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SYLLABUS

ART 153 Creative Problem Solving: Winter 2008

Professor: Anna Campbell
Meeting Time & Classroom: Mondays 2:00pm - 4:50pm Calder Art Center [CAC] 703
Wednesdays 2:00 PM - 4:50 PM Calder Art Center [CAC] 1718
Prerequisites: Freshman art major or instructor permission
Final Exam: Wednesday, December 12, 4pm-6pm
Office Hours: Mondays & Wednesdays 5pm-6pm; Thursdays 1pm-2pm
Office: 1112 Calder Art Center [CAC]
Phone: 616.331.3495 or ext.: 13495
Email: campbean@gvsu.edu
Website: http://look.gvsu.edu:8000/meathook

Important Dates

Classes Begin: Monday, January 7th, 2008
Chicago Trip: Tuesday, February 19th
Last day to withdraw: Friday, February 29th, 5pm
Midterms: February 18-23
Spring Break: March 2-9
Reworked assignments due: April 3rd
Classes End: Saturday, April 19th
Section 4 Exam: Tuesday, April 22 10am-noon
Section 1 Exam: Monday, April 21 noon-2pm
Section 2 Exam: Tuesday, April 22 4-6pm
Semester Ends: April 26
Commencement: Saturday, April 26th
Grades to students: May 1st

Course Objectives

CPS is creative problem solving. In this studio we will focus on understanding and making meaning in images and objects in a contemporary context. This will require investigating the contemporary practice of art and design, study in how images and objects work, and the development of basic studio processes and experimentation. The contemporary focus of the course requires that we learn and use digital media forms in combination with traditional media.

Structure

The primary studio source is the online collaborative web site, or wiki at http://look.gvsu.edu:8000/pony7 Studio participants are expected to use and check the web regularly (at least every other day) for announcements and new information. Clicking on the "changes" button will take you to a page that lists recent activity on the whole site. Critical announcements will be posted on the CPS blog on the home page of the web. Also regularly check the calendar page.
The focus of the studio is on preparing participants for future practice as visual artists as well as gaining awareness and engagement as citizens. We want to aspire to the best in professional practice, but work in the full context of the larger world of culture, commerce, politics, and civic dialogue. We will engage the range of visual culture that includes fine art, design, and our daily visual experience.

Community of Practice

With the purpose of maximizing applicable learning these following practices are valued:
Information and knowledge is readily distributed and shared.
Substantive social interaction is valued because learning is fundamentally social.
Knowledge is integrated in the activity of the group.
Learning is an act of membership in a community of practice.
"Knowing" and "learning" require engaging in practice.
Learning requires empowerment and responsibility.
Our intelligence is not just based on how "smart" we are, but reflects the richness of the learning communities we have organized for ourselves.
J. Cleveland and P.Stark

Required Travel

A bus trip to Chicago is scheduled for Tuesday, October 2nd. The cost is $30.
Pick up a payment slip from the office. Payment is made to the cashier in Student Services. You must then deliver your receipt to the box on the counter in the Art Office. Deadline to have your receipt in the box in the office: Tuesday, September 27th at 4pm. We book busses based on the number of receipts in the box at the deadline.
A handout with itineraries and maps will be passed out the morning of the trip. The Art Institute of Chicago is no longer free on Tuesdays. Admission is $12 adults, $7 students with ID. The MCA is now free on Tuesdays. Millennium Park & the Chicago Cultural Center are also good venues, and always free of charge. There may also be an opportunity to see some contemporary West loop galleries.

Schedule:
7:40 am load busses at Calder Art Center
10:00 am (Chicago time) drop-off Art Institute of Chicago
6:00 pm (Chicago time) pick-up Museum of Contemporary Art
10:45 pm (approximately) arrive at Calder Art Center
You will receive a letter from the department that explains the necessity of the trip to faculty in other departments, in the instance that you have to miss other classes to attend this field trip.

Recommended Lectures

I will notify you of lectures sponsored by the Art & Design Department. There are also many other lectures sponsored by the university. Among those are the lectures presented by the Office of Multicultural Affairs; their itinerary can be accessed at www.gvsu.edu/oma/
Kendall College of Art and Design in downtown Grand Rapids also offers a series of lectures in conjunction with their gallery exhibits. The lecture schedule can be found here: http://www.kcad.edu/gallery/guest-lecturers
The Department of Art & Art History at Michigan State University [Lansing, Michigan] has a very impressive Visiting Artist Lecture Series. For artists and dates, see: http://www.art.msu.edu/?page_id=54
Feel free to alert the class to any lectures/ exhibits/ or important local events that may be relevant.

Attendance

The nature of studio working and learning is experiential and active, so being here and being here on time is essential and expected. You may miss two class periods without affecting your grade. If you are late too, or leave early from class by 10 minutes or more this will count as 1/3 absence. Your final grade will drop a grade level per additional absence. The department mandates that any absence exceeding 5 results in an automatic failure. Religious holidays are excused absences, but you must contact me in advance of missing a class for any reason.
Please keep in mind that the allowable absences are meant for personal/family illness, travel prior to holidays, etc; do not use them carelessly, as this frequently causes problems for students later in the semester. If you do miss a class, please confirm any assignments/discussion content with me.

Critiques

Critiques are meant to help you evaluate your investigations into contemporary art. Our critiques will focus on the quality of physical execution in your work, as well as the formal and conceptual concerns addressed by the assignments, and your interpretations. Successful critiques depend on your thoughtful and honest evaluations of your and your classmates work. You must be present for all critiques, and your work should be set up and ready before class time.

Sketchbook

You will need to keep a sketchbook for this class. It should serve as a tool for you to work out ideas, take notes on demos, plan for projects, and record your process and progress over the course of the semester. You will need it for every class; this sketchbook should not be used for any other courses. Dimensions should be conducive to portability; approximately between 6” x 8” and 9” x 12”

Participation

Participation requires that you are physically and mentally alert and active in class. You need to have a position, response or opinion about the ideas and work presented in class.
Be prepared to work during class; do not come to class with the intent of leaving to purchase or collect materials.
Late homework will not be graded; late projects will be lowered one full grade for each class period the work is late.
You must be on time for class with your work finished to receive credit for it; this applies to all coursework. Projects not finished before critique will not be discussed. Contact me as soon as possible if you need an extension based on documented illness or extreme family trauma.

Technology


A significant part of the course is an introduction to digital media, or the use of computing technologies in the production of visual art.

Resolution
Using the appropriate pixels per inch for your output: This is controlled by paying attention to image size (how many pixels does your image have). This includes acquiring the optimum image size and handling the image so this size/quality is maintained. This is where scanner and digital camera settings come in. It also requires an understanding of resolutions appropriate for various outputs. 72 pix/inch for output to monitors (internet), 200 pix/inch for output to laser printing, 300 plus for professional printing.

Maintaining Project Files
Keeping all primary and resource documents organized: This involves understanding when a digital project is a stand-alone document and when alternately it is using other files as resources. It also involves keeping an organized and appropriate structure to your digital files as you store and move them from media to media. Digital files that use external sources include: html or web files, desk-top publishing programs such as Freehand, Quark, and Indesign, and image organizing/presenting programs like iView-multimedia.

Supplies, Material, Media

Plan for approximately an additional $70 for supplies you will need to purchase later. It is often difficult to hold back funds for projects late in the semester, but it can be very important to have some resources for the appropriate materials for projects.

Grading

Grades are the result of a combination of your efforts in projects and studio performance/participation. You will get a performance report at midterm and then again at the end of the studio.
You have the option to redo studio work if you are not happy with the grade. Improvements in concept, design and craft will raise your grade; simply redoing the piece without making tangible improvements will not raise your grade. Reworked assignments should be turned in to me by Friday, November 30th.


Ability Statement

If there are any students in this class who have special needs because of a learning, physical, or other disability, please contact the Disability Support Services [DSS] at 616.331.2490 and let me know.

Source

This syllabus has been constructed with the assistance of Paul Wittenbraker, Renee Zettle-Sterling, Norwood Viviano, and Jim Visser.


ART AND SAFETY

Almost all materials and tools used in art have safety concerns.
For tools the safety concern is more obvious and to that end you will need training and authorization to use them. For others the concern is less obvious and may involve the chemicals contained or the vapors/dust given off when they are worked. GVSU is committed to providing the safest environment possible for you to work and learn.

Training will be provided during this studio class to help you identify and deal with the potential hazards you might encounter. There are, however, some basic things you must know and follow. It is your body and your responsibility.
SAFETY GLASSES. You are required to own and use safety glasses whenever you are working in this studio. Mark yours so they can be identified.
FOOTWEAR. You are required to wear closed toe shoes that cover your feet when you are in this studio. No crocks, no sandals, no flip-flops. You will be given the opportunity to have a locker assigned to you. Keep a pair of shoes inside if you like to wear sandals.
EATING/DRINKING. In order to prevent the ingestion of chemicals and materials, you may only eat in designated areas. You may drink in your work area but only from marked bottles/cans that have a small opening, or travel mugs/cups with a slit opening or cups with lid and straw.
UNMARKED CONTAINERS. You may not leave or use containers with chemicals or ‘mixes’ that are unmarked as to contents.
DISPOSAL. Solvents and many chemicals and mixes may not be poured down drains. Ask your professor if you are uncertain or if you do not know where to dispose properly.
PARTICLE MASK. Some processes or work in this studio class may require you to own and use a nuisance level or the higher N95 level particle mask. They are not expensive. Mark yours.
ACCIDENTS. Should you have an accident that requires you to go to a med center or hospital for treatment you must fill out an accident form within 2 days
Form available from 3-D Tech. in the Sculpture studio

‘RIGHT TO KNOW’ (MSDS)
Chemicals and materials that you are supplied with or that you are required to use in this studio class are supplied with MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet). The MSDS identify contents, hazards and disposal instructions. Some are specific to a manufacturer; others are generic for a product. Copies are kept on file in specific locations and you may view them or ask to have a copy (or you can go to www.gvsu.edu/labsafety). The location of the MSDS file and the person responsible is posted.

You are required to sign a sheet that indicates that you have read and understood the above.