Art
The goal of the Art Department is to raise students to a level of self-sufficiency, independent critical thinking, and proficiency in the creation and discussion of works of art in order that they might sustain a lively, generative, and relevant practice outside of the College environment.
About the Major
At Hamilton, art students create, learn, and display their talents in the new Kennedy Center for Theatre and the Studio Arts. Across the street is the Wellin Museum, another acclaimed facility that hosts professional exhibits. As part of this exciting, rigorous, interdisciplinary art-making community, students explore the meaning art holds in their own lives and how art communicates ideas to others.
Students Will Learn To:
- Construct meaning using visual information
- Demonstrate a knowledge of the basic tools and techniques of new and traditional media
- Analyze their studio processes by diagramming the stages in creative thinking
- Use critique to formulate and build personal direction
- Generate a public exhibition
A Sampling of Courses
Introduction to Ceramics
Handbuilding techniques will be employed to explore the sculptural possibilities of clay. A developed visual and conceptual vocabulary will accompany the technical aspects of ceramics through studio practice and class critique.
Explore these select courses:
An introduction to the history, tools and language of basic animation styles. This course will trace the history of experiments in animated imagery from 19th Century photography through 20th Century film into 21st Century digital works. The class will cover basic techniques in Photoshop, Adobe Premier, and illustration and animation software interfaces.
Advanced study of materials such as clay, wood, plaster, steel, and plastic utilizing processes such as moulding, casting, fabrication, carving and construction.
Meet Our Faculty
photography, history of photography, video capture and editing, Adobe premiere, art foundations curriculum, and 2D and 4D fundamentals
Painting, drawing, printmaking, weaving, performance
sculpture, drawing, and digital media
video, performance, installation, photography, electronic media, and history and contemporary practices in each of those areas
painting and drawing
sculpture, ceramics
The photographic process (including capture, editing, and printing for both analog and digital), photobook making and publishing, exhibition design and curation
Analog and digital photography workflows, studio lighting, image and society
Careers After Hamilton
Hamilton graduates who concentrated in art are pursuing careers in a variety of fields, including:
- Editorial Assistant, Random House
- Director, High Museum of Art
- Visual Designer, Fidelity Investment
- Director, Credit Suisse
- Landscape Design, Living Green
- Technical Director, Pixar Animation Studios
- Photographer, United Nations
- Major Gifts Officer, Grand Teton National Park Foundation
- Owner/Founder, Vermont Glass Workshop
Explore Hamilton Stories
Summer Researchers Delve Into Projects That Inspire Them
A double major in art and mathematics, Anna Petrova ’27 pursued an interdisciplinary exploration of the construction of knowledge systems for both humans and artificial intelligence.
Bringing 250 Years of U.S. History to Life at the Smithsonian
As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, one Hamilton College student is getting intimately acquainted with our nation’s deep and storied history. Lily Watts ’26 spent her summer on the National Mall working as a curatorial exhibition development intern at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Contact
Department Name
Art Department
Contact Name
Rob Knight, Chair
Clinton, NY 13323
