Loyola University Chicago

Intro

All introductory studios in the Department of Fine Arts present students with the basic techniques, materials, and theoretic principles specific to each media so that the student can learn to express ideas and feelings in a non-verbal manner. Students participate in artistic production through the experience of drawing

Creativity is sensory-cognitive-affective and moves from knowing to doing to interpretation and evaluation of ones own production and that of others. Students demonstrate competency in a medium by producing an ongoing body of work in weekly, monthly and semester periods of time.

Critical thinking through visual inquiry via doing will be refined as student skills improve and make analysis of complex artistic relationships possible.

Learning Objectives

·         Study, create or participate in the creation and performance of some form of artistic expression as a means of exploring human experience and understanding the creative process

The focus of any introductory studio course is to explore the various media available to the student, the specific techniques, which accompany that media choice, and the principles which guide creativity when utilizing such media. Recognizing the intrinsic qualities particular to the medium will enable the student to make critical commentary when observing works produced within that format and make informed judgments about the success of such artwork.

·         Assess formal qualities of artistic production

Introduction of the basic elements of line, shape, value, color, texture and space as they come to be used expressively and as formal structures in diverse media will allow for students to actively engage the artistic principles which guide those elements. Through the study of balance, emphasis, repetition, scale and composition, students will be able to critically appreciate and evaluate non-verbal images and objects.

·         Demonstrate visual literacy

Through the ongoing production of a continuous body of work produced in a specific medium, students will demonstrate their understanding of the relationship between art elements, the artist to audience and their own personal creative choices as a vehicle for expression. Through weekly, semester mid- point and final critiques, increased understanding of the unlimited possibilities of non-verbal communication will evolve and lead to the ability to make aesthetic judgments of art.

·         Acquire critical and technical vocabulary enabling students to describe and analyze artistic production

Through in class discussions, demonstrations of media specifics and slide lectures students will acquire the knowledge to recognize the intrinsic technical qualities that separate the different media. This basic understanding of vocabulary particular to each medium informs class comments and evaluation during group and individual critiques. These occur session to session, at mid-term with plenary groups and at final

·         Evaluate works of art in light of aesthetic and historical precedent

All introductory studios in the Department of Fine Arts have a writing component which asks students to critically compare works of art in the medium research a specific artist or movement, respond to an exhibition currently on view in a major museum, on site in Rome or review and question an artistic manifesto. Students are encouraged to use the vocabulary of the medium, its qualities and the artistic principles, which are evident in the artist’s choices. 

Skills

·         Understanding of the characteristics of line, shape, color, value, texture, space and ways they are used expressively in two and three dimensional works of art

Because the main thrust of the introductory studio is focused on doing, students will produce a continuous body of work, which employs the mechanics of the specific media, and evaluate appropriate use of the design principles of composition, value and tone, balance etc. to test and evaluate their effects in finished work

·         Ability to use the elements of the media to create unique works of art 

Students are asked to apply the skills of formal principles and the techniques appropriate to each area as they develop ideas and make decisions regarding the content and explore meaning in their work.

·         Ability to form evaluative judgments about art in general (specific media in the specific) 

Students learn to appreciate and understand multiple solutions to single problems through the discussion of media manipulation and class critiques, which is the primary form of feedback in a studio group dynamic.

·         Ability to articulate formal and artistic ideas and intentions to others 

Students use verbal skills during class dialogs and are part of the departmental   participation policy in fine arts. Written skill in writing assignments, which require a student to utilize the vocabulary and language of the medium and through the work itself   demonstrate an understanding of concepts, which have been presented throughout the course. 

Topics

This course will introduce drawing as an instrument to explore visual representation of reality.

Emphasis will be given to the analysis of the visible and to gain self-awareness in the act of drawing. The aim is to learn how to “see” things the way they truly are in front of our eyes before transferring them on paper, and to organize our visual perceptions on the picture plane with the best media choice.

Elements of portraiture, composition and anatomy with black & white drawing techniques will be demonstrated in studio and further articulated in outdoor and museum work.

The course will introduce various techniques applied to representation on paper; subjects will range from indoor studio still life to outdoor sketching, life drawing and site visit to some Museums in Rome.

• Historical and recent methods of representation of reality will be illustrated.
• Sequences of multi-layered cross-hatching passages in the etchings and drawings of masters like Piranesi and Rembrandt will be subject of close examination to gain control on this tone rendering method.
• Contour drawings will deal with mapping of areas, defining outlines and edges of masses with a single line.
• A gesture drawing session will be dedicated to exercise with repeated large and fast strokes, trying to gain control in the sequences of pressure changes, with variation of speed and direction.
• Eraser drawing will introduce reverse drawing techniques, from dark to light.
• Frottage and rubbings are printmaking-derived techniques that will expand the range of possible texture rendering, importing various patterns from different sources.
• Anatomy will be the focus of attention during Life Drawing sessions.

By-weekly mandatory drawing assignments will be illustrated in class. Extra hours to complete drawing assignments are requested.

All students will have to produce, by the end of the Semester, a series of drawings around a specific theme, a Suite of five drawings inspired by an Artist’s work or a specific Museum in Rome. The suites should be displayed in a sequence and share proportions and techniques.

Students will fold and bind folios into a book format and then draw and compose an Artist book.

There will be a free choice in size, bindings, paper, color, technique and subject matter, as long as the book ‘holds’ together coherently in terms of content, aesthetics and design.

The Art Studio will be locked after class; you will be able to get keys from the entrance desk and sign up your entry time; you will return keys at desk and lock the studio door after you.

Assessments

A first portfolio selection of twenty drawings, chosen among assignments, outdoor and studio sketches, produced in the first half of the Semester will be presented in the Mid-term Critique.

In the Final Critique, you will present a second portfolio of ten drawings, together with a Suite of five drawings and an Artist book.

Grades will be based on the following factors:

·         First Portfolio     ( 20 )     25%  (Mid-term)

·         Second Portfolio ( 10 )      25%  (Final)

·         Suite of five                       25%  (Final)

·         Artist Book                       25%  (Final)

Grading Policy

A new grading system, recommended by the Academic Affairs University

Policy Committee and adopted by the university, was implemented during

the 2004-2005 academic year.

The new system adds minus grades and a new scale of grade points. This

grading scale will be used to calculate a student's official grade point

average (GPA).

Letter grades and their grade points will now follow this scale:

Letter  GradeWeight Meaning

A 4.00 Excellent

A- 3.67

B+ 3.33

B 3.00 Good

B -2.67

C +2.33

C 2.00 Satisfactory

C- 1.67

D+ 1.33

D 1.00 Poor

F 0.00 Failure

P 0.00 Pass with credit.

The minimum passing grade for a course taken under the Pass/Fail option

will be C minus (C-)

I Incomplete

W Withdrawal

WF Withdrawal Failure

C- © minus) will be the minimum acceptable grade for university

undergraduate requirements, such as the University Core Curriculum and

the Values Across the Curriculum requirements.