ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

 

Whether you choose to emphasize art history, studio art or both in a balanced curriculum, by pursuing your art major at Whittier College, you will find yourself in the midst of one of the most exciting art cities in the world. 

Art history is the study of art objects and their relationship to culture. Courses in art history strive to utilize local art collections, including those at the Getty Center and Villa, the Norton Simon Museum, the Huntington Library, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art. With additional study at the graduate level, art history can lead to professional careers in college teaching, museum curatorship, fine arts librarianship, and publishing.  Studio art courses focus upon the creation of works of art: drawings, paintings, prints, sculptures, ceramic pieces and digital works. The studio art program emphasizes the concepts, materials, methods, and forms most commonly found in contemporary art. Students are guided toward mastery of technique and expression of ideas, which can be further pursued in graduate school, and lead to professional careers in fine arts, design, fashion , architecture, gallery and museum work, and teaching. Los Angeles is one of the most vital art centers of the world and serves as a rich learning resource.

The major in art offers three tracks: Studio Art; Art History; and Art & Art History (offering an even balance between studio art and art history classes).  See Majors & Minors for more information.

Department News

The Art & Art History department held its Annual Colloquy on December 11th, 2009 featuring excellent student work completed in the fall semester.  Artworks  and art history papers were presented from the following classes:  Age of Impressionism, Digital Art in Photography & Print Media, Intro. to 3-Dimensional Art, Special Projects in Painting and Figure Drawing, and Advanced Art Seminar. 

For more pictures click HERE