FLORENCE SUMMER PROGRAM
June 3 - July 31, 2010
Application deadline: February 15, 2010
The 2010 summer program will provide an interdisciplinary learning environment within the framework of art and architecture in Florence. Nine units of study (credit hours) are divided between art history (3 units) and studio (6 units). Students will be able to choose an architecture or art studio (6 units) that best suits their interests and ambitions.
The program will explore the relationships between historical and contemporary modes of representation, communication and construction. All students will be encouraged to consider historical precedents and contemporary practices in the development of their creative work.
Architecture Studio (6 Units)
Disegno: Intersections of Architecture and Culture in Florence
Professor: Igor Marjanovic, marjanovic@wustl.edu
The architecture studio will focus on a series of site-specific projects that will engender a broader understanding of architecture, culture and history. The course will question romantic notions of Florentine art and architecture, encouraging students to propose solutions that respond to the relationships between sites, clients and programs. Through collaboration with artists, art historians and architects from around the world, the students will develop their own way of working by building upon their intellectual curiosity and educational backgrounds. Course requirements include studio work, presentations, critiques and field trips, all of which will provide a context for discussions about the role of architecture in history and contemporary world. The course is open to students of all majors and levels. Studio projects will be tailored toward each student's interests and skills, providing an interdisciplinary framework for a self-directed design project.
Art History (3 Units)
Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century Florence, Rome and Venice:
Rethinking Renaissance Visual Culture
Professor: Liliana Leopardi, Ph.D., ll348@nyu.edu
The fifteenth century in Florence was a century of great contradictions: it began with the rise to power of the Medici family and ended with the Dominican friar Savonarola burning at the stake. In this course students will explore the complexities, innovations, and magnificence of two centuries of history through its visual production: architecture, painting, sculpture, costume, ornaments, etc. The principal goal is to challenge the established understanding of Renaissance Florence as a cohesive and homogenous phenomenon and search for and construct our notion of Florence's aesthetic language and identity. Particular attention will be paid to those motifs that will permit interdisciplinary connections to drawing and architecture that the students will explore in their studio courses while in Florence. Beyond the assigned textbooks, our visual guide will be the city of Florence itself. Lectures will meet twice a week and are supplemented by site visits to the city’s monuments. Students will be asked to support their visual learning with readings of original sources including Petrarch, Boccaccio, Lorenzo de'Medici, Leonardo, Benvenuto Cellini (a bibliography will be available prior to departure for Italy). Students are encouraged to construct their own trajectory of study and inquiry, and will be encouraged to explore those issues that best reflect their interests and inclinations.
Art Studio (6 Units)
Drawing (and Re-drawing) Conclusions
Professor: Regan Wheat, wheat@samfox.wustl.edu
This course is designed to investigate the principal elements of drawing and to extend the medium beyond that of line on a page. Students will explore drawing's relationship to objects, installation, time-based mediums, and documentation. Classical drawing will serve as the foundation for more experimental and extended ways of conceiving of and making drawings. Through a series of structured exercises, students will learn to locate themselves within an art historical context and to use this rich history as a field from which to draw inspiration for contemporary works. Students will conduct research for project-based work in museums, churches, piazzas, and markets of Florence. Drawing on site and in the studio will be supported by slide lectures and readings. Students will complete the course with knowledge of the conceptual and theoretical discourse surrounding drawing as well as an extended practical vocabulary for creating contemporary drawings. This course is open to students of all levels and disciplines. Previous drawing experience recommended.
The application deadline is February 15, 2010. Space is limited; early applications are encouraged. More information and application forms are available from:
Mauricio Bruce, Senior Coordinator of Special Undergraduate Programs
Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts
Bixby Hall, Suite 1 (lower level)
mbruce@wustl.edu, 314.935.4643
