School of Visual Arts
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CFA AR 251: Introduction to Printmaking (2 credits) Spring term
This survey course introduces students to the principles and technical applications of relief printmaking with an emphasis on woodcut and monotype. It emphasizes project-based assignments that stress technical and formal concerns, such as image development, color layering and mark-making. Students explore personal thematic and conceptual concerns as they work independently to develop a unique creative practice and a final portfolio of prints. Open to the University. -
CFA AR 260: Special Topics in Visual Art
Special Topics in Visual Art is a seminar-based course that will be taught on a rotating basis by faculty teaching in the BA in Art program. The content of the course will shift focus depending on the instructor's expertise. The purpose of this course is to expose students to the methods and creative practice of individual faculty members as models for inquiry and learning in the studio. Through lectures, readings, guest artists, as well as off-campus visits to museums, archives, labs and studios, students will be able to better collect, analyze, and communicate information related to their own areas of interest. 2cr, spring only. -
CFA AR 261: Introduction to Art Education
This course is designed to introduce students to a range of ideas and philosophies that support teaching visual art in public education. Participants develop artistic literacy, appreciation, and ways to respond to visual art, as well as approaches to creation and presentation. In addition to studio processes, readings and discussions, students identify strategies for enhancing observation skills, thinking critically about art, as well as presenting, responding, and connecting aesthetics, culture, the learner's needs, and curriculum frameworks at local, state, and national levels. Effective Spring 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Aesthetic Exploration. -
CFA AR 270: Bookmaking Techniques
For the poet, writer or creative person who wants to produce works of art realized in the form of a book, this course will explore methods of binding from the simple to the complex. Although the course will rely on skill building in bookmaking, it will also discuss conceptual ideas for books, how book design augments ideas and the necessity of craftsmanship. Some history of the book will be discussed as will archival materials and outlets for self-published one-of-a-kind books today. Open to the BU Community. 2.0 credits -
CFA AR 309: Drawing Trees
Drawing Trees: A drawing course that investigates the structure, science, aesthetics and metaphysical inspiration of trees. Drawing is a language and a tool that can be utilized to connect multiple disciplines. This drawing course is an ode to trees. Trees are often undervalued but vital members of our ecosystem and are among the largest and oldest living organisms on our planet. Observational drawing "in the field" will be our vehicle to slow down, study and reconsider our relationship to trees. Inviting students to reposition trees as central to our human existence we will perceive the structure, character and individuality of trees through the practice of drawing. -
CFA AR 321: Sculpture Studio
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CFAAR221 OR CFAAR223 OR CFAAR224) - This class covers the examination of the compositional and design possibilities in figurative and abstract form. In addition to the prodigious generation of creative work, students will be asked to critically engage and contest historical and contemporary precedents within visual art and cultural theory. Class time will be divided between reading discussions, image/video presentations, individual student presentations, field trips, in-studio work periods, weekly one-on-one meetings with faculty, and group critique. -
CFA AR 322: Sculpture Studios
Undergraduate Prerequisites: CFA AR321 - This final studio aims to help the students' natural artistic abilities reach their fullest potential by stressing professional habits, creativity, and standards of workmanship. The goal of this course is to help students make significant strides toward becoming working sculptors outside the academic environment. Students will develop work through criticism, dialogue, and engagement with art history and contemporary sculpture. Students will use the sculptural language to communicate their own ideas through a series of individual compositions working towards their final thesis exhibition and a portfolio of their works. -
CFA AR 327: Sculpture Techniques 1
This course description is currently under construction. -
CFA AR 329: Contemporary Issues Semester 1 (2 credits) Fall term
Undergraduate Corequisites: (CFAAR231 OR CFAAR341 OR CFAAR447 OR CFAAR451 OR CFAAR540) - In this weekly seminar class for Junior BFA Painting, Printmaking and Sculpture majors, students will learn about contemporary art and artistic practice through both seminar and practicum models, theory and practice. They will learn to consider and communicate their own personal artistic vision in relationship to the larger field and to artistic lineages. Students will learn more about building a personal and informed studio practice including critique practices and considerations of the contemporary and theoretical role of the studio in art production. Other areas of professional practice covered through student practice, examples and theory relate to the creation of a group exhibition for the class. Students will learn about: artistic collaboration and teamwork through readings, viewings and identifying clear roles in a group project; conceptual and material approaches to creating a clear and nuanced exhibition, including writing in the field (exhibition proposals, group and individual exhibition statements); considerations of the exhibition as a format including installation and de-installation processes. Optional trips to see work in New York and class visits from professionals in the field will supplement learning. Students will end the class by documenting, collating and presenting their work in a format appropriate for future applications and the establishment of a documentation practice. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Teamwork/Collaboration. -
CFA AR 331: Contemporary Issues: Interpretation
This seminar course for senior BFA Painting and Sculpture students introduces students to the current discourse and contemporary issues in art by guiding them through diverse ways of understanding the construction of meanings. It is designed to have students question the complex position of an artist as producers and readers of a culture to which they are participants. Students will learn to establish a philosophy on their studio practices, gain a broad knowledge in art theory, expand their existing critiquing abilities, and develop ethical reasoning. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Ethical Reasoning. -
CFA AR 332: Senior Painting Seminar 2 credits Spring term
Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - In this thesis seminar for senior BFA Painting majors, students will explore the relationship between word and image, making and thinking, process and theory in the professional art world and in their personal studio practice. The thesis seminar helps prepare senior BFA students in studio degrees for writing appropriate to the field and for potential graduate study in art. Through a gradually built up process that leads to a visual and written thesis book, students will learn to write in a variety of forms. They will read and discuss related texts by artists, critics, poets and writers. The goal of the writing process is to help students recognize and clarify their artistic voice and communicate better about their own and others' work. The short and long-form writing process should help students feel more comfortable applying for residencies, grants, jobs and projects. Through this course in tandem with the senior studio course and the BFA thesis exhibition process, students will develop complexity of thinking about the intersection of professional practice, personal artistic voice, and a larger cultural context, all of which offer a culminating experience for the BFA degree. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Writing-Intensive Course. -
CFA AR 339: Sculpture Thesis Seminar
This class for senior BFA Sculpture majors specifically addresses conceptual and practical knowledge for sculpture students while preparing for their thesis exhibition. This course will, through seminars on contemporary art, presentations, discussions, visiting exhibitions and artist studios, further develop each student's ability to articulate the context and content of their work. This class will have assignments that facilitate a dialogue with the work being developed in the student's studio, including artist statement/thesis paper, addressing individual research and proposal development, step-by-step planning and time management. 2 cr -
CFA AR 341: Junior Painting Studio
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CFAAR242) or permission of instructor - This course is designed to guide students in their transition away from making assignment-based works and toward establishing the self-propelled rhythm of their distinct studio practices appropriate to the degree. Beginning with various prompts, students will start to develop, refine and question their methods, expand the scope of their personal standards, and regularly unpack their intentions. Students will receive individual studio visits once a week to discuss their particular concerns, address any questions they have, receive feedback, and be referred to the work of contemporary artists. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Creativity/Innovation. -
CFA AR 342: Painting Studios
This course continues the trajectory established in the fall but with the general expectation that students are now fully immersed in their unique set of visual/conceptual concerns and are productively pushing their work forward in a self-generating fashion. Pushing one's work forward here means that students will actively consider their choices in the studio beyond the limits of their subjective tastes, previous training, and historical/canonical norms. Students will not only take on and appreciate multiple, conflicting criteria of success - they will actively engage with them in their work. Prerequisite: CFA AR341 or permission of instructor. -
CFA AR 345: Senior Painting Studio 4 credits Fall term
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CFAAR342) - In this studio course for senior painting majors, students will work independently under faculty guidance to develop work that will be the foundation of their thesis project during the following semester. Emphasis is on personal expression and experimentation to significant forms, processes and contexts specific to each student's formal and conceptual interests and concerns. Students will continue developing their understanding of what it means to be a contemporary artist today, especially in the context of painting. -
CFA AR 346: Senior Painting Studio 6 credits Spring term
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CFAAR345) - A continuation of AR 345, seniors will focus on developing a strong, cohesive body of work to be presented during the Thesis Exhibition at the end of the semester. Students will work independently under faculty guidance to build on forms and ideas developed during AR 345 to fully realize their projects in exhibition form. Students will learn the nuts and bolts behind mounting an exhibition of their work, from coordination, installation, and logistics to a visual and spatial awareness of how to situate their work within the parameters of a particular space. 6 credits. -
CFA AR 369: Art, Community, and Social Engagement
The course provides opportunities for experiential learning, research, reflections, guest lectures, and discussions as tools to understand the creative approaches and philosophies represented in the community art engagement and social practices of cultural workers in contemporary, global and national contexts. A finely crafted final project allows for the demonstration of intercultural literacy, through an innovative execution- ready community- based project proposal designed in collaboration with peers or members of a local community. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Creativity/Innovation. -
CFA AR 381: Junior Graphic Design Fall: Audience, Authorship
Undergraduate Prerequisites: CFA AR 225 and CFA AR 226 - Junior graphic design exercises a student's knowledge of graphic design fundamentals--form development and communication strategies--to solve more complex design problems. Variables such as audience, context, authorship and issues relevant to contemporary practice will be investigated and discussed. Context driven platforms for communication will be explored as students consider how to reach both narrow and broad audiences across multiple mediums. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Research and Information Literacy, Teamwork/Collaboration. -
CFA AR 382: AR382 Junior Graphic Design Spring: Audience, Authorship
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CFAAR381) - Students examine design as cultural practice as they explore their own design sensibilities and interests through a sequence of self-authored projects in preparation for senior year. Projects and discussion focus on how narrow and broad social contexts/environments impact the way in which graphic design lives and functions. -
CFA AR 385: Sophomore Type Fall: Rules of Typography
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CFAAR225) - In this introductory course for sophomore graphic design majors, students will study the fundamentals of typography, from its history and anatomy to organizational structures, legibility and hierarchy. Legibility and hierarchy will be examined with increasing complexity from the letterform, to the word, sentence, paragraph and page. Students will learn characteristics of major type families, how to create and use a typographic grid and to work with type in a dynamic environment.
