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The Art and Visual Culture Studies major at Seattle University integrates the fundamentals of 2D, 3D and 4D artmaking with an exploration of art history and the ways visual culture shapes the way we see our world. It features a robust curriculum with a focus on innovative pedagogies and new technologies as it maintains a contemporary view of art that centers the margins and empowers students to envision social change. Students in the major take foundations courses in both artmaking and visual culture studies to ground their practices in materials, techniques, histories and theories before specializing in the Visual Art & Design or Visual Culture Studies tracks.
While the disciplines of visual art and art history are more familiar and established, the emerging field of visual culture studies introduces students to the interdisciplinary study of art and ideas through case-studies of a broad variety of fine art, popular media and cultural objects. It offers deep, episodic dives into different cultures and historical moments while keeping questions about the ethics of representation and the power dynamics of the making, display and circulation of images at the center of students’ inquiry and creative practice. Advanced and specialized courses in the Visual Art & Design track encourage students to explore their own unique artistic voice; students build a body of work using open-ended assignments that can incorporate theoretical approaches, community-based work, and interdisciplinary practices.
Faculty include practicing artists whose work in painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, installation, and book arts is exhibited both nationally and internationally. Scholars in the Visual Culture Studies track are art historians who publish in their fields, have museum curating experience, and participate regularly in national and international conferences.