Fine Arts

Department Website:
https://www.haverford.edu/finearts

In the Fine Arts Department, the focus is on the individual. Studio classes are small, and students from beginners to majors receive individual instruction.

Every student is encouraged to develop the physical and critical skills necessary to create art. The philosophy of the department is that observational skills are the cornerstone of all visual art disciplines. Cognition and processing information are key skills for any discipline—in the humanities or the sciences—and for this reason art at Haverford is specifically geared towards enhancing visual perception. Such finely tuned skills can benefit anyone professionally and personally.

The fine arts courses offered by the department are structured to accomplish the following:

  • For students not majoring in fine arts: to develop a visual perception of form and to present knowledge and understanding of it in works of art.
  • For students intending to major or to minor in fine arts: beyond the foregoing, to promote thinking in visual terms and to foster the skills needed to give expression to these in a coherent body of art works.

About 20 percent of Haverford students take fine arts courses while enrolled in the College. The students who major in fine arts and wish to continue their education are usually accepted at the professional graduate art school of their choice. Our alumni are distinguished professionals, active in the visual creative arts and allied fields.

Learning Goals

All fine arts studio courses are designed for students to obtain motor skills, theoretical and critical thinking, and problem solving necessary to create art to the student’s fullest ability along with developing their own original ideas and concepts. Students achieve these goals in individual interactions such as critiques and hands-on instruction in small classroom settings. These educational goals are augmented by outside speakers, visiting artists, exhibitions and non-studio courses in visual culture sponsored by the department or taught by its faculty.

Haverford’s Institutional Learning Goals are available on the President’s website, at http://hav.to/learninggoals.

Curriculum

Disciplines

The fine arts program at Haverford centers around five disciplines: drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, and sculpture.

Each discipline is offered at both the introductory and advanced levels, exposing students to the rigors and processes of each medium. Students get the benefit of learning about the tradition and the practice in the introductory courses, and then utilize and alter those ideas and tools in the advanced courses.

Students are encouraged to channel multi-disciplinary interests and ideas in their work, and to find an identity and voice through the medium, as well as producing work that is relevant to them.

  • Drawing is typically viewed as practice or a preparatory exercise for a more “finalized” project (i.e. painting, sculpture, printmaking, installation), and as the definition of art becomes ever-changing, drawing by contemporary standards includes sketches and everything in between as final works. Especially with the influx of street art and illustration, sketches, lists, and doodles are taken both seriously and as final art forms. Drawing at Haverford introduces and expands the traditional drawing practice to working self-sufficiently and exploring aesthetic notions in a variety of mediums: ink, pencil, charcoal, pen, pastel, markers, mixed media, etc.
  • Traditionally rooted in narration, religion, and history the practice of painting is a mode of expression using different styles and mediums. Oil, acrylic, ink and mixed media are the tools to experiment with different painting styles and compositions. Painting at Haverford aims to guide students through the formative practices as well as encouraging exploration. The painting program is rigorous with intensive work and weekly student critiques. Students have classroom opportunity to work figuratively and paint from live models, work within the elements outside in Haverford’s sprawling landscape, and also encouraged to challenge and take ideas further conceptually. With distinguished guest artists and lecturers visiting from other academic institutions, students are exposed to many views and interpretations of art making, inspiration, and the painting process.
  • Printmaking is an interdisciplinary art form that has its own unique style as intaglio, lithography, relief, monotype, and silkscreen. Digital printmaking in lithography, intaglio, and silkscreen are taught along with traditional methods. Students are encouraged to combine printmaking with other mediums and extend their ideas from 2D to 3D including installation. Multi-media approaches are strongly recommended in advanced levels.
    Printmaking requires an intensive discipline. Patience is essential. Focus and attention are unavoidable. It is an art form based on chemistry and math. It has a long history that they must be aware of in order to create their own works. Furthermore, it is visual. No thoughts or philosophy can “be” a print even though it requires them all. Regardless of level, students are individual artists; they are respected to create their own work with an excellence in commitment that leads them to great achievements.
  • The purpose of photography instruction at Haverford is to allow students to develop a personal body of work using photographic materials.
    A sequence of courses is offered from Foundation Photography for students with little or no knowledge to Advanced Photography in which students produce books and exhibitions. Emphasis is placed on producing photographs, which express both form and emotion through mastery of materials and acquisition of the intellectual and critical traditions of photography. The former is accomplished by technical critiques of student work in negative, digital and print formats. The latter is accomplished through reading and studying of the history of photography, theory and criticism, photographic monographs and original prints.
    The facilities for the study of photography include up-to-date and well-equipped darkrooms for chemical and digital photography. The photography book collection in Magill Library is one of the finest in the country. The photographic print collection contains over 5,000 original photographs. It is encyclopedic and contains works from Hill and Adamson at the dawn of the beginning of photography to contemporary works by Andres Serrano and Laurie Simmons. These exceptional resources support small classes that allow for personal attention and instruction from the professor and staff.
  • The sculpture concentration at Haverford offers students the opportunity to explore the three-dimensional media with a broad range of materials and processes. Classes are designed to engage the visual language through a process of critical analysis and discovery while providing a structured environment that allows students to acquire dexterity with a comprehensive set of three-dimensional skills. At the introductory level students are introduced to fundamental three-dimensional techniques and through sequential classes they gain proficiency in a skill set that culminates with sophisticated sculptural concepts and fabrication methods at the advanced level.
    The sculpture facilities include a wood shop, metal fabrication equipment, and a large-scale foundry for bronze casting. Students are introduced to wood and metal working techniques, modeling and casting skills, and digital fabrication methods. The sculpture concentration’s focus on conceptual investigation and in-depth technical education, in conjunction with well-equipped foundry facilities, provides students the setting to foster creativity and work through artistic curiosity.

Coursework and Studio Work

The 100-level “Introductory or Foundation” courses consist of half-semester courses. Although one half-semester is not sufficient for a beginning student to master a given medium, it offers ample time for acquiring a medium’s basic skills. In each discipline, the student learns to see and to coordinate their increasing skills of interpretation and expression to create individual art works.

The 200-level courses are “Materials and Techniques” courses. Having gained a solid basis from the foundation courses, the student chooses a medium to pursue in depth for a semester. At this level, we encourage the student to explore the various materials and their uses to create a refined and distinctive body of work. In the 300-level “Experimental Studio” courses, the student uses the acquired knowledge of materials and techniques to further express and broaden their artistic vision and ideas.

We encourage students to spend time on their own work outside of class in the fine arts building. Adjacent faculty studios encourage this informal contact, which is invaluable in learning the discipline of creating art. This type of contact and mentoring is an important aspect of a student’s education in our department.

Major Requirements

Fine Arts majors are required to concentrate in one of the following: drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture, as detailed here:

  • Four 100-level foundation courses in each discipline.
  • Two different 200-level courses outside the area of concentration in the major.
  • Two 200-level courses and one 300-level course within the students chosen focal area within Fine Arts.
  • Three art history/theory/criticism or visual studies courses (as approved by major advisor).
  • Senior Departmental Studies (ARTS H499).
  • For majors intending to do graduate work, we strongly recommend that they take an additional 300-level studio course within their area of concentration and an additional art history course at Bryn Mawr.

Senior Project

In preparation for the senior thesis exhibition students attend 499 Senior Departmental Studies (ARTS H499, prerequisite 300 course in student’s concentration such as drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, or sculpture) on a weekly basis. This two-semester, two-credit course provides students with a structured environment to develop a body of work that is presented in the form of an exhibition at the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery. The scope of the senior thesis exhibition accomplishes the process of selecting works to be included in the exhibition, determining the layout of the works, and installing the works in the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery. Students participate in the planning of the opening reception for their thesis exhibition, which is advertised to a broad audience. During the opening, they present their work to a general audience and are available to answer questions from guests. After the gallery opening, the Fine Arts Department faculty schedules a full departmental review of the work presented by each student. During the review each student articulates a formal presentation of their work and students are asked to respond to questions and comments put forth by the faculty.

Senior Project Learning Goals

Seniors are expected to create a coherent body of work that demonstrates proficiency in the use of their chosen concentration, develop content and articulate ideas with a personal and effective visual language and present their work in a professionally installed gallery exhibition, e.g. in the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, Atrium Gallery, or Alcove Gallery. In addition to presenting visual works, majors are expected to articulate the content and context of their work in a written statement, which is on display with their work along with researches on visual art and artists that are related to their own work. These educational goals are augmented by outside speakers, visiting artists, exhibitions and non-studio courses in visual culture sponsored by the department or taught by its faculty.

Senior Project Assessment

Each thesis project is evaluated by the Faculty members who are also their concentration advisors using the following categories:

  • Original ideas and creativity.
  • Proficiency in their chosen concentration.
  • Quality of the project.
  • Active discussion and participation during group critiques by departmental full faculty, which forms in the beginning, mid­term, and final week, and weekly group critique and research in addition to individual meetings with the faculty members.
  • Progress in their project.
  • Research on related sources, e.g. professional artist works and digital presentation.
  • Attendance.

Minor Requirements

  • Minors must take four 100-level foundation courses in different disciplines.
  • Two 200-level courses and one 300-level course within the student’s chosen focal area within fine arts.
  • One art history/theory/criticism or visual culture course.

Study Abroad

Credits from Study Abroad or from Outside the Fine Arts Department

Majors can take one 200-level course outside of a major’s concentration and any art history/theory/criticism or visual culture courses, subject to approval by the chair of the Fine Arts Department before the course is taken.

Minors can take one 200-level course outside of a minor’s area of study and one art history/theory/criticism or visual culture course, subject to approval by the chair of the Fine Arts Department before the course is taken.

Facilities

See the departmental web page for a description of art studios, galleries, and other special facilities for this program.

Affiliated Faculty

Markus Baenziger
The Edwin E. Tuttle 1949 Professor of Fine Arts; Professor and Chair of Fine Arts

Jonathan Goodrich
Visiting Instructor of Fine Arts

Zachary Hill
Digital Arts and Sculpture Technician

Hee Sook Kim
Professor of Fine Arts

Ying Li
The Phlyssa Koshland Professor of Fine Arts

John Muse
Assistant Professor and Director of Visual Studies; Director of VCAM

Erin Schoneveld
Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures; Associate Professor of Visual Studies

Michael Shultis
Visiting Assistant Professor of Fine Arts

William Williams
Audrey A. and John L. Dusseau Professor in the Humanities; Professor of Fine Arts

Courses

ARTS H101  ARTS FOUNDATION-DRAWING (2-D)  (0.5 Credit)

Michael Shultis

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

A seven-week introductory course for students with little or no experience in drawing. Students will first learn how to see with a painter's eye. Composition, perspective, proportion, light, form, picture plane and other fundamentals will be studied. We will work from live models, still life, landscape, imagination and masterwork.

(Offered: Fall 2023)

ARTS H103  ARTS FOUNDATION-PHOTOGRAPHY  (0.5 Credit)

William Williams

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

This is a half-semester course to introduce the craft and artistry of photography to students with some or no skills in photography. Students learn how to develop negatives, print enlargements, and printing techniques such as burning, dodging, and exposure time. This class also requires a two-hour workshop. The day and time of the workshop will be determined during the first class. Offered in the first quarter.

(Offered: Fall 2023)

ARTS H104  ARTS FOUNDATION - SCULPTURE  (0.5 Credit)

Markus Baenziger

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

This is a seven-week, half semester course designed to provide an introduction to three dimensional concepts and techniques. Skills associated with organizing and constructing three-dimensional form will be addressed through a series of projects within a contemporary context. The first projects will focus on basic three-dimensional concepts, while later projects will allow for greater individual self-expression and exploration. Various fabrication skills including construction, modeling, basic mold making, and casting will be demonstrated in class. All fabrication techniques will be covered in detail in class, and no prior experience is required to successfully complete this course.

(Offered: Fall 2023)

ARTS H106  ARTS FOUNDATION - DRAWING  (0.5 Credit)

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

This is a seven-week introductory level course designed to provide an overview of basic drawing techniques addressing line, form, perspective, and composition. Various drawing methods will be introduced in class, and students will gain experience in drawing by working from still life, models, and architecture. Preference to declared majors who need Foundations, and to students who have entered the lottery for the same Foundations course at least once without success.

(Offered: Spring 2024)

ARTS H107  ARTS FOUNDATION-PAINTING  (0.5 Credit)

Jonathan Goodrich

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

A seven-week introductory course for students with little or no experience in painting. Students will be first introduced to the handling of basic tools, materials and techniques. We will study color theory such as interaction of color, value & color, warms & cools, complementary colors, optical mixture, texture, and surface quality. We will work from live model, still life, landscape, imagination and masterwork.

(Offered: Fall 2023)

ARTS H108  ARTS FOUNDATION-PHOTOGRAPHY  (0.5 Credit)

William Williams

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

This is a half-semester course to introduce the craft and artistry of photography to students with some or no skills in photography. Students learn how to develop negatives, print enlargements, and printing techniques such as burning, dodging, and exposure time. This class also requires a two-hour workshop. The day and time of the workshop will be determined during the first class. Offered in the second quarter.

(Offered: Fall 2023)

ARTS H121  FOUNDATION PRINTMAKING- RELIEF  (0.5 Credit)

Hee Sook Kim

Division: Humanities

(Offered: Spring 2024)

ARTS H124  FOUNDATION PRINTMAKING: MONOTYPE  (0.5 Credit)

Hee Sook Kim

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

Basic printmaking techniques in Monotype medium. Painterly methods, direct drawing, stencils, and brayer techniques for beginners in printmaking will be taught. Color, form, shape, and composition in 2-D format will be explored. Individual and group critiques will be employed.

(Offered: Fall 2023)

ARTS H142  INTRODUCTION TO VISUAL STUDIES  (1.0 Credit)

John Muse

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

An introduction to the trans-disciplinary field of Visual Studies, its methods of analysis and topical concerns. Traditional media and artifacts of art history and film theory, and also an examination of the ubiquity of images of all kinds, their systems of transmission, their points of consumption, and the very limits of visuality itself. Crosslisted: Visual Studies, Fine Arts, Comparative Literature

(Offered: Fall 2023)

ARTS H218  CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY AS AN ART FORM  (1.0 Credit)

Ying Li

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

This course combines studio practice and creating art projects with slide lectures, readings, and museum visits. Students will study the art of Chinese Calligraphy, and its connection with Western art. No Chinese language required.

ARTS H223  PRINTMAKING: MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES: ETCHING  (1.0 Credit)

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

Concepts and techniques of B/W & Color Intaglio. Line etching, aquatint, soft and hard ground, chin-colle techniques will be explored as well as visual concepts. Developing personal statements will be encouraged. Individual and group critiques will be employed. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor by review of portfolio

ARTS H224  COMPUTER AND PRINTMAKING  (1.0 Credit)

Hee Sook Kim

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

Computer-generated images and printmaking techniques. Students will create photographic, computer processed, and directly drawn images on lithographic polyester plates and zinc etching plates. Classwork will be divided between the computer lab and the printmaking studio to create images using both image processing software and traditional printmaking methods, including lithography, etching, and silk-screen. Broad experimental approaches to printmaking and computer techniques will be encouraged. Individual and group critiques will be employed. enrollment limit: 12 Lottery Preference: Fine Arts Major and Minors

(Offered: Spring 2024)

ARTS H225  LITHOGRAPHY: MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES  (1.0 Credit)

Hee Sook Kim

Division: Humanities

An intermediate course covering B/W and Color Lithography in plates. Combined methods with other printmaking techniques such as Paper lithography and Monotype are explored during the course along with photographic approaches. Editioning of images is required along with experimental ones. Development of technical skills in traditional Lithography and personal visual study are necessary with successful creative solutions. A strong body of work following a specific theme is required. Individual discussions and group critiques are held periodically. Additional research on the history of printmaking is requested.

ARTS H231  DRAWING (2-D): ALL MEDIA  (1.0 Credit)

Jonathan Goodrich

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

Students are encouraged to experiment with various drawing media and to explore the relationships between media, techniques and expression. Each student will strive to develop a personal approach to drawing while addressing fundamental issues of pictorial space, structure, scale, and rhythm. Students will work from observation, conceptual ideas and imagination. Course includes drawing projects, individual and group crits, slide lectures, museum and gallery visits.

(Offered: Fall 2023)

ARTS H233  PAINTING: MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES  (1.0 Credit)

Jonathan Goodrich

Division: Humanities

Students are encouraged to experiment with various painting techniques and materials in order to develop a personal approach to self-expression. We will emphasize form, color, texture, and the relationship among them; influences of various techniques upon the expression of a work; the characteristics and limitations of different media. Students will work from observation, conceptual ideas and imagination. Course includes drawing projects, individual and group crits, slide lectures, museum and gallery visits. Prerequisite: Fine Arts Foundations or consent.

(Offered: Spring 2024)

ARTS H243  SCULPTURE: MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES  (1.0 Credit)

Markus Baenziger

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

This course is designed to give students an in-depth introduction to a comprehensive range of three-dimensional concepts and fabrication techniques. Emphasis will be on wood and metal working, and additional processes such as casting procedures for a range of synthetic materials and working with digital tools including a laser cutter and CNC equipment will be introduced in class. Course may be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: ARTSH104 or permission from the instructor.

(Offered: Fall 2023)

ARTS H250  THEORY AND PRACTICE OF EXHIBITION: OBJECTS, IMAGES, TEXTS, EVENTS  (1.0 Credit)

John Muse

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

An introduction to the theory and practice of exhibition and display. This course will supply students with the analytic tools necessary to understand how exhibitions work and give them practical experience making arguments with objects, images, texts, and events.

ARTS H251  PHOTOGRAPHY: MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES  (1.0 Credit)

William Williams

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

Students are encouraged to develop an individual approach to photography. Emphasis is placed on the creation of color photographic prints which express plastic form, emotions and ideas about the physical world. Work is critiqued weekly to give critical insights into editing of individual student work and the use of the appropriate black-and-white photographic materials in analog or digital formats necessary to give coherence to that work. Study of the photography collection, gallery and museum exhibitions, lectures and a critical analysis of photographic sequences in books and a research project supplement the weekly critiques. In addition students produce a handmade archival box to house their work, which is organized into a loose sequence and mounted to archival standards. Prerequisite: Fine Arts 103 or equivalent.

(Offered: Fall 2023)

ARTS H322  EXPERIMENTAL STUDIO: ETCHING  (1.0 Credit)

Hee Sook Kim

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

An advanced course covers Color Etching using multiple plates. Viscosity printing, line etching, aquatint, soft-ground, surface roll, Chin-collè, plate preparation, registration, and editioning are covered. Students study techniques and concepts in Intaglio method as well as visual expressions through hands-on experiences. Development of technical skills of Intaglio and personal visual study are necessary and creative and experimental approaches beyond two-dimensional outcomes encouraged. A strong body of work following a specific theme is required. Individual discussions and group critiques are held periodically. Additional research on the history of printmaking is requested.

ARTS H331  EXPERIMENTAL STUDIO: DRAWING (2-D)  (1.0 Credit)

Ying Li

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

Students will build on the work done in 200 level courses, to develop further their individual approach to drawing. Students are expected to create projects that demonstrate the unique character of drawing in making their own art. Completed projects will be exhibited at the end of semester. Class will include weekly crits, museum visits, visiting artists' lecture and crits. Each student will present a 15- minute slide talk and discussion of either their own work or the work of artists who influenced them.

ARTS H333  EXPERIMENTAL STUDIO: PAINTING  (1.0 Credit)

Jonathan Goodrich

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

Students will build on the work done in 200 level courses to develop further their individual approach to painting. Students are expected to create projects that demonstrate the unique character of their chosen media in making their own art. Completed projects will be exhibited at the end of semester. Class will include weekly crits, museum visits, visiting artists' lecture and crits. Each student will present a 15- minute slide talk and discussion of either their own work or the work of artists who influenced them.

(Offered: Fall 2023)

ARTS H343  EXPERIMENTAL STUDIO: SCULPTURE  (1.0 Credit)

Markus Baenziger

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

In this studio course the student is encouraged to experiment with ideas and techniques with the purpose of developing a personal expression. It is expected that the student will already have a sound knowledge of the craft and aesthetics of sculpture and is at a stage where personal expression has become possible. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Fine Arts 243A or B, or consent of instructor

(Offered: Spring 2024)

ARTS H351  EXPERIMENTAL STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY  (1.0 Credit)

William Williams

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

Students produce an extended sequence of their work in either book or exhibition format using black and white or color photographic materials. The sequence and scale of the photographic prints are determined by the nature of the student's work. Weekly classroom critiques, supplemented by an extensive investigation of classic photographic picture books and related critical texts guide students to the completion of their course work. This two semester course consists of the book project first semester and the exhibition project second semester. At the end of each semester the student may exhibit his/her project.

(Offered: Fall 2023)

ARTS H460  TEACHING ASSISTANT  (0.5 Credit)

Staff

(Offered: Fall 2023)

ARTS H480  INDEPENDENT STUDY  (1.0 Credit)

Jonathan Goodrich

This course gives the advanced student the opportunity to experiment with concepts and ideas and to explore in depth his or her talent. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

(Offered: Fall 2023)

ARTS H499  SENIOR DEPARTMENTAL STUDIES  (1.0 Credit)

Hee Sook Kim

Division: Humanities

The student reviews the depth and extent of experience gained, and in so doing creates a coherent body of work expressive of the student's insights and skills. At the end of the senior year the student is expected to produce a show of his or her work.

(Offered: Fall 2023)