Visual Arts
Philosophy
The Upper School Art department curriculum is tightly woven together by its common goal: to direct students toward creating artwork that is revealing of personal thought and feeling. To efficiently achieve this department wide goal, the curriculum is advantageously compartmentalized by individual disciplines. Students have the chance to improve their abilities specifically in the following areas: Drawing and Design, Ceramics, Photography, Painting, Architecture, Computer Art. The teaching body comprises exhibiting artists who draw upon their own careers to guide students towards understanding and creating fine art. The studio enjoys an atmosphere that attracts the casual and curious as well as the serious and focused. Comprehensive introductory courses are often filled with an array of grade levels, while advanced courses are naturally honed by common class histories. The graduating Rutgers Preparatory School senior who has applied him/herself in the art department will enter college with skilled hands, deft critical awareness and personal vision.
Graduation requirements
One credit from the Arts must be completed by the time of graduation. Every course listed by the Art Department will satisfy this requirement.
Course Offerings
- Drawing and Design
- Advanced Drawing
- Introduction to Painting
- Critique and Production 1
- Critique and Production 2
- Ceramics 1
- Ceramics 2
- Ceramics 3
- Ceramics 4
- Ceramics 5
- Advanced Senior Ceramics
- Art and Architecture
- Architecture 2
- Photograiphy 1
- Photography 2
- Photography 3
- Photography 4
- Photography 5
Faculty
Scot J. Wittman—Department Chair
Laura McClanahan
Circe Dunnell
Charles Lid
Co-curricular Information:
Faculty Professional Development Activities and Achievements
Scot Wittman (Art Department Chair) is represented by Fresh Paint Art, based in Los Angeles, California. His professional website is: www.mapographer.com.
Selected exhibitions:- Pentimenti Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, exhibition
- Fresh Paint Art, Los Angeles, CA, representation
- SoHo Myriad, Atlanta, GA, representation
- Warner Gallery, Millbrook, NY, solo exhibition
Associations:
- Independent School Art Instructors Association (ISAIA), president
- College Art Association (CAA), contributor
- Association of Independent Maryland Schools (AIMS), presenter
- Podcamp Philadelphia, presenter
Laura McClanahan recently had a solo exhibition at the Hunterdon Art Museum in New Jersey, and has works represented at the Simon Gallery in Morristown, NJ. Her professional website is: www.lauramcclanahan.com.
Selected exhibitions:
- Hunterdon Art Center, NJ, solo exhibition, member
- Gallery Imperato, Baltimore, MD, two-person exhibition, representation
- Arts Club of Washington DC, solo exhibition
- Simon Gallery, solo exhibition, representation
Associations:
- Los Angeles Center for Digital Art (LACDA), contributor
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, member
- Independent School Art Instructors Association (ISAIA), member
- Deleware Center for Contemporary Art (DCAA), member
- Maryland Art Place (MAP), member
- Arlington Arts Center in Virginia, member
Circe Dunnell is a contributing member of Studio Montclair, whose website is: http://www.studiomontclair.org. Her professional website is: www.circedunnell.com.
Selected exhibitions:
- Donald B. Palmer, NJ, 2009 Solo Exhibition
- Associations:
- New Jersey Arts Incubator (NJAI) member of artistic advisory board
- Independent School Art Instructors Association (ISAIA) presenter
- Artomat, contributor
- Studio Montclair, contributor
- Whitney Museum, member
- Art Educators of New Jersey (AENJ) member
- Montclair Art Museum, member
Charles Lid’s work was represented in a group exhibition at the Vessel Gallery in Boston, MA. He designed and built the set and central art pieces for The Dew Point, a world premier production at The Equity Theater.
Selected exhibitions:
- Vessels Gallery, Chicago, MA, exhibition
- Drew Chryst Gallery, NJ, exhibition
- Art at the Mill, NJ, exhibition
- Associations:
- National Council for Education of the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) contributor
- Peters Valley Craft Center, Assistant
- Independent School Art Instructors Association (ISAIA) member