Sculpture/3-D Media | Academic Requirements | Courses | Faculty
Undergraduate Sculpture/3-D Media Courses (VSC)
VSC 1000–1999 (lower level)
VSC 2000–2999 (lower level)
VSC 3000–3999 (upper level)
VSC 4000–4999 (upper level)
Note: In sequenced courses (e.g., I, II, III, IV), successful completion of each course is a prerequisite for the next course in the sequence. For example, VSC 1010/Sculpture I is a prerequisite for VSC 2040/Sculpture II.
Sculpture I and II
VSC 1010 and 2040 / 4 credits (per semester)
I: Every semester; II: Spring
Development of a working process, individual industry, creative expressiveness, and class participation are stressed. A number of problems are explored though the use of various materials and processes. VSC 1010 is required for all visual arts majors.
Introduction to Wood
VSC 1020 / 4 credits / Every semester
The specific visual and structural properties of wood are discussed with application to both functional and nonfunctional sculpture. Basic construction and forming techniques are introduced. Offered as SOA 1200 for students in other disciplines.
Introduction to Wood: Sculptural Techniques
VSC 1030 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Students are introduced to the specific visual and structural properties of wood, as well as techniques for working with wood from a sculptor’s perspective. Open to all visual arts majors.
Intermediate Wood I and II
VSC 2020 and 2025 / 4 credits (per semester)
I: Every semester; II: Special topic (offered irregularly)
In these sequential courses, information and experience gained in VSC 1020 are used to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the way an object’s overall form is affected by the methods used in its construction. More complex joinery and shaping processes are presented and practiced.
Prerequisite: VSC 1020 or 1030
Sculpture II
VSC 2040 Go to VSC 1010 and 2040 for description.
Direct Metal: Introductory
VSC 2080 / 4 credits / Every semester
Instruction in acetylene gas welding and all the tools required for direct metal fabrication of sculpture. The focus varies each semester (within the parameters of contemporary, nonfigurative sculpture) and includes the refining of technical form-making and welding skills.
Prerequisite: VSC 1010
Collage/Assemblage I and II
VSC 2160 and 3160 / 2 credits (per semester)
Special topic (offered irregularly)
Beginning with collage, students move to box sculptures and constructions and then to environment and object transformation. This exploration of the unique possibilities of collage/assemblage may include work with found objects and fabricated forms.
Prerequisite: VSC 1010
Figure Modeling and Drawing
VSC 2200 / 4 credits / Every semester
Clay modeling from the human figure. Drawing and 2-D media are used for support and insight into issues of figuration. Armature construction and relief sculpture are explored.
Prerequisite: VSC 1010
Woodturning
VSC 2230 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
An examination of the historical and technical developments of the woodturning process. This studio course explores functional and nonfunctional object making, using the lathe as the primary tool in form development. Students are assigned a variety of technical problems designed to develop their individual skill and artistic voice. Offered as SOA 2230 for students in other disciplines.
Ceramic Sculpture
VSC 2270 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Focuses on clay as a sculptural medium with emphasis on process and the development of sculptural ideas. Various techniques are taught, including slab building, modeling, and some mold-making for clay.
Prerequisite: VSC 1010
Interactive Media/Sound
VSC 2450 / 2 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Blending electronics, sound, and sculpture, this course focuses on the creation of simple analog audio circuits for artistic expression. Starting with basic concepts, the creation and modulation of sound is studied with an emphasis on craft, experimentation, and the “creative cannibalizing” of salvaged electronic devices. Offered as SOA 2200 for students in other disciplines.
The Digital Object
VSC 2600 / 2 or 4 credits (variable) / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Three-dimensional digital objects mostly remain virtual, experienced only in computer and video games, cinema, online, and in immersive or semi-immersive virtual environments. This course enables the building and actualization of virtual form into sculptural form using state-of-the-art computer object-generation techniques.
Prerequisite: VSC 1010
Sculpture: Object and Site
VSC 2610 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly, summer, in Italy)
Focuses on the basics of building forms in response to the landscape, using the local architecture and environment as inspiration. Students use indigenous materials combined with plaster objects created in class to explore the essentials of sculptural development, from concept to completion. Carving, drawing, and constructing are combined in individual and group projects, and slide lectures are included on relevant examples of classical and modern sculpture. Suitable for beginning to advanced students.
Required supplies: A few chisels, a drawing pad, and some pencils (to be brought by students)
Studio Furniture Making I and II
VSC 3030 and 4030 / 4 credits (per semester)
Special topic (offered irregularly)
Furniture design and making for the individual studio artist. Wood, metal, plastics, and other appropriate materials are discussed in solutions to applied problems. The history of furniture design is also studied.
Prerequisite: VSC 2020
Visiting Artist
VSC 3050 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
This course provides an opportunity to work with a visiting artist on a variety of exercises that reflect the artist’s expertise. Students are asked to expand their personal concerns in the light of new information, attitudes, and techniques offered by the visiting artists.
Prerequisite: VSC 1010 or permission of the head of the Sculpture Board of Study
Bronze Casting
VSC 3070 / 4 credits / Every semester
This is the conclusion for those enrolled in VSC 3060, when those works are cast in bronze. It is also designed to enable new students to enter this sequence of courses here. Students produce forms in clay or wax and cast them in bronze. The traditional methods of lost-wax casting are explored, and students participate in all aspects of bronze foundry work.
Prerequisite: VSC 3060 or permission of instructor
Collage/Assemblage II
VSC 3160 Go to VSC 2160 and 3160 for description.
Environmental Site-Specific Sculpture I and II
VSC 3170 and 3180 / 4 credits (per semester) / Fall
The varied natural environment offered by the Purchase College campus provides the setting and materials for outdoor projects during the first half of the semester. Students also work indoors on longer-term projects that involve site selection, preparatory drawings and maquettes, and final execution in full scale. Study of the relationships between contemporary sculpture modes: sculpture and architecture, sculpture in the landscape, sculpture as place.
Prerequisite: VSC 2040
Shelters and Structures I and II
VSC 3190 and 3210 / 4 credits (per semester) / Spring
Using Gaston Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space as a text, students investigate the idea of shelters and structures, both built and imaginary, as a source for 3-D work ranging from the miniature to the environmental, from the substantial to the ephemeral.
Prerequisite: VSC 2040
Off the Grid: Curves with Wood
VSC 3240 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
To design and make objects that use curves, the designer/maker must think and act “off the grid.” This class explores form by using curves to define line and volume. Students learn about and experience the techniques used to produce curvilinear forms in wood (e.g., shaping, steam bending, bent laminations, panel forming, pattern routing, jig making and finishing).
Prerequisite: VSC 1020
Digital Dimensions
VSC 3310 / 4 credits / Spring
In this studio introduction, students explore the relationship between the three-dimensional world and digital technology. In this creative new-media environment, students are given a foundation for developing 3-D content and integrating it into their preferred field. Students generate digital objects, prepare them for real-world fabrication, and create virtual-reality simulations and photorealistic sculpture proposals. Offered as NME 3300 for new media majors.
Prerequisite: VSC 2040 or NME 2100
Public Art: Making a Proposal
VSC 3350 / 2 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Takes advanced students through the process leading to the fabrication and installation of a public art commission. Students answer a call for proposals for a specific site, then create and present a proposal, including a written statement, maquette, drawings, budget, and fabrication schedule, to a committee of practicing professionals.
Prerequisite: VSC 3170 or 3190 or permission of instructor
Video Art I
VSC 3410 / 4 credits / Every semester
An introduction to video as a creative visual, auditory, and spatial medium. Students learn the fundamentals of video production with the goal of making original work in the genres of single-channel tape, performance, and installation. At the same time, students are introduced to key works in the history of time-based arts in a weekly thematic program of viewing, listening, reading, and critique. Offered as NME 3410 for new media majors.
Prerequisite: VSC 1010
Video Art II
VSC 3420 / 4 credits / Every semester
A workshop devoted to the production of independent video projects. Students are expected to have some facility with electronic cameras, sound, and editing techniques and to be highly motivated in the use of video as a creative tool. The course is strongly (though not exclusively) focused on video installation, exploring both its unique properties as a mixed-media, time-based form and its relationship to other contemporary 3-D practices. Offered as NME 3420 for new media majors.
Prerequisite: VSC/NME 3410
Direct Carving
VSC 3470 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
An introduction to carving as a discipline in sculpture. Initial emphasis is placed on technical issues of tools and process with the intent of using carving as a method of producing art objects. Historical and contemporary issues are also explored.
Prerequisite: VSC 1010 and 2040
Multiples: Methods for Making
VSC 3480 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
A variety of methods used to make sculptural multiples are explored. Mold-making techniques are taught in clay, glass, paper, and mixed media. Assignments focus on achieving technical expertise and understanding the use of the multiple in contemporary sculpture.
Prerequisite: VSC 1010 and 2040
Junior Sculpture Studio I and II
VSC 3550 and 3560 / 4 credits (per semester)
I: Fall; II: Spring
This two-semester course is intended to foster the discovery and sharpening of personal vision and the development of personal initiative and self-motivation. Students have the opportunity to work independently on self-generated projects, which are then presented for both group and individual critique. Required for sculpture/3-D media majors.
Prerequisite: Limited to visual arts majors who have completed 60 studio credits and intend to complete a senior project in sculpture
Sound/Interactive Media I
VSC 3630 / 4 credits / Every semester
Sound is explored as material in the context of the visual arts, using DAT recorders, sampling, synthesis, processing, computers, sensor control, and MIDI systems. Projects may include making sonic instruments, sounding objects, and experimental video; ambient, interactive, performative, and multimedia installations; and surround-sound DVDs. Advanced technological means enable uncharted explorations in the time-based arts. Offered as NME 3630 for new media majors and SOA 3210 for students in all other disciplines.
Sound/Interactive Media II
VSC 3640 / 4 credits / Every semester
A continuation of VSC 3630, for advanced sound and multimedia projects. Sound is further explored in ambient, interactive, performative, time, and site-specific installations. Tools available include the Kurzwell K2600 Architectural Synthesis System, Macintosh computers with mixing, synthesis, DVD surround sound mastering technology, and interactive software tool. Interactive programs in the studio include MAX, Jitter, and Cyclops. Offered as NME 3640 for new media majors and SOA 3220 for students in all other disciplines.
Prerequisite: VSC/NME 3630
Studio Assistant
VSC 3950 Go to VDR 3950 in Drawing Courses for description.
Studio Furniture Making II
VSC 4030 Go to VSC 3030 and 4030 for description.
Special Topics: Installation
VSC 4430 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
This course offers a limited number of advanced students an opportunity for intensive work in installation.
Prerequisite: VSC 3170 or VSC 3190
New York, New York
VSC 4460 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Students make weekly field trips to contemporary sculpture exhibitions in New York galleries and museums, and maintain a journal of their experiences and the resulting influences on their work. Oral and written reports with supporting visual materials are assigned throughout the semester. On-campus classes are held to discuss the student’s current studio work. Open to students in other disciplines on a space-available basis with permission of instructor.
Senior Seminar
VSC 4800 / 2 credits / Fall
Focuses on commitment and professional practice. Students are encouraged to articulate and clarify the intentions of their work through lectures, critiques, discussions, and readings. Required for all students undertaking a senior project in sculpture.
Prerequisite: Declared concentration in sculpture
Updated Mar. 5, 2008