Riad Miah

Drawing is a visual language. A drawing can be a response. And a drawing can be a form of reaction. The process of drawing may function both as research and as an autonomous medium. In addition to being an introductory drawing course, the content aims to develop concepts through drawing while honing the individual’s interest and study into a state of visual expression. We will begin using various materials and learn how they have aided artists and designers, both historically and contemporary. We will copy different methods of drawing and analyze their function within a process. Videos, readings, and looking at works of art will aid in understanding the process, medium, and how the skill may be a part of one’s overall education. Individual and group conversations will be used to help develop and provide a deeper understanding of the subject. As the course develops, personal research projects will progress along with one large, collaborative group drawing. Our time together will be concentrated in the studio, where ideas are generated from analyzing one’s process and thinking within a medium. The student’s curiosity about topics related to the present and its historical relevance will be, through drawing, a part of the dialogue. 

This course is intended for seniors interested in pursuing their own art-making practice more deeply, for a prolonged period of time, and culminating in a solo exhibition during the spring semester. Students making work in and across painting, drawing, sculpture, video, photography, sound, new genres, performance, and more are supported. Students will maintain their own studio spaces and will be expected to work independently and creatively and to challenge themselves and their peers to explore new ways of thinking and making. Over the course of the year, students will focus exclusively on their own art-making practice and will be expected to develop a rigorous body of independent work to be presented in their spring semester exhibition, accompanied by a printed book that documents the exhibition. We will have regular critiques with visiting artists and faculty across our visual-arts program, along with readings, image discussions, and trips to galleries and artist’s studios. We will participate in the Visual Arts Lecture Series. Your art-making practice will be supplemented with other aspects of presenting your work—writing an artist statement, interviewing fellow artists, and documenting your art—along with a range of professional-practices workshops. This will be an immersive studio course meant for disciplined art students interested in making work in an interdisciplinary environment.