Sculpture + Expanded Media Courses

Aesthetics, Style + Content

Course No. VAT 300  Credits: 3.0

Aesthetics Style and Content focuses primarily, on the acquisition of creative and technical skills in the context of the development of original ideas and personal style. Studio work will consist of the practical exploration of the relationship between formal, technical, aesthetic, and stylistic issues relative to the personal, and thematic subjects of the students own choosing. Relative to this, in the seminar portion of the course the students are given critical, theoretical, philosophical background to issues surrounding the subjects of style, aesthetics and content. In the studio the students are encouraged to think of their work as an integrative whole consisting of these various components. In this context they are required to engage in independent critical research on topics relevant to their work. Their research takes the form of both archival and studio work and is presented in both visual and written form. This course is required for all senior students in Visual Arts. 3 credits.

Critical Conversations â€" Art in Practice

Course No. VAT 316  Credits: 3.0

In this studio/seminar class, each student will delve into the work of one contemporary artist. Students will select their research subject from a prominent contemporary collection, experiencing the work in-person. Through a balance of artmaking and research, students will investigate: How does the artist I’ve selected create their work? As an emerging artist, what can I learn from this accomplished artist’s approach to artmaking and their professional practice? How does the broader culture view this artist’s work? How can my day-to-day studio practice reflect this learning? Students will sharpen their critical inquiry skills through material investigations, research of artists’ writings, and reflections on history’s impact on the accomplished artist’s ideas. The semester’s work will culminate in a final public, professional presentation of the students’ studio work and research. Open to all students. 3 credits.

Hybrid Approaches to Drawing + Painting: Digital Media

Course No. VAT 327  Credits: 3.0

Emphasis is on integrating digital processes into studio practice and production. The class deals with a spectrum of digital applications in a studio practice including straightforward digital output, using digital as a means of producing source material as well as actually integrating digital processes into the production of work. Through slide presentations, viewing actual work, discussions and readings, students will be introduced to the place of the digital in contemporary studio practice. In studio production, students will use varied media and subjects, both traditional and non-traditional, to further develop their analytical and expressive means in their creative practice. Students are encouraged to draw from many disciplines incorporating them in the projects presented to the class for group critiques. Open to all students â€" required of Printmaking and Drawing juniors. 3 credits.

Popular Culture + Imagery

Course No. VAT 327P  Credits: 3.0

This course will explore the symbiotic relationship of art and culture, and the particular ways in which popular and material culture influence the visual arts and vice versa NOW (if there are indeed any particular ways that stand out in this particular time as opposed to a different time in history). Students will learn to discern both the overt and covert affects/effects of culture on contemporary artists as well as on their own work and that of their peers. Students in order to take part in relevant classroom conversation/discussion need a working knowledge of current events/ history/popular culture and will need to be ready to read and do research, etc. Open to all Students. 3 credits.

Criticism as Studio Practice

Course No. VAT 341  Credits: 3.0

This course will be of interest to all students maintaining a studio practice and focuses on the role of critical dialogue in forming and informing studio production. Through modern and contemporary models, students will be asked to consider the relationship between what is critically said about a work of art and how that frame effects the work’s standing in the world. Examples to be considered will include: Apollinaire and Picasso; Pollock and Greenberg; Andy Warhol’s practice; Andre Serrano’s Piss Christ; Robert Mapplethorpe’s work; Chris Ofili and the Young British Artists; and the television show “Work of Art.� Students will develop and participate in projects extending from these models as well as giving an intensive look at their own practices and how what they make is changed by the critical dialogue which surrounds making in an academic environment. Open to all students. 3 credits.

Role of the Artist as Producer (EP)

Course No. VAT 400  Credits: 3.0

Contemporary artists have a multitude of ways they can engage with the larger world, beyond the realm of the gallery or museum. Students enrolled in this course will explore various models of artistic production including, but not limited to, performer, activist, curator and provocateur. The relationship between method of creation and idea, or the handmade versus the industrial, will be investigated. Additionally, assignments will challenge students to analyze the content of their artwork within local, national, and global contexts. Coursework will include studio work, readings, discussion, and critiques. Required for Visual Art juniors in all majors. Open as an elective with approval of instructor. 3 credits.

Performance Art

Course No. VAT 480  Credits: 3.0

Performance art is and has been an open genre, a place to experiment with ideas, materials and time. For this course, the working definition of “performance artâ€� is â€" a piece which uses a live body, exists in time, and is non-linear. This class is an introduction to performance art designed for students who are shy and apprehensive about performing and students who are extroverted and at ease in front of groups. Workshops include: developing a language of movement, gesture, and stance; developing a range of low-tech sound, lighting and video; juxtaposing activity, image, sound and text; structuring or building a piece; and documentation. We will consider singular actions, interventions and other strategies for generating and developing ideas for performance work. Student work for this class has been diverse and has included costume-based work, work using endurance as a central tactic, collaborative work, public intervention, interactive and site-specific work. Skills in editing video and sound, installation, animation are useful, but not required. 3 credits.

BFA Statement + Exhibition

Course No. VAT 493  Credits: 3.0

This course is meant to supplement the work done in the student's major studio classes. It focuses on preparing the BFA candidate for their exhibition, BFA Thesis Paper, Short Artist's Statement and BFA Thesis Examination. The BFA Review process is comprised of four components: - Documentation - Exhibition - BFA Thesis Paper and Short Artist's Statement (Abstract) - BFA Thesis Examination (Oral Defense/Review) As part of the course these requirements will be reviewed in technical terms as well as in the context of professional practices in general. The BFA Thesis Paper is meant to prepare the student for their BFA Thesis Examination and to provide the foundation for professional practices beyond graduation. It is an opportunity for an in-depth consideration of work and studio practice. Within the paper and among other questions, students are expected to address: "What is the work? What is the reasonable expectation for how it will be received by a given audience? What is the work's historical and contemporary context? What are the sources for the work? What choices were made in realizing the work and how do they contribute to the reception of the work?" This course is open to all seniors regardless of major and is required by all Visual Arts seniors. 3 credits.