Senior Projects 2011

Welcome to the Penn Senior Projects in Visual Studies for 2011. The major in Visual Studies is a unique interdisciplinary program combining philosophy, psychology, history of art, fine arts, and other relevant disciplinary perspectives. In pursuing the major, students complete course work in these various disciplines and choose an area of concentration, which may be the Philosophy and Science of Seeing (SECTOR A), the Art and Culture of Seeing (SECTOR B), or Art, Practice, and Technology (SECTOR C) . During the senior year, each student completes a project under the guidance of two faculty advisers from different disciplines; the VLST program greatly appreciates the work of these advisers. The seniors themselves meet as a group for the entire year, and provide criticism and feed back to one another. Their meetings are led by co-instructors from different disciplines, this year, by Colette Copeland (an artist and writing instructor) and Gregory Tentler (a recent Ph.D. in art history), who also provide criticism and organize other aspects of the learning experience, such as the appearance of guest critics. Brooke Sietinsons is the administrator for the major and serves as a digital media and web design consultant for the class, as well as practical consultant on many project aspects. Each project is distinctive and represents the interests of the student, whether in the form of a research question concerning the history and philosophy of art forms or the psychology of visual media, or as works of art that are theorized in a distinctive manner from within the framework of Penn Visual Studies. Congratulations to our seniors. Enjoy their show.

Gary Hatfield, VLST Director