This two-quarter program will explore artistic responses to emergent ideas and technologies (e.g., virtual and haptic experience, Artificial Intelligence, social media, Geographic Information Systems) by examining parallel episodes in the history of art and science: the scientific revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries, the appearance of photography in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the explosion of digital imagery in the 20th and 21st centuries. We’ll study the spectrum of artistic responses to such technologies--the Renaissance, post-impressionism, and post-modernism--incorporating them into their processes, serving as critique, or envisioning connections that science has not yet considered. We’ll also explore how artists grappled with a wide range of environmental, social, political, and ethical issues relevant to their times as a portal to considering artistic responses to our current moment.
This rigorous program will emphasize close observation through drawing and painting as a foundation for both creative expression and scientific illustration. In Fall Quarter, our subjects will include the natural environment and specimens from Evergreen’s natural history collection. Students can expect to spend substantial time in the studio and the field, lecture, and writing workshops, and critique workshops. Students will have 16 hours of class/studio time and will be expected to spend 20+ hours on homework assignments that include reading, writing, and art-making in our dedicated studio space. In all areas, students will have weekly assignments to improve their critical reading, academic writing skills, ecological knowledge, formal art concepts, and interpretive art exploration. In the Winter Quarter, we will pivot indoors to focus on the human body and face, with attention to complications of representation. We will compare approaches that emphasize human individuality and uniqueness (e.g portraiture) with those that abstract, generalize, homogenize, or idealize humans (e.g. statistics, AI, social media). Students will use these themes and skills to develop a substantive individual drawing/painting project through research and practice. This program is valuable for students who are committed to a rigorous academic and studio experience as a solid foundation for advanced study in multiple fields within the liberal arts.
Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:
Fall
4 - History of Science (Ecology and Natural History)
4 - Contemporary Visual Studies
8 - Studio Drawing and Painting
Winter
4 - History of Science (Human Anatomy and Medicine)
4 - Contemporary Visual Studies
8 - Studio Drawing and Painting
Registration
Students who wish to begin the program in Winter Quarter must email faculty for work to complete prior to the first day of class.
Academic Details
Visual and Media Arts, Environmental Studies, Museum Studies, Communication
$175 fee both quarters covers field trip transportation and lodging ($150) and museum entrance fees ($25).