N2 the Environment: Sculpture & Professional Practice

Creating art is only half the journey. You also want people to see it; to get it out into the environment at large.  This unique class offers artists interested in metal and mixed media sculpture the opportunity to experience the entire process!

In this collaborative class, students will work in pairs to construct sculptures that will be on public display at prominent businesses in Brooklyn. In partnership with the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project (MARP) and associated business owners, 4 locations (2 indoor and 2 outdoor) have been secured for a 30 day period. You will meet with the business owners to negotiate the scope, scale and precise location of the installations and then create digital mockups of the sculpture (in SketchUP or Rhino). Pending final approval, you'll work with the instructor to finalize your schematic, source materials, and construct your vision. The agreed upon design of the sculpture will dictate the tools and fabrication techniques that you will use in the metal shop. Sculptures may incorporate new or found steel, other metal, moving parts and even interactive electronic components. MARP will promote the works, providing all involved with exposure and sales opportunities (students will retain 100% of the proceeds from all work sold).

Learn how to take a project from conception to fruition: develop a proposal, professionally communicate your vision effectively and convincingly to a prospective client, replicate you work in a fabrication shop and install it onsite. We want to encourage you to incorporate your own unique "visual language" into the piece, as this is what collectors generally seek out and collect. This is also a creative professional practices class replete with the challenges of navigating relationships with real customers and project partners.  There are real deadlines that will have be met. Depending on the scope of your project, expect to spend at least one extra day in the shop each week once fabrication gets under way.  Check out the syllabus, course documents and links to other artists to get your ideas flowing here.

Previous experience in the metal shop is required. You must have taken Intro to the Metal Shop, possess a sculpture degree or furnish proof of prior metal shop experience.  If you would like to work on an interactive project, Physical Computing is a prerequisite or you should have prior experience programming microcontrollers!  3rd Ward will provide consumables and tools. You will be responsible for the raw materials for your project. The instructor will work with you to properly develop and source parts and supplies. All students will receive a 8-day shop pass (an $800 value) to work on their projects between class sessions.  More passes will be granted upon request.  Students are required to come to all classes dressed appropriately for welding; this includes heavy cotton pants (jeans are fine), leather boots and a long-sleeve shirt made of cotton or wool (or denim, go all out). All clothing and footwear with polyester, nylon or other synthetic fibers is to be avoided (the fibers will easily melt if heated).

Instructor
Christine Whittaker received her BFA in Sculpture & New Media from Kansas City Art Institute, an MFA in Sculpture & New Media from University of Delaware, and an MPS from ITP Interactivity & New Media at New York University.  She was an Athena fellow via Mark DiSuvero and Socrates Sculpture Park and has served on the advisory board for Whitebox.Org Gallery in NYC. She has been in a number of group and solo shows and worked on a series of important multimedia projects for private clients, collectors and is currently designing an environmentally interactive sculpture for the Olympia Sculpture Park. Whittaker's work is held in a number of private collections.

INTERESTED IN THIS COURSE?  LET US KNOW HERE.  
WE'LL TRY TO OFFER IT AGAIN SOON!