Lori Spencer
lspencer@uarts.edu
Fine Arts Chairperson
215-717-6065
Joe Girandola
jgirandola@uarts.edu
Painting/Drawing Coordinator
215-717-6106
Program Total Credits: 123
Students in the Painting/Drawing Program are consistently exposed to a wide range of both art historical precedents and contemporary art paradigms in order to realize that content/meaning is always specific to the form that is used to express it, to understand that choices of technical and stylistic approaches must be appropriate to desired ends, and to appreciate that the personal, the cultural and the historical are interlaced.
The curriculum is based on a framework of research, studio experimentation, artistic invention, and daily practice. In collaboration with Liberal Arts, we underpin the critical advantage of knowing exemplary works in the varied fields of literature, the physical and social sciences, history, religion, and philosophy. Our emphasis on the liberally educated artist assures that our graduates will be knowledgeable beyond contemporary studio skills, be enabled and motivated to add something of value, not only to painting’s historical legacy, but to the broader contemporary context of serious human enterprise.
Our capstone senior thesis project/solo exhibition prepares each individual for successful entry into graduate-level programs, and to be competitive in gaining other forms of support, such as those available in grants, residencies, and commercial gallery exhibitions.
Program Goals:
- Students will demonstrate a practical grasp of form-making and pictoriality.
- Students will demonstrate ability to define and perform appropriate working strategies and tactics.
- Students will demonstrate knowledge of historical contemporary paradigms in both Fine Arts and Liberal Arts models.
- Students will demonstrate conceptual development and independent thinking.
