University of Minnesota (Department of Art)

About the Department of Art

We base our mission on this premise: art is the core of the humanities.

As art derives its cultural value and meaning from various histories, the department encourages and supports a wide variety of approaches and encourages the open exploration of media in new ways as well as supporting traditional practices. It is a goal of the Department of Art to instruct students at all levels of development in the means and methods of contemporary art theory and practice.

The Department of Art is committed to promoting artistic awareness and the conceptual development of its students through a broad range of disciplines and art forms. Creative expression of our students is fostered within the highest standards of creative and critical engagement, pedagogical rigor, and professional practice.

The Department of Art strives to develop the artistic awareness of its students through the excellence of its facilities and the highest professional standards of its faculty. The faculty of the department are all engaged in the creation of new work, writing, and pursuing research on local, national, and international levels, providing the insight necessary for the critical discussion and evolution of student ideas.


Technology & Facilities

* Ceramics
* Drawing and Painting
* Photography
* Printmaking
* Sculpture
* Time and Interactivity

Ceramics

The ceramic area occupies approximately 9,000 square feet in the Regis Center for Art, including 200-250 square feet for each graduate student.

The ceramic area includes:

* Hand building Studio
* Throwing Studio
* Undergraduate Major Studio
* Ceramics TA Office
* Ceramics critique room
* Graduate kiln and glaze room
* Indoor main kiln room
* Outdoor kiln area
* Glaze room
* Plaster room
* Clay mixing room
* Computer lab

Equipment

* 4, 30 cu. ft. downdraft gas kilns
* 2, 30 cu. ft. updraft gas kilns
* 1, 45 cu. ft. downdraft gas kiln
* 1, 80 cu. ft. cart downdraft gas kiln
* 1, 130 cu. ft. card downdraft gas kiln
* 4 atmosphere kilns (soda, wood)
* 12 electric kilns
* 2 glaze spray booths
* 2 slab rollers
* 2 extruders
* Electric wheels


Drawing and Painting

The undergraduate area has well ventilated drawing and painting studios, a critique room, a seminar room, and two spray booths. The undergraduate program also has an electronic art classroom.

The major studio is available to seniors in their final semester working on their BFA or senior projects.

Square footage: Undergraduate footage 7,863

Equipment: The drawing and painting studios are equipped with easels, taborets, environmentally friendly brush cleaners, good ventilation, and storage for painting and drawing.
The drawing and painting area has a digital drawing classroom which is equipped with the following:

* 18 IMac G5s
* 1 Epson 4000 printer
* 2 Canon 9950 scanners
* 18 Wacom tablets

The digitizing library is equipped with the following:

* 1 G5 with a digital dv deck for video editing
* 1 G4 with an Epson 4000 pro printer
* 1 G4 with a Panasonic film recorder
* 1 G4 with a Canon 9950 scanner

The drawing and painting TA office is equipped with 2 IMacs.

The studio space available for graduate painters is as follows:

* E232 is 551 sq ft with 2 painters
* E232 is 1,096 sq ft with 4 painters
* E236 is 539 sq ft with 2 painters
* E238 is 533 sq ft with 2 painters


Photography
Undergraduate Technology and Facilities

Our facilities include six individual darkrooms, a large group darkroom, a mounting and finishing area, a computer lab, a large-format printing lab, a scanning lab, a camera copy room, a checkout room, and a photography studio.

Graduate Technology and Faculties
Three photography studios house two students each and are equipped with a Mac G5 computer. Students have access to graduate darkrooms, a graduate large-format digital print lab equipped with Epson 9600 and 7600 printers, and a graduate high-resolution scanning lab.


Printmaking

The Malcolm Myers Printmaking Studio is housed in the Regis Center for Art, which opened in 2003. The 7,580 sq. ft., state-of–the-art printmaking facility provides a safe work environment (excellent ventilation and lighting) and a communal atmosphere.

The Printmaking Area Includes:

* Graduate Suite
o Self-sufficient facilities and adjoining private research studios
o 40” x 70” Takach lithography press
o 40” x 70” American French Tool Etching Press
o 48” x 72” Cincinnati one-arm Screen press
o Eight large diameter rollers, 60 duo meters through 20

* Intaglio Studio
o 48” x 109” Takach Etching press
o Etching presses (five)
o Acid/solvent resistant Chemstone surfaces
o Stainless soaking trays with plexi drain boards
o Parts washer
o Drying Racks
o Down draft workstation
o Polymetal aquatint box
o Spray booth
o Four hot plates
o Plate shear
o Maple and stainless worktables

* Lithography Studio
o Four large lithography presses (Brand and Takach)
o Float glass slabs
o Slat hood ventilation with stainless processing station for metal plates
o Acid resistant Chemstone procession area for stones
o Lithography stones
o Maple and stainless work areas
o Float glass slabs
o Hydraulic lift

* Screen Studio
o Six Cincinnati presses (36”x48”, 44”x60”, 48”x72”)
o Metal frame screens
o Horizontal screen racks
o Hydraulic screen stretcher
o Ink mixing station
o Vertical light inspection station
o Two light tables
o Drying racks
o Room for screen reclamation and washout booths

* Digital Lab
o Epson 9500 Inkjet printer
o 18” Inkjet printer
o Scanner
o Three computer stations

* Papermaking Facility
o Hollander Beaters (two)
o Large capacity Hydropulper
o Pulp sprayer
o Vacuum table
o Hydraulic lift

* Support Facilities
o Acid room
o Photomechanical lab
o Digital lab
o Stone graining room/storage
o Critique/preparatory room
o Solvent storage room
o Expendable storage room


Sculpture

The sculpture program at the University of Minnesota is housed within the finest facility of its kind in the country. The sculpture program occupies 15,000 sq. feet of workspace in the Department’s new facility, the Regis Center for Art. The Department of Art has fully equipped digital imaging studios as well as technologically current metal and wood fabrication shops and foundry.


Graduate Facilities

Graduate students in sculpture are provided with personal studio space on the second floor in the East Building of the new Regis Center for Art; all studios are accessible by freight elevator. The sculpture studio facilities and shops [first floor of the East Building] are open to graduate students 24 hours a day.

The Sculpture Area Includes:

* Fully equipped woodshop
* 2 table saws
* Panel saw
* 2 sanders
* 2 band saws
* 2 drill presses
* Chop saw
* Mortising machine
* Sawmill
* Wood assembly shop with walk in spray booth
* Modeling and mold making studio
* Welding and metal-forming shop with brazing and oxy-acetylene stations, MIG and TIG welders, horizontal and vertical band saws, bench grinders, Beverly shears, Hausfeld Bender, hydraulic foot squaring shears, brakes, 2 metal chop saws, metal roller, gas forge, coal forge, and anvils
* Sandblasting booth
* Hand tool checkout room
* Enclosed sound-proof grinding room with air stations for hand tools
* Foundry equipped with an Inductotherm liftswing induction furnace [150# capacity for bronze] and a 100# tilt induction for iron, 2 cupolettes [400# and 100# capacity], #40, and #200 gas-fired crucible furnaces, a 270-cubic-foot burn-out/melt-out kiln, a 3-ton bridge crane, a separate shell room for ceramic shell molding, and facilities to make standard investment, chemically bonded sand, green sand, and centrifugally cast molds.
* New seminar rooms and critique rooms along with a large outdoor courtyard complete the sculpture facilities. Complete facilities for performance and electronic media are available in the West Building across the street [also accessible by skyway].
* CNC Router


Time and Interactivity
The state of the art Electronic Facilities include:

* Digital video production
* AVID video editing suite
* Two Macintosh computer labs
* Media 100 editing suite
* Pro Tools station
* Max/MSP workstations
* Equipment for experimental and in-the-field productions


Undergraduate Studies

The Department of Art provides in-depth instruction in the concepts and processes involved in the making of visual art.

Full studio facilities are available for drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, book arts, sculpture, time and interactivity, and photography.

We offer two degree options for undergraduates: the Bachelor of Arts (BA) and the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA). Both degrees offer a firm grounding in the liberal arts, including a second language, while emphasizing studio arts course work.

* The BA is valuable as a base for many kinds of careers or for advanced study.
* The BFA is a selective program that provides greater concentration in art; students with graduate or professional aspirations may apply for this degree track.

A liberal arts education is important because it gives artists a wider understanding of history, literature, science and nature. While artists look outward for sources, they also transform materials—paper, metal, paint, and clay—into new forms. This not only requires technical training in various media, but also demands insight and an understanding of the world.

All courses are taught by practicing artists. A lively Visiting Artists Program and special educational opportunities enhance the learning environment. A typical class size of 20 students and a full range of facilities result in quality, individualized instruction.


Graduate Studies

The Master of Fine Arts program places major emphasis on creative studio work of high quality. It promotes not only the conceptual and technical education of the professional artist in the context of the studio environment, encouraging critical inquiry, excellence, and an understanding of the history of art, but also an experimental approach toward each media. The following areas of concentration are available: Ceramics, Drawing and Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, and Time and Interactivity. The MFA is considered the terminal degree in the field of Fine Arts and is typically the degree required to teach at the college or university level.

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