Introduction to history, aesthetics, and practice of photography as a fine art; includes demonstrations, workshops, critiques, final portfolio; photography time outside of class; digital camera required.
Elements of Photography will allow beginning non-major students to experience a broad range of photographic practices. This includes introduction to contemporary image culture, workshops centered on historical darkroom techniques, and the production of a fine art portfolio. Students will learn how to use digital SLR cameras in a variety of modes as well as gain experience using Adobe photo editing software and producing fine art digital prints. Digital SLR camera required; available for checkout through the Photography lab.
non-art major
Basic Drawing 3 s.h.
This course is designed for the art major, addressing the formal and conceptual bases of drawing. Beginning with problems focusing on the essentials of line and mark, it progresses to shape and form. Each of these properties is explored with reference to space and value. Color is a minor component, with tonal range in black and white stressed. The media of charcoal, pencil, and ink are employed. Serious involvement is expected and additional outside work is required. The semester is devoted to developing a visual vocabulary and working attitude that are consistent with the major in art and serves to assist students well in advanced two- and three-dimensional courses. Course format consists of group and individual critiques, perceptual (including still-life and human figure, clothed and unclothed) and conceptual drawing, and other class activities. Materials such as paper, a portfolio, and the aforementioned media are required supplies. TA's teach the course with supervision from faculty.
art major or art minor
Design Fundamentals 3 s.h.
This entry-level studio course explores two- and three-dimensional concepts of design. The emphasis is on creative thinking and problem solving. Class projects are completed with variety of computer software to introduce students to industry standards. (Adobe: Illustrator, InDesign, Autodesk: AutoCAD, 3ds Max). Students prototype class projects using modern technologies such as Computer Numeric Controls (CNC) and Rapid Prototyping (RP), also known as 3D Printing, along with traditional techniques. Course format consists of informal lectures, in class workshops, and assignments completed outside of class. Grading is based primarily on class projects, participation and final portfolio.
art major
Scene Design I 3 s.h.
This course focuses on the development of communication skill-sets and personal design aesthetic; script analysis, research, sketching, model building and drafting techniques will be explored and refined through the creation of a variety of scenic design projects. Success in this class is reflected the continual growth and development of the individual student’s abilities to effectively communicate their ideas within the context of this collaborative art form. If you have questions about the course or if you are a non-major and interested in the class, please contact the Eric Stone at eric-stone@uiowa.edu.
Engineering Be CreativeFor UICB students, this course counts toward the Studio Practice area.
Foundational Hands is the classic introduction to calligraphy. This course teaches fundamental calligraphic skills. Students learn Roman majuscule, Humanistic minuscule (Lowercase Romans) and Italic, three foundational calligraphic hands that are the basis for our standard modern typefaces. Exercises in basic layout will be incorporated into letter practice and small projects. Students will complete two broadsides, a book and explore other lettering applications. Students should expect about 5 hours of classwork per week some of which is done in class.
Engineering Be Creative
Introduction to Book Arts 3 s.h.
Topics related to artist books, hand bookbinding, letterpress printing, papermaking, and lettering arts.
Engineering Be CreativeCeramics I: Handbuilding 3 s.h.
This course serves as an introduction to the ceramic arts and focuses on hand-building techniques and surface decoration. Students will learn to create original work through five assignments. Students load and fire electric and gas kilns, with occasional wood, soda, and raku firing as time and scheduling permit. Students mix glazes and make clay throughout the semester. There are lectures on artists relevant to the field of ceramics, basic glaze and clay formulation and preparation, along with lectures on technical information and contemporary ceramics discourse. Short papers may be assigned for research. Several critiques concerning class assignments will be conducted throughout the semester.
Engineering Be Creative Literary, Visual, and Performing ArtsIntroduction to filmmaking; how to shoot and edit short works of cinematic art; exposure to various working methods including nonfiction, fiction, and experimental modes of video production.
Exploration of creative nonfiction genres through readings, discussion, and writing exercises; introduction to workshop environment.
A course exploring genres of creative nonfiction through readings, discussions, writing exercises, and writing itself. Students experience a workshop environment in which class members read, discuss, respond to, and critique the drafts their fellow students produce. Course readings, assignments, and exercises model the many modes of nonfiction for student writers. For beginning non-English majors.
Engineering Be Creative Literary, Visual, and Performing ArtsHow we tell stories—every time people talk about themselves, someone they know, places visited or events experienced; creation of a story with intention to entertain and inform a particular audience; how to create compelling, thought-provoking, and resonant texts from raw material of daily life; exploration of three fundamentals of great storytelling—taking emotional and intellectual risks, being imaginatively rigorous, and revising, revising, revising. English majors may apply this course to the following area and/or period requirement. AREA: Nonfiction and Creative Writing.
Engineering Be CreativeProse Style 3 s.h.
Sentences: how they work, what they do; how sentences can help writing, expand understanding of prose style, stretch options. English majors may apply this course to the following area and/or period requirement. AREA: Nonfiction and Creative Writing.
Engineering Be CreativeThis course explores the idea that to learn to teach writing best, we must write and read; these acts cannot be disconnected. Students read and discuss accounts by professional writers, student writers, teachers of writing, and writing researchers. The discipline of composition studies, as well as reflections by writers on writing, is rich with interesting documentation, important theory, and vigorous dialogue. Students write for an audience to read and respond, in a broad variety of genres including the personal essay, the poem, short fiction, short nonfiction, the letter, the one-pager, and an experimental blur of genres. Writing is one tool for working out thinking. It is a link between inner speech and a frame for talk, a link between writer/speakers and reader/listeners. It is a writing teacher's responsibility to create an environment that ensures a diet of varied writing and broad reading, a community of rich, specific responders, and lots of opportunities for revising and careful editing. Along with the development of the individual writer-reader, the "social construction of knowledge" is an important concept in a writing class, and students experience it in this course. There are no actual stages, there is no specific process, but we can describe and theorize about prewriting techniques, revision strategies, conferencing models, inventories of grammatical conventions and mechanics, and publishing opportunities. Describing writing allows us to freeze the action to discover conditions under which writing takes place, and what the differences are in every writer's approach. To teach writing, you need to see that the act of writing is different with each piece you write, that you contribute to the next piece you write with each piece you read.
English majors may apply this course to the following area and/or period requirement. Area: Nonfiction and Creative Writing.
Engineering Be CreativeCreative Writing 3 s.h.
The primary goal of this course is to strengthen each writer's fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction; another goal is learning to read more like a writer. Much of the semester is spent reviewing and discussing the work of the writers in the class, but students also complete writing exercises and study work by established authors. Always, the focus is on craft and how to best negotiate the infinite number of choices that a writer faces with every word. Students may attend readings and lectures taking place on campus and at Prairie Lights Bookstore. Students are expected to attend class faithfully, bringing with them well-reasoned comments, honest work, and the belief, if for only a few hours a week, that nothing matters more than the powers of language and imagination.
Engineering Be CreativeFiction Writing 3 s.h.
Poetry Writing 3 s.h.
Science fiction literature as an ongoing conversation about the possible; exploration of world boundaries we have by imagining worlds that we don't (yet); alien encounters that consider ways we react to beings we see as unlike ourselves; alternate histories to illuminate what might have been; transhumanist fiction to explore what we may become; issues of composition and craft that underlie all effective fiction; students write and revise works of science fiction and engage in constructive discussion of each other's work.
Engineering Be CreativeThis class is a laboratory in which students will experiment with forms of writing common to the workplace. Through a series of scenarios that simulate on-the-job experience, students will generate professional communications including resumes, cover letters, email correspondence, press releases, short-deadline projects, and elevator pitches. In addition, lessons in grammar, usage, and style will help students become more effective editors of their own work. At the end of the semester, each student will have produced a portfolio of polished writing samples and will be ready to write in the workplace with confidence and skill.
Engineering Be CreativeRobotic Art Studio 4 s.h.
Robotic Art Studio investigates the essential elements behind integrating robotic systems with art & design. This course will bring together programming, electronics and mechanical fabrication. We will look at how to build autonomous agents that interact with the world.
This course will explore electricity, looking at the necessary concepts and tools of basic electronics. Demonstrations of different motors, sensors and other electronic devices will be given. The class will program Arduino micro-controllers to interface with the external world through motorized mechanisms, lights and other devices. Students will build fundamental circuits that will be necessary in the completion of projects, exploring the construction of feedback systems into art projects. The class will look at how to fabricate mechanisms and link these to the control systems. Group discussions will critique both works in progress and final projects. Throughout the semester students will be introduced to artists including: Stelarc, Bill Vorn and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer who use robotics in their work. Projects may integrate robotics with light, sound, mechanical form, found objects, sculpture, installations, performance environments and wearable technology.
Graphic Design I 3 s.h.
Basic concepts and principles that can be applied to all modes of contemporary visual communication.
This course focuses on basic concepts and principles of traditional and contemporary visual communication practices. Topics include fundamentals composition, color, and design thinking.
Basic metalworking techniques, including: sheet metal fabrication, hammer forming, hydraulic die forming, soldering, riveting, etching, texturing, roll printing, anodization of aluminum and titanium, stone setting, patination; creation of jewelry, functional, and nonfunctional objects using metals and other materials.
Garage Band: The Basics 2 s.h.
This course explains the basic applications of Mac-based GarageBand and requires each student to compose two pieces of music using the program.
The mid-term composition involves acoustic instruments with pre-recorded loops and the final composition will employ MIDI instruments and keyboards.
Use of editing techniques and effect processing will also be part of the final composition resulting in a CD of original compositions. Music therapy majors may be asked to write more sophisticated pieces of music than the non-majors.
The basic course structure is:
1. How to set up the Mac and Getting Started with GarageBand.
2. Music theory basics (maj/min keys, notation, transposition, harmony)
3. Composition basics (the blues, AABA, & various basic song forms)
4. Drop-n-drag with apple loops (arranging possibilities)
5. Using the multi-track recorder (first with real instruments/microphones)
6. Using software instruments (using the MIDI keyboards/guitars)
7. Applying the variety of effects (reverb, echo, compression, EQ)
8. Using plug-ins (downloading and importing from the web)
9. Mixing process (automation, panning, volume levels, etc)
10. Exporting music and creating your own CD’s using itunes.
Engineering Be CreativePhotography I 3 s.h.
This course is designed to introduce students to color theory as it pertains to image making including color as conceptual/compositional tool, color as visual language, and consistency of printed color throughout a photographic series. Concepts are presented within the context of contemporary trends and practices. Through slide lectures and critiques the course emphasizes visual literacy while encouraging students to develop a critical awareness of their work.
***Please note that while Photography I and Photography II may be taken in any order, Photography II will not count as an upper-level BA course until Photography I has been completed. Contact your academic advisor with any questions.***
Painting I 3 s.h.
This course is a basic study of visual issues as they relate to pictorial space. Specific problems may involve still life, landscape, human figure (clothed and unclothed), or concept. Projects include monochromatic statements and the complexities of color. A technical understanding of oil media, a visual vocabulary, and the beginning of a personal investigation are stressed. Course format consists primarily of studio work and practice with faculty guidance through lecture and critique. Grading is based on the quality and improvement of work, participation in class critiques, and attendance. Written work may be required. A technical text may be assigned. The University Art Museum, Art Library, and School galleries are supplementary resources. Required materials include a complete list of oil painting supplies. The course is taught primarily by a faculty member with the assistance of a TA.
Introduction to Printmaking 3 s.h.
This class is designed to give the beginning artist an overview of basic printmaking techniques and an understanding of what a print is, its form in both unique and multiple formats, and how these function in our culture. Printmaking processes result in a rich array of pictorial possibilities and methodological approaches. Students will be exposed to the basic techniques and concepts of intaglio, lithography, relief, and basic computer applications for printmaking during the course. We will discuss the history of printmaking by looking at works by professional printmakers, both historical and contemporary, for inspiration.
art major
Acting for Success 3 s.h.
Undergraduate Sculpture I 3 s.h.
This course is an introduction to basic sculptural concepts and processes. Emphasis is placed on developing personal ideas, and acquiring basic skills and knowledge of materials. Each assignment builds upon the others, creating a solid conceptual/technical foundation. Instruction includes readings, discussions, demonstrations, and slide presentations. Attendance is mandatory and grades are based on personal development and class participation. This is a fundamental 3D art course that introduces students to a wide array of hands-on fabrication techniques including, wood assemblage, plaster/wax mold-making and fabricating with wire/metal.
Engineering Be Creative Literary, Visual, and Performing ArtsIntroduction to 3D Design 3 s.h.
Develop conceptual and critical design thinking while solving problems to create 3D structures with sustainable materials, processes, and consumption; discuss, develop, and evaluate composition principles and their relation to aesthetics, modular systems, structure, and sustainable use of material through handmade models and systems that lead to final designs; engage in diverse multidisciplinary collaborations. GE: Sustainability.
This is the foundation course for Product, Furniture, and Interior Design and the introduction to 3D Design with Sustainability. Students create four project and a Digital portfolio (Website).
They develop conceptual and critical design thinking while solving problems to make 3D structures with modular systems and sustainable material, processes, and consumption.
Students learn traditional hand drafting and model making, use AutoCAD software and Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) machine to create scale models, learn basic woodshop skills, research sustainable material and processes, practice how to pitch an idea and present projects, utilize map systems, take pictures using the lighting studio, edit images using Adobe software, and create a website portfolio.
Engineering Be Creative Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts SustainabilityBasic Acting 3 s.h.
This course is intended for students who are not theatre arts majors. The course is an introduction to the elements of performance, including exercises in concentration, imagination, observation, communication, relaxation, and sensory awareness. Classes are designed to promote toning the voice and body, freeing creative expression, and developing an understanding of the dramatic situation. This is primarily a lab class; appropriate casual clothing is necessary. Play attendance with written critiques, a journal, and a final performance project with written character and scene analyses are required. The course enhances interpersonal communication and presentation skills required for a successful career in occupations such as Engineering, Business, Medicine, Marketing, Mass Communications and Education to name a few.
non-theatre arts major
Theatre Technology 3 s.h.
This is a concentrated hands-on training course that quickly introduces students to scenery, costume, and property construction, along with lighting and sound production. Students are shown the stages, shops, tools, equipment, safety procedures, and some of the basic techniques involved in producing a live performance. The course is required for all theatre arts majors. Course requirements outside of class include a mandatory tool qualification, and the attendance at one technical rehearsal and two performances. Theatre faculty teaches the course.
Engineering Be CreativeProduction Lab 1, 2, 3 s.h.
Playwriting I 3 s.h.
This course provides an introduction to the craft of playwriting. Students will focus on the fundamentals of writing for the stage, including playwriting structure, creating characters, writing dialogue and building plays. Coursework includes in-class writing, regular writing assignments, and the reading of plays.
Engineering students, as well as students of other disciplines, are encouraged to enroll.
Engineering Be Creative Literary, Visual, and Performing ArtsUse of theatrical exercises and improvisation techniques to help students develop their imaginations, stimulate creativity, and approach practical projects from a fresh point of view; emphasis on working in teams and using improvisational techniques to solve problems.
Engineering Be CreativeCostume Design I 3 s.h.
Lighting Design I 3 s.h.
A hands-on introduction to the principles and mechanics of lighting design in contemporary theatre and dance. This course is designed to further the student’s knowledge of live theatre by providing them with an opportunity to explore emerging lighting technologies. This objective will be accomplished through demonstrations, group projects, and individual presentations. At the conclusion of this course, the student will have a basic understanding of the tools and techniques associated with contemporary lighting design, including 3-D modeling. In addition, the student will have acquired the skills to conceptualize and execute a lighting design for a gallery production in the Department of Theatre Arts.
Engineering Be CreativeEntertainment Design 3 s.h.
A hands-on introduction to concert lighting design, large format projection design, media servers, LED walls, and basic scenic design layout for corporate events. Working in groups, students are exposed to a variety of software and design concepts that relate to the Entertainment Design field. Students execute design projects with Moving Lights, LED Fixtures, Media Servers, and Projection Mapping software. Students are then able to choose their final project from the concepts covered during the semester.
The course is open to all students and may serve as an elective for the Event Management Certificate.
Please Note: This class is an ELECTIVE in the Department of Theatre Arts, it does NOT satisfy the Design Requirement.