Welcome to Studio Fundamentals at George Mason. Studio Fundamentals builds a broad based foundation for all AVT students by instilling a work ethic and a set of guiding principles that will be applied to the entirety of their course of study and to their careers. As prerequisites for all Studio Art courses, the curriculum of AVT 104 and 105 emphasizes:
- The development and application of technical skills with two dimensional, three dimensional and time based media
- The synthetic importance of process in art
- The development of conceptual strategies to approach and solve studio problems
- The development of the student's ability to recognize and articulate their highest ideals through their work
- Establishing criteria, methods and vocabulary for analysis of one’s own work, the work of one’s peers, and the work encountered in museums and contemporary galleries.
- The recognition of historical and contemporary trends in art and popular culture that may inform one’s own work.
A vital part of each student’s experience in Studio Fundamentals is Artsbus. The Artsbus trips to New York City galleries and museums, and the Artsbus website are unique resources that bring students into direct contact with some of the most influential and important artworks in the world, and with critical dialogue regarding the work.
Each year, over 500 GMU majors and non-majors enroll in AVT 104 and 105.The faculty who teach Studio Fundamentals recognize that Fine Art is derived from and feeds into a broad culture of intellectual and process based inquiry. While AVT 105 is restricted to AVT Majors, AVT 104 enrolls approximately thirty-five percent non-majors. We also offer AVT 103 as a three credit survey studio course exclusively for non-majors. For students who are undecided about a major, the Studio Fundamentals experience may awaken a passion. Students whose focus is other disciplines find the methodology, conceptual approaches to problem solving and the exposure to the history and culture of Fine Arts provided by Studio Fundamentals valuable to the approach of study in their major.
Inquiries regarding the Studio Fundamentals program may be directed to Peter Winant at: pwinant@gmu.edu.
