Students in Studio Foundation cover an exceptional variety of studio techniques and media from numerous traditions and across many technologies. Art History and Critical Studies – our strong academic components – complement the studio courses. In Drawing I and II and Visual Language I and II, taken in the first year, students explore concepts and questions fundamental to current practice in the many disciplines of art and design, develop a formal vocabulary, work across media and with a wide variety of materials, and study historical contexts of the visual arts.

Visual Language I is an innovative course, recently developed by Studio Foundation faculty, in which students explore digital imagery, photography, video, and animation in combination with more traditional “tactile” media. In the second semester of Visual Language, students undertake one or two major projects that encourage them to develop an intense personal investment in their work. This unique experience, usually found only in upper division or graduate courses, enables students to integrate research practices and acquire the means to initiate, develop, and articulate a concept visually.

Drawing Studio pushes new artists to expand and reconsider definitions and functions of drawing in the 21st century. At the same time this studio course provides a solid experience with fundamental principles that aim to encourage further practice. Drawing II builds on the initial drawing course and offers a wide menu of courses in which students can focus on an aspect of drawing that interests them and in which they can build a body of work.

Form Study investigates the transformation of thought and feeling into form that exists in space. By exploring the formal and conceptual foundations of three-dimensional design, Foundation students begin to develop skills for constructions that are the foundations for other forms of three-dimensional expression.

Consistent with the program’s emphasis on “questions over answers,” Studio Foundation faculty introduce the critique process on which much of the college-wide curriculum is based. Students consider contemporary research, problem solving, and criticism, taking their projects from initial inception to design construction to presentation and revision.

First-year students entering Massachusetts College of Art are not accepted into any specific major; instead, they choose a major following the Studio Foundation Year. The faculty of the Studio Foundation Department have developed a supportive program to assist students in exploring the various major options at MassArt. At the beginning of their second semester, first-year students opt to attend advanced classes across the entire college, meet with department chairs and other faculty members, and participate in group sessions and discussions of the requirements and opportunities in the various concentrations of the college.

The Studio Foundation department has an active program of visiting artists and exhibitions that brings students into contact with artists and designers of local, national, and international importance. Through field trips and studio, gallery, and museum visits, Studio Foundation students are brought into contact with Boston’s vibrant visual arts culture.