Erica R. Mott

This critique course is offered for students who do not speak English as their first language. Students build competence in giving critiques, participating in class discussions, and giving presentations. Students make artwork to present to the class. They learn and practice the vocabulary of visual and design elements and use these to analyze and critique their own and their classmates' works. Students practice a variety of critique formats by using formal, social-cultural, and expressive theories of art criticism. They discuss and critique works both verbally and in writing.

This course introduces the student to basic elements of performance art; body and objects, form and content, space and time, and enactment and documentation. The exploration will be encouraged by visiting artists' workshops or field trips to performance events throughout the course. Students develop individual and collaborative projects infusing their own narratives and making real human connections. Primarily a beginner's course but open to all levels of students.

What does one¿s emergent creative practice have to do with one¿s body in the world? How do we maintain the resilience and vulnerability required of artists and art students when we already feel so vulnerable in our everyday lives? How, as audiences and community members, do we share and receive feedback generously while still honoring our own lived experiences?

This course offers strategies for students to explore, reflect upon, and connect common themes and interests in the development of an emerging creative practice that will serve as the basis of their ongoing studies at SAIC and beyond. While the focus of this course will be on both embodied practices and the politics of having a body, it is open to all disciplines and areas of study. Through studio assignments, readings, viewings, and writing projects, students will generate a clearer understanding about how and why they make art, and how to continue making their work authentically.

This class will entail travel to Singapore and Bali, two countries in Southeast Asia where contemporary art and performance meet the soul of ancient traditions. The trip will start in Singapore where the National Gallery Singapore, housed in a former colonial administrative building, will provide a historical overview of the region and the foundations of modern and contemporary Southeast Asian art. In Bali, we will dive into embodied workshops, live performances, and exclusive collaborations with renowned local artists, experiencing firsthand the fusion of cutting-edge and time-honored artistic practices. We will be based in Ubud, away from the more touristy beach communities, and reside at the ARMA Museum and Gallery which will serve as a base for side trips to temples, studios, museums and artisans. This course offers a unique opportunity to become immersed in Southeast Asia¿s dynamic and rapidly changing cultural scene and engage directly with one of the most vibrant sectors of the modern and pre-modern global art world.