Art Studio

This course considers the various ways in which actions, processes and materials can shape a painting practice. It covers a range of painterly actions and a self-generated list of ‘paint-related’ verbs (to roll, to smudge, to scrape). A broad range of traditional, modern and expanded paint properties and mediums will be considered.

This course is designed for beginners or students with a basic understanding of Chinese painting. The focus of the course is traditional Chinese landscape (Shanshui) painting, with a particular emphasis on classical works from the Song dynasty onwards. Following the tradition of “learning from ancient masters and observing nature,” the course primarily involves the practice of copying (i.e., ‘emulating’ linmo) classic paintings. Additionally, we will introduce and analyze the relevant theories and aesthetic principles behind these works. Through systematic explanations and practical exercises, the aim is to help students understand the materials and media used in Chinese painting and grasp the basic techniques and compositional principles of renowned landscape paintings, such as those found in the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting or other classics. Through creative practice, students will experience the “interconnectedness of brush, ink, wrist, and mind,” thus gaining initial insights into the fundamental practices of Chinese painting and the core aesthetic principles of landscape painting and its techniques. Ultimately, this course aims to enhance students’ artistic cultivation and aesthetic appreciation of Chinese painting.

This is an advanced level photography course for students with prior experience. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. Lessons focus on individual or group design and implementation of a project using casting processes and techniques in the laboratory under the instructor's supervision. Furthermore, the course includes hours and lessons dedicated to ongoing discussion and review of projects throughout the various stages of development, right up until the final exam. This course is offered during the spring semester. 

This is an advanced level art studio course for students with prior experience. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. Learn the technique to create bronze sculptures using lost-wax casting, pressure casting, cuttlebone casting, flask casting, centrifugal casting, casting in porcelain-based molds and chemical agglutinates.  

Course contents: Using and knowing tools, materials, and techniques; learning about the following materials: plaster and scagliola, modeling clay, gelatin, synthetic silicone rubbers, waxes, foundry sands, nails or pins, metal rods, irons, burners, etc.; molding techniques: piece molds, gelatin molds, synthetic rubber molds, lost molds, etc.; reproducing wax models, retouching, arranging channels (pouring and vents), creating molds with refractory earth mixtures (core and external shells), firing molds in electric and gas furnaces, etc.; degree of metal fusion, composition, characteristics, and behavior; types of furnaces used for casting: reverberatory, crucible, electric, etc.; different procedures for pouring molten metal (with crucible, with ladle, etc.); analysis of defects and methods for finishing castings: sandblasting, chasing, gilding, patination, etc.; historical and cultural references to past casting processes.  

Lessons involve individual or group design and realization of a project through foundry techniques under the supervision of the instructor. In addition, the course includes hours dedicated to the discussion and review of projects, until the final exam. The exam is an evaluation of the project and of the theoretical knowledge acquired by the student. To pass the exam, students must attend regularly, complete the project, and submit a final report with pictures illustrating the work phases, content, and stylistic choices. 

This is course that runs for the entire year. Part B, offered during the spring semester, is worth 6 quarter units. 

This is an advanced level art studio course for students with prior experience. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. Students work on their own painting projects, guided by the professor. Some theory lessons are also provided. This course is offered during the spring semester. 

Through multimedia and practical classes, this course guides students to travel across the history of fashion editorials through the lenses of photography and film, learning to create in any media format, from print to digital. Students are encouraged to express their creativity in any desired industry, whether it is connected to fashion, food, art or any other idea brought by experiencing Paris. Special visits and exhibitions throughout the city provide an inspiring backdrop for students to produce artful projects. By the end of the course students have a deep knowledge of the main image creators, as well as the ability to develop their first still and moving images with accessible everyday tools. From designing a mood board to producing digital content, students accurately achieve innovative storytelling. This course requires no prior experience in media, fashion, or branding—just an interest in media and the creative world of editorials.

This is an advanced level photography course for students with prior experience. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. In the initial phase, students gather study materials through the reading of texts dedicated to a specific topic, sources, and archival materials; and develop awareness of the collected content in relation to the contemporary history of photography and the languages of art in their multiple cultural and professional directions. In the intermediate phase, students attend field trips and site inspections (returning to places as an essential artistic practice for training one’s gaze) planning photographic shoots and organizing the work in the form of written‑photographic notes arranged in mock‑ups, study notebooks, and slide projections. Final reworking of the content on a medium chosen by each student: the creation of a photographic book, both technically and conceptually; the construction of a photographic diary as a personal biography developed within a specific space/time. The relationship between photographic images and the exhibition space  (whether printed, digital, or spatial/environmental: magazines, publishing, web, galleries, museums, public and private institutions) are a constant subject of analysis, comparison, and dialogue with students throughout the course. 

Teaching methods: Starting from historical examples of interpreting the territory through the practice of traversing the city, within and along its margins, the lessons alternate between theoretical sessions on and around the history of photography (and the history of the arts more broadly) and short excursions into the surrounding area to work hands‑on with materials specific to the photographic medium, always in dialogue with other expressive media. 

This course is offered during the spring semester.

This is an advanced level art studio course for students with prior experience. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. Students work with the professor to create pieces reflective of their styles using the techniques and methodologies of soft and hard ground printmaking. Students learn different techniques including drypoint and aquaforte. 

Course contents: Printmaking techniques including drypoint, softground, and aquaforte. Students are provided with the fundamental knowledge and teaching methodologies necessary for the development of artistic research and individual production across the entire field of printmaking: mark‑making, drawing, and fine‑art printing. Students begin their training in the correct and conscious use of techniques through hands‑on practice and, by means of an analytical approach, learn to identify the supports, materials, and tools required to explore the expressive potential specific to each medium. Particular attention is devoted to understanding the characteristics of the mark inherent to each technique, both tonal and linear. In addition, the foundations are laid for the historical and methodological understanding of graphic processes and fine‑art printing, and students are provided with the critical tools necessary to acquire skills related to expressive languages. The educational path aims to develop the ability to internalize the mark (Feeling–Knowing) through an inductive process based on observation and direct experience—spaces in which thought and ideas take shape. Students are guided toward the creation of works through the knowledge acquired, using investigations and hypotheses that are not random but the result of rigorous and tested methodologies. Continuous emphasis is placed on cultivating care for shared workspaces and the conscientious use of materials, thereby establishing good practices for managing the Printmaking Laboratory. 

Teaching Methods: Laboratory activities (maximum punctuality in respecting class schedules is required); Theoretical lessons on the various techniques and materials; Exercises aimed at developing awareness of mark‑making, to be practiced independently and consistently; Study of significant works by artists (through field trips or consultation of books and other documentary materials).  

This is course that runs for the entire year. Part B, offered during the spring semester, is worth 6 quarter units. 

This is a creative practice course focused on photography and broader lens-based practices. It aims to combine fine art, media and communication design and creative industries best practices, offering hands on experience and insight into a number of creative models.

This is an advanced level art studio course for students with prior experience. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. Students choose a topic combining sustainability and marine biology. They then turn that topic into an educational children’s book. The focus isn't traditional scientific illlustration looking for hyper realism, but progressing students’ styles and helping shape them to fit book illustrations. Students mostly do their sketches outside of class and are expected to do the painting in class. 

The teaching program is based on an individual editorial project involving texts for children and adults, magazines, brochures, informational flyers, etc., taking into account the intended target audience. Telling science means sparking curiosity and fun. The scientific topic to be communicated involves hands-on design work through drawing, the creation of plates using graphic techniques, and digital work for the layout of the chosen project. The course includes workshops on materials, e.g., watercolors and next-generation markers. The course encourages the illustration of stories to communicate science. Lectures involve active participation in workshops held in the classroom, experimenting with different techniques for each student. The work is eventually printed; For this reason, text analysis and computer use are required. 

This course is offered during the spring semester.