Visual Arts areas of emphasis

Ceramics

A concentration in Ceramics at Loyola offers the student practice and exposure to most aspects of the ceramics arts, its making and history. We encourage any and all serious ceramic investigations without any philosophical paradigms. Classes are small (10 students maximum) with syllabi emphasizing pottery, hand-building and mold work. Class assignments include glaze room projects, kiln theories and practice and library research. Students have access to the studio outside of scheduled classes and weekends. Visiting artists and workshops occur annually. Recent guests were: Joe Bova, Sally Barbier, John Donovan, Paul Soldner, Dennis Sipiorski, Tracy and Catherine Dotson, and Bill Kremer.

CERAMICS FACILITIES

The Ceramics area includes: a large community studio, glaze room, clay mixing room, electric kiln room and outdoor gas kiln area. Seniors have a semi-private studio work area. Equipment includes: 4 electric pottery wheels, 2 kick wheels, 1 hand extruder, 1 Soldner clay mixer, 3 electric kilns, 1 raku kiln and 1 high fire gas kiln.

Drawing

The Loyola Visual Arts Drawing Curriculum is perception based and immerses the students in the methodologies of seeing and translating what is seen through a variety of traditional and experimental media and processes. The complete program, which includes three courses of study, Drawing I, Drawing II, and Advanced Drawing recognizes that even though advances in technology have become integral to some studio experiences, the hand drawn image still carries with it a remarkable means of communicating the intellect and the expression of the artist in a direct way.

Painting

The pursuit of the discipline of painting at Loyola may be followed through three classes, Painting I, II and II as well as through independent study classes arranged with the professor. In Painting I, students are introduced to both traditional and contemporary approaches to painting and are encouraged to combine the skill building that is essential in entry level classes with exploration of any ideas that they are able to conceive. The territory occupied by painting is expansive, the boundaries fluid. All painting classes include the discussion of the art historical antecedents of any problems undertaken. In Painting I and even more emphatically in Painting II and III, students are charged with finding their own “voices,” with taking permission to realize projects that investigate the alleged boundaries of the discipline if they are so disposed. Students may also focus on exploring and defining nuances of more established ground if that is their inclination.

PAINTING FACILITIES

The Department of Visual Arts offers two sections of Painting I, which are taught in a rather large room that accommodates classes of up to twelve students. Storage is provided for paintings and supplies. Painting II and III are taught simultaneously in a less capacious classroom, as upper division classes tend to be smaller. Advanced students each have their own work area throughout the semester. Solvents and other basic supplies such as gesso and staple guns are provided by the department through lab fees.

Sculpture

The area of Sculpture encourages students to consider the media of sculpture in a post-modern way. Students are asked to consider the idea and then apply the process. Sculpture is no longer subtractive or additive; it encompasses a variety of materials and processes.

The first half of the semester we concentrate on students looking at all of life's experiences and how those experiences can be applied in three dimensions. The second half of the semester we apply these experiences in combination with some conventional processes such as woodworking and welding. Students are encouraged to consider all possibilities in the making of sculpture.

SCULPTURE FACILTIES

The sculpture program has two studios. One for woodworking or mixed media and one for metal and welding. Students also use spaces throughout the art building for illustrating their ideas. The wood shop is equipped with a table saw, drill press, band saw, radial saw, planer, drum, belt and disk sanders, plus all of the hand tools necessary to realize an idea. The metal shop is equipped with welding tanks, arc welders, plasma cutter, sand blaster, drill presses, sheet metal sheer, sheet metal roller, and a large metal band saw. Students will receive instruction and safety precautions on all of the machines during the course of the semester.

Printmaking

The printmaking program at Loyola offers all traditional printmaking media as well as digital and electronic printmaking capabilities. It also houses a fully equipped bindery where students can explore the book format as a vehicle for personal expression.

PRINTMAKING FACILITIES

The Department of Visual Arts offers a fully equipped printmaking studio with one large American French Tool etching press, one small Sturgess etching press, one large format Charles Brand lithography press, a Challenger letterpress proof press and a Vandercook model T-4 letterpress. Traditional etching, relief, and stone lithography is offered with an assortment of hand set type and thirty-four lithographic stones ranging in sizes from 8 x 10 inches to 24 x 36 inches. The shop also houses a fully equipped bindery with one large standing press, a large format board shear, and various nipping and finishing presses. In addition to the traditional printmaking media, a digital printmaking area is supported by five Macintosh G4 computers, a Xante' Filmaker/Filmstar photo transparency system and a 9 x 12 inch Jet photopolymer platemaker for photo-relief and letterpress work.

Digital Arts

This discipline area allows students to address new digital media expression in print and motion media. Areas covered include almost all options for digitizing, creating, manipulating, and the output of digital images. Regular and rotating course offerings are augmented by Independent Study. Included in the program are digital print, digital video, 3D modeling and animation, compositing for video, sound, and authoring for web and DVD delivery. Emphasis is on the creation and understanding of fine art production in this new media. The approach addresses the acquisition of an overview and facility in integration of all the digital media, software, and hardware with a conceptually sound fine art expression.

DIGITAL ARTS FACILITIES

The Computer-Based Imaging Lab is one of the first and most powerful digital instructional facilities in the region. Established for over a decade, the facility boasts over twenty workstations. The workstations range from single and dual one gigahertz processor Macintoshes to several G4 machines dedicated to digitizing, video, sound, and specialty applications in photo and printmaking.

Peripheral equipment includes flatbed and slide scanners; film printers, color printers; video output via VHS, Beta SP, DV, and DVD; audio and midi input and output; data/video projectors; DV still and video cameras; and other immersive delivery media. Motion media software includes Final Cut Pro, Media 100, AfterEffects, DVD Studio Pro, Cinema 4D. Other software includes PhotoShop, Macromedia's Web Suite, Illustrator, InDesign, and several specialty applications. Access for enrolled students is 24/7.

 

Updated June 9, 2009