The MFA (Painting) program encourages
a diversity of approaches to the discipline of painting. From
its inception, in 1970 the Painting Division has hosted a
wide range of practices. The goal of the program has been
to encourage students to explore and push the boundaries that
define the practice of painting as a discipline within and
against the frame of historical definition. Graduates of the
Painting Division have presented final exhibitions ranging
from the formally abstract to high realism as well as works
that explore installation and mixed media.
Students enrolled in the MFA (Painting)
program are assigned individual studio spaces separate from
the undergraduate program and have access to a well equipped
workshop that is shared with students in undergraduate courses.
The studio component in the first year of
the program consists of two graduate courses in painting.
The first of these courses encourages experimentation and
a questioning of the individual’s past practices and
habits. The emphasis is on experimentation and growth more
than the necessity to produce “finished” works.
The second course is intended to set in motion the exploration
that will lead to the development of a thesis direction. The
coordinator of the Painting Division supervises each of these
courses with all fulltime faculty of the division participating
in the discussions and critiques that occur on a regular basis.
Once all coursework is completed successfully,
students are assigned a supervisor, or supervisor and co-supervisor,
and work begins on the development of a body of work that
will provide for a thesis exhibition and oral defense. Normally,
the supervisor is drawn from the ranks of the four fulltime
Faculty who teach within the Painting Division.
The supervisor’s role is to
assist in the development of the student’s creative
vision and to provide an atmosphere of constructive criticism
and trust as well as to encourage the student to engage in
as wide a dialogue within the resources of the department
and the university community as possible. It is the role of
the supervisor to ensure that the student not only reaches
the degree of professionalism that is expected at the graduate
level, but also that the student is adequately prepared to
present and orally defend the body of work that constitutes
the final visual thesis presentation.
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