• Schedule
• Points & Grades
• Grading Rubrics
• NO LATE WORK
• Artist Conversations
• Photos
• Length of Essays & Analytic Writing
• Art Activities
• Art Activity Writeups
• Web Platforms
• Naming Your Blog Posts
• Your Preferred Name
• Art Gallery Etiquette
• Final

• Materials List
• Artist Conversation Template
• Roster

• Section 2: Class No.3761, Mon-Wed 3:30 – 4:45
• Classroom: LH-150 + School of Art (SOA) Galleries between FA2 & FA3
• Instructor: Glenn Zucman
• Office Hours: Mon-Wed 2-3 pm @USU Umbrella Tables just outside Coffee Bean / Robeks
• Final: Wednesday, December 11, 2019 – 2:45 – 4:45pm
• Contact: glenn.zucman@csulb.edu
• Graduate Assistant: Marina Vilhena

• None

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to Art and Ideas as practiced in the 21st century. Students will try a range of art media including traditional tools & new media. Student discussions will compare and contrast contemporary artists. Students will visit the CSULB School of Art Galleries, see the work of 4-5 different student artists, have conversations with the artists, and write blog posts about the work.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Describe some of the styles, ideas, and issues found in the Western canon.
• Understand and articulate some of the ways that art functions vis-à-vis human culture
• Build upon their direct, introductory experiences, in Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Animation, and Data Visualization in both Physical and Virtual worlds
• Articulate their understanding of the relationship between art and: culture, speech, creativity, expression.
• Describe the role of the artist in culture/society.

We’ll break our 15-week +Finals course up into 5 parts

• "A" – 1 week – "The Beach"
• "B" – 4 weeks – "My Art Gallery"
• "C" – 1 week – "Graffiti Writing"
• "D" – 7 weeks – 7 Ideas About Art (making art & talking to artists)
• "E" – 3 weeks – "Chillin" (optional EC presentations)

During each week of "C" we will:

1. Have a conversation with an LBSU School of Art (SOA) Artist
2. Try an Art Activity

Two separate blog posts are due by 11:59 pm on every Sunday night of "C".

Work is due by 11:59 pm on Sunday nights.

• No late work is accepted.
• No late work is accepted.
• No late work is accepted.

Most students find Art 110 a relatively easy class. But, as you can see, you are responsible for turning in 2 blog posts/week for the 8 weeks of "C". If you are not good at meeting deadlines you might want to:

• Decide that now is the time to get good at meeting deadlines …OR…
• Drop the class and take a different class that better suits your working style

Please read the Cheating & Plagiarism section of the CSULB Catalog. Your work should be yours. If you plagiarize in this course I will report you to the Chair of your Department, and the Dean of your LBSU College.

Please do not turn in old work. This course consists of a series of activities to do now in the context of this class and in resonance with your classmates. Please do not search your phone for something you did last year and try to turn it in for this class.

• The Final is Wednesday, December 11, 2019, 2:45 – 4:45pm
• The Final will be participating in Art Activities & Ideas
• Please be sure you put the final on your calendar!
• The University requires me to give a final, and the university requires you to attend the final.
• DO NOT buy a plane ticket home or for vacation on the day of our final or before it!

Textbook

• Your phone is your textbook.

Materials

• see the Materials List.

Attendance

• Required
• Starting in Week 4, please "draw your ID card" on a 4×6 index card and turn one in at the end of every class.
• Please do not use a 3×5 index card.
• Please do not use a 4×6 piece of paper.
• Please use 4×6 index cards only.

For the easiest, and best Artist Conversation blog posts, be sure to use the

• Artist Conversation Template

Real Conversation
Try to have a real conversation with the artists. If we just rush in and bombard them with cameras, just like you or I, they can be kind of put off. On the other hand, if you take the time to read their Artist’s Statement on a wall inside the gallery before asking questions, and then asking thoughtful questions, the artists will be excited to talk with you about their work.

Same Level
Very often we are standing and the artist is sitting. This isn’t great. It’s awkward and definitely less connected than a conversation at the same level. If there aren’t many people around, try to find a chair so that you can be at the same physical level as the artist while you talk. If there are many Art 110 students visiting with the same artist at the same time and finding chairs isn’t practical, then invite the artist into the gallery to chat. This way they’ll be standing and at your same level, plus they can gesture to their work which is nice for conversation and also makes for nice photos.

Good & Bad Questions
There are no bad questions.

However, artists do appreciate it when you read their statement first, so you can ask them to expand on what they’ve written, instead of simply repeating it.

Also, one of the most obvious questions turns out to be a poor question:

Where do you get your inspiration?

This is an instinctive question that we all tend to ask. However it’s a poor question because artists don’t work that way. When you ask it, rather than opening up conversation it tends to close conversation down. You can ask a fairly similar question that is better at inviting them to discuss their process:

Can you talk a little about the ideas you’re exploring in this work?

(if they’ve already talked about their ideas in their statement or in previous answers, you can ask for a clarification or expansion of their ideas and process)

• We won’t use BeachBoard or DropBox to "turn in" your work.
• Except for "ID Cards" you do not need to bring any physical work to class.
• Instead, you will use free website software to post your work.
• You never need the "paid" option on any of these platforms. Keep looking till you find the "free" button!

1. Tumblr
2. Wix
3. WordPress

• Please make a separate blog post for each item each week! Begin with the week number, "D1", "D2" and so on. Then list what category it is, Art Experience or Artist Conversation, and then the name of the Activity or Artist.

Like this:

• D1 – Art Experience – Plaster Casting
• D1 – Artist Conversation – Brianna Allen

This standard format really helps Marina & I get through grading 250 posts every week! **

• Attendance: 23 x 9,000 points = 207,000
• A: Sculpture Experience = 30,000
• B: Art Galleries & Presentations = 160,000
• C: Painting Experience = 30,000
• D: SOA Artist Conversations: 7 x 30,000 points = 210,000
• D: Activities: 7 x 30,000 points = 210,000
• E: Final Paper: Art & (my) Life = 65,000
• Scantron Midterm: 26,000
• Final "Exam": Art Games = 62,000

Course Total Possible = 1,000,000 points.

• 900,000 points = A
• 800,000 points = B
• 700,000 points = C
• 600,000 points = D
• 599,000 & below = F

During our 8 weeks of "C", we’ll try 8 Art Activities.

Working in Groups

I encourage you to do any of these activities with your Art 110 classmates! In most cases, you’ll still need to do your own piece. Doing Graffiti Writing or Environmental Portraits together can be great, you can carpool, share paint, help each other with photography, and so on. But each person should have their own Graffiti Piece, Environmental Portrait, etc.

For some reason, BeachBoard will show you your points, but not add them up for you. There are some fancy switches inside BeachBoard that Instructional Technology has to flip to get it to show you what all your individual points add up to. If someone reminds me to set this near the beginning of the semester, then you can see totals all semester instead of waiting till the end.

Because Art 110 is a large class with about 125 students, it is difficult to give detailed feedback on your writing. I’m happy to discuss your writing at any time and to help you develop better ideas and better form. To help with a quick understanding of your work, we will grade with Coded Points.

Strong writing & analysis with good form will receive full points. If there are mistakes your points will quickly show what your mistake was since there is only 1 way, or 1 mistake, to generate a given score. If you’d like further details, just send me an email and we can discuss it more fully.

1. Misspelled Artist Name: 30,000 – 15,000 = 15,000
2. No Exhibition info: 30,000 – 14,000 = 16,000
3. Not analytic enough / too short: 30,000 – 13,000 = 17,000
4. Formal & Content sections combined as one: 30,000 – 12,000 = 18,000
5. No photo: 30,000 – 11,000 = 19,000
6. Many Grammar, Sentence Construction, Spelling mistakes: 30,000 – 10,000 = 20,000
7. Some Grammar, Sentence Construction, Spelling mistakes: 30,000 – 5,000 = 25,000

1. No Photos: 30,000 – 20,000 = 10,000
2. Incomplete or incorrect activity: 30,000 – 15,000 = 15,000
3. Not Analytic Enough / Too short: 30,000 – 10,000 = 20,000

What does this mean?

• Analytic: in writing about artists’ work, terms like "Like it" and "Don’t like it" are not generally helpful. As a university student, your job is to analyze ideas, art, artists, culture, and communication. Try to discuss how this work resonates with other artists. With art historical ideas. With your own life experiences. Try to think deeply about the work. Consider it in a wider context.
• Too Short: your artist essays should consist of (at least) 4 well written, substantive paragraphs.

Photos of what?

• Art Activities – Document your process! Show steps. Show you with finished work.
• SOA Artists – 1 or more photos. Could be of the Art in the Gallery, of the Artist, or of you with the artist.

Art Galleries and Art Museums have some things in common with places like Libraries, but also a lot that is different. They’re all great cultural resources where you can enrich your life. In a library, except for a few rare items like Special Collections, you can mostly touch everything. And usually, you’re supposed to be quiet or talk in a whisper.

Art Galleries are the opposite. Sometimes people feel like they’re supposed to be quiet, but actually, there’s no such "rule". Talk! Discuss! Interact! Make the space and the experience yours! On the other hand, in Art Galleries and Museums, PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH! The majority of work you will see should not be touched.

• Art Activities are mostly about experience. But you should still analyze your experience. How did it go technically? Aesthetically and creatively, what possibilities do you see? How would you like to do it differently in the future?
• Be sure to include photos of your process! Be sure YOU are in at least 1 photo! (or a short video instead of photos)
• See each Activity Brief for a few specific questions to discuss.

The School of Art grants incompletes rarely and only for the most extreme conditions.

• CSULB Enrollment Services: Key Dates & Deadlines
• Deadline to drop without "W" grade, MyCSULB Student Center by 10:00 pm: September 9
• Withdraw from all classes w signature, Director, School of Art: November 15
• Catastrophic Withdrawal Request: December 9
• CSULB Dropping & Withdrawing Policies

When the name you use in class doesn’t match the name the university grades you by, it can be confusing. It makes more work for me and uncertainty for you. Fortunately, it’s easy to set your "Preferred Name" to the name you prefer to use:

• csulb.edu/enrollment-services/using-mycsulb-personal-information

You might find a picture of you or your work in my weekly blog post. I will never show your work and say this is what not to do. I will only show your work and say Look at what a beautiful job Maddy did last week. I hope you feel good about this. But even if you do, it’s possible that you don’t want your photo or name on this website. If I ever post a photo of you, or your work, or list your name, or a link to your website, and you’d rather not have that here, just LMK. You can ask me to take something down today, tomorrow, next week, next year, or next decade. You never have to give me a reason. You only have to give me the URL where the item you’d like taken down is. It’s always up to you.

CSULB will make reasonable accommodations for any student who has different needs. It is your responsibility to notify me in advance of the need for special accommodations. This course uses many activities and many tools. Most of you should have no trouble with any of this, however, if anyone has challenges with any course aspect for any reason, please be in touch ASAP and we can work to find suitable alternatives. A sincere effort should result in real learning and a good grade, so never be afraid to ask for any accommodations you need, but do make a sincere effort.

Any student who is facing academic or personal challenges due to difficulty in affording groceries/food and/or lacking a safe and stable living environment is urged to contact the CSULB Student Emergency Intervention & Wellness Program. The website outlining the resources available is csulb.edu/basicneeds. Students can also e-mail supportingstudents@csulb.edu or call 562/985.2038. You can also reach out to me if I can help identify additional resources.