Artists Tim Green and Oliver Stern (both B.F.A. '24) draw on canvas lining the walls of the Olive Tjaden Gallery during a five-day live drawing performance and exhibition titled Cave Painting 2. Anson Wigner / AAP
"Cornell was absolutely eye-opening, and I learned so many things. I especially loved getting a taste of college life; I love independence and responsibility. Professor Grimm was awesome, and I could tell he really loved what he was doing/teaching."
— Zixin, Summer Program Student
Art as Experience is for high school students seeking inspiration, mentorship, and an artistic community open to anyone, anywhere. Taught entirely online, this intensive curriculum connects the next generation of emerging artists from around the world to leading faculty who introduce students to a wide range of artistic media as they deepen critical engagement with the world and the endless realm of possibility opened by art making.
Summer program studios at Cornell are credit-bearing, giving students a jump start on their college education. All students receive close instruction and thoughtful critique as they develop a unique body of work suitable for application portfolios, and ultimately come to a deeper understanding of fine arts education and creative practice.
Application Deadlines
Applications for the high school art summer program are due on Sunday, May 5, 2024.
ART 1101 Art as Experience
Art as Experience is an introductory course that expands a student’s understanding of the ideas and practices of art today. Studio projects introduce a broad range of mediums from drawing and collage to digital photography and video installation. Students will explore and respond to resources at Cornell University and the course will be supplemented with readings, critiques, and assignments that go beyond the studio.
ART 1102 Art as Experience: TransMedia
Working with cameras, audio recorders, physical computing boards and computer software, this course introduces students to digital art creation, manipulation, and theory. Students will have hands on experience with digital image acquisition, recording and editing video and sound, and computer programming for interactive media-based applications. Learning will be fun, challenging, exciting, and will open the student to new possibilities for creating dynamic media art.
ART 1103 Art as Experience: Sculpture
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of sculpture through the exploration of the use of space and enormous range of materials. This course includes a number of highly specific assignments and discussions that encourage each student to develop their own line of inquiry and individual projects. Students learn basic woodworking, mold making, and casting in both plaster and concrete. Classes include process and materials demonstrations, introductions to relevant artists' work, and discussions about student projects.
ART 1104 Art as Experience: Photography
This course introduces students to the technical, aesthetic, and conceptual aspects of digital and/or film photographic processes. They will learn the principles of capturing, managing, editing, and fine tuning images. This course challenges students to broadly explore the art of photography, applying concepts and techniques to produce work that is innovative and compelling. Students will learn the fundamentals of seeing and articulating their vision through photography.
ART 1500 Summer Drawing I
General course introduces students to principles and techniques of representation. Emphasis is on creating the illusion of space and form through line, the rendering of light and shade, and studies in perspective. Students have the opportunity to explore various media such as charcoal, chalk, pencil, pen, ink, and wash.
ART 1503 Summer Drawing II
A general course in drawing that emphasizes figure study and life drawing. Builds on the foundation of ART 1500 and concentrates on the analytical study of the figure. Students explore a variety of materials, traditional and contemporary.
Local high school students can apply to take the following AAP courses on campus this summer as commuters. To apply, follow the instructions for local students.
ART 2201 Painting: Language of Painting
This course is an introduction to understanding how the embodied process of painting can create meaning and resonance and provide possibilities of expression where words are not sufficient. Through focus on color theory and pictorial composition, students will explore ways to build their own visual vocabulary while gaining technical facility and knowledge of materials and processes.
ART 2301 Print Media: Cultures of Print
This course offers an expanded study of traditional printmaking processes through experimental print media. Students will explore a comprehensive range of technical, aesthetic, and strategic approaches including the art work as multiple, and digital and cultural production. Special attention will be paid to aesthetic and technical challenges as well as the role and modes of producing art as well as its impact on society. This critical discourse will challenge traditional definitions of intaglio, lithography, relief, screen-printing, digital printmaking, and laser-cutting technology.
College students the world over have the opportunity to enroll in summer intensive studios at Cornell. Leading faculty in the Department of Art teach studios for art students from any institution who come together to deepen their knowledge of a chosen medium or to explore new ways of thinking and art making. On-campus studios offer in-person guidance and critique from faculty, exchange with fellow artists, and cutting-edge workspace, while online options provide close instruction and a global community of artists who learn to establish their own studio practice while using the latest virtual teaching tools to collaborate across projects and platforms.
Students in all studios receive thoughtful critique as they develop a unique body of work suitable for application portfolios, and ultimately come to a deeper understanding of fine arts education and creative practice.
Registration Deadlines
Registration for non-Cornell (visiting) students enrolling in the art summer studios is due on Monday, June 10, 2024.
Registration for Cornell students enrolling in the art summer studios is due on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
ART 2201 Painting: Language of Painting
This course is an introduction to understanding how the embodied process of painting can create meaning and resonance and provide possibilities of expression where words are not sufficient. Through focus on color theory and pictorial composition, students will explore ways to build their own visual vocabulary while gaining technical facility and knowledge of materials and processes.
ART 2301 Print Media: Cultures of Print
This course offers an expanded study of traditional printmaking processes through experimental print media. Students will explore a comprehensive range of technical, aesthetic, and strategic approaches including the art work as multiple, and digital and cultural production. Special attention will be paid to aesthetic and technical challenges as well as the role and modes of producing art as well as its impact on society. This critical discourse will challenge traditional definitions of intaglio, lithography, relief, screen-printing, digital printmaking, and laser-cutting technology.
ART 3399 Print Media: Special Topics
This course builds upon an expanded study of traditional printmaking processes and focuses on the ways the natural world impacts artmaking. Students will visit natural spaces and other local resources and use the sun, natural dyes, flowers, trees, and plants to develop a body of work that reflects research-based methods and exploratory concepts.
