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Notes from the Department

It is a pleasure to provide the following information in light of my June 2001 acceptance of the Department Head position. This decision followed a year of service as Interim Head. During these past two years I have come to appreciate in a new way the outstanding qualities and high level of dedication among students, staff and faculty in the Art Department. Outside of individual accomplishments, most impressive to me is the energizing range of personalities and high standards expected from people striving to be a part of a stimulating and top notch educational environment. Success in faculty recruitment, research accomplishments, student and faculty recognition, and international activities were among department highlights this year.

One of the department’s major goals was to fill open faculty positions. In spite of a late spring state wide hiring freeze, we were fortunate to see our halted recruiting efforts reinstated. Approval from the College of Arts and Sciences came in sufficient time for us to fill two positions with highly qualified individuals. Kathleen King accepted a faculty position teaching watermedia and drawing and Robert Grame joined our faculty in Visual Communications. Both Professors King and Grame are familiar with our program. Kathleen has teaching experience with us and Robert was awarded his Master of Fine Arts degree here in 1996. These two appointments bring solid academic backgrounds and professional experience to our department, we welcome them, and look forward to their future contributions in teaching, research and service.

The Art Department took advantage of additional staffing opportunities this year. After four semesters of impressive instructional service in a temporary Photography assignment, Dane Webster will move into a full time position. Professor Webster’s proven energy, creativity and professional background both in traditional and electronic photo mediums has made an immediate positive impact upon our program. Finally, when a Spring foundation study recruiting effort is completed, the Art Department will have in place four new hires, all in a relatively short period of time. This not only brings fresh ideas and energy to the department, but also helps us meet ever increasing enrollment demands as students continue to recognize the strength of our program and seek opportunities to study art at K-State.

This last year a wide range of faculty professional activities brought enrichment to our students and recognition to Kansas State University. Exhibitions, workshop presentations, exhibition jury efforts, publications and curatorial responsibilities are but a few of the many ways our faculty’s commitment to professional growth and service is accomplished. On- campus cooperation with the excellent Beach Museum of Art, and articles written for national and international publications keep faculty involved within current and historical artistic issues.

All those familiar with our department are aware of the quality and quantity of faculty exhibition activity related to research projects. We see exhibition success in highly competitive national and international venues reflecting upon the commitment individual faculty make in helping to bring recognition to Kansas State University. While it is impossible in this format to detail the level of creative research ongoing within the Art Department, such a listing would clearly illustrate why I am expressing such pride in the commitment our faculty has in continuously delivering fresh ideas toward the enhancement of education in the visual arts.

On campus activity involving Art Department faculty and students brought important recognition within various exhibition venues. During the Spring 2002, the Art Faculty Biennial was hosted by the Mirianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, and significant renovation of the Kemper Art Gallery in the student union brought added interest in the annual Fall faculty exhibition. Other on campus opportunities to view faculty creative research occurred during the 2001 fall semester when two separate exhibitions were held involving printmaking and ceramics work by professors returning from sabbatical. During the Spring and Fall semesters, undergraduate and graduate student degree shows were held in the K-State Union’s Kemper Gallery, the Art Department’s Willard Hall Gallery, and in community locations throughout Manhattan.

Unprecedented growth in international activity is reflected in academic exchanges and exhibition activity. From our Painting area, a faculty member exhibited art work and made presentations in Spain and China, and a second painting professor produced art work and gave demonstrations to a variety of audiences while in an artist residency program in Great Britain. In Ceramics, another professor researched opportunities for exhibition and student and faculty exchanges in Scotland and China. Our Visual Communications division hosted a guest artist from Germany in relation to a type exhibition organized in the Art Department. This exhibition consisted of type design from around the world and was the result of an earlier visit to Germany by a Visual Communications faculty member. The exhibition was first presented on campus at the Kemper Gallery with subsequent travel to several international venues.

New educational opportunities frequently result from faculty research initiatives. The Art Department now has established student exchange programs in England, Germany and in Scotland as well as an ongoing Ceramics study program every other summer in Italy. One K-State Ceramics graduate student studied in Scotland and a second one studied in Mexico during the Fall 2001 semester. Finally, two undergraduates in our program exchanged with two students from Germany, and in Painting, a graduate student exchanged studies with a counterpart from England.

International study opportunities combined with a very active visiting artist program enhance the reputation of the KSU Art Department and strengthen all offerings in the Art Department. With Student Government Fine Arts support, almost twenty artists made presentations to the campus student community this academic year alone.

Annual scholarship competitions, exhibitions and portfolio presentations within the B.F.A. and M.F.A. degree requirement, and graduate student exhibitions each semester are opportunities to measure our programs performance. Graduate students seek off campus competitive venues in which to exhibit their work and do so with success. A gold prize of $10,000 won by a Ceramics graduate student in an international exhibition in Korea gives testimony to the strength of the art program at Kansas State University.

With more art majors than at any time in the past, and new curriculum initiatives such as our Concentration Admission Review, we are better able to place students as they move into areas of concentration. Our ability to provide information about art at K-State is greatly enhanced by a newly designed and highly functional web site. We will keep our program strong because we have people willing to take leadership roles in all aspects of our operation. Our office personnel are excellent and dedicated to serving faculty and student needs while dedicated student advising supports enrollment of over 400 majors. It is in light of our department’s past distinction, its current status, and where I believe we can be in the future that I agreed to serve as department head.

- Duane Noblett