Associate Professor Nicholas Jacques believes in an interactive philosophy teaching. He teaches studio art.
Jacques joined the Cabrini’s faculty in 2007 and became the director of the Grace and Joseph Gorevin Fine Arts Gallery at Cabrini. For background, Jacques grew up in the metropolitan Philadelphia area. He loved art for about his whole life, by studying drawing, painting and graphic design in college. Furthermore, Jacques holds to degrees in his specific field of interest.
Jacques holds a master’s degree in fine arts from Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, (PAFA). He holds a bachelor’s in painting from the University of Hartford; in addition, he also holds a bachelor’s in communication design from Kutztown University.
He also is curator, along with his colleague, professor Jeanne Komp, of the Cabrini art gallery. There are many pieces Jacques created and his student brought to life throughout the years. Jacques was questioned “This might sound like a strange answer but my favorite painting is one that I have not created yet. As an artist I’m always learning from my previous work in anticipation of creating something even more visually powerful and engaging,” Jacques said.
Cabrini is a Catholic school that practices social justice inside and outside the classroom. Even in art class with Nicholas Jacques, those practices are not focused on “social justice”. It is focused on aesthetic fundamentals and technical excellence. However, there are paintings that have stories that can represent social justice.
“Art can obviously take on many forms (e.g., music, film, dance, poetry) but to me, visual art (drawing, painting, sculpture) is physical work created to express the human experience. I wanted to teach drawing and painting because I knew I could teach it effectively. I hope that my students feel the same way they are ultimately the ones who could tell you if I’ve been effective or not.”, Jacques said
Emely Tavares is a business major who takes a Jacques art class. “His class is so awesome he teaches us different technical art. One thing he does do is allow us to be free in our paintings”, Tavares said. She has been in the class for almost a month and she loves every bit of Jacques and his class.
Aside from the student in the studio art class. Jacques remains at Cabrini teaching studio art.
