DIVST300 Painting Within Communities
SPRING 2012

Diversity Studies Studios introduce students to the interrelations between race/ethnicity, art making and design practices. These courses complement the Diversity Studies Seminars with their hands-on approach in which themes of ethnic identity are incorporated into studio and community practices.

The purpose of this class is to expose students to an expanded view of art practices and potentialities in various communities and settings, including but not restricted to those that are not affirmed within the "mainstream." Implicit in the structure of this course is the attempt to experience life beyond the campus and the relevance of art in differing contexts, in this case, especially to painting. There will be a wide range of institutions, venues, and communities considered, as well as interactions that intersect race and class boundaries which especially distinguish the ethnic communities in question. We will encounter art in a downtown corporate office building, in a community center, in a school, a restaurant, and on walls. Painting will be considered in a broad sense, as a two- dimensional art impulse that utilizes a wide range of materials and techniques: e.g., murals, graffiti, quilting, banners, and billboards, as well as standard paintings in acrylic or oil.