Art Studio: Representing Landscapes (A)

About ARTS 2200 A

Topics exploring themes in painting at the intermediate level. Students will learn and work through technical, formal, and conceptual issues about painting. Representative topics: Representing Landscapes; Collage and Assemblage; Watercolor Painting. May repeat for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Prerequisite: ARTS 1010, ARTS 1011, ARTS 1014, ARTS 1100, or ARTS 1400.

Notes

Prereqs enforced by the system: ARTS 1010, ARTS 1011 ARTS 1014, ARTS 1100, or ARTS 1400; SART, AHST and ARTE majors only until after the third day of registration; then ARTS and AHST minors may also enroll; beginning Monday April 13th any student may enroll space permitting. FS6U $212 System waitlisting enabled for this section.

Section Description

This is a painting and drawing class broadly centered in the possibilities and problems of working with landscapes as an artistic theme. In this course we’ll create and study representations of landscape, looking across time and cultures at some of the ways ‘landscape’ is structured and related to in works of art, the sciences, horticulture and landscape design, cultural memory and the imagination. “Landscape” in this class includes ‘natural’ settings, urban and suburban spaces and architecture, managed and unmanaged places, as well as our cultural and psychological relationships to these places and their histories. Along the way we’ll create paintings and drawings from different artistic vantage points including “plein-air” direct observations, working from memory, working with abstraction, and considering the complexity of our relationship to the places we inhabit, visit, and impact.

Over the course of the semester there will be three main projects; Real and Ideal Landscapes, Places of Memory, and a final project that offers numerous contemporary and individualized prompts for working. The class will also cover the basics of painting, from building your own stretchers to establishing various palette and color strategies and building images.

Section Expectation

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 12 hours total of work each week (8 hours/week outside of class). This includes painting itself, participating in the class critiques, preparing materials, reading and taking in content, and documenting your work for presentation.

Assignments: Four main projects are assigned during the 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, as well as associated readings and responses. Painting and drawing 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 has a set due date. No work is accepted after due dates (see grading and how to succeed below).

Critiques and Discussion: The class will typically be split into small groups of 2-8 students for critiques or discussions. Groups are shuffled a few times during the course so you will hear from a wider range of your classmates. The instructor comments and forms demonstrations from these conversations, tailoring the class content to what’s happening in your work and the work of your peers. In person discussions often focus on works in progress, problem solving, and sharing ideas so that we can best solve to problem at hand.

Evaluation

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).

Important Dates

Courses may be cancelled due to low enrollment. Show your interest by enrolling.

Resources

• Parking
• PACE Course Pricing
• Textbooks