As a part of the Dodd Studio Core program, students in the Color and Composition course (ARST 1060) have been familiarizing themselves with digital processes that utilize the Dodd’s Object Lab and Flat Lab.  Working in these labs allows to students build foundational digital skills and expand their practice into more contemporary media. These courses introduce students to concepts like rapid prototyping and digital fabrication, which requires students to approach the equipment like the laser cutter from the perspective of a designer.      

For example, Professor Imi Hwangbo walks her students through the process of creating cut paper designs in contrasting colors. She begins by teaching the students how to construct vector drawings in Adobe Illustrator. Students then move to the laser cutter, using their vector drawings as a map for their designs. Hwangbo states that students often feel empowered after being introduced to this tool.

Other projects, like one taught by Instructor Jess Machacek, explore innovative thought in the context of digital practices. Machacek leads a project in which students create digital books of invented color histories.  Graduate student Mac Balentine teaches a Color and Composition project in which students alter a photo in Photoshop to change how it’s interpreted by the viewer.

Assistant Professor James Enos, area chair of the Studio Art Core program, expressed how introducing digital fabrication and other processes ultimately leads to the more conceptually rigorous work in Ideation and Methodologies (ARST 2020), the last class of the Studio Core. “The goal of introducing digital processes early on is to introduce critical based thinking and problem solving with different approaches, as opposed to purely foundational work. The digital foundation is one element of our progressive Dodd Studio Core program.”

Learn more about the Open Access Fabrication Labs or Studio Art Core.