COURSE DESCRIPTION: 
The course offers an opportunity for idea development, visual perception, and the organisation of experience into compositions. Primary emphasis is on developing visual expression, skill in using various materials, and growth of critical evaluative abilities through group discussions and critiques. The course offers a critical investigation of concepts such as abstraction, mark-making, mapping, spatial disruption, time, pace, coding and organising visual information. The class will be structured around a series of projects and workshops, both within the studio and onsite, and visits to exhibitions in order to both examine the role of drawing within Contemporary Art and to support an evolving personal approach to drawing amongst students.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT: 

In this studio-intensive course students engage in an investigation of subject matter, theory and strategies for generating work within the expanded field of drawing. The course explores and challenges the boundaries of what a drawing is, and how it relates to contemporary art and other studio practices. Students will investigate a broad range of approaches and stimuli, which transcend a fixed set of materials and conventions.

Moving beyond representational drawing, this course encourages students to develop a personal approach to drawing with increasing attention on the conceptual as well as the perceptual. Via a series of exercises, briefs and self-motivated projects the course intends to facilitate a progressive awareness of the intersections between concept, medium and process in order to further develop visual expression and creative thinking.

 
LEARNING OUTCOMES: 

  • Demonstrate the ability to engage with a variety of techniques and materials in order to explore creativity and visual expression.

  • Demonstrate technical proficiency in the knowledge of techniques and material and evidence an ability to use them creatively and sensitively.

  • Demonstrate an ability to analyse and evaluate both the individual creative process and, importantly, the work and practice of other professional artists.

TEXTBOOK: 
NONE
REQUIRED RESERVED READING: 
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING: 
NONE
GRADING POLICY 
-ASSESSMENT METHODS: 
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Attendance, participation and contribution to group critiques 10
Mid Term Review  30
Final Portfolio All projects will be assessed on student’s ability to engage, research, develop and resolve ideas visually. An ability to be curious, resourceful and creative is imperative. The nature of the course requires an experimental approach to drawing, which requires visual and conceptual risk-taking and application of critical judgement.60
   

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA: 
AWork of this quality shows excellent mastery of the course content along with exceptional levels of technical skill, artistic awareness, originality, resourcefulness, commitment, quantity of work and improvement. There has been excellent collaboration and leadership in group projects, and there have been no attendance problems.
BA highly competent level of performance with work that directly addresses the content of the course, with a good quantity of work produced.
CAn acceptable level of performance: the work shows awareness of the course content, but is very limited in quantity, quality, commitment and skill.
DThe student lacks a coherent grasp of the course material and has failed to produce much work.
FNegligent in attendance, academic honesty, engagement with the course content, or production of work.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS: 
The course offers an opportunity for idea development, visual perception, and the organisation of experience into compositions. Primary emphasis is on developing visual expression, skill in using various materials, and growth of critical evaluative abilities through group discussions and critiques. The course offers a critical investigation of concepts such as abstraction, mark-making, mapping, spatial disruption, time, pace, coding and organising visual information. The class will be structured around a series of projects and workshops, both within the studio and onsite, and visits to exhibitions in order to both examine the role of drawing within Contemporary Art and to support an evolving personal approach to drawing amongst students.
ACADEMIC HONESTY 
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision. 
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
SCHEDULE

Week 1
Introduction and Overview of course.
Observation – Abstraction
Within the first project students will visually respond, using a series of exercises, to a monochromatic installation within the drawing studio. Contrasting forms, textures, shapes and patterns will provide students with visually rich stimuli for their preparatory drawing work. Students over a series of weeks will be supported in moving away from realism towards various forms of abstraction. Referencing historical and contemporary artists, a variety of techniques and methodologies will be discussed and trialled by students.

Week 2
Observation – Abstraction
Working solely with black and white paper, directly from observation, students will explore a series of tasks relating to positive and negative space. The act of simplifying and using grids and geometry as possible way to order and code visual information will form the basis of the lesson.

Week 3
Observation – Abstraction Continued
Students will explore mark making in response to the installation within the studio. Using alternative tools and student’s own homework ‘tools,’ students will respond to the installation. Using Richard Serra’s ‘Verblist’, students will experiment with various mediums, tools and actions to create a range of experimental studies.
Please see Richard Serra’s ‘Verblist’: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/152793

Week 4
Observation – Abstraction Continued
Students will continue to explore various processes and properties of both wet and dry mediums. Working with geometric shapes and expressive mark making, students will explore ways to abstract and develop compositions for larger scale work.

Week 5
Observation – Abstraction Continued Development of studies into larger A1 drawings.

Week 6
Observation – Abstraction Continued
Completion of larger work based on initial studies. Speed, movement

Week 7

Mid Term

Midterm will take the form of a critique of ‘Observation -Abstraction’. Students must visually and verbally present their work and actively critique the works of peers.

Week 8
Movement, pace and sound. Task 1

Visually responding to fellow student’s role playing three ‘paired’ activities; arm wrestling, chess, and clapping, students will create a series of drawings which correspond to the speed, movement and sounds of the activities.

Task 2
Responding to a variety of music and utilizing a range of medium students will explore mark making in response to sounds. Connotating pitch and tone with line quality and shape students will experiment with creating compositional studies inspired by sound.

Week 9
Mapping as drawing.
Meet at Circo Massimo. The lesson is devoted to capturing, through lines and mark-making the movement, direction and speed of people as they walk through the open plane of Circo Massimo. 

Week 10
Repeat Repeat – Self-motivated project.
Journey asks students to perceptually and conceptually document a ‘repeated action.’ The word 'Repeat' can be interpreted in many ways and can be applicable to many contexts. Students must develop an area of visual research, develop a body of experimental work and fully resolve within a final drawing.

Week 11
Repeat project continued - Development of ideas

Week 12

Repeat Project - Resolution of final piece. 

Week 13

Visiting Artist Workshop. 

Week 14

Exhibition design and display. 

Week 15

Installation and final critiques.