Visual Arts
The Visual Arts Division in the School of the Arts offers courses in drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, and sculpture.
For questions about specific courses, contact the department.
For questions about specific courses, contact the department.
Courses
(Formerly R1001) The fundamentals of visual vocabulary and handling of drawing materials including charcoal, compressed charcoal, pencil, pen, ink, and brushes. Various conceptual and practical approaches to image-making are explored as formal issues such as line, volume, contrast, and composition are emphasized. Class assignments are accompanied by discussions and critiques. Students draw largely from observation, working with a variety of sources that may include still-life objects and the human figure. Portfolio required at the end. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR1000R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12589Enrollment
10 of 18(Formerly R1001) The fundamentals of visual vocabulary and handling of drawing materials including charcoal, compressed charcoal, pencil, pen, ink, and brushes. Various conceptual and practical approaches to image-making are explored as formal issues such as line, volume, contrast, and composition are emphasized. Class assignments are accompanied by discussions and critiques. Students draw largely from observation, working with a variety of sources that may include still-life objects and the human figure. Portfolio required at the end. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR1000R002Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Fr 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
002/12590Enrollment
13 of 18Instructor
Rachel LaBineIntroductory course to analog photographic tools, techniques, and photo criticism. This class explores black & white, analog camera photography and darkroom processing and printing. Areascovered include camera operations, black and white darkroom work, 8x10 print production, and critique. With an emphasis on the student’s own creative practice, this course will explore the basics of photography and its history through regular shooting assignments, demonstrations, critique, lectures, and readings. No prior photography experience is required.
Course Number
VIAR1701R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 09:30-12:00We 09:30-12:00Section/Call Number
001/12591Enrollment
14 of 14Instructor
Delphine FawunduIntroductory course to analog photographic tools, techniques, and photo criticism. This class explores black & white, analog camera photography and darkroom processing and printing. Areascovered include camera operations, black and white darkroom work, 8x10 print production, and critique. With an emphasis on the student’s own creative practice, this course will explore the basics of photography and its history through regular shooting assignments, demonstrations, critique, lectures, and readings. No prior photography experience is required.
Course Number
VIAR1701R002Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 13:00-15:30We 13:00-15:30Section/Call Number
002/12593Enrollment
14 of 14Instructor
Matthew BuckinghamSince Walter Benjamin’s concept of “work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction” (1935), photography has been continuously changed by mechanical, and then digital, means of image capture and processing. This class explores the history of the image, as a global phenomenon that accompanied industrialization, conflict, racial reckonings, and decolonization. Students will study case studies, read critical essays, and get hands-on training in capture, workflow, editing, output, and display formats using digital equipment (e.g., DSLR camera) and software (e.g., Lightroom, Photoshop, Scanning Software). Students will complete weekly assignments, a midterm project, and a final project based on research and shooting assignments. No Prerequisites and no equipment needed. All enrolled students will be able to check out Canon EOS 5D DSLR Camera; receive an Adobe Creative Cloud license; and get access to Large Format Print service.
Course Number
VIAR1702R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Tu 13:00-15:30Th 13:00-15:30Section/Call Number
001/12594Enrollment
12 of 12Instructor
Dana BuhlPrerequisites: (VIAR UN1000) Examines the potential of drawing as an expressive tool elaborating on the concepts and techniques presented in VIAR UN1001. Studio practice emphasizes individual attitudes toward drawing while acquiring knowledge and skills from historical and cultural precedents. Portfolio required at the end.
Course Number
VIAR2001R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
We 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12595Enrollment
3 of 18Instructor
Daphne ArthurPopular and Historical Gestures explores the fundamental properties of figure drawing and portraiture through the lens of pop culture and historical gestures and poses. Students examine the figure in painting, documentary photography, art history, and literature, and then use these examples as sources for live model sessions, studio practice, and discussions. Students will work on self-directed projects and from live models. There are one-on-one and group discussions, as well as individual critiques with the instructor. Class time will include image presentations, discussions, museum trips, individual and group critiques, and in-class independent work time. Each class will begin with a homework critique and a discussion, lecture, or demonstration structured around a specific goal. Students will then work individually. Each class will end with brief individual and group critiques to allow students to see and discuss each other's work.
Course Number
VIAR2021R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Tu 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12596Enrollment
4 of 16Instructor
David CruzPrerequisites: (VIAR UN1000) (Formerly R3201) Introduction of the fundamental skills and concepts involved in painting. Problems are structured to provide students with a knowledge of visual language along with a development of expressive content. Individual and group critiques. Portfolio required at end. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR2100R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Tu 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12597Enrollment
11 of 16Instructor
Kenny RiveroPrerequisites: (VIAR UN1000) (Formerly R3201) Introduction of the fundamental skills and concepts involved in painting. Problems are structured to provide students with a knowledge of visual language along with a development of expressive content. Individual and group critiques. Portfolio required at end. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR2100R002Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Fr 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
002/13760Enrollment
16 of 16Instructor
Dana Lok(Formerly R3130) This studio course will provide the students with a foundation in the ceramic process, its history, and its relevance to contemporary art making. The course is structured in two parts. The first centers on the fundamental and technical aspects of the material. Students will learn construction techniques, glazing and finishing methods, and particulars about firing procedures. This part of the course will move quickly in order to expose the students to a variety of ceramic processes. Weekly assignments, demonstrations, and lectures will be given. The second centers on the issue of how to integrate ceramics into the students current practice. Asking the question of why we use ceramics as a material and, further, why we choose the materials we do to make art. Rigorous group and individual critiques focusing on the above questions will be held. The goal of this course is to supply the students with the knowledge and skill necessary to work in ceramics and enough proficiency and understanding of the material to enable them to successfully incorporate it into their practice. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR2200R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Th 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12600Enrollment
5 of 6Instructor
Patrice Washington(Formerly R3130) This studio course will provide the students with a foundation in the ceramic process, its history, and its relevance to contemporary art making. The course is structured in two parts. The first centers on the fundamental and technical aspects of the material. Students will learn construction techniques, glazing and finishing methods, and particulars about firing procedures. This part of the course will move quickly in order to expose the students to a variety of ceramic processes. Weekly assignments, demonstrations, and lectures will be given. The second centers on the issue of how to integrate ceramics into the students current practice. Asking the question of why we use ceramics as a material and, further, why we choose the materials we do to make art. Rigorous group and individual critiques focusing on the above questions will be held. The goal of this course is to supply the students with the knowledge and skill necessary to work in ceramics and enough proficiency and understanding of the material to enable them to successfully incorporate it into their practice. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR2200R002Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
002/12601Enrollment
0 of 6Instructor
Ray Barsante(Formerly R3330) The fundamentals of sculpture are investigated through a series of conceptual and technical projects. Three material processes are introduced, including wood, metal, and paster casting. Issues pertinent to contemporary sculpture are introduced through lectures, group critiques, discussions, and field trips that accompany class assignments. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR2300R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Fr 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12603Enrollment
0 of 6Instructor
Jon Kessler(Formerly R3330) The fundamentals of sculpture are investigated through a series of conceptual and technical projects. Three material processes are introduced, including wood, metal, and paster casting. Issues pertinent to contemporary sculpture are introduced through lectures, group critiques, discussions, and field trips that accompany class assignments. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR2300R002Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Tu 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
002/12604Enrollment
0 of 6Instructor
Sasha Fishman(Formerly R3401) Enables the student to realize concepts and visual ideas in a printed form. Basic techniques are introduced and utilized: the history and development of the intaglio process; demonstrations and instruction in line etching, relief, and dry point. Individual and group critiques. Portfolio required at end. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR2420R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 14:30-17:00We 14:30-17:00Section/Call Number
001/12605Enrollment
9 of 9Instructor
Jennifer Nuss(Formerly R3411) Printmaking I: Relief introduces woodcut and other relief techniques. Given the direct quality of the process, the class focuses on the students personal vision through experimentation with this print medium. Individual and group critiques. Portfolio required at end. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR2430R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 09:30-12:00We 09:30-12:00Section/Call Number
001/12606Enrollment
9 of 9Instructor
Nathan Catlin(Formerly R3413) Printmaking I: Silkscreen introduces silkscreen and other silkscreen techniques. Given the direct quality of the process, the class focuses on the students personal vision through experimentation with this print medium. Individual and group critiques. Portfolio required at end. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR2440R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Th 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12607Enrollment
7 of 9Instructor
Aristotle ForresterPrerequisites: (VIAR UN1000) (Formerly R3515) This course approaches drawing as an experimental and expressive tool. Students will explore the boundaries between drawing and sculpture and will be encouraged to push the parameters of drawing. Collage, assemblage and photomontage will be used in combination with more traditional approaches to drawing. The class will explore the role of the imagination, improvisation, 3-dimensional forms, observation, memory, language, mapping, and text. Field trips to artists’ studios as well as critiques will play an important role in the course. The course will culminate in a final project in which each student will choose one or more of the themes explored during the semester and create a series of artworks. This course is often taught under the nomenclature Drawing II - Mixed Media.
Course Number
VIAR3010R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Th 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12608Enrollment
6 of 18Instructor
Diana CooperWhen millions of images are made every day, how can a photographer create an original body of work? This class proposes that parsing humanity’s existing shared archive of images is more relevant than generating new images. Following models such as Nepal Picture Library, Magnum Foundation, Drik/Majority World, and Arab Image Foundation, contemporary photography has remapped its practice around the reimagining and explanation, of the archival object. This class explores many archives–family albums, historical photographs, government records, fragile maps, musical albums, and flea market collectibles. We will use a series of lens-based technologies, starting from the flatbed scanner and Photoshop retouching and radiating outward. We will explore archive concerns, including consent, ownership, privacy, circulation, respect, and political impact. Students will explore display forms, including slide shows, zines, books, and exhibitions. There will be a strong complement of reading and writing in this class around the theory and practice of archives from the Western North and Global South.
Course Number
VIAR3100R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 13:00-15:30We 13:00-15:30Section/Call Number
001/12609Enrollment
6 of 12Instructor
Ben SalessePrerequisites: (VIAR UN1000) and (VIAR UN2100) (Formerly R3202) Painting II: Extension of VIAR UN2100 This course explores the transition of representational form towards abstraction in the early 20th century (Cubism) with full consideration to recent movements such as geometric abstraction, organic abstraction, gestural abstraction, color field and pattern painting. Students will be encouraged to find dynamic approaches to these classic tropes of 20th and 21st century abstraction.
Course Number
VIAR3101Q001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
We 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12610Enrollment
8 of 16Instructor
Esteban Cabeza de BacaMedieval to Contemporary Painting Techniques explores the fundamental properties of paint materials by studying the paint-making techniques used by old masters of the late Medieval and Renaissance periods up through the contemporary era. Through hands-on work and experimentation, including preparing paint materials themselves, students will gain experience making and working with egg tempera, oil paint, and synthetic materials such as acrylics. They will develop a stronger understanding of how these materials function and how their uses fit into historical traditions and cultural contexts.
Students will participate in weekly material and technique-building workshops. They will be given select open-ended assignments for which they can choose a particular approach to explore. Students will learn how to handle traditional and contemporary materials in compliance with high material safety standards.
Course Number
VIAR3135R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Th 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12890Enrollment
6 of 16Instructor
Naomi Safran-HonPrerequisites: VIAR UN2420 or VIAR UN2430 note that VIAR UN2430 was formerly R3420. The objective of the course is to provide students with an interdisciplinary link between drawing, photography and printmaking through an integrated studio project. Students will use drawing, printmaking and collage to create a body of work to be presented in a folio format. In the course, students develop and refine their drawing sensibility, and are encouraged to experiment with various forms of non-traditional printmaking. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR3412Q001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Tu 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12611Enrollment
6 of 12Instructor
Tomas Vu DanielPrerequisites: VIAR UN2420 (Formerly R3402) Continues instruction and demonstration of further techniques in intaglio. Encourages students to think visually more in the character of the medium, and personal development is stressed. Individual and group critiques. Portfolio required at end. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR3421R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 14:30-17:00We 14:30-17:00Section/Call Number
001/12612Enrollment
0 of 3Instructor
Jennifer NussPrerequisites: VIAR UN2430 (Formerly R3412) Printmaking II: Relief continues instruction and demonstration of further techniques in woodcut. Encourages students to think visually more in the character of the medium, and personal development is stressed. Individual and group critiques. Portfolio required at end. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR3431R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 09:30-12:00We 09:30-12:00Section/Call Number
001/12613Enrollment
0 of 3Instructor
Nathan CatlinPrerequisites: VIAR R2440. (Formerly R3414) Printmaking II: Silkscreen continues instruction and demonstration of further techniques in silkscreen. Encourages students to think visually more in the character of the medium, and personal development is stressed. Individual and group critiques. Portfolio required at end. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR3441R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Th 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12614Enrollment
0 of 3Instructor
Aristotle ForresterIntro to Moving Image: Video, Film & Art is an introductory class on the production and editing of digital video. Designed as an intensive hands-on production/post-production workshop, the apprehension of technical and aesthetic skills in shooting, sound and editing will be emphasized. Assignments are developed to allow students to deepen their familiarity with the language of the moving image medium. Over the course of the term, the class will explore the language and syntax of the moving image, including fiction, documentary and experimental approaches. Importance will be placed on the decision making behind the production of a work; why it was conceived of, shot, and edited in a certain way. Class time will be divided between technical workshops, viewing and discussing films and videos by independent producers/artists and discussing and critiquing students projects. Readings will be assigned on technical, aesthetic and theoretical issues. Only one section offered per semester. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR3500R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
We 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12615Enrollment
9 of 9Instructor
Sable SmithUnlike any other medium, animation provides unmatched suspicion of disbelief. Moreover, one can exercise one's imagination in digital space beyond material and physical limitations. Combining the two provides the permissive space to manifest our wildest reveries: utopias, dystopias, thought experiments, psi-fic scenarios, or dollhouses for amphibians.
In this course, students will receive a general survey on a range of methods in animation production. From the most traditional hand-drawn animation and cel animation to digital animation employing Photoshop, After Effects, and Blender (3D animation). Although this class can be technically involved; software mastery the end goal of the course is using these techniques to produce animations as a means of expression. These are only tools to help students form and realize their creative visions. Designed for both the digitally inclined and those who hate computers, students can try and then choose the method most agreeable to their temperament and ideas. They can also combine and mix different methods, maximizing creative freedom.
The course will introduce projects from animation history (early experimental animation, Disney, Soviet experimental animation, etc.) and contemporary art examples (Pierre Huyghe, Ian Chang, Wong Ping. etc.). However, the aim is to go beyond the Western art canon and expose students to other facets of culture. We will also study examples from popular culture (music videos) and Japanese anime (Hideaki Anno, Satoshi Kon, Masaaki Yuasa, etc.). One of the most essential responsibilities the students will take on is expanding our collective references by bringing in and presenting works that genuinely inspire and interest them.
Animation is an exceptionally permissive medium; it facilitates all of your prior skills and interests. Whether it is drawing, painting, music, poetry, fiction, or using a yoyo, there is a way for it to exist in animation. Students will be asked to keep a sketchbook for the duration of the semester. It will serve a landing pad for ideas and an anchor point to manage the project. The course will cover the entire production process, from idea development, concept design, character design, writing, storyboarding, foley, voice, music, editing, and final publication. Much of the class time will be dedicated to working, punctured by presentations, technical workshops, and critiques. At the end of the semester, students will have completed three shorts (30 seconds-2 minutes) and one fully developed project (3-10 minutes). By December, each student will have had the experience of starting, developing, and completing a multistep creative project.
Course Number
VIAR3502R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Fr 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12760Enrollment
10 of 9Instructor
Yi Fan Jiang(Formerly R4601) New York City is the most abundant visual arts resource in the world. Visits to museums, galleries, and studios on a weekly basis. Students encounter a broad cross-section of art and are encouraged to develop ideas about what is seen. The seminar is led by a practicing artist and utilizes this perspective. Columbia College and General Studies Visual Arts Majors must take this class during their junior year. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR3800R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Tu 16:00-19:00Section/Call Number
001/12616Enrollment
12 of 16Instructor
Keli Safia MaksudPrerequisites: Department approval required. See requirements for a major in visual arts. VIAR UN3900 is the prerequisite for VIAR UN3901. Corequisites: VIAR UN3910 (Formerly R3901) Students must enroll in both semesters of the course (VIAR UN3900 and VIAR UN3901). The student is required to produce a significant body of work in which the ideas, method of investigation, and execution are determined by the student. A plan is developed in consultation with the faculty. Seminars; presentations. At the end, an exhibition or other public venue is presented for evaluation. Studio space is provided.
Course Number
VIAR3900Q001Format
In-PersonPoints
2 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
We 17:15-22:00Section/Call Number
001/12617Enrollment
4 of 17Instructor
Jon KesslerPrerequisites: VIAR UN3900 Department approval required. See requirements for a major in visual arts. VIAR UN3900 is the prerequisite for VIAR UN3901. Corequisites: VIAR UN3911 Students must enroll in both semesters of the course (VIAR UN3900 and VIAR UN3901). The student is required to produce a significant body of work in which the ideas, method of investigation, and execution are determined by the student. A plan is developed in consultation with the faculty. Seminars; presentations. At the end, an exhibition or other public venue is presented for evaluation. Studio space is provided.
Course Number
VIAR3901Q001Format
In-PersonPoints
2 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
We 17:15-22:00Section/Call Number
001/13014Enrollment
2 of 5Instructor
Jon KesslerPrerequisites: Department approval required. See requirements for a major in visual arts. VIAR UN3910 is the prerequisite for VIAR UN3911. Corequisites: VIAR UN3900 (Formerly R3921) Students are required to enroll in both semesters (VIAR UN3910 and VIAR UN3911). A second opinion is provided to the senior students regarding the development of their senior project. Critics consist of distinguished visitors and faculty. Issues regarding the premise, methodology, or presentation of the students ideas are discussed and evaluated on an ongoing basis.
Course Number
VIAR3910R001Format
In-PersonPoints
2 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
We 17:15-22:00Section/Call Number
001/12618Enrollment
6 of 17Instructor
Emily HenrettaPrerequisites: VIAR UN3910 Department approval required. See requirements for a major in visual arts. Corequisites: VIAR UN3901 (Formerly R3922) Students are required to enroll in both semesters (VIAR UN3910 and VIAR UN3911). A second opinion is provided to the senior students regarding the development of their senior project. Critics consist of distinguished visitors and faculty. Issues regarding the premise, methodology, or presentation of the students ideas are discussed and evaluated on an ongoing basis.
Course Number
VIAR3911R001Format
In-PersonPoints
2 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
We 17:15-22:00Section/Call Number
001/13004Enrollment
2 of 5Instructor
Emily HenrettaPrerequisites: the department chairs permission. (Formerly R3932)
Course Number
VIAR3932R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
001/12624Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Matthew BuckinghamPrerequisites: the department chairs permission. (Formerly R3932)
Course Number
VIAR3932R002Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
002/12625Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
David CruzPrerequisites: the department chairs permission. (Formerly R3932)
Course Number
VIAR3932R003Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
003/12626Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Delphine FawunduPrerequisites: the department chairs permission. (Formerly R3932)
Course Number
VIAR3932R004Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
004/12627Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Jon KesslerPrerequisites: the department chairs permission. (Formerly R3932)
Course Number
VIAR3932R005Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
005/12628Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Naeem MohaiemenPrerequisites: the department chairs permission. (Formerly R3932)
Course Number
VIAR3932R006Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
006/13456Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Sable SmithPrerequisites: the department chairs permission. (Formerly R3932)
Course Number
VIAR3932R007Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
007/12629Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Rirkrit TiravanijaPrerequisites: the department chairs permission. (Formerly R3932)
Course Number
VIAR3932R008Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
008/12630Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Tomas Vu DanielPrerequisites: the department chairs permission. (Formerly R3932)
Course Number
VIAR3932R009Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
009/12631Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Daphne ArthurPrerequisites: the department chairs permission. (Formerly R3932)
Course Number
VIAR3932R010Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
010/12632Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Kenny RiveroPrerequisites: the department chairs permission. (Formerly R3932)
Course Number
VIAR3932R011Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
011/12633Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Miya MasaokaThis course seeks to build upon (or expand) skills learned in sculpture I. This workshop based course allows students more access to the shops to continue to develop those introductory skills while focusing on specific materials and processes. In this course students will complete one self directed project and a number of inclass short assignments and exercises providing a greater exposure to sculptural practice and processes. Acting as both a bridge to and support for more advanced inquiry into making.
Course Number
VIAR4300R001Format
In-PersonPoints
2 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
We 10:00-11:30Section/Call Number
001/12634Enrollment
4 of 12Instructor
Andrew BrehmPrerequisites: VIAR UN2300 (Formerly R3302) Laboratory in Relational Art; Sculpture without Objects The purpose of this class will be to explore the function of Relational Aesthetics in contemporary art practice and to develop ideas about the role of context in art, as the students develop their own site-specific works and research historical precedents for art designed to be exhibited in non-traditional venues. This course will also prepare students for professional work preparing art for venues of that type. This class will be structured around studio work, with an emphasis on the development and production of a final site-specific project. In order to foster students’ growth and ongoing investigation into the nature of contemporary sculpture, the class will also be comprised of slide lectures, visits to local artists’ studios, and galleries, as well as various public art projects throughout the city. As the semester progresses, the emphasis will gradually be shifted from research to intensive studio work on a final project, often a proposal for a site-specific work in a non-traditional venue. Generally, the first half of each class session will be dedicated to lecture and discussion, while the second half will be dedicated to individual studio work and critique.
Course Number
VIAR4310W001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12635Enrollment
0 of 8Instructor
Rirkrit TiravanijaCourse Number
VIAR5001R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
We 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12650Enrollment
0 of 2Instructor
Daphne ArthurCourse Number
VIAR5100R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Tu 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12651Enrollment
0 of 2Instructor
Kenny RiveroCourse Number
VIAR5100R002Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Fr 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
002/12653Enrollment
1 of 2Instructor
Dana LokCourse Number
VIAR5101R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
We 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12655Enrollment
0 of 2Instructor
Esteban Cabeza de BacaPopular and Historical Gestures explores the fundamental properties of figure drawing and portraiture through the lens of pop culture and historical gestures and poses. Students examine the figure in painting, documentary photography, art history, and literature, and then use these examples as sources for live model sessions, studio practice, and discussions. Students will work on self-directed projects and from live models. There are one-on-one and group discussions, as well as individual critiques with the instructor. Class time will include image presentations, discussions, museum trips, individual and group critiques, and in-class independent work time. Each class will begin with a homework critique and a discussion, lecture, or demonstration structured around a specific goal. Students will then work individually. Each class will end with brief individual and group critiques to allow students to see and discuss each other's work.
Course Number
VIAR5122R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Tu 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12657Enrollment
0 of 2Instructor
David CruzMedieval to Contemporary Painting Techniques explores the fundamental properties of paint materials by studying the paint-making techniques used by old masters of the late Medieval and Renaissance periods up through the contemporary era. Through hands-on work and experimentation, including preparing paint materials themselves, students will gain experience making and working with egg tempera, oil paint, and synthetic materials such as acrylics. They will develop a stronger understanding of how these materials function and how their uses fit into historical traditions and cultural contexts.
Students will participate in weekly material and technique-building workshops. They will be given select open-ended assignments for which they can choose a particular approach to explore. Students will learn how to handle traditional and contemporary materials in compliance with high material safety standards.
Course Number
VIAR5135R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Th 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12661Enrollment
1 of 2Instructor
Naomi Safran-HonCourse Number
VIAR5200R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Th 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12663Enrollment
0 of 4Instructor
Patrice WashingtonCourse Number
VIAR5200R002Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
002/12664Enrollment
0 of 4Instructor
Ray BarsanteThe Graduate Seminar in Printmaking and Related Media is designed to create a space that is inclusive yet focused on printmaking. Class time is structured to support, adapt and reflect students' needs and goals as individual artists and as a community. The course will examine printmaking as a medium in an expanded field, investigating its constitutive materials, exhibition and installation practices, and its ethics in the 21st century. The seminar will focus on the specific relations between tools, ideas and meanings that arise when artists engage with print media in various incarnations and concepts including editioned prints, multiples, artist-books, other types of printed matter, alternate means of distribution, and strategies of duplication and repetition. The ultimate objective is to provide students with in-depth knowledge of the materials, tools, histories and theories that underlie specific printmaking practices. The seminar combines discussion of students' artwork and research with readings on ethics, performance, cinema, poetics, data, museum practices, politics, and public space as they relate to printmaking.
While the Columbia Visual Arts Program is dedicated to maintaining an interdisciplinary learning environment where students are free to use and explore different mediums while also learning to look at and critically discuss artwork in any medium, we are equally committed to providing in-depth knowledge concerning the theories, histories, practices, tools and materials underlying these different disciplines. Each semester we offer one Graduate Seminar in a different discipline, or combination of disciplines, including moving image, new genres, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. These Discipline Seminars are taught by full-time and adjunct faculty, eminent critics, historians, curators, theorists, writers, and artists. Each seminar focuses on specific relations between tools, ideas and meanings that arise when artists engage with a particular medium. The seminars combine discussions of readings and artworks with presentations of students' individual work and research.
Course Number
VIAR5202R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Fr 10:00-13:00Section/Call Number
001/12665Enrollment
2 of 16Instructor
Craig ZammielloCourse Number
VIAR5300R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Fr 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12666Enrollment
0 of 4Instructor
Jon KesslerCourse Number
VIAR5300R002Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Tu 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
002/12667Enrollment
0 of 4Instructor
Sasha FishmanCourse Number
VIAR5412R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Tu 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12674Enrollment
2 of 2Instructor
Tomas Vu DanielCourse Number
VIAR5420R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 14:30-17:00We 14:30-17:00Section/Call Number
001/12675Enrollment
0 of 1Instructor
Jennifer NussCourse Number
VIAR5421R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 14:30-17:00We 14:30-17:00Section/Call Number
001/12677Enrollment
1 of 1Instructor
Jennifer NussCourse Number
VIAR5430R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 09:30-12:00We 09:30-12:00Section/Call Number
001/12678Enrollment
0 of 2Instructor
Nathan CatlinCourse Number
VIAR5440R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Th 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12679Enrollment
0 of 1Instructor
Aristotle ForresterCourse Number
VIAR5441R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Th 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12681Enrollment
0 of 1Instructor
Aristotle ForresterIntro to Moving Image: Video, Film & Art is an introductory class on the production and editing of digital video. Designed as an intensive hands-on production/post-production workshop, the apprehension of technical and aesthetic skills in shooting, sound and editing will be emphasized. Assignments are developed to allow students to deepen their familiarity with the language of the moving image medium. Over the course of the term, the class will explore the language and syntax of the moving image, including fiction, documentary and experimental approaches. Importance will be placed on the decision making behind the production of a work; why it was conceived of, shot, and edited in a certain way. Class time will be divided between technical workshops, viewing and discussing films and videos by independent producers/artists and discussing and critiquing students projects. Readings will be assigned on technical, aesthetic and theoretical issues. Only one section offered per semester. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Course Number
VIAR5500R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
We 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12682Enrollment
3 of 3Instructor
Sable SmithUnlike any other medium, animation provides unmatched suspicion of disbelief. Moreover, one can exercise one's imagination in digital space beyond material and physical limitations. Combining the two provides the permissive space to manifest our wildest reveries: utopias, dystopias, thought experiments, psi-fic scenarios, or dollhouses for amphibians.
In this course, students will receive a general survey on a range of methods in animation production. From the most traditional hand-drawn animation and cel animation to digital animation employing Photoshop, After Effects, and Blender (3D animation). Although this class can be technically involved; software mastery the end goal of the course is using these techniques to produce animations as a means of expression. These are only tools to help students form and realize their creative visions. Designed for both the digitally inclined and those who hate computers, students can try and then choose the method most agreeable to their temperament and ideas. They can also combine and mix different methods, maximizing creative freedom.
The course will introduce projects from animation history (early experimental animation, Disney, Soviet experimental animation, etc.) and contemporary art examples (Pierre Huyghe, Ian Chang, Wong Ping. etc.). However, the aim is to go beyond the Western art canon and expose students to other facets of culture. We will also study examples from popular culture (music videos) and Japanese anime (Hideaki Anno, Satoshi Kon, Masaaki Yuasa, etc.). One of the most essential responsibilities the students will take on is expanding our collective references by bringing in and presenting works that genuinely inspire and interest them.
Animation is an exceptionally permissive medium; it facilitates all of your prior skills and interests. Whether it is drawing, painting, music, poetry, fiction, or using a yoyo, there is a way for it to exist in animation. Students will be asked to keep a sketchbook for the duration of the semester. It will serve a landing pad for ideas and an anchor point to manage the project. The course will cover the entire production process, from idea development, concept design, character design, writing, storyboarding, foley, voice, music, editing, and final publication. Much of the class time will be dedicated to working, punctured by presentations, technical workshops, and critiques. At the end of the semester, students will have completed three shorts (30 seconds-2 minutes) and one fully developed project (3-10 minutes). By December, each student will have had the experience of starting, developing, and completing a multistep creative project.
Course Number
VIAR5502R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Fr 10:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12688Enrollment
2 of 3Instructor
Yi Fan JiangWhen millions of images are made every day, how can a photographer create an original body of work? This class proposes that parsing humanity’s existing shared archive of images is more relevant than generating new images. Following models such as Nepal Picture Library, Magnum Foundation, Drik/Majority World, and Arab Image Foundation, contemporary photography has remapped its practice around the reimagining and explanation, of the archival object. This class explores many archives–family albums, historical photographs, government records, fragile maps, musical albums, and flea market collectibles. We will use a series of lens-based technologies, starting from the flatbed scanner and Photoshop retouching and radiating outward. We will explore archive concerns, including consent, ownership, privacy, circulation, respect, and political impact. Students will explore display forms, including slide shows, zines, books, and exhibitions. There will be a strong complement of reading and writing in this class around the theory and practice of archives from the Western North and Global South.
Course Number
VIAR5510R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 13:00-15:30We 13:00-15:30Section/Call Number
001/12689Enrollment
0 of 2Instructor
Ben SalesseIntroductory course to analog photographic tools, techniques, and photo criticism. This class explores black & white, analog camera photography and darkroom processing and printing. Areascovered include camera operations, black and white darkroom work, 8x10 print production, and critique. With an emphasis on the student’s own creative practice, this course will explore the basics of photography and its history through regular shooting assignments, demonstrations, critique, lectures, and readings. No prior photography experience is required.
Course Number
VIAR5600R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 09:30-12:00We 09:30-12:00Section/Call Number
001/12690Enrollment
0 of 2Instructor
Delphine FawunduIntroductory course to analog photographic tools, techniques, and photo criticism. This class explores black & white, analog camera photography and darkroom processing and printing. Areascovered include camera operations, black and white darkroom work, 8x10 print production, and critique. With an emphasis on the student’s own creative practice, this course will explore the basics of photography and its history through regular shooting assignments, demonstrations, critique, lectures, and readings. No prior photography experience is required.
Course Number
VIAR5600R002Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 13:00-15:30We 13:00-15:30Section/Call Number
002/12691Enrollment
0 of 2Instructor
Matthew BuckinghamSince Walter Benjamin’s concept of “work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction” (1935), photography has been continuously changed by mechanical, and then digital, means of image capture and processing. This class explores the history of the image, as a global phenomenon that accompanied industrialization, conflict, racial reckonings, and decolonization. Students will study case studies, read critical essays, and get hands-on training in capture, workflow, editing, output, and display formats using digital equipment (e.g., DSLR camera) and software (e.g., Lightroom, Photoshop, Scanning Software). Students will complete weekly assignments, a midterm project, and a final project based on research and shooting assignments. No Prerequisites and no equipment needed. All enrolled students will be able to check out Canon EOS 5D DSLR Camera; receive an Adobe Creative Cloud license; and get access to Large Format Print service.
Course Number
VIAR5702R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Tu 13:00-15:30Th 13:00-15:30Section/Call Number
001/12701Enrollment
0 of 2Instructor
Dana BuhlCourse Number
VIAR5840R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 16:00-22:00Th 16:00-22:00Section/Call Number
001/12706Enrollment
0 of 27Instructor
Miya MasaokaCourse Number
VIAR5850R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
We 17:30-21:30Section/Call Number
001/12708Enrollment
0 of 27Instructor
Dana DeGuilioMatthew BuckinghamMiya MasaokaBaseera KhanKenny RiveroThis required Visual Arts core MFA curriculum course, comprising two parts, allows MFA students to deeply engage with and learn directly from a wide variety of working artists who visit the program each year.
Lecture Series
The lecture component, taught by an adjunct faculty member with a background in art history and/or curatorial studies, consists of lectures and individual studio visits by visiting artists and critics over the course of the academic year. The series is programmed by a panel of graduate Visual Arts students under the professor's close guidance. Invitations are extended to artists whose practice reflects the interests, mediums, and working methods of MFA students and the program. Weekly readings assigned by the professor provide context for upcoming visitors. Other course assignments include researching and preparing introductions and discussion questions for each of the visitors. Undergraduate students enrolled in Visual Arts courses are encouraged to attend and graduate students in Columbia's Department of Art History are also invited. Following each class-period the conversation continues informally at a reception for the visitor. Studio visits with Visual Arts MFA students take place on or around the week of the artist or critic's lecture and are coordinated and assigned by lottery by the professor.
Artist Mentorship
The Artist-Mentor component allows a close and focused relationship to form between a core group of ten to fifteen students and their mentor. Students are assigned two mentors who they meet with each semester in two separate one-week workshops. The content of each workshop varies according to the Mentors’ areas of expertise and the needs of the students. Mentor weeks can include individual critiques, group critiques, studio visits, visits to galleries, other artist's studios, museums, special site visits, readings, and writing workshops. Here are a few descriptions from recent mentors:
• During Mentor Week we will individually and collectively examine our assumptions and notions about art. What shapes our needs and expectations as artists and the impact of what we do?
• Our week will include visits to exhibition spaces to observe how the public engages the art. Throughout, we will consider art's ability to have real life consequences and the public's desire to personally engage with and experience art without mediation.
• The week will be conducted in two parts, first with in-depth individual studio visits and then all together as a mobile discussion group.
• As makers of things, the wide spectrum of our histories, emotions, and social experiences are among the intangibles we work from and give form to. How do “things” become "materialities?"
• What are the most viable forms of art practice in the 21st century? Why? How do we distinguish between the performance of knowledge and the ecstasy of experience?
Course Number
VIAR5860R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Tu 18:00-21:30Section/Call Number
001/12710Enrollment
0 of 27Instructor
Miya MasaokaCourse Number
VIAR5932R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
001/12711Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Matthew BuckinghamCourse Number
VIAR5932R002Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
002/12712Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
David CruzCourse Number
VIAR5932R003Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
003/12713Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Delphine FawunduCourse Number
VIAR5932R004Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
004/12714Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Jon KesslerCourse Number
VIAR5932R005Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
005/12715Enrollment
1 of 1Instructor
Naeem MohaiemenCourse Number
VIAR5932R006Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
006/12716Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Sable SmithCourse Number
VIAR5932R007Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
007/12717Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Rirkrit TiravanijaCourse Number
VIAR5932R008Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
008/12718Enrollment
1 of 1Instructor
Tomas Vu DanielCourse Number
VIAR5932R009Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
009/12719Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Daphne ArthurCourse Number
VIAR5932R010Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
010/12721Enrollment
1 of 1Instructor
Kenny RiveroCourse Number
VIAR5932R011Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Section/Call Number
011/12720Enrollment
0 of 0Instructor
Miya MasaokaCourse Number
VIAR6842R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Mo 16:00-22:00Th 16:00-22:00Section/Call Number
001/12723Enrollment
18 of 26Instructor
Miya MasaokaCourse Number
VIAR6852R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
We 17:30-21:30Section/Call Number
001/12724Enrollment
19 of 26Instructor
Dana DeGuilioMatthew BuckinghamMiya MasaokaBaseera KhanKenny RiveroThis required Visual Arts core MFA curriculum course, comprising two parts, allows MFA students to deeply engage with and learn directly from a wide variety of working artists who visit the program each year.
Lecture Series
The lecture component, taught by an adjunct faculty member with a background in art history and/or curatorial studies, consists of lectures and individual studio visits by visiting artists and critics over the course of the academic year. The series is programmed by a panel of graduate Visual Arts students under the professor's close guidance. Invitations are extended to artists whose practice reflects the interests, mediums, and working methods of MFA students and the program. Weekly readings assigned by the professor provide context for upcoming visitors. Other course assignments include researching and preparing introductions and discussion questions for each of the visitors. Undergraduate students enrolled in Visual Arts courses are encouraged to attend and graduate students in Columbia's Department of Art History are also invited. Following each class-period the conversation continues informally at a reception for the visitor. Studio visits with Visual Arts MFA students take place on or around the week of the artist or critic's lecture and are coordinated and assigned by lottery by the professor.
Artist Mentorship
The Artist-Mentor component allows a close and focused relationship to form between a core group of ten to fifteen students and their mentor. Students are assigned two mentors who they meet with each semester in two separate one-week workshops. The content of each workshop varies according to the Mentors’ areas of expertise and the needs of the students. Mentor weeks can include individual critiques, group critiques, studio visits, visits to galleries, other artist's studios, museums, special site visits, readings, and writing workshops. Here are a few descriptions from recent mentors:
• During Mentor Week we will individually and collectively examine our assumptions and notions about art. What shapes our needs and expectations as artists and the impact of what we do?
• Our week will include visits to exhibition spaces to observe how the public engages the art. Throughout, we will consider art's ability to have real life consequences and the public's desire to personally engage with and experience art without mediation.
• The week will be conducted in two parts, first with in-depth individual studio visits and then all together as a mobile discussion group.
• As makers of things, the wide spectrum of our histories, emotions, and social experiences are among the intangibles we work from and give form to. How do “things” become "materialities?"
• What are the most viable forms of art practice in the 21st century? Why? How do we distinguish between the performance of knowledge and the ecstasy of experience?
Course Number
VIAR6862R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Tu 18:00-21:30Section/Call Number
001/12725Enrollment
19 of 26Instructor
Miya MasaokaCourse Number
VIAR8000R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Tu 11:00-14:00Section/Call Number
001/12726Enrollment
0 of 14Instructor
Matthew DelegetCourse Number
VIAR8100R001Format
In-PersonPoints
3 ptsFall 2025
Times/Location
Fr 13:00-16:00Section/Call Number
001/12727Enrollment
8 of 14Instructor
Rirkrit TiravanijaIn 1964, Fluxus artist Daniel Spoerri fulfilled an unrealized wish of Marcel Duchamp’s by stretching a replica of the Mona Lisa over an ironing board. For her 2017 survey at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Tania Bruguera included a photograph of a urinal she had installed in The Queens Museum, accompanied by the statement: “It’s time to return Duchamp’s urinal to the bathroom.” However we interpret these gestures, separated by more than fifty years, it’s clear that Duchamp’s “reciprocal readymade” endures as a potent model for the transvaluation of artwork and artistic practices into different states and uses.