Taught by

The dominant concept of Euro-U.S. fine art holds that first and foremost, art serves the artist's self-expression. This assumption requires viewers of art to relinquish their own associations and experiences, and essentially submit to art’s "power." Other theories suggest that art serves varied roles extending well beyond the artist’s self-expression. For millennia, indigenous and ancient cultures have created and used images and objects to serve ritual and ceremony, or to galvanize communities. Only recently have Euro-U.S. contemporary artists taken up alternative forms and functions—deploying art as a change agent, provoking examination of outmoded paradigms, and questioning the status quo. Images, objects, and experiences "sneak up" on us and surprise us. These works do so disguised as ordinary objects or images that we don’t initially perceive as art in the conventional sense. Such art appears in the guise of postcards and mail art, graphic novels, web zines, flip books, actions and performances, toys and other forms. In this program, we will question and explore the division between the purpose art has traditionally served and alternative ways art can operate. We will pursue this inquiry through multiple learning modes, including studio practice, contemporary art theory and art history lectures, screenings, readings, written assignments, individual creative projects, and seminars.

We will ground the program in two studio practices: animation and printmaking. Because both originate in drawing, students will devote significant time to learning drawing skills and theory. In fall, students will work back and forth between drawn and reproduced images, animation and intaglio printmaking, static and moving pictures. In winter, they will continue this process in addition to developing independent projects that further their own inquiries into these practices. Creating individual and collective projects, students will gain basic studio skills and foundational visual and media literacy. They will learn a range of creative concept development practices, enhancing their knowledge of alternative ways of making and thinking about art.

Quarters

Fall Open Winter Open

Location and Schedule

Final Schedule and Room Assignment

• Fall

Campus Location

Olympia

Time Offered

Day