With the current high rate of contagiousness and infection from Omicron, we have made the decision to conduct all January classes remotely and to require, with limited exceptions, all employees without essential on-campus duties during this period to work from home through January 28th.  For more information on Covid-19 and the start of spring semester, please use this link to our Covid Response page.  

Summer Art Intensive Courses

Students enrolling in class(es) are encouraged to review the required material lists. 

All of The Summer Art Intensive instructors are professional artists and are assisted by dedicated Cooper Union School of Art undergraduates.

Class size is limited to 16 students

Age Requirement: 15–18

Enrollment Deadline: June 14, 2021

To receive a full refund, all refund requests must be made before or on June 14, 2021.

Digital Photography

Instructor: Alex Mctigue

Teaching Assistant: Cooper Union School of Art Undergraduate (TBA)

Tuition: $1,536.00

July 12–August 5, 2021

Mondays–Thursdays

9:00 AM–12:00 PM

Digital Photography is an introductory course that focuses on the camera as a tool for personal vision and collective reflection. Classes will consist of lectures, technical workshops, group critiques, and collaborative experiments geared towards unpacking the possibilities of photography in this unprecedented historical moment. Each student will be encouraged to think critically about what subjects hold meaning for them, what they have access to, and what unique perspective they can offer through composition, lighting, and the language of photography. 

Class discussions will center on a diversity of artists’ practices, the histories of photography, text and image, the art of appropriation, the fluidity of still and moving image, and questions regarding the politics of representation. 

Students will gain a foundational understanding of Adobe Photoshop and a strong technical grasp of the camera they have access to. If you have a curious mind and would like to examine this changed and ever-evolving world through a new lens, this is the class for you.

Required Software: Adobe CC Photoshop. Click here to view Adobe Academic Pricing.

Required Equipment:

  • DSLR Camera with manual settings, with battery, battery charger. Relatively affordable recommended Models include

    • Canon Rebel T7

    • Canon Rebel T6

    • Nikon D3500

  • SD card -Card reader (unless built into their computer)

  • External hard drive for saving images (unless their computers have excess storage space) 

Drawing at Home: Material Exploration, Observation and Contemporary Practice

Instructor: Anne-Marie McIntyre

Teaching Assistant: Cooper Union School of Art Undergraduate (TBA)

Tuition: $1,536.00

July 12–August 5, 2021

Mondays–Thursdays

1:00 PM–4:00 PM

This class is for students who are ready and able to spend significant time engaged in drawing. We will try to bridge the digital divide by working with tactile materials at home and sharing our work in group meetings as well as small break out groups. Grounded in observational drawing and traditional still life we will share a wide variety of strategies for depicting objects in space. This class is taught at a college level and we will not expect students to follow step by step instructions but rather engage with materials and learn through teacher prompts and critiques. For advanced students this class will challenge you to break habits and expand your ideas about what drawing can be. For younger students this class will give you a broad introduction to different ways that artists use mark-making to create work. Every student will become more aware of the characteristics of their personal voice. Students should be ready to bring their full skill set to class, but also be ready to explore and move out of their comfort zone. Students should expect to spend time outside of class drawing and creating.

We will take full advantage of our online classroom. We will share how artists and art institutions have been creating community during the pandemic. We will be making virtual visits to contemporary artist’s studios to share and discuss their work as it is being made. Be prepared to explore the work of contemporary artists and connect with the work of master draftspeople which are easily shared online.

Materials include: Charcoal, graphite, ink, invented tools and tabletop printing techniques such as transfer drawing and collagraphs. 

Students must have a tabletop larger than 18X 24 that can remain a personal workspace for the course of the class, if the student has an easel, we can use that as an additional work surface. They should also have a wall space where they can keep their work up for the duration of the class. Students will be expected to access objects from their home for still life and to move around their home in search of material. If there is an outdoor space available, we will use it, but participating in class will not be contingent on that.  

Students should have a dedicated computer that they can use for the hours that our class is in session as well as a way to photograph and post images to share.

Click here to see the required material.

Drawing (Section A)

Instructor: Andrew Ross

Teaching Assistant: Cooper Union School of Art Undergraduate (TBA)

Tuition: $1,536

July 13–August 5, 2021

Tuesdays–Thursdays

1:00 PM–5:00 PM

In this online drawing course instructor, Andrew Ross, will present drawing as a form of exploration and planning. The focus of the course will be accumulating and transposing marks learned through practice into dynamic elements of completed studio works. 

Through a series of exercises and guided independent study, students will be encouraged to take note of the qualities of various drawing mediums to create a lexicon of marks and techniques that they will choose from to employ in self-directed projects in the latter half of the course. 

This class will consist of video demonstrations, group exercises facilitated by shared and editable templates, virtual studio visits with artists selected by the instructor, group critiques, and individualized virtual independent study meetings with the instructor. 

Work from the class will be shared throughout on a private student-run platform, and selected works will be shared in a cumulative zine project that will be downloadable and shareable. Students will gain experience in studio practice and drawing as well as professional artists’ administrative practices such as documentation for the works they produce during the course.

Click here to see the required materials.

Available seats: 8

Animation

Instructor: NaYon Cho

Teaching Assistant: Cooper Union School of Art Undergraduate (TBA)

Tuition: $1,536.00

July 12–August 5, 2021 

Mondays–Thursdays

9:00 AM–12:00 PM

Animation is a powerful and ubiquitous form of storytelling, and its reach continues to expand rapidly in the hands of curious and creative minds. The medium is highly sought after for its ability to captivate and inspire the viewer, not only in entertainment but also in journalism, education, and advertising. You may not even realize it, but it’s found in almost every corner of our lives. 

In (this course), students will learn the basic skills of animation. The aim is to equip each student with the tools so that they can fully express their creative vision. The class will be conducted via Zoom, where students will participate in lively discussions, technical demos, and individual and group workshops. They will create several short animations and one long animation using a camera and a mic, employing digital software like Photoshop and Premiere Pro. Students will leave with a rich understanding of animation’s historical background and its contemporary significance, in addition to the technical and conceptual skill sets that will lay a foundation for their artistic practice. 

Students do not need any prior animation experience or knowledge. Animation is an art that requires attention to detail and an adventurous spirit. Students are encouraged to be curious, open-minded, patient, meticulous, and imaginative. Those who love motion, time, and space will thoroughly enjoy this artistic exploration.

In addition to the required materials, students are encouraged to use a variety of art supplies throughout the course. Please feel free to use any other materials of your choice (i.e. colored pencils, charcoal, pastel, paint, photographs, origami, etc)

Required Software: Adobe CC Photoshop and Premiere. Click here to view Adobe Academic Pricing.

Minimum software version is Adobe CS 2016

Click here to see the required materials.

Drawing (Section B) 

Instructor: Pablo Diaz

Teaching Assistant: Cooper Union School of Art Undergraduate (TBA)

Tuition: $1,536.00

July 12–August 4, 2021

Mondays–Wednesdays

9:00 AM–1:00 PM

In this class, we will look at objects and spaces from home as source material to draw from observation. We will practice drawing as a form of writing to describe what we see in this environment and how we experience it. Through guided demos and prompt based assignments, students will learn to approach drawing in a way that is productive and inventive. Using simple tools and materials such as ink, q-tips, charcoal, and erasers, we will pay close attention to marks and techniques that emphasize the illusion of volume and depth or explore the calligraphic network of lines and shapes that we find when we stop to look.

Students taking this course are expected to be proactive drawers as the assignments will require creative solutions. Given that we will be working with charcoal, students should have a designated area that can get messy. Sharing work in progress and finished work followed by discussions will be a daily engagement. Students should also be ready to discuss their points of view and engage with the work of classmates and guest artists.

This course aims to support the student’s portfolio with rigorous training to build on their current skill level. In addition, every week students will complete focused works to be critiqued in class and featured in our online exhibition. Further discussions will develop from presentations of contemporary art issues.

Click here to see the required materials.

Graphic Design

Instructor: Tida Tep

Teaching Assistant: Cooper Union School of Art Undergraduate (TBA)

Tuition: $1,536.00

July 12–August 5, 2021

Mondays–Thursdays

9:00 AM–12:00 PM

Graphic Design is taught as an art medium and form of communication. 

Students are introduced to graphic design history, conceptualization, graphic imagery, typography, and symbolism for visual communication. Drawing, collage, digital photography, and Adobe software (Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign) are used to execute class assignments. For all assignments, visual problem solving will be emphasized. Demos, group discussions, guest lectures, and class critiques will be held online via video calls. 

Through a series of design projects, such as zine collages, animated GIFs, album covers, and posters among students learn the fundamentals of working with image and text to communicate visually. 

This class is for young artists/designers who are excited to learn how letterforms, photography, iconography, and illustration can work together to communicate ideas and messages.

Required Software: Adobe CC Photoshop and InDesign. Click here to view Adobe Academic Pricing.

Click here to see the required material.

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.