D E S I G N F U N D A M E N T A L S
COURSE DESCRIPTION // Design Fundamentals is a basic, entry-level class in the Art department. Admission to all other classes in the Art curriculum is related to successful completion of this course. This class serves the needs of two distinct groups of students: those who wish to fulfill a Fine Arts credit and intend no further involvement in the program, and those who plan continued study in Art. The needs of both groups are considered when implementing the curriculum.
Many studio activities are presented as components of the Design Fundamentals curriculum. These will enable students to not only survey the requirements of other department courses, but also appreciate the nature of the skills necessary to the practicing artist. These may include perspective drawing, color theory, figure study, printmaking, calligraphy, sculpture, montage/collage, and painting.
Student writing skills as they pertain to art history, criticism, and aesthetics are emphasized. These will serve as precedents for similar activities in successive Art classes. Also, they will enable students to analyze the writings of others which they may encounter in their reading.
Two resource books for the course are The Visual Experience (third edition), by Jack Hobbs and Richard Salome, Davis Publications, 2005, and ARTTALK, by Rosalind Ragans, Glencoe Publishing Company, 1988. A classroom set, a teacher’s edition and an instructor’s guide and teacher’s resource book are provided for each room in the department. While a specific sequence of learning activities will not be taken from this book, it will serve as a guide and resource to provide the students with standardized access to a body of information and images for class activities.
COURSE GOALS // Upon completion of this class, a student should be able to:
• use the Art Elements* and Principles of Design* for developing visual solutions to creative problems.
• appreciate his/her artistic heritage and to understand the relationship between world events and the creation of art.
• apply the components of critical thinking when evaluating works of art.
• communicate personal responses based on his/her values, philosophies and knowledge.
• identify vocational and avocational opportunities in art.
• incorporate current available technologies which are appropriate and necessary to creative expression and aesthetic growth.
Art Elements: Line, Shape, Form, Color, Value, Texture, Space.
Principles of Design: Balance, Unity, Proportion, Rhythm, Emphasis, Variety, Movement.
Many studio activities are presented as components of the Design Fundamentals curriculum. These will enable students to not only survey the requirements of other department courses, but also appreciate the nature of the skills necessary to the practicing artist. These may include perspective drawing, color theory, figure study, printmaking, calligraphy, sculpture, montage/collage, and painting.
Student writing skills as they pertain to art history, criticism, and aesthetics are emphasized. These will serve as precedents for similar activities in successive Art classes. Also, they will enable students to analyze the writings of others which they may encounter in their reading.
Two resource books for the course are The Visual Experience (third edition), by Jack Hobbs and Richard Salome, Davis Publications, 2005, and ARTTALK, by Rosalind Ragans, Glencoe Publishing Company, 1988. A classroom set, a teacher’s edition and an instructor’s guide and teacher’s resource book are provided for each room in the department. While a specific sequence of learning activities will not be taken from this book, it will serve as a guide and resource to provide the students with standardized access to a body of information and images for class activities.
COURSE GOALS // Upon completion of this class, a student should be able to:
• use the Art Elements* and Principles of Design* for developing visual solutions to creative problems.
• appreciate his/her artistic heritage and to understand the relationship between world events and the creation of art.
• apply the components of critical thinking when evaluating works of art.
• communicate personal responses based on his/her values, philosophies and knowledge.
• identify vocational and avocational opportunities in art.
• incorporate current available technologies which are appropriate and necessary to creative expression and aesthetic growth.
Art Elements: Line, Shape, Form, Color, Value, Texture, Space.
Principles of Design: Balance, Unity, Proportion, Rhythm, Emphasis, Variety, Movement.