Courses

Search for courses listed in this bulletin. To find a semester course schedule (including instructors, meeting times and locations), go to mynmu.nmu.edu.

AD 312B Digital Cinema: Alternative Forms 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall
  • Prerequisites: AD 212 or instructor permission.

Continued development of digital video and audio production skills and knowledge emphasizing experimental or innovative time-based media production. 

AD 317A Photography: The Extended Image 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall, odd numbered years
  • Prerequisites: AD 217 or instructor permission.

Students are introduced to techniques for expanding work beyond the traditional digital print while continuing to advance their individual photographic practices.

AD 317B Photography: Thematic Directions 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall, even numbered years
  • Prerequisites: AD 217 or instructor permission.

Students explore conceptual approaches to a range of photographic genres through creative projects while continuing to advance their individual photographic practices.

AD 318A Graphic Design: Web Design and Production 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall and Winter, odd numbered years
  • Prerequisites: AD 218.

Advanced studies in the design and development of web sites. Emphasis is placed on the conceptual development and layout of websites as well as its use in multiple devices and environments. Front-end HTML and CSS coding will continue to be developed throughout this course.

AD 318B Graphic Design: Layout and Production 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall and Winter, even numbered years
  • Prerequisites: AD 218.

Advanced studies in visual systems; emphasis is placed on conceptual development, complex layout, production skills and three-dimensional design.

AD 319A Illustration: Digital Media 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall, odd numbered years
  • Prerequisites: AD 219 or instructor permission.

Exploration of digital media  as a picture-making tool for illustrators. Projects emphasize ideation in a commercial context.  

AD 319B Illustration: Narrative Figure 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall, even numbered years
  • Prerequisites: AD 219 or instructor permission.

Exploration of the human figure as a structural form and vehicle for expression in narrative art and illustration. Emphasis is placed on anatomy, working from observation, construction, gesture, composition, research, and creating reference to aid imagination.

AD 320A Advanced Drawing/Painting: History and Influence 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall, even numbered years
  • Prerequisites: AD 220 or instructor permission.

Students will produce several bodies of work that demonstrate understanding of the psychological, historical, and social context of their studio practice within the history of painting and drawing. Students may produce work in any combination of drawing and painting media.

AD 320B Advanced Drawing/Painting: Research Strategies 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall, odd numbered years
  • Prerequisites: AD 220 or instructor permission.

Students will produce several bodies of work that demonstrate understanding of a range of research strategies related to personal, cultural, and historical themes. Studio work and terminology will be informed by readings, discussions, critiques, and presentations. Choice of media will largely be determined by the student.

AD 322A Ceramics Seminar: Mold Making 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall, even numbered years
  • Prerequisites: AD 101 and AD 122.

Production of a collection of ceramic pieces that combine traditional and experimental techniques to develop a personal approach toward the ceramic material. Emphasis is on the fabrication of mold making for the investigation of ceramic objects. Personal works will engage with thematic explorations of various cultural topics.

AD 322B Ceramics Seminar: Surfaces 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall, odd numbered years
  • Prerequisites: AD 101 and AD 122.

Production of a collection of ceramic pieces that combine traditional and experimental surface concerns and techniques to develop a personal approach toward the ceramic material. Emphasis is on the finishing and technical concerns related to clay and glaze formulation along with firing procedures for the investigation of ceramic objects. Personal works will engage with thematic explorations of various cultural topics. 

AD 323A Production Casting and Mold Making 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall, odd numbered years
  • Prerequisites: AD 223 or instructor permission.

Production casting and mold-making for small metal outcomes: jewelry/sculpture. Individualized research of centrifugal, vacuum and gravity casting in combination with RTV and volcanized rubber molds.

AD 323B Sheet Metal Forming 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall, even numbered years
  • Prerequisites: AD 223 or instructor permission.

This course introduces sheet metal forming techniques including raising, sinking, folding and construction. Each student will produce a collection of finished works utilizing these techniques.

AD 324A Woodworking: Construction, Technology, and Sustainability 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall, odd numbered years
  • Prerequisites: AD 124 or AD 224 or instructor permission.

Development of a professional portfolio through the production of new works in the studio. Emphasis is placed on understanding the various parameters of design, aesthetics, technology, sustainability, and relevance to contemporary standards in the field. Use of wood as a primary media is emphasized though the use of alternate materials is also discussed as appropriate. 

AD 324B Woodworking: Form, Volume, and Function 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall, even numbered years.
  • Prerequisites: AD 124 or AD 224, or instructor permission.

Continued development of a professional portfolio through the production of new works in the studio. Emphasis is placed on understanding the various parameters of design, aesthetics, and relevance to contemporary standards in the field. Use of solid wood and plywood as a primary media is emphasized, while learning new techniques to explore volume and form in functional objects.

AD 330 History of Renaissance Art 4 cr.
  • Offered: Winter, even numbered years.

Study of European art from 1400 to 1600 including examples of painting, sculpture, prints, architecture and the applied arts with an emphasis on painting. The art will be analyzed in relation to social contexts and the artists’ intentions and methods.

AD 334A Computer Art: Integration 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall, even numbered years
  • Prerequisites: AD 234 or instructor's permission.

Development of concepts and practices of computer art with an emphasis on integrative methods of production. The intersections and integrative workflows of modeling, digital sculpting, animation, scripting, and interactivity will be explored.

AD 334B Computer Art: Motion II 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall, odd numbered years
  • Prerequisites: AD 234 or instructor permission.

Development of concepts and practices of computer art with an emphasis on digital forms of animation. Creative and commercial applications of animation will be explored while developing pre-professional production workflows.

AD 345 Modernity in Art: The Nineteenth Century 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall odd years
  • Prerequisites: EN 211 with a "C" or better and junior standing.
Survey of European and American art of the nineteenth century with introductory discussion of the late-eighteenth-century art. Artworks in a variety of media, styles, and nationalities are discussed, whereas the focus is on French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings.
AD 350 Curriculum Theory and Objectives for Art Education 4 cr.
  • Offered: Fall
  • Prerequisites: Admission to the methods phase of teacher education, AD 248 and AD 302 with a minimum grade of “B”. Transfer and post-baccalaureate students must have a portfolio of their work approved by the department.

An examination of how the history of art education influences art curricula today. Emphasis is on a written 15-week curriculum, discussion of creative problem solving, discipline, motivation, evaluation and student-teaching experience.

Notes:

 

May not be applied toward a non-teaching major or any minor in art and design. The art education courses listed above must be taken sequentially.

AD 355 Twentieth Century Art and Architecture 4 cr.
  • Offered: Winter
  • Prerequisites: EN 211 with a grade of "C" or better and sophomore standing.

Survey of visual art and architecture in the Western world from the second half of the 19th century through the present decade. The conceptual basis of the arts and their place in society is examined within a historical framework.

AD 365 History of Modern Craft and Design 4 cr.
  • Offered: Winter
  • Prerequisites: Junior standing.

History of modern craft and design considers the course of progressive design in the applied arts (product and furniture design) from the nineteenth century to the present. Major movements in design history including the arts and crafts movement, art nouveau, modernism and postmodernism are investigated within a chronological framework. Social issues affecting design—from the relationship between design and consumerism, design and modern management practices, and design and national identity, to design ethics—will be considered within their historical contexts. Non-western design traditions are included.

AD 376 Art, Gender, Psyche 4 cr.
  • Offered: Winter

Iconographic and contextual exploration of visual images in historical and contemporary artworks through critical integration of two distinctive approaches: gender and psychoanalysis. Issues include creativities and struggles of major women artists in history, visual expressions of gender and sexuality, and imagery of unconscious mind.

AD 403 Senior Exhibition 2 cr.
  • Offered: Fall Winter
  • Graded: S/U
  • Prerequisites: AD 303 (with a grade of S) and acceptance of the AD 403 Portfolio Review Application.
Preparation of a collection of work to demonstrate the student’s professional competence for exhibit presentation in a department-approved gallery.
AD 411A Human Centered Design: Design Research 4 cr.
  • Offered: Winter, odd numbered years
  • Prerequisites: AD 303 or concurrent enrollment, AD 311A or AD 311B, or instructor's permission.

 This course is a collaborative project based studio that focuses on problem finding as well as problem solving. Students will develop skills in exploratory research of trend, behavior, culture and concept.