Visual Arts (ART, Graphic Design)

Tim Steele, Acting Head
Department of Visual Arts
Grove Hall 101
605-688-4103
fax: 605-688-6769
e-mail: sdsu.artdept@sdstate.edu
http://www3.sdstate.edu/Academics/CollegeOfArtsAndScience/VisualArts/Index.cfm

Faculty

Professor Steele, Acting Head; Professors French, Wallace; Professors Emeriti Edie, Gambill, Spinar; Professors Emeritae Morgan, Stuart; Associate Professors Benzer, Clark, Assistant Professors Cempellin and Hardin. Visiting artists include Behl, Frewaldt, and Stemwedel in Brookings, and Bashore and Peters at University Center in Sioux Falls.

Program

The Department of Visual Arts curricula present art and design studio and lecture experiences to all SDSU and University Center students, regardless of their major. Students pursue careers as artists, art educators, or graphic designers. The Department offers both the B.S. and B.A. degrees with majors in Art or Graphic Design at our Brookings campus. Within the Art major a student has a choice of Art Education or Visual Arts specializations. There are three areas of emphasis within the Visual Arts specialization: painting/printmaking, ceramics/sculpture, and general art. We now offer the Graphic Design major at University Center in Sioux Falls, and the full range of all courses at the Brookings campus of SDSU. In Brookings, the Department operates seven specialized studios as well as two multi-purpose studios, located in Grove Hall and the Industrial Arts Building for drawing, printmaking, painting, graphic design, computer graphics, moving image courses, ceramics, and
sculpture.

All Department of Visual Arts students must maintain at least a major GPA of 2.6 on a 4.0 scale for the duration of the program. The Department Reviews Required of All Majors to complete their degree. All majors enroll in three courses, an assessment program of three reviews that considers her/his development: the First Review, the Portfolio Review Jury on Student Progress and the Senior Review.

The First Review (ART 110) introduces the major to the department curricula, faculty, service programs, and
extracurricular opportunities and assesses basic art knowledge through a test.
After the major has completed 15 credit hours of Visual Arts Studio Core courses and ARTH 100, he/she must enroll in the Portfolio Review Jury on Student Progress (ART 200) to continue in the department; this review involves the submission of a portfolio of studio work to a Jury of two faculty who evaluate the student’s progress. This review must be passed in order to continue at the Junior level in the major.
The Senior Review (ART 400) consists of a public exhibition of the student’s art or design works; for students entering after Fall 2006, Seniors also must pass the art knowledge test taken earlier in ART 110. The entire faculty acts as a jury of the whole in the evaluation of each degree candidate.

The Art Major (B.S. or B.A.)

Specialization in Art Education (B.S. or B.A.)
For the Art Education specialization, the student completes the Department’s Visual Arts Core of studio courses (ART 111, 112, 121, 122, 123, 211), the Department Reviews (ART 110, 200, 400) and art history courses (ARTH 100, 211, 212, and ARTH Advanced Writing Requirement); the System Requirements (SGRs-30 credit hours) and Institutional Requirements (IGRs-8-9 credit hours); Teacher Education coursework (32 credit hours); and 15 credit hours in art (ceramics and sculpture), including coursework in discipline-based methods. You can pursue either a B.S. or a B.A. degree. The faculty strongly recommend a double major or emphasis in a Visual Arts program, in order to strengthen the student’s artistic or design capacities.

Specialization in Visual Arts (B.S. or B.A.)
The Visual Arts path presents a choice of three emphases in this specialization: (a) Painting/Printmaking Emphasis, (b) Ceramics/Sculpture Emphasis, and (c) General Art Emphasis. You can pursue either a B.S. or a B.A. degree. Each emphasis includes instruction in specific technical skills, application of theory and conceptual development encouraging personal direction in preparation for professional practice and/or graduate study. For each emphasis, the student completes the System Requirements (SGRs-30 credit hours), Institutional Requirements (IGRs-8-9 credit hours) and the Department’s Reviews (ART 110, 200, 400); Visual Arts Core of studio courses (ART 111, 112, 121, 122, 123, and 211) and art history courses (ARTH 100, 211, 212, and ARTH Advanced Writing Requirement).

For either the Ceramics/Sculpture or Painting/Printmaking emphasis, students complete an additional associated 30 credit hours in Art courses. The coursework centers on both areas in the specific emphasis-a minimum of four courses are completed in either discipline, for a total of 18 credit hours. The student fulfills the degree with twelve credit hours of electives with Art (ART), Art History (ARTH), Graphic Design (ARTD), or Art Education (ARTE) prefixes.
For the General Art Emphasis, 24 credit hours of Visual Arts Department courses allow the student to create their own distinctive set of Visual Arts courses. This selection of coursework must include three courses in one visual art discipline, that is, animation, ceramics, painting, sculpture, or printmaking, or three courses in graphic design for a total of nine credit hours. To complete the coursework, the student completes fifteen credit hours of electives with Art (ART), Art History (ARTH), Graphic Design (ARTD), or Art Education (ARTE) prefixes.

Visual Arts Field Trips
Visual Arts’ commitment to concrete and intensifying experiences is realized through regularly scheduled field trips to art centers in the state and region, as well as student trips to art galleries and museums in national and international centers. Recent department-sponsored trips have included central Italy, Chicago, New York, and numerous trips to the Twin Cities.

The Graphic Design Major (B.S. or B.A.)

The Department of Visual Arts offers a major in Graphic Design that is comprised of design studio, lecture, and practical applications. You can pursue either a B.S. or a B.A. degree. Graphic Design majors study visual communications theory and practice in digital, print, time-based, on-line, and interactive media. Areas of study may include, but are not limited to, classical and computer animation, logos, computer graphics, publication and Web page design, illustration, advertising, posters, and multi-media. The program aims to develop a knowledge base for careers that can relate to professional practice, and students prepare a graphic design portfolio for use after graduation to seek positions in business and industry as well as nonprofit organizations.

Students complete the System Requirements (SGRs-30 credit hours), Institutional Requirements (IGRs-8-9 credit hours), and the Department’s Visual Arts Core of studio courses (ART 111, 112, 121, 122, 123, and ARTD 202), Department Reviews (ART 110, 200, 400), and art history courses (ARTH 100, 211, 212, and ARTH Advanced Writing Requirement); an associated 21 credit hours of graphic design courses that consist of design theory, visual communications, computer graphics, design media, photography or time-based media; and several credit hours of Art and Graphic Design electives with Art (ART), Art History (ARTH), Graphic Design (ARTD), or Art Education (ARTE) prefixes.

Graphic Design Internships, Field Trips and the MacIntosh Lap-top Requirement

The program’s distinctive interest in practical experiences is realized through internships, regularly scheduled field trips to graphic design, corporate studios, public relations, and advertising offices and studios in the region, as well as student trips to design conferences and art galleries and museums. Annually, trips are made to Minneapolis, Omaha, and Sioux Falls. Special professional trips have included Germany, Los Angeles, Japan, Chicago, Copenhagen, Denver, Dallas, and New York.
Graphic Design has a MacIntosh laptop computer recommendation: MacBook Pro; suggest minimum of 2 gigabytes RAM.

The Transfer Review
The Transfer Review will be scheduled for the first Friday afternoon of each semester. (1) Transfer studio credits are assessed by these criteria: must meet the Department Standard of 2 contact hours per hour of semester credit as well as meet course syllabus content and expectations. (2) Credit cannot be given for duplication of courses. (3) Students may be advised to repeat a course of study for no credit, if the jury deems it appropriate, in order to meet program’s expectations and standards. However, the student is not required to repeat that course, if, (a) it was completed at a SD Board of Regents university and (b) listed as a common course in the numbering system of the SDBOR. (4) The Department Head may ask that ART 200 be conducted at the same time of Transfer Review. If so, this will require adding ART 200 to the student’s semester schedule.

The Ritz Gallery, the South Dakota Art Museum, and University Archives

Located in Grove Hall, The Ritz Gallery program of public exhibitions presents works of students, faculty, alumni, and visiting
artists/designers throughout the year. Ritz exhibitions offer visual art enrichment for the campus, community, and the state of South Dakota, as well as the public scrutiny of the Department programs in all of their variety. The annual schedule of 20 exhibitions also functions heavily in the curriculum.

The South Dakota Art Museum, the state’s official art museum, is not far from Grove Hall. Its “smart” auditorium is the site for the art history courses. Our majors participate in the museum’s rich program of exhibitions; these include works from its permanent collections, as well as visiting artists and international exhibitions. The museum also sponsors a series of artists’ talks, films, and workshops. Visit their Web site: http://www3.sdstate.edu/Administration/SouthDakotaArtMuseum/

Located in the Hilton Briggs Library, the University Archives contain an important growing collection of graphic design, fine books, the complete volume of original William Hogarth prints, and cuneiform tablets from ancient Sumeria. The archives offers a valuable resource to the material culture study that is essential in art and design history.