Department of Art, Architecture + Art History

It’s 2 a.m. and first-year Lucan Rhatigan works diligently on his canvas — a plethora of paint bottles and dirty brushes lying on the table beside him. These precious hours are among the few he has to bring his vision to life.

This past fall, twenty intrepid architecture students embarked on a writer’s workshop-style seminar that aimed to further their understanding of San Diego through the research and writing of architecture criticism. Led by Lecturer Megan Groth, MArch, MSc, the Arch 330: Writing the City course teaches students how to analyze a built environment, connecting design practice with a context for how and why things are built.

The USD College of Arts and Sciences released its third annual Arts & Sciences magazine this fall. In the pages of this magazine, you will explore the impact of the liberal arts, discover current faculty research, and be inspired by student, faculty and alumni spotlights. From Soil to Sound: How Faculty and Students in the College of Arts and Sciences Are Reimagining Scholarship Through Real-World Inquiry by Julene Snyder Dean Noelle Norton sees research as one of the key elements that binds the College of Arts and Sciences together. “We provide a very robust undergraduate research model,” she says. “Students can work in a laboratory, or work on doing archival research or data collection and develop a variety of research skills while being mentored by faculty.” 

Associate Professor of Visual Arts Matt Rich, MFA, has just unveiled a new mural, Ampersand, located at 7744 Fay Avenue in downtown La Jolla, San Diego. Drawing from his style of mixed media, Rich conveys openness, continuation and exchange that is created through the “&” symbol. This mural, like many of his other works, is a collage made with a range of materials  including painted and cut canvas, crushed aluminum foil, as well as pastels, gouache and spray paint on cut paper. 

At age 13, Bob O’Connell ’82 bought a watercolor by Native American painter Pete Peterson. That first step, in a lifetime of collecting art, led to a career investigating theft of artworks for clients — including other collectors, museums and the famed insurance market Lloyd’s of London. His enthusiasm as a champion of the arts has only grown stronger through the years.