Studio Art Courses

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. This course will be taught in a hybrid format that includes online and in-person components, as space and safety allows.

Megan Hildebrandt
MW 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Megan Hildebrandt
MW 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Peter Abrami
TTH 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Megan Hildebrandt
TTH 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

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. This course will be taught in a hybrid format that includes online and in-person components, as space and safety allows.

Zach Meisner
TTH 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Zach Meisner
TTH 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

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. This course will be taught in a hybrid format that includes online and in-person components, as space and safety allows.

Erin Cunningham
MW 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Erin Cunningham
MW 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Erin Cunningham
TTH 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Beili Liu
TTH 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

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. This course will be taught all-online, with optional in-person learning opportunities and equipment check out.

Katy McCarthy
MW 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Dawn Kim
MW 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Katy McCarthy
TTH 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Katy McCarthy
TTH 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

In this course we will focus on the digital tools and techniques used to represent physical objects in digital space and how these tools can assist in translating digital designs into useful physical components. The course looks to increase students' technical facility using software that will assist in representing physical properties like material, scale, and the relationship between objects in the digital realm. We will gain a better understanding of what can be done with digital tools and techniques by examining videos, images, and writings of various artists and designers who leverage digital tools in their work. This course meets online via Zoom with occasional in-person meetings, self-guided visits to assigned sites, and material pick-up from the Fabrication Lab. Due to COVID-19 it is still uncertain to what degree the sculpture classrooms, labs, and equipment will be open and available.

Mark Kovitya
TTH 11–2
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

In this course we will focus on the digital tools and techniques used to represent physical objects in digital space and how these tools can assist in translating digital designs into useful physical components. The course looks to increase students' technical facility using software that will assist in representing physical properties like material, scale, and the relationship between objects in the digital realm. We will gain a better understanding of what can be done with digital tools and techniques by examining videos, images, and writings of various artists and designers who leverage digital tools in their work. This course meets online via Zoom with occasional in-person meetings, self-guided visits to assigned sites, and material pick-up from the Fabrication Lab. Due to COVID-19 it is still uncertain to what degree the sculpture classrooms, labs, and equipment will be open and available.

Mark Kovitya
TTH 11–2
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Exploration of various methods, subjects, and expressive possibilities in drawing further developing an understanding of the language of line, marks, value and composition. This course will be taught online.

Sarah Canright
MW 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online

Exploration of various methods, subjects, and expressive possibilities in drawing. Projects are informed by the considerations and investigations of historical and contemporary artists who have engaged the challenges of drawing. Emphasis will be placed on developing individual vision and practice through mark making in traditional drawing media and other mediums and materials.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Nicole Awai
TTH 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Exploration of various methods, subjects, and expressive possibilities in drawing. Projects are informed by the considerations and investigations of historical and contemporary artists who have engaged the challenges of drawing. Emphasis will be placed on developing individual vision and practice through mark making in traditional drawing media and other mediums and materials.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Nicole Awai
TTH 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Problems in drawing and construction of the human figure in selected media.

Polly Lanning Sparrow
TTH 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Optional In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

This class will continue to advance conceptual and technical skills using the human figure. Through costumes, lighting, props and architecture of space, new ways of seeing the figure and the space it inhabits will be explored in a variety of medium and material. This course will be taught online.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Troy Brauntuch
TTH 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online

This class will continue to advance conceptual and technical skills using the human figure. Through costumes, lighting, props and architecture of space, new ways of seeing the figure and the space it inhabits will be explored in a variety of medium and material. This course will be taught online.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Troy Brauntuch
TTH 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online

Introduction to painting techniques, composition, and exploration of personal expression. This course will be taught using a hybrid format that includes online and in-person components, as space and safety permit.

Dan Sutherland
MW 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Zach Meisner
MW 11–2
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Dan Sutherland
MW 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Painting II builds on the knowledge gained and comfort with the medium of paint that was developed in Painting I. The class will be taught through projects and will continue the exploration of paint as a means of personal expression. This course will be taught online.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Sarah Canright
MW 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online

This class will continue to advance conceptual and technical skills learned at lower level painting. There will be more attention paid to the formulation of ideas for self-expression, ideas based on the autobiographical as well as social, political, or historical will be discussed. We will continue to explore new techniques as a means to communicate both the formal and the psychological space a painting can convey. This course will be taught online.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Troy Brauntuch
TTH 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online

Problems in composition and exploration of personal expression.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Polly Lanning Sparrow
TTH 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online with Optional In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Advanced exploration of concepts and techniques in painting, emphasizing the individuation of pictorial language. Class investigations encompass various approaches to representational and abstract painting. Studio work is complemented by in-depth discussion of issues in historical and contemporary painting.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Nicole Awai
TTH 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

In this course you will learn the fundamentals of medium format black & white photography, how to use a manual medium format camera, expose black & white film, and how to digitally edit, sequence, and critique your own and your fellow classmates' work.

In the interest of public health, this course will primarily take place online. A camera kit (Medium format camera, light meter, tripod) will be available for checkout from UT. You must be in Austin to use this opportunity. Alternatively, if you are not on or near campus, you must provide your own 35mm film camera such as Pentax K-1000, Canon AE-1, or Nikon F-6, with a 50mm lens otherwise prime (non-zoom) lens. You will be required to purchase film and the Adobe Suite (discounted for students). You will drop off, or ship film to UT where Lab Monitor Amber Johnson will oversee the development and scanning of film.

You will study aspects of photographic history and begin to define your individual voice as an artist. Assignments will be given in order to challenge how you think about and make pictures both technically and conceptually. Class time will be dedicated to slide lectures and discussions, group critiques, visiting artist talks, demos, peer editing, and supervised work time.

riel sturchio
TTH 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

From a technical point of view, 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. In the interest of public health, this course will be held online although there will also be optional in person, outdoor meetings to review camera function. Students will be able to check out cameras from our lab for the semester and will not have to share with other students. We will work with two different cameras, a 4x5 large format film camera and a Digital SLR. We will switch cameras midway through the semester. (If you are unable to come to Austin to check out equipment, you be will required to find a suitable DSLR to use during the course. You will not be required to track down a 4x5 film camera.)

When working with the film camera, you will drop off or mail your film to Holland Photo in Austin for processing. Once developed, the film will be sent to the UT Photography Lab, where Lab Monitor Amber Johnson will oversee the scanning of the film. The digital scans and film will then be sent to the student. We will use these scan files while learning the properties of digital image files and ways in which to edit them in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Bridge, and Adobe Lightroom. (When working with DSLRs, you will simply upload the files to your computer.)

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Eli Durst
MW 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Eli Durst
MW 6–9
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

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.

In the interest of public health, this course will be held online. We will spend time at the beginning of the course discussing the pros and cons of different cameras and photographic formats. Students will then choose a camera from the UT Photography Lab to check out for the semester, which they will not have to share with another student. Students will spend the semester learning the complexities of this camera. (If you are unable to come to Austin to check out equipment, you will be required to find a suitable DSLR to use during the course.)

If you are working with a film camera, you will drop off or mail your film to Holland Photo in Austin for processing. Once developed, the film will be sent to the UT Photography Lab, where Lab Monitor Amber Johnson will oversee the scanning of the film. The digital scans and film will then be sent to the student.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Eli Durst
TTH 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

This course will introduce students to a wide range of printmaking processes. Students will be presented with online 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. To ensure social distancing and safety standards, students will participate in both online and limited occupancy classroom work.

Annie May Johnston
MW 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

This course will introduce students to a wide range of printmaking processes. Students will be presented with online demonstrations, hands-on instruction, and digital links and research resources. Projects using the traditional media of silkscreen, relief, intaglio and lithography will be supplemented with various “at home” media utilizing mono- types, collagraphs, pochoir, dry-points, collage and frottage to create prints without elaborate or expensive equipment. Completion of this intensive course will allow students to choose which intermediate printmaking courses they wish to pursue further. To ensure social distancing and safety standards, students will participate in both online and limited occupancy classroom work.

Lee Chesney
TTH 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

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 online 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. To ensure social distancing and safety standards, students will participate in both online and limited occupancy classroom work.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Annie May Johnston
MW 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

In Fall 2020 this course will be taught entirely online with the possibility of optional in-person activities and optional access to print labs during and outside of class hours. This optional access to labs will allow students to work on projects in the print labs if they wish to.

Relief printing is one of the oldest printmaking techniques and as a result has a rich history of “low-tech” methods, which allow for printing without a press and outside of a traditional print shop setting. Students will explore a range of relief processes including a combination of the following: lino cuts and lino reduction cuts, woodblock prints, monotypes (each print is unique) and monoprints (using a common matrix, but impressions have variations) and supplemental techniques such as hand coloring, collage/collagraph, pochoir, and/or frottage. Working in series, variable editions, publications, and/or more experimental methods drawing from the history of performance art’s relationship to relief printing may also be introduced. Instead of using a press, students will learn how to hand print their matrices using a baren, drawing on traditional Japanese woodblock printing techniques. Readings/videos, short writing responses, and critiques will be required.

Beverly Acha
MW 11–2
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person access to materials/equipment)

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 online 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. To ensure social distancing and safety standards, students will participate in both online and limited occupancy classroom work.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Annie May Johnston
TTH 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

This is an all-media print course, which means that any print media or combination of print media and or hand work, or digital work or appropriated work is acceptable. While new concepts and techniques will be introduced, students will build on their preexisting knowledge of any print process to develop their oeuvre. There will be a strong emphasis on critique and contemporary practice. The objective is to create a “body of work” that is cohesive and reflects your actual research. To investigate print as a means of art- making. To further refine understanding of and familiarity with traditional print processes and encourage the invention of alternative print processes. And lastly, to increase conceptual and technical problem-solving skills, work ethic, and craft.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Lee Chesney
TTH 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Advanced publishing projects in print and/or digital media. Cross listed as DES 347

Kevin Auer
F 11–5

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.

Course will be taught through online instruction with occasional in-person activities. It is still uncertain to what degree the sculpture classrooms, labs, and equipment will be open and available, but students will be asked to pick up some materials from the Sculpture Lab. In this course students will learn to work resourcefully and develop an adaptable at-home studio practice by investigating and utilizing the environment and materials available to them.

Restricted to Studio Art and Visual Art Studies majors.

Rachael Starbuck
MW 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Rachael Starbuck
TTH 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online with Required In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Exploration of the concepts and processes involved in the production of object-oriented sculpture, with emphasis on methods of ceramic sculpture, mold-making and casting, and kinetic sculpture. Encourages individual direction. Course will be taught through online instruction with optional in-person activities. It is still uncertain to what degree the sculpture classrooms, labs, and equipment will be open and available. Restricted to Studio Art and Visual Art Studies majors.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Jeff Williams
TTH 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Advanced research in the methodology, theory, and criticism of contemporary sculpture, with emphasis on individual direction. Students will further develop their portfolio and work toward exhibiting their artwork. Any media is welcome. Course will be taught through online instruction with optional in-person activities. It is still uncertain to what degree the sculpture classrooms, labs, and equipment will be open and available. Restricted to Studio Art and Visual Art Studies majors.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Jeff Williams
TTH 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

In this course we will grapple with the concept of installation art as a form and come to an understanding of what makes a work “installation art”. Through critical texts, videos, site visits, and readings, the course will look at the history of installation and its conceptual underpinnings while examining common features seen in contemporary installation art. In addition, students will make site-specific installation work, use digital tools to create virtual spaces, participate in generative exercises, and respond to installation related readings. This course will meet online via Zoom with occasional in-person meetings and self-guided visits to assigned sites. Due to COVID-19 it is still uncertain to what degree the sculpture classrooms, labs, and equipment will be open and available.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Mark Kovitya
MW 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Introduction to network art with an emphasis on experimentation and a DIY approach to production. Projects in augmented reality, creative coding, and more. Focuses on the history, theory, and evolution of network art practices, and critical thinking around digital technology and platforms. Browser-based projects are produced and experienced on personal computers and phones. No prior digital media or coding skills required. Course taught entirely online.

Kristin Lucas
TTH 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online

Investigate virtual communities and virtual environments as a class. Inhabit, intervene, perform, stage, recontextualize, and prototype your own. Create born-digital projects for born-digital spaces. Introduction to web apps, coding environments, open source and freemium software; contemporary born-digital art; and intrepid artists creating new content streams, calls to action, creative tools and equitable platforms for digital art. Student-initiated and collaborative projects are produced and experienced on personal computers, phones, and iPads that can be checked out. Course taught entirely online.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Kristin Lucas
TTH 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online

Investigate virtual communities and virtual environments as a class. Inhabit, intervene, perform, stage, recontextualize, and prototype your own. Create born-digital projects for born-digital spaces. Introduction to web apps, coding environments, open source and freemium software; contemporary born-digital art; and intrepid artists creating new content streams, calls to action, creative tools and equitable platforms for digital art. Student-initiated and collaborative projects are produced and experienced on personal computers, phones, and iPads that can be checked out. Course taught entirely online.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Kristin Lucas
TTH 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online

A concise definition of performance art has yet to be established, however, most people would agree on two points: there are no rules, and one may borrow from anywhere to generate ideas. In this introductory course, students will learn how to produce solo performance art pieces for a variety of contexts. Focus will be on engaging a process of layering text, movement, and audio/visual elements taken from popular culture, current events, art and everyday life. In addition to presenting and critiquing individual assignments, class time will be devoted to exercises, screenings and lectures. The class will be taught remotely via Zoom.

Michael Smith
MW 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online

Study in digital video, sound, and animation, with emphasis on the exploration of cinematic time and its time-based installation. Guided inquiry into the relationship between video and video projections, and technics and technology.

Bogdan Perzyński
MW 8–11
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Study in digital video, sound, and animation, with emphasis on the exploration of cinematic time and its time-based installation. Guided inquiry into the relationship between video and video projections, and technics and technology.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Bogdan Perzyński
MW 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Study in digital video, sound, and animation, with emphasis on the exploration of cinematic time and its time-based installation. Guided inquiry into the relationship between video and video projections, and technics and technology.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Bogdan Perzyński
MW 2–5
Teaching Format →  Online with Elective In-Person Component
(Please contact the instructor for further details on type/frequency of in-person instruction.)

Advanced exploration of philosophy, theory, and criticism from a studio art perspective.

Fulfills →  Ethics flag /  Writing flag

Exploration of professional practices as they relate to the field of visual arts. Focus on writing an artist statement and resume, as well as learning about writing and applying for exhibition, grant, and residency opportunities.

Fulfills →  Writing flag

Margo Sawyer
W 6–9
Teaching Format →  Online

Individual projects to be completed under faculty supervision.

Fulfills →  Independent Inquiry flag

Teaching Format →  Online