Transdisciplinary Visual Arts

Advisory Board:

"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance."
— Aristotle

As our ways of interacting with the world change and expand through, for example, new technologies, widespread, growing access to new information and new forms of media, and through scientific and cultural exchange, so must our ways of understanding and evaluating such interactions. The Wilkes Honors College (WHC) program in Transdisciplinary Visual Art encourages students to examine and develop multiple forms of analysis and critique from various academic disciplines which cross, interact and shape knowledge. Basarab Nicolescu explains ‘transdisciplinary,’ as “between the disciplines, across the different disciplines and beyond the disciplines….” The courses of this transdisciplinary concentration require breadth of inquiry into a number of disciplines and the creation of visual art. Such inquiry is predicated on the notion that disciplines are concomitant and potentially symbiotic ways of sharing knowledge and making meaning, and that such collaboration fruitfully informs and is informed by the visual art created.

The Honors Transdisciplinary Visual Art Concentration works significantly with other disciplines in the humanities, the natural and social sciences. Students learn basic visual vocabulary, and are expected to develop their own aesthetic standards. The analysis of the art, though valuable, is only a portion of the curriculum. Artistic production along with the development of visual literacy, and an understanding of their relevance to the individual's artistic practice is an indispensable part of this academic study. A combined exploration of these areas will help students to construct meaningful visual images and forms, to develop problem-solving skills, to differentiate arguments from opinions, and to speak, write, or otherwise represent their ideas in a coherent and persuasive way. This program assists students in preparing for careers in the art field, including art history, art criticism, studio art, scientific illustration, and arts administration in community and public art programs.

Available Tracks:

• Track 1: Fine Art - Studio, Electronic Arts & Digital Imaging
• Track 2: Scientific Illustration (BioArt)
• Track 3: Visual Studies (Art Criticism, Art History & Theory)
• Track 4: Minor

Requirements: All students concentrating in Honors Transdisciplinary Visual Studies Concentration must complete 2 introductory courses, 5 additional Visual Arts courses, and 5 courses in related disciplines. Students must spend two semesters of their senior year in consultation with their concentration advisor researching and writing an honors thesis or completing the capstone project. Those choosing to specialize in Fine Art Studio Art or/and Scientific Illustration must prepare an art exhibition along with a catalogue and/or an honors thesis; students without an area of specialization or who choose to specialize in Visual Studies (Art Criticism, Art History & Theory) must complete an honors thesis.

I. Introductory Coursework (2 courses, 7 credits)

Concentrators must take:

II. Additional Coursework in the Visual Arts (5 courses, 15-20 credits)

Concentrators must take a minimum of 5 additional courses in the Visual Arts from the approved list, which is organized into three academic tracks:

• Track 1: Fine Art - Studio, Electronic Arts & Digital Imaging
• Track 2: Scientific Illustration (BioArt)
• Track 3: Visual Studies (Art Criticism, Art History & Theory)

Students who choose not to specialize in one of the areas may select any 5 courses from the list, regardless of the area, for a broad range of study. Students selecting one of the three tracks of specialization must select their courses as follows:

Track 1: Fine Art - Studio, Electronic Arts & Digital Imaging

Track 2: Scientific Illustration (BioArt)

Track 3: Visual Studies (Art Criticism, History, and Theory)

III. Honors Courses in Related Disciplines (4 courses, 12 credits)

All concentrators must take at least 4 courses in a related discipline (not art or art history) from the approved list below. These courses are, like the rest of the Liberal Arts curriculum, integral to the development of a mature, articulate, well-rounded individual knowledgeable about the field. Students are encouraged to expose themselves to other ways of constructing knowledge and understanding the world. If students would rather fulfill this requirement pursuing a minor in another discipline in order to fulfill this requirement they may do so. This focus helps students to develop their critical and analytical skills so as to argue persuasively and coherently in oral or written forms.

IV. Honors Thesis (6 credits)

A visual art portfolio with an exhibition, a written catalog or thesis, or a combination thereof, constitutes an honors thesis in the Transdisciplinary Visual Arts Concentration. The choice for the thesis completed in most cases is Track Dependent.

Honors Thesis for Track I: Fine Art - Studio, Electronic Arts and Digital Imaging; and Track II: Scientific Illustration

Honors Thesis for Track III: Visual Studies (Art Criticism, Art History & Theory)

V. Internship or Study Abroad

Students are required to satisfy the Honors College requirement of an internship or Study Abroad Program by doing an internship or study abroad that focuses on the visual arts.

VI. Minor in Transdisciplinary Visual Art:

Fine Art Studio, Visual Studies or Scientific Illustration (Anthropology, Environmental Studies, Natural Sciences, Marine Biology)
19–23 Credit Hours

Students are reminded that they must have 45 credits of upper level (3000 or 4000 level) coursework to graduate.