He’s spent more than 100 hours studying single pieces of artwork but said he still hasn’t seen it all.
Art Professor Glen Blakley will guide the 39th Dixie State University Art Department Museum Field Trip from Oct. 23 to 26. Based in the Los Angeles area, the trips have provided more than 19,000 DSU students from numerous study disciplines the opportunity to observe and analyze major works of art, he said.
As the trip nears, students interested must contact Blakley as soon as possible. Dixie State University offers specific classes students can enroll in to both prepare and immerse themselves in art they’ll see in Los Angeles, but Blakley said all people can join.
Although just four days long, the trips provide attendees as many opportunities as a semester-long course can, he said.
“For a lot of students, it is equivalent to a whole year of school – not because of what we do, but because of the experience and how it changes them and just seeing that there is so much more than they ever thought,” Blakley said.
Recent graduate Anna Oakden said she’s attended 12 Los Angeles art trips since enrolling at DSU. Visits to various southern California art museums, conversation with other students and Blakley on the tour bus, and a chance to visit Disneyland the Saturday of the trip make for an all-encompassing experience.
“When I started school here, I had little very knowledge of art, and my first semester here, I went on the art trip,” Oakden said. “As I’ve grown as an artist, I’ve had that experience the whole way with the art trips with Glen.”
The itinerary includes visits to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Getty Villa and Forest Lawn — among other museums. Attendees should expect to see works worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and the collections feature work by Vincent Van Gogh and Rembrandt, Blakley said.
Blakley said the trips impact more aspects at DSU than students can imagine. They help pay for buses that various athletic teams use for away games and help improve student retention by giving students a more hands-on approach to education.
“Too often, we lose kids at the college because they don’t get the experience of feeling like they’re part of the school or part of a family,” he said. “It’s just school, and school is boring, but life is not, and living is not, and learning is not. They learn how to experience these things in a way that’s exciting.”
The cost to attend the trip is $295 for a room with four people, $390 for two-people accommodations and $499 for a single room. The price includes the bus ride, hotel rooms and all museum admissions.
Students interested in attending the field trip should contact Blakley immediately either through email, [email protected], or by stopping at his office in the North Plaza building. Blakley said students can also ask about attending the San Francisco and Europe art trips that happen next year.