Professor Hill earned his BFA in drawing from the Atlanta College of Art and his MFA in painting and printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design. He teaches drawing, painting and printmaking. His work appropriates imagery and techniques from pop culture and modernist works of art. In using well-known childhood imagery such as super heroes, toys and ray guns he creates paintings that revolve around issues of masculinity and male rites of passage.
Artist's statement: "In my studio and inside my classroom, art making is examined both as language and as craft. The visual language addresses the use of cultural signifiers, symbols and metaphors in the content and structure of the image. My students are not only taught to make images but also to read images in order to develop their visual literacy. They are taught to examine the social, cultural and historical contexts within their work. This understanding enables the expression of meaningful communication, both personal and shared. It is my goal to foster an understanding of the world through the study of art in order to engage with the world in a meaningful way."
Areas of Expertise
Painting, drawing, printmaking.
Education
2001 — Master of Fine Arts from Rhode Island School of Design
2001 — Collegiate Teaching Certificate from Brown University
1997 — Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Atlanta College of Art
Courses Recently Taught
After a century of development, cartoons, comic books, graphic novels and self-published zines are finding their potency and maturity as serious art forms. These cartoon-based mediums form collaboration between image and text, blending the shape and arc of classic literature with the conventions of visual storytelling. This course provides a solid foundation of ideas and methods for drawing and writing cartoons, comics, zines and graphic novels with an emphasis on effective characterization, plot progression and narrative structure. Students learn how to adapt writing to a comic through storyboarding; create a detailed script for dialogue, setting and action; and explore the interactive development of text and image. Required and recommended readings supplement the creative assignments. Class meetings consist of technical drawing demonstrations, writing and drawing exercises, and discussions for weekly assignments and longer projects. This counts toward the intermediate course requirement for the major. Prerequisite: ARTS 102. Offered every other year.
This course is an introduction to the fundamental principles of painting. The course begins with an investigation into painting materials and how they influence ideas. Students explore color, composition and surface development on board, panel and canvas, while focusing on a wide range of basic approaches to oil painting. We utilize traditional and nontraditional contemporary methods to address the historically established genres of still life, landscape and portraiture. Visual literacy and conceptual growth are essential. Teacher presentations, group critiques, student reports and readings along with individual instruction help the student to develop original concepts. This counts toward the intermediate course requirement for the major. Prerequisite: ARTS 102 or 106. Offered once a year.
This course is intended to introduce monoprint and monotype techniques. These processes, as they relate to painting and drawing, are immediate, tactile and low-tech. A primary advantage is that it allows working a single idea in multiples. It is unique in that there can never be an exact edition of a single image. We begin with painting oil paint or ink onto Plexiglas and progress to viscosity color printing. Students learn to layer the surface and build up the image from many printings. They also have the opportunity to produce monoprints in drypoint, collograph techniques and continue printing with other methods such as collage, photo image transfer and embossing. This counts toward the intermediate course requirement for the major. Prerequisite: ARTS 102.
This course provides an overview of some of the most direct and fundamental forms of mechanical reproduction. A balance between technical mastery and imaginative visual exploration is the goal throughout. The processes employed during the semester combine aspects of drawing and painting, as well as a sculptural physicality, giving students the opportunity to explore and experiment with various combinations of visual processes. Students are challenged to synthesize and internalize diverse aesthetic approaches, while working to formulate a personal vision. All students give presentations on modern and contemporary artists. Techniques include monotype, woodcut, linoleum print, dry-point and intaglio. This counts toward the intermediate course requirement for the major. Prerequisite: ARTS 102, 103, 106 or 107. Offered once a year.
This class is an intensive studio course that explores painting as a means of investigating and developing personally meaningful imagery. As an introduction, we examine the parallel ideas of art for art's sake and art for the people, as well as the evolution of American painting from the early 20th century to the present. Throughout the semester, we study the work of contemporary painters. Students are expected to master a wide range of visual vocabularies and approach painting from a variety of aesthetic points of view. Through structured problem-solving assignments, students are encouraged to find ways of addressing common experiences as well as developing independent work. These assignments are designed to assist in expanding perceptions and imagination, and translating them into painted images. Group and one-on-one critiques help develop critical thinking and the ability to articulate ideas about art. This counts toward the intermediate course requirement for the major. Prerequisite: ARTS 102, 106, 250 or 345. Offered once a year.
This first semester of a two-semester sequence is designed to enable students to develop their personal artistic vision based on the foundation of introductory and intermediate studio art courses. Students are expected to develop a self-generated body of creative work based on a concentrated investigation of materials, methods and ideas. They develop oral and written presentation and research skills as they work toward a professional exhibition in the second semester. Critiques, discussions, presentations and readings provide context and feedback for this process. Students learn to develop the elements necessary for professional exhibition of a cohesive body of work, including developing ideas, writing an artist's statement and resume, and perfecting presentation skills. Studio art majors are expected to take this class and ARTS 481 with two different faculty members. This course is required for studio art majors. Senior art majors only. Offered every fall.
This course is designed to enable students to further develop their personal artistic vision based on the foundation of their earlier studio courses and ARTS 480. Well into their senior projects at the start of the semester, students continue to refine their concepts and skills into a cohesive body of work for exhibition at the end of the semester. Critiques, discussions and presentations continue to amplify the studio experience. Professional presentation, writing artistic statements and resumes, and visual documentation skills are part of the course. The Senior Capstone, an exhibition required of studio art majors, includes artwork made during this course. This course is required for studio art majors. Prerequisite: ARTS 480. Senior art majors only. Offered every spring.
The studio art faculty does not recommend individual study because we feel it is important for students to work in the context of other student artists. We understand, however, that on rare occasions an individual study may be appropriate. Individual study must be approved by the department according to the following guidelines: it should be undertaken only when a student has exhausted all the options for that medium in the regular curriculum. The subject for an individual study must be in a discipline in which the faculty member has expertise. When possible, the individual study student should participate in some aspects of a course working in a similar medium in the faculty member's field in order to gain feedback from other students. The student is responsible for writing a contract and maintaining a schedule. Because students must enroll for individual studies by the end of the seventh class day of each semester, they should begin discussion of the proposed individual study by the semester before, so that there is time to devise the proposal and seek departmental approval before the registrar’s deadline. An individual study does not count toward the requirements for the major; it is considered an extra course.