New Courses for First Year Art Students

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By Jennifer Rospert, Associate Professor of Art »

“To create, one must first question everything.” – Eileen Gray

Beginning in Fall 2020, the Art Department will be implementing an innovative new approach to our Foundations program that reimagines and restructures our first year courses, reflecting a 21st century approach to ideation and process in the fine arts.

We have shaped our foundation courses into a unique and integrated set of first-year courses that focus on studio, research, and contemporary issues of practice and profession. Currently, we offer four studio foundation courses in both Fall and Spring semesters: 2D Design, 3D Design, Drawing I, and Drawing II, each three (3) credit hours. These 12 credit hours will now be reorganized into six courses, each two (2) credit hours each that feature a Fall and Spring Seminar and four studio units. This strategy creates a conceptual foundation in our Seminar courses that guide and influence all the studio components. The program is designed to be completed sequentially in two semesters, as follows:

• Foundations Seminar I (Fall) : Introduction to Professional Studio Practice, Theory, and Workshop
  (2 credit hours)
  • Foundations Studio A: Visual Analysis, Ideation, and Process.
    (2 credit hours)
  • Foundations Studio B: Research, Experimentation, and Iteration.
    (2 credit hours)
• Foundations Seminar II (Spring): Introduction to Contemporary Art Media, Processes, and Meaning
  (2 credit hours)
  • Foundations Studio C: Structure, Meaning, and Craft.
    (2 credit hours)
  • Foundations Studio D: Time, Motion, and Collaboration.
    (2 credit hours)

Foundations Seminar I (Fall) : Introduction to Professional Studio Practice, Theory, and Workshop (2 credit hours)
Foundations Studio A: Visual Analysis, Ideation, and Process. (2 credit hours)
Foundations Studio B: Research, Experimentation, and Iteration. (2 credit hours)

Foundations Seminar II (Spring): Introduction to Contemporary Art Media, Processes, and Meaning (2 credit hours)
Foundations Studio C: Structure, Meaning, and Craft. (2 credit hours)
Foundations Studio D: Time, Motion, and Collaboration. (2 credit hours)

The Foundation courses are intended to enhance community among the art students, allow more faculty to interact with first year students, and better prepare students for successful upper-level coursework. The program will introduce students to contemporary issues, materials, and techniques earlier in the program and is intended to strengthen student work at all levels.