Art Course Descriptions

The Carthage offers courses in both studio art and art history. Studio art courses acquaint students with fundamental concepts of design, materials, and the tools of fine arts and crafts. Art history and theory courses provide the intellectual framework for understanding and interpreting visual culture.

Scroll down to read descriptions of the art courses offered at Carthage, or click on the following links for additional resources.

• Carthage Schoology for current students
• Course schedules for all terms
• Current final exam schedule
• Major/minor requirements

Introduction to Art History (FAR)(CL)(ITL)

ARH 1700 / 4 credits
This introductory art history course provides an intense chronological overview of artistic conventions from prehistoric cave painting to the 20th century. Students investigate not only what elements comprise a particular style, but also why and how artistic expression has been shaped by social, political, cultural, religious, and individual forces.
Prerequisite: None
Offered in Fall/Spring

History of Photography: Daguerre to Digital (FAR)(CL)

ARH 2100 / 4 credits
This course introduces the history of photography from its experimental beginnings in the early 19th century to the digital practices of the present. The course focuses on the various social, cultural, scientific, and artistic uses of photography as a visual medium, as well as the broader themes and questions that have accompanied photography throughout its history.

Art Survey I: Paleolithic to 1400 (FAR)(CL)

ARH 2700 / 4 credits
An introduction to a global history of art, from the Paleolithic to 1400.
Prerequisite: None
Offered in Fall

Art Survey II: 1400 - 21st Century (FAR)(CL)

ARH 2701 / 4 credits
An introduction to a global history of art, from 1400 to the 21st century.
Prerequisite: None
Offered in Spring

Arts of the Americas (FAR)(CL)(DIV)

ARH 2710 / 4 credits
An introduction to the indigenous art traditions of the Americas. This includes the Aztec, Maya, Inca, Amazon, and North American Indian traditions. The course content is primarily visual but will necessarily consider the historical, archaeological, social, and religious contexts of the works. The course will be of special interest to students studying history, religion, or Latin American culture. It is a dramatic and fabulously rich body of works that is a world apart from the Western European tradition, but as close to home as the dirt under our feet.
Prerequisite: None
Offered in Fall

Research Methods in a Global Art History (FAR)

ARH 2800 / 4 credits
An introduction to resources and methods of research of non-Western art. The class gives an overview of types of evidence, methods of scholarship, and historiographies of a selection of non-Western art histories such as Chinese, Japanese, East African, Oceanic, and Indian. A case study approach, focusing on non-Western art, is used for practical exercises in research and writing.
Prerequisite: None

Internship in Art History

ARH 3550 / 4 credits
An internship enables the student to gain practical experience in his or her field of study. All internships require faculty supervision and regular meetings between the student and the instructor. Further credit will be given for internships in subsequent terms in the same placement as long as the supervising faculty member is satisfied that the student is acquiring new or enhancing existing skills and knowledge base. All internships must be arranged through The Aspire Center.

Research Methods in Art History

ARH 3700 / 4 credits
An introduction to resources and methods of research in art history. The class gives an overview of types of evidence, methods of scholarship, and the discipline’s historiography. A case study in a single area will be the focus for practical exercises in research and writing.
Prerequisite: None

20th Century American Art (FAR)

ARH 3710 / 4 credits
This course is intended to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the artistic, sociopolitical, philosophical, psychological, and spiritual forces that forged a distinctly American art in that century when the United States rose to prominence on the world stage. Students will be introduced to the language and methodologies of art, and they will engage with American art’s quest for identity from its Gilded Age Eurocentric aspirations, through industry-driven modernism and Depression-era regionalism, to Cold War American heroes like Pollock and 60s superstars like Warhol. Our study will examine American art’s role in the age of information, pluralism, and diversity, and conclude with America’s postmodern identity crisis.
Prerequisite: None

Arts of Africa (FAR)

ARH 3720 / 4 credits
An introduction to the art traditions of Africa through the study of selected works. Ten thousand years of African art will be explored, up to and including the African diaspora.
Prerequisite: None

Masterpieces of Asian Art and Architecture (FAR)(AI)(CL)

ARH 3730 / 4 credits
Introduction to the art traditions and cultures of China, Japan, Korea, South and Southeast Asia, and the Near East through the study of selected works and their context. Special emphasis on art and architecture related to major religious and philosophic traditions including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. Aesthetic systems will be explored in relation to key monuments.
Prerequisite: None
Offered in Fall

Modern Art (FAR)(CL)

ARH 3740 / 4 credits
Modern Art focuses on the arts of the 20th and 21st centuries, allowing students to engage with the artistic experimentation of their own era. This study of the arts, beginning with our Age of Anxiety, traces the competing and often rebellious styles of the Post Impressionists up through the Post Modernists. The course stimulates students to grapple with the question: What is art? Prerequisite: None

Ancient Art (FAR)

ARH 3750 / 4 credits
Ancient art concentrates on the arts of prehistoric, preliterate, and ancient peoples, ending with the arts of the Romans to close the classical tradition. The course will be of interest to any student intrigued by the dynamic relationship between art, magic, ritual, myth, science, religion, and philosophy.
Prerequisite: None

Gender in the Arts (FAR)(CL)(IDP)

ARH 3760 / 4 credits
WHY have there been no great women artists?? HAVE there been none? Prepare to be amazed! This course takes up Nochlin’s famous question by examining artifacts from prehistory and surveying evidence of women’s roles and creativity in the arts up through the present.
Prerequisite: None

Independent Study in Art History

ARH 4500 / 4 credits
A student can conduct an independent study in a topic of interest in art history. It is understood that this course will not duplicate any other course regularly offered in the curriculum, and that the student will work in this course as independently as the instructor believes possible.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor

Senior Seminar in Art History

ARH 4700 / 4 credits
Senior Seminar provides the art history major with an opportunity to design and pursue a substantial research project in the field. Intensive independent work is required, culminating in a major paper and formal presentation.
Prerequisites: ARH 2700, ARH 2701, and ARH 3700

Crafts (FAR)(AI)(OC)(WEL)

ART 1050 / 4 credits
Introductory analysis of the history and practice of various crafts. The course will focus on such areas as art metal, glass fusion, paper, fiber, and batik, depending on content in given terms.
Offered in Fall/Spring

Foundations, Surface: Images + Design (FAR)(AI)

ART 1070 / 4 credits
A studio-based course designed to cultivate a student’s ability to understand and create images. Students will work fluidly across two-dimensional and three-dimensional processes and across material-based and digital-based projects. Projects will involve fundamental principles of design, color, and visual organization through drawing, printmaking, painting, fiber art, book arts, 3D media, technology, and lens-based media. Course content will explore the context of images in the larger culture and the potential of art and design to make inquiries into social, cultural, philosophical, scientific, political, or technological topics. Students will take projects through the creative design process, from ideation to contruction, presentation, and critique.
Prerequisite: None
Offered in Fall/Spring

Foundations, Material: Objects + Spaces (FAR)(AI)

ART 1071 / 4 credits
An investigation of three-dimensional objects and spaces in art and design. Students will work fluidly across three-dimensional and four-dimensional processes and across material-based and digital-based projects. This studio course will cultivate a student’s ability to perceive, think, visualize, design, build, and reflect. Students will acquire a broad skill set of fabrication techniques, working with traditional and 21st-century materials, including paper, wood, wire, clay, plaster, mixed media, video, sound, digital 3D designs, and others. Through organizing visual and other sensory elements, students will learn formal and conceptual principles of three-dimensional design. Projects will emphasize which convey meaningful messages.
Prerequisite: None
Offered in Fall/Spring

Foundations, Time: Movement + Digital (FAR)(AI)(OC)

ART 1072 / 4 credits
This course is a study of design fundamentals in time-based media, with emphasis on content. Students will explore the interactions of time through the lens and the tactile world, using video, sound, animation, performance, installation, and/or new media. Projects will be interdisciplinary in nature, with the combining of time-based media, for example performance art and video, installation art and sound. Through individual production, group projects, and critical discussion, students will examine the relationships between image, sound, linear and nonlinear narrative, time, and space.
Prerequisite: None
Offered in Fall/Spring

Digital Art (AI)(FAR)

ART 1073/ 4 credits
Digital Art is a foundational studio art course open to all students. No prior experience is required. This course emphasizes digital art created in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and other standard softwares. Students will create digital drawings, images, and digital collages to develop their technical, aesthetic, and conceptual skills. Through individual projects, students will learn about the impact of vector and raster art and its ever-increasing presence in contemporary art, visual language, and society. This course offers foundational 2D digital design skills and software literacy which will assist students in learning moving image art (animation) software.

Drawing I (FAR)(AI)

ART 2000 / 4 credits
This foundational studio course introduces students to basic drawing techniques and media. Focusing on observational drawing, students learn to create naturalistic images and the illusion of three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional page. In addition, students are exposed to great artists and drawings through history, critique, and art theory.
Prerequisite: None
Offered in Fall/Spring

Darkroom Photography (FAR)(AI)(ITL)

ART 2110 / 4 credits
This course focuses on the camera as a tool of expression and photography as a basic art form. Darkroom techniques will be taught, and each student will acquire the compositional and technical skills necessary to create original photographs. Students are required to have their own cameras.
Prerequisite: None
Offered in Fall/Spring

Color Photography (FAR)(AI)(OC)(ITL)

ART 2130 / 4 credits
Students will explore the conceptual, aesthetic, historical, and technical aspects of color photography as an art medium. Students will use DSLR cameras and the contemporary process of digital photography to produce work that is both visually engaging and conceptually challenging. The course will culminate in a portfolio of works that thoroughly explores an area of interest with technical proficiency. Students are required to have their own cameras.
Prerequisite: None

Oil Painting (FAR)(AI)

ART 2210 / 4 credits
A beginning course in oil painting with emphasis on developing skills and techniques particular to the oil paint medium. Color theory and inventive compositional strategies based on the study of traditional and contemporary painters will be investigated. Individual attention will be given to discovery of personal artistic voice in the medium. Paintings will be based on both direct observation and the imagination. Oil painting is a studio course containing lecture, demonstrations, discussions, and theory.

Acrylic Painting (FAR)(AI)

ART 2220 / 4 credits
A beginning course in acrylic painting with emphasis on developing skills and techniques particular to the acrylic paint medium. Color theory and inventive compositional strategies based on study of modern and contemporary painters will be investigated. Individual attention will be given to discovery of personal artistic voice in the medium. Paintings will be based on both direct observation and the imagination. Acrylic painting is a beginning studio course containing lecture, demonstrations, discussions, and theory.
Prerequisite: None

Watercolor Painting (FAR)(AI)

ART 2230 / 4 credits
A beginning course in watercolor painting with emphasis on developing skills and techniques particular to the watercolor medium. Color theory, particularly as it relates to watercolor, will be introduced. Transparency, granularity, and permanence will be discussed as well as various watercolor mediums. Individual attention will be given to discovery of personal artistic voice in the medium. Paintings will be based on both direct observation and the imagination. Watercolor Painting is a studio course containing lecture, demonstrations, discussions, and theory.
Prerequisite: None

Printmaking: Silkscreen (FAR)(AI)(OC)

ART 2300 / 4 credits
This studio course introduces the theory, practice, and history of silkscreen printmaking. Direct stencil production, resist methods, and photographic methods will be studied. Students will be encouraged to engage the printmaking process as a means of discovery as they learn to master traditional practices.
Prerequisite: None

Printmaking: Lithography (FAR)(AI)

ART 2310 / 4 credits
This studio course introduces the theory, practice, and history of lithography as a fine art printmaking medium. Traditional stone lithography and more recent paper plate processes will be studied. Students will be encouraged to engage the printmaking process as a means of discovery as they learn to master traditional practices.
Prerequisite: None

Printmaking: Intaglio (FAR)(AI)

ART 2320 / 4 credits
This studio course introduces the theory, practice, and history of intaglio printmaking. Etching, engraving, drypoint, and mezzotint will be covered. Students will be encouraged to engage the printmaking process as a means of discovery as they learn to master traditional practices.

Printmaking: Relief (FAR)(AI)(OC)(ITL)

ART 2330 / 4 credits
This studio course introduces the theory, practice, and history of relief printmaking. Traditional woodcut and wood engraving as well as linoleum, collagraph, and new materials will be explored. Students will be encouraged to engage the printmaking process as a means of discovery as they learn to master traditional practices.
Prerequisite: None

Introduction to Sculpture (FAR)(AI)

ART 2400 / 4 credits
This studio course explores traditional and contemporary sculpture materials and processes. Emphasis is on both additive and subtractive methods of working. Goals include acquiring technical skills, understanding the physical and expressive possibilities of diverse materials, and learning safe, appropriate use of tools. Students can anticipate working with wood, clay, stone, metal, and other materials.
Prerequisite: None
Offered in Fall/Spring

Wood Sculpture (FAR)(AI)

ART 2410 / 4 credits
Students investigate techniques and concepts in wood sculpture leading to individual exploration and development. Students will work in a variety of types of wood, using hand and power tools and learning the related health/safety of the tools and woodshop. The projects will address a series of problems based on both traditional themes and contemporary developments in sculpture. Discussions and critiques will support students’ learning process.
Prerequisite: None

Ceramic Hand-Building (FAR)(AI)

ART 2500 / 4 credits
Introduction to ceramic hand-building techniques, ceramic sculpture, and basic ceramic processes including clay and glaze formulation and kiln firing.
Prerequisite: None
Offered in Fall/Spring

Ceramic Wheel-Throwing (FAR)(AI)

ART 2510 / 4 credits
Introduction to ceramic wheel-throwing techniques, functional pottery, sculpture, and basic ceramic processes including clay and glaze formulation and kiln firing.
Offered in Fall/Spring

Ceramic Tile (FAR)(AI)

ART 2520 / 4 credits
The objective of this course is to develop technical and conceptual skills for ceramic tile and brick making using fundamental hand-building and mold-making techniques. All projects have historical and/or conceptual components and require research, planning, development of ideas, and good craftsmanship. Formal, historical, and conceptual components of architectural ceramics will be explored. Working in both two and three dimensions, flat tiles, low- and high-relief tiles, and brick will be created. In addition, projects will investigate how abstract and representational images and patterns can be designed across multiple pieces. Composition, rhythm, and repetition will be a major focus.
Prerequisite: None
Offered in Fall/Spring

Sophomore Seminar in Studio Art

ART 2600 / 4 credits
A combination writing-intensive seminar and studio art course introducing basic and intermediate art concepts and skills, including the writing and speaking skills necessary for discussion and critique of visual art. Through readings and discussions, students will be introduced to contemporary artists, movements, criticism, and theory. Students will also be introduced to studio and professional art practices necessary for careers and further study in the arts.
Prerequisite: None
Offered in Spring

4D (FAR)(AI)(OC)

ART 2750 / 4 credits
Time, space, and technology are fundamental in contemporary art practice. This course will be an introduction to the process of making art by utilizing technology and transaction among people, objects, locations, and situations. Through studio assignments, screenings, readings, lectures, discussion, and/or workshops, students will be introduced to contemporary time-based art practices. Depending on the specific topic offered, this will include video, sound art, performance art, installation, light, experimental film, social practice, web-based, and/or new media.
Prerequisite: None

Animation (AI)(FAR)

ART 2800 / 4 credits
Animation is a core component of moving image art practice. This course is designed to introduce students to the principles and practices of animation. Through studio assignments, screenings, readings, lectures, discussion, and/or workshops, students will be introduced to this time-based art medium. Depending on the specific topic offered, this will include animations created with 2D drawn (hand or digital), 3D animation, stop motion photography, pixilation, clay, paper, puppets, objects, time-lapse, and other mediums to make engaging characters in unique settings while connecting to a range of storytelling genres. Students will build upon their understanding of digital workflow, file management, production techniques and project planning. The roles of linear and nonlinear, narrative, time-based media will be discussed and considered. This course may be repeated up to three times.

Advanced Drawing (FAR)(AI)

ART 3000 / 4 credits
Advanced drawing with emphasis on the human figure. A studio art course containing theory and practice. Emphasis is on projects that focus on self-portraits, working from models, and narrative/figure assignments as part of the development of individual style. A studio art course containing lectures, demonstrations, theory, and practice.
Prerequisite: Art 2000
Offered in Fall/Spring

Illustration (FAR)(AI)

ART 3010 / 4 credits
Illustration is an applied art that communicates specific content through image making. Drawing is emphasized as both a practice and a discipline in illustration. A variety of narrative approaches will be introduced with an emphasis on individuality of expression. Introduction to various media is based on class projects. The goal of the course projects will be to communicate ideas for commercial reproduction resulting in a varied portfolio of finished works. A studio art course containing lectures, demonstrations, theory, and practice. Previous drawing experience is highly suggested.
Prerequisite: None

Studio Photography (FAR)(AI)

ART 3100 / 4 credits
An introduction to the use of large format view cameras. Technical instruction includes the use of the camera, lighting equipment, film handling, exposure procedures, film development, and printing.
Prerequisite: ARH 2100

Advanced Darkroom Photography (FAR)(AI)

ART 3110 / 4 credits
Advanced studio work in photography. Emphasis is placed upon darkroom photography as a creative and expressive medium and is taught from a fine arts perspective. In addition to the technical issues of image-making, the content, aesthetics, and formal qualities of the photographic image are explored. A 35mm camera with manual exposure capabilities is required. This course may be repeated up to three times. This class may be used as an elective in majors and minors in art.
Prerequisite: ART 2110

Advanced Color Photography (AI)

ART 3130 / 4 credits
In this course, students will create an in-depth portfolio of photographic works that demonstrates technical proficiency, thorough historical knowledge, and advanced understanding of the aesthetic and formal concerns in photography. This course will emphasize content development and maximizing the creative and expressive potential of digital color photography. Students are required to have their own digital SLR camera with manual controls.
Prerequisite: ART 2130 or CDM 2500

Advanced Painting (AI)

ART 3200 / 4 credits
Advanced studio work in painting with an emphasis on individual work and the formulation of individual language. Independent exploration in areas of interest is highly encouraged within the parameters of class assignments. This course may be repeated up to three times to encompass all media: oil, acrylic, mixed media, and watercolor.
Prerequisite: ART 2210, ART 2220, or ART 2230
Offered in Fall/Spring

Advanced Printmaking (AI)

ART 3300 / 4 credits
Advanced studio work in printmaking with an emphasis on individual work and the formulation of a personal visual language. This course may be repeated up to three times.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor
Offered in Fall/Spring

Graphic Production Techniques (AI)

ART 3310 / 4 credits
Camera-ready layout will be reproduced through serigraphic printing techniques. A studio art course containing theory and practice.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor
Offered in Fall

Advanced Sculpture (AI)

ART 3400 / 4 credits
Advanced studio work in sculpture. Emphasis is on mastery of sculpture’s materials and techniques and the interaction of concept and form. Individual and collaborative projects may include working with time, motion, and site-specific installation as well as more traditional freestanding works. This course may be repeated up to three times.
Prerequisite: None

Advanced Ceramics (AI)

ART 3500 / 4 credits
Advanced studio work in ceramics with an emphasis on individual work and the formulation of a personal visual language. Students may meet with other ceramics sections. This course may be repeated up to three times.
Prerequisite: ART 2500 or 2510
Offered in Fall/Spring

Advanced 4D (AI)

ART 3700 / 4 credits
Advanced studio work in time-based media, emphasizing individual production in one or more of these areas: video, sound art, performance art, installation, light, experimental film, social practice, web-based, and/or new media. Students will refine their aesthetic, conceptual and technical skills through individual projects and continued study of the expanding critical role time-based media has in contemporary art and society. This course may be repeated up to three times.
Prerequisites: ART 2750

Advanced Animation (AI)(FAR)

ART 3800 / 4 credits
In this advanced studio art course, students will create artworks utilizing animation concepts, software and techniques. Depending on the specific topic offered, this will include animations created with 2D drawn (hand or digital), 3D animation, stop motion photography, pixilation, clay, paper, puppets, objects, time-lapse, and other mediums to make engaging characters in unique settings while connecting to a range of storytelling genres. Students will build upon their understanding of digital workflow, file management, production techniques and project planning. The roles of linear and nonlinear, narrative, time-based media will be discussed and considered. This course may be repeated up to three times.

Senior Seminar in Studio Art

ART 4000 / 4 credits
Senior Seminar in Studio Art provides the Studio Art major with an opportunity to create and install a capstone senior exhibition. The course focuses on development of personal artistic voice and critical ability with an awareness of contemporary artists and theory. Along with their artwork, students will exit the course with an artist statement, portfolio, resume, and website.
Prerequisites: Completion of four studio courses, junior review, and consent of instructor
Offered in Fall

Art Curriculum and Methods: Early Childhood Through Early Adolescent (K-5) (FAR)

ART 4210 / 4 credits
Candidates will learn techniques that they can use with elementary students to help them create elementary works of art as well as form an elementary appreciation for art. Emphasis will be placed on applying the National Visual Arts Standards K through 8 (developed by the National Art Education Association) to lesson plans. Candidates will explore methods for motivating, creating, and evaluating elementary students’ artwork, as well as methods for integrating art across all disciplines. Candidates will plan and implement art lesson plans in local elementary schools for their field experience requirement.
Prerequisites: Acceptance into the TEP and EDU 2150

Art Curriculum and Methods: Early Adolescent Through Adolescent (6-12) (FAR)

ART 4220 / 4 credits
Candidates will learn techniques that they can use with middle and secondary school students to guide their artistic development and enable them to create works of art, as well as form an appreciation for art and art history. Emphasis will be placed on applying the National Visual Arts Standards 6-12 (developed by the National Art Education Association) to lesson plans. Candidates will explore methods for motivating, creating, and evaluating middle and secondary students’ artwork. Candidates will plan and implement art lesson plans in local middle and/or secondary schools for their field experience requirement.
Prerequisites: Admission into the TEP and EDU 2150

Independent Study in Studio Art

ART 4500 / 4 credits
A student can conduct an independent study in a topic of interest in studio art. It is understood that this course will not duplicate any other course regularly offered in the curriculum, and that the student will work in this course as independently as the instructor believes possible.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor