Atlanta College of Art: A Legacy of Artistic Education and Evolution
The Atlanta College of Art (ACA), a once-prominent institution dedicated to fostering artistic talent, played a significant role in the cultural landscape of Atlanta for over a century. Founded in 1905 and absorbed by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in 2006, ACA left behind a rich history of artistic education, innovation, and community engagement. This article explores the evolution of ACA, from its humble beginnings to its eventual merger, highlighting its key milestones, academic offerings, and lasting impact on the art world.
Origins and Early Development
The seeds of the Atlanta College of Art were sown in 1905 with the establishment of the Atlanta Art Association, which aimed to cultivate art appreciation and education within the city. From this association emerged an art school and museum, which would later evolve into the Atlanta College of Art and the High Museum of Art, respectively.
In 1963, the college was incorporated into the Atlanta Memorial Arts Center, later called the Woodruff Arts Center on Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta, named for its primary benefactor, Robert W. The art school was accredited in 1949.
Academic Growth and Campus Life
The Atlanta College of Art was located in the Woodruff Arts Center, a multiuse art complex composed of the High Museum of Art, the Alliance Theater, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Midtown Atlanta. Ben Shute, a young alumnus of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, came to teach at ACA in 1928.
The college offered studies in the mediums of drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, digital art, sound, video, interior design, and graphic design. The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree was offered in twelve specialized disciplines, including communication design, drawing, electronic arts, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture.
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Campus facilities included a library, electronic media center, studio and classroom spaces, photography darkrooms, two exhibition spaces, a student exhibition space, and the ACA Gallery, as well as dormitory housing and a store supplying textbooks, art supplies, and computer equipment. The ACA Gallery, located in the Woodruff Arts Center, continues to be open to the public at no charge; ongoing shows rotate between faculty and student, and international, national, regional, and local artists.
Student activities included internships, volunteer opportunities, clubs, and student government.
The Art History Department at Emory University
While not directly part of the Atlanta College of Art, the Department of Art History at Emory University played a parallel role in shaping art education in Atlanta. Founded in 1965, the department quickly grew, boasting three full-time faculty members by 1967: Thomas Lyman, John Howett, and William Crelly, specializing in Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque Art respectively.
Arriving at Emory in 1966, Howett helped develop the Department of Art History and its graduate program, summer-abroad program in Europe, and collection of works of art on paper, which subsequently became part of the University's Michael C. Carlos Museum. Howett was instrumental in the decision to select Michael Graves as the architect of the Carlos Museum. In 1984, Carlos Hall underwent an A.I.A. award-winning renovation by Michael Graves, who later designed the adjacent Michael C. Carlos Museum. After having occupied a house adjacent to the campus since its beginnings, the department moved in 1970 to a temporary World War II-era facility and remained there until November 1984 when it moved into the new facilities.
The first Art History graduate course was offered in 1975, within the Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts (ILA). In the fall of 1977, the department instituted its own two-year M.A. program, consisting mainly of advanced courses and seminars that were also open to undergraduates, with a "fourth hour" offered separately to the M.A. students. Some of the students who achieved M.A. degrees in Art History during these years went on to earn Ph.D. degrees in the ILA. The first Ph.D. class was admitted in the fall of 1991, at which point students were no longer accepted for a terminal M.A. degree.
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As the department has grown and added faculty, areas of research have expanded to include the art and archaeology of ancient Greece and Rome; art of the ancient Americas, of Egypt, and of Africa; Northern Renaissance and Baroque art; and modern and contemporary art and architecture. The Department of Art History offers a graduate program that explores cultural, formal, and theoretical concerns central to the visual arts. Incoming classes are kept small to ensure a close working relationship between students and professors. A particular strength of the program is the faculty's range of research interests. Academic concentrations include the art and architecture of: ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the Americas; Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque Europe; modern and contemporary art and architecture in Europe, the United States, and Africa.
Through the department's close relationship with programs in Classics, African-American studies, African studies, women's studies, film studies, history, and comparative literature, students can readily incorporate an interdisciplinary focus into their coursework and research. The program emphasizes both broad education in the history of art and highly developed specialization. Students have the opportunity to develop teaching skills through the Teaching Assistant Training and Teaching Opportunity (TATTO) program.
In 1991, William Crelly retired, as did John Howett in 1996. All three former colleagues are now deceased: Eheu fugaces labuntur anni.
Notable Alumni and Publications
The Atlanta College of Art produced a number of notable alumni who have made significant contributions to the art world. These include:
- Radcliffe Bailey (mixed media)
- Maia Kayser (computer animator)
- Lynn Marshall-Linnemeier (photography/painting)
- Maurice Novembre (animator)
- Kara Walker (mixed media)
ARTicles, an annual journal published by the college, focused on alumni news as well as general information about the college and its exhibitions.
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Merger with SCAD
In August 2005, a significant turning point arrived when the boards of trustees of the Woodruff Arts Center and the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) formally approved the merger of ACA and SCAD. In June 2006, the two institutions combined operations at SCAD's Atlanta location.
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