Fine Arts

Arts Eye is an everyday exploration of the fine arts that is required for all freshmen. Teachers of theatre, music and art collaborate on major themes throughout the year, investigating a wide collection of what it means to study in each discipline, the use of memory in creation, playwrights as storytellers, and our own identity in this world, to name a few. Students are introduced to the creative world through visiting artists and performers, trips to galleries and theatres, and utilizing national art organizations like StoryCorps.

Arts Eye celebrates each student's artistic expression and creates citizens of our world who will seek out art in all their future endeavors either as an artist, advocate, or patron.

How great would it be to spend a full trimester with one writer’s work? To share, discuss, delve and greater understand a playwright’s legacy – to study their fingerprint on theatre history – and to discover what political, social, economic and major events contributed to their work. So far we have studied: August Wilson, Suzan-Lori Parks, Samuel Beckett & Sarah Ruhl

This course covers theatre performance and various forms of theatrical entertainment through the eyes of these playwrights. The point of this class is to identify different styles and their origins by reading plays and seeing performances. Through these phases of entertainment we will discover different performance pieces, theatres, and personalities. We will not only cover the playwright but also the historical and psychological aspects of the plays as well. Course Objective: To provide students with an overview of theatre (in a variety of forms) and to help them understand its importance to understanding culture, both past and present. We study playwrights who no longer exist on this earth, but whose work is still vibrant today. In the past this has included – Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Lillian Hellman, Lorraine Hansberry, Sophocles, Henrik Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw and Peter Shaffer – to only name a few.

This course covers theatre performance and various forms of theatrical entertainment through the eyes of these playwrights. The point of this class is to identify different styles and their origins by reading plays and seeing performances. Through these phases of entertainment we will discover different performance pieces, theatres, and personalities. We will not only cover the playwright but also the historical and psychological aspects of the plays as well. Course Objective: To provide students with an overview of theatre (in a variety of forms) and to help them understand its importance to understanding culture, both past and present. We study playwrights who are currently writing right now! In the past we have enjoyed the works of Paula Vogel (just opened Indecent on Broadway), Suzan-Lori Parks (who we saw at Just Buffalo’s Babel & performed her work at SEM), David Henry Hwang (also at Babel), Danai Gurira (her play, Eclipsed was just on Broadway) and Quiara Alegria Hudes – to only name a few.

This course covers theatre performance and various forms of theatrical entertainment through the eyes of these playwrights. The point of this class is to identify different styles and their origins by reading plays and seeing performances. Through these phases of entertainment we will discover different performance pieces, theatres, and personalities. We will not only cover the playwright but also the historical and psychological aspects of the plays as well. Course Objective: To provide students with an overview of theatre (in a variety of forms) and to help them understand its importance to understanding culture, both past and present. We study playwrights who write off the beaten path, challenge us to see the world differently and are usually dealing with existentialism, alienation and the avant garde. Playwrights who have taken us on a ride include: Sarte, Pirandello, Beckett, Brecht, Alfred Jarry, Edward Albee, Eugene O’Neill and Elmer Rice – to only name a few.

This course introduces students to basic acting skills, including improvisation, script and character analysis, characterization and to develop concentration in public performance.

This course introduces students to the keys of “unlocking” Shakespeare’s language through performance. Tools such as language, sound, meaning, and rhythm will help students to better understand, interpret and perform Shakespeare. We will use acting skills, including improvisation, script and character analysis, and characterization. This class will also help to develop concentration in public performance.

Prerequisite – Intro to Acting Shakespeare
This course builds upon the skills learned in Intro to Acting Shakespeare. Students actively “unlock” Shakespeare’s language through performance, using more scene work, play analysis and viewing of performances either live or in the classroom.

Prerequisite – Intro & Advanced Shakespeare.
This course can be counted as a “Foundation” or “Hands-On”.To explore Shakespeare in ways that break the boundaries of the traditional classroom through history, community, performance and travel. Tools such as language, sound, meaning, and rhythm will help students to better understand, interpret, and perform Shakespeare. Studying Elizabethan English history, Shakespeare’s scripts will help students to form a foundation of the Bard’s great works. We will use acting skills, including, improvisation, script and character analysis, and characterization. Most importantly this will allow students to take their knowledge out into the community and share it with the world, while learning along the way.

This course provides students with a hands-on experience incorporating all aspects of theatre production. By creating publicity, covering box office and budgeting, building props and costumes, and focusing lights, students have the opportunity to draw on skills learned in math, English, history, computer, and design while developing new skills in sewing and construction. This class will be working on producing Buffalo Seminary’s fall play.

This is a foundations course that covers women’s contributions to photography from the early 1900’s to the present. In this course students learn that women have played an equal and sometimes greater role in the history of photography than men. Students are required to take quizzes about each photographer and also be able to identify their work.

This class is a prerequisite for all other photography classes.
Students learn proper composition of photos as they begin shooting digitally and working in Photoshop. Basic camera operation, understanding film and developing negatives and prints is covered before students shoot their first roll of film, and then learn basic darkroom skills.

This is a fine art/advanced photography class. Students go back into the darkroom and work at perfecting shooting film and printing in the darkroom. Each project requires not only a black and white print but also an alternative process. Students are expected to try solarizing, hand coloring, Holga cameras, dyeing and toning, collaging and making photo based 3D projects.

In this advanced photography class, students use their digital photography to create art by: manipulating work in Photoshop, printing on various types of mediums, using scanners, collaging, assembling 3-dimensional pieces and enhancing their work with other art materials.

Students learn how to paint and draw using digital tools and several types of 2D applications in the Mac lab. Digital Art and Illustration and Mixed-Media Mash-Up are scheduled at the same time in order to rotate students enrolled in both courses to allow for some collaborative work. This way both classes have the opportunity to incorporate both digital and hands-on skills and to interact with each other. Each class has its own separate projects, and credit is given for the class for which the student is registered.

Students will create and design 3D models, artwork and environments in this class using several different software applications. When possible, artwork will also be printed out and used to create 3 dimensional art pieces, such as dioramas, mobiles, books and simple sculptures.

This course teaches students about communication, traditional typography, advertising and print design. A brief history of print design is covered as well as how women are portrayed in advertising. Using industry standard design and layout software, students work on projects ranging from business logos/identities and public service announcements to simple design and layout of multi-page documents.

This course shows students how artists have used their creative expression to build public awareness about social and humanitarian struggles all over the world. Students will observe different forms of art, such as performance art, street art, documentary photography, and films and installations. By looking at artists’ work and discussing its impact, students will gain an understanding of how the arts, and even one single artist, can make a difference in the world we live in.

Foundations course in how artist-activists can bring awareness to global issues such as culture and identity, equality, animal rights and ecology. You can take Activism I or II in any order, they are independent classes with different subject matter in each.

This digital class will concentrate on creating art that moves! Stop-motion and fractal animation, video-making and editing, combining text with images, narration, sound and motion graphics will be covered. Students will make video art to be viewed on screen as well as online.

This course covers the history of mimicry and representation in art from the Renaissance to Pop Art and beyond. Beneath the broad heading of “Representation” we will examine the techniques, concepts and social movements that have driven artists to represent the world around them in different ways. From Da Vinci’s scientific approach to Matisse’s emotive use of color, we will examine techniques artists developed to make convincingly realistic works and the reasons many artist’s abandoned these rules. We will see how artists like Gustave Courbet and Jacob Lawrence sought to represent diverse populations in a medium typically reserved for the wealthy. We will discuss the ethics of appropriation and mimicry in Pop Art. Students will be asked to make connections between historic and contemporary works by artists like Kara Walker. Much time will be spent at the Albright Knox and other area galleries engaging with art in person. Students will keep visual journals reflecting on the themes and questions brought up in class.

This course traces the history of storytelling in art from Egyptian tombs and Chinese hand scrolls to contemporary art installations and comics. We will examine the methods artists have used to communicate their stories in sequential images, animation, and art installation. Students will keep visual journals reflecting on questions brought up in class. We will take a field trip to Sugar City’s Zine Library and 1-2 other galleries to see relevant exhibits.

This course covers the roots of objective and non-objective abstraction from cave painting to Contemporary Art. Beneath the broad heading of “Abstraction” we will study the psychology, history and ideas that led artists to move beyond representational artwork. We will examine how abstract artworks impact the human brain and how abstract painters sought to reduce their artworks to simple lines and colors in order to examine the building blocks of visual experience. Much time will be spent at the Albright Knox Gallery engaging with art in person. In addition to six visits to the Albright Knox we will visit The Burchfield Penney, Hallwalls Contemporary Art and CEPA gallery to see exhibits related to the course content. Students will be asked to make connections between historic and contemporary works and will keep visual journals reflecting on the artworks we discuss in class.

This course covers the history of public art from cave paintings, to graffiti, murals, and beyond. We will examine techniques, concepts, and social movements that have driven artists to represent the world around them on a public canvas. Much time will be spent engaging with art in person by visiting local murals and art installations.

This introductory course allows students to explore the basic tenets of painting. Students learn about design and composition, as well as how a painting evolves from the first brush stroke to completion. Each project begins with gathering resource materials and thumbnail sketches, which encourage the exploration of a variety of ways to solve a problem. Time is spent observing masterworks in order to gain a better understanding of assignments.

This class is all about learning how to choose what to make when faced with unlimited possibility. Instead of focusing on a single artistic medium, you will be introduced to many and asked to choose which one works best for your project. The class will run as a “choice based studio” which means that you will have the opportunity to delve deeper into projects that interest you personally. During the first half of the trimester we will expand your medium toolbox by learning new skills in collage, cardboard sculpture, papercut, bookmaking, drawing and painting. We will focus as much on process as on the final product. You will share and reflect on your creative process on a portfolio webpage and in class critiques. During the second half of the trimester we will examine some themes in contemporary art and look at contemporary artworks for inspiration. You will have the chance to choose a theme (or themes) and apply what you learned during medium exploration to mixed media projects.

In this class we will explore the basic techniques of printmaking. Printmaking is the art of creating multiple copies of an artwork from a single stamp or image matrix. We will use everything from potatoes, to linoleum, to wood, to mesh screens to create our matrices as we explore linocut, monoprint and screen-printing techniques. If you like to draw or experiment with new mediums this may be the class for you! If you want to share your artwork, but don’t want to give away your only original, you will appreciate the share oriented culture of printmaking. Towards the end of the trimester we will organize a print exchange and each student will go home with a print made by every other person in the class.

This class will introduce students to the basic principles of drawing. Students will learn to draw from observation using pencil, charcoal, and ink. Time will be spent on perspective, proportion and shading. We will start with the basics and then move towards conceptually oriented projects at the end of the trimester.

Prerequisite: Intro to Drawing
Students will expand on techniques learned in Intro to Drawing and focus on exploring thematic ideas through a series of projects. Students’ drawing skills will evolve through the use of media such as charcoal, pastel, and colored pencil, while studying subjects including still-life, landscape, and portraiture.

This class is an introduction to illustration techniques, focusing on drawing strategies, concepts, storytelling, and character development exercises while experimenting with a multitude of media including graphite, ink, colored pencil, and watercolor. Students will be encouraged to explore and discover their personal style and find their artistic voice through a series of prompts and thematic projects.

This collaborative course will focus on creating a large scale art piece as a group. Students will be encouraged to experiment as they explore thematic ideas, imagery, learn about the public art making process and how it evolves from a small sketch to completion.

Students will learn the fundamentals of vocal production and good vocal health. They will employ these skills as individual singers as well as group-singing with the class. Singing in more than just English is a must!

Improvisation--Making music with instruments, voices, found objects. Students will apply the Elements of Music to individual and group projects. Story-telling in sound, and creating a multi-media performance. Walter Thompson’s Soundpainting is a valuable tool in this class.

This is an exploration of how music has enhanced our experience of the movies from the era of silent film (and the music played alongside it) to today’s blockbusters.

Fundamentals of what makes music tick. Exploring what we hear and how we hear it.

Students will learn the basics of music notation, setting words to music, and make music independent of words. Students will have the chance to perform their music for their classmates.

This course looks at the building blocks of music (melody, harmony, rhythm, etc.), the basics of music notation, and a brief outline of music history. A great gateway into understanding the art and science of music.

Class Ukulele is an introductory class for learning the basics of playing the ukulele and a history of the instrument and famous players. Students will learn how to play chords, songs, and an introduction to picking.

Women in Music is a seminar/discussion based course that explores the role of women in music from around the world (both western and non-western). We will examine the role that women have played as composers, performers, and touch on the representation of women in music and how it reflects broader cultural contexts, specifically in relation to gender issues. Key music historical figures will be researched, listened to, and discussed. Included in the class will be music listenings, lectures, discussion, and field trips to musical performances. Music theory and instrument playing is not required to be successful in this class.