in an intensive, critical environment. �
Eric Thayer, IPEF, MFA
ART AND DESIGN
ARE NEVER
PRODUCTS OF THE
ASSIMILATION
OF A BODY OF
KNOWLEDGE BUT
THE RESULT OF_
_RISK-TAKING
WITHIN A
FIELD OF
NOT KNOWING
23 THE ART HISTORY PROGRAM The Art History program at the University of Houston provides graduate and undergraduate students with a firm grounding in the discipline of art history within a Tier-1 research university, alongside close contact with the collections of major arts institutions. The University of Houston is profoundly engaged in the city, a dynamic urban cultural center and gateway to the international art world. With generous electives options, our programs are designed to enable students to craft an educational experience best suited to their individual needs and interests and to take advantage of significant internship opportunities. The Art History program faculty are dedicated to a close mentoring process in art historical research and writing. We have research specializations in Art of the Ancient Americas, Northern European and Italian Medieval and Renaissance Art, 17th-Century Northern European Art, Modern and Contemporary European and American Art and Design, Latino American Art and Urbanism, Art Criticism, and the History of Photography. Additional courses taught by visiting faculty and museum curators further enrich our regular course offerings.
24 BFA AND MFA IN ART HISTORY The Art History program is located in the School of Art, where students have the unique privilege of developing their expertise in conversation with a peer group that includes designers and artists working across the fields of painting, sculpture, photography, digital media, and experimental, interdisciplinary practices. In addition to a rigorous grounding in art history, curatorial theory/practice and art criticism are among the program’s specialties, and students have access to dedicated curatorial spaces for course or MA thesis-related projects. The program provides additional opportunities for financial support including salaried Instructional Assistant and Graduate Writing Fellow positions, which prepare students for teaching careers through involvement with undergraduate education within the Art History program. The program also provides competitive travel awards to support fieldwork and travel to present student research at national and international conferences. Scholarships are furthermore available to provide non-local and international students with in-state tuition rates.
INTERNSHIPS Beyond a rigorous training in art history and related disciplines, the Art History program values applied art historical work as an integral part of the educational experience and maintains strong relationships with many of Houston’s world-class arts institutions. For graduate students, year-long funded internships are awarded each year at the Menil Collection, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and Project Row Houses. Graduate students also regularly hold a funded position as arts editor of UH’s highly-regarded literary journal Gulf Coast. Graduate and undergraduate internships are additionally available at UH’s Blaffer Art Museum and many other museums and alternative art spaces around the city.
CAREERS Through wide-ranging coursework options and internship opportunities at diverse institutions throughout the Houston area, the Art History program empowers our MA and BA students to pursue an exciting variety of career options. Our graduates have gone on to complete PhDs and secure tenure-track professorships. Others have taken on curatorial, educational, and directorship positions in public museums and private galleries, or have entered editorial positions with established art publications. Our graduates have also pursued careers in arts librarianship, arts management, and arts education.
25
STUDIO ART | GENERAL ART
STUDIO _ART B FA MFA IN STUDIO ART
M FA
Graphic Design Photo/Digital Media Sculpture Painting
BFA IN STUDIO ART
IPEF
Graphic Design
The graduate program leading to the M.F.A. degree is a 60 semester-hour degree program comprised of 18 hours in the concentration 12 hours in art history, 24 hours of related arts, and six hours of graduate seminar. Candidates for the Master of Fine Arts degree are encouraged to complete all course work for the degree within three years to ensure the sustained concentration requisite to the achievement of quality work at the graduate level. Students must complete the degree program within five years. Additionally, students are required to complete one academic year in residence during the course of their degree program. This residency is defined as 18 semester hours comprising a minimum of nine semester hours taken in two consecutive semesters. Throughout the program of study, student are evaluated on a regular basis. A progress review is required during each of the first two semesters of enrollment in the graduate program. The student selects a committee at the beginning of the second year and works closely with the committee members until the degree is completed. The committee will hold a formal review of the student’s work annually, beginning the second year. Upon completion of all course work for the degree, all graduate students present their work in a thesis exhibition at the Blaffer Museum, with accompanying photographic documentation. The creative work and supporting documentation will represent the visual thesis. In addition, students must produce a written thesis, normally in the first semester of the final year of work for the degree, and pass a comprehensive oral examination conducted at the time of the Thesis Exhibition. The examination will cover students’ knowledge of their major discipline, of art history, and of related areas of art.
Photo/Digital Media Sculpture Painting The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (with concentrations in painting, photography/digital media, sculpture and graphic design) emphasizes the development of the student as a working artist or designer, with the critical thinking, technical skills and creativity required for professional practice. No portfolio is required of incoming freshmen. In addition to the University-wide core curriculum, the degree requirements follow this progression: four studio fundamentals courses, various studio courses at the “related arts” level, followed by a competitive portfolio review. Students who are selected based on this portfolio review advance to the final semesters of major concentration at the junior and senior level. Bachelor of Fine Arts students are also required to take twelve semester hours of art history. Information on specific course selection is available for each studio major.
SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS Teaching Fellowships are available on a selective basis after 18 hours have been completed at the graduate level. Incoming graduate students are eligible for paid positions as Instructional Assistants and Teaching Assistants, positions in studio maintenance and grading in Art History, which support studio operations, undergraduate instruction and the School of Art in various ways. Scholarships and Tuition Fellowships are also available through the School of Art and the University.
26 BA IN GENERAL ART The Bachelor of Arts in Art degree program is designed for those students who want to combine a broad-based liberal arts education with a cursory study of various art-making methods. Students will experience the visual arts through a variety of disciplines, approaches, and tools, introducing them to the skills and languages of visual expression. The study of art history, art criticism, and theory, complement art course work, providing the context for understanding contemporary art and culture. Because it is a BA degree, students study foreign language and take a variety of courses from departments through the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. Fulfilling a minor program is a popular option and gives the student the opportunity to pursue a field of individual interest. Students have many minor programs from which to choose. Some students pursue the minor in Education through the College of Education, which includes courses that are part of the teaching certification program. Certification requirements include broadbased content examinations. Therefore, students choosing the Education minor should refer to the supplemental information sheet available through the School of Art to help them select courses in preparation for these exams and future teaching. Other students may select minors in fields of personal interest, including foreign languages or the humanities. Building on courses in the major program, some students may be interested in the minors in Interdisciplinary Arts (IART), or the 18-hour Art History minor. Another option is to explore minor programs in other colleges, such the College of Technology’s offerings in Computer Graphics Technology and Graphic Communications Technology.
GENRAL _ART BA
27
SOA PORTFOLIO
SOA_ P O R TFOLIO Cheyanne Ramos, Painting, MFA
PAINTING
Zaeed “Z” Kala, Painting, MFA
Sherra Beckett, Painting, BFA
Robin Berwick, Painting, BFA
28 Jim DeVega, Graphic Design, MFA
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Tom So, Graphic Design, MFA
Osama Ashawa, Graphic Design, BFA
Circe Mendez, Graphic Design, BFA
29
SOA PORTFOLIO
Jeremy Underwood, Photo/Digital Media, MFA
PHOTO/ D I G I TA L MEDIA
Photo/Digital Media, BFA
Britt Ragsdale, Photo/Digital Media, MFA
Alonso Benitez, Photo/Digital Media, BFA
30 SCULPTURE
Guillaume Galot, Sculpture, BFA
Loli Fernandez, Sculpture, MFA
IPEF Daniel Haas, IPEF
Daniel Haas, IPEF
31
SOA FACULTY & STAFF
FA C U LT Y
&S T A F F The SOA faculty is comprised of 26 permanent full-time and numerous visiting, adjunct, and clinical members who are practicing, professional artists, designers and art historians. Foundations such as the Guggenheim Foundation, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Fulbright Foundation and many others. In addition to receiving extensive commissions, residencies, awards and critical attention, studio faculty have exhibited their works in major museums and galleries around the world, and in important exhibitions including the Whitney Biennial, the Sao Paulo International Biennale, and the Venice Biennale. The art historians publish widely, conducting research both in the United States and abroad, and the designers receive awards and recognition for their contributions to their respective fields.
We teach by example.
ART HISTORY Natilee Harren Assistant Professor noharren@central.uh.edu Rex Koontz Professor and Director rkoontz@uh.edu
A F F I L I AT ES
Jessica Locheed Instructional Assistant Professor jalocheed@uh.edu
Affiliates offer additional courses in African, Byzantine, Italian Renaissance, and 19th century Art, and Film and Visual Media on a periodic basis.
H. Rodney Nevitt, Jr. Associate Professor rnevitt@uh.edu Judith Steinhoff Associate Professor & Area Coordinator jsteinhoff@uh.edu Sandra Zalman Assistant Professor szalman@uh.edu Roberto Tejada, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor (Joint Appointment with Creative Writing) rjtejada@uh.edu
Candace Clements Affiliate cclements4@uh.edu Luisa Orto Affiliate lorto@uh.edu
CRITICAL STUDIES Critical Studies Raphael Rubinstein, Professor rrubinstein@uh.edu
32 PHOTO/ D I G I TA L MEDIA Keliy Anderson-Staley Assistant Professor Kanders7@central.uh.edu
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Stephan Hillerbrand Associate Professor, UH Honors College Society Fellow schillerbrand@uh.edu
Cheryl Beckett Associate Professor & Area Coordinator cbeckett@uh.edu
David L. Jacobs Professor & Area Coordinator dljacobs6@sbcglobal.net
Beckham Dossett Associate Professor bdossett@uh.edu
Delilah Montoya Professor dmontoy2@central.uh.edu
Sibylle Hagmann Professor shagmann@uh.edu
David Politzer Assistant Professor dpolitzer@uh.edu
Fiona McGettigan Associate Professor fmcgettigan@uh.edu
PAINTING Michael Ray Charles Professor mrcharles@uh.edu Jack Hanna Associate Professor jhanna@uh.edu Rachel Hecker Associate Professor rhecker@uh.edu Aaron Parazette Professor, Associate Director & Area Coordinator apar@uh.edu Gael Stack, Professor Kelli Vance, Affiliate ksvance@uh.edu
IPEF Abinadi Meza Assistant Professor ameza@central.uh.edu John Reed Professor jreed@uh.edu
P R I N TMAKING Patrick Masterson Visiting Assistant Professor & Area Coordinator pdmasterson@uh.edu
SCULPTURE Jillian Conrad Assistant Professor jconrad@central.uh.edu Francis Giampietro Affiliate/Shop Steward fagiampietro@uh.edu Paul Kittelson Associate Professor & Area Coordinator pkittelson@uh.edu Katrina Moorhead Assistant Professor kmoorhead@uh.edu Lotus Bermudez Affiliate
UH School of Art Contact 100 FINE ARTS BUILDING HOUSTON, TX 77204-4019 P 713.743.1358 F 713.743.2823 uh.edu/class/art uh-art.com
UH School of Art viewbook was a conceptual design by Grace Gossen. Photo and text credit was compiled by University of Houston Graphic Design program. School portfolio images were collected from the uh-art.com website.