Art
Professors T. BENTLEY (Co-Chair), S. JOHNSON (Co-Chair), R. KOLARIK, K. LEONARD, G. MURRAY (Spring 2025 Sabbatical), R. TUCKER; Assistant Professor J. PAULIN (Fall 2024 Sabbatical) W.TARVER (Fall 2024); Senior Lecturer and Artist-in-Residence J. GUMPPER; One Year Visiting Assistant Professor M. POGGIOLI
The art major at Colorado College offers an integrative approach to studying the history and practice of art, architecture, design, and museum studies. The major introduces a wide variety of liberal arts students to the history of art and provides opportunities to experience the power of creative processes through making. Our program is structured to ensure that all majors experience the practice of creating art and are capable of thoughtful analysis of the visual language of works of art. We hope to prepare our majors for graduate study or careers in the visual arts, but the art major also develops visual, analytical, and written skills that qualify students for careers in areas other than the arts.
Students choose one of four areas of concentration when they declare the major:
- Art History
- Art Studio
- Design Studies
- Museum Studies
Nonetheless, we require all majors to demonstrate their holistic understanding of the relationships between works of art and their historical and technical contexts. Therefore, the major requires students to take courses in both art history and art studio regardless of area of concentration.
Students must declare the major and area of concentration by the end of their sophomore year. It is imperative that each student’s course of study be developed in close consultation with an advisor and approved in advance.
The senior capstone requires majors to undertake serious and substantive independent work that results in a capstone project. Students must identify a topic of interest, examine a specific problem and carry out independent research and analysis over an extended time. The results of this process are expressed through a written paper, exhibition, project, or other body of work.
“Distinction in Art” is granted by vote of the art faculty to graduating seniors who have done consistently excellent work in all Art Department courses, contributed to departmental activities and presented an outstanding senior project.
The Art Department maintains an active program of events including visiting artists, speakers, workshops, etc. that enrich our classes and also help draw the attention of the campus community to the visual arts. The Department collaborates regularly with the Fine Arts Center, Arts and Crafts, CC Mobile Arts, Creativity & Innovation, and a variety of other departments and programs. In addition, when feasible, during Senior Seminar, all senior art majors spend a week in New York City with faculty visiting museums, galleries, artists’ studios, and meeting with alumni. We also offer regular field trips and courses abroad in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. The income from the department's endowment, the Harold E. Berg Fund, supports these programs.
CONCENTRATIONS IN ART
Art History
The Art History concentration introduces students to the artistic achievements of human civilizations by studying the visual arts of a variety of cultures in depth. In the process students will develop a sensitivity to the visual environment. The study of art history incorporates intellectual, social, economic and political history, thus offering a vivid and tangible introduction to the history and achievements of human culture. Our program is structured to ensure that majors have a general knowledge of art history and are capable of thoughtful analysis of the visual languages of art. All art history courses emphasize developing skills in research and writing. Art history provides a solid intellectual foundation for students with a variety of interests.
Art Studio
The Art Studio concentration emphasizes the fundamentals of the visual arts while introducing students to a wide range of traditional techniques, new technologies, experimental practices and visual theory. Through direct experience, students build a technical skill set and a general knowledge of the visual arts that provide the foundation for undertaking a deeper creative investigation in their capstone projects. During their studies, students build confidence in technical and creative problem solving, visual analysis and critical discussion. The experience is enriched by numerous visiting artist lectures, workshops and extended field trips. We strive to graduate majors who are prepared for future creative work and have a sensitivity to the visual arts that will inform their lives whether or not they choose to pursue further study or careers in the arts.
Design Studies
The Design Studies Concentration in the Art Major focuses on design principles as they relate to real world problems and issues. Includes such fields as architecture, community engagement, environmental design, graphic design, product design, and other subjects depending on student interest. It is not a narrowly pre-professional major, but rather, provides students with a strong foundation in the visual arts supplemented with coursework intended to prepare them to use their visual skills in solving problems, communicating ideas and engaging with social and political issues.
Museum Studies
The Museum Studies concentration introduces students to the theories and practices of the museum while offering a humanistic lens through which they may understand the arts in relation to history, culture, and society. The concentration explores the museum (and art museums in particular) as a site for the construction, interpretation, and dissemination of knowledge and identity, and as a space for in-depth examination of issues in today's society. Coursework is supplemented by visitors from a broad range of museum backgrounds. Students will have regular opportunities to engage with the museum at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College.
Major Requirements
A student majoring in Art may concentrate in art history, art studio, design studies, or museum studies. Students must complete at least 11 units in the Art major.
Art History Concentration
The Art History Concentration consists of 7 units of art history, 2 units of art studio, and a two-unit senior capstone. The 7 art history courses must include one 300-level course. In their senior year, students take a two-block senior capstone (AH412 Senior Seminar and AH415 Senior Capstone).
Art Studio Concentration
The Art Studio Concentration consists of 7 units of art studio, 2 units of Art History, and a two-unit senior capstone (AS411 Senior Studio Seminar). Selected courses may be repeated for credit with consent of instructor.
Design Studies Concentration
The Design Studies Concentration consists of 7 units of art studio, 2 units of art history, and a two-unit senior capstone. Students selecting the Design Studies concentration must include the following courses in their studio units: AS103 Art Studio Foundations: Drawing or AS102 Art Studio Foundations: 2-D Design; AS114 Art Studio Foundations: 3-D Design; and AS212 Design Workshop. The 4 additional units of studio within the Design concentration should be chosen in consultation with the students' major advisor. In their senior year, students take a two-block senior capstone experience (AH412 or AS411 Senior Seminar and AS411 or AH415 Senior Capstone).
Museum Studies Concentration
The Museum Studies Concentration consists of MS247 Introduction to Museum Studies, 2 additional units of museum studies courses, 4 units of art history, 2 units of art studio, and a two-unit senior capstone experience (AH412 Senior Seminar and AH416 Senior Capstone).
Other Information
AP credit in art history cannot be counted towards the major, but students who receive AP credit may, in consultation with the department, substitute upper-level courses for an introductory survey. Students who receive a score of 5 on the art history AP exam may receive one unit of general studies credit.
Minor Requirements
The Art Department offers two minors, one in art history and one in studio art.
Art History Minor (Six units)
The art history minor consists of six units: five art history units--at least three at the 200 or 300 level--and one unit of studio art (at the 100 level or at a more advanced level with the permission of the instructor). Only Colorado College courses may count towards the minor, which is open only to non-art majors. The introductory courses provide a broad chronological and geographical introduction, with some methodological focus. More advanced classes encourage concentrated and/or comparative study in one or more areas or periods. The unit of studio art is in keeping with the philosophy of the Art Department that serious study of art history must involve some direct experience of studio art.
Art Studio Minor (Six units)
The art studio minor consists of six units: five studio art units and one unit in art history. Three of the studio art units must be above the 100 level. Only Colorado College courses may count towards the minor, which is open only to non-art majors. The initial 100-level units provide both a conceptual and technical introduction to studio practices. The remaining units allow the student to investigate specific disciplines, such as painting, sculpture, photography, or printmaking, at a more advanced level. The unit of art history is in keeping with the philosophy of the department that serious study of studio art must involve some knowledge of art history.
Courses
Art History
This introductory course is a thematic examination of selected moments in the history of art across time and space. The class will be organized around case studies, themes, and cultural comparisons. It also considers the movement of art objects and ideas from one historical context to another. Specific case studies will vary for each iteration of the course. Architectural constructions of power will be of interest (comparisons might include the Cambodian Angkor Wat temples and/or Mayan temple complexes, or the Athenian Acropolis). The course investigates the interplay of religious and political values (as in Confucian tomb art and/or Christian narratives); the dynamic relationship between stylistic changes and expanding markets for art (as in French Impressionist painting and Japanese woodblock prints); and the impacts of colonialism in European art and in the visual cultures of colonized or partly-colonized lands. Differing interpretations of landscape will be introduced, as well as the formation, and interrogation, of an art historical canon. Students will develop visual, verbal, analytic, and written skills through class discussion and projects. Field trips may facilitate on-site experiences of art. 1 units. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
(Not offered 2024-25).
Selected Topics in Art History at the Introductory Level. (Not offered 2024-25).
This course is a broad introduction to the built environment. We will consider monuments from humankind's earliest structures to contemporary buildings and their relationships to political, social, religious and economic systems as well as their building techniques and technology. While the architecture of the ancient Mediterranean, Europe and North America is the primary focus of the class, we will also examine selected examples of global architecture from the Americas, Asia and Africa. We will consider the changing role of the architect and the practice of architecture in the contemporary world including issues of sustainability and social justice. Students will learn to analyze buildings and consider the ways in which our architectural environment affects our lives. To that end we will critically evaluate the buildings of the Colorado College campus. There will also be field trips to experience recent architecture at the United States Air Force Academy and in the city of Denver. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
The course surveys major developments in painting, sculpture and architecture from the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean world, to the Middle Ages, Renaissance, early modern and revolutionary modern worlds in their political, social, philosophical, and religious contexts. Discussion, readings and writing stress the interpretive methods of the art historical discipline. Students will develop written and oral skills in visual analysis, learn to identify artistic styles, and apply the principal methodologies of art historical study. The course critically examines the narrative of western art history and investigates why particular works of art have been included. (Not offered 2024-25).
Introduction to Asian art in its historical and cultural context with emphasis on China, Japan and India. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
This block surveys major developments in painting, sculpture and architecture from the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean world, to the Middle Ages, and through the early Renaissance. These developments will be considered in their political, social, philosophical, and religious contexts. Particular points of focus will be the Pyramids at Giza, the classical Greek Parthenon, the Gothic Cathedral, and art in fifteenth-century Florence. Discussion, readings, and writing stress the interpretive methods of the art historical discipline. Students will develop written and oral skills in visual analysis, learn to identify artistic styles, and apply the principal methodologies of art historical study. The course critically examines the narrative of western art history and investigates why particular works of art have been included. (Not offered 2024-25).
It surveys major developments in the visual arts from Michelangelo and the High Renaissance to the Baroque of Bernini and Rembrandt, through the revolutionary nineteenth century of the Romantics and Impressionists, to the modern world of the avant-garde. These developments will be considered in their political, social, philosophical, and religious contexts. Discussion, readings, and writing stress the interpretive methods of the art historical discipline. Students will develop written and oral skills in visual analysis, learn to identify artistic styles, and apply the principal methodologies of art historical study. The course critically examines the narrative of western art history and investigates why particular works of art have been included. (Not offered 2024-25).
The development of photography from the early 19th century to the present; history of photographic processes; theories and philosophies of photographers and their critics; the uses of the photographic image as information, propaganda and art. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
An introduction to the study of architecture that considers the relationships between monuments and the societies that produced them. We will survey the architecture and engineering of pre-industrial societies from a global perspective-- Egypt, China, India, the Americas, Greece, Rome, Islamic lands and the European Middle Ages as well as vernacular structures. How they expressed the values of their respective civilizations and how they were built. We will also consider contemporary attempts to understand and/or reproduce the technologies and building practices of the past. (No credit after AH111) 1 unit. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement.
An introduction to the built environment from early modernism to the present day from a global perspective. The formation of the western tradition in architecture under the influence of ancient Mediterranean models during the 16th – 18th centuries, and how Europeans shaped colonial architecture. Building traditions of Asian and Middle Eastern empires such as Edo Japan, Mughal India and Ottoman Turkey. The impact of the Industrial Revolution on cities and their buildings. The relationship between economic power and contemporary international architecture. The influence of current concerns, such as climate change and social inequality, on the built environment. Local and regional architecture will be examined through case studies and field trips. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement.
Ever visited an art museum and wondered what to think about contemporary art? This course provides an introduction to the history of art since 1900, using the lens of the museum to understand issues in modern art and society. The class will undertake hands-on field work in museums in Colorado Springs and Denver. Students will learn skills in visual literacy, research, oral presentation, critical thinking, and will have the chance to do research with objects in the collection of the Fine Arts Center at Colorado College. (Summer only 2024-25).
This course examines art and cultural history in Europe from Antiquity through to the twentieth century. Taking an interdisciplinary perspective, one which seeks to bring art history and history in critical dialogue with one another, the students and professors will interrogate the meta-narrative of “progress” across time. In many ways, succeeding periods engaged in conversations with their pasts to make claims of domination through pictorial and cultural production. But it is important, too, to examine counter-narratives made by subaltern groups of the various eras, along the critical axes of gender, sexuality, class, ethnicity, race and other markers of identity. Students will be called upon to think systematically about “who” they themselves are in order to engage with the past and explore human similarities, as well as differences, across a long period of time. Thinking systematically about the notion of “critical bias” and the need to analyze the past in its own terms, as well as in ours, will open up avenues to thinking about the present in new ways. We will examine the most important eras of European history, in particular, Ancient Greece and Rome, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the early modern period, and the more recent past. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
This art history course has a two-fold purpose. We will examine in depth particular case studies of art from diverse traditions from the 15th to the 20th century. In addition, we will consider exchanges between these traditions in still life, landscape, and figurative art. A number of the case studies will pertain to Europe, but we also will cover selected artists and art movements from China, Japan, and the Islamic world. Examples will include Renaissance art in relation to humanism, Jesuit art in the Far East, women artists in the Netherlands, the global circulation of Chinese bird-and-flower motifs, Dutch trade in blue and white ceramics, exchanges in garden design between China and the West in the 18th century, Romanticism and Orientalism, Impressionism and the Japanese print, and artistic responses to war in 20th century China and the West. 1 unit. (Not offered 2024-25).
An introduction to Native American art, with emphasis on the arts of the Southwest. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Selected topics in art history at the intermediate level.
A history of gardening and landscape architecture including gardens of the Far East, Egypt, the ancient Mediterranean, the Islamic world, western Europe and North America. How gardens reflect changing concepts of nature and human interaction with it from the Garden of Eden to xeriscaping in the American West. We will also consider selected descriptions of gardens in literature, as well as images of nature in art, such as landscape painting and botanical illustration. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
A survey of women artists and images of women in art in Western Europe and America from ancient to modern times, contrasting feminist and conventional perspectives. Social and historical context as well as special problems faced by women. Why have there been so few 'great' women artists? Are there qualities unique to women's art? Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. Meets the Equity and Power: EPG requirement. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement.
AH204 Survey of architecture from the late 19th century to the early 21st century, primarily in Europe and North America, with some attention to modernism in other areas of the world. Students will study examples ranging from the turn-of-the-century innovations of the Arts and Crafts Movement to work of contemporary “Starchitects” and architectural responses to present-day issues such as sustainability and social concerns. The course considers the impact of industrial materials and modern institutions on the built environment and new forms and functions such as art museums and skyscrapers. It includes discussion of architectural theory and important movements including the International Style and Post Modernism, with emphasis on such major figures as Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe and Frank Gehry as well as local and regional buildings.
Surveys the art and architecture of Greece and Rome from their origins in Bronze Age Greece to their transformation in the late Roman Empire using methods of art history and archaeology. Ancient Greek cities and sanctuaries with emphasis on Athens and the monuments of the Acropolis. The spread of Hellenism and the formation of an imperial visual language under Alexander the Great and his successors. The influence of Etruscan and Greek art in the Roman Republic. Imperial monuments of the city of Rome and throughout the empire as instruments of power. The class will consider political and social factors in the formation and utilization of Classical forms in both ancient and modern times. (Also listed as CL223). Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
This course examines the art and architecture of the Byzantine empire from its sources in Late Antique Rome to its fall in 1453 as well as its influence in the Orthodox Christian art of Russia, Greece, Serbia among other centers. Icons, their meaning and significance, are primary subjects of study: their origins, their rejection during Iconoclasm, and their theological justification. The city of Constantinople (modern Istanbul) and its urban development will be considered as well as the evolution and significance of the domed church and its program of images from Justinian's Hagia Sophia to medieval monastic churches. We will pay particular attention to the role of art in the Easter Liturgy of the Orthodox Church, including a field trip to the Church of the Holy Theophany. The influence of Byzantine art on the later art of Europe will be considered as well. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
A study of imagery during Late Antiquity—200-750 CE--through art, architecture, archaeological sites and texts. The course covers the visual arts in imperial Rome and Sassanid Persia, the mystery religions of Mithras, Isis and Dionysus as well as Judaism, Christianity and early Islam. We will study how the power of images was harnessed to convey religious meaning and convert adherents; how the imagery of pagan antiquity influenced the eventual formation of a Christian visual language; how the first monuments of Islamic art drew on pre-existing traditions. Monuments to be studied include the Arch of Constantine, sanctuaries of Mithras and Isis, catacomb paintings, synagogues and their mosaic floors, the religious buildings of Dura Europos, Christian basilicas and their decoration, the Hagia Sophia and the Dome of the Rock. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement.
Survey of Islamic and 'Islamicate' art from the earliest 7th-century traditions through Mughal India and beyond in both religious and secular settings. Particular focus on arts of the Mediterranean, the Middle East and South Asia. Monuments to be discussed include mosques in Damascus, Isfahan, Istanbul and India; palaces in Spain, the urbanism of Cairo and Istanbul as well as calligraphy and illustrated manuscripts of Arabic novels and Persian epics. Discussion of the craft media such as pottery and textiles and how they have been received by Europeans. We will also consider depictions of the Middle Eastern world by Orientalist artists as well as the work of contemporary artists who respond to Islamic traditions. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement.
Medieval monuments of Western Europe from Irish manuscripts to the Gothic cathedrals. Survey of selected monuments with consideration of the interaction of classical tradition and barbarian elements; the impact of monasticism, pilgrimages and scholasticism. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Explores issues in the painting, sculpture, and architecture of the Renaissance in Europe from 1300 to c. 1480, with emphasis on the social, historical, material, and intellectual circumstances that shaped artistic production. Themes may include constructions of the self, patronage, gender roles, social class, religion, and artistic status, among others. Artists may include Giotto, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, Jan van Eyck, Robert Campin, and Hieronymus Bosch. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
This course examines art produced in the Early Modern era (roughly 1450-1800) across a global range of nations and societies. The Early Modern period encompasses a time of cataclysmic social, religious, scientific and technological change, enhanced by new international commercial and information networks, disparate economic and religious systems, constant political and military conflicts, widespread oppression and genocide, and the rise of radical intellectual and artistic movements. The course incorporates case studies in a wide range of art and cultures (such as Chinese, Persian, Ottoman, African, European, and Central and South American art). Topics for investigation include how art, artists, patrons, and audiences in these historical empires interrogated notions of reality; cosmologies and planetarity; ancient canons; religious devotion; eroticism and death; individualism and issues of class, status, gender, and race; politics and power; and the role of the artist, among others. The course presents art in a comparative transnational and cross-cultural context, while also interrogating larger (art)historical frameworks of colonialism, modernity, markets, and Eurocentricity. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
The Golden Age of Holland was a time of economic, cultural, and political growth. Artists developed innovative styles and visual modes that play upon, subvert and enhance our understanding of seeing, living, and thinking in the early modern era. The class examines the primary genres of Dutch art and major artists such as Rembrandt and Vermeer while focusing on questions of interpretation, method, and context. Addresses the production, marketing, ownership, iconography, and remarkable visual power of Dutch art. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
(Summer only 2024-25).
(Summer only 2024-25).
This course covers nineteenth century art in France, England, Germany, and Spain from 1780-1880 with particular emphasis on the impact on art of political and social upheaval, the tension between innovation and tradition, and the relationship of Impressionism to social change. Other topics of interest will include: Neoclassicism and the Enlightenment; Romanticism and the Sublime; Orientalism; the emergence of the notion of the avant-garde; and the visual culture of prostitution. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
This course examines the modernist tradition in European art from its emergence in the later nineteenth century through World War II, with particular attention to the evolution of abstraction, the philosophies behind it and its relation to its social, scientific and political contexts. Throughout the course, students will trace and discuss the problematic issue of “primitivism” which is a major theme of modern art. The course will analyze the origins, meanings and styles of the foremost innovative developments, including Post Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism, Futurism, Constructivism, Dada and Surrealism. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
This course investigates how and why, following World War II, New York “stole” from Europe the idea of avant-garde art. The class follows the evolution of and philosophies behind the radical new developments in American contemporary art from the emergence of Abstract Expressionism in the late 1940s, through the Pop Art and Minimalism of the 1960s and the pluralistic 1970s, including Conceptual Art, Earth and Process Art, the New Realism, Decorative and New Image Art, and finally to Neo-Expressionism, and other developments of the 1980s. Attention will be paid to the relationship of new art to the changing political, social and intellectual landscapes of the late twentieth century. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Painting and sculpture in the United States from colonial times until World War II, concentrating on the relationship of the major artistic trends to concurrent developments in American social and intellectual history. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Early Chinese funerary art examined in relation to the Chinese religious philosophies of Confucianism and Daoism. Relationships between Chinese painting and poetry explored, particularly in relation to the hand scroll format. The rise of scholar-literati painting in the Song followed by issues of politics, commerce, and art. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement.
Classical relationships between Heian-period court art, poetry, and aristocratic patronage; medieval Kamakura and Muromachi periods, dominated respectively by Pure Land Buddhism and Zen Buddhism; consolidation of the tea ceremony and unique qualities of castle architecture and screen paintings in the Momoyama; the Edo-period shift towards more inexpensive and widely-reproducible formats, such as the woodblock print. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement.
Crossing the boundaries between studio art and art history, this course uses key readings in art theory and methodology, as well as historical and contemporary examples, to help generate innovative analytical essays and studio projects. Themes include constructions of space; collecting and power; portraiture and the self; commodity culture and the market; and materiality and daily practice. Treatments of space, semiotics, economic engagements with art, and literary approaches will all be considered. We explore installation art, drawing, photography, video, and sculpture. Enrollment limited to 16. Meets the Critical Learning: CP requirement.
Considers the impact on art of expanding sea trade between Europe and East Asia in the early modern period. Begins by examining what goods went where; how increasingly global trade affected particular economies; how the East India companies operated; and what effects stepped-up contact had stylistically and iconographically on art forms such as porcelain, prints and paintings. On a more theoretical level, the course addresses 'things foreign' as a means of asserting cultural authority at home; and the impact of vastly expanded markets on the artist's practice and identity. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Study of artworks of a selected period, artist, or theme in their historical, social, political, intellectual, and geographical context. This course is taught on campus for approximately half of the block. The second half is spent in the appropriate location off campus (in the U. S. or abroad), where readings, student and faculty presentations, and discussions are focused on the actual artworks in situ. Need-based financial aid for all students is available from the Berg Endowment. Limit 15 students. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Artistic and related intellectual and cultural developments in three important capitals of Europe circa 1880-1910. Focus on such movements as Aestheticism, Symbolism, Decadence, Jugendstil, and Art Nouveau. Artists to be studied include Toulouse-Lautrec, Redon, Klimt, Schiele, Burne-Jones and Beardsley. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Selected topics in art history at the advanced level. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was an influential painter in the Early Modern period, one who changed how people thought about art and artists. Today, he remains a popular figure, not only because of his powerful paintings, but also because of his violent life, socially deviant behaviors, and provocative declarations about art. This class approaches the life and art of Caravaggio from the perspective of deconstructing not only the artist’s art and biography, but also the Eurocentric and canonical frames of art history that acknowledge him as an “old master.” Within the artistic, cultural, and historical contexts of Rome, Europe, and the colonial world of the 17th century, the class will engage with topics such as: artists active within geopolitical conflict; the challenges of biography; the economics of markets, collectors, and patrons; notions of deviance in art and society; religion and reform; realist styles vs. classicism; the function of art for religious redemption and/or political propaganda; and the myth of the genius artist. Research projects will use contemporary theoretical approaches to art history and students will engage in critical looking, thinking, reading, and interpreting of historical objects at an advanced level. (Not offered 2024-25).
Preliminary work on the art history and museum studies senior capstones. Group engagement with the research process and producing an essay or project. Required of senior art history and museum studies concentrators in the Art major. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement.
Independent work and special study in selected fields or periods. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement.
Independent work and special study in selected fields or periods. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement.
Advanced work on the senior capstone in art history. Ordinarily taken following AH412. AH415 is required of all Art majors with a concentration in art history. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement.
Advanced work on the senior capstone in museum studies. Ordinarily taken following AH412. AH416 is required of all Art majors with a concentration in museum studies.
Art Studio
An introduction to the principles of two-dimensional composition and the fundamentals of abstraction.
Survey of the fundamental concepts, practices and techniques in drawing. Emphasizes composition, technical skill and visual literacy as related to a variety of drawing techniques. Prepares students for advanced classes in studio art.
Survey of the fundamental concepts, practices and techniques of a specific topic or medium in studio art. Emphasizes composition, technical skill and visual literacy as related to a specific topic or techniques. Prepares students for advanced classes in studio art. Meets the Critical Learning: CP requirement.
Survey of the fundamental concepts, practices and techniques in fiber arts. Emphasizes composition, technical skill and visual literacy as related to Fiber Arts. Concepts such as transparency, texture, form, pattern, and color will be introduced. Exploration of both on-and off-loom processes: weaving, dyeing (including Batik and Shibori), basketry, knotting, felting, and stitching. (Not offered 2024-25).
In this class, students will explore introductory drawing techniques specially in relation to the Colorado landscape. Emphasis will be on observational and technical drawing skills as we explore landscapes surrounding the Colorado Springs area, drawing outside on location. Students will gain fundamental skills by studying line, shape, value, and composition. These concepts will be explored using different marking making tools will be introduced including charcoal, pencil, ink, and conte. Students will be both in field drawing from the landscape itself, and in the classroom, learning technical concepts in a more controlled setting. Taking lessons from this multi-pronged, approach, students will complete a portfolio of finished drawings that speak to the complex nature of our contemporary landscapes. (Summer only 2024-25).
Survey of the fundamental concepts, practices and techniques in three-dimensional design. Emphasizes composition, the activation of 3D space, visual literacy, critical analysis and individual and collaborative problem solving. Prepares students for advanced classes in studio art.
Exploration of drawing fundamentals as they pertain to the winter landscape. (Not offered 2024-25).
This course will use the process of designing and printing letterpress posters as the framework for exploring typographic design principles, experimenting with printing processes, and discussing the power and responsibility of print. Course meets at The Press. Advanced students may enroll to pursue independent research projects connected to poster design.
Introduction to historic printmaking processes as well as contemporary computer-based techniques. A variety of techniques including etching, lithography, woodcuts, and monotype may be covered. Digital manipulation of imagery in Photoshop for use in photolithography and polymer plate letterpress may also be considered. Although technical processes are introduced, the primary focus is conceptual; emphasis placed on thinking as a graphic artist and printmaker (in reverse, in multiple, etc.) (Not offered 2024-25).
Drawing in various media. May include study of human figure, superficial anatomy, landscape, composition, and conceptual drawing. (Not offered 2024-25).
Survey of basic painting concepts and procedures, materials and techniques.
Exploration of specific techniques in technical drawing. Drawing for various applied fields will be explored and may include drafting, architectural rendering, illustration, and scientific illustration.
Exploration of topics generally not offered by the department. Open to declared art majors or departmental consent required.
Basic techniques in fiber arts with an emphasis on such concepts as transparency, texture, form pattern and color. Exploration of both on-and off-loom processes: weaving, dyeing (including Batik and Shibori) basketry, knotting, felting and stitching.
Three-dimensional design with an emphasis on conceptual issues related to architecture and functional form.
Introduction to traditional and contemporary practices in sculpture. Will cover intermediate level conceptual approaches and some combination of materials and techniques. Possible materials: wood, steel, stone, clay and plaster. Possible techniques: machining, carving, casting, modeling and construction.
Off campus study exploring intermediate study of a specific technique, practice or topic. (Not offered 2024-25).
Explores the practice of printmaking through the study of specific and alternative print processes and topics.
Exploration of special areas of sculpture, such as hand-crafted and small-object art, installation art, environmental/land art, video installation art, conceptual art, interactive technological art, social practice, 3D fieldwork, soft sculpture, etc. 1 unit.
A foundation course in photographic technique directed toward artistic ends. Using and understanding the camera, films, and printing. Extensive photographing as basis for seeing and composition. Short survey of photographic history.
A course that explores the practice of fine art photography through the study of a specific photographic process and/or topic. This course will cover a photographic technique directed toward artistic ends. Thematic subjects will be examined through relevant photographic examples and interpreted by students through creative artistic approaches.
A studio course in the invention, design, and making of books. Students are given a basic grounding in the primary means of book organization, binding, and fabrication with emphasis on the unique character of codex organization. They are encouraged to invent their own books using a wide variety of techniques for the interrelations of text, image and color. May be offered as a block or as a year-long extended format course. Enrollment limited to 10 students.
Crossing the boundaries between studio art and art history, this course uses key readings in art theory and methodology, as well as historical and contemporary examples, to help generate innovative analytical essays and studio projects. Themes include constructions of space; collecting and power; portraiture and the self; commodity culture and the market; and materiality and daily practice. Treatments of space, semiotics, economic engagements with art, and literary approaches will all be considered. We explore installation art, drawing, photography, video, and sculpture. Enrollment limited to 16. Meets the Critical Learning: CP requirement.
Advanced investigation of a variety of printmaking techniques. Traditional techniques may include etching, woodcut, lithography, letterpress, and monotype. Digital techniques may include image manipulation in Photoshop for photolithography and polymer plate letterpress may also be explored.
Special problems with emphasis on pictorial design, color, space, structure, imagery, materials and techniques.
Advanced exploration of topics generally not offered by the department, with an emphasis on independent and/or extended projects.
Advanced work in any of the studio media, metal, fiber, clay, and photography. Credit in this course may not be applied toward the art major. Spring semester. (Not offered 2024-25).
Advanced exploration of materials and techniques with emphasis on extended projects and individual concepts.
(Not offered 2024-25).
A selection of advanced techniques and development of individual photographic vision. Independent research emphasized. (Not offered 2024-25).
(Summer only 2024-25).
Independent studio project for senior art majors. The student must submit a detailed written proposal of intended work to be approved by the department at least one block before taking the course.
Planning and preparation of extended studio projects. Pre-professional preparation for those students with graduate school intentions. Meets the Critical Learning: CP requirement.
Museum Studies
Selected topics will be discussed and will vary from year to year.
Bridging theory and practice, the course considers museum history, philosophy and operations, exhibition planning, design, interpretation, and conservation. Students will explore how cultural attitudes, institutional policies, and social expectations have historically influenced, and continue to shape, the development of the modern museum, while undertaking projects relating to collections research, exhibition development, and object interpretation. The course includes field trips to museums to view exhibitions and to meet with museum professionals. 1 unit
This extended format course combines theoretical and museological study with the execution of a project within the Fine Arts Center museum. The course provides opportunities to engage with objects, examine scholarship, develop interpretative strategies for broad audiences, and design mechanisms for inclusive knowledge production. In addition to class meetings and discussions, students will participate in the production of a public exhibition, program, or project focused on the FAC collection. The course will engage students in deep collaboration with FAC staff as well as other CC classes and community members. The course includes weekly meetings in addition to independent research, collaborations, and project work. Course may be offered for one semester or a half block (at .5 units) or in a year-long format (for 1 unit). Course may be repeated when a different project is undertaken. Meets the Equity and Power: EPUS requirement.
Examines historical and philosophical origins of museums and their collections. Students will explore how the acquisition, preservation, and display of museum collections reflect shifting ethical, political, and philosophical priorities, cultural values, and ideologies. The course includes field trips to museums to view exhibitions, research facilities, and collections storage, and to meet with museum professionals. 1 unit (Not offered 2024-25).