Undergraduate Studio Art Courses

students in classroom working on project

Undergraduate Studio Art Courses

Details below are subject to change. Please confirm all information in the official Course Schedule.
 

Spring 2024 Courses
 

FIRST-YEAR CORE

ART 311C
Core Studio: Drawing

Peter Abrami
MW 8–11

Megan Hildebrandt
MW 2–5

Hayley Austin
TTH 8–11

First-Year Core studio class with an emphasis on techniques of drawing. Focus on line, line weight, continuous line, contour line, sighting, figure, gesture, perspective (two-point, three-point, and isometric/orthogonal drawing), value, color, and texture. Course projects will allow students to envision and understand drawing in a contemporary context.

ART 312C
Core Studio: 2D

Zach Meisner
MW 8–11
TTH 8–11

Rowan Howe
TTH 2–5

First-Year Core studio class with an emphasis on creating planar works and exploring formal principles and conceptual concerns. Course projects will allow students to envision and understand planar works in a contemporary context.

ART 313C
Core Studio: 3D

Erin Cunningham
MW 2–5
TTH 8–11
TTH 2–5

First-Year Core studio class with an emphasis on creating spatial works and exploring formal principles and conceptual concerns. Working with space, time, structure, process, and material. Course projects will allow students to envision and understand spatial work in a contemporary context.

ART 314C
Core Studio: Time and Technology

Hannah Spector
MW 2–5
TTH 8–11

Maura Murnane
TTH 2–5

First-Year Core studio class with an emphasis on time-based media and digital technology. Course projects will allow students to gain awareness of media art and ability to utilize digital technology and time-based media in a contemporary context.



DRAWING

ART 315K
Beginning Drawing

Sarah Navasse-Miller
MW 2–5

This class will provide a platform for the development of a student’s basic understanding of line, mark, value, surface and composition. Students will experiment with various conceptual and technical methods, traditions, subjects, and expressive possibilities of drawing / works on paper.

ART 322K
Intermediate Drawing

Troy Brauntuch
TTH 2–5
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Students in this course will experiment with various concepts and technical methods and traditions associated with drawing / works on paper. This class will provide a platform to explore expanded aspects of drawing to understand and represent one’s personal voice in relation to histories and contemporary practices of drawing. Students will develop their drawing and critical thinking skills through discussion, critique, assignments based on readings, art historical references, and weekly exposure to global contemporary practices of drawing / works on paper.

ART 368N
Advanced Drawing

Troy Brauntuch
TTH 2–5
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Students in this course will experiment with various concepts and technical methods and traditions associated with drawing / works on paper. This class will provide a platform to explore expanded aspects of drawing to understand and represent one’s personal voice in relation to histories and contemporary practices of drawing. Students will develop their drawing and critical thinking skills through discussion, critique, assignments based on readings, art historical references, and weekly exposure to global contemporary practices of drawing / works on paper.

ART 316K
Beginning Life Drawing

Dan Sutherland
MW 8–11

Students in this course explore various concepts and technical methods / traditions of drawing to understand and represent the human body in relation to physical space, pictorial space, pictorial design, and themes of concern for each student. Students will develop their drawing and critical thinking skills through discussion, critique, assignments based on readings, art historical references, and weekly exposure to global contemporary practices of figurative drawing / works on paper.

ART 346K
Intermediate Life Drawing

Rowan Howe
TTH 8–11
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Students in this course explore various concepts and technical methods / traditions of drawing to understand and represent the human body in relation to physical space, pictorial space and pictorial design. Students will start to develop their drawing “voice” and critical thinking skills through discussion, critique, assignments based on readings, art historical references, and weekly exposure to global contemporary practices of figurative drawing / works on paper.

ART 366K
Advanced Life Drawing

Rowan Howe
TTH 8–11
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Students in this course explore various concepts and technical methods / traditions of drawing to understand and represent the human body in relation to physical space, pictorial space and pictorial design. Students will start to develop their drawing “voice” and critical thinking skills through discussion, critique, assignments based on readings, art historical references, and weekly exposure to global contemporary practices of figurative drawing / works on paper.



PAINTING

ART 311K
Painting I

Anna Teiche
TTH 8–11

Students in this course will be introduced to various painting techniques / methods and histories. Additionally, they will begin an exploration of personal expression. Students will develop their work and critical thinking skills through discussion, critique, assignments based on readings, art historical references, and weekly exposure to global contemporary practices of painting and expanded field painting.

ART 321K
Painting II

Alexandre Pépin
TTH 8–11
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Dan Sutherland
MW 2–5
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Students in this course will continue to explore various concepts and technical methods / traditions of painting in order to develop their own painting “voice” and to begin to understand the context of contemporary painting. Students will develop their work and critical thinking skills through discussion, critique, assignments based on readings, art historical references, and weekly exposure to global contemporary practices of painting and expanded field painting.

ART 341K
Painting III

Sarah Navasse-Miller
MW 8–11
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Dan Sutherland
MW 2–5
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Students in this course will continue to explore various concepts and technical methods / traditions of painting while further refining their specific concerns or painting “voice” and developing a deeper understanding of the context of contemporary painting. Students will develop their work and critical thinking skills through discussion, critique, readings, art historical references, and weekly exposure to global contemporary practices of painting and expanded field painting.

ART 361K
Painting IV

Alexandre Pépin
MW 2–5
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Students in this course will continue to explore various concepts and technical methods / traditions of painting with an emphasis on developing an ambitious, mature, distinct body of work that takes into account an understanding of the context of contemporary painting. Students will continue to develop critical thinking skills through discussion, critique, readings, and weekly exposure to global contemporary practices of painting and expanded field painting.



PHOTOGRAPHY & MEDIA

ART 317K
Beginning Photography

Hayley Austin
TTH 11–2

Will Wilson
TTH 2–5

This class will introduce you to the fundamentals of black & white photography. You will learn how to use a manual medium-format camera, expose and develop black & white film, and make gelatin silver prints. You will also study aspects of photographic history and begin to define your individual voice as an artist using photography. For the first part of the semester, assignments will be given in order to challenge how you think about and make pictures, both technically and conceptually. The second half of the semester’s assignments are designed to allow for more of your own interpretation. Your final assignment will be to develop a personal project that consists of 20 cohesive images. Class time will be dedicated to slide lectures and discussions, group critiques, class printing, supervised darkroom time, and field trips. You are expected to work hard, complete the following requirements and be dedicated and attentive to your photography and the class.

ART 335K
Intermediate Photography

Teresa Hubbard
MW 11–2
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

This studio course is centered around creating film and digital images and serves as an introduction to theoretical discourse examining the multiple roles that contemporary photography plays in our cultural time. Assigned projects will encourage you to create photographs as a mode of personal expression, as well as consider how photographs can obscure as much as they reveal and how what we see is often determined by our beliefs. The core structure of the semester is geared towards gaining knowledge of the tools of digital photography and applying this information towards the creation of compelling images. We will concentrate on the computer and inkjet printer as the counterpart to the wet darkroom. In this class, you will learn about the properties of digital files and how to process images in Photoshop to produce the best possible prints. You will become familiar with the tools available for creating or capturing images (how is the visible made digital?) and disseminating or outputting images (how is the digital made tangible?)

ART 372K
Advanced Photography

Alexander Birchler
MW 2–5
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

This studio course is centered on making images and an advanced inquiry to the history of the photographic image and contemporary discourse examining the multiple roles that contemporary photography plays within our cultural time.



PRINT

ART 310P
Introduction to Print

Hannah Spector
MW 11–2

Audrey Blood
TTH 2–5

This course will introduce students to a wide range of printmaking processes. Students will be presented with demonstrations and hands-on instruction, with projects using the modern mediums of silkscreen and risography to the more traditional processes of relief, intaglio and lithography. Completion of this intensive course will allow students to choose which intermediate printmaking courses they wish to pursue further.

ART 325G
Intermediate Print: Serigraphy

Annie May Johnston
MW 8–11
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

This course will allow students to work with a wide range of silkscreen approaches, starting with stencils, hand-drawn techniques and photoemulsion, to photo-realistic CMYK processes, digital manipulation and repeat pattern. Using demonstrations and hands-on instruction, projects will be framed around the history of print and the multiple, production, publication and popular culture, print as protest, and its role in pattern and decoration. Students are encouraged to experiment and incorporate other mediums as they create and develop their work.

ART 325J
Intermediate Print: Relief

Alex Boeschenstein MW 8–11
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

In this course students will explore image production through traditional and contemporary relief techniques. Wood, linoleum, and other alternative blocks will be used as well as modern applications like laser cutting. Demonstrations on hand carving techniques will be supplemented by visual references of the historical development of the media and its impact on art history, cultural styles, and social movements.

ART 325T
Intermediate Print: Monotype

Annie May Johnston
MW 2–5
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

In this experimental course, prints will become objects in their collaboration with ceramics and plaster. They will be created without a press as transfers, rubbings or tracings. They will be transferred through photographic processes using solarfast, cyanotype and emulsion. Students will have the flexibility to generate both large pieces and small objects, painterly prints and bitmapped experiments. Emphasis will be placed on expanding the traditional boundaries of monotype printmaking.

ART 330P
Advanced Print Workshop

Erin Miller
TTH 11–2
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Advanced Print Workshop is an all-media print course. While new concepts and techniques will be introduced, students will build on their pre-existing knowledge of any print process to develop print-based artworks that revolve around their chosen portfolio focus. There will be an emphasis on research, group critique, and contemporary practice, and time will be allotted for one-on-one instruction to guide students in realizing strong and advanced bodies of work that could be displayed as a curated group or solo show by semester's end. Students are encouraged to experiment and incorporate other mediums as they create and develop their work.

ART 376P
Contemporary Issues in Print

Audrey Blood
MW 2–5
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

This course explores non-toxic processes as a bridge between papermaking and printmaking and conversations about geography and climate futures. We will study the traditional western papermaking methods of basic fiber preparing, cooking, sheet formation, pressing and drying. With the conceptual and material value of papermaking, we use pulp as a printing substrate, a painting material, and a sculptural form. We will explore non-toxic photopolymer etching, learning a traditional printmaking technique alongside a green, contemporary digital process. The holistic approach to making prints will include both growing indigenous plants and harvesting invasive plants to use as paper pulp, as well as recycled paper, fabric and vegetables.



SCULPTURE & EXTENDED MEDIA

ART 313K
Beginning Sculpture

Margo Sawyer
MW 8–11

Jeff Williams
TTH 8–11

In this course students will receive an in-depth introduction into the field of sculpture and will explore many different methods of making and relating to objects. Students will learn to think of their immediate environment and familiar objects as potential sculptural materials and exhibition spaces. We will cover basic technical processes including mold-making and armature construction as well as general principles on how to develop concepts, finish surfaces, and display completed work. We will read about and discuss various issues and practices in contemporary sculpture and students will work to develop their own focused studio practice as well as the specific language to discuss their work and the work of their peers.

ART 323K
Intermediate Sculpture

Margo Sawyer
MW 2–5

Exploration of the concepts and processes involved in the production of object-oriented sculpture, with emphasis on indirect methods of mold-making and casting. Encourages individual direction.

ART 363K
Advanced Sculpture

Margo Sawyer
MW 2–5

Exploration of the concepts and processes involved in the production of object-oriented sculpture, with emphasis on indirect methods of mold-making and casting. Encourages individual direction.

ART 323S
Installation Sculpture

Jeff Williams
TTH 2–5

Exploration of the theories and methods involved in the production of installation sculpture through the investigation of form and space and of their function in transforming environmental, architectural, or invented sites.

ART 320F
Digital Fabrication I

Mark Kovitya
TTH 11–2

This course introduces students to computer modeling, 3D data acquisition, and various forms of digital fabrication. Specifically, students will use Rhinoceros 3D to digitally model and render virtual forms. Photogrammetry, structured light and laser scanning will be used to digitally capture 3D data and the department’s laser cutters, 3-axis CNC router, 4-axis CNC milling machine, 3D printers, UV printer, and vinyl cutter will be used to physically realize student designs. Personal research, lectures, media, readings and discussions will supplement software and hardware demonstrations during the course.

ART 340F
Digital Fabrication II

Mark Kovitya
TTH 11–2

This course introduces students to computer modeling, 3D data acquisition, and various forms of digital fabrication. Specifically, students will use Rhinoceros 3D to digitally model and render virtual forms. Photogrammetry, structured light and laser scanning will be used to digitally capture 3D data and the department’s laser cutters, 3-axis CNC router, 4-axis CNC milling machine, 3D printers, UV printer, and vinyl cutter will be used to physically realize student designs. Personal research, lectures, media, readings and discussions will supplement software and hardware demonstrations during the course.



TRANSMEDIA

ART 316V
Transmedia: Expanded Media I

Kristin Lucas
TTH 8–11

Pick up media art production skills and experiment with the limitless possibilities of technique and form. Create art projects for the expanded field, including the gallery, microcinema, digital platforms, and public space. Explore concepts like ‘alternate reality’, ‘the copy’, and ‘ecology’ in relation to media aesthetics and ethics, culture, art practice and disciplines beyond.

This course is Unrestricted

ART 336V
Transmedia: Expanded Media II

Kristin Lucas
TTH 2–5
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Intermediate to advanced media-based art projects for the expanded field of art, including the gallery, microcinema, digital platforms, phone screens, and public space. Assignments include collaborative, collective and individual student-led projects. Course materials introduce contemporary topics, relevant readings, artists, and resources. Tools and software change based on cultural shifts and availability. Class time is divided between lectures, demos, workshops, group discussion, critique, field trips, meetings with the instructor and teaching assistant, guest artists, and project development.

Course topics have included ‘moving image panorama’, ‘virtual environments’, ‘strange attractors’, ‘speculative fiction’, ‘performance, media, and location’, ‘the glitch’, and more. Students in this course have completed projects such as augmented reality, web projects, media-based conceptual art, photospheres in Google Maps, performance video, media performance, 2d animation, 3d animation, moving image installation, sound installation, projection mapping onto 3d printed objects, 360 video, visual poetry, conceptual poetry, interactive print, conceptual art, social media art on Twitter, Instagram filters, VR painting, virtual environments, and more.

ART 356V
Transmedia: Expanded Media III

Kristin Lucas
TTH 2–5
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Intermediate to advanced media-based art projects for the expanded field of art, including the gallery, microcinema, digital platforms, phone screens, and public space. Assignments include collaborative, collective and individual student-led projects. Course materials introduce contemporary topics, relevant readings, artists, and resources. Tools and software change based on cultural shifts and availability. Class time is divided between lectures, demos, workshops, group discussion, critique, field trips, meetings with the instructor and teaching assistant, guest artists, and project development.

Course topics have included ‘moving image panorama’, ‘virtual environments’, ‘strange attractors’, ‘speculative fiction’, ‘performance, media, and location’, ‘the glitch’, and more. Students in this course have completed projects such as augmented reality, web projects, media-based conceptual art, photospheres in Google Maps, performance video, media performance, 2d animation, 3d animation, moving image installation, sound installation, projection mapping onto 3d printed objects, 360 video, visual poetry, conceptual poetry, interactive print, conceptual art, social media art on Twitter, Instagram filters, VR painting, virtual environments, and more.

ART 317C
Transmedia: Performance Art I

Michael Smith
TTH 2–5

Performance art is a time-based medium involving people, live action, media, and a vast range of materials and objects. Most historians and practitioners would agree on two points: there are no rules, and one may use or do anything when making performance art. Students will learn how to create live art works for different contexts and venues, while constantly being encouraged to look for inspiration from a variety of sources, including popular culture, current events, art, and the routines of everyday life.

In this introductory class students will learn about the history and theory of performance art in a variety of contexts and spaces, including the theatrical, the white cube and the workaday world. The experimental nature of performance art welcomes skills and ideas learned in other classes in the development of new themes and directions.

Enrollment in this course does not require any prerequisite classes or skills.

ART 337C
Transmedia: Performance Art II

Michael Smith
TTH 5–8
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Performance art is a time-based medium involving people, live action, media, and a vast range of materials and objects. Most historians and practitioners would agree on two points: there are no rules, and one may use or do anything when making performance art. Students will learn how to create live art works for different contexts and venues, while constantly being encouraged to look for inspiration from a variety of sources, including popular culture, current events, art, and the routines of everyday life.

In this advanced class students will build on themes and ideas learned in the Introductory Performance Art course, as well as be given the opportunity for advanced independent inquiry into the development of performance art projects requiring focused research and time.

It is recommended that Performance Art I be taken prior to Performance Art II so that students have the basic skills to be successful in the class.

ART 357C
Transmedia: Performance Art III

Michael Smith
TTH 5–8
Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Performance art is a time-based medium involving people, live action, media, and a vast range of materials and objects. Most historians and practitioners would agree on two points: there are no rules, and one may use or do anything when making performance art. Students will learn how to create live art works for different contexts and venues, while constantly being encouraged to look for inspiration from a variety of sources, including popular culture, current events, art, and the routines of everyday life.

In this advanced class students will build on themes and ideas learned in the Introductory Performance Art course, as well as be given the opportunity for advanced independent inquiry into the development of performance art projects requiring focused research and time.

It is recommended that Performance Art I be taken prior to Performance Art II so that students have the basic skills to be successful in the class.

ART 318C
Transmedia: Digital Time Art I

Jeff Stanley
MW 8–11

An introductory study of digital organic 3D modeling (Maya), texturing (MudBox), and motion capture (Rokoko). Individual guided inquiry into more advanced techniques and technology (fluid dynamic).



SPECIAL TOPICS

ART 350
Philosophy / Theory / Criticism

Teresa Hubbard
F 11–2
Fulfills →  Ethics and Writing flags

This lecture class will seek to provoke critical thinking and discussion on how artists use philosophy, theory, and criticism in the production of making visual art. As a class, we will visit local exhibitions and write responses about our experiences. We will also read and respond to a selection of texts exploring how aspects of the Anthropocene, critical race theory, gender identities and non-binary feminism can inspire contemporary art making.

ART 350M
Within Walking Distance

Nicolas Dumit Estevez Raful Espejo Ovalles
MW 11–2

In this class the entire city of Austin, Texas, is given preeminence in order to serve as the encyclopedic tool for a series of theoretical discussions and practical exercises in strolling, journeying, parading, pilgrimages, processions and the like. Each week participants take to the streets to put in motion individual or group actions dealing with, but not restricted to, the topic of walking: from window shopping to strolling through managed nature (e.g. parks). Participants comb block after block for the purpose of becoming familiar with what may be to some an uncharted territory. In the classroom, our group engages in conversations prompted by lectures on the works of artists/scholars on the subject of walking, as well as by the participants’ experiences as pedestrians, which bring to the forefront issues of accessibility. For whom and for what bodies have cities been planned and designed and what needs to change? Some of the seminar presentations address sites of disasters, places of mourning, and monuments deemed as historic, among others. Similarly, to be discussed is the phenomenon of tourism, and the current movements of people pushed away from our communities/cities/countries by the economic exploitation caused by globalization and by the unfolding destruction of our planet in the hands of corporations and conspicuous consumption. The majority of this class will be held outdoors as much as possible and will include somatic practices dealing with embodiment, space and bodily awareness, and care.

ART 350M
Commuting into Community: Introduction to Community-Based Art Practices

Nicolas Dumit Estevez Raful Espejo Ovalles
MW 5–8

This theorical and praxis-focused class centers on legacies of activisms in the burgeoning field of socially-engaged art/social practice. It therefore serves as a point of departure for critical reflections on the most pressing issues raised by the work of socially-conscious creatives: artists’ visions versus participants’ expectations and needs; and long-term commitment with collaborating communities and their demands on artists. What is the fine line between revindicating or fetishizing disenfranchised individuals and groups? What are the roles–yes, plural–, of the artist when traveling, being and becoming with communities sometimes far away from their own? What happens with the connections forged when the work is complete and the artist returns home? Our group will engage in conversations on the possibilities of art for self and collective transformation, and the potentialities of envisioning new worlds that we can inhabit. Similarly, we will explore together somatic exercises dealing with space, presence, and care. Some of our class will take place outside of the classroom as we commune with communities in the city of Austin, Texas.

ART 350M
Developing A Joyful Creative Practice

Bella M Varela
MW 11–2

In Developing a Joyful Creative Practice students will engage in five studio projects encompassing photography, video, performance, textile/sewing, and installation. These projects will serve as a platform to challenge students to think intuitively, foster resourcefulness, and adapt to evolving schedules and life circumstances. The objective of this class is to nurture the development of a joyful, compassionate, and enduring artistic practice.

Throughout the course, students will be actively encouraged to seek inspiration beyond the confines of the UT campus. They will be prompted to construct a creative practice that aligns with their individual interests while engaging with various communities and subcultures. Part of cultivating joy lies in the exploration of themes related to social justice, environmental conservation, queer/gender studies, politics, and religion. These explorations aim to continually challenge conventional notions of joy on a daily basis.

ART 350P
Professional Practices

Zach Meisner
M 2–5

Megan Hildebrandt
W 5–8

Fulfills →  Writing flag

This course explores how to build and sustain a thriving studio practice after graduation. Figuring out how to maintain an art practice outside of the structure of school is complex and different for everyone. In this course we will discuss a variety of different paths available to emerging artists as they make their way through the art world. Throughout the semester we will work on developing an artist statement and collecting the materials necessary to apply for residencies, MFA programs, exhibitions, grants and other professional opportunities. The course will also explore the practical aspects of exhibiting artwork in a professional context including writing a press release, finishing and hanging artwork and seeking and building non-traditional exhibition opportunities. Periodically we will have visitors come to the class to share their expertise and experience in the art world and students will be tasked with exploring the Austin art community and creating a shared catalog of resources.

Restricted to BFA Studio Art majors