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Swain School of Design

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Location

Swain School of Design 19 Hawthorn Street New Bedford, Mass 02740

From Boston:

Route 3 South

Route 128W to 24 South

Exit 24 to Route 140, New Bedford

Last exit

From Providence:

Route 195E to New Bedford

First exit

From Cape Cod:

Route 6 to County St., New Bedford
Left on County St. to Hawthorn St.

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■ Swain 1

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Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2012 with funding from

Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries

http://archive.org/details/circular7274swai

Swain School
of Design
19 Hawthorn St.
New Bedford
Massachusetts

02740
Phone

(617)997-3158

■ ^***J""'

Contents

4

Introduction

6

History and Growth

7

William Crapo Gallery

10

Admissions

12

Tuition

12

Adult and Childrens Classes

12

Medical Care

13

Financial Aid

13

Housing

14

Academic Requirements

17

Foundation Program

19

The First Year

22

Second Year

24

Note on Photography

27

Major Program

38

Liberal Arts

46

Calendar

48

Faculty

48

Administration

50

Trustees

50

Advisors

53

Map

Swain School
of Design

The Swain School offers professional training in
painting, design, sculpture, and printmaking. It is a
small school, intimate, and capable of closely directing
and encouraging a student's growth as an artist.

Our size permits us to see ourselves as a community
of artists. We think of teachers as persons who have
been artists longer, have trained their hands and their
judgement, know techniques and know the lay of the
land. We recognize the value of this relationship and
intend to remain a small school. We do not plan to grow
beyond an enrollment of two hundred students though
that makes us one of the smallest colleges in the
country.

We believe that the young artist develops as he learns
the basic concepts and skills which all visual arts
share. In the freshman year our studio curriculum is
rigorous; we concentrate on the problem of seeing the
contour and volume of objects and the problem of
organizing an interesting page. Once these skills are
mastered the student is encouraged to use them. The
senior is expected to be an artist responsible to himself.

In the beginning we teach the grammar of art, that when
you speak you speak clearly. It is a discipline intended
to increase the variety of what you are able to say, what
you are able to see.

As an art school we are a professional school, more
like a school of medicine or a school of accounting than
a liberal arts college. But we realize that the arts are
a most unusual profession, one more often misunder-
stood than understood. Recent tradition sees the artist
as only a painter or a sculptor, we respect that defini-
tion, but would argue that the designer is also an artist,
and an artist whose audience is less remote. A society
as complex as ours needs and must employ
responsible designers for industry, creators of new
materials for education and original thinkers in
environmental projects.

A medical student becomes better as his curiosity
becomes narrower, contracts from mankind to the
body to the spleen. The reverse is true of the painter,
sculptor or designer. Only as his interest broadens
does he deepen. If an artist heals it is not by surgery
but by seeing things whole.

A map maker who knows nothing but old maps is either
a criminal or a comedian; he must go see land. The
painter, sculptor or designer makes maps of moods
or moments some of them lost in fog. He too must move
to see them clearly. To grow, an artist must
acknowledge that he has not invented the world,
respect the ways experience was seen before him. It
is for this that we ask the student who would grow as
an artist, to study art history and literature and the social
sciences. And more important ask him to observe
himself, other people, the town around him.

Convinced that the artist does not exist to create luxury
for a prosperous society, we attempt to bring our-
selves, faculty and students, into immediate contact
with our surrounding society. This underscores our
belief that the work of the artist is a moral or an ethical
act. We expect our student to effect reform through the
responsible use of his talents.

Our History

In 1881 . the will of William W. Swain established a non-
profit educational institution whose Trustees and
Faculty were charged with the responsibility to "qualify
the pupils for the practical duties of life in the spheres
they will be probably called upon to act in". Originally
named the Swain Free School, a variety of subjects
were taught including courses in language,
mathematics, science, history, logic and art. With the
development of other educational facilities in the
community and the rise of New Bedford as one of the
largest textile centers in the United States, increasing
emphasis was placed on instruction in design. Today the
the Swain School of Design is a co-educational
professional art school offering a four year program in
the visual arts, leading to a Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree.

Surrounding the site of the original William W. Swain
residence, the School is located in an area of New
Bedford noted for important examples of the 18th and
19th century architecture. In close proximity to the
campus is the New Bedford Public Library and the
Whaling Museum. Southeastern Massachusetts
University is located in North Dartmouth, hardly ten
minutes by car. This new university offers vast
opportunities in both cultural and recreational
activities. The Public Library is of particular value to the
School for its fine collection of paintings illustrating the
unique artistic tradition of the city. New Bedford was the
birthplace of Albert Ryder and home of Alfred Bierstadt
and Dwight Tryon. The Museum of the Old Dartmouth
Historical Society records another aspect of the city's
history, that of the whaling industry. Across the street
from the museum is preserved the Seaman's Bethel
which Melville describes in his classic novel Moby
Dick. The cultural life of the city is further augmented
by its advantageous position between Boston,
Providence and Cape Cod.

and Growth

A recent consultant to the School noted that "The
generosity of the Trustees has visibly blessed the
School with a number of charming buildings of rare
human scale organically related to a delightful
community locale". By conscious effort and happy
accident our campus expresses the distinct character
of the School and supports the way in which we go
about our educational purpose.

The Swain School of Design is affiliated with the New

England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc.,

in the category of Recognition of Candidacy for

Accreditation.

Division III member of the National Association of

Schools of Art.

Charter Member of the American Federation of Art.

Member of the American Association of Museums.

The School is licensed by the Massachusetts Board of
Higher Education to grant the degree of Bachelor of
Fine Arts; Approved by the Veterans Administration;
by the U. S. Department of Justice for the training of
foreign students.

William Crapo
Gallery

The William W. Crapo Gallery was founded in 1925 to
provide Swain students and the community with an
opportunity to view original works of art. Each year the
Gallery offers approximately ten exhibits including such
diverse achievements as primitive art, nineteenth
century painting and the more contemporary efforts of
the avant garde. In order to fulfill its educational
function more completely, lectures and panel
discussions are regularly scheduled and often
re-broadcast for the television audience. The Crapo
Gallery is a member of the American Association of
Museums.

\

Admission

Our School is small. We do not do our admissions on
a statistical basis. Because we are in search of visual
skills and the promise of professional commitment we
rely to a great extent on the portfolio and an hour-long
interview. We look for that particularly revealing
passage in a drawing or an exciting organization of
shapes in a design project. Our policy is one of well
considered madness, in which neither high academic
rank nor impressive college board scores are any more
than interesting bits of information about an applicant.

An applicant must be a high school graduate or have
acceptable equivalent preparation. However, a
candidate who evidences special interest, unusual
ability or promise, may be considered for admission as
a special student at the discretion of the admission
committee. Each applicant is considered on the basis
of his aptitude as well as his character and personal
qualifications.

Portfolio

terview

Applicants must complete the School's application
form and submit it together with a $10.00 application
fee (not refundable and not credited to any school bills)
to the Registrar, Swain School of Design, 19 Hawthorn
Street, New Bedford, Massachusetts. The applicant
should request the principal of his secondary school
to forward a transcript of grades at the time of
application. He should file two letters of
recommendation. It is advised that the applicant visit
the School and arrange for a personal interview with
the Director of Admissions, preferably no later than
April 1st.

A school medical form is furnished to all applicants but
need not be submitted for admissions review. It is to be
completed, signed by a physician and returned to the
School by all successful applicants before August 1st.

Transfer Students An applicant requesting advanced
standing should, with two exceptions, follow the
procedure as outlined above. In addition to high school
records, a transcript of college grades is required. In
considering a portfolio, the student should consider
work that would substantiate the request to exempt
specific studio courses.

10

All correspondence and requests for information
should be directed to: David L. Smith, Dean of the
School and Director of Admissions, 19 Hawthorn
Street, New Bedford, Massachusetts 02740; telephone
(617) 999-4436.

Each applicant must submit a portfolio of original work
(slides may be accepted if some pieces are exception-
ally large or if the portfolio is sent by mail) clearly
marked with your name, address and the name of your
school. Pieces can be done either independently, or
under guidance, but should be so designated. Work
executed from photographs is not acceptable. The
following items are requested:

Self portrait in pencil or charcoal to be done from life.

Interior in pencil or charcoal to be done from a room
in your home.

Still-life that includes at least four objects.

An abstract design in 3 colors.

Design using geometric shapes in black and white.

A three dimensional object which you have made.

Three drawings, paintings, sculpture, designs, prints
or photographs of your choice.

You are encouraged to submit examples of work other
than visual art (writing poetry, music, etc.) which are
important to you.

11

Tuition

1972/73

1973/74

$1050.00

$1250.00

Per year

$200.00

$250.00

Per year for one day weekly

$400.00

$475.00

Per year for two days weekly

$600.00

$700.00

Per year for three days weekly

$10.00

$10.00

First Year Admission Application

$55.00

$60.00

Lab Fee

$2.50

$2.50

Locker Fee

A deposit of $50.00 is required of all new students
within two weeks following notification of acceptance
for admission. It is applied to the charges of the
academic year and it is not refundable after May 1st.
All fees must be paid at the time of registration, unless
special arrangements are made with the Registrar. Any
student with a bill not paid by the second Monday of
the semester will not be allowed to continue in classes.
Since School operating expenses are planned on a
yearly basis, no refunds can be made.
The School store maintains a supply of materials
required for classes. Prices are kept at a minimum.

Adult

Children^
Classes

In addition to the degree program the School offers
art instruction in its Saturday School, the Evening
School and in the six week summer program. A
separate bulletin is issued describing these courses
and listing fees.

Medical Care

The services of a school appointed physician are available
to all students. Charges are made directly to you. All
students are urged to avail themselves of low-cost Health and
Accident Insurance policies. Forms for the Blue Cross-Blue
Shield student policies are available through the School.

12

Financial Aid

Parents and students should be fully aware that today,
scholarship awards, from nearly every source, are
based almost entirely upon need rather than academic
performance. 'Grants in Aid' would be a more precise
term. Nearly all awards are made on a four-year term
because most agencies do not wish to leave you 'high
and dry' midway through your studies. A final point is
that there are many sources and a considerable
amount of money available in scholarship assistance,
enough that no person genuinely desiring higher
education need be turned away for lack of funds.

Federal Programs The Swain School administers three
federal student aid programs; National Defense
Student Loans, Educational Opportunity Grants and
the College Work Study Program. All awards are made
by the School.

Swain Funds The School provides funds, both as
matching portions of federal grants and outright grants
from the Clement L. Yeager Trust.

Guaranteed Loans Most states provide guaranteed
loans for educational purposes, usually with a maxi-
mum of $1 ,000 per year for five years,
administered by banks. Interest rates and repayment
periods vary from state to state; for further information
contact your local bank.

State Scholarships Many states make significant
scholarship awards, usually on the basis of need. For
further information contact your guidance counselor,
appropriate state agency or the Swain School.

Placement The school provides a placement service
which offers assistance in finding interesting employ-
ment for graduating students and alumni. The service
will also be as helpful as possible in applications for
graduate study and special projects for interested
Foundations.

Housing

The School does not maintain dormitories. A diversified list
of accommodations is available. It is suggested that any
student wishing to make housing arrangements apply well
in advance of the opening of school, stating type of accom-
modations and price range desired.

13

Academic
Requirements

B.F.A. Degree Requirements A total of 122 credits, 86
in studio courses and 36 in liberal arts, and submission
of acceptable work for the Senior Show are required
for the Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree.

Diploma Requirements Recognizing the fact that some
students wish to forego the liberal arts to concentrate
on studio work, Swain offers a four year studio program.
120 credits, 108 in studio courses and 12 in Art History,
are required for the Diploma.

Grades A grade scale of A B C D and F is used to
designate the students' standing. The letter grades are
considered the equivalent of the following percentage
scale: A = 90-100, B = 80-89, C = 70-79, D = 60-69.
The grade I for Incomplete is a substitute grade for
situations in which students could not complete
required assignment due to circumstances beyond
their control. The required work must be completed by
a designated time for a student to be awarded credit.
For the computation of scholastic averages, reported
grades have the numerical value of A = 4.0, B = 3.0,
C = 2.0, D = 1.0, F = 0 for each credit hour.

Credit Hours Studio credit hours in all courses are
based on a ratio of one credit for every two hours of
scheduled studio time. Credit hours for academic
subjects are based on a ratio of one credit for every
one hour of class attendance.

Probation A first year student earning a semester
average of less than 1.7 and an upper class student
earning less than 2.5 in his major field is placed on
probation. Any student who is on probation for two
consecutive semesters will be reviewed by a special
faculty committee.

Absence Absences are considered permissible only in
case of illness or for other reasons of necessity. It is
your responsibility to notify the School immediately of
an absence and its cause. Missing work must be made
up whenever you have been absent.

Registration Students already in the School are
required to register and make out tentative schedules
for the following year by June 1. Students enrolling after
School opening date are required to pay a five dollar
late registration fee.

14

Grade Reports Grade reports will be given out at the
end of each semester. All freshmen and other students
whose grade average is D or less will receive a grade
report at midsemester.

Transcripts Graduates and students in good standing
are entitled to one complete statement of their school
record without charge. One dollar will be charged for
each additional copy.

Student Work The School reserves the right to retain
two works of each student for exhibition purposes. All
other property must be removed from School premises
at the end of the academic year. At no time does the
School have responsibility for student property.

Reviews Our policy of formal reviews for second, third
and fourth year students is an important part of the
educational program and a unique expression of a
small professional school at work. Individually you will
have a yearly opportunity to discuss your work, your
ambitions and your problems with all of the faculty:
Studio and Liberal Arts.

Sophomore Reviews take place at the end of the year.
Representative examples of work from all of your studio
courses are discussed in the form of a general critique and
as an open exchange in helping you select your field of
major concentration.

Junior Reviews take place in the middle of the second
semester. You will submit work mainly from your Major field
and the theme of the discussion will be 'work in progress':
Suggestions are made with regard to broadening your point
of view, emphasizing strengths and planning the next year's
projects which also include application for graduate study
and/or other career possibilities.

Senior Reviews take place at the end of the first semester.
Directions taken since the previous review are considered
most carefully but attention is given to firming up plans after
graduation.

15

Foundation
Program

The Foundation Program, involving the first and second
year, is directed at six goals considered necessary in the
mastery of the artist's craft.

An ability to translate the volumes and rhythms of the
human figure onto a flat page, and to understand the
structural problems that exist within the random appearance
of a landscape or a group of still-life objects.

A knowledge and understanding of traditional theories of
color and composition.

An ability to analyze and resolve a variety of problems in
two and three dimensional design.

A view of civilization as an evolving process in which clear
relationships exist between the arts and man's other
accomplishments.

An introduction to reading and writing as a craft of finding
your own convictions, testing them and shaping them.

An exploration of a sufficient range of disciplines to allow
you to choose your particular field of interest.

The emphasis on basic skills and concepts in the first two
years makes it possible to maintain instruction in the Major
Programs on a highly professional level. Furthermore, you will
have to face many unexpected and unplanned challenges
within the full span of your career. The Foundation Program
assures you of having a wide frame of reference and skills with
which to meet these problems.

17

The First Year

Art History (1 semester) It is very easy to see your
reaction to another person's work, but hard to see the
work itself, hard to see what he has seen. Each visual
work is a map describing a way to see the world, use
the world, live in the world. Each visual style describes
and even shapes a life style. Believing is seeing. But
it is possible to be blinded by the reflex of taste.

This course investigates the connection between style

in art and beliefs about the world. Works are studied

topically rather than chronologically and are arranged

under such headings as. the mask, the effigy, the

mirror, the masquerade, the meeting, the narrative, the

transformation, the scared grove, the landscape, the

map, the cup. Throughout this sequence we explore

the process of looking at works of art and finding ways

to see them.
3

Design I, Two Dimensional The goal of Design I is
understanding the grammar of design and organizing,
through a keen sensitivity and awareness, ones visual
habits. Problems begin dealing with black and white
spatial organization and progress into a more complex
investigation of color theory.

Basic design is approached as a form of enquiry, not
an art form in itself. It is important to learn and
experience the greatest possible variety in solutions
by the exploration and manipulation of line, shape,
and space, in combination with color, value, and
texture. This course suggests directions in which you
explore these interrelationships while simultaneously
achieving limitless variations. It is through these
experiences that you develop visually and verbally, a
sense of judgement concerning your growth and carry
this attitude on to a more concentrated area of your
particular interest.
2 - 2

First Year

Foundation Drawing

Design I — 2-D and 3-D

English I

Problems of Western Civilization I

Art History I

Credits

5
5
3
3
0
16

5
5
3
0
3
16

19

i»~*^ " ^*_«£&ii-.-~tw :

20

Design I, Three Dimensional This course is basically
concerned with the organization of space, and the
expansion of your vocabulary of form through various
methods of exposure. "The whole of Nature is an
endless demonstration of form, and it surprises me
when artists try to escape from this" — Henry Moore.
Emphasis will be placed on developing technical skills
so that you will be capable of translating abstract ideas
into tangible reality with reasonable facility. Establish-
ing respect and affection for a tool as an extension of
the hand, hence the mind, will be one of the goals. The
practice of critical examination of your own work as well
as others will be initiated.
3-3

Drawing I This course is planned to contrast with the
more abstract orientation of the accompanying design
courses. It presents some of the basic problems,
techniques and references of the figurative artist.
Emphasis is placed upon the observation and under-
standing of natural forms and their translation through
line, form, light and shade. A complete study of the
human skeleton and muscle structure is included.
Media used are pencil, charcoal, crayon, silver point,
and wash.
5-5

English I Writing is the craft of finding your convictions,
testing them, shaping them. This course will explore
that craft. There will be reading from recent fiction,
poetry, drama and autobiography.
3 -3

Problems of Western Civilization I This course will study
the rise and fall of a great nineteenth century industrial
city and the monumental burdens it carries into the
twentieth century. The specific community developed
as a thoroughly American microcosm and clearly
demonstrates a rule by oligarchy, the destructiveness
of the American success ideal allowed to run
unchecked, the avoidance of deeper community
responsibilities and the existance of a rigid class
system. Some or all of this nineteenth century heritage
affects most cities across the land and indeed, the
nation itself.

The students will be required to study their own
communities or others that interest them and prepare
term papers copiously illustrated with photographs
and drawings.
3-0

21

Second Year

Life Drawing is the concentrated study of the model
in different environments and situations of light and
movement. The approach is essentially descriptive,
but with an emphasis on certain formal principles. A
consideration of the classic view of the figure as a
perfectly organized structure is contrasted to more
expressive possibilities.
3 - 0

Figure Modeling The basic purpose of the course is
to begin analysis of the proportions of the human body,
to experience a form in space — a three-dimensional
reality, as opposed to the two-dimensional illusion of
drawing. It will be an experience in seeing, a truly
analytical examination. Drawing will be an integral part
of the course — to establish it as a way of thinking, of
organizing, and as a valuable tool for the mind. Reliefs
will also be dealt with, providing a bridge between
drawing and sculpture.
0- 3

Introductory Painting is based on the drawing, design,

and color experiences gained in the previous year.
Traditional methods of representation and composition
are studied in a series of studio problems and seminar
type criticisms. You work from nature (still life, figure,
landscape) in order to provide an objective basis
against which you may measure your success in
dealing with concepts of space, light, form and color.
Introductory Painting includes perspective, anatomy,
color theory and basic oil techniques.
2 - 2

Note:

Liberal Arts Electives may be chosen from those
described in the Liberal Arts section beginning on
page 38.

Studio Electives: Choose any two of Introductory
Painting, Design or Sculpture.

Second Year

Life Drawing-Figure Modeling

Printmaking

Studio Electives

Studio Electives

Liberal Arts Elective

Credits

3
4
2
2
3
14

3

4
2
2
3

14

22

23

Introductory Sculpture This Sophomore course is aimed
toward students more seriously considering a major in
sculpture. You will further examine basic materials, try
more specialized methods of application and become
more aware of the forms which surround you in the
natural and man-made environment. Drawing will be
used as a vital means of recording and testing these
ideas. Your participation in class critiques wii! be
encouraged as a means of exchanging information
and developing a better critical judgement.
2 - 2

Introductory Design is a more complex investigation of

visual organization and visual communication. It is a
continuation of the previous course, dealing in both two
two and three dimensional problems and the
exploration of color as an aid to the designer. Critiques
of classroom projects relate the specific directions of
student work to a variety of design oriented situations.
For example, both two and three dimensional problems
may be discussed in terms of toy design, creative
educational materials, development of interior and
exterior environments, parks, playgrounds, etc., as
well as the concern with the visual impact of the printed
page. This course attempts to inform you of the
diversity within the design field, and offers you the time
and opportunity for research and experimentation of
problems and materials as a basis for continuation in
the major program.
2 - 2

Introductory Printmaking gives you an opportunity of
experiencing the many techniques of Printmaking.
Through scheduled critiques and discussions,
familiarity with the tradition of Printmaking and working
in the many media, an understanding of its functions
and character is developed.

Required Sophomore Printmaking Media include: relief
printing, photography, drypomt. engraving, etching
aquatint, lithography and silk screen.
2 - 2

A note on Photography Photography does not appear
as a separate course in our catalog because it is as
much a printmaking medium as lithography or etching
and should be understood as such. You have noted
that photography is required of all second year
students. The highly motivated student who wishes to
concentrate in photography as a printmaking medium
may discuss his wishes with a committee of the faculty.

24

25

I

Major
Program

The Major Studio Programs offered are Design,
Painting, Sculpture and Printmaking. The Major
Program, which comprises the last two years at Swain,
is a radical departure from the Foundation Program.
The Program, built around your specific needs, is more
individual in nature since you, instead of taking formal
courses, spend the principal part of your time in your
major workshop. Essentially this program most
resembles the tutorial or honors program in a liberal
arts college. The weight of responsibility for organizing
research materials, equipment and time is gradually
transferred to you. The teacher's role becomes that of
the critic, approximating, as clearly as possible, a
professional situation.

Since the Major Program is essentially individual in
nature, imposing no specific standards or require-
ments on you, the problem of guidance and evaluation
of your achievement becomes particularly important.
During the third year the advisor plans a program of
studies with you. At the beginning of the fourth year you
present to the faculty an outline of your plans, a first
draft of sketches, layouts or models. Periodically you
will meet with the committee to present work done and
discuss revisions and projected plans. Though no
school can program into being an independent and
responsible individual, such a curriculum does set up
a situation in which the student can achieve genuine
maturity as an artist and as a person.

27

28

Painting
Workshop 1|2

Painting Workshop develops from materials first
presented in the introductory drawing and painting
studios. In conjunction with the Workshop, a study of
traditional and contemporary art theory is made in
group and individual criticism.

You are introduced to painting techniques in which the
history and practice of a variety of basic painting media
is studied. Along with a thorough familiarity with the
tools and crafts of painting, emphasis is placed on the
development of an attitude and a commitment that is
at least as important as a knowledge of technique.

Through assigned and student initiated problems, a
number of possibilities are made accessible and you
are enabled to develop as a serious painter.

Third Year

Painting Workshop I

Life Drawing — Figure Modeling

Studio Elective

Liberal Arts Electives

Fourth Year

Painting Workshop II
Liberal Arts Elective

Credits

Credits

6

6

2

2

2

2

6

6

16

16

12

12

3

3

15

15

29

30

Design
Workshop 1 1 2

The design workshop is a concentration of specific
projects with emphasis on your ability to creatively
solve a variety of problems, originating the concepts
and developing them to completion. Photography is
incorporated within the program as an extension of the
design potential. It is explored as one method in which
the student might solve a given problem, and is used
in conjunction with both two and three dimensional
assignments. Photography, color, and illustration are
further explored through photo silkscreen.

As a part of our program, we try to focus attention on
our community. Projects direct creative talents toward
making that environment more pleasant and functional,
and to communicate information in a more coherent
manner. These projects not only bring the school into
closer harmony with the community, of which it is a part,
but envolve the more advanced students in situations
dealing with real limitations, real information needs,
and real budgets.

Third Year

Design Workshop I

Life Drawing-Figure Modeling

Studio Elective

Liberal Arts Electives

Fourth Year

Design Workshop II
Liberal Arts Elective

Credits

Credits

6

6

2

2

2

2

6

6

16

16

12

12

3

3

15

15

31

32

Sculpture
Workshop 1|2

The Sculpture Workshop requires the basic information
in problem solving and use of materials gained during
the two previous years. The firm course structure of the
foundation period will give way as the urgency of your
own need for personal statement becomes more
intense. At this point in your career you should be
forming a commitment and a sense of discipline as you
concentrate more deeply and narrowly upon those
sculptural problems and materials which you find most
compelling. Frequent discussions with instructors and
regular group criticisms with students will help you
keep an open mind and think out your direction more
carefully.

Third Year

Credits

Sculpture Workshop I

6

6

Life Drawing — Figure Modeling

2

2

Studio Elective

2

2

Liberal Arts Elective

6

6

16

16

Fourth Year

Credits

Sculpture Workshop II

12

12

Liberal Arts Electives

3

3

15

15

33

34

Printmaking
Workshop 1 1 2

Printmaking centers around the Print Room and Dark
Room which functions as a laboratory and machine
shop containing the equipment that is essential for the
training in the many diverse techniques of making
prints. The Print Room, through its very nature, is
capable of fulfilling the philosophical and social need
of the artist to 'get his work out', which is the core of
this medium of the multi-original. It is apparent that
most artists, whatever their major field, are going to use
Printmaking as part of their artistic expression, finding
in it a source for realizing the need for distribution of
their work.

The major student is expected to work with problems in
all areas of Printmaking with a view to understanding
their relevence as ways of realizing his creative ideas.
Only the motivated student, dedicated to developing
an aesthetic in keeping with such a field, is encouraged
to major in Printmaking.

Third Year

Credits

Printmaking Workshop I

6

6

Life Drawing — Figure Modeling

2

2

Studio Elective

2

2

Liberal Arts Electives

6

6

16

16

Fourth Year

Credits

Printmaking Workshop II

12

12

Liberal Arts Electives

3

3

15

15

35

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Liberal Arts
Courses

Besides the crafts of the hand and the eye there are
crafts of the imagination. Good visual work does what
good writing does, it makes experience more vivid. A
place is ignored, invisible, until it has been painted, or
used in a story, or mapped, or gardened, or in some
other way imagined. There is the danger of time sliding,
of events which seem as if they had never happened,
of people dying as if they had never been. The deepest
craft of any artist is that of falling in love with the world,
of knowing that what he has seen is worth seeing. It is
a craft shared by architects, anthropologists, novelists,
psychologists, poets, designers, illustrators, map-
makers, painters, gardners, sociologists, sculptors,
and photographers.

The liberal arts courses describe that craft, presenting
it in some of its many disguises, that you might re-invent
it for yourself and bring it to your own visual work. It is
a craft to be seen in many separate acts: finding what
you actually feel within that inward noise; telling the
difference between those things you are sure of and
those other things you are just in the habit of saying;
discovering what your experience can be compared
to, measured against; locating the present, realizing
how wide it is, how deep it is, how long it has been
this way. its drift; recognizing others as themselves and
not simple variations of you; finding what contradicts
your uniqueness, what all persons, all societies, all
times, have in common; learning to find sustainance in
the marrow of events whose bones seem complicated;
learning how to ask questions which are worth
answering, and how to answer them. It is the craft of
learning to live well,

The liberal arts courses take the work of art historians,
poets, travelers, novelists, historians, sociologists,
anthropologists, biologists, psychologists, philosophers
and put them in a form designers, painters,
photographers and sculptors can use.

In the freshman year there are four required liberal arts
courses, two a semester; in the remaining three years
you choose eight courses from a list of sixteen electives.
But you must choose carefully. Of those eight courses;
three must be courses in Visual Studies, two must be
courses in Social Studies, three must be courses in
Humanities.

Because the department is small it is impossible for us

38

to provide the diversity ot courses available in a larger
liberal arts college — We offer no course in
"Shakespeare" or "The Biology of Fishes". However,
the faculty is able to encourage individual students
to pursue their particular interests, at S.M.U., for
credit.

Note

Freshman Year: (all four courses are required).
Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors
These eight electives should include:
Three electives in Visual Studies
Two electives in Social Studies
Three electives in Humanities

First Year Credits

Two Semesters English 6

One Semester Art History 3

One Semester Problems of Western Civilization 3

12

Second Year Credits

Two Electives 6

Third Year Credits

Four Electives 12

Fourth Year Credits

Two Electives 6

39

Humanities

Humanities 1: Poetry Workshop Here you will write
poems, re-write them, tame them, perform them, look
at the things poetry can do, learn to see poetry as an
act rather than a product. You will do what people
writing poetry always do: explore the ways in which you
can be moved, look for ways to make experience
matter, invent some way to tell your good poems from
your bad poems.

Much of what is read in the course will be written there;
there will also be some reading from published poets.
The point will be to give you poetry as a lens to focus
experience and as a tool to change it.
3

Humanities 2: Creative Writing The purpose of this
course is to investigate, by practice, examination and
discussion, writing as a fine art. Students will read and
criticize each others work, as well as the work of
commercial outsiders.
3

Humanities 3: Children's Books The course is designed
to provide a background in children's classics, as well
as to consider the nature of children as an audience.
The use of books in the education of children will be
considered. Students enrolled in the course will write
one long work for children.
3

Humanities 4: The Structure of Theatrical Composition

An inquiry into the nature of the theater, of acting, of
presenting a story publicly by action. Students will
write, act, and direct, enough to have some first hand
knowledge of these occupations; however a primary
aim of the course is to provide a thorough familiarity,
by reading with important works that have been made
for the theater.
3

Humanities 5: History Workshop History is a human act,
a way of reflecting on those things which have been
lost from human experience, a way of exploring themes
or shapes which keep recurring, a way of thinking about
the present as a moment which began ten or ten
thousand years ago. This course will be an opportunity
to write history, reconstruct a story, the way people
build mosaics from broken chips.
Participants in the course will work from the fragments
and traces that have been preserved, from paintings,
photographs, maps, novels, poems, letters, diaries,
biographies, statistics, fossils. We will make something
of the difference between these questions: What did

40

they think was happening? What do we think was

happening?

3

Humanities 6: Philosophy As Means (offered on
request, limited to four students) A philosophy is not a
collection of beliefs, it is a method, an approach to
experience. Reading philosophy is a way of seeing the
different styles available for facing some important
questions. There are many such questions; we will work
with these:

What can I be sure about? (Are there different ways of
being sure?)

What limits me? (What is fate like? What is freedom like?)

How shall I amplify my awe?

We will work with these philosophers: Pascal,
Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein.

The purpose of the course is to illuminate the actual
kinship between style in philosophy and style in the
visual arts.
3

41

Visual Studies

Visual Studies 1: Twentieth Century Art Twentieth
century visual art has not one style, but many. This
suggests fundamental changes in the relationship of
an artist to his work and to his audience. The artist is
forced to these questions: How shall I choose a style
when there are so many9 How shall I find a style whose
emotional significance is not obscured7
To clarify these questions we will examine the work of
twentieth century artists from four perspectives:
original work, slides, the writing or remarks of the artist,
the critics' attempt to offer other explanations.
3

Visual Studies 2: About Time and Movies This will
be a reflection on some of the things movies do or can
do, considering also some of the ways they shed light

on the art of making still pictures or the art of story-
telling. Because movies mimic the flow of experience
they permit us to reconsider the acts of wrenching a
motionless image from that flow, and of imitating that
flow by using words which evoke it. We will explore
ways of experiencing time, ways of giving psycho-
logical weight to time, ways of giving time coherence.
Some of the evidence will be drawn from movies, some
from painting, novels, photographs.
3

Visual Studies 3: Aesthetics and Anaesthetics This will
be a discussion of meaning in art. Among the questions
to be considered are these:

How does a work of art mean something9 How is it able
to open us to experience9

When is art superficial, when is it empty, when does
it disclose depth?

What is the value of tempering personal taste? What
kinds of criticism are valid? What kinds arbitrary?

To investigate the position of the arts in a mass culture.

Although the questions are drawn from the philosophy
of art, discussion will center on real visual objects:
paintings, shoes, boxes, photographs.
3

Visual Studies 4: On Vision The world of science and

the world of ecstacy come together in the eye. Vision
is our closest contact with actuality, closer than touch
or hearing. Visions are those odd moments in the life
of seers.

In this course we will talk about the relationships
between seeing and envisioning, between the familiar

42

world of ordinary sight and the strange one of scientists
or mystics. In general we will examine some of the
implications of having eyes, and some of the options
the eye offers.
3

Visual Studies 5: Landscapes is an exploration of
different ways in which men and the land co-exist. The
goal of the course is the invention of a new way to
consider the painting of landscape. Topics to be
studied include: Gardens, Tactics, Cartography, City-
building, Roads, Creation Myths. Students will be
expected to execute one significant piece of research,
and to maintain a careful written journal.
3

Visual Studies 6: Symbols of Transformation A study of
the visual symbolic content of psychological change
as recorder in art and literature. The processes
involved in the creation of fantasy are examined
through the mediums of fiction and the visual arts.
3

43

Social Studies

Social Studies 1: Technological Society The industrial
city, the assembly line, efficiency, standardization, the
expert: such things dominate our ability to imagine
society or imagine alternatives. There is the danger of

technological society becoming a given, a fate, a back-
ground: a danger of imagining the only options to be
acquiescence or flight to the country. It is difficult to
imagine, deal with, make peace with technological
society. This course is an attempt to develop a
student's sociological imagination. Much of the course
examines the consequences of excessive social
planning and excessive social control. The rest is a
search for alternatives.
3

Social Studies 2: The History of the Future Here we will

look at the variety of ways of imaging a future, of
imagining what is possible, of imagining what will
happen, of imagining what could happen, The course
will be an examination of the value and perils of the
Utopian imagination.

It will be arranged as a series of case studies:

Medieval expectations of the end of time.

Renaissance versions of the perfect society.

Nineteenth century Utopian thought.

The personal future of nineteenth century Americans.

Twentieth century revolutionarys,

The future of the future.

3

Social Studies 3: Worlds and Cosmologies The course wil
follow a sequence of written attempts at discovering,
arranging, defining, or controlling, the nature of the
universe. Our interest is not only in the act of the

individual, the philosophical act of definition — but also
in the social implications of these acts, and their origins
in historical phenomena. Required texts will include the
following: The Crock of Gold, The Rule of St. Benedict,
Sun Chief, Beowulf. One Hundred Years of Solitude,
Yanoama, Women and Their Bodies, Heraclitus.
3

Social Studies 4: Travelers Our interest is principally
in first hand, narrative accounts, by witnesses or
participants in campaigns or discoveries of historical
or scientific importance. We will study the influence of
the event on the witness. Possible readings: Travels of
Marco Polo: Travels of William Bartram: History of
Herodotus. Caesar, or Tacitus: Mailer's Armies of
the Night.
3

44

W W

Calendar

Registration: Freshman & Sophomores

Registration: Juniors & Seniors

First Semester begins

Columbus Day

Veterans Day

Thanksgiving Recess begins

Classes resume

Christmas Recess begins

Classes Resume

Classes End

Exam Week begins

First Semester ends

Second Semester begins
Washington's Birthday
Spring Recess begins
Classes resume
Good Friday
Classes End
Exam Week begins
Exam Week ends
Commencement

46

72 73 73 74

Thursday September 14
Friday September 15
Monday September 18
Monday October 9
Monday October 23
Wednesday November 22
Monday November 27
Friday December 15
Tuesday January 2
Friday January 12
Monday January 15
Friday January 19

Thursday September 13
Friday September 14
Monday September 17
Monday October 8
Monday October 22
Wednesday November 21
Monday November 26
Friday December 14
Wednesday January 2
Friday January 1 1
Monday January 14
Friday January 18

Monday January 22
Monday February 19

Friday March 16
Monday March 26

Friday April 20

Friday May 11
Monday May 14

Friday May 18
Saturday May 26

Monday January 21
Monday February 11

Friday March 15
Monday March 25

Friday April 12

Friday May 10
Monday May 13

Friday May 17
Saturday May 25

47

Faculty

David Loeffler Smith, Dean of School and
Instructor of Painting and Drawing; B.A.. Bard
College; M.F.A. Cranbrook Academy of Art

Leo Kelley, Instructor of Liberal Arts; B.S. and
M.S.. M.I.T.

Nicholas J. Kilmer, Instructor of Liberal Arts; B.A.
Georgetown University; M.A. Harvard University

Janyce Lapore, Instructor of Liberal Arts; M.A.;
Johns Hopkins University

Benjamin R. Martinez, Instructor of Painting and
Drawing; B.F.A. Cooper Union

Russell Mroczek, Instructor of Design and
Photography; B.F.A. , Massachusetts College of Art

Ronald Myers, Instructor of Sculpture, B.F.A.,
Syracuse University

Bruce W. Naftel, Instructor of Design; B.S. in Art

and M.A. in Graphic Design, Western Michigan University

L. John Osborne. Instructor of Printmaking; M.F.A. ,
California College of Arts and Crafts;
Undergraduate; Medway College of Art and Kent
College (England)

Sean Wilkinson, Instructor of Photography, B.A.
Antioch College, M.F.A.. Rhode Island School of Design

Administration

William J. Finn, Director and Instructor of Sculpture,
University of Toronto; B.F.A., Rhode Island School of Design

Eleanor R. Peckham. Office Manager

Betty Bryant. Bookkeeper

Jacqueline Block, Special Services Director,
B.F.A. Cooper Union

Diane B. Cambra, Administrative Assistant

Gerald S. Coutinho, Financial Aid Consultant
B.S. Southeastern Massachusetts University;
Director of Financial Aid, Southeastern
Massachusetts University

Fred Gomes, Buildings & Grounds Superintendent

Marion H. Hanford, Librarian, Harvard; State College,
Boston

48

• V

Trustees and

George C. Perkins, President

David B. Titus, Vice President and Treasurer

Richard A. Pline, Secretary

Mrs. John M. Bullard

George L. Considine

Mrs. William E. Coykendall, Jr.

Mrs. Daniel E. Finger

Jack P. Hudnall

Mrs. William K. Russell

Mrs. Paul A. Schmid

Mrs. Richard P. Waters

Cecil C. I. Wylde

Advisors

Robert L. Bertolli, Professor ot Art — Boston State
College

Joseph A. Coletti, Sculptor

Gilbert Franklin, Chairman, Sculpture
Department — Rhode Island School of Design

Bartlett H. Hayes, Jr., Curator of the American
Academy. Rome

Philip Hofer, Curator-Emeritus of Printing and
Graphic Arts, Houghton Library, Harvard
University

Boris Mirski, Director, Boris Mirski Gallery

Oliver Prescott, Jr., Attorney

Perry T. Rathbone, Director-Emeritus, Boston
Museum of Fine Arts

W. Knight Sturges, Architect

S. Morton Vose, Director, Vose Galleries of
Boston

50

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Design Direction: Bruce Naftel

Lithographed by: Reynolds-DeWalt Printing, Inc.

52

Application

for

Admission

Date of Application

Name

Street

City, State, Zip

Phone

Social Sec. No.

Date of Birth

Place of Birth

Sex

Educational Background

Years Completed Graduation Date

lilitary Service Draft Classification Veteran

Name of Parent or Guardian

Address

Phone

Desire Enrollment at School as:

Full Time Student

Part Time Student

Transfer Student

Will you be applying for scholarship aid?

Transcripts being forwarded separately

Letters of Recommendation will follow

Portfolio being sent

Portfolio being delivered at time of interview

$10.00 Application Fee enclosed (This form cannot be processed without fee)

Address:

Admissions Office
Swain School of Design
19 Hawthorn Street
New Bedford, Mass. 02740

Bulk Rate
Non-Prof it Org.
U. S. POSTAGE

PAID

New Bedford, Mass.
PERMIT No. 103