Scuola Internazionale di Grafica
COURSE SELECTION
Courses are offered at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica.
Program participants are integrated with Italian and other international students in studio courses.
Academic courses (ex: Venetian Art History) are taught in English.
Studio courses (ex: Painting & Drawing) are taught concurrently in English and Italian.
Most courses at the Scuola are 3 semester credits.
Click on a course title to view the description and download syllabus.
COURSES: FALL & SPRING SEMESTERS
Venetian Art History (Required)
This intensive survey course provides a general introduction to Venice’s remarkably diverse cultural achievements, from the founding of the city to the fall of the Empire. The works of Carpaccio, the Bellinis, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Palladio, Sansovino, Longhena, their antecedents, followers and rivals will be considered both historically and critically. Lectures, seminar discussion, readings, and written assignments will be combined with a program of city tours, gallery and church visits.
Emphasis will be placed on understanding not just works of art in their original context, or an appreciation of listed buildings, but on both in their larger functional context and as the product and evidence of an endlessly evolving city state which absorbed, transformed and transmitted antiquity, Islamic culture, its own very distinctive notions of the Renaissance (and its aftermath) to the rest of Europe and beyond. Contemporary accounts, traditional scholarship and connoisseurship, as well as recent critical perspectives will be employed to help students reach their own understanding of the subject.
Italian Language and Culture (Beginner)
The objective of this course is to facilitate the acquisition of language necessary to express oneself in daily situations as well as in more difficult contexts. Formal lessons consist of vocabulary acquisition, pronunciation, grammar instruction and proper syntax. Students are also required to utilize each lesson in daily communication outside the classroom.
The course includes field trips in Venice so that students can practice new language skills in real-life situations under the guidance of the instructor.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Artist's Book (Bookmaking)
Using historic and contemporary examples and demonstrations by various artists, the student will become familiar with different methods for binding a book: traditional signature stitch, Japanese binding, Accordian, non-adhesive and adhesive techniques, and others.
The student will also become acquainted with contemporary currents in the artist's book: the book as object, as narrative, as a collection of images, as the original interactive artwork.
Students will be guided through a project of their choosing during the course. All the basic print media will be available (intaglio, lithography, relief, typeset, screen printing) as well as Apple iMac and eMac computers.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Contemporary Intaglio Printmaking (Advanced)
This is an advanced course for students who wish to deepen their technical, aesthetic, and conceptual understanding of the graphic arts. The course will cover various processes and is designed to help guide students through large, individual projects. Demonstrations will be augmented by discussions and presentations by visiting artists.
3 credits. Prerequisites: submission of portfolio
Lithography
This course provides an introduction to stone and plate lithography, including crayon, tusche and other drawing techniques. Students learn both fundamental and experimental techniques of traditional and offset processes.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Relief Intaglio (Woodcut)
A survey of traditional and contemporary relief methods, including carving techniques, chiaroscuro, and multiple-color printing. Course will also cover assemblage and the application of materials to matrices of wood, linoleum and cardboard.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Traditional Intaglio Printmaking
This course is intended to familiarize students with the materials and techniques fundamental to producing intaglio plates and completed prints. Direct processes include drypoint, burin engraving, and mezzotint. Acid techniques include etching, soft-ground, aquatint, spit-bite aquatint and lift-ground.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Venice and The Book
This course serves as an introduction to the various practical methods of book design and production within the context of historical development of the book and printing, specifically with an emphasis on the unique history of book publishing in Venice.
Demonstration and discussions will be augmented by visits to libraries, bindries, studios and museum collections. The course will include interventions from visiting artists and specialists. Some readings will be given.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Advanced Oil Painting
This course will develop the student's understanding of and ability to work with oil paint.
It will cover ancient, modern and contemporary practices and formulas which have been adopted in innumerable
applications for the generally accepted supports. The organization
of the course will be that of the “bottega” (atelier), in which each student allows the instructor, when the
instructor deems it necessary, to intervene and work on top of the student's work.
It is, in fact, a custom of the “bottega” that the “maestro” (professor) demonstrates with his own hands the
necessary solutions to the various technical and visual problems that the course will cover; in one hour of
watching one learns more than in a hundred hours of theory, as oil painting techniques, while highly
evolved, are not verbal but visual.
3 credits. Prerequisites: submission of portfolio
Foundation Painting and Drawing
The course is for those who want to participate, who are diligent, who want to learn or further their base
knowledge of the techniques of drawing and painting. In fact, the course begins with the teaching of preliminary
methods of drawing (still-life, classical sculpture and the nude) and therefore painting. Every
level of individual preparation will be followed “ad personam” from the beginning of the course and
through the duration of the course. Every class will begin with a slide lecture on art history, modern and
contemporary, finishing with the knowledge with the principal artists and movements of the 1900’s.
Students may request the inclusion of additional techniques and topics on an individual basis in correlation
with the course outline below.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Intermediate Painting and Drawing
This course will examine basic strategies for representing the human figure. Using specific historic examples, the student will be introduced to traditions of pose, gesture, symbolism and atmosphere in representing the human subject. Basic technical instruction in drawing the face, head, torso and hands will be augmented with slides, museum visits with in Venice, theory and history. Exercises will begin with simple proportion, construction and modeling, and applied to observation of the model. Mediums utilized will include drawing and oil-based painting. This course is divided into two sections. Section I is offered during the Fall term. Section II is offered during the Spring term. It is NOT necessary to take section I prior to taking section II.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Watercolor
Watercolor has been one of the most preferred mediums for painting images of Venice since Albrect Durer’s first visit in 1498. Bouyant, immediate and magical, watercolor can adapt itself as much to concise perfection as to expressive strokes of color. This class will cover the use of various papers, paints and the different brushes for watercolor.
Issues of spatial representation and composition will be discussed, as well as visual problems typical of the city of Venice: calli, campi, reflections, light.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Computer Graphics (Fall only)
This course covers the historical and technical aspects of computer graphics in the new media. The evolution of graphic design is examined through case study of renowned graphic designers worldwide.
Formal instruction in Photoshop and Quark is enhanced with lessons on graphic design techniques, visual thinking, concept development, composition, typography and user interface.
The focus of the course is on computer graphics and translation to print media. Students are encouraged to develop their own personal style and vision in their graphic illustrations and layouts.
Special topics covered include the language of typeface and logo design. Students are expected to have basic computer skills before enrolling in this course.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Digital Photography
This course covers technical aspects of photography. The course starts -with a detailed study of the camera,
film and photosensitive materials. Students learn basics techniques and elements of photography
including light, composition, color, texture and depth. The course also covers advanced topics such as shutter
speed, special effects and film development. Students have the opportunity to experiment with landscape
and people photography, traditional and digital photography, film development, grayscale and color
photography, still and motion photography, illustrative photography and photo-publishing. At the end of
the course students are expected to show their work at Scuola's studio. A 35 mm camera is required for this
course.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Web Design (Fall only)
The course is designed to acquaint you with the numerous and varied elements contained on the internet.
The course will introduce you to the concept of communicating specifically for the networked environment
and how to reach specific audiences on the net. Instruction includes media writing, page design, site development
and learning about hypertext markup language. Integral to the course is evaluating and analyzing
web based content.
The basic format for the course is short lecture/discussion/demonstration and then working on projects
and exercises, exploring and experimenting with the various objects and tools available. In order to be successful
in the course you must be willing to read, explore and analyze.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
COURSES: SUMMER (JULY SESSION)
Venetian Art History (Required)
This intensive survey course provides a general introduction to Venice’s remarkably diverse cultural achievements, from the founding of the city to the fall of the Empire. The works of Carpaccio, the Bellinis, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Palladio, Sansovino, Longhena, their antecedents, followers and rivals will be considered both historically and critically. Lectures, seminar discussion, readings, and written assignments will be combined with a program of city tours, gallery and church visits.
Emphasis will be placed on understanding not just works of art in their original context, or an appreciation of listed buildings, but on both in their larger functional context and as the product and evidence of an endlessly evolving city state which absorbed, transformed and transmitted antiquity, Islamic culture, its own very distinctive notions of the Renaissance (and its aftermath) to the rest of Europe and beyond. Contemporary accounts, traditional scholarship and connoisseurship, as well as recent critical perspectives will be employed to help students reach their own understanding of the subject.
Italian Language and Culture (Beginner)
The objective of this course is to facilitate the acquisition of language necessary to express oneself in daily situations as well as in more difficult contexts. Formal lessons consist of vocabulary acquisition, pronunciation, grammar instruction and proper syntax. Students are also required to utilize each lesson in daily communication outside the classroom.
The course includes field trips in Venice so that students can practice new language skills in real-life situations under the guidance of the instructor.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Introduction to Printmaking
A beginner course for students who wish to understand the technical and conceptual aspect of the graphic arts. The course covers various printmaking processes including woodcut, intaglio, lithography and typography. Demonstrations are augmented by discussions and presentations by visiting artists.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Drawing en plein air
In this course, students take advantage of the unique and enormously varied cityscape of Venice through drawing based media. Students focus on architectural elements, stucco, water, sky, canals, calli (Venetian alleyways) and bridges through extensive time spent drawing en plein air. Demonstrations and lectures in perspective and representing space augment the course. This course is offered during the Summer term.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Venice and The Book
This course serves as an introduction to the various practical methods of book design and production within the context of historical development of the book and printing, specifically with an emphasis on the unique history of book publishing in Venice.
Demonstration and discussions will be augmented by visits to libraries, bindries, studios and museum collections. The course will include interventions from visiting artists and specialists. Some readings will be given.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
COURSES: AUGUST WORKSHOP
The 2-week August workshop offerings change each year.
In the past, the Scuola has organized the following workshops.
Fresco Painting
Although the Venetian climate has not been conducive to fresco painting, there was a significant tradition in Venice, as shown by Giogione and Veronese. This class explores the various technical strategies used by both Venetian and non-Venetian artists to paint directly onto walls. Pigments, mediums and wall preparations will be demonstrated and discussed within the historical and contemporary possibilities. The relationship between image and architecture is elaborated with historical examples.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Seminar on Contemporary Graphics
This course is designed for artists wishing to explore the technical, aesthetic and conceptual possibilities of multiple images through the techniques of intaglio printmaking. The course integrates traditional methods of etching, including hard and soft grounds, aquatint, etc. into contemporary practices, such as multiple plates, photo-etching, computers and other transfer and collage processes. The course is structured so as to develop and extend the technical competence and visual language of each artist.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Venetian Painting Seen through the Eyes of an Artist
This class will explore the history of Venetian Painting, covering the periods from 1200 to 1800, from Byzantine to Gothic and from Renaissance to Baroque. Emphasis will be placed on the diverse cultural influences evident in Venetian Painting, as well as historical forces within the arts. Visits to specific resources in Venice will be augmented by lecture, slides and readings a the Scuola. Some sites to be visited and studied include Torcello, Frari, San Marco, Miracoli, Scuola Grande di San Rocco, San Gior gio delgi Schiavoni, Museo Correr and the Accademia.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
The Image Transformed
Artists have often based whole bodies of work on a single theme, rethinking and reworking as ideas change. Students will use a single etched image and see how inking, wiping and altering the plate in the printing process can produce an infinite variety of images. By the end of the course students will acquire a large body of work stemming from a single idea.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Monotype on the Offset Press
This class will focus on a wide range of possibilities for printing monotypes on the Offset press. This press incorporates subtle variations with the ease of an infinite number of colors and layers. Images can be worked on the press, printed, and taken off, worked further and placed back on the press with perfect registration. Working on a theme can be explored in multiple images. Various techniques, operation of the hand-cranked offset press, and contemporary examples of monotypes will be discussed.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Painting the Figure
This course will focus on portraiture. Using specific historic examples, the student will be introduced to traditions of pose, gesture, symbolism and atmosphere in representing the human subject. Basic technical instruction in drawing the face, head, torso and hands will be augmented with slides, museum visits with in Venice, theory and history. The course will utilize primarily drawing-based media for paper, pencil, chalk, conté crayon, pastel, charcoal and india ink.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Papermaking
To many artists, a sheet of hand-made paper remains an intrinsic element to what is applied to it. This class explores historical and contemporary papermaking. Cotton, cellulose and recycled paper will be discussed and demonstrated. Other demonstrations will include pigmenting the pulp, paper casting and embedding various materials into the paper. Preparation for further applications, such as watercolor and printing, will also be demonstrated. All the necessary tools for papermaking will be provided.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Abstract Composition in Watercolor
This course will cover diverse strategies for tackling abstraction in image making. Practical and technical aspects will be combined with conceptual projects, which investigate the visual languages of forms and colors. The primary, but not sole, medium of the course will be watercolor.
3 credits. Prerequisites: none
Serigraphy
Serigraphy, more commonly known as “screen printing,” is one of the newest “hand-pulled” techniques of printmaking. Andy Warhol put it on center stage in the 1960’s, but it is a medium that is infinitely more versatile than simply his iconic style. This two-week, very intensive class will take the student through a series of demonstrations and projects that give full expression to serigraphy’s broad possibilities.
The course is designed to accommodate any level of familiarity with the medium, however it is best tailored to those with either no experience or to those who wish to advance their intermediate level of knowledge.
Techniques that will be covered will include the following: reduction printing, hand-drawn transparencies, posterization, multiple color split-fountains, multiple exposures, making serigraphic monotypes, grayscale photographic printing, four-color process photographic printing, and other techniques of creating digital transparencies using Adobe Photoshop.
During the first week, the students will complete a series of short projects that apply techniques demonstrated in class. The second week, while having some demonstrations, will largely be occupied with creating a larger project of the student's own choosing.
Demonstrations take place in the morning, and students work in the afternoon. The instructor is present all day, as is a knowledgeable assistant.
3 credits. Prerequisites: add-on to July session
Watercolor en plein air
Watercolor has been one of the most preferred mediums for painting images of Venice since Albert Durer's first visit in 1498. Buoyant, immediate and magical, watercolor can adapt itself as much to concise perfection as to expressive strokes of color. This class will cover the use of various papers, paints and brushes in watercolor painting.
The focus is on working en plein air in Venice. Issues of spatial representation and composition will be discusses, as well as visual problems typical to the city: calli, campi, reflections and light.
3 credits. Prerequisites: add-on to July session
Perspective and Drawing en plein air
This class takes advantage of the unique and enormously varied cityscapes in Venice through drawing-based media. The focus in on stucco, water, sky, canals, calli (Venetian alleyways) and bridges. Demos and lectures in perspective and representing space will augment the extensive time spent drawing en plein air.
3 credits. Prerequisites: add-on to July session
