<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0LFsRu_1H0i78Ub00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0LFsRu_1H0i78Ub00" width="1763" height="1175" ><figcaption>University of Montana graduate student Jean Marshall helps set up a piece of fabric as a part of the Soft Monuments project on Nov. 4. Marshall believes the school’s name change was unnecessary. Parker Howery / Montana Kaimin</figcaption></figure>The School of Art and Game Design changed names from the School of Visual and Media Arts this year, and some art students have complaints.According to Steven Krutek, the school’s director, the School of Visual and Media Arts had been the name since 2019. In addition to the new name, Krutek said graduate students will be seeing other changes. The graduate critique and pedagogy courses are no longer separated between art students and game design students, creating more interaction between the disciplines. Fine arts graduate students are also expected to present to tenured faculty at the midway point of their degree, but game design graduate students haven’t had that requirement because their creation process is different. That may change with the new integration, but Krutek said they are not sure if or how the requirements could differ. This is also not the first time the school has changed its name, Krutek said. “There’s been a lot of metamorphosis with the name as we change our identity, but I think that’s important,” Krutek said. “I think we should be changing as a school and what we offer.” Michael Cassens, a professor of game design and interactive media, said the purpose of the new name being the School of Art and Game Design is to draw more attention to the University of Montana’s game design program. “With better clarity and visibility, we’re hopeful that those who might be interested in game design would find us more easily because it is a program that is unique in the area,” Cassens said. “It’s the only one in the state of Montana, and it is something that we’re really proud of.” UM has 62 undergraduate, eight graduate and six certificate game design students, Cassens said. According to the UM website, the School of Art and Game Design teaches over 1,000 students total each year. Jean Marshall, a 25-year-old graduate art student from Spokane, Washington, said she thinks the name change was unnecessary. She said that game design is art, but it’s strange to highlight it in the name of the school. “What if we were the School of Art and Sculpture, the School of Art and Raku Firing? Why do we have this new name? And when I’m graduating, do I want to be associated with game design?” Marshall said. Shea Sidner, a 22-year-old senior from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, said she doesn’t mind the new name, but wishes that the collaboration with game design led to more access to technology for art students. “I find it frustrating that we’re making this shift more towards technology-focused when we don’t even have art scanners,” Sidner said. The students can pay to use scanners in the Mansfield Library to digitize their artwork when staff is available, however, Sidner said they aren’t good quality. “The pixels aren’t art grade, and it messes up your color and resolution, and then you don’t get as quality scans of your art,” Sidner said. “If you aren’t, in this day and age, digitalizing your art constantly, you’re falling behind.” Marshall said she doesn’t like the combined critique class, because art and game design students don’t know how to critique each other. “It’s hard to get feedback from a game design student, and it’s weird to give feedback to a game design student,” Marshall said. Ashley Rezvani, an assistant professor of game design and interactive media, said that game design students interacting with other art students is exciting. “That sort of interdisciplinary exchange is only going to add to their education and never detract from it,” Rezvani said. Krutek, the director of the school, also said that the degrees themselves could change in the future. Currently, the School of Art and Game Design undergraduate students can earn specific degrees like a Bachelor of Fine Arts in media arts, but in the future, that could change to a BFA in art with a concentration in media arts. “We haven’t put forth the changes formally with the Office of Commissioner of Higher Education,” Krutek said. “The diploma will be the same for everybody who started up until this fall, and it might not even be implemented by next fall.” Elsie Spomer, a 23-year-old graduate art student from Powell, Wyoming, said she hopes the process of combining arts more with game design will smooth out soon. “If the program continues to struggle to get this integration happening, there could be some faults when it comes to maintaining a really solid program, especially for graduates,” Spomer said. “This might be greedy or selfish, but I don’t want to graduate from a program that is struggling and [have] all of my references come from a program that’s struggling.”</div></body>

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The School of Art and Game Design changed names from the School of Visual and Media Arts this year, and some art students have complaints. According to Steven Krutek, the school’s director, the School of Visual and Media Arts had been the name since 2019. In addition to the new name, Krutek said graduate students will be seeing other changes. The graduate critique and pedagogy courses are no longer separated between art students and game design students, creating more interaction between the disciplines. Fine arts graduate students are also expected to present to tenured faculty at the midway point of their degree, but game design graduate students haven’t had that requirement because their creation process is different. That may change with the new integration, but Krutek said they are not sure if or how the requirements could differ.

Students react to art school name change

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The School of Art and Game Design changed names from the School of Visual and Media Arts this year, and some art students have complaints. According to Ste

Students react to art school name change

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