Liberal Arts

Role of the Artist as Producer

Course No. VAT400.1  Credits: 3
Faculty Lane Cooper | Tommy White

Today artist not only make things Ð they produce and practice in a wide array of fields and contexts. . Artist as Producer asks the students to consider relative to their production the students to question what it means to be an artist, and what is their models of what an artists is and what role an artist plays in is in the world. The intent is to move them beyond the idea that what an artist does is limited to what they produce for exhibitions in galleries, and museums. We seek to explicate that artists today might work for large corporations, clean up a brown fields site, curate exhibitions, others hire fabricators or have assists who all or part of the work, which is part of the concept behind the work. This course is designed to stimulate the student to look both inward and out ward. Motivate them to ask themselves what does it means to make artwork in a local, regional, national and a globalized cultural context? What can we call local in an age of Google and Art Basel? And, what can happen to the reception of images when they cross cultural boundaries? Subsequently, students are encouraged to experiment with their work relative to the notion of audience, the inter relationship between meaning and production, the value of labor, the match up of process and idea, hand made versus industrially Coursework will include studio, readings, discussion, critiques, etc. Required for all fall semester VATe Seniors in all majors, open as an elective with approval by instructor. 3 credits.