MISSION STATEMENT

It is the goal of the Department of Art and Art History to develop and maintain an educational program in which the students learn the historical and creative possibilities of visual culture. Visual art is a basic and universal category of human expression and communication.

The faculty in the department are visual specialists who analyze, organize, and give form to ideas and information. The curriculum emphasizes research and conceptual thinking, creative problem solving, the development of specific skills, and the historical function of art. Across the four concentrations of the department, the common aim is to impart these diverse methods, skills, and problems to the students in order to provide a foundation for their understanding of visual culture in contemporary times and historically. Whether in studio classes, design laboratories, or art history seminars, the department strives to develop an understanding of art as an individual act of creative self discovery as well as a social process. This conceptual focus allows for an emphasis on the creative and verbal exchange of ideas which in turn fosters a more critical and productive response to visual culture.

We believe that this mission is essential for enabling our students to achieve their full potential in a modern, visually-oriented, and technologically sophisticated world. Thus, we see our goals as a natural extension of the Vincentian tradition of empowering critical, empathetic, socially engaged, and creative human beings.