VIS 201 / ARC 201

Drawing I

Professor/Instructor

Troy Gene Michie Jr., Lex Brown

This course approaches drawing as a way of thinking and seeing. Students will be introduced to a range of drawing issues, as well as a variety of media, including charcoal, graphite, ink, and oil stick. Subject matter includes still life, the figure, landscape, and architecture. Representation, abstraction, and working from imagination will be explored. A structured independent project will be completed at the end of the term. Two studio classes, five hours total per week.

VIS 202 / ARC 202

Drawing I

Professor/Instructor

Pamela E. Lins, Troy Gene Michie Jr., Lex Brown

This course approaches drawing as a way of thinking and seeing. Students will be introduced to a range of drawing issues, as well as a variety of media, including charcoal, graphite, ink, and oil stick. Subject matter includes still life, the figure, landscape, and architecture. Representation, abstraction, and working from imagination will be explored. A structured independent project will be completed at the end of the term. Two studio classes, five hours total per week.

VIS 203 / ARC 327

Painting I

Professor/Instructor

Colleen Asper, Pamela E. Lins

An introduction to the materials and methods of painting. The areas to be covered are color and its interaction, the use of form and scale, painting from a model, painting objects with a concern for their mass, and interaction with light. Two three-hour studio classes, five hours a week.

VIS 204 / ARC 328

Painting I

Professor/Instructor

Eve Michele Aschheim, Colleen Asper, Pamela E. Lins

An introduction to the materials and methods of painting. The areas to be covered are color and its interaction, the use of form and scale, painting from a model, painting objects with a concern for their mass, and interaction with light. Two studio classes, five hours total per week.

VIS 211

Analog Photography

Professor/Instructor

Deana Lawson, Jeffrey Whetstone

An introduction to the processes of photography through a series of problems directed toward personal expression and darkroom techniques. Weekly laboratory sessions will explore the critical issues of the medium in relation to both student work and examples of photographs curated from the history of the medium. One three-hour and fifty-minute class and two hours of independent laboratory.

VIS 212

Analog Photography

Professor/Instructor

Deana Lawson, Jeffrey Whetstone

An introduction to the processes of photography through a series of problems directed toward personal expression and darkroom techniques. Weekly laboratory sessions will explore the critical issues of the medium in relation to both student work and examples of photographs curated from the history of the medium. One three-hour and fifty-minute class and two hours of independent laboratory

VIS 213

Digital Photography

Professor/Instructor

Jeffrey Whetstone, Jennifer Calivas

A seminar and lab that explores the aesthetic and theoretical implications of digital technology in relation to photography. The emphasis is on making the photographic print in the digital work space. Class will consist of both independent and collaborative projects. One two-hour class, one three-hour laboratory. Prerequisites: 211 or 212, or instructor's permission.

VIS 221

Sculpture I

Professor/Instructor

Joe Scanlan

A studio introduction to sculpture, particularly the study of form, space, and the influence of a wide variety of materials and processes on the visual properties of sculpture. Students will develop an understanding of contemporary sculpture and a basic technical facility in a variety of materials and processes. Two studio classes, five hours per week.

VIS 222

Sculpture I

Professor/Instructor

Martha Friedman, Amy Yao

A studio introduction to sculpture, particularly the study of form, space, and the influence of a wide variety of materials and processes on the visual properties of sculpture. Students will develop an understanding of contemporary sculpture and a basic technical facility in a variety of materials and processes. Two studio classes, five hours per week.

VIS 242

Film Genres: The First Five Decades of Cinema

Professor/Instructor

A historical examination of a film genre--e.g., comedy, documentary, detective film (also called film noir). The object of the course will be the understanding of the uniquely cinematic aspects of each genre, studied against the backdrop of parallel literary genres (e.g., comedy from Aristophanes to Beckett; documentary fiction and essays; 19th- and 20th-century detective fiction). One genre will be the topic of the course each year. Two 90-minute classes, one film screening.

VIS 261

How to Make a Film

Professor/Instructor

A film/video course introducing the techniques of shooting and editing digital video. Works of film/video art are analyzed in order to explore the development of, and innovations in, cinematic language. Production is oriented toward film/video as a visual art, including narrative, documentary, and experimental genres. Several short video projects produced during the semester. Two studio classes, five hours per week. Prerequisite: instructor's permission.

VIS 262

How to Make a Film

Professor/Instructor

A film/video course introducing the techniques of shooting and editing digital video. Works of film/video art are analyzed in order to explore the development of, and innovations in, cinematic language. Production is oriented toward film/video as a visual art, including narrative, documentary, and experimental genres. Several short video projects produced during the semester. Two studio classes, five hours per week. Prerequisite: instructor's permission.

VIS 303

Intermediate Painting

Professor/Instructor

This course is designed to allow students to explore more deeply the process and meaning of painting. Students will complete a set of structured assignments and are encouraged to develop an independent direction. Contemporary critical theory is integrated into the course. Two studio classes, five hours per week. Prerequisite: 203, 204 and instructor's permission.

VIS 304

Intermediate Painting

Professor/Instructor

Colleen Asper, Pamela E. Lins

This course is designed to allow students to explore more deeply the process and meaning of painting. Students will complete a set of structured assignments and are encouraged to develop an independent direction. Contemporary critical theory is integrated into the course. One studio class, four hours per week. Prerequisite: 203, 204 and instructor's permission.

VIS 309

Printmaking I

Professor/Instructor

Daniel Heyman

An introduction to fundamental techniques of copper plate etching, and relief printing. Assignments focus on applications of various printmaking techniques, while encouraging independent development of subject matter. Critiques will occur throughout the term. Students are encouraged to draw regularly outside of class to cultivate themes and content applicable to their prints. Field trips to the University's museum and the library's graphics collection will complement class work. Two studio classes, five hours per week.

GLS 312 / VIS 310 / ENV 308 / AFS 312

Documentary Filmmaking in Kenya

Professor/Instructor

Su Friedrich

This seminar will address two essential questions: How can the art of film advance the causes of science? How do communities use media to support their environmental activism? Based in Kenya, students will be trained in digital video production, screenwriting, and editing, and will produce a series of short and long documentaries. Filming will entail numerous trips into the field, interviewing, and recording. The seminar will help students begin to understand crucial international development issues, e.g., water, wildlife, and land use, and how to communicate memorably about them through video.

VIS 313

Intermediate Photography

Professor/Instructor

Deana Lawson, Jeffrey Whetstone

A continuation of 211, 212, or 213 this course focuses on hybridizing analog and digital technologies using the the view camera and making a cohent body of work. The connections between traditions of art, philosophy, science, and photography will continue to be important. One three-hour class and three hours of independent laboratory. Prerequisites: 211, 212, or equivalent experience and instructor's permission.

DAN 304 / MUS 301 / THR 321 / VIS 320

Special Topics in Contemporary Practice

Professor/Instructor

Offers students the opportunity to gain a working knowledge of the ways in which dance, dance/theater, and body-based art are created and performed today. Primarily a studio course that stresses learning through doing. Students will have the opportunity to work with leading experimental creators. Topics, prerequisites, and formats will vary from year to year.

VIS 331

Ceramic Sculpture

Professor/Instructor

This course is designed for students who are interested in learning the fundamentals of working with clay. A wide variety of hand-building techniques will be taught, enabling students to make utilitarian vessels as well as sculptural forms. Students will learn about glazing and colored engobe application methods and how to operate electric and gas kilns. Studio work will be complemented by readings, field trips, and slide presentations.Two studio classes, five hours per week.

VIS 332

Ceramic Sculpture

Professor/Instructor

This course is designed for students who are interested in learning the fundamentals of working with clay. A wide variety of hand-building techniques will be taught, enabling students to make utilitarian vessels as well as sculptural forms. Students will learn about glazing and colored engobe application methods and how to operate electric and gas kilns. Studio work will be complemented by readings, field trips, and slide presentations. Two studio classes, five hours per week.

COM 341 / ECS 341 / HUM 341 / VIS 339

What is Vernacular Filmmaking? - Rhetoric for Cinema Studies

Professor/Instructor

Erika Anita Kiss

In this course we will study films that address global audiences yet ground themselves in particular, local, vernacular sources of artistic creation. Our focus will be on three exciting postwar cinematic movements (Italian Neorealism, Iranian New Wave, the Danish Dogma 95), but we will also discuss parallels in American filmmaking. Familiarity with Homer's Ulysses, Virgil's Aeneid and Shakespeare's Hamlet will be helpful since they serve as the frame of reference for many of the examined films.

GSS 306 / VIS 341

Women and Film

Professor/Instructor

Gaetana Marrone-Puglia

An exploration of the relationships between the idea of "woman'' and the art of film. Issues addressed will include the role of woman as performer and director, questions of film genre, the identification of the female image as constitutive of the cinematic image, the historical and social dimensions of the female image projected in films of different times and different cultures. Film screenings, one three-hour seminar.

VIS 342 / COM 361

The Cinema from World War II until the Present

Professor/Instructor

The history of sound and color film produced since World War II. Emphasis on Italian neorealism, French New Wave, American avant-garde, and the accomplishments of such major filmmakers as Bergman, Hitchcock, Bresson, and Antonioni. Modernism in film will be a central consideration. One three-hour class, weekly film screenings.

VIS 343

Major Filmmakers

Professor/Instructor

This seminar will treat in depth the work of two or three filmmakers of major importance. Specific subjects will vary.

VIS 344

Special Topics in Film History

Professor/Instructor

This seminar will deal in some detail with an aspect of film history, focusing on an important movement or exploring a significant issue. Specific topics and prerequisities will vary.