Art outside a textbook

By Joy May

It’s one thing to view the works of great artists in textbooks but quite another to see them in person. That’s why Sarah Noble BA ’01 and seniors Tai Mullen and Heidi Leitzke traveled to Italy to study last year. The three studio art majors took their studies to a new dimension by examining art up close and spending hours each week concentrating on their own work.

Noble visited the International School of Art in Monte Castello Di Vibio, Italy, during the summer months of 2000. Mullen and Leitzke arrived to study for the fall semester. The twosome, participants in a program sponsored by American University (Washington, D.C.), studied in Corciano, a small villa-like town where students live and practice their art.

During their time in Italy — two months for Noble and four for Leitzke and Mullen — the girls took classes in art history, painting, sculpting, drawing, travel and Italian culture. Each student earned credit hours for the work and time they put into the program, including an independent study class through AU that chronicled their experiences through journaling. They also gave a presentation and slide show to their peers in the department when they returned home.

Leitzke remembered, “There’s so much to see there, like the whole history of the Renaissance and medieval art. It totally changes your perspective and the way you think about art and light. One of the most amazing things was how something here that is 100 years old is ‘old’ to us, but there, 100 years old is ‘new.’”

Noble noted that she enjoyed being immersed in her art from a different perspective. “I think experiencing a place so truly old and seeing the art there and the light and how it played in shadows on buildings and things totally affected me, especially after I left.”

But it was the intensity of the learning process that amazed them all the most. “It’s much better to learn from the art than from a textbook,” Mullen said. “We were much more focused on art rather than a multitude of liberal arts classes. With such a broad range of people and lots of personal attention from the professors, it was definitely intense. We spent three times as much time in the studio just working on projects than we do at home.”

With American University and American Goddart School professors leading the programs, along with other Italian art professors, each student benefited from a great deal of personalized attention. There were only 20 students (or less) in each class, and classes ran two or three hours a day, whereas studio time was sometimes six or seven hours.

As all-consuming as the experience sounds, the students say they were much more acclimated to what to expect because they have each traveled with the university’s Tri-S program, though Leitzke draws distinct differences between the two. “When you go for four months, you get so into the culture — much more than a two-week experience.”

Jason Knapp, chair of the AU art department, says that the cultural immersion is one reason why the university suggests that students who study abroad wait until their junior year to do so. “The benefits to students regarding this kind of study are countless, and on the order of life-changing events. Living in another culture alone is of inestimable value, but add to that the chance to make art inspired by historical cities, monuments and cultures, and you have a recipe for profound personal growth. “Our students find that the challenges — physical, intellectual and spiritual — call them toward a new kind of citizenship in the world. The idea that this experience may be a blessing on the rest of one’s life is one that our students are proving to be real.”

Noble, Leitzke and Mullen aren’t the first students who have studied abroad from the art department. Knapp says the idea caught on a few years ago when two students studied for a semester in Florence, Italy. Since then, AU art students have enjoyed internship opportunities in places like New Zealand and England. Additionally, while there is no art department scholarship funding for this kind of study, the Tri-S program can offer some financial assistance to students who choose this study option.

According to Willi Kant, director of the Tri-S program, the university can offer a student up to $3,000 for one semester of study. “The funds are allocated on the basis of financial need, academic standing, relevancy of the study abroad to the student’s degree program and availability of funds.” Both Leitzke and Mullen received some monies toward the cost of tuition to receive credit for their work.

And the trip was expensive. For the entire two-month trip, including food, room and travel costs, Noble spent $3,500. That didn’t include the price of side trips to Rome or other areas, or the museums and other opportunities she had for other art exposure. Leitzke and Mullen spent more in the range of twice to three times that amount.

Regardless of the price, all three agree that they would like to visit again. “I know I’ll go back,” Mullen said. “The art world is so small, and so I definitely want to travel abroad again. However, I don’t think we take advantage of what we have here either. The United States is full of art resources too, if you know where to look. Coming back from places like that where art has been preserved in such a manner makes you appreciate what you have when you come home. But I know that I have a better perspective for the bigger picture now … this has helped me find my own voice.”