Art Studio: Projects in Painting

Further exploration of formal and conceptual concerns through studio work and critique. Each student will develop a coherent body of paintings. Prerequisite: ARTS 2100, ARTS 2210, ARTS 2200, or ARTS 2220; minimum Junior standing.

Prereqs enforced by the system: ARTS 2100 or ARTS 2210 or ARTS 2220 or 2200; Minimum Junior standing; SART, ARTH, ARTE majors only during the first week of registration; CAS SART, ARTH minors only for the following 3 days; Non-CAS minors for the following 2 days; then all restrictions will be removed; Fee $310 PACE students by permission and override

Projects in Painting asks students to create and document a coherent and self-directed body of work that explores point of view, iteration, and thematic development. In this context, studio work looks at the how and the why of one’s art. It’s not about creating a single masterpiece; rather, emphasis goes to the development of an idea across multiple works and a series of iterations throughout a semester. Critiques, readings, and discussions support each student in this endeavor. A critique may be individual, small group, or all-class, and some critiques are bookended with relevant readings, writings, or discussion prompts chosen in response to your work. Seminars are about the practical; documenting work, graduate school considerations, professional opportunities, and other topics. Taken together, the seminars are meant as jumping off points for graduating studio students. You will leave class with a documented portfolio of original work, a supporting artist statement, and some ideas of how to continue and apply your practice after graduation.

EXPECTATIONS: Work and pace: Expect a brisk pace and a challenging, but accomplishable, amount of work. The university defines a credit hour as “two hours of outside class work for each hour in class or equivalent.” (Source) As we officially meet 4 hours per week in class, you can expect 8 work hours outside of class each week, making for a total of 12 hours each week in and out of class. This includes painting itself, participating in the class critiques, preparing materials, reading, taking in content, and documenting your work for presentation. Assignments: Four main projects are assigned during this course, from the small scaled and quickly accomplished, to those requiring a more sustained commitment over numerous painting sessions. Most projects involve the completion of numerous works or iterations of an idea. Painting here is a bit like practicing a musical instrument – it takes repetition and iterative work allowing muscle memory and cognitive developments of the skills, ideas, and approaches under study. Class projects are cumulative; ideas studied in the first project are necessary in the last project. Each assignment and participation have a set due date. Late work may not receive written or grade feedback until later in the semester (when all work is due at the end of the semester without exception), and lateness will affect your participation grade. (see grading and how to succeed, below). Critiques and Discussion: The class is typically split into small groups of 2-8 students for critiques or discussions. These are typically problem solving and brainstorming sessions aimed at improving your projects ahead of the deadline. Our conversations are centered in the learning objectives of each project, and the goal is to move beyond taste-based commentary (“cool style!” “I love your color!”) to something more concrete and useful – to really ‘look under the hood’ of the work and talk about how and why it is doing whatever it is doing (or why not). I’ll discuss some practical ways of achieving this level of discussion in class. The final critique, required for a passing grade, is a full-class presentation where you present and discuss your semester’s work and receive peer and instructor feedback. This is structured like offering a public artists talk. Class discussions of readings require completion of a questionnaire in advance. All class conversations and “crits” are a critical component of the class and a major part of your participation grade. These conversations feed and inform our learning and class community, and I frequently tailor demonstrations and other content from these discussions.

Grade Feedback: You will receive qualitative and grade feedback on your four major projects as you complete them during the semester. Each project has a rubric that’s presented at the start of the project. Grading considers your studio work, reading responses, discussion and critique participation, and attendance. (see course syllabus for details).