Fall ’21 – Syllabus
Long Beach State University
College of the Arts
School of Art
Art 490: Special Topics in Studio Art: Artist’s Portfolio Websites
Fall Semester 2021
Instructor: Glenn Zucman
Syllabus
Artist’s Portfolio Websites
Art 490 section 1 – Artist’s Portfolio Websites – Fall 2021
Course in designing, critiquing, and maintaining an Artist’s Portfolio Website. Students will explore a range of platform, aesthetic, and content options. Students will learn online & documentation tools, develop & refine their websites, and interact with classmate websites.
- Semester: Fall 2021
- Section 1: Class #7216
- Online Course: Asynchronous
- Room: Zoom: https://csulb.zoom.us/my/glennz
- Prerequisite: None
- Units: 1
- Work Estimate: 3 hours / week
- Course: August 23 — December 10, 2021
- Final: No formal final. Your “final project” is your portfolio website.
- Instructor: Glenn Zucman
- email: glenn.zucman@csulb.edu
- alt email: glenn.zucman@gmail.com – please use my university address above. But if the university ever locks you out of MyCSULB, you can use this address as a backup.
- Office Hours: M Noon – 1:00 pm PDT
- or by appointment
Schedule
1-to-1 Meetups w Glenn
- Meetup #1 – Weeks 1 & 2 – Aug 24 – Sep 5
- Meetup #2 – Weeks 5 & 6 – Sep 20 – Oct 3
- Meetup #3 – Weeks 9 & 10 – Oct 18 – Oct 31
I’m available for all the meetups you’d like by email or zoom. These are just our 3 “official” meetups.
Schedule
Weeks 1 & 2
- Your Goals
- Your Menu/Site Map
- Research A: Websites in your field & Galleries, Companies, Clients & Collectors in your field
- Research B: Viewer Profiles
Weeks 3 & 4
- Photograph Your Work
- Photograph Yourself
- Write About Yourself
- Write About Your Work
Weeks 5 & 6
- Choose a Platform & Domain Name
- Build Website
Weeks 7 & 8
- Refine Website
- More Content
- Focus Content
- Clean up: Images, Text, Typography, Design, Menus, Links
Weeks 9 & 10
- Feedback from Friends & Family
- Critique w Glenn
- Critiques w Classmates
- Revise
- Repeat
- Revise
- Repeat
- Live a better life!
Prerequisites
- None
Objectives
The purpose of this course is to design & implement your Portfolio Website. To learn skills and methods that will allow the artist to maintain a current, and contemporary presence online.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Create an Artist’s Portfolio Website
- Easily & Quickly Update the content of their ePortfolio
- Change the aesthetics of their ePortfolio presentation
- Discuss the aesthetics of many different Artist’s ePortfolios
- Prepare Images & Videos for their ePortfolio
- Create an online CV (curriculum vitae) or Resume
- Create an online Artist’s Statement
- Exchange links with other artists
Format of the Course
- Online. Asnychronous.
Materials
Textbook
- Your Laptop
Required Materials
- Computer – laptop or desktop. Can use computers in the Horn Center or Spidel Center
- Camera – Phone, DSLR, Mirrorless, or Film
- Cloud Storage – Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive, etc (free version)
- Web Platform – Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, HTML, or anything else you prefer
Online Resources
In addition to whatever Hosting and Cloud Storage platforms you choose, this class will use these online resources:
- Course website – glenn.zucman.com/websites
- Live Websites – we will view each other’s websites, many other artists websites, and various other resources online.
Technology
Technical Competence Required
You should have the ability to:
- use a phone and a laptop
- view websites & navigate to different locations online
- download and install software on your devices
Minimum Hardware Requirements
Any smartphone and laptop made in the last few years should be sufficient. You can also use the computers in the Spidell Center or the Horn Center.
Minimum Software Requirements
- A modern web browser like Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, etcetera
- Support software, like Photoshop or Adobe Creative Cloud, and perhaps a text editor like Brackets, Notepad++, or Sublime Text.
Safety
- Short Term: I hope you become obsessed with building a great Portfolio Website. But don’t forget the other people in your life and the need for fresh air and exercise. If you’ve been staring at a screen for 20 minutes, it’s a good idea to look at something further away for a minute. If you’ve been working for 2 hours, it’s nice to take a walk around the block before continuing.
- Long term: “Sitting is the new smoking” — get a treadmill desk! Many of us are headed for careers with a lot of “desk work”. It might be drawing on a tablet in Procreate or working on a laptop/desktop in Creative Cloud. Treadmill desks are easier to assemble than you think. They might help you live longer, and some peeps feel more creative when walking slowly vs just sitting.
Grading & Attendance
Attendance
- It’s an asynchronous class! There is no attendance! There is only creating an awesome Portfolio Website for yourself. And a few meetups with Glenn to discuss your Portfolio and your Goals.
Points
- Attendance: 0
- Meetups: 3 meetups x 0 points = 0
- Weekly Activities: 8 projects x 1 point = 8
- Website 1st Draft: 2
- Website Final Draft: 10
Total points possible = 20
Grades
- 10 points = A
- 9 points = B
- 8 points = C
- 7 points = D
- 6 & below = F
Other Details
The right to be forgotten
Sometimes I will feature your website or your work here on the course website. 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.
Incompletes
The School of Art grants “incompletes” rarely and only for the most extreme conditions.
Withdrawal Deadlines
- CSULB Enrollment Services: Key Dates & Deadlines
- CSULB Dropping & Withdrawing Policies
Accommodation
CSULB will make reasonable accommodations for any student who has different needs. It is the student’s responsibility to notify me in advance of the need for special accommodations.
Have a great class!
Is making websites fun?
It is for me!
I hope it is for you too! But even if playing with computers is not your favorite thing in the world, let’s have a useful & relevant semester!
- Set a clear focus for your website
- Create persuasive writing
- Produce exciting images
- Assemble it all in a compelling website
- Critique, Revise, Improve, Repeat!
Eliminating Anti-Blackness
Faculty at CSULB strive to create an environment that supports meaningful dialogue grounded in research, academic inquiry, and mutually respectful relations. We also strive to remain conscious of and attentive to the damage that anti-Blackness does to the lives of our students, faculty, staff, administrators, and their related communities.
We recognize and acknowledge anti-Blackness as being endemic to “how all of us make sense of social, economic, historical, and cultural dimensions of human life” (ross, New York Times, 2020). We recognize and acknowledge anti-Blackness as being endemic to the history of the university as an institution.
As such, faculty at CSULB denounce anti-Blackness and racial violence in all forms and stand in solidarity with Black communities in the fight for racial justice, equality, and equity. We pledge to remake our institution as one that values, honors, and supports Black lives. We recognize the impact of anti-Blackness on our students, and we invite them to dialogue with their professors as we work to make our classrooms anti-racist and dignity-affirming spaces.
CSULB’s Department of Africana Studies, located at PSY 306, and OMA’s Black Resource Center (contact Jeremy Scruggs in USU 224 for access) are available as resources for the cultural grounding, growth, and development of our students. Visit the Department of Africana Studies and the Office of Multicultural Affairs for more information.
Basic Needs
If you are having trouble affording enough food to eat, do not have a safe and reliable place to sleep, and/or experiencing an emergency or crisis, then the Basic Needs Program is here to help. The Basic Needs Program provides emergency services and resources for students. To learn more about the program, visit https://www.csulb.edu/student-affairs/basic-needs/basic-needs-services.
To apply for emergency services such as meal assistance program, emergency grant, or emergency housing, complete the information at this link: https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?CSULongBeach&layout_id=2.
The Basic Needs Program recognizes that not having your basic needs met can affect your performance in the classroom, and they are here to support you and help ensure you get to your graduation day. They look forward to being of service to you.
Undocumented Students
Undocumented students are welcome in this class. If your status presents obstacles to engaging in specific activities or fulfilling specific criteria, you may request confidential accommodations. You may consult with the Office of Equity and Diversity or the Dream Success Center for examples of possible accommodations. Such arrangements will not jeopardize your student status, your financial aid, or any other part of your residence. Please advise me if and when you feel comfortable during the semester so that I may make appropriate alterations as needed.
Note: For all students addressing undocumented immigration as a category of analysis in class, do not use the word “illegal(s)” in a discussion. The term “illegal(s)” promotes a culture of intolerance and violence toward foreign nationals and undocumented immigrants. A more accurate and non-offensive term is “undocumented immigrant(s).” The use of this language signifies respect to the population addressed and reflects our campus’s most basic values of diversity and civility in academic discourse.
