123

Mastery is accomplished through a

personal, historical understanding of

one’s art and through a conceptual,

technical control of that art. Professional

preparation involves an introduction

to the realities of the art world, a

comprehension of the art of others

developed through the seminars and

internship of the graduate program,

and the development of a capacity for

articulate criticism.

Because the creative process

is characterized by a number of

contradictory functions, idealistic and

materialistic, analytic and synthetic,

intuitive and intellectual, any effective

educational treatment of creativity on

the graduate level must be open and

flexible. The formal, directed study of

undergraduate education yields to the

relatively independent procedures of the

graduate research institution as the artist

explores the complexity of individual

artistic achievement.

The structure of graduate study, then,

allows for maximum independence of

study and time of growth as well as for

the emergence of new emphases. It also

capitalizes on the diversity of student

interests and abilities. As teachers in

an institution that must allow for the

individual, non-institutional aims of

the artist, the members of the faculty do

not transmit dogmatic opinions peculiar

to either the school or the art world,

but instead instigate investigation and

stimulation through communication

with the student.

chair

Deborah Bright

assistant to the chair

Nat Meade

administrative assistant

Lisa Banke-Humann

technicians

Adam Apostolos

Rainy Lehrman

Alexia Cohen

Zena Pesta

Sarah Shebaro

Christopher Verstegen

office

Tel: 718-636-3634

[email protected]

http://www.pratt.edu/ad/fineart

Fine Arts

The primary goal of the M.F.A. program is to provide for the

advanced education of artists. To this end, we emphasize the

development of students as individual thinkers and assist in the

mastery of craft and professional preparation.

Pages 124–125: Left: Emily Brady; Right: Cory Sellers