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For students interested in the history and contemporary practice of portrait photography. At a time when pictures are being produced and disseminated in unprecedented proliferation, and the 'selfie' has become a key part of popular photographic discourse, we will look at the complexities of portraiture in terms of skill sets and processes, aesthetics and styles, ideology and identity. The course is a hybrid of black & white and digital photography, and will engage with such dualities as private/public, professional/amateur and traditional/innovative in the pursuit of capturing the self through the looking glass, beyond pose and persona. Assignments will include working individually and collaboratively with black & white film as well as digital equipment, experimenting with different lights and lighting techniques, and research into resources ranging from personal family portraits to the Cantor Museum archives.

Leaving the confines of a classroom this course will take place outdoors. The class will visit different sites at Stanford as we experience the transformative power of giving our attention to the world around us. Graphite, charcoal, ink, and mixed media will be used to translate what you see into original works of art. Traditional and contemporary techniques will be incorporated into projects. Students will draw directly from observation while learning elements of perspective, composition, light, and form. The drawings will range from high-speed gestures to longer more contemplative work. Each student will complete the course with a wide range of rendering techniques and will gain a historical awareness of artists who have worked in this manner. Honing individual style is encouraged. Both beginning and advanced students are welcome.

This introductory course teaches the basic tools of drawing and painting with acrylics, along with an introduction to a range of artists for inspiration. From the beginning, we take advantage of Stanford¿s beautiful campus, drawing and painting outside, along with studio work and slide lectures. We begin with our unique gestures and mark-making, moving through linear perspective, light logic, photo-realism, and the figure, using a range of media from graphite and charcoal to bamboo brush and ink. The introduction to acrylic painting explores the many ways we may use acrylic paint, looking at different art historical approaches along the way. A flexible medium, acrylic can be used to mimic watercolor, oil paint, or even cement, and works on a variety of surfaces. We begin by learning color theory and different paint applications through abstract painting, taking as our inspiration Piet Mondrian, Hans Hofmann, and J.W. Turner. Using thick, impasto paint, we move outdoors for plein air painting, stealing strategies from the Impressionists, and adapting them in our personal projects with today¿s technologies. Moving back indoors, we switch it up again, exploring the expressive gesture, and figurative distortion, using acrylic now more thinly, a la watercolor or gouache, along with charcoal, creating dramatic effects, and working on different surfaces. Each student will finish the quarter with a wide range of techniques and materials at the ready. No previous painting or drawing experience is necessary.

Students construct an individual tutorial with an instructor selected from the studio art faculty, including visiting artists. The student must take tutorials with at least three different faculty members during the six-quarter program. Prior approval of advisor is required.