Nyeema Morgan

This course is an introduction to the materials, methods, and concepts of sculpture. We will investigate making in relation to material, time and space. We will consider aspects of sculpture such as meaning, scale, process, social engagement, ephemera and site; and explore the formal properties and expressive potential of materials including mold making and casting, wood, metal and experimental media. We will combine the use of materials and methods with ideas that reflect the history of contemporary sculpture. Demonstrations and authorizations will provide students with experience and technical proficiency in sculptural production while readings and slide lectures venture into the critical discourses of sculpture.

What are the concerns that drive one's creative practice? How does one set the terms for its future development? Sophomore Seminar 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. Students will examine historical and contemporary influences and contextualize their work in relation to the diverse art-worlds of the 21st Century. Readings, screenings, and field trips will vary each semester. Presentations by visiting artists and guest speakers will provide the opportunity for students to hear unique perspectives on sustaining a creative practice. One-on-one meetings with faculty will provide students with individualized mentorship throughout the semester. During interdisciplinary critiques, students will explore a variety of formats and tools to analyze work and provide peer feedback. The class mid-term project asks students to imagine a plan for their creative life and devise a self-directed course of study for their time at school. The course concludes with an assignment asking students to develop and document a project or body of work demonstrating how the interplay of ideas, technical skills, and formal concerns evolve through iteration, experimentation and revision.

Prerequisite: Must be a sophomore to enroll.

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. IMPORTANT: This course requires instructor consent. Please do not email the instructor directly. Instead, fill out the form found at this link, https://tinyurl.com/yjpm32ww, to submit your portfolio and application before the deadline.

Future Practice seminar presents philosophies and practicalities to hone student discipline both in the studio and in the administration of their practice as resilient strategies for a life-long, artistic career. This seminar advances the work of 2nd year sculpture graduate students by critiquing the student¿s entire portfolio ¿ reflecting on past and current work as a means of identifying multiple, narrative arcs and pathways to generate inquiries and ideas for new work. This course aims towards a complexity of practice with that will allow artists to enter and navigate the art world with a diversified portfolio and practice. Students will claim themselves as experts of independent research topics conducted to inform their work and be able to theorize cultural conditions that will determine future practice. Students will present their propositions for practice in a monthly, school-wide colloquia, called Sculpture Dialogues where students present their work along with a visiting artist/practitioner and reflect how sculpture¿s criteria is challenged by the determination and exercise of young sculptors today.

4-5 Readings due during the first 5 classes with lectures, screenings, and public artist talk presentations. Student will review works in three group critiques: portfolio analysis, project proposal, and artist presentation

1. [Systems: Historical Present] Susan Buck Morss, Aesthetics and Anaesthetics: Walter Benjamin's Artwork Essay Reconsidered, October Volume 62, 1992. Part
2. [Systems: History] Silvio Larusso, What design Can¿t Do
3. [Sites: Public Practice] Alexander Nagle, Medieval to Modern
4. [Systems: Environment] Dipesh Chakrabarty, The Climate of History

Taken every semester, the Graduate Projects courses allow students to focus in private sessions on the development of their work. Students register for 6 hours of Graduate Project credit in each semester of study.

Taken every semester, the Graduate Projects courses allow students to focus in private sessions on the development of their work. Students register for 6 hours of Graduate Project credit in each semester of study.