department of art & design university of alberta • 2015 art & design @ 50Edited by M. Elizabeth Boone 50 years of history in the department of art and design 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 A timeline grew in response to the demand for fne arts and design degree in the history of art, design, and visual culture in the The Department of Fine Arts, encompassing Art, Drama education in the province of Alberta. prairie provinces. and Music, was created shortly after World War II by Comprised in 1965 of two bachelor degree programs— The department has also undergone radical changes in English-born painter H.G. Glyde. Jack Taylor and Al Forbes the bfa and the Bachelor of Arts (ba) with a concentration terms of its location and facilities. In 1971 ground was bro- were hired in 1947 and 1948 respectively, and Norman in the history of art—the department’s oferings have ken on the current Fine Arts Building, which houses the Yates joined the group in 1956. Studio classes were ofer- expanded over the past ffty years. In 1970 the department Department of Art and Design as well as the Departments ed to students in the Faculty of Education, and art history added a third degree at the undergraduate level, the ba of Music and Drama. Prior to 1973, art classes were ofered courses were popular with those pursuing a general Arts with Honours, as well as Canada’s frst graduate degree on the top foor of the Old Arts Building, in Art Workshop 1, degree. A Diploma in Fine Arts was established in 1952, in the visual arts, the Master of Visual Arts (mva). In 1972 now known as the Industrial Design Studio, and in Art a four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts (bfa) ten years later, and the department changed its name to the Department of Workshop 3, which was located behind Athabasca Hall. the stage was set for the creation in 1965 of the depart- Art and Design, the name it retains to this day. The frst Some design classes were held in the General Services ment now known as Art and Design. graduate degrees in fne arts were awarded in 1972, the Building. Programs today are taught in the Fine Arts Build- H.G. Glyde oversaw the creation of the new department mva in industrial design in 1973, and visual communication ing, the Industrial Design Studio, as well as in the North and retired the following year, becoming the frst of Art design the following year. The frst graduate student in Power Plant, the former hub parking garage, and the Draw- and Design’s many emeriti faculty members. Jack Taylor art history completed in 1983. In the early 1990s, the ing House. The Fine Arts Building, which was completed stepped in to fll the position of chair for a year, and Ron department separated the mva degree into two distinct in 1973, was later expanded in order to accommodate Davey arrived to take over in 1967. Over the frst fve years, degree programs, and students began receiving either a gallery that would show exhibits of student art as well the number of instructors more than doubled, with the the Master of Fine Arts (mfa in painting, printmaking or as host independent exhibitions. The Fine Arts Building arrival of Bob Sinclair and Dave Cantine to teach drawing sculpture) or the Master of Design (mdes in industrial Gallery—better known as the FAB Gallery—opened in 1987 introduction and painting in 1965, as well as Jerry Moore to teach sculp- design or visual communication design) in 1993. Art with the exhibit Celebrations: Works by Selected Graduate ture, Jonathan Knowlton to begin a printmaking program, history became the history of art, design and visual culture Students, 1970 – 1986. and Helen Dow to expand art history oferings the follow- in 2002, the same year that students began to graduate The following pages provide a timeline of notable events, ing year. As the 60s came to a close, the department added with the mfa in drawing (eventually drawing & intermedia). celebrated images, and historic photographs. Research was Bruce Bentz, Neil Fiertel, Jetske Sybesma, and the many In 2011, the department further expanded its oferings art & design timeline @ 50 provided by Sarah Flowers. • 13 others who began shaping a curriculum that shifted and after gaining provincial approval to ofer the only doctorate | 12 12 ▾ Ken Hughes in the Students’ Union Building timeline • 1965 – 1970 ( SUB ) Gallery circa 1970 ▸ Jack Taylor critiquing students’ paintings in the Old Arts Building studios Photos supplied by the Taylor Family The Department of Art is created in 1965 when the Depart- Union Building, where students and faculty sometimes ment of Fine Arts, consisting of art, music and drama, is exhibit their work, opens in 1967. divided into three separate departments. H.G. Glyde chairs Ron Davey takes the reigns in 1967 from Jack Taylor, who the new department for its inaugural year, both Jack Taylor serves as acting chair after Glyde’s retirement, and the and Norman Yates serve as senior painting professors, faculty complement continues to grow. Davey chairs the and Al Forbes teaches art history. Bob Sinclair and Dave department for almost ten years, until 1976. Cantine also teach during the inaugural year. Classes for 70 19 Plans begin for a new fne arts centre on campus. “To the ba and bfa degrees are held in the Old Arts Building, be scheduled for the North Garneau, the $4,500,000 – 1965 Art Workshops 1 and 3, and other make-shift spaces fne arts building will provide centralized facilities for the on campus. departments of art, music and drama, which are now The department opens a small teaching gallery in a house scattered in buildings around campus.” on 112th Street, on a site now underneath the Housing — “Fine Arts, Arts, Ed, Chem Set for 1970 Expansion,” The Gateway, October 10, 1968 Union Building (HUB Mall), in 1966. Faculty in fne arts • art & design timeline @ 50 donate work to initiate what eventually becomes the Uni- 15 | versity Art Collection. A second gallery in the Students’ 14 ▾ Art Workshop 3 painting studio timeline • 1965 – 1970 in the back of Athabasca Hall Photo supplied by Dave Cantine 70 19 1965 – 1965 ▴ Students working in Art Workshop 1 art & design timeline @ 50 and in Art Workshop 3 17 Photos supplied by Dave Cantine | 16 16 ▾ Poster for an exhibition of visual communication timeline • 1970 – 1975 design work by students and staf Poster design by Peter Bartl ▸ Poster for a staf show in the Ring House Gallery Poster design by Ken Hughes ▴ Fine Arts Building exterior shown while Poole Construction begins the Fine Arts Building, past year, odd things have been happening like plays in the under construction designed by Sinclair, Skakun and Naito Architects, and lobbies, face-painting in the foyers, and rock concerts in ▸ Fine Arts Building interior shown while a groundbreaking ceremony is held in the spring of 1971. the Gallery. SUB’s dividing walls seem to be disappearing. under construction Is the Art Gallery pervading the entire building, or is the The art collection and teaching gallery move in 1971 Norman Yates, standing on the left, wears ▸ building invading the Gallery?” a hard hat at the FAB groundbreaking from their frst location on the site now occupied by HUB — “Watch the Gallery,” Folio, October 8, 1970 Mall to Ring House Number 1, the stately residence built Photos courtesy of the University of Alberta Archives, 75 Accession Numbers 88-77-72-172-37, 88-77-72-172-34, in 1911 for Henry Marshall Tory, the frst president of The frst fve mva graduate students, specializing in 19 and 88-77-71-11741-46 Faculty, staf, and students move into the new Fine Arts the university. painting, printmaking, and sculpture, enter in 1970 and Building, which is inaugurated at ceremonies held on – 1970 graduate with a thesis exhibition at the Edmonton Staf shows, student shows, and one-person exhibitions February 8, 1974 with the Honorable Grant MacEwan, Art Gallery two years later. Industrial design and visual continue to be held in the Students’ Union Art Gallery. Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Alberta, and the communication design students are right behind. “The Students’ Union Building is our Grand Central Station, Honorable Mr. James Foster, Alberta Minister for Advanced The Department of Art changes its name to the Depart- a giant concrete trafc centre. But within it are points of Education, in attendance. At the time of inauguration, the ment of Art and Design in 1972. art & design timeline @ 50 stillness, places to think (the Meditation Room), to look at Department of Art and Design consists of over 25 full-time 19 things (the Art Gallery), and at people (the theatre). In the continuing professors. • | 18 18 ▾ Design show in the SUB Gallery circa 1970 timeline • 1970 – 1975 Photo supplied by Dave Cantine 75 19 1970 – 1970 ◂ Poster for a staf show in the Ring House I Gallery Poster design by Peter Bartl art & design timeline @ 50 ▸ Poster for the opening of the Fine Arts Building 21 | Poster design by Ken Hughes 20 timeline • 1975 – 1980 ▴ Fundamentals classes introduce students Doug Haynes assumes the position of chair in 1976 and Al Forbes organizes a three-week study trip to Japan and to the basics of art and design serves for a fve-year term, until 1981.