Program Requirements

This course is grounded in the belief that curiosity about one's work and world are valuable and related to each other--and it provides you the chance to engage inquiry as a discrete act (a way to ask specific questions) and a way to probe larger contexts. Through readings, class visits with guest artists, interdisciplinary exercises, and/or arts activities, we'll ask: What environments allow a question to thrive and become the working matrix for your art? Which questions arise for you in the context of what art or arts practices? In what ways do your questions, art and world correspond with each other and how can you be responsive to, articulate about, and assess that correspondence?

What do I make and why? What is my relationship to art and art making? How do I name myself as an artist and why? In this course, you’ll learn to articulate your artistic heritages and the social, cultural, political, historical, spiritual, psychological, and/or contemporary influences on your work. You’ll learn to talk about yourself as an art maker and place yourself within an art lineage and current generation of artists. You’ll also seek out potential new influences that will initiate the future of your work. Through reading, discussion, art making, inquiry, and research, you’ll create and present the context that holds your work.

MFA 7128 The Artist in the World: Preparing the Artist’s Portfolio (3.00 Units)  

All cultural producers (visual artists, writers, performers, et al.) must discover methods for bringing their ideas into the public realm; they must also determine how they want their work to engage with the world politically and socially. Through the examination of models from varied disciplines, you will formulate individual strategies to present your work autonomously. Coursework places a strong emphasis on examining methods of practice at work in the world and considers the varied approaches that artists take as strategic models. Work includes external research in this area, alongside the development of personalized foundation materials, such as artist statements, narrative biographies, and résumés, and an action plan for garnering emotional and financial support. Coursework also develops the communication skills and materials necessary for self-promotion, including visual presentations, written materials, and tools for the web. The course is designed in the spirit of a think tank, and coursework will be tailored to the creative pursuits of enrolled students.