Art and Art History

Overview

The mission of the department of Art and Art History (AAH) is to educate students in the richness and complexity of the visual arts. Making, critiquing, and historicizing visual culture is essential for informed participation and innovation within local and global cultures. Combining the disciplines of Studio Art and Art History, AAH equips students to explore critically the interplay of culture, history, theory, analysis, and art practice.

We offer a broad range of courses in art history and studio arts. Art history offerings include East Asian, European, American, Latinx, and Pacific Rim art,  visual culture, architecture, and photographic histories. Studio classes emphasize the entwined nature of concept and technique with courses in painting, sculpture, printmaking, installation, digital photography, drawing, and book arts. We also offer hybrid courses combining art making with critical histories and theories of photography, feminisms, race, and class, underscoring our commitment to critical inquiry and the College's mission. The curriculum is integrated with the vibrant art scene of Los Angeles (and beyond) through field trips, community-based learning, site specific projects, collaboration with area arts organizations and research, and internships opportunities.

Our curriculum prepares students to become professional artists, art historians, and to work in a broad range of image- and culture-oriented fields. Graduates pursue a variety of professional activities including art making and exhibitions in museums and galleries. They perform curatorial work, museum education, and work in libraries, archives, and other non-profit institutions. Students regularly attend graduate programs in fine arts and art history. Our graduates enter a wide range of visual-oriented fields such as architecture, design, imaging in the tech industry, and work at the intersections of art, medicine, and law.

Our program features close personal collaboration between students and faculty, all actively exhibiting, publishing and/or curating professionals. We mentor students in garnering grants for ambitious projects, international research and internships with dynamic arts institutions. Students work closely with their advisors to develop their individual interests and goals, and to plan individual programs of study designed to develop the aesthetic questions, technical skills, and research agendas required for the comprehensive project in the senior year.

Requirements

Art and Art History majors will choose a concentration either in Art History (46 units) or in Studio Art (44-46 units). 

Art History Concentration

Required Courses (14 units)

Electives (32 units)

Students must complete two 100-level Art History (ARTH) electives, four 200- or 300-level ARTH electives, and two Studio Art (ARTS) electives.

Studio Art Concentration

Required Courses (24 units)

Electives (20 units)

Students must complete two 200-level ARTS electives, two 300-level ARTS electives, and one 100-level Art History (ARTH) elective.

Honors in the Major

A student with an overall GPA of at least 3.2 and 3.5 in the major who has demonstrated excellence in departmental courses can submit a proposal for honors. For the Art History concentration, the proposal is submitted in the spring of junior year, for completion over the course of the senior year. For the Studio Art concentration, the proposal is submitted in the fall of senior year for completion in the spring of senior year. For further information, consult your faculty adviser on honors requirements and timelines in your particular program.

Minor

To earn the minor students must complete the 21 units as described below:

• ARTH 201
• ARTH 298
• Two 100-level ARTS or ARTH electives
• Two 200- or 300-level ARTS or ARTH electives

Second-Stage Writing

All students majoring in the Art and Art History department must successfully complete the second-stage writing requirement by the end of the junior year. For Art History majors, this requirement is fulfilled by completing ARTH 390, with a grade of C or better. For Studio Art majors, this requirement is fulfilled by completing ARTS 301 with a grade of C or better.

Comprehensive Requirement

Students work closely with their advisors to develop their individual interests and educational goals, and to plan individual programs of study designed to develop the aesthetic and conceptual questions, technical skills, and research practices required for the comprehensive project in the senior year. Students will develop a command of their field and hone their ability to place their work into larger art historical, social, and conceptual frameworks. Projects may include, but are not limited to, the production of a new body of work and/or scholarly research.

Advising Information

Art History

Students interested in pursuing the Art History concentration often start by taking one of the introductory ARTH courses: ARTH 150 (History of Urban Design), ARTH 160 (Introduction to East Asian Art), ARTH 170 (Introduction to Early European Art), or ARTH 180 (Introduction to Later European and American Art). For Art History concentration students, completing two of these courses is required for the major. Students who major in Art History should meet with a departmental advisor to plan their coursework and are encouraged to take additional language courses in order to enhance their research capabilities.

Placement Information

No placement exams are specifically required for the Art and Art History major.

Sample 4-Year Plan

Curricular Notes

• 100-level ARTH electives satisfy 1-3 core requirements.

Studio Art

Students interested in pursuing the Studio Art concentration should complete the three introductory ARTS courses during their first and second years: ARTS 102 (Painting Fundamentals), ARTS 103 (Sculpture Fundamentals); and ARTS 105 (Printmaking Fundamentals). Because the maturation of creative work requires time as well as effort, students who major in studio art should consult with departmental advisors and begin taking studio courses as early as possible in their first year, and should declare a major early in the sophomore year.

Placement Information

No placement exams are specifically required for the Art and Art History major.

Sample 4-Year Plan

Curricular Notes

• ARTS 101, ARTS 104, ARTS 106, and ARTS 109 may only be taken as electives and do not count as required introductory courses. 

• Studio Art students should complete ARTH 180 by the end of the sophomore year, and ARTH 389 by the end of the junior year.

Transfer Credit Policies

All Majors, regardless of concentration, and Minors in Art and Art History must take 2/3 of their coursework in the Department of Art and Art History at Occidental College.  For the Studio Art Concentration, the maximum number of units towards the major that may be taken outside of Occidental is 15 units. For the Art History Concentration, the maximum number of units towards the major that may be taken outside of Occidental is 14 units.

For Studio Art Transfer Credit in the Major or Minor:  Students may only transfer in 100-level courses (or equivalent) to fulfill a major or minor requirement in the Studio Art Program: Equivalents to ARTS 102, ARTS 103, ARTS 107.

For Art History Transfer Credit in the Major or Minor: Students may only transfer in 100-level courses (or equivalent) to fulfill a major or minor requirement in the Art History Program: Equivalents to ARTH 150, ARTH 160, ARTH 170, ARTH 180.

Transfer Courses from Art Center College of Design: Students may apply ACCD courses as an elective for their major. ACCD courses are not transferable for the minor.

All students wishing to take a course from an institution other than Occidental must seek approval for transfer credit from the Department Chair prior to enrolling in a course (for example, summer courses, intersession courses) in order to avoid taking a course that may not be accepted for transfer credit. Students should reference the Transfer Credit section for details.

Exchange Program with the Art Center

Occidental students may take courses in the Art Center at Night Program at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. See the College Catalog section on the Art Center Exchange program available only to full-time Oxy students. These classes can count towards general college units for graduation but cannot fulfill Art and Art History major or minor requirements without pre-approval of the Art and Art History faculty adviser and department chair.

Courses

Art & Art History Courses:

Art History

Studio Art

Faculty

Tenure and Tenure Track Faculty

Mary Beth Heffernan, chair

Professor

B.F.A., Boston University; M.F.A., California Institute of the Arts; Fellow, Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program, 1995

Janna Ireland

Assistant Professor

B.F.A., New York University; M.F.A., University of California, Los Angeles

Amy Lyford

Arthur G. Coons Professor in the History of Ideas

B.A., Pomona College; M.A., Boston University; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley

Jose Guadalupe Sanchez III

Assistant Professor

B.F.A., Otis College of Art and Design; M.F.A., University of Southern California

Yurika Wakamatsu

Assistant Professor

B.A., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; A.M., Ph.D., Harvard University

Non-Tenure Track Faculty

Ariana Corral

Kenturah Davis
Visiting Assistant Professor
A.B., Occidental College; M.F.A., Yale University

Mercedes Dorame

Joel Garcia
Curator in Residence

Samuel Luterbacher
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A., University of Geneva, Switzerland; M.A.,Courtauld Institute of Art, London; Ph.D., Yale University

Jocelyn Webb Pedersen
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A., California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; M.A., University of Iowa, Center for the Book; M.F.A., University of California, Santa Barbara  

Sami Siegelbaum
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A., New York University; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Irvine

Camilla Taylor

Stephen van Dyck

David Weldzius
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.F.A., University of Illinois, Chicago; M.F.A., California Institute of the Arts

Patricia Yossen
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A., Escuela Provincial de Artes Visuales Juan Mantovani; M.F.A., Pratt Institute

Other faculty associated with the Art and Art History department can be viewed here.