AC Home > Programs of Study > Art and Music >

ART COURSES

ART 101 DRAWING I

This introductory course will focus on learning to see and learning to translate what is seen into two dimensions. Learning to see often requires overriding what the brain knows and learning to trust one’s growing skill at visual response. Translating visual information to the page involves developing skill with line, shape, space, form, and composition. The intent is to develop a broad visual vocabulary which allows communication of the subject matter with sensitivity in charcoal, pencil, ink, and collage. This involves working from life, including the figure, and using slides to clarify and enrich what we do through references to art history. Studio supplies fee: $20. Flanagan, Fox, Miller, Read, Staff/Three credits

ART 106 SCULPTURE I (INTRO TO 3-D DESIGN)


This course is an introduction to the concepts and the forms of three-dimensional design. It is based upon the recognition that the origins of and inspiration for much of design stems from nature. The course is not a class in the use of materials. Consequently, projects will start with an idea, and then the appropriate medium will suggest itself. Studio supplies fee: $60. Orlinsky, Staff/Three credits

ART 111 PAINTING I

This course is an intensive introductory investigation of basic painting problems. Using oil paint, students will thoroughly examine questions of composition, issues of light and color, and problems exploring uses of the paint material. In weekly in-studio and outside of class assignments, students will also consider both contemporary and historical approaches to painting. Prerequisite: ART 101 or permission of the instructor. Studio supplies fee: $60. Flanagan, Fox, Read, Rye, Staff/Three credits

ART 115 INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN WITH COMPUTERS

This course will offer an introduction to visual design, and multimedia graphic design. Students will be introduced to the elements and principles of design as well as critical analysis and visual problem solving skills. The interrelationship between visual and verbal communication will be explored along with the study of typography. The computer application Adobe Photoshop will be used as a tool for design in this course. A working knowledge of basic Macintosh computer skills will be helpful but not necessary. Studio supplies fee: $75. Glushien, Staff/Three credits

ART 122 HISTORY OF WESTERN ART I

A survey of the development of Western art from Prehistoric times to the end of the Middle Ages. A broad historical and stylistic approach frames the course, but the students will learn a select number of works in closer detail. This course acquaints the students through lectures, discussions, and visits to local collections, with the tool of visual analysis, the ability to decode visual images from the past and present. Close studies acquaint the students with the elements of visual language and help them to develop critical skills which can be used to further their understanding of the visual arts. Beall, Norris/Three credits

ART 123 HISTORY OF WESTERN ART II

A survey of the development of Western art from the Late- Gothic period to the 21st century. A broad historical and stylistic approach frames the course, but the students will learn a select number of works in closer detail. This course acquaints the students through lectures, discussions, and visits to local collections, with the tool of visual analysis, the ability to decode visual images from the past and present, an * May be taken to fulfill requirement in ART/MUS/THA. ART AND MUSIC 23 essential skill for our digital age and one that will aid students in comprehending and navigating their environment. Students will develop critical skills that can be used to further not only their understanding of the visual arts, but also the history of Western culture. Beall, Norris/Three credits

ART 124 ART HISTORY SURVEY I (MUSEUM-BASED)

This course provides an introduction to the study of art and architecture in western as well as non-western cultures, including Islamic, Asian, African and Pre-Columbian, and privileges the collection at the Worcester Art Museum. Proceeding chronologically from the Paleolithic period (c. 2500 BCE) and culminating with the fourteenth-century, students will learn basic terminology for visual or formal analysis and methodologies for the study of art and the history of art. In addition this course will emphasize thematic issues within the artistic, cultural and historical contexts in which the art and the architecture were created such as the representation of the human body, the role of women in art, the changing role of the artist, shifts in patronage, the use of art and architecture to express secular and ecclesiastical aspirations, the relationship of art and ritual, the initiation of new visual systems and the art and architecture where differing cultures intersect. Beall, Norris/Three credits

ART 130 INTRODUCTION TO ARCHITECTURE

An introduction to the principles, methods, and meaning of architecture. Reflection on the nature of architecture (as well as city planning and landscape architecture) to acquire a method for the study of architecture by a close analysis of selected major works in the art form: the Parthenon, Hagia Sophia, St. Peter's (Rome), University of Virginia (Charlottesville), the city of Brasilia, the Seagram Building (New York City), etc. Beall, Staff/Three credits

ART 150-151 FOUNDATIONS OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION: ART AND POLITICS

A two-semester interdisciplinary course in politics and art. The two semesters concentrate on the study of the worlds of politics and art in multiple periods of Western Civilization. The first semester studies Ancient Greece through the Renaissance. The second semester studies Modern Europe through 21st-century Europe and the United States. Both semesters emphasize the reading and interpretation of texts about the major political and artistic principles in each historical period as well as the viewing and analysis of major artistic works. Students earn three credits in Politics and three credits in Art. (Same as POL 150-151.) Beall, Wallace/Three credits each semester

ART 175 INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

This project-based studio course serves as an introduction to digital photography as it applies to the fine arts. Students will explore technical and aesthetic foundations of photography through the latest digital technology. Digital cameras, scanning, and image manipulation software will be covered as well as an examination of the history of photography and its role as a form of artistic expression. We will also read and discuss critical issues in photography and the history of photography. Studio Fee: $150.00. Glushien, Leeman, Staff/Three credits

ART 201 DRAWING II

The course will concentrate on the drawing as an object and on the physical activity involved in making it an expressive phenomenon. Students will exploit a variety of materials and will explore ideas, formal issues, and art history for inspiration, as well as natural phenomena. Work with the human figure will emphasize context and environment, and encourage the student to develop more personal attitudes toward content. Studio supplies fee: $20. Prerequisite: ART 101. Flanagan, Fox, Read, Staff/Three credits

ART 205 BASIC PRINTMAKING


This course will explore printmaking techniques with wood and linoleum block, collage, xerography, and artists' books. Studio supplies fee: $60. Staff/Three credits

ART 206 SCULPTURE II (THE ART OF ASSEMBLAGE)


This course is an examination of the Art of Assemblage: the current practice in sculpture in which collaged objects are made from debris of the contemporary world. Questions of memory, history, fragmentation, association, ecology, and language will be explored through the making of Assemblages from found, recycled, harvested, and created images and objects. Studio work will be supplemented by art historical presentations, museum visits, and readings. Studio supplies fee: $60. Prerequisite: ART 101, ART 106, ART 111 or ART 115. Orlinsky, Staff/Three credits

ART 211 PAINTING II

A continuation of ART 111, this course will deal with both figurative and nonfigurative approaches to painting. Depending upon the instructor’s preference, students will work with the figure, the landscape, still life, or a combination of the three. Students will be directed in more advanced painting problems using varied techniques and conceptual frameworks. Studio supplies fee: $60. Prerequisite: ART 101, ART 111. Flanagan, Fox, Staff/Three credits

ART 215 GRAPHIC DESIGN WITH COMPUTERS II

This class will be a continuation of the study of graphic design with computers. Students will further explore the use of typographic symbols as a crucial element to design. Design history and critical issues in design will be explored. * May be taken to fulfill requirement in ART/MUS/THA. Students will work in a series of projects that emphasize visual expression, composition, and problem solving. The computer applications QuarkXPress and Adobe Illustrator will be introduced. Studio supplies fee: $75. Prerequisite: ART 115. Glushien/Three credits

ART 221 ANCIENT ART

This course examines the art and architecture of the ancient world, beginning with the prehistoric cultures of the Aegean (c. 3000-1200 B.C.) and concluding with Constantine the Great's recognition of Christianity in the 4th century A.D. Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art will be placed in historical context through a study of not only the monuments of antiquity, but also the religion, literature, and archaeological record of the ancients. The material includes religious and secular architecture, sculpture, ceramics, painting, mosaics, and decorative arts in both private and public realms. Lectures, discussions, and readings will focus on issues such as the role of archaeology and its dating methods, the use of art and architecture as imperial propaganda, and the effects of urbanization on ancient societies. There will be at least one trip to the Worcester Art Museum. Beall, Norris, Staff/Three credits

ART 223 RENAISSANCE ART AND ARCHITECTURE

This course introduces students to the art and architecture of the Italian Renaissance from the 14th through the 16th centuries as well as theories used since the late 19th century to study these works. Proceeding chronologically, the course emphasizes the artistic, cultural, and historic context in which this art was created. The primary material studied includes religious and secular painting, architecture, as well as manuscripts and printed books created for public and private use. Lectures, discussions, readings and visits to the Worcester Art Museum stimulate discussion on issues such as the changing role of the artist, shifts in patronage, the use of art to express secular and ecclesiastic aspirations, experimentation with visual systems, innovations in print-making and printing, and the legacy of art of the Italian Renaissance. Beall, Staff/Three credits

ART 227 REALISM TO IMPRESSIONISM

This course seeks to explore the major avant-garde movements in Western Art in the second half of the 19th century. Concurrent with the evolution of a modern society, as well as technological advances such as photography, Realism in England, France, Germany and other European nations, as well as in America, sought to combine an awareness of the changing social milieu of new urban centers and redefined rural areas with a penetrating modern vision and style. Subsequent formal and thematic innovations in Aestheticism and Impressionism redefined ideas of the subject of art and its means. This class will explore these works in terms of contemporary criticism, painting practice, and the construction of Modernism in this period. Norris/Three credits

ART 229 ART SINCE 1945

Art since 1945 is the study of movements in Art in Europe and the United States from the end of the Second World War until the present. It will involve visits to local collections to see works and institutional constructions of the period. Through a study of Modernism and Contemporary Art students will learn how to approach the art of the present from a multiplicity of viewpoints and in terms of a broader visual culture. Staff/Three credits

ART 231 ISLAMIC ART AND ARCHITECTURE

This course is an examination of Islamic art and architecture that introduces the student to a non-Western tradition, encouraging the student to study art forms within cultural and societal contexts that greatly differ from those of the West. This course examines four areas of artistic achievement within the Islamic world: ceramics, architecture, textiles, and arts of the book. An overarching theme of the course is the role that representations of the Koranic verse played in the formation of all four art forms, thereby underscoring the fusion of faith and art within the Islamic world. Although the course is designed as a geographic and chronologic overview, certain art forms will be focused on in greater depth, such as Turkish ceramics ad Iranian manuscripts. The closing segment of the course examines 20th century Islamic architecture, that of mosques as well as secular buildings. Staff/Three credits

ART 245 LANDSCAPE PAINTING

This course deals with the landscape as subject matter in painting. Through studio work, class trips to paint on location and work outside of class, students will develop a body of work focusing on landscape. Using oil paint, students will be directed in more advanced painting theory and techniques related to the unique challenges presented by the landscape. Questions of the composition, color, light, and issues of deep and flat space will be explored in reference to contemporary and historical examples of landscape painters. Prerequisite: ART 111. Studio Fee: $60. Rye, Staff/Three credits

ART 275 DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY II

This course will serve as a continuation of the study of digital photography as if applies to the fine arts. Students will continue to explore the technical and aesthetic foundations of photography through the latest digital technology. Digital cameras, scanning, and image manipulation software will be covered. Also an examination of critical theory, and of the history of photography and its role as a form of artistic expression will be investigated.

ART 299, 399 OR 499 INDEPENDENT STUDY IN THE VISUAL ARTS

Each of these numbers designates a specific level of specialized study on a relevant topic that has been designed by the student in conjunction with a faculty member of art history or studio art. Permission of Chair required. Staff/Three credits

ART 300 INTERNSHIP IN THE VISUAL ARTS


This upper level, field-based course is designed for juniors and seniors to explore and develop professional opportunities and apply concepts and skills learned in their coursework in art history and/or studio art. Permission of Chair required. Staff/Three credits * May be taken to fulfill requirement in ART/MUS/THA.

ART 301 DRAWING III


This course will begin to deal with the issue of personal expression in drawing. It will include a reevaluation of the elements of drawing from that point of view. Working problems will take into consideration the individual's inclinations as he/she begins to formulate his/her own rationale for making art. Specific artists will be studied with a focus on the nature of the expression in their work. Studio supplies fee: $20. Prerequisite: ART 101 and ART 201, or permission of the instructor. Flanagan, Fox, Read, Staff/Three credits

ART 311 PAINTING III

This course explores advanced problems in painting. Students will be directed in a more in-depth examination of the extensive possibilities of the oil painting medium. Both abstract and figurative approaches will be explored. Emphasis is on thematic self-direction and group critiques. The focus of the course shifts annually to reflect the perspective of the faculty teaching it. Prerequisite: ART 111 and ART 211, or permission of the instructor. Studio supplies fee: $60. Flanagan, Fox, Staff/Three credits

ART 375 GRAPHIC DESIGN III

This course will present students with a variety of complex design problems. Students will apply their growing knowledge of the interaction between typography and other visual forms to these specific problems. Research and methodology are vital components of this course, as well as a class presentation on a designer of historical importance.

ART 400 SENIOR ART HISTORY SEMINAR


Advanced projects in Art History as a culmination of an intensive program of study for the Major or Minor in Art History. The course will work through various historiographic and theoretical methodological approaches to the history of art through selected texts of the field including the writings of Hegel, Wölfflin, Riegel, Panofsky, Gombrich, Schapiro, Greenberg, Benjamin, T.J. Clark, Baxandall, Nochlin, Crow, Foucault, and others. By special permission, students majoring in other disciplines may enroll. Permission of the chairperson required. Beall, Norris/Three credits

ART 401 SENIOR ART STUDIO SEMINAR

Advanced project in Studio Art as a culmination of a program of study for the Major or Minor in Studio Art. This project is completed by an exhibition of student work mounted in the spring. Studio supplies fee: $60. Permission of the chairperson required. Flanagan, Fox, Staff/Three credits

 

Did you Know?

20% of Assumption undergraduate students are first-generation college students.


                              Introducing Assumption >     Academics                      Campus Life                          Admissions                            Financial Aid