School of Visual Arts
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CFA AR 389: Graphic Design Elective
Graphic design elective focuses on learning the basic principles of design, composition and form making. We will investigate each of these topics holistically, beginning with their historical origination, contemporary application and finally in the context of your own visual arts practice. Projects and class meetings will be structured to help you develop a design process and critique skills. The goal of this course is to provide a rigorous understanding of these foundational principles and skills which will then serve as a strong base for future visual arts course work. Additionally, we will spend a significant amount of time outside the studio—all experiences are designed to connect and expose you to Boston’s design scene as well as generate excitement towards lifelong learning. -
CFA AR 401: Directed Study Sculpture
Undergraduate only. With Permission of faculty. 2.0 credits. -
CFA AR 402: Directed Study Ceramics
Undergraduate only. By permission of faculty. -
CFA AR 403: Directed Study Printmaking
Undergraduate only. With permission of faculty. Credit amount varies. -
CFA AR 404: Directed Study Graphic Design
Undergraduate only. With permission of faculty. Credit amount varies. -
CFA AR 406: Directed Study Painting
Undergraduate only. With permission of faculty. -
CFA AR 410: Directed Study Visual Arts
Undergraduate only. With permission of faculty. Credit amount varies. -
CFA AR 412: Architectural Design 1
Introduction to architectural design at the scale of individual buildings. Students will learn how to analyze, represent, and create form and space through a series of projects that increase in complexity over the course of the semester. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Creativity/Innovation. -
CFA AR 425: The Artist and the Book (4 credits Spring term)
Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - Artist and the Book is a research based art course that covers the history of the book, iterative writing, both long and short papers, presentations and collaborative book arts projects, emphasizing a variety of historical binding techniques incorporating word and image. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Creativity/Innovation, Research and Information Literacy. -
CFA AR 428: Architecture Site Design 1
Introduction to architecture with a focus upon context and environment. Students will learn to analyze and design sited architecture in relation to various factors (e.g., climate, landscape, urbanism, and/or region). Work will incorporate drawing and modelling techniques, and will be advanced primarily through independent studio exploration guided by critical discussions and presentations with the instructor, guest critics, and the studio at large. 4cr Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Creativity/Innovation. -
CFA AR 432: Advanced Drawing
AR432 is an exercise in expanding students' command of the medium of drawing beyond its more classical definition. The working definition of drawing in this course tends toward a more contemporary one - encompassing any mark or alteration made to any surface, by means not always executed by the artist's own hand. Fleeting moments in time, our subjective experience of walking through a city, or improvised and unpredictable interactions with image capturing devices like cell phones or scanners can all be brought into the realm of drawing in this context. The format will consist of a collection of assignments emphasizing the performative, the interpretive, the mark, the remnant and beyond. Extensive drawing experience is not required to make great drawings in this class. Due to expanded nature of drawing the course will explore, students who are specifically looking to refine their representational drawing skills may want to look at other drawing elective courses. -
CFA AR 447: Printmaking 1: Etching & Monotype
This course offers a comprehensive introduction to the intaglio print media -- traditional and contemporary - including etching, aquatint, photo-processes, monotype, and alternative techniques. Printmaking encompasses drawing, design, mark making, multiples, sequences, and overlays, using various material substrates such as metals and plastics. Students are encouraged to master and adapt intaglio techniques as an expressive means for exploring visual intent for their own imagery. Group and individual critiques; emphasis is on image development and technical knowledge. Projects may span media to build a group of related prints. Presentations on the historical and contemporary print and its culture, visiting artists, museum and studio visits provide context. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Creativity/Innovation. -
CFA AR 450: The Art of the Multiple
Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - This course investigates the history of printmaking, paper making, and the production of the multiple image from Johannes Gutenberg to the Internet. The contemporary multiple in printmaking, installation, photography, sculpture, book, and the digital forms will be studied. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Writing-Intensive Course. -
CFA AR 451: Printmaking: Advanced Projects
This course offers advanced professional study in printmaking techniques, for students who wish to focus on the print with intensity, as they refine their personal visual statement through workshop practice, critique and the enhancement of critical thinking. Experimentation is encouraged while students develop technical mastery and independent problem solving through print. In addition to demonstrations and hands-on guidance, the course provides an expanded technical vocabulary. Combined multiple printing applications and experimental media will be an option as well as the opportunity to print at large scale. Introduction to contemporary artists engaged in print practice and contemporary issues, through presentations, field and museum trips, and visiting artists. Variable credit, one or both semesters. -
CFA AR 452: Printmaking 2
This course offers advanced professional study in printmaking techniques, for students who wish to focus on the print with intensity, as they refine their personal visual statement through workshop practice, critique and the enhancement of critical thinking. Experimentation is encouraged while students develop technical mastery and independent problem solving through print. In addition to demonstrations and hands-on guidance, the course provides an expanded technical vocabulary. Combined multiple printing applications and experimental media will be an option as well as the opportunity to print at large scale. Introduction to contemporary artists engaged in print practice and contemporary issues, through presentations, field and museum trips, and visiting artists. Variable credit, one or both semesters. -
CFA AR 455: Elementary Methods of Art Education
Taken in the final year before a student's classroom teaching practicum experience, this course provides an introduction to the methodologies of teaching art to children in grades preK-8. In the course, students develop a personal philosophy of teaching and accompanying strategies that support children's learning in the visual arts. Topics of study include the artistic development of children in relation to cognitive, emotional, and social growth; approaches to studio pedagogy and general communication skills; and lesson planning that addresses national, state, and local curriculum standards. Students must pass components of a Gateway assessment in CFA AR586: Child Growth and Development in Art Education and CFA AR 558: Contemporary Issues in Art Education in order to register. Students enroll concurrently in CFA AR 456 Elementary Pre-practicum (1 cr). -
CFA AR 456: Elementary Pre-Practicum
The Elementary Pre-Practicum course offers a supervised field-based experience in a PreK-8 visual art classroom setting in a public school, for a determined number of hours per week. Students develop abilities for an active engagement with students and practice elemental teaching skills. Students must pass components of a Gateway assessment in CFA AR586: Child Growth and Development in Art Education and CFA AR 558: Contemporary Issues in Art Education in order to register. Students enroll concurrently in CFA AR455 Elementary Methods in Art Education (3 cr). -
CFA AR 460: Secondary Methods of Art Education
This course is designed to prepare future educators to create and implement art curricula for students in grades 5-12, based on an understanding of the cognitive, sociocultural, and physical characteristics of diverse pre-adolescent and adolescent learners, and how those characteristics guide teaching and impact learning. By applying a knowledge of contemporary and historical practices, gained from readings, pre-practicum experiences, and discussions of theories and trends in teaching art, pre-service teachers develop their own philosophies and approaches. Course participants examine and content to the 5-12 state and national art standards and explore frameworks for integrating arts education with other content areas. A variety of media and concepts are introduced and explored and the participants engage in arts-based research, using their insights to design learning experiences that enhance critical and creative development. As a culmination, the students develop unit and lesson plans. Taken in the final year before a student's practicum experiences, students concurrently enroll in the 1-credit CFA AR 462 Secondary Pre-practicum. Students must pass components of a Gateway Assessment in CFA AR586 Child Growth and Development in Art Education and CFA AR 558 Contemporary Issues in Art Education in order to register. This course meets with CFA AR 660; syllabi differ. -
CFA AR 461: Directed Study Art Education
Provides opportunity for individual students to gain practical experience or to pursue academic investigations of a more independent nature in a subject related to art education. Open to undergraduate students in the Art Education BFA or the Five-year MA Program only. Approval of the student's advisor or supervising faculty and department chair required. An established focus of study must be submitted in writing in advance of registration. Variable credits, either semester. -
CFA AR 462: Secondary Pre-Practicum
The Secondary Pre-Practicum course offers a supervised field-based experience in a 5-12 visual art classroom setting in a public school, for a determined number of hours per week. Students develop abilities for an active engagement with students and practice elemental teaching skills. Students must pass components of a Gateway assessment in CFA AR586: Child Growth and Development in Art Education and CFA AR 558: Contemporary Issues in Art Education in order to register. Students enroll concurrently the three-credit CFA AR460: Secondary Methods in Art Education.
