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Course Description

Summary

In this course we will engage drawing’s portable and responsive nature by working outside of the studio art classroom, opening the possibility of encounters that influence your subject matter and approaches to drawing. Students will practice and expand their skills of drawing from direct observation (not from photographs or other images) by working on-site in different indoor (non-classroom) locations on campus and working outdoors, or plein air. 

At its core this course invites students to explore how drawing from direct observation can transform, capture, document, or record an encounter with someone, something, a place, or a moment in time. Approaches to and interest in narrative image making, autobiography, found subject matter, archiving, portraiture, still life, nature, and landscape, to only name a few possibilities, are all open for exploration. Students will be encouraged to consider their specific point of view as they navigate the world looking for subjects to draw.

The goal of this course is to offer students some structure for self-guided inquiry, exploration, and experimentation through the lens of site specificity. To that end, in class time will primarily involve short demonstrations, drawing together in different locations, discussions and critiques, occasional slide lectures, and may include field trips off campus. Materials for this course may include watercolors, gouache, graphite/pencil, ink, and charcoal, though students are also invited and encouraged to use their preferred drawing materials or experiment with new ones. Students with an adventurous spirit ready to challenge their drawing skills with the unpredictability that comes from working outside of the still, controlled conditions of the studio art classroom will thrive in this course.

For inspiration will consider work by artists including: Jennifer Packer, Esteban Cabeza de Baca, Byron Kim, Josephine Halvorson, Vija Celmins, Catherine Murphy, and Cynthia Daignault. Some questions we will consider: How can drawing on-site from direct observation speak to identity in relationship to place, history, and time? How is a drawing of a found object also a portrait of a specific place and/or moment in time? How is it a record? Can an on-site drawing with a specific duration at a specific location also be considered a performance work? How can drawings that are made on-site capture movement, change, and shifting conditions? How is my specific point of view evident in my drawings?

Students may be required to purchase a material kit that costs between $100-$150.