Image and Sequence

Image and Sequence  FWS 2008-09

In our culture we are bombarded by images, as artworks and as advertising, in still single images and in sequential, time-based works, in increasingly rare one-of-a-kind works and in mass-produced print, film, video and other broadcast media. We are born into a cultural soup of images, but to swim and navigate through it we must learn how to read visual culture, to engage with it critically, to negotiate what useful meanings we can draw from it and to express ourselves fluently and effectively in it.

In Image and Sequence we will approach visual culture, both still and time-based, as audience and as producers. Students who are serious about pursuing the visual and/or media arts as an area of emphasis at Evergreen are welcome to join us. We will explore the ethics of image making, the idea of art as a dialogue between creator and viewer, and the influence of time on artists’ practices, sequential works and the viewing experience. We will tackle the question of how to make art that addresses a mass audience, but maintains honesty and integrity. Through intensive workshops in a wide variety of 2D techniques including animation, drawing, painting, digital imaging, color theory, book arts and books for the web, students will develop the technical and process skills
necessary to pursue independent work.

We will emphasize observational drawing, learning visual language, building a personal vocabulary of imagery, and working collaboratively with other artists.

Contemporary artists often explore ideas by creating a series of related works. Themes for the series may be autobiographical or philosophical. They may critique social institutions, or advocate for environmental or cultural change. The series may be more process oriented, where each new piece is informed by an earlier one. With this perspective, students will learn strategies such as journaling, critiques and visual research for developing thematic work.   Through a series of case studies, we will explore alternative artistic processes.  For example, students will participate in a case study of Basia Irland’s Gathering of Waters project along the Nisqually River. 

Articulating and taking responsibility for one's own work is a high priority; therefore, readings and viewing work will be accompanied by assignments that ask students to explore artists’ statements, manifestos and other forms of critical writing.

Students should plan on four very full days of in-class work with additional time required to complete reading, writing and creative assignments and gain technical proficiencies.  Many studio projects will be assigned on Tuesday, to be executed on Thursday for the Friday morning critique. Other creative assignments will require two or more weeks to develop concepts and produce finished work.  The program has dedicated studio space that student may access 24 hours per day.

Credit will be awarded on the basis of timely completion of all assignments, good attendance and the effort and integrity with which each student approaches the work.

Fall Quarter Outline:

In the fall we will build foundational skills in visual and media literacy through readings, screenings and seminars on books, graphic novels, films and other artworks.  Drawing workshops will focus on essential observational and drawing concepts and techniques, exercising these alternately between the creation of still and animated imagery.  During a required three-day field trip in October students will expand these skills in the field as we work with Basia Irland on her “Gathering of Waters” project.  The thematic focus will be on developing formal and critical vocabularies and analysis skills as students explore different artists’ approaches to creating single and sequential images and learn about the art historical and social contexts of their work.

Winter Quarter Outline:

Workshops will expand on fall’s skills to investigate color and depth through watercolor painting, collage and animation techniques. We will also explore some simple artist book structures and gain an introduction to digital imaging in Photoshop.   The thematic focus for part of the quarter will be on Art and Mass culture, specifically the development of mass media and artist’s responses to it in the 20th century.  The other half of the quarter we will turn our attention to the body, mass culture and the self.  Students will explore ideas about the representation of the body and explore different approaches to self-portraiture and self-figuration.

Spring Quarter Outline:

In Spring students will apply their visual art and animation skills to digital imaging and presentation, producing zines, digital books for the web and a web portfolio.   We will learn InDesign and After Effects. The thematic focus of the first half of the quarter will be on artists’ responses to environmental concerns.  At the same time, each student will develop a concept for a final project in drawing, painting, digital photography, book arts or animation.  The second half of the quarter will be devoted to production of that project.

This program is preparatory for careers and future studies in visual arts, media arts, education and communications.
Special expenses: $250 per quarter for art supplies and fall quarter field trip, $100 for digital media materials.
Total credits: 16 per quarter