Drawing
Drawing is a significant area of study for all art majors and minors at Central Michigan University. Along with 2-dimensional design and figure drawing, drawing courses form a foundation for further study in the visual arts. Students develop a mastery of techniques and tools through assignments, research, and experimentation.
Strong drawing skills are essential as a foundation and are integrated into each artistic discipline, and are also recognized as an area in its own right.
Painting
Painting students begin with a traditional sequence of structured courses. Such courses include color theory and drawing (with emphasis on observation and developing themes from still-life), landscape, abstraction, the figure, and developing new ideas from the imagination.
Additional courses in drawing, watercolor, and figure painting help foster a dialogue with traditional and contemporary approaches to painting. Advanced painting students are given the freedom to explore their own personal direction after being exposed to a variety of media and modes of expression. Using various dry and wet media, ideas are realized and ultimately a personal viewpoint and mode of expression are created.
Photography
Emerging as a national program, the photography department at CMU provides students with basic as well as advanced instruction in the fine art of photography. Our program promotes professional development and critical thinking through a wide base of photographic curriculum and portfolio preparation. We promote the use of digital, analog and non-traditional photography. Through the sequence of our courses students are exposed to a broad range of photographic styles and techniques and are encouraged to experiment. The photography program is composed of three full time faculty members and several graduate teaching assistants. Photography students at CMU have won many honors, such as publication in the Best of College Photography Annual received Student Research and Creative Endeavor Grants and participated in student exhibitions as well as other regional and national shows.
Printmaking
The printmaking program fosters a collaborative environment amongst students and faculty.
The Art Department’s Barstow Artist-in-Residence program, printmaking workshops, national printmaking conferences, and print exchange opportunities contribute to the program.
Students studying in the print program recognize and appreciate the communicative, social, and historical aspects of printmaking that are inherent to the medium. The program is designed to simultaneously challenge and broaden a student’s technical, formal, and conceptual knowledge.
While the program fosters knowledge and appreciation of the traditional aesthetics and techniques of print media, it also supports and encourages investigation aligned with contemporary trends in printmaking that may involve photo processes, mixed media, computer generated images, sculpture, or installation.
Through safe methods, these courses will be a platform for understanding the historical, technical, and conceptual contexts of printmaking.