MFA Program
The College at Brockport MFA in Visual Studies at VSW offers an opportunity unique in graduate studies. Our MFA program is comparable to a long-term artist residency. In addition to courses designed to challenge, enhance, and grow artistic practices, we offer work experience in an artist-run, non-profit arts organization. Graduate students commit to four full-time semesters of study, plus one part-time semester for a final project. Graduate students have full access to available equipment and studio space at the Workshop. The artists, publishers, curators, and researchers who staff and visit VSW instruct the graduate students. Visual Studies MFA students share their studio work with members of the VSW community on a weekly basis. Besides their own studio practice, the graduate students do a minimum of 5 service hours a week in a VSW program area. Service hours offer firsthand knowledge of the fields of work available within the media arts and provide invaluable experience prior to obtaining the MFA degree. In addition, graduate students attend a weekly seminar in the history and curatorial practices of the media arts. They participate in discussions, read important texts and do hands-on curatorial work with the extensive materials in VSW’s Research Center.

If you are interested in learning more about the MFA program you should contact us and make a point of visiting VSW to meet with us prior to applying. All applications for the MFA Program are through The College at Brockport State University of New York department of Graduate Studies. Contact Kristen Merola, MFA Coordinator at VSW, by phone at (585) 442-8676 ext.112 or email workshops@vsw.org for all inquiries into graduate education at VSW.

Online application and support materials checklist are available through the Office of Graduate Studies

Online Application
Costs and Financial Information

Faculty
Tate Shaw, MFA, The College at Brockport, website
Kristen Merola, MFA, The College at Brockport, website
Rick Hock, MFA, SUNY Buffalo
Jenn Libby, MFA, The College at Brockport, website
Karen vanMeenen, MA, Vermont College of Norwich University, website
Matthew Walker, MA, MFA, The College at Brockport, website

Admission Policy
Only full-time students will be admitted to the MFA in Visual Studies program. Applicants must present evidence that they have received a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. The program does not require that applicants have a BFA.

To be considered for admission, an applicant must submit a completed application; a statement of interest; a résumé; official transcripts from each institution attended as an undergraduate or graduate student; two letters of reference; a portfolio of his or her most recent and mature work; and a concise statement about the work.

Please visit the Graduate Studies website for specific application deadline information. Applications are available online. For questions, please call the Office of Graduate Admissions at (585) 395-5465; e-mail gradadmit@brockport.edu.

To discuss questions about the program, or to visit, contact Kristen Merola, MFA Coordinator at VSW, by phone at (585) 442-8676 ext.112 or email workshops@vsw.org, Visual Studies Workshop, 31 Prince Street, Rochester, NY 14607.

Program Requirements
This is a 60-credit program, requiring five semesters and one summer. The program is designed to introduce students to the field of visual studies in general, as well as to provide specializations in any of three areas of emphasis: 1) photography; 2) digital media, video and film; and 3) imaging systems and book arts. The Summer Institute provides several intense involvements in specialized areas enabling students to work with visiting faculty. During the fourth semester, students take a research seminar in preparation for the internship and final project.

Distribution Requirements (60 credits total)
Core studio courses—Graduate foundation (Semester 1; 9 credits)
ART 532 Interpretive Strategies (Advanced Photography I)
ART 513 Digital Media I
ART 555 Imaging Systems I

Studio courses in Visual Studies (Semesters 2-4; 18 credits)
Photography
ART 533 Advanced Photography II
ART 636 Advanced Studio Problems in Photography

Film, Video and Digital Media
ART 514 Digital Media II
ART 617 Advanced Studio Problems in Media

Imaging Systems and Visual Books
ART 556 Imaging Systems II
ART 657 Advanced Studio Problems in Imaging Systems
ART 658 The Structure of the Visual Book

Additional Studio Courses
ART 531 Historical Photographic Processes
ART 535 Expanded Issues in Exhibition
ART 568 Working with Visual Information
ART 735 Arts Organization Practicum

Seminars in Visual Studies (Semesters 1-5; 12 credits)
ARH 561 History of Photography
ARH 563 Contemporary Media Survey
ARH 565 Alternative Views of Art
ARH 599 Independent Study in Art History
ARH 664 Media Culture (Art Theory and Philosophy)

Academic Electives (Semesters 2-5; 6 credits)

Summer Institute (Summer 1 or 2; 6 credits)

Internship and Final Project (Semesters 4-5; 9 credits)
ART 797 Graduate Project I Research Seminar
ART 790 Internship
ART 798 Graduate Project II Final Project

Core Program
The core program is required of all students entering the program and includes both studio courses
and seminars. In the first semester, a series of workshops is structured to introduce students
to the full range of available resources and tools, and to encourage an integrated approach to
working with diverse materials and presentational means. These workshops meet intensively on
a rotating basis; topics include photography (black-and-white, color and various formats), studio
and installation techniques, book arts, digital media and video/film. Seminars in the history and
theory of photography and related media are also required as part of the core program.

Academic Electives (6 credits)
Students may select 500- and 600-level courses offered at The College at Brockport for which
they are eligible. Courses may be from the sciences, humanities (including visual culture), social
sciences, non-profit administration or the professions. Electives may include a maximum of
three credits of independent study. Studio courses from the Department of Art may not be used
to satisfy the academic elective requirement.

Visual Studies Courses
ARH 561 History of Photography
Surveys the development of photographic processes and the movements and artists that have influenced photography. 3 Cr.

ARH 563 Contemporary Photography and Imaging Survey
Surveys the visual and media arts since World War II, with primary emphasis on photography and secondary emphasis on the mass media, the book arts, the time-based arts, installation art, etc. 3 Cr.

ARH 565 Alternative Views of Art
Examines and explores art and culture from radically different points of view. Attempts to expand awareness of the multiplicity of world cultures by including subjects, voices and imagery that are often subordinated by traditional institutions of the West such as museums and mainstream commercial media. Uses strategies and disciplines including anthropology, women’s studies, subculture, cyborg theory, political activism and liberation pedagogy
to see western art in a different light. Encourages the development of different means of practice in addition to expanded theoretical frameworks for looking at art. 3 Cr.

ARH 599 Independent Study in Art History
(A). Prerequisite: Instructor’s permission. Designed individually through consultation between student and instructor to suit the needs and interests of the student, and the special competence of the instructor. Additional requirements may be established by the department. 3-6 Cr.

ARH 664 Media Culture
Explores the culture of media through image production and dissemination, sequence and montage and the media environment. Through readings, archival research and direct observations of contemporary life, explores how individuals and groups respond to and manipulate images to make sense of their lives. Examines how images work as a language and how images and words function together. Considers how images construct our environment
and social world. Analyzes the practices of mass and alternative media in relation to emerging systems of information. 3 Cr.

ARH 691 Research Topics in Photographic History
Students in this seminar form small research teams; each team, under guidance, develops a specific project from the resources and materials available from the visual collections at the Visual Studies Workshop or in Rochester. Students research background history and specific information relative to their chosen topic; then produce an “exhibition” of those materials either in a computer-generated exhibition catalog, or online, or as a physical show in the small gallery spaces at VSW; and keep an individual written journal of their experiences and progress throughout the course of the project. 3 Cr.

ART 513 Digital Media I
Introduces students to an intersection of photography, video, sound and new media. All production and postproduction is done outside of class time, and students meet as a group for discussions and screenings
of work. 3 Cr.

ART 514 Digital Media II
Prerequisite: ART 513. Allows students to continue to investigate the intersection of photography, video, sound

ART 531 Historical Photographic Processes
Introduces and applies several historic photographic processes used in the 19th century. Hands-on experience provides historical background in addition to a deep understanding and appreciation for these processes. Discussions include contemporary issues and artists currently using any one or combination of historical techniques. 3 Cr.

ART 532 Advanced Photography I: Interpretive Strategies
Based on the broadest possible conception of photography as the present technology of visual language. Treats the camera much as one would a pencil, and asks the many questions raised by the mere act of making a picture: What is meant by speaking in visual, as opposed to verbal, terms? What is the impact of social and psychological circumstances on the visual message? What is the effect of visual media on their audiences? How, eventually, will a record of visual artifacts be interpreted? 3 Cr.

ART 533 Advanced Photography II
Prerequisite: ART 532. Defines a context for developing a personal system of working and decision making that stresses self-criticism and the ability to become aware of directions in the student’s own work and the work of others. Strengthens concepts of seeing and sequencing presentation, exhibition format and printing standards. 3 Cr.

ART 534 Advanced Problems in Photography
Structured for students to gain independence in their working methods. Expects students to locate an area of interest
and create a substantial project that reflects a thoughtful and developed investigation. Requires conceptual and technical readings to supplement their work. 3 Cr.

ART 535 Expanded Issues in Exhibition
Explores various exhibition formats, including site specific installation and alternative forms of public display such as billboards, signage, mail, networks, and performance. Allows students to develop individual or collaborative projects culminating in a public display. 3 Cr.

ART 555 Imaging Systems I
Provides an introduction to visual books and alternative photographic processes, that, as physical time-based
media, stand between photography and electronic imaging. Explores book structures as a means of organizing visual/textual material. 3 Cr.

ART 556 Imaging Systems II
Prerequisite: ART 555. Examines contemporary use of text/image relationships, as well as historical traditions in visual arts and media as the basis for artists’ bookworks. Requires students to plan and produce an editioned book. 3 Cr.

ART 568 Working with Visual Information
Using the substantial visual resources of the Visual Studies Workshop, provides the fundamentals of working with visual information in a special collections context. Introduces basic database concepts, analysis and current archival/museum best practices (name authorities, exhibition and bibcitation). Places practical emphasis on the use of FileMaker database software for its ease of use, low cost and power. Surveys other systems including the potential of the Internet for expanded access. Teaches how to use visual information more effectively for research and how to craft effective structures of visual data. 3 Cr.

ART 591 Summer Institute Workshops (6 credits)
The Summer Institute is a series of 20-25 intensive one-week workshops conducted by current and visiting faculty. The Summer Institute is designed to stimulate new ways of working and thinking about work, as well as to provide opportunities to expand technical skills and work with new processes. The workshops address a wide variety of concerns in photography, artists’ books, film, video and related media. 6 Cr.

ART 599 Independent Study in Visual Studies
Prerequisite: Instructor’s permission. Permits students to pursue in greater depth topics studied previously. Designed individually through consultation between student and instructor to suit the needs of the student and the special competence of the instructor. 1-6 Cr.

ART 617 Advanced Studio Problems in Electronic Media
Prerequisites: ART 513 and ART 514. An independent study course. Investigates the intersection of photography, sound, and the computer. Designed by the student in consultation with the instructor based on a project proposal
submitted the prior semester. Requires the student to meet bi-weekly with the instructor and present
the project at the end of the semester as an exhibition, screening, or lecture. 1-5 Cr.

ART 636 Advanced Studio Problems in Photography
Prerequisite: ART 532. An independent study class designed by the student in consultation with the instructor, based on a project proposal submitted the prior semester. 1-5 Cr.

ART 657 Advanced Studio Problems in Imaging Systems
Prerequisite: ART 556. An independent study for students with a good working background in imaging systems, and visual books. Requires a suitable independent study project such as the design, printing, and binding of an
editioned bookwork or print portfolio, a series of one-of-a-kind books, or an environmental book. 1-5 Cr.

ART 658 Structure of the Visual Book
Requires students to conceive, construct and bind several books to gain a better understanding of the book format as an art form, rather than a reproduction of pre-existing work. Includes lectures on and discussion of prime examples of current books. 3 Cr.

Internship and Final Project (9 credits)
During the fourth semester, students will develop project proposals and do preparatory work for the internship and final project. The internship is self-generated and designed to benefit students’ work by providing experience in the field. Internships may be done at the Visual Studies Workshop. The final project is a studio project resulting in an exhibition, video, film, artists’ book or equivalent. Two faculty members and one outside educator/professional act as advisors to the project. Students are encouraged to work in at least at two media for their final project. and new media, and work on individual projects, meeting as a group for discussions and screenings of work. Also provides an introduction to the history of independent media arts. 3 Cr.


ART 735 Arts Organization Practicum
As an in-house internship, a practicum that provides the opportunity to gain fi rst-hand experience and working knowledge of one of VSW’s program areas: Afterimage journal, Research Center, and other public programs. Requires students to work under the direction of director and/or program coordinator and make active contributions to advancing the program’s goals. Allows students to gain inside experience of an art organization in learning particular professional skills. 3 Cr.

ART 790 Internship
Designed to benefit students’ work by providing experience in the field. Involves the commitment of one semester’s
time within an active, professional learning situation. Examples include an apprenticeship with an artist, assisting a curator, setting up and teaching evening courses in a remote area, helping design an innovative method of visual text distribution on the Internet. Culminates in a report including documentation and evaluation letters. 3 Cr.

ART 797 Graduate Project I - Research Seminar
Lays the practical and conceptual groundwork for the final thesis project—a public presentation and contribution to the field of visual studies in the form of a gallery show, media art project, screening or publication. Focuses on issues of professional practice in writing artists’ statements, public speaking about work, display alternatives, understanding the art market, etc. Culminates in the Graduate Review, which is a requirement for Graduate Project II. 3 Cr.

ART 798 Graduate Project II - Final Project
Prerequisite: ART 797 and Graduate Review. Requires a final thesis project that leads to a public presentation and contribution to the fi eld of visual studies in the form of a gallery show, media art project, screening or publication. Requires that the public project be available to the community for at least one week. Two faculty members and
one outside advisor act as advisors to the project. A final presentation and discussion results in vote to recommend the acceptance or resubmission of the thesis project. 1-3 Cr.

Current MFA Student Work


photograph by Alicia Taylor

 video still from Transience by Brian Murphy

video still from Stepping on Cracks by Megan Sullivan

from Mapping/Mapping by Megan Charland

Fried Chicken from the Boo series by Juliana Muniz