During their first year, BFA Fine Arts students take a general survey of world art and literature along with six-hour studio classes designed to build essential technical skills in a variety of media. In their second and third years, they explore photography, sculpture, printmaking, video art and digital narrative. In the fourth year, they are given their own studio space, where they meet with a team of faculty members for discussion, critique and weekly feedback.
Selected students also have access to additional workshops in glass, neon, ceramics, taxidermy, and bronze.
This course will begin with the skeleton, and students will learn about and internalize the structure, form and movement of the body in an effort toward making more informed drawings of the live model. A portion of the course will focus on the comparative anatomy of animals.
Anatomy can offer a concrete structure for drawing and painting the human figure. This course relates the study of the skeleton and the muscles to the live model. It will concentrate on the skeletal system in the fall semester and the muscles in the spring semester. Students will complete three life-size drawings of the human skeletal system, which will include views of the skull, torso and extremities, establishing the core of the human figure. Two triptychs, each consisting of a nude, muscular and skeletal drawing of a male and a female body, will be completed. We will learn the landmarks of the skeletal system, their relationship to the muscular system and how they work together to define the human form. An anatomy text such as Albinus on Anatomy by Hale and Coyle or Anatomy for the Artist by Jeno Barcsay is required.
This course will begin with the skeleton, and students will learn about and internalize the structure, form and movement of the body in an effort toward making more informed drawings of the live model. A portion of the course will focus on the comparative anatomy of animals.
Anatomy can offer a concrete structure for drawing and painting the human figure. This course relates the study of the skeleton and the muscles to the live model. It will concentrate on the skeletal system in the fall semester and the muscles in the spring semester. Students will complete three life-size drawings of the human skeletal system, which will include views of the skull, torso and extremities, establishing the core of the human figure. Two triptychs, each consisting of a nude, muscular and skeletal drawing of a male and a female body, will be completed. We will learn the landmarks of the skeletal system, their relationship to the muscular system and how they work together to define the human form. An anatomy text such as Albinus on Anatomy by Hale and Coyle or Anatomy for the Artist by Jeno Barcsay is required.
You are what you eat—or are you? Do you know what is in your food? From farm to fork what happens in between? Is what the food producer tells you true? FOOD: Projects in Bio Art focuses on how food production, industrial farming and GMOs have become part of our daily life. Projects will consists of growing plants hydroponically, DNA analysis of local food, and time-lapse photography and microscopic imaging of foodstuffs. In addition, we will explore the cultural differences, taboos and evolution of eating practices.
We will look at culinary styles around the world, and their social, economic and political ramifications. We will examine urban farming, molecular cuisine, digital gastronomy, as well as pesticides and contaminates. Part forensic and part horticulture in practice, we will gather plants to extract pigments for watercolor; design food sculptures, including stencils for cakes; and use spices in novel ways. We will explore the effect microorganisms have on food— from cheese to e-coli to yogurt. From the good, the bad and the ugly, how has genetic engineering affected our lives? What effect is global warming having on food sources? Performance, painting, sculpture, public art, photography, illustration and cartooning, as well as community-based projects are welcome.
From the decipherment of the human genome to industrialized food production, science has spilled out of the laboratory into our lives. As scientists engage in molecular engineering, the corporeal body and the manipulation of life forms have become a public and aesthetic discourse unto themselves. This course will examine intersections between laboratory practices and visual art production. Projects will employ video microscopes and scanning devices, scientific specimen collections, plant tissue engineering, new anatomical models and molecular cuisine. In addition, each student will design their own terrarium with fish, aquatic plants and/or micro eco-systems. Field trips and guest lecturers will complement course material. Students may work in a variety of media, from drawing and painting to the digital and performing arts.
Tracing the animal kingdom from jellyfish to insects to humans, students will gain a working knowledge of comparative animal anatomy. The focus will be on vertebrates (reptiles, birds, and mammals) and the morphological differences which constitute groups, families and individual species. There will be discussions on ecology, evolution and the depiction of animals throughout art history. Students will work from specimens from the SVA Bio Art Lab, on-location drawings and photos.
Humans have been tampering with species development for thousands of years, and creating countless varieties of domesticated plants and animals. Today, advances in biotechnology allow for the creation of entirely novel life forms such as transgenic rats glowing with jellyfish genes. In this course, students will be introduced to the emerging field of biological arts through hands-on laboratory practices and discussions. Through bi-weekly excursions to local biotech labs, parks, pet stores and seafood markets we will examine altered organisms. In the lab, students will create a postnaturalist journal, bacterial paintings, culture plant tissue, generate and disperse native seed bombs, learn proper techniques for preserving vertebrates and generate post-mortem chimerical sculptures from biological media. Discussions will range from bio-ethics/ecological thought to science fiction/biological reality, and more.
In this course, we will visit local sites in search of urban botanicals from which to draw creative inspiration. We’ll explore micro and macro environments, the fractal realm of self-similarity and symmetry; we’ll see how the nature/nurture dialectic has been exploited by artists, and we’ll look to the less obvious lichens, molds and mosses as alternatives to the more ornamental botanicals. To meet the countless challenges that botanicals present, students will explore various mediums to create drawings/collages that range from the simple to the complex.
Body casting is the art of replicating the human form in a plaster casting. Students will make body castings from live models, that will then be corrected to match the live subject. Other techniques will involve using oil-based clay to create a “skin” for the plaster. Silicone rubber will be explored for mold-making and as a casting material. Discussions will include commercial applications for body cast products, special-effects makeup, specialty costuming, animatronic characters, three-dimensional commercial sculptures and holiday event mask-making.
This course is an intensive production-based course focusing on the creation of mixed-media installations using ceramic as the starting medium. The course will be divided into two sections. The first will cover different aspects of plaster mold production and the use of liquid clay (slip) in order to produce duplicates of an object. The second section will focus on the students’ project ideas through the review of work of artists producing installation art; group and individual critiques and exhibition reviews. Once a basic knowledge of mold-making and slip casting is established, students will propose a series of projects of which some will be selected during group critiques for full production. Specific analysis of mixed media use for each student’s project will be reviewed and organized in terms of production and aesthetics during group session. Attention will be given to the context in which the installation is placed and viewed and its impact on the physical and cultural environment of society. Homework will be extensive in order to acquire an independent work ethic.
This course is an intensive production-based course focusing on the creation of mixed media installations using ceramic as the starting medium. The course will be divided into two sections. The first will cover the different aspects of plaster mold production and the use of liquid clay (slip) in order to produce duplicates of an object. The second section will focus on the students’ specific project ideas through the review of work of artists producing installation art; group and individ- ual critiques, and exhibition reviews. Once a basic knowledge of mold making and slip casting is established, students will propose a series of projects of which some will be selected during group critiques for full production. Specific analysis of mixed media use for each student’s project will be reviewed and organized in terms of production and aesthetics during group session. Attention will be given to the context in which the installation is placed and viewed and its impact on the physical and cultural environment of society. Homework will be extensive in order to enable the student to acquire an independent work ethic.
Studying the human form as a medium for making art in three-dimensional, sculptural modes is the focus of this course. The representation of the human body through traditional and nontraditional sculptural approaches will be emphasized. Projects will explore technical, aesthetic and conceptual aspects of the human figure.
As an introduction to the material world, this course explores diverse media and their potentialities to create volume, line and mass. Ranging from the ethereal to the fabricated, materials such as clay, plaster, cardboard, wood, resin and wire will be investigated by exercises in casting, mold-making, installation and site-specific work. Discussion will include concepts of space, gravity and light, among others, as they pertain to three-dimensional form.
This course is designed as a series of projects to encourage students to solve problems and discover working processes. Each project will begin with a discussion of contemporary artists, as well as current museum and gallery exhibitions. Various materials will be explored, from woodworking to mold-making, welding to video. We will meet for group critiques.
This workshop takes a worldview of the sculpture-making process and will show how different cultures and art forms have impacted today’s sculpture. Students will not only draw on their own personal/cultural pasts to develop ideas and make sculpture, but also to challenge or ally those ideas with different information and influences. A wide range of materials and fabrication methods are available in this course. Through critiques and slide discussions, issues of form, content and context will be examined and interpreted. The use of language as applied to sculpture is of particular interest. A partial listing of the current vernacular that we will be cataloging and assessing for our use includes: architectonic, socially concerned, outsider art, site-specific, randomness and objectness. We’ll attend exhibitions, films, lectures or performances that relate to our activities. There will also be required reading.
Sculpture without limits. Every kind of sculpture can be investigated. Every type of material can be used. Welding, building, carving, modeling, site-specific and mixed-media assemblage will be taught. Hands-on instruction and strong technical skills enable each sculptor to realize his or her own thoughts. Weekly critiques will discuss work done in class. The idea comes first and then the sculpture. Where it came from, what it means, how it got there. Visits to museums, galleries and studios will be assigned. Slide lectures will augment discussion.
Collaborative Practices examines the role, and its challenges, of collective art-making. Students will look to art historical antecedents to observe how collaborative practices have progressed throughout art history. We will discuss and define distinctions between collectivism and collaboration, and identify key concerns of contemporary art groups/collaborations. Issues surrounding authorship, altruism, social and economic divides, relational aesthetics, studio output and internships will be emphasized. All projects will be collaboratively made and will investigate the invisible administrative labor behind studio practice, as well as tactile material processes as handled by various par ties. Key to this course will be active discussion and a willingness to let go of the artist’s hand.
This course will focus on cut-and-paste techniques as they are employed in imagemaking. The traditional underpinnings of collage will be investigated as a common thread to rethink, reposition and rework images and sound. Analog and digital approaches will be used to create a synthesis between popular and art-historical forms of collage. The course will be content driven and employ narrative, non-linear, representational and symbolic approaches to collage. We will begin using print media, then merge print with other mediums (paint, pastels, textures, found objects) to create mixed-media projects. We will transition into photo and digital collage/montage to analyze media as it has been used in the past and as it has developed with the advent of the Internet. Additionally, the course will explore cut-and-paste techniques using Photoshop, audio mash-ups and remixes.
This course will look at alternative visions of the art process as a cabinet of curiosities. Cell phones, computers, digital cameras, macro-videography—if you can film it, we will use it. Devices that produce an array of visual imagery are now embraced by art. From high-quality to low-res pixilated imagery, projects will range from self-portraits to group portraits, social/political content, gender and sexuality, psychological and cultural experiments, the conventional vs. the subversive, darkness and light. Students will also learn to incorporate music/soundscapes as an integral part of their work. Projects will investigate what stories you want to tell by using a variety of approaches and genres. Point of view, subjectivity, lighting, image quality, black-and-white vs. color, sound or silence—all are considerations that will be emphasized and implemented.
Digital fabrication practices have revolutionized design and manufacturing, and are reshaping the world around us. Increasingly these tools are being employed by artist to create works previously impossible or impractical to make. This course will be an exploration of CNC (Computer Numerical Control) based fabrication and its integration into contemporary art- and object-making. It will emphasize technology such as the CNC laser cutter, CNC router and CNC plasma, and discuss various fabrication methods and refine skillsets. We will also examine how this technology affects our understanding of space and material, modes of production, and other considerations.
This course introduces methods and concepts in sculpture using state-of-the-art technology. Students will work collaboratively on sculptural installations using CNC (computer numerically controlled) and rapid prototyping machines. Each project will focus on generating a component-based system where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The final, full-scale installation will include new spatial concepts and novel materials. Software and equipment instructions will be provided. Guest lectures and studio visits are included. Note: No previous experience with digital design or advanced machining is required.
If you’ve ever wanted to experiment with robotics, to make a video that “knows” when someone is watching it, or build a sculpture that beeps when you touch it, this is the course for you. In this course, students will construct several electronics projects that illustrate the possibilities of physical computing, and to provide students with tools for further exploration. Using Max/MSP/Jitter we will build custom electronics and program these microcontrollers to create strange and meaningful forms of interaction. Note: No prior programming or soldering experience is required, but an interest in accessing your inner mad scientist is a must.
A continuation of FID-3611, Electronics and Interactivity I, in this course students will design their own projects with custom electronic circuitry and custom software. Students will use relatively simple electronic circuits and basic computer programming to develop rich and meaningful interactive sculpture, installation and audio/video works. How to program Arduino microcontrollers to respond to various kinds of sensors will be explored, and students will work with Cycling ‘74 Max/MSP/Jitter to control and respond to digital video, audio and other types of data. Prerequisite: FID-3611, Electronics and Interactivity I, or equivalent experience building circuits, programming microcontrollers (e.g., PIC, Javelin, BASIC Stamp 2) and some knowledge of Max/MSP/Jitter. Note: Midyear entry with instructors’ permission.
Digital embroidery transforms a hand-crafted couture into a fine arts media. Just like a tattoo where an image is created with color and needles, the embroidered fabric or paper is needle-stitched in colored threads. The image is a file that can be saved and repeated as a multiple or repeat pattern. The course will cover digital sewing using registration applications. Techniques related to fashion and the fine arts will be explored. A visit to a commercial embroidery atelier will be at the conclusion of the course.
Limited to 12 students
You are what you eat—or are you? Do you know what is in your food? From farm to fork what happens in between? Is what the food producer tells you true? FOOD: Projects in Bio Art focuses on how food production, industrial farming and GMOs have become part of our daily life. Projects will consists of growing plants hydroponically, DNA analysis of local food, and time-lapse photography and microscopic imaging of foodstuffs. In addition, we will explore the cultural differences, taboos and evolution of eating practices.
We will look at culinary styles around the world, and their social, economic and political ramifications. We will examine urban farming, molecular cuisine, digital gastronomy, as well as pesticides and contaminates. Part forensic and part horticulture in practice, we will gather plants to extract pigments for watercolor; design food sculptures, including stencils for cakes; and use spices in novel ways. We will explore the effect microorganisms have on food— from cheese to e-coli to yogurt. From the good, the bad and the ugly, how has genetic engineering affected our lives? What effect is global warming having on food sources? Performance, painting, sculpture, public art, photography, illustration and cartooning, as well as community-based projects are welcome.
What is referred to as “video art” has become a ubiquitous feature of 21st-century art practice, yet it is an art form whose emergence is still a relatively fresh aspect of contemporary art history. This course will explore the origins of video art, examining its sources in film, photography and performance art. Through screenings of key works; discussion with artists, critics and curators, and in directed readings, students will be exposed to important works and individuals associated with the first two decades of video. Special attention will be paid to an understanding of the cultural and social context that supported the emergence of video art. We will focus upon the evolution of video art from both a technological perspective as well as the development of a video’s critical and institutional framework. Artists whose works will be viewed and discussed include Nam June Paik, Wolf Vostell, Bruce Nauman, Yoko Ono, Peter Campus, Vito Acconci, Frank Gillette, Juan Downey, Joan Jonas, Chris Burden, Lynda Benglis, Stan, Ira Schneider, Andy Mann, Martha Rosler, Allan Sekula, Shigeko Kubota, Bill Viola, Gary Hill, Mary Lucier, Woody and Steina Vasulka, Ilene Segalove, William Wegman, Tony Oursler, Muntadas, Keith Sonnier, Bruce and Norman Yonemoto, Dara Birnbaum, Ant Farm, TVTV, Videofreex, Marcel Odenbach, Dan Graham, Doug Hall, Richard Serra, Terry Fox, Howard Fried, Paul Kos, Paul McCarthy, Mike Kelley and Ernie Kovacs.
As video art became more widely accepted and the tools became increasingly affordable and available, the medium quickly emerged as a primary site for the global dialogue that characterizes contemporary art practice. Among the topics to be addressed in this screening, lecture and discussion course will be the emer- gence of Asian, Latin American and European Video Art, the continued develop- ment of sculptural video installation work and the emergence of the market for video art. The blurring of the lines among video art digital art forms, digital cinema and art made for the Internet will also be addressed. Artists whose works will be viewed and discussed include Nam June Paik, Wolf Vostell, Bruce Nauman, Yoko Ono, Peter Campus, Vito Acconci, Frank Gillette, Juan Downey, Joan Jonas, Chris Burden, Lynda Benglis, Stan, Ira Schneider, Andy Mann, Martha Rosler, Allan Sekula, Shigeko Kubota, Bill Viola, Gary Hill, Mary Lucier, Woody and Steina Vasulka, Ilene Segalove, William Wegman, Tony Oursler, Muntadas, Keith Sonnier, Bruce and Norman Yonemoto, Dara Birnbaum, Ant Farm, TVTV, Videofreex, Marcel Odenbach, Dan Graham, Doug Hall, Richard Serra, Terry Fox, Howard Fried, Paul Kos, Paul McCarthy, Mike Kelley and Ernie Kovacs. Prerequisite: AHD-2302, History of Video Art: 1965 to 1985.
As in the past, artists today look to the history of art for inspiration. But we also want our work to communicate with more diverse audiences outside of the art world. So we appropriate the ideas and practices of disciplines that were not previously considered within the realm of art. Our projects in this course will explore these “alien” methodologies. We’ll repurpose techniques of mass production to modulate the scale and adaptability of our work. We’ll utilize film techniques to deal with issues of time compression, psychological space and storytelling. We’ll adapt developments in science to conjure the invisible or to actualize the unimaginable. We’ll investigate how the Internet and social media sites have reconfigured old notions of public and private and we’ll exploit this new virtual space in our art. The world as we know it is more complex and nuanced than it was just a generation ago. The goal of this course is to discover how art has evolved in this new environment. Students may also develop other areas of interest as a focus of their work. All practices are allowed. The course will include readings, film screenings, and other activities that relate to our studio projects.
This course is designed to give students an introductory look into creating Augmented and Virtual realities, specifically with a focus on freeform interaction. As a survey class to new technologies, students will draw parallels between being at the forefront of the technology, and how to utilize these tools into their own contemporary art practice. The class will look into AR builders, 3D object and asset libraries, open source applications, SDK (software development kits), as well as other collaborative elements of production. This course is meant for beginners with very little AR/VR/coding experience as well as more advanced students looking to expand their current practice. As a secondary element to this class, students will be posed with questions of the historical foundation of new technologies, as well as dealing with theory and practice of visual communication in an augmented realm. They’ll interact with experimental storytelling, the internet as a visual tool, post-photography, and post-internet thematics, and also the implications of introducing a 3D Digital Imaging platform like AR/VR to artistic practice. Students will present their work within a digital space and be asked to consider how their work functions from both a traditionally formal and conceptual aspect, as well as how that translates into contemporary media. From photorealism to hyper-stylization, and working with everything from texturing, lighting, rendering, photographic vantage points, topology, and more, students will learn about the wide ranges of possibilities in this new and fascinating technology, while developing their own artistic voice using these new mediums.
Prerequisite: FID-2020, Sophomore Seminar or FID-3446/7, Digital Sculpting, or instructor’s permission. Note: Open to students from all departments.
In this seminar, students will focus on the media image and its implications in their work. In practice, the photograph has become a drawing tool for the artist and we will explore photography and video in relation to painting and drawing. Projects in lighting and composition, as well as color and its effects will be explored in still photography and the moving image. Stop-motion video effects will be used to animate a drawing. Photography and related software will be employed to address space, texture and volume as formal concerns in image-making. Students will learn how to document their work, how to use a camera that goes beyond point-and-click and what range of possibilities can be achieved with these instruments. How to color correct prints and videos will also be covered. Sound and editing techniques as they apply to art production is included in this media primer.
In this seminar, students will focus on the media image and its implications in their work. In practice, the photograph has become a drawing tool for the artist and we will explore photography and video in relation to painting and drawing. Projects in lighting and composition, as well as color and its effects will be explored in still photography and the moving image. Stop-motion video effects will be used to animate a drawing. Photography and related software will be employed to address space, texture and volume as formal concerns in image-making. Students will learn how to document their work, how to use a camera that goes beyond point-and-click and what range of possibilities can be achieved with these instruments. How to color correct prints and videos will also be covered. Sound and editing techniques as they apply to art production is included in this media primer.
Limited to 15 students
Through exploration and invention, and by embracing all media, students will engage in a critical discourse about what is happening in real time in the visual arts now, through their work. A fully mixed-media orientation is receptive to all students, including those who are primarily painters, photographers or video-makers, performers, etc., and to all approaches. The emphasis is on enabling students to experiment with a full range of traditional, unconventional and exotic materials, techniques and ideas: digital fabrication, audio, electricity, fluids, mechanical parts, photomontage, optics, metal, paper, wood. The development of student concepts and personal interests will be strongly supported. Our thinking will be placed in contemporary and historical context through presentations of visual and textual resources: slide shows, video, articles, Web-based online materials and a weekly update on current exhibitions. Among the many ideas that will be explored are: perception, transformation, performance, the body and language, as well as the environmental, political and site-specific in art. Resources will be discussed and extensive technical help will be provided. There will be group critiques. Instruction will be on an individual basis.
From low-tech projection to high-tech immersive environments, video installation has become a dominant medium for contemporary artists. Drawing from the history of film and video art, the students will explore some of the different techniques of analog and digital media in their work in the digital lab. This course will focus on developing students’ knowledge of video installation and encourage experimentation with a variety of approaches to the projected image. Students will generate four projects throughout the semester. We will meet regularly as a group and on a one-on-one basis to discuss current exhibitions, readings and student projects, and screen film/video work by some of the major figures in the field. The remaining time will be spent in the studio/lab. Students are encouraged to incorporate their personal interests and perspectives into their work. Projects will relate to ideas and forms of light projection from conception and production to display and distribution; creative relationships between visual and audio; the physicality of light; narrative and non-narrative structure; original and appropriated material; public and private exhibition; interaction with performance and objects/sculpture. The course will touch on issues of gender, social and political activism, and the history of media communication.
Video mapping (or spatial augmented reality) is an exciting projection medium that
can turn almost any surface, regardless of its shape and size, into a dynamic video
display. This course is intended for students who want to move into this powerful,
creative medium and will focus on exploring popular video mapping software
and hardware technology. Students will create a video-mapping project that will
be featured on an architectural space in Manhattan. Note: Open to students from
all departments.
This course is a continuation of FID-3634, Video Mapping Art. Having explored the techniques of basic video mapping, students will proceed into advanced augmented reality theory and practice. This course will examine techniques in spatial scanning, multi-projector systems, projecting in moving objects, Kinect-based augmented reality installations, Colossal outdoors video projections and multiplatform performance environments. In addition, students will be introduced to specialized digital tools for video mapping such as TouchDesigner, HeavyM, Z Vector, DynaMapper (for iPad), TorsionSoft, Millumin, VPT (Video Projection Tools), LPMT (Little Projecting-Mapping Tool), Resolume Arena 4, Arkaos GrandVJ XT and Visution Mapio 2 Pro. Students will complete a project based in video mapping, which integrates course material in interesting and meaningful ways. To this end, at least half of the class time will be allocated for working on these projects with guidance from the instructor.
This course will begin with the skeleton, and students will learn about and internalize the structure, form and movement of the body in an effort toward making more informed drawings of the live model. A portion of the course will focus on the comparative anatomy of animals.
Anatomy can offer a concrete structure for drawing and painting the human figure. This course relates the study of the skeleton and the muscles to the live model. It will concentrate on the skeletal system in the fall semester and the muscles in the spring semester. Students will complete three life-size drawings of the human skeletal system, which will include views of the skull, torso and extremities, establishing the core of the human figure. Two triptychs, each consisting of a nude, muscular and skeletal drawing of a male and a female body, will be completed. We will learn the landmarks of the skeletal system, their relationship to the muscular system and how they work together to define the human form. An anatomy text such as Albinus on Anatomy by Hale and Coyle or Anatomy for the Artist by Jeno Barcsay is required.
This course will begin with the skeleton, and students will learn about and internalize the structure, form and movement of the body in an effort toward making more informed drawings of the live model. A portion of the course will focus on the comparative anatomy of animals.
Anatomy can offer a concrete structure for drawing and painting the human figure. This course relates the study of the skeleton and the muscles to the live model. It will concentrate on the skeletal system in the fall semester and the muscles in the spring semester. Students will complete three life-size drawings of the human skeletal system, which will include views of the skull, torso and extremities, establishing the core of the human figure. Two triptychs, each consisting of a nude, muscular and skeletal drawing of a male and a female body, will be completed. We will learn the landmarks of the skeletal system, their relationship to the muscular system and how they work together to define the human form. An anatomy text such as Albinus on Anatomy by Hale and Coyle or Anatomy for the Artist by Jeno Barcsay is required.
FID-2131 / FID-2132
Instructor: B. DePalma
The premise of this course is that drawing constitutes the fundamental basis of all visual language. As such, drawing will be explored through the development of both technical skills and concepts. Dialogues will revolve around contemporary visual issues. Work will involve the use of all media. Experimentation and invention will be stressed. Drawing will be viewed as a primary vehicle through which an artist grows in the struggle for freedom of expression.
FID-2153 / FID-2154
Instructor: B. Larsen
In this course, students will develop ideas conceptually and physically. The first step is to deconstruct a book and reconstruct it as an idea book or journal (with a variety of papers), which will become a personal encyclopedia of ideas. The fall semester will emphasize recognition (history of drawing included), documentation (personal record keeping) and making drawings. The spring semester continues these practices while also advancing presentation skills (matting, framing, documentation and storage of artworks). During the first hour of each session we will meet as a group to share our books and then work on drawing projects, with individual instruction available. Models will be available for a portion of most class sessions. Documentary films on Andy Goldsworthy, Jean Cocteau (Orpheus), Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol will be shown.
FID-2159-A
Instructor: S. DeFrank
What does it mean to draw? How is drawing relevant in today’s art world? This course is about the experience of drawing and looking at drawings and about the possibilities of extending our traditional ideas concerning the limits of drawings. We will attempt to answer these questions through a series of discussions and exercises in and out of class. All types of materials are encouraged. Figurative and abstract imagery will be examined.
FID-3113-A
Instructor: D. Chow
This course studies the application of pigments to the surface of paper and equivalent materials. This implies the history and practice of drawing, as seen from different points of view. The course stresses looking as a process of perception and invention of inner and outer images and the observation of the work in its making. Limited to 20 students
Focusing on the perceptual skills involved in image-making, this course will examine drawing as an act of producing independent works of art and as a preparatory process in organizing a finished work. Assigned projects will explore the formal elements of art, such as line, space, scale and texture. Materials will include pencil, charcoal, pen-and-ink and wash, among others. Projects range from the figure and still life, for example, to mapping and storyboarding.
This is the second part of a two-semester course. Focusing on the perceptual skills involved in image-making, this course will examine drawing as an act of producing independent works of art and as a preparatory process in organizing a finished work. Assigned projects will explore the formal elements of art, such as line, space, scale and texture. Materials will include pencil, charcoal, pen-and-ink and wash, among others. Projects range from the figure and still life, for example, to mapping and storyboarding.
This course will focus on the model. We will concentrate on the figure in space, how to structure a picture, the use of the picture plane as an organizing tool, and plastic form. We’ll use charcoal and then diversify media and scale. In the spring semester, students will approach the figure very directly, and then be encouraged to use the figure as a catalyst to explore other themes. Through direct observation, students will be encouraged to work with diverse materials as a means with which to approach the act of drawing.
Using a model, this course will begin with 10 one-minute poses and then move into a series of 20-minute poses. All materials are acceptable: watercolor, pencil, and pen-and-ink, among others. And all styles are welcome. Students will develop their own distinctive process.
From the decipherment of the human genome to industrialized food production, science has spilled out of the laboratory into our lives. As scientists engage in molecular engineering, the corporeal body and the manipulation of life forms have become a public and aesthetic discourse unto themselves. This course will examine intersections between laboratory practices and visual art production. Projects will employ video microscopes and scanning devices, scientific specimen collections, plant tissue engineering, new anatomical models and molecular cuisine. In addition, each student will design their own terrarium with fish, aquatic plants and/or micro eco-systems. Field trips and guest lecturers will complement course material. Students may work in a variety of media, from drawing and painting to the digital and performing arts.
Tracing the animal kingdom from jellyfish to insects to humans, students will gain a working knowledge of comparative animal anatomy. The focus will be on vertebrates (reptiles, birds, and mammals) and the morphological differences which constitute groups, families and individual species. There will be discussions on ecology, evolution and the depiction of animals throughout art history. Students will work from specimens from the SVA Bio Art Lab, on-location drawings and photos.
In this course, we will visit local sites in search of urban botanicals from which to draw creative inspiration. We’ll explore micro and macro environments, the fractal realm of self-similarity and symmetry; we’ll see how the nature/nurture dialectic has been exploited by artists, and we’ll look to the less obvious lichens, molds and mosses as alternatives to the more ornamental botanicals. To meet the countless challenges that botanicals present, students will explore various mediums to create drawings/collages that range from the simple to the complex.
This course covers basic watercolor painting materials and techniques. Form, composition and color will be discussed and students will explore the expressive and stylistic possibilities of the medium. Visual examples from art history and contemporary art will be part of the class critiques.
Among the first artists were shamans, mystics who created some of the earliest art to explore visionary experiences and our human relationship with the natural world. This course will look at art’s ancient roots in shamanic rituals, and see how these practices can enhance our creative and visionary skills today. Grounded in a relationship with the living world, shamans explore the mystical universe by acquiring a deeper knowledge of the self to help heal the self and society. This approach remains deeply embedded in the human psyche and continues to inspire artists. We’ll look at global indigenous traditions of shamanic art and modern art influenced by these insights. We’ll discuss related concepts such as social sculpture, research on psychology, and dreams and consciousness. And we’ll learn to create our own symbolic images, objects, installations and performance/ rituals, developing our own vocabulary of self-expression in an exploration of the personal process and visionary traditions in art. Projects can take the form of 2D, 3D and time-based media, performance and video. It will also include field trips to museums, a forest and outdoor projects at natural sites to connect with the living energies of nature.
Collaborative Practices examines the role, and its challenges, of collective art-making. Students will look to art historical antecedents to observe how collaborative practices have progressed throughout art history. We will discuss and define distinctions between collectivism and collaboration, and identify key concerns of contemporary art groups/collaborations. Issues surrounding authorship, altruism, social and economic divides, relational aesthetics, studio output and internships will be emphasized. All projects will be collaboratively made and will investigate the invisible administrative labor behind studio practice, as well as tactile material processes as handled by various par ties. Key to this course will be active discussion and a willingness to let go of the artist’s hand.
This course will focus on cut-and-paste techniques as they are employed in imagemaking. The traditional underpinnings of collage will be investigated as a common thread to rethink, reposition and rework images and sound. Analog and digital approaches will be used to create a synthesis between popular and art-historical forms of collage. The course will be content driven and employ narrative, non-linear, representational and symbolic approaches to collage. We will begin using print media, then merge print with other mediums (paint, pastels, textures, found objects) to create mixed-media projects. We will transition into photo and digital collage/montage to analyze media as it has been used in the past and as it has developed with the advent of the Internet. Additionally, the course will explore cut-and-paste techniques using Photoshop, audio mash-ups and remixes.
You are what you eat—or are you? Do you know what is in your food? From farm to fork what happens in between? Is what the food producer tells you true? FOOD: Projects in Bio Art focuses on how food production, industrial farming and GMOs have become part of our daily life. Projects will consists of growing plants hydroponically, DNA analysis of local food, and time-lapse photography and microscopic imaging of foodstuffs. In addition, we will explore the cultural differences, taboos and evolution of eating practices.
We will look at culinary styles around the world, and their social, economic and political ramifications. We will examine urban farming, molecular cuisine, digital gastronomy, as well as pesticides and contaminates. Part forensic and part horticulture in practice, we will gather plants to extract pigments for watercolor; design food sculptures, including stencils for cakes; and use spices in novel ways. We will explore the effect microorganisms have on food— from cheese to e-coli to yogurt. From the good, the bad and the ugly, how has genetic engineering affected our lives? What effect is global warming having on food sources? Performance, painting, sculpture, public art, photography, illustration and cartooning, as well as community-based projects are welcome.
From the decipherment of the human genome to industrialized food production, science has spilled out of the laboratory into our lives. As scientists engage in molecular engineering, the corporeal body and the manipulation of life forms have become a public and aesthetic discourse unto themselves. This course will examine intersections between laboratory practices and visual art production. Projects will employ video microscopes and scanning devices, scientific specimen collections, plant tissue engineering, new anatomical models and molecular cuisine. In addition, each student will design their own terrarium with fish, aquatic plants and/or micro eco-systems. Field trips and guest lecturers will complement course material. Students may work in a variety of media, from drawing and painting to the digital and performing arts.
This studio course is structured through “case studies” in which artworks of similar
and disparate media will be presented, and their structures and consequent meanings
will be addressed. For example, the works of abstract painters Jackson Pollock and Robert Ryman have radically different interpretations and meanings. The course begins with the far-reaching influence of Marcel Duchamp, and then focuses on work from the 1970s to the present. Topics include: painting, sculpture, installation, performance and video, as well as hybrids (Paul Kos’s video projections on paintings, Joseph Beuys’s performances generating objects and installations). We will examine the influence of seminal composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Cage and La Monte Young on visual artists (Nam June Paik and Yoko Ono, among others), as well as the influence of texts and musical scores on artists such as Ed Ruscha, Bruce Nauman, Barbara Kruger, Jenny Holzer, David Salle and Christopher Wool. Students will submit weekly responses to the works discussed; these responses can take a variety of forms: visual (drawing, painting, sculpture, installation, video, performance), text (written and/or read aloud), or a combination of these forms. There will also be assigned readings. Note: Open to students from all departments.
As in the past, artists today look to the history of art for inspiration. But we also want our work to communicate with more diverse audiences outside of the art world. So we appropriate the ideas and practices of disciplines that were not previously considered within the realm of art. Our projects in this course will explore these “alien” methodologies. We’ll repurpose techniques of mass production to modulate the scale and adaptability of our work. We’ll utilize film techniques to deal with issues of time compression, psychological space and storytelling. We’ll adapt developments in science to conjure the invisible or to actualize the unimaginable. We’ll investigate how the Internet and social media sites have reconfigured old notions of public and private and we’ll exploit this new virtual space in our art. The world as we know it is more complex and nuanced than it was just a generation ago. The goal of this course is to discover how art has evolved in this new environment. Students may also develop other areas of interest as a focus of their work. All practices are allowed. The course will include readings, film screenings, and other activities that relate to our studio projects.
This course is designed to give students an introductory look into creating Augmented and Virtual realities, specifically with a focus on freeform interaction. As a survey class to new technologies, students will draw parallels between being at the forefront of the technology, and how to utilize these tools into their own contemporary art practice. The class will look into AR builders, 3D object and asset libraries, open source applications, SDK (software development kits), as well as other collaborative elements of production. This course is meant for beginners with very little AR/VR/coding experience as well as more advanced students looking to expand their current practice. As a secondary element to this class, students will be posed with questions of the historical foundation of new technologies, as well as dealing with theory and practice of visual communication in an augmented realm. They’ll interact with experimental storytelling, the internet as a visual tool, post-photography, and post-internet thematics, and also the implications of introducing a 3D Digital Imaging platform like AR/VR to artistic practice. Students will present their work within a digital space and be asked to consider how their work functions from both a traditionally formal and conceptual aspect, as well as how that translates into contemporary media. From photorealism to hyper-stylization, and working with everything from texturing, lighting, rendering, photographic vantage points, topology, and more, students will learn about the wide ranges of possibilities in this new and fascinating technology, while developing their own artistic voice using these new mediums.
Prerequisite: FID-2020, Sophomore Seminar or FID-3446/7, Digital Sculpting, or instructor’s permission. Note: Open to students from all departments.
Performance art is a way of extending and expanding your studio practice. Like drawing, it’s a way of working out ideas in real time. This studio course is designed for anyone interested in the inherent practices and narratives of performance art, and anyone who wants to push the disciplinary limits of their work. Each week students will make their own experimental performances while exploring the history and evolution of performance art. Group exercises will hone physical and vocal skills as well as build confidence. We will look at and engage with a wide range of performance forms, including Dada, happenings, fluxus, conceptual performance, punk, drag, social practice and mixed-media spectacles. Note: Open to students from all departments.
Much of contemporary culture, in one way or other, refers to photography. This introductory course offers a hands-on approach to shooting and printing photographs. It also covers photo theory, history and influential emerging photographers. Students will shoot and process their photographs in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, master archival inkjet printing and learn to shoot in a studio set-up using strobes—skills that have practical and artistic applications. In addition to our classroom work, we will regularly visit photo exhibitions at Chelsea galleries. By the end of the semester, students will have developed some knowledge of contemporary photographic discourse and the technical skills to shoot and print their own work.
Humans have been tampering with species development for thousands of years, and creating countless varieties of domesticated plants and animals. Today, advances in biotechnology allow for the creation of entirely novel life forms such as transgenic rats glowing with jellyfish genes. In this course, students will be introduced to the emerging field of biological arts through hands-on laboratory practices and discussions. Through bi-weekly excursions to local biotech labs, parks, pet stores and seafood markets we will examine altered organisms. In the lab, students will create a postnaturalist journal, bacterial paintings, culture plant tissue, generate and disperse native seed bombs, learn proper techniques for preserving vertebrates and generate post-mortem chimerical sculptures from biological media. Discussions will range from bio-ethics/ecological thought to science fiction/biological reality, and more.
This course will explore fashion as conceptual art on the canvas of the body. We will explore how to design and create clothing and costumes; how to adapt and design patterns; sew and construct garments and accessories; decorate with paint and dye, printed photos, appliqué, embroidery, beadwork, neon wire, quilting and stuffing; and explore experimental and soft sculpture techniques. Students may also work with props and backdrops, special effects makeup, and other elements to create a complete look. Art fashion can be exhibited as art, or used to create characters for performance, photographs and videos, or to develop your own iconic look and become a living work of art.
In this course, students will define their own priorities in paint. The emphasis will be on creating a dialogue within each student’s body of work while continuing to explore new artistic territory. Studio time is stressed: how best to further identify and realize one’s goals, how to organize one’s efforts, how to work both intellectually and physically in the studio, and how to communicate one’s intentions. Individual instruction will be given with the encouragement of an exchange between fellow students. We will explore various media to further inform and advance painting efforts. Students will be asked to use New York’s vast cultural resources on a regular basis. The understanding of our visual culture, the evolution of our creative working process and the ability to communicate our ideas are the means toward future study. Models will be available as required.
This course is for painters who want to work with materials, processes and techniques other than, or in addition to, traditional techniques of brush and paint on canvas. Students can explore collage, assemblage, relief, wall sculpture, fresco, in situ wall paintings, new media and other approaches to extending the dimensionality of painting’s surface. Any material can be used: fabrics, wood, metals, plaster, plastics, found objects, etc. We will critically examine differences between painting and sculpture in the context of picture plane, opticality, illusion, realness and objectness, and the way these terms are defined art historically, and look at how artists today engage these traditions. Photographs of this course can be viewed at rpasvaphotos.com. Note: An assortment of hand tools and power tools are available for fabrication of projects, as well as access to the sculpture studio.
Image-based work is the predominate form of painting today. It can range from simple figuration to highly resolved illusionistic painting, with many divergent alternatives in between. Much of the current work is photographically derived. This course will explore the full range of modes of representation, with an emphasis on the photograph as a source. The use of photographic information, from media-based imagery through digital alteration will be considered. We will cover the ways that photography is both similar to and different from direct observation. Particular emphasis will be placed on helping students to match their technique to their sources and to defining the underlying content. A variety of imagery, media and content will be thoughtfully considered. Contemporary use of historical techniques will be demonstrated.
You are what you eat—or are you? Do you know what is in your food? From farm to fork what happens in between? Is what the food producer tells you true? FOOD: Projects in Bio Art focuses on how food production, industrial farming and GMOs have become part of our daily life. Projects will consists of growing plants hydroponically, DNA analysis of local food, and time-lapse photography and microscopic imaging of foodstuffs. In addition, we will explore the cultural differences, taboos and evolution of eating practices.
We will look at culinary styles around the world, and their social, economic and political ramifications. We will examine urban farming, molecular cuisine, digital gastronomy, as well as pesticides and contaminates. Part forensic and part horticulture in practice, we will gather plants to extract pigments for watercolor; design food sculptures, including stencils for cakes; and use spices in novel ways. We will explore the effect microorganisms have on food— from cheese to e-coli to yogurt. From the good, the bad and the ugly, how has genetic engineering affected our lives? What effect is global warming having on food sources? Performance, painting, sculpture, public art, photography, illustration and cartooning, as well as community-based projects are welcome.
From the decipherment of the human genome to industrialized food production, science has spilled out of the laboratory into our lives. As scientists engage in molecular engineering, the corporeal body and the manipulation of life forms have become a public and aesthetic discourse unto themselves. This course will examine intersections between laboratory practices and visual art production. Projects will employ video microscopes and scanning devices, scientific specimen collections, plant tissue engineering, new anatomical models and molecular cuisine. In addition, each student will design their own terrarium with fish, aquatic plants and/or micro eco-systems. Field trips and guest lecturers will complement course material. Students may work in a variety of media, from drawing and painting to the digital and performing arts.
In this multimedia course, students will explore color and the principles of color theory. Each project will incorporate a specific lesson about color and light as a starting point, which is subsequently developed into a more complex and personal work. This is a challenging course that will help students to acquire the skills to make visually dynamic works, as well as expand the way they use, perceive and understand color. Projects will incorporate painting, photography, collage and digital images. In addition to home assignments, students are required to keep a sketchbook and to review exhibitions. Note: Please bring acrylic paints (approved, nontoxic materials only) to each session. Students must own or have access to a digital camera.
Each session of this course will begin with a 20-minute warm-up assignment as a way to experiment with different approaches to painting and image-making. Students will then work on assigned and self-initiated projects. Working from observation, using systems to develop work and understanding drawing as a key to painting are just some of the approaches that will be explored. Experimentation with various materials and techniques is encouraged, as well as development of content through focusing on issues of identity, taste, politics, spirituality and philosophy. Home assignments, journal keeping and reviewing exhibitions are required. This is a rigorous course, as are the process of art-making and the discipline of being an artist.
Note: Only approved, nontoxic materials can be used.
This course will concentrate on both the technical aspects and conceptual basis for working from and with photography in painting. The apparent objectivity of photographs will be used to investigate their hidden codes: what the photograph documents, what is suggested, what is left out and the social role of subject matter. We will discuss the formal qualities of images and how they might change the reception of a painting. Some emphasis will be given to the categories of dreams and hallucinations, memory and time, pictures and politics, and commercial images.
Foundation-year painting will explore various means of representation through the application of pigments to canvas, panels and paper. Color and its organizational principles will be investigated—both as a practical and theoretical endeavor. An exploration of form and content will be undertaken with an emphasis on technical skills. Class critiques and museum visits will be employed as vehicles to develop critical terms concerning painting.
This is the second part of a two-semester course.
Foundation-year painting will explore various means of representation through the application of pigments to canvas, panels and paper. Color and its organizational principles will be investigated—both as a practical and theoretical endeavor. An exploration of form and content will be undertaken with an emphasis on technical skills. Class critiques and museum visits will be employed as vehicles to develop critical terms concerning painting.
From an image’s conception to its execution, ideas, materials and processes run together. In this workshop, we’ll investigate the use of novel and traditional materials and the range of pictorial sources: fine art to pop art, everyday life to nightlife, institutions and the politics of space, objective and subjective analyses. What’s your worldview? What’s your comfort zone and how can you exploit it? With an emphasis on interpretation of work through the materials used (paint, honey, nail polish), the context in which they appear (wall, floor, street) and the formal elements of construction (scale, application, space, light, subject), we will look for ways to describe and strengthen your point of view. Instruction is one-on-one with class critiques. Discussions about work by artists who employ analytic, eccentric, comedic, political, romantic or intuitive points of view are included.
Together, we will examine our assumptions about traditional painting in relation to a more contemporary experience of art-making. All approaches are welcome. Focus will be on discovering the problems of interest to each student and finding the material/metaphor most appropriate to each person’s objectives. Dialogue will center on developing the strengths of personal ideas in relation to the vast and rich community of painting’s vital past and intriguing present. A project-based course for students interested in developing their own ideas through a range of work in various media, emphasizing painting, but also encouraging works in other media. We will visit galleries and museums, and students will review various exhibitions on a regular basis. There will be group critiques throughout the semester.
Students will employ any media of their choice to further inform and advance their creative efforts. The emphasis will be on developing a dialogue and methodology that refines and explores new artistic territory. “Studio-time” is stressed to discover how best to further identify and realize intentions, how to organize efforts, and how to work both intellectually and physically in the studio. Research and archival practices will be taught. Internet sites will be employed to expand both technical and intellectual information and resources. Instruction is given on an individual basis. Students are encouraged to exchange ideas and techniques with their peers, as well as visit New York’s vast cultural resources on a regular basis. The understanding of visual culture, the evolution of a creative working process and the ability to communicate visual ideas are the goals of this course. There will be individual and group critiques.
This painting course will engage students in their development of the narrative image. Using traditional and experimental approaches to oil paint, acrylic and gouache, students will explore composition, color and process in relation to the narrative possibilities of the picture. Students will work from models, memory, and imagination and will explore the uses of the narrative image and its possibility to express ideas. The uses of narrative in contemporary art and storytelling in art history will be discussed. Students will develop their ideas as well as their technical skills.
The goal of this course is to give students a strong foundation in both the intellectual and the formal aspects of painting. While representation in painting will be the subject, the focus will be on painting as a language and a process. Working from observation, various aspects of pictorial construction will be emphasized. Students will execute quick wet-into-wet paintings of the models to become more intimate with the material aspects of painting. Light and shadow will be discussed as a motor of representation. We will explore contrast of value, as well as warm and cool tonality, and then examine color and color theory and create paintings based on a complementary palette. Even while working within structured projects and a restricted palette, the expressive means of painting will be emphasized. The last phase of the course will focus on more complex projects in full palette. Students will be encouraged to develop their personal interests and subjects without abandoning formal aspects of painting. Group critiques emphasizing the verbalization of intent will be an essential element. Home assignments, slide presentations and museum visits are included.
What do we do when we look? What happens as we build pictures? What makes an image memorable? We will consider the context for these concerns from Cézanne to psychedelic art to current exhibitions. Learn to focus your intentions while finetuning your intuition. Work from observation, imagination or printed sources with an emphasis on the distinctly physiological experience of painting.
Silkscreen changed the look of art in the early 1960s when painters like Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg started combining printing and painting to make unique works of art. This transformation of a once commercial process into a multifaceted art making tool made it possible to repeat images and create unlimited variations whether on paper, canvas, plastic, glass, metal, wood or any number of other materials. Silkscreen has also incorporated the use of digital photography and computer manipulations for image making. Students will be encouraged to make the most of this wide-open process and to seek their own creative solutions. Work will be critiqued on an ongoing basis.
In this course, students will develop a painting practice that employs imagery and pictorial means from both abstract and representational realms. This painting tradition includes the work of Henri Matisse, Philip Guston, Elizabeth Murray and Gerhard Richter, to name a few. Students will be encouraged to create images that incorporate the formal languages of modes of abstraction. The development of a mature studio practice will be stressed.
This course covers basic watercolor painting materials and techniques. Form, composition and color will be discussed and students will explore the expressive and stylistic possibilities of the medium. Visual examples from art history and contemporary art will be part of the class critiques.
Image-based work is the predominate form of painting today. It can range from simple figuration to highly resolved illusionistic painting, with many divergent alternatives in between. Much of the current work is photographically derived. This course will explore the full range of modes of representation, with an emphasis on the photograph as a source. The use of photographic information, from media-based imagery through digital alteration will be considered. We will cover the ways that photography is both similar to and different from direct observation. Particular emphasis will be placed on helping students to match their technique to their sources and to defining the underlying content. A variety of imagery, media and content will be thoughtfully considered. Contemporary use of historical techniques will be demonstrated.
This course will look at alternative visions of the art process as a cabinet of curiosities. Cell phones, computers, digital cameras, macro-videography—if you can film it, we will use it. Devices that produce an array of visual imagery are now embraced by art. From high-quality to low-res pixilated imagery, projects will range from self-portraits to group portraits, social/political content, gender and sexuality, psychological and cultural experiments, the conventional vs. the subversive, darkness and light. Students will also learn to incorporate music/soundscapes as an integral part of their work. Projects will investigate what stories you want to tell by using a variety of approaches and genres. Point of view, subjectivity, lighting, image quality, black-and-white vs. color, sound or silence—all are considerations that will be emphasized and implemented.
You are what you eat—or are you? Do you know what is in your food? From farm to fork what happens in between? Is what the food producer tells you true? FOOD: Projects in Bio Art focuses on how food production, industrial farming and GMOs have become part of our daily life. Projects will consists of growing plants hydroponically, DNA analysis of local food, and time-lapse photography and microscopic imaging of foodstuffs. In addition, we will explore the cultural differences, taboos and evolution of eating practices.
We will look at culinary styles around the world, and their social, economic and political ramifications. We will examine urban farming, molecular cuisine, digital gastronomy, as well as pesticides and contaminates. Part forensic and part horticulture in practice, we will gather plants to extract pigments for watercolor; design food sculptures, including stencils for cakes; and use spices in novel ways. We will explore the effect microorganisms have on food— from cheese to e-coli to yogurt. From the good, the bad and the ugly, how has genetic engineering affected our lives? What effect is global warming having on food sources? Performance, painting, sculpture, public art, photography, illustration and cartooning, as well as community-based projects are welcome.
From the decipherment of the human genome to industrialized food production, science has spilled out of the laboratory into our lives. As scientists engage in molecular engineering, the corporeal body and the manipulation of life forms have become a public and aesthetic discourse unto themselves. This course will examine intersections between laboratory practices and visual art production. Projects will employ video microscopes and scanning devices, scientific specimen collections, plant tissue engineering, new anatomical models and molecular cuisine. In addition, each student will design their own terrarium with fish, aquatic plants and/or micro eco-systems. Field trips and guest lecturers will complement course material. Students may work in a variety of media, from drawing and painting to the digital and performing arts.
What is referred to as “video art” has become a ubiquitous feature of 21st-century art practice, yet it is an art form whose emergence is still a relatively fresh aspect of contemporary art history. This course will explore the origins of video art, examining its sources in film, photography and performance art. Through screenings of key works; discussion with artists, critics and curators, and in directed readings, students will be exposed to important works and individuals associated with the first two decades of video. Special attention will be paid to an understanding of the cultural and social context that supported the emergence of video art. We will focus upon the evolution of video art from both a technological perspective as well as the development of a video’s critical and institutional framework. Artists whose works will be viewed and discussed include Nam June Paik, Wolf Vostell, Bruce Nauman, Yoko Ono, Peter Campus, Vito Acconci, Frank Gillette, Juan Downey, Joan Jonas, Chris Burden, Lynda Benglis, Stan, Ira Schneider, Andy Mann, Martha Rosler, Allan Sekula, Shigeko Kubota, Bill Viola, Gary Hill, Mary Lucier, Woody and Steina Vasulka, Ilene Segalove, William Wegman, Tony Oursler, Muntadas, Keith Sonnier, Bruce and Norman Yonemoto, Dara Birnbaum, Ant Farm, TVTV, Videofreex, Marcel Odenbach, Dan Graham, Doug Hall, Richard Serra, Terry Fox, Howard Fried, Paul Kos, Paul McCarthy, Mike Kelley and Ernie Kovacs.
As video art became more widely accepted and the tools became increasingly affordable and available, the medium quickly emerged as a primary site for the global dialogue that characterizes contemporary art practice. Among the topics to be addressed in this screening, lecture and discussion course will be the emer- gence of Asian, Latin American and European Video Art, the continued develop- ment of sculptural video installation work and the emergence of the market for video art. The blurring of the lines among video art digital art forms, digital cinema and art made for the Internet will also be addressed. Artists whose works will be viewed and discussed include Nam June Paik, Wolf Vostell, Bruce Nauman, Yoko Ono, Peter Campus, Vito Acconci, Frank Gillette, Juan Downey, Joan Jonas, Chris Burden, Lynda Benglis, Stan, Ira Schneider, Andy Mann, Martha Rosler, Allan Sekula, Shigeko Kubota, Bill Viola, Gary Hill, Mary Lucier, Woody and Steina Vasulka, Ilene Segalove, William Wegman, Tony Oursler, Muntadas, Keith Sonnier, Bruce and Norman Yonemoto, Dara Birnbaum, Ant Farm, TVTV, Videofreex, Marcel Odenbach, Dan Graham, Doug Hall, Richard Serra, Terry Fox, Howard Fried, Paul Kos, Paul McCarthy, Mike Kelley and Ernie Kovacs. Prerequisite: AHD-2302, History of Video Art: 1965 to 1985.
As in the past, artists today look to the history of art for inspiration. But we also want our work to communicate with more diverse audiences outside of the art world. So we appropriate the ideas and practices of disciplines that were not previously considered within the realm of art. Our projects in this course will explore these “alien” methodologies. We’ll repurpose techniques of mass production to modulate the scale and adaptability of our work. We’ll utilize film techniques to deal with issues of time compression, psychological space and storytelling. We’ll adapt developments in science to conjure the invisible or to actualize the unimaginable. We’ll investigate how the Internet and social media sites have reconfigured old notions of public and private and we’ll exploit this new virtual space in our art. The world as we know it is more complex and nuanced than it was just a generation ago. The goal of this course is to discover how art has evolved in this new environment. Students may also develop other areas of interest as a focus of their work. All practices are allowed. The course will include readings, film screenings, and other activities that relate to our studio projects.
This course is designed to give students an introductory look into creating Augmented and Virtual realities, specifically with a focus on freeform interaction. As a survey class to new technologies, students will draw parallels between being at the forefront of the technology, and how to utilize these tools into their own contemporary art practice. The class will look into AR builders, 3D object and asset libraries, open source applications, SDK (software development kits), as well as other collaborative elements of production. This course is meant for beginners with very little AR/VR/coding experience as well as more advanced students looking to expand their current practice. As a secondary element to this class, students will be posed with questions of the historical foundation of new technologies, as well as dealing with theory and practice of visual communication in an augmented realm. They’ll interact with experimental storytelling, the internet as a visual tool, post-photography, and post-internet thematics, and also the implications of introducing a 3D Digital Imaging platform like AR/VR to artistic practice. Students will present their work within a digital space and be asked to consider how their work functions from both a traditionally formal and conceptual aspect, as well as how that translates into contemporary media. From photorealism to hyper-stylization, and working with everything from texturing, lighting, rendering, photographic vantage points, topology, and more, students will learn about the wide ranges of possibilities in this new and fascinating technology, while developing their own artistic voice using these new mediums.
Prerequisite: FID-2020, Sophomore Seminar or FID-3446/7, Digital Sculpting, or instructor’s permission. Note: Open to students from all departments.
This course will concentrate on both the technical aspects and conceptual basis for working from and with photography in painting. The apparent objectivity of photographs will be used to investigate their hidden codes: what the photograph documents, what is suggested, what is left out and the social role of subject matter. We will discuss the formal qualities of images and how they might change the reception of a painting. Some emphasis will be given to the categories of dreams and hallucinations, memory and time, pictures and politics, and commercial images.
Much of contemporary culture, in one way or other, refers to photography. This introductory course offers a hands-on approach to shooting and printing photographs. It also covers photo theory, history and influential emerging photographers. Students will shoot and process their photographs in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, master archival inkjet printing and learn to shoot in a studio set-up using strobes—skills that have practical and artistic applications. In addition to our classroom work, we will regularly visit photo exhibitions at Chelsea galleries. By the end of the semester, students will have developed some knowledge of contemporary photographic discourse and the technical skills to shoot and print their own work.
In this seminar, students will focus on the media image and its implications in their work. In practice, the photograph has become a drawing tool for the artist and we will explore photography and video in relation to painting and drawing. Projects in lighting and composition, as well as color and its effects will be explored in still photography and the moving image. Stop-motion video effects will be used to animate a drawing. Photography and related software will be employed to address space, texture and volume as formal concerns in image-making. Students will learn how to document their work, how to use a camera that goes beyond point-and-click and what range of possibilities can be achieved with these instruments. How to color correct prints and videos will also be covered. Sound and editing techniques as they apply to art production is included in this media primer.
In this seminar, students will focus on the media image and its implications in their work. In practice, the photograph has become a drawing tool for the artist and we will explore photography and video in relation to painting and drawing. Projects in lighting and composition, as well as color and its effects will be explored in still photography and the moving image. Stop-motion video effects will be used to animate a drawing. Photography and related software will be employed to address space, texture and volume as formal concerns in image-making. Students will learn how to document their work, how to use a camera that goes beyond point-and-click and what range of possibilities can be achieved with these instruments. How to color correct prints and videos will also be covered. Sound and editing techniques as they apply to art production is included in this media primer.
Limited to 15 students
Through exploration and invention, and by embracing all media, students will engage in a critical discourse about what is happening in real time in the visual arts now, through their work. A fully mixed-media orientation is receptive to all students, including those who are primarily painters, photographers or video-makers, performers, etc., and to all approaches. The emphasis is on enabling students to experiment with a full range of traditional, unconventional and exotic materials, techniques and ideas: digital fabrication, audio, electricity, fluids, mechanical parts, photomontage, optics, metal, paper, wood. The development of student concepts and personal interests will be strongly supported. Our thinking will be placed in contemporary and historical context through presentations of visual and textual resources: slide shows, video, articles, Web-based online materials and a weekly update on current exhibitions. Among the many ideas that will be explored are: perception, transformation, performance, the body and language, as well as the environmental, political and site-specific in art. Resources will be discussed and extensive technical help will be provided. There will be group critiques. Instruction will be on an individual basis.
From low-tech projection to high-tech immersive environments, video installation has become a dominant medium for contemporary artists. Drawing from the history of film and video art, the students will explore some of the different techniques of analog and digital media in their work in the digital lab. This course will focus on developing students’ knowledge of video installation and encourage experimentation with a variety of approaches to the projected image. Students will generate four projects throughout the semester. We will meet regularly as a group and on a one-on-one basis to discuss current exhibitions, readings and student projects, and screen film/video work by some of the major figures in the field. The remaining time will be spent in the studio/lab. Students are encouraged to incorporate their personal interests and perspectives into their work. Projects will relate to ideas and forms of light projection from conception and production to display and distribution; creative relationships between visual and audio; the physicality of light; narrative and non-narrative structure; original and appropriated material; public and private exhibition; interaction with performance and objects/sculpture. The course will touch on issues of gender, social and political activism, and the history of media communication.
Video mapping (or spatial augmented reality) is an exciting projection medium that
can turn almost any surface, regardless of its shape and size, into a dynamic video
display. This course is intended for students who want to move into this powerful,
creative medium and will focus on exploring popular video mapping software
and hardware technology. Students will create a video-mapping project that will
be featured on an architectural space in Manhattan. Note: Open to students from
all departments.
This course is a continuation of FID-3634, Video Mapping Art. Having explored the techniques of basic video mapping, students will proceed into advanced augmented reality theory and practice. This course will examine techniques in spatial scanning, multi-projector systems, projecting in moving objects, Kinect-based augmented reality installations, Colossal outdoors video projections and multiplatform performance environments. In addition, students will be introduced to specialized digital tools for video mapping such as TouchDesigner, HeavyM, Z Vector, DynaMapper (for iPad), TorsionSoft, Millumin, VPT (Video Projection Tools), LPMT (Little Projecting-Mapping Tool), Resolume Arena 4, Arkaos GrandVJ XT and Visution Mapio 2 Pro. Students will complete a project based in video mapping, which integrates course material in interesting and meaningful ways. To this end, at least half of the class time will be allocated for working on these projects with guidance from the instructor.
This course is for students who already have a basic foundation in etching and monoprint techniques and want to take their skills to the next level. Advanced techniques such as three-plate color registration prints, transparent color roll-ups, viscosity printing, hand applied and blended surface color techniques, spit-biting, and a refinement of black-and-white techniques for line work, including hard ground, aquatint and soft ground will be covered. Prerequisite: FID-2841/FID-2842, Etching and Monoprint as Illustration, or equivalent.
In this advanced silkscreen course, students will pursue an ambitious semesterlength book project or series—from concept to finished and bound multiples. Various ways to present silkscreen prints as sequential images will be explored, including books, themed portfolios and comics. Bookbinding techniques will be covered, including Japanese bookbinding, accordion fold and multiple-signature binding methods. Large-scale digital output is available. Prerequisite: At least one silkscreen course, or instructor’s permission
This course will explore the use various techniques in relief printing—woodcut, linoleum, monoprint—to create original artist books or portfolios of prints. There will be demonstrations in both traditional hand-cut relief techniques as well as the use of digital cutting starting from Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator files. Color separation techniques and the use of overlapping color will be demonstrated. Students will have the option to create editions of each work or to work in a series of unique monoprints. Various bookbinding techniques and styles will be covered.
This course will focus on the many ways of working with color and inking processes in etching. Traditional and contemporary techniques, including drypoint, hard ground, soft ground, lift ground, white ground and aquatint, will be used to capture the qualities of pen and ink, crayon and brush. These processes can be combined on a single plate or with multiple plates to create layered depths of color and texture. Inking techniques include intaglio, surface rolls, stencils and viscosity—a method of applying multiple colors on a single plate. Chine collé, collagraphs, monotypes, Xerox transfers, offsetting and three-dimensional prints will be demonstrated, along with photo-etching processes. Print on various papers, canvas, silk, aluminum, and other surfaces to make one-of-a-kind prints, editions, collages and mixed-media works.
This course is for students interested in developing painterly and drawn images using copper-plate etching techniques. Copper is a soft, sensitive and responsive metal that is able to capture all the graphic and tonal subtleties of drawing and painting. Students will discover new forms of expression by learning how to build an image through drawing and layering. Intaglio techniques, including hard ground, soft ground, spit-bite, white ground, sugar lift, and open bite will be covered. All processes will be demonstrated and applied through self-initiated etching projects.
This in-depth etching course explores the wide range of materials and techniques used to create the linear, tonal and photographic images of the intaglio print. Basic techniques cover line etching for pen-and-ink effects, drypoint for velvety lines, soft ground for both crayon-like lines and textures, aquatint for tones and lift grounds for the quality of watercolor. Inking techniques include black-and-white and color intaglio, à la poupée, stenciling, and chine collé for added color and texture. All processes will be discussed and demonstrated, along with photo etching techniques, monoprints, collagraphs and carborundum prints. Students will develop the skills to proof, edition and curate prints. On-going critiques will be included.
This course will introduce students to numerous basic etching and monoprint techniques, including hard ground, soft ground, aquatint and color printing. Once students become familiar with functioning in a print shop, they will learn to use prints as a viable technique for fine illustration. The emphasis will be on experimentation and personal expression. We will discuss the early relationship of printmaking to illustration, and will study and discuss specific illustrators who use printmaking as a final technique for answering illustration problems.
Silkscreen is ideal for making bold, iconic images. This course will cover all aspects of the silkscreen process, including making separations by hand and by computer and printing on various media. Students will learn how to use silkscreen as a tool for strengthening their image-making abilities and color sense.
Japanese woodblock printing reached its technical zenith in the latter 1800s, with the art movement known as Ukioye. This course will emphasize the contemporary forms of Japanese block printing using watercolor and gouache inks to achieve a soft effect similar to watercolor paintings and pastel drawings. Images will be carved into the woodblock and then the surface will be inked with brushes and transferred to paper by hand printing. Demonstrations in proper tool honing and paper handling will be given; students are encouraged to explore a variety of approaches to the creation of multicolored woodblock prints.
This course will give a thorough introduction to letterpress printing. We will begin with hand-set, movable wood and metal type in combination with etched plates and linocuts, and then explore making and using photopolymer plates from digital files. This medium is versatile and adaptable, mixing easily with other printmaking processes; the quality of image can range from hard edge to painterly. Letterpress printing also impresses a third dimension of depth and texture to the image and text on paper. Simple, accurate color registration is easy on the letterpress. The experience of hand typesetting using vintage metal and wood typefaces will enhance students’ knowledge and understanding of typography. Printing blocks and plates range from completely manual, hand-cut and collaged to digital photopolymer plates. Letterpress die cutting allows students to actually shape their projects. Operation and maintenance of several letterpresses will be included. Each session will begin with a demonstration followed by studio time to work on individual projects, from type-based graphic designs to fine art limited editions.
Note: Printshop facilities are available outside of class hours.
The majority of mass printing is produced by the lithographic process. It has the remarkable ability to reproduce all the subtle qualities of charcoal, pencil, ink, watercolor, and more. This innate characteristic is why so many artists over the years have chosen to work in lithography. Goya, Lautrec, Picasso, Rauschenberg, Johns and Bourgeois, to name a few. Lithography is a medium that readily lends itself equally to painting and drawing, as well as various digital and photographic media. This course will offer traditional hand-drawn and state-of-the-art methods in realizing multicolored, professionally printed editions or work resulting in unique monoprints. These will include the options to work with hand-drawn aluminum plates, Bavarian limestone, photographic plates or any combination of these techniques.
Exploring the power of the poster as art and advertising is the premise of this course. The process of creating a poster, from concept through final execution, will be covered. Students will complete a minimum of eight projects, each with a different focus. In the spirit of artists like Shepard Fairey, Barbara Kruger and Andy Warhol, we will examine how to experiment with concept, symbolism, form and function. Projects will be collectively researched and ideas will be presented for discussion. Projects will be printed using a range of screen-printing techniques, 56 and students will experiment with printing on substrates, applying various inks and ink alternatives. We will also examine the aesthetic and the expressive power of posters created by masters in this field. Note: Open to advertising and design majors only.
This course will introduce the printmaking processes of woodcut, linocut, monoprint and collagraph to create various types of prints. All processes will be demonstrated and applied in self-directed projects. The relief print is the oldest method of printmaking; its directness and ease of color application make it particularly appealing to artists of all fields. In woodcut, the non-image areas of the print are carved away and color is applied to the high surfaces of the block using rollers or brushes. Color can also be rubbed in below the surface to create depths and color mixing. Paper is then pressed against the inked surface of the block or plate to transfer the color image from the block. The monoprint is unique within printmaking because every print is different. Images are painted or drawn directly onto blank plates and then transferred to paper with a printing press, resulting in large, direct, painterly prints. The use of multiple printing, chine collé and color overlays will also be explored.
Note: Printshop facilities are available outside of class hours.
This seminar will focus on questions specific to printmaking, publishing and artist’s multiples. Visiting artists, publishers, curators and printers will discuss emerging trends in printmaking, with a special focus on the expanded printmaking technologies in the digital age. Issues such as materials, scale, cost, presentation and distribution will complement discourse concerning printmaking’s iconographic base. Students will create a body of work and interact through critique formats. Note: Open to all students.
Silkscreen, one of the most versatile and widely used methods of printmaking, will be explored through demonstrations and self-initiated projects. Painters as well as photographers will find a new way of expressing their ideas through screen printing. Images can be made using hand-drawn separations, photographic film, digital separations and photocopied images. Printing on canvas, T-shirts, wood, metal, glass, as well as large-scale works, are all possible with silkscreen. Large-scale digital output is available. Water-based silkscreen ink is used in class allowing for soap-and-water cleanup.
Silkscreen, one of the most versatile and widely used methods of printmaking, will be explored through demonstrations and self-initiated projects. Painters and photographers will find a new way of expressing their ideas through screen printing. Images can be made using hand-drawn separations, photographic film, digital separations and photocopied images. Printing on canvas, T-shirts, wood, metal and glass, as well as large-scale works, are all possible with silkscreen. Large-scale digital output is available. Water-based silkscreen ink is used in class allowing for soap-and-water cleanup.
Note: Printshop facilities are available outside of class hours.
Silkscreen changed the look of art in the early 1960s when painters like Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg started combining printing and painting to make unique works of art. This transformation of a once commercial process into a multifaceted art making tool made it possible to repeat images and create unlimited variations whether on paper, canvas, plastic, glass, metal, wood or any number of other materials. Silkscreen has also incorporated the use of digital photography and computer manipulations for image making. Students will be encouraged to make the most of this wide-open process and to seek their own creative solutions. Work will be critiqued on an ongoing basis.
Using silkscreen, students will explore various ways to present print as sequential images—artists’ books, themed portfolios and comics, even fanzines. The course will cover the process from concept to finished and bound multiples. Methods of making color separations for multicolor prints using traditional hand-drawn and modern photographic techniques will be included. Bookbinding techniques will be demonstrated, such as Japanese bookbinding, accordion folding and signature binding. Large-scale digital output is available.
Using silkscreen, students will explore various ways to present print as sequential images—artists’ books, themed portfolios and comics, even fanzines. The course will cover the process from concept to finished and bound multiples. Methods of making color separations for multicolor prints using traditional hand-drawn and modern photographic techniques will be included. Bookbinding techniques will be demonstrated, such as Japanese bookbinding, accordion folding and signature binding. Large-scale digital output is available.
This advanced course will combine silkscreen printing with sculptural concerns to create large scale or three-dimensional mixed-media works. Concepts, fabrication, and sculptural edition problems will be tested and solved. We will explore tools, materials and methods, along with curating and documentation, and printing on a variety of different substrates such as plastic, metal, textiles and ceramics. Find out about decals, heat forming, embossing, pochoir and 3D printing. Get studio tips and logic. Learn about jigs for cutting and drilling. This course is a “hands-on make anything” tour de force. Field trips and guests artists are included. Note: A working knowledge of silkscreen is recommended.
This course will concentrate on the use of silkscreen to realize personal projects, print editions, multiples, posters and portfolio pieces. Emphasis will be placed on idea concept, material choices and craft. The use of hand-drawn, photographic, photocopied and digital color separation techniques will be introduced in class. Large-scale digital output is available. Water-based silkscreen ink will be used, allowing for soap-and-water cleanup.
This course will appeal to fine artists as well as graphic designers and emerging fashion designers. Demonstrations will demystify the process of printing on canvas, T-shirts or totes. Learn to use various methods of printing on fabric, from silkscreen to block printing and stencils. You will be guided through “step and repeat” color separation used in printing entire bolts of fabric, to “engineered” images for pre-made piece goods like jackets, hats and patches. Students will use textile inks that are permanent and washable for professional results. Start your own T-shirt business and know what to buy and where to buy it.
Among the first artists were shamans, mystics who created some of the earliest art to explore visionary experiences and our human relationship with the natural world. This course will look at art’s ancient roots in shamanic rituals, and see how these practices can enhance our creative and visionary skills today. Grounded in a relationship with the living world, shamans explore the mystical universe by acquiring a deeper knowledge of the self to help heal the self and society. This approach remains deeply embedded in the human psyche and continues to inspire artists. We’ll look at global indigenous traditions of shamanic art and modern art influenced by these insights. We’ll discuss related concepts such as social sculpture, research on psychology, and dreams and consciousness. And we’ll learn to create our own symbolic images, objects, installations and performance/ rituals, developing our own vocabulary of self-expression in an exploration of the personal process and visionary traditions in art. Projects can take the form of 2D, 3D and time-based media, performance and video. It will also include field trips to museums, a forest and outdoor projects at natural sites to connect with the living energies of nature.
Body casting is the art of replicating the human form in a plaster casting. Students will make body castings from live models, that will then be corrected to match the live subject. Other techniques will involve using oil-based clay to create a “skin” for the plaster. Silicone rubber will be explored for mold-making and as a casting material. Discussions will include commercial applications for body cast products, special-effects makeup, specialty costuming, animatronic characters, three-dimensional commercial sculptures and holiday event mask-making.
This course is an intensive production-based course focusing on the creation of mixed-media installations using ceramic as the starting medium. The course will be divided into two sections. The first will cover different aspects of plaster mold production and the use of liquid clay (slip) in order to produce duplicates of an object. The second section will focus on the students’ project ideas through the review of work of artists producing installation art; group and individual critiques and exhibition reviews. Once a basic knowledge of mold-making and slip casting is established, students will propose a series of projects of which some will be selected during group critiques for full production. Specific analysis of mixed media use for each student’s project will be reviewed and organized in terms of production and aesthetics during group session. Attention will be given to the context in which the installation is placed and viewed and its impact on the physical and cultural environment of society. Homework will be extensive in order to acquire an independent work ethic.
This course is an intensive production-based course focusing on the creation of mixed media installations using ceramic as the starting medium. The course will be divided into two sections. The first will cover the different aspects of plaster mold production and the use of liquid clay (slip) in order to produce duplicates of an object. The second section will focus on the students’ specific project ideas through the review of work of artists producing installation art; group and individ- ual critiques, and exhibition reviews. Once a basic knowledge of mold making and slip casting is established, students will propose a series of projects of which some will be selected during group critiques for full production. Specific analysis of mixed media use for each student’s project will be reviewed and organized in terms of production and aesthetics during group session. Attention will be given to the context in which the installation is placed and viewed and its impact on the physical and cultural environment of society. Homework will be extensive in order to enable the student to acquire an independent work ethic.
Collaborative Practices examines the role, and its challenges, of collective art-making. Students will look to art historical antecedents to observe how collaborative practices have progressed throughout art history. We will discuss and define distinctions between collectivism and collaboration, and identify key concerns of contemporary art groups/collaborations. Issues surrounding authorship, altruism, social and economic divides, relational aesthetics, studio output and internships will be emphasized. All projects will be collaboratively made and will investigate the invisible administrative labor behind studio practice, as well as tactile material processes as handled by various par ties. Key to this course will be active discussion and a willingness to let go of the artist’s hand.
Digital fabrication practices have revolutionized design and manufacturing, and are reshaping the world around us. Increasingly these tools are being employed by artist to create works previously impossible or impractical to make. This course will be an exploration of CNC (Computer Numerical Control) based fabrication and its integration into contemporary art- and object-making. It will emphasize technology such as the CNC laser cutter, CNC router and CNC plasma, and discuss various fabrication methods and refine skillsets. We will also examine how this technology affects our understanding of space and material, modes of production, and other considerations.
This course introduces methods and concepts in sculpture using state-of-the-art technology. Students will work collaboratively on sculptural installations using CNC (computer numerically controlled) and rapid prototyping machines. Each project will focus on generating a component-based system where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The final, full-scale installation will include new spatial concepts and novel materials. Software and equipment instructions will be provided. Guest lectures and studio visits are included. Note: No previous experience with digital design or advanced machining is required.
Studying the human form as a medium for making art in three-dimensional, sculptural modes is the focus of this course. The representation of the human body through traditional and nontraditional sculptural approaches will be emphasized. Projects will explore technical, aesthetic and conceptual aspects of the human figure.
You are what you eat—or are you? Do you know what is in your food? From farm to fork what happens in between? Is what the food producer tells you true? FOOD: Projects in Bio Art focuses on how food production, industrial farming and GMOs have become part of our daily life. Projects will consists of growing plants hydroponically, DNA analysis of local food, and time-lapse photography and microscopic imaging of foodstuffs. In addition, we will explore the cultural differences, taboos and evolution of eating practices.
We will look at culinary styles around the world, and their social, economic and political ramifications. We will examine urban farming, molecular cuisine, digital gastronomy, as well as pesticides and contaminates. Part forensic and part horticulture in practice, we will gather plants to extract pigments for watercolor; design food sculptures, including stencils for cakes; and use spices in novel ways. We will explore the effect microorganisms have on food— from cheese to e-coli to yogurt. From the good, the bad and the ugly, how has genetic engineering affected our lives? What effect is global warming having on food sources? Performance, painting, sculpture, public art, photography, illustration and cartooning, as well as community-based projects are welcome.
As in the past, artists today look to the history of art for inspiration. But we also want our work to communicate with more diverse audiences outside of the art world. So we appropriate the ideas and practices of disciplines that were not previously considered within the realm of art. Our projects in this course will explore these “alien” methodologies. We’ll repurpose techniques of mass production to modulate the scale and adaptability of our work. We’ll utilize film techniques to deal with issues of time compression, psychological space and storytelling. We’ll adapt developments in science to conjure the invisible or to actualize the unimaginable. We’ll investigate how the Internet and social media sites have reconfigured old notions of public and private and we’ll exploit this new virtual space in our art. The world as we know it is more complex and nuanced than it was just a generation ago. The goal of this course is to discover how art has evolved in this new environment. Students may also develop other areas of interest as a focus of their work. All practices are allowed. The course will include readings, film screenings, and other activities that relate to our studio projects.
This course is designed to give students an introductory look into creating Augmented and Virtual realities, specifically with a focus on freeform interaction. As a survey class to new technologies, students will draw parallels between being at the forefront of the technology, and how to utilize these tools into their own contemporary art practice. The class will look into AR builders, 3D object and asset libraries, open source applications, SDK (software development kits), as well as other collaborative elements of production. This course is meant for beginners with very little AR/VR/coding experience as well as more advanced students looking to expand their current practice. As a secondary element to this class, students will be posed with questions of the historical foundation of new technologies, as well as dealing with theory and practice of visual communication in an augmented realm. They’ll interact with experimental storytelling, the internet as a visual tool, post-photography, and post-internet thematics, and also the implications of introducing a 3D Digital Imaging platform like AR/VR to artistic practice. Students will present their work within a digital space and be asked to consider how their work functions from both a traditionally formal and conceptual aspect, as well as how that translates into contemporary media. From photorealism to hyper-stylization, and working with everything from texturing, lighting, rendering, photographic vantage points, topology, and more, students will learn about the wide ranges of possibilities in this new and fascinating technology, while developing their own artistic voice using these new mediums.
Prerequisite: FID-2020, Sophomore Seminar or FID-3446/7, Digital Sculpting, or instructor’s permission. Note: Open to students from all departments.
The goal of this course is to enable students to work in metal for creating sculpture. Practical assignments will cover the fundamentals of welding, including MIG and TIG. We will explore techniques for shaping metal bars, sheets and plates (by machine and by hand), as well as how to grind, polish and finish metal, and then combine these techniques into finished projects. Students will be introduced to the computer-driven plasma cutter, which can cut steel up to a half inch in thickness.
As an introduction to the material world, this course explores diverse media and their potentialities to create volume, line and mass. Ranging from the ethereal to the fabricated, materials such as clay, plaster, cardboard, wood, resin and wire will be investigated by exercises in casting, mold-making, installation and site-specific work. Discussion will include concepts of space, gravity and light, among others, as they pertain to three-dimensional form.
This course is designed as a series of projects to encourage students to solve problems and discover working processes. Each project will begin with a discussion of contemporary artists, as well as current museum and gallery exhibitions. Various materials will be explored, from woodworking to mold-making, welding to video. We will meet for group critiques.
This workshop takes a worldview of the sculpture-making process and will show how different cultures and art forms have impacted today’s sculpture. Students will not only draw on their own personal/cultural pasts to develop ideas and make sculpture, but also to challenge or ally those ideas with different information and influences. A wide range of materials and fabrication methods are available in this course. Through critiques and slide discussions, issues of form, content and context will be examined and interpreted. The use of language as applied to sculpture is of particular interest. A partial listing of the current vernacular that we will be cataloging and assessing for our use includes: architectonic, socially concerned, outsider art, site-specific, randomness and objectness. We’ll attend exhibitions, films, lectures or performances that relate to our activities. There will also be required reading.
Sculpture without limits. Every kind of sculpture can be investigated. Every type of material can be used. Welding, building, carving, modeling, site-specific and mixed-media assemblage will be taught. Hands-on instruction and strong technical skills enable each sculptor to realize his or her own thoughts. Weekly critiques will discuss work done in class. The idea comes first and then the sculpture. Where it came from, what it means, how it got there. Visits to museums, galleries and studios will be assigned. Slide lectures will augment discussion.
This advanced course will combine silkscreen printing with sculptural concerns to create large scale or three-dimensional mixed-media works. Concepts, fabrication, and sculptural edition problems will be tested and solved. We will explore tools, materials and methods, along with curating and documentation, and printing on a variety of different substrates such as plastic, metal, textiles and ceramics. Find out about decals, heat forming, embossing, pochoir and 3D printing. Get studio tips and logic. Learn about jigs for cutting and drilling. This course is a “hands-on make anything” tour de force. Field trips and guests artists are included. Note: A working knowledge of silkscreen is recommended.
This studio course will focus on basic metalworking for creating jewelry. Techniques covered will include: soldering and annealing, metal construction and forming, polishing and stone setting, as well as decorative finishes for surface treatment of metals, such as texturing, patinas, antiquing and stamping. Each student will begin with designing and creating a ring set with a stone, followed by personal projects that employ the areas covered in class. There will be time for experimentation. Individual instruction on additional techniques such as making chains, jump rings, clasps and hooks will be given for projects that require these techniques. Assignments vary each semester and students are welcome to continue their projects from a previous course. Note: Previous design or metal experience not required.
Artists as diverse as Claes Oldenburg and Louise Bourgeois have employed soft sculpture to investigate the whimsical as well as the darker aspects of identity and the human psyche. This course is designed to integrate various processes of traditional soft sculpture with contemporary applications that utilize digital technologies. A series of demonstrations that explore 2D and 3D surfaces will introduce students to the traditional methods of sewing, felting, dyeing, knotting, and weaving. Digital demonstrations will explore pattern design for laser cutting, digital embroidery and textile design that can be outsourced to print. Students are invited to create work using these applications in isolation or in combination.
Through exploration and invention, and by embracing all media, students will engage in a critical discourse about what is happening in real time in the visual arts now, through their work. A fully mixed-media orientation is receptive to all students, including those who are primarily painters, photographers or video-makers, performers, etc., and to all approaches. The emphasis is on enabling students to experiment with a full range of traditional, unconventional and exotic materials, techniques and ideas: digital fabrication, audio, electricity, fluids, mechanical parts, photomontage, optics, metal, paper, wood. The development of student concepts and personal interests will be strongly supported. Our thinking will be placed in contemporary and historical context through presentations of visual and textual resources: slide shows, video, articles, Web-based online materials and a weekly update on current exhibitions. Among the many ideas that will be explored are: perception, transformation, performance, the body and language, as well as the environmental, political and site-specific in art. Resources will be discussed and extensive technical help will be provided. There will be group critiques. Instruction will be on an individual basis.
From low-tech projection to high-tech immersive environments, video installation has become a dominant medium for contemporary artists. Drawing from the history of film and video art, the students will explore some of the different techniques of analog and digital media in their work in the digital lab. This course will focus on developing students’ knowledge of video installation and encourage experimentation with a variety of approaches to the projected image. Students will generate four projects throughout the semester. We will meet regularly as a group and on a one-on-one basis to discuss current exhibitions, readings and student projects, and screen film/video work by some of the major figures in the field. The remaining time will be spent in the studio/lab. Students are encouraged to incorporate their personal interests and perspectives into their work. Projects will relate to ideas and forms of light projection from conception and production to display and distribution; creative relationships between visual and audio; the physicality of light; narrative and non-narrative structure; original and appropriated material; public and private exhibition; interaction with performance and objects/sculpture. The course will touch on issues of gender, social and political activism, and the history of media communication.
Video mapping (or spatial augmented reality) is an exciting projection medium that
can turn almost any surface, regardless of its shape and size, into a dynamic video
display. This course is intended for students who want to move into this powerful,
creative medium and will focus on exploring popular video mapping software
and hardware technology. Students will create a video-mapping project that will
be featured on an architectural space in Manhattan. Note: Open to students from
all departments.
This course is a continuation of FID-3634, Video Mapping Art. Having explored the techniques of basic video mapping, students will proceed into advanced augmented reality theory and practice. This course will examine techniques in spatial scanning, multi-projector systems, projecting in moving objects, Kinect-based augmented reality installations, Colossal outdoors video projections and multiplatform performance environments. In addition, students will be introduced to specialized digital tools for video mapping such as TouchDesigner, HeavyM, Z Vector, DynaMapper (for iPad), TorsionSoft, Millumin, VPT (Video Projection Tools), LPMT (Little Projecting-Mapping Tool), Resolume Arena 4, Arkaos GrandVJ XT and Visution Mapio 2 Pro. Students will complete a project based in video mapping, which integrates course material in interesting and meaningful ways. To this end, at least half of the class time will be allocated for working on these projects with guidance from the instructor.
This course will explore fashion as conceptual art on the canvas of the body. We will explore how to design and create clothing and costumes; how to adapt and design patterns; sew and construct garments and accessories; decorate with paint and dye, printed photos, appliqué, embroidery, beadwork, neon wire, quilting and stuffing; and explore experimental and soft sculpture techniques. Students may also work with props and backdrops, special effects makeup, and other elements to create a complete look. Art fashion can be exhibited as art, or used to create characters for performance, photographs and videos, or to develop your own iconic look and become a living work of art.
Digital embroidery transforms a hand-crafted couture into a fine arts media. Just like a tattoo where an image is created with color and needles, the embroidered fabric or paper is needle-stitched in colored threads. The image is a file that can be saved and repeated as a multiple or repeat pattern. The course will cover digital sewing using registration applications. Techniques related to fashion and the fine arts will be explored. A visit to a commercial embroidery atelier will be at the conclusion of the course.
Limited to 12 students
Artists as diverse as Claes Oldenburg and Louise Bourgeois have employed soft sculpture to investigate the whimsical as well as the darker aspects of identity and the human psyche. This course is designed to integrate various processes of traditional soft sculpture with contemporary applications that utilize digital technologies. A series of demonstrations that explore 2D and 3D surfaces will introduce students to the traditional methods of sewing, felting, dyeing, knotting, and weaving. Digital demonstrations will explore pattern design for laser cutting, digital embroidery and textile design that can be outsourced to print. Students are invited to create work using these applications in isolation or in combination.
This course will appeal to fine artists as well as graphic designers and emerging fashion designers. Demonstrations will demystify the process of printing on canvas, T-shirts or totes. Learn to use various methods of printing on fabric, from silkscreen to block printing and stencils. You will be guided through “step and repeat” color separation used in printing entire bolts of fabric, to “engineered” images for pre-made piece goods like jackets, hats and patches. Students will use textile inks that are permanent and washable for professional results. Start your own T-shirt business and know what to buy and where to buy it.
This course will explore fashion as conceptual art on the canvas of the body. We will explore how to design and create clothing and costumes; how to adapt and design patterns; sew and construct garments and accessories; decorate with paint and dye, printed photos, appliqué, embroidery, beadwork, neon wire, quilting and stuffing; and explore experimental and soft sculpture techniques. Students may also work with props and backdrops, special effects makeup, and other elements to create a complete look. Art fashion can be exhibited as art, or used to create characters for performance, photographs and videos, or to develop your own iconic look and become a living work of art.
Collaborative Practices examines the role, and its challenges, of collective art-making. Students will look to art historical antecedents to observe how collaborative practices have progressed throughout art history. We will discuss and define distinctions between collectivism and collaboration, and identify key concerns of contemporary art groups/collaborations. Issues surrounding authorship, altruism, social and economic divides, relational aesthetics, studio output and internships will be emphasized. All projects will be collaboratively made and will investigate the invisible administrative labor behind studio practice, as well as tactile material processes as handled by various par ties. Key to this course will be active discussion and a willingness to let go of the artist’s hand.
What is referred to as “video art” has become a ubiquitous feature of 21st-century art practice, yet it is an art form whose emergence is still a relatively fresh aspect of contemporary art history. This course will explore the origins of video art, examining its sources in film, photography and performance art. Through screenings of key works; discussion with artists, critics and curators, and in directed readings, students will be exposed to important works and individuals associated with the first two decades of video. Special attention will be paid to an understanding of the cultural and social context that supported the emergence of video art. We will focus upon the evolution of video art from both a technological perspective as well as the development of a video’s critical and institutional framework. Artists whose works will be viewed and discussed include Nam June Paik, Wolf Vostell, Bruce Nauman, Yoko Ono, Peter Campus, Vito Acconci, Frank Gillette, Juan Downey, Joan Jonas, Chris Burden, Lynda Benglis, Stan, Ira Schneider, Andy Mann, Martha Rosler, Allan Sekula, Shigeko Kubota, Bill Viola, Gary Hill, Mary Lucier, Woody and Steina Vasulka, Ilene Segalove, William Wegman, Tony Oursler, Muntadas, Keith Sonnier, Bruce and Norman Yonemoto, Dara Birnbaum, Ant Farm, TVTV, Videofreex, Marcel Odenbach, Dan Graham, Doug Hall, Richard Serra, Terry Fox, Howard Fried, Paul Kos, Paul McCarthy, Mike Kelley and Ernie Kovacs.
As video art became more widely accepted and the tools became increasingly affordable and available, the medium quickly emerged as a primary site for the global dialogue that characterizes contemporary art practice. Among the topics to be addressed in this screening, lecture and discussion course will be the emer- gence of Asian, Latin American and European Video Art, the continued develop- ment of sculptural video installation work and the emergence of the market for video art. The blurring of the lines among video art digital art forms, digital cinema and art made for the Internet will also be addressed. Artists whose works will be viewed and discussed include Nam June Paik, Wolf Vostell, Bruce Nauman, Yoko Ono, Peter Campus, Vito Acconci, Frank Gillette, Juan Downey, Joan Jonas, Chris Burden, Lynda Benglis, Stan, Ira Schneider, Andy Mann, Martha Rosler, Allan Sekula, Shigeko Kubota, Bill Viola, Gary Hill, Mary Lucier, Woody and Steina Vasulka, Ilene Segalove, William Wegman, Tony Oursler, Muntadas, Keith Sonnier, Bruce and Norman Yonemoto, Dara Birnbaum, Ant Farm, TVTV, Videofreex, Marcel Odenbach, Dan Graham, Doug Hall, Richard Serra, Terry Fox, Howard Fried, Paul Kos, Paul McCarthy, Mike Kelley and Ernie Kovacs. Prerequisite: AHD-2302, History of Video Art: 1965 to 1985.
HDD-3200-B
Fall semester: 3 humanities and sciences credits
Instructor: J. Jacobson
This course will examine art since the late 1960s with an emphasis on the ideas of canonical artists, as well as those who are beginning to receive recognition. Minimal, postminimal, conceptual, pop and other genres will be thoroughly surveyed and considered in relation to current artistic practices. We will also examine thematic issues such as myth-making, do-it-yourself, self-criticism, with- drawal and, particularly, what artists, historians and critics mean by “contemporary art.” Throughout the semester, we will discuss and read critical texts and artists’ writings appropriate to each subject; students will make regular visits to museums, galleries, studios and other art spaces. Note: Junior fine arts majors have priority registration for this course.
Fall semester: 3 humanities and sciences credits
Instructor: M. Gal
A thorough survey of the visual arts will be provided in this course, as well as the philosophies of art, of the last four decades. The goal is to thoroughly familiarize students with the visual arts, and attendant ideas, beginning with the American art of the 1960s and concluding with contemporary art. Note: Junior fine arts majors have priority registration for this course.
HDD-3200-C
Fall semester: 3 humanities and sciences credits
Instructor: B. Mathes
This course will focus on the social and political nature of postmodern art, from the tumultuous 1960s to the present. Issues of race, class, gender and sexuality will be considered alongside more philosophical considerations such as the notion of what constitutes “art,” the meaning of originality and authorship and the changing role of popular culture in art. We will study various styles, conceptual approaches and subcultures that have had significant influence, such as pop and performance-based art to postminimalism and the East Village scene. Emphasis will be placed on American artists, and there will be regular visits to galleries and museums. Note: Junior fine arts majors have priority registration
for this course.
HDD-3200-D
Spring semester: 3 humanities and sciences credits
Instructor: S. Paul
This course will investigate contemporary art, from pop art to postmodernism. Beginning with the 1960s, which witnessed the birth of pop art, minimalism, postminimalism and conceptual art, we will study how these movements continue to be relevant today. Readings include primary texts and critical works. There will be visits to museums and gallery exhibitions. Note: Junior fine arts majors have priority registration for this course.
HDD-3200-E
Spring semester: 3 humanities and sciences credits
Instructor: R. Morgan
As the title for the course suggests, “ideas” are an intrinsic aspect of art and the aesthetic process. The focus will be given to ideas, both as intentional ingredients within works of art and as critical responses given to various works by artists, crit- ics, art historians and theorists—primarily through an examination of the art and writing of the past four decades. Note: Junior fine arts majors have priority regis- tration for this course.
As in the past, artists today look to the history of art for inspiration. But we also want our work to communicate with more diverse audiences outside of the art world. So we appropriate the ideas and practices of disciplines that were not previously considered within the realm of art. Our projects in this course will explore these “alien” methodologies. We’ll repurpose techniques of mass production to modulate the scale and adaptability of our work. We’ll utilize film techniques to deal with issues of time compression, psychological space and storytelling. We’ll adapt developments in science to conjure the invisible or to actualize the unimaginable. We’ll investigate how the Internet and social media sites have reconfigured old notions of public and private and we’ll exploit this new virtual space in our art. The world as we know it is more complex and nuanced than it was just a generation ago. The goal of this course is to discover how art has evolved in this new environment. Students may also develop other areas of interest as a focus of their work. All practices are allowed. The course will include readings, film screenings, and other activities that relate to our studio projects.
This seminar will introduce important concepts relative to future art practices, and address such questions as: Do you stand there with nothing to say or are you getting everything you can from your critiques and giving your fellow students everything you’ve got? This course is designed to give you the tools for a successful studio visit. Through a series of exercises, you will learn how to have a more meaningful dialogue with the most cantankerous critic, how to talk about your work and the work of others, how to process the input you receive, and how to manage the emotions around your work.
Limited to 15 students
This course maps the major movements and tendencies in modern art beginning with the realism of Courbet in the 19th century and continuing into the 20th century, including impressionism, postimpressionism, symbolism, fauvism, cubism, futurism, expressionism, Dada and surrealism. The art will be discussed in terms of the individual artist’s intent as well as in terms of historical events and cultural issues at the times in which they were created. Museum field trips are an important part of the course.
*Note: AHI-2020-A, Modern Art Through Pop I, is available only to international students whose first language is not English. Registration is by placement only; please consult with your academic advisor.
This course is a survey of art from the emergence of “modernism” through the radical transformations in established modes of art-making of the postwar period. Close attention will be paid to the social, political and economic contexts in which artistic styles and forms have materialized, grown or changed from mid-century to the present.
*Note: AHI-2025-A, Modern Art Through Pop II, is available only to international students whose first language is not English. Registration is by placement only; please consult with your academic advisor.
Limited to 20 students per section
This course is intended for students who wish to pursue graduate studies, artistin-residence programs and gallery representation. Topics will include: writing an artist’s statement, grant proposals, an analysis of art galleries, applying to graduate schools and portfolio presentation. Note: Open to senior fine arts majors only.
Instructor: J. Avgikos
Unlike the historical avant-garde that situated itself outside of mass culture, today’s emerging avant-garde art seems to anticipate ways of working from within and in relation to mass culture. Art is steadily moving out from the “white cube” to participate in a global continuum that’s hosted by satellite TV and cable, the Internet, all forms of wireless communication and international biennials. The fractious history of art and mass culture has grown exponentially within the past two decades in direct proportion to the invention of new imaging technologies and the development of global economies. This course proposes to examine the scant, but rich, history of relations between art and mass culture, and to chart the rise of media-related art. We will immerse ourselves in screenings of contemporary video/multimedia work of the past two decades and seek out as many pertinent exhibitions as we can throughout the semester. We will also read interviews with artists and curators, as well as texts on media theory, globalism and the like. Note: Senior fine arts and visual and critical studies majors have priority registration for this course.
Instructor: C. Matlin
This course is about the ideas and thinkers you might have missed while in art school. Some texts may be familiar, many will not. The aim of the course is to fill in the gaps in your reading knowledge. To this end, we will read some of the major texts in 19th- and 20th-century aesthetic and art historical thought: Alexis de Tocqueville, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Dewey, Clement Greenberg, Raymond Williams, Judith Butler, Griselda Pollock, and more. We will try to refrain from reading ourselves backward into the text, as anachronism has no place here. Instead, we will use the texts as a guidepost for our understanding of our current world, whether art-related or not. As such, the inclusion of art and artists into the discussion is encouraged. Note: Senior fine arts and visual and critical studies majors have priority registration for this course.
Instructors: S. Ellis, M. Levenstein
This course will examine the evolution of painting practice and theory since the advent of pluralism and postmodernism in the early 1970s. During this period, the medium was confronted with challenges from almost every faction within critical discourse. Rather than disappearing under this onslaught, as was widely predicted through much of the 20th century, the medium adapted to its new context, found ways to absorb many of the critical arguments directed against it and, in the process, re-imagined its potential for confronting contemporary experience. We will consider this history up to the present in assigned texts and exhibitions as well as in studio discussion of student work.
Instructor: M. Gal
The purpose of this course is to reflect upon the relationships among art, information and politics. While art is often perceived by both artists and audiences as unrelated to and independent of politics and social history, we will examine how social contexts can impact aesthetics. Through your own projects and other artists’ work we will explore the current realities within which your images are made. We will specifically discuss the following questions: Is art history merely the history of the affluent taste? During war can we afford having merely iconographic interests? What aesthetic outlets are available, or could be made available, for contemporary artists? Is explicitly political art necessarily propaganda and is apolitical art free of ideology? How much fiction is there in documentary and vice versa? We will look at artworks produced by Felix Gonzalez-Torres and others; we will watch international documentaries such as The Battle of Algiers and Hairpiece: A Film for Nappy-Headed People, and readings will range from Ways of Seeing to Fast Food Nation. Note: Senior fine arts and visual and critical studies majors have priority registration for this course.
Instructor: C. Kotik
In the 1960s, installation art became a prominent tool for many artists to convey their ideas about the changing structure of society, the art market and, above all, art itself. The temporal and site-specific aspects of installation work corresponded well to the flux of artists’ ideas. The practice of creating installations or environments has roots in history that can be traced back to the Counter-Reformation. This course will review the history of this medium, concentrating above all on the renewed interest in installations in the 1980s and emphasizing current work of both well- and lesser-known installation artists. Lectures, museum trips and gallery visits will be included. Note: Senior fine arts and visual and critical studies majors have priority registration for this course.
This is so contemporary is the title of an artwork by Tino Sehgal that is a reflection on contemporary art. But what is contemporary art? What is a contemporary artist? And what is required to be successful in the contemporary art world? These questions will guide students to find their place as emerging artists. The course begins with a series of visits to artists’ studios and talks with artists about their art, the process of finding subject matter, and what it means to be a contemporary artist. We will also visit museums, galleries, exhibition spaces, gardens, alternative art spaces and
private collections to view artworks and to discuss the demands for contemporary artists. As an accompaniment to all of this we will read short texts about art and discuss the current situation of art. Student will make a presentation about their art and will receive material specific to their own art production. Moreover each student will keep an artist’s journal with visuals inspired by course material.
This course is for students who already have a basic foundation in etching and monoprint techniques and want to take their skills to the next level. Advanced techniques such as three-plate color registration prints, transparent color roll-ups, viscosity printing, hand applied and blended surface color techniques, spit-biting, and a refinement of black-and-white techniques for line work, including hard ground, aquatint and soft ground will be covered. Prerequisite: FID-2841/FID-2842, Etching and Monoprint as Illustration, or equivalent.
In this course, students will define their own priorities in paint. The emphasis will be on creating a dialogue within each student’s body of work while continuing to explore new artistic territory. Studio time is stressed: how best to further identify and realize one’s goals, how to organize one’s efforts, how to work both intellectually and physically in the studio, and how to communicate one’s intentions. Individual instruction will be given with the encouragement of an exchange between fellow students. We will explore various media to further inform and advance painting efforts. Students will be asked to use New York’s vast cultural resources on a regular basis. The understanding of our visual culture, the evolution of our creative working process and the ability to communicate our ideas are the means toward future study. Models will be available as required.
In this advanced silkscreen course, students will pursue an ambitious semesterlength book project or series—from concept to finished and bound multiples. Various ways to present silkscreen prints as sequential images will be explored, including books, themed portfolios and comics. Bookbinding techniques will be covered, including Japanese bookbinding, accordion fold and multiple-signature binding methods. Large-scale digital output is available. Prerequisite: At least one silkscreen course, or instructor’s permission
This course will begin with the skeleton, and students will learn about and internalize the structure, form and movement of the body in an effort toward making more informed drawings of the live model. A portion of the course will focus on the comparative anatomy of animals.
Anatomy can offer a concrete structure for drawing and painting the human figure. This course relates the study of the skeleton and the muscles to the live model. It will concentrate on the skeletal system in the fall semester and the muscles in the spring semester. Students will complete three life-size drawings of the human skeletal system, which will include views of the skull, torso and extremities, establishing the core of the human figure. Two triptychs, each consisting of a nude, muscular and skeletal drawing of a male and a female body, will be completed. We will learn the landmarks of the skeletal system, their relationship to the muscular system and how they work together to define the human form. An anatomy text such as Albinus on Anatomy by Hale and Coyle or Anatomy for the Artist by Jeno Barcsay is required.
This course will begin with the skeleton, and students will learn about and internalize the structure, form and movement of the body in an effort toward making more informed drawings of the live model. A portion of the course will focus on the comparative anatomy of animals.
Anatomy can offer a concrete structure for drawing and painting the human figure. This course relates the study of the skeleton and the muscles to the live model. It will concentrate on the skeletal system in the fall semester and the muscles in the spring semester. Students will complete three life-size drawings of the human skeletal system, which will include views of the skull, torso and extremities, establishing the core of the human figure. Two triptychs, each consisting of a nude, muscular and skeletal drawing of a male and a female body, will be completed. We will learn the landmarks of the skeletal system, their relationship to the muscular system and how they work together to define the human form. An anatomy text such as Albinus on Anatomy by Hale and Coyle or Anatomy for the Artist by Jeno Barcsay is required.
Among the first artists were shamans, mystics who created some of the earliest art to explore visionary experiences and our human relationship with the natural world. This course will look at art’s ancient roots in shamanic rituals, and see how these practices can enhance our creative and visionary skills today. Grounded in a relationship with the living world, shamans explore the mystical universe by acquiring a deeper knowledge of the self to help heal the self and society. This approach remains deeply embedded in the human psyche and continues to inspire artists. We’ll look at global indigenous traditions of shamanic art and modern art influenced by these insights. We’ll discuss related concepts such as social sculpture, research on psychology, and dreams and consciousness. And we’ll learn to create our own symbolic images, objects, installations and performance/ rituals, developing our own vocabulary of self-expression in an exploration of the personal process and visionary traditions in art. Projects can take the form of 2D, 3D and time-based media, performance and video. It will also include field trips to museums, a forest and outdoor projects at natural sites to connect with the living energies of nature.
Body casting is the art of replicating the human form in a plaster casting. Students will make body castings from live models, that will then be corrected to match the live subject. Other techniques will involve using oil-based clay to create a “skin” for the plaster. Silicone rubber will be explored for mold-making and as a casting material. Discussions will include commercial applications for body cast products, special-effects makeup, specialty costuming, animatronic characters, three-dimensional commercial sculptures and holiday event mask-making.
This course will explore the use various techniques in relief printing—woodcut, linoleum, monoprint—to create original artist books or portfolios of prints. There will be demonstrations in both traditional hand-cut relief techniques as well as the use of digital cutting starting from Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator files. Color separation techniques and the use of overlapping color will be demonstrated. Students will have the option to create editions of each work or to work in a series of unique monoprints. Various bookbinding techniques and styles will be covered.
This course is an intensive production-based course focusing on the creation of mixed-media installations using ceramic as the starting medium. The course will be divided into two sections. The first will cover different aspects of plaster mold production and the use of liquid clay (slip) in order to produce duplicates of an object. The second section will focus on the students’ project ideas through the review of work of artists producing installation art; group and individual critiques and exhibition reviews. Once a basic knowledge of mold-making and slip casting is established, students will propose a series of projects of which some will be selected during group critiques for full production. Specific analysis of mixed media use for each student’s project will be reviewed and organized in terms of production and aesthetics during group session. Attention will be given to the context in which the installation is placed and viewed and its impact on the physical and cultural environment of society. Homework will be extensive in order to acquire an independent work ethic.
This course is an intensive production-based course focusing on the creation of mixed media installations using ceramic as the starting medium. The course will be divided into two sections. The first will cover the different aspects of plaster mold production and the use of liquid clay (slip) in order to produce duplicates of an object. The second section will focus on the students’ specific project ideas through the review of work of artists producing installation art; group and individ- ual critiques, and exhibition reviews. Once a basic knowledge of mold making and slip casting is established, students will propose a series of projects of which some will be selected during group critiques for full production. Specific analysis of mixed media use for each student’s project will be reviewed and organized in terms of production and aesthetics during group session. Attention will be given to the context in which the installation is placed and viewed and its impact on the physical and cultural environment of society. Homework will be extensive in order to enable the student to acquire an independent work ethic.
Collaborative Practices examines the role, and its challenges, of collective art-making. Students will look to art historical antecedents to observe how collaborative practices have progressed throughout art history. We will discuss and define distinctions between collectivism and collaboration, and identify key concerns of contemporary art groups/collaborations. Issues surrounding authorship, altruism, social and economic divides, relational aesthetics, studio output and internships will be emphasized. All projects will be collaboratively made and will investigate the invisible administrative labor behind studio practice, as well as tactile material processes as handled by various par ties. Key to this course will be active discussion and a willingness to let go of the artist’s hand.
This course will focus on the many ways of working with color and inking processes in etching. Traditional and contemporary techniques, including drypoint, hard ground, soft ground, lift ground, white ground and aquatint, will be used to capture the qualities of pen and ink, crayon and brush. These processes can be combined on a single plate or with multiple plates to create layered depths of color and texture. Inking techniques include intaglio, surface rolls, stencils and viscosity—a method of applying multiple colors on a single plate. Chine collé, collagraphs, monotypes, Xerox transfers, offsetting and three-dimensional prints will be demonstrated, along with photo-etching processes. Print on various papers, canvas, silk, aluminum, and other surfaces to make one-of-a-kind prints, editions, collages and mixed-media works.
This course is for painters who want to work with materials, processes and techniques other than, or in addition to, traditional techniques of brush and paint on canvas. Students can explore collage, assemblage, relief, wall sculpture, fresco, in situ wall paintings, new media and other approaches to extending the dimensionality of painting’s surface. Any material can be used: fabrics, wood, metals, plaster, plastics, found objects, etc. We will critically examine differences between painting and sculpture in the context of picture plane, opticality, illusion, realness and objectness, and the way these terms are defined art historically, and look at how artists today engage these traditions. Photographs of this course can be viewed at rpasvaphotos.com. Note: An assortment of hand tools and power tools are available for fabrication of projects, as well as access to the sculpture studio.
Image-based work is the predominate form of painting today. It can range from simple figuration to highly resolved illusionistic painting, with many divergent alternatives in between. Much of the current work is photographically derived. This course will explore the full range of modes of representation, with an emphasis on the photograph as a source. The use of photographic information, from media-based imagery through digital alteration will be considered. We will cover the ways that photography is both similar to and different from direct observation. Particular emphasis will be placed on helping students to match their technique to their sources and to defining the underlying content. A variety of imagery, media and content will be thoughtfully considered. Contemporary use of historical techniques will be demonstrated.
This course is for students interested in developing painterly and drawn images using copper-plate etching techniques. Copper is a soft, sensitive and responsive metal that is able to capture all the graphic and tonal subtleties of drawing and painting. Students will discover new forms of expression by learning how to build an image through drawing and layering. Intaglio techniques, including hard ground, soft ground, spit-bite, white ground, sugar lift, and open bite will be covered. All processes will be demonstrated and applied through self-initiated etching projects.
This course will focus on cut-and-paste techniques as they are employed in imagemaking. The traditional underpinnings of collage will be investigated as a common thread to rethink, reposition and rework images and sound. Analog and digital approaches will be used to create a synthesis between popular and art-historical forms of collage. The course will be content driven and employ narrative, non-linear, representational and symbolic approaches to collage. We will begin using print media, then merge print with other mediums (paint, pastels, textures, found objects) to create mixed-media projects. We will transition into photo and digital collage/montage to analyze media as it has been used in the past and as it has developed with the advent of the Internet. Additionally, the course will explore cut-and-paste techniques using Photoshop, audio mash-ups and remixes.
This course will look at alternative visions of the art process as a cabinet of curiosities. Cell phones, computers, digital cameras, macro-videography—if you can film it, we will use it. Devices that produce an array of visual imagery are now embraced by art. From high-quality to low-res pixilated imagery, projects will range from self-portraits to group portraits, social/political content, gender and sexuality, psychological and cultural experiments, the conventional vs. the subversive, darkness and light. Students will also learn to incorporate music/soundscapes as an integral part of their work. Projects will investigate what stories you want to tell by using a variety of approaches and genres. Point of view, subjectivity, lighting, image quality, black-and-white vs. color, sound or silence—all are considerations that will be emphasized and implemented.
Digital fabrication practices have revolutionized design and manufacturing, and are reshaping the world around us. Increasingly these tools are being employed by artist to create works previously impossible or impractical to make. This course will be an exploration of CNC (Computer Numerical Control) based fabrication and its integration into contemporary art- and object-making. It will emphasize technology such as the CNC laser cutter, CNC router and CNC plasma, and discuss various fabrication methods and refine skillsets. We will also examine how this technology affects our understanding of space and material, modes of production, and other considerations.
This course introduces methods and concepts in sculpture using state-of-the-art technology. Students will work collaboratively on sculptural installations using CNC (computer numerically controlled) and rapid prototyping machines. Each project will focus on generating a component-based system where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The final, full-scale installation will include new spatial concepts and novel materials. Software and equipment instructions will be provided. Guest lectures and studio visits are included. Note: No previous experience with digital design or advanced machining is required.
FID-2131 / FID-2132
Instructor: B. DePalma
The premise of this course is that drawing constitutes the fundamental basis of all visual language. As such, drawing will be explored through the development of both technical skills and concepts. Dialogues will revolve around contemporary visual issues. Work will involve the use of all media. Experimentation and invention will be stressed. Drawing will be viewed as a primary vehicle through which an artist grows in the struggle for freedom of expression.
FID-2153 / FID-2154
Instructor: B. Larsen
In this course, students will develop ideas conceptually and physically. The first step is to deconstruct a book and reconstruct it as an idea book or journal (with a variety of papers), which will become a personal encyclopedia of ideas. The fall semester will emphasize recognition (history of drawing included), documentation (personal record keeping) and making drawings. The spring semester continues these practices while also advancing presentation skills (matting, framing, documentation and storage of artworks). During the first hour of each session we will meet as a group to share our books and then work on drawing projects, with individual instruction available. Models will be available for a portion of most class sessions. Documentary films on Andy Goldsworthy, Jean Cocteau (Orpheus), Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol will be shown.
FID-2159-A
Instructor: S. DeFrank
What does it mean to draw? How is drawing relevant in today’s art world? This course is about the experience of drawing and looking at drawings and about the possibilities of extending our traditional ideas concerning the limits of drawings. We will attempt to answer these questions through a series of discussions and exercises in and out of class. All types of materials are encouraged. Figurative and abstract imagery will be examined.
FID-3113-A
Instructor: D. Chow
This course studies the application of pigments to the surface of paper and equivalent materials. This implies the history and practice of drawing, as seen from different points of view. The course stresses looking as a process of perception and invention of inner and outer images and the observation of the work in its making. Limited to 20 students
Focusing on the perceptual skills involved in image-making, this course will examine drawing as an act of producing independent works of art and as a preparatory process in organizing a finished work. Assigned projects will explore the formal elements of art, such as line, space, scale and texture. Materials will include pencil, charcoal, pen-and-ink and wash, among others. Projects range from the figure and still life, for example, to mapping and storyboarding.
This is the second part of a two-semester course. Focusing on the perceptual skills involved in image-making, this course will examine drawing as an act of producing independent works of art and as a preparatory process in organizing a finished work. Assigned projects will explore the formal elements of art, such as line, space, scale and texture. Materials will include pencil, charcoal, pen-and-ink and wash, among others. Projects range from the figure and still life, for example, to mapping and storyboarding.
If you’ve ever wanted to experiment with robotics, to make a video that “knows” when someone is watching it, or build a sculpture that beeps when you touch it, this is the course for you. In this course, students will construct several electronics projects that illustrate the possibilities of physical computing, and to provide students with tools for further exploration. Using Max/MSP/Jitter we will build custom electronics and program these microcontrollers to create strange and meaningful forms of interaction. Note: No prior programming or soldering experience is required, but an interest in accessing your inner mad scientist is a must.
A continuation of FID-3611, Electronics and Interactivity I, in this course students will design their own projects with custom electronic circuitry and custom software. Students will use relatively simple electronic circuits and basic computer programming to develop rich and meaningful interactive sculpture, installation and audio/video works. How to program Arduino microcontrollers to respond to various kinds of sensors will be explored, and students will work with Cycling ‘74 Max/MSP/Jitter to control and respond to digital video, audio and other types of data. Prerequisite: FID-3611, Electronics and Interactivity I, or equivalent experience building circuits, programming microcontrollers (e.g., PIC, Javelin, BASIC Stamp 2) and some knowledge of Max/MSP/Jitter. Note: Midyear entry with instructors’ permission.
Digital embroidery transforms a hand-crafted couture into a fine arts media. Just like a tattoo where an image is created with color and needles, the embroidered fabric or paper is needle-stitched in colored threads. The image is a file that can be saved and repeated as a multiple or repeat pattern. The course will cover digital sewing using registration applications. Techniques related to fashion and the fine arts will be explored. A visit to a commercial embroidery atelier will be at the conclusion of the course.
Limited to 12 students
This in-depth etching course explores the wide range of materials and techniques used to create the linear, tonal and photographic images of the intaglio print. Basic techniques cover line etching for pen-and-ink effects, drypoint for velvety lines, soft ground for both crayon-like lines and textures, aquatint for tones and lift grounds for the quality of watercolor. Inking techniques include black-and-white and color intaglio, à la poupée, stenciling, and chine collé for added color and texture. All processes will be discussed and demonstrated, along with photo etching techniques, monoprints, collagraphs and carborundum prints. Students will develop the skills to proof, edition and curate prints. On-going critiques will be included.
This course will introduce students to numerous basic etching and monoprint techniques, including hard ground, soft ground, aquatint and color printing. Once students become familiar with functioning in a print shop, they will learn to use prints as a viable technique for fine illustration. The emphasis will be on experimentation and personal expression. We will discuss the early relationship of printmaking to illustration, and will study and discuss specific illustrators who use printmaking as a final technique for answering illustration problems.
Studying the human form as a medium for making art in three-dimensional, sculptural modes is the focus of this course. The representation of the human body through traditional and nontraditional sculptural approaches will be emphasized. Projects will explore technical, aesthetic and conceptual aspects of the human figure.
This course will focus on the model. We will concentrate on the figure in space, how to structure a picture, the use of the picture plane as an organizing tool, and plastic form. We’ll use charcoal and then diversify media and scale. In the spring semester, students will approach the figure very directly, and then be encouraged to use the figure as a catalyst to explore other themes. Through direct observation, students will be encouraged to work with diverse materials as a means with which to approach the act of drawing.
Using a model, this course will begin with 10 one-minute poses and then move into a series of 20-minute poses. All materials are acceptable: watercolor, pencil, and pen-and-ink, among others. And all styles are welcome. Students will develop their own distinctive process.
You are what you eat—or are you? Do you know what is in your food? From farm to fork what happens in between? Is what the food producer tells you true? FOOD: Projects in Bio Art focuses on how food production, industrial farming and GMOs have become part of our daily life. Projects will consists of growing plants hydroponically, DNA analysis of local food, and time-lapse photography and microscopic imaging of foodstuffs. In addition, we will explore the cultural differences, taboos and evolution of eating practices.
We will look at culinary styles around the world, and their social, economic and political ramifications. We will examine urban farming, molecular cuisine, digital gastronomy, as well as pesticides and contaminates. Part forensic and part horticulture in practice, we will gather plants to extract pigments for watercolor; design food sculptures, including stencils for cakes; and use spices in novel ways. We will explore the effect microorganisms have on food— from cheese to e-coli to yogurt. From the good, the bad and the ugly, how has genetic engineering affected our lives? What effect is global warming having on food sources? Performance, painting, sculpture, public art, photography, illustration and cartooning, as well as community-based projects are welcome.
From the decipherment of the human genome to industrialized food production, science has spilled out of the laboratory into our lives. As scientists engage in molecular engineering, the corporeal body and the manipulation of life forms have become a public and aesthetic discourse unto themselves. This course will examine intersections between laboratory practices and visual art production. Projects will employ video microscopes and scanning devices, scientific specimen collections, plant tissue engineering, new anatomical models and molecular cuisine. In addition, each student will design their own terrarium with fish, aquatic plants and/or micro eco-systems. Field trips and guest lecturers will complement course material. Students may work in a variety of media, from drawing and painting to the digital and performing arts.
Tracing the animal kingdom from jellyfish to insects to humans, students will gain a working knowledge of comparative animal anatomy. The focus will be on vertebrates (reptiles, birds, and mammals) and the morphological differences which constitute groups, families and individual species. There will be discussions on ecology, evolution and the depiction of animals throughout art history. Students will work from specimens from the SVA Bio Art Lab, on-location drawings and photos.
Silkscreen is ideal for making bold, iconic images. This course will cover all aspects of the silkscreen process, including making separations by hand and by computer and printing on various media. Students will learn how to use silkscreen as a tool for strengthening their image-making abilities and color sense.
What is referred to as “video art” has become a ubiquitous feature of 21st-century art practice, yet it is an art form whose emergence is still a relatively fresh aspect of contemporary art history. This course will explore the origins of video art, examining its sources in film, photography and performance art. Through screenings of key works; discussion with artists, critics and curators, and in directed readings, students will be exposed to important works and individuals associated with the first two decades of video. Special attention will be paid to an understanding of the cultural and social context that supported the emergence of video art. We will focus upon the evolution of video art from both a technological perspective as well as the development of a video’s critical and institutional framework. Artists whose works will be viewed and discussed include Nam June Paik, Wolf Vostell, Bruce Nauman, Yoko Ono, Peter Campus, Vito Acconci, Frank Gillette, Juan Downey, Joan Jonas, Chris Burden, Lynda Benglis, Stan, Ira Schneider, Andy Mann, Martha Rosler, Allan Sekula, Shigeko Kubota, Bill Viola, Gary Hill, Mary Lucier, Woody and Steina Vasulka, Ilene Segalove, William Wegman, Tony Oursler, Muntadas, Keith Sonnier, Bruce and Norman Yonemoto, Dara Birnbaum, Ant Farm, TVTV, Videofreex, Marcel Odenbach, Dan Graham, Doug Hall, Richard Serra, Terry Fox, Howard Fried, Paul Kos, Paul McCarthy, Mike Kelley and Ernie Kovacs.
As video art became more widely accepted and the tools became increasingly affordable and available, the medium quickly emerged as a primary site for the global dialogue that characterizes contemporary art practice. Among the topics to be addressed in this screening, lecture and discussion course will be the emer- gence of Asian, Latin American and European Video Art, the continued develop- ment of sculptural video installation work and the emergence of the market for video art. The blurring of the lines among video art digital art forms, digital cinema and art made for the Internet will also be addressed. Artists whose works will be viewed and discussed include Nam June Paik, Wolf Vostell, Bruce Nauman, Yoko Ono, Peter Campus, Vito Acconci, Frank Gillette, Juan Downey, Joan Jonas, Chris Burden, Lynda Benglis, Stan, Ira Schneider, Andy Mann, Martha Rosler, Allan Sekula, Shigeko Kubota, Bill Viola, Gary Hill, Mary Lucier, Woody and Steina Vasulka, Ilene Segalove, William Wegman, Tony Oursler, Muntadas, Keith Sonnier, Bruce and Norman Yonemoto, Dara Birnbaum, Ant Farm, TVTV, Videofreex, Marcel Odenbach, Dan Graham, Doug Hall, Richard Serra, Terry Fox, Howard Fried, Paul Kos, Paul McCarthy, Mike Kelley and Ernie Kovacs. Prerequisite: AHD-2302, History of Video Art: 1965 to 1985.
HDD-3200-B
Fall semester: 3 humanities and sciences credits
Instructor: J. Jacobson
This course will examine art since the late 1960s with an emphasis on the ideas of canonical artists, as well as those who are beginning to receive recognition. Minimal, postminimal, conceptual, pop and other genres will be thoroughly surveyed and considered in relation to current artistic practices. We will also examine thematic issues such as myth-making, do-it-yourself, self-criticism, with- drawal and, particularly, what artists, historians and critics mean by “contemporary art.” Throughout the semester, we will discuss and read critical texts and artists’ writings appropriate to each subject; students will make regular visits to museums, galleries, studios and other art spaces. Note: Junior fine arts majors have priority registration for this course.
Fall semester: 3 humanities and sciences credits
Instructor: M. Gal
A thorough survey of the visual arts will be provided in this course, as well as the philosophies of art, of the last four decades. The goal is to thoroughly familiarize students with the visual arts, and attendant ideas, beginning with the American art of the 1960s and concluding with contemporary art. Note: Junior fine arts majors have priority registration for this course.
HDD-3200-C
Fall semester: 3 humanities and sciences credits
Instructor: B. Mathes
This course will focus on the social and political nature of postmodern art, from the tumultuous 1960s to the present. Issues of race, class, gender and sexuality will be considered alongside more philosophical considerations such as the notion of what constitutes “art,” the meaning of originality and authorship and the changing role of popular culture in art. We will study various styles, conceptual approaches and subcultures that have had significant influence, such as pop and performance-based art to postminimalism and the East Village scene. Emphasis will be placed on American artists, and there will be regular visits to galleries and museums. Note: Junior fine arts majors have priority registration
for this course.
HDD-3200-D
Spring semester: 3 humanities and sciences credits
Instructor: S. Paul
This course will investigate contemporary art, from pop art to postmodernism. Beginning with the 1960s, which witnessed the birth of pop art, minimalism, postminimalism and conceptual art, we will study how these movements continue to be relevant today. Readings include primary texts and critical works. There will be visits to museums and gallery exhibitions. Note: Junior fine arts majors have priority registration for this course.
HDD-3200-E
Spring semester: 3 humanities and sciences credits
Instructor: R. Morgan
As the title for the course suggests, “ideas” are an intrinsic aspect of art and the aesthetic process. The focus will be given to ideas, both as intentional ingredients within works of art and as critical responses given to various works by artists, crit- ics, art historians and theorists—primarily through an examination of the art and writing of the past four decades. Note: Junior fine arts majors have priority regis- tration for this course.
This studio course is structured through “case studies” in which artworks of similar
and disparate media will be presented, and their structures and consequent meanings
will be addressed. For example, the works of abstract painters Jackson Pollock and Robert Ryman have radically different interpretations and meanings. The course begins with the far-reaching influence of Marcel Duchamp, and then focuses on work from the 1970s to the present. Topics include: painting, sculpture, installation, performance and video, as well as hybrids (Paul Kos’s video projections on paintings, Joseph Beuys’s performances generating objects and installations). We will examine the influence of seminal composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Cage and La Monte Young on visual artists (Nam June Paik and Yoko Ono, among others), as well as the influence of texts and musical scores on artists such as Ed Ruscha, Bruce Nauman, Barbara Kruger, Jenny Holzer, David Salle and Christopher Wool. Students will submit weekly responses to the works discussed; these responses can take a variety of forms: visual (drawing, painting, sculpture, installation, video, performance), text (written and/or read aloud), or a combination of these forms. There will also be assigned readings. Note: Open to students from all departments.
In this multimedia course, students will explore color and the principles of color theory. Each project will incorporate a specific lesson about color and light as a starting point, which is subsequently developed into a more complex and personal work. This is a challenging course that will help students to acquire the skills to make visually dynamic works, as well as expand the way they use, perceive and understand color. Projects will incorporate painting, photography, collage and digital images. In addition to home assignments, students are required to keep a sketchbook and to review exhibitions. Note: Please bring acrylic paints (approved, nontoxic materials only) to each session. Students must own or have access to a digital camera.
As in the past, artists today look to the history of art for inspiration. But we also want our work to communicate with more diverse audiences outside of the art world. So we appropriate the ideas and practices of disciplines that were not previously considered within the realm of art. Our projects in this course will explore these “alien” methodologies. We’ll repurpose techniques of mass production to modulate the scale and adaptability of our work. We’ll utilize film techniques to deal with issues of time compression, psychological space and storytelling. We’ll adapt developments in science to conjure the invisible or to actualize the unimaginable. We’ll investigate how the Internet and social media sites have reconfigured old notions of public and private and we’ll exploit this new virtual space in our art. The world as we know it is more complex and nuanced than it was just a generation ago. The goal of this course is to discover how art has evolved in this new environment. Students may also develop other areas of interest as a focus of their work. All practices are allowed. The course will include readings, film screenings, and other activities that relate to our studio projects.
This course is designed to give students an introductory look into creating Augmented and Virtual realities, specifically with a focus on freeform interaction. As a survey class to new technologies, students will draw parallels between being at the forefront of the technology, and how to utilize these tools into their own contemporary art practice. The class will look into AR builders, 3D object and asset libraries, open source applications, SDK (software development kits), as well as other collaborative elements of production. This course is meant for beginners with very little AR/VR/coding experience as well as more advanced students looking to expand their current practice. As a secondary element to this class, students will be posed with questions of the historical foundation of new technologies, as well as dealing with theory and practice of visual communication in an augmented realm. They’ll interact with experimental storytelling, the internet as a visual tool, post-photography, and post-internet thematics, and also the implications of introducing a 3D Digital Imaging platform like AR/VR to artistic practice. Students will present their work within a digital space and be asked to consider how their work functions from both a traditionally formal and conceptual aspect, as well as how that translates into contemporary media. From photorealism to hyper-stylization, and working with everything from texturing, lighting, rendering, photographic vantage points, topology, and more, students will learn about the wide ranges of possibilities in this new and fascinating technology, while developing their own artistic voice using these new mediums.
Prerequisite: FID-2020, Sophomore Seminar or FID-3446/7, Digital Sculpting, or instructor’s permission. Note: Open to students from all departments.
Japanese woodblock printing reached its technical zenith in the latter 1800s, with the art movement known as Ukioye. This course will emphasize the contemporary forms of Japanese block printing using watercolor and gouache inks to achieve a soft effect similar to watercolor paintings and pastel drawings. Images will be carved into the woodblock and then the surface will be inked with brushes and transferred to paper by hand printing. Demonstrations in proper tool honing and paper handling will be given; students are encouraged to explore a variety of approaches to the creation of multicolored woodblock prints.
Limited to 15 students per section
This seminar will introduce students to professional practices associated with artworld operations. How to present work, write an artist’s statement and a proposal for a grant or exhibition, compile a résumé and develop a cohesive body of work will be included. The seminar is intended as preparation for the transition into mentor-centered senior workshops. Budgets, inventory and market value will also be discussed.
This seminar will introduce important concepts relative to future art practices, and address such questions as: Do you stand there with nothing to say or are you getting everything you can from your critiques and giving your fellow students everything you’ve got? This course is designed to give you the tools for a successful studio visit. Through a series of exercises, you will learn how to have a more meaningful dialogue with the most cantankerous critic, how to talk about your work and the work of others, how to process the input you receive, and how to manage the emotions around your work.
Limited to 15 students
This course will give a thorough introduction to letterpress printing. We will begin with hand-set, movable wood and metal type in combination with etched plates and linocuts, and then explore making and using photopolymer plates from digital files. This medium is versatile and adaptable, mixing easily with other printmaking processes; the quality of image can range from hard edge to painterly. Letterpress printing also impresses a third dimension of depth and texture to the image and text on paper. Simple, accurate color registration is easy on the letterpress. The experience of hand typesetting using vintage metal and wood typefaces will enhance students’ knowledge and understanding of typography. Printing blocks and plates range from completely manual, hand-cut and collaged to digital photopolymer plates. Letterpress die cutting allows students to actually shape their projects. Operation and maintenance of several letterpresses will be included. Each session will begin with a demonstration followed by studio time to work on individual projects, from type-based graphic designs to fine art limited editions.
Note: Printshop facilities are available outside of class hours.
The majority of mass printing is produced by the lithographic process. It has the remarkable ability to reproduce all the subtle qualities of charcoal, pencil, ink, watercolor, and more. This innate characteristic is why so many artists over the years have chosen to work in lithography. Goya, Lautrec, Picasso, Rauschenberg, Johns and Bourgeois, to name a few. Lithography is a medium that readily lends itself equally to painting and drawing, as well as various digital and photographic media. This course will offer traditional hand-drawn and state-of-the-art methods in realizing multicolored, professionally printed editions or work resulting in unique monoprints. These will include the options to work with hand-drawn aluminum plates, Bavarian limestone, photographic plates or any combination of these techniques.
The goal of this course is to enable students to work in metal for creating sculpture. Practical assignments will cover the fundamentals of welding, including MIG and TIG. We will explore techniques for shaping metal bars, sheets and plates (by machine and by hand), as well as how to grind, polish and finish metal, and then combine these techniques into finished projects. Students will be introduced to the computer-driven plasma cutter, which can cut steel up to a half inch in thickness.
This course maps the major movements and tendencies in modern art beginning with the realism of Courbet in the 19th century and continuing into the 20th century, including impressionism, postimpressionism, symbolism, fauvism, cubism, futurism, expressionism, Dada and surrealism. The art will be discussed in terms of the individual artist’s intent as well as in terms of historical events and cultural issues at the times in which they were created. Museum field trips are an important part of the course.
*Note: AHI-2020-A, Modern Art Through Pop I, is available only to international students whose first language is not English. Registration is by placement only; please consult with your academic advisor.
This course is a survey of art from the emergence of “modernism” through the radical transformations in established modes of art-making of the postwar period. Close attention will be paid to the social, political and economic contexts in which artistic styles and forms have materialized, grown or changed from mid-century to the present.
*Note: AHI-2025-A, Modern Art Through Pop II, is available only to international students whose first language is not English. Registration is by placement only; please consult with your academic advisor.
Each session of this course will begin with a 20-minute warm-up assignment as a way to experiment with different approaches to painting and image-making. Students will then work on assigned and self-initiated projects. Working from observation, using systems to develop work and understanding drawing as a key to painting are just some of the approaches that will be explored. Experimentation with various materials and techniques is encouraged, as well as development of content through focusing on issues of identity, taste, politics, spirituality and philosophy. Home assignments, journal keeping and reviewing exhibitions are required. This is a rigorous course, as are the process of art-making and the discipline of being an artist.
Note: Only approved, nontoxic materials can be used.
This course will concentrate on both the technical aspects and conceptual basis for working from and with photography in painting. The apparent objectivity of photographs will be used to investigate their hidden codes: what the photograph documents, what is suggested, what is left out and the social role of subject matter. We will discuss the formal qualities of images and how they might change the reception of a painting. Some emphasis will be given to the categories of dreams and hallucinations, memory and time, pictures and politics, and commercial images.
Foundation-year painting will explore various means of representation through the application of pigments to canvas, panels and paper. Color and its organizational principles will be investigated—both as a practical and theoretical endeavor. An exploration of form and content will be undertaken with an emphasis on technical skills. Class critiques and museum visits will be employed as vehicles to develop critical terms concerning painting.
This is the second part of a two-semester course.
Foundation-year painting will explore various means of representation through the application of pigments to canvas, panels and paper. Color and its organizational principles will be investigated—both as a practical and theoretical endeavor. An exploration of form and content will be undertaken with an emphasis on technical skills. Class critiques and museum visits will be employed as vehicles to develop critical terms concerning painting.
From an image’s conception to its execution, ideas, materials and processes run together. In this workshop, we’ll investigate the use of novel and traditional materials and the range of pictorial sources: fine art to pop art, everyday life to nightlife, institutions and the politics of space, objective and subjective analyses. What’s your worldview? What’s your comfort zone and how can you exploit it? With an emphasis on interpretation of work through the materials used (paint, honey, nail polish), the context in which they appear (wall, floor, street) and the formal elements of construction (scale, application, space, light, subject), we will look for ways to describe and strengthen your point of view. Instruction is one-on-one with class critiques. Discussions about work by artists who employ analytic, eccentric, comedic, political, romantic or intuitive points of view are included.
Together, we will examine our assumptions about traditional painting in relation to a more contemporary experience of art-making. All approaches are welcome. Focus will be on discovering the problems of interest to each student and finding the material/metaphor most appropriate to each person’s objectives. Dialogue will center on developing the strengths of personal ideas in relation to the vast and rich community of painting’s vital past and intriguing present. A project-based course for students interested in developing their own ideas through a range of work in various media, emphasizing painting, but also encouraging works in other media. We will visit galleries and museums, and students will review various exhibitions on a regular basis. There will be group critiques throughout the semester.
Students will employ any media of their choice to further inform and advance their creative efforts. The emphasis will be on developing a dialogue and methodology that refines and explores new artistic territory. “Studio-time” is stressed to discover how best to further identify and realize intentions, how to organize efforts, and how to work both intellectually and physically in the studio. Research and archival practices will be taught. Internet sites will be employed to expand both technical and intellectual information and resources. Instruction is given on an individual basis. Students are encouraged to exchange ideas and techniques with their peers, as well as visit New York’s vast cultural resources on a regular basis. The understanding of visual culture, the evolution of a creative working process and the ability to communicate visual ideas are the goals of this course. There will be individual and group critiques.
This painting course will engage students in their development of the narrative image. Using traditional and experimental approaches to oil paint, acrylic and gouache, students will explore composition, color and process in relation to the narrative possibilities of the picture. Students will work from models, memory, and imagination and will explore the uses of the narrative image and its possibility to express ideas. The uses of narrative in contemporary art and storytelling in art history will be discussed. Students will develop their ideas as well as their technical skills.
Performance art is a way of extending and expanding your studio practice. Like drawing, it’s a way of working out ideas in real time. This studio course is designed for anyone interested in the inherent practices and narratives of performance art, and anyone who wants to push the disciplinary limits of their work. Each week students will make their own experimental performances while exploring the history and evolution of performance art. Group exercises will hone physical and vocal skills as well as build confidence. We will look at and engage with a wide range of performance forms, including Dada, happenings, fluxus, conceptual performance, punk, drag, social practice and mixed-media spectacles. Note: Open to students from all departments.
Much of contemporary culture, in one way or other, refers to photography. This introductory course offers a hands-on approach to shooting and printing photographs. It also covers photo theory, history and influential emerging photographers. Students will shoot and process their photographs in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, master archival inkjet printing and learn to shoot in a studio set-up using strobes—skills that have practical and artistic applications. In addition to our classroom work, we will regularly visit photo exhibitions at Chelsea galleries. By the end of the semester, students will have developed some knowledge of contemporary photographic discourse and the technical skills to shoot and print their own work.
Exploring the power of the poster as art and advertising is the premise of this course. The process of creating a poster, from concept through final execution, will be covered. Students will complete a minimum of eight projects, each with a different focus. In the spirit of artists like Shepard Fairey, Barbara Kruger and Andy Warhol, we will examine how to experiment with concept, symbolism, form and function. Projects will be collectively researched and ideas will be presented for discussion. Projects will be printed using a range of screen-printing techniques, 56 and students will experiment with printing on substrates, applying various inks and ink alternatives. We will also examine the aesthetic and the expressive power of posters created by masters in this field. Note: Open to advertising and design majors only.
This course will introduce the printmaking processes of woodcut, linocut, monoprint and collagraph to create various types of prints. All processes will be demonstrated and applied in self-directed projects. The relief print is the oldest method of printmaking; its directness and ease of color application make it particularly appealing to artists of all fields. In woodcut, the non-image areas of the print are carved away and color is applied to the high surfaces of the block using rollers or brushes. Color can also be rubbed in below the surface to create depths and color mixing. Paper is then pressed against the inked surface of the block or plate to transfer the color image from the block. The monoprint is unique within printmaking because every print is different. Images are painted or drawn directly onto blank plates and then transferred to paper with a printing press, resulting in large, direct, painterly prints. The use of multiple printing, chine collé and color overlays will also be explored.
Note: Printshop facilities are available outside of class hours.
Limited to 20 students per section
This course is intended for students who wish to pursue graduate studies, artistin-residence programs and gallery representation. Topics will include: writing an artist’s statement, grant proposals, an analysis of art galleries, applying to graduate schools and portfolio presentation. Note: Open to senior fine arts majors only.
Humans have been tampering with species development for thousands of years, and creating countless varieties of domesticated plants and animals. Today, advances in biotechnology allow for the creation of entirely novel life forms such as transgenic rats glowing with jellyfish genes. In this course, students will be introduced to the emerging field of biological arts through hands-on laboratory practices and discussions. Through bi-weekly excursions to local biotech labs, parks, pet stores and seafood markets we will examine altered organisms. In the lab, students will create a postnaturalist journal, bacterial paintings, culture plant tissue, generate and disperse native seed bombs, learn proper techniques for preserving vertebrates and generate post-mortem chimerical sculptures from biological media. Discussions will range from bio-ethics/ecological thought to science fiction/biological reality, and more.
As stated on ArtBusinees.com, “Many of today’s accomplished artists also know how to work the crowds at events where their art is the center of attention. They are well aware that collectors and others love to speak with artists at gallery openings, open studios, art fairs and anywhere else where artists appear in person alongside their art. Consequently, they use their social networking and public speaking skills to effectively convey who they are and what their art is about in order to expand their fan bases, increase their potential for making sales, and ultimately advance their careers.” This workshop will address public speaking for artists as a necessary part of career planning.
The goal of this course is to give students a strong foundation in both the intellectual and the formal aspects of painting. While representation in painting will be the subject, the focus will be on painting as a language and a process. Working from observation, various aspects of pictorial construction will be emphasized. Students will execute quick wet-into-wet paintings of the models to become more intimate with the material aspects of painting. Light and shadow will be discussed as a motor of representation. We will explore contrast of value, as well as warm and cool tonality, and then examine color and color theory and create paintings based on a complementary palette. Even while working within structured projects and a restricted palette, the expressive means of painting will be emphasized. The last phase of the course will focus on more complex projects in full palette. Students will be encouraged to develop their personal interests and subjects without abandoning formal aspects of painting. Group critiques emphasizing the verbalization of intent will be an essential element. Home assignments, slide presentations and museum visits are included.
As an introduction to the material world, this course explores diverse media and their potentialities to create volume, line and mass. Ranging from the ethereal to the fabricated, materials such as clay, plaster, cardboard, wood, resin and wire will be investigated by exercises in casting, mold-making, installation and site-specific work. Discussion will include concepts of space, gravity and light, among others, as they pertain to three-dimensional form.
This course is designed as a series of projects to encourage students to solve problems and discover working processes. Each project will begin with a discussion of contemporary artists, as well as current museum and gallery exhibitions. Various materials will be explored, from woodworking to mold-making, welding to video. We will meet for group critiques.
This workshop takes a worldview of the sculpture-making process and will show how different cultures and art forms have impacted today’s sculpture. Students will not only draw on their own personal/cultural pasts to develop ideas and make sculpture, but also to challenge or ally those ideas with different information and influences. A wide range of materials and fabrication methods are available in this course. Through critiques and slide discussions, issues of form, content and context will be examined and interpreted. The use of language as applied to sculpture is of particular interest. A partial listing of the current vernacular that we will be cataloging and assessing for our use includes: architectonic, socially concerned, outsider art, site-specific, randomness and objectness. We’ll attend exhibitions, films, lectures or performances that relate to our activities. There will also be required reading.
Sculpture without limits. Every kind of sculpture can be investigated. Every type of material can be used. Welding, building, carving, modeling, site-specific and mixed-media assemblage will be taught. Hands-on instruction and strong technical skills enable each sculptor to realize his or her own thoughts. Weekly critiques will discuss work done in class. The idea comes first and then the sculpture. Where it came from, what it means, how it got there. Visits to museums, galleries and studios will be assigned. Slide lectures will augment discussion.
Instructor: J. Avgikos
Unlike the historical avant-garde that situated itself outside of mass culture, today’s emerging avant-garde art seems to anticipate ways of working from within and in relation to mass culture. Art is steadily moving out from the “white cube” to participate in a global continuum that’s hosted by satellite TV and cable, the Internet, all forms of wireless communication and international biennials. The fractious history of art and mass culture has grown exponentially within the past two decades in direct proportion to the invention of new imaging technologies and the development of global economies. This course proposes to examine the scant, but rich, history of relations between art and mass culture, and to chart the rise of media-related art. We will immerse ourselves in screenings of contemporary video/multimedia work of the past two decades and seek out as many pertinent exhibitions as we can throughout the semester. We will also read interviews with artists and curators, as well as texts on media theory, globalism and the like. Note: Senior fine arts and visual and critical studies majors have priority registration for this course.
Instructor: C. Matlin
This course is about the ideas and thinkers you might have missed while in art school. Some texts may be familiar, many will not. The aim of the course is to fill in the gaps in your reading knowledge. To this end, we will read some of the major texts in 19th- and 20th-century aesthetic and art historical thought: Alexis de Tocqueville, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Dewey, Clement Greenberg, Raymond Williams, Judith Butler, Griselda Pollock, and more. We will try to refrain from reading ourselves backward into the text, as anachronism has no place here. Instead, we will use the texts as a guidepost for our understanding of our current world, whether art-related or not. As such, the inclusion of art and artists into the discussion is encouraged. Note: Senior fine arts and visual and critical studies majors have priority registration for this course.
Instructors: S. Ellis, M. Levenstein
This course will examine the evolution of painting practice and theory since the advent of pluralism and postmodernism in the early 1970s. During this period, the medium was confronted with challenges from almost every faction within critical discourse. Rather than disappearing under this onslaught, as was widely predicted through much of the 20th century, the medium adapted to its new context, found ways to absorb many of the critical arguments directed against it and, in the process, re-imagined its potential for confronting contemporary experience. We will consider this history up to the present in assigned texts and exhibitions as well as in studio discussion of student work.
Instructor: M. Gal
The purpose of this course is to reflect upon the relationships among art, information and politics. While art is often perceived by both artists and audiences as unrelated to and independent of politics and social history, we will examine how social contexts can impact aesthetics. Through your own projects and other artists’ work we will explore the current realities within which your images are made. We will specifically discuss the following questions: Is art history merely the history of the affluent taste? During war can we afford having merely iconographic interests? What aesthetic outlets are available, or could be made available, for contemporary artists? Is explicitly political art necessarily propaganda and is apolitical art free of ideology? How much fiction is there in documentary and vice versa? We will look at artworks produced by Felix Gonzalez-Torres and others; we will watch international documentaries such as The Battle of Algiers and Hairpiece: A Film for Nappy-Headed People, and readings will range from Ways of Seeing to Fast Food Nation. Note: Senior fine arts and visual and critical studies majors have priority registration for this course.
Instructor: C. Kotik
In the 1960s, installation art became a prominent tool for many artists to convey their ideas about the changing structure of society, the art market and, above all, art itself. The temporal and site-specific aspects of installation work corresponded well to the flux of artists’ ideas. The practice of creating installations or environments has roots in history that can be traced back to the Counter-Reformation. This course will review the history of this medium, concentrating above all on the renewed interest in installations in the 1980s and emphasizing current work of both well- and lesser-known installation artists. Lectures, museum trips and gallery visits will be included. Note: Senior fine arts and visual and critical studies majors have priority registration for this course.
This seminar will focus on questions specific to printmaking, publishing and artist’s multiples. Visiting artists, publishers, curators and printers will discuss emerging trends in printmaking, with a special focus on the expanded printmaking technologies in the digital age. Issues such as materials, scale, cost, presentation and distribution will complement discourse concerning printmaking’s iconographic base. Students will create a body of work and interact through critique formats. Note: Open to all students.
Senior Workshop: (aka The Monday Night Team) is a mentorship program in which an individual student’s art and working process are the subjects of discussion.
The goal of the course is to aid students in developing a working methodology that produces a final body of work. One-on-one critiques, group critiques and outside evaluators (artists/critics) format the course. In addition, reading materials, group discussions and presentations complete the sessions.
Senior Workshop: (aka The Monday Night Team) is a mentorship program in which an individual student’s art and working process are the subjects of discussion.
The goal of the course is to aid students in developing a working methodology that produces a final body of work. One-on-one critiques, group critiques and outside evaluators (artists/critics) format the course. In addition, reading materials, group discussions and presentations complete the sessions.
Senior Workshop is a tutorial in which students develop their senior project with two instructors. A finished studio project and an accompanying written statement are required. Students are expected to be critically informed and historically aware of the conceptual underpinnings of their practice.
Students may substitute a fine arts digital, electronics or bio art course for one seven-week Senior Workshop.
This is the second part of a two-semester course. Senior Workshop is a tutorial in which students develop their senior project with two instructors. A finished studio project and an accompanying written statement are required. Students are expected to be critically informed and historically aware of the conceptual underpinnings of their practice.
Students may substitute a fine arts digital, electronics or bio art course for one seven-week Senior Workshop.
What do we do when we look? What happens as we build pictures? What makes an image memorable? We will consider the context for these concerns from Cézanne to psychedelic art to current exhibitions. Learn to focus your intentions while finetuning your intuition. Work from observation, imagination or printed sources with an emphasis on the distinctly physiological experience of painting.
Silkscreen, one of the most versatile and widely used methods of printmaking, will be explored through demonstrations and self-initiated projects. Painters as well as photographers will find a new way of expressing their ideas through screen printing. Images can be made using hand-drawn separations, photographic film, digital separations and photocopied images. Printing on canvas, T-shirts, wood, metal, glass, as well as large-scale works, are all possible with silkscreen. Large-scale digital output is available. Water-based silkscreen ink is used in class allowing for soap-and-water cleanup.
Silkscreen, one of the most versatile and widely used methods of printmaking, will be explored through demonstrations and self-initiated projects. Painters and photographers will find a new way of expressing their ideas through screen printing. Images can be made using hand-drawn separations, photographic film, digital separations and photocopied images. Printing on canvas, T-shirts, wood, metal and glass, as well as large-scale works, are all possible with silkscreen. Large-scale digital output is available. Water-based silkscreen ink is used in class allowing for soap-and-water cleanup.
Note: Printshop facilities are available outside of class hours.
Silkscreen changed the look of art in the early 1960s when painters like Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg started combining printing and painting to make unique works of art. This transformation of a once commercial process into a multifaceted art making tool made it possible to repeat images and create unlimited variations whether on paper, canvas, plastic, glass, metal, wood or any number of other materials. Silkscreen has also incorporated the use of digital photography and computer manipulations for image making. Students will be encouraged to make the most of this wide-open process and to seek their own creative solutions. Work will be critiqued on an ongoing basis.
Using silkscreen, students will explore various ways to present print as sequential images—artists’ books, themed portfolios and comics, even fanzines. The course will cover the process from concept to finished and bound multiples. Methods of making color separations for multicolor prints using traditional hand-drawn and modern photographic techniques will be included. Bookbinding techniques will be demonstrated, such as Japanese bookbinding, accordion folding and signature binding. Large-scale digital output is available.
Using silkscreen, students will explore various ways to present print as sequential images—artists’ books, themed portfolios and comics, even fanzines. The course will cover the process from concept to finished and bound multiples. Methods of making color separations for multicolor prints using traditional hand-drawn and modern photographic techniques will be included. Bookbinding techniques will be demonstrated, such as Japanese bookbinding, accordion folding and signature binding. Large-scale digital output is available.
This advanced course will combine silkscreen printing with sculptural concerns to create large scale or three-dimensional mixed-media works. Concepts, fabrication, and sculptural edition problems will be tested and solved. We will explore tools, materials and methods, along with curating and documentation, and printing on a variety of different substrates such as plastic, metal, textiles and ceramics. Find out about decals, heat forming, embossing, pochoir and 3D printing. Get studio tips and logic. Learn about jigs for cutting and drilling. This course is a “hands-on make anything” tour de force. Field trips and guests artists are included. Note: A working knowledge of silkscreen is recommended.
This course will concentrate on the use of silkscreen to realize personal projects, print editions, multiples, posters and portfolio pieces. Emphasis will be placed on idea concept, material choices and craft. The use of hand-drawn, photographic, photocopied and digital color separation techniques will be introduced in class. Large-scale digital output is available. Water-based silkscreen ink will be used, allowing for soap-and-water cleanup.
This studio course will focus on basic metalworking for creating jewelry. Techniques covered will include: soldering and annealing, metal construction and forming, polishing and stone setting, as well as decorative finishes for surface treatment of metals, such as texturing, patinas, antiquing and stamping. Each student will begin with designing and creating a ring set with a stone, followed by personal projects that employ the areas covered in class. There will be time for experimentation. Individual instruction on additional techniques such as making chains, jump rings, clasps and hooks will be given for projects that require these techniques. Assignments vary each semester and students are welcome to continue their projects from a previous course. Note: Previous design or metal experience not required.
Artists as diverse as Claes Oldenburg and Louise Bourgeois have employed soft sculpture to investigate the whimsical as well as the darker aspects of identity and the human psyche. This course is designed to integrate various processes of traditional soft sculpture with contemporary applications that utilize digital technologies. A series of demonstrations that explore 2D and 3D surfaces will introduce students to the traditional methods of sewing, felting, dyeing, knotting, and weaving. Digital demonstrations will explore pattern design for laser cutting, digital embroidery and textile design that can be outsourced to print. Students are invited to create work using these applications in isolation or in combination.
In this seminar, students will focus on the media image and its implications in their work. In practice, the photograph has become a drawing tool for the artist and we will explore photography and video in relation to painting and drawing. Projects in lighting and composition, as well as color and its effects will be explored in still photography and the moving image. Stop-motion video effects will be used to animate a drawing. Photography and related software will be employed to address space, texture and volume as formal concerns in image-making. Students will learn how to document their work, how to use a camera that goes beyond point-and-click and what range of possibilities can be achieved with these instruments. How to color correct prints and videos will also be covered. Sound and editing techniques as they apply to art production is included in this media primer.
In this seminar, students will focus on the media image and its implications in their work. In practice, the photograph has become a drawing tool for the artist and we will explore photography and video in relation to painting and drawing. Projects in lighting and composition, as well as color and its effects will be explored in still photography and the moving image. Stop-motion video effects will be used to animate a drawing. Photography and related software will be employed to address space, texture and volume as formal concerns in image-making. Students will learn how to document their work, how to use a camera that goes beyond point-and-click and what range of possibilities can be achieved with these instruments. How to color correct prints and videos will also be covered. Sound and editing techniques as they apply to art production is included in this media primer.
Limited to 15 students
This course will appeal to fine artists as well as graphic designers and emerging fashion designers. Demonstrations will demystify the process of printing on canvas, T-shirts or totes. Learn to use various methods of printing on fabric, from silkscreen to block printing and stencils. You will be guided through “step and repeat” color separation used in printing entire bolts of fabric, to “engineered” images for pre-made piece goods like jackets, hats and patches. Students will use textile inks that are permanent and washable for professional results. Start your own T-shirt business and know what to buy and where to buy it.
In this course, students will develop a painting practice that employs imagery and pictorial means from both abstract and representational realms. This painting tradition includes the work of Henri Matisse, Philip Guston, Elizabeth Murray and Gerhard Richter, to name a few. Students will be encouraged to create images that incorporate the formal languages of modes of abstraction. The development of a mature studio practice will be stressed.
This is so contemporary is the title of an artwork by Tino Sehgal that is a reflection on contemporary art. But what is contemporary art? What is a contemporary artist? And what is required to be successful in the contemporary art world? These questions will guide students to find their place as emerging artists. The course begins with a series of visits to artists’ studios and talks with artists about their art, the process of finding subject matter, and what it means to be a contemporary artist. We will also visit museums, galleries, exhibition spaces, gardens, alternative art spaces and
private collections to view artworks and to discuss the demands for contemporary artists. As an accompaniment to all of this we will read short texts about art and discuss the current situation of art. Student will make a presentation about their art and will receive material specific to their own art production. Moreover each student will keep an artist’s journal with visuals inspired by course material.
Through exploration and invention, and by embracing all media, students will engage in a critical discourse about what is happening in real time in the visual arts now, through their work. A fully mixed-media orientation is receptive to all students, including those who are primarily painters, photographers or video-makers, performers, etc., and to all approaches. The emphasis is on enabling students to experiment with a full range of traditional, unconventional and exotic materials, techniques and ideas: digital fabrication, audio, electricity, fluids, mechanical parts, photomontage, optics, metal, paper, wood. The development of student concepts and personal interests will be strongly supported. Our thinking will be placed in contemporary and historical context through presentations of visual and textual resources: slide shows, video, articles, Web-based online materials and a weekly update on current exhibitions. Among the many ideas that will be explored are: perception, transformation, performance, the body and language, as well as the environmental, political and site-specific in art. Resources will be discussed and extensive technical help will be provided. There will be group critiques. Instruction will be on an individual basis.
In this course, we will visit local sites in search of urban botanicals from which to draw creative inspiration. We’ll explore micro and macro environments, the fractal realm of self-similarity and symmetry; we’ll see how the nature/nurture dialectic has been exploited by artists, and we’ll look to the less obvious lichens, molds and mosses as alternatives to the more ornamental botanicals. To meet the countless challenges that botanicals present, students will explore various mediums to create drawings/collages that range from the simple to the complex.
From low-tech projection to high-tech immersive environments, video installation has become a dominant medium for contemporary artists. Drawing from the history of film and video art, the students will explore some of the different techniques of analog and digital media in their work in the digital lab. This course will focus on developing students’ knowledge of video installation and encourage experimentation with a variety of approaches to the projected image. Students will generate four projects throughout the semester. We will meet regularly as a group and on a one-on-one basis to discuss current exhibitions, readings and student projects, and screen film/video work by some of the major figures in the field. The remaining time will be spent in the studio/lab. Students are encouraged to incorporate their personal interests and perspectives into their work. Projects will relate to ideas and forms of light projection from conception and production to display and distribution; creative relationships between visual and audio; the physicality of light; narrative and non-narrative structure; original and appropriated material; public and private exhibition; interaction with performance and objects/sculpture. The course will touch on issues of gender, social and political activism, and the history of media communication.
Video mapping (or spatial augmented reality) is an exciting projection medium that
can turn almost any surface, regardless of its shape and size, into a dynamic video
display. This course is intended for students who want to move into this powerful,
creative medium and will focus on exploring popular video mapping software
and hardware technology. Students will create a video-mapping project that will
be featured on an architectural space in Manhattan. Note: Open to students from
all departments.
This course is a continuation of FID-3634, Video Mapping Art. Having explored the techniques of basic video mapping, students will proceed into advanced augmented reality theory and practice. This course will examine techniques in spatial scanning, multi-projector systems, projecting in moving objects, Kinect-based augmented reality installations, Colossal outdoors video projections and multiplatform performance environments. In addition, students will be introduced to specialized digital tools for video mapping such as TouchDesigner, HeavyM, Z Vector, DynaMapper (for iPad), TorsionSoft, Millumin, VPT (Video Projection Tools), LPMT (Little Projecting-Mapping Tool), Resolume Arena 4, Arkaos GrandVJ XT and Visution Mapio 2 Pro. Students will complete a project based in video mapping, which integrates course material in interesting and meaningful ways. To this end, at least half of the class time will be allocated for working on these projects with guidance from the instructor.
This lecture series takes place twice a semester in the amphitheater. Renowned artists, critics and curators are invited to present their work and ideas through visual presentations and dialogue. Note: Open to junior fine arts majors.
This is the second part of a two-semester course.
This lecture series takes place twice a semester in the amphitheater. Renowned artists, critics and curators are invited to present their work and ideas through visual presentations and dialogue. Note: Open to junior fine arts majors.
This lecture series takes place twice a semester in the amphitheater. Renowned artists, critics and curators are invited to present their work and ideas through visual presentations and dialogue. Note: Open to senior fine arts majors only.
This is the second part of a two-semester course.
This lecture series takes place twice a semester in the amphitheater. Renowned artists, critics and curators are invited to present their work and ideas through visual presentations and dialogue. Note: Open to senior fine arts majors only.
This course covers basic watercolor painting materials and techniques. Form, composition and color will be discussed and students will explore the expressive and stylistic possibilities of the medium. Visual examples from art history and contemporary art will be part of the class critiques.
This course will explore fashion as conceptual art on the canvas of the body. We will explore how to design and create clothing and costumes; how to adapt and design patterns; sew and construct garments and accessories; decorate with paint and dye, printed photos, appliqué, embroidery, beadwork, neon wire, quilting and stuffing; and explore experimental and soft sculpture techniques. Students may also work with props and backdrops, special effects makeup, and other elements to create a complete look. Art fashion can be exhibited as art, or used to create characters for performance, photographs and videos, or to develop your own iconic look and become a living work of art.
Representation, abstraction, experimentation, line, color, form and perspective can all be explored as you find your own special vision. The reasons for taking a fine arts course at the School of Visual Arts are as varied as the people who study with us. Some do it for fun. Commercial artists study the fine arts to refocus their thinking. Exhibiting fine artists come to us to learn how to use new tools or improve a technique, and create work in our facilities.
Our faculty of artists teaches a core curriculum in drawing, painting, sculpture and printmaking. In addition, we offer courses in jewelry making, blacksmithing and professional practices.
Advanced courses examine autobiographical, political, narrative and abstract concepts as they relate to your work. Let us help you tap into your latent creative potential. At all stages of creative development, SVA’s community is a place to learn and grow in the fine arts.
Microbes represent the most diverse group of organisms on earth and have been found throughout the world to the far reaches of the planet. They are capable of living in places we once thought were uninhabitable from the deep sea hydrothermal vents to the ice masses of the artic tundra. These microorganisms are capable of eating petroleum, metals, acids, plastics, and toxic wastes and are thus valuable in the process of removing pollutants and contaminants from our environment. Here, we take a bio art approach to discovering new species within the microbial world. We will visualize and image the wonderful beauty of these fascinating creatures by studying their many shapes and morphologies that often take the form of rods, spheres, coils and helixes. We will use a variety of collecting techniques to obtain these microbes from the waterways throughout and surrounding Manhattan. We will use sophisticated culturing techniques in the SVA Bio Art Lab and state-of-the-art techniques, including the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing to identify the microbes we collect. Through this process we will study bioluminescent diatoms, cyanobacteria, protozoans like amoebas and paramecium, zooxanthellae the symbiotic algae that live inside coral polyps, and many others. Come collaborate on an adventure of art and science and dive into the mysterious world of microbes.
Capturing images of nature and biological phenomena is an essential component of the scientific process; it is also an intricate aspect of art. In this course we will utilize macro lenses and dissecting stereo microscopes, as well as compound and fluorescent microscopes to obtain images of the microscopic world. Students will photograph marine invertebrates, including sea urchins, starfish, tunicates, comb jellies, anemones and sponges. Under the high-mag objective, we will image zooplankton and phytoplankton from marine and freshwater samples, and tissues prepared with our hands for microscopic observations. Students will develop a portfolio of images through projects that can include still life, video, time-lapse imaging, stereo pairs of 3D images, focal stacking and high-dynamic range photography. See what you can discover under magnification.
Capturing images of nature and biological phenomena is an essential component of the scientific process; it is also an intricate aspect of art. In this course we will utilize macro lenses and dissecting stereo microscopes, as well as compound and fluorescent microscopes to obtain images of the microscopic world. Students will photograph marine invertebrates, including sea urchins, starfish, tunicates, comb jellies, anemones and sponges. Under the high-mag objective, we will image zooplankton and phytoplankton from marine and freshwater samples, and tissues prepared with our hands for microscopic observations. Students will develop a portfolio of images through projects that can include still life, video, time-lapse imaging, stereo pairs of 3D images, focal stacking and high-dynamic range photography. See what you can discover under magnification.
Plants are among the most diverse organisms on the planet, growing in arid deserts and rain forests, on mountaintops and in the savannahs, as well as in marshes, lakes, rivers and the seas. They can take on beautiful forms with vivid colors and highly evolved features. While they are often thought of as almost inert objects, they can exhibit elaborate behaviors such as opening their blossoms at dawn, tracking the sun as the earth rotates, or baiting and trapping insects as a source of food. In this course, we will capture photographic representations of these lush life forms and explore the beautiful and bizarre world of plants and take an in-depth look at the intricate composition of their sexual structures, roots, vascular tissues and the photosynthetic machinery that create these primary producers. In particular, we will use time-lapse imaging to capture their movements, macro lenses to obtain images of their details, and microscopes to image tissues and cells. The fun begins as we focus on these unrelenting worshipers of the sun.
FIC-2509-A
Sundays, Jan 28 – March 4, 2018
FIC-2509-B
Sundays, Mar 25 – Apr 29, 2018
Hours: 3:00PM-6:00PM
Register online
Artists have always been inspired by nature and more recently have begun to apply
the advancements of biotechnologies into their work. In this course students will be
introduced to the field of bio art and work in SVA’s state-of-the-art Bio Art Laboratory.
We will explore how to cultivate and creatively manipulate several model organisms,
such as fungi, bacteria, yeast and plants. Many of these organisms have image
rendering and mold-making capabilities that can be harnessed as new construction
materials. Students will make mycelium sculptures, grow visceral sheets of bacterial
cellulose, produce chlorophyll prints, and paint with bacteria genetically modified to
express a fluorescent protein naturally found in a bioluminescent jellyfish. We will
also explore molecular gastronomy, which employs many techniques for suspending
fluids and making liquid sculptures. No previous experience in bio art is required.
Register: http://www.sva.edu/continuing-education/fine-arts/introduction-to-bio-materials-18-cs-fic-2509-b
Microscopes are wonderful tools for observation and have revolutionized our understanding of cells and subcellular structures. With photographic attachments, these instruments provide amazing images that transcend science into art. Spectacular renderings can often be made by simply placing the specimen under the microscope. In other instances specimens may require preparation, including tissue fixation, embedding, sectioning and mounting on slides, among others. During this course we will explore techniques used to prepare tissue for microscopic imaging. Focusing on the enhancement of various cell structures, we will use stains to tease out intricate details, such as the cell membrane, the nucleus, DNA, proteins, and other organelles that make up cellular domains and tissue architecture. Prepared samples will be photographed using both stereo and compound microscopes to generate a professional high-end portfolio.
Students will learn practical hand-building techniques and skills on the wheel. Pinch pots, coil building and slabs will be demonstrated. Wheel work will follow. Wedging, centering, opening and pulling will be practiced. Combining hand building and throwing techniques to create new forms, students can focus on developing a personal style. Slip application, sgraffito and inlay, glazing and resist techniques will also be covered. A survey of the history of ceramics will be included.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, kiln use and access to the ceramics workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
In this course, students will produce contemporary sculptural works with clay. Stepping away from the traditional hand building and wheel methods, this course will use mold-making and cast ceramics as the primary techniques. Additionally, students can explore alternative mediums such as silicone and found objects. Students will work on individual projects tailored to their interests and experience. Critiques will be an integral part of the course. Throughout, students will be encouraged to develop new approaches to their work. Lectures and slide presentations on contemporary ceramic art and artists will be included.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, kiln use and access to the ceramics workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
The fundamentals for creating three-dimensional objects will be the focus of this course. Demonstrated techniques and processes will cover a broad range of materials, including metal, wood, mold making/casting, fiberglass, silicone, plastics, resins, finishes and paint. Students will also gain hands-on training for installation, sculpture and prop making for films. The goal is to provide contemporary skills to assist in the fabrication of 3D objects and environments. Students can work on approved projects of their choosing, or an assigned project that will be based on their creative interests. If you want to be a “maker,” this class is for you.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, welding equipment, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants and wood glue, as well as access to the plaster, wood and metal workshops outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
Designed for students at all levels who wish to explore the world of sculpture, this course will begin with basic carving techniques using blue foam covered by an aqua resin. Demonstrations of various techniques used to produce 3D works will be included, as well as slide presentations of artworks from many disciplines. Students will be encouraged to critically examine how emerging technologies alter the landscape of making art.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants and access to the plaster workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
This course is an introduction to electronics, for fine artists, sculptors, installation and performance artists, as well as those who want to add computer-controlled elements to their creations. Using the Arduino microcontroller, we will explore some of the essential and useful electronic sensors (light, sound, motion, sonar, infrared, angle bending), powerful actuators (relays, motors, servomotors, stepper motors, muscle wires and solenoids, among others), and telecommunication tools for microcontrollers (radio frequency transmitters, Bluetooth, Ethernet). This is a practical course and does not include theory. Class time will be allocated to help students work on their projects. We will also cover how to incorporate other mediums into these projects, including video, wood, metalworking and mechanical applications.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants and wood glue, as well as access to electronic media workstations and the wood and metal workshops outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
This course is designed to strengthen and expand your art-making skills and ideas through a creative exploration of traditional and unconventional materials. We will focus on the endless possibilities of combining such materials and mediums as film, rubbish, household goods, writing and photographs with painting, drawing and sculpture. Sound, gravity and magnetism can also be incorporated into projects. Broad suggested assignments are given to kick-start your thinking. Experimentation and failure are encouraged. Through group and individual critiques we will examine the universal and personal signification of the materials, how those can change in combination and how they can help define your interests and form a unique voice. We will also look at the ways collage, assemblage and installation have developed to expand your critical vocabulary and give you a sense of where your work fits in this history. This course is appropriate for all ranges of experience, from beginners to advanced students.
NOTE: Please bring notepaper and five objects selected at random to the first session. Access to the SVA Sculpture Center is not included.
This course is designed to strengthen and expand your art-making skills and ideas through a creative exploration of traditional and unconventional materials. We will focus on the endless possibilities of combining such materials and mediums as film, rubbish, household goods, writing and photographs with painting, drawing and sculpture. Sound, gravity and magnetism can also be incorporated into projects. Broad suggested assignments are given to kick-start your thinking. Experimentation and failure are encouraged. Through group and individual critiques we will examine the universal and personal signification of the materials, how those can change in combination and how they can help define your interests and form a unique voice. We will also look at the ways collage, assemblage and installation have developed to expand your critical vocabulary and give you a sense of where your work fits in this history. This course is appropriate for all ranges of experience, from beginners to advanced students.
NOTE: Please bring notepaper and five objects selected at random to the first session. Access to the SVA Sculpture Center is not included.
This course will allow you to really explore and invent by embracing all media, and will encourage anyone who desires a nurturing critical discourse and consciousness of themselves in relation to what is happening in the visual arts today. A fully mixed-media orientation is receptive to all approaches, including students who are primarily painters, photographers or video-makers, performers, among others. The emphasis will be on enabling experimentation with a full range of traditional, unconventional and exotic materials, techniques and ideas: digital fabrication, audio, electricity, fluids, mechanical parts, photomontage, optics, metal, paper, wood. The development of your concepts and personal interests will be strongly supported. Our thinking will be placed in contemporary and historical context through presentations of visual and textual resources: slides, videos, articles, web-based online materials and weekly updates on current exhibitions. Among the many ideas that will be explored are perception, transformation, performance, the body and language, as well as the environmental, political and site-specific in art. This course is perfect for those seeking to renew their creative work and develop a portfolio. Professional resources will be discussed and extensive technical help will be provided. There will be group critiques and individual instruction.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, welding gases, welding rods, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants, wood glue and access to the plaster, wood and metal workshops outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
This course will focus on the relationship of a skeleton to a live model. The skeleton will be placed in a different pose each week and the model will assume that pose. An anatomy lesson based on the pose from skeletal through muscular will be given. The semester will be divided between female and male models. Standing, sitting, reclining and action poses will be included.
NOTE: Please bring ebony pencils, a black and a brown grease pencil (china marker), a smooth newsprint pad (18×24″), a box of push pins, a white plastic eraser, single-edge razor blades and/or Staedtler lead holder, lead pointer, 3B leads to the first session.
The course will provide a foundation in the fundamentals of drawing and design. Students will draw from live models, still lives and interiors to acquire an understanding of the elements of composition: perspective, color, light and shadow, texture and line. Demonstrations and critiques will be ongoing while students explore a wide variety of styles—from the old masters to contemporary artists. Pencil and charcoal will be the primary media. Trips to museums and galleries are included.
NOTE: Please bring a rough newsprint pad (18×24″) and 6B graphite pencils to the first session.
Children have an innate ability to draw; as we grow up this talent can become suppressed and forgotten. This course will reintroduce you to drawing and sharpen your observational skills. We will start by drawing the still life with simple geometric shapes such as cones, cylinders, cubes and spheres, and then work from the live model, noting how these primitive forms recur throughout the human body. We will explore the principles of form with line, volume, proportion, foreshortening, light/shadow, composition, positive/negative space and scale, as well as the principles of spatial depth with linear perspective and atmospheric perspective. The basics of color theory and its relationship to form and space will also be covered. Starting out with charcoal and graphite, we will branch out using a variety of mediums, such as soft pastels, oil pastels, pen and ink, brush and ink, scratchboard and silverpoint. We will do all of this in a supportive atmosphere with an emphasis on each individual’s goals and level of experience. This course is open to all levels, and beginners are especially welcome. Discussion of student work will be an ongoing group effort.
NOTE: Please bring an (18×24″) white paper drawing pad and compressed (not vine) charcoal to the first session. This course may be taken for undergraduate credit. Please refer to FID-1130-CE in the credit courses section of this bulletin for details.
Drawing from a live model each session, students will investigate topics such as: comparative anatomy (how most vertebrates share the same bones and muscles); an in-depth study of human anatomy, with specific attention to how joints function and the proportions of the human head; the anatomy of facial expressions. Proportion, linear perspective, light and shadow, atmospheric perspective, color theory and composition will also be discussed. Throughout the course we will use a range of mediums, including pencil, graphite stick, soft pastels, oil pastels, gouache, oil stick, scratchboard and silverpoint, and experiment with combinations of different mediums outside of conventional usage. At the beginning of each session there will be a demonstration of a specific medium. Some drawings will be worked on for several minutes, others for the entire session, depending on the goal at hand. Students will receive individual instruction.
NOTE: Please bring an (18×24″) white paper drawing pad and compressed (not vine) charcoal to the first session. This course may be taken for undergraduate credit. Please refer to FID-1135-CE in the credit courses section of this bulletin for details.
Open to all levels, this will be a two-day workshop of virtually non-stop drawing. The purpose is to not only loosen up, but also to approach drawing fearlessly. We will work with multiple models and props as well as from imagination. Students will work quickly, drawing with various media. Restating and reworking of drawings will be encouraged to create complex works. Ink, paint, oil stick and dry mediums will be used to blur the distinctions between painting and drawing. Assignments and direction will investigate elements of portraiture, figure study, narrative drawing, still life and abstraction. This workshop is a drawing intensive: students will be expected to work (very) hard and will gain a keener understanding of the drawing process.
This course is designed to strengthen and expand your art-making skills and ideas through a creative exploration of traditional and unconventional materials. We will focus on the endless possibilities of combining such materials and mediums as film, rubbish, household goods, writing and photographs with painting, drawing and sculpture. Sound, gravity and magnetism can also be incorporated into projects. Broad suggested assignments are given to kick-start your thinking. Experimentation and failure are encouraged. Through group and individual critiques we will examine the universal and personal signification of the materials, how those can change in combination and how they can help define your interests and form a unique voice. We will also look at the ways collage, assemblage and installation have developed to expand your critical vocabulary and give you a sense of where your work fits in this history. This course is appropriate for all ranges of experience, from beginners to advanced students.
NOTE: Please bring notepaper and five objects selected at random to the first session. Access to the SVA Sculpture Center is not included.
This course will emphasize the primary facets of drawing the figure that have given it an enduring and prominent place in art. Drawing and representing the figure will lead to a better understanding of line, gesture, proportion, volume and composition. Concept, observation, character and materials will be discussed in relation to portraying the human figure. Classical traditions as well as contemporary examples of figure drawing will be explored. All drawing media are welcome, including ink and watercolor.
NOTE: Please bring a medium-tooth drawing pad and newsprint pad (18×24″), medium and soft charcoal, assorted B pencils, a kneaded eraser and a white plastic eraser to the first session.
Through observation and using the model as subject matter, students will learn the fundamentals of drawing. This course will concentrate on each student’s personal development. Using a variety of materials, straightforward consideration of a subject and unconventional approaches, students will explore the elements needed to create successful drawings.
NOTE: Please bring a newsprint pad (18×24″), vine charcoal, soft charcoal pencils and crayons to the first session.
This course is for students who are beyond the beginning drawing/ painting level, and are ready to intensively develop their imagination. In a supportive environment, each student will design a six-week project that emphasizes imaginative imagery. Memory, dreams, fiction and literature can all be used as subject matter. In addition to models, source materials such as photos, collages and sketches can be used as tools to develop finished works. Working with a choice of media, including collage, photos, digital prints and paint, this course will give students the opportunity to explore their artistic vision. Discussions on mixed media, experimental procedures and archival concerns will complement studio work.
NOTE: Please bring drawing or painting materials, examples of your work and possible source materials to the first session, and be prepared to discuss ideas for your project.
The focus of this course will be to teach the foundation that guides drawing a portrait from a live model. A step-by-step approach will make this an easy-to-understand but challenging experience. Through observation, we will analyze the structure of the face by employing different methods, from quick sketches to the more elaborate and finished portrait drawing. Proportion and scale will be emphasized with traditional concepts, such as line, shadow and volume. Our goal will be to show that the structures we draw express the character and personality of our subject, built up in layers, section-by-section and consolidated into a finished drawing. We will also explore the great masters of this discipline, from Dürer and Holbein, Rembrandt and Vermeer to modern and contemporary artists such as Lucian Freud and Alice Neel.
NOTE: Please bring drawing and newsprint pads (18×24″), soft charcoal of differing thickness, pencils (6 to 6B), a kneaded eraser and a soft vinyl eraser to the first session.
Drawing lies at the heart of all representational art and unity is the key component. The purpose of this workshop is to develop your ability to approach drawing in a contextual way, where each small part serves the greater whole. We will start with exercises designed to sharpen your ability to see objectively. Working with live models, you will learn how to identify the specific proportions and structure unique to each individual. By weeks end, you will understand what it takes to achieve a full-fledged tonal portrayal of your subject, bathed in light and surrounded by air. Draftsmanship is an easily learned skill. The techniques and approaches you will learn can be readily adapted to any type of subject matter and style. All aspects of this method will be presented logically and coherently. Every step will be fully demonstrated and explained.
NOTE: A complete supply list will be sent to you prior to the start of the workshop.
This hands-on course will explore a variety of ways to tell a story or present information through forms that include drawing, painting, sewing, printing and collage. We will look at the history of visual narrative from around the world. We will study graphic novels, comics, cartoons and contemporary narrative painting and drawing and use these forms as a source for our own work. Open to all from beginners to advanced. Instruction in basic drawing and in more advanced concepts.
Watercolor is a very easy medium once color mixing and water control have been mastered. This course introduces a variety of materials and techniques for beginners and intermediate level students. Students will create realistic to semi-abstract works using photographs, still lifes and live models—with minimum time spent for maximum results. Students will discover their untapped talent, and will be encouraged to find their unique style. This course is specifically designed for those who want to master watercolor painting within a brief time period without much art training. At the end of the semester, students will have completed four to six paintings and developed an appreciation of watercolor painting.
NOTE: Please bring pencils (2B), a sketchbook (any size), rounded brushes (size #8, #12, #16), and some tubes of watercolor paint.
This course is designed to inform and demonstrate all the “shop tricks” in watercolor painting. Beginning and experienced students will learn how to avoid pitfalls and advance their watercolor paintings. We will explore a variety of watercolor techniques with an emphasis on developing one’s own style. Demonstrations of color and design, wet-on-wet and dry brush techniques will be included. Students can paint from still life, photographs or their own subject matter. Individual attention will be given.
NOTE: A supply list will be distributed upon registration in this course.
In this all-day studio course, students can explore ideas from their personal artistic vision and bring them to completion. The instruction will focus on individual growth in a supportive class environment. This course has been developed to help students think clearly about technique and skills. Contemporary as well as historical issues will be examined to assist students in establishing a historical sense of themselves as artists.
NOTE: Please come prepared to paint and bring examples of your work to the first session.
This course is designed to strengthen and expand your art-making skills and ideas through a creative exploration of traditional and unconventional materials. We will focus on the endless possibilities of combining such materials and mediums as film, rubbish, household goods, writing and photographs with painting, drawing and sculpture. Sound, gravity and magnetism can also be incorporated into projects. Broad suggested assignments are given to kick-start your thinking. Experimentation and failure are encouraged. Through group and individual critiques we will examine the universal and personal signification of the materials, how those can change in combination and how they can help define your interests and form a unique voice. We will also look at the ways collage, assemblage and installation have developed to expand your critical vocabulary and give you a sense of where your work fits in this history. This course is appropriate for all ranges of experience, from beginners to advanced students.
NOTE: Please bring notepaper and five objects selected at random to the first session. Access to the SVA Sculpture Center is not included.
This course is for students who are beyond the beginning drawing/ painting level, and are ready to intensively develop their imagination. In a supportive environment, each student will design a six-week project that emphasizes imaginative imagery. Memory, dreams, fiction and literature can all be used as subject matter. In addition to models, source materials such as photos, collages and sketches can be used as tools to develop finished works. Working with a choice of media, including collage, photos, digital prints and paint, this course will give students the opportunity to explore their artistic vision. Discussions on mixed media, experimental procedures and archival concerns will complement studio work.
NOTE: Please bring drawing or painting materials, examples of your work and possible source materials to the first session, and be prepared to discuss ideas for your project.
Open to students at all levels, this course is an intensive survey of the diverse methods and approaches to oil painting and it will take the mystery out of color, composition, scale and tone. Working from the live nude, you will learn how to create convincing flesh tones in light and shadow, and volume and space, through the application of color theory. We will also work on atmospheric perspective as it pertains to the landscape for the final three sessions. Demonstrations will show you how to use a painting knife and brush, and how to build a painting using old master, classicist, impressionist, and neoimpressionist techniques. You will learn the recipes of painting mediums and how to use them. This course will strengthen your observational skills, and you will become familiar with atmospheric perspective, linear perspective and human anatomy. There will be group discussions of student work and individual attention to the goals, needs and level of experience of each student.
NOTE: Please bring a newsprint pad (18×24″) and compressed charcoal to the first session. This course may be taken for undergraduate credit. Please refer to FID-1220-CE in the credit courses section of this bulletin for details.
FIC-1221-A
For the beginning student, this course is designed to introduce the fundamentals of painting. Using oil paint, students will explore color, form and content. Subjects will include still life, the model and themes from your imagination. The course will concentrate on each student’s individual development, enhancing his or her technical skills and personal expression.
FIC-1223-A
Designed for the beginning student, this studio course will introduce the fundamentals of color, space, composition and technique. Oil paint will be the primary medium; other media will be explored, including acrylics and collage. Students will paint from observation, memory and imagination. Contemporary concepts will be emphasized. There will be individual and group critiques.
NOTE: Please bring a rough newsprint pad (18×24″), charcoal pencils and an eraser to the first session.
This course will introduce you to the joys and challenges of painting on location. We will paint outdoors at sites such as Central Park, Madison Square Park, Battery Park and Brooklyn Botanic Garden, as well as points north along the Hudson River. Topics will include linear and atmospheric perspective, the visual properties of water, perspective of cast shadows, composition, scale and color theory. On overcast days students can focus on one painting for the entire session; on sunny days, to make the most of the shifting light, two pieces will be worked on. We will paint indoors on rainy days using high-resolution images of landscapes or reproductions of landscape paintings as reference. Students may work in the medium of their choice. Individual guidance based on each student’s skill level will be provided.
NOTE: Please bring a portable easel to each session. A lightweight telescoping tubular Stanrite easel is recommended
This comprehensive course in portrait painting will explore all you need to know to make realistic, fully illuminated portraits. It is perfect for beginners and will prove of immense value to even the most experienced professional. Each week will involve painting from the model with detailed instruction. We will begin with an examination of how color can be used to create palpable flesh and three-dimensional form. Subsequent projects will build from this foundation and incorporate paint layering and underpainting techniques, as well as a look at the mysteries of pose, posture and gesture. The simple break down of the features—nose, eyes, mouth, ears—will enable you to quickly incorporate them into your portrait with accuracy and credibility. Examples from masters’ work will be shown and discussed. Home assignments support and continue the work in class, and sometimes range to more experimental approaches to the portrait.
NOTE: A short video about the course and a materials list can be viewed at: johnaparks.com.
There’s more to painting a great portrait than capturing a likeness; it’s about creating the illusion of life. Portraiture should reveal the character of the sitter and exude a lifelike essence. During this course, taught by an award-winning portrait artist, you will learn how to analyze, interpret and convincingly portray the human visage. The methodology presented is both broad in scope, yet simple to comprehend. It’s based on the idea that logic, not frivolous rules nor superficial techniques, lies at the core of the greatest portraits ever created. Working from live models, you will discover a simple and straightforward way to achieve accurate drawing and to easily replicate any color you see, particularly the subtle translucent tones of the human complexion. You will also learn how to model form and to simulate the effects of luminosity, illusionistic depth and atmospheric space. All of the information covered in this course will be fully demonstrated and explained.
NOTE: A complete supply list will be distributed at the first session. The Saturday session will be held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This course may be taken for undergraduate credit. Please refer to FID-2219-CE in the credit courses section of this bulletin for details.
Watercolor is a very easy medium once color mixing and water control have been mastered. This course introduces a variety of materials and techniques for beginners and intermediate level students. Students will create realistic to semi-abstract works using photographs, still lifes and live models—with minimum time spent for maximum results. Students will discover their untapped talent, and will be encouraged to find their unique style. This course is specifically designed for those who want to master watercolor painting within a brief time period without much art training. At the end of the semester, students will have completed four to six paintings and developed an appreciation of watercolor painting.
NOTE: Please bring pencils (2B), a sketchbook (any size), rounded brushes (size #8, #12, #16), and some tubes of watercolor paint.
This course is designed to inform and demonstrate all the “shop tricks” in watercolor painting. Beginning and experienced students will learn how to avoid pitfalls and advance their watercolor paintings. We will explore a variety of watercolor techniques with an emphasis on developing one’s own style. Demonstrations of color and design, wet-on-wet and dry brush techniques will be included. Students can paint from still life, photographs or their own subject matter. Individual attention will be given.
NOTE: A supply list will be distributed upon registration in this course.
Capturing images of nature and biological phenomena is an essential component of the scientific process; it is also an intricate aspect of art. In this course we will utilize macro lenses and dissecting stereo microscopes, as well as compound and fluorescent microscopes to obtain images of the microscopic world. Students will photograph marine invertebrates, including sea urchins, starfish, tunicates, comb jellies, anemones and sponges. Under the high-mag objective, we will image zooplankton and phytoplankton from marine and freshwater samples, and tissues prepared with our hands for microscopic observations. Students will develop a portfolio of images through projects that can include still life, video, time-lapse imaging, stereo pairs of 3D images, focal stacking and high-dynamic range photography. See what you can discover under magnification.
Capturing images of nature and biological phenomena is an essential component of the scientific process; it is also an intricate aspect of art. In this course we will utilize macro lenses and dissecting stereo microscopes, as well as compound and fluorescent microscopes to obtain images of the microscopic world. Students will photograph marine invertebrates, including sea urchins, starfish, tunicates, comb jellies, anemones and sponges. Under the high-mag objective, we will image zooplankton and phytoplankton from marine and freshwater samples, and tissues prepared with our hands for microscopic observations. Students will develop a portfolio of images through projects that can include still life, video, time-lapse imaging, stereo pairs of 3D images, focal stacking and high-dynamic range photography. See what you can discover under magnification.
Plants are among the most diverse organisms on the planet, growing in arid deserts and rain forests, on mountaintops and in the savannahs, as well as in marshes, lakes, rivers and the seas. They can take on beautiful forms with vivid colors and highly evolved features. While they are often thought of as almost inert objects, they can exhibit elaborate behaviors such as opening their blossoms at dawn, tracking the sun as the earth rotates, or baiting and trapping insects as a source of food. In this course, we will capture photographic representations of these lush life forms and explore the beautiful and bizarre world of plants and take an in-depth look at the intricate composition of their sexual structures, roots, vascular tissues and the photosynthetic machinery that create these primary producers. In particular, we will use time-lapse imaging to capture their movements, macro lenses to obtain images of their details, and microscopes to image tissues and cells. The fun begins as we focus on these unrelenting worshipers of the sun.
Digital processes and effects are so ubiquitous that they have lost a great deal of their kick. Now is the time to get back to basics, to produce work that wows the viewer with a simple economy of means. This course will explore traditional media and bring them “kicking and screaming” into the 21st century. Students will use these processes as the building blocks to create cutting-edge work. Processes that will be explored include transfer emulsions, photograms, collage/montage, mixed media on canvas and camera obscura, as well as digital woodcut. In addition, we will examine the technique of capturing archival footage so that it can be embedded in works of art. Projects will incorporate the methods covered in class, as well as your own innovations. We will also survey contemporary artists who work with these processes.
This course is designed to strengthen and expand your art-making skills and ideas through a creative exploration of traditional and unconventional materials. We will focus on the endless possibilities of combining such materials and mediums as film, rubbish, household goods, writing and photographs with painting, drawing and sculpture. Sound, gravity and magnetism can also be incorporated into projects. Broad suggested assignments are given to kick-start your thinking. Experimentation and failure are encouraged. Through group and individual critiques we will examine the universal and personal signification of the materials, how those can change in combination and how they can help define your interests and form a unique voice. We will also look at the ways collage, assemblage and installation have developed to expand your critical vocabulary and give you a sense of where your work fits in this history. This course is appropriate for all ranges of experience, from beginners to advanced students.
NOTE: Please bring notepaper and five objects selected at random to the first session. Access to the SVA Sculpture Center is not included.
This course is for students who are beyond the beginning drawing/ painting level, and are ready to intensively develop their imagination. In a supportive environment, each student will design a six-week project that emphasizes imaginative imagery. Memory, dreams, fiction and literature can all be used as subject matter. In addition to models, source materials such as photos, collages and sketches can be used as tools to develop finished works. Working with a choice of media, including collage, photos, digital prints and paint, this course will give students the opportunity to explore their artistic vision. Discussions on mixed media, experimental procedures and archival concerns will complement studio work.
NOTE: Please bring drawing or painting materials, examples of your work and possible source materials to the first session, and be prepared to discuss ideas for your project.
Microscopes are wonderful tools for observation and have revolutionized our understanding of cells and subcellular structures. With photographic attachments, these instruments provide amazing images that transcend science into art. Spectacular renderings can often be made by simply placing the specimen under the microscope. In other instances specimens may require preparation, including tissue fixation, embedding, sectioning and mounting on slides, among others. During this course we will explore techniques used to prepare tissue for microscopic imaging. Focusing on the enhancement of various cell structures, we will use stains to tease out intricate details, such as the cell membrane, the nucleus, DNA, proteins, and other organelles that make up cellular domains and tissue architecture. Prepared samples will be photographed using both stereo and compound microscopes to generate a professional high-end portfolio.
This course will allow you to really explore and invent by embracing all media, and will encourage anyone who desires a nurturing critical discourse and consciousness of themselves in relation to what is happening in the visual arts today. A fully mixed-media orientation is receptive to all approaches, including students who are primarily painters, photographers or video-makers, performers, among others. The emphasis will be on enabling experimentation with a full range of traditional, unconventional and exotic materials, techniques and ideas: digital fabrication, audio, electricity, fluids, mechanical parts, photomontage, optics, metal, paper, wood. The development of your concepts and personal interests will be strongly supported. Our thinking will be placed in contemporary and historical context through presentations of visual and textual resources: slides, videos, articles, web-based online materials and weekly updates on current exhibitions. Among the many ideas that will be explored are perception, transformation, performance, the body and language, as well as the environmental, political and site-specific in art. This course is perfect for those seeking to renew their creative work and develop a portfolio. Professional resources will be discussed and extensive technical help will be provided. There will be group critiques and individual instruction.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, welding gases, welding rods, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants, wood glue and access to the plaster, wood and metal workshops outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
This course will develop creative, technical and problem-solving skills in woodworking and metalworking techniques in a sculptural context. Weekly demonstrations of all shop tools will be provided, including the table saw, sliding compound miter saw, horizontal and vertical band saws, drill press, router table, MIG and TIG welding, plasma cutting and sandblasting equipment. Students will learn the fine art of sculpting metal, such as how to cut, shape, forge and weld, as well as polishing and finishing. In the woodshop, advanced techniques of joinery, woodcarving and finishing will be covered. The elements and principles of design will be explored, and good studio practices will be cultivated.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, welding gases, welding rods, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants, wood glue and access to the wood and metal workshops outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
Designed to introduce students to working with wood, this course will begin with an overview of the general properties of various woods and give a brief history of woodworking. Demonstrations will be given in hand joinery (dovetails), turning with a lathe and hand-tool applications. In addition, techniques in clamping, gluing, sanding and finishing will be addressed. Projects will include creating a lathe-turned object and a small piece of furniture (such as a stool or table). No prior experience is necessary.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants, wood glue and access to the wood workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
Have you ever wanted an exact copy of your face, head, hands, torso—or a combination—to keep for prosperity? Perhaps you want to create work that would be enhanced with body castings. Through a variety of mold-making techniques and the use of some very unusual materials, the goal of this course is to do just that. We will explore the newest materials in the commercial market for casting the human body, as well as discuss their benefits and hazards. Only safe and non-toxic materials will be used. Demonstration will include casting stones, urethanes, gelatin and silicones. Each student will create a personal or commercial project.
NOTE: This course does not include access to the SVA Sculpture Center outside of class hours.
Students will learn practical hand-building techniques and skills on the wheel. Pinch pots, coil building and slabs will be demonstrated. Wheel work will follow. Wedging, centering, opening and pulling will be practiced. Combining hand building and throwing techniques to create new forms, students can focus on developing a personal style. Slip application, sgraffito and inlay, glazing and resist techniques will also be covered. A survey of the history of ceramics will be included.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, kiln use and access to the ceramics workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
In this course, students will produce contemporary sculptural works with clay. Stepping away from the traditional hand building and wheel methods, this course will use mold-making and cast ceramics as the primary techniques. Additionally, students can explore alternative mediums such as silicone and found objects. Students will work on individual projects tailored to their interests and experience. Critiques will be an integral part of the course. Throughout, students will be encouraged to develop new approaches to their work. Lectures and slide presentations on contemporary ceramic art and artists will be included.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, kiln use and access to the ceramics workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
Digital embroidery transforms handcrafted couture into a fine arts medium. Just like a tattoo, where an image is created with color and needles, the embroidered fabric or paper is needle-stitched in colored threads. The image is a sewing file that can be saved and re-sewn as a multiple or repeat pattern. Working on a designer Husqvarna Viking sewing machine with oversize hoops, students will use Husqvarna Viking 5D embroidery software to sew out their original designs. Techniques related to both fashion and the fine arts will be explored.
Making sculptures using computer-aided fabrication and rapid prototyping machines is the focus of this course. Students will be guided in how to make templates for sculptures using Adobe Illustrator and SolidWorks, and how to use machines like the Epilog laser cutter and the CNC ShopBot to create fully realized 3D objects from their designs. These technologies offer the ability to execute intricate and precise designs that would be impossible or too time-consuming using traditional techniques. Students will have the opportunity to work in a wide variety of materials such as wood, acrylic glass, Plexiglas, aluminum and foam. Turn your ideas into objects with the precision of laser and CNC technology. NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, welding gases, welding rods, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants and wood glue, as well as access to electronic media workstations and the plaster, wood and metal workshops outside of class time, based on facility availability. Artwork created using CNC equipment, laser cutter, CNC ShopBot and rapid prototyping machines may incur additional material fees based on the individual project. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
This course is designed to strengthen and expand your art-making skills and ideas through a creative exploration of traditional and unconventional materials. We will focus on the endless possibilities of combining such materials and mediums as film, rubbish, household goods, writing and photographs with painting, drawing and sculpture. Sound, gravity and magnetism can also be incorporated into projects. Broad suggested assignments are given to kick-start your thinking. Experimentation and failure are encouraged. Through group and individual critiques we will examine the universal and personal signification of the materials, how those can change in combination and how they can help define your interests and form a unique voice. We will also look at the ways collage, assemblage and installation have developed to expand your critical vocabulary and give you a sense of where your work fits in this history. This course is appropriate for all ranges of experience, from beginners to advanced students.
NOTE: Please bring notepaper and five objects selected at random to the first session. Access to the SVA Sculpture Center is not included.
This course will explore fiber art as individual art practice. Students will learn how to design and fabricate costumes, soft sculpture, installations, and other fiber-based projects. These can be exhibited as art, or used in performances, video art, film and photographs. The primary focus of the course is for students to work on designing and creating their own projects with guidance from the instructor. Demonstrations will include designing and adapting patterns, sewing techniques, digital embroidery, printing and painting on fabric, and other fibers techniques. We will also look at examples of fiber art and costumes by various artists and designers, and discuss ideas about fibers in contemporary art.
NOTE: The studio fee includes use of the sewing machines in the Fibers Lab. All materials must be purchased by the student.
This hands-on course will cover the fundamentals of designing and making metal home furnishings and furniture. Students will learn shop safety and a variety of techniques to cut, bend, form, join (including welding) and finish metals. Individual assistance is given with applying techniques to directed projects of the students’ own designs. Students with prior experience in metalworking will work with the instructor to plan independent projects and learn advanced techniques. Past projects have included tables, lamps, mirror frames, shelves, trays, coat racks, candelabras, birdhouses, bowls and planter boxes. The class is open to students of all levels, from those with no experience with art or using tools to working designers who need practical knowledge of the material and how to add structure to their designs.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, welding gases, welding rods, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants and access to the metal workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
This course covers a broad range of metalworking processes, enabling beginning and more advanced students to discover the enigmatic qualities of metal. Instruction will be given in shop safety; hand and power tools; MIG and TIG welding; plasma cutting and sheet metal forming. Following a guided first project students will develop independent projects to synergize learned skills with their own sculptural methods, concepts and sensibilities. No previous sculpture or metal experience is required.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, welding gases, welding rods, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants, wood glue and access to the metal workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
Metalworking doesn’t have to mean working with sparks and flames. In fact, there are multiple tools and techniques to work with metals that require a range of skills, which involve neither welding or flame work. This course is suited for the beginning student interested in metalworking, or the experienced metal artists who would like to add new techniques to their vocabulary. Several small, individually designed projects will be completed using hand tools (hacksaw, file, punch, stamp, riveter, tap, hammer), small power tools (hand drill, jigsaw, reciprocal saw, sander) and larger equipment (bender, brake, roller, jump shear, CNC machines). The focus will be on using steel; other metals can be used with the instructor’s permission.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants and access to the metal workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
The fundamentals for creating three-dimensional objects will be the focus of this course. Demonstrated techniques and processes will cover a broad range of materials, including metal, wood, mold making/casting, fiberglass, silicone, plastics, resins, finishes and paint. Students will also gain hands-on training for installation, sculpture and prop making for films. The goal is to provide contemporary skills to assist in the fabrication of 3D objects and environments. Students can work on approved projects of their choosing, or an assigned project that will be based on their creative interests. If you want to be a “maker,” this class is for you.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, welding equipment, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants and wood glue, as well as access to the plaster, wood and metal workshops outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
Designed for students at all levels who wish to explore the world of sculpture, this course will begin with basic carving techniques using blue foam covered by an aqua resin. Demonstrations of various techniques used to produce 3D works will be included, as well as slide presentations of artworks from many disciplines. Students will be encouraged to critically examine how emerging technologies alter the landscape of making art.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants and access to the plaster workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
This course will allow you to really explore and invent by embracing all media, and will encourage anyone who desires a nurturing critical discourse and consciousness of themselves in relation to what is happening in the visual arts today. A fully mixed-media orientation is receptive to all approaches, including students who are primarily painters, photographers or video-makers, performers, among others. The emphasis will be on enabling experimentation with a full range of traditional, unconventional and exotic materials, techniques and ideas: digital fabrication, audio, electricity, fluids, mechanical parts, photomontage, optics, metal, paper, wood. The development of your concepts and personal interests will be strongly supported. Our thinking will be placed in contemporary and historical context through presentations of visual and textual resources: slides, videos, articles, web-based online materials and weekly updates on current exhibitions. Among the many ideas that will be explored are perception, transformation, performance, the body and language, as well as the environmental, political and site-specific in art. This course is perfect for those seeking to renew their creative work and develop a portfolio. Professional resources will be discussed and extensive technical help will be provided. There will be group critiques and individual instruction.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, welding gases, welding rods, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants, wood glue and access to the plaster, wood and metal workshops outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
Digital embroidery transforms handcrafted couture into a fine arts medium. Just like a tattoo, where an image is created with color and needles, the embroidered fabric or paper is needle-stitched in colored threads. The image is a sewing file that can be saved and re-sewn as a multiple or repeat pattern. Working on a designer Husqvarna Viking sewing machine with oversize hoops, students will use Husqvarna Viking 5D embroidery software to sew out their original designs. Techniques related to both fashion and the fine arts will be explored.
This course will explore fiber art as individual art practice. Students will learn how to design and fabricate costumes, soft sculpture, installations, and other fiber-based projects. These can be exhibited as art, or used in performances, video art, film and photographs. The primary focus of the course is for students to work on designing and creating their own projects with guidance from the instructor. Demonstrations will include designing and adapting patterns, sewing techniques, digital embroidery, printing and painting on fabric, and other fibers techniques. We will also look at examples of fiber art and costumes by various artists and designers, and discuss ideas about fibers in contemporary art.
NOTE: The studio fee includes use of the sewing machines in the Fibers Lab. All materials must be purchased by the student.
This course will develop creative, technical and problem-solving skills in woodworking and metalworking techniques in a sculptural context. Weekly demonstrations of all shop tools will be provided, including the table saw, sliding compound miter saw, horizontal and vertical band saws, drill press, router table, MIG and TIG welding, plasma cutting and sandblasting equipment. Students will learn the fine art of sculpting metal, such as how to cut, shape, forge and weld, as well as polishing and finishing. In the woodshop, advanced techniques of joinery, woodcarving and finishing will be covered. The elements and principles of design will be explored, and good studio practices will be cultivated.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, welding gases, welding rods, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants, wood glue and access to the wood and metal workshops outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
In this all-day studio course, students can explore ideas from their personal artistic vision and bring them to completion. The instruction will focus on individual growth in a supportive class environment. This course has been developed to help students think clearly about technique and skills. Contemporary as well as historical issues will be examined to assist students in establishing a historical sense of themselves as artists.
NOTE: Please come prepared to paint and bring examples of your work to the first session.
This course will focus on the relationship of a skeleton to a live model. The skeleton will be placed in a different pose each week and the model will assume that pose. An anatomy lesson based on the pose from skeletal through muscular will be given. The semester will be divided between female and male models. Standing, sitting, reclining and action poses will be included.
NOTE: Please bring ebony pencils, a black and a brown grease pencil (china marker), a smooth newsprint pad (18×24″), a box of push pins, a white plastic eraser, single-edge razor blades and/or Staedtler lead holder, lead pointer, 3B leads to the first session.
Designed to introduce students to working with wood, this course will begin with an overview of the general properties of various woods and give a brief history of woodworking. Demonstrations will be given in hand joinery (dovetails), turning with a lathe and hand-tool applications. In addition, techniques in clamping, gluing, sanding and finishing will be addressed. Projects will include creating a lathe-turned object and a small piece of furniture (such as a stool or table). No prior experience is necessary.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants, wood glue and access to the wood workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
Microbes represent the most diverse group of organisms on earth and have been found throughout the world to the far reaches of the planet. They are capable of living in places we once thought were uninhabitable from the deep sea hydrothermal vents to the ice masses of the artic tundra. These microorganisms are capable of eating petroleum, metals, acids, plastics, and toxic wastes and are thus valuable in the process of removing pollutants and contaminants from our environment. Here, we take a bio art approach to discovering new species within the microbial world. We will visualize and image the wonderful beauty of these fascinating creatures by studying their many shapes and morphologies that often take the form of rods, spheres, coils and helixes. We will use a variety of collecting techniques to obtain these microbes from the waterways throughout and surrounding Manhattan. We will use sophisticated culturing techniques in the SVA Bio Art Lab and state-of-the-art techniques, including the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing to identify the microbes we collect. Through this process we will study bioluminescent diatoms, cyanobacteria, protozoans like amoebas and paramecium, zooxanthellae the symbiotic algae that live inside coral polyps, and many others. Come collaborate on an adventure of art and science and dive into the mysterious world of microbes.
Capturing images of nature and biological phenomena is an essential component of the scientific process; it is also an intricate aspect of art. In this course we will utilize macro lenses and dissecting stereo microscopes, as well as compound and fluorescent microscopes to obtain images of the microscopic world. Students will photograph marine invertebrates, including sea urchins, starfish, tunicates, comb jellies, anemones and sponges. Under the high-mag objective, we will image zooplankton and phytoplankton from marine and freshwater samples, and tissues prepared with our hands for microscopic observations. Students will develop a portfolio of images through projects that can include still life, video, time-lapse imaging, stereo pairs of 3D images, focal stacking and high-dynamic range photography. See what you can discover under magnification.
Capturing images of nature and biological phenomena is an essential component of the scientific process; it is also an intricate aspect of art. In this course we will utilize macro lenses and dissecting stereo microscopes, as well as compound and fluorescent microscopes to obtain images of the microscopic world. Students will photograph marine invertebrates, including sea urchins, starfish, tunicates, comb jellies, anemones and sponges. Under the high-mag objective, we will image zooplankton and phytoplankton from marine and freshwater samples, and tissues prepared with our hands for microscopic observations. Students will develop a portfolio of images through projects that can include still life, video, time-lapse imaging, stereo pairs of 3D images, focal stacking and high-dynamic range photography. See what you can discover under magnification.
Have you ever wanted an exact copy of your face, head, hands, torso—or a combination—to keep for prosperity? Perhaps you want to create work that would be enhanced with body castings. Through a variety of mold-making techniques and the use of some very unusual materials, the goal of this course is to do just that. We will explore the newest materials in the commercial market for casting the human body, as well as discuss their benefits and hazards. Only safe and non-toxic materials will be used. Demonstration will include casting stones, urethanes, gelatin and silicones. Each student will create a personal or commercial project.
NOTE: This course does not include access to the SVA Sculpture Center outside of class hours.
Plants are among the most diverse organisms on the planet, growing in arid deserts and rain forests, on mountaintops and in the savannahs, as well as in marshes, lakes, rivers and the seas. They can take on beautiful forms with vivid colors and highly evolved features. While they are often thought of as almost inert objects, they can exhibit elaborate behaviors such as opening their blossoms at dawn, tracking the sun as the earth rotates, or baiting and trapping insects as a source of food. In this course, we will capture photographic representations of these lush life forms and explore the beautiful and bizarre world of plants and take an in-depth look at the intricate composition of their sexual structures, roots, vascular tissues and the photosynthetic machinery that create these primary producers. In particular, we will use time-lapse imaging to capture their movements, macro lenses to obtain images of their details, and microscopes to image tissues and cells. The fun begins as we focus on these unrelenting worshipers of the sun.
Students will learn practical hand-building techniques and skills on the wheel. Pinch pots, coil building and slabs will be demonstrated. Wheel work will follow. Wedging, centering, opening and pulling will be practiced. Combining hand building and throwing techniques to create new forms, students can focus on developing a personal style. Slip application, sgraffito and inlay, glazing and resist techniques will also be covered. A survey of the history of ceramics will be included.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, kiln use and access to the ceramics workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
In this course, students will produce contemporary sculptural works with clay. Stepping away from the traditional hand building and wheel methods, this course will use mold-making and cast ceramics as the primary techniques. Additionally, students can explore alternative mediums such as silicone and found objects. Students will work on individual projects tailored to their interests and experience. Critiques will be an integral part of the course. Throughout, students will be encouraged to develop new approaches to their work. Lectures and slide presentations on contemporary ceramic art and artists will be included.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, kiln use and access to the ceramics workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
This course bridges two approaches to collage: It is perfect for those eager to get some hands-on studio time, and for art enthusiasts looking to expand their skillset of image-making tools. Drawing skills will be developed through making traditional collages—with a twist: scissors are replaced with an X-acto knife. Students will “draw” using a knife rather than a pencil. Additionally, we will expand our understanding of what collage is, and can be, by incorporating Adobe Photoshop into the creative process. Guided projects will increase the possibilities for unexpected results.
Digital embroidery transforms handcrafted couture into a fine arts medium. Just like a tattoo, where an image is created with color and needles, the embroidered fabric or paper is needle-stitched in colored threads. The image is a sewing file that can be saved and re-sewn as a multiple or repeat pattern. Working on a designer Husqvarna Viking sewing machine with oversize hoops, students will use Husqvarna Viking 5D embroidery software to sew out their original designs. Techniques related to both fashion and the fine arts will be explored.
Making sculptures using computer-aided fabrication and rapid prototyping machines is the focus of this course. Students will be guided in how to make templates for sculptures using Adobe Illustrator and SolidWorks, and how to use machines like the Epilog laser cutter and the CNC ShopBot to create fully realized 3D objects from their designs. These technologies offer the ability to execute intricate and precise designs that would be impossible or too time-consuming using traditional techniques. Students will have the opportunity to work in a wide variety of materials such as wood, acrylic glass, Plexiglas, aluminum and foam. Turn your ideas into objects with the precision of laser and CNC technology. NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, welding gases, welding rods, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants and wood glue, as well as access to electronic media workstations and the plaster, wood and metal workshops outside of class time, based on facility availability. Artwork created using CNC equipment, laser cutter, CNC ShopBot and rapid prototyping machines may incur additional material fees based on the individual project. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
The course will provide a foundation in the fundamentals of drawing and design. Students will draw from live models, still lives and interiors to acquire an understanding of the elements of composition: perspective, color, light and shadow, texture and line. Demonstrations and critiques will be ongoing while students explore a wide variety of styles—from the old masters to contemporary artists. Pencil and charcoal will be the primary media. Trips to museums and galleries are included.
NOTE: Please bring a rough newsprint pad (18×24″) and 6B graphite pencils to the first session.
Children have an innate ability to draw; as we grow up this talent can become suppressed and forgotten. This course will reintroduce you to drawing and sharpen your observational skills. We will start by drawing the still life with simple geometric shapes such as cones, cylinders, cubes and spheres, and then work from the live model, noting how these primitive forms recur throughout the human body. We will explore the principles of form with line, volume, proportion, foreshortening, light/shadow, composition, positive/negative space and scale, as well as the principles of spatial depth with linear perspective and atmospheric perspective. The basics of color theory and its relationship to form and space will also be covered. Starting out with charcoal and graphite, we will branch out using a variety of mediums, such as soft pastels, oil pastels, pen and ink, brush and ink, scratchboard and silverpoint. We will do all of this in a supportive atmosphere with an emphasis on each individual’s goals and level of experience. This course is open to all levels, and beginners are especially welcome. Discussion of student work will be an ongoing group effort.
NOTE: Please bring an (18×24″) white paper drawing pad and compressed (not vine) charcoal to the first session. This course may be taken for undergraduate credit. Please refer to FID-1130-CE in the credit courses section of this bulletin for details.
Drawing from a live model each session, students will investigate topics such as: comparative anatomy (how most vertebrates share the same bones and muscles); an in-depth study of human anatomy, with specific attention to how joints function and the proportions of the human head; the anatomy of facial expressions. Proportion, linear perspective, light and shadow, atmospheric perspective, color theory and composition will also be discussed. Throughout the course we will use a range of mediums, including pencil, graphite stick, soft pastels, oil pastels, gouache, oil stick, scratchboard and silverpoint, and experiment with combinations of different mediums outside of conventional usage. At the beginning of each session there will be a demonstration of a specific medium. Some drawings will be worked on for several minutes, others for the entire session, depending on the goal at hand. Students will receive individual instruction.
NOTE: Please bring an (18×24″) white paper drawing pad and compressed (not vine) charcoal to the first session. This course may be taken for undergraduate credit. Please refer to FID-1135-CE in the credit courses section of this bulletin for details.
Open to all levels, this will be a two-day workshop of virtually non-stop drawing. The purpose is to not only loosen up, but also to approach drawing fearlessly. We will work with multiple models and props as well as from imagination. Students will work quickly, drawing with various media. Restating and reworking of drawings will be encouraged to create complex works. Ink, paint, oil stick and dry mediums will be used to blur the distinctions between painting and drawing. Assignments and direction will investigate elements of portraiture, figure study, narrative drawing, still life and abstraction. This workshop is a drawing intensive: students will be expected to work (very) hard and will gain a keener understanding of the drawing process.
This course is an introduction to electronics, for fine artists, sculptors, installation and performance artists, as well as those who want to add computer-controlled elements to their creations. Using the Arduino microcontroller, we will explore some of the essential and useful electronic sensors (light, sound, motion, sonar, infrared, angle bending), powerful actuators (relays, motors, servomotors, stepper motors, muscle wires and solenoids, among others), and telecommunication tools for microcontrollers (radio frequency transmitters, Bluetooth, Ethernet). This is a practical course and does not include theory. Class time will be allocated to help students work on their projects. We will also cover how to incorporate other mediums into these projects, including video, wood, metalworking and mechanical applications.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants and wood glue, as well as access to electronic media workstations and the wood and metal workshops outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
Digital processes and effects are so ubiquitous that they have lost a great deal of their kick. Now is the time to get back to basics, to produce work that wows the viewer with a simple economy of means. This course will explore traditional media and bring them “kicking and screaming” into the 21st century. Students will use these processes as the building blocks to create cutting-edge work. Processes that will be explored include transfer emulsions, photograms, collage/montage, mixed media on canvas and camera obscura, as well as digital woodcut. In addition, we will examine the technique of capturing archival footage so that it can be embedded in works of art. Projects will incorporate the methods covered in class, as well as your own innovations. We will also survey contemporary artists who work with these processes.
This course is designed to strengthen and expand your art-making skills and ideas through a creative exploration of traditional and unconventional materials. We will focus on the endless possibilities of combining such materials and mediums as film, rubbish, household goods, writing and photographs with painting, drawing and sculpture. Sound, gravity and magnetism can also be incorporated into projects. Broad suggested assignments are given to kick-start your thinking. Experimentation and failure are encouraged. Through group and individual critiques we will examine the universal and personal signification of the materials, how those can change in combination and how they can help define your interests and form a unique voice. We will also look at the ways collage, assemblage and installation have developed to expand your critical vocabulary and give you a sense of where your work fits in this history. This course is appropriate for all ranges of experience, from beginners to advanced students.
NOTE: Please bring notepaper and five objects selected at random to the first session. Access to the SVA Sculpture Center is not included.
This course is designed to strengthen and expand your art-making skills and ideas through a creative exploration of traditional and unconventional materials. We will focus on the endless possibilities of combining such materials and mediums as film, rubbish, household goods, writing and photographs with painting, drawing and sculpture. Sound, gravity and magnetism can also be incorporated into projects. Broad suggested assignments are given to kick-start your thinking. Experimentation and failure are encouraged. Through group and individual critiques we will examine the universal and personal signification of the materials, how those can change in combination and how they can help define your interests and form a unique voice. We will also look at the ways collage, assemblage and installation have developed to expand your critical vocabulary and give you a sense of where your work fits in this history. This course is appropriate for all ranges of experience, from beginners to advanced students.
NOTE: Please bring notepaper and five objects selected at random to the first session. Access to the SVA Sculpture Center is not included.
This course will emphasize the primary facets of drawing the figure that have given it an enduring and prominent place in art. Drawing and representing the figure will lead to a better understanding of line, gesture, proportion, volume and composition. Concept, observation, character and materials will be discussed in relation to portraying the human figure. Classical traditions as well as contemporary examples of figure drawing will be explored. All drawing media are welcome, including ink and watercolor.
NOTE: Please bring a medium-tooth drawing pad and newsprint pad (18×24″), medium and soft charcoal, assorted B pencils, a kneaded eraser and a white plastic eraser to the first session.
Through observation and using the model as subject matter, students will learn the fundamentals of drawing. This course will concentrate on each student’s personal development. Using a variety of materials, straightforward consideration of a subject and unconventional approaches, students will explore the elements needed to create successful drawings.
NOTE: Please bring a newsprint pad (18×24″), vine charcoal, soft charcoal pencils and crayons to the first session.
FIC-2509-A
Sundays, Jan 28 – March 4, 2018
FIC-2509-B
Sundays, Mar 25 – Apr 29, 2018
Hours: 3:00PM-6:00PM
Register online
Artists have always been inspired by nature and more recently have begun to apply
the advancements of biotechnologies into their work. In this course students will be
introduced to the field of bio art and work in SVA’s state-of-the-art Bio Art Laboratory.
We will explore how to cultivate and creatively manipulate several model organisms,
such as fungi, bacteria, yeast and plants. Many of these organisms have image
rendering and mold-making capabilities that can be harnessed as new construction
materials. Students will make mycelium sculptures, grow visceral sheets of bacterial
cellulose, produce chlorophyll prints, and paint with bacteria genetically modified to
express a fluorescent protein naturally found in a bioluminescent jellyfish. We will
also explore molecular gastronomy, which employs many techniques for suspending
fluids and making liquid sculptures. No previous experience in bio art is required.
Register: http://www.sva.edu/continuing-education/fine-arts/introduction-to-bio-materials-18-cs-fic-2509-b
This course will explore fiber art as individual art practice. Students will learn how to design and fabricate costumes, soft sculpture, installations, and other fiber-based projects. These can be exhibited as art, or used in performances, video art, film and photographs. The primary focus of the course is for students to work on designing and creating their own projects with guidance from the instructor. Demonstrations will include designing and adapting patterns, sewing techniques, digital embroidery, printing and painting on fabric, and other fibers techniques. We will also look at examples of fiber art and costumes by various artists and designers, and discuss ideas about fibers in contemporary art.
NOTE: The studio fee includes use of the sewing machines in the Fibers Lab. All materials must be purchased by the student.
This course is for students who are beyond the beginning drawing/ painting level, and are ready to intensively develop their imagination. In a supportive environment, each student will design a six-week project that emphasizes imaginative imagery. Memory, dreams, fiction and literature can all be used as subject matter. In addition to models, source materials such as photos, collages and sketches can be used as tools to develop finished works. Working with a choice of media, including collage, photos, digital prints and paint, this course will give students the opportunity to explore their artistic vision. Discussions on mixed media, experimental procedures and archival concerns will complement studio work.
NOTE: Please bring drawing or painting materials, examples of your work and possible source materials to the first session, and be prepared to discuss ideas for your project.
This hands-on course will cover the fundamentals of designing and making metal home furnishings and furniture. Students will learn shop safety and a variety of techniques to cut, bend, form, join (including welding) and finish metals. Individual assistance is given with applying techniques to directed projects of the students’ own designs. Students with prior experience in metalworking will work with the instructor to plan independent projects and learn advanced techniques. Past projects have included tables, lamps, mirror frames, shelves, trays, coat racks, candelabras, birdhouses, bowls and planter boxes. The class is open to students of all levels, from those with no experience with art or using tools to working designers who need practical knowledge of the material and how to add structure to their designs.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, welding gases, welding rods, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants and access to the metal workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
This course covers a broad range of metalworking processes, enabling beginning and more advanced students to discover the enigmatic qualities of metal. Instruction will be given in shop safety; hand and power tools; MIG and TIG welding; plasma cutting and sheet metal forming. Following a guided first project students will develop independent projects to synergize learned skills with their own sculptural methods, concepts and sensibilities. No previous sculpture or metal experience is required.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, welding gases, welding rods, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants, wood glue and access to the metal workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
Metalworking doesn’t have to mean working with sparks and flames. In fact, there are multiple tools and techniques to work with metals that require a range of skills, which involve neither welding or flame work. This course is suited for the beginning student interested in metalworking, or the experienced metal artists who would like to add new techniques to their vocabulary. Several small, individually designed projects will be completed using hand tools (hacksaw, file, punch, stamp, riveter, tap, hammer), small power tools (hand drill, jigsaw, reciprocal saw, sander) and larger equipment (bender, brake, roller, jump shear, CNC machines). The focus will be on using steel; other metals can be used with the instructor’s permission.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants and access to the metal workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
The fundamentals for creating three-dimensional objects will be the focus of this course. Demonstrated techniques and processes will cover a broad range of materials, including metal, wood, mold making/casting, fiberglass, silicone, plastics, resins, finishes and paint. Students will also gain hands-on training for installation, sculpture and prop making for films. The goal is to provide contemporary skills to assist in the fabrication of 3D objects and environments. Students can work on approved projects of their choosing, or an assigned project that will be based on their creative interests. If you want to be a “maker,” this class is for you.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, welding equipment, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants and wood glue, as well as access to the plaster, wood and metal workshops outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
Open to students at all levels, this course is an intensive survey of the diverse methods and approaches to oil painting and it will take the mystery out of color, composition, scale and tone. Working from the live nude, you will learn how to create convincing flesh tones in light and shadow, and volume and space, through the application of color theory. We will also work on atmospheric perspective as it pertains to the landscape for the final three sessions. Demonstrations will show you how to use a painting knife and brush, and how to build a painting using old master, classicist, impressionist, and neoimpressionist techniques. You will learn the recipes of painting mediums and how to use them. This course will strengthen your observational skills, and you will become familiar with atmospheric perspective, linear perspective and human anatomy. There will be group discussions of student work and individual attention to the goals, needs and level of experience of each student.
NOTE: Please bring a newsprint pad (18×24″) and compressed charcoal to the first session. This course may be taken for undergraduate credit. Please refer to FID-1220-CE in the credit courses section of this bulletin for details.
FIC-1221-A
For the beginning student, this course is designed to introduce the fundamentals of painting. Using oil paint, students will explore color, form and content. Subjects will include still life, the model and themes from your imagination. The course will concentrate on each student’s individual development, enhancing his or her technical skills and personal expression.
FIC-1223-A
Designed for the beginning student, this studio course will introduce the fundamentals of color, space, composition and technique. Oil paint will be the primary medium; other media will be explored, including acrylics and collage. Students will paint from observation, memory and imagination. Contemporary concepts will be emphasized. There will be individual and group critiques.
NOTE: Please bring a rough newsprint pad (18×24″), charcoal pencils and an eraser to the first session.
This course will introduce you to the joys and challenges of painting on location. We will paint outdoors at sites such as Central Park, Madison Square Park, Battery Park and Brooklyn Botanic Garden, as well as points north along the Hudson River. Topics will include linear and atmospheric perspective, the visual properties of water, perspective of cast shadows, composition, scale and color theory. On overcast days students can focus on one painting for the entire session; on sunny days, to make the most of the shifting light, two pieces will be worked on. We will paint indoors on rainy days using high-resolution images of landscapes or reproductions of landscape paintings as reference. Students may work in the medium of their choice. Individual guidance based on each student’s skill level will be provided.
NOTE: Please bring a portable easel to each session. A lightweight telescoping tubular Stanrite easel is recommended
The focus of this course will be to teach the foundation that guides drawing a portrait from a live model. A step-by-step approach will make this an easy-to-understand but challenging experience. Through observation, we will analyze the structure of the face by employing different methods, from quick sketches to the more elaborate and finished portrait drawing. Proportion and scale will be emphasized with traditional concepts, such as line, shadow and volume. Our goal will be to show that the structures we draw express the character and personality of our subject, built up in layers, section-by-section and consolidated into a finished drawing. We will also explore the great masters of this discipline, from Dürer and Holbein, Rembrandt and Vermeer to modern and contemporary artists such as Lucian Freud and Alice Neel.
NOTE: Please bring drawing and newsprint pads (18×24″), soft charcoal of differing thickness, pencils (6 to 6B), a kneaded eraser and a soft vinyl eraser to the first session.
This comprehensive course in portrait painting will explore all you need to know to make realistic, fully illuminated portraits. It is perfect for beginners and will prove of immense value to even the most experienced professional. Each week will involve painting from the model with detailed instruction. We will begin with an examination of how color can be used to create palpable flesh and three-dimensional form. Subsequent projects will build from this foundation and incorporate paint layering and underpainting techniques, as well as a look at the mysteries of pose, posture and gesture. The simple break down of the features—nose, eyes, mouth, ears—will enable you to quickly incorporate them into your portrait with accuracy and credibility. Examples from masters’ work will be shown and discussed. Home assignments support and continue the work in class, and sometimes range to more experimental approaches to the portrait.
NOTE: A short video about the course and a materials list can be viewed at: johnaparks.com.
Drawing lies at the heart of all representational art and unity is the key component. The purpose of this workshop is to develop your ability to approach drawing in a contextual way, where each small part serves the greater whole. We will start with exercises designed to sharpen your ability to see objectively. Working with live models, you will learn how to identify the specific proportions and structure unique to each individual. By weeks end, you will understand what it takes to achieve a full-fledged tonal portrayal of your subject, bathed in light and surrounded by air. Draftsmanship is an easily learned skill. The techniques and approaches you will learn can be readily adapted to any type of subject matter and style. All aspects of this method will be presented logically and coherently. Every step will be fully demonstrated and explained.
NOTE: A complete supply list will be sent to you prior to the start of the workshop.
There’s more to painting a great portrait than capturing a likeness; it’s about creating the illusion of life. Portraiture should reveal the character of the sitter and exude a lifelike essence. During this course, taught by an award-winning portrait artist, you will learn how to analyze, interpret and convincingly portray the human visage. The methodology presented is both broad in scope, yet simple to comprehend. It’s based on the idea that logic, not frivolous rules nor superficial techniques, lies at the core of the greatest portraits ever created. Working from live models, you will discover a simple and straightforward way to achieve accurate drawing and to easily replicate any color you see, particularly the subtle translucent tones of the human complexion. You will also learn how to model form and to simulate the effects of luminosity, illusionistic depth and atmospheric space. All of the information covered in this course will be fully demonstrated and explained.
NOTE: A complete supply list will be distributed at the first session. The Saturday session will be held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This course may be taken for undergraduate credit. Please refer to FID-2219-CE in the credit courses section of this bulletin for details.
Designed for students at all levels who wish to explore the world of sculpture, this course will begin with basic carving techniques using blue foam covered by an aqua resin. Demonstrations of various techniques used to produce 3D works will be included, as well as slide presentations of artworks from many disciplines. Students will be encouraged to critically examine how emerging technologies alter the landscape of making art.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants and access to the plaster workshop outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
Microscopes are wonderful tools for observation and have revolutionized our understanding of cells and subcellular structures. With photographic attachments, these instruments provide amazing images that transcend science into art. Spectacular renderings can often be made by simply placing the specimen under the microscope. In other instances specimens may require preparation, including tissue fixation, embedding, sectioning and mounting on slides, among others. During this course we will explore techniques used to prepare tissue for microscopic imaging. Focusing on the enhancement of various cell structures, we will use stains to tease out intricate details, such as the cell membrane, the nucleus, DNA, proteins, and other organelles that make up cellular domains and tissue architecture. Prepared samples will be photographed using both stereo and compound microscopes to generate a professional high-end portfolio.
This course will allow you to really explore and invent by embracing all media, and will encourage anyone who desires a nurturing critical discourse and consciousness of themselves in relation to what is happening in the visual arts today. A fully mixed-media orientation is receptive to all approaches, including students who are primarily painters, photographers or video-makers, performers, among others. The emphasis will be on enabling experimentation with a full range of traditional, unconventional and exotic materials, techniques and ideas: digital fabrication, audio, electricity, fluids, mechanical parts, photomontage, optics, metal, paper, wood. The development of your concepts and personal interests will be strongly supported. Our thinking will be placed in contemporary and historical context through presentations of visual and textual resources: slides, videos, articles, web-based online materials and weekly updates on current exhibitions. Among the many ideas that will be explored are perception, transformation, performance, the body and language, as well as the environmental, political and site-specific in art. This course is perfect for those seeking to renew their creative work and develop a portfolio. Professional resources will be discussed and extensive technical help will be provided. There will be group critiques and individual instruction.
NOTE: The studio fee includes safety equipment, hand tools, welding gases, welding rods, drill bits, saw blades, abrasives, compressed air, lubricants, wood glue and access to the plaster, wood and metal workshops outside of class time, based on facility availability. All other materials must be purchased by the student.
This hands-on course will explore a variety of ways to tell a story or present information through forms that include drawing, painting, sewing, printing and collage. We will look at the history of visual narrative from around the world. We will study graphic novels, comics, cartoons and contemporary narrative painting and drawing and use these forms as a source for our own work. Open to all from beginners to advanced. Instruction in basic drawing and in more advanced concepts.
Watercolor is a very easy medium once color mixing and water control have been mastered. This course introduces a variety of materials and techniques for beginners and intermediate level students. Students will create realistic to semi-abstract works using photographs, still lifes and live models—with minimum time spent for maximum results. Students will discover their untapped talent, and will be encouraged to find their unique style. This course is specifically designed for those who want to master watercolor painting within a brief time period without much art training. At the end of the semester, students will have completed four to six paintings and developed an appreciation of watercolor painting.
NOTE: Please bring pencils (2B), a sketchbook (any size), rounded brushes (size #8, #12, #16), and some tubes of watercolor paint.
This course is designed to inform and demonstrate all the “shop tricks” in watercolor painting. Beginning and experienced students will learn how to avoid pitfalls and advance their watercolor paintings. We will explore a variety of watercolor techniques with an emphasis on developing one’s own style. Demonstrations of color and design, wet-on-wet and dry brush techniques will be included. Students can paint from still life, photographs or their own subject matter. Individual attention will be given.
NOTE: A supply list will be distributed upon registration in this course.
SVA’s Summer Residencies in New York City offer artists, designers and creative thinkers time, space and a supportive community in which to develop ideas and focus on their artistic direction.
A variety of professional immersion programs provide opportunities for artists to explore new areas of social and technological practice and engage critically within their field.
Affordable housing is available, as well as opportunities to show work to the public.
Please Note: Course descriptions and availability are subject to change. Check the SVA Registration Book and aks your Academic Advisor for additional information.
