College Catalog: 2015-2016
School of Contemporary Arts (CA): Visual Arts (B.A.)
Website: School of Contemporary Arts
Concentrations: Art History, Drawing and Painting,
Electronic Art and Animation, Photography, Sculpture.
Joint Program with Caldwell University: Drawing and Painting with Art Therapy; Sculpture with Art Therapy
Convener:
Faculty:
- John Peffer
- Jacquelyn Skrzynski
- Warner Wada
- Joel Weissman
- Current as of September 2015
The Visual Arts Major offers a multidisciplinary education in the arts with advanced study in one specialization. Students may choose courses in art history, game design and interactivity, 3-D modeling and animation, drawing, painting, photography, sculpture and video. At the upper level, students specialize in a chosen concentration. Their senior year culminates with a thesis exhibition in the Ramapo College Galleries.
The major begins with the core program of five courses: art and technology, drawing, sculpture, photography, and painting. Students then take art history courses and a range of studio courses leading to study in their area of specialization. After 20 credits of advanced, specialized study, students take Senior Thesis Exhibition, Art History concentrations will take Advanced Research Projects. Visual Arts students also enjoy many opportunities to earn college credit as interns, working with artists or art organizations. In addition, courses with field work components provide opportunities for experiential learning in specific areas of student interest. Ramapo students have consistently developed competitive portfolios which have enabled them to advance their studies in graduate school, enter the professional art world, and work in art-related fields such as Art Therapy. Many of our students successfully participate in the teacher education certification program and find employment in elementary and secondary schools.
The Visual Arts are taught within a liberal arts context that makes the study and practice of art relevant to non-majors as well as majors. The study of art not only improves creative problem-solving, self-confidence in expression and enhances aesthetic satisfaction, but also reveals the social, political and ideological concerns of the culture that produces it. The art history curriculum in particular, develops this understanding, allowing the student to make essential connections among the world, the work of art, the artist, and the viewer. In addition, The College Galleries, directed by Sydney Jenkins, are an important teaching component of the major, bringing nationally recognized artists and curators to the college.
Members of the Visual Arts faculty are all nationally or internationally recognized active professionals who bring the understanding and immediacy of such experience to students. Ramapo attracts art students who want to challenge themselves within a supportive community of dedicated professionals. Students enjoy an intensively creative atmosphere and have greater opportunities for close mentoring from faculty than is usually the case in schools with large art departments.
Students with academic and career interests outside the designated areas of specialization may elect to design a Contemporary Arts contract major to help fulfill their goals. Visual Arts faculty can provide information regarding offerings in the areas of Arts Management, and related art activities contained within the Arts in Community contract major.
Students completing this program receive a B.A. degree.
The Visual Arts Teaching Certification program, certifying students to teach art in grades K through 12, involves a combined course of study in Teacher Certification together with the Fine Arts/Visual Arts Major. Students should refer to the guidelines for the Teacher Certification Program description in this Catalog and seek faculty advisement. Students can also elect to obtain certification in Elementary Education through the Fine Arts Visual Arts major.
The Visual Arts program is located in the Angelica and Russ Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts and the Sculpture Studio. The Berrie Center houses spacious, well-equipped art studios where students can study both traditional and contemporary approaches to painting, drawing, and photography, as well as 3D printing, game design, video, and animation. The new sculpture studio, built as a separate structure, provides facilities for metal casting, welding, and fabrication, as well as space for the traditional techniques of modeling and carving. The Ramapo College Art Galleries emphasize exhibitions of contemporary art in all media and provide opportunities for student learning in gallery and museum practice.
Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts joint program with the Master of Counseling with a Mental Health Counseling/Art Therapy Specialization at Caldwell University.
Ramapo College and Caldwell University have partnered to create a joint degree program whereby students who meet specified admissions requirements will be admitted to Ramapo College’s Visual Arts program with a concentration in either Drawing and Painting with Art Therapy or Sculpture with Art Therapy and provisionally admitted to Caldwell University’s Masters of Counseling with a Mental Health Counseling/Art Therapy Specialization. Admitted students will receive specific advisement and will be monitored at prescribed benchmarks so they are on track to meet all the criteria of Caldwell’s graduate program. Once students meet all these requirements, they will be fully admitted to the graduate program.
Outcome 1: Produce work that demonstrates proficiency in the core disciplines of drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, and electronic arts and animation.
Outcome 2: Produce a series of advanced works in chosen concentration that demonstrates formal and conceptual cohesion and a distinctive aesthetic.
Outcome 3: Write an artist’s statement that describes one’s creative process and positions oneself in relationship to contemporary artists and practice.
Outcome 4: Apply formal concepts and use critical methodology to critique visual experience in a variety of disciplines.
Outcome 5: Understand how to describe, analyze and interpret visual objects from other times and places. Understand how to locate and evaluate diverse writings about art including primary and secondary sources such as biographical, descriptive and analytical texts.
- Transfer students who have 48 or more credits accepted at the time of transfer are waived from the courses marked with a (W) below. Waivers only apply to General Education Requirements NOT School Core or Major Requirements.
- Double counting between General Education and Major may be possible. Check with your advisor to see if any apply. NOTE: School Core no longer allowed to double count.
- Students are encouraged to finish all 200 level Visual Arts distribution requirements by the end of the sophomore year (Sculpture, Art & Tech, Digital Photography, and Drawing/Painting).
- Writing Intensive Requirement (six courses): three writing intensive courses in the general education curriculum are required: First Year Seminar, Critical Reading and Writing, and Readings in the Humanities; the other three courses are taken in the major.
- Not all courses are offered each semester. Students have periodic mandatory advisement and a variety of resources to plan their academic career. Please check the current Schedule of classes for semester course offerings.
VISUAL ARTS MAJOR
- Subject & Course # – Title & Course Description
- GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
- SELECT ONE – (W) BADM 115 - PERSPECTIVES OF BUSINESS AND SOCIETY OR
- (W) SOSC 101 - SOCIAL ISSUES
- CRWT 102 - CRITICAL READING AND WRITING II
- AIID 201 - READINGS IN THE HUMANITIES (W)
- SELECT ONE – (W) GE-HISTORY CATEGORY: HIST 101-110
- SELECT ONE – GE-MATHEMATICS CATEGORY: MATH 101-121
- SELECT ONE – GE-SCIENCE WITH EXPERIENTIAL COMPONENT CATEGORY
- SELECT ONE – GE-INTERCULTURAL NORTH AMERICA CATEGORY
- SELECT ONE – GE-INTERNATIONAL ISSUES CATEGORY
- SELECT ONE – (W) GE-TOPICS SOCIAL SCIENCE CATEGORY
- SCHOOL OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS REQUIREMENTS
- CNTP 101 - FIRST YEAR TOPICS [W] (satisfies first year seminar requirement)
- CA INTERDISCIPLINARY COURSE: SELECT ONE (MUST be in discipline OTHER THAN major)
- AMER 311 - AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY AND VISUAL CULTURE
- AMER 322 - AMERICAN ART I: CONTACT TO 1865
- ARHT 305 - AFRICA AND CINEMA (formerly 405)
- ARHT 311 - AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY AND VISUAL CULTURE
- ARHT 322 - AMERICAN ART I:CONTACT TO 1865
- ARHT 325 - AMERICAN ART: 1865-1945
- ARHT 337 - PHOTOGRAPHY AND AFRICA
- ARHT 338 - EUROPEAN AVANT- GARDE ART & DESIGN
- ARHT 340 - PERFORMANCE AND ART
- ARHT 341 - IMPRESSIONISM AND AFTER
- ARTS 331 - ART AS THERAPY
- COMM 302 - CONTEMPORARY CRITICISM: FILM (formerly CNTP-312)
- COMM 310 - APOCALYPTIC VISIONS IN ANIME, FILM & MEDIA
- COMM 317 - MEDIA AND PERSUASION
- COMM 334 - BEYOND THE EDITING ROOM: HISTORY AND AESTHETICS OF FILM EDITING
- COMM 341 - TV NOIR AND AMERICAN CULTURE
- COMM 343 - CINEMA OF THE OTHER
- COMM 355 - NEW HOLLYWOOD CINEMA: 1968-1980 AND THE STUDIO SYSTEM
- COMM 359 - DIGITAL CULTURE
- COMM 360 - GOOD & EVIL IN DESIGN FILM & VISUAL MEDIA (formerly CNTP-328)
- COMM 363 - MEDIA & CULTURE IN LATIN AMERICA (formerly CNTP-363)
- COMM 367 - AMERICAN INDEPENDENT CINEMA
- COMM 377 - GLOBAL MULTICULTURAL MEDIA ISSUES (formerly CNTP-327)
- MUSI 309 - MUSIC AND GENDER
- MUSI 313 - MUSIC ONLINE
- MUSI 325 - WRITING ABOUT MUSIC
- MUSI 335 - AVANT GARDE AND EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC
- MUSI 365 - CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES ON MUSIC
- THEA 321 - BLACK EXPERIENCE THROUGH THEATER
- THEA 328 - CONTEMPORARY WOMEN PLAYWRIGHTS
- THEA 331 - THEATER & SOCIETY 1950-1960
- THEA 334 - THEATER & SOCIETY 1960-1975
- THEA 341 - FASHION AND POLITICS
- VISUAL ARTS MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
- THERE ARE SEVEN CONCENTRATIONS IN THE VISUAL ARTS MAJOR:
1. ART HISTORY
2. DRAWING AND PAINTING
3. DRAWING AND PAINTING WITH ART THERAPY (joint)
4. ELECTRONIC ART AND ANIMATION
5. PHOTOGRAPHY
6. SCULPTURE
7. SCULPTURE WITH ART THERAPY (joint) - REQUIRED OF ALL VISUAL ARTS MAJORS
- LOWER LEVEL STUDIO COURSES:
- ARTS 101 - FUNDAMENTALS OF DRAWING
- ARTS 201 - BASIC PAINTING OR
- COMM 237 - GRAPHIC DESIGN (Electronic Art and Animation Concentration only)
- ARTS 202 - BASIC SCULPTURE
- ARTS 207 - DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
- ARTS 211 - BASIC ART & TECHNOLOGY
- REQUIRED ART HISTORY COURSES:
- ARHT 225 - HISTORIES AND CONCEPTS OF 20TH CENTURY ART
- 200 LEVEL ART HISTORY COURSE *
- 300 LEVEL ART HISTORY COURSE
- NOTE: Students must receive a C+ or better in the lower level requirements in the concentration to take upper level classes in that concentration, the Drawing and Painting concentration requires a C+ in both ARTS 101 and 201.
- * NOTE: Photography Concentration must take ARHT 214 History of Photography
- ART HISTORY CONCENTRATION
- ART HISTORY ELECTIVES: SELECT THREE
- AMER 311 - AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY AND VISUAL CULTURE
- ARHT 301 - ART SINCE 1945
- ARHT 305 - AFRICA AND CINEMA (formerly 405)
- ARHT 322 - AMERICAN ART I:CONTACT TO 1865
- ARHT 325 - AMERICAN ART: 1865-1945
- ARHT 337 - PHOTOGRAPHY AND AFRICA
- ARHT 338 - EUROPEAN AVANT- GARDE ART & DESIGN
- ARHT 340 - PERFORMANCE AND ART
- ARHT 341 - IMPRESSIONISM AND AFTER
- ARHT 401 - WOMEN AND ART HISTORY (formerly 310)
- UPPER LEVEL REQUIREMENTS: SELECT TWO
- ARHT 490 - TOPICS:
- ARHT 300 through 499
- ARTS 329 - GALLERY MANAGEMENT AND CURATING
- ARTS 335 - BUSINESS OF VISUAL ARTS
- CNTP 388 - CO-OP/INTERNSHIP CONTEMPORARY ARTS
- REQUIRED CAPSTONE:
- ARHT 410 - ADVANCED RESEARCH IN ART HISTORY
- DRAWING AND PAINTING CONCENTRATION
- DRAWING AND PAINTING ELECTIVES: SELECT THREE
- ARTS 302 - INTERMEDIATE DRAWING
- ARTS 303 - INTERMEDIATE PAINTING
- ARTS 310 - FIGURE DRAWING AND SCULPTURE
- ARTS 407 - ADVANCED DRAWING & PAINTING
- UPPER LEVEL REQUIREMENTS: SELECT TWO
- ARTS 327 - INSTALLATION ART
- ARTS 330 - THE ARTIST'S BOOK
- ARTS 335 - BUSINESS OF VISUAL ARTS
- ARTS 390 - TOPICS
- ARTS 409 - ADVANCED PROJECTS IN ART
- ARTS 420 - IDENTITY AND CULTURE
- ARTS 490 - TOPICS:
- REQUIRED:
- ARTS 210 - LIFE DRAWING
- ARTS 408 - SENIOR THESIS EXHIBITION
- Note: Art Education students may substitute Art Education Portfolio
- DRAWING AND PAINTING WITH ART THERAPY (CALDWELL UNIVERSITY)
- DRAWING AND PAINTING ELECTIVES: SELECT THREE
- ARTS 302 - INTERMEDIATE DRAWING
- ARTS 303 - INTERMEDIATE PAINTING
- ARTS 310 - FIGURE DRAWING AND SCULPTURE
- ARTS 407 - ADVANCED DRAWING & PAINTING
- UPPER LEVEL REQUIREMENTS: SELECT TWO
- ARTS 327 - INSTALLATION ART
- ARTS 330 - THE ARTIST'S BOOK
- ARTS 335 - BUSINESS OF VISUAL ARTS
- ARTS 390 - TOPICS
- ARTS 409 - ADVANCED PROJECTS IN ART
- ARTS 420 - IDENTITY AND CULTURE
- ARTS 490 - TOPICS:
- REQUIRED:
- ARTS 210 - LIFE DRAWING
- ARTS 408 - SENIOR THESIS EXHIBITION
- ART THERAPY REQUIREMENTS:
- ARTS 331 - ART AS THERAPY
- MATH 108 - ELEMENTARY PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS (fulfills GE Math requirement
- PSYC 101 - INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
- PSYC 241 - DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
- PSYC 303 - RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY
- PSYC 304 - DATA ANALYSIS IN PSYCHOLOGY
- PSYC 314 - ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY
- Note: These courses are prerequisite requirements for admission into the Master in Counseling with Mental Health Counseling/Art Therapy Specialization at Caldwell University. Students in the Joint Program with Caldwell University must meet with the Art Therapy faculty advisor, Professor Jackie Skrzynski, each semester for academic review and to prepare for additional components of the graduate application. Students interested in Art Therapy who are not in the Joint Program should consult with the faculty advisor.
- ELECTRONIC ART AND ANIMATION CONCENTRATION
- ELECTRONIC ART AND ANIMATION CONCENTRATION REQUIRED COURSE:
- ARTS 209 - 3-D ANIMATION
- ELECTRONIC ART AND ANIMATION ELECTIVES: SELECT THREE
- ARTS 320 - VIDEO ART
- ARTS 323 - PHYSICAL COMPUTING
- ARTS 325 - INTERMEDIATE 3D ANIMATION
- ARTS 335 - BUSINESS OF VISUAL ARTS
- UPPER LEVEL REQUIREMENTS: SELECT TWO
- ARTS 327 - INSTALLATION ART
- ARTS 330 - THE ARTIST'S BOOK
- ARTS 335 - BUSINESS OF VISUAL ARTS
- ARTS 390 - TOPICS
- ARTS 409 - ADVANCED PROJECTS IN ART
- ARTS 420 - IDENTITY AND CULTURE
- ARTS 490 - TOPICS:
- REQUIRED:
- ARTS 408 - SENIOR THESIS EXHIBITION
- PHOTOGRAPHY CONCENTRATION
- Note: Photography concentration must take ARHT 214 History of Photography
- PHOTOGRAPHY CONCENTRATION REQUIRED COURSE:
- ARTS 206 - BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY
- PHOTOGRAPHY ELECTIVES: SELECT THREE
- ARTS 312 - INTERMEDIATE FILM PHOTOGRAPHY
- ARTS 313 - SEQUENTIAL AND SERIAL IMAGERY
- ARTS 314 -
- ARTS 315 - PROFESSIONAL FORMAT PHOTOGRAPHY
- ARTS 318 - INTERMEDIATE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
- ARTS 324 - DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY
- ARTS 328 - PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
- ARTS 406 - ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHY
- ARTS 410 - ADVANCED DIGITAL PRINT PORTFOLIO
- UPPER LEVEL REQUIREMENTS: SELECT TWO
- ARTS 327 - INSTALLATION ART
- ARTS 330 - THE ARTIST'S BOOK
- ARTS 335 - BUSINESS OF VISUAL ARTS
- ARTS 390 - TOPICS
- ARTS 409 - ADVANCED PROJECTS IN ART
- ARTS 420 - IDENTITY AND CULTURE
- ARTS 490 - TOPICS:
- REQUIRED:
- ARTS 408 - SENIOR THESIS EXHIBITION
- SCULPTURE CONCENTRATION
- SCULPTURE ELECTIVES: SELECT THREE
- ARTS 307 - INTERMEDIATE SCULPTURE
- ARTS 308 - BRONZE CASTING AND WELDING
- ARTS 310 - FIGURE DRAWING AND SCULPTURE
- ARTS 402 - ADVANCED SCULPTURE
- UPPER LEVEL REQUIREMENTS: SELECT TWO
- ARTS 327 - INSTALLATION ART
- ARTS 330 - THE ARTIST'S BOOK
- ARTS 335 - BUSINESS OF VISUAL ARTS
- ARTS 390 - TOPICS
- ARTS 409 - ADVANCED PROJECTS IN ART
- ARTS 420 - IDENTITY AND CULTURE
- ARTS 490 - TOPICS:
- REQUIRED:
- ARTS 408 - SENIOR THESIS EXHIBITION
- SCULPTURE WITH ART THERAPY (CALDWELL UNIVERSITY)
- SCULPTURE ELECTIVES: SELECT THREE
- ARTS 307 - INTERMEDIATE SCULPTURE
- ARTS 308 - BRONZE CASTING AND WELDING
- ARTS 310 - FIGURE DRAWING AND SCULPTURE
- ARTS 402 - ADVANCED SCULPTURE
- UPPER LEVEL REQUIREMENTS: SELECT TWO
- ARTS 327 - INSTALLATION ART
- ARTS 330 - THE ARTIST'S BOOK
- ARTS 335 - BUSINESS OF VISUAL ARTS
- ARTS 390 - TOPICS
- ARTS 409 - ADVANCED PROJECTS IN ART
- ARTS 420 - IDENTITY AND CULTURE
- ARTS 490 - TOPICS:
- REQUIRED:
- ARTS 408 - SENIOR THESIS EXHIBITION
- ART THERAPY REQUIREMENTS:
- ARTS 331 - ART AS THERAPY
- MATH 108 - ELEMENTARY PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS (fulfills GE Math requirement)
- PSYC 101 - INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
- PSYC 241 - DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
- PSYC 303 - RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY
- PSYC 304 - DATA ANALYSIS IN PSYCHOLOGY
- PSYC 314 - ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY
- Note: These courses are prerequisite requirements for admission into the Master in Counseling with Mental Health Counseling/Art Therapy Specialization at Caldwell University. Students in the Joint Program with Caldwell University must meet with the Art Therapy faculty advisor, Professor Jackie Skrzynski, each semester for academic review and to prepare for additional components of the graduate application. Students interested in Art Therapy who are not in the Joint Program should consult with the faculty advisor.
Note: A 2.0 GPA in the major is required for graduation.
- At least 1/2 of the courses fulfilling a minor must be distinct from the student’s major. That is, three of the five courses required for a minor cannot be used towards fulfillment of major requirements. A school core does not need to be completed for a minor. Minors are open to students regardless of school affiliation.
ART HISTORY MINOR
- Subject & Course # – Title & Course Description
- REQUIRED:
- One 100-200 ARTS (studio) course (ARTS 100-299)
- Two 200-level ARHT courses (ARHT 200-299)
- Two 300-400 ARHT courses (ARHT 300-499)
- At least 1/2 of the courses fulfilling a minor must be distinct from the student’s major. That is, three of the five courses required for a minor cannot be used towards fulfillment of major requirements. A school core does not need to be completed for a minor. Minors are open to students regardless of school affiliation.
VISUAL ARTS MINOR
- Subject & Course # – Title & Course Description
- REQUIRED:
- One Art History course (ARHT 100-299)
- VISUAL ARTS COURSES: SELECT FOUR
- One at the 100-level (ARTS 100-199)
- Two at the 200-level (ARTS 200-299)
- One at the 300-level (ARTS 300-399
Director of Art Galleries: Sydney Jenkins
General Education Requirements
Four Year Plan
Graduation Requirements
The Angelica and Russ Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts
Ramapo College
Galleries
School of Contemporary Arts Website
Faculty Profiles