St. Gregory's University

Fall Semester, 2000

AR 3013-1 Visual Literacy

Instructor: Stephen Mauldin

E-mail: slmauldin@sgc.edu

Course Description: (from SGU Fall 2000 Class Schedule) This course enables students, who have already begun to work at creative visual expression, to refine their skills of seeing and of understanding what they see, and their skills of interpreting and criticizing works of creative visual expression. Prerequisite: Media Studies 1313 or a studio art course.

Mission Statement: This course contributes to the university’s goal of inculcating in students an appreciation for the arts and inspiring a lifelong quest for learning and personal development. Visual Literacy will fulfill the fine art requirement in all the university’s degree programs.

Instructor’s Statement: I hold a Bachelor of Arts Degree, with honors, from Oklahoma City University (with a major in Art) and a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Idaho (with a concentration in painting and printmaking). I have also been an actively producing painter for twenty-six years and my work has been shown in museums and galleries from coast to coast. My office is located inside room FA 215 and my office hours are:

· 9:30-10:30 a.m. and 1:00-2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

I also have a studio in the metal building east of the convent behind the cafeteria and can often be found there if I’m not in my office.

Course Objectives: Visual Literacy will introduce students to the language visual expression; the elements and principles of design. By the end of the semester the student will be able to:

· Appreciate visual images more intensely;

· Understand the creative process more thoroughly;

· Create more sophisticated and complex visual images;

· Analyze, assess, and criticize art more intelligently.

Textbook: Ocvirk, Otto G., Stinson, Robert E., Wigg, Philip R., Bone, Robert O., Cayton, David L. Art Fundamentals: Theory and Practice. Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill, 1998. ISBN 0-697-34033-3

Supplies: Supply packets can be purchased at the university bookstore.

Course Requirements:

· Attend class and do all in-class work

· Draw regularly in your sketchbook

· Do assigned out of class drawings

· Assemble a final portfolio for assessment

Instructor Policies: Class attendance is mandatory. After three absences, the student may be dropped from the course. If possible, notify instructor in advance of circumstances that will require your absence and accommodations may be called for. Work turned in late will lose one letter grade for each class period overdue. In-class projects cannot be made up.

Grading Criteria:

· Class attendance and participation	20% of final grade
· Sketchbook	20% of final grade
· Out-of-class projects	40% of final grade
· Final exam	20% of final grade

Project Criteria:

Execution (Craft)…………4pts.

Perception of problem……4pts.

Originality of ideas………..4pts.

Grading Scales:

For Projects: For Exams:

· A = 12pts. A = 90-100

· A- = 11pts. B = 80-89

· B+ = 10pts C = 70-79

· B = 9pts D = 69-70

· B- = 8pts.

· C+ = 7pts.

· C = 6pts.

· C- = 5pts

· D+ = 4pts

· D = 3pts .

· D- = 2pts

· F = 1pt.

Course Outline:

Week	Topic	Reading
1	Introduction/Dot	pp. 4-27
2	Form/Dot	pp. 30-71
3	Line	pp. 74-81
4	Line	pp. 82-91
5	Line
6	Shape	pp. 94-103
7	Shape	pp. 103-113
8	Value	pp. 116-125
9	Value	pp. 125-129
10	Texture	pp. 132-138
11	Texture	pp. 138-143
12	Color	pp. 146-155
13	Color	pp. 155-165
14	Color	pp. 166-177
15	Space	pp. 180-202
16	Space	pp. 202-217