1 RealWorld Spring 2014 Syllabus “Do you ever feel like a Fool for doing this?” ART 3939 SECTION 001 Instructor: Appointment: e-mail: Office: Office hours: REFERENCE 11508 Spring 2014 Richard Olinger 974-3660 olinger@usf.edu FAH 120 4:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. Thursday Class meets Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 A.M. to 11:00 A.M. in FAH 227. DESCRIPTION: PR: ART 3838. Restricted to studio majors. Offers studio students the opportunity to analyze their experiences as art majors and explore options available to visual artists upon completion of their degree. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this class is to encourage the student to adopt an attitude of professionalism, and to develop an understanding that now, not later, is the time to develop the foundations of future professional activity. In pursuit of this objective the student will be required to develop a functional portfolio or professional website, respond to readings and participate in class discussions, articulate objectives, and do projects designed to prepare the student to obtain the desired professional outcome. The projects and specified course information will be organized in a journal. OUTCOMES: The student will be able to document his or her work digitally, and will develop promotional assets to include a professional quality website, and associated promotional materials such as artists’ statements, artist’s résumés, press releases and business cards. The student will maintain a record of projects completed (the journal), will demonstrate a basic understanding of formal business communication including effective content and appropriate formats for business letters, résumés, and artists’ statements. They will demonstrate knowledge of basic business practice in the arts through professional research and engagement, an understanding of how to research career opportunities, an understanding of professional arts practices, an understanding of support resources, an awareness of the proper storage, care and shipping of artwork, and learn strategies for integrating into the social and economic structure of the art community and profession. These competencies will be 2 demonstrated and documented through journal activities and by testing. Students will also be introduced to a range of legal issues in the arts. In addition they will demonstrate the ability to effectively manage time commitments and presentation skills. Outcomes will be demonstrated by production of a high quality web site, promotional materials, the maintenance of an organized journal, completion of various assigned research projects, class participation, and testing with possible pop quizzes, a Mid Term Exam and a cumulative Final Exam. ATTENDANCE: Required. Roll will be taken at precisely 9:30 A.M. Students arriving after roll is taken will be charged with ½ an absence. Two late arrivals equal one absence. It is the responsibility of any student arriving late to ensure that he or she is entered on the roll, and that he or she acquires from classmates any class information missed. 3 absences maximum. Upon the 4th absence the grade is reduced by one letter grade, and then by one letter grade per additional absence. Students are expected to notify their instructors at the beginning of each academic term if they intend to be absent for a class or announced examination, in accordance with this policy. Students absent for religious reasons, as noticed to the instructor at the beginning of each academic term, will be given reasonable opportunities to make up any work missed. In the event that a student is absent for religious reasons on a day when the instructor collects work for purposes of grading (homework, pop quiz, etc.), the student shall be given a reasonable opportunity to make up such work or shall not have that work averaged into the student's grade at the discretion of the instructor. The Mid Term Exam will be distributed in class on Tuesday, February 25th. It will be due at the beginning of class on Thursday, March 6th. The Mid-term and Final examinations will be take-home. You are free to use the following resources: class notes, class handouts, your RealWorld flashdrive contents, books, magazines and the internet. The one resource which is explicitly NOT ACCEPTABLE is input from other students. You are required to rely upon your own resources for the exams. The Mid-Term will cover all readings, assignments and lectures up to the date the exam is distributed. The Final Exam will be cumulative, and will cover the material for the entire course. The Final Exam will be handed out in class on Tuesday, April 22nd and will be due in FAH 120 by 5 P.M. on Tuesday, April 29th. In-class quizzes may be used to assess assignment comprehension and may NOT be announced in advance. Quizes may cover lectures, assigned readings, and hand-out information. Mid Term and Final Exams will be a combination of multiple choice and short essay. Responses are to be in blue book(s). Answers must be legible, or they will be counted as incorrect. I do not give style points for eloquence, though a delightful turn of phrase or pointed insight is always welcome. TESTING: SPECIAL NEEDS: Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on 3 the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Please contact the office of Students with Disability Services at (813) 974-4309 in SVC1133 to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. If you have special needs that require accommodation, or if you have special religious observations not recognized on the academic calendar please notify me by the second week of class. RECORDING: Recording of lectures is permitted. Recorded information may be distributed freely. GRADING: WEBSITE: 30% Grading for the website includes the associated promotional materials, HOWEVER in the absence of a functioning website, the grade is automatically zero percent for this requirement. JOURNAL ASSIGNMENTS: 30% QUIZES 10% MID-TERM 10% FINAL EXAM 10% RESEARCH PAPER: 10% Negative Points: Failure to be fully prepared for in class discussion of assigned readings will result in a 2.5 point deduction for each instance. Failure to fully comply with requirements or projects that may be assigned in class will result in a 2.5 point deduction for each instance. Failure to turn in an assignment at all will result in a penalty of 5 points per assignment not turned in. Extra Credit: Up to 5 points of extra credit can be earned by any student who can document inkind donations of equipment or materials from local businesses. Students may earn extra credit of 1 point per instance of a correction to contact information in the list of support organizations, to a maximum of 5 credits. Other things may qualify for extra credit. Ask me if you have an idea. Be certain to call my attention to any work being considered for extra credit. I will be using a plus/minus grading scale. Grade distribution will be as follows: 99 – 100 = A+ 96 – 98 = A 4 93 – 95 = A90 – 92 = B+ 86 – 89 = B 84 – 85 = B82 – 83 = C+ 77 – 81 = C 73 – 76 = C69 – 72 = D+ 67 – 68 = D 65 – 66 = D0 – 64 = F Remember, you must earn a C- or higher for this class to count in your curriculum. EXPENSES: Typically Between $350.00 and $550.00, assuming that you already have a Digital SLR camera. Breakdown: Personal URL Website Host Flash Drive minimum 4 Gigabyte Digital SLR* Reflectors* Light Stands* Lights Journal Notebook Watermarked Bond DVD’s Photo Quality Prints Must have minimum of 2 year. Around $75.00 Variable…Around $10.00 per month. Around $ 15.00 to Bring to 2nd Class Meeting 12 to 15 MP minimum around $900.00 2 to 4 at @ $15.00 to $40.00 each 2 at $40.00 to $100.00 each 2 to 4 3200K tungsten floods at @ $10.00 each. Three ring binder with dividers @ $5.00 Quality correspondence paper @ 20.00 @ $1.00 each @$50.00 to $100.00 or more * Available for check-out. You SHOULD have your own. Properly cared for these are once in a professional lifetime purchases. You cannot rely on university properties when you graduate, and you won’t be able to get student loans. For photo equipment other than the Digital SLR, I will demonstrate some low budget options that should work and be much less expensive, though they are either more fragile or less portable. If you check out equipment, ANY damage makes you liable for the full replacement value of the item. You will need a digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera with a minimum of 12 megapixels of optical resolution (15 is better – higher than that becomes more expensive and is unnecessary for quality documentation and promotional purposes). A point and 5 shoot camera, while it may compare in terms of pixel count, does NOT give you the same image quality as an SLR, and most point and shoot cameras do not allow one to save RAW files, which are required for this class. If you do not have and cannot borrow a digital SLR, you may use a 35mm SLR film camera. Either camera choice must have a full manual mode of operation. Please note that there are definite disadvantages to shooting with film if you are inclined to do so (processing time delays result in a time lag in evaluating images and the possible need to set up and shoot again; the expense and time of digitizing images, increasingly limited choices in film and businesses that process film). While it is true that even a 15 megapixel digital SLR will not yet produce an image equal in resolution to a properly exposed and developed film positive (slide), digital quality is competitive, particularly at the scale of reproduction that promotion is likely to require, and the convenience is considerable. Further, given that the trend is heavily toward on-line and digital promotions, the quality of the film slide becomes moot when the image is converted to and presented in a digital format. If you do not own an appropriate camera, consider borrowing one, renting one, or checking the local pawn shops. A camera with the option of full manual operation is necessary for learning the process of documentation at a professional level. Point and shoot digital cameras are acceptable only if they have the option of fully manual control and RAW files. I repeat, point and shoot digital cameras, even if they have 15 or more MP, do NOT match the image quality of a digital SLR with the same MP rating. Further, very few point and shoots allow the option of saving files in RAW format, which is a required archive format for this class. Any B.F.A. student should have a digital SLR as part of her or his kit. Promotional Materials: A functional website: Your web site must meet the following minimum criteria: You must own the Domain Name and be licensed for a period of 2 years. A copy of your purchase order with account information blacked out must be included in your Grading Packet. Your web site must be hosted by a national service with a record of stability and reliability. There should be NO advertisements on your site for anything other than your own work. Some sites offer free hosting if you allow advertisements. This is NOT a best professional practice. However, in the interest of keeping costs manageable for students, 6 you MAY use such a site without penalty. The DOES NOT relieve you of the responsibility of owning your URL. The quality of your web site will be evaluated on the following criteria: Appearance. It should look professional, not amateurish. What does that mean precisely? It means that I’ll know it when I see it. Seriously, professional usually means slightly on the conservative side, without unnecessary flashiness, having clarity in the organization and visual composition of contents, and demonstrating integrity of presentation and purpose. Speed of upload. Web sites that take a long time to upload can lose viewers. Have a home page that uploads quickly, while larger files are loading in the background. Ease of navigation. The navigation of your web site should be elegant. By that I mean that there should be no broken links and no dead end pages that require you to use a back arrow to get out, and that the flow of information should proceed in a logical, intuitive sequence. You should avoid requiring the use of links that take the viewer out of your website, though providing useful links or links promoting fellow professionals (who would be reciprocating with links to your site) is not a bad thing…Just don’t make it the first place someone goes. Quality of images. Proper exposure and color balance in so far as you can control it, sharpness, clarity, careful composition…and appropriate size for viewing without having to scroll! Unfortunately you don’t fully control the latter because you don’t control the monitor resolution, but you can stay abreast of current technology and make a reasonable guess at what your maximum image size should be for your likely viewing audience. Clarity of content. All textual material should be lucid, coherent, proofed and double proofed, and organized for easy comprehension and visual flow. There should be no grammatical or spelling errors. Completeness. You should have a quickly loading homepage with something to engage the viewer. You should use thumbnail images in some way, either on your home page, or on the introductory page of your gallery. You must have a gallery, a page for your résumé, an artist’s statement (this, or an interesting portion of it, might be on your home page, or reside on its own page). Your gallery must have a minimum of 15 full sized images. Beyond that, view other artist’s web sites and use the elements that you find particularly effective or interesting in your own. Other Required Promotional Materials: The following items must be submitted in manila envelopes in class on the day that the web site is due. **NOTE: All copies of your résumé, letters and artist’s statement in your grading packet and your hand-out packet must be printed on watermarked bond stationary. Your Grading Packet (two business letters [gallery solicitation and general letter of introduction], résumé, artist’s statement, business card, flip book and your PC formatted DVD) should be in one manila envelope. Your Drop-Off Packet should be in a second manila envelope. 7 Your Grading Packet should include, in a manila envelope: 1. A copy of your URL purchase order with account information blacked out. You MUST own your URL. It cannot be the “property” of your hosting site! 2. A Gallery letter (Seeking Representation with a Gallery).** 3. Letter of introduction (Generic Business – Applying for a Job, Seeking an Internship, etc).** 4. Résumé (your résumé AND letters should be flawless, without grammatical errors, spelling errors or formatting errors). 5. Business card (standard size for US is 3.5 X 2 inches). Printed on card stock. 6. Artist’s statement (a promotional statement synthesized from your personal, media, and critical influences exercises).** 7. A 3X4 inch spiral bound booklet with reproductions of 15 of your best pieces. The dimensions are firm and may not be modified. Alternatively, you may upload your images onto your phone if you have a screen the size of an iPhone or larger (around 4 inches or larger diagonally). Screens smaller than an iPhone are not acceptable. All images should be formatted to read sequentially from the same direction, either landscape or portrait, but not both. 8. A PC formatted DVD. Be certain that ALL contents are burned to the DVD, exactly as described below. Partial contents will not be counted. The required data on the DVD follows: 1. A Word document with the URL of your web site; 2. Your Powerpoint presentation (minimum 15 images); 3. Your artist’s statement; 4. Your résumé; 5.Your 15 best images in thumbnail (exactly 100 pixel width, 100 pixel height, JPEG file type); 6. Your 15 best images at full size in 3 different archiving formats (“Full size” means the largest file your camera is capable of producing in the required RAW format). For your full size images, I want to see RAW and DNG and TIFF Files for each of your 15 images. That’s right…On your DVD, I expect you to submit 15 proprietary RAW Files, 15 RAW files converted to DNG files, AND the RAW Files converted to 15 files in TIFF format, without compression. The ONLY JPEG files that I want to see are your Thumbnails. IF YOU SHOOT WITH FILM, ALLOW ADEQUATE TIME FOR SLIDE SCANNING AND COLOR CORRECTION! Your Drop-Off Packet should contain the following, in a manila envelope: 1. Three high quality photographic prints. The prints must be on premium quality glossy paper. The minimum size of the prints is 8”X10”. All three prints should be the same size. 2. A copy of your gallery letter seeking representation in a specific gallery. 3. A copy of your résumé. 4. Your business card. 8 NO LATE WEBSITES WILL BE ACCEPTED!! Your website and the materials in your Grading Packet and your Drop-Off Packet will be graded and returned to you (with the exception of the DVD which will not be returned) at which time you may make corrections and alterations. All corrections will be due in class on the last day of class. Your final promotional materials grade (website and packets) will be the weighted average of your initial and your final score, with the final score being double weighted. JOURNAL REQUIREMENTS: Your journal is not the typical artist’s journal. It is the documentation of your journal assignments (on your flash drive in Folder 01 Journal Assignments) and a repository for any handouts that you are given in class or receive by e-mail, your final research paper, and for your class notes (not required). Your completed Journal will be due in class at the last class meeting. Your flash drive will be the “textbook” for this class, and all content on the flash drive must be kept on the drive at least until final grades are in. As I do not require you to print out the information on the flash drive, you should back up the data on a hard drive or disk for future retrieval. Format: all entries except class notes will be typed, double spaced, and hole-punched. The requirement that entries be typed does not apply to your class notes. All assignments must be maintained in the journal. If I indicate that a journal assignment is to be taken up in class, keep the original in your journal and turn in a copy. Some reading assignments will require response papers. Response papers will be kept in the journal in their own section. You will be required to explore a variety of topics in individual artist’s statements. These statements are thought exercises and will be maintained in your journal, as well as turned in to the instructor. I will ultimately offer detailed evaluation only of the final statement generated for your promotional materials requirement. If you wish individual input on any other statement, please feel free to call 813-974-3660 and schedule an appointment to discuss the statement or statements in detail. A contact list should be maintained in your journal. If you do not currently have business or gallery contacts, start with your friends. You never know who might become the next art star or gallery mogul. This list should expand throughout the course. The contact list should follow the model that will be outlined in class. All handouts or supplemental information distributed in class or by e-mail should be in the journal unless you are otherwise advised by me. 9 You are required to research and enter a competitive show outside the State of Florida. It does not matter whether or not you are accepted, but proof of entry must be maintained in your journal in a clearly marked section. Failure to enter this show will deduct 10 points from your total journal score. You must research and write a paper, minimum of 5 double spaced pages which does not include the required bibliography or endnotes, font no larger than 12 point, margins no more than 1 inch left, right, top and bottom, on the importance of art to the larger culture, NOT to you individually. While you may speak in terms of broad social values, you MUST also include quantifiable factual information on the economic, developmental, intellectual and psychological value of art. This is not intended to be a feel-good diatribe, however well written. Weight will be given to quantifiable facts supported by research and statistical record. I do not grade based on writing style, but on quality of content. The paper is to be present in your journal in hard copy, and an electronic version in Microsoft Word is to be sent to me. Your paper must include a bibliography with at least 10 discrete sources. Please Note: If you have an area of research that you feel would be more useful to you professionally, I will consider individual proposals prior to the time that your outline and bibliography are due. To be considered, any proposals must be at least as time intensive as the research paper. Each journal entry should be separated by tabbed dividers and clearly identified by topic. Each assignment should be entered in your journal in the order indicated by your list of journal assignments. Organization is essential. If I cannot easily find your journal assignment I will assume that you did not do it. Each missing assignment is minus a minimum of 2.5 points from your maximum journal score. Poor organization is -1 to -5 points depending on how bad it is. All journal assignments must be completed for full credit to be received; however, it will be clear that not all of the assignments are equally time consuming or difficult. Entering the out of state show and doing the venue research are, quite reasonably, going to be considered with greater weight than some of the other assignments. The 50 venues journal assignment will be minus 10 points if it is not FULLY completed. So will failing to research and enter the out of state show. CLASSROOM COURTESY: DISCOURTEOUS BEHAVIOR OR DISRUPTION OF THE CLASS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. Students who disrupt class with private conversations during lecture or presentation may be asked to leave the class. Should such an unfortunate event occur, the student(s) will be counted absent for that class. Such an absence will count as one of the three allowed absences. Your cell phones must be turned off during class. Notebook computers or tablet computers must be turned off unless they are being used to take class notes. Playing games, checking e-mail, watching youTube, surfing the internet, visiting Facebook or any other activity not directly related to participation in the class is unacceptable. I reserve the right to review your notes if you are using an electronic device in class. If I note such behavior, it will cost you 5 points deducted from your 100 point grading 10 scale for each infraction. If there is a special circumstance prior arrangements must be made with the instructor. Steps for academic continuity in the event of campus closure: In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for USF to suspend normal operations. During this time, USF may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that include but are not limited to: Canvas, Eluminate, Skype, and email messaging and/or an alternate schedule. It’s the responsibility of the student to monitor the Canvas site for each class for course specific communication, and the main USF, College, and department websites, emails, and MoBull messages for important general information. TEXTS: Your flashdrive functions as the primary text for this class. There is no other assigned text for the class. The following sources are available for short-term (3 day) check-out: Art Marketing 101 Constance Smith, 1997 Supporting Yourself as an Artist Deborah Hoover, 1989 Careers in the Visual Arts Dee Ito, 1993 Zen and the Art of Making a Living Laurence G. Boldt, 1993 The Business of Being an Artist Daniel Grant, 2000 Business and Legal Forms for Fine Artists Tad Crawford, 1995 Legal Guide for the Visual Artist Tad Crawford, 1995 Start With A Digital Camera: Guide to Getting the Most Out of Your Digital Camera John Odam 2003 Digital Photography Bible Ken Milburn 2000 Digital Photo Processing Chris Tarantino 2003 Photographing Your Artwork Russell Hart, 1992 Secrets of the Digital Darkroom Peter Cope 2003 Photographing Your Artwork: A Step-By-Step Guide to Taking High Quality Slides Russel Hart 1992 11 How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist Caroll Michels 1994 Artists Communities Stanley Kunitz 2000 The Fine Artist’s Guide to Marketing and Self-Promotion Julius Vitali 2003 Living the Artist’s Life Paul Dorrell 2004 How to Get Hung Molly Barnes, 1994 Getting Started as a Freelance Illustrator or Designer Michael Fleishman, 1990 Careers in Art Brommer and Gatto 1999 The Fine Artist’s Career Guide Daniel Grant 1998 Caring for your Art Jill Snyder 1996 The Artist’s Guide to New Markets Peggy Hadden 1998 Dreamweaver MX for Dummies Warner and Berkowitz 2002 Your Career in the Comics Lee Nordling 1995 The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics Dennis O’Neil 2001 How to Prepare Your Portfolio Ed Marquand 1994 Make Your Scanner A Great Design & Production Tool Michael J. Sullivan 1998 The Non-Designer’s Scan and Print Book Cohen and Williams 1999 Success Strategies in Art & Design Mary Stewart 2007 The Copyright Guide Lee Wilson 1996 Designing A Digital Portfolio Cynthia L. Baron 2004 The Art of Buying Art Bamberger 2002 Theories of Art Today Noel Carroll 2000 Cyber Rights Mike Godwin 2003 Art Speak: A Guide to Contemporary Ideas, Movements, and Buzzwords 12 Robert Atkins 1990 The Non-Designer’s Web Book, Third Edition Robin Williams and John Tollett Visual Literacy: Writing About Art Amy Tucker 2002 13 RealWorld Schedule of Classes, Fall 2013 Tuesday and Thursday 9:30 A.M. to 11:00 A.M. Please note that the class schedule is subject to change. Students will be advised by the instructor of any such changes January T 07 The 1 % Solution. For this Thursday (01/09) bring to class a minimum 4 Gigabyte Flash drive in an envelope with your name on it. DO NOT have other material on this flashdrive. I will take them up and load your flash drive content on them, then return them to you. R 09 Review Syllabus and Discuss Branding. Assign Journal Ass. # 1, 25 Careers. Assign Contents of Folder on Constructing a Basic Web Site, and contents of the Folder on Photodocumentation. (Note: “Useful Info PDFs” sub folder is optional and is not part of this assignment) to be read before next Tuesday’s class. T 14 Begin Photodocumentation. R 16 Conclude Photodocumentation. Journal Assignment #1 Due. Assign Vision Quest. T 21 Don Corbin Technical Lecture. Assign Reading “The Matthew Effect” from “Outliers.” R 23 Don Corbin Technical Lecture. Assign the reading of all contents of folder on Artist’s Statements. Assign first artist’s statement, the Personal Artist’s Statement. Specific details for the Personal Artist’s Statement are in the Folder for Journal Assignments. Read the journal assignment “Personal Artist’s Statement” and write your statement following the guidelines. Do not address other issues, such as your choice of medium, or your critical influences. Focus on the personal, as directed by the assignment. T 28 Don Corbin Technical Lecture. Vision Quest due. Assign Reading: Excerpts from “Outliers.” “The 10,000 Hour Rule” is to be completed prior to class on Thursday. Assign Contents of Folder 04 Promotion. R 30 Begin Self Promotion. Personal Artist’s Statement due in class today. Assign Reading “The 12 Million Dollar Stuffed Shark,” to be completed prior to class on Tuesday, February 4th. Assign the “Media Based” Artist’s statement. 14 February T 04 Continue Self Promotion. Assign Reading Outliers Chapters 3, 4, 5 on “The Trouble With Genius”. R 06 Conclude Self Promotion. “Media Based” artist’s statement due in class today. Assign “Critical Influences” artist’s statement. Assign Readings in the Folder “Critique.” T 11 Show “Art of Failure.” Read and Review Contents of Folder on Résumés. R 13 Begin Fear. T 18 Continue Fear. Outline and Bibliography for research paper due. Your bibliography must include a minimum of 10 sources. Read and review contents of Folder 06 Formal Correspondence. R 20 Conclude Fear. Discuss Reading and Reading Right. Two prints due. Critical Influences Statement Due. T 25 Show “Untitled.” Ask Students to observe and note the “punctum.” Read and Review contents of Folder 09, Support Systems for the Arts. Hand Out Midterm. R 27 Begin Individual Presentations. March T 04 Continue Individual Presentations. R 06 Continue Individual Presentations. Mid Term Due at Beginning of Class. Assign Reading “Artists and Teachers.” T 11 Spring Break. No classes. R 13 Spring Break. No classes. T 18 Discuss “Artists and Teachers.” R 20 Begin Legal Issues. 15 T 25 Continue Legal Issues. R 27 Conclude Legal Issues. Websites Due. No late websites will be accepted. April T 01 TBA R 03 TBA T 08 Mark Stock Critique. Read and Review All Contents of Art Storage and Shipping. R 10 Mark Stock Audio. Read “Born in 1948” before Tuesday’s class. T 15 Moi. Read my MFA Thesis before Thursday’s class. R 17 More Moi. T 22 Director Wallace Wilson. Hand Out Final Exam. Final Exam due in my office by 5 PM on Tuesday, April 29th. R 24 Last Class. Journals and Portfolio Corrections Due in class or in my office by 5 PM. 16