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Majors & Minors
Studio Art
PROGRAM OVERVIEW The Department of Art and Design will help you develop your artistic and intellectual potential, explore new areas and discover career opportunities. Drake offers you both intensive experiences in art and a solid liberal arts education. You will be immersed in a professional art and design environment, develop consummate technical skills and achieve formalistic and conceptual abilities in preparation for a rewarding visual arts career.
As an art or design major at Drake, you will receive individual attention from your faculty adviser and other professors - all professional designers, artists and scholars - who are passionate about their fields and their teaching. Classes are small, generally ranging in size from 10 to 20 students.
Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Studio Art
This degree recognizes that many students want an art and design degree in combination with concentrated course work in an academic field. Individualized academic goals can be achieved while students earn their emphasis in drawing, painting, printmaking or sculpture.
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Studio Art
This degree is for students who wish to enter an intensive studio art program or continue their education at the graduate level. Professional skills and a personal aesthetic philosophy are achieved by students with an emphasis in drawing, painting, printmaking or sculpture. Students must possess an exceptionally strong commitment to their work. The comprehensive art curriculum is enhanced with a variety of individualized choices from the Drake Curriculum.
FACULTY The Department of Art and Design includes 9 full-time faculty, all of whom hold the highest degrees in their field and are practicing designers, artists and scholars. All full-time faculty are engaged in teaching classes from the introductory to advanced levels.
ACADEMIC PREPARATION Students do not have to show a portfolio to be admitted to the art and design program at Drake. However, they must provide evidence of their work to apply for merit scholarships offered by the Department of Art and Design. A scholarship application form that requires applicants to submit digital images of their work is available on the Department of Art and Design Web site.
REQUIREMENTS FOR MAJOR Art and design students begin with the fundamentals in drawing, design and art history, which are essential to any chosen area of study. These courses will challenge students to develop basic artistic skills as they learn about career opportunities in the visual arts.
Drawing (BA/BFA)
Drawing provides fundamental skills for students majoring in all areas of the visual arts. The drawing emphasis develops formal and conceptual abilities as the basis for expressive representation and visual communication. Each course is designed to expand students’ understanding of pictorial structures and the process of conceptualization, utilizing a full range of graphic elements. Students are introduced to a variety of media and subject matter, and imagery will be developed through the balance of observation and conceptualization.
Painting (BA/BFA)
The painting emphasis fosters creativity in ways that lead to significant artistic expression. Students are mentored in the development of critical visual thinking skills necessary to the development of a highly individualized aesthetic. Technical skills are honed in a process-based environment designed to facilitate a diversity of investigative methods. At advanced stages students are encouraged to both embrace and test the traditions of painting through the deliberate synthesis of materials, methods and ideas.
Printmaking (BA/BFA)
The printmaking emphasis develops technical abilities as well as creative methods for the visual articulation of individual concepts and emotions. A full range of relief, intaglio and lithographic techniques are taught on all levels in a spacious, well-equipped and efficiently organized studio. Students learn the skillful use of numerous essential printmaking tools, materials and processes and acquire an understanding of their characteristics and appropriateness to varying image-making demands. The development of clarity of vision, purpose and self-direction is supported by discussions and critical analyses in both group and individual contexts.
Sculpture (BA/BFA)
The sculpture emphasis enhances creative abilities by developing a comprehensive understanding of three-dimensional concepts and processes. The sculpture facilities provide students with well-equipped studios for woodworking, welding, forging, casting and installation. Students gain a strong understanding of traditional and nontraditional materials and methods while honing their ability to critically evaluate their own and peer work. This comprehensive engagement encourages individual expression by establishing an understanding of selecting the appropriate form, material and process to support an idea.
DRAKE CURRICULUM The Drake Curriculum, required of all undergraduates, is designed to help students meet personal and professional goals as they acquire fundamental knowledge and abilities in ten Areas of Inquiry, including communication, critical thinking, artistic experience, historical consciousness, information and technology literacy, international and multicultural experiences, scientific and quantitative literacy, values and ethics and engaged citizenship. Students work closely with their academic advisers to craft a program of study in general education that prepares students for civic and professional leadership.
The Drake Curriculum also requires first-year seminars, which foster development of critical thinking and written and oral communication skills through a topical focus; and a Senior Capstone, in which students demonstrate the capacity to bring information, skills and ideas to bear on one project.
INTERNSHIPS & OPPORTUNITIES Drake provides students with many opportunities to engage in art outside the classroom. The Department of Art and Design holds exhibitions of work by students, faculty and invited artists during the school year, including the annual juried Student Art Exhibition.
Students can enhance their art and design education and supplement their resume or professional portfolio with internships and off-campus employment in a variety of art-related areas. Many nonprofit organizations and businesses in Des Moines, Iowa's capital, value Drake art majors as high-quality candidates for part-time positions. Art and design majors also are in high demand for producing works for campus organizations, publications and events.Facilities in the Harmon Fine Arts Center include the 3,500-square-foot Anderson Gallery. Providing 1,800 square feet of exhibition space, rooms for handling and storing works of art, and a reception lobby, the Anderson Gallery is an exciting showcase for work by visiting artists, students and faculty. Annual assistantships are available through the gallery, providing students with a unique opportunity for hands-on experience in gallery management. Students also have the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with exhibiting artists from around the country. The Anderson Gallery is a visible and vital member of the Des Moines art community, attracting local and national visitors.
Adjacent to the Anderson Gallery is the Weeks Gallery, providing an additional 1,000 square feet of exhibition space. The Weeks Gallery is exclusively reserved for student exhibitions, from senior thesis shows to group shows by the student-led Art Club. Nationally and internationally recognized artists and other visual arts professionals come to campus each year to give lectures and workshops. In addition, field trips allow students to observe major collections and exhibitions in such cities as Chicago and Kansas City. Drake students also take advantage of the exhibitions and lectures offered by the Des Moines Art Center, internationally recognized for its collection of 20th century works of art.
CAREER OPTIONS Painter; Sculptor; Print Artist; Pursue advance study in graduate school; Artist Assistant; Artist-in-residence; Artist-in-schools; Gallery and museum work including curatorial, design and installation; Art Dealer/Gallery owner; Art Agent/Consultant; Muralist; Model and pattern maker; Contract Printer (technician); Print Publisher; Diorama Artist; Illustrator; Technical illustrator; Police Artist/Court Artist; Preparator; Art Restorer; Art Education—Elementary, secondary; public and private schools.
HONORS Students can apply for the Judy Smith Memorial Award to support their capstone experience.
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AND ACTIVITIES Art Club is open to all students and is self-directed. Activities have included field trips, attending community lectures and exhibitions, group readings and discussion of various contemporary art topics and organizing campus art activities such as end of the year picnics and art exhibitions in local businesses.