Charlotte Woolf

Color is one of life's great joys. Visual artists and designers learn to orchestrate color and use it in a particularly sensitive and purposeful manner, just as composers learn to orchestrate sound to create music. This course is about the orchestration of color by design. Students begin by doing a series of formal exercises designed to expand their understanding of color interaction and design principles. They then use what they have learned to complete a series of mixed-media collages of their own design. Conceptual and formal growth is stressed, as is creativity. Students work with pigmented paper and "found objects." This counts toward the introductory requirement for the major. No prerequisite. Offered once every third year.

This course is an introduction to the principles, strategies and processes of photographic practice. It is designed to broaden the student's aesthetic explorations and to help the student develop a visual language in the media. This course includes instruction in digital camera operation such as image editing, creative camera work, color digital printing, and both natural and studio lighting concepts and composition. Through readings and discussions, students are introduced to different ways of conceptualizing photography, and students will examine a range of historical and contemporary photo work as an essential part of understanding the possibilities of image making. This is a project-structured course, with lectures, demonstrations, project assignments, regular critiques with active participation, discussions and one exam. Having a personal digital camera is recommended, although some cameras are available for student check out to complete the course. This counts toward the introductory course requirement for the major. No prerequisite.

This course enables students to explore digital media while engaging in aesthetic and conceptual practices in contemporary art. They come to understand the fundamentals of visual form and to develop technical skills with a variety of camera and computer tools, including still-image and video-editing programs. Personal studio projects cover a variety of subjects, such as the relationship between the arts, popular culture and the liberal arts; the historic role of technology in the arts; and the role of one's cultural and historical context in the creation and interpretation of artwork. Through theory and practice, students enhance their art-criticism skills, allowing for productive group interactions and the defining of personal aesthetic vision. Presentations and demonstrations by the professor are supplemented by student research and response to contemporary artists and issues. At least 10 hours of work per week outside of class is required. This counts toward the introductory course requirement for the major. No prerequisite. Offered every semester.

In this course. students will develop their understanding of color photography as a medium for contemporary art, and as a ubiquitous messaging system doubly bound to veracity and deception. Students will produce digital photographs and then utilize various procedures for image editing, manipulation and color digital printing. Students will create and maintain a web portfolio of their coursework. Theory and workflow, digital camera operation and use of color as an element in photographic design will be covered. This counts toward the intermediate requirement for the major and minor. Prerequisite: ARTS 106, 107 or permission of instructor. Offered every third year.

This course is an intermediate-level study of digital photography as a creative medium. Students should have a solid foundation in image editing and asset management software, as well as knowledgeable digital camera skills including aperture and shutter-speed selection for exposure control and visual impact. Assignments focus on the development of a unique and individual relationship with making pictures to question preconceived ideas and photographic boundaries, foster conceptual growth and intensively discuss and integrate critical thought with practice. Students may work in a variety of approaches and styles, such as documentary, environmental portraiture, visual storytelling, abstraction and others. Having a personal digital camera is recommended, although some cameras are available for student check out to complete the course. Prerequisite: ARTS 106, ARTS 107.

This course is structured to familiarize art students with the complex terrain of the contemporary art world. Students first research and then use as a point of departure various aspects and trends that have been prevalent in the art world over the past 20 years. Projects include researching concept proposals, artist statements and other written materials; oral presentation; model-building; and a finished body of work. Students are responsible for choosing the media and methods for the fabrication of these projects. Students perform readings and research as well as oral/written presentations on various aspects of the aesthetic dialogue that has contributed to the shaping of contemporary art. All bodies of work grow out of the course research and are generated in consultation with the professor and the class as a whole. Creativity and development strategies help guide students in their conceptual process. This counts toward the intermediate course requirement for the major. No prerequisite. Junior standing, Arts major only.