Art & the History of Art 303 - Fruitful Conspiracies

Drawing and sculpture have, for millennia, occasionally joined forces to create objects that rely equally on the worlds of illusion and literal three-dimensional form and its shadows.  This combination of seemingly contradictory phenomena often begets artworks both mysterious and magical because of their refusals to fit neatly into either discipline. The world of relief sculptures has a long history, and the world of tactile drawings that step out into a three-dimensional field is a burgeoning one. In this course we look at the historical lineage of relief sculpture, and at ways in which drawing has become increasingly physical and object-like in the past century.  We will then move into studio work, allowing for experimentation in a wide variety of materials, subjects, and processes, as well as in the incorporation of color.  Over the semester, each student will produce a series of related artworks that focus on merging thing and illusion.  This studio work will be supplemented with a mix of pertinent artist talks, museum visits, readings, and field trips.

Requisite: One of the following three studio courses--ARHA 111, 102, 214, or permission of the instructor. Limited to 8 students. Fall semester. Professor Keller.