First Year Program

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Director

1997 - 2004

As the inaugural full-time director, I led the program of four required foundational studio courses (2D, Color, 3D and 4D) taken by all incoming first-year and transfer students. Serving over 500 incoming students this program established a foundation for critical thinking and creative exploration for students across all departments.

Tasked with refreshing the curriculum, I led a core faculty group in establishing a new typology of foundation course—Research Studio—designed to introduced students to creative research methods and equip them with a versatile toolkit for a lifelong practice rooted in curiosity, tenacity, rigor, and imagination.

Research Studio and Research Seminar have evolved into a two-semester course which remains the defining component of SAIC’s Contemporary Practices Program.

Contemporary Practices Program

  • ARTBASH. An annual exhibition of work from every FYP class.

  • Research Studio - Diagramming Course Methods

  • Research Studio - Diagramming Course Methods

Research Studio + Research Seminar classes included:

Dangerous Ideas examined what happens when writers, artists, designers, and others test the boundaries of existing ideologies. Studio component developed and taught by Matthew Girson. Liberal arts seminar developed and taught by Timothy O’Donnell.

Home: Premises + Promises explored the textures, contents, activities, and spaces of the place we all grew out of yet return to every day. Syllabus developed and taught by Helen Maria Nugent.

Drawn From / Drawn Upon addressed the desire to make art that bridges the gulf between drawing directly from observation. Syllabus developed and taught by Richard Deutsch.

Normal / Not Normal examined ideas such as purity and pollution, excess and emptiness, the forces of darkness and the power of beauty, notions of propriety, and the use of humor in art.  Studio component developed and taught by Alison Ruttan. Liberal Arts seminar developed and taught by Jennifer Reeder

What’s So Funny? explored the humor of jokes, cartoons, comedians, poetry, plays, films, and the visual arts. Syllabus developed and taught by Darrel Morris.

The annual ArtBash exhibition is another legacy of my directorship, celebrating the culmination of students’ first year with an exhibition of work that unfolds across the campus.

Pattern investigated how patterns can be generated and structured, and what makes them captivating, perplexing, or pleasing. Syllabus developed and taught by Rebecca Shore.