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| FF 100 - Elements of Visual Thinking |
3 |
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| 3 credits. Staff. Offered fall. This course investigates in depth the concepts and principles of visual organization that are fundamental to all forms of visual art. Analysis of problems and personal inquiry are encouraged as students develop vocabulary, technical skills, and critical awareness necessary for creative visual expression. Each section of Elements of Visual Thinking/Phenomena of Color is linked to the art history component, Art Matters, during one semester, and to the language and literature component, Critical Inquiry, during the other semester. This structure provides the student with an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural learning experience. The instructor of this class is the primary advisor for the students for the entire freshman year. |
| FF 102 - Phenomena of Color |
3 |
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| 3 credits. Staff. Offered spring. As a continuation of Elements of Visual Thinking, this course focuses on an intensive study of color. Students are exposed to the concepts and principles of color interaction through analytical exercises, as well as problems that encourage individual expression. A wide range of approaches and media may be used to develop greater perceptual awareness of color and a thorough understanding of its expressive possibilities. |
| FF 198 - Drawing I |
3 |
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| With emphasis on observational drawing, this course develops the student's greater conceptual and technical understanding of drawing as an expressive medium. Various drawing materials, methods and subjects are explored as a means to cultivate perceptual ability and descriptive drawing skills. A range of drawing concepts is covered, including: effective use of line, mass, value, composition and perspective. Note: Cross listed - see FF 199 |
| FF 199 - Drawing II |
3 |
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| This course is the continuation of Drawing I, developing further the student's ability in observational drawing and extending it into more individualized problems with a broader conceptual range. To help facilitate students in finding a personal direction, various approaches to drawing are explored, including: figure drawing, mixed media, narrative, abstraction and the use of color. Prerequisites: FF 198. Note: Cross listed - see FF 198 |
| FF 150 - Painting I |
3 |
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| This course presents the fundamental principles and techniques of painting. Using a wide range of problems, students learn about preparing various surfaces, using painting tools, mixing colors and analyzing surface qualities. The integration of drawing and design concepts is emphasized as students investigate color-value relationships, articulation of form, composition and special relationships. Working primarily from observation, students explore subjects ranging from still-lifes, interiors, landscapes and cityscapes to self-portraits and the figure. |
| FF 101 - Sculptural Forms |
3 |
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| 3 credits. Staff. Offered fall, spring. Principles of three-dimensional thinking form the groundwork for all design, planning, and building of forms in real space. From functional objects and utilitarian forms to sculpture and site-oriented installations, from environmental art to architecture - all call upon a basic three-dimensional vocabulary. This course helps students develop an understanding of the interaction of forms in space. Using basic sculptural processes and readily available materials, students investigate three-dimensional ideas and decision making. Students are encouraged to purchase a departmentally provided toolbox. |
| EA 210 - Electronic Media and Culture |
3 |
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| This course is an introduction to computer imaging for visual artists. Students are introduced to the computing environment at MICA, as well as the aesthetic paradigms of electronic media. Students create artwork with two-dimensional imaging software, html, sound and animation software. Computer literacy is gained through lectures and hands-on work. Critical skills are developed through the introduction of basic principles, elements and theory of digital art forms. |
| Foundation Studio Elective |
3 |
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| Total Foundation Studio Core Credits |
24 |
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Credits |
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| L 101 - Critical Inquiry |
3 |
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| 3 credits. Staff. Offered fall, spring. This course asks students to explore the intellectual and aesthetic foundations of their work and the work of others. This calls for a vigorous investigation into the nature, sources, and consequences of personal values (intellectual, moral, formal, philosophical) and such values are invoked in the process of creation and critique. Students are given opportunity to sharpen and extend their ability to articulate their critical responses, both in written and spoken form, reinforcing the essential link between critical thinking and artmaking, and demonstrating the powerfully complementary nature of language as a medium vital to the thoughtful artist. |
| AH 100 - Art Matters |
3 |
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| 3 credits. Staff. Offered fall, spring. This course introduces issues of fundamental importance to art, the artist, and art history. Though each instructor teaches it largely from his/her area of expertise and perspective, it centers around a list of monuments/artwork common to each section. Moreover, instructors address a common list of topics that encourage students to think broadly about issues that will be of critical importance to them in their careers as artists; these topics include library use and research, the artist's profession and role of the artist, censorship, the history of art history, the museum, authenticity, and aesthetics. No prerequisite. |
| Total Foundation Liberal Arts Credits |
6 |
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Credits |
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| Community Arts Partnership |
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| ENV 100 - Tectonics |
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| 3 credits. O'Meara. Offered spring. This freshman elective offers an exploration of the philosophies and strategies implemented in designing three-dimensional space. Students learn the basic vocabulary of the design process using all of the skills being developed simultaneously in the foundation program. Projects explore the relationship between ideation and realization; between the conceptualization of space and its representation in drawings and models. |
| GD 100 - Introduction to Graphic Design |
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| 3 credits. Nead. Offered fall, spring. Graphic design is the art and profession of creating visual images and typographic messages that influence public understanding. Graphic designers create everything from logos and letterforms to posters, flyers, CD covers, and interactive media. This course introduces students to the basic concepts of design for visual communication. No prerequisite. Incoming freshman elective only. |
| Drawing as Illustration |
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| Graphic Design/Illustration Workshop |
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| PR 100 - Foundation Printmaking |
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| 3 credits. Staff. Offered fall. This introduction to all printmaking media explores traditional techniques as well as experimental contemporary approaches. Students are encouraged to develop their own ideas from both technical and personal points of view. Studio work is primarily oriented to relief, monoprint, etching, and collagraph methods. Classes include lectures and demonstrations. No prerequisite. Incoming freshmen elective only. This course cannot be repeated for credit. |
| CE 200 - Introduction to Ceramics |
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| 3 credits. Baldwin, Lang. Offered summer (as required), fall, spring. This course presents the student with an overview of the possibilities of working with clay. A feel for the material develops through exercises using various forming and construction methods. Tools and techniques are introduced: slab roller, extruder and potters wheel. Students are oriented to the overall processes of ceramics and get a basic understanding of clay and glaze principals and finishing and firing techniques. Historic and contemporary issues are presented through slide lectures. Prerequisite: FF 101. |
| ED 200 - Art and Human Development |
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| 3 credits. Carroll, Gaither. Offered fall. This course offers an examination of art and human development viewed through the development of drawing and visual symbolic language. Topics include the roots of the visual arts in infancy, the study of children's drawings, the role of multiple drawing strategies in the development of visual symbolic language, and the influence of factors such as culture, psychology, mental growth and overall development. A research project takes the class into a local school to conduct drawing research with learners from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 8. Findings are reported in oral reports, displays, and a class document. The course includes visits to see how drawing is taught in both comprehensive and specialized high schools. Students develop a researcher's journal, recording and synthesizing the content of the course. The class is conducted seminar style and includes the opportunity to teach drawing lessons in collaboration with one or more peers. This course may be taken as an elective as early as the freshman year; it is a required course for BFA/MAT and MAT students. |
| ENV 286 - Time&Place:CreatngTheat'clSpc |
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| 3 credits. Coberg. Offered fall. “All the world’s a stage!” It would be better to say, The stage is all the world! Where else can you create the Egypt of the Pharaohs, Chicago during the Jazz Era, the French Quarter or Dickensian London? “The play’s the thing!” Learn how to make the verbal, visual. Discover the techniques necessary to take the written description of a setting and make it a physical reality; a three dimensional world through which characters move. What is the image for a play? What are the various theatrical styles available to a designer? What is the correct dramatic space and how do you find it? What is a theatrical ground plan and how do you draw it? What are sightlines and how do they affect the shape of a set? What is a white model and how do you build one? What are paint elevations? In short, what is the theatrical design process? These, and more questions, will be answered though the designing of two theatrical works, from concept to completion. Classes will be illuminated with tours of local production facilities, as well as by guest lecturers from the world of professional theatre. |
| FB 200 - Introduction to Fiber |
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| 3 credits. Shepard, Couwenberg, Grendze. Offered fall, spring. This course presents students with the opportunity to understand 3-dimensional ideas and become exposed to the potential of fiber as an expressive medium. Technical processes and historical precedents serve as points of departure, so individuals can pursue diverse working formats. Prerequisite: FF 101. |
| PT 200 - Painting II |
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| This course consolidates concepts and methods from Painting I and leads students to expanded perceptual awareness. Projects may include still life, landscape and the figure, as well as abstract and conceptual concerns to enhance students' formal and personal development. There is an ongoing concentration on painting materials and techniques. Prerequisites: FF 150 or equivalent (Foundations of Painting I). Note: No repeats for credit. |
| SC 200 - Introduction to Sculpture |
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| 3 credits. Parsons. Offered fall, spring. This course introduces students to the 3-D format and exposes students to an overview of processes, tools, and materials used in sculpture. Students explore the relationship of ideas to materials and construction techniques. Prerequisite: FF 101. |
| VID 200 - Video I |
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| Staff. Offered Fall, Spring, Summer Through workshops, students develop basic skills in field production and will become proficient in digital editing using Final Cut Pro. The class is designed to assist students in the development of their creative voice in the video medium. Project assignments, screenings, readings and lectures will explore the diverse ways the medium has been used; for purposes of entertainment, individual expression and social & intellectual inquiry. |
| PH 232 - Basic Photography |
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| 3 credits. Staff. Offered summer, fall, spring. This studio elective covers the fundamentals of developing visual skills and photographic techniques. Emphasis is placed on exposure, development, printing, and aesthetics of photographic vision. The format includes class critique, darkroom and field assignments. No prerequisite. |
| Introduction to Figure Sculpture |
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| SC/DR 272 - Figurative Reflectns:Sclp/Drwg |
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| 3 credits. Copskey. Offered fall, spring. This course provides a unique opportunity to combine life drawing and sculpture together. Focus revolves around in-depth study of the human figure, emphasizing anatomy structure, proportions, mass, and quick studies. Both disciplines enrich eye-hand coordination. At the end of each sculpture exercise students are encouraged to photograph their work. Sculpture credit only (not Drawing). No prerequisites. Freshman elective. |
| Tile and Mural |
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