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Studio Art
Faculty List
- Y. Brotman, B.A. (Manitoba), B.Ed., M.V.S. (Toronto), Lecturer
- M. Hlady, B.F.A. (Victoria), M.F.A. (York), Associate Professor
- A. Irving, B.F.A. (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design), M.F.A. (York), Associate Professor, Teaching Stream
- W. Kwan, B.A. (Toronto), M.F.A. (Columbia), Associate Professor
- J. Lujan, B.F.A. (U of Texas), M.F.A. (U of Colorado), CTLA Assistant Professor
- T. Mars, D.F.A., Honoris Causa, NSCAD University, Associate Professor, Teaching Stream
- S. Mazinani, M.F.A. (Stanford), Assistant Professor
ACM Program Manager: M. Hussain, Email: manaal.hussain@utoronto.ca
The Studio Art programs at the University of Toronto Scarborough offers hands-on courses in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, performance art, video, new media, animation, and conceptual practices. Students can also take specialized courses in digital imaging, sound art, kinetics, or thematic courses that explore such things as the relationships between art and globalization, or art and politics, or time-based art practices. UTSC Studio Art students develop a combination of technical, theoretical, conceptual and critical skills that enable them to express and communicate their ideas confidently in a variety of visual languages. Students explore art as a tool for examining and intervening in visual culture, to consider the role of creativity in shaping communities locally and globally.
Students are encouraged to engage with the diversity of contemporary art by examining art-making from aesthetic, intellectual, social, and political perspectives. They are exposed to current positions in contemporary art theory, criticism, and curation and study the history of art from various cultural and historical viewpoints. The wide range of artistic experiences offered by the UTSC Studio Art programs provides rigorous general visual arts education for students interested in careers in the cultural and design sectors. Studio Art also offers focused preparation for students interested in pursuing advanced visual art study at the graduate level.
The Studio Art programs are housed in the Department of Arts, Culture and Media, which offers students an interdisciplinary framework for analyzing the ideas and theories connecting the arts, and encourages students to explore the related fields of literature, history, anthropology, and other areas of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Some courses in Studio Art (VPS) may include Ancillary fees for lab and workshop materials.
Guidelines for course selection
The table below provides the recommended course selection guidelines for students wishing to complete the Specialist and Major Program in Studio Art. To ensure graduating when expected, all students should pay special attention to prerequisites and corequisites when selecting courses, this is especially important for C- and D-level courses.
Students wishing to complete the Minor Program in Studio Art do not require D-level courses.
Studio Art Course Selection Table:
Year of Study
|
Fall
|
Winter
|
---|---|---|
First Year | MDSA01H3* VPHA46H3 VPSA62H3 VPSA63H3 * MDSA01H3 is a requirement if pursuing the Specialist Program in Studio Art Please contact ACM Program Manager if you are pairing Major Program in Studio Art with Major (Joint) Program in New Media Studies |
ACMB01H3 |
Second Year
|
B-level in Studio Art courses
B-level in Art History courses (If pursuing the Specialist Program in Studio Art) |
B- and C-level in Studio Art courses
|
Third Year
|
B- and C-level in Studio Art courses
C-level in Art History courses (If pursuing the Specialist Program in Studio Art) |
C-level in Studio Art courses
|
Fourth Year |
D-level Studio Art course #1
Make sure the prerequisite is completed for this course in the previous year/semester |
D-level Studio Art course #2
Make sure the prerequisite is completed for this course in the previous year/semester |
The Specialist Program in Studio Art and the Major Program in Studio Art are limited enrolment programs that you need to apply for entry. Please read the Program Admission sections for instructions.
Experiential Learning and Outreach
For a community-based experiential learning opportunity in your academic field of interest, consider the course CTLB03H3, which can be found in the Teaching and Learning section of the Calendar.
Studio Art Programs
SPECIALIST PROGRAM IN STUDIO ART (ARTS)
Undergraduate Advisor (General): Email: studio-program-supervisor@utsc.utoronto.ca
Enrolment Requirements
Enrolment in the Specialist in Studio Art is limited. Students must apply to enter the program after completing four credits including VPSA62H3 and VPSA63H3. Decisions are made on program admissions only twice a year, in May and August, and are based on student requests submitted to the Office of the Registrar through ACORN. Admission is determined on the basis of a student's overall GPA and grades in VPSA62H3 and VPSA63H3. For students applying after 8.0-10.0 credits, admission will be based on the overall GPA and grades in VPS courses taken.
Program Requirements
This program requires the completion of 14.0 credits, including 4.0 credits at the C-or D-level of which at least 1.0 credit must be at the D-level.
1. 3.0 credits
ACMB01H3 Critical Reading, Thinking and Writing for ACM Programs
MDSA01H3 Introduction to Media Studies
VPSA62H3 Foundation Studies in Studio
VPSA63H3 But Why is it Art?
VPSB56H3 Digital Studio I
VPSB73H3 Curatorial Perspectives I
2. 0.5 credit
Choose from the following:
VPSB58H3 Video I
VPSB59H3 Sculpture I
VPSB70H3 Drawing I
3. 0.5 credit
Choose from the following:
VPSC56H3 Studio Practice
VPSC59H3 Theory and Practice: Three-Dimensional Work
VPSC66H3 Theory and Practice: Two Dimensional Work
VPSC68H3 Theory and Practice: Time-Based Work
VPSC69H3 Theory and Practice: Art in a Globalizing World
VPSC70H3 Theory and Practice: New Media in Studio
4. 6.0 credits
6.0 additional credits from VPS of which at least 1.5 credits should be at the C-level and 1.0 credit at the D-level.
5. 3.0 credits
VPHA46H3 Ways of Seeing: Introduction to Art Histories
and
2.5 additional credits in Art History of which at least 1.0 credit must be at the C-level.
6. 1.0 credit
Choose from the following:
ENGB12H3 Life Writing
ENGB70H3 How to Read a Film
ENGB75H3 Cinema and Modernity I
GASC42H3 Film and Popular Culture in South Asia
MDSA02H3 History of Media
MDSB05H3 Media and Globalization
MDSB61H3 Mapping New Media
MDSB62H3 Visual Culture and Communication
MAJOR PROGRAM IN STUDIO ART (ARTS)
Undergraduate Advisor (General): Email: studio-program-supervisor@utsc.utoronto.ca
Enrolment Requirements
Enrolment in the Major in Studio Art is limited. Students must apply to enter the program after completing four credits including VPSA62H3 and VPSA63H3. Decisions are made on program admissions only twice a year, in May and August, and are based on student requests submitted to the Office of the Registrar through ACORN. Admission is determined on the basis of a students overall GPA and grades in VPSA62H3 and VPSA63H3.
Program Requirements
Students must complete 8.0 credits as follows:
1. 1.0 credit
VPSA62H3 Foundation Studies in Studio
VPSA63H3 But Why Is It Art?
2. ACMB01H3 Critical Reading, Thinking and Writing for ACM Programs
3. VPHA46H3 Ways of Seeing: Introduction to Art Histories
4. VPSB56H3 Digital Studio I
5. At least 0.5 credit from:
VPSB58H3 Video I
VPSB59H3 Sculpture I
VPSB70H3 Drawing I
6. At least 0.5 credit from:
VPSC56H3 Studio Practice
VPSC59H3 Theory and Practice: Three-Dimensional Work
VPSC66H3 Theory and Practice: Two-Dimensional Work
VPSC68H3 Theory and Practice: Time-Based Work
VPSC69H3 Theory and Practice: Art in a Globalizing World
VPSC70H3 Theory and Practice: New Media in Studio
7. 3.5 additional credits from courses in VPS, of which at least 1.0 credit must be at the C-level.
8. 1.0 credit at the D-level in VPS courses.
MINOR PROGRAM IN STUDIO ART (ARTS)
Undergraduate Advisor (General): Email: studio-program-supervisor@utsc.utoronto.ca
Enrolment Requirements
Enrolment in the Minor in Studio Art is unlimited.
Students cannot pair this program with a Major or Specialist program in Studio Art.
Program Requirements
Students are required to complete a total of 4.5 credits as follows:
1. VPSA62H3 Foundation Studies in Studio
2. VPSA63H3 But Why is it Art?
3. At least 0.5 credit from:
VPSB56H3 Digital Studio I
VPSB58H3 Video I
VPSB59H3 Sculpture I
VPSB70H3 Drawing I
4. 2.0 credits at the B-level in VPS courses.
5. 1.0 credit at the C-level in VPS courses, including 0.5 credit from the following:
VPSC56H3 Studio Practice
VPSC59H3 Theory and Practice: Three-Dimensional Work
VPSC66H3 Theory and Practice: Two-Dimensional Work
VPSC68H3 Theory and Practice: Time-Based Work
VPSC69H3 Theory and Practice: Art in a Globalizing World
VPSC70H3 Theory and Practice: New Media in Studio
Studio Art Courses
VPSA62H3 - Foundation Studies in Studio
An introduction to the importance of content and context in the making of contemporary art.
Exclusion: VIS130H, JAV130H
Enrolment Limits: 20 per section
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSA63H3 - But Why Is It Art?
This introductory seminar examines the key themes, concepts, and questions that affect the practice of contemporary art. We will look at specific cases in the development of art and culture since 1900 to understand why and how contemporary art can exist as such a wide-ranging set of forms, media and approaches.
Breadth Requirements: History, Philosophy & Cultural Studies
VPSB56H3 - Digital Studio I
This hands-on, project-based class will investigate fundamental digital concepts common to photography, animation, and digital publishing practices. Students will learn general image processing, composing, colour management, chromakey, and typograpic tools for both on-line and print-based projects. These will be taught through Adobe Creative Suite software on Apple computers.
Exclusion: (VPSA74H3), VIS218H, FAS147H
Enrolment Limits: 20
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSB58H3 - Video I
An introduction to the basic principles of video shooting and editing as well as an investigation into different conceptual strategies of video art. The course will also provide an introduction to the history of video art.
Exclusion: (VPSA73H3), VIS202H
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSB59H3 - Sculpture I
This course introduces students to the use of three-dimensional materials and processes for creating sculptural objects. Traditional and non-traditional sculptural methodologies and concepts will be explored.
Exclusion: (VPSA71H3) FAS248H
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSB61H3 - Painting I
VPSB62H3 - Painting II
A continuation of Painting I with an emphasis on images and concepts developed by individual students.
Exclusion: VIS220H, FAS245H
Enrolment Limits: 20
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSB67H3 - Photo I
An introduction to fundamental photographic concepts including depth, focus, stopped time, lighting and photographic composition in contrast to similar fundamental concerns in drawing and painting. A practical and historical discourse on the primary conceptual streams in photography including various documentary traditions, staged photographs and aesthetic approaches from photographic modernism to postmodernism.
Exclusion: (VPSA72H3), VIS218H, FAS147H
Enrolment Limits: 20
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSB70H3 - Drawing I
VPSB71H3 - Artist Multiples
Artist multiples are small, limited edition artworks that include sculptures, artist books, mass-produced ephemera such as posters, postcards and small objects. Students will explore the production and history of 2D and 3D works using a variety of media and approaches. This course is about both making and concepts.
Exclusion: VIS321H
Enrolment Limits: 20
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSB73H3 - Curatorial Perspectives I
This course is designed to offer students direct encounters with artists and curators through studio and gallery visits. Field encounters, written assignments, readings and research focus on contemporary art and curatorial practices. The course will provide skills in composing critical views, artist statements, and writing proposals for art projects.
Exclusion: VIS320H
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSB74H3 - Drawing II
VPSB75H3 - Photo II
A Studio Art course in digital photography as it relates to the critical investigation of contemporary photo-based art.
Exclusion: FAS247H, VIS318H
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSB76H3 - Video II
This course explores advanced camera and editing techniques as well as presentation strategies using installation, projection, and multiple screens. Students will make projects using both linear and non-linear narratives while exploring moving image influences from online culture, popular media, surveillance culture, cinema, photography, performance, and sculpture.
Exclusion: VIS302H
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSB77H3 - Performance Art
This course covers the history and practice of performance art. Students will employ contemporary performance strategies such as duration, ritual, repetition, intervention, tableau vivant, endurance and excess of materials in their projects. We will also study the relationship of performance to other art disciplines and practices such as theatre and sculpture.
Exclusion: VIS208H
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSB80H3 - Digital Studio II
An in-depth investigation of digital imaging technologies for serious studio artists and new media designers. Emphasis is placed on advanced image manipulation, seamless collage, invisible retouching and quality control techniques for fine art production. Project themes will be drawn from a critical analysis of contemporary painting and photo-based art.
Exclusion: FAS247H, VIS318H
Recommended Preparation: VPSB67H3
Enrolment Limits: 20
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSB85H3 - Text as Image/Language as Art
This course looks at how visual artists employ words in their art. Students will be introduced to the experimental use of text in contemporary art: how typography has influenced artists and the role of language in conceptual art by completing projects in various media.
Enrolment Limits: 20
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSB86H3 - Sculpture II
This course introduces students to the time-based use of three-dimensional materials and processes for creating sculptural objects. Students will use both traditional and non-traditional materials in combination with simple technologies.
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSB88H3 - Sound Art
Students will be introduced to sound as a medium for art making. Listening, recording, mapping, editing, and contextualizing sounds will be the focus of this course. Sound investigations will be explored within both contemporary art and experimental sound/music contexts.
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSB89H3 - Digital Animation I
A non-traditional course in the digital production of non-analog, two-dimensional animation through the use of computer-based drawing, painting, photography and collage. Students will learn design strategies, experimental story lines, sound mixing, and video transitions to add pace, rhythm, and movement to time based, digital art projects.
Recommended Preparation: VPSB70H3
Enrolment Limits: 20
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSB90H3 - Digital Animation II
A project based course, building upon concepts developed in VPSB89H3 Introduction to Digital Animation. Students will refine their control of sound, movement, and image quality. This course will also introduce three-dimensional wire frame and ray-tracing techniques for constructing convincing 3-D animated objects and scenes as they apply to contemporary artistic practices.
Exclusion: (VPSC89H3)
Enrolment Limits: 20
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC04H3 - "Live!"
"Live!" investigates interdisciplinary modes of contemporary performance. Within a studio context, this course serves as an advanced exploration of 21st century Live Art. This interactive course reviews the dynamics of time, space and existence, and asks fundamental questions about the body and performance.
Exclusion: (VPDC06H3), (VPSC57H3), (VPAC04H3)
Enrolment Limits: 12
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC51H3 - Curatorial Perspectives II
This course focuses on the finer details of curating and/or collecting contemporary art. Students will delve into the work of selected artists and curators with an emphasis on the conceptual and philosophical underpinnings of their projects. Term work will lead to a professionally curated exhibition, or the acquisition of an artwork.
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC53H3 - Kinetic Sculpture
Students will produce time-based three-dimensional artworks. Students will be encouraged to use altered machines, simple electronic components and a wide range of materials.
Exclusion: (VPSB64H3)
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC54H3 - Painting III
An advanced course for students who are able to pursue individual projects in painting, with a focus on contemporary practice and theory.
Exclusion: VIS301H, FAS345Y
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC55H3 - Drawing III
An advanced course for students who are able to pursue individual projects dealing with the complex relationships between drawing and other art practices like installation, painting and mixed media.
Exclusion: VIS305H, VIS308H, FAS343Y
Enrolment Limits: 20
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC56H3 - Studio Practice
A supervised course focused specifically on the development of the student's work from initial concept through to the final presentation. Students may work in their choice of media with the prior written permission of the instructor.
Exclusion: VIS311H, VIS326
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC59H3 - Theory and Practice: Three- Dimensional Work
An exploration of ideas and practice with an emphasis on three-dimensional work.
Exclusion: VPSC75H3, VIS306H
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC66H3 - Theory and Practice: Two-Dimensional Work
An exploration of ideas and practice with an emphasis on two-dimensional work, including digital imaging.
Exclusion: VIS211H
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC68H3 - Theory and Practice: Time-Based Work
An exploration of ideas and practice with an emphasis on time-based media: performance, video, audio, time-based sculpture and installation.
Exclusion: VIS303H, FAS349H
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC69H3 - Theory and Practice: Art in a Globalizing World
This course will focus on the influence of global visual culture on contemporary art practices; exploring how artists respond to orientalism, colonial histories, migration, media, tourism, and the international art world. The culturally diverse backgrounds of students and their understanding of global media will be starting points for studio projects.
Exclusion: VIS325H
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: History, Philosophy & Cultural Studies
VPSC70H3 - Theory and Practice: New Media in Studio
Information technologies are radically and rapidly transforming our culture. Networking, robotics, GPS, ubiquitous computing, data mining, rfid, biotech, surveillance, sound installation, digital image processing and interactive display are all offering new opportunities for the artist as well as new critical issues to address. Students will create affordable projects that address these issues.
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC71H3 - Performing with Cameras
This course investigates the relationship of the body to the camera. Using both still and video cameras and live performance students will create works that unite the performative and the mediated image. The course will cover how the body is framed and represented in contemporary art, advertising and the media.
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC73H3 - Interdisciplinary Drawing Concepts
Interdisciplinary Drawing Concepts will extend drawing into a range of other media, allowing students to explore the sculptural, temporal and performative potential of mark-making.
Exclusion: VIS308H3
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC75H3 - Advanced Sculpture
Advanced Sculpture will provide students with an opportunity for a deeper investigation into various materials and fabrication techniques. This course will focus on the theory and practice of object making through studio assignments that develop a critical and technical literacy towards both traditional and non-traditional sculpture materials.
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC76H3 - The Documentary Image
Lens-based art forms such as photography and video have a rich tradition as a documentary practice. These media have engendered their own techniques, aesthetic, and cultural context. This course is designed to introduce students to the role of the documentary image in contemporary art practice, through personal, conceptual, and photo-journalistic projects accomplished outside of the studio.
Enrolment Limits: 20
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC77H3 - Interdisciplinary Photo Concepts
This course will expand photographic practice into a range of other media. Students will explore the sculptural, temporal, performative, and painterly potential of the photograph and photographic technologies.
Exclusion: VIS318H, FAS347Y
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC78H3 - Sculpture and the Everyday
Sculpture and the Everyday introduces students to contemporary sculptural approaches that include the use of everyday found materials and sculptural interventions in public spaces. Students will learn new techniques for installing and presenting artworks inside and outside of the gallery. Previous experience in sculpture is not required for this course.
Exclusion: (VPSB63H3), VIS204H
Enrolment Limits: 15
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSC79H3 - Art and Activism
This course will explore contemporary artistic practices that blur the boundary between art and activism.
We will examine how artists address political issues and the techniques they use to reach different types of audiences. Students will do research and develop projects that address specific local issues and wider social concerns.
Exclusion: VIS307H, VIS310H
Enrolment Limits: 20
Breadth Requirements: Social & Behavioural Sciences
VPSC80H3 - Digital Publishing
A course for students interested in designing and publishing artworks using digital tools. The emphasis will be on short-run printed catalogues, along with some exploration of e-books and blogs. Lessons will identify common editorial and image preparation concerns while introducing software for assembling images, videos, sounds, graphics, and texts into coherent and intelligently-designed digital publications. Creative solutions are expected.
Exclusion: (VPSB72H3), VIS328H
Enrolment Limits: 20
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature & Language
VPSD55H3 - Advanced Special Topics in Studio
This advanced Master Class will be taught by a newly invited instructor each time it is offered to provide students with an opportunity to study with an established or emerging artist from the GTA who is engaged in research that is of significance to current art practice.
Exclusion: VIS401H, VIS402H, VIS403H, VIS404H, VIS410H, FAS450Y, FAS451H, FAS452H
Enrolment Limits: 15
VPSD56H3 - Advanced Studio Practice
An advanced course for students ready to work independently on their own projects. Students will be expected to work on their projects from conception to a final exhibition in the student-run gallery. Students may work in their choice of media.
Exclusion: VIS401H, VIS402H, VIS403H, VIS404H, FAS450Y, FAS451H, FAS452H
Enrolment Limits: 15
VPSD57H3 - Advanced Seminar: Interdisciplinary Practice
An opportunity for students in VPS to explore aspects of contemporary inter-media practice and theory. Students will make work in their choice of media.
Exclusion: VIS401H, VIS402H, VIS403H, VIS404H, FAS450Y, FAS451H, FAS452H
Enrolment Limits: 15
VPSD58H3 - Advanced Seminar: Two-Dimensional Work
Students who have developed strong portfolios in painting, drawing or printmaking and intend to pursue professional exhibition careers will continue their investigations into two-dimensional expression and develop professional quality projects with thorough promotional strategies.
Exclusion: VIS401H, VIS402H, VIS403H, VIS404H, FAS450Y, FAS451H, FAS452H
Enrolment Limits: 15
VPSD63H3 - Independent Studies in Studio: Advanced Level
This option is available in rare and exceptional circumstances to students who have demonstrated a high level of academic maturity and competence. Qualified students will have the opportunity to investigate an area of contemporary art that is of common interest to both student and supervisor.
Exclusion: VIS401H, VIS402H, VIS403H, VIS404H