Our belief that all students can be artists is actually an idea about personal growth and process. Creative thinking, self-expression, and encountering the challenges of an art form empower students to be creative and confident in all areas of life. Visual Arts Statement of Philosophy
Visual Arts Courses, 2013–2014 Studio Art Photography 3-D Studio Art Film and Video Production: Moving Image Advanced Art: Drawing Advanced Art: Photography Advanced Art: Sculpture Advanced Art: Painting Advanced Art: Ceramics Advanced Art: Architecture Advanced Moving Image Advanced Independent Art 2-D Advanced Independent Art 3-D Advanced Independent Photography Visual Arts Seminar: Master Projects Ian charged his Class IV students with constructing the largest, most durable sculpture they could, using marshmallows and dry spaghetti, exclusively. Students worked “in the tradition of Buckminster Fuller (Milton Class of 1913) and his geodesic dome,” Ian says.
Ian has plenty of energy and ideas for the visual arts curriculum, including one that will get under way in the coming year—a seminar course titled “Master Projects.” Ian plans to integrate the Nesto Gallery and its exhibiting artists into the academic program vigorously. “Nesto Gallery artists, along with Milton faculty (all practicing artists themselves), will lead students in master projects around the tenets of their distinct practices,” Ian explains. “The artist’s media and method of working will shape the kinds of projects students undertake.” Ian also believes 34 Milton Magazine
that “the Art and Media Center (the old science building) has tremendous possibility. The space naturally lends itself to our discipline; we’ll continue to repurpose the building for visual arts even as we use it.” Each of the arts is a distinct discipline, but learning about them from an integrative, problem-solving point of view is a powerful teaching method, Ian thinks, framing the department’s point of view. “Arts can easily take a leading position in learning experiences, in developing technical abilities, understanding historical context, and cultivating critical thinking along
with creativity,” Ian says. “The arts can be more adaptable and nimble—embrace what’s coming, as well as what’s been. Teachers do not ‘teach to the test,’ the burden in many academic areas. “Our approach as a department is culturally consistent with this School,” Ian points out. “Milton students are not shy. They’re creative and curious and ready to engage, and Milton does a terrific job of supporting those attributes in our students.” Cathleen D. Everett