This course is an introduction to tessellation, also known as space filling, or packing. Through drawing exercises on various grids (which also happen to be tessellations) we will learn about edges and vertices, moving to regular, semi-regular, and edge tessellation among others, eventually proceeding from planar tiling to packing in three dimensions. Tessellation is a spatial strategy with a wide range of practical uses ranging from patternmaking, scaling, and modular construction to notching, attachment methods, and approximation. In addition to reading about the Timurid dynasty Topkapı pattern scroll, we will study more recent work by artists who use tessellation practically, and metaphorically (usually both), including Etel Adnan, Sanford Biggers, Claudia Comte, General Idea, Jeffrey Gibson, Marlene Bennett Jones, Emma Kunz, Martha Jane Pettway, Bridget Riley, Jordan Nassar, and Hamra Abbas.
Learning Outcomes:
1. To gain a basic understanding of what tessellation means in two dimensions.
2. To identify tessellation in historic and contemporary art
3. Learning to tile as a way to create large images out of smaller parts
4. Learning how to leverage the benefits of the grid and to be cognizant of its limitations
5. Seeing the metaphorical and symbolic potential of repetition and systematic transformation
Delivery Method: Fully in-person
Course Level: 2000-level
Credits: 4
T 8:30AM - 12:10PM (Full-term)
Maximum Enrollment: 12
Course Frequency: Every 2-3 years
Categories: All courses , Canceled Courses , Design , Drawing , Four Credit , Fully In-Person , Updates , Visual Arts (VA)
Tags: