Visual Arts

Visual Art Courses

The following courses satisfy the Arts Program requirement. Each course is an intensive foundation course designed to give students a thorough introduction to basic techniques, principles of visual communication, and artistic expression of ideas. After completing a foundation level course, students are encouraged to pursue areas in greater depth in the Advanced Elective program

Notes:

These courses require no previous experience. Students with little experience will be supported in their learning in a step-by-step process. Students who have had some experience will be challenged with more advanced options within each project area as the course progresses.
Students with definite interest in visual art are strongly encouraged to take their first course in Class III so that they may take an advanced course in Classes I or II in time to complete a college portfolio. Each of these Arts Program courses will give students opportunities to produce some of the work necessary to begin a college portfolio should they choose to do so.

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Studio Art
Satisfies Arts Program Requirement
Open to Classes I–III ONLY
In this intensive foundation course, students will be introduced to drawing, design, painting, sculpture and ceramics. Other options may include printmaking, digital imaging and mixed media. This course allows beginners to succeed and experienced students to be challenged fully. Studio Art is a course for students who like action and “doing.” Basic exercises will culminate in major projects. Students will learn visual language, apply techniques, and solve problems by means of a creative process. Each student will be asked to commit to exploring ideas, to experiment with an open mind, and to go as far as possible in making expressions personal, dramatic and original. The course will include field trips to art museums and contact with professional artists.

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Photography
Satisfies Arts Program Requirement
Open to Classes I–III ONLY
The ground beneath the world of photography has been shifting as digital photography has become the dominant medium for capturing and processing images. This course follows that shift. While some exposure to traditional film and paper techniques will be maintained, the dominant tools for exploring photography will be digital cameras, scanners, computers and printers. The emphasis on seeing, discovery and imaginative creativity will remain. Students will develop craftsmanship in making fine prints, becoming fluent in the language of the medium as a means of personal expression, while sharpening their perception of their world. Digital photography will allow much more work with color, though work with black and white images will remain dominant. The interdisciplinary foundations of photography will be studied through consideration of the aesthetics of the art form, the works of significant photographers, the science of image making, and the role of photography in journalism. Loan cameras will be available, including 35mm film cameras and fully adjustable and automatic digital single lens reflex cameras with zoom lenses.

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3-D Studio Art
Satisfies Arts Program Requirement
Open to Classes I–III ONLY
This course centers on the three-
dimensional design and construction of functional and artistic objects. Students solve a series of design problems in a hands-on way, acquire skill in the use of hand and power tools, and learn design principles that inform both industrial and fine arts. Projects may include the making of clocks, rustic furniture, toys, kinetic sculptures, architectural models, inventions and material inspired expressions. Students will consider the difference between unity and variety, explore the relationship of art to utility, and learn basic concepts of form, space, rhythm, balance and function. Does form always follow function? What works? What is good design? What is beautiful? Why?

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Film & Video Production:Moving Image
Satisfies Arts Program Requirement
Open to Classes I–III ONLY
This course introduces students to the basic principles and practices of video production. The course is project-based with substantial production assignments in documentary, music video, broadcast journalism and narrative. Students learn the basics of pre-production, principles of effective camera technique, the editing process and production management. Special attention is also given to the role of video media in society and culture.

Semester Electives
(Classes II and I)

The department offers advanced level courses in art and design for students who wish to study specific areas in depth. Students will develop higher level skills, interpret more sophisticated ideas, and create work at a more ambitious scale. Although these courses are structured with themes and assignments, students will work in an increasingly independent way.

The department recommends (but does not require) that a student who elects a first semester course take a second semester course as well. The department strongly recommends semester over half courses, but will consider requests from students who can only pursue a course for half credit. Requests for any of these half courses must be made in the spring because later adjustments in the schedule may not be possible.

Courses to be offered are:

First Semester
(1) Advanced Art: Drawing
(2) Advanced Art: Photography
(3) Advanced Art: Sculpture
(4) Advanced Independent Art (2-D, 3-D, or Photo) Class I only

Second Semester
(5) Advanced Art: Painting
(6) Advanced Art: Ceramics
(7) Advanced Art: Architecture
(8) Advanced Independent Art (2-D, 3-D, or Photo) Class I only

The prerequisite for semester electives is a full-year Arts Program course or the equivalent. The visual arts department recommends that students take Studio Art, Photography or 3-D Studio Art before taking an elective. Preference may be given to students who have taken these courses. Permission to take an advanced course may be denied if a student’s preparation or experience is insufficient. Such permission must be obtained from the department chair before registering for these courses.

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Advanced Art: Drawing (Semester 1)
In this course, students work in many different media to explore major genres of drawing. The course begins with an intensive review of fundamental concepts of line, volume, space, light and composition. Landscape drawing will be done on location in the Blue Hills or at the edge of Boston Harbor. Students will create a social issue drawing that is intended to be psychological. Past topics have included a portrait of gender, a response to the Holocaust, and an interpretation of bystander mentality. After doing “life drawing” of the human figure, the course culminates in a large drawing in color on a fantasy theme that may explore surrealism, dreams or mythology.

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Advanced Art: Photography (Semester 1)
This course leads experienced students into new technical, aesthetic and journalistic areas. Each student will have full access to a digital single lens reflex camera as the dominant mode of taking photographs, though limited work with film will remain as a creative option. Students will be expected to develop their personal vision and explore the creative options in the medium through work with photojournalism, portraiture, sports, studio lighting, macro-photography and landscape, as well as the transformation and combination of images through the tools of Adobe Photoshop. A portfolio of finished and mounted prints will be expected, including large format display prints. Support for the creation of portfolios for college admissions will be integral to early work. (ARAPH, a full year, half course option, may be available with special departmental permission.)

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Advanced Art: Sculpture (Semester 1)
In this course students will be challenged to do hands-on work to explore a range of ideas and possibilities. Students learn to hand-build with clay, to design and construct forms with wood, to carve soapstone, to weld with metal and to cast forms with plaster. By investigating properties of shape, form and surface, and by using a variety of hand and power tools, students acquire technical skills and self-confidence in self-expression. Project themes may range from the abstract to the symbolic. Past projects have included surrealistic transformations of found objects like computers or windows, interpretive self-portraits in Joseph Cornell-style boxes, and the welding of life-sized figures.

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Advanced Art: Painting (Semester 2)
This course challenges students to make the transition from drawing to painting. Introductory exercises review the observation of forms in terms of volume, light, surface, and, most of all, in terms of color. Students experiment with a variety of styles using acrylics. They then apply these concepts to create paintings from observation and paintings from the imagination. Topics may include the human face and figure, landscape, surrealism and dreamscapes. Students finish with a major independent painting of their own choosing. The course will include field trips to galleries or museums.

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Advanced Art: Ceramics (Semester 2)
This course covers the basic techniques of working with clay: sculptural hand-building, slab and coil construction, wheel-throwing and glazing. The course emphasizes individual expression in clay, whether artistic or functional. The projects range from traditional teapots and bowls to surrealistic transformations of objects to large abstract sculptural expressions. Past projects have included totems of male and female figures, and ceremonial objects and heads.

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Advanced Art: Architecture (Semester 2)
This course develops the skills of drawing and model building while students explore the process of architecture, working through each design step for a building from their imagination. This comprehensive introduction covers the aesthetic issues, structural design and functional parameters that are essential to the creation of spaces and structures. Students explore drawing as a tool in analysis, planning and presentation, and in free-hand rendering. Students are also introduced to mechanical drafting and computer-assisted drafting. The course includes field trips to notable buildings, construction sites and the offices of practicing architects.

The following courses are Advanced Independent Art courses and are open to Class I students only.
Note: A half course option (course code ARARH or ARISH) of Advanced Independ-ent Art or Advanced Independent Studio may be available under special circumstances; however, full-time semester study is strongly encouraged. (Departmental permission required for either.)

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Advanced Independent Art 2-D (Semester 1 or Semester 2)
Advanced Independent Art 2-D is a seminar-based course, for Class I students, designed to meet the individual needs of students with visual ideas they wish to explore in depth. Most students will use this time to complete work for their college portfolios. Working together in a classroom structure, these 2-D students will benefit from dialogues with each other, critiques and field trips. (Prerequi-site: At least one, and preferably more than one, advanced semester elective in art or
permission of the department.)

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Advanced Independent Art 3-D (Semester 1 or Semester 2)
Having completed advanced 3-D electives, students may request to work independently in ceramics or sculpture. If approved, these students will work on a tutorial or class basis depending on the enrollment. (Prerequi-site: At least one, and preferably more than one, advanced semester elective in art or permission of the department.)

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Advanced Independent Photography (Semester 1 or Semester 2)
Having completed Advanced Photography or the equivalent, students may request to work independently in photography on a tutorial or class basis. (Prerequi-site: At least one, and preferably more than one, advanced semester elective in art or permission of the department.)