{"id":6,"date":"2010-07-13T18:05:43","date_gmt":"2010-07-13T18:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hub-dev.bates.edu\/visual-culture\/?page_id=3"},"modified":"2026-03-17T11:51:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T15:51:19","slug":"about-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/art-visual-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Visual literacy and visual acuity \u2013 looking with awareness and intention \u2013 are fundamental to liberal arts education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Art and Visual Culture Department offers courses in studio practice and in the study of the intersecting categories of art, architecture, visual and material culture, from the distant past to the present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This study also provides insights into intellectual currents, religious doctrines and practices, and social institutions, with attention to issues of class, gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Studio art involves the integration of traditional disciplines and methods with contemporary practices and the study of visual culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The major offers two tracks: one in history and criticism; the other, in studio art. Students intending to study abroad must discuss fulfillment of major requirements with their advisor and the department chair in advance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"The

The art, you\u2019ll see, is beautiful and striking.\n\nFrieda Kickliter \u201923, a studio art major from Mobile, Ala., is making large abstract paintings inspired by architecture and landscape. She shares a studio with her roommate Jordan Wilson \u201923 of Medfield, Mass., a double major in art history and studio art, who\u2019s painting portraits of people she knows. And Tricia Ballard \u201923, a studio art major from Larchmont, N.Y., is a ceramicist who loves simplicity.\n\nYou\u2019ll find the three of them in their Olin Arts Center studios with ) days to prepare for the installation of the Annual Senior Art Exhibition that opens on April 14 in the Bates College Museum of Art. The museum partners with the Department of Art and Visual culture to support the work of Bates students through an exhibition that highlights work selected from the thesis projects of graduating seniors majoring in studio art.\nThesis projects vary from student to student, each pursuing an individual interest. The emphasis of the program is on creating a cohesive body of related works through sustained studio practice and critical inquiry. The year-long process is overseen by Art and Visual Culture faculty, and culminates in this exhibition.\nStay tuned for more coverage of the installation and opening. \n\n(Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College) \n\n#batescollege #fineart #art #painting #ceramics #exhibition<\/p><\/div>

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\"Olivia

Olivia Rabin \u201924 of Montclair, N.J., works in her Olin Arts Center studio on March 21, 2024.\n\nFrom a young age, I was fascinated by nature and the fantastical. This and the works by people similarly inspired by the natural world inspire my current work. While I am interested in many different things, I am always working to visualize them to help me understand how I connect them internally. In my work, I am trying to synthesize my own process into something tangible and observable. I am exploring the connections between my headspace, the act of expression, and the physical world.\n\nI want to explore the emotions and sensations of the world around me, being captivated by nature and the fantastical. I love the mysterious blues and otherworldly qualities of water, especially found in oceans and waterfalls. I am thoroughly enchanted by them. This was only heightened by my favorite creative works like The Blue Planet by David Attenborough. This film not only allowed me to see the ocean\u2019s depths in ways I had never seen before but also showed me ways in which form can create fantastical emotions out of the real. Works like Hayao Miyazaki\u2019s Laputa: Castle in the Sky expand on this in artistic and sensory ways that become their own mythology. Works by artists like Heikala and Gabriel Picolo expand upon mundane elements of reality, abstracting them into the fantastical. Heikala\u2019s illustrations often explore the magic in mundane moments by abstracting an element like size, time, or location to convey an emotion fantastically. In Picolo\u2019s Icarus and the Sun, the already metaphorical wax of Icarus\u2019 wings becomes more emotional as Icarus\u2019s body is made of wax and the sun becomes his lover. Wax is quite captivating for me as its qualities are intrinsically related to water. Wax flows like water but as it cools and solidifies it almost freezes a moment in time and space allowing for the magic to be captured. In these works, I was able to find connections between my int<\/p><\/div>

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\"Taking

Taking place in the spring of each year, this exhibition highlights work selected from the thesis projects of graduating seniors in Studio Art. This year, seven emerging artists will present work in various media:\n\nAlex Provasnik \u201925 in her Olin Studio with her paintings\n\nElizabeth R. Barrow\nMiryam Keller\nAvery Lehman\nErin McCarthy\nAlex Provasnik\nLila Schaefer\nDanny J. Zuniga Zarat\n\nThesis projects vary from student to student, each pursuing an individual interest. The emphasis of the program is on creating a cohesive body of related works through sustained studio practice and critical inquiry. The year-long process is overseen by Art & Visual Culture (AVC) faculty, and culminates in this exhibition. The Bates College Museum of Art maintains a close relationship with the college\u2019s AVC department, and is committed to supporting the work of Bates students through this Annual Senior Thesis Exhibition. \n\nTo see more about the artists\u2019 work, visit the website: https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/exhibitions\/senior-thesis-exhibition-2025\/<\/p><\/div>

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\"Taking

Taking place in the spring of each year, this exhibition highlights work selected from the thesis projects of graduating seniors in Studio Art. This year, seven emerging artists will present work in various media:\n\nMiryam Keller \u201925 with her work in her Olin Studio\n\n\nElizabeth R. Barrow\nMiryam Keller\nAvery Lehman\nErin McCarthy\nAlex Provasnik\nLila Schaefer\nDanny J. Zuniga Zarat\n\nThesis projects vary from student to student, each pursuing an individual interest. The emphasis of the program is on creating a cohesive body of related works through sustained studio practice and critical inquiry. The year-long process is overseen by Art & Visual Culture (AVC) faculty, and culminates in this exhibition. The Bates College Museum of Art maintains a close relationship with the college\u2019s AVC department, and is committed to supporting the work of Bates students through this Annual Senior Thesis Exhibition. \n\nTo see more about the artists\u2019 work, visit the website: https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/exhibitions\/senior-thesis-exhibition-2025\/<\/p><\/div>

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\"Associate

Associate Professor of Art and Visual Culture Carolina Gonz\u00e1lez Valencia, adviser in the winter semester to senior studio art majors, install their work in the Bates Museum of Art for the Annual Senior Exhibition on April 9, 2025. On the lower level is Avery Lehman \u201925 of Portsmouth, NH, and also exhibition installer\u2026..\nUpstaris, Gonz\u00e1lez Valencia works with Visiting Lecturer in Art and Visual Culture Michel Droge to help Elizabeth (Lizi) Barrow \u201925 of Winchester, Mass., to hang her painting on the upper level.<\/p><\/div>

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