A Message from the Director of Visual Art Lorie Reinhard
As Director of Visual Art, I warmly welcome you to the Visual Art Department of LVPA. The Visual Art program is an exciting addition to the other majors at the school. Although it is new, the Visual Art Dept. has experienced a lot of growth in a short period of time. The student enrollment has doubled for the 2005-2006 school year as well as the staff. I am confident that the immense success of the program is due to the fact that students are hungry for a return to a structured and classical art education; in essence a return to excellence.
The knowledge that the Visual Art Majors are receiving is most definitely rare in public education. The curriculum has been carefully designed to impart valuable lessons in drawing, painting, design, and art history. Students are rigorously trained both artistically and academically in order to gain mastery over their art. Through practice, study, analysis, reading, and extensive research, students learn to apply their intelligence to the art they create.
One of the ways that the Visual Art Majors learn about their artistic heritage is by studying the works of the masters who have come before them. By analyzing their work and realizing the design systems they were using, these students are tapping into centuries of great draftsmanship and knowledge.
There are two crude misconceptions about art. One is that art is all about creativity without much use for intelligence. The other is that representational art must include every detail that is seen. As for the first misconception, exceptional art cannot exist without evidence of the artist’s intellect. The artist must know how to design and not execute things arbitrarily. As for the second, it is not the job of the artist to copy all that he or she sees in reality. It is their responsibility as a trained artist to select, emphasize, exaggerate, and purposely distort things he or she sees. This may be what Aristotle was describing when he said, “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”
The ultimate goal for the graduates of the LVPA Visual Art program is to become so confident with their skills that freedom and authority is attained and evident in their work. It really is true that education evokes a sense of freedom. This definitely holds true for the young artists who have been trained and educated at LVPA in order to become fine draftsmen. When a person is properly trained in art, all of the beautiful imaginings in one’s mind become completely possible on paper or canvas, in clay or stone, or in a product design or animation. A raw talent who has been sharpened into an owner of refined skills knows no limits. This limitless mindset matched with passion, integrity, a strong work ethic, and self-discipline will surely mean success for the Visual Art graduates of LVPA.
I encourage you to visit and show your support by attending the Art Exhibits scheduled into the school calendar. Thank you.
LVPA Visual Art Dept. Mission Statement:
The courses required of the Visual Art Major have been carefully designed in order to provide a structured and classical art education. The student will be rigorously trained in art and art history. The goal is to promote a return to excellence in the Visual Arts through intensive training and the implementation of high standards. Presented as an academic pursuit as well as artistic, students will begin to perceive connections between art and other subject areas. Students will build upon learned concepts with the intention of gaining mastery, concentration, a strong work ethic, and self-discipline. Through practice, study, analysis, reading and research, they will learn to apply their intelligence and discernment to the art they create.
