MW 8–11
MW 2–5
Megan Hildebrandt

TTH 8–11
Peter Abrami

TTH 2–5
John Stoney

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.

MW 8–11  
MW 2–5  
TTH 8–11
Zach Meisner

TTH 2–5
Peter Abrami

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.

MW 8–11
Nathan Anthony

MW 2–5  
TTH 2–5
Erin Cunningham

TTH 8–11
Terra Goolsby

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.

MW 8–11
Alex Boeschenstein

MW 2–5
Instructor TBA

TTH 8–11
TTH 2–5
Hannah Spector  

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.

TTH 8–11
Troy Brauntuch

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.

TTH 2–5
Scherezade García-Vazquez

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develop their drawing and critical thinking skills through discussion, critique, assignments based on readings, art historical references, and weekly exposure to global contemporary practices of drawing / works on paper.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

TTH 2–5
Scherezade García-Vazquez

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.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

MW 8–11
Instructor TBA

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.

MW 2–5
Instructor TBA

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.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

MW 2–5
Instructor TBA

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.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

MW 2–5
Instructor TBA

TTH 8–11
Alexandre Pépin

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.

TTH 2–5
Troy Brauntuch

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.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

MW 8–11
Instructor TBA

TTH 8–11
Scherezade García-Vazquez

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.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

MW 2–5
Alexandre Pépin

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.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

MW 8–11
Eli Durst

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.

MW 11–2
Eli Durst

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?)

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

MW 2–5
Alexander Birchler

Inquiry of specific themes in photography which can include: photographic intervention, photography since 1945, photo book making, abstraction in photography, appropriation in photography, and lighting for photography.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

TTH 8–11
Audrey Blood

TTH 2–5
Instructor TBA

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.

MW 2–5
Annie May Johnston

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.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

MW 11–2
Audrey Blood

This studio course covers the fundamentals and extended processes of intaglio printmaking, including: drypoint, aquatint, hard ground etching, soft ground etching, offset printing, step-etching, soap ground, and coffee lift. You will have the opportunity to engage in individual experimentation and exploration with the related materials, incorporating fundamental concepts of drawing, mark-making, composition, color, and layering alongside learning new technical printmaking skills.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

MW 2–5
Paloma Barhaugh–Bordas

This course is designed to allow for an in-depth study of the varied methods and techniques of lithography, covering the fundamental concepts and techniques from stone to photo-sensitive plates. The structure will include a mix of demonstrations, hands-on instruction, and lectures on historical and contemporary artists using lithography and its history in advertising. Students are encouraged to experiment and incorporate other mediums as they create and develop their work.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

TTH 11–2
Audrey Blood

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.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

MW 8–11
Paloma Barhaugh–Bordas

Explore advanced issues, subjects, and processes in contemporary print and the expanded field.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

MW 8–11
Eric McMaster

TTH 8–11
Erin Cunningham

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.

TTH 2–5
John Stoney

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.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

TTH 2–5
John Stoney

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.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

MW 2–5
Hannah Spector

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.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

TTH 11–2
Eric McMaster

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.

TTH 11–2
Eric McMaster

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.

TTH 2–5
Michael Smith

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.

TTH 6–9
Michael Smith

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 course 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.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

TTH 6–9
Michael Smith

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 course 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.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

MW 8–11
Bogdan Perzyński

This class offers a study in digital video, sound, and animation, with emphasis on the exploration of cinematic time and its time-based installation. We offer guided inquiry into the relationship between video and video projections, and technics and technology. This class gives the opportunity to learn the conceptual and technical aspects of time-based digital art and offers an independent investigation related to time-based art.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

MW 2–5
Bogdan Perzyński

This class offers a study in digital video, sound, and animation, with emphasis on the exploration of cinematic time and its time-based installation. We offer guided inquiry into the relationship between video and video projections, and technics and technology. This class gives the opportunity to learn the conceptual and technical aspects of time-based digital art and offers an independent investigation related to time-based art.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

MW 2–5
Bogdan Perzyński

This class offers a study in digital video, sound, and animation, with emphasis on the exploration of cinematic time and its time-based installation. We offer guided inquiry into the relationship between video and video projections, and technics and technology. This class gives the opportunity to learn the conceptual and technical aspects of time-based digital art and offers an independent investigation related to time-based art.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

TTH 2–5
Will Wilson

Embark on a process-based journey through the history of photography and photographic printmaking.  This course will investigate the intersection of historical photographic processes and modern digital techniques, offering students an immersive foray into the world of visual expression. With a special emphasis on connecting hands-on historic photographic methods with contemporary digital capture and negative output, this course invites participants to explore, innovate, and create, while engaging with the history of photography.

We will leverage access to the Gernsheim Collection at the Harry Ransom Center, a globally renowned photography archive, to derive inspiration, understanding, and hands-on experience in photographic processes.

Learning Outcomes:

• Photographic Techniques: Gain competency in various photographic and printmaking techniques, ranging from historic methods to contemporary digital processes.
• Historical Understanding: Develop a robust understanding of the evolution of photographic methods and artistic movements through direct interaction with archival materials.
• Innovative Creation: Cultivate the skills to produce innovative visual art that bridges historical and modern photographic and printmaking techniques.
• Analytical Skills: Enhance your ability to critically analyze visual materials, identifying and discussing the techniques, mediums, and historical contexts involved.
• Collaborative Learning: Engage in enriching collaborative projects that challenge you to co-create and reflect critically on photographic and printmaking practices.

This course is designed for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, with an interest in historical and contemporary photographic and printmaking techniques. COFA students only. Non-COFA students by instructor approval only. 

Cross-listings →  RTF 347F

TTH 2–5
Kristin Lucas

This course explores contemporary Bio and Eco-Art practices. Students investigate new perspectives on life and its relationships, how we relate across species, how we affect our environment and how it affects us—experimenting and asking inventive questions through moving images, sound, microscopy, participatory and live art forms.

This course is intended to be accessible and open to students at any level.

F 11–5
Kevin Auer

Contact instructor for course information.

Cross-listings →  DES 347

TTH 9:30–11
Dr. Carma Gorman

Explore contemporary color notation systems and color management techniques. Survey economic, health and safety, environmental, cultural, legal, political, and other ethical considerations pertinent to using color.

Cross-listings →  ARH 366P / DES 323

MW 11–12:30
Instructor TBA (2025-26 St. Elmo Arts Residency Fellow)

Working with the St. Elmo Fellow, students will learn about continuing one's artmaking post-graduation as well as the path to an MFA. This course will address theoretical and practical issues that are central to making art in today's world.

This course is intended for students with the classification of Junior/Senior.

W 11–2
Kristin Lucas

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

Fulfills →  Writing flag