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This course provides an introduction to clay as a material. Participants will be introduced to a wide variety of methods and techniques to build, decorate, and glaze ceramic. Demonstrations in Hand-building, coiling, slap-building and surface application including glaze development and application, slip decoration and firing methods, will give students a proficiency in working with clay and in the ceramic department. Introductions to the rich and complex history of ceramic through readings, lectures and museum visits, will provide students with exposures to the critical discourse of contemporary ceramic. This is primarily a beginner's course but open to all levels of students.

Readings will vary but typically include, Hands in Clay by Charlotte Speight and John Toki. Vitamin C: Clay and Ceramic in Contemporary Art by Clare Lilley. Ten thousand years of pottery by Emmanuel Cooper. 20th Century Ceramics By Edmund de Waal. Live Form: Women, Ceramics, and Community by Jenni Sorkin. The course will look at artist like Magdalene Odundo, George E. Ohr, Shoji Hamada, Roberto Lugo and Nicole Cherubini as well as historic ceramic from the Art Institutes of Chicago?s collection.

Students are expected to complete 3 projects by the end of the semester, Biweekly readings will be part of the course.

This course provides an introduction to clay as a material. Participants will be introduced to a wide variety of methods and techniques to build, decorate, and glaze ceramic. Demonstrations in Hand-building, coiling, slap-building and surface application including glaze development and application, slip decoration and firing methods, will give students a proficiency in working with clay and in the ceramic department. Introductions to the rich and complex history of ceramic through readings, lectures and museum visits, will provide students with exposures to the critical discourse of contemporary ceramic. This is primarily a beginner's course but open to all levels of students.

Readings will vary but typically include, Hands in Clay by Charlotte Speight and John Toki. Vitamin C: Clay and Ceramic in Contemporary Art by Clare Lilley. Ten thousand years of pottery by Emmanuel Cooper. 20th Century Ceramics By Edmund de Waal. Live Form: Women, Ceramics, and Community by Jenni Sorkin. The course will look at artist like Magdalene Odundo, George E. Ohr, Shoji Hamada, Roberto Lugo and Nicole Cherubini as well as historic ceramic from the Art Institutes of Chicago?s collection.

Students are expected to complete 3 projects by the end of the semester, Biweekly readings will be part of the course.

This course is an introduction to art and design. Specific content varies by instructor and covers diverse ways of seeing and understanding the visual world. The course articulates connections between selected art of the past and contemporary practices. Students will gain first-hand knowledge from visits to and exercises in the Art Institute of Chicago and other collections.
Ultimately, the course teaches skills that enable students to understand their own practices better, orient themselves in relation to theories of art and design, and navigate our present moment where visual literacy is increasingly crucial.

This course introduces students to key aspects of the history and theory of art and design. Students will become familiar with selected art of the past and how it has been connected to contemporary practices.

This research, discussion, and critique course develops a visual and verbal vocabulary by examining relationships between form and content, word and image. Study includes symbolic association and the problem of effective communication in a highly complex culture.

This course builds on the lessons of ARTHI 1001 by discussing specific issues in modern and contemporary art and design. It focuses on examining objects and concepts, addressing theoretical and critical issues. It also explores the historical, intellectual, and socioeconomic changes reflected in the works of artists and designers, highlighting their relevance to contemporary practices. Museum visits and group exercises supervised by the instructor and the teaching assistants will contribute to the important hands-on experience of works of art.

Note: ARTHI 1001 is the recommended prerequisite for ARTHI 1002.

Digital visualization is essential to all contemporary creative communication. This class will familiarize students with the syntax, tools and methods of vector-based drawing and reinforce analogies to traditional methods of image-making covered in the First Year Program.

Students will begin with an introduction to the computer as a graphic design tool: the relationship of vector to raster graphics and the peripherals. The focus on building proficiency with industry-standard Adobe Illustrator software will be reinforced via tutorials and short design exercises which target specific topics and techniques covered during lectures.

Students apply technical competencies to formal design problems during the second half of this course and in Beginning Graphic Design class.

In this writing-intensive course, we will be using the theme of ¿conspiracy theory¿ to explore what constitutes legitimate (and illegitimate) knowledge in academic, public, and virtual spaces. Our access to information today is unparalleled, but it also demands a kind of vigilance. How do we identify credible sources? What counts as expertise? And how do we think critically about the information we encounter? In addition to analyzing a range of conspiracy theories (e.g. assassinations, alien abductions, false flag operations, artificial diseases, New World Order, and vaccine controversies), we will also consider the broader social, psychological, and political forces that contribute to conspiracy thinking. Course readings will cover a wide array of subtopics including hoaxes, pseudoscience, and fake news. Writing assignments ¿ totaling 20-25 pages over the course of the semester ¿ will emphasize summary, analysis, argument, research, revision, and other academic writing skills, culminating in a research project that allows you to explore unorthodox explanations of a public event, issue, or phenomenon of your choosing.

This class offers small group tutoring for students who do not speak English as their first language. Students meet with an EIS instructor in groups of three for 1 1/2 hours each week. Students receive assistance with their class assignments for Art History, Liberal Arts and Studio classes. Activities may include discussing class concepts, checking comprehension, exploring ideas for papers or projects, revising papers, or practicing pronunciation and presentations.

This class offers small group tutoring for students who do not speak English as their first language. Students meet with an EIS instructor in groups of three for 1 1/2 hours each week. Students receive assistance with their class assignments for Art History, Liberal Arts and Studio classes. Activities may include discussing class concepts, checking comprehension, exploring ideas for papers or projects, revising papers, or practicing pronunciation and presentations.

This class offers small group tutoring for students who do not speak English as their first language. Students meet with an EIS instructor in groups of three for 1 1/2 hours each week. Students receive assistance with their class assignments for Art History, Liberal Arts and Studio classes. Activities may include discussing class concepts, checking comprehension, exploring ideas for papers or projects, revising papers, or practicing pronunciation and presentations.

This course will introduce students to basic techniques of working with sound as an artistic material. As a prerequisite for many of the department's upper level offerings, the class is designed to familiarize the student with both the technology and the historical and aesthetic background relevant to our facilities and courses, to the field of 'sound art' and experimental music in general, and to the application of sound in other disciplines (video, film, performance, installations, etc.) Equipment covered will include microphones, mixers, analog and digital audio recorders, signal processors and analog synthesizers. Hard-disk based recording and editing (ProTools) is introduced, but the focus is on more traditional analog studio technology. The physics of sound will be a recurring subject.

Examples of music and sound art, created using similar technology to that in our studios, will be played or performed and discussed in class. The listening list will vary according to the instructors' preferences. Readings are similarly set according to the instructors' syllabus: some sections employ more or less reading than others, contact specific instructors for details.

Students are expected to use studio time to complete weekly assignments, which are designed to hone technical skills and, in most cases, foster artistic innovation. Some of these projects can incorporate outside resources (such as the student's own computers and recordings), but the emphasis is on mastering the studio.

In this course students explore the principles of visual communication by creating two-dimensional printed comprehensive layouts, and three-dimensional mock-ups. Stress is placed on process and development of solutions to problems; idea and form exploration; research; image and text development; compositional structure and hierarchy; verbal, technical, and hand skills. The course also covers the technical aspects of graphic design such as printing methods, papers, and binding.

Students will produce 3-4 finished pieces exploring the use of image and type in both single page format, multi-page format, and possibly three-dimensional format. These projects are to be included in the VCD department's obligatory portfolio review for advancement into the VCD intermediate courses.

Image Studio is a course that challenges students to interpret, critically read text, conceptualize, and assess project parameters to implement design solutions. The creative process is a core focus throughout the assignments. The goal of this course is to explore the process of creating original imagery and visual information.

We utilize digital and analog means to create design solutions to projects that also require fundamental explorations with typography. We explore a diverse means of image construction from paper collage to photography and Photoshop manipulation.

Form studies examine design basics such as juxtaposition, repetition, and progression as well as the use of metaphor, analogy, and semiotics. The introduction of design context, audience awareness, and sequential narrative is also addressed.

This multilevel class is for students with or without experience in wheel throwing. Beginning students are introduced to ideas, materials and techniques for throwing vessels. They acquire the necessary skills to construct and analyze a wide range of vessel forms. Intermediate and advanced students continue their individual development of throwing, glazing and firing kilns. Course discussions focus on issues around the vessel to acquire critical understanding of containers and their functions, as well as using the wheel as a means for constructing sculptural forms.

This course develops drawing skills with an emphasis on figure gesture and proportion along with a wide range of media. Students are taught to sketch from a live model while communicating design concepts in clothing with style and expression.

For the beginning student this course offers a concentrated introduction to the entire stencil making and printing process. The advanced student may explore the more sophisticated techniques of digital and photographic stencil-making, photo-mechanical darkroom and printing work.

Artists' Books is a beginning/intermediate level course that focuses on the fundamental techniques of bookbinding so as to be able to design and produce one or an edition of artists' books and boxes. The class begins by learning a range of traditional binding techniques, discussing material choices, and learning about the history of artists' books. Later on breaking out of the box to take risks, explore concepts and unconventional materials will be strongly encouraged for individual projects. In addition, the intention of this class is to meld your own studio work and personal expression with the form of artists' books.

This course explores the interpretation of the landscape using both drawing and painting mediums. The class works both inside and outside of the studio, taking advantage of the natural and architectural sites of Chicago adjacent to the School.

This course introduces students to sculptural ideas executed in various ceramic hand construction techniques including slab, coil, press mold, etc. Students will explore how the unique physical characteristics of clay can contribute to the content of the work. Construction strategies will be examined in a conceptual context, investigating issues of space, technology, and architectural implication to build a dimensional perspective of personal and societal relevance. Emphasis will be on process, exploration, and discussion.

We will examine artists who've instrumentalized clay in inventive and boundary-pushing ways. Some of the artists we'll look at are Arlene Schechet, Annabeth Rosen, Ron Nagel, Huma Bhabha, Genesis Belanger and more. Readings and screenings will vary but typically include interviews with contemporary artists and critical essays by Eva Respini, Clare Lilley, Rosalind Krauss and more.

Students should expect to produce a body of work consisting of assigned and self directed projects to be presented in a culminating midterm and final critique.

This 15-day immersive studio course invites students to investigate the dynamic intersection of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary art practice in Japan. Traveling through three culturally significant regions¿the Seto Inland Sea, Kansai (Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe), and Tokyo¿participants will engage directly with Japan¿s layered histories through hands-on workshops, studio visits, and curated explorations of key cultural sites.

Program highlights include:
Intensive workshops with master artisans in traditional techniques such as washi papermaking, textile dyeing, and ukiyo-e woodblock printing
Visits to contemporary galleries, artist-run spaces, museums, and studios that illuminate Japan's evolving art landscape
Immersive encounters with cultural landmarks¿from Kyoto's contemplative temples to Tokyo's vibrant, hybrid art scenes
Through direct engagement with artists, curators, and scholars, students will critically examine how inherited craft practices inform and challenge contemporary modes of artmaking. This cross-cultural studio experience encourages experimentation with unfamiliar materials, processes, and conceptual frameworks, supporting students in expanding their own creative vocabularies through the lens of Japan¿s unique artistic context.

A six-credit option for this course is available for students who wish to extend their practice and complete portfolio-worthy work. This will require the production of a substantial body of work, accompanied by an online journal that documents the creative process and source information material as documented during our time in Japan. The experience will include additional independent studio time and culminate in a critique session held within six weeks of returning from Japan.