Professional Practices in Studio Art, is a course that examines practical applications of presentation, documentation, business skills, and career planning specific to studio art and art education.
It provides a foundation of practical information to assist undergraduate and graduate studio majors in building a successful career.
The course consists of lectures, discussions, readings, presentations, and demonstrations. Several times we will be visited by guest lecturers discussing specific areas of expertise, including tax laws for artists; working with artists from the point of view of the gallery and/or museum; managing art organizations; and building crates/shipping artwork. We will have discussion groups covering interpretations of artworks and presentation, and students will prepare materials for presentation, including artist‟s resumes, artist‟s statements, grant or residency applications, and graduate school applications.
The class will spend a significant amount of time discussing different types of art venues and the appropriate contexts for different types of work.
Additionally, we will assess and interpret individual students‟ work as a means
to generating appropriate questions and insights for artist‟s statements. Students should be prepared to evaluate their own work in a concise and specific manner, which requires having a personal direction you can identify (not yet being at this stage will make this course difficult).
Professional Practices also includes demonstrations on presenting and documenting your artwork. The focus will be on digital documentation as a means to generating cd, pdf, and PowerPoint presentations as well as traditional slides (information will be available but no class time will be spent discussing traditional slides as they are rarely ever used). Information on traditional lighting and film camera manipulation will also be discussed, but all class assignments will be done in digital formats.
Students will be responsible for a variety of assignments in addition to participating in discussions and attending lectures. It is vital to do these thoroughly and to turn them in ON TIME. Many real-world art opportunities have strict deadlines; we will act accordingly: NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
Ordinarily, there will be numerous drafts of written submissions— checkpoints, essentially— that will help you stay on track. Although the class meets once per week, the time commitment is roughly analogous to a studio class.
Frank discussions of content will occur during the semester, requiring students to treat each other respectfully.
Discussions and studio visits are not to be taken as license for disruptive or disrespectful behavior.
Please note that “disruptive” includes any behavior that repeatedly interrupts the class, including malfunctioning (always going off) cell phones and constant “secondary” conversations in addition to the primary class discussion.
Student competencies to be met:
Professional standard in visual documentation of artworks
Professional standard in written presentation, explanation, and documentation
Professional standard in verbal presentation
Knowledge of resources suitable to career development after graduation
Familiarity with business practices in the arts
Familiarity with legal practices and issues in the arts
Comprehensive understanding of multiple options, methods, and strategies related to career choices and professional development