• Home
• Program & Facilities
• Gallery of Student Work
• Faculty
• Alumni
• Events
• Connections

Program & Facilities

Students have individual workstations where light tables, storage space, book presses and paper cutters are available. They enjoy the full use of the university's well-equipped studios and specialized facilities, including studios for papermaking, non-silver photography, bookbinding, water-based screenprinting, letterpress, intaglio and relief printing, stone and plate lithography, and offset lithography. Stationary vertical and portable book presses, a board shear, table-top shears, and a guillotine paper cutter are available for bookbinding.

Letterpress facilities include five Vandercook proof presses, a photopolymer platemaking system, and over 600 drawers of monotype, foundry and wood type. Five etching presses and four lithography presses are available for printing.

Besides an ATF-Davidson offset press in the offset lithography pressroom, students have access to the Borowsky Center for Publication Arts, equipped with a Heidelberg KORS offset press and a full darkroom for experimental and production printing. An imaging lab houses a darkroom equipped with enlargers, horizontal and vertical copy-cameras, a large format digital printer, and a state-of-the art filmsetting system integrated with the University's Macintosh computer labs. In a graduate resource room students can find book structure models, books, journals, and newsletters relating to book arts and printmaking, and professional materials on book artists, presses, and programs.

Students also have access to many of the University's other extensive facilities, including state-of-the-art computers, galleries, and the Greenfield Library, whose visual art collection (books, periodicals, and slides) is one of the largest among the nation's visual art schools. Its special collection of artists' books is used as a valuable teaching resource.

Internships

Students frequently choose to use their elective credits for internships in professional laboratories and organizations. Internships in galleries and non-profit print and book centers have included The Print Center, The Fabric Workshop and Museum, the San Francisco Center for the Book, and the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Students are welcome as interns in many prestigious conservation labs, among them, the American Philosophical Society, The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Visiting Artists and Critics

The MFA Program invites internationally recognized visiting artists and critics to give workshops, have exhibitions, speak about their work, address issues of entry into the profession, and critique the work of students. They bring diversity and specialized expertise and ensure a constant exchange of ideas.

Visiting book artists who have offered workshops have included writers/artists Betsy Davids, Warren Lehrer and Susan King, artist Jim Trissel, bookbinders Don Rash and Jace Graff, and bookbinder and artist Daniel Kelm. Artist Sas Colby, artist and author of Postmodern Currents Margot Lovejoy, and artist and Director of Pyramid Atlantic Helen Frederick are among those who have also had exhibitions. Artists who have critiqued the work of second-year MFA students have included MacArthur Fellow and book artist Claire Van Vliet, critic Nancy Princenthal, book artist Doug Beube, critic and book artist Johanna Drucker, and book and installation artist Karen Wirth. Timothy Ely, Buzz Spector, Dick Higgins, Ron King, Walter Hamady, and Brad Freeman are among the many artists who have been visiting lecturers.

Distinguished artists are frequently invited to produce books or prints in the Borowsky Center for Publication Arts; students are welcome to observe or assist in the printing process. These artists have included Fluxus artist Davi Det Hompson, multimedia artist Toni Dove, book artist Carol Barton, photographer Bea Nettles, printmakers John Risseeuw and Warrington Colescott, Karen Kunc, and artist and Curator of Special Projects in Modern Art at the National Gallery Ruth Fine.

Curriculum & Credit Requirements

Studio Courses

Book Arts Studio: Concept, Image Type (first semester)
The student is introduced to practical and conceptual concerns intrinsic to the production of books and prints. Emphasis is on both print processes, including hands-on experience with letterpress, lithography (plate and offset) and digital printmaking, and conceptual/production processes, including creating dummies and pre press work. Conceptual explorations further the development of the student’s visual language.

Book Arts Studio: Color/Mark (first semester)
The student is provided with a broad range of image-making approaches. Personal imagery is investigated through various printmaking and drawing techniques.

Book Arts Studio: Projects (second semester)
Building on what has been learned in the previous semester, the student continues to develop his or her skills and techniques and explore particular interests in the creation of several works.

Thesis Studio I and II (third and fourth semesters)
In the third semester, in conjunction with the faculty advisor, the MFA candidate develops an individual course of study and defines the projects, in preparation for the required thesis exhibition. In the fourth semester the student develops and executes that exhibition, one that constitutes a mature body of work.

Bookbinding (all four semesters)
Basic book structures are explored in the first semester with emphasis on sound conservation techniques and good craftsmanship. In the second semester historic book structures serve as models and departure points for innovative bindings. In the third semester, investigation of the book structure at an advanced technical level continues. Through critiques and individual instruction, the fourth semester is devoted to developing structures that support thesis work.

Departmental Colloquia

Colloquium: Text and Image (first semester)
The focus is on the development of the student’s sensitivity to language and verbal constructs and an understanding of the relation of text to image and structure. The course also supports the development of the student’s creative writing, in particular in the context of artists’ books.

Colloquium: The Artist’s Book (first semester)
Semester 1. The student is introduced to the history of the artist’s book and investigates the artist’s book as a complex art form. Classes consist of discussing readings and examining artists’ books in Special Collections in various libraries and institutions.

Colloquium: History of the Book (second semester)
This course provides hands-on study of rare books and manuscripts from antiquity to the present, with discussions dealing with their structural, historical, and artistic significance. The class meets at the Library Company of Philadelphia, with field trips to local Special Collections.

Colloquium: Professional Practices (third and fourth semesters)
In the first semester, professional practices and issues related to the fields of printmaking and book and publication arts are explored through visiting lecturers, discussions, and field trips. In the second semester the course focuses on the completion of the student’s professional portfolio.

University Seminars

University Seminar: Structure and Metaphor (second semester)
In this interdisciplinary seminar students from the various graduate programs examine theoretical issues of structure and metaphor in relation to art and design.

University Seminar: Art and Design in Society (third semester)
In this second interdisciplinary course students from all the graduate programs examine theoretical issues relating to the place of art and design in society.

University Seminar: Criticism (fourth semester)
Advanced graduate students from the various disciplines in the visual arts further examine the nature of image-making with particular attention to the theories and applications of criticism.

Electives

All four semesters. A choice of courses in any art or liberal arts area.