THE MARCHUTZ SCHOOL OF ART - AIX-EN-PROVENCE,
FRANCE:
Fall 2008 Courses
All courses are taught in
English unless noted.
CURRICULUM DESCRIPTION
This program is open to students with any level of French AND any level of art experience. Students who attend the Marchutz School of Art for a semester take a minimum of 15 credits, as follows. You will have 9 credits of core classes at the Marchutz School, including an art criticism seminar, painting, and drawing (see below for course descriptions). In addition, you will take one art history course (3 credits) and one French language course (also 3 credits) at The Aix Center.
COURSES
ART 309: Art Criticism Seminar I (3 semester credits)
Weekly interdisciplinary seminars with slide comparisons
and texts. Intensive critical and comparative analysis of
selected works from different periods and cultures with an
emphasis on the relationships among light, volume, color,
content, and form. 45 contact hours and excursions.
ART 347: Drawing (3 semester credits)
The purpose of the studio drawing course is to develop the
student's capacity to see into the visible world and to look
within him/herself thus transforming his/her vision into art.
The student is led gradually toward a deeper understanding of
the relationship between natural and artistic forms through
the challenges of museum study, landscape, portraiture, model
work, and still life. Six hours of studio, landscape or
museum instruction per week. Instruction is individualized
and adapted to each student's needs and interests. Painting
and drawing are taught concurrently and are complementary.
Students must inter-relate their drawing, painting and
aesthetic studies throughout the semester. Through rigorous
perceptual drawing, students are asked to explore the
relationships among volume, light, content, form, technique,
and imagination. ART 357 and 309 also required. 90 contact hours.
ART 357: Painting (3 semester credits)
The purpose of the studio painting course is to develop the
student's capacity to see into the visible world as well as
to look within her/himself, thus transforming her/his vision into
art. The student is led gradually toward a deeper understanding
of the relationship between natural and artistic forms through
the challenges of museum study, landscape, portraiture, model
work, and still life. Six hours of studio, landscape or museum
instruction per week. Instruction is individualized and adapted
to each student's needs and interests. Painting and drawing are
taught concurrently and are complementary. Students must inter-relate
their drawing, painting and aesthetic studies throughout the
semester. Through spontaneous perceptual painting, students are
asked to explore the relationships between color and drawing.
ART 347 and 309 must be taken concurrently. 90 contact hours.
ART 397/398: Independent Studio Study (3 semester credits)
Directed individual study for the advanced student. Students are
accepted into the course after a transcript and/or portfolio review.
Students propose a semester-long independent studio project to be
approved by the director of the Marchutz School of Art. Students'
work will be evaluated by a selected faculty member on a tri-weekly basis.
ART HISTORY class of your choosing (3 semester credits): Taught at The Aix Center.
FRENCH LANGUAGE class of your choosing (3 semester credits): Taught at The Aix Center.
SEMINAR
Weekly interdisciplinary
seminars ask students to seek connections in their works with
that of other artists as well as critics from different times
and cultures. Music, poetry and theater are often compared to
painting, sculpture or architecture. Intensive discussions
around slide comparisons of works from all periods of art have
their positive affect on the students' capacity to view their
art in a larger context.
CRITIQUES
The purpose of critiques is
for students to take distance on what they've done and have
the experience of looking at a body of their work. Taking
distance allows students to begin to judge the relative value
of one work compared to another: how successful one painting
is, or what promise another image shows in terms of a possible
direction that might be explored in the future.
When you're involved in painting, you're much too close to
be able to judge what you're doing. So, while painting, you
must learn to simply let yourself go and immerse yourself in
the visual experience you're having rather than trying to
judge it immediately as to its ultimate value.
Critiques involve separating yourself from what you've
done, looking at the work objectively, and then trying to
judge it - in terms of how successful it really is -
regardless of what you wanted to make of it or how you felt at
the time you were doing it.
Often, some of the best paintings done by students have
occurred during times when they felt they were doing their
worst work. And sometimes paintings that students consider to
be their masterpieces show themselves to be rather mediocre or
conventional, because they are simply expressions of what was
wanted or willed, and don't go beyond that.
Critiques are a time of looking carefully and, little by
little, discovering what the images reveal.
EXCURSIONS
Excursions are an integral
part of the program. Students visit small towns and villages
of Provence, which in the past have included St. Remy, Arles, Luberon Valley
villages of Bonnieux and Lacoste. In addition, the Marchutz program often takes
students on a longer painting trip. Students have enjoyed
such destinations as Paris, Giverny, and Venice.
Volunteer Opportunities
Participation in volunteer opportunities in Aix-en-Provence is an excellent way to
immerse yourself in your host country's way of life while helping those in need. In effect, this will add another dimension
to the study abroad experience through daily exposure and interactions, resulting in a
greater understanding of the language, culture, and community of the host country.
If you're interested in volunteering, simply ask the staff at The Aix Center for details after
you arrive in Aix. Please note that these volunteer opportunities
are not for credit.
The following are the volunteer opportunities in which students can participate.
A minimum Intermediate level of French is required to participate.
- English language tutor for schoolchildren ages 9-14
- English language tutor for adults ages 19-28 who are going back to school to try and pass their BAC
- Trimming olive trees on local farms
- Planting trees on Mte. Ste Victoire (Spring semester only because of planting season)
- Volunteering in a soup kitchen (December only)
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