Art as Social Change
Undergraduate Course, Webster University
ART 1000 Art as Social Change: An Introduction to Drawing and Painting
Instructor: Tara DePorte
In this introductory studio course, students will learn the basics of color theory, perspective, composition and painting techniques (acrylic), while incorporating social “messaging” into their works. Students will survey international artists---with visits from local artists and to local art institutions---who use art as a means to create and express topics of social change. Students will learn to engage their critical mind creatively through visual expression of key topics that are most important to their lives. Examples may include civil rights, feminism, conflict, access to education, sexual freedom or other topics of student’s choice. Students will study how artists use their craft to create social change, while developing painting, collage and other artistic techniques.
Daily Topics Include:
Identifying key contemporary art influences (painting, drawing photography, performance and drawing)
Having knowledge of perspective, color theory, line quality, and composition.
Integrating drawing and painting technique into social messaging.
Developing a portfolio of works of self expression.
Participating in social art events.
The Instructor will evaluate students’ work as follows:
Description:
Percentage:
Active Participation
30%
Presentations
40%
Critiques x 2
20%
Final Project
10%
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Homework, subjects to be dealt with in the lesson, assignments, presentations, and examinations
Date:
May 24 2010
Time:
Webster closed.
Lesson 1
Whitsuntide / 2e Pinksterdag
Date:
Tuesday, May 25 2010
Time:
09:30 – 13:30
Lesson 2
Creating the Artist: Personal Questions, Black and White Drawing and Introduction to Art as Social Change
Prepare for this session
Prepare answers to the following questions:
What topic are you most passionate about in life?
What is most important in your life?
Who inspires you? Why?
What is your biggest/deepest fear?
What is your biggest/deepest happiness?
What is your favorite color?
Who do you want to reach in your life? (i.e. do you want to teach children in the Netherlands, your family, neighbors, politicians, etc?)
Date:
Wednesday, May 26 2010
Time:
09:30 – 13:30
Lesson 3
How to Engage Your Audience: Contemporary artists. Introduction to line and shading.
Prepare for this session
Complete in-class exercises if not finished.
Without words: draw your biggest fear.
Date:
Thursday, May 27 2010
Time:
09:30 – 13:30
Lesson 4
Creating Perspective
Guest Speaker: Kathryn Fischer, aka Mad Kate alfabus.us
Presentation, performance and creativity: Art as activism
Recommended Performance Art Video Playlist from Mad Kate:
Prepare for this session
Shading scale
Create a self-portrait line drawing (no shading)
Create the same self-portrait with shading
Date:
Friday, May 28 2010
Time:
09:30 – 13:30
Lesson 5
The Use and Impact of Color
Prepare for this session
Create your own color wheel
Create a "color grid" with 40 shades of your favorite color.
Date:
Monday, May 31 2010
Time:
09:30 – 13:30
Lesson 6
Composition and Storytelling and Portfolio Critique 1
Prepare for this session
Without words, create a 3 page "story board" of your past, present and future
Date:
Tuesday, June 1 2010
Time:
09:30 – 13:30
Lesson 7
Life Influences: Learning from Others
Prepare for this session
Come to class with your top two life mentors, ready to describe them and their work
Come to class with your top two favorite artists, ready to describe them and bring two of their images to share.
Make a copy one of your favorite pieces of art.
Date:
Wednesday, June 2 2010
Time:
09:30 – 13:30
Lesson 8
Word Play and the Image
Prepare for this session
Make a drawing or painting of what inspires you most, only using text as the subject-matter.
Date:
Thursday, June 3 2010
Time:
09:30 – 13:30
Lesson 9
Final Portfolio Critique and Preparation for Dutch Film Festival
Prepare for this session
Finish all pieces for final critique
Go to film festival premier this evening.
Additional Information on the course:
As a final project, all students will be asked to participate in the Dutch Environmental Film Festival 2010, by Strawberry Earth , premier on the evening of June 3rd, 2010 in Amsterdam. Students will have a chance to experience a platform of art (film) being used as a social change mechanism. Students will be helping with the festival doing things such as tearing tickets, announcing films, welcoming guests, answering questions about the program, and building up the festival.
Required Materials List
Paints (ALL ACRYLIC):
Prussian Blue or Cobalt Blue or Pthalo Blue
Cadmium Yellow
Cadmium Red
Titanium White or Zinc White
Brushes:
One size 16-20 flat brush
One size 7-10 round brush
One size 5-7 round brush
One size 0-3 round brush
One size 0-5 flat brush
Pencils:
One pencil sharpener
One each of the following hardness:
8B, 7B, 6B, 4B, 2B, HB
Eraser:
One gum eraser
One Kneaded Eraser
Permanent Marker:
Two fine-tipped permanent markers (black)
Canvas and Paper:
10 pre-stretched, primed canvases (artist's choice of sizes selected from 9x13, 10x15, 13x18/19, 15x22, 18x27, 20x30, 25x38 (sizes in cm))
1 sketchbook (at least 10x15 mm)
10 medium to heavy weight paper (artist's choice of sizes selected from 9x13, 10x15, 13x18/19, 15x22, 18x27, 20x30, 25x38 (sizes in cm))
Detailed Daily Activities :
Prep Work for First Class: Prepare answers to the following questions:
What topic are you most passionate about in life?
What is most important in your life?
Who inspires you? Why?
What is your biggest/deepest fear?
What is your biggest/deepest happiness?
What is your favorite color?
Who do you want to reach in your life? (i.e. do you want to teach children in the Netherlands, your family, neighbors, politicians, etc?)
Class 1: Creating the Artist
Personal Questions, Black and White Drawing and Introduction to Art as Social Change
Introduction to course, grading and topics covered
Student introductions and homework questions
Black and white drawing
Sketchbook: One-line exercises for portrait, tree, and desk
Sketchbook: One-line no-look drawing of same three above
Break
Sketchbook: Draw your biggest fear
Canvas 1: Draw your biggest fear
Homework: Finish biggest fear drawing
Day 2: How to Engage Your Audience: Contemporary artists and an introduction to line and shading
Contemporary drawing (20 minutes)
Sketchbook: Shading Scale
Sketchbook: Create a self-portrait line drawing (no shading)
Break
Canvas 2: Recreate the line drawing self-portrait two times on one canvas. Shade one portrait and leave the other a line drawing.
Homework: Finish line-drawing self-portrait canvas (with shading and no shading)
Day 3: Creating Perspective
Guest speaker: 45 minutes—Art and Activism
Sketchbook: One near object and one far object
Sketchbook: Shading a sphere
Sketchbook: Breaking down objects into shapes: portrait and complex object
Sketchbook: Drawing for positive space/Drawing for Negative space
Break
Canvas 3: Draw a greatest happiness in the foreground and greatest sadness in the background
Homework: Finish happiness/sadness canvas, finish and bring canvas 1, 2, & 3 for Critique
Day 4: The Use and Impact of Color, Critique #1
Sketchbook: Create your own color wheel
Sketchbook: Create a "color grid" with 40 shades of your favorite color.
Color, its use, and social change (20 minutes)
Critique #1
Homework: Sketchbook: Without words, draw a 3 page "story board" of your past, present and future or the past, present and future of an important issue to your life. Begin these as paintings on Canvas 4, 5, and 6.
Day 5: Composition and Storytelling
Artists Telling a Story: Show paintings and have students make stories (1 hour)
Sketchbook: Illustrate a current news story
Break
Canvas 7: Paint a current news story
Homework:
Canvas 7: Finish news story painting
Come to class with your top two life mentors, ready to describe them and their work.
Come to class with your top two favorite artists, ready to describe them and bring two of their images to share.
Day 6: Learning from Others
Share life mentors and favorite artists
Break
Canvas 8: Make a painting copy one of your favorite pieces of art with images representative of your life mentor’s work or self incorporated into the picture
Homework: Finish Canvas 8
Day 7: Word Play and the Image
Text in art (20 minutes)
Canvas 9: Make a painting of what inspires you most, using only text or text and images.
Homework: Finish Canvas 1-9 and all sketchbook assignments.
Day 8: Final Portfolio Critique and Dutch Environmental Film Festival
Finish Canvas 1-9 and all sketchbook assignments.
Choose your best 1-2 pieces and write a one-paragraph description of what they depict/mean to you.
Break
Final Critique
Discuss roles for environmental film festival
Final Project: Attend for environmental film festival (there may be a student exhibit of selected top works for the opening event)
