About art at St. Norbert College
Art is a necessary component of a complete life; moreover, it is an essential element of a quality liberal education. The primary objective of the art discipline is to provide opportunities for all students to develop aesthetic awareness. The study of art and artists is a continuing search for ultimate meaning. A major in art is offered for students who possess the interest, potential and motivation for creative production. The major is preparation for graduate study, employment and life-long learning.
The new Carol and Robert Bush Art Center contains the studios, classrooms, galleries and faculty offices for the art program. Three galleries, an exhibition series, the art collection, guest artists and field trips to major art exhibitions enrich the visual art program. The art major has two inter-related yet distinctive sequences of study within it: the Fine Art and the Graphic Design sequences. It should be noted that at this time we do not offer art education. A graduate of the art program earns a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Why study art?
As members of a discipline within a Norbertine, Catholic and liberal arts community, the art faculty at St. Norbert College offers all students opportunities for enriching their visual experiences. Our commitment to art majors and minors in the development of the technical and visual skills necessary for successful careers in art is paramount.
We are proud both of the depth and scope of our program. Major fields of study include fine arts and graphic design. Courses in aesthetics and the history of art support a curriculum that is technically and conceptually integrated. Classes with low student-teacher ratios optimize learning atmospheres in which students interact with one another and individual attention is maximized.
The art program is enriched by the Godschalx Gallery, dedicated to the professional exhibition of student art. Throughout the academic year, students may exhibit new works of art to their peers, faculty and staff, and the local community. Annual field trips to major museums and galleries, visiting artists, and local and regional art exhibitions and competitions further augment the art program. Furthermore, students are highly encouraged to enter the college’s annual juried student art exhibition as well as local and regional art exhibitions, wherein both prize and scholarship awards are possible. Additionally, an annual art scholarship is awarded to an individual art student at St. Norbert College.
Numerous opportunities exist for Art students to travel and study abroad and St. Norbert College endorses programs of studio and art history classes in several countries in Europe and Australia.
Art mission statement
As a Liberal Arts, Catholic and Norbertine school, St. Norbert College values the vital role of the visual arts in celebrating humankind’s pursuit of knowledge, truth and beauty. A Liberal Arts and Catholic education is impoverished without the opportunity to allow the visual arts to influence the process of learning and faith development. A St. Norbert College education is enhanced by a program of art historical studies and studio art courses that allow the student a variety of opportunities and means to visualize and give form to matters of personal and communal questions, discoveries and beliefs.
A modern Catholic education is rooted in three foundational elements: 2,000 years of tradition, central authority invested in the Bishop of Rome and a sacramental life of initiation, healing and communion with God. The Catholic imagination and leadership have consistently encouraged the study and expression of the visual arts throughout the course of their history and development, recognizing the vocation of the artist as crucial to the enrichment of life and community.
Because the very nature of a Liberal Arts, Catholic and Norbertine education is rooted in the welcoming and coming together of different academic disciplines, peoples, and ways of ritually celebrating life’s rich pageant, every student of the visual arts will be accorded the respect and dignity of Biblical hospitality. In this measure, all are received in the visual arts classroom and studio, all are encouraged to give form and expression to the many diverse and authentic ways of pursing knowledge, truth and beauty, and all are challenged to develop their full intellectual and spiritual potential.
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