Art

Art students at Lewis & Clark work with a curriculum that suits both the student who is serious about pursuing a career or graduate school in art and the student who wants to develop his or her skills and appreciation for art. Students who wish to take art purely for pleasure find that most courses are open to the nonmajor. Majors and nonmajors alike enjoy working with faculty members who are nationally and internationally known artists.

Art majors have several options. They may concentrate on studio art or art history, or work with a faculty adviser to design a major in arts administration.

Studio artists explore a variety of media in their first few years at Lewis & Clark. They also explore the traditions and foundations of art through three courses in art history. After they have experimented in a variety of areas, art students select an area of particular interest -- painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, ceramics, or graphic design -- and pursue formal instruction in their field. Studio art course enrollments are limited to 18 students per section.

After completing at least two courses in a chosen medium, seniors are prepared to pursue a senior project that culminates in a seminar and show in their final year.

Art historians combine their love for art with their interest in the historical, social, and cultural development of art. At Lewis & Clark, students who concentrate in art history may choose courses in both Western and East Asian art. Western art offerings focus on Renaissance, baroque, modern, contemporary, and American art and architecture. The sequence of courses in art history offers preparation for those students who plan to participate in one of Lewis & Clark's overseas study programs. Art history courses typically enroll 10 to 40 students.

Lewis & Clark's art department also offers a minor in art. The art minor combines exposure to art history with a substantial amount of studio work. Students who are not sure they want an art career but who want to develop their artistic skills and knowledge enjoy this approach.

Students concentrating in any area of art are encouraged to undertake an internship in which they receive exposure to the working world of art. There are many opportunities in Portland to work with graphic artists and designers, in art museums and galleries, or with historical agencies. Faculty members have strong ties in the Portland community and around the country and are eager to help students make internship arrangements.

Studio and art history classes frequently visit exhibits at local art galleries and use the facilities and collections of the Portland Art Museum.

Following graduation, Lewis & Clark art majors go in a variety of directions. Alumni of the department have pursued graduate work, artist-in-residence programs, professional internships, museum and gallery work, and professional work in art. Students who combine their studies in art with appropriate courses in Lewis & Clark's graduate-level teacher education program may become licensed to teach.

The Fred W. Fields Center for the Visual Arts features gallery space for student work, painting and drawing studios, a graphic design area, a photography lab, ceramics and sculpture studios, conference rooms, and a large art history lecture room. Additionally, the Ronna and Eric Hoffman Gallery of Contemporary Art, which exhibits the work of professional artists, is located adjacent to the Fields Center and contributes to the curriculum and education of art students and the community at large.

Examples of student internships

• Registrar, Portland Art Museum.
• Lis DeMarco Graphic Design Agency, Portland.
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
• Fletcher Finch Farr Architects, Portland.
• University of Oregon Museum, Eugene.
• Drawing Center, New York.

Examples of positions obtained by art graduates

• Designer for TBWA Advertising, New York.
• Director of Denver Art Museum.
• Professor of art history, Loyola University, Chicago.
• Owner of galleries specializing in old masters paintings in New York and Paris.
• Ceramics professor at Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey.
• Landscape Architect, Bridgeport, Connecticut.
• Education coordinator for Bullseye Glass, Portland.

Recent Visiting Artists

• Katherine Ace
• Rudy Autio
• Sue Coe
• Robbie Conal
• Guerrilla Girls
• Jun Kaneko
• Marilyn Lysohir
• Richard Notkin
• Akio Takamori