Visual Arts
Joel Libby, chair; Brent Bergherm, Jerry Hartman
The Department of Visual Arts fosters a creative environment where students learn to effectively engage with society and each other while developing their unique craft and vision. We believe that each student’s creativity is a natural gift from God and work toward cultivating an awareness, appreciation, and understanding of the various forms of visual experience and expression within the context of the human experience. Through instruction and practice, students develop their creative abilities for practical use. The Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) degree offers majors in film, fine art, and graphic design. The department also offers an Associate of Fine Art in visual art and minors in film, fine art, graphic design, and photography.
The BFA is a professional degree that provides an opportunity for developing technical competence and aesthetic and ethical discernment, preparing students for studio art and industry careers. Unique to a BFA, and making up approximately one quarter of the degree, art studio courses provide students time for personal practice within a major of study to develop unique creativity, craft, and vision as they demonstrate competencies within their discipline. Art studio courses provide collaboration between all BFA majors, and each course is mentored by multiple art professors who provide individualized feedback along a customized learning path. The art studio experience culminates in a body of work that during the final year of the degree, students present in public art galleries and film festivals including a student designed show at the Clyde and Mary Harris Gallery in spring quarter.