Academy to Expand Fine Art Curriculum With New Program in Classical Sculpture

Sculpture by Joo Hee Bae

To accommodate growing student enrollment in its School of Fine Art Sculpture, the Academy of Art University is establishing a new emphasis in Fine Art Classical Sculpture. While classical sculpture recalls the works of the classical eras of Greece and Rome, the techniques of figurative realism the Greeks and Romans developed are still of vast consequence in the world of fine art.

In fact, according to Peter Schifrin, Director of the School of Fine Art Sculpture, these traditional techniques have formed the basis of fine art instruction at the Academy from the beginning. “The Academy of Art University has always been committed to instruction in traditional and classical drawing, painting and sculpture,” Schifrin said. “This new area of emphasis will allow those students who are interested in pursuing classical figurative realism to deeply and specifically focus on traditional sculpting techniques. At the same time, the Classical Sculpture program will allow students who are more interested in contemporary approaches to fine art to build their knowledge of traditional techniques, which they can use to inform their contemporary solutions.”

Life-size modeling is among the subjects students in the new Classical Sculpture program will study.

The Classical Sculpture curriculum will begin in the forthcoming fall semester, led by newly appointed Director Steve Krochman. Students will take classes in life-size portrait sculpture, écorché (basically, the study of 3D anatomy) and other studies in classical traditions and styles that celebrate the human figure.

Classical Sculpture students will also study écorché (3D anatomy).

There are presently 1764 students enrolled in the Academy’s School of Fine Art, of whom 340 are expected to take a sculpture class during the fall semester. Learn more about the School of Fine Art here.