Art & Art History (ART)
The Department of Art & Art History offers students the opportunity to explore their own artistic impulses and the creative vision of visual artists through its two majors: art & design, and art history. We connect the visual arts to ideas and to global culture.
Majors
The department offers majors in art & design, and art history. It also offers minors in art & design, and art history. Students contemplating either of these majors are encouraged to discuss their interests and programs with the department chair or an appropriate department faculty member prior to declaring a major in the spring of the sophomore year. The skills of writing, speaking, researching and learning to analyze various sources (i.e., information literacy), and cultural fluency are integral to the disciplines of studio art and art history and play an important role in the department’s curriculum.
Resources
We have well-equipped studios in areas of painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture, as well as drawing and graphic design. In addition, we have a computer lab for digital media. The Samek Art Museum, located in the Elaine Langone Center, organizes exhibitions and installation projects that put contemporary art and historical art in dialogue with other disciplines. Its permanent collection – which includes especially strong holdings in the graphic arts and photography, as well as the Samuel H. Kress Collection of European paintings and sculpture – is used for study and research by classes in art & design, and art history. Together, the Department of Art & Art History and the Samek Art Museum sponsor workshops, lectures and on-site installations by visiting artists, critics and historians. Faculty and students take advantage of Bucknell’s proximity to major museums and galleries through organized trips and individual travel to sites including New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
Honors
A program leading to a major with honors in art & design or art history may be proposed by the student in consultation with the department chair and appropriate department faculty. The student generally undertakes a specifically designed sequence of courses and independent research culminating in a significant studio project or written thesis.
Graduate Study and Careers
Students considering graduate studies in art & design, art history, art administration, art conservation, museum studies or related fields should consult College Art Association (CAA) guides and other materials available online and in the art department office. Department faculty members will be glad to provide information on careers in art and art history and on M.A., M.F.A. and Ph.D. programs and fellowships.
Faculty
Professors: Tulu Bayar, Roger I. Rothman (Chair)
Associate Professors: Jonathan C. Frey, Anna Kell, Eddy A. López, Joseph Meiser
Assistant Professors: Carly Boxer, Carolyn Wargula
Visiting Assistant Professor: Paolo Morales