| OCR Text |
Show I IIl CID - - - -- - = FOCUS: ART DEPARTMENT .......... THE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL • SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY• FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1995 THE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL• SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1995 [ FoCus: ART DEPA~TMENT t Il Il l ... Art influences society, society in turn influences art SUU's art department strives to bridge the gap between modern, sterile thought and artistic expression A ssistant Professor of Art Perry Stewart conducts a discussion on the techniques and m edia commonly used in illustration in his Illustration I (ART 351) class. Stewart also teaches two-dimensional design (ART 110) and introduction to graphic design (ART 155). Two-dimensional design presents students with basic design principles and elem ents em ployed in all visual art expression. In graphic design, students study layout, trademark and poster design with an emphasis on creative visual problem solving to develop effective printed design. In a modern world brimmi11g with sweeping technological advances and fas ter-than-you-can-blink alterations of the social and educational scene, the opportunities to steep oneself in a field of learning as old as humanity itself can be rare indeed. Often, it may seem, the never-ending search for new patterns of thought, for unexplored realms of understanding, does nothing more than lead us ever farther away from history's first canvases on the walls and ceilings of the caves, from that first glorious bid at immortality recorded with a few bold strokes of the brush. Yes, the gap between modern, sterile thought and pre-historic expression appears to be growing by the day-and that, according to Southern Utah University's Art Department Head Mark Talbert, is a trend that needs reversing in a significant way. "Even as technology becomes a larger issue in our society, art remains one of the basic for ms of communication from the beginning of time," Talbert said. "You have to touch paint, to be i,nvolved personally, to learn about art; it's not something that e;an be gained from reading a textbook. "Art influences society, and society in turn influences art," he added. "That's why the Dark Ages were so dark: when art is gone, societies fall." And with a dedicated group of faculty members operating out of the department's Centrum off.ices and a cluster of facilities reserved for specific explorations into the realms of self-expression, the SUU art department isn't about to let the modern world dip back into darkness. Offering bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees in seven areas of specialization-including ce·rnmics, graphic design, painting, illustration and art history--the art department has seen its number of student majors nearly quadruple over the past decade-a positive sign in the continual crusade to keep the study of the arts alive. " We probably have the best student sp1it we've ever had in the history of this department,". Talbert said. "Traditionally this has been an art education program, but we're placing more and more students in graduate programs at Utah State and Arizona State. Talbert still wide-eyed SUU Art Department Head Mark Talbert has more than two decades of work as a professional ceramicist under his belt. However, he still describes the process of creating in clay with the same wide-eyed wonder of an elementary school student firing his or het first coil pot. "I like the idea that I can communicate with clay the same way paint can," Talbert said of his artistic passion. " I feel pots can evoke emotions that can't be communicated in any other way." A native of West Virginia, Talbert completed his undergraduate education at Fairmont State before earning graduate degrees at Indiana University at Pennsylvania and a Master of Fine Arts degree at Utah State University. Since then, he has filled various teaching roles in the public schools and at Brigham Young University, as well as apprenticing with the internationally renowned Robin Welch in Stradbrook, England. In his 12th year as a member of the SUU art department faculty, Talbert has had his artistic works featured in more than 60 national competitive shows held in some 30 states of the Union . Many of these shows have been invitationals which reserve space for only th~ most accomplished artists in America today-a tribute to the professor's abilities, to be sure, and one even more surprising given the fact that Talbert never intended to make clay his trade. "I began as a watercolor painter," the SUU department head said. " I took a ceramics class only because I had to as part of the curriculum-and then I couldn' t quit. " Whole cultures vanish, and all that's left is their pottery," he added of the appeal of ceramics. "The ability of my work to last thousands of years, and to remain the same as I created it, is very intriguing to me. "I make fossils, really- fossils that will be here long after all of us are gone. I guess you could say that the permanence of pottery is really what pulled me out of painting," he said. "My paintings seemed so temporary; they never seemed finished. " Now my work is a 50/50 proposition with me and the kiln. "There is that element that is completely out of my control. "I do the best I can, but you never really know until yo,u open the door to the kiln," he added. "I've been making pots professionally for 20 years, and I'm still as excited opening that door as I was the very first time." " I'd say we have more professional artists out in the world and making a living from their art than ever before." Such a successful focus on producing both highly-skilled art educators and professional artists in their own right, Talbert believes, is a tribute to the efforts of the department's talented faculty. " We have had some very diverse groups of faculty; the professors are from different areas of the country, and they all have different educational backgrounds, " the department head said. "And the faculty are also producing professional artists who take their work very seriously. "They all work with galleries and shows nationwide, and are able 'That one-on-one interaction with professors who ore professional artists themselves is something they can't get anywhere else,' said Mork Talbert, associate professor of art and head.of the -art deportm!nt~ to balance that professional work with their teaching." As might be expected, SUU's students of art have responded very favorably to the opportunity to work closely with men and women who are award-winning sculptors, painters and ceramicists in their own right. "We are still attracting students because of our size, Talbert said of the department. "Every student I have interviewed for a scholarship says the reason he or she wants to come to SUU is because of our size and the opportunities to spend time in the studio. "That one-on-one interaction with professors who are professional artists themselves is something they can't get anywhere else." T he department's concentration on the basics of expression is 11 another feature recommending SUU to art students nationwide, Talbert .;aid. " If I could pick one thing that separates us fro m other universities in the nation, it is that we have focused on the elements of design and other fundamental skills," he said. "Self-expression comes from knowing these fundamental skillsand many other universities have abandoned that philosophy." That is not to say, however, that Talbert and the SUU department aren't ready to share their considerable talents and ideas with those bent on careers outside of the classroom and the professional studio. " Even though art majors are our primary concern, the fact that we teach general educational classes is very important too," the department head said. "It is vital to the general education process that students can come in and have a right-brained experience. I tell my Ceram ics 16 1 class that this is as important a class as any they will ever take. "These are classes that use all the senses, all the emotions. You have to touch paint, to be involved personally to learn in classes like these. This isn't paint-by-numbers; art goes much deeper than that, and we try to make that connection not only with our majors, but with every student we teach. " Studios set aside fo r each of the department's disciplines, a Visiting Artists program sponsored by the Utah Arts Council as a means of exposing students who are regionally isolated from major m useums and galleries to the work of national artists, and a student force more prepared than ever before to tackle th( heady nuances of self-expression have the professors in this campus department looking forward to the years ahead. Challenging years they will be, to be sure-but what else would one expect from the on-going crusade to balance 21st-century technology with timeless creativity? "I think I can speak for everyone in the department when I say that we feel really good about what is going on h ere," Talbert concluded of the SUU art department. "We have a very solid program, both professionally and academically, and we offer a good breadth of opportunities for those who are going out into teaching roles themselves as well as for those looking to get into graduate programs." Art broadens cultural backgrounds By JENNIFER MORLEY ASSISTANT EDITOR Mark Talber Michelangelo (Buonarroti--not the Ninja Turtle) once said, "The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection." SUU's art department aims not toward divine perfection, but toward broaden,ing the cultural backgrounds of all students and, at the same time, toward offering a solid foundation for sedous art students. Classes offered by the department range from art appreciation to art history, and from drawing and composition to advanced painting. SU's art students have the opportunity to take courses in several different forms of art including drawing, two- and three-dimensiQnal design, graphic design, ceramics, oil and watercolor painting, illustration, sculpture, intaglio/ lithography and silkscreen/relief. Anton Chekhov once said "T here is nothing new in art except talent." Students who have an interest in art but feel they lack the talent to become a serious artist may find that art history is the specialization for them . Although SUU does not have an art history major, the art department offers three art history courses- ancient, Renaissance and modern. Ancient art history covers developments in art and aichitecture from prehistoric times to the Gothic era, with an emphasis on western civilization. Renaissance.:art history epvers the Renaissance and Post- Renaissance period, including Mannerism, Baroque an d Rococo, with an emphasis on important Renaissance artists and architects. Students in the modern art history class study modern art and architecture from the neo-classical period to the present, with an emphasis on western civilization. One of the most popular areas in the art department is ceramics. Introduction to ceramics (ART 161 ) teaches techniques in coil-building, slab work, wheel throwing, carving and pinching. Intermediate ceramics (ART 361) gives students the opportunity to learn more about kiln firing, glaze formation, and advanced ceramic construction techniques. The art department also offers a life drawing and anatom y course, which entails studying the bones and muscle structure of the human body with emphasis on the needs of the artist. The class also teaches objective, interpretive drawing of the human figure with an emphasis on structure using models. Johann W. von Goethe once said, "The connoisseur of art must be able to appreciate what is simply beautiful, but the common run of people are satisfied with ornament." SUU's general education art appreciation course teaches students to be connoisseurs of art and appreciate beauty by studying the principles and ideas underlying visual art expresions. For more serious art students, SUU offers art appreciation for majors, which focuses more on aesthetics, art criticism and historical context. Am y Mertlich, a junior art ma jor from Spokane, Washington, receives pottery advice from Associate Professor and Department Head of Art Mark Talbert. ' |
