Art - Studio Art
Bachelor of Arts in Studio Arts
CSF offers both bachelor of arts and bachelor of fine arts degrees in studio art. The BA allows for broad exploration in studio art, while the BFA offers a more focused program in a single area. All students take a foundation of studio courses that introduces them to a variety of visual art mediums.
Studio Art Major (BA)
The bachelor of arts program in studio art provides a foundation in liberal arts as an essential ingredient to serious study in the visual arts. The curriculum emphasizes breadth of experience among various media offered in the Art Department. The primary objective of this degree program is to offer the student general background and skills in a broad range of art history and studio disciplines in the context of a liberal arts education.
Studio Art Major (BFA)
The bachelor of fine arts is the initial professional degree in art. The primary objective is the development of skills, concepts, and historical awareness essential to the professional artist. BFA students concentrate on in-depth study through studio instruction, practicum experiences, and internships. Extensive study of the history of art and its contemporary relevance, as well as the development of each student's expressive abilities, ethical judgment, and professional standards, is central to this degree.
Painting
The painting program begins with a theory and practice course that introduces the student to the basic history and practice of painting and moves on towards a more complex engagement of ideas in relation to its various materials and processes. The painting program emphasizes the need to balance concept, skill and a historical understanding of painting as a practice in relation to the student's own voice within that practice. The program's courses are structured to move from acquisition of knowledge and skill to the articulation of the student's own distinct idea.
"Artists are motivated by ideas that can be realized in a number of media with a variety of approaches. Some artists find their motivation from an engagement with nature, while others are working off social/political concerns. It is critical that artists understand their impulse towards creating in an effort to nourish it as a life long practice."
-- Gerry Snyder
Sculpture
Students interested in sculpture can take advantage of shops, studios and equipment for wood fabrication, stone carving, metal work, bronze casting, mixed media and ceramics.
CSF sculpture students often work with exhibiting artists, who provide advice and critiques of student work. Students are also able to show their own work in juried Sculpture Project exhibitions such as Convergence, a collaborative gallery exhibition with the Institute of American Indian Arts.
The Art Department's Sculpture Project is an ongoing community outreach program of the College of Santa Fe. The program maintains ongoing installations of contemporary sculpture on the campus grounds, and presents a biennial sculpture exhibition in the CSF Fine Arts Gallery. Since 1990, The Project has presented the work of over 800 prominent regional, national, and international artists. More than 100,000 visitors have viewed the campus installations, attended free exhibitions, lectures and related events.
Photography
Photography students learn the history and craft of photography, including emulsion and camera-less techniques, black-and-white, non-silver and digital processes. Students interested in photography and photo-based works can earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree or Bachelor of Arts degree in photography. The goal is to produce better informed artists, aspiring historians and curators, and students with a drive for originality and creativity.
The program is housed in The Anne and John Marion Center for Photographic Arts -- an exceptional building designed by internationally renowned architect, Ricardo Legorreta. The Center contains a wide range of specialized darkrooms, an alternative process studio, a digital studio, seminar/conference rooms, multi-purpose class rooms, a preservation studio, and framing and finishing studios. An integrated approach to the study of photography is enhanced by the Beaumont and Nancy Newhall Photographic Library and a world-view of the field. The curriculum is devoted to the production of fine prints and works that mix a variety of media with photography.
Programs running in conjunction with the regular courses of the Center include an international lecture series, visiting artists, apprenticeships and internships, artist commissions, and grant-funded projects. Many of these programs are funded by The Marion Center Circle, a support and activities group made up of individuals from the community who are dedicated to the goals of the Center.
(800) 456-2673 or (505) 473-6133 * Fax: (505) 473-6127 * admissions@csf.edu