ILLUS-3240

FINE ARTS SEMINAR: VISION & PRACTICE

Faculty: Fritz Drury

Course Level: Junior, Senior, 5th Year

3 CREDITS

This course will be a forum for the interchange of ideas on personal fine art practice, extending the discussion and direction of Advanced Painting (ILLUS-3216) and other fine arts media practice. The principle goal of the course is to strengthen the understanding and the creative work of the participants in relation to the visual arts, as it is understood in our culture at this time, including painting, drawing and 3-D media. through study of the history of art, and through concerted work on individual projects, and group discussion. The 20th and 21st century have witnessed a far-reaching series of revolutions in the visual arts during which all components of art media were dissected, analyzed and reassembled in radically different form. Through an awareness of these developments, students in the Illustration Department can gain an advanced understanding of painting, drawing and 3-D media beyond our traditional emphasis on classical realism, though not exclusive of realistic practice. Students specifically interested in a career as a fine artist, making work for exhibition as an expression of personal vision, will find a thorough examination of this path at it existed in the past, and as it exists now, both in terms of philosophical and expressive ambition, critical expectations and in terms of the practicalities of the marketplace. Students who are primarily interested in illustration will find new ways of thinking about concept and innovative methods for giving an idea visual form.  

The primary vehicle for our discussions will be weekly reviews of work generated by the students in the class. We will alternate between group critiques every two weeks, and one on one discussions between myself and each participant in the class every other week. Each student will be responsible for conceiving and executing an open-ended project in painting that they will develop during the course.  

The course will also include slide lectures on various aspects of contemporary and historical practice in painting, readings from various texts, brief writing assignments based on those texts and a field trip to New York or another professional venue for contemporary art.  

Evaluation of individual participation in the course will also be based on vocal participation in group critiques, thoughtful response to assigned readings, and the quality of verbal and written artist's statements. 

Capacity: 15

Registration Restriction: Major elective; restricted to Illustration juniors and seniors; open to non-majors pending seat availability and permission of instructor. 

Semester Offered: Spring