College Bulletin 2023-2024
Art
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Faculty & Staff
Art Program Faculty & Staff
Faculty
MARIEL CAPANNA, Visiting Assistant Professor of Art
SONY DEVABHAKTUNI, Assistant Professor of Art
RANDALL EXON, Sarah Lawrence-Lightfoot Professor of Art
LOGAN GRIDER, Associate Professor of Art, Chair of Art3
JODY JOYNER, Assistant Professor of Art
RON TARVER, Associate Professor of Art, Acting Chair of Art
KATI GEGENHEIMER, Visiting Assistant Professor-Part Time6
DANI LEVINE, Visting Assistant Professor-Part Time6
3Absent on leave Fall 2023-Spring 2024
5Fall 2023
Staff
STACY BOMENTO, Visual Resources Curator
CAREN BRENMAN, Administrative Coordinator
DOUG HERREN, Studio Technician
Academic Program
Art Academic Program
For more information about the Art program visit: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art
Requirement for Admission to the Art Major
- Completion of at least two courses in art at Swarthmore with grades of B or better.
Requirements for Completion of the Major
All Art majors are required to take 10 courses (nine credits of Art courses and one credit of Art History) to fulfill major requirements. Five art credits in a chosen medium will form an art concentration. Of these five courses, one will be the Senior Capstone. The areas of concentration are painting, photography, and sculpture. In addition, art majors will be required to take the two-credit course ARTT 101: Contemporary Art Practice Seminar. ARTT 101 will be offered each Fall and should be taken in the senior year as a precursor to Senior Capstone. Additionally, students must complete two elective studio courses outside their area of concentration. The one required Art History credit should relate to the chosen area of concentration in the art major. Students are encouraged to take more Art History courses in their time at Swarthmore. These courses would count outside the Art major.
Art Major Credits:
- Five courses in one art concentration (including the Senior Capstone)
- Two elective art courses
- One Art History course related to the area of concentration
- ARTT 101: Contemporary Art Practice (double-credit seminar, offered each Fall semester
Further Information:
Four credits in an art concentration must be completed before entry into a Senior Capstone.
● ARTT 101: Contemporary Art Practice must be completed before entry into a Senior Capstone.
● As part of ARTT 101, art majors will write a significant research paper on a topic related to their own interests and work.
● Up to two credits abroad can count toward the major.
● Art majors are required to mount a selection of their thesis work in a group exhibition in the List Gallery. The exhibitions will be curated in collaboration with art faculty and the List Gallery
director. The exhibitions are scheduled during the end of spring semester each year.
● Honors art majors are required to mount a solo exhibition in the List Gallery, and in addition to giving an artist’s talk, all honors art majors must complete a 3,750- to 5,000-word artist essay,
framing their work, influence, and process for readers.
● The senior exhibition is a comprehensive exam and is a pass/fail.
● There is no course minor in art, only an honors minor.
● CR/NC designations cannot be accepted for courses inside the major
Concentrations and the Architecture Special Major in Art
When a student majors in art, they will choose a concentration to help focus their creative process and to deeply hone specific skills. Majors will select from concentrations in painting, sculpture, photography, or an architectural studies special major in art. Selection of a concentration will take place during the sophomore year. Regardless of concentration, each art major will be given their own studio space housed in Whittier Hall. At the culmination of their four years at Swarthmore, the majors exhibit their senior work in the List Gallery.
Further Information:
- Four credits in an art concentration must be completed before entry into the Senior Capstone.
- ARTT 101: Contemporary Art Practice must be completed before entry into the Senior Capstone.
- As part of ARTT 101, art majors will write a significant research paper on a topic related to their own interests and work.
- Up to two credits abroad can count toward the major.
- Art majors are required to mount a selection of their thesis work in a group exhibition in the List Gallery. The exhibitions will be curated in collaboration with art faculty and the List Gallery director. The exhibitions are scheduled during the end of spring semester each year.
- Honors art majors are required to mount a solo exhibition in the List Gallery, and in addition to giving an artist’s talk, all Honors art majors must complete a 3,750- to 5,000-word artist essay, framing their work, influence, and process for readers.
- There is no course minor in art, only an Honors minor.
- CR/NC designations cannot be accepted for courses inside the major.
Art Majors and the 20-Course Rule
It is a College requirement that 20 of the 32 credits required for graduation must be outside the major. This means that students can take no more than 12 courses in the major unless they graduate with more than 32 credits, in which case the surplus can also be in the major. For art majors, the required one credit in art history counts within the major, but additional credits in art history count outside the major.
Off-Campus Study
The Art Program strongly encourages those with an interest in art and its history to consider incorporating study abroad - either during a summer or a regular academic term - into their Swarthmore program. Important examples of art and architecture are scattered throughout the world, and the encounter with works still embedded in their original context is vital to an understanding of their historical and contemporary significance. Students who are interested in bettering their chances of gaining a full Swarthmore credit for a course taken in a foreign program are advised to meet with their advisor and the chair of the Art Department before leaving the campus. Up to two credits abroad can count toward the major.
Academic Program Requirements for the Honors Art Major and Minor
Requirements for admission to honors do not differ from those for admission to the course major. Students will be expected to maintain an average of B or better in all courses in art. The honors art major is an 11-credit major with the additional credit (to the course major) added from the required two-credit art history seminar. All art majors are required to take 11 courses (nine credits of art courses and two credits of art history) to fulfill major requirements. Five art credits in a chosen medium will form an art concentration. Of these five courses, one will be the Senior Capstone. The areas of concentration are painting, photography, and sculpture. In addition, all art majors will be required to take the two-credit course ARTT 101: Contemporary Art Practice Seminar. ARTT 101 will be offered each Fall and should be taken in the senior year as a precursor to Senior Capstone. Additionally, students must complete two elective studio courses outside their area of concentration. ALL PREPARATIONS FOR HONORS MUST BE APPROVED IN ADVANCE BY THE DEPARTMENT.
Honors Major
- An honors major in art will present three preparations in art.
- Each of the three art preparations will consist of two paired art courses. The examiner of each preparation will receive the syllabus for each examined course and the images representing the body of work produced in them, and will examine the student in an individual oral of 30 minutes.
- Each pair of art courses can consist of an intermediate and an advanced course in a specific medium, OR two courses with a different approach to the same medium, OR two related courses.
- One pair of courses must be focused on a medium outside the concentration
- Art courses taken at an institution outside Swarthmore cannot count toward an honors studio preparation.
- Only courses taught by regularly teaching faculty in art can be applied toward a preparation. Courses taught by regularly returning adjuncts might be applied pending department approval.
- Honors preparations approved in the sophomore year must be adhered to. Any later changes to your program must be approved by the department.
- Honors candidates in art must fulfill the course major requirements.
- Honors study in art consists of a culminating solo exhibition of the student’s studio work in the List Gallery, with an accompanying artist essay of 3,750 to 5,000 words. Some of this work may figure in the selections of work presented for one or both of the course pairs described above, but the rationale for inclusion in the exhibition will differ. The artist essay will be sent to all examiners of art preparations.
Honors Minor
- An honors minor in art will present to the honors examiners one art preparation, which must be a combination of the Senior Capstone and another related course.
- An honors minor in art must fulfill the requirements for the course major in art.
- During the spring semester of senior year, an honors minor in art will write a 2,500-word artist essay to be sent to the examiner, along with the relevant syllabi and images for the two-credit preparation.
Architectural Studies Special Major in Art
Architectural Studies: Special Major in Art at Swarthmore
Architectural Studies at Swarthmore is undergoing an administrative and pedagogical reconfiguring to better respond to student interest in the design of the built environment. Students considering the Architectural Studies Special Major in Art at the College should speak with their advisor or contact Sony Devabhaktuni, Assistant Professor of Art [Architecture] in the Department of Art and Art History. A new pathway for the study of architecture will be in place for Sophomore planning in January 2025.
Students graduating before Spring 2027 may continue to pursue architectural studies as a special major; those with a particular interest in studio practice and the design of the built environment are encouraged to make art their primary program. The architectural studies special major in art focuses on the skills and methods needed to undertake an architectural design project. Projects vary in scale and research agenda, but share a conception of architectural studies that aligns making, craft and materials with humanistic inquiry and social urgency. Students in the special major are encouraged to make interdisciplinary links with studies throughout the College and to rigorously document their work in a design portfolio that reflects their interests and capacities.
The existing architectural studies special major in art comprises 11-credits. Students craft their program of study in consultation with their advisor. An architectural studies special major in art includes a total of seven credits in art (five credits from art courses in architectural design, architectural making, sculpture, painting, photography and drawing plus the two-credit Senior Capstone), at least two credits in relevant architectural history courses, and at least two credits in additional departments that meet the student’s particular interests in the built environment (these could include math, physics, sociology & anthropology, environmental studies, philosophy, Black studies, theater, and engineering, among many possibilities).
In the two-credit Senior Capstone, architectural studies special majors in art identify a research program and develop a design project over the course of the year-long, two-semester course. This work culminates with a group exhibition of all Senior Capstone art majors in the List Gallery. Architectural Studies special majors in art are granted individual studios in Whittier Hall, alongside other art majors, to complete work for their Capstone projects. Students may also elect to combine the Senior Capstone with others courses for evaluation in the college Honors program. Students graduating as an Honors major are granted a solo show in one of the List Gallery’s two rooms.
An architectural studies special major in art prepares students for graduate school in architecture, landscape architecture, industrial design, urban planning, historic preservation, and architectural history and theory. Students are also equipped with design and critical thinking skills that can be applied to non-professional roles in design, policy, curation and beyond.
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