Macey Fix, Contributing Writer
Nestled in the upstairs of the McCreless Fine Arts Building with art covering the walls, huge windows letting in natural light and music playing in classrooms, the Art & Design Department has an inviting atmosphere.
The look of the department and its classes have recently undergone some major changes, which came after the department received data gathered by a strategic alignment done by Asbury University.
“We changed our name, we added two new classes, we organized [the space] a little bit differently and we changed the number of credit hours for the major,” said department chair Keith Barker.
In the fall of 2018, the name of the art major changed. The major, which offers various areas of concentration, along with the department, has been renamed “Art & Design.”
“We wanted to show that we are more diverse than just art because art has different connotations that aren’t necessarily career-minded in certain people’s minds,” said Barker. “We felt that putting design as a part of [the name] made it reflect more of what we do in our department to prepare our students for after college.”
The renamed major also comes with a new major sheet. Students studying art and design are now taking a different set of classes than they were before — some course titles have changed while other courses are entirely new. The credit hours required to graduate have been changed from 57 hours to 46-50 hours, which makes the major more accessible.
Barker stated, “We looked at our offerings from the standpoint of ‘How does this prepare our students for what they want to do after college?’ That is what really prompted the change.”
Kristin Sauer, a sophomore art & design major, has been directly affected by these changes. Sauer was originally an art major who switched to Spanish but, after the rebrand, came back to the department.
“I changed back because they removed a lot of classes, combined some that were basically the same and required less classes that aren’t within your emphasis,” said Sauer. “The major is smaller now, so you have more freedom to take classes you want that aren’t within your emphasis. It’s also really nice that they changed the name to art & design so it represents a larger variety of styles and interests.”
One new course being offered this academic year is Art and Creativity in Practice. This new course fulfills the foundational fine arts requirement that every Asbury student has to complete to graduate.
“We actually allowed some of the students who couldn’t get into the other foundations classes to take Art and Creativity class to count toward [their requirement],” said Barker. “So we’re hoping that it becomes a permanent thing so that the class can continue to count toward
the requirement.”
Along with making the major more accessible for art students, additional classes were created due to an increased number of non-majors enrolling in art classes. Many students are taking them simply as an elective.
“We encourage non-majors to take art classes,” said Barker. “We love it because they [non-majors] provide different perspectives on what we’re doing. In all of our classes, we’re hoping that all of our students learn how to create things, advocate for and support art, and appreciate art.”
Chris Segre-Lewis, an associate professor of the Art & Design Department, teaches Intro to 2D Form/Design, a popular class among non-art majors. The course covers the seven principles of design and the various elements and media within 2D design.
“I understand that most people who are in the class are not art majors, but they are all created in the image of God, who is that great artist,” said Segre-Lewis. “I believe they all can understand the visual world and what makes good design. Our culture is overwhelmingly nonverbal and contextual. It is therefore important to be able to understand the visual contexts that so drive our perception of the human experience.”
He believes that the abundance of non-majors enrolled in art classes comes from both the need to fulfill the graduation requirement and students’ inherent creativity.
“Students have a hunger for visual expression and communication,” said Segre-Lewis. “I’ve heard it spoken of as the non-negotiable; there is always art and creative response through nearly every culture in human history. We are made creators in the image of a Creator. It’s the first context for knowing God in scripture as Creator.”
From incoming freshmen to students already attending Asbury, the department is trying to bring more students into its classes to teach them about creativity and our Creator.
