STUDIO ART (ART)

This introductory course focuses on learning to see and learning to translate what is seen into two dimensions. Learning to see often requires overriding what the brain knows and learning to trust one’s growing skill at visual response. Translating visual information to the page involves developing skill with line, shape, space, form, and composition. The intent is to develop a broad visual vocabulary which allows communication of the subject matter with sensitivity in charcoal, pencil, ink, and collage. This involves working from life, including the figure, and using images to clarify and enrich what we do through references to art history. Students will be responsible for purchasing a supply kit.

This course is an introduction to the concepts and the forms of three-dimensional design. It is based upon the recognition that the origins of and inspiration for much of design stems from nature. Projects will start with an idea, and then the appropriate medium will suggest itself. Students will be responsible for purchasing a supply kit.

This course is an examination of collage and assemblage — art made from the found and collected debris of the contemporary world. Questions of memory, history, fragmentation, ecology, and language will be explored in the making of collages from found, recycled, and constructed images and objects. These things that resonate with the past might suggest a collective memory for humanity, but one that is hazy at best. We will consider the public culture of mass produced objects and the autobiographical symbolism of private mementos, as we raise questions about memory, history, recycling, and reuse in relationship to material culture. These issues will be addressed in the making of collages from recovered, recycled, and constructed images and objects and in-class discussions. In addition to studio work, assignments include readings, films, and in-class presentations. Students will be responsible for purchasing a supply kit.

This course is an introductory investigation of painting. Using oil paint, students will thoroughly examine questions of composition and space, issues of light and color, and exploration of technical issues. In weekly in-studio and outside-of-class assignments, students will also consider both contemporary and historical approaches to painting. Students will be responsible for purchasing a supply kit.

The course concentrates on the drawing as an object and on the physical activity involved in making it an expressive phenomenon. Students will explore a variety of materials, ideas, formal issues, and art history, as well as natural phenomena as sources for inspiration. Work with the human figure will emphasize context and environment, and encourage the student to develop more personal attitudes toward content.

A continuation of ART 111, this course will deal with both figurative and nonfigurative approaches to painting. Depending upon the instructor’s preference, students will work with the figure, the landscape, still life, or a combination of the three. Students will be directed in more advanced painting problems using varied techniques and conceptual frameworks.

Each of these numbers designates a specific level of specialized study on a relevant topic that has been designed by the student in conjunction with a faculty member.

This upper level, field-based course is designed for juniors and seniors to explore and develop professional opportunities and apply concepts and skills learned in their coursework in studio art.

This course focuses on the issue of personal expression in drawing, and includes a reevaluation of the elements of drawing from that point of view. Working problems take into consideration the individual’s inclinations as he/she begins to formulate his/her own rationale for making art. Specific artists will be studied with a focus on the nature of the expression in their work.

This course explores advanced problems in painting. Students will be directed in a more in-depth examination of the extensive possibilities of the oil painting medium. Both abstract and figurative approaches will be explored. Emphasis is on thematic self-direction and group critiques. The focus of the course shifts annually to reflect the perspective of the faculty member teaching it.