Thursday, October 27, 2011
Eric/Illustration
Tuesday, Bobbie and I had a good two hour conversation with a senior illustration major, Eric, the son of one of my high school teachers. For one, it was just really interesting to finally meet him after having been friends with his brother and a student of his mother, hearing his name for the past couple of years, seeing pictures of his work and shows, etc.
One the whole, Bobbie and I agreed that he was pretty repetitive in the things that he was telling us. Our opinions differed in that Bobbie found him very articulate and therefore his repetition wasn't useful, whereas for me I felt like he was trying to say something at times but couldn't quite communicate it, so it drew me in but took the repetition for me to really understand it. That, and he used a lot of metaphors.
I wasn't surprised to hear that he was somewhat disappointed by VCU's Illustration department, because that's what I've been hearing through his family members for the past couple of years. People bringing in projects they "weren't feeling" or had done the night before or just didn't care about, wasting their time and money, skating through, trying to figure out what they wanted. His community college experience was a lot more intense, professors who would literally toss late projects on the ground, "you wouldn't get the job," with students who wanted or needed the experience, the work, to get the job, who maybe didn't have the best drawing or designs but had the energy, the motivation. At the same time, he seemed to qualify or contradict (I'm having a brain fart trying to find the right word) his answers, stating all the reasons that, regardless of its downfalls, the illustration department really is amazing and totally worth it.
A lot of the things he said he had learned since coming to VCU didn't seem specific or exclusive to the Illustration department, and both Eric and his friend readily agreed with this. There was this repeatedly touched upon idea of work outside of class involving observation, problem solving things, analysis, being able to really see something and communicate it, knowing the entire picture so that you know what to include and what to leave out in your piece.
A lot of his time when he first came to VCU, and in a sense a lot his time now, was spent just drawing, even if it was just for 30 minutes a day waiting for class to start, really observing trees, or cars, or whatever, and being able to practice drawing, and understanding the entire object in order to communicate it even if you couldn't see the entire object, see the steering wheel in the car or the axel that the wheels are attached to. This idea of the technical, of a foundation for really understanding things as a whole and how they work, of observation, comprehension, communication (I feel like a lot this doesn't necessarily make sense unless you were there).
Both Eric and his friend, again, agreed that college or illustration as a major was something that was necessary, or a set in stone thing. They both knew guys who had dropped out and still made it because they did the things they could have done in college, that the things you do in school aren't exclusive to school but a matter of discipline, of wanting the knowledge and education more than most peers, of being able to work for it regardless of the class. They both touched upon the idea I've heard so many times in the past two weeks that one of the greatest things you can take away from college is the idea of a community of artists. Critiques came up, of wanting and needing a group that was really able to objectively look at your work and maybe hurt your feelings, and being able to take that and learn from it and grow from it.
Eric mentioned his professor Sterling Hundley repeatedly, an illustrator retiring into fine art at the age of 35, world renowned, etc. After our conversation I immediately went out and bought Hundley's book Blue Collar White Collar.
I'm really torn between the idea of going into Comm Arts for illustration to maybe yes or maybe no get a better grasp on all of these ideas when they essentially told me I didn't even need Illustration as a major to have them, that I could develop them on my own and their ideas really almost were developed independently, on their own; and yet they so endorse the idea of majoring in Communication Art. They didn't necessarily talk bad about other majors, painting or sculpture; they said that you could definitely apply the same principles to each. I think maybe they meant that wasn't normative; at one point Eric said something about painting majors "dipping their hands in paint and smearing it on a canvas" and talking about "liking shapes, colors" and such, and not really knowing how to draw or being too lazy or afraid of really learning how to draw.
What I want is a marriage of all of this. I don't want to have to major in Communication Arts/Illustration to develop these skills. I don't want to have to major in sculpture or painting just to learn how to "sculpt" or "paint," and I wouldn't want any major to be just about it's title - just painting without all these concepts they talked about as being part of Illustration, and yes still applicable to Painting or Sculpting, but hey, you should really major in Illustration. I don't want it to be a mistake, or missing out on these ideas, if I decide to declare a fine arts major; I don't want to exclude those ideas, that knowledge.
I've thought of the idea of double majoring in a fine art degree and then maybe Illustration, but how suicidal would that be? There's all this talk about really being hungry for it, and really wanting it, and being able to work for it, and then also the idea that maybe I don't need my major for either. Besides that, I'd like an influence outside art, an English or Anthropology major.
Again, Eric used a lot of metaphors that expressed things a bit more clearly for me, like the idea of being a boxer as being comparable to being an artist. It's one thing to get all oiled up and flex your muscles, but another to knock someone out.
He also talked a lot about "intellectual property," doing things differently in your field, for yourself, your own ideas. Right now he's doing these types of previews, in a sense, of a graphic novel he's working on, posting scenes or something from it on t shirts as a sort of partnership with this girl and her company. Basically it was the idea of being an artist beyond the portfolio you show your potential employers.
Interesting quote/concept: "Talent and skill are both just the ability to see things and make decisions."
Hopefully I'll come back and read this later and I'll be able to pick out things that make sense, because right now I'm feeling vaguely overwhelmed.
Sculpture Department Odyssey
By some stroke of luck, I ran into my friend Elaine this morning waiting outside for Molly so we could break into the sculpture department and explore together, and she told me she was just on her way to her sculpture project class. GASP, the very same one I'll be taking starting... oh my god, two weeks from now, what? OKAY, anyway, so I sent her as a messenger asking if Molly and I could sit in on his class, which ended up being fine, and essentially he showed a powerpoint and talked a lot about these found object sculptors (Tara Donovan, John Freedmon, and Bill Woodrow) as inspiration for their next assignment, using found objects to create a "charged" sculpture. He seemed like a really laid back and sincerely interesting teacher, so now I'm pretty pumped about his class and will probably try and take his Space class next semester.
After that I ended up roaming the building by myself working up the nerve to corner someone and start asking questions. I walked around a small exhibit that was in the process of being installed involving some ceramic block hands in "thumbs up/down" stances, some "body adornment" plaster/silicon molds, some myth based jewelry, and a really cool bent wood project.
From there I ended up wandering into this huge room with ridiculous caged off work areas and I freaked out because they were all so large and "extravagant" and filled with so many interesting looking things and in-progress works and I was like, "THIS WILL BE ME NEXT YEAR, I COULD HAVE THIS." And then I worked up the nerve to waltz into one of the open cages and talk to girl working inside... and I found out I had been wandering around the graduate studio spaces for the past half hour. Lesson learned: ask more questions, and earlier.
I was redirected to the opposite end of the building to an even larger room filled with probably at least 4x as many cages, albeit smaller, and equally interesting myriad of materials and people and pieces. It was essentially a ghost town, but finally, in one small corner in the back of the room, I found a girl working on a huge wall sized weaving, and finally got some info.
Somehow I always seem to run into juniors who have also had double Fridays with Val and therefore know exactly why I'm wandering around like someone with amnesia, so she was really accommodating and friendly.
- Very conceptual department; materials less important, big portion is the conversation (especially junior and senior years)
- Really strong community: artists sharing tools; coming up when they see a person working on a project and asking questions about concept, materials, etc.
- Awesome teachers, funny, laid back, etc. Tim Devoe for really detailed, clean woodshop or metals work. Eric Masters, building off of everything they learned from Tim (even though he told them to basically forget everything Tim taught them).
- Sophomore year: one major sculpture class that will demand most of your time. A sophomore seminar class, learning about what sculpture is, writing proposals, etc. Art history. Something along the lines of a concept/concentration class, like in molds, welding, etc, to learn more specifics. And then project/studio classes in other majors, or gen eds (hopefully I'll get that all out of the way early though).
I expressed the bit of a struggle I've been having over deciding between applied and fine arts, mostly concerning wanting to have the technical skills that accompany applied arts like illustration, but then loving the freedoms of fine arts in terms of concepts and materials and such. She said as much as she did love sculpture, she was sort of wanting a more applied arts job now that she was getting to the later end of her college career. She recommended I could double major in an applied and fine art, which I've definitely considered more than once, but I've also been considering a double in a more academic major. Plus, double majoring in two arts sounds mildly suicidal/is that even humanly possible?
Monday, October 24, 2011
Degree requirements – Bachelor of Arts in English
While I'm researching my art major, I figured, hey, why not start poking around my potential second, liberal arts major...?
The Bachelor of Arts in English requires a minimum of 120 credits, with at least 33 upper-level (numbered 300 to 599) credits in the major. Three credits in 200-level literature (ENGL 201-299 or the equivalent), which fulfill the general education literature requirement, are prerequisites for ENGL 301 and all upper-level English courses. UNIV 200 is an additional prerequisite for ENGL 301 and all upper-level writing courses (302, 303, 304, 305, 307, 327). Six of the 33 credits may be taken in upper-level foreign literature in the original language or foreign literature in English translation (FLET). UNIV 111 and 112 (or equivalent) and the 200-level literature course (or equivalent) do not count toward the major.
ENGL 301 and ENGL 490 are writing-intensive courses designed respectively as entry and capstone courses for the major. English majors should distribute their 33 credits of English course work as follows:
- ENGL 301 English Studies: Reading Literature (three credits)
This course will introduce students to at least two different literary genres (drama, poetry, prose). It should be taken at the beginning of the student’s major, preferably before completing more than six hours of other upper-level English courses. Students must achieve a grade of C in order to complete this requirement.
- Linguistics, writing and criticism (six credits)
Courses in this category will help students develop their skills in linguistic analysis, written expression, and literary and cultural analysis. Students must select courses from two of these three areas.
Linguistics
ENGL/LING/ANTH 449 Introduction to Linguistics
ENGL/LING 450 Modern Grammar
ENGL/LING 451 History of the English Language
ENGL/LING/WMNS 452 Language and Gender
ENGL/LING 453 Introduction to Modern Rhetoric
ENGL 454/INTL 454/ANTH 450 Cross-cultural Communication
Writing
ENGL/CRJS 302 Legal Writing
ENGL 303 Writing in the Workplace
ENGL 304 Advanced Writing
ENGL 305 Creative Writing: Genres
ENGL/TEDU 307 Teaching Writing Skills
ENGL/MGMT 327 Business and Technical Report Writing
ENGL/THEA 426 Advanced Playwriting
ENGL 435 Advanced Poetry Writing
ENGL 437 Advanced Fiction Writing
ENGL 439 Literary Nonfiction Writing
ENGL 491 Topics in Writing (by specific topic)
Criticism
ENGL 350 Approaches to Literature
ENGL/WMNS 352 Feminist Literary Theory
ENGL 391 Topics in Literature (by specific topic)
ENGL 429 Form and Theory of Poetry
ENGL 430 Form and Theory of Fiction
- Literature (15 credits)
Courses in this category will enable students to study literature within its historical and cultural contexts. To ensure that students select a range of courses, they must include six credits in literature prior to 1700, six credits in literature between 1700-1900, and three credits in the literature of diversity. No single course may be used to satisfy two of these requirements.
Literature prior to 1700
ENGL 335 Literature of the English Renaissance
ENGL/RELS 361 The Bible as Literature
ENGL 391 Topics in Literature (by specific topic)
ENGL 400 Shakespeare: The Early Works
ENGL 401 Shakespeare: The Later Works
ENGL 402 Chaucer
ENGL 403 Milton
ENGL 407 Medieval Epic and Romance
ENGL 409 Medieval Studies*
ENGL 410 Renaissance Studies*
ENGL 423 English Drama, 900-1642
Literature between 1700-1900
ENGL 320 18th-century British Literature
ENGL 321 British Literature of the Romantic Era
ENGL 322 Victorian Poetry
ENGL 371 American Literature: Colonial and Federal
ENGL 372 American Literature: American Romanticism
ENGL 373 American Literature: Realism and Naturalism
ENGL 391 Topics in Literature (by specific topic)
ENGL 411 18th-century British Studies*
ENGL 413 American Novels and Narratives: 19th Century and Earlier
ENGL 415 British Novel: 18th Century
ENGL 416 British Novel: 19th Century
ENGL 424 Restoration and 18th-century Drama
AMST 391 Topics in American Studies (by specific topic)
AMST 394 Perspectives in American Studies (by specific topic)
Literature of diversity
ENGL/AFAM 314 African-American Literature
ENGL 363/AFAM 363/INTL 366 African Literature
ENGL 365/AFAM 365/INTL 367 Caribbean Literature
ENGL/WMNS 384 Women Writers
ENGL/ANTH 386 Introduction to Folklore
ENGL/WMNS 387 Lesbian Text/Queer Theories
ENGL 391 Topics in Literature (by specific topic)
ENGL 440 Writing and Social Change: ____
* At the discretion of the instructor and the Women’s Studies program, ENGL 409, 410 and 411 are sometimes cross-listed with Women’s Studies. In such cases, they may be used to fulfill either the diversity or the historical requirements in the major, but not both.
- Required electives/optional focus (six to nine credits)
As part of the English major, electives allow students to take courses of particular interest to them. Electives may not be used to satisfy any other requirements for the major, except ENGL 490. In consultation with an adviser, students are encouraged to cluster their elective courses in one of the following focus areas.
- Literary studies (including courses grouped by historical period, genre, region, national and minority traditions, thematics, literary movement, literary influence, etc.)
- Writing (including both expository and creative writing)
- Criticism and theory (including approaches to literature, form and theory courses, etc.)
- Cultural studies (including courses that focus on race, class, gender, ethnicity, film, popular culture, etc.)
- Linguistics (including courses that focus on history of the language, cross-cultural communications, etc.)
Students are advised to consult the full listing and description of English courses before planning their elective courses.
- ENGL 490 Senior Seminar in English
This course will ensure that majors will have undertaken at least one piece of sustained, researched writing. Senior seminars are intended for students nearing the completion of their studies and should be regarded as the capstone course of the major. Because of the nature of this course, senior seminars usually will not be offered during the summer. Students should plan their program with this factor in mind. When appropriate, this seminar may be used to fulfill another requirement of the major. For specific topics, see the Schedule of Classes.
Collateral requirements
In addition to the ENGL courses required for the Bachelor of Arts degree, students must complete the study of a foreign language through the intermediate level (202 or 205) by course or placement.
note: that horrible, horrible moment when you realize UNIV 200 is a prereq for all upper level English courses, meaning you can't start your second major until you complete it... fml. And I was so hoping for a lighter load second semester.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Sculpture Degree Requirements
| University core | ||
Credits | ||
6 | ||
| UNIV 200 Writing and Rhetoric or equivalent | 3 | |
| Approved humanities/fine arts (?) | ||
3 | ||
| Approved natural/physical science | 3 | |
| Quantitative literacy | 3 | |
| General studies | ||
| Art history | ||
6 | ||
| Art history (200 level or above) | 3 | |
| Art history (300 level or above) | 6 | |
| English | ||
3 | ||
| Literature (at least one 300 level or above) | 3 | |
| Open electives* | 14 | |
| Studio credits | ||
| Art Foundation Program | 14 | |
| Sculpture | ||
| SCPT 211 Sculpture | 4 | |
| SCPT 212 Sculpture | 4 | |
| SCPT 215 Sophomore Seminar | 2 | |
| SCPT 311, 312 Sculpture | 8 | |
| SCPT 411, 412 Sculpture | 8 | |
| SCPT 415 Senior Seminar (capstone) | 2 | |
| Directed upper-level sculpture course* | 4 | |
| Directed sculpture electives** | 4 | |
| Studio courses from any School of the Arts department other than Sculpture** | 14 | |
| Total | 120 | |
* Select from SCPT 323, 324, 411, 412, 417 or 480. 45 credits must be upper-level.** Select from SCPT 290, 321, 322, 323, 324, 480, 491 or 591. *** 6 credits must be upper-level. Actually, I may need to take more than one humanities/fine arts, because English 215 is what I have been counting as my humanities/fine arts... ballz. Not that I would mind taking another English class or something <3 | ||
Degree requirements in painting and printmaking
| University core | Credits | |
| 6 | ||
| UNIV 200 Writing and Rhetoric Workshop or equivalent | 3 | |
| 3 | ||
| Approved natural/physical science | 3 | |
| 3 | ||
| Approved quantitative literacy | 3 | |
General studies | ||
| 6 | ||
| Art history (200 level or above) | 9 | |
| English (200 level or above) | 6 | |
| Open electives (300-level or above studio or academic courses outside PAPR) | 9 | |
Studio requirements | ||
| Art Foundation Program | 14 | |
| Painting | ||
| PAPR 205 Painting, Basic | 4 | |
| PAPR 305 Painting, Intermediate | 4 | |
| PAPR 3xx or 4xx (painting) | 4 | |
Printmaking | ||
| PAPR 209 Materials: Printmaking | 4 | |
| PAPR 31x Printmaking, Intermediate (etching, lithography, screenprinting or digital) | 4 | |
| PAPR 3xx or 4xx (printmaking) | 4 | |
| PAPR 3xx or 4xx (painting or printmaking) | 4 | |
| Drawing | ||
| PAPR 221 Drawing, Basic | 3 | |
| PAPR 321 Drawing, Intermediate | 3 | |
| PAPR 3xx or 4xx (drawing) | 3 | |
| PAPR 290 Concepts and Issues | 2 | |
| PAPR 490 Senior Seminar (capstone) | 2 | |
| PAPR 3xx or 4xx (department electives) | 6 | |
| Studio electives (outside PAPR) | 8 | |
| Total credits | 120 | |
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