Art Studio (ARST)

MATERIALS FEE. The fundamentals of two-dimensional design consist of the strategies and tools an artist or designer uses to organize visual images, colors, and content into a unified and dynamic composition. Students will identify design strategies and visual vocabularies, research the history of their usage and recognize their contemporary applications. Through project-based work using traditional and digital mediums and techniques, students will explore contemporary approaches to idea conception, critical thinking, and problem solving. 2D Foundations is for students entering the art and design programs to provide the foundation of personal creative practices for visual communication, conceptualization, process and technique that will continue to evolve and refine in upper level studio and design courses.

MATERIALS FEE. This course deals with form depiction in its many aspects and modes and is intended for beginning students as well as advanced students who need additional experience in drawing.

MATERIALS FEE. The fundamentals of three-dimensional design consist of the strategies and tools an artist or designer uses to generate ideas for and execution of form in space. Through research, conceptualization and production students discover the power of making sculptural objects- how they function or change function, how they make a viewer move through and engage a space, how they transform ordinary objects into the extraordinary, and transform perception and environment. Students will create projects using a variety of traditional and contemporary sculptural mediums, techniques, and tools and be exposed to industrial applications and visual vocabularies. 3D Foundations is for students entering the art and design program to provide the foundation of personal creative practices for visual communication, conceptualization, process and technique that will continue to evolve and refine in upper level studio and design courses.

This course deals with form depiction in its many aspects and modes and is intended for beginning students as well as advanced students who need additional experience in drawing. Materials fee.

University seminars will address a variety of topics in the practice of studio art, depending on the interests of the professor. These courses require several short reflections in combination with or in response to individual creative works as well as a final written exercise appropriate to the material.

MATERIALS FEE. This course examines basic techniques of wheel-thrown and hand-built clay structures for sculpture and pottery.

This class is ideal for individuals with prior experience working with clay. This course will help students to push their work to a more advanced level in the creation of sculptural pieces referencing animals and/or creatures. Those pieces could become realistic and figurative or whimsical and abstract. The class will provide a more in-depth exploration of how to understand the anatomy, proportion, texture and details on the figures, using clay and embellishment with various materials, to translate ideas into three-dimensional form. Students will be encouraged to draw and/or build three dimensional sketches/maquettes on a regular basis to assist in the conceptualization their final works.

This class will require serious commitment and the student’s desire to push their artistic comfort zone to a higher level. The class will help students to push their conceptual work to a more advanced level, trusting themselves to work from observation, as well as memory and imagination. You will work and understand 2-D and 3-D mass and form. The class will provide a more in-depth exploration of how to understand space, proportion, texture, and details of sculpture in clay. This class explores various techniques in clay, such as solid building, slab building, coil building, etc. In addition, we will work on preparatory drawings, sculptural sketches, and understanding anatomy. While sculpting in clay, our main focus is on the structural understanding of weight, balance, gravity, and symmetry.

MATERIALS FEE. This course is an introduction to oil painting techniques and to stretcher and canvas preparation. The emphasis is on finding a personal direction.

Open to all students. MATERIALS FEE. This course is an introduction to the watercolor medium and deals with a variety of methods, materials, and techniques (both realistic and abstract) with special emphasis on color and composition.

BA Core Option/BFA Core. MATERIALS FEE. This course is an introduction to the theory and practice of still photography. It is designed for all students interested in developing their photographic skills and also serves as the entry-level sequence for the photo major in studio art. The course is based on the use of digital cameras. Adobe Lightroom software and professional quality inkjet printing. Creative assignments introduce students to various thematic approaches including documentary work and portraits. Presentations cover both historical and contemporary approaches to the medium. A digital SLR camera with manual controls is highly recommended; or students may check out departmental cameras to complete assignments. A portable hard drive compatible with the Apple OS platform is required for storing personal files.

This course is an introduction to screen printing and will focus on the emergence and development of the Pop Art Movement. The Pop Art movement brought forward a critique of popular culture, consumerism, mass-production, and the deconstruction of images in everyday life. The class will explore predominant silkscreen artists and their contribution to the Pop Art movement. Students will create projects using photographic stencil-making techniques with an encouragement experiment, explore color, and develop individual ideas.

This introductory course, open to non-majors and majors, will show students how the reproduction of images has created social change for better or for worse. In doing so, the course will survey a variety of basic traditional and contemporary printmaking techniques including relief, etching, lithography, and silkscreen. Through global conversations about printmaking, demonstrations, lectures, and readings, students will become actively involved in specific social justice issues while understanding how printmaking can function as a relevant voice in the context of the modern world.

Personal expression and storytelling have been linked to images since the beginning of mark making itself. This course aims to explore how the multiple has created a conduit to enrich expression and widen the reach of storytelling through etching and bookmaking. Etching, a form of printmaking, along with various bookmaking techniques will allow students to explore and develop their own ideas and methodologies. Accompanied with relative readings and experimentation, students will learn fundamental printmaking and bookmaking techniques to create unique prints and handmade books that reflect their identities through narrative. Open to majors and non-majors.

This course explores the evolution of intaglio printmaking, a technique used to create original works of art, reproductions, and illustrations beginning in the fifteenth century and continuing to today. Using the collection of prints from the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, students will become acquainted with master printmakers, such as Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, Piranesi, Degas, Manet, Mary Cassatt, Whistler, and others to serve as inspiration and instruction of their own work. After an introduction to engraving (Albrecht Dürer's Knight, Death and the Devil), the focus will be on the development of etching in the seventeenth century exemplified by Rembrandt's prints; innovations of the medium (color) and its subsequent decline in the eighteenth century; its revival in the nineteenth century emulating Rembrandt as an emblem of the avant-garde; followed by a period of boundary-busting experimentation in the twentieth century. Informed by these historical examples, students will explore traditional intaglio approaches and end with more contemporary photographic techniques in the development of their own portfolio expressing their own artistic vision.

Creative work in wood, metal, plaster, and mixed media. This course is an introductory exploration of how to think creatively through the use of space and material. Students will be introduced to basic techniques in traditional materials such as wood, metal, and plaster. In addition, students will be introduced to use non-traditional materials such as the body and found objects. We will explore materials, methods, concepts, and history. Emphasizes correlation between concepts and materials. Students will chart their own path of discovery largely shaped by material/conceptual research that takes place in the studio as well as outside research of artists, non-art related topics, and techniques. With guidance, students will learn to investigate, formulate and present their own interests with the knowledge of how their work relates to the artistic field at large.

Open to all students. MATERIALS FEE. This course uses wood as a primary medium. You will become familiarized with a range of hand tools, from knives, chisels to gouges, as well as power tools. As you learn to produce sculptures (e.g. relief carvings) and functional objects (e.g. spoons and cutting boards), you will be introduced to beginning and advanced techniques, such as joining, laminating and finishing. Individual concepts and designs will be emphasized and facilitated. The goal of this course is for you to become familiar with the elements of art and the principles of design, to use these consciously in an attempt to refine your aesthetic sensibilities, and further your understanding of art. The major benefit in taking our summer course lies in the intensive nature of its structure. Meeting four days in a row each week for six weeks affords a momentum and focus not easily realized in regular semesters. Hand tools, Personal Protective Equipment and woods are included in the materials fee.

Are you interested in participating in a human tradition over 6,000 years old? Open to all students. MATERIALS FEE. In this hands-on course, you’ll collaborate with the elements—earth, water, wind, and fire—to create artwork using sand mold techniques for casting bronze and aluminum. Through studio practice, you’ll learn the fundamentals of metal casting, with potential opportunities to participate in an intercollegiate iron pour. We’ll explore historical, contemporary, and emerging digital methods of mold making and metal casting, while emphasizing the inherently social nature of the process. Be prepared to engage not only with the materials, but with each other—sharing ideas, preparing materials, cleaning up, and lending a hand are all part of the making process and our collective experience in the foundry.

Open to all students. MATERIALS FEE. Metal is the medium of choice in this course designed to explore three-dimensional design with a variety of projects grounded in historical precedents. Students become familiar with as many metalworking techniques as time and safety allow, such as gas and arc welding, basic forge work, and several methods of piercing, cutting and alternative joinery.

This immersive, one-credit course connects students with an internationally recognized artist working at the intersection of dance and visual arts. Based in Chicago, Brendan Fernandes’ projects address issues of race, queer culture, migration, protest and other forms of collective movement. Students will collaborate directly with the artist across five class meetings that will include performance workshops, guided film screenings, lectures, and discussions. Students will also travel to Chicago on a group trip co-led by Michael Schreffler and Rebecca Struch of the Notre Dame Arts Initiative.

In this multi-level class, you will become involved with the creative process of art through the medium of clay. Beginning and advanced techniques will be explored as you learn to produce pottery and sculptural forms in a variety of methods including hand building and wheel throwing. A basic understanding of clay and glaze composition along with firing methods will also be addressed. The goal of this course is for you to become familiar with the elements of art and the principles of design, to use these consciously in an attempt to refine your aesthetic sensibilities, and further your understanding of art. The major benefit in taking our summer course lies in the intensive nature of its structure. Meeting four days in a row each week for six weeks affords a momentum and focus not easily realized in regular semesters. Tools, clay & glazes are included in the lab fee.

MATERIALS FEE. The primary objective of this course is to involve you in an ongoing ceramic studio workshop experience on an advanced level. To be in the Ceramics II studio workshop students must have had ceramics I, or equivalent experience from high school ceramics classes. Students are expected to choose a direction of work and evolve their ability and success through the course of the semester. In addition, clay making, glaze testing and formulation and kiln loading and firing will be introduced during the semester. Students will learn to be independent in a ceramic studio at the end of the class.

This course provides an atmosphere for detailed conversation and exploration of students' individual work within the contemporary context of sculpture. Quite often artists work for several years with different series, while not having a clear compartmentalization of the works in their mind, or what is the work about. This course will help students to push their conceptual work to a more advanced level with the creation of a proposal for an exhibition, the development of a website, referencing their own interest and studio practice, while in consultation with the instructor. The class will provide an in-depth exploration of how to categorize and describe their various bodies of work into different series according to subject matter, formal aspect, and materials. Sculpture seminars may include topics such as discussions of contemporary issues, exhibitions, professional practice, or methods and directions. The class meets regularly for lectures, visiting artists, and/or field trips.

This course will explore the narrative potential of photographic media as well as the role of sequencing in the creative process. Projects will use both still photography and video as vehicles for storytelling and conceptual expression. Students will gain competency in image and video editing software and techniques while taking inspiration from cinema, video art, and photography. A combination of production, critique, and readings will advance student understandings of narrative structure and experimental approaches to time-based media.

MATERIALS FEE. This is a level II course in the photography sequence and builds upon the experiences gained in Photography I. Digital constructions, Photoshop software techniques, studio lighting and time-based projects are explored. Presentations, assignments and critiques promote visual and technical skill building, helping students continue defining their creative interest and technical expertise. A digital SLR with manual focus and exposure controls is required; or, students may check out departmental cameras to complete assignments A portable hard drive compatible with the Apple OS platform is required for storing personal files. Course is taught on the Apple OS platform.

This course will approach the digital medium of video art to consider spatial possibilities of installation. We will explore how to create an experiential presence for video art, both virtually and physically. Looking at contemporary examples of video artwork that have global significance, we will develop the language to critically analyze their effect. There are largely two components—understanding video art and its social impact, and the technical skills of projection mapping, After Effects, 360 camera, working with the realities of gallery installation. The course will end with a collective project installation. Over the semester we will acquire awareness as makers who have a close relationship to our surrounding society.

This course will use digital video and computer imaging as tools of artistic exploration and critical expression. Projects will engage creative and unconventional methods of moving image production, involving techniques and concepts in sound, animation, projection mapping, and personal storytelling. Students will be introduced to a range of video artists and artworks, using these as examples of the wide range of processes and conceptual framework in video art.

MATERIALS FEE. This course is designed for independent research. There will be four sculptural projects. Each completed project will be followed with group critiques. One of the following courses will be a prerequisite for this course; metal sculpture, foundry, wood sculpture 3-D foundation studies.

In this course we will combine traditional sculptural methods with a range of digital technologies. Artists have never shied away from using any and every tool available to them at the time. So…let’s embrace the moment and learn how to utilize current technology with our long standing tools and techniques! Using the Adobe Creative Suite, along with open source software and digital fabrication tools- we will explore laser cutting, 3D printing, digital video projection/projection mapping, as well as experimenting with a range of AI tools. Be ready to push boundaries, combine methods, and propel our thinking and making strategies. All are welcome to join, but having some art or technology background will help!

This class will require serious commitment and the student's desire to push their artistic comfort zone to a higher level. The class will help students to push their conceptual work to a more advanced level, trusting themselves to work from observation, as well as memory and imagination. You will work and understand 2-D and 3-D mass and form. The class will provide a more in-depth exploration of how to understand space, proportion, texture, and details of sculpture in clay. This class explores various techniques in clay, such as solid building, slab building, coil building, etc. In addition, we will work on preparatory drawings, sculptural sketches, and understanding anatomy. While sculpting in clay, our main focus is on the structural understanding of weight, balance, gravity, and symmetry.

This course deals with form depiction in its many aspects and modes and is intended for beginning students as well as advanced students who need additional experience in drawing.

MATERIALS FEE. The emphasis is on drawing in all its aspects: materials, methods, techniques, composition, design, and personal expression. The human figure is the subject matter. While anatomy is studied, the course is not an anatomy class. Male and female models, clothed and nude, are used.

MATERIALS FEE. This course builds upon the technical and conceptual skills developed in Drawing 1. Alongside traditional approaches and media, the course will explore drawing as an expanded field including collage, installation, process and other methods to encourage students to develop work related to their own interests and concerns.

MATERIALS FEE. Painting is one of the most direct means of visual expression that contemporary artists employ to articulate their concerns. This course extends and develops the skills and concepts initiated in Painting 1. Students are engaged in projects that allow them to hone their technical skills while they define and develop their individual concerns as well as the formal means through which to communicate them.

Souls and Bodies is a portrait photography course that explores both conventional and alternative modes of this popular genre of image making. The contemporary portrait is a complex and diverse subject that expresses much more than an idealized symbol of one's likeness. Course presentations examine numerous visual themes and methods of representing identity, social structures, and human experience in photographs. Assignments encourage students to seek their own creative solutions in support of personal vision. Students will learn advanced skills in camera and lighting techniques for indoor and outdoor situations that build upon their previous photography experiences.

Students will advance their creative work while exploring tools, materials, and alternative methods of making, including darkroom, digital manipulations and AI. This course will develop conceptual and technical skills while enriching understanding of the photographic medium. The class will incorporate presentations, directed readings, collaborative and independent projects. Offered periodically.

This course explores how video has evolved over time. Starting with the magic lantern, we will study the early models preceding the slide and digital projector, and survey the history of video art since its birth. From the 1960s to now, video art has flourished over its relatively short history. We will look at prominent works from the span of six decades, including contemporary examples of video art and multimedia works by artists who traverse mediums of moving image, photography, and installation. The class includes a hands-on component to make versions of the early “projectors” and video responses. There will also be visiting presentations over the semester from media artists working in the contemporary field.

This course is open to undergraduate students who minor or major in studio art or design and have taken one art or design course. It is also open to all other majors and graduate students who have taken one art or design course. We will learn the history of contemporary installation, environment and site-specific practice. Students will explore the intersectionality between art and their majors to create and design installations with the medium of their choice such as game, projection, photo, sound, lighting, video, sculpture, design and painting.

The human portrait has been one of the most significant and sustaining subjects within the history of all images. This course examines the various styles and thematic approaches to the photographic portrait from historical forms to contemporary and conceptual artworks. Students will produce portraits in the lighting studio and on location. Commercial lighting techniques will be covered.

This course examines theories and practices of camp. Camp has been described as a sensibility, an aesthetics, a mode of performance, and a mode of spectatorship and consumption. Camp embraces artifice, exaggeration, theatricality, and irony. Initially described as exclusively a gay male practice, theorists have since analyzed forms of “straight” camp, feminist camp, lesbian camp, Black camp, and more. What is camp? To whom does camp belong, and how do different demographics use it? Does camp have a politics? How has the meaning and import of camp changed over time? Is camp still necessary? This interdisciplinary seminar will read essays and books on camp by Susan Sontag, Jack Babuscio, Richard Dyer, Pamela Robertson, Barbara Brickman, Quinn Miller, AJ Christian, and many others. We will consider camp in literary texts by Oscar Wilde, Christopher Isherwood, and Jacqueline Susann. We will consider camp in painting and photography, including historical styles such as Mannerism, and contemporary artists such as Cindy Sherman, Barkley Hendricks, and others. We will consider camp in relation to drag. We will consider camp films by Douglas Sirk and Busby Berkeley, films starring Mae West and Joan Crawford; and certain genres such as the musical and horror; camp TV such as Bewitched; and camp stars such as Lady Gaga and Beyonce. Students from all disciplines are welcome; no prior knowledge of camp is expected.

This course is required for senior BFA students and open to BA Honors students completing a senior thesis project. The senior seminar course will provide guidance and preparation for senior BFA students to develop the research, ideation, writing, presentation, and creation of their thesis projects. This class is intended to provide the crucial opportunity for students to develop their projects as a cohort in collaboration, as well as to provide additional support and continuity week-to-week in the progress of individual thesis projects. There will be a specific focus on rigorous inquiry into the critical dialogue surrounding the topics that each thesis project touches upon, exploration of cross-disciplinary dialogue, and introduction to contemporary issues and practices in art, art criticism, and design that are relevant. A focus on research approaches, exhibitions, and curatorial practices will be central to our approach to the various areas. Additionally, this course will provide resources for thinking beyond graduation: students will have the opportunity to hear from and interview working artists and designers, graduate students in studio art and design, and other professionals.

Independent study in ceramics under the direction of an individual faculty member.

Independent study in painting/drawing under the direction of an individual faculty member.

Independent study in foundations under the direction of an individual faculty member.

Independent study in photography under the direction of an individual faculty member.

Independent study in printmaking: research or creative projects under the direction of a faculty member.

Independent study in sculpture under the direction of an individual faculty member.

Independent study in ceramics: research or creative projects.

Independent study in painting/drawing under the direction of an individual faculty member.

Independent study in painting/drawing under the direction of an individual faculty member.

Independent study in painting/drawing under the direction of an individual faculty member.

Independent study in foundations under the direction of an individual faculty member.

Independent study in photography: research or creative projects. Open to upper level students with permission of the instructor.

Independent study in photography under the direction of an individual faculty member.

Independent study in printmaking: research or creative projects.

Independent study in sculpture: research or creative projects.

This course provides the framework in which seniors in the department prepare a substantial creative project, as the culmination of their three years in the BA program. Faculty members working with individuals or small groups of students help them define their topics and guide them, usually on a one-to-one basis, in the preparation and execution of their projects. Students will be expected to participate in the Annual Student Exhibition spring semester and draft a short essay about their creative research. Fall, Spring.

The BFA thesis is defined by an independent thesis project, continuing for two semesters during the senior year. The BFA thesis is a personal visual statement that is the culmination of a student's collective development within the department and can be the extension of an ongoing body of work or a defining project. A written statement defining the project, which is due at the end of the first senior semester, supports the thesis project. The thesis project culminates in the second senior semester with a BFA thesis exhibition. The student signs up with a faculty member working in ceramics, who serves as an advisor for the thesis project.

The BFA Thesis is defined by an independent thesis project, continuing for two semesters during the senior year. The thesis is a personal visual statement that is the culmination of a student's collective development within the department and can be the extension of an ongoing body of work or a defining project. A written statement defining the project, which is due at the end of the first senior semester, supports the thesis project. The thesis project culminates in the second senior semester with a BFA thesis exhibition. The student signs up with a faculty member working in painting or drawing, who serves as an advisor for the thesis project.

The BFA Thesis is defined by an independent thesis project, continuing for two semesters during the senior year. The BFA Thesis is a personal visual statement that is the culmination of a student's collective development within the department. The BFA Thesis can be the extension of an ongoing body of work or a defining project. A written statement defining the project, which is due at the end of the first senior semester, supports the thesis project. The thesis project culminates in the second senior semester with a BFA Thesis Exhibition. The BFA Thesis student signs up with a faculty member working in the student's area of interest, who serves as an advisor for the thesis project.

The BFA thesis is defined by an independent thesis project, continuing for two semesters during the senior year. The thesis is a personal visual statement that is the culmination of a student's collective development within the department and can be the extension of an ongoing body of work or a defining project. A written statement defining the project, which is due at the end of the first senior semester, supports the thesis project. The thesis project culminates in the second senior semester with a thesis exhibition. The student signs up with a faculty member working in photography, who serves as an advisor for the thesis project.

The BFA Thesis is defined by an independent thesis project, continuing for two semesters during the senior year. The BFA Thesis is a personal visual statement that is the culmination of a student's collective development within the department. The BFA Thesis can be the extension of an ongoing body of work or a defining project. A written statement defining the project, which is due at the end of the first senior semester, supports the thesis project. The thesis project culminates in the second senior semester with a BFA Thesis Exhibition. The BFA Thesis student signs up with a faculty member working in the student's area of interest, who serves as an advisor for the thesis project.

The BFA Thesis is defined by an independent thesis project, continuing for two semesters during the senior year. The thesis is a personal visual statement that is the culmination of a student's collective development within the department and can be the extension of an ongoing body of work or a defining project. A written statement defining the project, which is due at the end of the first senior semester, supports the thesis project. The thesis project culminates in the second senior semester with a thesis exhibition. The student signs up with a faculty member working in sculpture, who serves as an advisor for the thesis project.

The BFA Thesis is defined by an independent thesis project, continuing for two semesters during the senior year. The thesis is a personal visual statement that is the culmination of a student's collective development within the department and can be the extension of an ongoing body of work or a defining project. A written statement defining the project, which is due at the end of the first senior semester, supports the thesis project. The thesis project culminates in the second senior semester with a thesis exhibition. The student signs up with a faculty member working in sculpture, who serves as an advisor for the thesis project.