Exhibition and Curatorial Studies

What are the concerns that drive one's creative practice? How does one set the terms for its future development? This course offers strategies for the evaluation and communication of students' individual practice as artists, designers and/or scholars. Through essential readings, studio projects, and writing, students will generate narratives about how and why they make art. To do so, they will investigate methods (visual, critical, written, and creative) for the reconsideration of their work and of its aims and priorities. Individual mentoring with the faculty member is a central and dedicated component of the class as a means of fostering the self-identification of goals and priorities. Students will also examine historical and contemporary precedents that relate to their own work in order to consider the ways in which their individual explorations can be brought into dialogue with other perspectives. Students participate in broad ranging discussions about the present status and future prospects of art and design through workshops, dialogues, and collaborations both in the class and in SAIC-wide conversations with other Sophomore Studio Seminars. An important function of this course is to build upon these insights in forming a practical plan that helps students effectively map the curriculum and resources of SAIC into their own needs. For more information see http://blogs.saic.edu/sophseminar/

What are the concerns that drive one's creative practice? How does one set the terms for its future development? This course offers strategies for the evaluation and communication of students' individual practice as artists, designers and/or scholars. Through essential readings, studio projects, and writing, students will generate narratives about how and why they make art. To do so, they will investigate methods (visual, critical, written, and creative) for the reconsideration of their work and of its aims and priorities. Individual mentoring with the faculty member is a central and dedicated component of the class as a means of fostering the self-identification of goals and priorities. Students will also examine historical and contemporary precedents that relate to their own work in order to consider the ways in which their individual explorations can be brought into dialogue with other perspectives. Students participate in broad ranging discussions about the present status and future prospects of art and design through workshops, dialogues, and collaborations both in the class and in SAIC-wide conversations with other Sophomore Studio Seminars. An important function of this course is to build upon these insights in forming a practical plan that helps students effectively map the curriculum and resources of SAIC into their own needs. For more information see http://blogs.saic.edu/sophseminar/

In this hands-on course, students learn to curate and operate the four Student Union gallery spaces. Through this process, students actively participate in developing an exhibition concept, writing a proposal, researching artists/artwork, and developing and executing promotional materials through lectures and hands-on experience. The spaces include exhibitions curated, installed, and promoted by students in the class. Students visit profit and not-for-profit galleries in Chicago to observe curatorial, exhibition, installation, and promotional approaches. In addition, visiting curators, gallery founders, and owners are brought to the class to share their experiences with students. Over the course of eight weeks, each student is required to develop an exhibition concept (alone or with a partner), research the concept, write a formal proposal including drawings of installation plans, and participate in the installation of student exhibitions.

Small-scale screening spaces or 'microcinemas' have seen renewed vitality in recent years as sites for exploring new models of moving-image exhibition. A hybrid studies/practicum course, FVNM 3222 examines the microcinema critically, historically and practically. We look at contemporary and historical examples -- French cine-clubs in the 1920s, revolutionary underground screenings in 1960s Argentina, post-colonial mobile cinemas throughout Africa, as well as US film societies from 1940s to today. Students also connect with contemporary microcinemas around the US and organize all aspects of a public microcinema event in the Chicago area -- booking venues, curating work, and generating press.

This course will provide students with hands on experience of working with SAIC's special collections, the Video Data Bank, the Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection, the Roger Brown Study Collection, the Fashion Resource Center and others. Dialogues with professional staff will reveal the artistic, conceptual and philosophical issues, the physical constraints and practical opportunities contained in each unique collection. Students will design projects that respond specifically to the missions, challenges and ongoing needs of one or more collection.

Artists usually don't think in a linear manner -- there are no specific steps to making art and certainly no rules. Business, on the other hand, is relatively specific -- there are ways to do things and there definitely are rules to follow that are both legal and financial. It's probably easier to teach an artist how to make a business plan than teach someone with an MBA how to make. However, there are many times in business when that intuitive/creative/non-linear capacity is exactly what is required to make the right business decision. A union of the two approaches is optimal. This is high-functioning right brain and left brain integration. When an artist gains business skills, the possibilities multiply, both for entrepreneurial ideas and for the understanding of how the business of the art world itself operates. This is a pragmatic, real-world, hands-on course taught by an artist and a lawyer, giving students the basic skills for thinking about life after art school in all of its varied potentials. Artists who have either been successful in a business or who have creatively used their business smarts to actualize a conceptual idea will share with the class how they did it. This is a course that will benefit students' careers and their understanding of how business smarts are an essential tool for functioning in the 21st century art world.

Small-scale screening spaces or 'microcinemas' have seen renewed vitality in recent years as sites for exploring new models of moving-image exhibition. A hybrid studies/practicum course, FVNM 3222 examines the microcinema critically, historically and practically. We look at contemporary and historical examples -- French cine-clubs in the 1920s, revolutionary underground screenings in 1960s Argentina, post-colonial mobile cinemas throughout Africa, as well as US film societies from 1940s to today. Students also connect with contemporary microcinemas around the US and organize all aspects of a public microcinema event in the Chicago area -- booking venues, curating work, and generating press.

Artists usually don't think in a linear manner -- there are no specific steps to making art and certainly no rules. Business, on the other hand, is relatively specific -- there are ways to do things and there definitely are rules to follow that are both legal and financial. It's probably easier to teach an artist how to make a business plan than teach someone with an MBA how to make. However, there are many times in business when that intuitive/creative/non-linear capacity is exactly what is required to make the right business decision. A union of the two approaches is optimal. This is high-functioning right brain and left brain integration. When an artist gains business skills, the possibilities multiply, both for entrepreneurial ideas and for the understanding of how the business of the art world itself operates. This is a pragmatic, real-world, hands-on course taught by an artist and a lawyer, giving students the basic skills for thinking about life after art school in all of its varied potentials. Artists who have either been successful in a business or who have creatively used their business smarts to actualize a conceptual idea will share with the class how they did it. This is a course that will benefit students' careers and their understanding of how business smarts are an essential tool for functioning in the 21st century art world.

In this hands-on course, students learn to curate and operate the four Student Union gallery spaces. Through this process, students actively participate in developing an exhibition concept, writing a proposal, researching artists/artwork, and developing and executing promotional materials through lectures and hands-on experience. The spaces include exhibitions curated, installed, and promoted by students in the class. Students visit profit and not-for-profit galleries in Chicago to observe curatorial, exhibition, installation, and promotional approaches. In addition, visiting curators, gallery founders, and owners are brought to the class to share their experiences with students. Over the course of eight weeks, each student is required to develop an exhibition concept (alone or with a partner), research the concept, write a formal proposal including drawings of installation plans, and participate in the installation of student exhibitions.

In the classroom and in the field, students develop and design exhibitions for three different types of spaces: museums with walls, non-traditional interpretive spaces, and pop-up installations. We explore the relationship between people, objects and space in these environments, leading to a reframing of what it means to exhibit. The course also analyzes theoretical and practical aspects of exhibition design, including construction aesthetics, community engagement, and the politics of display. Over the course of the term, we partner with a local cultural institution to produce an actual exhibition.

Graduating students develop a career plan in this class, while acquiring and applying the skills needed to promote and exhibit their work. Through a critique process, we focus on developing and then implementing an exhibition proposal, taking on practical questions that precede exhibition production and addressing critically the selection of work for public display. Students also produce professional communications materials, including visual documentation, cover letters, press releases and resumes, while exploring opportunities for the exhibition and distribution of their work.

Graduating students develop a career plan in this class, while acquiring and applying the skills needed to promote and exhibit their work. Through a critique process, we focus on developing and then implementing an exhibition proposal, taking on practical questions that precede exhibition production and addressing critically the selection of work for public display. Students also produce professional communications materials, including visual documentation, cover letters, press releases and resumes, while exploring opportunities for the exhibition and distribution of their work.

Artists usually don't think in a linear manner -- there are no specific steps to making art and certainly no rules. Business, on the other hand, is relatively specific -- there are ways to do things and there definitely are rules to follow that are both legal and financial. It's probably easier to teach an artist how to make a business plan than teach someone with an MBA how to make. However, there are many times in business when that intuitive/creative/non-linear capacity is exactly what is required to make the right business decision. A union of the two approaches is optimal. This is high-functioning right brain and left brain integration. When an artist gains business skills, the possibilities multiply, both for entrepreneurial ideas and for the understanding of how the business of the art world itself operates. This is a pragmatic, real-world, hands-on course taught by an artist and a lawyer, giving students the basic skills for thinking about life after art school in all of its varied potentials. Artists who have either been successful in a business or who have creatively used their business smarts to actualize a conceptual idea will share with the class how they did it. This is a course that will benefit students' careers and their understanding of how business smarts are an essential tool for functioning in the 21st century art world.

Artists usually don't think in a linear manner -- there are no specific steps to making art and certainly no rules. Business, on the other hand, is relatively specific -- there are ways to do things and there definitely are rules to follow that are both legal and financial. It's probably easier to teach an artist how to make a business plan than teach someone with an MBA how to make. However, there are many times in business when that intuitive/creative/non-linear capacity is exactly what is required to make the right business decision. A union of the two approaches is optimal. This is high-functioning right brain and left brain integration. When an artist gains business skills, the possibilities multiply, both for entrepreneurial ideas and for the understanding of how the business of the art world itself operates. This is a pragmatic, real-world, hands-on course taught by an artist and a lawyer, giving students the basic skills for thinking about life after art school in all of its varied potentials. Artists who have either been successful in a business or who have creatively used their business smarts to actualize a conceptual idea will share with the class how they did it. This is a course that will benefit students' careers and their understanding of how business smarts are an essential tool for functioning in the 21st century art world.

This is an intermediate/advanced level course for students seriously committed to producing sequentially developed ideas, and explores traditional and nontraditional book formats.

This is an intermediate/advanced level course for students seriously committed to producing sequentially developed ideas, and explores traditional and nontraditional book formats.

This course offers advanced exploration with visual and written material in paged sequence. Ideas are encouraged within a broad range of possibilities, via the format of the artist' book. The development of a major project is encouraged.

The contemporary form of comics is explored in this studio course, in which each participant creates and produces a self-published comic. Writing, storyboarding, penciling, inking, and prepress preparations are covered, and a range of comics are read and discussed.

The Department of Painting and Drawing offers a wide variety of comics courses, ranging from traditional to experimental methods and techniques. Each course is designed to focus on a specific area of comics production. To learn more about the topic of a specific comics course in which you are interested, please review the course description for that particular class.

This class will explore both the language and production of comics, focusing primarily on independent, alternative and art comics. Students will learn about making comics beginning with an idea, following through the writing and drawing process, and including aspects of design, business, reproduction and publication. From overcoming writer's block and the blank canvas dilemma to dealing with bad reviews, this course will introduce students to a range of theoretical and practical concepts while they practice drawing comics. Studio time will include exercises dealing with writing, drawing style, materials and production.