Studio Forum (SF) A is a first semester interdisciplinary course building a connection to the aesthetic, historical, and intellectual aspects of an artist community and creative work while helping students navigate through some of the logistical hurdles of the first year experience. Students participate in Open Studios in Boston; Visiting Artist presentations and discussions; and small group discussions with faculty. Students prepare and present information or studio work in response to Forum activities. Students are also expected to participate in the End-of-Term Exhibition.
"Self & Society" introduces issues and concepts in the study of human behavior. Using approaches from fields such as sociology, psychology, political science and history, it explores both individual and group behavior and covers such areas as self-identity, cultural, social, and political institutions, and social organization. The course also includes discussion of ethnic and gender issues within the context of an evolving world. (catalogue description) Note: This section of the course is being offered in hybrid mode for the autumn 2010 semester. We will meet on campus every Monday. The other part of the course is offered online via this site. Students must participate in both the on-campus and online parts of the course to be eligible for course credit.
Topics in Art History: Contemporary Art examines a range of contemporary art practices through a combination of classroom work, including readings, discussion, and writing assignments, and weekly trips to exhibition venues or artist studios, including meetings with a range of art professionals associated with those venues. The visits to a variety of galleries and museums will also familiarize students with the structures and practices of art world institutions. The course meets in an unusual time slot: Monday / Wednesday at school, and approximately every other Friday afternoon on the road, in order to allow for this hands-on experience. (During weeks when we have a Friday afternoon field trip, we will usually meet only on Wednesday at school.)
Art Since 1945 will provide an overview of major artists and art movements since World War II. We will consider a range of perspectives that will include writings by both critics and artists. We will also examine changes in the definition of art during this period, with particular emphasis on the questions that Postmodern art practices raised about the concept of Modernism, as it was defined in relation to Abstract Expressionism, and on contemporary practices that have redefined the nature of the art object.
A course investigating the relationship of imagery and content. Through the creation and manipulation of image collages, image and word pairings, and photographs, students investigate the construction and alteration of meaning.
This interdisciplinary course begins with a brief overview of the history of animation using drawing exercises involving story telling, character development and bringing pictures to life with mechanical animation devices such as Thaumatropes and Zoetropes. Students will then translate the tradition of hand drawn cell animation to digital tools by using a variety of techniques to create motion on a computer screen: drawing, collage, stop motion, rotoscoping and the incorporation of video and sound. Emphasizing planning, storyboards and time management, each student will finish the course with a completed short animation.
Students work with meshes, rigging and skinning to develop the initial skills for 3D character animation. Simple characters are created and then moved through a series of exercises based on traditional animation principles. Emphasis is on structure, planning and process documentation. Students will explore a variety of thematic assignments and finish the course with several character animation studies.
Chelsea Sams
Dan DeRosato
