ART HISTORY
ARTH 101
M/W/F: 10:35-11:25
Guest
An introductory course exploring the visual cultures of the ancient and medieval Mediterranean, Mesoamerica, Africa, and Asia up to 1400. Special emphasis on visual analysis, historical and sociocultural contexts, and an introduction to issues in the study of art history and the institution of the museum. The class will include frequent visits to the Cleveland Museum of Art.
THE ARTS OF ASIA
ARTH 203
M/W: 12:45-2:00
Liu
This course surveys a selection of major developments in the arts of Asia from the bronze age to the present in a wide range of media including: sculpture, painting, ceramics, architecture, bronzes, calligraphy, prints and contemporary installations. We explore factors behind the making of works of art, including social, political, religious and personal meanings, while examining the historical contexts for the arts of India, China, Japan, Korea, Cambodia and Thailand. Attention will be paid to the material and stylistic qualities of art as well as art's relationship to the ideas and practices of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Daoism. Visits to the Asian galleries at the Cleveland Museum of Art form an integral part of the course.
JEWISH ART AND ARCHITECTURE
ARTH 220
M/W: 3:20-4:35
Cooper
Over the course of their long history, Jews have contended with diaspora, boundary-crossing, minority status and anti-Semitism. Along the way, art and architecture have given shape to Jewish reflections on their complex social positionalities, ethical convictions, and religious longings. This course explores the critical role architects and Jewish artists have played in narrating and giving expression to these experiences. Critically, we will also examine the powerful position that artists of Jewish heritage have had in influencing the course of modern art. Finally, we will study the ways in which Jews have been represented by others, both in anti-Semitic propaganda as well as in more sympathetic portraits, shaping popular ideas and attitudes about Jews and Jewish culture. Offered as ARTH 220, JDST 220, and RLGN 220.
HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY
ARTH 284
T/TH: 1:00-2:15
A survey of the history of photography, examining the invention, development, and proliferation of the medium in its artistic and cultural contexts, from the advent of the daguerreotype in 1839 to the ubiquity of the digital image today. International and interdisciplinary in scope, the course considers the cultural assumptions, traditions, and experiences related to the history of the medium around the globe in dialogue with our contemporary understanding and use of photography in the United States today. Through the close study of significant photographers, photographic technologies, and individual photographs, the course considers issues of politics, gender, nationalism, imperialism, globalization, race, and class intrinsic to the medium.
SKETCHES OF SPAIN: IMAGINING THE IBERIAN WORLD IN EARLY MODERNITY
ARTH 318
T/TH: 10:00-11:15
Benay
In 1764 the Indigenous artist Jose Manuel de la Cerda made a series of lacquerware trays (batea) depicting scenes from Virgil's Aeneid using a pre-Hispanic lacquer technique. Produced in west-central Mexico, these astounding objects--which combine Roman subject matter with distinctly Indigenous motifs and techniques--speak to the visual consequences of Mexico's status as both a colonial possession of Spain, and as a vital bastion of artistic innovation. This course uses objects like this one as a point of departure to investigate the art of the Iberian world--a world that extended far beyond the European continent during the 16th-18th centuries. In this course we will focus on the nexus of transpacific and transatlantic trade that facilitated the production of objects like the batea. We will explore the ways that maps, illustrated travelogues, frescos, paintings and prints worked alongside decorative objects such as feathered headdresses, weapons, and carved ivory statuettes in order to interrogate the place of material culture in the formation of knowledge. Readings will be drawn from art history, anthropology, and sociology and will highlight decolonial methodologies for understanding racial representation and the history of collecting. Themes will include Iberian conceptions of race, caste, limpieza de sangre (blood purity) and settler colonialism. Students will have the unique opportunity to work on the Public and Digital humanities publication Baroque Without Boundaries--a digital mapping intervention facilitated by the CWRU Freedman Center. Offered as ARTH 318 and ARTH 418 and HUMN 318 and HUMN 418.
COSMIC ECOLOGIES: MEDIEVAL JEWISH ART
ARTH 348
T/TH: 2:30-3:45
Gertsman
This course will explore late medieval Jewish art from western Europe and beyond. The first part of the seminar will focus on broad historical and historiographic issues in Jewish visual culture; topics will include, inter alia, issues of word and image, problematics of representation, the iconoclastic argument, and anti-Jewish polemic. In the second part of the course we will look at the great variety of later medieval Hebrew books with a special focus on illuminated Bibles and commentaries, liturgical books, and prayer books produced in both Sephardic and Ashkenazi contexts. In the last part of the class we will study several focused themes in medieval Jewish art, including issues of gender, zoocephalic representations, and the Kabbalah. By way of a coda, we will explore late medieval Yiddish books. Several guest speakers -- leading authorities on these woefully understudied topics -- will Zoom in during the course of the seminar. You will have a chance to examine three remarkable true facsimiles of Hebrew books in the collections of the Ingalls Library, including the Golden Haggadah, the Worms Mahzor, the Barcelona Haggadah, and the Kennicott Bible. Offered as ARTH 348 and ARTH 448 and JDST 348.
DESIGN AND COLOR
ARTS 101
T/TH: 1:00-3:45| 10:00-12:45| 5:30-8:30
Kozmon
Organizational and structural projects as a basis for the development of style. Studies in line, texture, shape, space, value, color, and two dimensional composition through studio problems, art studio media and techniques.
CREATIVE DRAWING I
ARTS 106
M/W: 2:15-5:00
King
Development of graphic fluency in black and white through direct observation of nature and the model. Drawing as a means of enlarging visual sensitivity using a wide range of media and subject matter. Work from nude model.
INTRODUCTION TO NEW MEDIA ART
ARTS 150
W: 1:00-4:00
Richardson
This studio course explores the theories and practices of screen-based new media art. Students will manipulate video, audio, images and text to create new media artworks. The class will use free, open source tools as well as Adobe Creative Cloud apps. This class will examine the emerging culture of contemporary new media art and its historical antecedents. There are no prerequisites. Students will need to provide their own laptops and purchase access to Creative Cloud apps through UTech.
INTRODUCTION TO GRAPHIC DESIGN
ARTS 200
M: 5:30-8:30
Collins
This course introduces students to the principles and practices of graphic design. Students will explore visual communication and the elements of design through a series of projects for print and screen. Students will experiment with composition, apply color theory, explore typography and develop both vector and raster drawing skills. The course examines the history of graphic design and visual culture, as well as contemporary directions in the field. Students in the course use Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign; software access is provided in the Art Studio lab.
DESIGN AND COLOR II
ARTS 201
T/TH: 1:00-3:45| 10:00-12:45| 5:30-8:30
Kozmon
Continuation of ARTS 101. Composition: three-dimensional projects. Advanced work in the properties and uses of color and materials.
INTRODUCTION TO PRINTMAKING
ARTS 202
M/W: 5:30-8:15
King
This course is an introduction to fine art printmaking. Students will learn the technical, conceptual, and formal skills required to produce artworks in the printmaking medium. They will explore a variety of fine art printmaking processes: relief printing, monotype, intaglio, planograph, and monoprinting. Through these explorations, students will gain a deeper understanding of how to convey concepts through the printmaking form. Class sessions will comprise independent and collaborative printing, and lecture, demonstrations, discussion, and critique. Students will be introduced to the work of artists and the history/tradition of fine art prints.
CREATIVE DRAWING II
ARTS 206
M/W: 2:15-5:00
King
Continuation of ARTS 106. Advanced work in graphic representation. Development of visual acuity and a personal drawing style while working in color. Work from nude model.
WEAVING, FIBERS, AND TEXTILES I
ARTS 212
T/TH: 5:30-8:30
Meyer
Learn basic concepts and methods for designing textile surfaces: fabric painting and dyeing. Construct textiles using off-loom weaving and interlacing techniques. Emphasis on development of technical skills, application of design concepts and personal expression.
CERAMICS I
ARTS 214
T/TH: 8:30-11:15| 1:00-3:45
Lois
The techniques of hand building in pinch, coil and slab methods. Development of sensitivity to design and form. Basic work in stoneware, earthenware, and glazing.
PAINTING I
ARTS 216
M/W: 9:30-12:15
King
The creative, conceptual, visual, and technical aspects of painting. Style ranging from naturalism to abstraction. Work in acrylic and mixed media.
BLACK & WHITE DARKROOM PHOTOGRAPHY I
ARTS 220
W: 10:00-1:00PM| 2:15-5:15
Birchfield
This course will cover the fundamentals of film SLR cameras and black and white darkroom processes. Lectures, demonstrations, and assignments will address camera operation, optics, exposure, black and white film processing, basic darkroom printing techniques, principles of image composition and introduce concepts related to critically analyzing photographs. Students will complete multiple assignments in addition to developing a final portfolio over the course of the semester. Student work will be constructively critiqued in a group setting. Examples of historical and contemporary photographic works will be viewed and discussed. A 35mm film Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera with manual exposure controls, built-in light meter, and a 50mm lens is required.
BLACK & WHITE DARKROOM PHOTOGRAPHY I
ARTS 220
TH: 10:00-1:00 PM
Birchfield
This course will cover the fundamentals of film SLR cameras and black and white darkroom processes. Lectures, demonstrations, and assignments will address camera operation, optics, exposure, black and white film processing, basic darkroom printing techniques, principles of image composition and introduce concepts related to critically analyzing photographs. Students will complete multiple assignments in addition to developing a final portfolio over the course of the semester. Student work will be constructively critiqued in a group setting. Examples of historical and contemporary photographic works will be viewed and discussed. A 35mm film Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera with manual exposure controls, built-in light meter, and a 50mm lens is required.
BLACK AND WHITE DARKROOM PHOTOGRAPHY I
ARTS 220
T: 2:30-5:30
Taxel
This course will cover the fundamentals of film SLR cameras and black and white darkroom processes. Lectures, demonstrations, and assignments will address camera operation, optics, exposure, black and white film processing, basic darkroom printing techniques, principles of image composition and introduce concepts related to critically analyzing photographs. Students will complete multiple assignments in addition to developing a final portfolio over the course of the semester. Student work will be constructively critiqued in a group setting. Examples of historical and contemporary photographic works will be viewed and discussed. A 35mm film Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera with manual exposure controls, built-in light meter, and a 50mm lens is required.
INDIE AND ART GAME DESIGN
ARTS 286
W: 5:30-8:30
Richardson
AAA video games are massive endeavors that require an enormous budget and an army of workers with highly specialized skills to produce. Despite the huge investment and the fierce competition for gamers -- or perhaps because of it -- many mainstream commercial games are uninspired, lacking distinctive artistic styles, engaging narratives or original gameplay. In contrast, indie and art games are much smaller affairs. One person or a small team develops the idea, creates the assets and programs the game, often designing it for a niche audience. The best indie and art games provide uniquely engaging experiences for players. They are personal expressions: compelling, thought-provoking and beautiful. In this course, students will work individually to create an original indie or art game using GameMaker Studio. Class discussions and demonstrations will help students build fluency in the conceptual frameworks, aesthetics and contemporary practices associated with indie and art games. Students will build skills in pixel art drawing and animation, "chiptune" audio composition, UI/UX design and programming. The course culminates in a completed game that is shared with the CWRU community in a custom arcade cabinet. Students with comparable student art experience (determined by the instructor) can request to override the requisite.
ARCHITECTURE AND CITY DESIGN I
ARTS 302
T/TH: 5:30-8:30 PM
Levine
The social spatial, and aesthetic elements in architecture; the components of the building: the window, door, roof, enclosing walls, and character of interior and exterior space. Projects related to small, intimate scale and residential structures. Lectures, field trips, studio experiences. Recommended ARTS 101 or ARTS 106 courses prior to enrollment. Offered as ARTS 302 and ARTS 402.
WEAVING, FIBERS, AND TEXTILES II
ARTS 312
T/TH: 5:30-8:30
Meyer
Continuation of ARTS 212. Exploration of a selected area of textiles in surface design or constructed textiles. Development of a personal aesthetic through design and execution of a series of projects.
CERAMICS II
ARTS 314
T/TH: 8:30-11:15| 1:00-3:45
Lois
Continuation of ARTS 214. Problematic approach to technical aspects of ceramics; experience in wheel throwing and option of hand-building. Experimentation with glaze and clay body formulation available.
PAINTING II
ARTS 316
M/W: 9:30-12:15
King
The creative, conceptual, visual and technical aspects of painting. Styles ranging from expressionism, cubism, surrealism and abstraction. Work in acrylic and mixed media leading to the development of personal painting style.
B&W DARKROOM PHOTOGRAPHY III
ARTS 324
TH: 2:15-5:15
Birchfield
Builds on skills developed in Black & White Darkroom Photography I and II by presenting advanced camera operation and gelatin silver printing techniques, exposing students to a range of historical and contemporary photography-based artists and furthering the growth of a personal aesthetic vision. Students will produce a series of in-depth photography projects and develop a final portfolio over the course of the semester. A film camera of your choosing is required. Medium and large format cameras are encouraged.
DESIGN AND COLOR
ARTS 365B
T/TH: 10:00-12:45| 1:00-3:45
Kozmon
Advanced design projects determined in consultation with instructor.
CERAMICS
ARTS 365G
T/TH: 8:30-11:15| 1:00-3:45
Lois
Advanced ceramics projects determined in consultation with instructor.