Students interested in sculpture are advised to take a combination of comprehensive sculpture studio courses as part of their requirements towards their studio art degree. The sculpture track is designed to teach students invaluable fundamental skills necessary to build an artistic practice. Overtime, students learn basic woodworking, metalworking and casting techniques along with the skills to participate in thoughtful critiques and discussions. The suggested sculpture track is the following:
Introductory Courses
ART 001 PZ- Introduction to Studio Art
This course introduces students to contemporary studio art practice, emphasizing foundational strategies for artists working in all disciplines. No prior experience is required or expected, although the course is designed to accommodate students with a wide range of backgrounds. The first half of the course covers processes for working in 2D and 3D, including life drawing, color theory, printmaking, modeling, and casting. The second half of the course explores more experimental approaches to art making and exhibition, including found object sculpture and site-specific installation. Readings, research projects, discussions, and critiques explore issues in contemporary art history and theory.
Intermediate Courses
ART 127- Sculpture Practicum
This introductory woodworking and metalworking course emphasizes craft through repetitive skill building, following a traditional apprenticeship model. Assignments will cover technical layout and drafting, as well as design strategies for working in three dimensions. Students will have the opportunity to design and build several independent projects in wood and metal, learning practical skills they can use throughout their time in college and beyond. Small group projects will focus on building workbenches, movable walls, and other items to improve the functionality of our shared studio. Outside of class, students will commit to working 6 hours per week in the studio.
ART 074 JT- Engineering Materials
This hands-on interdisciplinary course, team-taught by an engineer and a sculpture, explores the possibilities and limitations of various materials, including metals, glasses, and polymers. Students will learn the science behind material manipulation and transformation, and will put this knowledge to direct use in the studio, experimenting with different processes as they create sculptural projects. Synthesizing lectures in materials science and art history with tactile engagement in the studio, this course aims to create a collaborative learning environment that encourages cross-pollinating ideas. No prior experience in neither engineering or art is required, and students from all disciplines are encouraged to enroll.
Elective Courses
ART 057 PZ – Mixed Media Sculpture
This sculpture studio course introduced students to technical methods for working with found objects, wood, and lost wax casting in glass, as well as methodologies for project ideation and concept development. Projects focused on the collection, reuse, and revaluation of discarded materials, as well as wood fabrication techniques for creating effective project displays (shelves, pedestals, etc.), moldmaking, and mechanized production. The class emphasized site-specificity, supporting students in making choices about materials and techniques that they deemed most appropriate for their artistic ideas and the environment chosen for the work’s exhibition.
ART 175 – Object Ecologies
This course explored contingencies of the object in contemporary sculpture. Beginning with the expanded field of sculptural practice in the 1960’s and 1970’s students examined how various artists and thinkers defined site-specificity, and the role that objects (whether fabricated or found) played in these definitions. The seminar also considered what spaces—beyond the gallery and museums—artists shape; how artists’ interventions are received by other stakeholders; how investigations in institutional critique, social practice, and online art are expanding current understandings of site, authorship, and interconnection; how new creative projects contribute to critical conversations; and other pertinent questions. Students undertook studio projects in woodworking, modeling, mold- making, and casting, and maintained a class blog.
