Sculpture: Courses

Introduction to the fundamental metalworking skills including marking, sawing, filing, drilling, annealing, forming, soldering, riveting and surface treatments. Students are instructed in the safe use of power and hand tools, heat processes and proper handling of chemicals as well as selection, specification and sourcing of tools, supplies and materials. This course (or equivalent) is a required prerequisite for all other metals and studio classes.

This course offers instruction in various methods of casting, including simple plaster molds, hydrocal-cement casts, simple body casts, thermal-setting rubber molds, wax, terra cotta, and paper casting. Students are advised to bring objects they desire to cast. (No hot metal casting in this course.)

A course designed to provide a firm grounding in the rudiments of sculptural practice. Drawing on historical, aesthetic and technical strategies of generating and understanding sculpture, students are guided toward the realization of three dimensional form. Discussions of materials, processes and hands-on practice empower the student to move from concept to completed work, engendering a better understanding of how sculpture gets situated within the context of culture and society at large. Readings, slide presentations, discussions and critiques help provide the vocabulary for such an understanding.

A course designed to provide a firm grounding in the rudiments of sculptural practice. Drawing on historical, aesthetic and technical strategies of generating and understanding sculpture, students are guided toward the realization of three dimensional form. Discussions of materials, processes and hands-on practice empower the student to move from concept to completed work, engendering a better understanding of how sculpture gets situated within the context of culture and society at large. Readings, slide presentations, discussions and critiques help provide the vocabulary for such an understanding.

A course designed to provide a firm grounding in the rudiments of sculptural practice. Drawing on historical, aesthetic and technical strategies of generating and understanding sculpture, students are guided toward the realization of three dimensional form. Discussions of materials, processes and hands-on practice empower the student to move from concept to completed work, engendering a better understanding of how sculpture gets situated within the context of culture and society at large. Readings, slide presentations, discussions and critiques help provide the vocabulary for such an understanding.

This is an introductory course for those who have had little or no experience with sculpture. General concepts of sculpture from idea to form and from materials to methods are explored.

This is an introductory course for those who have had little or no experience with sculpture. General concepts of sculpture from idea to form and from materials to methods are explored.

This course offers instruction in various methods of casting, including simple plaster molds, hydrocal-cement casts, simple body casts, thermal-setting rubber molds, wax, terra cotta, and paper casting. Students are advised to bring objects they desire to cast. (No hot metal casting in this course.)

This studio course is meant for people who like to carve, shape, assemble, hew, chop, model, craft, form, cut, planish, emboss, mold, cast, join, craft, agglutinate, screw, abrade, weld, chip, scrape, craft, glue, solder, braze, emboss, join, sew, inflate, melt, extrude, bake, throw, stuff, craft, agglomerate, turn, saw, forge, burn, grind, blast, excavate, pile, lase, bend, fold, stucco, craft, mortar, cooper, grow, rout, freeze, laminate, bind, bolt and build to their heart's content in any scale and in any material (as long as it is not toxic or too stinky). Emphasis will be on physicality and production.

This course introduces the aesthetic, technical, and historical aspects of the casting process as it relates to sculpture. Students learn basic skills in waxworking, investment applications, furnace and kiln operation, metal finishing and chasing, and patination. Lost wax and ceramic shell will be the primary techniques utilized for pattern generation and molding in this course. Students develop these skills through a series of studies that culminate in a final project.

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/

Intermediate and advanced students work on individual projects determined through discussion with and critiques by faculty. Emphasis is on both sculptural aesthetics and appropriate technology.

This course offers a direct approach to figurative sculpture. Techniques of metal fabrication, as well as modeling skills are taught.

This lab explores centrifugal or 'lost wax' casting, the sequence of processes leading to the transformation of a model into another material, traditionally metal. Wax working techniques, sprueing, investing, non-plaster molds and investing through burnout and casting are covered. This course introduces the technical and conceptual advantages of small, intricate castings for series production, modular components and multiples.

This class will explore the immediate relationship between the form of the puppet and the stage designed for its use. Standard puppet forms (hand, rod, marionette, and doll) along with standard stages (curtained prosceniums, booths, table tops, boxes) will be manipulated and exploited to create puppets that can't exist without their stages and stages without their puppets. Knowledge of basic woodworking tools is required.

This course will examine strategies for working on site, gaining an understanding of the complex intersection of the social, cultural, built, and natural environment that is so essential to the creation of artist's interventions, independently or in collaboration with others, in and out of the art world. Working individually and in groups, students will conduct research, critically and creatively analyze site, identify opportunities and issues, and develop and present project proposals. The specifics of location, materials, communities, participants, partnering institutions, funding and facilitation will be identified throughout this process. This course provides pragmatic preparation for actually undertaking projects outside of the studio.

This course explores the practice of walking as a central agent to understanding and positioning ourselves within the landscape of the city. Students will engage in a series of critical spatial practices related to walking that they can use to make sense of the fractured, abstract assemblage of our urban environment. Drawing on their experiences they will activate and engage in a variety of different kinds of artmaking, and explore a series of themes that vary each week. Students examine texts, films and supplemental materials that draw on a historical lineage with other artists that have used this practice as a form of cultural production. The class intends to rejuvenate the practice of walking as a form of sculptural practice that navigates space and time, and the body and representation--stillrooted in physical activity but augmented by technological intervention.

The use of digital media has revolutionized the artist's studio. New technology offers new methods of visualization and production. This course is designed to introduce the student to the use of digital media in the realization of their sculptural projects. Students learn to use 3D Modeling software to create models suitable for production using the laser cutter, CNC (Computer Numeric Control) milling machine and FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) Rapid Prototyper. Students also look beyond these methods of direct realization as they learn to 'unfold' complex 3D models to create flat patterns suitable as templates for use in the wood and metals shop in the Sculpture Department. This is an introductory, project-based course with a focus on material output and realization. Software to be covered includes Adobe Illustrator CS4, Rhino 4, Pepakura Designer and Google Sketch-Up.

This course is designed for students who have prior moldmaking and casting experience. Students investigate in-depth project development, implementing and articulating ideas through class discussions and proposals. This course also aims to offer a deeper understanding of the social, historical, and aesthetic implications of replication. Such subjects as the instability and significance of object/material relationships, and the complex and expansive nature between the authentic, the surrogate, and the copy are explored.

The history and techniques of bending and shaping wood are explored, from the stage coach wheel to the sculptures of Martin Puryear, from the cambered truss to the violin. Projects include a variety of practices such as laminate bending, form fashioning, steam bending, and vacuum pressing.

This course explores the aesthetic potential of cast iron as a sculptural material. Students learn to construct and operate a cupola and related equipment for melting and pouring iron. The class culminates in a two-day field trip in which the participants fire the cupola and continuously pour cast iron into prepared molds. Discussions include the historical and contemporary applications of the material.

Advanced students work on individual projects determined through discussion with and critiques by faculty. Emphasis is on both sculptural aesthetics and appropriate technology.

Systems are at work all around us. How we sustain ourselves throughout the year involves transportation systems, geologic and climatic processes and a delicate balance of use. Recent environmental events such as the summer drought in the Midwest or massive storms that cripple daily life remind us that we have to adapt to new systems -- if even only temporarily -- through new and old ways of living. This K-Lab class will take field trips and concentrate on studio time with a focus on sustainable, experimental systems. We will study artists' projects and visit local organizations that focus on urban farming, air and water quality, climate concerns, soil conditions and other living systems. We will investigate the nature of living environments -- both human and non-human to discover the limits and possibilities sustainable or experimental systems. Field trips, readings and class discussions will inform our own creative process.

This course provides a forum for in depth critiques and exploration of students' individual directions within the context of sculptural practice. Both technical and conceptual input will be given on a tutorial basis. Group discussions, readings, slide/video presentations, field trips and visiting lecturers may augment this class. Enrolled students will be assigned a studio space in the Columbus building. A maximum of 15 students will be admitted per semester, students must have the signature of the Department to register. Open to students at Junior level and above.

This project-based course is geared for students interested in exploring motion, mechanics and kinetic systems within the scope of their current making practice. Students are exposed to a range of strategies to make things move, from industrial control systems to DIY components. They are assisted in formulating their own unique fabrication methods appropriate to their current and evolving project ideas.

Advanced students pursue individual casting projects while continuing to develop and refine casting skills. Alternative investment techniques are explored. Emphasis is placed on individual experimentation and development.

Thing Lab provides a critical, hands-on exploration of the intersection between design and art in a truly interdisciplinary learning environment. Students from design, art, and writing backgrounds will create works that address the convergence of design and art, engaging and perhaps questioning the market forces of taste-making and power relationships in the world of collecting. The studio will culminate in a group exhibition at a major national or international art fair.

Introduction to the fundamental metalworking skills including marking, sawing, filing, drilling, annealing, forming, soldering, riveting and surface treatments. Students are instructed in the safe use of power and hand tools, heat processes and proper handling of chemicals as well as selection, specification and sourcing of tools, supplies and materials. This course (or equivalent) is a required prerequisite for all other metals and studio classes.

Teaches 3D computer modeling, form making and composition to sculptors or artists who work in three dimensional media. This course focuses upon the use of digital tools in the production of form and its fabrication. This course also provides students with a solid understanding of the basis of computer modeling and digital fabrication as it applies to casting, cutting and component based assembly methods. Students will also be provided with rendering techniques for documenting or describing project concepts.

Chicago has played a huge role in what we have come to know today as socially engaged art practice. This much-debated genre is nonetheless here to stay, contending with needs of our world, while addressing essential questions of artmaking. Chicago's historical trajectory and the omnipresence of work today offer lessons not just here but in the international arena. Join in probing the strategies and ethics of this practice. Visit the city in a new way and hear others who take a moment to reflect with us in the classroom. Participate in shaping SAIC?s 2014 Chicago Social Practice initiative of publications and exhibitions. Extensive readings form a base for making new contributions. Professor Jacob has organized some of the seminal exhibitions and projects in the social practice field and written extensively on the subject.

Students are introduced to the fundamental principles and practices of woodworking through lectures, demonstrations, and projects.

Advanced students work on individual projects determined through discussion with and critiques by faculty. Emphasis is on both sculptural aesthetics and appropriate technology.

KLab: Local Needs, Regional Networks, Global Concerns This course explores creative responses to the extreme environmental, social and economic changes facing our local and global communities. By drawing from Permaculture (holistic design principles), students will imagine, research, and build projects that focus on local needs and address soil health, water conservation, food production and distribution, and building sustainable communities.

A course designed to provide a firm grounding in the rudiments of sculptural practice. Drawing on historical, aesthetic and technical strategies of generating and understanding sculpture, students are guided toward the realization of three dimensional form. Discussions of materials, processes and hands-on practice empower the student to move from concept to completed work, engendering a better understanding of how sculpture gets situated within the context of culture and society at large. Readings, slide presentations, discussions and critiques help provide the vocabulary for such an understanding.

A course designed to provide a firm grounding in the rudiments of sculptural practice. Drawing on historical, aesthetic and technical strategies of generating and understanding sculpture, students are guided toward the realization of three dimensional form. Discussions of materials, processes and hands-on practice empower the student to move from concept to completed work, engendering a better understanding of how sculpture gets situated within the context of culture and society at large. Readings, slide presentations, discussions and critiques help provide the vocabulary for such an understanding.

A course designed to provide a firm grounding in the rudiments of sculptural practice. Drawing on historical, aesthetic and technical strategies of generating and understanding sculpture, students are guided toward the realization of three dimensional form. Discussions of materials, processes and hands-on practice empower the student to move from concept to completed work, engendering a better understanding of how sculpture gets situated within the context of culture and society at large. Readings, slide presentations, discussions and critiques help provide the vocabulary for such an understanding.

A course designed to provide a firm grounding in the rudiments of sculptural practice. Drawing on historical, aesthetic and technical strategies of generating and understanding sculpture, students are guided toward the realization of three dimensional form. Discussions of materials, processes and hands-on practice empower the student to move from concept to completed work, engendering a better understanding of how sculpture gets situated within the context of culture and society at large. Readings, slide presentations, discussions and critiques help provide the vocabulary for such an understanding.

This course stresses innovative ways of creating art that incorporates figurative elements.The figure can be incorporated with a variety of methods and techniques, viewed in a less traditional and more open and conceptual sense. Emphasis is placed on ideas, presentation, and structure, as well as methods and materials. We consider the representation of the figure in ways that we can see with the eye or experience through other senses. A variety of experimental methods are used in creating the work.

This is an introductory course for those who have had little or no experience with sculpture. General concepts of sculpture from idea to form and from materials to methods are explored.

This is an introductory course for those who have had little or no experience with sculpture. General concepts of sculpture from idea to form and from materials to methods are explored.

Students are introduced to the fundamental principles and practices of woodworking through lectures, demonstrations, and projects.

This course offers instruction in various methods of casting, including simple plaster molds, hydrocal-cement casts, simple body casts, thermal-setting rubber molds, wax, terra cotta, and paper casting. Students are advised to bring objects they desire to cast. (No hot metal casting in this course.)

This course introduces the basic techniques of subtractive sculpture. Students experiment with carving all media, permanent and impermanent. Much work is done outdoors in the sculpture courtyards.

Now, more than ever, sculpture is the most inclusive category of artmaking. Yet even at the height of this expanded field, a residual hierarchy remains when it comes to means associated with craft. In this course students examine traditional sculpture and craft processes in relation to notions of taste, class, gender, age. Students consider skill or craftsmanship; utility and decoration; commercial pressures vs. aesthetics standards and are encouraged to examine their own relationship to specific materials, processes, and techniques as a source of meaning and foundation for sculptural practice.

A hands-on studio introduction to the full sprectrum of analog and digital approaches to metal working. Digital drafting, modeling and machining processes are taught seemlessly in tandem with classic metalsmithing techniques. Three assignments together produce one family of objects. Methods covered include designing prototypes using the following techniques: CNC wax milling and lost wax casting, laser cutting non-conforming acrylic dies for hydraulic press use, and generating 2D templates from unfolded 3D digital models. Lectures, readings, and demonstrations augment production on the hydraulic press, roll former, laser cutter, CNC, and milling machine. Software: Rhino 4.

This course explores various modeling techniques, both haptic and digital, for creating sculptural projects. Students investigate perceptual modeling via the direct manipulation of media and 3-D computer imaging and output. prototype development and schematics for large scale sculptures. Several projects will incorporate the making of a sculpture or model developed from direct observation. Class discussions will also address questions such as prototype development, how to use schematics and make proposals for large-scale sculpture.

The casting process is essentially the process of transforming one material into another by utilizing a series of moldmaking techniques. The transformation of material is often motivated by a desire for prestige, permanence, or to extend the structural possibilities for expression. It can also be a dynamic strategy for extending meaning. What does it mean to transform an inflatable rabbit into stainless steel? A Victorian lace collar into cast iron? A seven-day regimen of pharmaceuticals into a bar of gum? This beginning level course will introduce students to basic moldmaking techniques used in conjunction with a variety of materials while exploring the conceptual implications of this transformative process.

This course introduces the aesthetic, technical, and historical aspects of the casting process as it relates to sculpture. Students learn basic skills in waxworking, investment applications, furnace and kiln operation, metal finishing and chasing, and patination. Lost wax and ceramic shell will be the primary techniques utilized for pattern generation and molding in this course. Students develop these skills through a series of studies that culminate in a final project.

This course introduces the aesthetic, technical, and historical aspects of the casting process as it relates to sculpture. Students learn basic skills in waxworking, investment applications, furnace and kiln operation, metal finishing and chasing, and patination. Lost wax and ceramic shell will be the primary techniques utilized for pattern generation and molding in this course. Students develop these skills through a series of studies that culminate in a final project.

Intermediate and advanced students work on individual projects determined through discussion with and critiques by faculty. Emphasis is on both sculptural aesthetics and appropriate technology.

Intermediate and advanced students work on individual projects determined through discussion with and critiques by faculty. Emphasis is on both sculptural aesthetics and appropriate technology.

This course offers an exploration of various media-based practices as they relate to sculptural projects, contexts, and concerns. This includes the broad parameters of video production, web-based projects and media-based installations. We will adopt a critical attitude to media, its systems, and its ecologies, while exploring how digital technologies can provide agency for artists to activate social change. New media provides a reflexive palette of tools with the potential for an analytical, conceptual approach to cultural production. We will explore notions of immediacy, authenticity and originality, and students will engage in critical perspectives of media theory and produce projects through innovative action research.

This course explores various types of notations and drawings, both descriptive and expressive, which are created for sculptural projects.Students investigate perceptual drawing, sketchbook-diaries and schematics and are introduced to 3-D computer imaging. Several projects will incorporate the making of a sculpture or model developed from the drawing process. Class discussions address questions such as how to make proposals for large-scale sculpture.

This course is a structural and poststructural investigation of sculptural site activation. The students explore the theory and practice of how work gets contextualized and redefined through its placement within a larger social, political, and economic sphere of meaning. Students investigate options and determinants operative in both indoor and outdoor sites, installations, and environments. Although the focus of the class is contemporary, topics of discussion range from Rodin's Burghers of Calais to the public projections of Krzysztof Wodiczko. An indoor space is available for student use and cooperative interaction is encouraged. Prerequisite: intermediate level work in any media or consent of instructor.

Mapping is a powerful meta-strategy that transcends disciplines and reveals the dynamic relationships between space, data and social organization. Linking people and places, networks and territories, physical and virtual environments, maps are gaining new currency as a means of making the complex accessible, the hidden visible, the unmappable mappable. . . a way of making sense of things. Spanning social networks and networks of territories, mapping as a critical mode of inquiry and creative activity is at the forefront of locative media practice and new genre social sculpture. This studio class introduces students to this exploding subject through readings, discussions and individual studio projects. A variety of mapping technologies and subjects are introduced including handwork and digital mapping technologies.

Modular Metal teaches students to design and produce projects with modular components. This course introduces students to structural systems relevant to art and design with an emphasis on metalworking techniques and methodologies. Students learn basic metal fabrication with steel and aluminum, including: cutting, forming, forging, brazing, welding and finishing. In addition, students learn how to design, make and work with jigs for efficient studio production of identical parts.

Constructing art objects that incorporate real or apparent motion often requires skills in a number of areas: physical shaping and fastening of elements, linking them to an actuator (such as a motor), and controlling the motion, most typically through electronics. This course will give students a grounding in all these techniques as well as initiate a discussion of some of the problems and possibilities inherent in the aesthetic use of motion.

The Mixed Reality Architecture studio-seminar will research contemporary practices of media, art and architecture. Projects studied and produced will address synthetic ecologies and proactive environments at the intersection of virtual and physical space. The studio merges the mandates of a research lab, a think tank and a design studio, incorporating contemporary media into the practice of architecture and art to create entirely new types of spaces and environments that are informative, interactive but also theatrical or illusory.

Advanced students work on individual projects determined through discussion with and critiques by faculty. Emphasis is on both sculptural aesthetics and appropriate technology.

How do artists, designers and others generate new knowledge? How do breakthrough innovations occur? How can new knowledge come from collaborative research and trandisciplinary inquiry? In today's world of such extraordinary complexity, what are the limits of individual research and singular disciplinary practice and how can alliances outside the art world be made? What is research-based art practice and how can it generate new knowledge? Through readings, discussions, case studies, and in conversation with thinkers in other fields, students will look at knowledge, innovation, and research, both as topics and processes. This collaborative community of inquiry will identify important subjects (such as technology, energy, waste, alternative economies, and urban issues), undertake in-depth research, and formulate transdisciplinary projects aimed at the production of new knowledge which can make a meaningful contribution to the future.

This course provides a forum for in depth critiques and exploration of students' individual directions within the context of sculptural practice. Both technical and conceptual input will be given on a tutorial basis. Group discussions, readings, slide/video presentations, field trips and visiting lecturers may augment this class. Enrolled students will be assigned a studio space in the Columbus building. A maximum of 15 students will be admitted per semester, students must have the signature of the Department to register. Open to students at Junior level and above.

This project-based course is geared for students interested in exploring motion, mechanics and kinetic systems within the scope of their current making practice. Students are exposed to a range of strategies to make things move, from industrial control systems to DIY components. They are assisted in formulating their own unique fabrication methods appropriate to their current and evolving project ideas.

Advanced students pursue individual casting projects while continuing to develop and refine casting skills. Alternative investment techniques are explored. Emphasis is placed on individual experimentation and development.

This seminar provides a grounding in concepts, histories, practices, and potentialities of the field of Sculpture through the topic of space and place. Students read and write about, view, and discuss installation, site-specificity, public art and interventions, environmental and sustainable projects, phenomenological and experiential space, and locative media (among other topics) with the goal of positioning their own work in relation to chosen contexts.

Thing Lab provides a critical, hands-on exploration of the intersection between design and art in a truly interdisciplinary learning environment. Students from design, art, and writing backgrounds will create works that address the convergence of design and art, engaging and perhaps questioning the market forces of taste-making and power relationships in the world of collecting. The studio will culminate in a group exhibition at a major national or international art fair.