DRAWING FROM PROCESS
Meeting Times: Friday 8:00 – 11 & 1:00 – 4:00
Class Room: RA6
Professor: Michelle Forsyth
Office Hours: Before and after class and by appointment
Office/Studio: G4905
Local studio phone: #5236
E-mail: mforsyth@wsu.edu
Web: www.wsu.edu/~mforsyth/teaching/VAIR.html

Objectives:           
Using screenprinting, drawing and papercutting as primary mediums, this class will be loosely modeled on the stitch & bitch. Using the round table as a site for both discussion and creation, we will explore identity, subjectivity and labor with a focus on durational and repetitive mark-making, while completing a work for the USM Art Gallery.

Attendance:           
Because this course is only 8 weeks in length and will result in the creation of a new work for the USM Art Gallery, your attendance and participation is critical in the project’s success. Handouts and demonstrations will contribute to your formal technique and critical facility. Interaction and collaboration with your peers will be an important aspect of the learning process. If you miss more than one class, or arrive late consistently you will not receive an A in this course. Please note that this course requires at least 3 hours of homework per week.

Grading Policy:
Because this class focuses on the production of a new work for the USM Art
Gallery, a substantial portion of your grade will be based on attendance and participation.

Final Grades will be based on the following factors:
60% Class participation and attendance. Showing up and participating in class discussions is mandatory.
30% Contribution to project.
10% Group discussions and critiques.

Disability Resource Center Reasonable Accommodations Statement:
Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability. All accommodations must be approved through the Office of Support for Students with Disabilities (780-4707).

Cell Phone Policies and laptops and other electronic devices:           
Unless it is an emergency, please refrain from cell phone use when class is in session. I will permit the use of I-pods or other music devices during work sessions as long as you use earphones.

Materials:           
All materials and readings for this class will be provided.

SCHEDULE

Week 1:
Friday, January 23
Introduction to the project

Fill out building authorization form
Images of my previous projects and cut-paper work
We will start cutting laser printed pieces and pinning them to foam
We will also bend and prepare wire pieces with beads

Complete two 14 x 20 inch drawings—one on Mylar and one on Tracing Paper—using Micron Pens (either .5 or .8) that that will act as a record of ‘marks’ throughout the Department of Art building or other location of your choice. To complete these drawings you will simply trace a collection of marks, smudges, text, patterns or whatever you see fit. When doing so I want you to keep in mind the kinds of marks you are collecting and their scale in relation to the scale of your drawing format. Are the marks small enough to fit on your paper, or are you only able to trace a portion of them? What kinds of ordering principles, if any are you employing in your overall composition and how does one mark or trace compare to another? You can use any kind of drawing material you like, however I would like you to think about how your choice of drawing material relates to the kinds of marks you are tracing? The number and density of marks you collect is entirely up to you. I will collect these drawings and expose them to screens for next class.

Readings for next week:
Kaprow, Alan "The Legacy of Jackson Pollock" in Essays on the Blurring of Art and Life, Jeff Kelley, ed., p.1-9.
Elkins, James "Blindness" in The Object Stares Back, p. 226-235.

Artists to look at:
Jackson Pollock, Frank Stella, Jonathan Lasker, Ingrid Calame, Monique Prieto

Week 2:
Friday, January 30
We will set up and print flats using the vacuum table
Layering colors and working with transparency
Working in pairs on vacuum table
We begin to print your drawings from the exposed screens

Readings for week 4:
Jacob, Mary Jane. “Interview with Marina Abramovic.” From Bhudda Mind in Contemporary Art. pp. 184 – 194
Helfenstein, Josef and Jonathan Fineberg eds. “Tom Marioni” Drawings of Choice: from a New York Private Collection. (Champagne; University of Illinois, 2002) Pp. 104-105

Artists to look at:
Tom Marioni, Simon Frost, Agnes Martin, Yayoi Kusama

Week 3:
In lieu of class I want you to cut out as many shapes as you can in 6 hours. I will give you each a stack of printed patterns and instructions for you to follow.

For next week:
Instead of focusing on different kinds of marks as in the previous assignment, your goal here is to create a shape that is possible to cut out easily. For this project you will design a specific outline based on a leaf or section of tree branch that is native to Southern Maine. When designing the shape consider one that you feel comfortable repeating, but one that is challenging for you as well. You can get creative with your chosen shape and considering mirroring, or rotating it to make it more interesting. Consider the materials that will be used to make the shape in your design. The shape must be no larger than 4 x 4 inches, but can be as small as you wish. Avoid image-making and instead focus on shape-making. Because you are going to be asked to print and cut out 200 of these shapes, I want you to think about what they will be like to make and cut these components. We will create films from these shapes using the digital printer before exposing them to screens and printing them. Then you will cut each one out. I would like each of you to try to create at least 200 shapes but feel free to make more as you choose.

Week 4:
Friday, February 13
We will continue to print your drawings from the exposed screens
We will make color separations (films) from your shapes and expose them to screens
Printing color separations using your drawings and shapes
Working in pairs on vacuum table

Friday, February 15-23 Winter Break

Show begins Tuesday, February 24
If anyone is around during Winter Break and would like to help with the gallery prep and initial install please let me know.

Week 5:
Friday, February 27
We will continue making components for installation.
Artist talk: Friday, February 27, 1 pm 
Burnham Lounge, Robie Andrews Hall, Gorham
followed by reception in art gallery

Readings for next week:
David Batchelor ed. “Victoria Finlay: The End of the Rainbow//2002” from Colour. (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2008) Pp. 217-218.
David Batchelor ed. “David Reed Colour Game//2007” from Colour. (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2008) Pp. 226-227.

Week 6:

Friday, March 6
We will continue making components for installation.
Install work in gallery.

Reading for next week:
Molesworth, Helen. “The Artist as Manager: The Artist Completes a Task” from Work Ethic. (New York: Berg, 2007) p. 101 - 121

Artists to look at:
Lazlo Maholy Nagy, Sol le Witt, Jan Dibbets, William Anastasi, Erwin Wurm

Week 7:
Friday, March 13
We will continue making components for installation.
Install work in gallery.

Reading for next week:
Garth Adamson. “The Materialization of the Art Object, 1966-72” from Thinking Through Craft. (University Park: Pennsylvania University Press, 2004) p. 58 - 65

Artists to look at:
Richard Serra, Eva Hesse, Robert Morris.

Week 8:
Friday, March 20
Snow day for Artist Lecture.
We will continue making components for installation.
Install final work in gallery.