Art 429: Contemporary Painting Fall 2015 M/W 11-1:45pm
Instructor: Tim Forcum E-mail: tim.forcum@csun.edu
Office Hours: M/W 10:30-11am and 4:45-5:45pm AC 606
ART 429. Advanced Study in Contemporary Painting (3-3-3-3)
Prerequisites: ART 326 or 327. Projects emphasize conceptual development in painting/art through
visual and material based research, development of advanced critique and presentation skills, and
exposure to contemporary art. Students are encouraged to explore contemporary art media including
installation, 3-D elements, and non-traditional materials and processes, in addition to traditional painting
technique. Portfolio development is emphasized. 5 hours per week.
Art Department goals met in this course:
3. Apply processes of generating and solving problems in art; analyze, interpret and question
traditional methodologies and preconceived notions of art and art making.
5. Develop an appreciation and tolerance of diverse perspectives dealing with art, culture,
teaching and learning.
6. Become involved in both individual and collaborative art experiences with other students,
faculty, and community.
7. Develop a career path for an art profession or an art-related field; develop an understanding of
the demands and expectations of that area of art profession or art field.
Description: This painting course will focus on the following student learning outcomes:
-Develop a cohesive, content-based conceptual platform for their work.
-Learn to undertake creative research and brainstorming in relation to their work.
-Document this research and brainstorming in a research notebook.
-Develop a cohesive portfolio of artwork.
-Learn to document their work and create a professional portfolio.
-Write an artists statement.
-Learn to give an oral presentation about their work, it's development, and their research.
-Learn about the contemporary art scene in Los Angeles through gallery visits.
-Learn advanced critique skills.
You will learn to develop a cohesive body of work, and to dialog about your work in an advanced critique
setting. You will develop a working knowledge of contemporary art in relation to your own work through
field trips and lectures. You must work independently to succeed in the course.
Grading
The following graded assignments will be averaged at the end of the semester to determine your grade.




Painting Projects and Critiques (300 pts.)
Research Notebook (200 pts.)
Individual Meetings (100 pts.)
Gallery Reports (100 pts.)



Crit Clubs (100 pts.)
Final Presentation (100 pts.)
Website (100 pts.)
All assignments must be handed in on or before the due date. Late work will be docked points.
You receive a grade for Critique participation, if you miss the Critique but turn in your work early,
you will be docked 50%. If you miss the Critique & fail to turn in work, you will earn a “0”.
A note on evaluation:
I will be evaluating the entire semesters work via your website and research notebook. Your work will
also be evaluated and graded at critique. The critique grades are not only based on the work you
present, they are also based on an evaluation of your participation in the discussion.
1
Attendance
This is an advanced course. It requires extensive work outside of class. You must attend class sessions
that are not specified for studio work. (lectures, discussions, critiques) You must attend all Individual
Meeting sessions.
If you miss more than two of these specified days, you will be docked a letter grade.
If you are late to a critique or a presentation, I will dock your crit/presentation grade 10 points
There is NOTHING worse for a student who is presenting for the first time, than to be interrupted
by a tardy student! Respect for your peers should be given as well as expected.
Rules




All papers assigned are to be typed with 12 pt font, double-spaced and presented as a college level
paper. This means the paper should be written in proper English, with no spelling or grammatical
errors. If English is your second language, or you have a learning disability, I suggest that you seek
the service of the writing center immediately. Here is the web address:
http://www.csun.edu/lrc/writing/wconference.html
All papers must be handed in as hard copies. No emails will be accepted.
Cell phones are to be turned off during class, unless you are a parent. (use vibrate feature).
Absolutely no texting during class sessions such as critiques, discussions, and lectures.
Assignment Descriptions
Art Projects and Critiques (300 Points). 100 points for each Critique.
There are only two painting projects in this class. They are designed to get you started on developing
your body of work. The first Critique will address Project #1, and the second will address Project #2.
The final critique will focus on your conclusions. Second semester students should continue last
semesters work and do not have to repeat these exercises unless they would like to.
Project #1: Critique #1: Make 5, find a direction!
You will make five artworks of anything you want, it's even better if you make more than five! Make them
small. You can use any media you like. This is an opportunity to explore your own ideas outside the
confines of an assignment. USE YOUR BRAINSTORMING info as a source!
Project #2 First Half: Critique #2: Take one and start making 5 more.
This assignment deals with expanding the theme you began in assignment #1. You will begin five more
artworks that develop the ideas and themes from the first project. Bring in finished pieces so far (2-3).
Project #2 Completed: Critique #3: 5 or More Completed Artworks.
By this time, you should have developed your ideas into a cohesive whole. Work should be complete
and refined. (Minimum 5 Finished Pieces)
Critiques
Each Critique will be graded based on the work you present. Work should be COMPLETE by the time of
the critique. No incomplete work may be presented unless I have OK'd a specific large-scale
project. Everyone must attend every Critique Day and participate in the critique or points will be
deducted.
Critique #1: 9/28 and 9/30
Critique #2: 10/26 and 10/28
Critique #3: 11/30 and 12/2
2
Research Notebook (200 Points) Checked at each Individual Critique.
Over the course of the semester, you are to document your daily studio practice, inspirations, influential
artists, and thoughts about being an artist through your Research Notebook.
10 Artists:
You will research 10 Contemporary Artists. You will include images of the Artist’s work,
artist’s statement, press release, reviews, essays, etc. A synopsis, in your own words,
about the artist’s work and why you chose it as one of your 10.
20 Random Images
 The image speaks to you because of aesthetics, content, memory, subject matter etc.
 The image is in some way inspirational to you.
 The image is something you can’t escape, something you are fascinated with.
 The image is something you would definitely SAVE for future reference.
 You don’t need to articulate why you selected each image, but you should have some sort
of cultural/psychological/nostalgic/aesthetic import.
 DO NOT censor yourself.
 Hardcopies of your images. Printed out, photocopied, or cut out of source.
Content and Materials based notes, research, images and studies.
Critique notes and Presentations notes.
Individual Meetings (100 Points) Each Individual Meeting is worth 33 Points.
Individual Meetings are required, there will be 3 per student, one between each Critique. You are
welcome to sign up for additional meetings if there are additional slots. If you need extra assistance I
encourage you to use my office hours. You can sign up for my office hours in the art advisement office.
Sign ups are on my office door, and the Meetings are held in my office or in the painting studio. If you
miss an Individual Meeting in which you have signed up you will not get credit and will be docked 33
points.
*You must bring your work or jpegs of your work for Individual Meetings along with your
Research Notebook. If you show up empty handed, you will forfeit your time slot.
I have a schedule for the Individual Meetings as follows:
1st Meeting:
2nd Meeting:
3rd Meeting:
Introduction, new students show me your past work, returning students, current work
We will also discuss your progress towards Critique #1
We will discuss your current work and your artist statement. Bring in Research Notebook
We will discuss your current work. Bring in finished Research Notebook for grade.
Gallery Reports (100 Points) 33 points for each report.
In-between Group Critiques, part of your research will be Gallery Reports. You must visit one of the listed
gallery districts and write up a report. Over the course of the semester there will be THREE gallery
reports, each report must be handed in at the Critiques.
3
Crit Clubs (100 Points) Written Synopsis of each meeting worth 33 Points.
Crit Clubs will be assigned by the instructor, and will change after each Critique. Each month, you will be
required to meet with your Crit Club and discuss your work and ideas. Each person will write up a
synopsis of the discussion referring to the points made of each members work as well as what was
mention about your own work. Crit Club reports are due at the Critiques. I am grading the quality and
content of your writing. The synopsis must follow this format:





Name
Participants in attendance
Meeting location
Synopsis of discussion: Be insightful, this is meant to reflect your progress. Mention what was
said about everyone’s work and ideas along with what was said about your work.
Your own thoughts about the meeting and the work/ideas presented.
If I do not receive a written synopsis from you, and the other participants have not listed you in
attendance, you will not receive credit.
Website (Final Portfolio) (100 Points)
You will turn in a portfolio in the form of your own website.
•Website Design. You will be required to do some research on websites. Find one that you like, it might
be easier to choose the website of an artist who’s work you admire, but for the purpose of this
assignment can be any website you think would suit your work. We will cover some simple tools to use to
help you to design your site. You may use any program or template website you like to build your site, I
will give feedback via Individual Meetings.
On your website, you must include:
 Images of your work, dated or organized by series
 Resume
 Artist statement
 Contact information
The website is due on the last day of class. YOU MUST EMAIL ME YOUR URL.
Final Presentation (100 Points)
You will present your semesters work in a power point presentation at the end of the term. The
presentation is to be 10 minutes long. I will time you to make sure you do not go over. I recommend that
you practice and time yourself.
Lecture should include the following:
 Images of your work from the semester. Labeled with title and dimensions.
 Analysis of how your work has progressed, including your process. Images could be included.
 Images of at least three contemporary artists who have influenced you. Discuss why you connect to
their work. Make sure images are labeled with artist’s name and title of work.
4
Art 429 Fall 2015
COURSE CALENDAR
8/24
8/26
Introduction: Go over Syllabus and discuss assignments.
Lecture: Getting Started. Formation of Crit Clubs.
8/31
9/2
Individual Meetings/Studio Day
Individual Meetings/Studio Day
9/7
9/9
Labor Day. No Class
Individual Meetings/Studio Day
9/14
9/16
Individual Meetings/Studio Day
Individual Meetings/Studio Day
9/21
9/23
Individual Meetings/Studio Day
Lecture: Artist Statements
9/28
9/30
Critique: Project #1, Crit Clubs and Gallery Reports are DUE
Critique: Project #1, Crit Clubs and Gallery Reports are DUE
10/5
10/7
Individual Meetings/Studio Day
Individual Meetings/Studio Day
Assigned Reading
10/12 Individual Meetings/Studio Day
10/14 Individual Meetings/Studio Day
10/19 Individual Meetings/Studio Day
10/21 Individual Meetings/Studio Day
10/26 Critique: First Half Project #2, Crit Clubs and Gallery Reports are DUE
10/28 Critique: First Half Project #2, Crit Clubs and Gallery Reports are DUE
11/2
11/4
Photography Workshop, Web Workshop
Individual Meetings/Studio Day
11/9 Individual Meetings/Studio Day
11/11 Veterans Day. No Class
11/16 Individual Meetings/Studio Day
11/18 Individual Meetings/Studio Day
11/23 Individual Meetings/Studio Day
11/25 Individual Meetings/Studio Day
11/30 Critique: Completed Project #2, Crit Clubs and Gallery Reports are DUE
12/2 Critique: Completed Project #2, Crit Clubs and Gallery Reports are DUE
12/7
12/9
Presentations
Final: Review of Finished Websites. Email me URL of your finished Website.
5
Gallery Reports
Gallery Reports must be 2 pages typed, 12 pt font, double-spaced
Report must include an image of the artwork you are talking about and a copy of the
Press Release.
Explain the exhibition. Name the Gallery and the Artist being shown. The dates of the show. Name of
artwork you reference. What is the work about? What is the content, subject matter? Mention the
Size/Scale, medium/media/materials that are used. What kinds of techniques were used? How do you
feel about the work? Talk about your personal response. Give me Details!!!! Be sure to read the Press
Release for the exhibit and reference it in your report.
Please check for grammar and spelling!
For your gallery reports, you must visit a Los Angeles Art Gallery within the areas shown below. You
may not use galleries outside of Los Angeles for your report, and you may not use the CSUN art gallery.
You cannot use a Museum. Report must be on Contemporary Art.
Art magazines: art Ltd., artillery, and LA Weekly for reviews and listings. LA Times for reviews.
Art Scene is a free monthly publication that has maps for all of the galleries. You can pick up copies in
most galleries.
Websites:
http://artscenecal.com
http://www.art-collecting.com/galleries_ca_losangeles.htm
Culver City Art District
Culver has a great interactive map in the website that even details when the openings are held. This is
the newest bastion of art galleries in LA. Galleries are all pretty close together.
http://www.ccgalleryguide.com/
North Highland Avenue, Hollywood
Several galleries have moved here and some new ones as well. They are spread out.
http://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=galleries&find_loc=Hollywood+Heritage,+2100+N+Highland+Ave,+Los+
Angeles,+CA
West Hollywood & Mid-Wilshire District
These two areas are very close together. Galleries are spread out.
http://artscenecal.com/Maps/WH.html
Santa Monica & Venice
Santa Monica is home to Bergamot Station, a large complex of galleries all in one spot.
http://www.bergamotstation.com
Downtown Los Angeles District: Chinatown & Main Street
This area encompasses the downtown district that is concentrated on Main Street between 4th and 9th
and Chinatown. I suggest Chinatown or CB1 Gallery on Santa Fe, Downtown.
http://oldchinatownla.com/index.html
6