<p>How's the art dept. at Wes? I know film is good, but haven't heard much about fine arts.</p>
<p>It's a solid department that, unfortunately, has to beat people away with a stick in order to avoid being overrun by hobbyists and fingerpainters. But, if you're serious about your work, the faculty will give you a lot of freedom to do your own thing as well as offer good professional advice. For art history buffs, Wesleyan has a highly esteemed print collection that rarely gets seen; that may change with the building of a new museum in the near future.</p>
<p>I am very serious about art. It's what I want to major in. And that's what has me undecided about applyng to Wes. I visited the campus, liked it, thought the art facilities were OK, but when I took a good look at the courses offered, I thought that the program looked a bit skimpy. Only two levels of courses in each discipline, a couple of eccentric printmaking courses, and then nothing but tutorials. I'm looking for real breadth and depth, particularly in drawing and illustration. Just doesn't seem Wes has that. Am I wrong?</p>
<p>I actually don't know that much about the art department. However, I would just like to say that I wouldn't put down tutorials too much - there's certainly something to be said for very personalized attention in basically a subject of your choice, with a professor guiding you all along... you're not limited by course selection, basically, but rather professor expertise.</p>
<p>Have you considered art school?</p>
<p>i know a senior art studio major, and she's pretty psyched about the program, if that helps at all. a lot of my friends took drawing I and were impressed with the teacher and how much she helped them to improve.</p>
<p>there was recently an article in the argus about how much work the art studio majors have to do, and how they basically live in the art buildings. i don't really have a point to make with that fact, just sayin'.</p>
<p>I think the basic idea at Wesleyan is that once you get beyond the mid-level courses, you should be thinking seriously about a Senior Project or Honors Thesis which would require pushing yourself beyond the familiar bounds of a couple hours of studio time a week; Faculty advising would come into play here and so would a certain amount of self-assessment, i.e., what are you good at and what do you want to say with it?</p>
<p>jumble_j - Thanks for the info.</p>
<p>Madjoy - I considered art schools briefly, but my interests are too ecclectic. I'm into history, philosophy, literature, creative writing, theater. It isn't just visual art with me, so an art school just wouldn't be do it. What I'm looking for is a good liberal arts college or a university with a strong art department, strong academics, and a smart, talented student body. Wes has the strong academics and the student body. I just can't get a fix on the art department....</p>
<p>Johnwesley - Maybe I'm underestimating the worth of tutorials, I don't know. I mean, I look at schools like Wash U, Carnegie Mellon, even UPenn, and I look at the art courses they offer and it seems like they have it all and they have the academics that I'm looking. Damn. I'd like to apply to Wes, but...</p>
<p>Look, if any of you guys knows a Wes art major who can spend a few minutes on CC and give me some inside info on the art department, I'd really appreciate it. As I said above, I'm into drawing and illustration. I'm also into computer art and my goal is to do conceptual art for computer games and movies and to illustrate my own fiction. Can I do that at Wes?</p>
<p>"I'm also into computer art and my goal is to do conceptual art for computer games and movies and to illustrate my own fiction. Can I do that at Wes?"</p>
<p>If you can't do it at Wes, I can't imagine where else you would. The campus as a whole is extremely computer savvy and the idea of creating a graphic novel for your senior thesis would not be new or unusual. Try asking the Livejournal community; some people may be checking it over the holidays:
<a href="http://www.livejournal.com/community/wesleyan/%5B/url%5D">http://www.livejournal.com/community/wesleyan/</a></p>
<p>Damn! How do you make the livejournal thing work? I signed up, selected Wes as my school, sent a message, and it didn't appear on the message list.</p>
<ol>
<li>Click on the URL: <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/community/wesleyan/%5B/url%5D">http://www.livejournal.com/community/wesleyan/</a></li>
<li>Click on the subject list named "profile", on the left side (you should be on the message board at this point.)</li>
<li> On the Profile Page, follow the prompts for joining the Wesleyan University community
a. The very last hour glass prompt will put you back on the "profile" page. </li>
<li>Once back on the Profile Page, double click on "update" (choose from the subject line across the top.) The update hour glass should put you into a blank message box with editing and spellcheck capabilities.</li>
<li>Oh, very important --when you're done writing, you have to click where it says, "update" on the bottom where you might expect to see a "reply" button (there is no reply button.)</li>
</ol>
<p>Also - when you post, make sure you post to the Wesleyan community and not to your own personal livejournal - there is a drop down menu for that.</p>
<p>Thanks johnwesley and madjoy. My message posted correctly.</p>
<p>when i visited Wes there were only 2 ptg. classes listed for spring semester.On the studio door was a class list of students .Each class list had a wait list of about 5 students.Wes has made a decision not to meet student demand for a larger department.</p>