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Art
The Department of
Art faculty consists of a nearly even number of artists and art
historians. These numbers underscore the Department's interest
in, and commitment to, a balanced study of the visual arts in
a liberal arts curriculum. The Allen Memorial Art Museum is an
important resource for art students. Courses routinely meet there
and students have the opportunity to participate in the Museum's
Docent program. Introductory courses -- whether in studio or art
history -- presuppose that the student has no prior experience
in art. The three majors offered -- art history, studio, and visual
arts -- are designed to offer individuals a solid preparation
for graduate school or a career in art-related fields.
Advanced Placement.
The Department of Art grants 3 credits in Art History for a score
of 5 on the AP test in Art History, as well as exemption from
the major requirement of one 100-level, 3-credit course in Western
Art History; the same exemption, though not the credit, may be
extended to students who score a 4 on the AP test in Art History.
The Department offers no credit and no exemption for AP work in
Studio Art.
Entry-level course
suggested sequence:
1. Art History.
Prospective majors are advised to take all required 100-level
introductory courses and to fulfill the history and language requirements
as early as possible in their college careers.
2. Studio Art. It
is highly advisable for those intending to major in Studio Art
to take one or more "Visual Concepts and Processes" courses as
early as possible. First-year students and sophomores considering
the major should consult with one of the studio instructors in
planning their programs.
Majors in the
Art Department: The Department of Art insists that its programs
of major study be deeply integrated with the overall liberal arts
education that Oberlin both endorses and offers. In planning their
programs of study, students should therefore keep in mind the
fact that all three major programs may be completed within the
two final years of work towards the B.A. degree. Requirements
for the three majors are as follows:
Art History.
No fewer than 32 credits in the Department of Art, to include at
least 26 credits in Art History and 3-6 credits in Studio Art.
Requirements within
the department are:
a. One 3-credit
100-level course in Western Art History
b. One 3-credit
course in East Asian Art History
c. At least
one 200-level or 300-level course in any four of the following fields
taught by the Department: (1) Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern;
(2) Medieval and Byzantine; (3) Renaissance and Baroque; (4) Modern;
(5) History of Architecture; (6) East Asian Art
d. At least
one 300-level seminar
e. 3 - 6 credits
in Studio Art
Other requirements
for the major are:
a. Two 3-credit
History courses in two different periods or cultures (may be courses
cross-listed with History by other departments, such as Classics,
African American Studies, or East Asian Studies)
b. One year
of a foreign language, or a demonstrated competence of the equivalent.
Students considering graduate study are strongly encouraged to
take advanced language courses. In general, graduate study of
East Asian Art requires a working knowledge of Japanese and/or
Chinese, while French and German are the most important languages
for Western Art History. Depending on the area of specialization,
other languages may also be necessary; e.g. Italian.
Studio Art.
No fewer than 30 hours. A Studio Art major must have taken at
least one course with at least four different studio instructors
before enrolling in the Senior Studio and Thesis.
Required courses
are:
a. Four
"Visual Concepts and Processes" courses (Senior Studio and Thesis
may substitute for one of the four required "Visual Concepts
and Processes" course and, under special circumstances, a problems
level course may substitute for one "Visual Concepts and Processes
course). Vis/Pro courses may be repeated for credit if taken
with a different instructor.
b. Two "Problems
in: (Discipline): (Title)" courses (These courses may be repeated
one time only for credit with the consent of the instructor).
Note: Courses offered by the Luce Professor in the Emerging
Arts may count as a Problems level course requirement.
c. Two courses
in Art History, one of which must be in nineteenth and/or twentieth-century
art, and one in an earlier field or "Approaches to Western Art."
Visual Arts.
This major allows individuals more flexibility to pursue an interdisciplinary
approach to the study of the visual arts. Concentrations in this
major can permit students to study art or architectural history
within a particular social, historical, or critical context, museum
studies, or art conservation. In addition, this major can serve
students wishing to pursue projects in the creative arts that
may combine creative writing, theater, dance, music, performance
art or architectural design. It may also be designed to accommodate
students who wish to study art in the context of another discipline
such as psychology, sociology, or philosophy, urban studies or
architectural theory, critical or cultural studies, art and the
law, arts management or multi-media work in computer science or
music. Students interested in this major are invited to consult
with members of the Art Department for further information. In
consultation with an advisor in the Art Department, intended majors
should devise a proposed major to meet their particular interests.
A visual arts major who chooses to take twelve hours outside the
Art Department should consult an additional advisor in the appropriate
department or program and provide a short rationale for the choice
of these courses. All proposals for this major are to be submitted
to the Chair of the Art Department for final approval. The proposal
should be submitted on a visual arts form (obtained from advisor
or departmental office) along with the standard declaration of
major form. Because the Visual Arts major requires more advanced
planning than the standard Art History and Studio Art majors,
it is strongly suggested that it be declared before the beginning
of the junior year. Any revisions to the proposed visual arts
major must be resubmitted to receive the advisor's consent.
Requirements
for the major are:
a. No fewer
than 36 credits, of which a minimum of 24 must be taken within
the Art Department; the other 12 credits may be chosen according
to the individual student's special interests, as determined
in conference with the student's advisor in the Art Department.
These credits may include additional courses from the Art Department
or related courses offered by other departments and programs
in the College or Conservatory. If they wish, students may name
a concentration for this major that will appear on their transcript.
b. Of the
24 minimum credits in the Art Department (Art History or Studio
courses), there should be at least 6 credits of courses on the
lower, intermediate, and upper levels.
Note:
Visual Arts majors not enrolled in Senior Studio Thesis, may take
two or more "Problems" courses in Studio Art; one of these may
be an advanced Private Reading course to be designed in
onsultation with
a Studio instructor, preferably in collaboration with one or
more other Visual Arts majors.
Transfer of
Credit/Major Credit for Off-Campus Study. The Art Department's
preliminary approval must be obtained before beginning work
away from Oberlin if this work is to be counted as credit for
the major. Students must receive tentative prior approval from
the Chairperson of the Art Department before leaving campus.
On return, students must supply both an official transcript
and evidence of the nature of the work done. Such requests,
as well as those of transfer students, will be handled on an
individual basis. The Department is not obliged to give credit
for work that fails to fit the general patterns of the Oberlin
curriculum or that fails to come up to Oberlin's standards,
no matter how valuable a student feels the experience has been,
or how much time and effort has been expended.
Art History:
No more than 12 credits may be transferred to an Art History major,
unless the courses were taken in an Oberlin-affiliated program.
Students should submit transcripts, syllabi, class notes, term
papers, and examinations in order to obtain final approval for
credit.
Studio Art: No
more than 6 credits may be transferred to a Studio Art major.
Students should submit transcripts and Syllabi to their advisors
to obtain major credit for work completed at other accredited
institutions.
Visual Arts:
No more than 12 credits may be transferred to a visual arts major;
of these, no more than 6 may be in either Art History or Studio
Art.
Minor in Art History
or Studio Art.
Students with 15 or more credits in Art History may graduate with
a minor in Art History entered on their transcripts. Students
with 15 or more credits in Studio Art may graduate with a minor
in Studio Art entered on their transcripts. These Studio Art courses
must be taken in at least three fields with three instructors.
There is no minor in Visual Arts.
Transfer of
credit: No more than 3 credits may be transferred for the
minor in Art History; departmental approval is required for such
transfers (see section on Major or Minor Credit for off-campus
study). No credit may be transferred to the minor in Studio Art.
Note: Students
are responsible for notifying the Registrar if they wish to
have the minor either in Art History or Studio Art entered on
their transcripts.
Honors Program.
Admission to the Honors Program is at the discretion of the Department.
Projects generally begin in one of two ways. An instructor may
approach a student in his or her junior year and indicate a willingness
to work with that student towards Honors. Alternatively, before
Spring Break of their junior year, students may broach the topic
with their academic advisor, following which they may then approach
a specific instructor whose interests coincide with the students'.
If the instructor agrees, the student collaborates with the instructor
to develop a project proposal. This proposal must be submitted
to the Art Department faculty by the instructor who will sponsor
the Honors project well in advance of the end of the spring semester
of the junior year. Final credit will depend upon effective presentation
of the results of such studies. (Studio art majors admitted to
Senior Studio and Thesis are regarded as taking Honors in studio
art.)
In Studio Art,
the utmost flexibility and maximum independence is stressed in
the programs of students invited to do Honors work.
In Art History,
Honors students are required to take ARTS 310: Art Historiography
and Methodology, a 3-credit private reading with their research
advisor in the first semester of the senior year; in the second
semester, they enroll for ARTS 399: Honors, for 3 credits.
GLCA Arts Program
in New York. The program consists of a semester of work,
normally in the junior year, combining an internship in an artist's
studio, or one of a variety of other art-connected organizations
and agencies, with a seminar in the arts of the city, and an
independent study. Successful completion earns 15 hours of credit
towards graduation; these credits cannot count as major credit
towards any of the departmental majors.
Architecture.
Oberlin students wishing to study architecture, urban planning,
or historic preservation during their junior year may apply
to the Urban Center in Philadelphia or to the Syracuse Program
in Florence, which has a specialization in architectural design.
Students have also studied in the Copenhagen Program, a design-intensive
program in architecture. For information or applications, see
the architecture advisor in the Art Department.
Winter Term.
Various Winter Term projects, including off-campus projects
such as gallery or museum internships or studio assistantships
with artists, and on-campus ones such as supervised individual
or group research projects, are typically sponsored by members
of the Art Department.
Preparation
for Further Professional Study. Students interested in
preparing for graduate studies in Studio Art, Museum Studies,
and Art Conservation should consider the following programs
of study:
1. Studio
Art. It is suggested that studio art majors who wish to
prepare for graduate study leading to the M.F.A. degree take
as many studio courses as allowed and it is strongly recommended
that they apply for Senior Studio and Thesis. Many of the
candidates competing for the limited number of placements
in graduate schools will have received the B.F.A. (studio)
degree (not offered at Oberlin) and have earned a substantially
higher number of studio credits than those required for the
studio major at Oberlin.
2. Museum
Studies.
Students wishing to pursue a museum career are advised to
consult with the curatorial staff of the Allen Memorial Art
Museum at their earliest convenience. There are both research
and teaching opportunities as curatorial interns and docents
available to interested and qualified students. Either an
Art History or a Visual Arts major would provide suitable
pre-graduate school preparation for this field. Knowledge
of a relevant foreign language (French, German, Chinese, Japanese)
is essential for museum curatorial work and helpful preparation
for other areas of the museum profession, such as administration
or education.
3. Conservation
of Art. It is suggested that students who wish to prepare
for graduate study in Art Conservation fulfill the requirements
for the B.A. with a major in either Art History, Visual Arts,
or Studio Art. Most schools of conservation require between
18 to 21 hours of art history, between 8 and 15 hours of studio,
and a portfolio. Additionally, most schools require: a reading
knowledge of German, French or Italian, 2 classes in organic
chemistry with labs, and an additional one or two science
courses with labs. The following may also be useful: ARTS
300 (Museum Course); Physical Chemistry 309; GEOL 201 Mineralogy,
PHYS 103-104 or PHYS 110, 111. For further information, consult
with Mr. Inglis.
4. Classical
Archeology.
Students interested in classical archeology as a profession
should note the availability of a concentration in classical
archeology within the Archeological Studies Major. For further
information, see the separate listing under Archeological Studies
above, or consult Ms. Kane in the Art Department.
Studio:
The
aim of all studio courses is to enhance students'
awareness of and sensitivity to the visual arts
through engaging in the actual intellectual and
technical processes by which works of art come into
being. Students learn to perceive the world in visual
terms and to conceptualize their perceptions through
their own work. They also become familiar with selected
techniques of art-making and with examples of those
techniques by significant artists through the study
of the art both past and present.
Students
planning to complete their studies with the Bachelor's
degree in art should recognize that the fine arts
curriculum at Oberlin is designed primarily as an
integral part of the liberal arts program of the
College, and not as specialized technical training.
Studying art at Oberlin does provide a solid foundation
for students who wish to proceed into formal professional
training at the graduate level or to continue their
development as artists on their own.
The
purchase of textbooks is not usually required for
studio courses. It is necessary for each student
to purchase expendable supplies as required and/or
to pay a fee for expendable materials supplied by
the department. Students should realize that studio
art practices can often be quite expensive.
The
size and facilities of the department are limited.
Therefore, it is impossible to offer work in every
field of student interest; however, credit can be
arranged for off-campus study in areas not available
at Oberlin. A program of study must have the prior
approval of the department. See Introduction: Major
or Minor Credit for Off-Campus Study.
Students
absent from the first studio session in any course
will be dropped from the enrollment list.
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Introductory
Courses
103. Approaches
to Western Art 3 hours
3HU
First and Second
Semester. An introduction to the conceptual tools (including visual
analysis) necessary to the study of western art through an examination
of issues and methods used to interpret it. Various modes and techniques
for making art will also be addressed. This course only indirectly
offers a chronological overview of the history of Western art. Enrollment
Limit:
25.
104. Approaches
to Chinese Art History 3 hours
3HU, CD
First Semester. Introduction
to the major artistic traditions of China, from the Neolithic
period to the present, and to the fundamental methods of the discipline
of art history. Approaches will be chronological, considering
how the arts developed in and through history, and thematic, discussing
how art and architecture were used for philosophical, religious
and material ends. Several sessions at Allen Memorial Art Museum.
No prerequisite. Identical to EAST 141. Enrollment
Limit: 25.
108. Approaches
to Japanese Art History 3 hours
3HU, CD
Second Semester.
Introduction to the major artistic traditions of Japan, from the
Neolithic period to the present, and to the fundamental methods
of the discipline of art history. Approaches will be chronological,
considering how the arts developed in and through history, and
thematic, discussing how art and architecture were used for philosophical,
religious and material ends. Several sessions at Allen Memorial
Art Museum. No prerequisite. Identical to EAST 142. Enrollment
Limit: 25.
Staff
111. Learning to Look: Historical Examination of European
Art 3 hours
3HU
Second Semester.
This course aims at three pedagogical goals. The first is to help
students acquire the analytical skills necessary for the critical
observation of visual art in its historical context. The second
is to help students learn to pose cogent questions that will lead
to historical understanding. The third is to provide skeletal
support for the argument that art does, indeed, have a history.
Note: This course is not a survey, and it considers only works
of art made by Europeans and their descendants in North America.
Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: Section 1
- 30 upperclass students; Section 2 - 30 first and second year
students.
Mr. Hood
112. First Year Colloquium: "Writing on the Walls" 3
hours
3HU
First Semester. Using Oberlin College as our laboratory, we will
learn how to look at and write critically about architecture and
the built environment. 19th and 20th century
architectural writing will be played off of key buildings and
interventions on campus as a way of honing the eye and developing
a critical voice. In this way, a history of architectural criticism
will emerge along side the effort to judge architecture in the
present and to write about it in an enduring fashion. The course
takes as a point of departure the conviction that architecture,
space, and place are crucial to social well-being. With this in
mind, we will also look beyond buildings as discrete works of
art to the larger context of the built environment. Enrollment
Limit: 15.
Mr. Shanken
113. First Year Colloquium: Representation and Reality
in 3 hours
Contemporary Culture
3HU, WR
First Semester.
Images pervade our environment to a degree never experienced before.
We are inundated by representations in the form of photography,
film, television, the internet, and advertising. Yet few of us
recognize the effect of such representations on our environment,
our culture, or ourselves. Through readings and discussions of
various forms of visual representation, we will examine the role
of visual media in the construction and maintenance of received
contemporary notions of the real. Issues of gender, race, class,
sexuality and nationality will be important to our study. Enrollment
Limit: 15.
Ms. Mathews
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Intermediate
Topical and Historical Courses
200. Archeological
Field Course 4 hours
4HU, CD
A summer course in field archeology offered in conjunction with
Oxford University. The excavations will be conducted at the Samnite/Roman
site of Monte Pallano in the Abruzzo, Italy. Participants will
learn the cultural history of the area, as well as theoretical
and practical aspects of excavation. Identical to ACHS 200.
Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 6.
Ms. Kane
216. Topics in Chinese Art History: 3 hours
3HU, CD
Second Semester. Topic to be announced. Prerequisite: ARTS 104/EAST
141 or equivalent coursework in Chinese studies. Enrollment
Limit: 25.
Staff
217. Topics in Japanese Art History 3 hours
3HU, CD
First Semester. Topic to be announced. Prerequisite: ARTS
105/EAST 142 or equivalent coursework in Japanese studies. Enrollment
Limit: 25.
Staff
232. Romanesque
and Gothic Art 3 hours
3HU
Second Semester.
A study of European art from c. 1000 and c. 1300, with special
emphasis on the architecture and decoration of churches. Topics
to be considered include: pilgrimage, the development of Gothic
architecture, and the various audiences and functions addressed
by art. The meaning of style will be a central theoretical concern.
Enrollment Limit: 40.
Mr. Inglis
233. The
Invention of France: Art and Power from Louis VI to Francis I 3
hours
3HU
First Semester.
In 1100 the king of France was a minor figure on Europe's stage,
ruling over a small kingdom and overshadowed by the Pope, the
Emperor, and the King of England. In the sixteenth century, France
had enlarged almost to its present borders, and its king was a
major European figure. This class will study art's contribution
to this political and cultural transformation, looking at urbanism,
architecture, painting, sculpture and manuscripts. Ability
to read French a plus. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Mr. Inglis
246. Spanish
Art in the Golden Age, 15001700 3 hours
3HU
First Semester.
This course outlines major developments in Spanish painting, sculpture,
and architecture from the creation of modern Spain under Ferdinand
and Isabella to the seventeenth-century War of the Spanish Succession.
While the emphasis will be on the art of the Iberian peninsula
itself, we will also consider the use of art as a tool of Spanish
imperial expansion in the Americas.
Mr. Hood
247. Renaissance Painting in Florence and Rome 3 hours
3HU
First Semester.
This course provides an overview of painting in Florence and Rome
from Masaccio (14021428) to Michelangelo (14751576).
Mr. Hood
267. Art Since 1960 3 hours
3HU,
WR
Second Semester.
A revisionist examination of the major trends, primarily in American
art, from 1960 to the present. Art Historical and critical approaches
will be used to survey the art and to deal with issues confronting
and confronted by the contemporary artist. The course will also
highlight issues of diversity and gender in art. Enrollment
Limit: 30.
Ms. Mathews
282. Topics
in American Architecture 3 hours
3HU
First Semester.
The first half of this course surveys American architecture from
Colonial times to the present. Stylistic analysis is linked with
the socioeconomic, political, and environmental influences on
architecture, issues of originality, American exceptionalism,
and the role of technology. The second half delves more deeply
into the history of specific building types -- house, church,
museum, library -- grafting the earlier themes onto a history
of modern institutions as they take shape in the United States.
Enrollment Limit: 25.
Mr. Shanken
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Advanced
Courses and Seminars
Open to upper-level students,
typically junior and senior majors. Entrance is by consent of
the instructor. Any seminar course may be omitted if the numbers
registered do not warrant its being given.
301. Research
Methods and Resources in the Visual Arts 1 hour
1HU
First Semester.
Examination of visual arts research and bibliography. Analysis
of specific titles, categories of publications, electronic resources
will be done within context of actual research practices and specific
information needs. Basic steps of research process, database structure
and searching, search engines, critical analysis of information,
researching artists and artworks will be discussed. Prerequisite:
Simultaneous enrollment in ARTS 310. Consent of instructor required.
Enrollment Limit: 15.
303. Practicum
in Tutoring in Art History 1-2 hours
1-2HU
First and Second
Semester. For students interested in tutoring and being a teaching
assistant for art history 100-level courses. Must have taken at
least the course in which they will assist. Apply to relevant
instructor.
310. Seminar
in Contemporary Methodologies 3 hours
4HU,
WR
First Semester.
Intended for art history majors, junior level or above. Over the
last 25 years, art historians have appropriated a number of methodologies
from outside the discipline to understand art, from theories of
phenomenology, structuralism and semiotics to the work of critical
theorists including Foucault, Barthes, Derrida, Baudrillard, Lacan,
Irigaray and Kristeva. We will focus on the ways in which art
historians have used these critical tools as framing devices through
which to interpret works of art. Prerequisites: simultaneous
enrollment in ARTS 301; Research Methods and Resources in the
Visual Arts. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit:
15.
312. Seminar
in Asian Art 2-3 hours
3HU,
CD
Second Semester.
Topic to be announced. Background in East Asian art history and/or
East Asian studies; consent of instructor required. Enrollment
Limit: 12.
316. Yesterday's
Tomorrows: The History of Visionary Architecture 3 hours
3HU
First Semester.
This seminar will explore the history of the future through architectural
visions. From the visionary architecture of the French Revolution
to Archigram and the Situationist City, the architecture of the
future will be placed in its historical context in order to examine
the modern obsession with imagining the architecture of the future.
Emphasis will be placed on the changing quality and quantity of
the future, on technological feats and target dates, with an eye
towards wondering whether we have a significant future in our
present. Enrollment Limit:
12.
Mr. Shanken
321. Signs of Cleopatra 3 hours
3HU
First Semester. Cleopatra has been fantasized in European
cultures for over 2000 years. Mary Hamer in Signs of Cleopatra
states that Cleopatra identifies less a person and more the
place where power and desire intersect -- her representations
are symbols of specific past struggles for authority. Images
of Cleopatra from history, film, literary studies, and art history
will be examined in their social and historical contexts. Consent
of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Ms.
Kane
352. Illuminated
Manuscripts in Oberlin Collections 3 hours
3HU
First Semester.
Oberlin College has a significant collection of medieval and
Renaissance miniatures that have not received much study. In
this class, we will begin to catalogue them. Students will be
taught fundamental skills in researching and describing manuscripts,
after which they will be assigned one or more works to research
and write about. As most of the leaves are fragmentary, we will
be particularly concerned with finding related material. Consent
of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15.
353. Connoisseurship:
Problems in the History of Styles 3 hours
3HU
Second Semester.
Two basic considerations determine the course content. First
is the history and method of connoisseurship, which is a means
of reaching conclusions relative to the authorship, date, and
cultural origins of a specific art object. Second, and more
important, is the close, analytical visual investigation of
selected works of art in the collection of the Allen Memorial
Art Museum. Junior and Senior majors in Art History will
have preference in enrolling. Consent of instructor required.
Enrollment Limit: 15.
361. Modern
Seminar: Manet and the Modernist Project: Paris 18601880
3 hours
3HU,
WR
Second Semester.
Issues central to Modernism from consumerism to gender roles,
class distinctions, racial hierarchies, and bourgeois politics
were in flux in mid-century Paris. Although in existence in
a modern form from the beginning of the century, these and other
concerns that define modernity were transformed dramatically
during the period under study. Avant-garde artists represented
these changes from a variety of perspectives. We will focus
on Manet in particular, as well as Degas, Cassatt and the Impressionists,
in order to study the Modernist Project in their work. Enrollment
Limit:
15.
362. Seminar:
Developments in European Landscape Painting, 16001900 2
hours
2HU
Second Semester.
Since its emergence as an independent genre in the 16th
century, landscape painting has taken on many forms and directions.
This seminar will examine various themes and movements associated
with the depiction of the natural landscape in European art
between 1600 and 1900. Particular focus will be placed on works
in the collection of the Allen Art Museum, and topics will include:
the heroic and mythological landscape, the pastoral and picturesque,
the Dutch Golden Age, the fete champetre and capriccio, Romantic
and Realist visions, and the Impressionist landscape. Consent
of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 12.
399. Honors 3-4
hours
3-4HU
For Honors candidates
only under the supervision of one or more members of the staff.
Consent of chair required.
London Semester
For a fuller
description of the London Program in general and next year's
courses see the London Program section of this catalog.
900. The
Danenberg Lectures on British Culture and Society 2 hours
2
EX
Second Semester.
An introduction to the history and culture of Britain, examining
the roots of contemporary London and Britain by exploring
selected topics in social, political, and cultural history
from antiquity to the modern era. The course will be coordinated
by both instructors, but taught by a series of visiting experts
(who will speak and lead discussions in their field) and supplemented
by field trips to museums and pertinent historical sites.
This course is for all students. Note: CR/NE grading. Consent
of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 26.
970. Art
and Mathematics 6 hours
3HU,
3NS, QPh
Second Semester.
This course is organized around a series of encounters with
artistic objects--paintings, buildings, and spaces--in and
around London. In these encounters a dialogue will emerge
between an historic and aesthetic view of art, on one hand,
and a mathematical and engineering view on the other. A secondary
theme is the conjunction (or disjunction) of formal theories,
both mathematical and artistic, with their practical application
in the real world. Topics for course segments and corresponding
objects of study will be chosen to illustrate the differences
and synergies created by these different points of view. These
will include, in particular, (a) bridge design, (b) planned
communities, (c) projective geometry, and the projection of
three-dimensions onto two, (d) work of the 17th century mathematician
and architect Christopher Wren, and (e) group theory, symmetry
and the decorative arts. Other topics will be arranged
around current exhibitions and building projects in London
in 2003.
971. British
Architecture and Urbanism 6 hours
6HU
This course
will use London and its environs to study the history of British
architecture, focusing on buildings and urban planning after
the Great Fire of 1666. Course material is divided into three
sections, broadly corresponding to the architectural periods:
BaroqueNeo-Classicism, Victorian, and Modern. Readings
will directly relate to site visits to buildings, monuments,
and parks, as well as various urban interventions that fall
under the category of "built environment," for example, Nash's
Regent Street. Site visits will include the great Commissioner's
Churches of the early 18th century, the railroad
stations and sheds such as San Pancras, the great civic buildings
of the 19th century, including the Law Courts and
Houses of Parliament; and a close study of London's museums
-- the British Museum, the Tate, and the Victoria and Albert
Museum -- which nearly constitute a history of British architecture
unto themselves. The class will culminate with the extraordinary
collection of contemporary buildings that have gone up in
London over the past decade.
995. Private
Reading 1-3 hours
1-3HU
Consent
of instructor required.
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Studio
The aim of all studio courses
is to enhance students' awareness of and sensitivity to the visual
arts through engaging in the actual intellectual and technical
processes by which works of art come into being. Students learn
to perceive the world in visual terms and to conceptualize their
perceptions through their own work. They also become familiar
with selected techniques of art-making and with examples of those
techniques by significant artists through the study of the art
of both past and present.
Students planning to complete
their studies with the Bachelor's degree in art should recognize
that the fine arts curriculum at Oberlin is designed primarily
as an integral part of the liberal arts program of the College,
and not as specialized technical training. While not designed
as a complete preparation for professional careers in art, studying
art at Oberlin does provide a solid foundation for students who
wish to proceed into formal professional training at the graduate
level or to continue their development as artists on their own.
The purchase of textbooks is not
usually required for studio courses and the College provides such
equipment as easels, drawing boards, etc. It is necessary for
each student to purchase expendable supplies as required or to
pay a fee for expendable materials supplied by the department
or both. Students should realize that studio art activities are
often expensive.
Because the size and facilities
of the department are limited, it is impossible to offer work
in every field of student interest; however, credit can be arranged
for off-campus study in areas not available at Oberlin. A program
of study must have the prior approval of the department. See Introduction:
Major or Minor Credit for Off-Campus Study.
Note:
Vis/Pro courses may be repeated for credit if taken with a different
instructor. "Problems in (Discipline): (Title)" courses may be repeated
with the consent of the instructor. Names of students absent
from the first studio session in any course will be dropped from
the enrollment list.
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Courses
Without Prerequisites: Visual Concepts and Process
Courses Without Prerequisites:
Visual Concepts and Process Courses
Read
the following course descriptions carefully.
The courses listed below are designed to offer students
an introduction to art by encountering a diverse range
of concepts, attitudes, and approaches through the
direct "hands-on" procedure of exploring a wide variety
of art media and processes. General focus will be
upon the disciplines specified in the course title
suffix, but coverage will not be limited to the conventional
assumptions about these disciplines. These courses
may be repeated if taken with a different instructor.
039. Visual
Concepts and Processes: Drawing 3 hours
3HU
First
and Second Semester.
This course is an introduction to basic drawing concepts,
vocabulary, media, skills and techniques essential for
advanced study in the visual arts. The drawing experience
will be explored through slide lectures, directed readings,
demonstrations and studio problems. Initial problems
will address the basic concepts of gesture, linear perspective,
and value systems. Subsequent projects will expand to
address the relationship of form and content. Traditional
and non-traditional drawing media will be utilized.
Primary subject matter for this course to include: the
still life, architectural forms, and the figure. Enrollment
Limit: 20.
040. Visual
Concepts and Processes: Drawing 3 hours
3HU
First
and Second Semester. Course will initiate practice and
appreciation of graphic expression, emphasis on developing
conceptual understanding of traditional and contemporary
pictorial concerns beginning with traditional observation
drawing to sharpen perceptual awareness. Diagrammatic
line and principles of perspective will be presented
as spatial and compositional concepts. Assignments:
ability to graphically locate objects on a ground plane:
use of line, value, shape, texture as descriptive design
vocabulary: human figure as dynamic form: engaging representation
and abstraction as responsive narrative. Enrollment
Limit: 20.
048. Visual
Concepts and Processes: What's Natural Isn't Real 3
hours
3HU
First
and Second Semester.
An interdisciplinary study course including many lectures
and presentations given in areas outside of visual arts.
The area of study will be focused on 17th and 18th century
concepts of nature and on how concepts are visualized
in American landscape painting. The aim is to infuse
practice of perceptual painting with an understanding
of cultural and artistic conventions within which this
practice exists. We will spend a portion of our time
in the museum looking at art. Cross-referenced in Environmental
Studies. One semester of drawing required. Enrollment
Limit: 18.
049. Visual
Concepts and Processes: Intro to Sculpture 3 hours
3HU
Second
Semester. Referencing your own body as it traverses
daily through time and space, students will explore
the basics of three-dimensional space. Using paper,
cardboard, plaster, wood and found objects in addition
to form, texture, sound, scale, and proportion, students
will complete three major projects. Weekly homework
assignments will expand upon classroom projects. Although
craft and technique are important, they are not a driving
force. Required forms of participation also include
critiques, weekly discussions, and reading assignments.
A sketchbook will be required. Students should expect
to spend 12 hours outside of class to meet the minimum
requirements. Enrollment Limit: 18.
052. Visual
Concepts and Processes: Photography 3 hours
3HU
First
and Second Semester. This is an introductory course
to B&W photography. Studio assignments are designed
to contextualize photography in terms of its history,
its relationships to the other art medium, and its cultural
implications. Besides studio assignments and group critiques
there also will be slide lectures, technical demonstrations,
reading and writing assignments. Enrollment Limit:
15.
053. Visual
Concepts and Processes: Silkscreen 3 hours
3HU
First
and Second Semester.
This course is designed to introduce all silkscreen
processes plus its interaction with photography and
other media. Assignments are structured to expand the
understanding of art through the exploration of relevant
personal concerns, whether they are driven by gender,
political, moral, spiritual, philosophical or conceptual
issues. Group critiques, slide lectures, and labs are
essential ingredients of the course. Enrollment Limit:
14. Six places reserved for freshers/sophomores.
055. Talking
Book 3 hours
3HU,
CD
First
Semester. This class is a hands on exploration of spoken/written
narrative within African American visual tradition(s).
We will view works by Carrie Mae Weems, Faith Ringgold,
David Hammons, Lil' Willie, Glen Ligon, and many more.
These artists will serve as models for the layering
of voices gathered and conjured within class projects.
Students will be required to write, perform, compose
(visually, and/or sonically) tapestries of voices carried
within themselves. Projects will range from portraits
of self, to portraits of place and time. Sound equipment
will be made available to students enrolled (no previous
experience necessary) Counts as Visual Concepts and
Processes for Art Majors. Consent of the instructor
is required. Enrollment Limit: 12.
Mr. Coleman
056. Something
From Something 3 hours
3HU,
CD
First
Semester. This course is a 'hands on' exploration
of vernacular visual traditions existing within African
American Culture. We will examine design choices/material
processes used to define and describe the specificity
of lived experience within African American culture.
Our focus is upon elders within black communities
and the stories that they tell through their work.
These 'folk artists' function as influences upon contemporary
African American artists ranging from Alison Saar,
to Renee' Stout. These vernacular traditions will
serve as resources that extend our own working processes
as we tell our own stories. Counts as Visual Concepts
and Processes for Art Majors. Consent of the instructor
is required. Enrollment Limit: 12.
059. Visual
Concepts and Processes: Digital Video 3 hours
3HU
First
and Second Semester. This is an introductory
"hands-on" technical course in digital video production
and editing with a history and theory component. This
course is designed to provide an overview of the history
and practice of the time-based media. The goal is
to outline the various terrain of the art of the moving
image, and to examine the vocabulary of constructing
sequences, editing, otherwise known as "sculpting
in time." Enrollment Limit:
15.
Ms.
Brown-Orso
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Courses
With Prerequisites: "Problems in (Discipline): (Title)" Courses
Material covered
in these courses will correspond generally with the boundaries as
specified in the course descriptions listed below. The instructors
in each course will pay special attention to the individual requirements
of each student. Courses in this sequence may be elected more than
once. These courses may be taken only by consent of the instructor.
060. Problems
in Drawing 3 hours
3HU
First
and Second Semester. This course is intent on developing
skills and methodologies introduced in drawing 040. Assignments
will engage postmodern strategies relevant to graphic
representation. Emphasis will be placed on formal concerns
of subject, image, material, and technique. Projects will
explore the nature of figuration and the use of figure
in a narrative pictorial context. Other projects will
research symbolism in painting and the sequential development
of abstraction as an expressive method and metaphoric
iconography. Prerequisite: completion of Visual Concepts
and Processes (ARTS 040) or consent of instructor. Enrollment
Limit: 15.
062. Problems
in Intermedia/Drawing: The Nature of the Abstract 4
hours
4HU
First
Semester. What is Abstract Art? How did it come into being?
Does it have content? Is it founded in concrete ideas?
Is it divorced from social accountability? Is it entropic?
What does it communicate or express? These are a sample
of the questions to be raised and addressed in this class.
They will be addressed through a series of controlled
drawing assignments designed to develop both critical
thinking and technical drawing skills. Consent of instructor
required. Enrollment Limit: 14.
063. Problems
in Installation 3 hours
3HU
First Semester.
This is an upper level course designed for students
who have taken at least two previous sculpture courses
or a combination of sculpture and painting, photography,
silkscreen or time-based media. During the semester
we will explore some of the parameters of Installation.
069. Problems: Re-imagining the Book 3 hours
3HU
First Semester. This course seeks to explore and expand
upon our notion of the book as both object and conveyor
of idea. Using narrative and non-narrative techniques
in relation to content, image, and form, students will
construct a series of books. Materials and technics
such as collage, type and design will be covered. Readings,
discussions, and critiques are required forms of participation.
Second Semester. Continuing with the skills and concepts
developed in semester one, students will focus on learned
and invented bindings, composition, and experimenting
with traditional and non-traditional artists book materials.
Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit:
12.
Ms. Macias
080. Problems
in Sculpture 3 hours
3HU
Second
Semester. An upper-level course where students
will choose a subject which they will develop
throughout the semester. Their subject will
be determined through research and discussions
with the class. Three major assignments
related to this subject must be completed.
Students will keep a sketchbook and participate
in all areas of class, from readings to
lectures. Prerequisite: ARTS 050.
Consent of instructor required. Enrollment
Limit: 10.
082. Problems
in Sound: Workshop 3 hours
3HU
Second
Semester. The eye points outward and the
ear inward. Sound is a force which is emotional,
perceptual and physical. It can excite feeling,
convey meaning and resonate through the
body. How has sound contributed to visual
culture in the production of intermedia
forms of expression? This course is an interdisciplinary
workshop on sound in relation to film/video,
dance/performance and installation. For
advanced students only. Consent of instructor
required. Enrollment Limit: 12.
084. Problems
in Visual Narrative: The Site of Memory 3
hours
3HU
Second
Semester. The focus of this course is to
critically examine the spaces between the
stories that we intend to tell, and the
stories that we discover in our efforts
to craft them. This is an advanced studio
workshop focused upon the honing of the
narrative content and processes of the artists
present. Projects will be individually selected
by students enrolled. Prerequisite: visual
processes courses in both drawing and sculpture.
Enrollment Limit: 15.
Mr.
Coleman
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Advanced
Studio Courses
095. Senior
Studio and Thesis 6 hours
6HU
First
and Second Semester. A one-year team-taught course --
two different faculty per semester. Admission by portfolio
review only, with support from two studio art faculty.
Reviews take place late Spring. Intensive course in
which students are given a studio, produce a thesis
exhibition, and submit a professional portfolio by the
end of second semester. There are several interium exhibitions
expected. Faculty conduct group critiques and discussions.
Students are responsible for attending many lectures
outside of class. Students accepted into the course
are to be considered on an Honors track. Seminar thesis
students should have completed all Winter Term credits
prior to enrollment because students will be required
to continue working toward their final exhibition during
this time. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment
Limit:
12.
Ms.
Brown-Orso, Ms. Macias, Mr. Nguyen-Duy, Ms. Schuster
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