Philosophy of Art, Media, and Design

This foundational course is meant to support and enliven students involved in art, media, and design studio production and practice by introducing them to art and design theory. We will be both theoretical and hands-on as we ask how and why visual objects take on meaning and value. How do they come to be as objects of art and design? How do these objects 'dematerialize' when they are reproduced as images, representations, and concepts? How does the decidedly material everyday object reappear as art?

The focus on objects is meant to ground our thinking and reading and allow us to activate these in an open and inquisitive space. As a concept, an image, and an object, the ‘chair’ will give us our basic shared model for that inquiry. We will look at it through various lenses and ways of seeing, treating it as real, imaginary, and symbolic. To that end, we will photograph and sketch chairs as we find them around us and as we seek them out in the world, coming to see chairs as objects worthy of our focused investigation. We will also research and study iconic and everyday images of chairs.

‘Chair’ will be our shared object, then, and each of us will alter a found chair of our choosing week-by-week. We will get to choose our own additional object to alter as well (perhaps related to your studio or production practice). Our objects of inquiry will be touchstones for our engagement with classical and contemporary art and design theory. We will read short and challenging selections from aesthetics and the philosophy of art, and we will help each other understand what these readings have to offer. We will ask why artists and designers do what they do and look at issues of form and functionality.

The course is open to all students, and it is particularly designed to support part-time students enrolled in art, media, and design-related certificate programs, whether wood, graphic design, weaving, audio, or other related certificate offerings. Students will learn to do annotations of texts and images, engage in seminar and small-group conversations, keep a digital notebook of reading reflections, and develop an image library. At the end of the quarter, students will present a philosophical analysis of their chosen special object of inquiry in the context of art, media, and design theory.

The course will be hosted on Canvas and Zoom. Synchronous participation in the three hours of class is required, and students can expect to spend an additional 3-4 hours per week completing assignments.

Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:

4 - Theory of Art, Media, and Design