VCUarts Art History
Higher Education - Richmond, Virginia, United States
VCUarts Art History Employees
VCUarts Art History Details
Studying art and its importance inspires many questions. What does this image mean? What did it mean to the artist who made it? What can it tell me about the time when it was made? What was the context in which it was made, and for whom it was made? And how has it been received—who has lauded it, revered it, owned, displayed, or hated it?The VCUarts Department of Art History—a community of faculty, students, artists, curators and museum professionals—takes a range of approaches to answering such questions. We embrace the fact that art history is one of the most interdisciplinary of disciplines, drawing from philosophy, anthropology, history, religious studies and literary studies. As such, art history is a dynamic field of study, and it is an ongoing multi-generational conversation, grounded in rigorous methodologies for-creating historically oriented interpretations of artworks-making reasoned statements about ways in which visual art enhances our lives-connecting artworks to the complexity of life; across time and around the world.The department offers both major and minor programs of study for undergraduate students. A two year MA program is offered at the graduate level, as well as PhD programs with concentrations in historical or curatorial studies.The Department of Art History is located in downtown Richmond, providing students the unique opportunity to be immersed in the city's arts community. Richmond's First Fridays happen a short walk from campus, giving students access to galleries and their patrons. VCU's new Institute for Contemporary Art serves a a locale for student engagement in a major arts institute, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts proximity to campus enriches student's art experience even further.
