Students will be given one grade for each art project (including all stages of project development). In addition, there will be a midterm and a final grade given for student blogs. All grades will be given equal value and averaged together at the end of the semester to obtain a final grade. It is understood that students tend to enter classes such as this with varying technical abilities. Although students will be required to display competence in operating the appropriate tools, students who display only technical prowess without regards to how their projects function as art will not receive favorable grades. In other words, this is an art course not a software tips and tricks course. This is not a course in how to use software without regard for the context of contemporary Art. The course is taught as a studio art course - except the material, rather than being clay or pigment, is pixels and electronic data objects. The focus is on art making, and the assignments reflect this mind set. Students who simply wish to learn how to retouch old photos or remove unfavorable relatives from family photos, etc. do not need to take this course and will find that those interests are not addressed. Students will be expected to verbalize and write about their work in terms of how their images re-present their desires and solutions to the problems proposed in course assignments. Project grades are figured using previous and current class performance as a measure, but also importantly considering individual strengths, weaknesses and overall student growth.
A Work that demonstrates an excellent understanding of relevant tools and concepts by creatively, knowledgeably and thoroughly dealing with project parameters and project resources. Work that is accompanied by a critique where the student successfully communicates his/her intentions and provides meaningful justification for creative decisions.
B Work that demonstrates a knowledgeable and creative understanding of relevant tools and concepts accompanied by well stated intentions during critique.
C Work that satisfactorily meets the requirements of the project and displays adequate know-how in the appropriate conceptual and technical tools.
D Work that meets the minimum requirements of the project yet is unsatisfactory because because of a lack of commitment on the part of the student to expand his/her vocabulary and know-how.
F Work that does not fulfill the requirements of the assignment, excessively late, and/or work that displays very little effort and interest
As a courtesy to others in the class, and in accordance with George Mason University policy, please turn off all beepers, cellular telephones and other wireless communication devices at the start of class. The instructor of the class will keep his/her cell phone active to assure receipt of any Mason Alerts in a timely fashion; or in the event that the instructor does not have a cell phone, he/she will designate one student to keep a cell phone active to receive such alerts.
Commitment to Diversity
This class will be conducted as an intentionally inclusive community that celebrates diversity and welcomes the participation in the life of the university of faculty, staff and students who reflect the diversity of our plural society. All may feel free to speak and to be heard without fear that the content of the opinions they express will bias the evaluation of their academic performance or hinder their opportunities for participation in class activities. In turn, all are expected to be respectful of each other without regard to race, class, linguistic background, religion, political beliefs, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, veteran’s status, or physical ability.
Statement on Ethics in Teaching and Practicing Art and Design
As professionals responsible for the education of undergraduate and graduate art and design students, the faculty of the School of Art adheres to the ethical standards and practices incorporated in the professional Code of Ethics of our national accreditation organization, The National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
Open Studio Hours
School of Art teaching studios are open to students for extended periods of time mornings, evenings and weekends whenever classes are not in progress. Policies, procedures and schedules for studio use are established by the AVT studio faculty and are posted in the studios.
ArtsBus
The dates for this spring’s ArtsBus trips are September 19, October 17, November 14.
- If you need ArtsBus credit for this semester, you MUST enroll in AVT 300 (CRN 72570, 72571, or 72572) before September 15, 2009. Anyone who intends to travel to New York independently, or do the DC Alternate Assignment for credit MUST enroll in AVT 300. There will be NO exceptions. If you need multiple AVT 300 this semester, you must enroll in multiple sections of AVT 300. Please go to the ArtsBus website: http://artsbus.gmu.edu "Student Information" for additional, very important information regarding ArtsBus policy.
Visual Voices Lecture Series
Visual Voices is a year-long series of lectures by artists, art historians and other art professionals that enriches the School of Art curriculum. Visual Voices lectures are held on Thursday evenings from 7:30- 9:00 p.m. in Harris Theater. The fall schedule includes four lectures:
September 10, 2009: John Ruppert, “Artifice of Nature"
September 30, 2009: William Wiley” Only One Earth” (Smithsonian American Art Museum)
October 1, 2009: Gordon Moore “Pursuing Abstarction"
October 15, 2009: Ruth Lozner “Ttaching and Learning: The Power of Creativity”
December 3, 2009: Alan Knezevich “Alan Knezevich Design Associates: Case Studies”
Important Dates and Deadlines
No Classes Sept 7
Last Day to Add (Full-Semester Course) Sept 15, 2009
Last Day to Drop (Full-Semester Course) Sept. 15, 2009
Selective Withdrawal Period (Full-Semester Course) Oct 5--Oct 30, 2009
No classes Monday 10/12. Monday classes meet on Tuesday 10/13. Tuesday classes do not meet this week.
Incomplete work from Summer /spring 09 due to registrar Oct. 30, 2009
Once the add and drop deadlines have passed, instructors do not have the authority to approve requests from students to add or drop/withdraw late. Requests for late adds (up until the last day of classes) must be made by the student in the School of Art office (or the office of the department offering the course), and generally are only approved in the case of a documented university error (such as a problem with financial aid being processed). Requests for non-elective withdrawals and retroactive adds (adds after the last day of classes) must be approved by the academic dean of the college in which the student’s major is located. For AVT/School of Art majors, that is the CVPA Office of Academic Affairs, Performing Arts Building A407.
Students with Disabilities and Learning Differences
If you have a diagnosed disability or learning difference and you need academic accommodations, please inform me at the beginning of the semester and contact the Disabilities Resource Center (SUB I room 234, 703-993-2474). You must provide me with a faculty contact sheet from that office outlining the accommodations needed for your disability or learning difference. All academic accommodations must be arranged in advance through the DRC.
Official Communications via GMU E-Mail
Mason uses electronic mail to provide official information to students. Examples include communications from course instructors, notices from the library, notices about academic standing, financial aid information, class materials, assignments, questions, and instructor feedback. Students are responsible for the content of university communication sent to their Mason e-mail account, and are required to activate that account and check it regularly.
Attendance Policies
Students are expected to attend the class periods of the courses for which they register. In-class participation is important not only to the individual student, but also to the class as a whole. Because class participation may be a factor in grading, instructors may use absence, tardiness, or early departure as de facto evidence of nonparticipation. Students who miss an exam with an acceptable excuse may be penalized according to the individual instructor's grading policy, as stated in the course syllabus.
Honor Code
Students in this class are bound by the Honor Code, as stated in the George Mason University Catalog. The honor code requires that the work you do as an individual be the product of your own individual synthesis or integration of ideas. (This does not prohibit collaborative work when it is approved by your instructor.) As a faculty member, I have an obligation to refer the names of students who may have violated the Honor Code to the Student Honor Council, which treats such cases very seriously.
No grade is important enough to justify cheating, for which there are serious consequences that will follow you for the rest of your life. If you feel unusual pressure about your grade in this or any other course, please talk to me or to a member of the GMU Counseling Center staff.
Using someone else’s words or ideas without giving them credit is plagiarism, a very serious Honor Code offense. It is very important to understand how to prevent committing plagiarism when using material from a source. If you wish to quote verbatim, you must use the exact words and punctuation just as the passage appears in the original and must use quotation marks and page numbers in your citation. If you want to paraphrase or summarize ideas from a source, you must put the ideas into your own words, and you must cite the source, using the APA or MLA format. (For assistance with documentation, I recommend Diana Hacker, A Writer’s Reference.) The exception to this rule is information termed general knowledge—information that is widely known and stated in a number of sources. Determining what is general knowledge can be complicated, so the wise course is, “When in doubt, cite.”
Be especially careful when using the Internet for research. Not all Internet sources are equally reliable; some are just plain wrong. Also, since you can download text, it becomes very easy to inadvertently plagiarize. If you use an Internet source, you must cite the exact URL in your paper and include with it the last date that you successfully accessed the site.
A note on art and digital technologies:
Digital technologies are particularly suited to copy, sample, or appropriate, mash etc. previously created content. Many artists, visual, audio and literary, have used these techniques quite successfully in order to parody, celebrate or otherwise comment on cultural icons and what they represent. As a class, we will discuss techniques such as these and their relevance to copyright law and the university honor code, but as a rule students should always be up-front and honest with the class and professor as to what visual content has been sampled and how it has been manipulated or rearranged in any given project. Failure to do so will be considered a honor code violation.
Writing Center
Students who are in need of intensive help with grammar, structure or mechanics in their writing should make use of the services of Writing Center, located in Robinson A116 (703-993-1200). The services of the Writing Center are available by appointment, online and, occasionally, on a walk-in basis.
See Academic Calendar for important deadlines, etc.