Course Descriptions

Art Course Descriptions

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(Enter Datatel Course Numbers with the dash. i.e. ENGL-100; use commas to separate multiple Course Numbers)

ARTS-115 - COMPUTING IN THE ARTS  3 credits
This beginning computer course is for people who want to use the computer creatively in the fine arts. Three principal modes of producing computer images: bit-mapped graphics, object-oriented graphics, and image scanning-are introduced. Students use procedures-based programming to generate visual images, list processing for linguistic experimentation, and desktop publishing to explore layout and composition. Sound generation techniques are introduced. This is a lab/studio course taught on a network of Macintosh computers. Three studio and three lab hours. PREREQUISITE: None.
ARTS-140 - ART HISTORY: PREHISTORIC TO GOTHIC  3 credits
Art History is a survey of the major visual arts of the western world: architecture, painting and sculpture of the Paleolithic Era, Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Aegean, Greece and Rome, Early Christianity and Islam, the Romanesque and Gothic periods. The course is designed to help the student to understand the impulse behind the key monuments in the history of western art. Three lecture hours. PREREQUISITE: None. Honors component available.
ARTS-142 - PAINTING 1  3 credits
Easel painting in oils. Based on elementary understanding of the physical properties of oil medium, the course will emphasize individual expression within the framework of instruction in technical development, principles of pictorial composition and elements of visual representation. The main course objective is to increase students' sophistication toward aesthetic concerns and pictorial content while developing technical skills. No previous art background is required. Two lecture and 3 studio hours.
ARTS-143 - PRINTMAKING 1  3 credits
Basic study of materials, techniques and aesthetic consideration peculiar to relief printmaking. Includes a special segment on producing monotypes and monoprints from intaglio plates and woodblocks. Students will create a series of prints using these techniques and will develop an understanding of the printmaking process in general by studying historical and contemporary prints. No previous art background is required. Three lecture and 2 lab hours weekly.
ARTS-145 - FIGURE DRAWING  3 credits
The primary focus of this course is the study of the human figure as a vehicle for clarifying both perception and expression. A primary course objective is the acquisition by the student of a sense of evaluative process inherent in making and viewing art works in various drawing media. Basic drawing helpful, but not a prerequisite. Five studio hours weekly.
ARTS-146 - DESIGN: INTRODUCTION TO ART  3 credits
A studio workshop course which teaches the basic concepts in two-dimensional design, providing the foundation needed to understand and produce significant drawings, paintings, prints, and graphic expressions. Working in collage, students complete projects emphasizing the plastic elements individually (line, shape, texture, etc.) and the aesthetic principles (rhythm, balance, unity, etc.) Main objectives of the course include establishment of a sophisticated art vocabulary, understanding of color theory, and the perception of spatial phenomena in their varied forms on two-dimensional surfaces. No previous art background is required. Five in-class hours weekly.
ARTS-147 - BASIC DRAWING  3 credits
An introduction to a variety of drawing materials, techniques, and concepts. Emphasis is placed on developing each student's individual drawing strengths and making the student critically aware of the aesthetic soundness of a wide range of drawings, as each fulfills a different, expressive impulse. No previous art background is required. Three lecture and two studio hours weekly.
ARTS-149 - DRAWING COMPOSITION  3 credits
Drawing will be approached as a basis of composition and training in observation. Emphasis will be placed on developing perceptual awareness and critical self-evaluation as means toward growth in one's abilities in visual self-expression. Students will be encouraged to explore areas of individual strengths and interests. Five (5) studio hours weekly. PREREQUISITE: ARTS-147 or permission of instructor. COREQUISITE: ARTS-149L
ARTS-150 - INTRODUCTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY  3 credits
An introduction to still photography using conventional and digital cameras, this course is designed as an overview of the principles, methods, and aesthetic considerations employed by the photographer. Contemporary applications used by commercial and fine arts photographers, as well as historical precedents, will be addressed through weekly lectures and critiques of student work. Students are required to have access to their own 35mm manually-operated camera. Digital cameras will be provided for projects requiring their use. Students will be required to purchase film and pay for processing costs. Five Studio hours. PREREQUISITE: None
ARTS-152 - PHOTOGRAPHY 2  3 credits
A continuation of ARTS-150 with an emphasis on black and white photographic techniques. Topics include darkroom practices, and contemporary photography and its application; development of personal style will also be included. Five lecture and two lab hours. PREREQUISITE: ARTS-150
ARTS-170 - AIRBRUSHING TECHNIQUES  3 credits    Course Offered Thru SCE Only
Introduction to the use of the airbrush. Stencil making, illustration work, airbrush material techniques, and professional environment.
ARTS-215 - DIGITAL ARTS  3 credits
Individual student projects will be the focus of this course. Fundamentals of multimedia presentation will be taught, stressing use of the computer as a presentation tool. Designing in their chosen medium, students will create interactive autobiographies. Each student will formally present his/her work to classmates for discussion and critique. Self-confidence and self-reliance are stressed. Three lecture and two lab hours. PREREQUISITES: ENGL-100, ARTS-115
ARTS-220 - HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY  3 credits
History of Photography is an introductory course that will present students with an historical overview of the aesthetics and technology of photography and how these developed. Students will also be exposed to the elements and principles of relating to photography. This course will include biographical material on photographers from the mid-Eighteenth century to the present. Three lecture hours. PREREQUISITE: ENGL-100
ARTS-240 - ART HISTORY: RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE  3 credits
A survey course in the major visual art expressions of Western man, covering the Late Gothic period in painting; and the Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo art in Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Flanders, Holland, and England. Emphasis is placed upon understanding the impulse behind man’s artistic expression and the link between the paintings, sculpture, and architecture of each area and the culture in which they were produced. Art History 1 is not a prerequisite. Three in-class hours weekly. Honors component available.
ARTS-242 - PAINTING 2  3 credits
Painting 2 is a continuation of Painting 1 offering the student the opportunity to explore a variety of media and techniques in painting. Students must explore a variety of spatial concepts used by the painter, working the problems presented as the course content into their own framework of artistic direction. Three lecture and 2 studio hours. PREREQUISITE: Painting 1 ARTS-142 or permission of the instructor.
ARTS-243 - PRINTMAKING 2  3 credits
A continuation of Printmaking 1 with more advanced problems in technique and color process. Emphasis is placed on the development of individual direction. Three in-class and 2 lab hours weekly. PREREQUISITE: Printmaking 1 ARTS-143 or permission.
ARTS-246 - BASIC DESIGN 2  3 credits
A basic course intended to introduce the student to design and design principles, with a particular emphasis on color techniques, color theory, and the use and application of color in and for design. Six hours of lecture. PREREQUISITE: ARTS-146 COREQUISITE: ARTS-246L
ARTS-270 - AIRBRUSHING TECHNIQUE II  3 credits    Course Offered Thru SCE Only
Advanced airbrushing. Include operation, T-shirt design, stencil making, illustration work, tools, airbrush materials techniques, and professional environment. PREREQUISITE: AUTO-270
ARTS-315 - 3D DESIGN  3 credits
A studio workshop course designed to introduce the students to basic concepts in three dimensional design and sculpture. This course is intended to provide the aesthetic and technical foundations needed to produce works of sculpture. Emphasis will be placed on problem solving, planning, and constructing three dimensional art in various materials, while exploring traditional and non-traditional possibilities of visual expression through three dimensional formats. Five lecture and five studio hours.
ARTS-346 - HISTORY OF MODERN ART  3 credits
An historical and analytical study of the major art movements in Europe and America during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Detailed discussion and analysis of major artists and works of art from Romanticism to the present. This course will study such artists as Goya and David through the impressionists and post-impressionists. The course will survey painting, sculpture, photography, and architecture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Three lecture hours.
ARTS-360 - EXPERIMENTAL COMPUTER IMAGING 1  4 credits
This lab/studio course integrates the computer into the creative process of image production. Students use the computer to produce transformations of digitized images of themselves. They learn to create abstract designs based on natural images, and construct whole images from pieces. Six studio hours.
ARTS-460 - EXPERIMENTAL COMPUTER IMAGING 2  4 credits
Students will develop a portfolio of computer-generated images using techniques used in ARTS-360. Six studio hours. PREREQUISITE: ARTS-360.
ARTS-902 - DIRECTED STUDY IN ART  
Projects for advanced individual study by special arrangement with the instructor and approval of the Department and Division Chairpersons, the Academic Dean, and the Registrar. Students are expected to demonstrate willingness and ability to work on their own with minimal assistance. Variable Credit.
ARTS-903 - DIRECTED STUDY IN ART  
Projects for advanced individual study by special arrangement with the instructor and approval of the Department and Division Chairpersons, the Academic Dean, and the Registrar. Students are expected to demonstrate willingness and ability to work on their own with minimal assistance. Variable Credit.
ARTS-905 - DIRECTED STUDY IN ART  
Projects for advanced individual study by special arrangement with the instructor and approval of the Department and Division Chairpersons, the Academic Dean, and the Registrar. Students are expected to demonstrate willingness and ability to work on their own with minimal assistance. Variable Credit.