New Content: 

VPA 195: Special Topics

Studies a particular topic in the visual and public art major. May be repeated for credit when topics vary. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

Units: 1 — 4

VPA 196: Field Studies

Field Studies opportunities. Topics of study, as well as number of credits, arranged between student and faculty member.

Units: 1 — 4

VPA 197: Independent Study

Independent study opportunities. Topics of study, as well as number of credits, arranged between student and faculty member.

Units: 1 — 4

VPA 205: Lovers, Landscapes, and Artistic Legacies: Intro to Art Appreciation

Loosely chronological in structure, this introductory course invites students to consider both the basic and the profound, in terms of the relationship between humanity and the visual arts. Examining individual and collaborative art-making, we will explore what we learn about ourselves, as humans, from the material cultures of other centuries, other societies, as well as that of our own.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 206: Street Art Excavations

Students will learn about graffiti art, murals, stencil art, political art and random posters. Students will do independent and small group "archeological" explorations into the surrounding Tri-County area as well as research the internet and if possible their home cities.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 207: Art: Urban and Environmental

Students will learn about the artists and communities involved in Urban Art and Environmental Art. The class activities will include a critical examination of issues related to race, class, culture heritage, gender, physical mobility and ability, ethnic heritage, regional and national origins.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 208: Power of Image

This class is designed to provide a critical exploration of contemporary ethics within the field of visual, media, and public arts. Students will be actively engaged in learning skills of visual literacy and media analysis applied to both public arts and popular media.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 209: Day of the Dead Workshop

This ceremony is a community building practice that helps integrate the past histories with the present memories of the students and faculty involving student-made altars, Aztec dancers, musicians, and a candle light procession.

Units: 2 — 4

VPA 210: The Artist & Society

This course focuses on reading comprehension, writing, and oral communication skills within a framework of the visual arts. Students will consider the artist throughout history and across diverse cultures as a catalyst for social change and a standard bearer of new vision. We will examine art as a visual literacy and a voice of profound human expression. Through sound composition and comprehension practices, students will strengthen their own communication effectiveness. (Prereq: CAD 95: Integrated Reading Writing (4 units) or EPT4 with Score of 147 or Higher)

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 215: Beginning Drawing

Introduces entering students to the fundamentals of drawing, including line, perspective, composition, and beginning drawing skills.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 216: Art On The Go

VPA 216: Art On The Go (4 units) is a hybrid course. This means that the course combines regular in class meetings with online discussion boards, virtual meetings and assignments. iPods as an object are used in art for everything from museum narration to portfolio display. This course will be an exploration into the invisible power of digital and wireless technologies as tools for art. Learning experiences will include both collaborative and individual projects, class presentations and campus events.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 217: Color Theory

One of the tap-roots of visual expression, color is both physical and psychological. How we perceive colors, value, chroma, and hue depends upon their relationship to each other, and with our own perceptions of their temperature and emotion. This course will explore both the scientific properties of optical perception of color, and practical application of its uses for a variety of effects.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 220: Museum Studies

Through a service-learning approach, introduces the museum's potential and ethical responsibility for representing history and culture in a way that shapes the public's concept of its values. Divides class time between university setting and internships in local museums where students learn basic operation skills, conservation application, exhibit content, design, and interpretation. Students can begin resumé development for the museum field.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 285: Intro to Photojournalism

Introduces the use of photography as a tool in reporting and interpreting news for print and digital media. Students will gain an understanding of the history of photojournalism and the impact of photographic imagery in communication ideas and narratives.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 290: Intro to Printmaking

This course will introduce several printmaking media and techniques, including monoprinting, etching, block printing, and serigraphy (screen printing). The technical aspects of each technique will be investigated through demonstrations, in-class work, readings, and slide lectures, which combine the history of printmaking with hands-on learning.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 292: Intro to Metal Works

In this introductory course, students will use steel to develop a series of fundamental welding techniques and projects. This course is designed to introduce the beginning student to the possibilities of metal fabrication as they relate to sculpture. Students will learn basic fabrication skills, including MIG welding, Oxy/acetylene welding, plasma cutting, torch cutting, and hot and cold metal bending techniques. This course will also prepare students in the use of essential metal shop tools.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 295: Special Topics

Studies a particular topic in the visual and public art major. May be repeated for credit when topics vary. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

Units: 1 — 6

VPA 300: VPA Major ProSeminar

Introduction to the theories and models of the Visual and Public Art program and its Major Learning Outcomes. Through readings, lecture/discussions, history and research assignments, community arts projects, portfolio development, public art design, review and exhibition projects, introduces students to the field of public art. Provides insight and practices for careers in visual art, arts education, and museum management.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 301: Beginning Painting

Students learn the fundamentals of drawing and painting including line, perspective, color theory, and beginning drawing skills. Students work individually and collaboratively, and participate in class critiques.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 302: VPA Visiting Artist Series

Students have opportunities to meet with visiting artists. Requires attending a minimum of three evening artist lectures, and developing artists' profiles and written summary essays.

Units: 2 — 2

VPA 303: Beginning Sculpture

Presents the fundamentals of construction using basic sculpture methods and materials. Introduces the concepts of installation. Students work individually toward a class-developed collaboration on a specific campus project.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 304: Painting & Mural

Students study painting to develop individual portfolios, and team and large-scale collaborative class projects. Students work in a variety of materials and learn techniques for studio painting, murals, and other public art works. Contemporary issues in painting and site-specific art are discussed, and all students participate in the class critique process.

Units: 6 — 6

VPA 305: Media Culture

Students develop skills of media analysis. Emphasis placed on the analysis of media representations and ethical approaches to socio-media. Forms of media include digital advertising, Internet, music videos, and popular culture materials influencing perception and identity. Provides theoretical approaches to a hands-on model of analysis and media intervention.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 306S: Digital Public Art

Students work with a digital approach to public art project development including analysis of sites, conceptualization, and collaboration using current imaging and video software. Students work in collaboration with specific communities to develop digital images and/or short videos. (Prereq: Junior or Senior Standing)

Units: 5 — 5

VPA 307: Diverse History of Contemporary Art

Provides examples of contemporary and historical art movements reflective of diverse world communities and cultures. Emphasizes the examination of race, ethnicity, culture, gender, and sexuality in contemporary art. Students learn new skills of "seeing," analyzing, and writing as they develop transferable knowledge, skills, and abilities that can be used in the understanding of their own ethnic or social culture, and the formation of cross-culture alliances.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 308: Ways Of Seeing

Surveys the field of contemporary ethical theory in visual and public arts. Students follow controversial cases in public art. Uses guest artists, slide lectures, videos, and field trips as resources to understand and analyze cases. (Prereq: Junior or Senior Standing)

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 309: Materials and Methods

Offers students a chance to learn skills in a variety of media that lead to the creation of final public art projects and capstone installations. Guest artists give demonstrations as well.

Units: 2 — 2

VPA 310: Mixed Media

Provides beginning and intermediate drawing skills using media. Students work from models, still life, landscape/outdoor fieldwork, photographs, and mixed media collage. Students study techniques, proportion, composition, light/shadow, perspective, color, and scale, and do collaborative drawing projects.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 311: Book Arts

"Books are portable magic". This course teaches students the studio practice of hand-made book arts. Examining visual and literary communication in various cultural contexts, students will learn to make book forms originating from both the East and West. The course will include some basic printmaking methods such as embossment, monotype, relief printing and image transfer as ways to convey meaning through imagery and color. Altered books and found objects will be considered for use.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 312: Vis Arts Ed For Teachers

Helps prepare teachers and others in the visual arts education field with lesson plans developed in conjunction with VPA projects, visiting artists, and museum arts education models.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 313: Regional Art History

VPA 313: Regional Art History (4 units) engages students in inquiry based learning as they investigate, analyze and describe, both in written and oral presentation format, the overlays of multiple cultures evidenced in early Central Coast art, 1875-1950. Based on the concept of cultural citizenship, the course examines both groups and individuals. While the content focus will be on the visual arts, the course will also examine literature and poetry as they serve to expand and enrich an understanding of regional expression. [Prereq: (Junior or Senior Standing) and (GE Area A1 and A2 and A3)]

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 314: Modernism/Post-Modernism

Examines visual culture and its manifestations in art, architecture, media, and popular culture. Students work with text and visual materials applying theories of race and post-colonialism, semiotics, anthropology, gender construction, and feminism identity politics and cultural hybridity. Topics include histories of urban development, industrialization, world fairs and expositions, cultural appropriation, neo-colonialism and mass media spectacle.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 315: Life Drawing

Provides beginning and intermediate drawing skill development using media that focuses on the human figure. Students work from models to explore a range of techniques studying proportion, composition, light/shadow, anatomy, and use of color. Includes class critiques and student presentations.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 316: Photography as Art

Emphasizes photography as a means of artistic expression with a primary focus on photography as a means of image making much like other artistic mediums, e.g. painting, drawing, sculpture, and installation. Students study the technical, compositional, and conceptual elements of photography as a visual language as well as gain an understanding of the history and uses of photography from the mid-19th century to contemporary photographic practice. (Coreq: VPA 316L: Photography as Art Lab (2 units))

Units: 2 — 2

VPA 316L: Photography as Art Lab

Students gain hands-on darkroom technique and practice through demonstrations and exercises on a weekly basis. Subject to applied lab fees for chemical and darkroom supply usage. (Coreq: VPA 316: Photography as Art (2 units))

Units: 2 — 2

VPA 318: Digital Photography as Art I

Digital Photography as Art I: Students study the technical, compositional, and conceptual elements of photography as a visual language as well as gain an understanding of the history and uses of photography from the mid-19th century to contemporary photographic practice. Assignments and class critiques encourage lively and thoughtful dialogue among class participants.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 320S: Museum Studies

Through a service-learning approach, introduces the museum's potential and ethical responsibility for representing history and culture in a way that shapes the public's concept of its values. Divides class time between university setting and internships in local museums where students learn basic operation skills, conservation application, exhibit content, design, and interpretation. Students can begin resume development for the museum field. (Prereq: Junior or Senior Standing)

Units: 5 — 5

VPA 321: Museum Collections Practices

Through experiential learning, students visit museums "behind the scenes," learning first-hand the practices from the inside out. Areas covered are exhibition design and fabrication, conservation, collections management, education, and museum finances. The weekend format of the course allows in depth visits to such sites as the Aquarium, the Monterey Museum of Art, Hearst Castle, the Oakland Conservation Lab, etc.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 324: Museum Conservation & Display

Through guest lectures by numerous scholars and museum professionals, this course offers students understanding of museum practices particularly in the areas of conservation and of collections management and display. The focus is on both art museums as well as museums of history and science.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 325: Curatorial Gallery Practices

This course is an introduction to art gallery management, theory, and 2 and 3-dimensional design principles as they apply to gallery practices. Through hands-on participation, students curate exhibitions in the Student Gallery, and are responsible for all aspects of gallery management and exhibition design and installation: conceptualization of themes, selection of artwork, publicity and graphics. Students organize exhibition outreach events, such as gallery walk-throughs and panel discussions.

Units: 2 — 4

VPA 326: Photo as Art II: Alternative

Dedicated entirely to unconventional photographic processes, explores the photographic medium as a means for artistic expression. Includes non-silver printing techniques, polaroid manipulation, digital negatives, pinhole cameras, and liquid emulsions in the communication of ideas through visual imagery. (Coreq: VPA 326L: Photo as Art II: Alternative (2 units))

Units: 2 — 2

VPA 326L: Photo as Art II: Alternative

Students gain hands-on techniques and practice through demonstrations and exercises on a weekly basis. Subject to applied lab fees for chemical and darkroom supply usage. (Coreq: VPA 326: Photo as Art II: Alternative (2 units))

Units: 2 — 2

VPA 327: Video as Art

This course provides an introduction to video imaging as art, and is designed to expand conceptual ideas and visual language by reconsidering the photographic image and its relationship to time. Students are encouraged to experiment with video-making tools, and use research and class discussions to explore their personal vision.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 330: Tile and Mosaic in Public Art

Develops the ability to explore ceramic tile and mosaic for both individual works and collaborative projects. Students work with the medium through all the stages of the process: historical views, contemporary concepts, planning, experimentation, techniques of creation, proper studio practices and firing, use of equipment, mounting, and installation.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 338: Non-Western Art History in Context

From masks to murals, sumi-e to sand-paintings, this course will examine the visual arts of non-Western cultures within a variety of historical contexts. Framed as a series of case studies, artifacts to be explored will be drawn from Africa, Asia, Central and South America, and ancient civilizations. Through exposure to the artistic products of non-Western peoples, students gain a more international appreciation of aesthetics, and the sociological, spiritual and political content in visual art. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 339: Western Art History in Context

This course will examine the evolution of Western (European and American) art, beginning in Greece and ending with the emergence of Modernism in the late 19th century. Organized as a series of case studies, we will explore individual artists and the ways in which their art reflected their contemporary social and political contexts. Students will go behind the scenes with such figures as Jan Vermeer and Artemisia Gentilleschi and interpret the world through their eyes. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 340: 20th C Modernism Unwrapped

The intriguing images and lively discussions in this course will dig deep into the art movements and experiments that have led to our contemporary art world. Exploring both the provocative and the predictable in the evolution of modernism, students will discover such information as what drove Frida Kahlo¿s self portraits, what made Dali¿s clocks tic, what made Warhol¿s Tomato Soup cans hot. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 341: Feminist Art: History, Theory

Examines feminisms across visual culture in art and popular media. Students work with text and visual materials, applying theories of feminism, gender construction, race, post-colonialism, anthropology, identity politics, and cultural hybridity. Topics include body and sexuality, community and activism, media representations, and domestic forms in the arts. Includes hands-on research, group and public presentations, and text-based activities.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 347: Chicana/o-Black Art

Examines Chicana/Chicano and Black artists, art movements, and social histories. Students work with images and text, applying theories of multiculturalism, feminism, colonialism, and hybridity. Topics include familial and cultural legacies, aesthetics, media, and cultural nationalism. In this hands-on and theory course, students explore issues of self-identification, race, and cross-cultural solidarity.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 369: Fashion as Contemporary Wearable Sculpture

This course will examine the various artistic possibilities of cultural entrepreneurship and the complexities of cultural appropriation as viewed through a critical lens of concepts, practices, and politics. Students will learn the various methodologies and techniques that are required in the construction of garments. Emphasis will be placed on the exploration and research of traditional and contemporary approaches to fashion. Students engage in critical readings & constructive group critiques.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 370: Whose Space? Museums, Cultural Institutions, and Community

This course is an investigation into the vital relationship between museums, cultural institutions, and communities.  The success of museums is no longer measured by internal resources: collections, funding, facilities, and staff, but instead by the external value they create for individuals and the diverse communities in which they exist. The course examines the role of museums and cultural institutions as facilitators of social change. (Prereq: Junior or Senior Standing)

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 395: Special Topics

Provides students with an opportunity to propose and implement individualized interdisciplinary learning activities. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

Units: 1 — 4

VPA 396: Field Studies

Provides students opportunities for independent work in the field with professional artists and includes visiting artist projects.

Units: 1 — 4

VPA 397: Independent Study

Students pursue work in forms of public art including murals, installations, and performances, under the tutelage of practitioners in the field. Offers longterm project advisement and offsite project involvement. Note: students may enroll by faculty arrangement for critique or consultation on specified projects.

Units: 1 — 4

VPA 401: Installation & Performance Art

An interdisciplinary course (art, theater, and music) that focuses on the use of site-specific and time-based work, light as art, interactive outdoor public art installations, and contemporary performance both on and off the CSUMB campus. Each semester brings new and exciting projects that utilize both individual and collaborative working methodologies.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 403: Sculpture and 3D Design

Individual and team projects using wood, metal, light, and "found" materials. Examples from public art projects explore the relationship between materials, site, content, and audience. Refining technical skills and building portfolios, students explore the role of cultural heritage, social positioning, and autobiographical narrative in their work. Cross-disciplinary projects include functional art, solar design, lighting design, and interactive sculpture.

Units: 6 — 6

VPA 405: Senior Capstone

Allows students to design, curate, and present their own senior exhibition/project as a display of their cumulative learning in the major. Exhibitions may take place in a community setting within their public art focus; two semester's required in major.

Units: 4 — 4

VPA 495: Special Topics

Specialized study for a particular topic in visual and public art. May be repeated for credit when topics vary. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

Units: 1 — 4

VPA 497: Independent Study

Assessment study for student portfolio review, please contact the academic program office for further information.

Units: 4 — 6

VPA 497S: Independent Study Srv Lrn

Independent study in service learning to be determined by student in collaboration with the Institute of Visual and Public Art. Contact the academic program office for further information.

Units: 4 — 6

VPA 595: Special Topics

Independent studies in upper division level. Focus determined by student in collaboration with the Institute of Visual and Public Art. Contact the academic program office for further information. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

Units: 1 — 6

VPA 596: Field Studies

Student and faculty member select advanced topic of field study and number of credits. Contact the academic program office for instructor signature, registration code, and schedule number.

Units: 1 — 6

VPA 597: Independent Study

Students pursue work in forms of public art including murals, installations, and performances, under the tutelage of practitioners in the field. Offers longterm project advisement and offsite project involvement. Note: students may enroll by faculty arrangement for critique or consultation on specific projects.

Units: 1 — 6