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Course Syllabus

Course: ART 2660

Division: Fine Arts, Comm, and New Media
Department: Visual Art
Title: Portrait Sculpture

Semester Approved: Fall 2021
Five-Year Review Semester: Summer 2026
End Semester: Summer 2027

Catalog Description: This studio course is an introduction to the art of portrait sculpting, emphasizing the techniques and process of rendering the human image and likeness. Demonstrations, lectures and assignments are used to inform and develop students' sensitivity and understanding of effective portrait sculpting. The exploration of basic clay modeling and casting techniques will be covered. This course will address the fundamental processes consistent in historic and contemporary portrait sculpting practices. A lab fee is required.

Semesters Offered: TBA
Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 3; Lecture: 3; Lab: 3

Prerequisites: Drawing I ART 1110

Justification: This course is an integral part of figurative art foundation curriculum for visual arts programs in the country. Its primary goal is to provide a sound foundation in the visual representation and composition of the human head and features. Our colleagues from other fine arts institutions and commercial industries have encouraged us to make available as much figurative study as possible to emerging painters, illustrators, animators, sculptors.


Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate an understanding, proficiency, and fluency in the following Snow College Visual Arts Student Learning Outcomes of Material Proficiency: Students will be introduced to a variety of portrait sculpting techniques, through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations. Each student will gain proficiency by completing assignments, and by participating in sculpting sessions with the live model. Each student will be required to turn in finished portrait sculpture assignments that illustrate their grasp of sculpting processes and materials.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate an understanding, proficiency, and fluency in the following Snow College Visual Arts Student Learning Outcomes of Conceptual Principles: Students will be instructed in formal and conceptual approaches to portrait sculpting, through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations. Evidence of proficiency will culminate in their written proposal and production of their final project. This knowledge will enhance their formal and conceptual sensibilities. The final proposal and project will be reviewed at multiple points in the semester to provide feedback for improvement.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate an understanding, proficiency, and fluency in the following Snow College Visual Arts Student Learning Outcomes of Historical Context: Students will engage in a dialog examining the historic practice and contemporary response to portrait sculpting, through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations. Evidence of proficiency will culminate in their written proposal and production of their final project. This knowledge will enhance their creative sensibilities. The final proposal and project will be reviewed at multiple points in the semester to provide feedback for improvement.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate an understanding, proficiency, and fluency in the following Snow College Visual Arts Student Learning Outcomes of Critical Analysis: Students will learn the process of critical analysis as it applies to portrait sculpting, through lectures, group critiques, and private interviews. To verbally assess & express your efforts is an integral part of the creative process. Evidence of proficiency will culminate in their written proposal and production of their final project, which will be reviewed at multiple points in the semester to provide feedback for improvement.



Content:
•Sculpting from live models, and photographic reference.
•Methods of photographing models to develop effective reference materials
•Exercises designed to train the mind to consciously recognize angle, size, position, form, and texture relationships
•Study of armature materials and construction techniques
•Study of various sculpting clays, and the traditional and contemporary applications of each
•Application of various mold-making, casting, firing, and surface finishing processes
•Methods of clay manipulation and tool use
•Anatomical study of the muscles and bones of the head and neck
•Study of the similarities and differences of the human head based on gender and cultural morphology

Portraiture has been an integral part of artistic practice in nearly every civilization throughout the world for millennia. Students will be introduced to diverse cultural and historical approaches to portraiture and the impact those approaches have had on aesthetics and on material processes. Consideration will be given to how things such as gender, race, religion, political ideology, and individual personality have influenced artistic production through time.

Key Performance Indicators:
Each student will be evaluated on:

Projects/written proposals  60 to 80%

Critiques 10 to 20%

Attendance/participation  10 to 20%


Representative Text and/or Supplies:
No text is required for this course.

Materials and supplies to be determined at the discretion of the instructor.


Pedagogy Statement:
This course will include, lectures, class discussion, oral critiques, demonstrations, and applied studio projects and practices.

This course is designed to give students a well-rounded understanding of the art of portrait sculpture. Through a variety of teaching methods, students are introduced to various approaches to sculpting the portrait with respect to aesthetics and material process. Inclusive teaching methods tailored to help accommodate different learning styles will be delivered through a variety of mediums including: slide lectures, demonstrations, class discussion, written proposals, group and individual critiques, and sculpture projects.



Instructional Mediums:
Lecture/Lab

Maximum Class Size: 15
Optimum Class Size: 12