A wide shot of a ceramics studio, featuring students working with pottery wheels and other tools.
A white silhouette of a person against a light blue background.

Stevie Thomas Hanley

Assistant Professor, Adjunct

Bio

MFA in Painting and Drawing, 2014, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. BA in Psychology and Fine Art, 2006, University of California, Berkeley. 

Personal Statement

Stevie Hanley has exhibited extensively in Berlin where he lived for six years, most notably at September, Kunstraum Bethanien, The Center for Endless Progress and the Schwules Museum. Hanley has also exhibited in Istanbul (Artist Fair Tüyup, 2009 and 2010), Jerusalem (Artist House Jerusalem 2012), New York City (La Mama Galeria, 2013, 2016) and Visco Disco (2013), Mexico City (Lodos Contemporary, 2015), as well as in Chicago-based galleries Flat Space (2014), Chicago Artist Coalitions (2015 and 2016), Julius Caesar (2015) and Iceberg Projects (2015). Hanley recently completed a solo museum exhibition at the International Museum of Surgical Science.

 

Courses

Title Department Catalog Term

Description

**This course is for College Arts Access Program (CAAP) students only and is closed to outside registrants.**

Art does not stop when the piece is finished- showing work to the public is a large part of the artistic process and should be considered as deeply as the making itself. In this course, students discuss traditional and contemporary presentation methods, from high end galleries and museums to online exhibitions to artist-run shows. In addition to in class examinations of what an exhibition can be and its impact on how artwork is viewed/received, students organize and assemble their own exhibition: from marketing to presentation choices to artist statements to installation to opening reception. Visits to the Art Institute of Chicago, SAIC's Sullivan Galleries and Student Union Galleries, the Cultural Center, and other Chicago venues help inform discussion and research. Students should have finished, portfolio-quality work that they are ready to exhibit prior to taking this course, as it does not cover studio time or techniques.

Class Number

2371

Credits

1

Description

In this hands-on studio course, students will not only develop new works of art to round out their portfolios for upcoming college applications but they will also select, revise, and edit their existing works. Through dynamic workshops and one-on-one meetings with SAIC faculty and admissions staff, students will discover the most effective way to document and organize their work and represent their unique points-of-views as artists to the colleges of their choice. This course also places emphasis on studio time and support from faculty to create final projects that will enhance student's overall portfolio presentation. Additional resources such as artist presentations, and virtual visits to the Art Institute of Chicago and other cultural institutions supplement the course curriculum.

Class Number

2421

Credits

1

Description

This course is your chance to mix traditional techniques with cutting-edge digital methods as you experiment with everything from drawing and sculpture to image transfer, collage, laser cutting, and 3D printing. Begin with exciting mini-projects and hands-on demonstrations to spark your imagination and get your ideas flowing. You'll refine your concepts through engaging discussions before completing a final project reflecting your unique style and interests. Plus, you'll explore the latest trends in art, showcasing inspiring work from contemporary artists pushing boundaries today.

Class Number

2346

Credits

1

Description

This course is designed for students with previous drawing experience who want to explore a wide range of materials and processes to expand their work in new directions, and improve the work in their portfolios. While building on technical abilities, students also investigate the creative process and ways to use drawing as a language and a tool for organizing thoughts and ideas. Students experiment with media (black/white, color, wet/dry, found materials), scale, arrangement, and presentation/installation and consider aesthetic design decisions, materials selections, and cultural concerns during the creative process. Field trips to the Art Institute of Chicago, artist presentations, and discussions focusing on the work of significant historic and contemporary artists such as Sol LeWitt, Julie Mehretu, Wangechi Mutu, William Kentridge, and others supplement the studio experience.
* Note: Previous drawing experience required.

Class Number

1029

Credits

2

Description

This course is designed for students with previous drawing experience who want to explore a wide range of materials and processes to expand their work in new directions, and improve the work in their portfolios. While building on technical abilities, students also investigate the creative process and ways to use drawing as a language and a tool for organizing thoughts and ideas. Students experiment with media (black/white, color, wet/dry, found materials), scale, arrangement, and presentation/installation and consider aesthetic design decisions, materials selections, and cultural concerns during the creative process. Field trips to the Art Institute of Chicago, artist presentations, and discussions focusing on the work of significant historic and contemporary artists such as Sol LeWitt, Julie Mehretu, Wangechi Mutu, William Kentridge, and others supplement the studio experience.
* Note: Previous drawing experience required.

Class Number

1041

Credits

2

Description

In this course students will focus interests and refine their skills to create strong, portfolio-quality work. This advanced course is intended for students with previous drawing and/or painting experience who are ready to experiment, take risks, and push their skills to the next level. The organization of ideas and development of self-directed work is emphasized with instructor guidance and peer support. Students explore contemporary artistic practices through interdisciplinary approaches that cultivate material exploration, image making strategies, and traditional and non-traditional drawing and painting techniques. Lead by their individual projects and goals, students may choose to work in a variety of media, such as water-based paint, oil paint, ink, pencil, charcoal, collage, or a combination of media. Trips to the Art Institute of Chicago, contemporary artist presentations, group critiques, daily writing exercises, and class discussions supplement the studio experience.

*NOTE* Painting and/or drawing experience and ability to work independent of specific assignments required. Students are encouraged to bring their own digital camera, tablet, and/or laptop for homework/research and after-studio hours projects. Note: Figure Drawing, Figure Painting, Painting, and Drawing courses may use nude models hired by the School. Other classes may use them to a lesser degree.

Class Number

1412

Credits

2

Description

In this course we will focus on disciplinary and interdisciplinary art and design practices of contemporary art production. This team-taught, year-long class explores the materials and techniques of surface, space, and time (2D, 3D, and 4D), as well as the connections and interplay of these areas. Core Studio integrates the formal with the conceptual, traditional with the contemporary, and makes visible a variety of approaches in current cultural production in order to foster the development of students? emerging practices as makers and thinkers.

In this interdisciplinary studio course students will be authorized to use a variety of school shops, materials and equipment; including the woodshop, plaster studio, digital lab, sewing machine, hand tools, sound and video production, digital workflows and principles of visual fundamentals. This is a hands-on making class, faculty present artists and content related to a particular toolkit and, or project theme. Every section of Core Studio has shared learning outcomes which are uniquely realized by each Core faculty partnership.

Students should expect a fast-paced studio environment. In Core Studio students will complete short assignments as well as longer multi-week projects. Assignments are designed to help students develop their own ideas in relation to the materials, processes, and themes presented by faculty.

Class Number

1306

Credits

3

Description

In this course we will focus on disciplinary and interdisciplinary art and design practices of contemporary art production. This team-taught, year-long class explores the materials and techniques of surface, space, and time (2D, 3D, and 4D), as well as the connections and interplay of these areas. Core Studio integrates the formal with the conceptual, traditional with the contemporary, and makes visible a variety of approaches in current cultural production in order to foster the development of students? emerging practices as makers and thinkers.

In this interdisciplinary studio course students will be authorized to use a variety of school shops, materials and equipment; including the woodshop, plaster studio, digital lab, sewing machine, hand tools, sound and video production, digital workflows and principles of visual fundamentals. This is a hands-on making class, faculty present artists and content related to a particular toolkit and, or project theme. Every section of Core Studio has shared learning outcomes which are uniquely realized by each Core faculty partnership.

Students should expect a fast-paced studio environment. In Core Studio students will complete short assignments as well as longer multi-week projects. Assignments are designed to help students develop their own ideas in relation to the materials, processes, and themes presented by faculty.

Class Number

1242

Credits

3

Description

The course Research Studio II builds on the learning outcomes from Research Studio I, asking students to continue to develop and connect their own work and ideas with a diverse range of artists, designers, and communities.

This spring the entire Contemporary Practice department will have a shared umbrella topic for our RSII courses: Contemporary Now. All RSII classes will engage with the present and what is happening right now. With the world moving so fast - a pandemic, fires burning across the US west, people marching in the streets across the globe, and the storms that seem to keep coming, it is critical we ask questions of ourselves as artists, designers, educators and cultural producers: What responsibility do we have at any moment in history? How can the diversity of our practices: research, study, making and actions, address the present and design the future we want to see?

In RSII courses students will investigate this shared departmental thematic through the intersection of their own practice and the pedagogical practices of their faculty. All RSII classes are interdisciplinary, faculty have provided a subtitle, and a short description to describe the lens through which their class will explore the theme of Contemporary Now.

Class Number

1287

Credits

3

Description

In this course students explore color theory through independent projects with the aid of faculty and various research methods. Color theory is studied psychologically, spiritually, aesthetically, and politically. This course pulls from a diverse range of color theorists and methodologies such as: Josef Albers Interaction of Color, Coloraid, AfriCOBRA, Gilbert Baker, Betty Edwards, and more. Traditional color theory is unpacked and expanded to account for how color has been weaponized and venerated in participation to power, suppression, race, cultural difference, gender, sexuality, and queer peoples.

Class Number

1205

Credits

3

Description

This class engages with feminist and queer theory to explore non-traditional methods of engaging with clay. Students will cultivate strategies for producing artwork in dialogue with conversations on the body as a medium, gender, and sexuality. Throughout the course, students will draw from assigned text, research, and art historical references as a source for contextualizing their own practice. Projects will explore the use of form, formlessness, and performance as processes for manipulating ceramic material.

Class Number

1002

Credits

3