Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

There are no course prerequisites although Basic Design 117 is helpful. Emphasis will be on working from life models in various ways to create figure sculpture. The course utilizes professional nude models as the basis for student assignments. A sense of curiosity and a willingness to experiment are helpful.

Students will endeavor to do the following:* Employ creative ways to solve problems for making figure sculpture using avariety of strategies at the intermediate level* Create personal works of sculpture, which demonstrate an intermediate level ofunderstanding of sculptural ideas, and the processes, materials, and techniquesinvolved in figure sculpture* Ask meaningful questions, identify ideas and issues, to actively participate in acritical dialogue about sculpture with others using intermediate level vocabulary* Understand, interpret, and enjoy figure sculpture of the past and the present fromdifferent cultures to employ a lifelong process of expanding knowledge on thediversity of perspectives of the human experience.* Develop a heightened awareness of the physical world, the nature of therelationship of human beings to it, and our impact on it via the experience ofmaking figure sculpture.* Employ self-critiquing skills to expand autonomous expression through figuresculpture while recognizing the standards and definitions already established byboth contemporary and historical works of art from different cultures.

1)Create sculptures that incorporate a variety of technical skills with an awarenessof the inherent characteristics of different sculpture processes associated withfigure sculpture.2)Generate ideas/concepts with an awareness of the intended content of the workproduced.3)Build upon current skill set with the intent of working towards technicalproficiency with figure sculpture.4)Practice safe studio practices in regards to the handling of tools, chemicals andmachinery within a communal studio space.5)Utilize the necessary vocabulary specific to sculpture when participating in classcritiques and discussions.6)Assess and self-critique personal work to strategize creative solutions for figuresculpture7)Develop personal work with an awareness of historical and contemporary artistsworking in sculpture.

* Make creative, appropriately crafted, challenging sculptural solutions to given provocations at the intermediate level.* Comprehend and apply analysis of sculptural ideas, techniques, terminology, and issues through participation in formal critiques and discussions using intermediate level vocabulary.* Develop conceptual ideas through the practice of creative research and preparatory studies (e.g. sketchbooks, journals, maquettes, models, writing assignments, presentations, technical practice tests, etc.).

Concepts, Ideas, and Issues Pertaining to the Creative Process* Strategies for developing ideas (i.e. experiencing and playing with materials,imagining, dreaming, visualizing, symbolizing, writing, reading, researching,studying historical and cultural examples, sketching, collaborating, discussing)* Strategies for problem solving towards concretion of ideas in sculptural form (i.e.sketches, plans, maquettes, test pieces, models)* Perception and Art* Form and Content* Interpreting artHistorical and Cultural Contexts* Concepts, theories, and issues addressed by various cultures and historicalperiods* Concepts, theories, and issues addressed by contemporary sculptors fromdifferent cultures* Relationships between form and content in works of art from different culturesand historical periods* The roles of art and artists in different cultures* Intercultural and “interhistorical” influences (e.g. the influence of cycladic andAfrican art on western, modern sculpture)Sculptural Forms and Perceptual Impact* Visual/physical elements used to create sculptural form: point, line, plane, shape,form, marks, texture, shadow, light, value, color, space, sound, smell, weight,volume, mass, text, etc.* Relationships of characteristics of visual/ physical elements to be considered(e.g. proportion, length, thickness, position, orientation, scale, weight,interrelationship of shapes, relative value and color, movement and stillness,quality of texture etc.)* Strategies for manipulating visual/physical elements that is ways of thinking ofcomposing with visual/physical elements (e.g. arrange, juxtapose, relate,contrast, group, balance, unify, repeat, edit, elaborate, classify, divide, increase,decrease, maximize, minimize, dissect, separate, align, vary, diversify, alternate,reduce, connect, etc.)* The relationship between materials and their visual/ physical impact (i.e. a stickor string acts as a line, an indentation in a form is simultaneously perceived as amark, a material is chosen for its shape and color, an element is chosen for itsweighty quality, an object is chosen for its associative qualities etc.)Materials and Techniques* Gravity and the basic forces of tension and compression.* Materials, their handling, and meaning* Physical activities used to alter and form materials that can be used to createfigure sculpture (e.g. slice, bend, carve, compress, stretch, twist, etch, impress,etc) (Suggested materials are clay, wax, concrete, foam, plaster, etc)* Working with armatures* Understanding the issues and processes involved in working with models* Working with traditional and non traditional figure modeling tools* Strategies for making a figure sculpture permanent (e.g. casting, firing, or directmodeling in plaster, wax, concrete, foam etc)* Safety and Environmental concerns of materials and techniques associated withfigure sculpture in a variety of media in particular as well as associated materials:proper disposal of waste, places where recycled material can be found, propersafety attire to be used when working with specific materials, health relatedconcerns, sources of information on these subjectsCritical Analysis*Purposes of criticism and analysis of artworks: deepen understanding, reflect onlevel of quality and possible improvements, heighten creative decision making byobserving decisions made by others and oneself, establish and maintain highstandards of achievement, ask questions, find new connections, create autonomyand creative confidence, create new problems to solve, discuss art with others toexpose oneself to multiple perspectives etc.*Vocabulary relevant to ideas, materials, and techniques pertaining to figuresculpture* Application, interpretation, and redefinition of sculptural ideas, connection ofhistorical and cultural contexts, personal expression and creative freedom* Aspects of criticism: formal, conceptual, historical, cultural, experiential etc.