Foundations

"Art history and foundations studies are a critical aspect in the learning and creative development of artists, designers, and creatives.

Investigating the arts and design as well as creating art and designs through these critical lenses is the practice of thinking in making and making in thinking, or engaged cognition. Both art history and foundations deepen our own critical perspectives and making practices, and inform us as citizens and creators, alike."

- Todd Jokl, Dean, College of Art and Design

Art History

How can art help us understand human history, culture, and behavior? Art history — the study of how artworks are made and how they create meaning across time — can answer these questions.

Art history is interdisciplinary by nature, and art historians may take many different approaches, including evaluating the visual and other sensory qualities of art, exploring the social and historical contexts of artistic production and audience response, analyzing the material properties and perception of art, or employing critical theory as a tool for understanding how art expresses meaning.

The skills in observation, critical analysis, and communication strengthened by the study of art history complement any career. Students interested in art history may want to pursue careers in art education, arts nonprofits, museum or gallery work, or arts publishing; students with a deep interest in the subject may decide to pursue graduate education in art history to prepare for careers as researchers, teachers, arts librarians, archivists, art appraisers, museum curators, specialists in art law, or art conservators. Art history classes are taught by faculty actively engaged in scholarly research and who also guide students in their own research pursuits.

Students pursuing BFA degrees in the College of Art and Design take a minimum of 10 percent of their coursework (four three-credit courses) in the history, theory, and criticism of art, design, craft, photography, and/or film, according to the subjects appropriate to their programs. These courses allow students to familiarize themselves with a breadth of art practices spanning different eras and cultures. In their classes in art history, students learn to look closely and think deeply, evaluate the relationships between art and its cultural contexts, and develop their abilities to conduct research and communicate about art: all skills directly tied to their work as art makers.

Two courses are required at the introductory level (100-level), and two are required at a more advanced level (200-level or above). Programs may have designated history, theory, and criticism courses at either level, so that students in that program have one or more courses that provide a history specific to their area of study. If a program requires 200-level or above art history electives, students may find classes that count in SIS by searching for the art history elective attribute.

Most courses in art history qualify as electives for RIT’s General Education curriculum. Many art history courses fulfill the Artistic Perspective, and a number of art history electives are also designated as writing-intensive. Students may verify status by looking for the desired course attribute in SIS. There is an immersion available in art history that allows students to pursue deeper knowledge in the discipline by completing three 200-level or above Art History courses. *As immersions are distinct from a student’s program, students majoring in film and animation, motion picture science, and photographic sciences are the only College of Art and Design students eligible to pursue the immersion in art history.

The art history minor is open to all students, and allows them to expand and refine their skills in the discipline. More information can be found on the art history minor page.

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Art History Faculty

Foundations

Foundations classes are where students begin their journeys in the College of Art and Design. From coursework in drawing to 2D, 3D and 4D design, our faculty are dedicated to providing an enriching first-year experience filled with impactful assignments, events, and community building. Foundations studies provide a combination of craftsmanship and skills, and the pairing between the language of art and design compositions with the fidelity of what it means to put ideas into practice.
 
Learn more about each area of foundations:
A drawing of a giraffe next to shoes.
Drawing
A grid of black-and-white designs.
2D Design
Two blocks of wood with a maze design on them.
3D Design
A person on train tracks looks back.
4D Design

Community

Foundations events bring students together to celebrate and exhibit the amazing work they create!

Below, enjoy output from the foundations exhibition held in our Bevier Gallery and The Charrette — a weeklong workshop challenging students to experiment with materiality and create themed wearable sculpture. Resulting Charrette projects have been displayed during a showcase event and on the runway at Fashion Week of Rochester. 

*Hover over images for photo credits

A group of students wearing sculpture they created pose for a photo in the MAGIC soundstage.
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Foundations Facilities

Our foundations classes are housed in well-equipped studio spaces in Booth Hall, as well as a state-of-the-art, sprawling classroom in the newly built Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED).

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Drawing


Courses in Drawing: FDTN 111, FDTN 112, FDTN 212

Drawing is an introduction to the visualization of form, thought, and expression through the drawing process. At RIT, there are two sequential courses that are the foundation of the drawing curriculum. Concepts are introduced by lectures, discussions, and demonstrations, which are designed to provide a broad introductory experience. Students experiment with a wide variety of media, tools, techniques, and subjects to develop drawing and problem-solving skills related to form and composition. They explore a range of ways in which drawing is used as a tool for both self-expression and communication.

  • A GIF of images in the drawing studios.

    Drawing studios

  • An abstract drawing.

    By Aeria Peng

  • A still-life drawing with a couch and skull head.

    By Trinity Steinhilber

  • A still-life drawing of items such as a light, lamp, and doll.

    By Jessica Hall

  • A still life drawing with many objects in it.

    By Irene Tu

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A still-life draing of a cat and a high heel.

Large-Scale Still Life Drawings

The walls of our Bevier Gallery were lined with striking works from Drawing II classes, setting a unique scene for a group critique.

A student draws at an easel.

Self-Portraits

An assignment incorporating expressive color in a Drawing II course.

Faculty Amy McLaren does a drawing demo for a student.

Amy McLaren brings positive energy to the classroom

Video by Ryan Alberts '27 (photographic and imaging arts)

Drawing Faculty

2D Design


Foundations area | Courses in 2D Design: FDTN 121, FDTN 112, FDTN 212

2D coursework at RIT fosters the development of visual and verbal vocabularies as a means of exploring and understanding two-dimensional design. Students engage with a wide variety of media, tools, and techniques to develop skills while delving into the theoretical and experimental processes of contemporary art and design. The study of historical and cultural themes and concepts intertwined with aspects of personal interpretation and experience are explored in creative ways.

  • A grid of 2D work.

    By Océane Saddul

  • A diptych photo of two abstract, black-and-white designs.

    By Landen Gonzales

  • A fiber art piece with an array of colors.

    By Molly Watson

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2D Design Faculty

3D Design


Foundations area | Courses in 3D Design: FDTN 131, FDTN 132, FDTN 232

3D Design presents a progressive study in terminology, visual principles, exploration, concept generation, process, and techniques of three-dimensional design. Using hands-on problem solving, student develop an informed understanding of the three-dimensional form and space with an emphasis on the elements and principles of visual design and their function as the building blocks and guidelines for ordering a three-dimensional composition. A heightened awareness of form and space is developed through lecture, assigned projects, and critiques. Students also develop a personal awareness of problem seeking and solving, experimentation, and critical analysis.

  • A 3D object with an array of elements that give it depth.

    By Margaret Manders

  • A 3D-designed object made of circles and half circles.

    By McKenna Barker

  • A 3D design of robot characters.

    By Kat Schreiner

  • An abstract design made of wood and fabric.

    By Mason Strange

  • Two circular objects made from wire and other fabric materials.

    By Joshua Crandall

  • A design made of fabric that looks like a flame.

    By Christina Rumpf

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Custom-designed taret cards with animals on them.

Handheld Sensory Objects

For this assignment, students selected a pair of contrasting ideas to guide their handheld sculpture design, such as rigid and flexible or intimacy and distance.

Students pass ping pong balls using wearable sculpture they designed.

Creative Table Tennis

One of our 3D Design II classes test out their wearable ping-pong ball passers, showing the sport is played a little differently in the College of Art and Design.

3D Design Faculty

4D Design


Foundations area | FDTN 141

4D Design introduces students to the basic concepts of art and design in time and space. The course explores elements of moving images such as continuity, still and moving-image editing, transitions and syntax, sound and image relations, and principles of movement. Computers, video, photo, sound and lighting equipment are used to create short-form, time-based work relevant to students in all majors and programs required to take this course. The course addresses historical conventions of time in art and recent technological advances, which are redefining the fields of fine art and design. In focusing on the relations between students' spacing and timing skills, 4D Design extends and supplements the other foundations courses, and prepares students for further work with time-based media.

A pair of jeans with writing on the back pocket that reads, "A majority of fashion pieces are only worn 7 times before being discarded.

By Emma Canfield

Hands painted blue interlock.

By Stephanie Chan

A sign on a building that reads Philip Jamison Pianos.

By Elkin Jaramillo

4D Design Faculty

Faculty Focus

Our foundations and art history faculty are engaged artists and historians who actively exhibit their artwork, publish their research, and present and attend conferences.

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