Program Overview
Drawing, Painting, & Printmaking
Within the drawing, painting, and printmaking area there are three separate yet integrated parts.
Drawing introduces students to the relationships between seeing and thinking and making, which are central to artistic practice. Through an exploration of many drawing modes and materials, students investigate ways of seeing, visual problem solving, the construction of space and how meaning is experienced through visual language.
Painting introduces students to the basic techniques and practices of painting, as well as ways of seeing and translating visual experience and constructing meaning through painting.
Printmaking introduces students to a range of traditional techniques and provides a wide exposure to contemporary practices in print media. The students will work in one of the major printmaking processes: relief, intaglio, dry point, monotype, or screenprint. Experimentation with technique, process and format is encouraged along with interdisciplinary exploration in other media areas.
Upper division course in drawing, painting and printmaking explore more complex problems of meaning, form, materials and language, and emphasize the development of an independent practice.
The class incorporates intensive studio work, individual, group discussions and critiques, as well as slide lectures and presentations. The objective is for students to develop critical thinking skills and an understanding of the history and context of art and contemporary concerns, as they cultivate their own work. By experiencing a broad range of approaches and ideas, individuals are encouraged to develop an art practice that is relevant to their ideas and sensibility. The aim is for students to leave the area with an understanding of their own intentions and visual language, some strategies for sustaining an artistic practice, critical thinking skills, an understanding of the historical context and contemporary possibilities of drawing, painting and printmaking.
