A picture of geometric sculptures on display in a gallery setting
Sculpture

Undergraduate Overview

Undergraduate Overview

SAIC’s undergraduate sculpture curriculum is designed to offer a rigorous mix of conceptual, spatial, material, and process-based challenges through which students learn to understand, negotiate, and contribute to the changing cultural landscape. Students explore and incorporate a wide range of emerging technologies and traditional skills in their practice, including:

  • Woodworking
  • Mold-Making and Casting
  • Foundry
  • Glass Casting
  • Welding and Blacksmithing
  • Installation Art
  • Socially Engaged Art
  • Experimental Media 
  • Sustainable Practices

BFA students interested in Sculpture are encouraged to combine their sculptural work with departments across the school including fiber, ceramics, designed objects, fashion, and more. Introductory sculpture courses are recommended for all entering students, as they provide an introduction to the field, its methodologies and current ideas. Students who choose to concentrate their undergraduate in Sculpture will move from introductory, to intermediate and then advanced studio courses. We also offer a number of undergraduate seminars in Sculpture from Sophomore Seminar to Professional Practices and finally our Senior Capstone. The department also offers a unique opportunity for accomplished and committed undergraduate students in our Advanced Sculptural Practices Studio. This application-based course offers studio space in which to work and learn in close consultation with two faculty instructors and in a small community of dedicated peers.

Sculpture BFA Learning Goals

  • Students will create sculptural works that demonstrate a broad-based awareness of the field. 
  • Students will learn to experiment in order to gain knowledge and acquire technical proficiency. 
  • Students will engage material and process towards an outcome.
  • Students will develop an appreciation of the complexity of sculptural meaning. 
  • Students will formulate, present and defend their ideas towards an independent criticality.

Undergraduate Admissions Requirements & Curriculum Overview

  • To apply to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), you will need to fill out an application and submit your transcripts, artist's statement, and letters of recommendation. And most importantly, we require a portfolio of your best and most recent work—work that will give us a sense of you, your interests, and your willingness to explore, experiment, and think beyond technical art, design, and writing skills.

    In order to apply, please submit the following items:  

    Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Portfolio

    Submit 10–15 pieces of your best and most recent work. We will review your portfolio and application materials for merit scholarship once you have been admitted to SAIC.

    When compiling a portfolio, you may concentrate your work in a single discipline or show work in a breadth of media. The portfolio may include drawings, prints, photographs, paintings, film, video, audio recordings, sculpture, ceramics, fashion designs, graphic design, furniture, objects, architectural designs, websites, video games, sketchbooks, scripts, storyboards, screenplays, zines, or any combination of the above.

    Learn more about applying to SAIC's Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio, or view our portfolio preparation guide for more information.

  • Studio

    69

    • CP 1010 Core Studio Practice I (3)
    • CP 1011 Core Studio Practice II (3)
    • CP 1020 Research Studio I (3)
    • CP 1022 Research Studio II (3)
    • SOPHSEM 2900 (3)
    • PROFPRAC 3900 (3)
    • CAPSTONE 4900 (3)
    • Studio Electives (48)

     

    Art History

    15

    • ARTHI 1001 World Cultures/Civilizations: Pre-History—19th Century Art and Architecture (3)
    • Art History Elective at 1000 level (3)
    • Art History Electives (9)

     

    Liberal Arts

    30

    • ENGLISH 1001 First Year Seminar I (3)
    • ENGLISH 1005 First Year Seminar II (3)
    • Natural Science (6)
    • Social Science (6)
    • Humanities (6)
    • Liberal Arts Electives (6)

     

    General Electives

    6

    • Studio, Art History, Liberal Arts, AAP, or EIS

     

    Total Credit Hours

    120

    * BFA students must complete at least 6 credit hours in a class designated as “off campus study.” These credits can also fulfill any of the requirements listed above and be from any of the divisions (Art History, Studio, Liberal Arts, or General Electives).

    BFA With Distinction—SAIC Scholars Program: The SAIC Scholars program is a learning community of BFA students pursuing rigorous study in both their academic coursework and their studio pathways. There are two opportunities for interested students to apply to the SAIC Scholars Program: at the time of admission to the school, and after they have completed 30 credits of study at SAIC. Students pursuing the latter option are required to formally submit an application to the Undergraduate Division. Once admitted to the SAIC Scholars Program, students are required to successfully complete a minimum of six designated scholars courses. Students who complete the program will graduate with distinction.

    BFA in Studio with Thesis Option (Liberal Arts or Visual Critical Studies): BFA students may complete a nine-credit, research-based academic thesis as part of their studies within the 120 credits for the BFA in Studio degree. BFA with Thesis course sequences are offered over 3 semesters through the departments of Liberal Arts or Visual and Critical Studies (VCS). Students who are interested in one of the thesis options should follow the steps outlined below in the beginning of the junior year.

    Requirements for the BFA: Studio Art with Liberal Arts Thesis

    Step One: Students are required to meet with the Chair of the Liberal Arts department in the beginning of their junior year. 

    Step Two: With the Department Chair’s approval, the student enrolls in the following courses beginning in the spring term of their junior year:

    • SOCSCI or HUMANITY 3900 Academic Research and Writing (3 credits)
    • LIBARTS 4800 Undergraduate Thesis: Research/Writing I (3 credits)
    • CAPSTONE 4900 Liberal Arts Undergraduate Thesis: Research/Writing II (3 credits)

    Step Three: The completed thesis must be approved by both the Thesis II instructor and the Chair of Liberal Arts. Students must make a formal presentation and participate in the Undergraduate Thesis Symposium in their senior year. 

    Requirements for the BFA: Studio Art with Visual and Critical Studies (VCS) Thesis

    Step One: Students are required to meet with the Visual and Critical Studies Undergraduate Coordinator in or by the beginning of their junior year.

    Step Two: With the VCS Coordinator’s approval, the student enrolls in the first of the three-course sequence beginning in the spring term of their junior year:

    • VCS 3010 Tutorial in Visual & Critical Studies (3 credits)
    • VCS 4800 Undergraduate Thesis Seminar: Research & Writing I (3 credits)
    • CAPSTONE 4900 VCS Undergraduate Thesis Seminar: Research & Writing II (3 credits)

    Step Three: Completion of thesis must be approved by both the Thesis II instructor and the VCS Undergraduate Coordinator. Students must make a formal presentation and participate in the Undergraduate VCS Thesis Symposium in the senior year.

    Total credits required for minimum residency

    60

    Minimum Studio credit

    42

Course Listing

Title Catalog Instructor Schedule

Description

This course is an introduction to the materials, methods, and concepts of sculpture. We will investigate making in relation to material, time and space. We will consider aspects of sculpture such as meaning, scale, process, social engagement, ephemera and site; and explore the formal properties and expressive potential of materials including mold making and casting, wood, metal and experimental media. We will combine the use of materials and methods with ideas that reflect the history of contemporary sculpture. Demonstrations and authorizations will provide students with experience and technical proficiency in sculptural production while readings and slide lectures venture into the critical discourses of sculpture.

Prerequisites

Open to Freshmen only.

Class Number

1706

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Area of Study

Public Space, Site, Landscape, Furniture Design

Location

280 Building Rm 015

Description

This course is an introduction to the materials, methods, and concepts of sculpture. We will investigate making in relation to material, time and space. We will consider aspects of sculpture such as meaning, scale, process, social engagement, ephemera and site; and explore the formal properties and expressive potential of materials including mold making and casting, wood, metal and experimental media. We will combine the use of materials and methods with ideas that reflect the history of contemporary sculpture. Demonstrations and authorizations will provide students with experience and technical proficiency in sculptural production while readings and slide lectures venture into the critical discourses of sculpture.

Prerequisites

Open to Freshmen only.

Class Number

1716

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Area of Study

Public Space, Site, Landscape, Furniture Design

Location

280 Building Rm 015

Description

This course is an introduction to the materials, methods, and concepts of sculpture. We will investigate making in relation to material, time and space. We will consider aspects of sculpture such as meaning, scale, process, social engagement, ephemera and site; and explore the formal properties and expressive potential of materials including mold making and casting, wood, metal and experimental media. We will combine the use of materials and methods with ideas that reflect the history of contemporary sculpture. Demonstrations and authorizations will provide students with experience and technical proficiency in sculptural production while readings and slide lectures venture into the critical discourses of sculpture.

Prerequisites

Open to Freshmen only.

Class Number

1723

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Area of Study

Public Space, Site, Landscape, Furniture Design

Location

280 Building Rm 015

Description

This course is an introduction to the materials, methods, and concepts of sculpture. We will investigate making in relation to material, time and space. We will consider aspects of sculpture such as meaning, scale, process, social engagement, ephemera and site; and explore the formal properties and expressive potential of materials including mold making and casting, wood, metal and experimental media. We will combine the use of materials and methods with ideas that reflect the history of contemporary sculpture. Demonstrations and authorizations will provide students with experience and technical proficiency in sculptural production while readings and slide lectures venture into the critical discourses of sculpture.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Must be a sophomore or above.

Class Number

1700

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Location

280 Building Rm 015

Description

This course is an introduction to the materials, methods, and concepts of sculpture. We will investigate making in relation to material, time and space. We will consider aspects of sculpture such as meaning, scale, process, social engagement, ephemera and site; and explore the formal properties and expressive potential of materials including mold making and casting, wood, metal and experimental media. We will combine the use of materials and methods with ideas that reflect the history of contemporary sculpture. Demonstrations and authorizations will provide students with experience and technical proficiency in sculptural production while readings and slide lectures venture into the critical discourses of sculpture.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Must be a sophomore or above.

Class Number

1708

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Location

280 Building Rm 015

Description

This course is an introduction to the materials, methods, and concepts of sculpture. We will investigate making in relation to material, time and space. We will consider aspects of sculpture such as meaning, scale, process, social engagement, ephemera and site; and explore the formal properties and expressive potential of materials including mold making and casting, wood, metal and experimental media. We will combine the use of materials and methods with ideas that reflect the history of contemporary sculpture. Demonstrations and authorizations will provide students with experience and technical proficiency in sculptural production while readings and slide lectures venture into the critical discourses of sculpture.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Must be a sophomore or above.

Class Number

1718

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Location

280 Building Rm 023

Description

This course offers instruction in various methods of casting, including simple plaster molds, hydrocal-cement casts, simple body casts, thermal-setting rubber molds, wax, terra cotta, and paper casting. Students are advised to bring objects they desire to cast. (No hot metal casting in this course.)

Class Number

1703

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Location

280 Building Rm 030

Description

Patternmaking is at the heart of metalworking, woodworking, fashion, architecture and many other disciplines. Why? Because so many materials are available in sheet form. Students in this course will investigate a range of processes by which flat sheet materials like paper, wood, metal, fabric, vinyl, and plastic can be used to make volumetric, three-dimensional forms. Patternmaking for Sculpture will teach the student digital and analogue methods of designing, cutting, and assembling 3D work. Practical strategies as well as contemporary industrial use and the history of patternmaking will be explored to give each student a range of options for making their own work, whether it be art or design.

Class Number

1714

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

280 Building Rm 127

Description

This course introduces the aesthetic, technical, and historical aspects of the casting process as it relates to sculpture. Students learn basic skills in waxworking, investment applications, furnace and kiln operation, metal finishing and chasing, and patination. Lost wax and ceramic shell will be the primary techniques utilized for pattern generation and molding in this course. Students develop these skills through a series of studies that culminate in a final project.

Class Number

1701

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Location

280 Building Rm 030

Description

What are the concerns that drive one's creative practice? How does one set the terms for its future development? Sophomore Seminar offers strategies for students to explore, reflect upon, and connect common themes and interests in the development of an emerging creative practice that will serve as the basis of their ongoing studies at SAIC and beyond. Students will examine historical and contemporary influences and contextualize their work in relation to the diverse art-worlds of the 21st Century. Readings, screenings, and field trips will vary each semester. Presentations by visiting artists and guest speakers will provide the opportunity for students to hear unique perspectives on sustaining a creative practice. One-on-one meetings with faculty will provide students with individualized mentorship throughout the semester. During interdisciplinary critiques, students will explore a variety of formats and tools to analyze work and provide peer feedback. The class mid-term project asks students to imagine a plan for their creative life and devise a self-directed course of study for their time at school. The course concludes with an assignment asking students to develop and document a project or body of work demonstrating how the interplay of ideas, technical skills, and formal concerns evolve through iteration, experimentation and revision.

Prerequisite: Must be a sophomore to enroll.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Must be a sophomore to enroll.

Class Number

2100

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Location

280 Building Rm 032

Description

This course is a structural and poststructural investigation of sculptural site activation. The students explore the theory and practice of how work gets contextualized and redefined through its placement within a larger social, political, and economic sphere of meaning. Students investigate options and determinants operative in both indoor and outdoor sites, installations, and environments. Although the focus of the class is contemporary, topics of discussion range from Rodin's Burghers of Calais to the public projections of Krzysztof Wodiczko. An indoor space is available for student use and cooperative interaction is encouraged. Prerequisite: intermediate level work in any media or consent of instructor.

Class Number

1709

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Area of Study

Community and Social Practice, Interaction and Participation, Public Space, Site, Landscape, Public Space, Site, Landscape

Location

280 Building Rm 127

Description

This studio course explores the 'performing object' in contemporary, avant-garde, and traditional sculpture, installation, performance, and theater. Through experimentation and critical discussion, issues specific to performance art, puppetry, mask and street theater are probed, including: material, movement, sound, text, spectacle, scale, environment, and relationships among performer, puppet, and audience. In addition to in-class exercises, students build and perform a newly conceived, object-based performance piece.

Class Number

1712

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Area of Study

Animation

Location

280 Building Rm 127

Description

The figure in contemporary art has long been debated, but just as painting never died as forecasted so, too, the figure. It has morphed, become cyber, stayed representational, been found in the world and fashioned of any medium, while dissolving the line between it and abstraction, making it permeable and evocative. In this course students will be challenged to redefine the boundaries of traditional sculptural representation using the figure as a catalyst for evoking a range of content. We will consider human and animal bodies broadly, as cultural, historical, and constantly changing entities. Through an examination of diverse approaches related to figurative sculpture, students will be encouraged to engage with a variety of sculptural processes and media (such as assemblage, mold making, modeling, carving, welding, mixed media, fund object) to configure forms, as well as and conceptual frameworks in order to articulate personal and social narratives, and cultural critiques.
Addressing a range of cultures and historical periods, our inquiry will focus on: To what ends has the figure been employed (portraiture, faith, identity, gesture, embodiment, fragment, ritual, allegory, affect)? How does a work refer to without fully representing the figure? Why has it been an enduring subject/form? What are challenges and opportunities does it offer us today? Our inquiry will be guided by readings (Gordon Hall, Elizabeth Grosz, Katarzyna Trzeciak, Elaine Scarry, Sara Ahmed, and others) and viewing/museum visits of such artists as Jaime Isenstein, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, Simone Fattal, Sarah Peters, Hew Locke, Rachel Harrison, Nicole Eisenman, Anna Mendieta, Yinka Shonibare, Simone Leigh, Kiki Smith, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Wangechi Mutu, Louise Bourgeois, Thomas Houseago, Kimsooja, David Altmejd, Lee Bul and Cajsa von Zeipel.
Course work includes assignments, readings and in class activities that support the development of three finished projects for critique.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: SCULP 1101 or SCULP 2001

Class Number

2101

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Area of Study

Class, Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality

Location

280 Building Rm 023

Description

This course is designed for students who have prior moldmaking and casting experience. Students investigate in-depth project development, implementing and articulating ideas through class discussions and proposals. This course also aims to offer a deeper understanding of the social, historical, and aesthetic implications of replication. Such subjects as the instability and significance of object/material relationships, and the complex and expansive nature between the authentic, the surrogate, and the copy are explored.

Class Number

1713

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Location

280 Building Rm 030

Description

In this course, students will explore the art and craft of working with various soft metals, such as brass, bronze, copper, and silver. The curriculum covers a wide range of techniques such as soldering, forming, and centrifugal casting, enabling students to manipulate and shape metal into intricate forms. Utilizing a combination of hand tools and specialized equipment, students will learn to transform raw metal materials into functional and decorative objects. Emphasis will be placed on artistry and craftsmanship, with students developing their unique designs. This course bridges traditional practices with modern innovations, offering a comprehensive understanding of this ancient yet continually evolving art form.
Readings will explore topics of the historic metal eras including the Bronze and Iron Age, The Forge and the Crucible by Mircea Eliade, Metalworking Through History: A Modern Encyclopedia by Ana M. Lopez, Alchemy + Mysticism by Alexander Roob, A History Of Metallography: The Development Of Ideas On The Structure Of Metals Before 1890 by Cyril Stanley Smith, and The Secrets of Metals by Wilhelm Pelikan. Some contemporary metalsmith artists will be studied such as Michele Oka Doner. This class will also include a variety of handouts from the Metal Smith Society to demonstrate specific metal smithing techniques and tools. 
We will have a midterm critique to review progress and then students should expect to produce a body of work consisting of 3-5 finished pieces during the semester.

Class Number

2397

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Area of Study

Costume Design, Product Design, Furniture Design

Location

280 Building Rm 028

Description

The history and techniques of bending and shaping wood are explored, from the stage coach wheel to the sculptures of Martin Puryear, from the cambered truss to the violin. Projects include a variety of practices such as laminate bending, form fashioning, steam bending, and vacuum pressing.

Class Number

1705

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Area of Study

Furniture Design

Location

280 Building Rm 023

Description

Metalworks is a let¿s-get-to-basics class for working with steel. Join the class to learn basic metal fabrication, including: cutting, forming, forging, welding and finishing. This class will guide you as you build your projects in steel. You¿ll learn about structural systems and histories relevant to art and design with an emphasis on techniques and methodologies relevant to metalwork. You will integrate your learning to produce a set of finished works using historic and contemporary technologies. If it¿s metal, It¿s here. Designing, Fabricating, Forging, Finishing. Make it in metal.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: SCULP 1101 or SCULP 2001

Class Number

1722

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Area of Study

Digital Fabrication

Location

280 Building Rm 127

Description

This studio course explores the multiplicity of meanings inherent in the objectness of sculpture practices. Our weekly classes address such issues as monuments, earthworks, and performance; history and temporality; materiality and dematerialization; research, manufacturing, and consumption; tensions and connections between sculpture, architecture, and designed objects; and the ways new media, especially the internet and other virtual sites, alter our notions of the permanent and the ephemeral. Each week we'll discuss readings from contemporary and art historical texts and critique student work. Students will be given assignments and projects to be completed and critiqued throughout the semester.

Class Number

1724

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Location

280 Building Rm 015

Description

This course provides students with a semester-long concentration on a sculptural project of their own choosing. Students are encouraged to focus on a cohesive body of work that shares a material or conceptual framework. Multiple individual critiques will enhance their ability to identify, develop and clearly express their artistic intentions. Image and video presentations will expand students' familiarity with a range of sculpture practices. Individual research methodologies are emphasized and structured to take advantage of the institution's resources. Class discussion of contemporary sculpture and theory will underscore students? understanding of the social production of meaning and help them to contextualize their work.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: SCULP 1101 or SCULP 2001

Class Number

1715

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Location

280 Building Rm 023

Description

This studio course explores the interconnected nature of our physical and digital realities and their implications as technical, physical, and conceptual tools for understanding and presenting spatial ideas. This course teaches students to integrate the digital and the analog through process demonstrations including 3D modeling, 3D scanning, digital visualization, 3D printing, CNC output, mold making, pattern making, as well as metal and wood fabrication. This course covers planar and spatial construction methodologies.

This course engages themes of identity and place in sculpture and presents the idea that these concepts are expressed uniquely via this hybrid process. However, students in this course are free to choose the content of their own work. Practical application of technical demonstrations build on lectures and discussions considering works by Tauba Auerbach, Macarthur Freeman, The Long Now Foundation, Charles Ray, Spurse, Rokudenashiko (Megumi Igarashi), Amanda Williams, and Wim Delvoye among others. Students will work individually to create 3 artworks to be presented in a final critique. Students will share these artworks in-process in 2 or 3 informal critiques. Each student will also complete a short written research project.

Class Number

1710

Credits

3

Department

Sculpture

Location

280 Building Rm 127, 280 Building Rm 127A

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