2009-2010 University Catalog 
  
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2009-2010 University Catalog

Art and Visual Technology, BA

Banner Code: AR-BA-AVT

College Hall, Room C200
Phone: 703-993-8898
Web: www.avt.gmu.edu

Faculty

Harold Linton, Chair

Professors: Carbonneau, Frederick, Kravitz (gallery director), Linton (chair), Mandes, Sandell

Associate professors: Ashcraft (associate chair), Crawford, Feerick, Frenn, White

Assistant professors: Cooley, Cui, Endress, Karametou, Rothstein, Sheridan, Winant (associate chair), Wrbican

Term assistant professors: Constantine, Del Popolo, Malone, Stanley, Starr

Adjunct faculty: Bradley, Bulisova, Carr-Shaffer, Castellana, Chao, Clements, Cushner, DeLuca, Dicicco, Fairfax, Ferreira, Goldman, Gorman, Guerrieri, Herce, Hicks, Ho, Hoffmann, Kerns, Kirk, Nahidian, Organ, Petzwinkler, Rodriguez, Rozario, Sapsford, Serafin, Tomhave, Watson, Wiseman

Mission

The Department of Art and Visual Technology (AVT) offers students an environment in which the pursuit of a degree is a commitment to a way of life that centers on creative thought processes and the production of artworks. The curriculum and the faculty focus on cultivating students’ appreciation of and expertise in studio and digital arts. Students are encouraged to dedicate themselves to academic excellence, skilled artistry, and employing visual literacy within an atmosphere of creative freedom. The faculty’s ongoing engagement with artistic practice forms a vital part of the student-instructor relationship. By offering  instruction in traditional and contemporary technologies for art making, faculty members help students develop a strong foundation to realize their personal and professional goals.

A principle that underlies the AVT Program is its focus on fostering student understanding and experience of the interdisciplinary nature of inquiry and practice in the visual arts. This focus is important because art today crosses the boundaries of traditional disciplines and integrates traditional and technology-based media into the creation of new art forms. This interdisciplinary focus is introduced to all AVT majors in required Foundations and Core courses and is reinforced throughout the AVT curriculum.

Course Work

The Department of Art and Visual Technology offers all course work designated AVT in the Courses  chapter of this catalog.

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM

BA-AVT

Undergraduate studio degrees offered by the Department of Art and Visual Technology include the bachelor of arts (BA) and the bachelor of fine arts (BFA). The department also offers an undergraduate minor in AVT, an interdisciplinary minor in multimedia, and a departmental honors program for selected AVT majors.

Neither the BA nor the BFA program satisfies all requirements for those seeking accreditation for teaching in the public schools. Undergraduate students interested in this field should contact the department’s art education advisor to learn more about teacher preparation.

All George Mason University students are welcome to enroll in course work in AVT. Consult the course listings for prerequisites.

Admission to AVT Requirements

All students are admitted to AVT programs of study separately from their admission to the university and only by portfolio review. Students may be admitted to study in the BA or BFA program by one of three ways:

  • Presenting a portfolio and any other requested credentials at designated portfolio review days before each semester and before applying for admission
  • Completing the sequence of AVT 104, 105, and 222 with a 3.25 or higher average in those courses, and applying for admission through a portfolio review
  • Completing the sequence of AVT 104, 105, and 222; and 323 or 324; and one other 200-level AVT course with a 3.00 or higher GPA in those courses; and applying for admission through a portfolio review

Artsbus Requirement

All AVT majors must meet the department’s requirement of travel to galleries and museums through the AVT Artsbus program. Students meet this requirement by enrolling in AVT 300 Artsbus Attendance.  The procedure and requirements for enrollment in AVT 300 is the same as for any other class.

Freshmen who enroll as AVT majors must take AVT 300 for five semesters. Transfer students and students who change their majors to AVT must take AVT 300 for the equivalent of each semester they are enrolled at Mason, up to a maximum of five semesters. Semesters of enrollment in AVT 300 do not have to be consecutive. Students may take AVT 300 up to three times in a semester if they wish to accelerate their completion of the requirement although this is strongly discouraged.

All rules and requirements to AVT 300/Artsbus participation are posted on the Artsbus web site: http://artsbus.gmu.edu.  Students are responsible for being familiar with and following the posted rules and requirements for Artsbus.  The site also provides pertinent information for each trip regarding exhibits as well as reviews and articles for exhibitions.

Visual Voices Requirement

 All AVT majors must fulfill three credits of Visual Voices, AVT 301, in order to graduate, unless they are enrolled at Mason for fewer than three semesters.  If enrolled for less than three semesters, students are required to have one AVT 301 credit per semester in which they are enrolled.  Visual Voices is an intrinsic part of the major, offering students a chance to meet with and hear nationally and internationally recognized artists speak about their work.  The procedure and requirements for enrollment in AVT 301 are the same as for any other class.

Writing-Intensive Requirement

Mason requires all students to complete at least one course designated “writing intensive” in their majors at the 300 level or above. AVT students fulfill this requirement by successfully completing AVT 395 (or AVT 494 for BFA students planning to pursue the MAT in art education).

Upper-Level Credits

All undergraduate students are required to complete a minimum of 45 credits of upper-division courses at the 300–499 level.

Major GPA

All AVT undergraduate students must earn a minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA in their major.

Studios

The Art and Visual Technology program is located in the arts building which houses well equipped studios for drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture, as well as six computer-equipped studios that cross platforms and are installed with current software applications used for two dimensional imaging, three-dimensional modeling, animation, video production, sound editing, multimedia authoring, photography, and web publishing.

Studios are open to students for extended periods mornings, evenings, and weekends whenever classes are not in progress. Policies, procedures, and schedules for studio use are established by the AVT studio faculty and are posted in the studios.

AVT Honors Program

Students interested in the Honors Program in Art and Visual Technology should contact the chair of the department. Both BA and BFA students are eligible to apply for admission to the program. Honors students must complete at least 4 credits of AVT 394 Honors Seminar.

Academic Policies

Please see College of Visual and Performing Arts  academic policies.

Degree Requirements

General Education (37 credits)

Foundation Requirements

  • Witten Communication:
  • ENGL 101 - Composition Credits: 3
  • ENGL 302 - Advanced Composition Credits: 3 (Nonnative speakers of English with limited proficiency in the language may substitute ENGL 100 for ENGL 101. Students must attain a minimum grade of C in ENGL 100 or 101, as well as in 302, to fulfill degree requirements.)
  • Oral communication (3)
  • Quantitative reasoning (3)
  • Information technology (3)

Core Requirements

  • Literature (3)
  • Arts* (3)
  • Natural science (including at least one laboratory science) (7)
  • Western civilization (3)
  • Global understanding** (3)
  • Social and behavioral sciences (3)
Notes:

*AVT majors may not choose AVT courses to meet this requirement, and they may not double-count ARTH courses toward both the AVT major and the university general education arts requirement.

**AVT majors may not double-count ARTH courses toward both AVT major requirements and the university general education global understanding requirement.

AVT Major Requirements (60-63 credits)

Studio Foundation (17 credits)

Art History, Critical Analysis, Contemporary Practice (18 credits)

Note

AVT 301 must be taken for a  total of 3 credits or each semester enrolled, if less than three semesters.

Breadth and Experience (9-12 credits)

Choose three of the following classes; at least one course must be a 200-level studio course:

Synthesis (4 credits)

Concentration (12 credits)

12 credits in one of the following areas: Drawing, Graphic Design, InterArts, New Media, Painting, Photography, Printmaking or Sculpture

▲ Drawing (DRW)
4 credits from:
Note:

All AVT majors concentrating in drawing must complete AVT 232 (Painting I) under Breadth and Experience.

▲ Graphic Design (GD)
Graphic Design Note

All AVT majors concentrating in graphic design must complete AVT 252 Photography I or AVT 253 Introduction to Digital Photography under Breadth and Experience.

▲ InterArts (IA)
4 credits from:
▲ New Media Art (NMA)

12 credits from:

▲ Painting (PNT)
▲ Photography (PHO)
4 credits from:
Photography Note:

All AVT majors concentrating in photography must complete AVT 252 Photography I under Breadth and Experience.

▲ Printmaking (PMT)
8 credits from:
▲ Sculpture (SCL)
Concentration Electives

AVT 399 or AVT 491 may be taken with permission of respective Area Coordinator.

General Electives (20-23 credits)

BA students must use general electives to either complete a minor program outside the major field of study (15–20 credits) or demonstrate intermediate-level proficiency in one foreign language (0–12 credits)*.  After fulfilling one of these options, the remaining general electives may be taken inside or outside of the department. All students are required to take a minimum of 45 credits of upper-division courses (300 and 400 level); most students will require at least 13 elective credits at the 300 level or above.

AVT 393 Field Experience in the Arts and AVT 489 Internship are not required courses but are highly recommended as electives for BA students.

*See beginning of CVPA chapter for foreign language requirement.

Total: 120 credits