Art
ART 199/299/399/499. Independent Study (1-4E)
This course consists of an independent creative or research project designed by the student and supervised by an art faculty member. The nature of the project, the schedule for accomplishment, and the means of evaluation must be formalized in a learning contract prior to registration.
ART 204. Introduction to Drawing (4E)
An introduction to the fundamental issues, materials, and techniques of drawing. Drawing skills and visual awareness are addressed through formal exercises and creative projects. Emphasis is given to developing an understanding of the basic principles of two-dimensional design and the depiction of form and space. This course satisfies the Core Curriculum requirement in Arts.
ART 205. Introduction to Visual Thinking (4E)
This topics-based course serves as a broad introduction to the visual arts through an investigation of 2D, 3D, and 4D (time-based and sequential) artistic practices. The topic of each course, developed by the instructor, serves as the framework to explore the creative process. Emphasis is placed on problem solving, problem generation, and the development of ideas in visual art making. Studio projects, critiques, and discussions incorporate reading, research, and writing components that integrate critical thinking with personal expression while encouraging the development of conceptual and formal skills. This course is a prerequisite for Art 304, 306, 308, 309, 312, and 314. This course replaces Art 105. Note: this course does not satisfy the Core Curriculum requirement in Arts.
ART 206. Introduction to Painting (4F)
An introduction to the principles of painting and basic oil painting methods. Formal and expressive problems are explored through creative projects featuring a variety of techniques and subjects. Critiques and discussions of issues in art history and in contemporary art. This course satisfies the Core Curriculum requirement in Arts.
ART 208. Introduction to Sculpture (4E)
An introduction to the principles of sculpture and basic sculptural processes. Creative problems are explored through the use of a variety of subjects and techniques, including modeling and construction in clay, steel, and wood. Critiques and discussions of issues in art history and in contemporary art. This course satisfies the Core Curriculum requirement in Arts.
ART 212. Introduction to Photography (4E)
An introduction to the principles of photography and basic photographic processes. Creative problems are explored through the use of a variety of subjects and techniques, including experiments with paper and film, manual exposure, roll-film processing, darkroom printing, and digital retouching. Critiques and discussions of issues in art history and contemporary art. This course satisfies the Core Curriculum requirement in Arts.
ART 214. Introduction to Digital Media Art (4E)
An introduction to the fundamental issues, tools and techniques of digital art. Formal and creative problems are explored through the use of a variety of computer software and hardware, including screen, audio and physical media projects. Critiques of digital art and discussion of issues in contemporary digital media. This course satisfies the Core Curriculum requirement in Arts.
ART 233. Topics in Art (4)
Various topics presented as introductory-level courses, each focusing on a particular studio art activity. Topics may be defined in terms of techniques, medium, or subject matter. This course may be repeated for credit if the topic is not repetitive. For a description of each course, see the current online Schedule of Classes. This course satisfies the Core Curriculum requirement in Arts.
ART 239. Painting and Drawing from Life (4A)
The principles, practices, and history of painting and drawing from direct observation. Students learn beginning techniques of drawing and painting from direct observation and the conceptual framework for a variety of approaches to life painting and drawing. Studio work from the model, still life, and landscape. Critique and discussion of traditional and contemporary observational drawing and painting. This course satisfies the Core Requirement for Art.
ART 269. Community Arts (4A)
This course explores the foundations of and current practices in community arts. Students will learn about pedagogical issues encompassed in community art outreach and how practitioners seek to provide meaningful art programs to diverse audiences. Students will learn about the mission, goals, and funding for arts organizations at the local, state, and national level. Students will participate in multiple art projects on and off campus that engage the community through a variety of media. There are no prerequisites for this course. This course satisfies the ELAW requirement and the Core requirement for the arts.
ART 304. Advanced Drawing (4F)
An intensive studio practice in drawing. Emphasis is given to developing an understanding of the unique issues and concerns of drawing and how these may contribute to the expression of a personal vision. Projects are directed to develop the student’s ability to work independently. Studio projects, critiques, and discussions of issues in art history and contemporary art. This course may be repeated once for credit. Prerequisite: ART 204 or permission of the instructor.
ART 306. Advanced Painting (4S)
An intensive studio practice in painting. Emphasis is given to developing an understanding of the unique issues and concerns of painting and how these may contribute to the expression of a personal vision. Projects are directed to develop the student’s ability to work independently. Studio projects, critiques, and discussions of issues in art history and contemporary art. This course may be repeated once for credit. Prerequisite: ART 206 or permission of the instructor.
ART 307. Practicum in Art Instruction (2E)
Supervised experience in organizing, preparing, and teaching a studio art course and supervising studio lab sessions. Students are assigned to a specific art studio course and will assist the instructor. Grade evaluation will be based on attendance, preparation, teaching ability and specific tasks assigned by the instructor, such as designing a demonstration or presentation to illustrate art studio principles and practices. This course may be repeated once for credit. All expectations including the scope of student-instructor responsibilities and means of evaluation must be formalized in a learning contract prior to registration. Prerequisites: students must be art majors and/or must obtain the consent of the instructor. Completion of Art 307 is highly recommended for any student preparing for graduate study in art education.
ART 308. Advanced Sculpture (4S)
An intensive studio practice in sculpture. Emphasis is given to the issues and concerns of sculpture and to the resolution of an artistic conception through all of the stages of the creative process, from designing models to fabricating finished works. Projects are directed to develop the student’s ability to work independently. Studio projects, critiques, and discussions of issues in art history and contemporary art. This course may be repeated once for credit. Prerequisite: ART 208 or permission of the instructor.
ART 309. Advanced Drawing + Printmaking (4S)
An intensive studio practice that explores the intersections between direct drawing techniques and indirect drawing as practiced in printmaking. Emphasis is given to skill building in both drawing and printmaking as this serves to expand the materials and techniques, processes, and conceptual approaches employed by artists to create 2D art works. Projects are directed to develop the student’s ability to work independently and explore subject matter drawn from observation and imagination in color and black and white media. Instruction provided in drawing using wet and dry media, the printmaking processes of drypoint, relief and monotype, and basic construction of books. Lecture and discussion, writing and research, studio projects and critiques. This course may be repeated once for credit. Prerequisite: ART 204 or permission of the instructor.
ART 312. Advanced Photography (4F)
An intensive studio practice in photography. Emphasis is given to the issues and concerns of photography and how these may contribute to the realization of the student’s personal vision. Projects are directed to develop the student’s ability to work independently. Studio projects, critiques, and discussions of issues in art history and contemporary art. This course may be repeated once for credit. Prerequisite: ART 212 or permission of the instructor.
ART 314. Advanced Digital Art (4S)
An intensive studio practice in digital and time-based art (digital video, computer animation and web-based applications). Emphasis is given to developing an understanding of the unique issues and concerns of digital and time-based art and how these may contribute to the expression of a personal vision. Projects are designed to develop the student’s ability to work independently. Studio projects, critiques, and discussions of issues in art history and contemporary art. This course may be repeated once for credit. Prerequisite: ART 214 or permission of the instructor.
ART 333. Advanced Topics in Art (4)
Various topics presented as advanced-level courses, each focusing in depth on a particular issue in studio art. Topics may be defined in terms of technique, medium, or subject matter. These courses are designed for students who have already completed introductory-level work in the area of each topic offering. This course may be repeated if the topic is not repetitive.
ART 338. Figure Sculpture (4AF)
This course focuses on creating sculpture from direct observation of the human figure. Class activities include both drawing and sculpting from anatomical aids and live models. Students learn how to create portrait busts and full figure sculptures in clay. Other class activities include group critiques and research of traditional and contemporary approaches to figurative sculpture. Prerequisite: one of the following art studio courses: ART 204, 206, 208 or consent of instructor.
ART 339. Advanced Painting and Drawing from Life (4)
The principles, practices, and history of painting and drawing from direct observation. Students learn advanced techniques of drawing and painting from direct observation and the conceptual framework for a variety of approaches to life painting and drawing. Studio work from the model, still life, and landscape. Critique and discussion of traditional and contemporary observational drawing and painting. Prerequisite: one of the following art studio courses: ART 204, 205, 206, 208, 209, 212, 233, 333, or consent of instructor.
ART 347. Book Arts (4)
This course explores the art of the book. Emphasis is placed on the book as a communicative medium, the interrelationships between text and image, and the creation of sequence, narrative, and meaning through visual and textual means. Students will develop original content and design for book projects, and are encouraged to explore their own poetry, prose, artwork and other subject matter of interest. Students learn basic bookbinding, typography and layout skills, relief and intaglio printmaking, and digital imaging. Directed and self-proposed projects, critiques and discussion of traditional and contemporary art. Prerequisite: one of the following art studio courses: ART 204, 205, 206, 208, 212, 214, 309 or consent of instructor. Previous experience with digital imaging is encouraged.
ART 367. Color (4AS)
This applied studio based theory course explores the history of and motivations behind our use of color as it relates to art objects. It is an intermediate studio art class that integrates historical and contemporary color theory with studio art projects. Working with a variety of mixed media, students will apply what they learn to a series of studio projects. Group discussions, critiques, and written assignments will reflect class readings, fieldtrips, and lectures. Prerequisite: one of the following art studio courses: ART 204, 205, 206, 208, 212, 214, or consent of instructor.
ART 369. Art for Educators (4A)
This applied theory course explores the foundations of and current practices in art education. Students investigate the philosophies, historical movements, social issues, and curriculum foundations and their influences on the teaching of art in American educational settings including public schools, private schools, museum education, and community arts programs. This course satisfies the ELAW requirement and is cross- listed and counts towards a Democracy Studies Minor. Prerequisite: one of the following art studio courses: ART 204, 205, 206, 208, 212, 214, or consent of instructor.
ART 390. The Artist Naturalist (4S)
This course explores the world of nature from the perspective of the artist naturalist in history and in studio practice. Key figures such as Aristotle, Pliny, Robert Hooke, John James Audubon, Mark Catesby, Ernst Haeckel, Maria Sybilla Merian, and Charles Darwin provide examples of the diverse approaches to documenting and studying the natural world. In studio projects students learn drawing and painting techniques that have direct applications to illustration including the use of pencil, pen and ink, and watercolor painting. Throughout the semester each student keeps a nature journal of writing and art. Lecture and discussion, writing and research, studio projects and fieldwork. This course satisfies a Humanities Track elective in the Environmental Studies major and minor.
ART 398/498. Off-Campus Internship (4-16E)
Off-campus experiential learning opportunity. A variety of internships can be arranged through the Career Development Center, subject to the approval of the art faculty. The off-campus internship is an individually designed experience that allows the student to explore the relationship between learning and everyday work situations. Prerequisites: admission to the internship program and approval of the department chair. Credit/no credit grading.
ART 425. The Artist in Context (4S)
This applied theory course explores the development of effective presentation materials by which studio artists contextualize, articulate and document the intentions of their own creative work. Course activities include learning how to write effective visual analysis and artist statements, photograph and digitally document artworks, create online portfolios and prepare a variety of professional presentation materials such as résumés and letters of application. Course work culminates with students creating their own online portfolio. This course satisfies an art theory requirement for art majors with a concentration in studio art. This course replaces ARTH 425, therefore, students who have taken ARTH 425 may not take ART 425 for credit. Prerequisite: One 300-level studio art course or consent of instructor.
ART 493. St. Mary’s Project in Art I (4F)
This course provides a structured environment in which students explore and develop their own artistic interests in the context of exchange with fellow seminar members and a faculty mentor. In a selected area of focus (drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, or combined media), students pursue sustained independent studio projects accompanied by written formulation of artistic concerns and research into related art and ideas. Consult the Department of Art and Art History’s guidelines for the St. Mary’s Project. Prerequisites: successful completion of all the following courses with a C- or higher – ART 205, ART 204, ART 214, ART 208, ARTH 100, and one 300-level studio art course in the student’s chosen area of focus and the approval of the instructor and chair of the Art and Art History Department.
ART 494. St. Mary’s Project in Art II (4S)
In this course students continue to develop and produce a body of self-generated studio work culminating in a public exhibition. This exhibition will be accompanied by a written statement of goals placed within an art historical context and a public lecture that addresses the project’s expressive significance and its relationship to contemporary art and art theory. Consult the Department of Art and Art History’s guidelines for the St. Mary’s Project. Prerequisites: successful completion of all the following courses with a C- or higher: ART 493, ART 205, ART 204, ART 214, ART 208, ARTH 100 and one 300-level studio art course in the student’s chosen area of focus and the approval of the instructor and chair of the Art and Art History Department.