Choices

For some, making the choice to go into art comes naturally. For others, the idea seems ridiculous and an unstable route to take for their career. The plus side about going to this art school is that it’s a part of a large and academically acclaimed university, so there’s always the option of expanding your studies with a double major in something else other than art. The university also requires students to take academic courses outside of the art school–

4 Credits for English Composition

3 Credits for Humanities

3 Credits for Social Science

3 Credits for Natural Science

3 Credits for Analytical Reasoning

3 Credits for Environmental Studies

6 Credits for Cultural Diversity

And 14-23 Free Academic Electives

(http://www.art-design.umich.edu/curr_ugrad_bfa.php#acadcourses)

Though some courses can fulfill more than one requirement, students in the art school are still required to take these academic courses outside of their studies in art to ensure a well-rounded education. And with the wide variety of courses offered through the university, it’s almost guaranteed that anyone who attends the art school will find suitable courses to take based on their interests. In turn, having a deeper understanding of these interests would lead to a more conceptually developed body of work. This is especially important in the art world because artists and designers all around contribute to the world we live in by creating the things they do. With a better understanding of the world and the changes going on in our environment, the products that come from both artists and designers will be more sensitive to the ongoing development of the world and therefore create accordingly.

Required Courses

A few courses are required during Freshman year in the art school:

During the Fall Semster: Drawing Studio I, Digital Studio I, TMP I, ADP I, and Lecture Series I.

During the Winter Semester: TMP II, CFC I, ADP II, Lecture Series II, and an advanced studio.

Among these courses the Drawing Studio, Digital Studio, and TMP I are the courses that really focus on technical skills, and it’s good that these courses are required for Fall term of Freshman year because they help the students learn what they need in order to be prepared to do a multitude of work in elective studio courses in the future. Without a full understanding of the concept of drawing or digital work, elective studio courses may be too difficult to tackle since they require more than just technical skill, but deeper conceptual thinking as well.

TMP II and CFC I were more conceptual, as both required a higher level of thinking. CFC I involved the identification of a problem and finding the solution to that problem through the means of personal creativity and design. TMP II featured a variety of ways through which artists can communicate ideas, offering students a better understanding of how to reach others in the world, both inside and out of the art society.

In ADP I , we focused on a lot of art history and were introduced to a variety of art forms as well as art movements. It’s a lecture course with a discussion class attached to it so students can come to a better understanding of the course material with the help of a GSI and input from classmates.

ADP II revolved around different societies and artwork that came in the forms from museum collections to everyday objects. It makes a sweep across the globe to provide a better look on art across different cultures.

Penny Stamps Lecture Series

Part of the Art and Design’s unique program lies in the fact that we are constantly exposed (on a weekly basis) to different creative thinkers. Every Thursday at five o’clock, the entire student body of the art school gathers at the Michigan Theatre for the Penny Stamps Lecture Series. We stay there for an hour and a half and allow ourselves to be exposed to the great ideas put forth by the artist/designer/politician on stage. This year we have had visits from Stasys Eidrigevićius, Michael Moore, Sir Ken Robinson, Cary Fowler, Cheyenne Medina & Gretchen Schulfer , Jane Atwood, and Antanas Mockus. All of these people have been wonderful and exceptionally inspirational. The best part about the Lecture Series is that it encompasses so many types of creative thinkers, extending far beyond studio artists. These lectures are free for everyone, and you can visit their website to check out upcoming lectures. 

 

Here’s a photo from tonight’s lecture, of Antanas Mockus from Colombia.

 

An Inside View of A&D

As an art student at the University of Michigan, it seemed to me like most of my peers, as freshmen last year, didn’t have a full understanding of what the art school was about until it started. We were sent in, floundering, with a new TMP (Tools, Material, and Processes) program, into other extremely conceptual art classes that differed greatly from art classes many of us took as high school students.

As opposed to other art schools across the United States, the Art and Design program at the University of Michigan has more “academic appeal to make us more aware of the world around us and apply that to our art other than just the physical nature of the art itself”, said Yonit Olshan, a sophomore in the A&D. “It’s about thinking a few steps ahead and growing in all directions–maturity, not just in one direction”, she said.

What is the difference between a craftsman and a true creative thinker? Does the world need more creative thinking over the traditional repetitive art processes? Our world demands higher forms of thinking to help us improve our way of living–a world of active creators has the potential to change things, and it starts here, in the school of Art and Design. 

It’s important to take a good look inside the the art school at the University of Michigan and investigate the classes offered as well as hearing from students the general take we have of the art school and the work we do for our classes. Will we find out whether the school of Art and Design lives up to its reputation of being highly conceptual? What kind of work do the students do, exactly? And how much time and commitment is required for a “good” work of art? We will explore these aspects of the student life in order to find a more comprehensive understanding of the school of Art and Design at the University of Michigan.