Fine arts students spend hours perfecting artwork for presentation to review board

By Jeremy Gatlin

gatlinj@thejohnsonian.com

Freshmen graphic design majors Alex Albrecht and Emma Hershberger work on projects in Rutledge. Fine arts majors have to present projects to a review board before they can take higher-level art classes. Photo by Stepahnie Eaton • eatons@thejohnsonian.comIt’s well-known that the artist is his or her toughest critic. 

However, when it comes to the design and fine arts students, their toughest critic is the Specialization Portfolio Review. 

The review is interchangeably called SPR or SPEC. It is the application process to higher-level courses. Students have to register for SPEC and go before a board made up of assistant professors and department chairs. 

At the end of sophomore year, students must meet with the board at a designated location in order to defend their work and to have the board assess it. The students must pass in order to take 300- level courses. 

“They must produce a powerpoint of their artwork and examples of critical thinking and writing,” Tom Stanley, the department chair of fine arts, said. Stanley said the students must show their ability to talk about their work and that they are engaged in it. 

“It can get intense,” said illustration major Matt Andrews. 

“You have to mount everything and make improvements while preparing for other exams,” Andrews said. 

If any of the students fail, Stanley said, they are encouraged to go through the review again the next semester. 

Vanessa Thompson, illustration major, didn’t pass the first time she went before the board. 

“I went through multiple times and passed in December,” Thompson said.

She said she prepared for SPEC during the summer by making improvements on past projects while maintaining a job and barely getting any sleep.

Many art students spend hours in Rutledge preparing for the SPEC review, including Alex Albrecht, freshman graphic design major. In order to register for higher-level art classes, students must show their work before a board of assistant professors and department chairs. Photo by Stephanie Eaton • eatons@thejohnsonian.com.“I worked my butt off my freshman and sophomore years in order to make sure I was putting my best work forward,” said 20-year-old junior graphic design major Tori McLean.

“I spent weeks redoing projects and burned the midnight oil in preparation,” McLean said.

Despite the long hours and sleep deprivation that go into preparing for SPEC, some students found it to be a positive experience.

“It’s good to look at specialization review as an opportunity to get constructive criticism on your work rather than viewing it as an impossible feat,” said 20-year-old graphic design major Laurel Welch.

Thompson said going through SPEC helped her improve her craft and knowledge of design and illustration.

“I discovered how much perseverance I had and what a great work ethic I had,” Thompson said.

SPEC may be nerve-racking to some art students, but it conditions those who are dedicated to their craft.