Art Schools of the South Part B01: Arkansas State University

Academies of higher learning play a special role in art and art history. Universities teach new artists how to create and act as an important authority to the general public. While this authority is not universally accepted, the footprint is measurable even in cases of protest.

Arkansas State University:
2105 Aggie Road
Jonesboro, AR 72401
(870) 972-2100
astate.edu/a/finearts

“Students in art develop insight, sensitivity, and perception toward all aspects of nature while building individual expressive responses. Aesthetic and functional values, creative ideas, and media skills are developed through instructional guidance and applied experience in the studio and classroom. Some of the courses listed here may involve field trips to Memphis Brooks Museum, The Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock, or other regional art collections”

Arkansas State's art department offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts offered in Studio Art, Art Education, and Graphic Design. Master of Art is offered in Studio Art and Art Education.There is a full list of courses available here on their website.

There are six studio art faculty members. They obtained their M.F.A's from: University of Nebraska, Texas Christian University, Louisiana State Univesity, University of Iowa, and Southern Illinois University

Faculty teach classes in the subjects of drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, and sculpture.

Roger Carlisle paints with a self-avowed affection for abstract expressionism. Shelley Gipson makes both traditional intaglio prints and digital compositions. She uses unique items such as hair and unique substrates, like plexiglass in her work. Gipson features a large variety of her student’s works on her website as well. John Harlan Norris is a painter who does highly detailed and surreal portraits which obscure the subject’s face. John Salvest, a sculptor, creates architectural scale pieces as well as gallery pieces with conceptual intrigue. Melissa Wilkinson is another painter. Her work makes social commentary with striking paintings which conceal and reveal their subject through a series of collage like layers.

This program also offers a summer study abroad option in Madrid, Spain. More info here.

Arkansas State’s eleven year old, Bradbury Gallery exhibits international artists and features video work as well as traditional media.

The methodology for selection involves the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) current assessments. These assessments include a school's highest degree offered. In most cases this list values schools which offer Master's Degrees in field of Studio Art, but in some special cases those who offer only Bachelor's Degrees are also mentioned. The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCAHLC) is referenced in the unique case of Arkansas, which for our purposes is included in this list of Southern schools.

State Key:
a: Alabama b: Arkansas c: Florida d: Georgia e: Kentucky f: Louisana g: Mississippi h: North Carolina i: South Carolina j: Tennessee k: Texas l: Virginia m: West Virginia