School of Fine Arts

This course provides a foundation in the practices and materials associated with painting, and prepares students to work in oil- and water-based media. Working from direct observation, students develop an understanding of formal concerns as well as paint manipulation to produce strong representational paintings.

Students explore versatile processes for planning and developing a visual idea using oil-based media. They examine both traditional and contemporary applications while developing their ability to articulate artistic intent. Adhering to professional standards, students also construct painting supports, create grounds for oil-based media and complete photo documentation of their work.

Students examine the connection between material application and meaning through the use of both traditional and contemporary applications of water-based media. Employing versatile processes for planning and developing a visual idea, students explore techniques such as wet-into-wet, dry-brush paint application and masking. Students also select and prepare professional-quality painting supports for water-based media and complete photo documentation of their work.

Emphasis is placed on the development of creative, individualized approaches to materials and content, including the incorporation of complex and varied subject matter, media and concepts. Using a structure that alternates studio sessions with lectures and discussions of visual documentation, presentation and other professional components, students create work in a thematic series that develops their painting methods and personal concepts.

From Kandinsky to Twombly, artists use abstraction to reveal their unique and innovative interpretations of the tangible world and to expand the viewers’ perception of art and reality. In this course, students analyze and create works that transcend a purely representational depiction of the world around them to continue the evolution and expansion of their visual language. Students explore various approaches to abstract painting and apply this knowledge to the analysis and creation of their work.

Using a particular era or artist as the focal point, this course provides an extended exploration of a traditional oil painting medium or method. Replication projects provide direct experience with the medium or method under investigation. In a final independent project, students adapt the traditional applications they learned in the creation of their own contemporary work.

With an examination of the conceptual, perceptual and technical evolution of portraiture in the history of painting, this course provides an excellent overview of portrait painting. While the course concentrates on issues specific to this genre, attention is also given to the role of technique and theory in the expression of the masters and contemporary practitioners. Models are available for the entire quarter.

This course provides an overview of landscape in painting, with a focus on the conceptual, perceptual and technical evolution of the landscape image in the history of painting. While the course concentrates on issues specific to this genre, attention is also given to the role of technique and theory in the expression of the masters and contemporary practitioners.

Moving beyond the pictorial tradition of painting, students explore the use of nontraditional materials to engage in spatial and temporal strategies, such as installation, performance, light, sound and other media. Emphasis is placed on the cross-media use of technology, presentation and documentation.

Students create a cohesive body of work based on a studio proposal. Students develop appropriate goals in coordination with the professor to explore the language of color, shape and texture in relationship to expanded concepts.

This course introduces students to various aspects of conceptual art and explores practical issues relevant to painting within current contemporary art. Technical expansiveness, theoretical development and the role of visuality are explored through projects and class discussion.

The pictorial language of painting applies to a range of narrative-based disciplines, including illustration, film, theater and animation. Through an investigation of the painter as storyteller, students explore a variety of narrative structures and expressive strategies. Students learn about the interdisciplinary relationship between painting and art production studios through individual and collaborative opportunities.

The human image — particularly the conceptual, perceptual and technical issues surrounding figurative representation — is investigated in this course. Topics may include the psychological, political, and abstracted bodies, and the figure in contemporary art. Image presentations, critiques, live model sessions and gallery/museum visits supplement studio work.

Extending the skill base acquired in Life Painting, this course focuses on the conceptual, perceptual and technical evolution of the human figure in the history of painting. While the course concentrates on advanced issues specific to this genre, attention is also given to the role of technique and theory in the expression of the masters and contemporary practitioners. Students gain experience with multiple figure compositions and complex environments. Models are available for the entire quarter.

With a focus on the conceptual, perceptual and technical evolution of the landscape image in the history of painting, this course continues to develop the skill base begun in landscape painting. While the course concentrates on advanced issues specific to this genre, attention is also given to the role of technique and theory in the expression of the masters and contemporary practitioners.

In this course, students evaluate their existing portfolio and conduct research to formalize the concept for a professionally refined, cohesive body of work that reflects their personal vision. Students create and revise individual work, appropriately integrating constructive feedback. Professional presentation standards and installation methods appropriate for their chosen audience are employed.

Internships offer students valuable opportunities to work in a professional environment and gain firsthand experience to help them prepare for careers. In an approved internship setting, a student typically spends one quarter working with an on-site professional supervisor and a faculty internship supervisor to achieve specific goals and objectives related to the program of study.

To succeed in the competitive fine art market of the 21st century, artists must present a professional and cohesive body of work that reflects their unique aesthetic, and incorporates advanced techniques and fabrication methods. Critical thinking, decision-making and contemporary art discourse are emphasized as students prepare for their professional careers and engage with the art world through participation in exhibitions, open studios and sales opportunities.

This accelerated drawing course covers fundamental considerations of drawing as a form of expression. The objective is to enhance students’ awareness of and skill with technique, materials, composition and aesthetics.

Allowing graduate students to develop their strengths pertaining to their own aesthetic and choices of materials, this open-studio course also enables them to work toward an advanced cohesive body of work. Students have relevant reading and writing assignments and are required to complete a finished artist’s statement.

This first-year graduate studio course explores painting as a formal visual language. Students create directed new work that examines their own formal choices: color, value, line, shape, surface quality, composition and scale. The course is driven by group critiques, individual critiques, and reading and writing assignments.

This independent studio course approaches drawing as a unique fine art medium, as well as a means for building momentum for work in other media. Students explore drawing both as a process through which ideas may be presented and as a finished product with renewed relevance in contemporary art. The course encourages students to establish a working method in drawing unique to their respective studio practice.

With coursework structured according to the goals and needs of each student, this studio course is designed to refine students’ personal direction and critical vocabulary. Both individual and group critiques support the projects.

Using an individual program designed for each student based on previous coursework, this studio course is designed to further refine students’ personal focus and critical vocabulary. Both individual and group critiques support the projects.

This course provides graduate painting students the opportunity to establish an individual work plan and criteria under the guidance of a faculty member within a standard course format. Students create a feasibility plan that outlines the resources needed to meet objectives of their work plan. A student must have passed the faculty preliminary review in order to be eligible to take this course. The course is recommended for sequencing as an elective in the fourth quarter of the M.F.A. in preparation for the review for candidacy.

All M.A. painting students are required to create a personal, cohesive body of work and an extended artist statement. Students have the opportunity to combine historic and contemporary references with focused, self-directed expression, articulating ideas and contextual theories through refined critical self-analysis.

This studio course is designed to further refine students’ personal focus and critical vocabulary. An individual program is designed for each student based on previous coursework. Both individual and group critiques support the development of thesis exhibition and the quality of the work.

This course focuses on the conceptual, perceptual and technical evolution of the human figure in the history of painting. While the course concentrates on advanced issues specific to this genre, attention is also given to the role of technique and theory in the expression of the masters and contemporary practitioners. Students explore complex figure groups, complex environments and sophisticated use of scale. Models are available for the entire quarter.

This course introduces the historically complex role of the painter as narrator, concentrating on the balance of subject matter with aesthetic form. Students explore the unique pictorial requirements of narrative painting, such as depictions of the passage of time. Students also investigate categories of contemporary narrative painting, while simultaneously evaluating painting’s relationship to other current narrative forms.

This course introduces students to various aspects of conceptual art, and explores practical issues relevant to painting within current contemporary art. Technical expansiveness, theoretical development and the role of visualization are explored through projects and class discussion.

This studio course is designed to further refine students’ personal focus and critical vocabulary. An individual program is designed for each student based on previous coursework. Both individual and group critiques support the projects.

This independent studio course for advanced students involves studio visits, critiques and seminar discussions about each student’s respective work, in preparation for the thesis. Each student finishes the course with a cohesive, exhibition-ready body of work, thesis statement, thesis outline and thesis document rough draft.

Students in this course undertake a field assignment under the supervision of a faculty member.

Students in this course undertake a teaching assignment under the supervision of a faculty member.

This course constitutes the culmination of the student’s research process. Painting M.F.A. candidates develop and prepare an original exhibition, accompanied by a written component, and complete research for post-graduate success.

Students research and explore a vast array of contemporary creative directions and career opportunities that transcend traditional fine art constructs. Building upon their visual language, students discover the possibilities of creating art and design in anticipation of scientific and technological advances, viewer experiences and emerging materials of the 21st century.

Transformation of body and identity through elaborate costuming has occurred throughout various cultures for thousands of years. In this course, students research current trends of this phenomenon to create costuming pieces, such as props, garments, headdresses, prosthetics and facial elements. Competitive aspects of the cosplay convention circuit are examined as well as new career opportunities within and outside of this genre.

Fine artists use digital technologies to realize greater breadth and depth of creative expression. Through an exploration of advanced 2D and 3D digital applications, students enhance the complexity of their personal studio practice, and advance and expand the possibilities of their fine art.

By transforming space, installation artists create immersive, interactive experiences that alter the role of audience, from viewer to participant. Students engage in creative problem-solving to manipulate a space with physical and technological enhancements.

Fine art students gain an understanding of entrepreneurial strategies that are essential for a sustainable career as a visual artist. A digital art portfolio, website and marketing materials promoting a personal brand are produced to prepare students for career, exhibition and business opportunities. Additional business practices such as sales, expenses, record keeping, taxes and copyrights are examined.

To build a successful personal brand, artists must combine creative vision with business acumen and an entrepreneurial spirit. Through extensive exploration of current market opportunities, students define an intended brand position and establish a brand personality for a product, service or individual. Students engage in entrepreneurial strategies aligned with career aspirations to develop confidence and gain a competitive edge in creative industries.

The role art exhibitions in museums, galleries, art fairs, digital platforms and alternative venues play in the current art market are examined in this course. Students collaborate in the mounting of an exhibition, participating in every stage — from budgeting and venue selection to exhibition design, marketing and sales.

Students enhance their professional expertise by working in multidisciplinary teams on collaborative projects that extend their personal studio practice. Through efficient project management, effective communication and creative problem solving, students develop a final project from concept to completed product. Students connect directly with an industry organization or enterprise, generating experience and contacts that serve as a potential bridge from coursework to the profession.

Students from a variety of disciplines within the School of Fine Arts work as a team to research, conceptualize and develop creative solutions for current design challenges. Specific projects vary from quarter to quarter. [This course may be taken up to three times for credit.]

This course enlarges students’ critical vocabulary as well as their familiarity with current critical theory. Students increase their understanding of the reciprocal relationship between the theoretical structure of an artwork and the processes that constitute its form. Students begin to closely examine the theories and processes operating in their own work. All projects, critiques, writing assignments and discussions are designed to strengthen students’ respective work.

This course is designed to prepare M.A. students for fine art business practices. Class topics include building an exhibition record, dealing with the legal issues of art, preparing a professional portfolio and managing an online presence.

Expanding beyond the pictorial traditions within fine arts, students engage nontraditional media to inform their conceptual development. Emphasis is placed on extending beyond conventional and self-established forms of artmaking to consider space, sound, light and other media. Spatial and temporal strategies such as installation, performance and video are examined.

Utilizing new technology, this course takes advantage of the synthesis of media as a current and prevalent trend in the promotion and marketing of contemporary fine arts work. The course prepares students for the business aspects of a fine art career, including portfolio preparation, exhibition opportunities, Web-based and social media marketing and relevant business practices.

A thorough understanding of basic fabrication techniques is essential to the creation of well-crafted and engaging sculptures. Through hands-on experience, students learn appropriate uses of tools and techniques to realize the expressive qualities of sculptural forms in wood and metal.

From clay to faux fur, students explore the unique properties of various malleable materials. By exploring the potential of these materials, students enhance their ability to creatively express ideas through sculptural form. Students also learn professional processes for creating uniform multiples.

Technology elevates the practice of sculpture beyond the traditional, allowing for more complex forms to be created and a broader range of materials to be used. Students learn to create compelling models that meet technical standards for 3D printing and laser cutting.

Moldmaking techniques are essential to successfully replicate sophisticated 3D forms. In this course, students progress to complex methods of moldmaking that support the development of castings and special effects used in industry applications, such as themed attractions, entertainment props and toy designs.

Expanding the possibilities of clay modeling beyond the figure, students explore creative applications of modeling techniques used in various professions, including those used in the automobile, film, and toy industries. Relying on both direct observation and alternate source materials, students gain a skillset in modeling that prepares them for diverse career opportunities.

Metal casting has been a cornerstone of sculptural practice for thousands of years. In a 21st century facility, students learn standard practices of a full foundry in order to express creative ideas in one of the most enduring materials.

Within the realm of sculpture there are endless combinations of materials and approaches to investigate. In this course, students combine various techniques and materials with original concepts to develop a personal direction. The development of an individual style, along with the opportunity for students to hone their technical proficiency, results in well-crafted and unique objects.

Sculptors transform public spaces with engaging spectacles that appeal to far-reaching audiences. In this course, students learn to design works with sensitivity to specific sites and the unique considerations of the public realm. This creative process involves assessing, designing, proposing and implementing public art works while the students develop their own approach to integrating place, audience and art.

In this advanced digital fabrication course, students infuse their work with current technological approaches that expand their career opportunities as sculptors. Students work with 3D scanning and printing to transition objects between digital and physical realms and guide their creative direction.

In preparation for their professional careers, students examine their sculptural practice to refine their individual vision. With consideration for audience and setting, students embark on the development and production of a cohesive series of work that embodies a resolved creative direction.

Internships offer students valuable opportunities to work in a professional environment and gain firsthand experience to help them prepare for careers. In an approved internship setting, a student typically spends one quarter working with an on-site professional supervisor and a faculty internship supervisor to achieve specific goals and objectives related to the program of study.

Through independent research and active engagement with professors, students address conceptual and formal challenges in their work to refine their artistic brand. Students identify and prepare for professional exhibitions or creative productions specific to their individual career goals and skillsets.

Sculptural expression in the 21st century is no longer limited to an object and can embrace limitless 3D expressions. The primary goal of this course is to create an awareness of the breadth of expression and the possible forms sculpture can take. Through readings, lectures, discussions and studio projects, this course explores the integration of materials, processes, content and form.

Discovering one’s visual, historical and philosophical interests is the first step toward developing a personal creative direction. In this course students explore their interests through self-directed research and experimental studio production. Individual meetings with faculty and group critiques with peers stimulate ideas, analysis and growth.

Content and context have an interdependent relationship to the production of contemporary sculpture. This course examines how the construction of content has been fused and imprinted in contemporary art. It also addresses how contextual issues such as site, spatial relationships and social settings inform the creative process.

Students realize their personal direction through continued self-directed research and studio production. Individual interests are specifically identified and studio explorations narrow in scope. Weekly meetings with faculty and group critiques with peers stimulate analytical discourse and growth.

Synthesizing one’s cultural and personal interests into cohesive creative expressions is the hallmark of maturing sculptors. Students develop a unified body of work that embodies this goal. In depth, self-directed research guides creative production while weekly meetings with faculty and group critiques stimulate intense analytical discourse. Production is reviewed by faculty panels at mid-quarter and at the end of the quarter.

Cast metal art remains an important and vital sculptural tradition. Given that reality, this course focuses on the proficient use of foundry mediums and techniques. Students consider how best to integrate foundry materials and processes with their existing and developing artistic visions. By actively promoting a deeper understanding of cast metal, students are able to match their aesthetic goals with technical prowess.

Students produce a cohesive body of creative work by synthesizing their interests into a series of integrated expressions. In depth, self-directed research guides creative thought and production while weekly meetings with faculty and group critiques stimulate intense analytical discourse. Faculty review panels monitor and facilitate professional growth.

Students prepare work for their thesis exhibition. They engage in a process of continual refinement to result in a cohesive body of work that summarizes their conceptual direction and technical mastery. Studio practice together with intense analytical discourse of current studio work and thesis draft prepare students for the visual and written components of their thesis.

Students in this course undertake a field assignment under the supervision of a faculty member.

Students in this course undertake a teaching assignment under the supervision of a faculty member.

The sculpture M.F.A. degree program culminates with completion of a graduate-level thesis that presents a mature, resolved body of work, and demonstrates advanced professional competence through mastery of the technical, creative and aesthetic elements of the discipline. Based on original research, ideation and concept development, students earning a M.F.A. in sculpture produce a conceptually and technically innovative body of work that generates a meaningful contribution to the contemporary fine arts.