About ARTS 2210 A
Exploration of the formal and conceptual practices of painting. Introduction of historical genres and issues in painting such as still life, figuration, and abstraction. Prerequisites: ARTS 1010, ARTS 1011, ARTS 1014, ARTS 1100, or ARTS 1400.
Notes
Prereqs enforced by the system: ARTS 1010, or 1011, or 1014, or 1100, or 1400; SART, AHST and ARTE majors only until after the third day of registration; then ARTS and AHST minors only. Minimum sophomore standing. PACE students with permission and override. System waitlisting enabled for this section. Fee: $310.00
Section URL
Painting: Observation and Image
Section Description
How does one build imaginative, communicative, expressive, painted equivalents from direct observation? How does one paint not just what they see but how they see? What factors shape the way we look at the world, and how can we use this information to make meaningful work? Painting: Observation and Image looks very closely at these questions through the physical and formal practice of painting. We will be working in acrylic, learning how to apply the medium’s unique physical properties to build an image through layering, revision, color concepts, and various approaches to observing the world around us. It’s all about connecting the painting basics to work that communicates, visually and conceptually.
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 8 work hours outside of class each week, for a total of 12 hours of expected work each week. This includes painting itself, participating in the class critiques, preparing materials, reading and taking in content, and documenting your work for presentation. I do not recommend taking this course if you’re not prepared to put in the hours.
Assignments: There are 3-4 projects this semester, each of which contain numerous assignments; from the small scaled and quickly accomplished, to those requiring a more sustained commitment over numerous painting sessions. Most projects involve the use of iteration to explore formal approaches and thematic interests. 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 has a set due date. No work is accepted after due dates (see grading and how to succeed below).
Critiques and Discussion: Critiques and discussions of work require you to examine and evaluate your work and that of your peers in terms of the assignments’ stated learning objectives. This requires us to move beyond the crutch of taste-based commentary (“I like it!” “great colors” “cool style”!) to name and identify what’s working and what’s not working in the painting. It’s only with that knowledge we can better move our painting practices forward and make creative decisions about how to proceed with our ideas and aims. Our crits and discussions will happen in various settings, from one-on-one meetings to small group discussions, to full class presentations.
Mid-Term and Final Portfolio: You will receive qualitative and grade feedback on a mid-term and final portfolio, each of which includes a written self-reflection on your part. Assignments have specific learning objectives that are evaluated when grading.
Evaluation
Each assignment has specific learning goals stated at the beginning of the assignment and available as a rubric in Brightspace. Paintings are evaluated by those objectives, so it’s a good idea to look at the rubric ahead of time. Outside of specific assignments, I make efforts to grade the arc of the whole course and your development in it, recognizing that in art while you might be working towards one objective, often other skills and ideas are also developing, and that progress is non-linear.
Important Dates
Note: These dates may change before registration begins.
Courses may be cancelled due to low enrollment. Show your interest by enrolling.
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| Last Day to Withdraw with 50% Refund | |
| Last Day to Withdraw with 25% Refund | |
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Resources
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