In this course, we examine gender -- not your biologically assigned equipment, but those social constructs that shape and define what is male, what is female and what is that less absolute space between and beyond. Weekly assignments often begin by reviewing the traditional role of women and men in American culture but through a contemporary lens, examining the astoundingly colorful range of gender and sex identities that cannot be limited to simply pink and blue. We'll turn stereotypes inside out, flip popular icons upside down, and rework familiar images from hallowed museums. We'll search for fresh depictions of abstract concepts like conception, contraception, relationships, power, etc. This course offers equal opportunity for XX's, XY's and those outside the binary. This course fulfills the Illustration Concepts Elective requirement for Illustration majors.

Elective

When we read, retell, or illustrate, a story, we reveal something about ourselves. What motivates an artist to explore one particular theme over another? Whether it is a political issue, a personal obsession, or of purely aesthetic interest, this course will require students to find personal meaning in the narrative sources they select for class projects. Assignments will include the creation of a visual development project that culminates in a singular narrative illustration, as well as a series of sequential images for a text, and a final project that may be formatted as book, comic, toy, game or other translation of visual narrative. Discussions will include the integration of text and image, POV, composition for storytelling, character turn-arounds, media usage, and style concerns in the service of communicating the essential meaning of a story.

This course fulfills the Illustration Concepts Elective requirement for Illustration majors.

Elective

Animals have enjoyed a prominent place in art for as long as humans have been creating it, beginning with the caves in Lascaux. Along the way they have figured prominently in myths fables and allegories, fulfilling symbolic roles in a wealth of picture books, and appeared as frequent players in visual metaphors employed by editorial illustrators. This course will provide opportunities for students to work within a variety of illustration genres, finding their own approach to working with representations of animal life. There will be in-depth exploration of creature anthropomorphism and its uses- from social and political satire to its capabilities in a wide range of storytelling methods. From JJ Granville to Spiegelman's Maus, to children's book greats like Richard Scarry and Arthur Geisert, the human-animal/animal-human is an enduring motif that will continue to be reinvented and expanded upon. Students will have the ability to channel projects and assignments towards formats of their choosing - including painting and other gallery-based practices, children's publishing, artist books, comics and zines.

This course fulfills the Illustration Concepts Elective requirement for Illustration majors.

Elective

In this course, students will create a comprehensive visual essay on a topic that they propose. Participants will engage in extensive investigation and create a series of images that explore, reveal, and/or explain a particular subject or concept. Emphasis will be placed on the development of content through research, and the organization of consistent refined works through presentations that synthesize ideas as pictorial or graphic imagery that may include or refer to textual information. Final presentations may be printed, digital, exhibited as originals or include cross-platform or time-based imagery. A wide range of commercial applications and opportunities will be explored. The semester will begin with short projects that introduce useful skills and approaches. The remainder of the term will focus on a single conceptual endeavor. Contemporary and historic examples of visual essay will be examined and discussed. Student research may lead beyond campus.

This course fulfills the Illustration Concepts Elective requirement for Illustration majors.

Elective

The class aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the art of mural painting. The course will explore the historical significance of murals, examine different mural styles and techniques, and encourag­e students to express their own ideas through the creation of murals. Through a combination of lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on workshops, students will develop the neces­sary skills and knowledge to conceptualize, plan, and execute murals of various scales. The course will culminate in a real world mural installation for the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and School including three walls designed and painted by students. 

Elective

A society's history is written in its stones. From the dystopias of Gotham City or Grand Theft Auto, the hive mind of the Borg and the ecstatic asceticism of the Shakers, to the suburban conformity of Levittown and the Sphinx half buried in sand, every city, every society, is an embodiment of ideas, history, geography, and beliefs. Each built environment has its own logic, both architectural and cultural. With some provocative writings about the phenomenon of the city as inspiration, you will be asked to conceptualize a place and bring it to life visually. The essence of a city - its buildings, pathways, public and private spaces - depends on how you define the character of its people, its government, its history, its geographic siting and even its language. After defining a back-story in broad strokes, you will begin researching the implications of those choices visually. Working from thumbnails and sketches to finished conceptualization, you will explore compelling physical and conceptual viewpoints, with a variety of possibilities in the use of media and technique. Rather than limiting ourselves to purely pragmatic architecture, the class will be searching for imaginative visualizations, where form becomes poetic metaphor suggestive of narrative.

This course fulfills the Illustration Concepts Elective requirement for Illustration majors.

Elective

Students in this course will investigate the specific physical structure of the human body, with the aim of producing drawings of greater structural and visual integrity and more fluid descriptions of movement and weight in the figure. We will proceed through the skeletal and muscular systems at a brisk but reasonable pace, learning names, points of articulation and the dynamic functions of each component of the body. Each weekly assignment will consist of a careful, descriptive drawing of an element of the skeletal or muscular system, and a 'dynamic' drawing in which that same element is shown in action in the living figure. We will also review the work of artists, both contemporary and historical, who have made vital artistic use of the elements of anatomical study. The course includes an optional field trip to the Brown University Evolutionary Biology Lab to draw from cadavers. There will be at least one written test on anatomical facts and terminology. The course culminates in a final project on the theme of 'A Human Ideal', exploring past concepts of idealized form in the figure in relation to anatomical reality and contemporary cultural perspectives.

Elective

Students in this course will investigate the specific physical structure of the human body, with the aim of producing drawings of greater structural and visual integrity and more fluid descriptions of movement and weight in the figure. We will proceed through the skeletal and muscular systems at a brisk but reasonable pace, learning names, points of articulation and the dynamic functions of each component of the body. Each weekly assignment will consist of a careful, descriptive drawing of an element of the skeletal or muscular system, and a 'dynamic' drawing in which that same element is shown in action in the living figure. We will also review the work of artists, both contemporary and historical, who have made vital artistic use of the elements of anatomical study. The course includes an optional field trip to the Brown University Evolutionary Biology Lab to draw from cadavers. There will be at least one written test on anatomical facts and terminology. The course culminates in a final project on the theme of 'A Human Ideal', exploring past concepts of idealized form in the figure in relation to anatomical reality and contemporary cultural perspectives.

Elective

Color is arguably the single most expressive and mysterious tool available to the artist. However, many artists who are skilled in black and white drawing have difficulty when they turn their hand to color. Crayon creates a bridge, which is at once less intimidating than more traditional media, while at the same time capable of producing highly sophisticated imagery. Through classroom exercises an awareness of the transformative power of color is awoken. Limited color underdrawings are further developed with multiple layers of color. The use of warm and cool color relationships as well as the exploration of polarities of color, in order to create rich, dramatic effects, is examined in depth. Class work gives the student the opportunity to work from the live model. For homework, the student is encouraged to engage in subject matter which has personal significance, perhaps something one had always wanted to create but hadn't had the opportunity.

Preference is given to Junior and Senior Illustration Students.

Elective

This course will build on the skills established in Sophomore Painting, while broadening the students' understanding of options available to the painter. The primary work of the semester will be on individually directed projects, worked on both in and out of class. Overall, a goal of establishing a personal visual vocabulary of facture and image will be emphasized. Students will be encouraged to particularize their use of the painting medium and their approach to subject and statement through color, painterly touch, format, use of materials, drawing and compositional decisions, stylistic reference and implied narrative. The core medium of the class will be oil paint, but this may be augmented or extended by other media. The course will include group exercises designed to solidify a basic understanding of drawing, the use of the medium and the principles of color. Periodic outside assignments will extend this practice while emphasizing personal choice and expressive adjustment based on individual priorities. A flexible format for in-class work on personal projects will allow group interaction to coexist with individually directed work. The semester's goal for each student will be to define a direction for future work in painting.

Elective

Throughout history, the natural environment has been a subject of charm and awe for the artist, from the delicately painted frescoes in ancient Roman homes to the 16th century, when the landscape transcended the role of 'background', and gained momentum as a sublime subject in its own right. This is a course on the history of techniques, concepts, possibilities, and purposes in landscape painting. The class will encourage exploration of landscape as sublime subject, as metaphor for human experience or as the battleground for politically charged debate of environmental issues, among other possible approaches. Students will work on location and in studio, learning approaches to plein air painting as well as incorporation of references in the construction of natural environments.

Elective

Many artists have used metaphor as a way to process complex information and emotion in order to reflect on internal and external realities. Each artist draws upon their own unique index of symbols that derive from the personal, the mythic and the universal. An artist must learn to see how their own associations with their symbols circulate within a larger orbit of meaning. This class aims to equip students with a framework of thinking that allows for rigorous self-examination and historical exploration. The most powerful works of art refract light on unseen connections. In this class, students will be encouraged to make connections between their internal and external worlds. Written and image-making assignments will aim to help students navigate their world of symbols. The classwork will consist of individual, partner + group assignments.

Elective

This course will be a forum for the interchange of ideas on personal fine art practice, extending the discussion and direction of Advanced Painting (ILLUS-3216) and other fine arts media practice. The principle goal of the course is to strengthen the understanding and the creative work of the participants in relation to the visual arts, as it is understood in our culture at this time, including painting, drawing and 3-D media. through study of the history of art, and through concerted work on individual projects, and group discussion. The 20th and 21st century have witnessed a far-reaching series of revolutions in the visual arts during which all components of art media were dissected, analyzed and reassembled in radically different form. Through an awareness of these developments, students in the Illustration Department can gain an advanced understanding of painting, drawing and 3-D media beyond our traditional emphasis on classical realism, though not exclusive of realistic practice. Students specifically interested in a career as a fine artist, making work for exhibition as an expression of personal vision, will find a thorough examination of this path at it existed in the past, and as it exists now, both in terms of philosophical and expressive ambition, critical expectations and in terms of the practicalities of the marketplace. Students who are primarily interested in illustration will find new ways of thinking about concept and innovative methods for giving an idea visual form. The primary vehicle for our discussions will be weekly reviews of work generated by the students in the class. We will alternate between group critiques every two weeks, and one on one discussions between myself and each participant in the class every other week. Each student will be responsible for conceiving and executing an open-ended project in painting that they will develop during the course. The course will also include slide lectures on various aspects of contemporary and historical practice in painting, readings from various texts, brief writing assignments based on those texts and a field trip to New York or another professional venue for contemporary art. Evaluation of individual participation in the course will also be based on vocal participation in group critiques, thoughtful response to assigned readings, and the quality of verbal and written artist's statements.

Elective

The ability to merge imagery from various sources is an essential skill for illustrators and fine artists alike. In a series of projects, students will gather sketches, drawings and photographs, and combine them to exist solidly and convincingly together in space. We will discuss the importance of lighting, color, and value in creating a believable scene, and explore the methods and techniques used by illustrators and painters past and present. Class time will be divided between the computer lab (where students will manipulate their images using Photoshop and other tools) and the studio, where illustrations and paintings will be completed using a variety of media, including pen and ink, watercolor, and acrylic paint. This course fulfills the Computer Literacy requirement for Illustration majors.

Elective

This course introduces digital media for Illustrators using computer applications: image drawing, painting and editing in Photoshop, and vector graphics using Illustrator. While orienting students to the technical aspects of digital media, the class also provides an essential link to the Illustration Department's drawing, painting and conceptual curriculum.

This course fulfills the Computer Literacy requirement for Illustration majors.

Elective

This course introduces digital media for Illustrators using computer applications: image drawing, painting and editing in Photoshop, and vector graphics using Illustrator. While orienting students to the technical aspects of digital media, the class also provides an essential link to the Illustration Department's drawing, painting and conceptual curriculum.

This course fulfills the Computer Literacy requirement for Illustration majors.

Elective

This course introduces digital media for Illustrators using computer applications: image drawing, painting and editing in Photoshop, and vector graphics using Illustrator. While orienting students to the technical aspects of digital media, the class also provides an essential link to the Illustration Department's drawing, painting and conceptual curriculum.

This course fulfills the Computer Literacy requirement for Illustration majors.

Elective

One commonality amongst all illustrators is the ability to draw. This course builds on principles of traditional drawing, color theory, composition, and with a focus on observational drawing using digital tablet devices. Students will expand on techniques learned at the introductory level to broaden their use of digital mark making tools. Weekly classroom exercise in the first two-thirds of the semester range from careful studies of objects and figures in space, to capturing landscape settings; with the last third engaged in exploring painting from imagination. More involved homework assignments will challenge students to adapt previously acquired drawing skills translated into the digital medium. The main computer application to be used in the course is Photoshop, with an introduction to Painter toward the end of the semester. The goal of the class is to give students a strong foundation in digital painting that can be adapted to their future professional Illustration practice.

This course fulfills the Computer Literacy requirement for Illustration majors.

Prerequisite: ILLUS-3304

Elective

One commonality amongst all illustrators is the ability to draw. This course builds on principles of traditional drawing, color theory, composition, and with a focus on observational drawing using digital tablet devices. Students will expand on techniques learned at the introductory level to broaden their use of digital mark making tools. Weekly classroom exercise in the first two-thirds of the semester range from careful studies of objects and figures in space, to capturing landscape settings; with the last third engaged in exploring painting from imagination. More involved homework assignments will challenge students to adapt previously acquired drawing skills translated into the digital medium. The main computer application to be used in the course is Photoshop, with an introduction to Painter toward the end of the semester. The goal of the class is to give students a strong foundation in digital painting that can be adapted to their future professional Illustration practice.

This course fulfills the Computer Literacy requirement for Illustration majors.

Prerequisite: ILLUS-3304

Elective

This course is designed to allow students to develop high-concept, semester long projects with a focus on digital media. Group or individual projects can be based on, but not limited to, narratives, production art, interactive media, installation, concept design, or work in series. The course will be structured with a professional schedule in mind including three important critique milestones to ensure a substantial end product is delivered at the end of the semester. Special emphasis will be placed on presentation, originality, and clarity of ideas as pivotal to overall quality of this culminating project. The course is very demanding, and research intensive; special consideration with regards to time commitment should be taken before signing up.

This course fulfills the Computer Literacy requirement for Illustration majors.

Prerequisite: ILLUS-3304

Elective