One of the defining characteristics of Salem’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design is closeness. Students and professors alike have an uncommon passion for the study and practice of art and design in all forms and therefore have established a tightly knit community of friends and learners. While it is one of Salem’s larger departments, art, art history, and design classes rarely exceed thirty students, with most upper-level classes numbering five to ten students.
You may choose from among three majors within the Department of Art, Art History, and Design:
It goes without saying that you are creative and have a passion for the arts! You are also likely to be motivated and independent, and you bring a solid work ethic to the classroom. You will be encouraged to share your ideas and opinions as well as to seek out inventive ways of learning. You will take part in internships and special projects as well as study abroad in order to broaden your artistic horizons. While at Salem you will complete a required research project. You may also want to join one of two student arts organizations on campus: the American Society of Interior Design (ASID) or April Arts.
Your professors in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design are professionally active scholars whose talents and scholarly achievements are matched only by their dedication to classroom and studio teaching. In addition to their activities at Salem, our professors also lecture regularly to audiences outside the Salem community, have active exhibition schedules, and coordinate the activities of the College Gallery.
Thanks to the comprehensive, interdisciplinary nature of the department, you will graduate with a plethora of opportunities, such as graduate school or a wide range of careers. Recent Salem graduates who majored in art went on to East Carolina University, Maryland Institute College of Art, Pratt Institute/School of Art and Design, Rhode Island School of Design, and Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London. Recent art majors are working as a design consultant at Ethan Allen Inc; an historical programs assistant at the Maymont Foundation; an interior designer with the Group 3 firm; curator of education at Columbia Museum of Art; and a member of the Peace Corps in Zambia.
Course offerings in the art history program are designed to provide a broad background for both the major and non-major. A student may major or minor in art history.
Required core courses
In addition, at least one course from each of the following five groups will be chosen with the guidance of the faculty advisor depending on availability of courses.
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
A minimum of eighteen semester hours toward the major must be taken in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design at Salem, including ARTH 300 and ARTH 390.
The minor in art history requires the completion of eighteen semester hours:
Required courses
Select two additional ARTH electives
A minimum of twelve semester hours must be taken at Salem.
The minor in visual literature requires the completion of the following:
Required courses:
Select one of the following:
The minor in visual arts entrepreneurship is intended for students pursuing a BA in art history or studio art. See the arts management section of the catalog for details. A student may not minor in both arts entrepreneurship and arts management nor may she major in arts management and minor in visual arts entrepreneurship.
Introduction to the history and interpretation of architecture, sculpture, and painting in the West from prehistoric times to the present. (AR)
Continued introduction to the history and interpretation of architecture, sculpture, and painting in the West from prehistoric times to the present. (AR)
Japanese art from the beginning of its civilization through the eighteenth century, including sculpture, painting, and printmaking. (AR), (GA)
Chinese art from prehistoric through the Ching Dynasty including sculpture, painting, ceramics, and bronzes. (AR)
In this course, we will explore Japan’s “coolest” export: global manga and anime. Students will read, view, and analyze classic examples of Japan’s early visual literature while developing an awareness of Japanese visual culture. A focus will be placed on works produced following the end of World War II, especially the books of Osamu Tezuka, whose compassion and talent led him to seek a new beginning for a society left in the shadows of the atomic age. His manga were full of exciting possibilities and promise for children of the war, and mark the beginning of a new modern branch of literature with global appeal. Manga became a leading industry in Japan, and an important part of Twentieth Century Visual Literature. (AR)
This course gives students the opportunity to explore and analyze contemporary Japanese Manga. Recent publications will be chosen for significant cultural and global content as well their popularity with otaku, (Manga fans). Topics may include: Trans-Humanism and Post Modern Theories, Social Issues, Politics, Robotic Science and Vision Quests. Readings will change over time, and may include: Tsugumi Ohaba’s Death Note, Tadashi Agi’s The Drops of God, and Inio Asano’s Solanin.
A course in how to “read” works of art- in which students will explore sources for the storytelling methods common in Western (as opposed to Asian) graphic novels. Such visual features as poses, gestures, facial expression, visual composition, setting and the incorporation of text are all used to tell stories in modern graphic novels, but precedents for these techniques are found in the visual culture of many pre-modern periods, from Egypt to the Baroque, as well as in children’s picture books, early comic books and silent film. Brief discussion of theories of visual literacy and visual culture will be incorporated at the beginning of the course and where appropriate.
This course explores ways in which women have been portrayed in art, and also provides an introduction to women artists from the ancient world to modern times. Feminist art history/feminist discourse is introduced as a way of analyzing representations of women in art, with focus on Renaissance and Baroque art, and their underlying – too often negative – assumptions. Models for this work will be provided by such classic feminist art historians as Nochlin, Munro, Garrard, Broude and Russell. The second half of the course will focus on women as producers of art and offers an empowering alternative to the too frequent neglect of women artists in modern art history. (WS, AR)
Independent study under the guidance of a faculty advisor. Open to students with a 3.0 cumulative average and permission of the chair of the department. Independent study may take the form of readings, research, conference, project, and/or field experience. Independent study may be taken for a total of two courses, the maximum in any one term being one course credit. Offered on demand.
This course provides the student with the opportunity to explore aesthetic and technical issues presented by faculty or visiting instructors.
Architecture, city planning, sculpture, painting, and related arts from the beginning of civilization in the Near East until the fall of the Roman Empire. Emphasis will be placed on the relationship of visual arts to other aspects of intellectual history. Prerequisite: ARTH 121 or ARTH 122.
Architecture, sculpture, and painting from the beginning of the Christian era to the Renaissance. Emphasis upon the relationship between the visual arts and other aspects of intellectual history. Prerequisite: ARTH 121 or ARTH 122.
Art of Northern Europe from ca. 1350 to ca. 1560. The paradoxical emphasis on naturalistic observation and Christian mysticism of the period will be special themes of discussion. The development of new art forms, such as oil painting and printmaking, and the appearance of new genres, such as portraiture, landscape, and still life, will also be considered. Focus will be made on the work of van Eyck, Bosch, Dürer, and Bruegel. Prerequisite: ARTH 121 or ARTH 122.
Early movements in modern art: Impressionism, Cubism, Symbolism, Dada, and Expressionism. Prerequisite: ARTH 121 or 122.
Art movements from the 1930s to the present, including abstract expressionism, minimal art, pop, post-painterly, photo realism, and post modernism. Prerequisite: ARTH 121 or 122.
The development of form and content in painting from the rebirth of humanism to the Reformation. Accent on Giotto, Ghiberti, Donatello, Masaccio, Piero della Francesca, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Titian. Prerequisite: ARTH 121 or 122.
Developments in European Art following the Renaissance, from the beginnings of the Baroque ca. 1550 to the middle of the nineteenth century. The course will focus on changes in style and content in their historical context in sculpture, painting, and architecture. Artists discussed will include Caravaggo, Bernini, Rubens, Rembrandt, Watteau, David, Ingres, Goya, Delacroix, and Gericault. Prerequisite: ARTH 121 or 122.
The history and interpretation of architecture, sculpture, and painting in the United States from colonial times to the present. Prerequisite: ARTH 121 or 122. (AR)
An opportunity to use the knowledge and skills the student has learned.
Advanced independent study under the guidance of a faculty advisor. Normally open to juniors and seniors with a 3.5 average in art. Subject to the approval of the department chair. Honors work may be taken for a maximum of two courses.
A course required of all art history majors, to be taken in the spring of the senior year. Material covered is intended to acquaint the student with the literature and “methods” of art historical research and thought. To be taught in a weekly two-hour seminar, topics of discussion will include: aesthetics, materials and techniques, conservation, the role of the museum, style and chronology, connoisseurship, iconography, art and social history, art and psychology, and alternate art histories. For art history senior majors only, or with permission of instructor.
Senior thesis work in area of concentration. Required of all art history majors along with an additional course, ARTH 300. Methods, for one-half credit.
You may choose from among three majors within the Department of Art, Art History, and Design:
It goes without saying that you are creative and have a passion for the arts! You are also likely to be motivated and independent, and you bring a solid work ethic to the classroom. You will be encouraged to share your ideas and opinions as well as to seek out inventive ways of learning. You will take part in internships and special projects as well as study abroad in order to broaden your artistic horizons. While at Salem you will complete a required research project. You may also want to join one of two student arts organizations on campus: the American Society of Interior Design (ASID) or April Arts.
Your professors in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design are professionally active scholars whose talents and scholarly achievements are matched only by their dedication to classroom and studio teaching. In addition to their activities at Salem, our professors also lecture regularly to audiences outside the Salem community, have active exhibition schedules, and coordinate the activities of the College Gallery.
Thanks to the comprehensive, interdisciplinary nature of the department, you will graduate with a plethora of opportunities, such as graduate school or a wide range of careers. Recent Salem graduates who majored in art went on to East Carolina University, Maryland Institute College of Art, Pratt Institute/School of Art and Design, Rhode Island School of Design, and Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London. Recent art majors are working as a design consultant at Ethan Allen Inc; an historical programs assistant at the Maymont Foundation; an interior designer with the Group 3 firm; curator of education at Columbia Museum of Art; and a member of the Peace Corps in Zambia.
Course offerings in the art history program are designed to provide a broad background for both the major and non-major. A student may major or minor in art history.
Required core courses
In addition, at least one course from each of the following five groups will be chosen with the guidance of the faculty advisor depending on availability of courses.
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
A minimum of eighteen semester hours toward the major must be taken in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design at Salem, including ARTH 300 and ARTH 390.
The minor in art history requires the completion of eighteen semester hours:
Required courses
Select two additional ARTH electives
A minimum of twelve semester hours must be taken at Salem.
The minor in visual literature requires the completion of the following:
Required courses:
Select one of the following:
The minor in visual arts entrepreneurship is intended for students pursuing a BA in art history or studio art. See the arts management section of the catalog for details. A student may not minor in both arts entrepreneurship and arts management nor may she major in arts management and minor in visual arts entrepreneurship.
Introduction to the history and interpretation of architecture, sculpture, and painting in the West from prehistoric times to the present. (AR)
Continued introduction to the history and interpretation of architecture, sculpture, and painting in the West from prehistoric times to the present. (AR)
Japanese art from the beginning of its civilization through the eighteenth century, including sculpture, painting, and printmaking. (AR), (GA)
Chinese art from prehistoric through the Ching Dynasty including sculpture, painting, ceramics, and bronzes. (AR)
In this course, we will explore Japan’s “coolest” export: global manga and anime. Students will read, view, and analyze classic examples of Japan’s early visual literature while developing an awareness of Japanese visual culture. A focus will be placed on works produced following the end of World War II, especially the books of Osamu Tezuka, whose compassion and talent led him to seek a new beginning for a society left in the shadows of the atomic age. His manga were full of exciting possibilities and promise for children of the war, and mark the beginning of a new modern branch of literature with global appeal. Manga became a leading industry in Japan, and an important part of Twentieth Century Visual Literature. (AR)
This course gives students the opportunity to explore and analyze contemporary Japanese Manga. Recent publications will be chosen for significant cultural and global content as well their popularity with otaku, (Manga fans). Topics may include: Trans-Humanism and Post Modern Theories, Social Issues, Politics, Robotic Science and Vision Quests. Readings will change over time, and may include: Tsugumi Ohaba’s Death Note, Tadashi Agi’s The Drops of God, and Inio Asano’s Solanin.
A course in how to “read” works of art- in which students will explore sources for the storytelling methods common in Western (as opposed to Asian) graphic novels. Such visual features as poses, gestures, facial expression, visual composition, setting and the incorporation of text are all used to tell stories in modern graphic novels, but precedents for these techniques are found in the visual culture of many pre-modern periods, from Egypt to the Baroque, as well as in children’s picture books, early comic books and silent film. Brief discussion of theories of visual literacy and visual culture will be incorporated at the beginning of the course and where appropriate.
This course explores ways in which women have been portrayed in art, and also provides an introduction to women artists from the ancient world to modern times. Feminist art history/feminist discourse is introduced as a way of analyzing representations of women in art, with focus on Renaissance and Baroque art, and their underlying – too often negative – assumptions. Models for this work will be provided by such classic feminist art historians as Nochlin, Munro, Garrard, Broude and Russell. The second half of the course will focus on women as producers of art and offers an empowering alternative to the too frequent neglect of women artists in modern art history. (WS, AR)
Independent study under the guidance of a faculty advisor. Open to students with a 3.0 cumulative average and permission of the chair of the department. Independent study may take the form of readings, research, conference, project, and/or field experience. Independent study may be taken for a total of two courses, the maximum in any one term being one course credit. Offered on demand.
This course provides the student with the opportunity to explore aesthetic and technical issues presented by faculty or visiting instructors.
Architecture, city planning, sculpture, painting, and related arts from the beginning of civilization in the Near East until the fall of the Roman Empire. Emphasis will be placed on the relationship of visual arts to other aspects of intellectual history. Prerequisite: ARTH 121 or ARTH 122.
Architecture, sculpture, and painting from the beginning of the Christian era to the Renaissance. Emphasis upon the relationship between the visual arts and other aspects of intellectual history. Prerequisite: ARTH 121 or ARTH 122.
Art of Northern Europe from ca. 1350 to ca. 1560. The paradoxical emphasis on naturalistic observation and Christian mysticism of the period will be special themes of discussion. The development of new art forms, such as oil painting and printmaking, and the appearance of new genres, such as portraiture, landscape, and still life, will also be considered. Focus will be made on the work of van Eyck, Bosch, Dürer, and Bruegel. Prerequisite: ARTH 121 or ARTH 122.
Early movements in modern art: Impressionism, Cubism, Symbolism, Dada, and Expressionism. Prerequisite: ARTH 121 or 122.
Art movements from the 1930s to the present, including abstract expressionism, minimal art, pop, post-painterly, photo realism, and post modernism. Prerequisite: ARTH 121 or 122.
The development of form and content in painting from the rebirth of humanism to the Reformation. Accent on Giotto, Ghiberti, Donatello, Masaccio, Piero della Francesca, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Titian. Prerequisite: ARTH 121 or 122.
Developments in European Art following the Renaissance, from the beginnings of the Baroque ca. 1550 to the middle of the nineteenth century. The course will focus on changes in style and content in their historical context in sculpture, painting, and architecture. Artists discussed will include Caravaggo, Bernini, Rubens, Rembrandt, Watteau, David, Ingres, Goya, Delacroix, and Gericault. Prerequisite: ARTH 121 or 122.
The history and interpretation of architecture, sculpture, and painting in the United States from colonial times to the present. Prerequisite: ARTH 121 or 122. (AR)
An opportunity to use the knowledge and skills the student has learned.
Advanced independent study under the guidance of a faculty advisor. Normally open to juniors and seniors with a 3.5 average in art. Subject to the approval of the department chair. Honors work may be taken for a maximum of two courses.
A course required of all art history majors, to be taken in the spring of the senior year. Material covered is intended to acquaint the student with the literature and “methods” of art historical research and thought. To be taught in a weekly two-hour seminar, topics of discussion will include: aesthetics, materials and techniques, conservation, the role of the museum, style and chronology, connoisseurship, iconography, art and social history, art and psychology, and alternate art histories. For art history senior majors only, or with permission of instructor.
Senior thesis work in area of concentration. Required of all art history majors along with an additional course, ARTH 300. Methods, for one-half credit.
