Class Schedules

This studio course is an introduction to fundamental drawing materials and techniques. Students explore a variety of themes and subjects, including still life, architecture, figure drawing, portraiture, and imagination. Formal elements covered include: line, value, volume, space, proportion, perspective, mark-making, and composition. Context for assignments is given through frequent discussion of both historical and contemporary artworks. In group critiques and discussions, we consider composition, representational accuracy, creative expression, content, and intention. Two three-hour periods per week. (4 credits)

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This studio course is an introduction to fundamental drawing materials and techniques. Students explore a variety of themes and subjects, including still life, architecture, figure drawing, portraiture, and imagination. Formal elements covered include: line, value, volume, space, proportion, perspective, mark-making, and composition. Context for assignments is given through frequent discussion of both historical and contemporary artworks. In group critiques and discussions, we consider composition, representational accuracy, creative expression, content, and intention. Two three-hour periods per week. (4 credits)

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This introductory course will provide a supportive studio environment for the exploration of diverse approaches to the ceramic field, ranging from investigation of utilitarian object making to sculptural practice. Techniques and applications for both handbuilding and wheel throwing will be presented. Emphasis is placed on development and understanding of strong three-dimensional forms as well as the relationship with surface decoration. Content-based assignments allow for individual expression through creative problem solving. The course goal is to present students with a historical perspective and the understanding of contemporary ceramics, building an appreciation for the spirit of the handmade object as well as preparing students for upper level self-directed work. Lectures, demonstrations, critiques and gallery/museum visits will supplement studio work. Learning will be assessed primarily through portfolio production and review, along with class participation. Three two-hour periods per week. $100 materials fee is required.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This introductory course will provide a supportive studio environment for the exploration of diverse approaches to the ceramic field, ranging from investigation of utilitarian object making to sculptural practice. Techniques and applications for both handbuilding and wheel throwing will be presented. Emphasis is placed on development and understanding of strong three-dimensional forms as well as the relationship with surface decoration. Content-based assignments allow for individual expression through creative problem solving. The course goal is to present students with a historical perspective and the understanding of contemporary ceramics, building an appreciation for the spirit of the handmade object as well as preparing students for upper level self-directed work. Lectures, demonstrations, critiques and gallery/museum visits will supplement studio work. Learning will be assessed primarily through portfolio production and review, along with class participation. Three two-hour periods per week. $100 materials fee is required.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course examines material and symbolic practices through myriad visual culture forms, from standards of fine art such as painting and sculpture to mass media including TV, film, advertising, and the Internet. Students will learn different theoretical paradigms and techniques for visual analysis in order to understand how visual culture mediates numerous social, economic, cultural and political relationships. We will investigate these diverse practices through lectures, guest speakers, film, historical art and media and, of course, those proliferating images that define our daily experiences. Offered every Fall.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course examines material and symbolic practices through myriad visual culture forms, from standards of fine art such as painting and sculpture to mass media including TV, film, advertising, and the Internet. Students will learn different theoretical paradigms and techniques for visual analysis in order to understand how visual culture mediates numerous social, economic, cultural and political relationships. We will investigate these diverse practices through lectures, guest speakers, film, historical art and media and, of course, those proliferating images that define our daily experiences. Offered every Fall.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

​This course surveys the visual and material culture of Europe, the Middle East and the broader Mediterranean world from prehistory through the late Medieval period, including early Christian, Jewish and Islamic cultures. We consider the artistic and archaeological remains from the Near East, Egypt, the Aegean, Greece, Etruria, Rome, and western Europe from a contextual perspective in order to understand each culture's ideologies, and the diverse social and artistic purposes for which art and architecture was created and used.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course introduces the art and visual culture of China from the Neolithic era to the twenty-first century. Lectures and readings will teach methods of formal visual analysis as well as provide the opportunity for students to think critically about how scholars write the artistic history of the region. Through this class, students will engage with a broad array of media, from jade carvings, Buddhist cave painting, architecture, calligraphy and monumental landscape paintings to ceramics, modern graphic media, and contemporary installations. While examining the specific cultural, social, economic, and political functions of these spaces, images and objects, we will interrogate the multifaceted ways that shifting concepts of hybridity, ethnicity, authority, religion, militarism and politics have informed visual production.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course introduces the conceptual, technical, and historical aspects of photography within a fine-arts context. The emphasis throughout is on photography as a creative and narrative medium and will introduce strategies and methods related to this goal through assignments and class activities. Students will learn the foundational aspects of digital photography from manual camera operation to the editing of images through Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. Along the way, students will be introduced to digital workflow, color managment, and how to take their images from screen to print. Historical presentations and assigned readings will help students develop the critical skills needed to understand how photographs function in society and culture. $75 materials fee charged for course. Note: A digital SLR camera is required for this course.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

An introduction to the studio practice of painting, using oil paint on a variety of supports ranging from paper, board and canvas to non-traditional painting surfaces. Exploration of the practical techniques and mechanics of painting as well as a consideration of content and meaning will be studied. Topics that will be studied include: paint-mixing, color matching, composition, design and a variety of painting styles. Readings and class discussions of historical and contemporary painting practices and issues will develop a visual vocabulary as well as critical/theoretical knowledge to complement technical skills. Lectures, demonstrations, critiques and a gallery/museum visit will supplement studio work. Three two-hour periods per week.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

We start with an exploration of the tools and processes available in the sculpture studio, including woodworking tools for both carving and fabrication. Sculpture I introduces students to cast metal work in our foundry, where we will learn a lost wax ceramic shell casting system. The range of form which can be explored is infinite and starts with a wax form which is eventually replaced with the 2100 degree bronze.

Like my other course offerings, Sculpture I will include an off-site project that includes a class trip to my farm/studio in western Wisconsin. At the farm we will install a series of wind powered kinetic sculptures which is your first project. There is also a flock of sheep to visit as well as great food.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

A hands-on introduction to original printmaking in the media of relief, etching, lithography and handset type. Included are discussions of aesthetics, the impact of printed imagery on our society, printmaking practices from around the world and field trips to local exhibits and museum collections. Emphasis is on individual expression and appropriate techniques for the content. Two three-hour periods per week.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

In this class we explore the fundamentals of two-dimensional design through a series of hands-on and digital projects. Topics such as process, pattern, iconography, collage and typeface are explored through both fine-art and commercial design projects. Demonstrations, field trips, and artist talks are included in addition to lab time and class discussions.  Software explored includes Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. Three two-hour periods per week.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course explores the making and function of art and architecture in ancient Egypt along with its socio-economic and political context from pre-dynastic times (ca. 5300 - 3000 BCE) to the Roman era (30 BCE - 391 CE). The lectures and class discussions will focus on concepts of design, representation and aesthetics in Egypt, and explore the uses of art objects and monuments in politics, religion, private and state cults, and burial practices. Addressing topics such as pharaonic ideology, imperialism, gender, and afterlife, this course will help students comprehend the fundamental place of art and visual culture in the creation and sustenance of one of the oldest civilizations in the world.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course will explore the art and architecture of the Islamic world from the time of the Prophet Mohammed to the 18th century. The lectures and class discussions will focus on culturally specific concepts of design and aesthetics in the vast geography from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Subcontinent, and analyze a variety of genres including architecture, glass, wood and metal working, painting, calligraphy and ceramics in their political and socio-economic contexts. Within these chronological, geographical and typological frameworks, this course will focus on special themes such as patronage, art and politics, figural representation, religious vs. secular art, and the impact of pre-Islamic Near Eastern heritage and Christianity on the development of Islamic forms and styles.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course examines how social constructions of race, class, and gender in the US have been reflected and mediated in American photography from the early 20th century to the present. The course will consider theoretical questions regarding the medium of photography along with ethical and political issues involved in taking pictures of the "Others", and explore how issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, and economic and geopolitical relations of power re inseparable from the historical study, practice, and dissemination of the medium of photography. No previous knowledge or art history or photography required.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

The end of the Cold War in 1989 marked the beginning of a new era for the former communist countries, bringing about great changes in the art world. The profound political, social, economic, and cultural transformations that took place in Russia, Eastern Europe, China, and Cuba have radically redefined the cultural imperatives of the communist state, shifting the function of a work of art from a conduit of propaganda to a vehicle for social change and political contestation. The course begins with the Soviet period, then continues with case studies focusing on regions including Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, China, and Cuba, as well as transnational art collectives such as Slavs and Tatars. This course will explore the questions of power and identity that circulate in the post-communist world, by analyzing and contextualizing art created in these regions in the past twenty-five years. We will study artworks in a variety of media (ranging from art in galleries to public, performance, and street art) and examine how during this period of transition, art helped to re-evaluate deeply entrenched historical narratives and redefine individual and group identities. We will develop a shared conceptual framework that will allow us to critically address the artwork that we will encounter.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

The large challenges facing us in the 21st century are not going to be solved in one sector. We need creative collaborations and innovative experiments. Change is happening at the intersection of art, science and design. In this class we are going to learn about artist and scientist who are doing things differently and explore how they engage with people, collaborate cross sector, change systems and involve people in the their research. We will use design thinking and prototyping to build new platforms in our cross departmental class. Together we will explore four large topic areas, bring in speakers and go on filed trips across the cities. Each student will have the opportunity to design and test prototypes of their ideas in the public and bring back both their successes/challenges for the class to learn from. The class will end with collaborating on a local issue facing the City of St Paul. As a class working together we will develop a creative plan that will include working prototypes, possible funding sources and how to sustain our idea. The final idea will be present to the city for implementation.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

In this course we will explore both the structural and expressive aspects of figure drawing. Students will be introduced to the elements of surface anatomy and structure of the human body through working with nude and clothed models, the skeleton, anatomical texts, and other source material. Confidence, the ability to improvise, and an expressive connection with the figure will be encouraged through exercises that encourage experimentation with gesture and materials. In an in-depth, independent final project, students will develop their own personal content related to the figure/body, using the materials and methods of their choice. Discussion of the various issues brought up by representation of the body will be part of our study of both contemporary and historical works of art. Every other fall. Prerequisite(s): ART 130 or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

A continuation of ART 234, expanding both technical and critical/theoretical knowledge through projects which demand the development of each student's individual interests. Required projects will encourage increasing self-direction and development of the students' own artistic vision. Readings will supplement students'  critical and  theoretical understanding of historical and contemporary art practices. Weekly group discussions and critiques. Three two-hour periods per week. Prerequisite(s): ART 234

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course is a continuation of ART 236, focusing on individually generated projects. There is an introduction of new techniques appropriate for content such as monoprint, collograph, screenprint, photo-printmaking and computer-based processes. Field trips, and arranged meetings.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

We begin with a trip to the farm where we will fell an Ash tree with an axe. In the studio, we will saw and split the wood into billits with wedges and gluts. In this class, we will learn a bit about various species of trees and how their unique characteristics suggest different uses. We will explore tools, materials and processes which have applications well beyond traditional woodworking. Much of what we do in the class will take advantage of our woodshop, in an investigation of the intersection between hand and power processes. Finally, one of the goals of the class is to illuminate a fundamental toolkit that a beginning maker would be able to acquire cost effectively, and use and maintain with basic competence. Most importantly, you will learn how to sharpen knives and chisels and other cutting tools.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials