Apart from the strength of your work, the presentation of your portfolio will be a deciding factor in how professionals in and related to the arts receive you. This class will develop the skills to craft a strong visual arts portfolio by improving the written and visual presentation of your work. Your task will also include defining the goals you have for your work, researching opportunities in your field of interest, and preparing resumes. In addition, you will be expected, as part of your portfolio, to deliver a 10 minute presentation that illustrates specific themes explored in your work.
Week 1: Portfolio Basics
Writing about art is hard! We will discuss the artist statement and do some exercises to get it started. We will also discuss the mechanics and practices of documenting work visually.
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Week 2: Words and Pictures
Most documentation mistakes are the result of operator error. We'll point them out and discuss how to avoid the major ones. We will also begin critiquing statements and start the 2nd drafts.
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Week 3: Opportunities by Design
We'll discuss the most friendly ways to pursue exhibitions, grants, and residencies. We'll also discuss basic design problems and principles to make you look even better than you are.
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Week 4: Imaging and Review
We'll talk Photoshop basics, digital standards, slide scanning, output, and archiving. We will also talk more about resumes and artist statements. Everyone needs an editor (or five), to get the polish that will communicate an aspect of their visual work. By critiquing each other as well as ourselves, we'll eventually identify the meat from the fluff.
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Week 5: The End We will celebrate the end of beginning; if you are going to continue making art, you better get used to this routine. Please have presentations PRACTICED AND TIMED (you will have a maximum of 10 minutes) and your portfolio ready to turn in: slides, jpegs, artist statement, resume, opportunity information, self-eval and faculty eval. We will also discuss additional resources for the dedicated artist.
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Absence Because of the intensive structure of this class, one absence is equal to 10% of our class time. Therefore, one missed class will lose you one credit, and two will lose you both. You will simply miss too much relevant information and experience. So please, be here from 5:30-7:30 on the given dates- you will thank yourself later for having done so.
Budget Your costs for slide film and processing will depend on the amount of work you document, but taking 5-6 frames of each artwork, which will allow for bracketing, will give you an idea of how much you should budget. Daylight film, which you are encouraged to use, costs $8 a roll and gives you 36 exposures. Processing is $8 at photo services.