Program: Art - Swarthmore College - Modern Campus Catalog™

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 Art¹
LOGAN GRIDER, Associate Professor of Art
JODY JOYNER, Assistant Professor of Art
RON TARVER, Associate Professor of Art, Chair of Art
WILLIAM UDELL, Visting Assistant Professor-Part Time⁵

¹Absent on leave Fall 2025
⁵Fall 2025

Staff

STACY BOMENTO, Visual Resources Curator
CAREN BRENMAN, Administrative Coordinator
DOUG HERREN, Technical Assistant

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 the Senior Capstone.
ARTT 101: Contemporary Art Practice must be completed before entry into the Senior Capstone.
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 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 it pass/fail.
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 Program 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 course and honors art majors are 10-credit majors. To fulfill the Honors requirements, Art Honors majors must also complete an artist essay paper, solo exhibition, and Honors examination. 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.
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.
In addition to the honors requirements, the Art major’s senior exhibition is a comprehensive exam and is pass/fail.

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.

Art