Art
The mission of the Art Department is to provide an environment that nourishes creative thinking through visual experience for students at all stages of life. The department’s aim is to foster excellence, individuality, diversity and vitality, and to encourage freedom of thought, imagination and inquiry as catalysts for personal growth. In its philosophy of pluralism, the department is open to all avenues of concept, style and content that develop from serious research and original thought.
The process of self-discovery is initiated in the freshman year in the Foundation Core, in which the basic principles of art are introduced. Students are encouraged to discover their own way of integrating these concepts into quality works of art. Students broaden their technical development through discipline-based courses (painting, sculpture, etc.) in the curriculum’s sophomore courses. The students’ approach to their work becomes individualized in concept, style and technique in the upper-level courses, and particularly in the senior courses preparatory to Senior Exhibitions. The Senior Exhibition sequence is a series of courses that allows each student to complete a related body of work, exhibited in partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees. Through history of art, theory and criticism courses, students learn how and why art was made, beginning with the early images of the cave artist up to current work.
Because the creative process often challenges preconceived ideas, students in the upper-level courses must be mature in the search for meaning and validity in their work. The department believes that differences of opinion regarding individual image-making can be resolved in a nourishing, non-punitive exchange with mutual respect.
Program of Study
The department offers high-quality, individualized instruction in a variety of two- and three-dimensional media, as well as Art History courses in Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Post-Renaissance, Modern, Contemporary, Current Issues, African Art and Women’s Issues. Students may earn Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees. A Bachelor of Arts concentration in Art History, teacher licensure and a minor in Art are available.
The B.F.A. program’s expanded curriculum focuses on theoretical knowledge and professional skills. Candidates are required to take introductory courses in painting, printmaking, photography, ceramics and sculpture. All art majors take a core of classes that includes two-dimensional design, inanimate drawing, life drawing and three-dimensional design. They complete their degree with a solo Senior Exhibition in the S. Tucker Cooke Gallery, Owen Hall. UNC Asheville is one of few undergraduate degree programs in art that require an exhibition of a large body of work.
The Art Department pioneered undergraduate research in the fine arts in 1989 when a UNC Asheville student presented at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research at Trinity University in Texas. Since then about 20 art students have attended the national conference, helping bring creative arts research to national importance and playing a key role in students’ graduate school admission and scholarship awards.
Facilities
Owen Hall houses two galleries, sky-lit painting and drawing studios, ceramic and sculpture studios, individual and group studios, and outdoor studio-patios.
Faculty
The six full-time faculty members hold terminal degrees in studio art and are practicing professionals. Art history professors are current in research and hold doctorates in their discipline areas. Adjunct faculty offer courses and workshops in their specialized fields and introduce students to media not included in the standard curriculum. Several faculty members maintain studios on campus, allowing students the opportunity to observe them at work. Small classes ensure a one-to-one working relationship between students and faculty.
Post-Graduate Opportunities
More than ever, business and industry recognize the important role artists play in mass communication and public image-making, and a B.A. degree provides a solid foundation for careers in these related fields. The B.F.A. prepares students for positions with museums, advertising agencies, public relations firms and commercial studios. Students interested in teaching may achieve their career goals with a B.F.A. or a B.A. and teacher licensure.
Many graduates have professional studios. Ceramics graduates have been featured in Ceramics Monthly, on the cover of Clay Times, in the Cheongju (Korea) International Craft Bienniale 2005, and in a ceramics textbook. M.F.A. graduate programs across the country enroll our students, including Cranbrook, Rhode Island School of Design, Indiana University, Pratt, Chicago Art Institute, Maryland Institute College of Art, Pennsylvania Academy, Ohio State, University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of Tennessee, Mills College (California), Clemson and Virginia Commonwealth University.
More Information
Department of Art
221 Owen Hall, CPO #1840
UNC Asheville
One University Heights
Asheville, NC 28804-8507
828.251.6559