Visual Arts

The Language of Drawing: Investigating Abstraction — DRW4246.01

Fall 2018

Instructor: Mary Lum

Credits: 4

Drawing is inherently a process of abstracting the world. How do we make use of myriad concepts, forms, and materials to make meaningful drawn images? How does a practitioner “use” drawing to express ideas? What does it mean to work “through” an idea? In this course we look carefully at systems and structures, as well as modes of thinking about drawing in the real world.

Visual Arts

The Language of Material and Process — CER4250.01

Fall 2013

Instructor: Barry Bartlett

Days & Time: TBA

Credits: 4

This course will investigate the unique, material nature of clay as a sculptural medium. Students will explore the material aspects of clay such as dryness, wetness, mass and scale using a variety of mechanical processes that include extrusion, slab rolling, mold casting and experimental digital ceramic printing. In doing so, the pieces created will be used to convey ideas of

Visual Arts

The Language of Material and Process in Ceramics — CER2134.01

Spring 2016

Instructor: Barry Bartlett

Credits: 4

This course will investigate the unique, material nature of clay as a sculptural medium. We will learn to observe, interpret, and make art objects through a series of projects in drawing/collage and ceramic techniques. Students will explore the material aspects of clay such as dryness, wetness, mass and scale using a variety of mechanical processes that include extrusion,

Visual Arts

The Language of Material and Process through Analog/ Digital Investigation — CER4250.01

Spring 2014

Instructor: Barry Bartlett; Guy Snover

Credits: 4

This course will investigate the unique material nature of clay by integrating digital tools and concepts. A paradigm shift occurs when a robot replaces the hand and a 3D digital model replaces the sketch. A Cartesian robot moves in three-dimensional space, but giving this movement purpose is still the job of an artist. We will look at applying computer-controlled robots

Visual Arts

The Life of Plaster — SCU2308.02) (cancelled 9/15/2023

Spring 2024

Instructor: John Umphlett

Credits: 2

This seven week intensive class will be focused on understanding some basic methods for working with plaster. We will look at a variety of gypsum products and identify their similarities and differences. Plaster can have an amazing way of mimicking life both in the mixing and setting process as well as the ability to copy through casting. In this class, we will investigate and

Visual Arts

The Magical Object — DRA2116.01

Fall 2021

Instructor: Sherry Kramer

Credits: 4

There is a great difference between a prop and an object that is built or filled with the dramatic forces of a play or film. These objects fill with meaning and power and the hopes of the characters, and ours. But how do we generate a magical object that can organize an entire work of timebound art? We will pursue our investigation in the timebound arts of theatre and film,

Drama Visual Arts

The Magical Object - Visual Metaphor — DRA2116.01

Fall 2018

Instructor: Sherry Kramer

Credits: 4

There is a great difference between a prop and an object on stage that is built or filled with the dramatic forces of a play. Such objects become metaphors, they become fresh comprehensions of the world. In the theater, we believe in magic. Our gaze is focused on ordinary objects…a glass figurine, a pair of shoes, a wedding dress…and then our attention is shaped, and charged,

Drama Visual Arts

The Magical Object - Visual Metaphor — DRA2116.01

Spring 2020

Instructor: Sherry Kramer

Credits: 4

Drama Visual Arts

The Magical Object - Visual Metaphor — DRA2116.01

Fall 2015

Instructor: Sherry Kramer

Days & Time: TBA

Credits: 4

Drama Visual Arts

The Magical Object - Visual Metaphor — DRA2116.01

Spring 2014

Instructor: Sherry Kramer

Credits: 4

There is a great difference between a prop and an object on stage that is built or filled with the dramatic forces of a play. Such objects become metaphors, they become fresh comprehensions of the world. In the theater, we believe in magic. Our gaze is focused on ordinary objects...a glass figurine, a pair of shoes, a wedding dress...and then our attention is shaped, and

Drama Visual Arts

The Magical Object – Visual Metaphor — DRA2116.01

Spring 2016

Instructor: Sherry Kramer

Credits: 4

Drama Visual Arts

The Materiality of Color: Drawing with Pigments — DRW4204.01

Spring 2026

Instructor: Beverly Acha

Days & Time: MO 1:40pm-5:20pm

Credits: 2

This course is a hands-on color laboratory where students will explore the tactile, material, and physical characteristics of pigments. Working with both earth and synthetic colors, we’ll grind, mix, and transform pure pigments into drawing materials including watercolor paints and chalk pastels. If time allows, we will also make inks. Outside of class, students

Drawing

The Post-Pandemic House — ARC4402.02

Fall 2020

Instructor: DSherefkin@bennington.edu

Credits: 4

The rapid and profound disruption to life prompted by COVID-19 will have lasting impacts on architecture and the built environment. Houses have become sites for both economic production and the education of children. We will examine alternative forms of domestic architecture from history, and from other cultures where multiple generations and multiple programs have co-existed.

Visual Arts Environment

The Power and Ethics of Photography — PHO2178.01

Spring 2026

Instructor: Farzana Wahidy

Days & Time: TU 8:30am-12:10pm

Credits: 4

This course delves into the influence and impact of photography by examining the works of iconic and contemporary photographers. Students will explore how photography has shaped visual culture and society, gaining a deeper understanding of its power as an artistic and documentary medium. Ethical considerations are central to the course, as

Photography

The Power and Ethics of Photography — PHO2178.01

Fall 2025

Instructor: Farzana Wahidy

Days & Time: TU 8:30am-12:10pm

Credits: 4

Photography

The Question of Art in the Twentieth Century — AH2232.01

Spring 2022

Instructor: Carly Rudzinski

Credits: 4

What is art? This question proved central to the evolution of artistic practice in the West during the twentieth century. The push to define and redefine art was entangled with several other queries: What cannot be considered art? What does an artist do (or not do)? What (or who) is “modern”? What distinguishes art from life itself? Looking at the social histories from

Visual Arts

The Real Betty Parsons — VA4121.02

Fall 2018

Instructor: Anne Thompson

Credits: 2

Gallerist Betty Parsons was every bit as maverick as the Abstract Expressionist painters she so famously debuted. An artist in her own right and a lesbian, she championed women, gay and bisexual artists and other practitioners outside the white, macho midcentury scene. A reconsideration of this history shapes a course that positions Parsons within today’s discourse as a hybrid

Visual Arts

The Salt Print — PHO4121.01

Spring 2018

Instructor: Jonathan Kline

Credits: 2

This class explores one of the earliest means of creating a photographic image on paper. Invented by William Henry Fox Talbot in England and refined by a number of successive adaptations in France in the 1840's, the salt print has a unique tonal scale ideally suited for contact printing either paper or glass negatives in sunlight. The class will explore various papers,

Visual Arts

The Social Life of Photographs — PHO4133.01

Fall 2025

Instructor: Liz White

Days & Time: WE 8:30am-12:10pm

Credits: 4

This studio/ seminar invites students to engage both creatively and critically, by making work and through readings and discussions. Throughout the course, students will consider the social life of photographs, with particular emphasis on past and present ways of making and

Photography

The Tudor Box — MCO2123.01

Spring 2017

Instructor: Nicholas Brooke

Credits: 1

This course will examine the DIY world of homebuilt acoustic electronics, by looking at experimental instruments that can fit inside a soap dish. We will work through Nic Collins classic book on hardware hacking, while having outside workshops on building alternative guitar pedals, circuit bending, and proto-synthesizer circuits. We will also look at the history of experiments

Music Visual Arts

The Vessel: Introduction to Ceramics through History — CER2227.01

Fall 2020

Instructor: bbartlett@bennington.edu

Credits: 4

This class will be based on research into the technical and aesthetic aspects of ceramic history. The class will focus on events, directions and issues which have influenced the making of ceramic objects over time. Students will work collabratively to develop presentations to share in class as a way to develop research skills, as well as to acquire knowledge of the history of

Visual Arts

The View Camera Contemporary Practice — PHO4256.01

Spring 2023

Instructor: Jonathan Kline

Credits: 4

This course explores the many possibilities of using a large format camera to image the world and its unique ability to render light, texture, and form with exquisite detail. Particular attention will be paid to image manipulation employing tilts and swings, light meter techniques, and using three emulsions: black and white negatives, color negatives, and color transparencies.

Visual Arts

The Web as Artistic Platform — DA2110.01

Spring 2014

Instructor: Robert Ransick

Credits: 4

This course is an introduction to creative practices within digital technologies specifically focused on Internet based fine art projects. A broad survey of web-based digital arts is examined in tandem with an overview of tools necessary to create your own work. These include HTML, CSS, Photoshop, content management systems, and a basic introduction to JavaScript. Students

Visual Arts

The Web as Artistic Platform — DA2110.01

Spring 2015

Instructor: Robert Ransick

Credits: 4

Visual Arts

The Web as Artistic Platform — DA2110.01

Fall 2014

Instructor: robert ransick

Days & Time: TBA

Credits: 4

Visual Arts