Catalogue Description:

320. Art and the Environment. Credit 3 hours. Prerequisites: ART 299 or permission of Department Head. This course asks students to examine the natural world as a subject for visual art as they consider the role artists can play in sustainability. Hands-on, field-based research in the local landscape will be supplemented by studio time, critique, and the exploration of artistic techniques and materials. Students will create a cohesive visual project informed by the interdisciplinary study of historic and contemporary ecocritical artists as well as regional and global environmental issues. A lab fee is required for this course. Varies.

Course Goals & Objectives

• Introduce students to a variety of artmaking techniques in a mobile, research studio facility 

• Encourage interdisciplinary material investigation and experimentation

• Introduce students to ecology, history, and biology of Manchac swamp and greater Louisiana wetlands

• Introduce students to historic and contemporary artists concerned with environmental issues 

• Engage with environment, generate artwork which communicates about individual experience with the landscape

• Explore the impact of human presence in the local landscape, while relating the specifics of this environment to global concerns 

• Give students a foundation in field-based research strategies with and emphasis on ethics, research, and material and personal safety.