Foundation

Foundation courses are required of all first year students.

• FA-100.1, FA-100.2

  Introduction to Techniques

  An introduction to the physical aspects of working with wood, metal, plaster - and plastics, as well as an introduction to on-campus computer facilities and resources. A basic introduction to the Adobe interface, specifically Photoshop and Illustrator will be provided.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. Required for first year students. 1/2 credit per semester. One-year course. Pass/Fail.

• FA-101

  Color

  A study of the physical, perceptual, art historical and cultural aspects of color. The phenomenon of color and principles of light are explored in various media towards an understanding of color application in all of the fine art disciplines and architecture.

  Spring 2024. Required for first year students. 2 credits.

• FA-102.1

  Two-Dimensional Design

  Exploration of the visual and intellectual aspects of form on the two-dimensional surface, in a variety of media. Investigations into the relationships of perception, process and presentation.

  Required for first year students. 3 credits.

• FA-104.1

  Basic Drawing (Analytical and Descriptive)

  A course in freehand drawing designed to emphasize perceptual and inventive skills in all drawing media.

  Spring 2024. Required for first year students. 3 credits per semester.

• FA-105

  Four-Dimensional Design

  This course investigates the properties of time and movement and the fundamentals of four-dimensional design. Students explore duration, condensation, expansion, interruption, simultaneity, stillness, action and situation through a wide range of materials.

  Required for first-year students. 2 credits.

• FA-108

  Foundation Studio

  A studio methods and theories course for foundation students with a focus on the development of multiple lines of visual competency helping to prepare students for advanced study. This course works in conjunction with technical labs through a set of offerings in shorter lab/studio seminars. In this sense, the technical or craft learning necessary for visual practice, and the beginning of a personal conceptual or research methodology, merge.

  Spring 2024. Required for first year students. 3 credits.

• FA-109.1

  Three-Dimensional Design

  Students work on projects that explore the fundamentals of forms and space and investigate the properties of materials, structure, mass, scale, light and motion.

  Required for first year students. 3 credits.

• SE-101

  Foundation Orientation

  Foundation Orientation brings together all first-year students as an introduction to the academic life of the School of Art, as part of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. The course is designed to give students a working overview of opportunities and resources available to them.

  Required for first-year students. 1/2 credit. Pass/Fail.

• SE-150

  Foundation Project

  This course brings together all first-year students within a seminar. This course consists of a series of presentations that introduce various artistic practices, critical languages, and criticism. This aspect of the course indents to present contrasting historical and contemporary models of creating, seeing, speaking, and thinking about art.

  Spring 2024. Required for first year students. 1/2 credit. Pass/Fail.

Calligraphy

• FA-419

  Independent Study in Calligraphy

  1-3 credits. Requires approval of instructor and the Dean of the School of Art.

• TE-216

  Calligraphy

  Geometry, optical balance and the stoke of the broad-edge pen are primary influences that shape the Roman alphabet. Students learn the fundamentals of “beautiful writing” through the study of historical models and the principals that are the basis of classical and modern letter forms. Exercises in ink train the hand kinaesthetically to write letters with graceful movement. Exercises in pencil train the eye to see and analyze the subtle geometry and skeletal “ideal” form of letters. Precise rhythm in letterspacing and careful line-spacing create the color and texture of the page. The class will have an emphasis on page design involving hand written compositions. Roman and Italic capitals and small letters will be the focus of first semester students.

  Fall 2023. 2 Credits.

Computer Techniques

• TE-304

  Techniques in After Effects

  This course explores techniques and projects in Adobe After Effects. Students will complete projects that demonstrate their skill and understanding of visual effects and motion graphics. Projects will be faculty and student generated.

  Spring 2024. 2 credits. One-semester course. Cannot be repeated. Free elective credit.

Audiovisual

• FA-272

  Film Workshop (16mm)

  Independent projects workshop in Super 8 and 16mm film. As well as working in depth with film, students are encouraged to explore all possibilities of the moving image from expanded projection techniques to kinetic constructions.

  Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre-Req: AV I.

• FA-275

  Audiovisual I

  An introduction to concepts, production techniques, and histories of artists moving image work. Over two semesters, students will investigate the origins and evolution of animation, film, video, and sound recording for cinema, with classroom instruction and experimentation in the techniques and production of each. Alongside a historical and theoretical framework, a wide range of practical tools will be introduced, including precinematic image capture, 16mm film and digital cinema production, stop action animation, sound recording, and lighting.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 credits. One-semester course. May not be repeated.

• FA-276

  Audiovisual II

  Semester two of the yearlong AV sequence, this course continues with greater depth and more individualized student projects, the introduction to concepts, production techniques, and histories of artists’ moving image work. Students will investigate the origins and evolution of animation, film, video, and sound recording for cinema, with classroom instruction and experimentation in the techniques and production of each. Alongside a historical and theoretical framework, a wide range of practical tools will be introduced, including pre-cinematic image capture, 16mm film and digital cinema production, stop action animation, sound recording, and lighting.

  Spring 2024. 3 credits. Prerequisite to all Advanced Audiovisual Projects courses. Prerequisite: FA-275 Audiovisual I.

• FA-376

  Animation Workshop

  An advanced course in frame-by-frame film making. An examination of existing work in the field, class demos and animation exercises, will accompany the development of independent projects, ranging from traditional cartoon animation to fine art-based animation. Physically created animation techniques are the foundation of Animation Workshop. Students create the initial artwork for their animations “with their own hands” and complete their work digitally using Dragonframe, Premiere and the AV department’s animation equipment. Students are encouraged to draw from their other art practices (sculpture, painting, etc.) and to be inventive in their work. Animation forms taught and explored over the semester include direct-on-film, roto-scoping, 3D stop-motion, hand-drawn and under-the-camera 2D animations.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre-Req: AV I.

• FA-380

  AV Projects: 16mm

  In this multi-level 16mm film class, we will plunge ourselves into the practices of 16mm filmmaking and the resonance of this unique medium within the wider film and art worlds. For students just starting out with 16mm, the course offers in-depth intensive production and technical workshops supplemented by screenings, readings, discussions and field trips. Students will work both collaboratively and individually in the course. For students with prior experience in 16mm film who want to continue their work in the medium, they will have the opportunity to work on advanced projects in the context of the course. References, workshops, and research will be tailored to the specifics of each project. In this course, students may create narrative, documentary, experimental, or hybrid films and are encouraged to connect 16mm with their work in other media. In this class, we will look at a diverse range of cinematic strategies and explore historical and contemporary films in order to inspire our own. We will also have the opportunity to view several films through The Cooper Union Library’s extraordinary 16mm film collection. Each student registered for this class receives one free roll of 16mm black and white film for use in assigned coursework.

  Spring 2024. 3 credits. Pre-Req: AV I & AV II.

• FA-385A

  AV Projects

  This advanced course investigates video installation as an evolving contemporary art form that extends the conversation of video art beyond the frame and into hybrid media, site-specific, and multiple channel environments. Presentations, screenings, and readings augment critical thinking about temporal and spatial relationships, narrative structure, viewer perception and the challenges of presenting time-based work in a gallery or museum setting. Students will develop research interests and apply their unique skills sets to short turnaround exercises and more expanded self-directed projects for gallery and non-theatrical contexts.

  Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre-Req: AV II

• FA-385B

  AV Projects Topics: Politics of Form

  This advanced course investigates film/video installation for gallery and non-theatrical context that experiment with form to explore the politics of moving images and our experiences of media. Presentations, screenings, and readings augment critical thinking about temporal and spatial relationships, narrative structure, viewer perception, and materiality. Students will develop research interests and apply their unique skills sets to short turnaround exercises and more expanded self-directed projects for gallery and non-theatrical contexts.

  Spring 2024. 3 credits. Pre-requisite: Audiovisual II.

• FA-386A

  AV Projects: The Acoustic Mirror

  Inspired by Kaja Silverman’s psychoanalytic inquiry into the gendering of voices in historical cinema, this course will explore the co-dependencies between moving image and sound. In particular this class asks: what are the ways in which sound and image are able to reclaim or subvert one another to produce new meanings, and what are the hierarchies being disrupted when we choose to remix, cover, mute, and speak over? We will try to understand how the impulses of nostalgia, sentimentality, and revisionist histories can generate formal techniques around re-appropriation.

  A special emphasis will be put on global and viral forms of self-made media such as ASMR, cover songs, karaoke, and remixes. These vernacular practices will be analyzed in conjunction with a historical survey of films, artworks, and music as a revolutionary force. Students will conduct their own experiments in re-appropriative strategies through workshops and assigned media projects, and the class will be structured around group critiques, listenings, and viewings.

  Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre-Req: AV II.

• FA-389B

  AV Projects Topics: Boredom and Suspense

  The central question of this course: How might an artist, working with film and video, use attention as a kind of material? The answers—and there are many—will be explored on several fronts, with regular production exercises buttressed by related readings, ranging from classic philosophical accounts of boredom and suspense to contemporary psychological research on the subjects. We will also watch a wide variety of films, spanning the breadth of cinema’s global history, both exemplars of suspense (Lois Weber’s Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, Tewfik Saleh's The Dupes, Lucretia Martel’s The Headless Woman, et al) as well as works that challenge one’s received understanding of narrative intrigue and anticipation (by Chantal Akerman, Marguerite Duras, Kevin Jerome Everson, and Andy Warhol, among others). In addition to in-class analysis of these movies, their lessons will be internalized through a rather old-fashioned form of art pedagogy: copying. Though unlike, say, the French Academy of the nineteenth century, how one goes about that copying is entirely up to the student, and the project may yield, in one instance, a careful and precise facsimile of an iconic film sequence, or, in another, a blistering critique of the parent material. The goal, in either case, is for the practice of recreation and restaging to be a means through which the student can better understand the myriad aesthetic decisions that constitute the film they are copying—at the level of sound design, editing, camera movement, mise-en-scene, and performance. Said another way, those who take this class will leave with a more precise sense of which formal strategies from film’s past they might like to purloin, and thus maintain or transform, and which they might just as readily discard.

  Spring 2024. 3 Credits. Pre-Req: AV II.

• FA-479A, FA-479B

  Independent Study in Film

  Independent Study in Film.

  1-3 credits. Requires approval of instructor and the Dean of the School of Art. 

• FA-489A, FA-489B

  Independent Study in Video

  Independent Study in Video.

  1-3 credits. Requires approval of instructor and the Dean of the School of Art.

Drawing

• FA-240A, FA-240B

  Drawing I

  The course is designed to explore the phenomena of drawing as basic to the visual language of all disciplines. The fundamental notion of observation and analysis in drawing is investigated. As preparation for work in an advanced level, the course involves further development of drawing skills and techniques, as well as an emphasis on individual aesthetic development. Assignments and group critiques are central to the course.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 credits per semester. One-semester course. May not be repeated. Prerequisite to all Advanced Drawing.

• FA-341A

  Advanced Drawing

  Advanced studies in drawing emphasizing the student’s conceptual independence from traditional draftsmanship. This course is for students who have an established direction in drawing.

  Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre-Req: Drawing I.

• FA-343A

  Advanced Drawing

  Offered to students working independently in any medium. Must be self-motivated. There will be group and individual critiques.

  3 credits. Pre-Req: Drawing I.

• FA-344A, FA-344B

  Advanced Drawing

  Offered to students working independently in any medium. Must be self-motivated. There will be group and individual critiques.

  Spring 2024. 3 credits. One-semester course. Pre-Req: Drawing I.

• FA-345A

  Advanced Drawing

  Offered to students working independently in any medium. Must be self-motivated. Class meetings will include workshops with traditional and non-traditional drawing materials, as well as group and individual critiques

  Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre-Req: Drawing I.

• FA-346A, FA-346B

  Advanced Drawing

  This class will focus on experiments in drawing that fall on the spectrum between consciousness and the unconscious. Students will be encouraged to experiment with both unconventional support grounds and mediums, as well as various scales of drawings from small to large. The history of automatic drawing from Surrealism through various postwar experiments with abstraction will be referenced in critiques and class discussions.

  Spring 2024. 3 credits. One-semester course. Pre-Req: Drawing I.

• FA-347A, FA-347B

  Advanced Drawing

  Offered to students working independently in any medium. Must be self-motivated. There will be group and individual critiques.

  Spring 2024. 3 credits. One-semester course. Pre-Req: Drawing I.

• FA-499

  Independent Study in Drawing

  1-3 credits. Requires approval of instructor and the Dean of the School of Art.

Electives

• FA-327

  Computational Studio: Topics in Digital Fabrication

  This course is designed to enhance conventional approaches to materials-based art production through an introduction to digital fabrication. There will be two curriculum tracks in the Spring semester: first time students will learn fundamental skills, and students previously enrolled in Technosculpture (FA-327) in the Fall 2023 will focus on advanced digital fabrication methods. All students will participate in project critiques and tutorials for 3D printing, laser cutting, and CNC machining, along with multiple software & capture methods such as Rhino 3D, Grasshopper, and 3D scanning. Advanced students will have the option of working on a final group project to culminate in a public on-campus exhibition.
  
  This is an interdisciplinary course to augment existing practices through access to new tools, materials, and concepts for making. We will move between classroom computers, the AACE lab, and individual studios to explore topics such as built environments, sculptural methods, and speculative design. Weekly topics will be supplemented with technical workshops and visiting speakers. As background, we will explore the history of digital fabrication, and ask critical questions about its relevance and impact on creative industries and society more broadly.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• TE-217

  Painting Techniques and Materials

  This course provides training in the safe handling of painting materials, contemporary applications and techniques in oil- and acrylic-based media. Practices in color mixing, color matching, glazing, uses of supplementary media, creating textures, effects, surfaces and customizing paint from dry pigments will be covered through instructor lead demonstrations and assignments. Students will receive hands-on practice with various techniques by producing original works. In addition, students will be introduced to the origins, history and contemporary evolution of paint as a material. Relevant examples will be presented through various media and field visits.

  Spring 2024. 2 credits.

Graphic Design

• FA-211

  Graphic Design I

  An introduction to the techniques and visual language of graphic design. Weekly projects explore fundamental concepts in form, composition, and typography. Presentations and readings in graphic design history will complement weekly assignments. Students will explore basic imagemaking processes as well as be instructed in digital production techniques.

  Fall 2023. 3 credits.

• FA-212

  Graphic Design II

  The complex relationship between word and image is explored. The study of semiotics, emphasizing the philosophy of communication, provides a rich historical and intellectual base for experimental projects combining verbal and pictorial information. Weekly projects reflect a broad range of disciplines within the field of design. Computer instruction will be provided as it relates to specific projects.

  Spring 2024. 3 credits. Prerequisite to all Advanced Design courses. Prerequisite: FA-211. Graphic Design I.

• FA-215

  Typography

  Empirical explorations of typographic messages through placement, massing, weight, size and color are analyzed to develop an understanding of aesthetic composition of typographic form and meaning. Legibility, unpredictability and sequencing, as well as the use of grid structures, are investigated. The development of critical judgment about typography is emphasized.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre/Co-Req: GD II.

• FA-310B

  Data Science and Design Projects for Social Good

  The complex relationship between word and image is explored. The study of semiotics, emphasizing the philosophy of communication, provides a rich historical and intellectual base for experimental projects combining verbal and pictorial information. Weekly projects reflect a broad range of disciplines within the field of design. Computer instruction will be provided as it relates to specific projects.

  Spring 2024. 3 Credits. Pre-Req: GD II; Pre/Co-Req*: Typography *This class can be taken with Typography simultaneously.

• FA-315A-1

  Type Design II

  This course offers the next step in a typeface design curriculum. While it assumes a basic understanding, we will start with a software introduction and a quick theory refresher. The term's two assignments complement each other in each addressing one side of the artists brain and exercising creative expression as well as practicing industry standard craftsmanship: 1) Within a self-defined set of creative parameters we will design a group of serialized shapes, similar enough to be recognized as belonging to the same set but diverse enough to be easily distinguishable. 2) A classic font revival project will provide the perfect environment to develop a keen typographic eye as well as train drafting, spacing and kerning skills.

  Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre-Req: GD II and Pre/Co-Req: Typography I.

• FA-315A, FA-315B

  Advanced Design

  Fall 2023 Semester: FA-315A Advanced Design: Type Design

  This course will establish a fundamental understanding of how typefaces work, both technically and aesthetically, and provide experience in the techniques used to create them. After a basic introduction to the design space shaped by the different kinds of contrast and construction the students will acquire manual drawing skills and the digital drafting techniques which will lead them to their own, original design. The class will focus on developing a concept into a structurally sound typeface. This practical in-depth project will help develop an analytical grasp of the design space.

  Spring 2024 Semester:

  FA-315B-1 Advanced Design: Product Design

  In this course, students will learn how to critically conceptualize, develop, and iterate on interactive web-based products. Through a mix of lectures and tutorials, we will explore the web as a creative medium, and investigate past and present efforts that expand on and challenge the product design process. Projects will be guided by comprehensive research, wire-framing, and developing an interactive system using both prototyping software and basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. No prior coding experience is required.

  FA-315B-2 Advanced Design: Ethics in Design

  3 credits. Pre-Req: Graphic Design II, Pre/Co-Req: Typography.

• FA-317A

  Advanced Design: Open Studio: Frank Stanton Chair

  Students will develop a series of personal and unconventional narratives through writing prompts and mix-media studio exercises. The goal is to expand methods and visual techniques when designing or expressing an idea/story. Emphasis will be placed on contemporary graphic design/art practices and developing a personal voice and aesthetic. Visiting lecturers, readings, and individual meetings with the instructor will complement group critiques.

  Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre-Req: GD II and Pre/Co-Req: Typography I.

• FA-317B

  Advanced Design: Open Studio

  Through a series of open-ended prompts, this class will give students an opportunity to conduct investigations of their own choosing. We will look at the wide range of methods used in contemporary design practice and investigate ways they can be used to generate your own work. Projects include expanding on a past project, accumulating a series of daily acts of design, and creating a format to house contributions solicited from classmates. We will discuss a variety of techniques for creating self-generated work and how projects can be presented and circulated. Students will be required to share their explorations in carefully designed and clearly articulated presentations. Visiting lectures, videos, and readings will complement group critiques and one-on-one meetings.

  Spring 2024. 3 Credits. Pre-Req: GD II and Pre/Co-Req: Typography

• FA-320

  Visual ID Design

  Issues unique to creating a coherent, yet diverse visual system will be analyzed and applied in a variety of contexts. Concepts and methods for integrating symbols, images, words and objects will be explored.

  Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre-Req: GD II and Pre/Co- Req: Typography I.

• FA-328

  Motion Graphics

  Students will explore the conceptual and technical challenges of design for the television screen. All aspects of industry video/ broadcast production are introduced and integrated into a design core focused on strong communication. Projects include identity design, combining kinetic typography, animation, sound and video. The course includes workshops in After Effects, Final Cut Pro and Protools.

  Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre-Req: GD II and Pre/Co-Req: Typography I.

• FA-429A, FA-429B

  Independent Study in Graphic Design

  1-3 credits. Requires approval of instructor and the Dean of the School of Art

Painting

• FA-130A, FA-130B

  Painting I, Painting II

  A studio experience with the physical, compositional and conceptual components of pictorial invention and image-making. Readings, assignments and critiques will enhance the development and articulation of an inventive individual approach to the painting discipline in preparation for advanced level work.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre-Req: FA-130A is a pre-req for FA-130B.

• FA-331A

  Advanced Painting

  This course will work with students in individual and group settings to discuss their work and personal development as an artist, as well as engage students with relevant practical, historical and contemporary discussions around painting. Discussions, critical feedback, suggestions, and prescriptions given to students are sounding boards and/or opportunities for students to further locate their practice and voice as an artist. Students will rely more on their individual studio spaces as sites from creation, research, presentations and meetings with faculty and visitors. In this way, the course might reflect the professional space of the artist studio. Debate around ideas, process and material should be expected as well as respect for each student's personal journey. Lectures, field trips and the presentation of various media and demonstrations can be expected.

  Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre-Req: FA-130 A & B.

• FA-332A, FA-332B

  Advanced Painting

  For students who wish to have their work critiqued primarily on an individual basis. High motivation and dedication are of primary concern. There will be occasional group critiques.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre-Req: FA-130 A & B.

• FA-335B

  Advanced Painting

  A course for students who have the ability to work independently in their studios with a primary focus in painting. Students will be expected to develop their ideas and work independently, but the class will meet together every week or two for discussion of each other's work, as well as various museum and gallery shows, readings or slide presentations of current work. The course will emphasize experimentation and expansion of one's visual language and process, and the ability to articulate these ideas in discussion.

  Spring 2024. Pre-Req: FA-130 A & B

  Credits: 3.00

• FA-336A

  Advanced Painting: Alex Katz Chair

  In this seminar, students will express the social, intellectual, and psychological undercurrents of their work, articulating their long-term studio practice goals. Students will be expected to explain the historical and cultural context from which their work emerges. Students will cultivate awareness for what an audience might take away from their work.

  We will discuss the distinctions between studio practice and social practice, striving to create an artistic discourse that is authentic, earnest, and persuasive. Students are encouraged to engage with hybrid genres, such as the intersection of contemporary art and music. Students will emerge from this course with a confidence to make the work that compels them, to take possession of their ideas, and to follow their obsessions. By the courses end, they will have gained a fluency in articulating their visions and will be able to navigate the art world with self-assurance and grit.

  Fall 2023. 3 Credits. Pre-Req: FA-130 A & B.

• FA-337B

  Advanced Painting

  This course will​ support students’ individually determined painting projects with emphasis on building sustainable studio practices and generating research strategies. We will focus on personal artistic tool-building, through visual theory and material processes, considering each artist’s studio as an adaptive instrument for experimentation. Individual and Group critiques will dictate the assignment of readings, projects, and exhibition visits.

  Spring 2024. Pre-Req: FA-130 A & B

  Credits: 3.00

• FA-339A, FA-339B

  Advanced Painting: Katz Guest Artist Series

  This course is for students who have made a strong commitment to painting. Students are expected to work independently in their studios on a series of paintings that will develop during the semester.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre-Req: FA-130 A & B.

• FA-439A, FA- 339B

  Independent Study in Painting

  1-3 credits. Requires approval of instructor and the Dean of the School of Art.

Performance

• FA-290

  Performance I

  This course is an introductory course to performance based track. This is an immersive course in the foundations for practice in performance. Through a wide range of methods and specific techniques this course focuses on a critical engagement with concepts such as time, movement as a language, voice and vocalization, script and score, narrative, event, audience, live experience, duration, body as a tool, interaction, context, documentation. The course will address varied approaches within the field, as well as their historical and current manifestations through lectures and attending performances. Exposure to critical theory and major philosophical arguments central to performance-based practices will be explored, along with development of individual and collaborative studio work. The class aims at giving the student techniques, language, and a range of positions for developing art based performance work. This is an assignment driven class.

  Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• FA-395B

  Advanced Performance

  Advanced classes aim to deepen the practice of the student technically as well as conceptually, while bringing up current debates and questions in performance. Advanced Performance classes are offered according to themes devised by each individual instructor. Students are encouraged to develop semiautonomous ways of working over the course of the semester, this includes supervised, independent or collaborative projects. This course will afford students the opportunity to build a coherent body of work.

  Spring 2024. 3 credits.

Photography

• FA-206

  Lens/Screen/Print I

  LSP I Lens/Screen/Print I is the first section of a two-semester trajectory. This is an immersive foundation course in the practice of photography focusing on a critical engagement with lens technology, color theory/management and combined analog/digital workflows. Topics include: exploratory and technical knowledge of 35mm and medium-format analog cameras, DSLR cameras, lenses and lighting conditions, fluid movement through digital black-and-white and color processes, such as digital imaging editing software, scanning analog color, and digital printing in black-and-white and color. Exposure to critical theory and major philosophical arguments central to lens, screen and print based practices will be explored. This is an assignment driven class.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• FA-207

  Lens/Screen/Print II

  Lens/Screen/Print II is the second half of a two-semester trajectory. This course builds upon the foundations of LSP I with an emphasis on post-production and a critical engagement with lens technology, color theory/management and combined analog/digital workflows. Technical knowledge of the tensions and possibilities found between "digital" and "analog" spaces in relation to critical theory and major philosophical arguments central to lens, screen and print based practices will contribute to student development. Topics include advanced digital editing and printing techniques, analog black-and-white production methods, such as shooting with black-and-white film and darkroom printing, advanced medium-format cameras and scanners, as well as introduction to new technologies and modes of display. A distinction in LSP II is a focus on experimentation, articulation and acumen. Students are encouraged to begin to develop semi-autonomous ways of working over the course of the semester, this includes supervised independent or collaborative projects. This course will afford students the opportunity to build a coherent body of work in preparation for advanced study.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 Credits. Pre-Req: L/S/P I or Photo I.

• FA-361A

  Photography and Ecology

  What kind of photographic practice is needed or valid in a time of extreme ecological crisis? Do catastrophic events demand catastrophic responses? How can one work sustainably with photographic materials, taking into account its entangles histories of extraction and present effects? What does it mean to image the world ecologically? How are the working conditions of the artist affected acknowledging practice as part of an interdependent system? This studio class will approach photography from an ecological perspective, addressing questions such as material histories, photographic apparatuses, labor conditions, data flows, perspectives of scale, and naming. Through critiques, discussion, readings, screenings, and invited guests, this studio course will ask questions on photography and ecology. Throughout the semester, we will develop a lexicon of terms and build a shared archive of references to address these questions.

  Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre/Co-Req: L/S/P II; or Photo I.

• FA-361B

  Advanced Photography

  This course will concentrate on subject matter, methodology, size, scale, genre, style, theory and history of photography. The orientation will be the development of projects, from the inception of ideas to professional presentation and execution of artistic work with an emphasis on making large negatives and/or producing large prints. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the full range of image-making resources available to aid in the creation of works that challenge perceptions. Various options of cameras and large scale analog and digital printing will be explored.

  Spring 2024. 3 credits. Pre-Req L/S/P I and Pre/Co-Req: L/S/P II

• FA-362B

  Advanced Photography: Lighting

  This critique-based studio course explores the use of light on location in photography. Topics explored by this course will include the use and modification of available light as well as the use of portable light sources such as flash (both single and multiple), portable battery powered strobes, remote light triggers and other tools.

  The emphasis of this course will be on using lighting techniques outside the studio in order to gain an understanding of how light effects the way we interpret our world.

  Spring 2024. 3 credits. Pre-Req L/S/P I and Pre/Co-Req*: L/S/P II *This class can be taken with L/S/P II simultaneously.

• FA-366

  Advanced Photography: Alternate Processes

  This course breaks down barriers between digital and analog photography, transforming meaning and content through various forms of manipulation. Its fast-paced, hands-on demos include hand-applied photographic emulsions (such as cyanotype, Van Dyke, palladium, and liquid light) and digital printing/transferring options (beyond emulating the traditional print, on surfaces such as paper, wood, metal, fabric, etc.). The production of large-format analog and digital negatives will also be explored. Adjustments for remote teaching include live-streamed and pre-recorded demos of processes as well as presentations focusing on contemporary and historical uses of processes. Students unable to work on campus will be provided supplies for “safe-for-home” processes so they may work concurrently with what is available in the lab. These include Anthotypes, Cyanotypes, Lumen printing, Chlorophyll printing, building capture devices, Wondersauce inkjet transfers (non-toxic), and gel-medium transfers.

  Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre-Req: L/S/P II, or Photo I.

• FA-368A, FA-368B

  Photography: Henry Wolf Chair

  Fall 2023: This is a project-based seminar which focuses on photography as a discursive practice. We will examine specific questions relevant to photography now (regarding the relation between politics and aesthetics, mediums and mobility, how images can function to both approximate and deny a sense of ‘reality’...) and discuss these issues in relation to each students’ studio objectives. The format of the class will integrate slide presentations, readings, group discussion and critique. Towards the end of semester, students will develop individual proposals and complete a final project. Although there will be an emphasis on strategies and critical theory related to lens-based media, these ideas can be mined to inspire a wide range of practice. Students with different priorities can thrive in this class— from artists who focus on photography to artists who work across different media.

  Spring 2024: This course is intended to help students clarify and further the growth of their own work through group and individual critiques, classroom presentations and discussions with contemporary guest artists and the instructor.

  Fall 2023. 3 credits. Pre/Co-Req: L/S/P II; or Photo I.

• FA-469A, FA-469B

  Independent Study in Photography

  1-3 credits. Requires approval of instructor and the Dean of the School of Art.

Printmaking

• FA-250

  Screen Printing

  This introductory course covers all aspects of contemporary Screen printing as a photomechanical stencil printing method. In a series of demonstrations, lectures and projects, students will become familiar with stencil making, color separation, printing, color mixing and image registration with the goal of building a broad knowledge of Screen printing. Methods for producing images by hand and by computer output are both addressed. Attention will be paid to the use of Screen printing within fine art, design and popular culture spheres as a way of discussing the history and current use of the process.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• FA-251

  Lithography

  This is a comprehensive course covering the full range of lithographic techniques. Instruction begins with hand working processes on lithographic stones and progresses through to contemporary approaches of digital image preparation for output to photographic printing plates. A series of projects and critiques are targeted to develop command of the material process and place the use of Lithography in contemporary visual practice.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• FA-252

  Etching

  This course is an introduction to the process of etching and printing from metal plates. Topics covered are the full range of platemaking techniques, from traditional wax grounds to contemporary photographic grounds, and printing techniques, including chine-collé, multi-plate color work and surface rolling. Lectures and critiques will place the practice of Etching in historical and contemporary context.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• FA-253

  Paper: Materiality and Sustainability

  This studio course explores making paper from traditional to contemporary approaches. The course incorporates specified instruction and experimentation driven by student independent projects. The exploration of the structural and historical uses of Western and Eastern methods including contemporary issues of recycled and alternative fibers will frame an understanding of the potential uses and appearances of handmade paper. From a basis in sheet forming, pigmenting, sizing, and the use of additives, the class will move into an emphasis on paper as a visual and sculptural object, covering paper casting and other three-dimensional approaches.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• FA-354A, FA-354B

  Experimental Printmaking

  This course is focused on advanced studies across all forms of print media toward the development of individual student work. Instruction will build on the introductory level courses, covering color separations, extended techniques, experimental approaches, and additional print media forms. Student development will be driven by individual meetings and a series of group critiques.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 Credits. Pre-Req: 2 Printmaking Classes (Etching, Lithography, Relief, Paper: Materiality and Sustainability, or Screen Printing)

• FA-355A, FA-355B

  Relief

  This course provides an introduction to Relief printing techniques. Projects will cover hand carving wood and alternative surfaces, with specific attention to the Japanese water-based woodblock tradition and the western oil-based tradition. Instruction will cover printing by hand, as well as printing on Etching presses, hydraulic presses and Letterpresses.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• FA-459A, FA-459B

  Independent Study in Printmaking

  1-3 credits. Requires approval of instructor and the Dean of the School of Art.

Projects

• FA-384A-1

  Projects: Draft Notation

  In this class, we will develop shared systems of notation and models from which to construct and analyze individual student research and practice. The course is designed for students who intend to initiate or develop a semester long (or beyond) art project. Students are expected to present their work-in progress several times each semester, to research the works of other artists, writers, and thinkers, and to participate actively in class discussions. Class meetings will alternate between in-class presentations and discussion, and one on one meetings with the professor.

  Draft Notation is a drawn system used to construct and analyze woven fabric. Used and written about extensively by Bauhaus master weaver Anni Albers, it uses a specialized, straightforward drafting technique to understand complex weaves. As Albers wrote: Whenever the piece of cloth that is the subject of analysis can be cut, this process of tracing the course of each thread—usually with the help of a long needle—is greatly simplified. For, by cutting along a filling thread, for instance, the path of the thread can be seen in cross section when looked at from above, and the following filling threads can be lifted out one by one, giving a chance for easier observation of the thread’s intersections than when seen on the face of the fabric only.

  Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• FA-384A-2

  Projects: Exhibition: Design and Practice

  This practical studio course will design and produce exhibitions. We will explore critical theory and histories only to the extent that they enable this practice. The function and habits of the contemporary museum and its supporting partner, the commercial gallery, are under tremendous critical and social pressure. Vital interventions by artists into the appearance and function of these institutions have proved to be explosively important to what art can and could do. The course proposes that architectural space, catalogs, signage, and archives are opportunities for the public presentation of artistic invention. Students will be encouraged to approach public display beyond the containment of single practices, authors, or disciplines. Transfigured by formal arrangement, the conditions of an exhibition's ability to address consciousness, community, education, and social reality will be our subject. Students will use the exhibition spaces, archives, and histories of the Cooper Union as well as sites and contexts beyond campus, when possible.

  Fall 2023. 3 Credits. Pre-Req: Juniors/Seniors.

• FA-384A-3

  Projects: Point and Line (Presence and Place)

  The course will collapse the material properties of artworks with our ways of perceiving Now. It will be structured around lectures and student’s work. Cultural and global ways of understanding will be foregrounded with specificity, as in for example, the study of the necessity of Frédéric Bruly Bouabré to create a new language to maintain traditions in the face of colonial administration. The enormous abys between place and understanding will be studied as a generative space of thought and work. To have a sense of the density of specific practices will be a constant in the class. Student work, which can be in any media, will be discussed in extended group critiques.

  Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• FA-384B-2

  Projects: Open Studio

  This course proposes a shared context to pursue each individual participant's ongoing art or design studio practice in any area, media or method. Students are expected to be able to present their work-in-progress consistently, to help research the works of other students in the class, and to participate actively in class discussions.

  Spring 2024. Pre-Req: Juniors/Seniors

  Credits: 3.00

• FA-384B-3

  Projects: Textual Differences

  What does it mean to make a work in the space of a sentence, paragraph, or passage? How might a work embody a sculptural syntax? What are citational objects? How might we understand the choreography of objects in space? And what does the score and/or script of the choreography of objects look like (literally and visually)? In this course, we will produce new works that merge the forms, materials, and concerns of both art and writing. Many of the artists that we will look at have a writing practice that lives alongside their artistic practice but may not look at the texts they create as writing. And some of the artists that we will engage with will treat text, language, and grammar as form and material. This course will employ pedagogic methodologies that facilitate reflexive and collective learning, workshopping, and critique within a supportive peer context. In this course we will not be crafting artist statements, instead, the course is a space to formulate new ways of working with, and through writing, language and grammar. Students will be asked to complete two expansive projects and three exercises. Additionally, there will be weekly reading responses that we will discuss in class.

  Spring 2024. Pre-Req: Juniors/ Seniors

  Credits: 3.00

Science

• RS-201-D

  Science: Genomes & Society

  The advent of genome sequencing has led to an incredible wave of advances in biology, changing how scientists think about health, history, and who we are. Now, with the recent development of cheap and effective gene editing technologies like CRISPR-Cas, the biological sciences stand at the precipice of another sea-change that is likely to impact fields as diverse as medicine and conservation. What does this mean – not just for science but also for society at large? This class will survey the current science of genomics, focusing on important topics that directly impact students’ lives. At the same time, we will place this scientific knowledge into relevant historical and social context and train students to apply an ethical and informed approach to their own study of science that not only values knowledge generation, but also considers who might be impacted by their work and how.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• RS-201-G

  Science: Astronomy

  The course starts with how to measure things, such as units of time, length and mass. We introduce the celestial sphere, which will help us to understand such things as days as measured by the Sun and by a star. This will also help to understand seasons. We then introduce a short history of western astronomy. We look at the universe, starting at home (Earth and Moon) and move out---solar system (Sun and planets), stars, galaxies and cosmos. Along the way, we look at how we look (light and telescopes), and how we measure things (distance, brightness and color).

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• RS-201-I

  Science: Conceptual Physics

  Science: Conceptual Physics. The course will take an approach that emphasizes how scientists hold their views on how the world works. It will be a combination of history, astronomy and physics, with an emphasis on the classical physics of Newton and his followers. It will also touch on more modern developments, such as relativity and quantum mechanics, which help explain events ranging from sub-atomic scales up to black holes.

  Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• RS-201-J

  Science: Intro to Environmental Science

  Environmental science is the study of Earth’s environment and the complex relationships between the solid Earth, its air and water, and the living organisms inhabiting the planet. This introductory course will focus on the core concepts in environmental science and the most important issues that scientists and environmentalists deal with today. Drawing on many disciplines, including geology, chemistry, ecology, geography, economics, pubic health and others, the course will explore the scientific principles, concepts, applications and methodologies required to understand the complicated interrelations of the natural world. It will identify and discuss environmental problems, natural and human-made, evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems and examine alternative solutions.

  Spring 2024. 3 Credits.

Sculpture

• FA-391A, FA-391B

  Sculpture: Craft and Concept

  This course will emphasize a balance between craft and concept in making creative acts that produce physical interventions in the world. We will work closely with the 4th floor Shop facilities to explore how a combination of woodworking, metalworking, casting, as well as other fabrication methods (plastics, sewing, new technologies, etc.) can facilitate and expedite each student’s conceptual vision. We will also examine the history of Sculpture, reviewing artists and artworks that have pushed the definition of sculpture to what we know of it today. With the goal of synthesizing a holistic praxis for each participant, this class will be a place where via learning by doing, the student can advance and feel empowered through learning techniques that will improve and assist their practice.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• FA-392A, FA-392B

  Sculpture: Retroactive Reasoning

  This course takes a concrete approach to the development of critical discourse about works of art. It exercises the student's ability to analyze the activity of making sculpture in particular and advances the student's understanding of how to proceed in the studio. Problems of structure, materials, meaning, intention, and context are the subject of class discussion.

  Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• FA-393A-1, FA-393B-1

  Sculpture

  This is a mult/inter/trans/cross-disciplinary sculpture class that places an emphasis on building recognition and implementation of personal vocabularies through humor, generosity, rigor, and courage. Conceptual prompts invite students to realize their three independent projects over the course of the semester, while engaging in generative critique, class discussions, and individual studio visits. The course will encourage expansive thinking around the environmental, historical, social, material, and conceptual, inspiring students to consider resonant interpretations and possibilities within their choices and actions. The aim of the class is to deepen cognizance for how and why we make, perceive, interpret, and place work in the world.

  Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• FA-393A-2, FA-393B-2

  Sculpture

  This is a sculpture studio course. While all media are welcome, we will approach the course with sculptural concerns. The theme of the class is Narrative and Sculpture with a focus on Relationships to Systems. This class is loosely defining a system as a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole.

  Students are encouraged to present multiple works, re-works, or one evolving investigation throughout the course. Critiques will focus on how projects perform in their current stage, with an emphasis on experimentation, play, and discovery as essential components of the creative process. Students are expected to engage in-depth as makers and viewers equally in this collective space.

  In addition to class discussions and critiques, we will visit relevant exhibitions and participate in individual studio visits.

  Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• FA-394A, FA-394B

  Sculpture

  This is a sculpture studio course. While all media are welcome, we will approach the course with sculptural concerns. The theme of the class is Narrative and Sculpture with a focus on Relationships to Systems. This class is loosely defining a system as a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. The class is broken into three ways of exploring this theme: Artists intervening within existing systems; Artists reinventing or creating their own systems; Artists displacing or circulating material from one system to another. Together we will look at examples of artists practice which fall within these themes, visit related exhibitions, and host visiting artists. Throughout the class, students will make their own works or projects with these themes in mind.

  Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• FA-397A, FA-397B

  Sculpture

  To the question, "does this world need another work of art?" Most of the time the answer will be “no”. In this note, this class will focus on context responsive, site specific practice of art and sculpture, from public space art interventions to museum and gallery context. Our practice will try to identify what is that we do and who/what/where do we do it for. Is it an existing cultural or environmental issue that its trying to address or is it directed to an art market audience? Who do we want to reach, and how do we do it, what material language do we use for it, and why.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023.

  Credits: 3.00

• FA-398A-1

  Sculpture

  This is a sculpture studio course. While all media are welcome, we will approach the course with sculptural concerns. The theme of the class is Narrative and Sculpture with a focus on Relationships to Systems. This class is loosely defining a system as a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. The class is broken into three ways of exploring this theme: Artists intervening within existing systems; Artists reinventing or creating their own systems; Artists displacing or circulating material from one system to another. Together we will look at examples of artists practice which fall within these themes, visit related exhibitions, and host visiting artists. Throughout the class, students will make their own works or projects with these themes in mind.

  Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• FA-398A-2

  Sculpture

  This course will explore intuition and personal reasoning as research toward the production of sculptural projects. It will consist of several prompts posed to students as catalysts for making multi-dimensional artworks. The prompts will be sourced from key theoretical texts, yet initially presented to students with no explanation or historicization. Students will make their works responding to these fragmented topics, drawing most importantly from their own conjectures and interpretations. Prior to each session of critique students will be presented with the theoretical texts that the prompt references. During critique, what will be realized is the relevance of one's own position, elucidated relationships between discourse and media, and the expansiveness of contemporary sculpture.

  Fall 2023. 3 Credits.

• FA-398B-1

  Sculpture

  This course takes a concrete approach to the development of critical discourse about works of art. It exercises the student's ability to analyze the activity of making sculpture in particular and advances the student's understanding of how to proceed in the studio. Problems of structure, materials, meaning, intention, and context are the subject of class discussion.

  Spring 2024. 3 Credits.

• FA-499A, FA-499B

  Independent Study in Sculpture

  1-3 credits. Requires approval of instructor and the Dean of the School of Art.

• TE-390

  Casting Techniques

  Casting Techniques is a process intensive course covering the methods of translating a wax positive into bronze or other non-ferrous metals. All associated techniques from beginning a plaster or rubber mold to casting, chasing, finishing and patination of metal sculptures will be covered. Students will explore a variety of approaches to casting, as well as engage in discussions involving the history of bronze casting, and its place in contemporary art.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 2 Credits. One-semester course. May not be repeated. Free elective credit.

Sound Art

• FA-281

  Project in Sound Art

  This class will introduce strategies for understanding and participating in the aural world. The course is divided into specific weekly topics including acoustic ecology, radio transmission, and others. Screenings, readings, and discussion are supported by hands-on workshops in capturing, manipulating, and reproducing sound in unconventional ways. Grading is based on student projects and participation in class discussions.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 Credits. May not be repeated.

Practicum

• FA-301

  Teaching as Collaborative Social Practice

  As a practicum, this course invites students to actively explore the evolving role of the artist engaged in teaching as an art practice. The aim is to support the undergraduate who is currently teaching or who has an interest in teaching in The Saturday Program. In this course, we will explore questions such as: What is [un]learning? What constitutes community? To what extent is teaching an art practice? To what extent is art itself, pedagogical? How is knowledge produced through art? How does art and art-making prompt us to build ecosystems between these emergent bits of knowledge? Introductions to an interdisciplinary set of readings, artists, collectives and institutions that hold varied approaches to the notion of community, learning, social discourse and positionality will also be essential to the class. This course is not designed as an overview or survey. This class is designed as an opportunity for collective inquiry and play. Weekly sessions will include short lectures, collaborative activities, and discussions.

  Spring 2024, Fall 2023. 3 Credits.