Course Description

An independent directed course with faculty supervision for seniors in preparation of their graduation exhibition. Students are required to produce a series of conceptually motivated artworks, accompanied by pertinent research, a relevant artist statement, and digital promotion of one’s work. All work will be evaluated by the art faculty via digital presentations and a Spring-term oral defense.

 

COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

1. Interact with students in order to facilitate time management in the production of a series of works and the understanding of their and their peer’s work. 

2. Facilitate dialogue and critique amongst the students in order to shape the concept within their bodies of work, as well as the inclusion of liberal arts-based research.

3. Foster the ability to produce a worthwhile artist statement (if already in progress, to finalize the language in order for a cohesive, yet personal statement to speak to their audience. (Culled beyond personal interest)

4.Initiate a layout plan for their artwork within their chosen venue and assist them in a professional manner in order to hang/install their exhibition.

5. Uphold safe studio practices and procedures in order to be compliant within their studios (MSDS) and their designated venue. 

6. Introduce the students to the necessary procedures on applying for gallery representation, graduate studies, artist-in-residencies, and final aspects of their senior exhibitions by way of digital documentation and promotion.

 

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES:

1. Students will uphold a daily planned schedule that holds oneself and others accountable for the final production of their senior exhibition (new works to be produced in/for class).

2. Students will engage with faculty and one another by presenting their ideas and research and offering critical analysis to focus and improve the quality of their works. 

3. Students will produce an artist statement that supports the work in their senior exhibition. (Personal, yet universal) (varied styles acceptable)

4.Students will provide digital thumbnails and a template for the placement of their works within their chosen venue (on-going mockups that change throughout the semester).

5. Students will maintain NASAD/EPA certified studios that are safe for themselves, their peers, and their faculty.

6. Students will successfully apply to the arts-related path of their choice, to be accompanied by properly produced packets (both hardcopy/ electronic versions that include a letter of intent, CV, bio, artist statement, actual works and accompanying slide list w/titles, media, size, year, and price).

 

Final Digital Portfolio

Students enrolled in ART 495 are required to maintain a Digital Portfolio documenting all production of works created in the course that will be used within their senior exhibition. Documentation is required throughout the semester and will be reviewed and graded by the instructor on record for accuracy and quality. High resolution images should be utilized for personal websites, social media, as well as the shared ART 495 Google Drive folder. 

 

Digital Presentations

Throughout the semester, Art 495 students digitally present their work in order to build an ongoing conversation on how to promote their work, which results in their spring solo exhibition. By utilizing their websites and social media, platforms are engaged with in order to manage their own works as well as 

their peers. Process videos by way of Instagram and TikTok entail studio production, as well as digital documentation of works at multiple stages of their development, allowing students to compare/contrast/manipulate and evolve their works until completion, of which builds anticipation for their audience, peers, and like-minded constituents. 

 

Skill Building Exercises 

Artist Statement: Throughout the semester, students generate multiple iterations of personal statements that define their ongoing body of work. By weekly editing, the Artist Statements become working documents that are encouraged to evolve along with the actual production of their artwork. Multiple edits are thoroughly scrutinized by their faculty and peers alike. Students undergo a variance of workshops that allow for a concise description of what, how, and why they have made the work they have produced. Conceptual growth, grammatical exactitude, accuracy of language, as well as a plethora of styles and formats (first-person narrative, third-person objective, conversational, poetic, etc…) are covered, of which allows for an open-ended grading rubric until two weeks prior to the installation. 

 

YO/OP: Students enrolled in Senior Project present weekly, on a rolling basis, opinion related editorials found within contemporary artworld periodicals. This fall term exercise generates conversation that facilitates decidedly pointed perspectives, building in tandem with their own voices. Whether in digital format or hardcopy, students are required to glean from regional/national/global sources such as: Art Forum, Hyperallergic, Burnaway, and ArtNet. Not only an article review, the “Your Opinion” assignment commands subjective forethought in regard to the critical connection to greater artworld banter and happenings. YO/OP depends upon subjective language, art theoretical association of practice as well as conceptual and cultural perception by maintaining professionalism during slanted discourse. 

 

Art Crush: This spring term exercise questions the student’s interest in contemporary artists and proposes, “are you looking at the right artists?” Meant to challenge Senior Project student’s thinking beyond fascination, this exercise is presented weekly, on a rolling basis, focusing on issues of installation and the presentation of one’s work within a given space. Students are required to elaborate on their preferred practitioner’s use of layout, lighting, and any additional equipment (sound, video, etc) and how/why these issues can either make, break, or hinder an exhibition. Details, Images and video-related examples are to be of heavy use in order to glean possible scenarios for their senior shows. 

 

Mock-up/Model: Small scale prototypes are constructed between midterm and the final of the fall semester. Once students have accrued enough finished work to digitally print thumbnails, they render models of the Milliken Gallery ( or exhibition space equivalent staying within departmental policy) in order to initiate the configuration of their senior show. Moveable walls consisting of foamcore and t-pins work to establish the layout of their exhibition. This exercise is key to understanding time management and how to finalize their core concept into a manageable installation by the beginning to middle of their spring semester. Additional aspects, such as lighting, sound, electrical sources and digital projection are also lectured upon in order to be prepared in advance. 

 

Post-Baccalaureate Application: Procedural options beyond the undergraduate degree are covered during Senior Project, of which include application to Graduate MFA programs, Artist Residencies, and Commercial Gallery representation. Students are presented with multiple avenues in which to facilitate growth beyond the BFA degree. Each post-bac option is thoroughly examined, with real-world examples by way of FaceTime discussions with virtual visiting artists, on-site visits, and detailed step-by-step simulation. Proposals are turned into working applications based upon actual student needs. Each semester of ART 495, the students are required to apply to one or several post-bac possibilities. 

Professional Practices: Senior Project students are required to enter artworld publications as well as juried exhibitions in order to continue growing their curriculum vitae. Seniors are regularly accepted and involved in fine art shows across the country. On a weekly basis, seniors share opportunities during class 

and online, as well as present their pre-professional development at the beginning of the session. Lectures by faculty as well, round out the students, giving them insight into additional manners into promoting their work, including literary and design call for entries and papers, contract work, commission-driven opportunities, pop-up exhibitions, local community engagement, et al. 

 

Course Projects

Main Body of Work: Ongoing production throughout semester.

 

Students begin ART 495 by proposing their semester’s body of work by submitting a Digital Presentation via either Powerpoint or Google Slides along with a typed, well conceived document that entails the conceptual premise of their content and subject matter along with specifics relating to construction, media, materials, and studio practices. Students are to involve pertinent research that correlates to their conceptual framework by way of the General Education (GEP) curriculum. The development of a universal perspective beyond the personal is thoroughly considered in tandem with the production of each work. Though not required, Senior Project students are encouraged to conduct cross-disciplinary boundaries that will bolster an academically sound collection of individual, yet relatable artworks within their series. The main body work produced in the fall and spring semesters accounts for the bulk of the student’s senior exhibition, of which should fill the entirety of Milliken Gallery.