*Visual and Environmental Studies 3aar (formerly *Visual and Environmental Studies 3abr). 3-D Artmaking and Design: Beginning Studio Course
Catalog Number: 0442 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Patrick Strzelec
Half course (fall term). M., 6–9 p.m., W., 9–12. EXAM GROUP: 2, 3, 4
Students will work with an assortment of tools, techniques, and materials to solve specific 3-dimensional problems and basic sculpture concerns. The course will be based on spatial thinking that deals with point, line, plane, mass, balance, and form.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 4abr. The Art of Color: Beginning Studio Course
Catalog Number: 6811 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Martha Diamond
Half course (spring term). W., 1–5, and 6–8 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8, 9
Color and perception, seeing and manipulating. Application in oil painting, collage, and monotype. Includes two primary elements: doing and exploring classic color problems and applying solutions to oil painting. In color studies learn to see, identify, and use color for its numerous effects. In painting, learn to mix color, use different mediums and various treatments of the paint itself. Try different surfaces, grounds, and brushes. Study the effect of technique on idea and aesthetics.
[*Visual and Environmental Studies 7abr. Design of the Page: Graphic Design and Typography: Beginning Studio Course]
Catalog Number: 0502 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Lorraine Ferguson
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Students will learn to use type expressively so that it both is an image and powerfully communicates a message. Beginning with basic elements, we will gradually add levels of complexity (variable type weights, sizes, styles, color, and other elements, including illustrations). We will analyze historical examples of “page” designs (as in books, posters, banners, tickets, labels, signs, maps, advertisements, etc.) that are content-driven, taking into account message, function, and audience, and will critique formal qualities of composition, proportion, contrast, and color as they relate to the overall concept and visual and semantic effectiveness.
Note: Expected to be given in 2002–03.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 10aar. Fundamentals of Drawing: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 7057 Enrollment: Limited to 20.
William P. Reimann
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 8:30–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 10, 11, 12, 13
Studio problems develop the draftsman’s way of knowing through observation, formulation, and articulation. Class discussions develop visually oriented critical ability. Numerous drawing media are introduced. Outside assignments are a regular part of the course, extending studio projects to encourage independent experiment and individual exploration.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 10aaxr. Fundamentals of Drawing: Beginning Studio Course
Catalog Number: 4704 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Paul Stopforth
Half course (fall term). M., W., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8
Using a variety of graphic media, this course will develop responses and explore possibilities in the process of drawing. A diverse range of hand made and found objects will function as source materials for much of the course in which observation, structural principles, and expressive procedures will be articulated in the making of drawings. Individual and group discussion will focus on work in progress. There will be occasional slide presentations and museum visits.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 10abr. Fundamentals of Drawing: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 5332 Enrollment: Limited to 20.
William P. Reimann
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 8:30–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 10, 11, 12, 13
See description for Visual and Environmental Studies 10aar.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 10abxr. Fundamentals of Drawing: Beginning Studio Course
Catalog Number: 7158 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Paul Stopforth
Half course (spring term). M., W., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8
See description for Visual and Environmental Studies 10aaxr.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 10b. Intermediate Drawing: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 1763 Enrollment: Limited to 20.
William P. Reimann
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16, 17
Continuation and extension of VES 10a. Studio problems are viewed against drawing traditions and conventions, raising questions of value and interpretation. Field trips and required independent work demand selectivity and judgement to compose using more complex media. Emphasis on individual growth and cultivation of self-critical ability.
Prerequisite: VES 10a or equivalent preparation (to be validated by portfolio presentation and interview).
*Visual and Environmental Studies 11aar (formerly *Visual and Environmental Studies 11abr). Fundamentals of Figure Study: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 7311 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
William P. Reimann
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 1–4.
Study of the figure by drawing from the model and from other sources. The basis for further work includes, but is not limited to, simplified osteological drawings, elementary studies in three dimensions, from observation of human and other skulls, parts, assemblies, concluding with the whole skeleton. A unit on gross topographic anatomy will follow. Daily outside related assignments are designed to build skills in graphically managing mass, achieving a degree of control over landscape space, and in designing and composing the page. Students should bring a portfolio of previous work to the first class. Recommended preparation: minimum of a term’s work in basic drawing.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 12aar. Mixed Media: Drawing Into Painting: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 7913 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Julian Lethbridge
Half course (fall term). W., 1–5, and 6–8 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8, 9
Different means of giving form to an idea or impulse, the mutability of an idea through its development from one medium to another and the altered means that may emerge will be explored within studio practice primarily involving painting and drawing although some elemental printmaking may be included. Studio projects will involve representation and abstraction, include assigned readings, an examination of diverse, primarily 20th—century artists, and class critiques and discussions. The course is directed towards acquiring both practical skills and self-awareness, and to function as a laboratory of experimentation from which everyone can learn from one another.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 15aar. Fundamentals of Printmaking: Beginning Studio Course
Catalog Number: 8651 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
H. Peik Larsen
Half course (fall term). M., W., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8
Relief prints made from wood, linoleum, plastic, metal, and plaster will be explored in small to large sizes. Photo relief and stencil prints will also be made. Work will be done in black and white.
Note: No previous printmaking experience required.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 15abr. Silkscreen: Beginning Studio Course
Catalog Number: 0844 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Annette Lemieux
Half course (spring term). M., W., 9–12. EXAM GROUP: 2, 3, 4
For the student who is interested in the manipulation of found and original imagery. Students will create monotypes on paper and other surfaces utilizing the silkscreen process. Via slide presentations the class will be introduced to the work of artists such as Rauschenberg, Warhol, Polke, and others who use the silkscreen process.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 16abr. The Painterly Print: Monotype/Monoprint Workshop
Catalog Number: 3443 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
H. Peik Larsen
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16, 17
This hands-on investigation of transfer processes will use many printmaking materials and mono-printing techniques. A wide variety of images will evolve through artist-generated matrices and creative printing procedures such as offset, trace monotype and counter-proofing. Emphasis is on development of ideas and personal vocabulary through experimentation and variation.
Note: No previous printmaking experience required.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 20aar. Painting Space, Part I: Beginning Studio Course
Catalog Number: 4153 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Christian Garnett
Half course (fall term). M., 1–5, and 6–8 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8, 9
This introductory painting class will focus on developing a physical connection to the tools and materials of painting. Using traditional and non-traditional methods, we will explore relationships between color, light, form and space. Students will learn to handle paint with courage and confidence. There will be readings and discussions of meanings and methods of painting throughout history. Slide talks, critiques, demonstrations, and exercises will support various specific projects.
[*Visual and Environmental Studies 20abr. Grounds for Painting: Beginning Studio Course]
Catalog Number: 3106 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Paul Stopforth
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Through a range of explorative processes this course will function as a ground within which a variety of painterly possibilities are constructed. The emphasis will be on the practice of painting in developing relationships to material, mark, surface, color, pictorial ambiguity, and meaning. Individual and group discussions will focus on work in progress; there will be occasional slide presentations and museum visits.
Note: Expected to be given in 2002–03.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 20bbr. Painting Space, Part II: Beginning Studio Course
Catalog Number: 2204 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Christian Garnett
Half course (spring term). M., 1–5, and 6–8 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8, 9
This semester we will investigate spatial constructions in painting as we continue to cultivate a physical relationship to the materials. Students will be encouraged to use paint freely while learning to take responsibility for form. Using the model of twentieth century painting, we will identify and solve problems of structure and meaning. Slide talks, readings, demonstrations, critiques, and unusual assignments will complement class projects.
Prerequisite: VES 20aar or another college-level painting class.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 30aar. Fundamentals of Sculpture: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 6594 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Patrick Strzelec
Half course (fall term). M., W., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8
Students will explore traditional and non-traditional methods of sculpture making. The focus will be on working in the studio with various materials, techniques, and processes, utilizing a hands-on approach in order to develop a personal vision. Museum and gallery visits will be included, providing a broader context and understanding of the medium.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 30abr. Fundamentals of Sculpture: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 7185 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Patrick Strzelec
Half course (spring term). M., W., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8
See description for Visual and Environmental Studies 30aar.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 40ar. Fundamentals of Still Photography: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 2010 Enrollment: Limited to 72.
Chris Killip
Half course (fall term). W., at 11, with three hours lab and three hours section each week to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 4
Introduction to still photography through individual and group exercises, with an emphasis on the medium as a vehicle for expression, documentation, and personal vision. Covers necessary technical, historical, and aesthetic aspects of the medium.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 40b. Photography: Intermediate Studio Course
Catalog Number: 6256 Enrollment: Limited to 24.
Chris Killip and Sage Sohier
Half course (spring term). M., W., 1-4; or T., Th., 1-4. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8
Designed to extend the student’s understanding of the process through which meaning is produced in photography. Examines differing approaches to format, context, and presentation through a series of set projects.
Prerequisite: VES 40ar or equivalent preparation (portfolio presentation).
*Visual and Environmental Studies 50. Fundamentals of Filmmaking: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 4907 Enrollment: Limited to 20.
Alfred F. Guzzetti and Robb Moss
Full course. M., W., 1–5; or Tu., Th., 1–5. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8
Introductory exercises in live-action filmmaking culminating in the production of a nonfiction film as a group project in the spring term.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 51ar. Small-Format Video: Introductory Studio Course
Catalog Number: 7526 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Steven Peter Ascher and Jeanne Marie Jordan
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 1–5. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16, 17
Working alone and in small groups, students make a series of videotapes exploring aspects of contemporary life, television, and themselves.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 51br. Small-Format Video: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 3838 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Ross S. McElwee
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 1–5. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16, 17
Continuation of VES 51ar but may be taken separately with permission of the instructor. Each student plans, shoots, and edits a videotape of his/her design. Readings, screenings, and class exercises augment individual work.
Note: Students seeking to enroll should come to the first class meeting with an idea and a production plan for a video tape to be completed in the course.
Prerequisite: Prerequisites for admission are VES 51ar, or another course in live action film or video.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 52ar. Introduction to Non-Fiction Video: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 5337 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Robb Moss
Half course (fall term). M., W., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8
This class will explore the expressive use of digital cameras and computer editing in the production of various exercises and individual projects. Admission is by interview with the instructor.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 53a. Beginning Animation Studio: Beginning Studio Course
Catalog Number: 1360 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Steven Subotnick
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). M., 1–5, F., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8, 9
An introduction to the art of animation. Students will gain an understanding of animation aesthetics, concepts and history through a series of exercises, discussions and screenings. Students will complete a variety of short guided projects designed to acquaint them with the main elements of animation. Screenings and discussions will provide a conceptual and historical framework for the exercises. Drawing skills are not necessary.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 54r. Life Stories: Introductory Video Studio Course
Catalog Number: 6487 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Alfred F. Guzzetti
Half course (spring term). F., 1–5:30 plus two additional hours of lab to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8, 9
Explores the opportunities offered by moving pictures and sound to present nonfiction life stories—biography, autobiography, and diary. Introductory exercises in small-format video lead to a final project of the student’s own design. Production work is supplemented by study and discussion of selected films and videotapes.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 80ar. Alternative Histories and Materials: Conceptual Practice Studio Course
Catalog Number: 8894 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Elaine Engel Reichek
Half course (fall term). M., 6–9, Tu., 8:30–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 10, 11, 12, 13
An introduction to the metaphoric possibilities of a variety of non-traditional art practices and materials. The use of craft technique, collage, found objects, texts, quotation, and archival materials will be explored. Lectures, readings, and discussions will focus on alternative narratives and practices in historical and contemporary context, with a particular emphasis on the students’ own histories and ideas.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 111abr (formerly *Visual and Environmental Studies 111aar). Figure Drawing: Intermediate Studio Course
Catalog Number: 1265 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Susan Hauptman
Half course (spring term). T., 1–5 and 6–8 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16, 17, 18
Intensive studio concentration in the analysis and representation of the human form with an emphasis on the formal and abstract properties of depiction and the defining role of light. Narrative and metaphor are explored and a series of slide talks address the genre with a particular emphasis on contemporary representation of the body, from Lucien Freud to Cindy Sherman.
Prerequisite: VES 10a and 10b, or portfolio presentation.
[*Visual and Environmental Studies 112aar. Mixed Media: Studio Course]
Catalog Number: 8268 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Annette Lemieux
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
For the student who is interested in creating works on paper using a variety of materials and methods. Via slide presentations the class will be introduced to the work of artists who work with mixed media.
Note: Expected to be given in 2002–03.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 120aar. Do it - Do it Again With Love: The Pleasure of Painting: Intermediate/Advanced Studio Course
Catalog Number: 9127 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Martin Maloney
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16, 17
This course will help you to discover what you are good at painting and how your talents, skills, and interests could be related to both art from the past and art being made today. Personal and group critiques will help you learn what others see when they look at your work. Through regular research and discussion we will look at contemporary art to clarify what you find mysterious or puzzling as we find out what we expect art to do and be. By the end of the course you will be on your way to establishing your own rules for making successful contemporary art.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 120abr. Painting for the 21st Century: Advanced Studio Course
Catalog Number: 8087 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Annette Lemieux
Half course (spring term). M., W., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8
Through slide presentations and informal discussions students will be introduced to painters of the 20th century to the present (David Salle, Gary Hume, Jonathan Lasker and others). Students will create paintings focusing on painting techniques with an emphasis on subject matter and content.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 130aar. Building Thought: Intermediate Sculpture Studio Course
Catalog Number: 4186 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Annette Lemieux
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 8:30–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 10, 11, 12, 13
Through slide presentations, assigned readings and informal discussions, students will be introduced to artists of the 20th century to the present. Students will create works with a variety of materials that will reflect the conceptual concerns of the artists studied (Marcel Duchamp, Marcel Broodthears, Louise Bourgeois, and others).
*Visual and Environmental Studies 130abr. The Language of Sculpture: Advanced Sculpture Studio Course
Catalog Number: 4596 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Jackie Brookner
Half course (spring term). M., 6–9 p.m., Tu., 8:30–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 10, 11, 12, 13
This course will approach making sculpture as a vehicle for exploring one’s identity, as an individual and as part of the larger social fabric. Discussions with each student will investigate their creative process, from plumbing one’s sources to conceptual development and appropriate materialization. Readings, group discussions, and group critiques will grapple with such issues as: The expanding role of the artist today and how this affects the working process, how the work interacts with the world—as personal expression, as interdisciplinary exploration and/or in response to challenges within contemporary society. The course is intended for more advanced students and admission will be based on interview and portfolio review.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 131. Designing for the Stage: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 1116 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
J. Michael Griggs
Half course (fall term). M., W., 2–3:30. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Students prepare and present for criticism stage design projects based on play texts that suggest varying interpretive and stylistic problems. Focus is on examining ideas through research of visual material and analysis of text. Through their design projects, students also complete assignments in perspective drawing, drafting, model making, and lighting design. Students at all levels of skill are welcome.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 132. Projects in Stage Design: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 7533 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
J. Michael Griggs
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16, 17
The class will complete projects that explore the techniques of the stage designer. Projects may include large-scale scene painting, drafting, and CAD, advanced model making, and working with wood and metal. Some projects will be based on interpretations of dramatic literature to examine both conceptual issues and the practical problems of designing for the stage.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 140ar. Color Photography: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 0842 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Sage Sohier
Half course (fall term). M., W., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8
A comprehensive introduction to photographing in color. The emphasis on the course will be on producing a body of photographic work using color, negative, and print technology. Attention will also be paid to color transparency materials, color theory, and the history of color photography over the last 25 years. A brief introduction to digital photography will be also included.
Prerequisite: VES 40ar or 40b or portfolio presentation.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 143r. The Photographer as Auteur: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 2835 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Chris Killip
Half course (spring term). W., 6–9 p.m. and additional hours to be arranged.
Explores the way in which some photographic practitioners have questioned accepted photographic conventions and are rejecting the historical orthodoxy in favor of a more subjective statement. Each student is expected to complete a major photographic project that reveals his or her own personal photographic style and preoccupations while still retaining a direct and discernable relationship to the subject.
Prerequisite: VES 40ar or 40b or portfolio presentation.
Visual and Environmental Studies 144br. A History of Photography: The 20th Century
Catalog Number: 6161
Jim Dow
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
The second semester of a two-semester survey of photographic practice from the inception of the medium through contemporary practice. While all aspects of post-World War I photography will be examined exhaustively, there will be considerable emphasis on work done as personal investigation or expression, as this is a 20th century phenomenon.
Note: Although all students will be required to do visually based projects, in addition to papers, this class is intended for a university-wide audience; a course in 19th century photography is not a prerequisite.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 145r. Photography Now: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 9355 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Volker Heinze (Universität GH Essen)
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16, 17
This course will undertake an in-depth study of contemporary photographic practice with a special emphasis on German Contemporary Photography (the Düsseldorf School and its followers). Each student will be expected to undertake a major photographic project.
Prerequisite: VES 40ar or 40b or portfolio presentation.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 146br. The Photographic Portrait: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 5743 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Chris Killip
Half course (spring term). M., W., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8
This course will examine the practical, sociological, historical, and aesthetic issues surrounding portrait photography in parallel with the active participation of each student in his/her own photographic project.
Prerequisite: VES 40ar or VES 40b or portfolio presentation.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 150ar. Film Production: Intermediate Studio Course
Catalog Number: 4692 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Hal Hartley
Half course (fall term). M., W., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8
All students will make two short pieces (one in film, the other in video) from two of four scripts provided to them by the instructor. The focus of the work is on increasing the student’s ability to observe the world around them and to exercise their ability to articulate the impressions gained from that observation.
Prerequisite: VES 50.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 150br. Film Production: Intermediate Studio Course
Catalog Number: 3934 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Hal Hartley
Half course (spring term). W., 1–4, M., 6–9 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8
All students will make one short film or video which is their own original treatment of the topics explored in the previous course (VES 150ar); success or failure in various forms of observation and/or articulation.
Prerequisite: VES 150ar.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 151ar. The Post-Cinematic in Video Art: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 7965 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Isaac Julien
Half course (spring term). M., 1–4, Tu., 6–9 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8
The influence of cinema is everywhere in contemporary art practice. With the advent of new digital technologies producing new spectators, new ways of seeing. This course will explore both the new theoretical and practical implications of this; by utilizing photography, video, performance, and the different “genres” of film styles explored in this new medium, this course will explore the nexus between these different developments and practices of what can be termed the post-cinematic in video culture.
Prerequisite: At least one course in video production and at least one course in film theory.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 151br. Tricking the Figurative out of the Quotidian: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 6247 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Ken Kobland
Half course (fall term). W., 1–4, Th., 10–1. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14
Sophisticated small-format DVvideo allows for a rich reinvention of the personal/immediate as a fecund field of cinematic meaning; “stories” confected out of the manipulation of the medium itself. Through acts of extraordinary attention we discover in the “everyday” the necessary figurative spectacle for our concerns. The course examines work which is relevant to this kind of thinking/seeing and requires a series of short DVvideo “chapters” cumulatively resulting in a unique portrait of life and mind.
Prerequisite: One VES half-course in video production.
[*Visual and Environmental Studies 151cr. Timelines: Sound and the Moving Image: Studio Course]
Catalog Number: 6452
Alfred F. Guzzetti and Kurt Stallmann
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
A series of compositional studies and experiments exploring interrelationships between digital video imagery and sound.
Note: Expected to be given in 2002–03.
Prerequisite: A course in video production or electro-acoustic musical composition.
[*Visual and Environmental Studies 152ar. Women and Film: Production and Criticism]
Catalog Number: 3161 Enrollment: Limited to 40.
Giuliana Bruno
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
A survey of film history and aesthetics that highlights the contribution of women, from the origin of cinema to recent production. How do women make, and write about, cinema? How does this change the way we look at, and read, images? Comparative analysis of filmic texts is combined with a study of film history and theory, including feminist theory. This work questions image making in relation to filmmaking, film viewing, and film criticism.
Note: Expected to be given in 2002–03.
[*Visual and Environmental Studies 152br. Italian Cinema: History, Geography, and Identity]
Catalog Number: 8324 Enrollment: Limited to 40.
Giuliana Bruno
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Examines the creative impact of Italian cinema in the context of Italian culture. What is the place of Italian cinema in film and cultural history? Is “national” cinema a cultural geography? Begins with the aesthetic and political canons of Neorealism, considers its phenomenology and historicism, and moves from modernism to postmodernism. Analyzes, among others, Rossellini’s re-presentation of everyday life, Fellini’s opulent theatricality, Antonioni’s elegant minimalism, Visconti’s operatic design, Pasolini’s innovative film theory and practice, and Bertolucci’s scenographic fashions. Turning to contemporary times, it considers the impact of women directors and the new imagination of current independent filmmakers.
Note: Expected to be given in 2002–03.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 153br. World Cinema: Questions of Third Cinema
Catalog Number: 9200 Enrollment: Limited to 40.
Mark Nash (University of East London)
Half course (spring term). M., 6–9 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 9
Course looks at mainly non-European “World” Cinemas, and discusses issues relating to cinematic form and cultural identity. Examines interconnections between non-European cinema and its various cultural and economic contexts. Considers issues of national cinema and the political and cultural constructions of National identity. Studies the work of filmmakers from East Asia, Latin America, India and Africa and investigates the transition from colonial to post-colonial cinema, and the relation of filmmaking and film theory to liberation struggles.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 154ar (formerly Visual and Environmental Studies 159ar). The Moving Image: Film and Visual Representation
Catalog Number: 2874 Enrollment: Limited to 40.
Giuliana Bruno
Half course (fall term). Th., 10–11:30; Screenings: W., at 7 p.m.; Sections F., at 10 or 11. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
A survey aimed at developing visual literacy, this introduction to film history looks at major 20th century ideas on art and perception. We examine the invention of film in relation to significant cultural changes in our experience of visual space, and follow the evolution of film as a technique of spatio-visual observation. Addressing socio-sexual space, we see the moving image as product of the age of industrialization and conquest, element of urban culture, and means of imaginary transportation, on the brink of inside-outside. As we analyze case-study films on the subject of home(land), cityscape, and voyage, we provide analytic tools for understanding the language of cinema, and its impact on visual culture.
Note: Recommended as preparation for VES 155ar and VES 155br. Jointly offered with the School of Design as 4131.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 154br. Frames of Mind: Introduction to Film Theory and Film Analysis
Catalog Number: 0648 Enrollment: Limited to 40.
Giuliana Bruno
Half course (spring term). Th., 10–11:30; Screenings: W., at 7 p.m.; Sections F., at 10 or 11. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
A basic introduction to the language of film theory, aimed at developing analytic skills to interpret films. We offer a historical survey that spans from turn-of-the-century scientific motion studies to the emotion studies of Hugo Münsterberg, and reaches the virtual movements of our new millennium. We consider Eisenstein’s theory of montage, the cultural history of the cinematic apparatus, and the body of physical existence, going from Kracauer to gender studies. Different theoretical positions open up our understanding of films, and guide us in reading them. Particular attention is paid to theories that enable close analysis of films. In considering cultural transformation, for example, we test Walter Benjamin’s view of the age of mechanical reproduction vis-à-vis its contemporary representation in the film The Matrix.
Note: Recommended as preparation for VES 155ar and VES 155br. Jointly offered with the School of Design as 4132.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 155ar. Film Architectures: Seminar Course
Catalog Number: 6864 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Giuliana Bruno
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4; Screenings: Tu., at 7 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
What is our experience of architecture in cinema? Considering the relation of these two arts of space, we look at how film and architecture are linked in history on the “screen” of the modern age. Highlighting the interaction of modernity, urban culture, and cinema, we explore the architecture of film in relation to the architectures of transit and the culture of travel. Emphasis is on readings as well as analysis of case study to pursue research projects and make presentations to the seminar. Case study centers on the cine city, with focus on the architecture of theatres, starting from the era of the movie palace.
Note: Active participation in seminarial endeavors is required. Ideally followed with VES 155br. Jointly offered with the School of Design as 4351.
Prerequisite: A course in film studies or the equivalent course in cultural studies.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 155br. A Cultural Study of Film: Mapping and Fashioning Space: Seminar Course
Catalog Number: 7760 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Giuliana Bruno
Half course (spring term). W., 2–4; Screenings: Tu., at 7 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
The impulse to map (ourselves) is a major drive of contemporary visual culture. Since Fredric Jameson’s call for “cognitive mapping”, and artists’ return to the art of mapping, cultural studies regard mapping as a critical navigational route. Our cultural history of film looks at this moving field. How does the moving image participate in the shifting architectonics of visuality, space, and the body? How is the body “fashioned” in inner and outer space? Emphasis on readings and case study of relevant films to pursue research projects and make presentations to the seminar. Case study includes the culture of fashion in film.
Note: Active participation in seminarial endeavors is required. May be taken as a continuation of VES 155ar. Jointly offered with the School of Design as 4352.
Prerequisite: A course in film studies or the equivalent course in cultural studies.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 156ar. Intermediate Animation Studio: Intermediate Studio Course
Catalog Number: 5211 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Steven Subotnick
Half course (fall term). W., 1–5, Screenings: F., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8, 9
Building on basic knowledge gained in Beginning Animation, each student will produce a single animation project in this course. This course will also include more advanced animation techniques and exercises with emphasis on storyboarding, timing and sound design. Screenings and discussions will play an important role.
Prerequisite: VES 53a or equivalent preparation.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 156br. Intermediate Animation Studio: Intermediate Studio Course
Catalog Number: 3477 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Piotr Dumala
Half course (spring term). W., 1–5, Screenings: F., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8, 9
A continuation of VES 156ar.
Prerequisite: VES 156ar or equivalent preparation.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 156cr. Animation Workshop
Catalog Number: 5240 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Piotr Dumala
Half course (spring term). Th., 1–5, Screenings: F., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 15, 16, 17, 18
An investigation of frame-by-frame filmmaking through a series of exercises which will culminate in the production of a short animation project. Screenings and discussions will play an important role.
Prerequisite: VES 53a or equivalent preparation.
[Visual and Environmental Studies 157ar. New German Cinema: Oppositional Energies and Utopian Designs]
Catalog Number: 8774
Eric Rentschler
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
In 1962 twenty-six angry young German directors announced their resolve to revive a moribund national film culture. “New German Cinema” would gain acclaim in the 1970s for interventions marked by subversive narrative strategies and unique formal approaches. We will examine features, shorts, and documentaries by Fassbinder, Herzog, Kluge, Schlöndorff, Straub/Huillet, von Trotta, and Wenders, probing these films’ aesthetic shapes as well as their socio-political and theoretical implications.
Note: Expected to be given in 2002–03.
Prerequisite: No knowledge of German required. Readings, films, and discussions in English.
Visual and Environmental Studies 157br. Film Authorship and Film History: The Cinema of Fritz Lang
Catalog Number: 5171
Eric Rentschler
Half course (spring term). M., W., at 11; Screenings: M., 4 - 6 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 9
The cinema of Fritz Lang is one of circumscribed spaces and controlled settings. Lang himself represents an extreme case of directorial volition, a filmmaker who saw himself as a master of time and space, who took pride in his distinctive vision and singular worlds. And yet, Lang’s films also reflect the impact of different times and spaces, of Germany before Hitler, of Hollywood from the thirties to the fifties, of the Federal Republic during the Cold War era. In our analyses of representative films from the early twenties through the early sixties, we will be particularly concerned with questions of agency and history. To what degree are these works of a consummate auteur also “other-directed,” i.e. shaped and informed by forces beyond the conscious control of a highly self-conscious artist?
Prerequisite: No knowledge of German required. Readings, films, and discussions in English.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 158br. A History of American Independent Film
Catalog Number: 8339
Bruce Jenkins
Half course (fall term). M., W., 4–5:30; Screenings: Tu., 4-6; Sections: Hours to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 9
This survey course examines the history of alternative practices in narrative cinema in the U.S. produced outside the context of the studio system and often in opposition to dominant forms. Examples from this discontinuous history will be analyzed against the backdrop of the commercial cinema and shifting social, political, economic, and cultural trends across the century. Beginning with the independent movements of the late silent era and continuing through the various “off-Hollywood” and “underground” cinemas of the 1950s and 1960s to the independent feature movement of the 1980s and early 1990s, the course will focus on such topics as the articulation of sexual and racial difference; the influence of artistic movements such as Pop, Beat, Arte Povera, and Minimalism; and challenges to realism in documentary and autobiographical forms.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 159br. Fiction, Narrative, and Form in Film
Catalog Number: 0242 Enrollment: Limited to 40.
Hal Hartley
Half course (spring term). Tu., 8:30–11. EXAM GROUP: 10, 11, 12, 13
This course will view a wide range of short films and video, including documentary, fiction, and formal works with the aim of distinguishing the concrete differences between each mode, as well as their respective uses of and/or resistance to narrative devices. Students will prepare short weekly essays.
[*Visual and Environmental Studies 160. Modernization in the Visual United States Environment, 1890–2035]
Catalog Number: 6668 Enrollment: Limited to 40.
John R. Stilgoe
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Modernization of the United States visual environment as directed by a nobility creating new images and perceptions of such themes as wilderness, flight, privacy, clothing, photography, feminism, status symbolism, and futurist manipulation as illustrated in print-media and other advertising enterprise.
Note: Expected to be given in 2002–03. Offered jointly with the Graduate School of Design as 4303.
Prerequisite: VES 107 or permission of the instructor.
[*Visual and Environmental Studies 161br. Imagining the City: Literature, Film, and the Arts]
Catalog Number: 4511
Giuliana Bruno and Svetlana Boym
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
How do visual representation and narrative figuration contribute to construct urban identity? Explores the urban imagination at the crossroad of different artforms: architecture, cinema, literature, photography, and painting. Topics to be mapped out include: cities and modernity; metrophilia and metrophobia; the museum and cultural archaeology; the ruin and the construction site; interior space and public sphere; technology and virtual cities. The montage of imaginary cities traverses aspects of Paris, Tokyo, Berlin, Moscow, Rome, St. Petersburg, New York, Naples, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.
Note: Expected to be given in 2002–03.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 162. Theories of Representation
Catalog Number: 5098 Enrollment: Limited to 18.
Elizabeth Grosz
Half course (spring term). M., W., at 10. EXAM GROUP: 3
Designed to introduce the major theories and issues arising in contemporary theories of representation, from the pioneering work of the founders of contemporary theories of representation—Ferdinand de Saussure (Europe) and Charles Sanders Pierce (US)—to recent developments in these two related traditions in the work of the post-structuralist theorists like Barthes, Foucault, Derrida, Irigaray and Kristeva, who consider questions of power and desire in visual as well as linguistic systems of representation.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 163. Feminism, Space and Visuality: Seminar Course
Catalog Number: 5701 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Elizabeth Grosz
Half course (spring term). M., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
Examines questions of how space and vision have been associated with concepts of femininity. Asks if and how the differences between the sexes may help us to understand how we understand space, and how we attempt to represent it; and how changing our understanding of sexual difference may transform how space is understood, organized and represented. Beginning with writings by Luce Irigaray, we will explore how conceptions of space, light, and vision are elaborated in the same terms as the differences of the sexes.
[*Visual and Environmental Studies 166. North American Seacoasts and Landscapes, Discovery to Present: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 5873
John R. Stilgoe
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Selected topics in the history of the North American coastal zone, including the seashore as wilderness, as industrial site, as area of recreation, and as artistic subject; the shape of coastal landscape for conflicting uses over time; and the perception of the seashore as marginal zone in literature, photography, painting, film, television, and advertising.
Note: Expected to be given in 2002–03. Offered jointly with the Graduate School of Design as 4304.
Prerequisite: VES 107 and VES 160, or permission of the instructor.
[*Visual and Environmental Studies 167. Adventure and Fantasy Simulation, 1871–2036: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 4902
John R. Stilgoe
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Visual constituents of high adventure since the late Victorian era, emphasizing wandering woods, rogues, tomboys, women adventurers, faerie antecedents, halflings, crypto-cartography, Third-Path turning, martial arts, and post-1937 fantasy writing as integrated into contemporary advertising, video, computer-generated simulation, and private and public policy.
Note: Expected to be given in 2002–03. Offered jointly with the Graduate School of Design as 4305.
Prerequisite: VES 107, VES 160, and VES 166, or permission of the instructor.
Visual and Environmental Studies 170. Introduction to Architectural Theory
Catalog Number: 5115
George P. Baird (Design School) and Sarah Whiting (Design School)
Half course (fall term). M., W., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
This course presents the range of material factors (physical, cultural, social, and historical) that condition the production of architecture and their interaction with the ideologies (interpretive, theoretical, and critical) that elaborate these factors at particular times. The objective is to introduce the discipline of architecture—its distinct mode of thought and operation, recent history, and relation to other spheres of cultural production such as art, science, technology, and politics—by addressing issues related to the development of architectural theory.
Note: Jointly offered with the Graduate School of Design as 3202.
Visual and Environmental Studies 171. Theories and Practices of Contemporary Landscape Architecture 1950-2000
Catalog Number: 3978
John Beardsley (Design School)
Half course (spring term). Tu., W., 11:30–1. EXAM GROUP: 4, 5, 13, 14
Practice, according to Garrett Eckbo, is ‘knowing how to do something; theory is knowing why.’ This course will explore the ‘know why’ of landscape architecture since the Second World War, juxtaposing both the built works and the writings of landscape architects with texts that address methodology or the discipline’s larger theoretical cultural contexts. Within this broad framework, the course will examine a series of topics, including, the quest for a modern language for landscape architecture in the 1950s and 1960s.
Note: Jointly offered with the Graduate School of Design as 3102.
Visual and Environmental Studies 172. Urbanization in the Pacific Asian Region
Catalog Number: 3742
Peter G. Rowe (Design School)
Half course (spring term). Tu., 2:30–4:30. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17, 18
The purpose of this course is to provide an overall account of the urbanization in selected cities within the rapidly developing Pacific Asian region; to characterize relevant political traditions and forms of planning administration affecting urbanization there; and to depict prevalent patterns of urbanization, including illustration at appropriate levels, such as district, block, and building type. The questions being addressed are whether there is a distinctive form to urbanization within the Pacific Asian region, or whether it is largely a matter of satisfying demands for rapid urban expansion within the ambit of internationally available building technology?
Note: Jointly offered with the Graduate School of Design as 4329.
Visual and Environmental Studies 173. Introduction to Urban Planning and Design
Catalog Number: 3328
François C. D. Vigier (Design School) and Ann Forsyth (Design School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
This course provides an understanding of the dynamics that created contemporary urban and regional spatial patterns, of social theories pertinent to urbanized societies, and of the nature of public interventions that can remedy functional and social deficiencies. It also provides a common theoretical context for the complementary activities of urban designers and planners.
Note: Jointly offered with the Graduate School of Design as 5101.
Visual and Environmental Studies 174. Internet and Architecture
Catalog Number: 4881
Jeffrey Huang (Design School)
Half course (fall term). M., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 9
Emerging information infrastructures are challenging how traditional architectural space is perceived, used and produced, creating for many, remarkable discontinuities. Yet the nature of these information-driven changes and their desirability for architecture and society is hotly contested. This project-oriented course purports to give a basic orientation to these fundamental changes and the implications of new internet-based concepts on the architecture of buildings.
Note: Offered jointly with the Graduate School of Design as 7301.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 175. Design Science: Studio/Seminar
Catalog Number: 6285
Arthur L. Loeb
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
Explores inductively the arrangement of three-dimensional space. The symmetries and transformations of polyhedra are investigated by constructing and deconstructing study models. Stability, mobility, tensegrity, and dome structures are evaluated, and students are encouraged to apply the principles learned to architectural and sculptural designs. Students experiment with pencils, paper, compasses, straight edges, scissors, exacto-knives, sticks, and joints, to discover concepts before they are named. Rote memorization of definitions is thereby discouraged and seemingly disparate concepts become unified into fundamental principles. Stress on method, experiments, and risk taking. VES 175 and 176 together constitute the fundamental grammar of two- and three-dimensional space.
Note: VES 175 and 176 may be taken independently, and in either order. Offered jointly with the Graduate School of Education as T-126.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 176. Visual Mathematics: Studio/Seminar
Catalog Number: 5793
Marjorie Garber
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
Concentrates on the fundamental parameters of structure, primarily in two dimensions. Symmetry theory (e.g., designs by M.C. Escher), dynamic symmetry, the golden section, the Fibonacci series, and spirals are presented visually rather than verbally, but nevertheless rigorously. Students experiment with pencils, paper, compasses, straight edges, scissors, exacto-knives, sticks, joints, and computer graphics, to discover concepts before they are named. Rote memorization of definitions is thereby discouraged and seemingly disparate concepts become unified into fundamental principles. Stress on method, experiments, and risk taking. Students are expected to create a portfolio of their own visual exercises. VES 175 and 176 together constitute the fundamental grammar of two- and three-dimensional space.
Note: VES 175 and 176 may be taken independently and in either order. Offered jointly with the Graduate School of Education as T-127.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 98r. Tutorial — Junior Year
Catalog Number: 1411
H. Peik Larsen and members of the Department.
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Note: Letter-graded.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 99. Tutorial—Senior Year
Catalog Number: 7531
H. Peik Larsen and members of the Department; Thursday Seminar (ordinarily, for VES studio track concentrators): Klaus Kertess
Full course. Hours to be arranged. Th., Seminar for VES studio concentrators: 7–9 p.m.
Note: Studio concentrators enrolled in VES 99 are required to attend a weekly seminar on Thursdays 7-9 p.m. in addition to working with the senior tutorial adviser. This seminar will explore the interplay between visual intelligence and verbal intelligence in the context of contemporary art. Reading and writing assignments will focus on how we construct vision and how we attempt to translate the seen into the written and spoken. The Seminar is not limited to VES studio concentrators and may be taken for credit by non-VES students by registering for “VES 190r. Projects and Research.” It is presumed to be a full-year course, but may be divided. Permission of Head Tutor and instructor required.
*Visual and Environmental Studies 190r. Projects and Research
Catalog Number: 8371
H. Peik Larsen and members of the Department
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Note: Permission of Head Tutor and instructor required. Ordinarily, this course is limited to non-VES concentrators wishing to carry out an independent project with a VES faculty member. Additionally, it is possible for a non-VES concentrator to enroll in the seminar described in VES 99, however a non-VES concentrator must enroll for this seminar as VES 190r.