Visual Art

The visual arts program of study is locally renown and has gained recognition at the nation’s best colleges for art and design. Both rigorous and enriching, studying the visual arts is essential to the Renaissance curriculum and benefits every student, regardless of experience or self-perceived creative talent.

Incoming freshmen are required to take Art I, a class which engages students in traditional, classical art training. An abiding philosophy of art instructor, Sara Johnson, students “must learn the rules before they break the rules.” They are introduced to perspective, measuring, composition basics, and a range of pencils, as they undertake their first “drawing from observation” exercise at Renaissance, drawing the human skeleton. Though the skeletal figure is familiar and relatable, students are encouraged to “draw what they see, and not what they know.”

During the second semester, students begin to experiment with lines and produce contour and blind contour drawings. They study proportion, extreme perspective, and, near the end of the year, gain an introduction to color theory. By year’s end students enjoy their first experiment with conceptual art, a social/political art project that includes a research paper. With an interdisciplinary focus, students are encouraged to solicit guidance from other Renaissance instructors.

Art II includes a review of basic principles, followed by experimentation with different media, including oil, acrylic, watercolor with pen and ink, and oil pastels. While keeping up with skill training, Art II balances those skills with the ideas and purposes behind creative art. Students enjoy more creative freedom at this stage as the class explores a wider range of two-dimensional art.

Art students learn that discipline is as important, if not more so, than inspiration. In both Art I and Art II, students maintain a sketchbook throughout the year and are required to sketch for thirty minutes, a minimum of five times per week.

Juniors and seniors may continue study in the visual arts through Art III and Art IV, respectively, and many do so. Consistent with Renaissance pedagogy, these classes take on an interdisciplinary flair. New in 2009/2010, Art III is a visual art/performance art class in film, and students are working both behind and in front of the camera. Find some marvelous student short films on the menu bar at “Students/Gallery of Work”.

Students who intend to pursue arts study in college may choose the “Michelangelo Curricular Stream”, an arts-emphasis path that includes electives in the arts and scheduled time for portfolio preparation. Our graduating seniors in the arts have been admitted to some of the finest art and design colleges in the country, and with generous scholarships.

Art instructor, Sara Johnson, graduated with honors from Indiana State University where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Art degree in painting and photography, with a minor in art history. Sara continued her studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she earned a Master of Fine Art degree in media art (photo, video, film).