Roots and Practice - syllabus
Murals & Public Art – 11337 – AR 399 – C
(Community-Based Public Art: Roots and Practice)
Meets Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:00 – 3:45 pm in the Photography Room AB 216
Instructor - Dave Loewenstein
785-550-8531
Office hours – by appointment
Course blog - http://rootsandpractice.blogspot.com/
Description
Beginning with a series of lectures, visiting speakers, readings and field trips, this new course will introduce art students to the roots and current practice of collaborative community-based public art: projects that bring local people together in partnership with professional artists to engage in an open process that culminates in the creation of site specific artworks reflecting their interests and their workmanship. Following the classroom work, students will move to the studio where they will each develop a design proposal for a community-based public art project at a specific site in the Topeka area. This process will include site visits, meetings with stakeholders, and consideration of logistics in the execution of the work. The completed designs will be shown at the end of the semester in an exhibition open to the public.
“The highest, most logical, purest and most powerful type of painting is mural painting. It is also the most disinterested, as it cannot be converted into an object of personal gain nor can it be concealed for the benefit of a few privileged people. It is for the people. It is for everybody.”
- Jose Clemente Orozco, Mexican Muralist
“What is of profound importance about these murals is that they represent a fundamental change in the relation of culture to ordinary people. Instead of having “fine art” denied them by a cultivated elite or imposed on them by well-meaning educators, instead of being swamped by the public relations of the establishment and the commercial art of advertisers, neighborhood people are developing a community-based culture that gives them the means to represent their existence as they know it, and , if they so decide, to act to change it. These murals are freeing ordinary people from ways of seeing that are not their own and helping them take control of their perceptions, which is necessary to their taking charge of their own lives.”
- Alan Barnett, author of Community Murals
“Someone taking part in a collaborative theater, for instance, is able to have a very full and rich experience of citizenship: to be one among many whose ideas and efforts are welcomed equally, who pursue common aims in a climate of respect and affection, who together make something meaningful to themselves and the whole community. Even in a dark time, this experience foreshadows true democracy and full vibrant citizenship.”
- Arlene Goldbard, author of New Creative Community: The Art of Cultural Development
Requirements and Student Evaluation
1. Attendance is mandatory.
2. Electronic devices must be turned off during class.
3. The class is split into two sections. Roots is the first half, Practice is the second. Each will account for one half of the work and one half of your grade.
Below is an approximate percentage breakdown of how each portion of your work figures into your final grade for the course.
25 Class participation
10 Work/sketchbook
5 Discussion jump start
20 Roots writing assignments
5 Personal story
35 Practice project (concept, research, preliminary design,
final design, presentation, exhibition)
4. Work / Sketchbook
Use this to take visual and written notes in class, on readings, and field trips. I will collect them to see how you’re doing every now and then.
5. Discussion Jump Start
For each discussion, two students will partner to Jump Start our conversation about the assigned reading. Jump Start partners should read the material, meet to discuss it, and prepare the following:
a. An overview of reading
b. Your points of view about the reading
c. Two questions for the class to pursue
6. Personal Story
15 minutes
A slidetalk/powerpoint presentation that traces your development as an artist, where you started, what and who has inspired you, how your work has evolved, and anything else that has helped to shape your outlook as an artist.
7. Final Exam
During finals week, students will install and make presentations about their final designs at an exhibit space yet to be determined. Suggestions?
8. Supplies
Roots (first half) - 8 ½ ” x 11” sketchbook for taking notes and drawing
- 3-ring notebook to keep all articles and handouts
Practice (second half) - You will need materials to research and create your preliminary and final designs. We will discuss these materials in more detail when we start the projects. My hope is that many of the things you’ll need you will already have or will be able to find at little or no cost.
Roots - Schedule
Tuesday, January 18 Introduction
Reading – Introduction to “Community Murals” by Alan Barnett
Thursday, January 20 Lecture – The Idea of Community Built
Reading – from “New Creative Community” by Arlene Goldbard
Tuesday, January 25 personal story – Dave
Discussion jump starters
Writing assignment – Artist Profile
Thursday, January 27 Field Trip – Topeka sites
Reading – selection from “Toward a People’s Art” by Eva Cockcroft, John Piman Weber, and James Cockcroft
February
Tuesday, February 1 personal story ___________________
Discussion jump starters
Thursday, February 3 Lecture
Reading – Olivia Gude and Jon Pounds from CPAG website
Tuesday, February 8 personal story ___________________
Presentations of Artist Profiles 10 minutes each
Thursday, February 10 Visitors - TBA
Reading – Public Art Review articles
Tuesday, February 15 personal story - Sandra
Profile presentations
Reading – Reading – Olivia Gude and Jon Pounds from CPAG website
Thursday, February 17 Discussion jump starters – Lauren Neuer and Alex Skorija
selection from City Repair “Placemaking Guide”
Writing assignment – Project analysis
Tuesday, February 22 Personal story - Dan Salazar
Personal story - Dale Rose
Discussion jump starters – Michael DeBernardin and Crystal Katzer
Thursday, February 24 Field Trip – Lawrence/Kansas City
Readings - Failures
March
Tuesday, March 1 personal story ____________________
Discussion jump starters
Thursday, March 3 Visitors Erika Nelson and ?
Reading
Tuesday, March 8 personal story ____________________
Lecture
Thursday, March 10 Final Presentations
Tuesday, March 15 Final presentations
Practice - Schedule
Thursday, March 17
Introduction to Studio projects
Reading
Spring Break
Tuesday, March 29 Site visits
Thursday, March 31 personal story _______________________
studio demonstration
April
Tuesday, April 5
Thursday, April 7 personal story ______________________
Tuesday, April 12
Thursday, April 14 personal story _____________________
Tuesday, April 19
Thursday, April 21 personal story ______________________
Tuesday, April 26
Thursday, April 28 personal story _____________________
May
Tuesday, May 3 Show installation
Thursday, May 5 Show installation
