SYLLABUS: Senior Exhibition

Course number, section, time, place, instructor

Senior Exhibition (ART4998/ART4999; crn’s 25421/205422), held Tues. & Thurs. from 3:30-6:00 p.m. in UH239 Kristin Casaletto: office WH148, phone 706-729-2428, e-mail: kcasaletto@gru.edu Office hours: are posted on my office door (TTH 11:30-12:30 & 6:00-6:30) or by appointment. I typically return e-mails or phone messages within 24 hours and check my dept. mailbox daily.

Prerequisites:

Students must have successfully passed Portfolio Review and have been approved, for the current semester to enroll in this class.

Course description & objectives

My overall goal for you in this class is for you to feel confident, informed, and organized as you finish your undergraduate education and move on to jobs, commissions, art stardom (!), studio practice, grad school applications, or other art-career opportunities. The focus of the class is on presentation of your BFA/BA exhibition, articulation of your aesthetic vision and art practice in words, and critical exploration of paths available to visual artists today. Senior Exhibition is the capstone class for the BFA and BA degree tracks. It is designed to prepare you for the transition from art student to professional or graduate-level artist. As such, students who finish this course successfully will meet these essential requirements:

1. Will organize, publicize, and mount an exhibition (group or solo) of your artwork at a level of quality and quantity appropriate to the BA or BFA degree The artwork in your exhibition must be approved by your faculty mentor via the Senior Review process and judged by him/her to be of sufficient quantity and quality to prove the student’s professionalism, abilities, and worthiness of the BFA or BA degree. (Students in ART499 need to keep in mind that their artwork should reflect the advanced nature of the BFA degree.) Your final show represents the culmination of your intensive efforts to acquire a studio art degree. It is not an opportunity to entertain family and friends, but rather a serious professional exhibition demonstrating a body of cohesive, current work specific in style and quality. It should be work that you have described and defended in your artist’s statement. You may find this semester to be particularly demanding, and it will be essential for you to manage your time effectively. I strongly encourage you to create one unified calendar that lists all your class/work/other commitments, to start all assignments early, and to work steadily even if due dates seem far away. You may encounter unexpected issues that could hinder your graduation if you have not planned effectively.

2. Will work with a mentor from the fulltime Art faculty n.b.: It is your responsibility to contact your faculty mentor, schedule meetings as needed, and see to all required activities within specified dates. Your mentor will use the Senior Review process to judge which of your artworks are

acceptable for inclusion in your exit exhibition. This judging constitutes the final review and determines whether a BFA/BA candidate will be allowed to exhibit the work. The exhibition is required for graduation. If a candidate’s work is judged to be of insufficient quality or quantity, s/he will fail Senior Exhibition class. You must pass this course to graduate from GRU with an art degree.

3. Will demonstrate a level of professional responsibility & behavior appropriate to a final-semester BFA/BA candidate. n.b.: This is especially so when we have guest speakers or site visits. It is essential to be on time, stow digital devices, etc. We’ll talk in class about expectations of comportment, but be advised that the expectations are professional-level, not student-level.

4. Will create a professional-level resume 5. Will create a professional-level written artist’s statement 6. Will submit a set of at least twenty professional-quality digital images on a

CD to the instructor. It will be retained in your student file. 7. Will present a professional-level artist’s talk to the art faculty, this class, and

guests. n.b.: It is the student’s responsibility to contact Media Services if special equipment is needed for a presentation.

8. Will participate actively in all class discussions and activities. This includes attendance at all Senior Exhibition students’ show receptions (which often fall outside of class time) and all the students’ artists’ talks (which will be during class time as much as possible).

9. Will complete several additional class assignments and activities (such as entering a juried art show, researching an art opportunity, etc.) according to instructions given in class.

Textbooks

There is no required text.

Assignments, projects, methods

Assignments are generally explained thoroughly in class, often with slides, examples, clarifying Q & A, or discussion. The setting up of an assignment is important, especially since most require your interpretation (when has art ever been cut and dried?). So again, always come to class. The pace, number, and type of assignments may deviate from the tentative class calendar distributed, depending on my reading of what students want and need. If you have opinions about these things, voice them. Our interaction creates a dynamic, fluid environment that involves students and professor. I want your input, but I reserve the right to make timely and final decisions in the interests of maintaining a productive, organized learning atmosphere.

Your faculty mentor

You will work with the instructor to choose a mentor from the fulltime Art faculty. You must set up an initial meeting with your faculty mentor and meetings thereafter as needed until the mentor has approved all work to be used in your graduation exhibition via the Senior Review process. Students must pass the Senior Review process undergone with the mentors to exhibit any artwork in a final exhibition. Failure of the interaction with the mentor in show development process results in failure of this course.

There is paperwork you must complete to document your adherence to the mentorship process. It is essential that you work with your faculty mentor in fulfilling this graduation requirement. Your faculty mentor will give me a written assessment of your show and of your interaction with him/her. It will be factored into your overall Senior Exhibition class grade as fifty percent of the grade.

Grading

Your grade will be based on a careful evaluation of all work presented during the course of the semester. Attendance and participation will also affect the grade. Please note that not all of the assessment of your work in this class is done by me, the class instructor. Half of your grade is based on the quality of your final art show as assessed by your faculty mentor. Please remember, you must pass this class to graduate with a BFA or BA from GRU.

Attendance policy

Refer to university policy in the GRU catalog. It states that a student should never miss more than 10% of a class. If he/she does, the instructor may withdraw the student from class. My attendance comments: You should never miss class. Three absences per semester are permitted. If you exceed three absences, I reserve the right to drop you from the class, and I guarantee that I will deduct points for every additional absence or tardy. If you absolutely must miss class, YOU are responsible for any assignment or information missed or any assignments collected. Late projects or missed deadlines regardless of reason, WILL DROP A HALF A LETTER GRADE PER DAY LATE. Do not miss class, especially on a demonstration, presentation, discussion, or new assignment day. Such days cannot be made up or re-created, and missing class, especially those days, adversely affects ability to complete this class successfully. Come to class prepared to participate. Don’t leave your materials in your car, etc. Note: If any student needs special accommodations because of a disability, please make an appointment to see the Director of Testing and Disability Services. The phone number is (706) 737-1469. (This office isn’t just for disability accommodations. It offers good advice on time management and many other things. You may want to call them sometime or check their website to see what services they could offer you.)

Tentative Calendar: Senior Exhibition

spring 2014

BFA=ART4999A, CRN 25422; BA=ART4998A, CRN 25421

Tues. & Thurs. 3:30-6:00 p. m.

WEEK ONE: Graduation Applications. Selection of Mentors, etc.

T Jan 7 Intro & discuss syllabus & calendar. First several assignments distributed: Mentor Request forms, Graduation Application forms, resumes, etc. You must contact your faculty mentor by Jan. 16 to arrange a preliminary meeting about your graduation show. Give me contact info for class e-mail distribution list. Th Jan 9 3:30 sharp: First guest Ms. Melissa Hudson Hall from GRU Career Services for resume writing and career guidance presentation. 4:45 onward: Discuss exhibitions: things to consider and possible venues. (It is your responsibility to secure your show venue by Tues., Feb. 4 or earlier if possible and by Thurs., Feb 14th at the latest.) Assign: resume drafts by Tues., Jan. 14; schedule Career Center appointments, upcoming artist talks, etc.

WEEK TWO: Resume Writing, Exhibition Issues

T Jan 14 Resume work Th Jan 16 3:30: Due:

Hard copy of your resume draft I must receive a cc of your email to Melissa Hudson by today in which you confirm

your scheduled appointment time with her and attach a copy of your resume draft for her review.

You must have contacted your Art faculty mentor by today (meaning, you must e-mail him/her by today and ‘cc’ me at kcasaletto@gru.edu).

4:00 p.m.: Inna Babeva’s visiting artist lecture, 4 p.m. in UH170. Outline her speech as she talks. Hand it to me after, as we all attend reception & exhibition opening immediately after in Mary S. Byrd Gallery. 5:00 p.m.: Opening reception, Mary S. Byrd Gallery, Painting in the Expanded Field (through

Feb. 13th): Inna Babaeva, Cora Cohen, Nicole Cherubini, Liz Deschenes, Suzanne Joelson, Annette Lemieux, Jessica Stockholder, TM Sisters, Wendy White, Tamara Zahaykevich and Molly Zuckerman-Hartung

F Jan 17: Schedule your individual appointment with Melissa Hudson Hall by today.

WEEK THREE: Gallery Issues. Artists’ Statements. Grad Apps. The

“Un-Speech.” Analysis of Visiting Artist’s Lecture, Etc. …

T Jan 21 Due: emailed draft of resume to mrhudson@gru.edu. Analyze Inna Babaeva’s artist’s talk; discuss artists’ statements. etc.

Th Jan 23: Due: Your graduation application copies to me The “un-speech” an informal Power Point of your artwork to the class for input Maybe: Artist Phil Garrett may be around today, demo-ing or giving a talk. t.b.a. …

WEEK FOUR: Artists’ Statements

T Jan 28 Guest artist: new gallery director Liselott Johnsson Working on artists’ statements. W Jan 29: Must complete your individual consultation with Ms. Hudson by now. Th Jan 30 Due: fully finished resume in hard copy. Also save this as a .doc or .docx file to turn in digitally as part of your documentation CD on the last day of class.

WEEK FIVE: Annual Juried Student Show entries due; resume writing

T Feb 4 . Due: Turn in your artist statement to me without your name on it. Soft deadline: Have you secured your BFA/BA exhibition venue? W Feb. 5: Juried student show entries due for judging by guest jurors the TM Sisters. Th Feb 6 3:30: meet in the classroom 4:00 - 5:00 p.m: visiting artists’ talk: TM Sisters (Monica & Natasha Lopez de

Victoria, jurors for the student show. Check out their site: www.tmsisters.com OUTLINE their talk; bring those notes to next class to discuss.

F Feb 8 by 4:30: grad apps usually due now to registrar’s office for spring 2014 graduation (no worries; we had to do ours for class by Jan. 23.)

WEEK SIX : Finalize Exhibition Venues

T Feb 11 Th Feb 13 latest deadline for determination of your BFA/BA exhibition venue. Give me some kind of proof or confirmation of your venue.

WEEK SEVEN: Annual Student Show Hanging, Opening, & Awards

T Feb 18 All artwork accepted into the Annual Juried Student Show is due by 3:00 p.m. All declined work must be removed by now. 3:30 p.m.: Meet in Mary S. Byrd Gallery. You will hang the annual juried student art show. This will take much more than the usual class time, so plan accordingly. So bring food, wear work shoes. You must stay till hanging is finished. It is not done till the show is hung, lit, labeled, etc., to the satisfaction of Gallery Director Johnsson. You’ll get a class day off later to make up for the long day today. W Feb 19 If the gallery director calls for show hanging touch-up, it must happen today. Th Feb 20 Relax and see how great your show hanging looks:

5-6:30 p.m. is Juried Student Show reception & awards ceremony. We must attend from 3:30 till awards announcements are over. Make sure I see you for my roll call list. (And may some of the awards be won by YOU! Good luck.)

WEEK EIGHT: A Day Off. Art Profession Opportunities.

T Feb 25 NO CLASS: Day off to make up for extra time hanging the student art show Th Feb 27 Discuss opportunities for artists. Ensure each person is researching a different one & choose your due date for it any time between now and Mar. 27th.

WEEK NINE: Midterm

Guest presentations to be scheduled into the next several weeks may include Onofrio on sample artist talks and/or best practices in digital documentation; Brian Rust on frame building (I hope); Raoul on how to stay current on artworld news… M Mar 3 Midterm : Last day to withdraw from classes without penalty. Due to registrar: graduation applications for summer 2014. (No worries; yours was due Jan. 23.) T Mar 4 Th Mar 6

WEEK TEN : Senior Show Possibly Begin Set-ups

T Mar 11 Th Mar 13 Last day of Annual Juried Student Show. We are in charge of take-down. Mary S. Byrd available for Senior Exhibition shows from Fri., March 14, through May 2 Mary S. Byrd gallery available for Sr. Exhib. student shows Mar. 21 – May 2. (We must be completely done & out of there by end of day on May 2.)

WEEK ELEVEN : Senior Shows Begin Now

T Mar 18 Th Mar 20

WEEK TWELVE: Creating Artist Opportunities Database & Presenting

T Mar 25 Th Mar 27

WEEK THIRTEEN: Rehearsing Public Artist Talks.

T Apr 1 artist talk rehearsals Th Apr 3 artist talk rehearsals

Spring break: April 7 – 11

WEEK FOURTEEN: Rehearsing Artists’ Talks. Registration Week.

T Apr 15: last rehearsals Th Apr 17: artist talk public presentations

WEEK FIFTEEN: Public Presentations of Artists’ Talks

T Apr 22: artist talk public presentations Th Apr 24: Last regular class day for us. (Last day of classes is Mon. Apr. 28.) . artist talk public presentations F Apr 25: GRU Alumni Weekend and reception 5:30-7:00 p.m. Someone’s show should open in the Mary S. Byrd tonight to coincide with this event. Last regular day of classes is Apr. 28

FINAL EXAMS WEEK: W Apr. 30 – Mon., May 5 Our exam time is not yet posted on the university website. Stay tuned…

COMMENCEMENT: Fri., May 9

Congratulations!

Senior Exhibition Class: Some Assignments Casaletto, Jan. 7, 2014

Assignment One: Arrange for an Art Faculty Mentor a. Fill out mentor preferences form in class; return to Kristin. b. I will compile & e-mail you your assigned mentor by tomorrow-ish. c. Deadline: Contact your assigned mentor by Thurs., Jan. 16 (and I will grade on your

doing this) to notify him/her that you’ve been assigned to him/her for Senior Review mentoring and request to set up an initial appointment to discuss your show plans. A good way to prove you have contacted your mentor is to CC me (kcasaletto@gru.edu) on an e-mail to your mentor requesting the meeting. (You must contact to arrange the meeting by Jan. 17th. You do not have to conduct that meeting by the 16th, but I’d suggest doing it as soon as possible.)

Assigment Two: Submit the Application for Graduation by Jan. 23rd It’s important to follow these instructions: a. go online, print your unofficial transcript: MyASUthen log inElroyclick Student tabStudent RecordsView Unofficial Academic Transcriptprint it out b. go online, print out a new Art degree track sheet for your degree (www.aug.edu AArt, Degree Programdegreesand select the degree track sheet needed, print it out c. Fill out this blank degree track sheet completely using the information on your unofficial transcript sheet. d. Now fill out the Application for Graduation completely. The form is available at http://www.aug.edu/registrar_va/forms/Application%20for%20Grad.pdf e. Now get your official departmental art advisor to sign it. f. Now get department chair Alan MacTaggart to sign it g. Now make sure Amanda makes a copy of ALL three of these documents. She will put them in my mailbox. I’ll grade based on these photocopies and will then file them permanently in your departmental student files. f. Finally, take the entire set of documents (the originals) to the Registrar’s office in Payne Hall and pay the $50 fee. Congratulations, you have now applied for graduation!

Assignment Three: Resume Writing and Critique Each of you will be creating a professional-level resume. We’ll discuss this in class and see samples on (tentatively) Thurs., Jan. 9 . Please follow these instructions:

a. Ms. Melissa Hudson Hall of the GRU Career Center or her staff members will be meeting individually with you in thirty-minute one-on-one sessions to critique your resumes. By Fri., Jan. 17th, you must call the Career Center at 706-737-1604 during regular business hours (8:00a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). State that you are from Casaletto’s Senior Exhibition class and would like to schedule a thirty-minute individualized appointment for resume consultation with Ms. Melissa Hall. Let them know you need to hold this meeting before Jan. 29th because finalized resumes are due in class on Jan. 30.

b. We’ll discuss resume writing in class on Jan. 14. You must then write a draft of yours and turn in a printout (hard copy) of it to me at the start of class on Jan. 16. You may find the following link really helpful. It’s the College Art Association’s guide to professional resumes for artists: http://www.collegeart.org/guidelines/resume

c. By Jan. 21, each student must e-mail mrhudson@gru.edu and ‘cc’ kcasaletto@gru.edu to confirm your scheduled appointment time with Ms. Hall, and you must attach a copy of the resume draft for Ms. Hall’s review to that e-mail.

d. Each student is required to have completed the individual meeting with Ms. Hall by Jan. 29th (since finalized resumes will be due in class on Jan. 30).

e. Each student must bring a draft of his/her resume to the meeting with Ms. Hall in hard copy and on thumb drive and must come prepared with materials for taking notes.

f. Each student must behave in a manner suitable to a professional business appointment (well prepared and ready to take notes; punctual; polite; no gum or snacks in sight, cell phone stowed; etc.).

g. After the meeting, Ms. Hall will be sending feedback to each student via e-mail and will ‘cc’ kcasaletto@gru.edu. The student is responsible for ensuring that Ms. Hall does indeed send this feedback information .(She will, of course, but with the GRU/ASU changeover, it’s your responsibility to be sure your info doesn’t get lost in cyberspace somewhere.)

Common problems in previous semesters on resume drafts: Don’t slant local; list city, state, full names of show locales, etc.

SABR needs to list duration as well as location (e.g., Greece, May 2013)

It’s typical to include a contact address, not just an e-mail address

Use full citation info when listing publications of your work (e.g., in Sand Hills magazine)

Don’t underplay your strong items by lack of clarity (e.g., “Comer Award” vs. “Comer Award for Most Outstanding Art Student of 2013”)

Include your senior show! (If it hasn’t happened yet, list as “2014 (scheduled): show title”)

Be aware of visual lay out: Make sure resume design ‘fills/holds the page’ well

Feel free to include your job/employment history if it’s a strong point, even if not art-related

Shows at Morris Museum MUST include ‘education gallery’

Use italics or boldface for show titles

Assignment Four: The “Un-Speech” (at which the art speaks for itself; you cannot)

a. Review your artwork. Consider : what’s your best or most representative artwork? b. Compile a quickie Power Point of ten to 15 of those works. Label each slide with

medium, size, and title (or untitled if it has no title). The images can be low-res/unprofessional/off your cell phone; doesn’t matter at this point. Just have something to show the class.

c. You’ll present this in class without talking. Everyone ELSE does the work this day and will have to write down for you all they can observe about this artist objectively from the artwork ONLY. So the viewers play the role of some unknown museum curator, and the work will speak for itself. Viewers will be required to give you written feedback based only on the artwork: What do its issues seem to be? What does it suggest/address/demand/do? Is it relevant? Strengths, weaknesses, show-worthiness, tendencies?

d. Due date: Thurs., Jan. 23 at start of class. Come ready.

Assignment Five: Enter a Professional-Level Juried Show Assignment: You must enter one professional-level (meaning, not just for students) juried art show this semester. Due date: Thurs., May 1 Requirements:

You must provide PROOF of ENTRY to me by Thurs., May 1, which is the last day of regular class before final exams. Proof of entry may vary according to how the call-for-entries is set up. Artists are now often required to submit online. If so, send a blind carbon copy of your submission e-mail to me. ALSO, forward to me a copy of the e-mail you may get confirming receipt of entry, or send me a copy of the receipt of entry fee payment. If you enter by mail, Xerox the entry form (filled out) AND the check used for payment. In any event, figure out what constitutes proof of entry and get that to me by May 1. Ask me if you are unsure.

Extra credit:

If you get juried into the show, congratulations! That is quite an achievement, and if you give me proof of acceptance, I will give you extra credit (if your acceptance falls within this semester). If you get in, be sure to add the

show listing to your resume. So far, our class has an acceptance rate of approx. 10-15%, which is really great for first-time show entrants.

Assignment Six: Final Documentation/Portfolio on CD Due date: last day of class: Thurs., May 1 Directions: Turn in a CD containing the following:

1. Digital portfolio: Min. 20 (more if you like, but 20 is fine) images of your artwork. Images must be of professional quality , of the sort ready to use for grad school or job applications. Therefore, these are the image file requirements: * 300 dpi or more and minimum 3” on larger side (height or width) * jpg or .tiff format. * do NOT put images into Power Points or presentations. * jpg’s or tiff’s must be titled like this: Last name_FirstName_Medium_Title_ Size.jpg.

Example: Casaletto_Kristin_intaglio_UntitledNumberOne_11x15in.jpg

2. Final resume as .doc or .docx or .pdf file

3. Final artist’s statement as .doc or .docx or .pdf file

The CD will be kept in your student advising file in the main art office as part of your academic record.

Assignment Seven: Research an Art Opportunity You will all work together as a class to create an Artist’s Opportunities Databank. Each of you will research a different art opportunity and share it so that all of you end up with the research done on a dozen or so opportunities. Each of you will research a different opportunity related to the visual arts professions and will write up your results concisely within a standard template. Save it as a Word document and post it to D2L AND e-mail it to the whole class (including me at kcasaletto@gru.edu). Also turn in one hard copy to Casaletto on the due date. Directions: You must research and summarize one interesting art opportunity that you may one day like to pursue. The artist’s opportunity could be an artist’s residency program, a visual arts graduate school, an art grant, etc. For example, You may want to choose a graduate school you are considering. Or a special program open to artists (like DAAD, American Academy in Rome, Scuola di Grafica

in Venice, how to get chosen for the Venice Biennale, White Columns slide registry, the Drawing Center’s slide registry, etc.).

Or an artist’s grant award, such as the Pollock-Krasner, the Guggenheim Fellowship, etc. Or an artist’s residency program, such as listed below…or check this useful book: Artist Communities (a comprehensive directory listing; about $16.50 at amazon.com). Choose ONE artist’s opportunity. We will pool our choices on Thurs, Feb. 27 to ensure we all research different opportunities.

Each of you must choose a different artist’s opportunity to research for our databank.

Do the research necessary to create a handout USING THE TEMPLATE PROVIDED. It is due e-mailed to me and to every class member by any date you choose between now and Mar. 27, but you must choose your due date and tell me by Feb. 27.

Then you must present your results briefly and take any questions in class on (tentatively) March 25-27.

Your handout must conform to the template provided on D2L. Information must be clear, complete, and concise and include the following: The template requires you fill in the following information: a. Program description: full description of the ‘opportunity’ you researched: What is

it? What does the artist gain/learn.? b. Contact information: address, website, phone no., name and title of contact person c. Clear list of application requirements, starting with eligibility. Description of

application process/stages, jurying/etc. if applicable. d. The deadline for application. e. Costs, if any, and range of award amounts, if applicable f. Description of the judging process: How is it done? by whom? What is the

acceptance and/or rejection rate, if knowable? g. Any other information pertinent to this opportunity that would be valuable for our

databank

Artists’ Residencies: Some Useful Websites (I am not trying to skew you toward researching an artist residency; I just happened to have all this info below compiled already.)

artistcommunities.org Website of the Alliance of Artists Communities

banffcentre.ca Banff Center, Banff, Alberta, Canada (particularly good for collaborative, experimental, or high-tech endeavors)

bluemountaincenter.org Blue Mountain Center, Blue Mountain Lake, NY

(in the Adirondack Mountains; for political/social activist only) djerassi.org Dejassi Residencies, Woodside, CA

hambidge.org Hambidge Center for the Arts & Sciences, Rabun Gap, GA

macdowellcolony.org The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH

millaycolony.org The Millay Colony, Austerlitz, NY

plainsart.org Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND (for printmakers only)

resartis.org (good for international residencies; subscribe to the free newsletter. It has info

and deadlines on such residencies as Cite’ Internationale de Paris, etc. Also watch for Frans Mazereel Centre in Belgium, Scuola di Grafica in Venice, etc.)

vcca.com Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA

yaddo.org Yaddo Colony, Saratoga Springs, NY