Fine Art + New Studio Practice Courses

NSP200: Singularity + Multiplicity

This course will examine the evolution of art from the perspective of making, using art history and theory to motivate inquiry into how art gestures are affected by past, present and future contexts. The seminal 1936 Walter Benjamin essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” will provide an informative and illuminating backdrop to studio project prompts, class discussions and further readings and research. We will explore how meanings are encoded in authentic, unique objects and events, and how representations of those objects and events are decoded in different contexts. Students will experiment with old and new technologies, and investigate how tools define, limit and expand creative possibilities. Through critique, students will learn how artistic intent and the dynamic of multiple viewpoints, via an audience, ultimately produce shared meaning.

Credits: 3.0
Prerequisite(s): F113/115 (all foundations studio)

NSP220 / NSP221: Approaches to Making

Sections of this course are intended to delve deeply into how a specific subject or mode has been addressed by artists over time. Each thematic subsection will address manifestations of these subjects (see examples below) in multiple media, in subsequent eras, and towards different purposes, studied in the context of students’ continuing engagement with their individuated studio practices. All subsections are meant to be expansive in approach, and to consider all modes and media as represented in historical and current art as equally valid subjects of inquiry and examples for studio practice. Instructors will lead research into the chosen subject areas and prompt students with studio projects designed for direct, hands-on exploration of thematic subjects. Students will employ media familiar to them, and be encouraged to experiment with new media, to expand their artistic exploration and to build manual and oral/written vocabulary for operating within a multidisciplinary environment.

Examples of Thematic/Subject sections of Approaches to Making
Chairs and Faculty are encouraged to develop Approaches to Making courses that will cover key areas in artistic exploration, and to manage course offerings to ensure a well-rounded foundation for students:
• The Figure
• Representation
• Abstraction
• Appropriation
• Narrative

Credits: 3.0
Prerequisite(s): F113/115 (all foundations studio)

NSP206 / NSP207: Studio Principles

This course provides students with the foundational knowledge and skills within a specific area or discipline of focus. Emphasis on tools, materials, techniques and formal visual principles structure a sequence of assignments and exercises. Students will engage in a process of creation, construction and experimentation. Awareness of traditional and contemporary precedents promotes development of skills, personal vision and distinct expression. Through analysis and critique of their own and each other’s work, the class will establish the language of analytic and intuitive problem-solving.

Each NEW STUDIO PRACTICE area will offer two non-sequential sections of introductory Studio Principles Selectives courses every year. Each course is an entry- point into the area of concentration (i.e., one course area will not be a prerequisite for the other).

Credits: 3.0
Prerequisite(s): F113/115 (all foundations studio)

NSP290: Sophomore Seminar

This course provides an overview of the NEW STUDIO PRACTICE curriculum and the scope of Fine Art practice. It is a forum for navigating individual courses of study by introducing and using skills that are relevant throughout one’s education. Coordinated with individual academic advising, growing confidence in goal setting will begin the preparation for professional practices. Learning how to conduct and assess effective research; develop project proposals; write artists statements; refine digital skills in representing artwork; organize a quality e-Portfolio and organize a path of inquiry are among the essential hands-on experiences. Art world issues such as copyright, safe studio practices and critique models that are pertinent at this level of study will be covered. Field trips, guest speakers, and visiting artists will impart significant perspectives on the art world beyond the classroom.

Credits: 1.5
Prerequisite(s): F113/115 (all foundations studio)

NSP300: Connections

This class places an emphasis on experimental approaches to research and ideation in order to strengthen and enhance the student’s studio experiments. Through a series of exercises, projects and curated experiences this class examines the artist’s relationship to materials, process and context via numerous lenses. Students refine their artist voice through ideation, experimentation, research and reflection, and develop their ideas and studio output through material experiments, drawings, research, and writing.

Credits: 3.0
Prerequisite(s): NSP200

NSP320: Contemporary Critical Theory

This course examines visual art through contemporary cultural theory, rather than art history and aesthetics. Art exists in relation to the political, and operates as and within language. Through the viewpoint of art makers, we examine theories of representation and modes of interpretation. Readings and works examined define art as symbolic articulations of sociality and subjectivity. In-class projects and discussion; articulate positions supported by argument without resorting to opinion.

Key issues include formal, contextual, and conceptual developments and are discussed in relation to socioeconomic, intellectual, political, and cultural contexts. Emphasis is placed on theoretical and critical issues. The study of contemporary cultural theory is a study into the formation of the contemporary subject – ourselves – as well as the study of how we come to know and see art.

Credits: 3.0
Prerequisite(s): WRTG200 & NSP200

NSP306: Open Studio I

This course is an introduction to self-directed learning designed to further one’s growth as an artist. Individual artistic investigations will center on self-determined modes of making. Students may choose to concentrate on one discipline or they may work across several disciplines. That choice will be guided by the instructor and by advanced student mentors in the class. Guidance will also be offered as the student defines broad themes for artistic inquiry. Successful self-determined inquiry requires the students to reflect on the trajectory of their work and it further requires them to nurture a dialog with their work.

Artistic inquiry will be guided through readings, critiques, visits to exhibitions and through frequent consultation with the instructor and with other students. Development of an ePortfolio provides further opportunities for reflection on the student’s artistic evolution and it provides a convenient means for sharing work beyond the class.

Because this course focuses on studio practice, students are expected to be working during class. Gathering materials, doing Internet research, texting, etc., should be done outside of class. To the extent possible, class time will be devoted to studio work and to critique, but expect to start every class with a discussion. Discussions provide an opportunity to explore common ideas, to seek advice, to share discoveries and to provide support for the class community.

Credits: 3.0
Prerequisite(s): Relevant Principles Course

NSP301: Junior Project

This class focuses on connections between the student’s art projects thus far and possibilities for their future.  In this project-based course students refine their personal artistic direction and increase their understanding of the relationships between formal, conceptual and contextual aspects of their art work. Examining their own working process in relation to current options allows students to expand their thinking and their perspective while developing their work. Students will learn to craft a well-considered written proposal for a semester-long investigation.  Critiques and writing assignments provide students the opportunity to assess and adjust their projects throughout the semester. Documentation becomes an effective tool to assess process, studio projects, and research.

Credits: 3.0
Prerequisite(s): NSP300

NSP391: Junior Seminar

This course prepares students to enter into the community of artists. Continuing to build and refine the ePortfolio as a self-driven pedagogical tool, students will review and deepen their path of inquiry. Learning to further define one’s goals and make well-considered choices in courses, internships, community service and/or exhibitions while beginning to build a resumé are pertinent to preparing for the senior year. Defining what constitutes your studio practice, advancing your research strategies, developing time management and budget skills to support that practice are essential components examined through interviewing professional artists. An understanding of how to keep abreast of current issues in your field will be fostered. Field trips, guest speakers, and visiting artists will impart significant perspectives on the art world beyond the classroom.

Credits: 1.5
Prerequisite(s): NSP290 & NSP306

NSP440: Multidisciplinary Thesis I

This course provides for the resolution of critical, technical and philosophical skills essential for establishing a successful practice as an artist, or as a basis for continued post-baccalaureate study. Each student is required to demonstrate appropriate competence within an individually described program of study. This program will evidence competence: artistic, cultural and scholastic; culminating in a required thesis exhibition.

A self-directed studio component forms the backbone of this course, which is taught in concert with Senior New Studio Practices Seminar. At the beginning of this yearlong undertaking, the student, in consultation with the instructor, will define a starting point for the thesis project. Through this project, students will form an extensive body of work. The direction of the student’s project will be tested through rigorous examination of the artwork produced. New directions or productive tangents may be identified and pursued as the semester progresses. Students expand their ideas, and experiment within the studio practice while being open to ambiguity and discovery. Through the repeated process of researching, making and critiquing, students develop and refine a cohesive body of work for presentation during the final thesis exhibition in the second semester. This work represents personal vision and is presented professionally. The experience of this public presentation of work serves to inform an overall concept of the artist’s continuous process from initial idea to execution and reception. Final assessment of the student’s thesis takes the form of a panel meeting within the exhibition space.

Credits: 3.0
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing, NSP301, NSP307

NSP400: Standpoints + Circumstances

This course is a dynamic combination of studio work and critical inquiry into the meanings embedded within and around artworks. This course will demonstrate the importance of understanding one’s position within the world of creative production, and in the larger social context, to understand generation and interpretation of meanings. Through critique, we will examine how individual viewpoints, and interpretations of the viewpoints of others, are shaped by contexts. As students develop their studio practices, they will be asked to explore available interpretations of their work and the work of others, and to bring these interpretations to bear through exhibition. Venues for artistic and creative production will be explored, to empower students to see themselves as generators of culture, and members of communities responsible for their own artistic sustenance.

In this course, students will explore their deep motivations for making art. They will learn how their cultural context informs their ideas and shapes interpretation. Projects will be approached as generators of individuated meaning within larger contexts of meaning, and critiques will examine various “reads” on their work from different viewpoints. Through gaining an understanding of audience and interpretation, students will learn to use meaning as a tool to achieve artistic aims, alongside other inherent qualities of aesthetics, form and approach.

Credits: 3.0
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing & NSP301

NSP490: Senior Seminar

This course is a forum for addressing and engaging post-MIAD possibilities and issues including graduate school, community opportunities, business concerns self- presentation, and other matters important to Fine Arts students who are about to graduate. Taught in concert with Multidisciplinary Thesis, it is also a forum for students to discuss and determine Senior Show preparations and to properly prepare to present themselves to the greater public. Expanding upon e-Portfolios, students assemble a professional artist packet and an appropriate web presence. Application of learned principles and skills via hands-on experiences allows students to take the first steps toward a professional practice as a fine artist upon graduation.

Because we shape and are shaped by the context of our time, culture and experience, the Seminar/Thesis combined experience will examine contemporary art issues through multiple opportunities: field trips, visiting artists, readings, films, lectures, discussions and exercises to impart significant perspectives on the art world beyond the classroom. Thesis will focus on a primary studio practice, while Seminar rounds out the student’s skills with applied professional practices and exposure to established professionals working in the creative fields.

Credits: 1.5
Prerequisite(s): Senior with Thesis

NSP441: Multidisciplinary Thesis II

This course provides for the resolution of critical, technical and philosophical skills essential for establishing a successful practice as an artist, or as a basis for continued post-baccalaureate study. Each student is required to demonstrate appropriate competence within an individually described program of study. This program will evidence competence: artistic, cultural and scholastic; culminating in a required thesis exhibition.

A self-directed studio component forms the backbone of this course, which is taught in concert with Senior New Studio Practices Seminar. At the beginning of this yearlong undertaking, the student, in consultation with the instructor, will define a starting point for the thesis project. Through this project, students will form an extensive body of work. The direction of the student’s project will be tested through rigorous examination of the artwork produced. New directions or productive tangents may be identified and pursued as the semester progresses. Students expand their ideas, and experiment within the studio practice while being open to ambiguity and discovery. Through the repeated process of researching, making and critiquing, students develop and refine a cohesive body of work for presentation during the final thesis exhibition in the second semester. This work represents personal vision and is presented professionally. The experience of this public presentation of work serves to inform an overall concept of the artist’s continuous process from initial idea to execution and reception. Final assessment of the student’s thesis takes the form of a panel meeting within the exhibition space.

Credits: 3.0
Prerequisite(s): NSP440 & NSP490

NSP307: Open Studio II

This course allows students to refine their personal artistic inquiry by building on their Open Studio experience. Through the rigorous self-examination stemming from critique, by further committing to a disciplined work ethic, by a willingness to experiment and by refining a sense of their place in artistic practice, students will begin creating work in their own voices. Students will also gain experience in supporting their artistic community by serving as mentors for Open Studio students. By the end of Open Studio II, students will be well positioned to engage with challenging, self-defined artistic inquiry.

Artistic inquiry will be guided through readings, critiques, visits to exhibitions and through frequent consultation with the instructor and with other students. Development of an ePortfolio provides further opportunities for reflection on the student’s artistic evolution and it provides a convenient means for sharing work beyond the class.

Because this course focuses on studio practice, students are expected to be working during class. Gathering materials, doing Internet research, texting, etc., should be done outside of class. To the extent possible, class time will be devoted to studio work and to critique, but expect to start every class with a discussion. Discussions provide an opportunity to explore common ideas, to seek advice, to share discoveries and to provide support for the class community.

Credits: 3.0
Prerequisite(s): NSP306

NSP491: Senior Seminar

This course is a forum for addressing and engaging post-MIAD possibilities and issues including graduate school, community opportunities, business concerns self- presentation, and other matters important to Fine Arts students who are about to graduate. Taught in concert with Multidisciplinary Thesis, it is also a forum for students to discuss and determine Senior Show preparations and to properly prepare to present themselves to the greater public. Expanding upon e-Portfolios, students assemble a professional artist packet and an appropriate web presence. Application of learned principles and skills via hands-on experiences allows students to take the first steps toward a professional practice as a fine artist upon graduation.

Because we shape and are shaped by the context of our time, culture and experience, the Seminar/Thesis combined experience will examine contemporary art issues through multiple opportunities: field trips, visiting artists, readings, films, lectures, discussions and exercises to impart significant perspectives on the art world beyond the classroom. Thesis will focus on a primary studio practice, while Seminar rounds out the student’s skills with applied professional practices and exposure to established professionals working in the creative fields.

Credits: 3.0
Prerequisite(s): NSP440 & NSP490