A studio course that will emphasize compositional development by working from memory, imagination, other works of art and life. The use of a wide variety of media will be encouraged including, but not limited to, drawing, painting, printmaking and collage. Students will be required to create an independent body of work that explores an individual direction in pictorial construction. In addition to this independent project, course work will consist of slide lectures, individual and group critiques, in-class studio experiments and field trips.

Through case studies, this course explores the art of Western Europe between 1100 and 1500. The great church, including the cathedrals of Chartres and Paris, serves as the matrix for the consideration of architecture and its integration of sculpture, stained glass, and ritual performance. Thematic surveys  examine art as a political tool in the hands of the secular elite, its construction of gender roles, and its reflection of the values of medieval society.

Limited to 30 students. Spring semester. Visiting Professor Davis.

(Offered as ENGL 281, FAMS 220, and ARHA 272.)  “Foundations and Integrations” will be an annual team-taught course between a Critical Studies scholar and moving-image artist.  A requirement of the Film and Media Studies major, it will build on critical analysis of moving images and introductory production work to develop an integrated critical and creative practice.  Focused in particular around themes and concepts, students will develop ideas in both written and visual form.  The theme for spring 2013 will be “Film and Inner Life.”

(Offered as ARHA 271, ARCH 271 and EUST 271.)  This course considers architecture and design of the 19th and 20th centuries in light of contemporary disciplinary themes like space, globalization, and sustainability. In doing so, it strives to highlight the social, political, intellectual, and technological forces that have influenced (and continue to motivate) modern design.

(Offered as ARHA 267 and ASLC 267.)  This course considers the arts of the book at the royal courts of Greater Iran (including Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia) and Islamic South Asia from the thirteenth through seventeenth centuries. It will focus in particular on illustrated histories and poetic works in Persian, including Abu'l Qasim Firdausi's Shahnama (Book of Kings), Nizami Ganjavi's Khamsa (Quintet), and Abu'l Fazl's Akbarnama (Book of Akbar), among others.

(Offered as ARHA 261 and as ASLC 260.)  Visual imagery plays a central role in the Buddhist faith.  As the religion developed and spread throughout Asia it took many forms.  This class will first examine the appearance of the earliest aniconic traditions in ancient India, the development of the Buddha image, and early monastic centers.  It will then trace the dissemination and transformation of Buddhist art as the religion reached South-East Asia, Central Asia, and eventually East Asia.  In each region indigenous cultural practices and artistic traditions influenced

Combining traditional and alternative approaches to time-based media, students will investigate the idea of the “immersive environment” by incorporating sound, video, and sculpture into a comprehensive installation. Cross-disciplinary and mixed media approaches are integral to the course. Students will work in a range of mediums and styles that may include video-based, stop-motion style, image variation sequencing strategies, and images originating as hand drawn, printed, painted, sculptural, photographic or digital format.

An introduction to black-and-white still photography. The basic elements of photographic technique will be taught as a means to explore both general pictorial structure and photography’s own unique visual language. Emphasis will be centered less on technical concerns and more on investigating how images can become vessels for both ideas and deeply human emotions. Weekly assignments, weekly critiques, readings, and slide lectures about the work of artist-photographers, one short paper, and a final portfolio involving an independent project of choice.

(Offered as EUST 216, ARCH 216, and ARHA 216.) In this intermediate architectural design studio we will explore the intellectual and creative process of making and representing architectural space. The focus will be to explore the boundaries of architecture--physically and theoretically, historically and presently--through digital media. Our process will prompt us to dissect 20th-century European architectures and urban spaces and to explore their relationships to contemporary, global issues.

An introduction to the practice of sculpture in a contemporary and historical context. A series of directed projects will address various material and technical processes such as construction, modeling, casting and carving. Other projects will focus primarily on conceptual and critical strategies over material concerns. By the end of the course, students will have developed a strong understanding of basic principles of contemporary sculpture and have acquired basic skills and knowledge of materials and techniques.