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Workshop 1 – Digital Drawing & Investigation

You will learn digital skills which will set you up for the rest of the course. The module will encourage you to combine digital approaches, to be experimental and to provide an important digital underpinning for fine art studio practice and your future career.

Digital mediums you will use include Illustrator (vector drawing), Photoshop (bitmap and colour dynamics etc) and video and sound (capture and sequence editing). Each student produces a digital journal or sketchbook clearly documenting all software and processes and artist’s research.

The module supports studio practice, with an emphasis on the development of digital making skills.

Projects 1 – Approaches to Drawing and Investigation

An introduction to Fine Art studio projects, this module will develop a framework of working methods that apply throughout the course. You will be encouraged to develop ideas through practice and will have an increasing grasp of techniques and skills in your chosen art forms.

Through practical projects and discussion, you will be encouraged to develop an explorative, and increasingly individual, sense of enquiry. A critical approach to your own work and the work of other artists will be informed by your investigations of contemporary and historical visual art practice.

This module usually involves an exhibition trip to an art gallery, practical exercises such as drawing classes, independent practical work in the studio, personal research, group critiques, as well as group and individual sessions with tutors and visiting artists.

The module concentrates on formal and cultural concerns in order to equip you with the necessary framework of practice and criticism for progression onto Projects 2.

Contextual 1 – Forms Analysis Contexts

This module will establish the importance of direct experience and analysis in an understanding of the visual arts as cultural practice. You will learn the importance of direct scrutiny, research, knowledge of forms, genres and contexts through analysis of art works.

Themes, methods and examples of context and practice are introduced through a series of lectures, followed up with directed reading, study visits to art galleries and seminar discussion.

Issues and debates about society are referenced, reflecting contemporary concerns around questions around identity, gender, race, the environment, politics, global perspectives, etc., helping define art as a cultural practice. You will be assessed through a group presentation and an essay.

Workshop 2 – Materials and Methodologies

You will develop your skills in paint, print, sculpture or textiles, and either specialise or combine techniques to develop a hybrid practice. You will grow your knowledge and understanding of traditional techniques while taking an experimental approach.

This module will help you hone your making and technical skills with your choice of materials and processes, alongside your research into the work of other artists.

Workshops are taught through a variety of methods, including group teaching, process demonstrations, individual tutorials, group discussions and technical support to allow you to learn and practice your chosen processes and specialisms.

Projects 2 – Process and Experimentation

You will work on a process-led project with an experimental approach. The module increases the emphasis on self-direction in your work, leading towards your own distinctive vision and practice.

You are free to develop your own ideas, directions and material practices. You will undertake research to deepen your understanding of the context of practical work, helping to define your material practice.

You will take a self-directed approach when working on your studio project, supported by individual and group tutorials, group critiques, visiting artists’ lectures, exhibition trips and demonstrations of digital media applied to traditional art studio materials and processes.

Contextual 2 – Signs Interpretation Criticality

This module builds on insights gained in Contextual 1, emphasising the importance of direct experience and scrutiny of art. You will be introduced to key terms, ideas and methodologies for interpretation and reading of visual works, exploring questions about meaning and value.

Challenges to underlying cultural assumptions are further explored through questions about identity, gender, race, the environment, politics and global perspectives. You will learn through a series of lectures, directed reading, study visits and seminar discussion.

You will identify a relevant artwork to examine and research in greater depth through an identified ‘lens’ of critical theory, and will then be assessed on a written proposal and subsequent essay.

Materials and Evidence

Typically, this module is intended as a ‘catch-up’ for those who are short of credits in Level 4.

You will find a new personal and self-directed approach to developing a defined art practice. This module will ensure you develop the practical and visual research skills to enable you to establish a working method to support your studio-based practice.

The module is centred on a studio proposal and tutor-led discussion to support the development of an individual enquiry. You will be required to produce evidence of a self-reflective approach to your own work and the work of other artists that demonstrate an increased knowledge of materials, concepts and contexts.

Digital Photography

This module serves as a foundation for developing a technical understanding of digital photography.

The module will consist of a mix of lectures and workshops to teach the principles of capturing and manipulating digital images. Technical sessions will provide you with basic skills in using photo-editing software.

The module places a particular emphasis on being able to critically evaluate one’s work and the work of others which then forms the basis of a portfolio of photographic work for the end-of-module assessment.

Studio 1 – Territories and Defining Practice

This module sees a shift from set-projects to a more self-directed approach which expects you to start defining your material practice, whether hybrid or more specialist, and take more control of the outcomes.

It builds on and embeds methodologies, techniques and the interpretation of ideas developed in Level 4. This involves sustained and extended development of self-initiated work patterns and an increasingly personal artistic visual vocabulary underpinned by a deeper understanding of the contexts within which fine art is made and experienced.

Contextual 3 – Sites Discourses Rhetoric

This module aims to deepen the understanding and application of frameworks for critical analysis of the visual arts and cultural contexts.

Building on insights gained in Contextual 1 and 2, it further emphasises the importance of direct experience/scrutiny and explores the identification and use of relevant terms, ideas and methodologies for interpretation and reading of visual works in context.

It further explores questions about meaning and value and introduces questions about rhetoric.

It forms a further part of an incremental development of engagement with discourses relevant to an understanding of contemporary art (including history, ideas, media, intersectionality, interpretation, debate, etc.).

Studio 2 – Site, Externality and Display

This double module sees a further shift to a self-directed approach which expects you to be able to define your material practice, whether hybrid or more specialist, and take increasingly more control of the outcomes.

You will develop methodologies, techniques and the interpretation of ideas through sustained, self-directed work patterns, as your work develops an identifiably personal artistic visual vocabulary. This is underpinned by an increasingly personal and engaged understanding of the contexts within which Fine Art is made and experienced, inc. intended site/location of operation.

External Placement 1 – Digital Review

The module aims to engage you with external cultural agencies and the larger community. It will give you insight into how a passion for the visual arts can translate into a career and suggest realistic paths towards graduate employment where creativity and an artists’ sensibilities are valued.

It will also aim to consolidate the ability to adapt and combine techniques and media in an external context, enhance career skills in critical reflection and independent study, and provide experience of art and its applications in a ‘real world’ context beyond the studio.

You will also develop ways of working with others as both a colleague and a potential employee.

Research and Process

This module presents an opportunity for you to review and re-contextualise your understanding of Fine Art with a deeper awareness of approaches to contemporary art practice.

You will develop a critical approach to your studio work, and the work of other artists, through investigation of visual art practice and discourse supporting continued studio work.

The module aims to help you develop a framework of research skills in support of more self-directed working methods and underpin a sustainable and sophisticated studio practice, equipping you for progression.

Typically, this module is intended as a ‘catch-up’ for those who are short of credits in Level 5.

Degree Show – Recognition & Consolidation – Studio 3a – Digital Photography

This module enables full time Single Honours students to engage with a substantial self-initiated project through the development and resolution of visual and contextual research into a significant and substantial body of works selected for a public exhibition (the Degree Show) that articulates a distinctive and personal visual language, aspires to professional standards, and functions within a framework of relevant historical and contemporary Fine Art practice.

This is a quadruple module running over both semesters 1&2.

Note: for full time fine art students this is the default ‘personal study’ but you can choose to make ‘manifesto 2 dissertation’ into your personal study by informing the coordinator in writing.

Manifesto 1 – Digital Photography

This module takes the form of a critically engaged study of the key artists/influences, theories and ideas that manifest in your studio work.

This module aims to enable you to produce an essay (digital essay or traditional written) which develops and engages in processes of academic research initiated at Level 4 & 5, and which supports/strengthens your studio practice.

Advanced Digital Photography

The module will provide you with the opportunity to investigate and develop a range of professional creative techniques in the field of digital photography.

The module will draw from a broad range of production and post production practices to develop a deeper understanding of the processes involved in image capture construction and manipulation.

Manifesto 2 – Dissertation – Digital Photography

This module takes the form of a critically engaged study of the key artists/influences, theories and ideas that manifest in your studio work.

This module aims to enable you to produce an extended essay (written dissertation) which develops and engages in processes of academic research initiated at Level 4 & 5, and which supports/strengthens your studio practice.

The emphasis is on depth of enquiry and research aiming to achieve high levels of critical thought coupled with intellectual rigour and scholarly skill.

Note: degree show ‘studio 3a’ or ‘studio 3c’ are the default ‘personal study’ but you can choose to make ‘manifesto 2’ dissertation into your personal study by informing the coordinator in writing.