Saint Paul College Programs

Liberal Arts and Sciences - Arts

Program Overview

Art courses are designed to provide the highest quality coursework for students majoring in art as well as students who are interested in exploring their creative expression through the creation of artwork in a studio class or the study of art in a historical context. Our art coursework provides students with a richer understanding of the world and themselves. Our instructors possess the highest credentials in their field and are committed to excellence in teaching and scholarship. The fine art and humanities department offers a large variety of studio and art history coursework that transfers towards a Major in Art or Art History at a four-year institution.

Students who plan on majoring in Art at a four-year institution should include Art History, Studio Art and Humanities coursework in order to be prepared for upper division work in whatever area of art they may choose for their area of concentration.

Art and Art History classes also fulfill requirements for the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum, as well as for College and program graduation requirements.

Courses

Course		Cr
ARTS 1710	Fundamentals of Photography 1	3
ARTS 1711	Fundamentals of Photography 2	3
ARTS 1712	Fundamentals of Photography 3	3
ARTS 1720	Art Appreciation	3
ARTS 1730	Drawing 1	3
ARTS 1731	Drawing 2	3
ARTS 1740	Introduction to Painting	3
ARTS 1742	Intermediate Painting	3
ARTS 1760	World Art	3
ARTS 1770	American Art	3
ARTS 1790	History of Photography (traditional and online sections available)	3

Course Descriptions

ARTS 1710 Fundamentals of Photography 1

This course is an introduction to the basic tools and techniques used in black and white photography, as well as the conceptual and aesthetic issues in the field. Technical areas include camera use, metering, aperture, shutter speed controls, film and optics. In addition, the course will address creative uses of photography in its depiction of light and shadow, elements of time, motion, space, portraiture, and personal exploration and metaphor. Students will develop a vocabulary for personal expression combining the technical and conceptual issues into a final photographic project of their own design. (MnTC: Goal 6) 3C/2/1/0

ARTS 1711 Fundamentals of Photography 2

Fundamentals of Photography 2 builds on the foundational skills of photography as an art form learned in Fundamentals of Photography 1. Composition, exposure, and camera fundamentals are covered. Students are introduced to darkroom techniques to further enhance the capability of personal expression available in the medium. The class explores film development, contact printing, and enlarging. Students develop skills to produce high quality black and white 8"x10" gelatin silver photographs and develop a student portfolio. (Prerequisite(s): ARTS 1710 Fundamentals of Photography 1 with a grade of "C" or better) (MnTC: Goal 6) 3C/2/1/0

ARTS 1712 Advanced Photography

Students in Advanced Photography will continue to explore composition, exposure, camera work and advanced darkroom techniques which will further enhance the capability of personal expression available in the medium. Ultimately, the student will recognize their own creative style and be able to set goals to achieve their photographic aspirations. We will discuss professional presentation of artwork, explore professional practices in photography, experiment with advanced darkroom techniques, and produce a portfolio of high quality black and white gelatin-silver photographs. (Prerequisite(s): ARTS 1710 and ARTS 1711 with a grade of "C" or better or instructor approval) (MnTC: Goal 6) 3C/3/0/0

ARTS 1720 Art Appreciation

Pyramids to Picasso - a survey of great works of art of Western Civilization. This is an introductory "learning to look" course with the objective of developing students' ability to see, understand and enjoy the visual arts. Examples of painting, sculpture, and architecture, many of which will already be familiar to students, will be viewed, discussed and analyzed in class. We will then go out and take a look at the real thing by taking a walking tour of downtown Saint Paul and visiting the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. (MnTC: Goal 6 & 8) 3C/3/0/0

ARTS 1730 Drawing 1

This course will focus on techniques and strategies for improving observational drawing abilities. Through hands-on drawing exercises, students will learn to depict the world around them with greater accuracy. Specifically, we will focus on the five basic skills of drawing: perception of edges, perception of spaces, perception of relationships, perception of lights and shadows, and perception of the whole, or gestalt. (MnTC: Goal 6) 3C/2/1/0

ARTS 1731 Drawing 2

This course continues the development of skills and techniques learned in Drawing 1. This course emphasizes observing relationships, line and value to enhance experimental and personal expression; introduces techniques for drawing in color, incorporates figure drawing, and includes the study of influential artists throughout the history of art, concentrating on contemporary means of expression. Students design art projects and complete a portfolio. Prerequisite(s): ARTS 1730 Drawing 1 with a grade of "C" or better) (MnTC: Goal 6) 3C/2/1/0

ARTS 1740 Introduction to Painting

This course will introduce students to the materials and techniques of oil painting. Students will learn about preparing a surface to be painted, organizing a palette, mixing pigments, and developing a painting from start to finish. There will be a strong focus on "color theory" as it pertains to painting. (MnTC: Goal 6) 3C/3/0/0

ARTS 1760 World Art

What would you see if you suddenly found yourself in China, Nigeria, India or Mexico? How would the world look to you? For many of us, it would probably look very strange. One of the many ways to make our world familiar to us, whether we travel or not, is to try to understand a culture's visual expression in architecture, sculpture, painting and other media. This class will view slides of artwork in a lecture/discussion format. We will then visit the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, twice, where we will be able to immerse ourselves in the cultures studied by examining the original artworks produced by these cultures. (MnTC: Goals 6 & 8) 3C/3/0/0

ARTS 1770 American Art

Art and architecture in America reflects the visual experiences of the many groups of people who, over time, have left a rich artistic heritage. As a part of the course, students analyze works of art representing diverse perspectives and ideas within an historical framework. Among subject areas to be considered are the following: Native American art, American landscape painting, the evolution of the skyscraper, the influence of American painters on modern art and the contributions to art made by recent immigrants to the Twin Cities. Art and architecture field projects are required. (MnTC: Goal 6) 3C/3/0/0

ARTS 1790 History of Photography

This survey course will focus on the art of still photography from the 19th century to the present. There is an emphasis on the work of artists, their processes, and the accompanying aesthetic movements occurring between the announcement of the Daguerreotype in 1839 and the beginning of the twenty-first century. As witnesses of popular culture, students will examine the interaction of photography among other visual art forms, sociology, documentary photography, and photojournalism. The photographic print, as a means of artistic expression, will be discussed including historic, social, and artistic movements. (MnTC: Goal 6) 3C/3/0/0