Art + Art History Dept.
University of Texas at Arlington
July 2007

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Students Study in Florence, Italy
Two summer intersession courses, Advanced Photography and Watermedia, were based in Florence, Italy. The classes were taught by professors Kenda North and Marilyn Jolly and hosted by the Santa Reparata International School of Art (SRISA), which provided a range of facilities and tours for the students. The SRISA arranged apartments for the students and faculty. They took a number of day trips to many locations throughout Tuscany and had one overnight trip to Venice.

The Advanced Photography students mostly worked with digital cameras, although several brought film cameras including the wonderful Holga plastic cameras. The students were required to produce an edited body of work to be published as a book through HYPERLINK "http://www.blurb.com" www.blurb.com. They met several times a week to download images and work through a rigorous editing process. By the end of their session, while still in residence in Florence, each student had a published book.

The Watermedia class focused on basic techniques of transparent and opaque watercolor media and the use of watercolor materials combined with other mixed media. There was an emphasis on conceptual and manipulative skills as the course progressed. Students were asked to develop a body of small works that expressed a developing point of view and a response to the environment as they traveled in Italy.

International Relations
The department established an exchange program with Fachhochschule Trier, Germany during the 2006-2007 year. Robert Hower presented a lecture at the Design Fusion Conference in Trier. Andreas Hogan, professor of Typography visited the University of Texas at Arlington campus in March 2007. He presented a lecture on their design program. Christina Westendorf, a student from Trier, attended UTA during the spring semester. All activities represent a meaningful start to the program.

The Advising Report
The Spring of 2007 brought us a few changes in the Advising Office. We are continually refining our advising events held during mid-term to better assist our students.

During Advising this semester, we were able to reach close to 500 students before the end of the term. We felt that the structure of this semester's event provided our students with the ability to be advised in a more effective way for their summer and fall courses.

The lecture series last term, included a presentation on Internships and it was hosted by three faculty members from Visual Communication, Photography and Art History. This was a benefit to our students to learn more about Internships, the steps to take when seeking approval for an internship credit and the possible outcomes from the experience. As we look forward to the Fall 2007 term, our plans include three lectures that will include the following topics: how to critique, copyright laws and career opportunities.

Currently, with Fall registration underway, we are adding new courses to meet the needs of current students. We have added additional sections to our foundations coursework, including a second section of Drawing Concepts and Intro to Painting. Chinese Painting, an Art History seminar course has also been added to our schedule.

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