This department is staffed with teachers who are professional artists. Highlights include small class sizes and a positive artistic atmosphere. Students experience classes with live professional models, helpful critique sessions, portfolio preparation clinics and portfolio reviews by reputable art schools, colleges and universities. Our Visual Arts alumni have gone on to attend and graduate from the most prestigious schools in the country, often with full scholarships. Many are working in high-level positions, doing what they truly enjoy!

 

The courses described below are typical arts offerings. Not every course is offered every year, and course descriptions may change.

 

Advanced Drawing Through both lecture and practice students begin to master concepts such as form, value, line, composition and perspective, pushing their drawings to a greater degree of finish and detail. Cylinder studies are followed by class still life studies and other observational drawings. In addition, students create individual projects, demonstrating the development of their own artistic interests and sensibilities.

 

Advanced Painting Still lifes, landscapes, portraits, architectural forms, abstractions—all are part of Advanced Painting. A minimum of seven paintings is required, ranging from self-portraits to surrealistic projects. To inform their work, students study major painting styles and movements in their historical context.

 

Advanced Studio in Art In Advanced Studio, students explore the language of art in depth: line, shape, color, value, space and texture. Lessons emphasize problem-solving to enhance creativity and develop skills. Media include painting, mixed media, collage and printmaking.

 

Animation students are introduced to a variety of software used to create interactive projects—for example, Adobe Flash and After Effects. Class projects include such challenges as creating a 30-second television spot. The emphasis is on understanding various interactive techniques and protocols.

 

Good design is the basis of any successful image—but to translate that design into a digital image calls for an understanding of various software programs and knowing which one will help students reach their visual goals. This course covers both the basics of good design and of digital tools such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

 

Students in Costume Design become visually articulate in the language of fashion. Topics include fashion history, drawing, fabrication and marketing. They won’t just discuss Fashion Week—they’ll also consider how to establish their own points of view as designers. History of Art in the Western World Who creates art, for whom and for what purpose? These are the underlying questions in this survey of European and American art. The contributions and influences of non-Western art are also considered. Students have the opportunity to think, talk, research and write about art and to create related hands-on projects of their own.

 

Students from other departments at LIHSA enroll in this introductory course, which explores how the visual arts impact their lives and careers. They may create visual pieces which convey the mood of their music—or try their hands at set design or costuming for a show.

 

Photography calls for a combination of technical skills and aesthetic judgments. Both are covered in this course, which promotes a basic understanding of photographic terminology and composition and encourages students to develop their own personal styles.

 

This class prepares students for meeting the portfolio requirements for art school or college admission. Representatives from noted and popular schools annually visit LIHSA and review students’ portfolios. This is a required activity for seniors; those who elect to participate in AP Art will be guided in meeting portfolio requirements of an in-depth concentration in 2-D Design, 3-D Design or Drawing.

 

Sculpture students explore space, sculptural volume, contours, planes, light and shadow, and texture—and then apply these principles to creating abstract and figurative pieces from a live model. The clay modeling and clay management skills learned in sculpture have applications to pottery, and students will have the opportunity to experiment with the potters’ wheel.

 

This course teaches artists the basics of anatomy and physiology, supplying the students with a strong foundation for future artistic expression. They learn the proportions and features of the human form—and how they have been reflected by various artists from Michelangelo to the present. And they produce their own anatomically correct figure studies, showing such structures as bones and muscles.

 

Digital Media Track (for visual arts, writing and film majors):

 

Students are introduced to the digital skills required of the professional artist in the 21st century. In a workshop environment, they will learn to create, present and distribute multimedia, with a focus on shooting and editing video, producing podcasts and creating websites. Projects connect with and support each student’s area of artistic interest.

 

The intermediate course extends topics students explored in the introductory class, with an emphasis on student projects and marketing.

 

Advanced students move on to more challenging production subjects, including multi-track recording, sound reinforcement for live music ensembles, sound design for film and video, and use of the “green screen.” They also have the opportunity to explore motion graphics and special effects.