by: Peg Schmidt '93

Across from the tables with books of cloth samples and t-squares, students sit with
laptops creating CAD (computer aided design) images for their portfolios. It’s the changing face of the Department of Art & Design at the Mount, where more and more students are realizing that technology is integrated into the creative world of art.
   
One of the fastest-growing departments on campus, Art & Design was quickly running out of space. When the Dorothy Meyer Ziv Art Building was originally constructed in 1962, the College had 42 students in the Art program. The building now houses five times that many students.

The department’s growth has been driven by graphic and interior design – two disciplines that were little known in the Mount’s Art program in the ’60s. Now the two design programs account for three-fourths of the students, according to Chair Jerry Bellas, M.F.A. “Clearly we needed to do more to serve those students’ needs.”

One way was to add “design” to the department name in the fall of 2007. The other was to instill new life into the Art Building by providing space for the designers as well as updating the fine arts areas and Studio San Giuseppe Art Gallery.
   

Students make their way through the new Studio San Giuseppe

Help arrived in the form of a grant from the SC Ministry Foundation as well as donations from alumni and friends of the College. The building was gutted and reworked into a contemporary, airy building containing separate spaces for the fine arts and graphic arts. Sister Sally Duffy, president of the SC Ministry Foundation, said the College had a tremendous need for upgrading the 45-year-old building. “Funding the renovation certainly was compatible with our mission,” she says, noting that the project ultimately serves the community as it addresses the growing employment need in the area. “Mount students will hopefully go out into the workplace and use their talents to make the world more just.”
   
The renovation in essence created a more open feel and brought the building into the 21st century, says Kim Burke, M.Ed., interior design program director. It also incorporated the technology that designers must have as they venture into the working world. Kim specifically praises the addition of a library room in the interior design classroom area. “It’s a huge benefit that students don’t have to leave the area to work on concepts.”
   
One of the major changes is the relocation of the photography dark room to the Seton Center, a short distance from the Art Building entry. Once tucked away in a room off of a corridor below the music wing, the dark room now boasts a spacious area with 10 larger cubicles, a state-of-the-art ventilation system and a darkroom sink nearly double the size of the old lab. In addition, there is a large anteroom for light room work where students can hang photos for critiquing by fellow students and instructors. The new dark room showcases the College’s commitment to photography as an art form where students can experiment with manipulating black and white images on different mediums such as cloth. “There are just some things you can’t do with Photoshop and an ink printer,” says John Griffith, M.Ed., assistant professor of photography. Funding for the photography lab came through a grant from the Skylar Foundation.
   
Jerry says the renovation expanded the Studio San Giuseppe Art Gallery area by 260 square feet and opened up areas where students can hang work to be critiqued. “There is a lot more pin-up spaces where instructors can give more attention to critiques.” He adds that the soft gray walls of the gallery also showcase the artwork much better.
   
Freshman Samantha Geier, an interior design major, likes the modern look of the unfinished ceilings and floors. It’s more contemporary and feels open. Samantha wrote a paper for her “Written Word” class describing the pros and cons of the renovation. “Overall it was positive,” she says. “I’d have to say it’s a pretty nice space.”
   

A drawing class in the new spacious classroom studios.

Fellow freshman and graphic design major Tom Frey agrees, noting that among other things, the renovation helped in his decision to come to the Mount. “It told me that at the Mount, art isn’t just another program.”
   
  While the increase in the number of design majors drove the need for renovation, the fine arts program also benefited through the reworking of storage for supplies as well as the increased areas for critiquing work. Ceramics instructor Pam Korte ‘72, M.A., says the renovation brought the feel of openness and newness to the department, but that at least one important aspect of the old building remained. “I love that they retained the north lighting through the windows.”
   
“Overall, I think it blows a breath of fresh air into the art programs – the unfinished walls and floor give the building a contemporary feel that the students love,” she says, adding that like a new home, “it takes a while to make it your space, but every day it feels more like home.” But Pam says the most important thing didn’t change. ”In the end, the heart of this building is the creative energy the students and faculty generate.”