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ART
208.01: Introduction to Sculpture Spring 2015, TR 9:20-11:50 Professor Lisa Scheer Office:
Montgomery 146 Telephone:
240.895.2427 Email:
lnscheer@smcm.edu Office hours:
W 1-3 pm and by appointment Class meets: MH
135 Required Materials: $100 Materials Fee Course
Description This course is an
introduction to making sculpture. Using the human form as a starting point,
students will create sculptures with basic carpentry, metal, and modeling
techniques. Class activities will include design generation activities such
as drawing and model making, looking at related art works in slide lectures,
material and construction demonstrations, self- assessment activities, studio
work time, and group critiques. All course materials including this syllabus,
class schedule, slide lectures and assignments can be found on our blackboard
site or my course materials web site at Intro Sculpture Web Page. Course
Objectives
In this introductory class, learning effective art making practices is
equally important as the actual artworks you will produce. What follows is a
summary of learning goals for this class: Process á
Learning how
to make art through a process of creative exploration that includes
experimentation, flexibility, and discovery. á
Learning how
to critically assess the art you make including self-reflection (verbally and
in writing) and through visual analysis (particularly as a way of
understanding the interaction between expressive content and formal
choices). á
Learning how
to develop fruitful design strategies that help visualize and plan in
effective ways including modeling and drawing. á
Learning
productive studio work habits that lead to energetic, safe, and ambitious art
making. Production á
Learning how
to create sculpture that is visually compelling through an effective
relationship between a workÕs expressive content and its composition,
detailing, materiality, and structure. á
Learning how
to control materials through effective fabrication processes in such a way
that the materiality and making of the work contributes to its artistic
effect. These fabrication processes include basic carpentry, metal working
including MIG welding, brazing, foam carving, armature fabrication, and
plaster forming. Requirements
and Course Evaluations Projects There will be three sculpture
projects assigned. Within each project students will complete various
technical practices and design development activities (models, drawings
collages). All assignments must be completed on time. Any
work turned in up to 7 days late will be lowered one half a letter grade (5
pts) and any assignment turned in over a week late will be lowered by a full
letter grade. Refer to the class schedule for a complete listing of
all class activities and due dates.
Assignment and assessment handouts are linked to the schedule and course index. Attendance
and Class Participation Above and beyond all other requirements I believe that
class attendance and participation is the most basic condition for any studio
art class. Please be aware of the attendance
policy: you are allowed 3
absences that you can use for any purpose (illness, sport games, appointments,
day off, etc). You must arrive on time and stay in class for the full session
to be counted as present. Each
additional absence will lower your final grade by one quarter of a letter
(2.5 points). There is no such thing as an excused absence so there
is no need to bring notes, send emails, or notify me of reasons. If circumstances outside of your
control lead to chronic absenteeism you must come and speak with me about it
as it is happening (not long after the fact) for me to consider any
modification of this policy. Art
Events: Students are required to attend four art department events
(artist lectures, gallery talks, exhibition openings). Three of these four must be official
art department sponsored events (see online calendar). The other event may
consist of an off-campus museum of gallery visit OR a non-visual art artform event
such as theater, music, or film. Many but not all art department sponsored
events take place in 4-6 pm time slot, a few occur in the evening. If work,
family, or sports commitments keep you from being able to attend events you
must come and talk to me before the fact. You are required to write a two-page
summary for each event attended. All summaries must include correct
information (who, what, when) and summarize remarks made. If the event is an
opening with no formal remarks, students are require to find and ask
questions of at least one artist included in the exhibition. Grading Each of the
three projects will be counted as roughly a third of the final grade. Students
will be asked to evaluate their own work as part of their self-assessment
activities and I will consider this evaluation when I assign project grades.
Final letter grades will be based on a 100 point scale (NOT
rounded up to nearest whole number) with the following grade equivalencies: A
94-100, A- 90-93, B+ 87-89, B 84-86, B- 80 to 83, C+ 77-79,C 74-76, C- 70-73,
D+ 66-69, D 64-66, D- 60-63, F 0-59). All missing/incomplete assignments will
receive a score of F/50. I will strive to make clear the
basis for my evaluations. If at any point you donÕt feel like you understand
my criteria I urge you to meet with me. I am fully aware of the culture of
grade inflation but in my class the grade of ÔAÕ will only be assigned
for work that exceeds assignment expectations (not just meet them.) Thus: A=
Excellent work (exceeds all standards and goals set by assignment
including writing lengths, #Õs of drawings and models etc.) B = Very good
work: (successfully meets all standards and goals set by assignment) C
= Satisfactory work (exhibits a basic understanding of all standards and
goals set by assignment but does not necessarily manifest those standards in
the work produced) D = Poor work (lacks initiative to explore the assignment,
does not meet a majority of standards and goals set by an assignment.) F =
failing work (significant amount of the assignment is left incomplete by the announced
deadline.) Materials
and Shop Use The art department provides certain expendable
tools, general supplies and construction materials. Each student is also
supplied a personal sketchbook. A $100 materials fee is charged to each
enrolled student to help cover these costs. It is possible to complete
assignments using only the materials provided. But it is likely that you will
want specific materials that we do not normally provide. In that case you are
responsible for making these purchases yourself that might account for an
additional $40+ of expenses. You may use the sculpture studio any
time during regular building hours up to 12pm (excluding other class meeting
times.) You must follow all studio guidelines (see handout). Tabletops must
always be cleared after use and work stored in designated areas. You must
clean up after yourself. Any work or materials left out will be collected and
disposed. You may have access to power tools and other restricted facilities only
during monitored shop monitor hours (M/W 7-10 pm and Sunday 4-7 pm unless
otherwise posted). The shop supervisor, Catie Sullivan will assist you using
power tools only after you have been trained in class and OkÕed by me. |