This course asks each student to work in a self-directed way among a community of critical thinkers. Finding one’s voice, as a maker, requires researching sources of influence and inspiration. Students are expected to undertake a significant amount of work outside of regular class meetings. At this point in your Visual Arts Education, you must be able to represent serious attention and dedication to your work, and prove that you can manage your time and energy towards advanced inquiry. The goal is for students to become fully versed in issues that define traditional and contemporary sculpture. Regular individual and bi-monthly critiques with visitors will be complemented by student presentations of issues pertaining to their work. Students will produce a visual presentation that highlights their interests, influences, and exploration. Each student will be required to propagate a visual journal as it pertains to their generative studio practice and be able to talk about how their work might be viewed in current worldly events. There will be a minimum of 4 readings that will require written or visual responses throughout term as well as 2 field trips to encourage students to engage with work beyond the institution.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Develop advanced capacities with the equipment for fabrication in analog and digital formats, developing further methods of construction involving wood, metal, plastics, plaster, and clay.
2. Gain fluency in advanced aesthetics of three dimensional form.
3. Develop further knowledge of the histories of sculptural practices up to the contemporary moment, in its diversity of cultural perspectives and identities.
Delivery Method: Fully in-person
Prerequisites: This is a 4000 level class that requires students to have taken at least two 4000 level studio courses in Visual Arts. Students should submit an email to John Umphlett (jumphlett@bennington.edu) that includes a paragraph that describes why they would like to be enrolled into this class, and how they feel it will be advantageous to their education and artists practice here at Bennington. This email’s subject line should read “ Looking closer; making work “ The email should also include a few images of prior related work to help support their written interests.
Course Level: 4000-level
Credits: 4
T 8:30AM - 12:10PM (Full-term)
Maximum Enrollment: 15
Course Frequency: One time only
Categories: 4000 , All courses , Four Credit , Fully In-Person , Sculpture , Updates
Tags: approaches to seeing , collaboration , Critical Thinking , experimentation , Visual Arts