| DEPARTMENT OF ART AND ART HISTORY 

COURSE LIST

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN (ART)

ARCHITECTURAL STUDIO I: INTRODUCTION TO DRAFTING AND PROGRAMMATIC DESIGN. Introduction to fundamentals of architectural drafting (drawing plans, sections, elevations, mechanical perspective, rendering) and principles of design (design to a program, formal systems). Material is presented in terms of one long and one or two short projects.
ARCHITECTURAL STUDIO II: HISTORICAL DESIGN. Five or six short design projects in the formal vocabularies of Neo-Classicism, Baroque, Gothic, and early Modern.
ARCHITECTURAL STUDIO III: MODERN STRUCTURES. Empirical and intuitive introduction to construction and structures with four to six design projects in different media.
DESIGN I. An introduction to the history, theory and practice of design. This course deals with the analysis of visual perception directed toward understanding the expressive nature of creative design. The objective of this course is to encourage visual awareness and to promote the development of various skills necessary to visualize personal design concepts.
DESIGN II. Refinement and elaboration of the basic design concepts and skills presented in Design I. Professional standards for documentation and presentation will be stressed.
HONORS/SENIOR RESEARCH IN STUDIO ART. Intended for honors work. At least six semester hours of work over two semesters (beginning spring junior year or fall senior year) on a single project. At the invitation of the instructor and approval of the department.


STUDIO ART (ART)

DRAWING I. A study of the nature of drawing as visual language with an emphasis upon descriptive rendering.
DRAWING II. Figure drawing with an emphasis on the enduring historical and aesthetic significance of figurative art. Models will be provided for the study of proportion, structure and articulation of the human body as well as the formal means toward expressive drawing. Non-figurative concepts will be studied through independent work. Various media.
DRAWING III. A course in figure drawing and non-figurative contemporary drawing. The course is an extension of the figurative concepts introduced in Drawing II, with a greater emphasis on understanding the structure of the human body. Other related topics are covered and vary with the interests of the class members.
PRINTMAKING: INTAGLIO. A beginning study of fundamental techniques, history and theory of intaglio prints (etching, aquatint, soft ground, drypoint). Black and white and color. The assignments are designed to explore creative, technical and formal means toward expressive form.
PRINTMAKING: LITHOGRAPHY. A beginning study of fundamental techniques, history and theory of lithographic prints. Black and white and color. The assignments are designed to explore creative, technical and formal means toward expressive form.
SCULPTURE: FIGURATIVE. A studio course that introduces the study of the methods, materials and tools of sculpture and general concepts of sculptural forms. A significant portion of this course is devoted to the study of figure structure via clay, wax, wood and/or stone. Students are expected to work toward innovation and extension of the figure as image.
SCULPTURE: ABSTRACT. The study and manipulation of space, form and construction process available to the contemporary artist. Assignments emphasize an investigation of the expressive qualities of form in space.
SCULPTURE: STUDIO SEMINAR. An examination and discussion of intersections of aesthetic, intellectual and societal issues in contemporary sculpture. Topics develop from the needs and interests of the students relevant to their own artwork. It is expected that the work produced in this course will constitute the portfolio required for the Portfolio Review for studio art majors.
CERAMICS: HAND-FORMING. A study of various forming methods used in the production of pottery with an emphasis on hand-building. Other topics include: ceramic materials and their use; low-fire and mid-range clay and glaze formulation; decorating techniques; studio procedures; a general survey of the history of pottery; theory; and criticism.
CERAMICS: WHEEL-FORMING. A study of the various methods used in the production of pottery with an emphasis on wheel-forming techniques. Other topics include: decorating techniques; high-fire clay and glaze formulation; and the history, theory and criticism of pottery with an emphasis on the modern period (c. 1850-1970).
CERAMICS: STUDIO SEMINAR. In this course, students are encouraged to pursue personal concepts and ideas directed toward the production of a cohesive body of work. In consultation with the instructor, students will develop individual research and creative projects and are expected to be able to work independently. The work produced in this studio will constitute the portfolio required for the BA Portfolio Review in Studio Art and serves as the capstone experience.
CERAMICS: RAKU. Various pottery forming techniques will be considered including basic hand-building and wheel-forming, firing the kiln, and simple glaze formulation. The aesthetic theory that informs this approach to making pottery will be discussed, and the history of raku will be covered.
REPRESENTATIONAL PAINTING. A beginning studio course emphasizing the production of paintings that relate to the history and theory of art in various styles including realism and expressionism. This course takes an historical approach to materials and technique, traditional practices, as well as the use of representational ideas in contemporary art. Students are encouraged to find expressive forms. No previous experience required.
ABSTRACT PAINTING. A beginning studio course emphasizing the production of paintings that relate to the history and theory of art in various abstract styles. This course takes an historical approach to materials and technique, abstract painting practices, as well as the use of ideas in contemporary abstract art. Students are encouraged to find expressive forms suited to their best ideas. No previous experience required.
PAINTING: STUDIO SEMINAR. Primarily a studio class, the seminar provides an examination of recent developments in contemporary art, as they relate to intellectual, aesthetic and societal trends. Students are encouraged to develop a coherent body of paintings, drawings or prints which explore their own creative interests in current art issues. In consultation with the professor, research topics vary from semester to semester with the personal aesthetic interest of the student. Work produced for this course normally constitutes the material for the portfolio review capstone.
COMPUTER IMAGING. A studio art course that introduces the application and integration of three-dimensional modeling software that can be used to create and animate two- and three-dimensional forms. This course will use a variety of modeling software, including Adobe Photoshop, to create artworks. Students are expected to work toward innovation and expression of form in an animated or still image format.
PHOTOGRAPHY I. An introduction to the history, theory and basic procedures of black and white still photography. Assignments emphasize the development of compositional and critical skills in producing an expressive image.
PHOTOGRAPHY II. An advanced study of a variety of photographic techniques for both black and white and color process. Assignments emphasize experimentation, individual development of compositional design, and critical and analytical skills.
COMPUTER ANIMATION. A studio art course that emphasizes artistic and aesthetic creativity in using computer animation and modeling techniques as a form of visual expression. The history and theory of animation, varieties of narrative, visual animated expressions and types of animation software will be covered. Students will be required to produce an original short piece of animation work informed by theoretical study and showing evidence of artistic skill in using 3D modeling software to communicate a visual statement. Students are expected to take their project through research and script revisions to storyboard stage and into production. Critiques will be conducted during the semester offering the opportunity to present ideas, project development and work-in-progress for critical examination.

ART HISTORY (ART)

INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF ART: IMAGE, OBJECT, TEXT. The course offers a broad but selective look at art and artifacts made in various cultures and periods, particularly the Western world from antiquity onwards. The course will move chronologically through these eras, but will simultaneously address key themes in the history of art, including the power of the image, art as a means of political persuasion, religiosity and art, the appeal of the portrait, the relationship between text and image, and the question of the aesthetic as a separate realm of human endeavor. The course will also offer a basic introduction to some of the key methods used within the discipline to query its objects, including social history, feminist theory, formalism and semiotics.
INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF ART: ASIAN ART. An introductory survey of the arts of India, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, China, Korea and Japan. Organized chronologically by country, the course also examines cross-cultural thematic issues, particularly Buddhism. It encompasses ancient India and the origins of Buddhist art and traces the expansion of Buddhist art and culture into Central and Southeast Asia. Chinese art from the Neolithic to the modern era, the rise of Buddhism in China, and Korea’s relationship with both China and Japan will be covered. Japanese art from the inception of Buddhism to the Meiji era is also included. Can be taken separately or in any order relative to the other introductory art history survey courses.
HISTORY OF THE ART OF CHINA. A survey of Chinese art from the Neolithic period (ca. 6000-2000 BCE) through the Qing dynasty (1644-1912), focusing on all the visual arts, their cultural history and their political, social and religious contexts. Organized chronologically, the course encompasses art from the Neolithic through the Han dynasty created for the tombs; the arrival of Buddhism from India and its impact on architecture, sculpture and painting of the Six dynasties to the end of the Song dynasty; the political response to the foreign Mongol controlled Yuan dynasty; the resurgence of Chinese taste in the subsequent Ming Dynasty; and how the Chinese transformed their artistic tradition under the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
HISTORY OF THE ART OF JAPAN. A survey of Japanese art from the Jomon period (10,500-300 BCE) into the Edo period (1615-1868), focusing on all the visual arts, their cultural history and their political, social, religious contexts. Organized chronologically, the course traces the visual arts beginning with the earliest artistic traditions, and early Buddhist architecture, sculpture and painting from the Asuka and Nara period. The course also examines how Buddhism continued to play a dominant role in art of the Heian period with the rise of the sects of Esoteric and Pure Land Buddhism, the civil war and strife in the Kamakura period followed by the rise of Zen Buddhism, the introduction of Chinese style ink painting and a variety of artistic schools beginning with the Momoyam period that continued into the prosperous Edo period.
ANCIENT CHINESE ART AND CULTURE: NEOLITHIC THROUGH TANG. Ancient Chinese art and culture encompasses all the visual arts from the Neolithic Period (ca. 6000-2000 BCE) through the end of the Tang dynasty (61-907). Organized chronologically, the course encompasses ceramics and jades from the four main Neolithic cultures, the bronze and ceramic production of the Great Bronze Age and the Qin dynasty. The course also addresses art from the Han dynasty (ceramics vessels and tomb figurines) as well as metalworking, painting, sculpture and tombs in the Six dynasties and Tang dynasty. Buddhist architecture, painting and sculpture of the Six dynasties and Tang, such as the cave Temples at Dunhuang, Yungang, and Longmen, are also included.
CHINESE PAINTING: THE COURT, POLITICS AND THE LITERATI. Encompasses Chinese painting from the Neolithic period (ca. 5000 BCE) and ending with the rise of the literati tradition in the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). Organized chronologically, the course addresses the major subjects and themes in Chinese painting taking into account the artists’ involvement in political, religious and literary discourse. The impact of Confucianism and Daoism on the art of the Zhou and Han dynasties is addressed. Starting in the Six dynasties and the Tang dynasty, the course focuses on achievement in court painting, including figure, landscape, and bird and flower painting, art theory and other trends. Buddhist figure and landscape painting at the cave site of Dunhuang is examined. Tracing the rise of ink monochrome painting into the Five dynasties and Northern Song dynasty, the course also explores court painting and the flowering of Chan Buddhist painting in the Southern Song. The political and intellectual reaction of Chinese painters in the early Yuan dynasty under Mongol control and the rise of the literati tradition are also addressed.
CHINESE PAINTING: PERSONAL EXPRESSION, ORTHODOXY AND ECCENTRICITY. Encompasses Chinese painting from the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) through 17th and 18th centuries of the Qing dynasty. Includes a consideration of the rise of the literati tradition and how it evolved in the Yuan under Mongol control. Organized chronologically, the course examines the contributions of Zhao Mengfu and how his circle impacted the middle and late Yuan, as well as the Four Late Yuan masters, and other Yuan dynasty painting trends. Starting in the Ming dynasty, the course focuses on the Zhe and Wu Schools as well as the achievements of professional painters. Dong Qichang’s innovations in theory and painting are also considered, as are the reactions and responses of the Orthodox, Individualists, and Eccentrics painters in the subsequent Qing dynasty. The course includes a consideration of the Four Anhui Masters and the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou. (FAL) (IP)
PRE-COLUMBIAN ART. Examines the artistic traditions and cultural history of ancient Mesoamerica (Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras) from BC 1500 to AD 1600.
MODERN LATIN AMERICAN ART. This course addresses major topics in the history of Latin American art from 1821 to the present.
CLASSICAL AND HELLENISTIC ART. A survey of the dispersion of the formulae of Greek “classical” art (fifth and fourth centuries B.C.) throughout the cosmopolitan Mediterranean cultures of the Hellenistic period (c. 330-30 B.C.), including the Late Roman Republic and early Empire (mid-first century A.D.). This is one of the most “romantic” and “modern” periods in world history, a period of cultural fluidity and international cosmopolitanism, featuring some of the most romantic personalities, from Alexander to Pompey, Caesar and Kleopatra. In art, the period features the development of a wide range of expressive modes, the growth of art criticism, collecting, self-referencing and quotation, and the transference of artistic formulae to different cultures with highly differing effects. The course will involve considerable background reading in ancient history and texts, as well as an introduction to some of the most fundamental issues of art practice and criticism as they shaped the rest of Western aesthetic practice.
ITALIAN RENAISSANCE ART. An in-depth survey of Italian art and culture from the beginning of the 14th century to the end of the 16th century.
BAROQUE ART. A survey of European art and its cultural and intellectual context from c. 1600 to the mid 18th century.
REVOLUTION, ROMANTICISM, REALISM. Encompasses the visual arts produced in Europe and the United States between 1780 and 1860. Includes a consideration of David and Neo-Classicism; Romanticism in England, Germany, and France; native and colonial American art; and international Realism. Organized according to chronological development in the history of 19th century art, the course also focuses on thematic issues including the relationship between revolution and art, the representation of femininity and masculinity, the tensions between Enlightenment and Romantic philosophies, the connections between imperialism and art, and the coincident rise of modernism and high capitalism.
MODERNISM AND MODERNITY. Encompasses the visual arts produced primarily in Europe and the United States between 1860 and 1945. Includes a consideration of urban planning in Paris, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, worlds’ fairs, Symbolism, Art Nouveau, Cubism, Expressionism, the Russian Constructivists, Bauhaus, Dada, Surrealism and the muralist movement. Organized according to chronological developments in the history of modernism and the avant-garde, the course also focuses on thematic issues including the critiques enacted by modern art of technology and the city; primitivism and the avant-garde; the role of philosophy and theosophy in painting; the practical and theoretical exclusion of the decorative, feminine and commercial from the realm of fine art; and the importance of political programs to the avant-garde.
ART SINCE 1945. Encompasses the visual arts produced primarily in Europe and the United States between 1945 and the present. Includes a consideration of modernism and Abstract Expressionism, art informel, Post-painterly abstraction, Pop art, Happenings and performance art, environmental art, Minimalism, Conceptualism, Arte Povera, feminist art, Neo-Expressionism, issue-based art and post-modernism. Organized according to chronological developments in the history of post-1945 art, the course also focuses on thematic issues including the development of modernist aesthetics and criticism; critiques of difference based on race, class, or gender; the body and art; the role of popular culture in contemporary art; the relationship between politics and representation; and the notion of originality.
GENDER AND ART. A study of the ways in which gender and sexuality are intricately involved in the making, reception and criticism of art. Includes a consideration of how the art historical canon is generated, often excluding female producers of art, and an examination of the ways in which art represents both femininity and masculinity. The course will consistently investigate the experience of gendered subjectivities, asking what it means to be called, and to call oneself, a woman or a man. This course will include an analysis of the intricate mechanisms informing the construction of gender identities, the history of sexuality, and how these theories can aid in better understanding both representation and production in the visual arts.
HISTORY AND THEORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY. A study of photography from its inception in the mid-19th century to the present. The course will provide an overview of major figures and movements in photography organized both chronologically and thematically. Close attention will be paid to fundamental theoretical issues relevant to the practice and interpretation of photography, such as the tension between photography as art and as document; photography and the notion of the “real;” gender and photography; photography’s relationship to death; the photographer as explorer; the political uses of photography; and photography and post-modernism.
THE LANDSCAPE: REPRESENTING “NATURE.” This course will consider different ways in which European and American culture has represented the natural environment. Areas to be addressed include the history of landscape painting, landscape architecture, urban planning and park development, gender and the landscape, nature photography, and the relationship between landscape and power.
WORLD ARCHITECTURE I: ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL TRADITIONS. A survey of Western architecture from Egypt through the middle ages, with brief introductions to the architecture of South and East Asia, Islam and pre-Columbian America. Aesthetics are presented as the evolution or invention of formal-linguistic systems, and are considered in the context of social and religious systems and history of technology.
WORLD ARCHITECTURE II: RENAISSANCE TO POST MODERN. A survey focusing on the development of Western architecture and the development of international modernity through the 20th century. Presented as the recurring crisis in the search for aesthetic formal systems from the Renaissance to the present, and considered in context of social and intellectual history, and history of technology. Also an introduction to issues of architectural theory and the history of the architectural profession.
SEMINAR IN SPECIAL PROBLEMS. A research seminar in various topics. Primarily for majors but open to non-majors who fulfill prerequisites. (Every semester, with different topics.)









| UPCOMING EVENTS

SPRING 2008

Guest Artist: Printmaker Rudy Pozzatti: Bestiaries
February 13 - April 4
Artist reception, April 3, 5pm
Fine Arts Gallery

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