Academic Programs

Studio Arts:

After completion of the Foundation year, students participate in the Spring Portfolio Review for acceptance into the Studio Program. Once accepted into the program, students will take a variety of courses in each of the disciplines listed above, before choosing one area as their concentration.

Courses in drawing include basic, figurative, and expressive. Painting courses are offered in a variety of media such as acrylic, oil, mixed media, etc. The Printmaking area includes serigraphy, monotype, lithography and etching. Contemporary sculpture focuses on the use of non-traditional materials, while courses in the Figurative Sculpture area concentrate solely on the use of human or animal figures and incorporate techniques such as enlargement, mold making, etc. Ceramics courses cover wheel throwing, hand molding, slip casting techniques as well as glaze formulation and kiln operation.

Ceramics:

Our Ceramics Facility on South Campus is well equiped for student use.

Painting:

The University of Oklahoma's painting program is recognized both regionally and nationally, as an environment that promotes curiosity, exploration, and independent thinking. Through conventional and contemporary investigations, students expand their creative capacities while developing personal ideas of value. Not limited to a visual experience, painting students practice traditional skills including writing, verbalization, and research as they engage in cultural issues concerning art and design. In a continuously evolving and interdisciplinary field, our graduates enter the world as competent, confident, complete individuals that possess unique problem solving capabilities.

Printmaking:

The Printmaking Department at the University of Oklahoma offers emphases in Screenprinting, Lithography, and Etching. The curriculum also includes courses involving Relief Printing, Letterpress, Digital Output, and Book Arts. The spacious studios have 24 hour a day access and students are given freedom to explore their ideas beyond the confines of traditional printmaking. An emphasis is given to interdisciplinary work, especially work containing aspects of community practice and installation. The facilities include two etching and three lithography presses as well as an oversized one-arm screenprinting press, capable of printing images up to 48 x 72 inches. The influence of emerging digital technology is constantly addressed and creatively
inserted into the curriculum. For more information about printmaking at OU please contact Curtis Jones: chivo@ou.edu

Sculpture

Offering thorough instruction in both figurative/representational and contemporary methods, the sculpture curriculum provides traditional and experimental approaches towards expression within a very unique creative environment. Students are encouraged to explore and integrate the disciplines as they construct their understanding of a three-dimensional visual language. Emphasis is placed on sculptural technique, production, creative development and scholarship.

The representational concentration, under the direction of Artist in Residence Paul Moore and instructor Sohail Shehada, provides complete instruction in the understanding of form, craft and modeling processes. Oriented towards the human figure, students may also investigate various representational possibilities. Students are exposed to a variety of formats ranging from the small-scale to public/monumental works. Practical considerations, problem solving and artistic concerns are integrated throughout the program.

The contemporary concentration, under the direction of Assistant Professor Jonathan Hils, encourages experimentation within the structure of developing effective technical, theoretical, and critical skills. Students utilize a wide variety of materials and practices in regards to form development and content in a contemporary context. Approaches to producing sculptural objects, installations and the integration of non-traditional medias and formats are encouraged. Within these constructs, students are oriented towards professional advancement, with a significant attention toward building a portfolio and exhibition possibilities that engage the entire spectrum of sculpture.