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An understanding of art greatly enriches the lives of human beings. Art is a visual manifestation of one’s feelings about oneself and one’s culture. It is a bridge between existence and humanity. Implicit in art education is that every student must be provided with skills, knowledge, and heritage to be able to appreciate the role art plays in culture.
A student’s Fine Arts requirement in the upper school may be fulfilled in the Visual Arts. Upper school courses are designed as studio laboratories to allow each student to develop technical proficiency, awareness of artistic sensitivity and sensibility, judgment, and an understanding of the creative process. Appreciation and criticism are included in the curriculum. Class sizes tend to be small, often involving tutorial sessions in which students can develop a close rapport with the instructor and a commitment to the discipline. Methods of instruction in the upper school Visual Arts department consist primarily of studio work preceded by lecture/demonstration and followed by critique. Methods of evaluation are primarily by project and portfolio evaluation based on project parameters and secondarily by quizzes and written work.
CERAMICS
* Indicates a course that does not fulfill the University of California (UC) system’s Visual and Performing Arts requirement. All semester courses do, however, fulfill one-half of the Harvard‑Westlake graduation requirement in Fine Arts.
Ceramics*
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0050-1 | 0050-2
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| Two identical semesters —
Grades 10, 11, and 12 |
Students in this course concentrate on the use of the potter’s wheel. The course is designed for the development of a basic competency in working with clays and glazes. |
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Advanced Ceramics
I
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0060-0 |
| Full year —
Grades 10, 11, and 12 |
This course expands on skills introduced in the introductory ceramics class. Wheel-forming and other forming and joining techniques are explored in-depth. Glaze-mixing and experimentation are covered, and kiln-loading is introduced.
Prerequisite: Ceramics, 3D Art, or permission of the instructor. |
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Advanced Ceramics
II
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0070-0 |
| Full year —
Grades 11 and 12 |
Students in this course are asked to fix upon a particular area of concentration and are encouraged to carry out research and experiments with form as well as technique. A slide portfolio of student work is produced.
Prerequisite: Advanced Ceramics I and permission of the instructor.
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3D Art
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0710-0 |
| Full year —
Grades 10, 11, and 12 |
This course combines Ceramics and Sculpture in the first and second semesters to create a year-long sequence that fulfills the University of California system’s Visual and Performing Arts requirement. See the Ceramics (0050) and Sculpture (0150) course descriptions. |
SCULPTURE
* Indicates a course that does not fulfill the University of California (UC) system’s Visual and Performing Arts requirement. All semester courses do, however, fulfill one-half of the Harvard‑Westlake graduation requirement in Fine Arts.
Sculpture*
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0150-1 | 0150-2 |
| Two identical semesters —
Grades 10, 11, and 12 |
The content of this course is based on building an introductory technical vocabulary in several of the basic three-dimensional media. Each project is directed at teaching skills required to manipulate each medium. Media and techniques include clay—modeling and use of an armature; glass—cutting, polishing, taping, sandblasting, and gluing with UV light-sensitive adhesive; metal—oxy/acetylene brazing; and plaster—creating forms with an armature (layering, carving, sanding, and refining). Slides, videos, demonstrations, and discussions clarify and enhance the aesthetic and technical aspects of the course.
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Advanced
Sculpture
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0160-0 |
| Full year —
Grades 10, 11, and 12 |
In this course, students explore a variety of processes for creating three-dimensional images. Through the techniques of carving, modeling, constructing, welding, casting, and heating, students realize forms in metal, wood, plaster, clay, wire, and glass.
Prerequisite: Sculpture, 3D Art, or permission of the instructor.
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3D Art
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0710-0 |
| Full year —
Grades 10, 11, and 12 |
This course combines Ceramics and Sculpture in the first and second semesters to create a year-long sequence that fulfills the University of California system’s Visual and Performing Arts requirement. See Ceramics (0050) and Sculpture (0150) course descriptions.
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DRAWING
AND PAINTING
Drawing and
Painting/The History and Art of
Modern Europe and the World |
0280-0 |
| Full year —
Grade 10 |
This interdisciplinary course combines a tenth-grade history course (see description for course number 6410-0, The History and Art of Modern Europe and the World, located in the Upper School History and Social Studies section of this guide) with a drawing and painting course that provides a foundation for Advanced Placement studio art classes. For students who love art history and/or studio art, it offers the opportunity to study history through art and to develop and hone the skills of making art. This course is required for all students wishing to take Advanced Placement studio offerings in the Visual Arts department. |
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Advanced Drawing
and Painting II
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0260-0 |
| Full year —
Grades 11 and 12 |
This is a prerequisite course for Advanced Drawing and Painting III, Advanced Placement Drawing and Design, and Advanced Placement Studio Art: Drawing. The course focuses on twentieth-century art and its concepts and themes.
Prerequisite: Drawing and Painting/The History and Art of Modern Europe and the World. |
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Advanced Drawing
and Painting III
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0265-0
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| Full year —
Grade 12 |
This class is for seniors who have the desire to experiment with a broad range of visual concepts and to concentrate on developing a body of work around one visual concept (similar to the Breadth and Concentration sections of the Advanced Placement course), while incurring a less strenuous load on their academic time than that demanded by the Advanced Placement course of study. Students produce four “breadth” pieces during the first semester and six “concentration” pieces during the second semester.
Prerequisite: Advanced Drawing and Painting II. |
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PHOTOGRAPHY
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Advanced
Photography I
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0355-0 |
| Full year —
Grades 10, 11, and 12 |
Students in this course should already understand the basics of camera controls, developing black-and-white film, and enlarging and mounting prints. Building on these skills, students begin to find their own creative “voice,” using photography as a medium for self-expression, documentation, and social commentary. A variety of photographic techniques and materials, both traditional and experimental, are explored. Students exhibit their work several times during the year. A 35mm camera with manual controls is required.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Photography (MS) or permission of the instructor. |
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Advanced
Photography II
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0360-0 |
| Full year —
Grades 11 and 12 |
In this course, students develop advanced technical photography skills that enable students to produce finished prints that faithfully reflect their intentions. Students are encouraged to identify issues, ideas, and emotions that have the most personal meaning to them and then effectively translate these into prints. Exhibitions of student work help to gauge whether these personal meanings translate into collective meanings. The students are also introduced to the role that photography plays in our visual heritage, to a historical as well as personal approach to creative expression, and to the basic theories of aesthetic perception. In other words, this course attempts to give students their first serious training in becoming professional artist/photographers. A 35mm camera is required.
Prerequisite: Advanced Photography I. |
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Advanced
Photography III
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0365-0 |
| Full year —
Grade 12 |
This course is designed for talented photographers who wish to continue developing their art through continued improvement of technical skills, further development of individual styles, study of the history and aesthetics of photography, and work with digital photographic manipulation. A slide portfolio, suitable for inclusion with college portfolios, is produced in the first semester. During the second semester, students present their work for review by the photography department and mount a final senior exhibition.
Prerequisite: Advanced Photography II or permission of the instructor. |
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VIDEO
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Video Art
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0550-0 |
| Full year —
Grades 10, 11, and 12 |
Do you ever dream of making your own movies? This yearlong class teaches all the steps, from how to use a camera to editing, including how to add music and credits. No previous experience is necessary! All students need is a desire to try something new. Most importantly, students get a chance to tell their own stories and interpret the world from their own points of view. Students produce documentaries, public service announcements, music videos, and dramatic stories. Students exhibit their works on campus. Many students have entered national festivals in which several have won awards. |
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Advanced Video
Art I
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0560-0 |
| Full year —
Grades 11 and 12 |
Using the technical skills learned in Video Art, Advanced Video Art I students spend the year writing, producing, directing, filming, and editing their own projects. In conjunction with filming in the studio and in the field, students also become more familiar with the “language of film” through class presentations and screenings. The first semester is devoted to writing scripts and filming short exercises such as staged dialogue scenes, montage scenes, dolly shots, and hand-held shots. The second semester is devoted to working on a film crew (usually six students) and producing—from scratch—an original film. Each student has the opportunity to work in the various roles on a film crew: director, grip, boom operator, director of photography, assistant director, and editor. In the process of creating their own video work, students become more sensitive to the technical and aesthetic aspects of the medium as well as to the richness of the “media” in general. The department supplies the necessary production equipment.
Prerequisite: Video Art. |
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Advanced Video
Art II
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0570-0 |
| Full year —
Grade 12 |
This class is a continuation of the work done in Advanced Video Art I. The course is a yearlong series of projects written, produced, directed, filmed, and edited completely by the students. Student filmmakers are given the opportunity to take the technical skills they have learned over the preceding two years and apply them to the production of original short films. Work is screened on campus, but there are also opportunities for students to submit films to a variety of festivals and competitions around the country. This is a class for people with a passion for film and filmmaking. The department supplies the necessary production equipment.
Prerequisite: Advanced Video Art I. |
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GRAPHICS
| The Art of the Book * |
0720-1 | 0720-2 |
| Two identical semesters — Grades 10, 11, and 12 |
In this course, students create a variety of small handmade book structures using techniques based on historical, physical, and aesthetic principles. Most books are content-based while others may be constructed simply as structural models for future projects. Students use watercolors, acrylics, simple drawings, print-making, digital imaging, collage, and other media as a means for self-expression and creativity.
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ADVANCED
PLACEMENT COURSES
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Advanced
Placement Drawing and Design
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0270-0 |
| Full year —
Grade 12 |
Students use the principles of design in a project-based setting to create solutions to a range of problems in two dimensions. This course features the use of multiple tools of production, including digital media, to create unique, personal responses to design problems. Students declare an area of concentration at the end of the first semester and produce a portfolio of works around a chosen concept in the second semester. All students submit their portfolios for Advanced Placement 2D Design review.
Prerequisite: Advanced Drawing and Painting II and permission of the instructor. |
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Advanced
Placement Studio Art: Drawing
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0275-0 |
| Full year —
Grade 12 |
This course allows for a more specific study of hands-on drawing and painting. The course is an in-depth studio experience in which the student creates a portfolio of quality artwork with emphasis on concept as well as perception. The scope of the work is equivalent to that of a foundation art course in college for those students interested in fine art. Course content has been established to fulfill the guidelines set by the College Board. Students are expected to complete the portfolio and to submit it to be scored by the College Board.
Prerequisite: Advanced Drawing and Painting II and permission of the instructor. |
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Advanced
Placement History of Art
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6500-0 |
| Full year —
Grade 12 |
This course prepares students for the Advanced Placement examination in History of Art. It presents a chronological study of architecture, painting, and sculpture from prehistoric times to the present. Students learn to interpret works of art in terms of the aesthetic principles of each period. Methods of instruction are slide lecture and discussion. Methods of evaluation are examinations and a term paper.
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(from the 2008-2009 Curriculum Guide) |
