Site-Responsive: Art and Design Studio Practice in Florence

6 units

This course will help students develop a site-responsive studio practice in relationship to the cultural landscape of Florence. We will consider the unique identity of particular sites and structures, land use, and use our experiences on-location to inspire and frame ideas for our work. Open to students in all disciplines, participants will work both in the studio and on-site in the city. Practical and didactic learning will include a complement of methodologies: texts, lectures, films, demonstrations, site visits, field work, and travel to Venice and other sites outside of Florence. Students will develop a series of visual projects in art, design, or a hybrid of the two, through a series of prompts. Students may choose to use resources such as the on-site letterpress studio and the printmaking and photography facilities to explore a variety of art and design media. Ultimately, all students will have the power to make independent work that explores their own visual and media interests. Student will exhibit their work in Florence, and at an exhibition at Washington University in the fall semester. Open to all university undergraduates. No prior experience in art or design is required. Counts for two 3-credit studio elective courses in the BFA, BA, art and design second major and minor programs