This course focuses on the fundamental elements of drawing from direct observation. By identifying drawing’s underlying principles, studying them independently, re-constructing and combining them with the other elements to create unified drawings of various pose-lengths, students hone the ability to perceive the visual experience with intelligence, apply this knowledge to their work, and cultivate an ability to problem-solve as they approach figurative representation. Students are introduced to both direct (perceptual) and indirect (conceptual) modalities of drawing to better understand the relationship between gesture, proportion, perspective, and the effects of light.

3 credits

Core Learning Outcomes

• The ability to organize a strategic approach to figure drawing from observation
• A practical understanding of direct (perceptual) and indirect (structural) approaches to figure drawing
• A practical understanding of the integrated relationship of gesture, proportions, and perspective in the human figure through the study of anatomy and kinesiology
• A practical understanding of tonal structure through the study of light on form

This course provides instruction with perceptual and conceptual methodologies to construct the human figure in two and three dimensions from the model, anatomical reference, and memory. Throughout the course, students construct anatomically accurate renditions of the skeletal structures followed by deep to superficial musculature to understand the relationship between anatomy, morphology and kinesiology.

3 credits

Core Learning Outcomes (50% of grading criteria):

• The holistic understanding of the structure of the body in the form of a basic ecorche, linear and volumetric proportions
  • The ability to identify subcutaneous skeletal landmarks on the live model
  • The understanding of the angular relationships of the primary axial and appendicular volumes of the body from multiple viewing points to be able to identify gesture and center of gravity

Through readings, slide lectures, and discussions, the Art & Culture sequence offers two semesters of advanced study and guided research. It explores a range of historical and current perspectives that shape visual art and reflects on the human figure’s enduring role. Art & Culture I presents the various meanings that have accrued over the past century of Western visual art beginning with the onset of Modernism. Students will closely examine the major art movements and artists of European Modernism in the context of related philosophical, critical, and literary texts. Critical rigor and objectivity is introduced through lively and informed class discussions.

Students will develop their analytic skills by writing a research paper that compares the various historical roles of figuration and abstraction in painting, drawing, and sculpture within their attendant cultural arena. This research will allow students a broad base for understanding the relationship of recent history to contemporary concerns in art.

3 credits

Core Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge of the major visual artists working from 1860-1960, with seminal examples of representational art, abstraction, architecture, photography, literature and psychology.
• Improved analytical and critical thinking.
• Refined rhetorical skills.
• Preparation for thesis research.

This course investigates historical modalities and methods of compositional construction in Western figurative art from Classicism to early Modernism. The essential topics include forms of spatial construction and illusion, the relationship of content to image, and the role of image construction in various social and historical contexts. As a hybrid course in the history of art with a studio component, the aim is to give students an understanding of the potential in strategies of composition and offer instruction in the application of these strategies to their own ideas through studio work.

3 credits

Core Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge of compositional construction in Western figurative art from Classicism to early Modernism
• Understanding of forms of spatial construction and illusion of this time period
• Understanding of the relationship of content to image, and image construction to form and composition
• Understanding of the possibilities and strategies of composition
• Ability to apply compositional strategies to their own ideas

Using inanimate objects as subjects (Classical, Renaissance, and Baroque plaster casts from the Academy’s collection, anatomical specimens, taxidermy, and drapery), this course’s focus is on the development of an advanced foundational understanding of drawing and the depiction of light on form. Through the study of light and its effects on objects with wide range of surface characteristics, and investigations of historical and contemporary artistic theories, the means to represent visual phenomena and sculptural form will be extensively explored.

3 Credits

Core Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge of methods, materials, and techniques towards developing a repertoire of complementary approaches to rendering form and space
• The in-depth understanding of the effects of light on diverse types of forms
• The ability to use a variety of graphic languages and pictorial strategies to depict light/form relationships

Expanding upon the foundational principles addressed in Figure Drawing I, this course focuses on the theoretical and practical application of design principles towards composing single- and multi-figure drawings within spatial environments from life. Working on compositional sketches and studies that focus on the abstract linear, tonal, and spatial aspects of design and applying their discoveries towards the development of resolved figure drawings, students will learn to extrapolate the critical elements of design from the visual field.

3 Credits

Core Learning Outcomes

• The ability to approach figure drawing from a compositional standpoint
• The ability to design and compose multiple figures within a spatial environment
• The ability to identify, interpret, and manipulate the psychological and narrative potentials of figure drawing
• The ability to draw from imagination
• The ability to use a variety of graphic languages and pictorial strategies

This is a hybrid studio and art history course with emphasis on the development of self-directed work in preparation for the MFA thesis.  The history component begins where History and Theory of Composition ends.  Beginning with the birth of Modernism, it takes students through the various strategies of representing form and content from the middle of the 19th century to the present. Formal aspects and compositional strategies will be examined and evaluated in their social and political contexts. Relationships of past art to the development of contemporary figurative art will be addressed with special regard for how this occurs within the students’ self-directed projects which will be reviewed periodically during the course.

3 credits

Core Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge of compositional construction in Western figurative art from Modernism to the 21^st century
• Understanding of the formal and compositional strategies utilized, as well as the social and political context, of this time period
• Understanding of the relationship of art history to contemporary figurative art
• Ability to articulate these modes and apply them to their artwork
• Understanding of the relationship between craft, design, materials and content and the connection of these to conceptual and social construction of artworks
• Ability to defend work in context with relevant critical and historical discourse
• Development of the conceptual framework and language necessary to discuss artists’ work, the students’ own work and their classmates’ work

This course is a deep immersion into linear perspective as the traditional basis of pictorial illusion. Students will apply the theoretical understanding of linear perspective to construct artificial and observed representation of space, shadows, and reflections. Historical and contemporary theories on perspective are addressed with a particular focus on methods of representing visual phenomena. Students are encouraged to examine methods of perspective within the context of their own pictorial concerns and as the intellectual foundation for modern pictorial space.

3 Credits

Core Learning Outcomes

• A practical understanding of one-, two-, and three-point perspective and its uses in depicting three dimensional space
• The ability to apply a working knowledge of perspective to both observed and artificial space
• Understanding linear perspective from a historical standpoint and its compositional uses from the Renaissance to contemporary times
• The ability to create coherent illusion of three-dimensional space from imagination
• The ability to render the effects of perspective on light and shadow, surface reflections, etc.

The goal of this course is to improve the student’s powers of observation by providing a basic understanding of the human body’s underlying structures and to develop strategies for representing volumetric forms in two-dimensions. Emphasis is placed on osteology; the origin, insertion, and function of muscles; and their relationship to surface form and proportion. Focus is also placed upon the varieties of human form as represented by artists both historical and contemporary.

3 credits

Core Learning Outcomes

• The ability to establish the proportions of the body, both linear and volumetric, in an architectonic format. With the basic light source and shadow mass established
• The ability to structurally organize a drawing with a schematic mapping of superficial anatomical structures
• The ability to distinguish between a silhouette and a three-dimensionally considered contour
• The ability to compose the interior forms within the larger context of the drawing

In the second semester, students select one elective course based on their area of interest. Electives provide students with the opportunity to enrich their core curriculum and gain experience with new concepts and techniques. Students are encouraged to select an elective outside their concentration. Click here to view offerings.

3 Credits

This course offers students an opportunity to create large-scale figure drawings from the model, working half, three-quarter, and life size. The course will be devoted to long-pose sessions using single and multiple model arrangements. While working directly from the model during instructed studio sessions, students will be encouraged to work creatively, incorporating memory, invention, transformation, psychological potential, narrative content, and composition. Independent research projects will involve an exploration of suitable drawing modalities, methods, and materials and adapting the picture’s content to the intentions of the student.

3 Credits
Prerequisite: Drawing I and/or Drawing II

Core Learning Outcomes

• The ability to work on drawings of various scales
• A practical understanding of materials and techniques
• Develop deeper understanding of light and its effects on the psychological and narrative potentials of the picture
• An understanding of the relationship of a picture’s formal and material qualities to content and image
• Independent projects to develop the critical skills necessary to create a cohesive body of work

Through readings, slide lectures, and discussions, the Art & Culture sequence consists of two semesters of advanced study and explores a range of perspectives that shape attitudes towards visual art and reflect on the human figure’s enduring role. Art & Culture II addresses the late Modernist and Post-Modern underpinnings of the emerging contemporary milieu. Students explore the ways in which contemporary artistic practice and critical theory inter-relate. The course introduces methods of art criticism, provides an academic and theoretical basis upon which to discuss current artistic practice, and teaches students to gage personal reactions against established scholarly approaches. This third semester seminar is envisioned as both a forum for lively debate based on shared knowledge and a setting for the individual MFA candidate to focus on salient aspects of their thesis. This guided research culminates in students writing the “thesis research paper”.

3 Credits

 Core Learning Outcomes

• Expanded knowledge of contemporary artistic developments as well as a deeper understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of academic discourses on visual art.
• Ability to research and write a convincing argument for the MFA Thesis and to recognize the need to adjust one’s argument and research to achieve this goal.
• Ability to articulate orally and in writing a wide range of philosophical positions underpinning contemporary art.

In the first semester of the MFA Thesis, the emphasis is placed on developing individual direction through the exploration of ideas resulting in the execution of artwork. These ideas may first be outlined in maquettes, studies and compositional plans that clarify, refine and consolidate the developing work. Photographs and other material not hand-crafted by the artist may serve as valuable references but do not qualify as gradable material in this context. The MFA Thesis I works are presented in-progress during the mid-semester critique and should show significant development as coherent artworks for the end-of-semester critique.

3 Credits

In the third semester, students select two elective courses based on their area of interest. Electives provide students with the opportunity to enrich their core curriculum and gain experience with new concepts and techniques. Students are encouraged to select electives outside their concentration. Click here to view offerings.

Elective One 3 Credits

Elective Two 3 Credits

This advanced drawing seminar significantly breaks with formats of Drawing I-III towards exploring drawing as a unique visual language and art form. The emphasis of this course is on composing independently motivated drawings from observation, imagination, and memory while addressing drawing’s formal and expressive potentials. Through the construction of drawings specific to individual interests, students will be encouraged to experiment and learn to identify the effects that form and content have on the efficacy of their intended outcome and subsequent interpretations of their work. This course references both traditional and unconventional sources towards creating a visual vocabulary that study the myriad devices used by artists as a means towards enabling the students to draw their own conclusions and explore their own picture-making abilities.

3 Credits

Prerequisite: Drawing I, Drawing II and/or Drawing III

Core Learning Outcomes

• Understanding of drawing as a unique and evolving language through the study of historical and contemporary sources
• Practical compositional vocabulary of myriad sources and cultures
• The ability to work from memory and imagination
• Application of advanced critical skills towards creating a cohesive body of work

In this course, students continue building on the body of work and themes addressed in MFA Thesis I. In addition to completing paintings, drawings or sculpture over the semester, students are required to refine their research paper that began in the fall semester in Art and Culture II.

6 Credits

In the third semester, students select two elective courses based on their area of interest. Electives provide students with the opportunity to enrich their core curriculum and gain experience with new concepts and techniques. Students are encouraged to select electives outside their concentration. Click here to view offerings.

Elective One 3 Credits

Elective Two 3 Credits