FA250 Carving & Casting
Sculpture: Carving & Casting investigates specific sculpture techniques, methods, philosophical concerns, and ways of seeing/working that give personal expression to material form. The shaping of permanent materials such as wood and stone by reductive approaches conceptually contrasts and complements problems in introductory casting of metals and other materials. Demonstrations, lectures, field trips, readings and critiques will develop the students awareness of historical precedents and contemporary sculpture issues. Consideration of the interrelationships among form, material, technique and content will hone students’ ability to analyze their own and others work in critiques.
Credits: 3.0
Prerequisites: F130 and F131

FA251 Construction - Metal & Wood
Sculpture: Construction – Metal & Wood focuses on material meaning discovered through thoughtful and skillful additive approaches. Structural and spatial possibilities in wood and steel are explored for their expressive potential. Intermediate woodworking -- joining, bending, shaping, finishing -- are introduced in conjunction with metal fabrication and construction. Welding as a direct fluid medium of unique capabilities from literally “drawing in space” to architectural strength are explored through oxy-acetylene and ARC, and MIG techniques. Students further critique skills by examining and questioning the interplay of form, material, technique and content.
Credits: 3.0
Prerequisites: F130 and F131

FA252 Figure Sculpture I
To understand human form in three dimensions, students begin by mastering manual/perceptual skills of direct rendering in clay from live models. A foundation of figurative realism will be gained by learning anatomy, proportion, structure, pose and gesture with an awareness of historical precedents. Clay plasticity can facilitate a dynamic liveliness. Basic methods of hand-building such as coil, slab construction, and modeling are explored -- followed by firing and finishing. The course includes using armatures, mold-making and casting. Weekly investigations of materials, techniques and content will be engaged through demonstrations, slide lectures, discussions and critiques.
Credits: 3.0
Prerequisites: F130 and F131

FA253 Figure Sculpture II
Figure sculpture II progresses from the skills developed in the first semester toward more content-based work with concern for context. Diverse ways of interpreting the figure s planes, volumes, mass, structure, and movement initiate ideas about the figure as clear representation, abstract form, or metaphor. Assignments include a large body of work in clay, armatures, direct plaster modeling, multiples, body casting, mixed media and kinetics. Attention to surface, texture and finish is measured against questions of credibility. Serious research evidenced in work, discussions and critiques is emphasized.
Credits: 3.0
Prerequisites: FA252

FA350 Mixed Media
In the first semester the student will explore assemblage, installation, light, kinetics, and multi-media as embraced in contemporary sculptural language. Specific problems are preceded by readings, demonstrations of newer materials/processes, perceptual workshops, and experimental exercises. Acquisition of technical skills will be driven by the student’s personal vision and guidance from the instructor. Conceptual understanding will emerge from the production of the student’s own work, in conjunction with the application of a range of critical models.
Credits: 3.0
Prerequisites: FA250 or FA251 or Senior Status

FA351 Mixed Media: Light, Installation & Alternative Media
The continuation of Mixed Media broadens to include students developing work in the medium of their choice with guided conceptual challenges. The making of sculpture is the discipline we begin from in order to learn and to know. By emphasizing studio practices/processes, personal motivation, and self-directed work, individual voice will develop. Technical problems are addressed on one-on-one consultations with the instructor; these issues then form the basis for group critiques that benefit the rest of the class. Readings, research, discussion, field trips, and visiting artists enhance understanding of critical issues, larger cultural and aesthetic contexts and encourage thoughtfully conceived and appropriately crafted sculpture.
Credits: 3.0
Prerequisites: FA350 or Senior Status

FA352 Figure Sculpture III
Serious students of the figure pursue rigorous anatomical knowledge and heightened skills of observation. The first eight weeks are devoted to a 1/2 scale full figure over welded armature. Working from a live model and research, the student will accurately progress from a weight-bearing analysis of the skeleton, to build up layers of muscle and tissue. Life size studies of hands and feet promote detailed understanding. Portraiture, introduced by a series of facial expression exercises, continues the sustained involvement. Self -portraiture will be used as a vehicle for exploring ones own nature as an artist. Field trips, presentations and research amplify studio inquiry. Critiques measure progress.
Credits: 3.0
Prerequisites: FA252 and FA253 or Instructor Approval

FA353 Figure Sculpture IV (the body)
Students will begin to develop personal figure-based work while weighing and debating questions of the human body. Ongoing discourses in cultural meaning, medical advances and scientific inquiry may open to expression other aspects of human experience (health and disease, psychology, gender and identity). Knowing how characteristics of the human form relate to tools, vessels and architecture is particularly relevant to sculpture practice. Technical/material fluency will be achieved by focusing on one area of choice, such as a series or a life size full figure with attendant studies. Advanced student proposals and exhibitions provide a basis for debate and reference for critiques.
Credits: 3.0
Prerequisites: FA252 and FA253

FA354/454 Sculpture: Foundry/Advanced Sculpture: Foundry
Students study and practice in-depth traditional and modern Lost Wax Processes of casting bronze and other metals will be studied and practiced in depth. Fostering technical competence deepens control of the medium and opens larger dialogues of personal inquiry and expression. Methods of wax-working (modeling, shaping, molding, constructing) will be used to translate ideas/feelings into form. Then foundry practices (investing, metal casting, finishing and patinas) make those forms richly permanent. More ambitious work can be proposed and realized as advanced students become attuned to the resonance of the medium. Critiques are measures of progress.
Credits: 3.0
Prerequisites: FA250

FA355/455 Sculpture: Art in Public Places
Working in the public realm or fulfilling commission work offers added horizons for artists. This semester will focus on outdoor, site-specific, large scale and environmental work. Students will create pieces in both permanent and transitory mediums supported by drawings, proposals and documentation. Concurrent with each assignment will be experiences that involve practical and technical communication, and, sometimes, community or political challenges that extend beyond the studio. Field trips and visiting artists, architects and city planners augment class presentations.
Credits: 3.0
Prerequisites: FA251 or Instructor Approval

FA450/451 Advanced Mixed Media: Alternative Media
The continuation of Mixed Media broadens to include students developing work in the medium of their choice with guided conceptual challenges. The making of sculpture is the discipline we begin from in order to learn and to know. By emphasizing studio practices/processes, personal motivation, and self-directed work, individual voice will develop. Technical problems are addressed on one-on-one consultations with the instructor; these issues then form the basis for group critiques that benefit the rest of the class. Readings, research, discussion, field trips, and visiting artists enhance understanding of critical issues, larger cultural and aesthetic contexts and encourage thoughtfully conceived and appropriately crafted sculpture.
Credits: 3.0
Prerequisites: FA350 or Senior Status

FA452 Figure Sculpture V
Students will begin to develop personal figure-based work while weighing and debating questions of the human body. Ongoing discourses in cultural meaning, medical advances and scientific inquiry may open to expression other aspects of human experience (health and disease, psychology, gender and identity). Knowing how characteristics of the human form relate to tools, vessels and architecture is particularly relevant to sculpture practice. Technical/material fluency will be achieved by focusing on one area of choice, such as a series or a life size full figure with attendant studies. Advanced student proposals and exhibitions provide a basis for debate and reference for critiques.
Credits: 3.0
Prerequisites: FA252 and FA253

FA453 Figure Sculpture VI
Students will begin to develop personal figure-based work while weighing and debating questions of the human body. Ongoing discourses in cultural meaning, medical advances and scientific inquiry may open to expression other aspects of human experience (health and disease, psychology, gender and identity). Knowing how characteristics of the human form relate to tools, vessels and architecture is particularly relevant to sculpture practice. Technical/material fluency will be achieved by focusing on one area of choice, such as a series or a life size full figure with attendant studies. Advanced student proposals and exhibitions provide a basis for debate and reference for critiques.
Credits: 3.0
Prerequisites: FA252 and FA253

FA456/457 Multidisciplinary Thesis/Sculpture
This year-long engagement focuses on the refinement of personal direction and the creation of a cohesive body of work culminating in a thesis exhibition. The resources of the sculpture department are wholly open for use as each person hones chosen skills and vision. Always studio work is primary, but professional practices specific to sculpture will round out those presented concurrently in senior seminar. Because we shape and are shaped by the context of time, culture and experience, the course will examine contemporary sculpture issues through field trips, visiting artists, readings, films, lectures, discussions and exercises.
Credits: 3.0
Prerequisites: 12 credits 300-level sculpture

FA490/491 Fine Arts Senior Seminar
This seminar/practicum is a forum for addressing and engaging post MIAD possibilities and issues including graduate school, community opportunities, business concerns, and other matters important to Fine Arts 15 Weeks students about to graduate. It is also a forum for students to discuss and determine thesis show preparations. Actual application of principles or skills and hands-on experiences make the first step into professional practice. Field trips, guest speakers, and visiting artists impart significant perspectives.
Credits: 1.5
Prerequisites: Senior Standing