Visual Studies at Tyler

Continuing Reading- Richard Serra and Land Art

2011-11-26T17:52:00.000-08:00

If you liked the Tilted Arc lesson in class, you might like to read this:
http://dailyserving.com/2011/09/recovering-site-and-mind-richard-serra’s-sequence-arrives-at-stanford/
a perspective on moving Mr. Serra's work and how it can adopt the site and bring new experience to viewers.

Check out Allison Schulnik

2011-11-22T19:22:00.000-08:00

http://www.allisonschulnik.com/

This artist is amazing. Check out her video she made for the Grizzly Bear song Ready, Able.

Der Blog

2011-11-19T17:51:00.000-08:00

It seems that most people don't know this blog exists...so I'm making another effort to let everyone know that this place is for everyone!
If a facebook page is more accessible for everyone we should opt for that also. whatever that makes sure that everyone gets the latest update...
In addition, the meeting that took place this noon at the artist palette (cafeteria) was largely unattended.., while I understand that many people have other commitments, it'd really be beneficial if more people attend...as I'd like to know what everyone thinks about this program.
please take a look at the VS programs in other schools in the post below if you have a chance!

VS joint meeting

2011-11-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

Ayo,

I hope everyone read the e-mail from Steven about the joint meeting. In case you haven't been checking your TU email, there will be a joint meeting between the students and faculties for the Visual Studies major. Bring your concerns and comments, or just come to get to know the VS people!!

The meeting is on November 16 from 1 - 2 PMT (possibly a second one on Tuesday 5-6pm as well)
Please RSVP with Steven so that he knows how many people are coming.

* whoever came up with the idea of party hats is a genius

New Visual Studies website

2011-11-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

Steve put up a new visual studies website with all of the info on classes and a q&a section, make sure you check that out.

also we need to figure out when people can attend a visual studies group meeting! please tell us what times youre available.

http://www.berk-edu.com/VisualStudies/index.html

^^^^heres the link

thanks,

stephanie

Visual and Critical Studies at other schools

2011-10-29T12:44:00.000-07:00

Here is the visual and critical studies at School of Visual Art in New York.
It is a similar program that we are in right now. Take a look at the structure of their program and also check out some student work:

downloadable pdf catalogue

website

blog

there's also a link on our class blog.
The other one is the School of Critical Studies at CalArts. The undergraduate program seems to be incorporated into a general required studies of any BFA degree. Here's a brief excerpt from the school's site:

Critical Studies is also responsible for the general BFA education of CalArts students registered in the five other Schools: Art, Dance, Film/Video, Music and Theater. The school comprises 20 core faculty and four staff, and employs at least a dozen Adjunct Faculty annually to teach across its broad curriculum.

CalArts School of Critical Studies

Answers from Steve

2011-10-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

* Q: how are the VS and BFA Programs different?

Concentrations

We are not encouraging concentration in any one single discipline. That is how the BFA program works: Everyone in BFA takes Foundation classes in the first year, then basic Studio classes that are open to all during their second year. After that a BFA student has to select a major and then concentrate on that discipline only. VS is taking a very different approach. We are encouraging our students to work in at least two different mediums to address their artistic concerns from a broader perspective. Then the academic electives are designed to add an even more academic / intellectual/ conceptual approach.

* Q: describe the basic studio philosophies of each academic year
VS Studio Structure

Every Fall you should be taking 2 studio courses and in the Spring you should take 1 studio and 1 Seminar. (The Seminar classes are only taught in the Spring so do not miss one or you may be stuck.)

There are 4 tiers to the Visual Studies curriculum:

The 1st year is the Foundation year, were Foundations classes in Drawing, 3D and Digital Imaging are taught. These skills are applicable to all media taught at Tyler.

The 2nd year is where you pick up all of the basic studio skills that you will need to make work that is meaningful to you. This can include all of the 2000 level VS Concept Studio classes and/or any of the 2000 level BFA classes.

The 3rd year is where the Hybrid Studio classes come into play. These are more open and multi-media than the BFA classes. (Hybrid is just a new word for multi-media.) These classes also strive to include influences from your academic electives as well. The direction here is up to the individual and your specific interests.

The 4th year is the Interdisciplinary Studio classes. These are no longer named by specific discipline but rather by ways of presenting work. e.g. print imaging, photo imaging, etc. and encourage the incorporation of multiple disciplines to realize work that is integrated with and supported by academic research.

* Q: how are the VS Themes used?
VS Theme Structure
There are Themes associated with each year of the VS curriculum. They currently are year 1 = Identity, year 2 = Story/History, year 3 = Place, year 4 = Translation. These follow the basic progression of development of an artist.

First one must figure out who you are and what draws your attention. This is the development of personal Identity. From that you will learn to distill your interests into art projects.

The second level theme, Story/ History, helps you develop the content of your work, the meaning and motivation behind what you do.

The third theme, Place, adds context to the mix by providing an environment for your work. This can be contained within your pieces or can expand to be the literal location of the work as in installation pieces.

The last theme is Translation that is about combining all the elements together to communicate something meaningful to an audience. The only way for anyone to judge the success of their work is to hear how many people get how much from them. Then they can measure that against what they put in and, if there is enough overlap, then the images have established a resonance between artist and viewer. The ultimate goal is communication of your personal vision.

note: these themes may change in the future, as revealed by the needs of the students.

* Q: what is taught in the VS Seminar classes?

Seminar classes will concentrate on what was done in the previous Studio classes, particularly in the preceding Fall and the concurrent studio in the Spring. The Foundation year Seminar classes is about Community Arts and teaches how to interface with the community to make and present projects whose relevance is more broad than the usual gallery experience. The rest follow the Theme for that academic year.

* Q: how can Academic Electives be worked into VS practice?
This is the new unexplored territory of the program. We are looking to the students to discover what topics they are drawn to and then find academic fields of study that will support research to make the artwork they make even more powerful.

The idea that interdisciplinary work in an art school does not have to be only work in the visual arts is intriguing. There is an almost unlimited way that visual and academic studies can be integrated. This potential becomes the real heart of the VS program.

We are also looking to build co-taught classes that will combine students from different schools for interdisciplinary study and collaborative processes. Please let us know if you have any good combinations in mind.

* Q: what BFA Classes can we take, and why?

The 1000 level BFA classes are called the Foundations classes and teach all of the basic visual imagemaking skills that are common to all disciplines. VS has its own Foundations classes.

The 2000 level (Sophomore) BFA Studio classes are the basic introduction to each discipline beyond what is taught in the Foundations classes. These classes are open to all Tyler students including VS. These are the classes that you will have the most access to. After the 2nd year, BFA students are required to select a 'major'. Then they follow the course sequence for that major.

The 3000 and 4000 level classes (Junior and Senior studios) are 'reserved' for majors in each particular area. You can however, sign up for any class with permission of the instructor. To do this you would probably take a 2000 level class with that instructor, develop a working relationship with them, and then ask to be in one of their upper-level cases. You may find however that the VS classes take a broader approach than the BFA classes. It is all a mater of what you want to do.
q: are there any seats 'reserved' in BFA classes for VS students?
we need to make sure we can get into the BFA classes . . . checking . . .

* Q: how many BFA classes can be taken, and when?

There are four semesters in which you can choose between VS or BFA Studio classes;

2 in year 2, 1 in year 3, 1 in year 4.

The choice is up to you and will depend on what disciplines you want to delve into the most. You may find that the VS classes have greater breadth and choose to take all of these 'choice' studios in the VS curriculum.

* Q: What's in the Tyler Areas?
There are 3 Tyler Departments, each containing 3 or 4 Areas. They are listed here by their commonly used acronyms:

GAD printmaking, photo, graphic & interactive design
PDS painting, drawing, sculpture
CRFT ceramics, fibers & materials studies, glass, metal/jewelry/CAD-CAM
These are searchable in the Course Guide under 'Graphic Arts and Design', 'Painting, Drawing & Sculpture', and 'Crafts'. VS courses are searchable under 'Visual Studies' and the old BA Art classes are searchable under 'Art'.

* Q: how is VS different from the old BA Art program?

The old BA Art program was basically a small replica of Tyler created to serve the students on Main Campus. The original intent was to create a program of art for non-art majors. But then we found many people were deciding to change from their original major to become Art Majors. Eventually the department developed into the largest student population of Tyler, home for up to 350 art majors.

When Tyler moved from Elkins Park to Main Campus a couple of years ago this program was deemed redundant. But the administration took advantage of the specialty of the AAE faculty in dealing with people from an academic background and the VS program was born. The basic idea is to create a BA program that has all of the substance of the BFA but with a wider range that incorporates academic and intellectual study through interdisciplinarity.

The actual number of credits in the new BA is similar to that of the old BA but the focus is quite different. And the administration has called the VS program the new future of Tyler. People are waiting anxiously too see what our students can produce.

* Q: what are the opportunities for Study Abroad with VS?

Study Abroad is best done in the Fall semester of the Junior year. The choice between VS or BFA Studio classes may make it easier to do Study Abroad at campuses that have Art classes but not VS classes.

* Q: will Study Abroad count as Language equivalent?
When you study abroad you are typically required to take a language course either before you go or during the semester that you are away.

* Q: will Study Abroad help with any other requirements?
A semester or summer session of study abroad will satisfy the Gen Ed World Society requirement.

* Q: what about the Gen ED Art Requirement?

The BA in Art students are waived the Gen Ed 'Art' requirement.

* Q: how does a Double Major work?
For a double major, the student is based in one school, and then goes to the advisor of the second school and they will 'add you'.

* Q: what if I am currently a BA Art Major and want to switch into the VS Program. How do my credits transfer over?
q: will AAE classes be accepted in VS
AAE 1000 classes as 2000 eg. painting . . . checking . . .

* Q: who do we turn to for Advising?

The Advising Office is well versed in the details of the Visual Studies program. We just had a comprehensive meeting to bring everyone up to date. Faculty members in VS should also have a good idea of what is happening. They will be meeting together at least once a semester to keep everyone fresh.

* Q: how can the VS students keep in touch and stay well informed about the development of the program?

We want the VS students population feel that they are part of a family of people who are engaged in similar pursuit. We need to build a strong community to keep this program coherent.

We are going to schedule regular student meetings so students can discuss their successes and their problems, and talk about their experience. We are thinking of having an initial meeting, probably in the 3rd week of the semester. Then another one before Registration starts that will also serve as an advising meeting. It has been suggested that these meetings even be as frequent as every 3 weeks or so, but we need your feedback on this. At what point does the end of the semester crunch make this more difficult? Do you want to have a meeting with students and faculty all together?

We are also thinking of setting up a Facebook Group as a student forum to exchange info. As long as there are not too many VS Students this should be manageable. What do you think about this?

In addition to those ideas, we are building a new web site that will have class information, answers to these and more questions. It will also contain a compilation of Syllabi, Equipment Lists, and some of the Project Handouts.

And finally:

* Q: what is the vision of the major?

From the Tyler web page:

The Bachelor of Arts in Visual Studies enables students to organize multiple approaches to visual thinking that cut across various disciplines into a logical whole. Students in this major analyze visual communication from a variety of aesthetic, theoretical, scientific, sociological, and historical viewpoints. Students learn to consider medium, its impact on the image and message of a piece, and the work's social and cultural context. The major is comprised of a stimulating blend of studio and academic courses that provide graduates with a sound basis for pursuing graduate study in art history, art theory and criticism, or visual anthropology._ _Students in the Visual Studies program have the curricular flexibility to do a double major in art history, or to pursue other minors or extracurricular activities with greater intensity, as well as to pursue explorations in the theoretical and technical aspects of art making outside the traditional restrictions of the single studio areas.

The BA degree in Visual Studies is ideal for students who want to utilize the resources of a larger university and the excellence of Tyler School of Art's studio traditions in order to build a practice that incorporates multiple methods of studio production. _ _Graduates of the Visual Studies Program are well prepared for careers in traditional areas of artistic culture- as a practicing studio artist, museums and galleries, arts journalism, government agencies, and art organizations-as well as in interior design, retail, marketing, advertising, and other fields that involve crafting lifestyle experiences with visual expertise.

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this email was sent out to everyone but i thought it would be nice to repost it.

Meeting Poll

2011-10-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

The idea of gathering together as a group was brought up today in class.
If everyone is interested in having a meeting, we should vote on when the meeting should be made possible.

please indicate the time you are available in the comment below.
It'd be more fun if more people attend!

Welcome!

2011-10-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

Untitled (“Your gaze hits the side of my face”) - Barbara Kruger, 1981

Hello everyone! As promised, a blog is created for the visual studies community here at Tyler. It is in no way exclusive to the visual studies major, anyone can have access to this blog, for the purpose of greater information sharing. Here you can raise questions, share ideas and events or just start a conversation between the student body. You can do anything, really, and each of us should help each other out. If you would like to become a contributor of this blog (which I strongly encourage, everyone who is interested should participate and help create a more enriching environment) please email me at tuc62483@temple.edu and I will add you to the contributor list. This way you will be able to post without getting permission from the admin. To get an idea of what other communities at Tyler are doing, or what VS major in other schools are like, check out the links on our class blog.

Lastly, since visual studies is a brand new major here at Tyler, we have a lot of liberty to direct the outlook of the course. Feedbacks and ideas are valuable towards shaping a clearer course description. We should really be able to make this major into an enriching experience.