fbpx MA/MFA in Drawing — PCA

Drawing

Master of Arts /
Master of Fine Arts in Drawing

Designed for students whose creative practice is predominately rooted in drawing. Candidates for the program will be seeking new contexts and experiences for developing established/existing practices.

Drawing is understood as more than a support or preparation for other disciplines: it is considered the work. Each core workshop draws upon the individual investigations and questions arising and evolving in the studio as a starting point and provide the students with new contexts to rethink their work – to test out methods, materials, and ideas.

The aim is to explore contemporary and emerging approaches to drawing alongside the continued acquisition and practice of academic skills. There is an expectation that students will explore a convergence rather than the opposition of the two.

At PCA Students may choose either the 1-year MA Degree Track or the 2-year MFA (Terminal) Degree Track. The first year is common to both degree tracks with the exception of a spring semester Degree Project for MA candidates. MA students who choose to continue into the MFA would be required to complete the 3rd and 4th semesters and the MFA Thesis Project.

The program is designed with an emphasis on professional practice and research, and for the MFA program, with a focus on the teaching of drawing, providing students with possibilities to further their work outside the context of the school. Students are taught how to apply ‘drawing’ in its many forms to unfamiliar and diverse situations and are encouraged to invent projects that will continue beyond the scope of the MA/MFA.

Every student will take part in the form of collaboration where they will bring their drawing practice into dialogue/conversation/exchange with artists, designers and creative professionals from other fields. The collaborations are devised according to each student’s needs to challenge each individual and are expected to provoke potentially radically different departures for their work.

The program is open to any applicant who has successfully completed an undergraduate degree (BFA, BA, BSc, BID, BArch, etc.) with a studio component, or acquired basic technical skills (e.g., drawing) through other educational or professional experiences. (Applicants without a BFA are required to have at least two semesters of Art History. A portfolio will be required demonstrating a fine arts practice).

Faculty

Véronique Devoldère

Véronique Devoldère

Chair of Fine Arts
Gaby David

Gaby David

Adjunct Faculty
Jan-Philipp Fruehsorge

Jan-Philipp Fruehsorge

Adjunct Faculty
Linda Jarvin copy

Linda Jarvin

President of PCA
Corrine Laroche dans son atelier, Paris 11eme, 21/09/2009

Corinne Laroche

Adjunct Faculty
Marine Pages

Marine Pagès

Adjunct Faculty
Celine Pelce

Céline Pelcé

Adjunct Faculty
Pimentao, Diogo

Diogo Pimentão

Adjunct Faculty
Théo Robine-Langlois

Théo Robine-Langlois

Adjunct Faculty
ROGIER-WAESELYNCK_Axel

Axel Rogier-Waeselynck

Adjunct Faculty
Honi Ryan

Honi Ryan

Adjunct Faculty
Lisa Salamandra

Lisa Salamandra

Graduate Research Coordinator
Klaus Speidel

Klaus Speidel

Adjunct Faculty

Thorsten Streichardt

Adjunct Faculty

MA Curriculum

Credits

One-Year Program

fall

Studio 1: Experimentation

Description

The aim of this course is to incite a radical re-thinking of established methods and approaches to drawing. The pace and content of this class is based on the individual needs and the group dynamic. New experiences are proposed and collaborative exercises are designed in response to areas of drawing practice that are identified as blocked, uninspired, and tired. Students will engage in a rigorous exploration of materials and supports, for example: exploiting their limits, inviting accident, testing both traditional and unorthodox material combinations and working methods. Students are expected to acquire a certain expertise in their chosen tools. The course will alternate between group exercises, field trips, guest lectures and workshops that encourage students to test the unknown with the aim to create unforeseen perspectives on previous work.

Masterclass Series 1

Description

The Masterclass series are courses taught by guest artists and designed to offer another exploration/experience of drawing-based studio practice, in response to the semester’s theme and specific research field. Students will be able to develop their skills within these workshops offered over 7 to 8 sessions each semester. The masterclasses echo the theme “Space, Body and its Senses” developed in Studio 1. The first sessions are dedicated to Anatomy, with the goal to improve the student’s capacities of observation of the human body’s underlying structures and to delineate strategies for representing those forms two-dimensionally. The second part is dedicated to the investigation of processes using physical actions to generate drawings – Drawing and Actions. Using all sensory experiences and physical mechanisms to create a personal dialogue between gesture and mark making.

Visual Narratives

Code
MDRA/MPIM 05XX
Description

“There are countless forms of narrative in the world. First of all, there is a prodigious variety of genres, each of which branches out into a variety of media, as if all substances could be relied upon to accommodate man’s stories.” Roland Barthes

Throughout the 20th century, the narrative has been criticized, rejected, deconstructed, and still plays an essential role in art today. Visual artists have created myths and experimented with new forms of narratives through their creative practices. This course will explore the functions of visual narrative in human culture by analyzing the history of narrative from ancient to contemporary art. The course alternates between theory, research and practice. Students will be able to develop artistic projects exploring narrative from the conceptual and curatorial point of view.

Masters Electives

Description

You may select an elective from the many course offerings in your department or in other departments with the approval of your department chair.

  • French
  • Drawing Technology and Perception
  • Advanced Printmaking*
  • Intellectual Property Rights
  • Concept Development Storytelling
  • Photography as Installation*
  • Photography in the Expanded Field*
  • History of New Media*
  • Designer’s Ethical and Social Responsibility
  • Educational Principles
  • Alternative Processes Image-Making*
  • Digital Fabrication Design
  • The Art of Code I & II
  • 4D Studio I & II*
  • The Fashion Editorial
  • Design Thinking
  • Social Entrepreneurship
  • Project Management*

* Undergraduate level courses

 

spring

Studio 2: Collaboration

Description

Students are offered the opportunity to work with practitioners from other fields as a way to discover new directions and possibilities for their drawing practice. The course begins as a series of practical and theoretical workshops where drawing and other practices are combined (for example: science, music, choreographic notation, writing). Students become familiar with ways in which drawing as a tool for collaboration has been explored. Once a personal area for collaborative work is identified, students are guided in the writing of a proposal for an ‘Artist who Draws in Residence’ at an institution or location in Paris relevant to their concerns as an artist.

Degree Project

Description

With an emphasis on advanced research methodologies each student will be responsible for the production of a body of work, building a portfolio based on their artistic research, documenting process and their different projects culminating in a public exhibition or conference. For their final public presentation, each student will be responsible for identifying a theme, and/or problematic, based on the student’s studio practice. Rigorously researched and constructed, students will be encouraged to develop this body of work and will provide a platform for ongoing lines of investigation. This studio course is dedicated to research, process and the “making”. Students should be versed in the critical voices and issues surrounding their own practice and develop the communication and research skills necessary to assert their own critical voice in regards to their evolving practice.

Marketplace for Art and Design

Description

This course introduces and outlines the role, purpose, and perception of “art” and “design” in various marketplaces and contexts for the emerging arts entrepreneur. Topics include issues in marketing aesthetic products; case studies on art fairs, art institutions, and cultural events; models of consumer behavior, art, and technology; macro-economic issues that affect the arts industries, arts policy, and access; art-as-business; design in the international context; merchandising; difficulties and the impact of the various business environments on art and design disciplines.

Masters Electives

Description

You may select an elective from the many course offerings in your department or in other departments with the approval of your department chair.

  • French
  • Drawing Technology and Perception
  • Advanced Printmaking*
  • Intellectual Property Rights
  • Concept Development Storytelling
  • Photography as Installation*
  • Photography in the Expanded Field*
  • History of New Media*
  • Designer’s Ethical and Social Responsibility
  • Educational Principles
  • Alternative Processes Image-Making*
  • Digital Fabrication Design
  • The Art of Code I & II
  • 4D Studio I & II*
  • The Fashion Editorial
  • Design Thinking
  • Social Entrepreneurship
  • Project Management*

* Undergraduate level courses

 

Overall Credits Total
30

MFA Curriculum

Credits

Year One

fall

Studio 1: Experimentation

Description

The aim of this course is to incite a radical re-thinking of established methods and approaches to drawing. The pace and content of this class is based on the individual needs and the group dynamic. New experiences are proposed and collaborative exercises are designed in response to areas of drawing practice that are identified as blocked, uninspired, and tired. Students will engage in a rigorous exploration of materials and supports, for example: exploiting their limits, inviting accident, testing both traditional and unorthodox material combinations and working methods. Students are expected to acquire a certain expertise in their chosen tools. The course will alternate between group exercises, field trips, guest lectures and workshops that encourage students to test the unknown with the aim to create unforeseen perspectives on previous work.

Masterclass Series 1

Description

The Masterclass series are courses taught by guest artists and designed to offer another exploration/experience of drawing-based studio practice, in response to the semester’s theme and specific research field. Students will be able to develop their skills within these workshops offered over 7 to 8 sessions each semester. The masterclasses echo the theme “Space, Body and its Senses” developed in Studio 1. The first sessions are dedicated to Anatomy, with the goal to improve the student’s capacities of observation of the human body’s underlying structures and to delineate strategies for representing those forms two-dimensionally. The second part is dedicated to the investigation of processes using physical actions to generate drawings – Drawing and Actions. Using all sensory experiences and physical mechanisms to create a personal dialogue between gesture and mark making.

Introduction to Research & Methodology

Description

The course provides introductory-to-advanced-level research and methodology instruction, covering topics from art and design theory to the use of technology. This course focuses in depth on various research methods currently used to inform the design process. It builds on knowledge and skills acquired in the first semester to introduce students to specific research methods for designers and artists. The course will cover research in physical human factors; human cognitive factors; cultural human factors; and ethnographic fieldwork. Students will learn how to apply these methods to the design process through hands-on projects requiring a multidisciplinary approach.

In this section, students will be introduced to the basic tenets of research in order to support their reasoning with respect to the design process. Foremost, they will learn to formulate a design research problematic; engage in data gathering and analysis; differentiate between primary and secondary research sources; carry out quantitative and qualitative research.

Educational Principles and Radical Pedagogies

Description

This seminar is offered in parallel to the studio course devoted to education. Students will be given an overview of historical and current pedagogical theory that is specific to the teaching or art and design. They will be asked to consider the role of diversity and culture on learning, as well the role of the teacher as a decision maker and facilitator. Additionally, this course will introduce alternative approaches to building a learning environment, drawing upon recent experiments in art education that challenge the traditional structure of a ‘school’. Students will study: how to generate motivation, involvement, and integration in respect to learner’s development and experience; the planning and design of learning activities for different levels of experience; how to write assessment procedures and appropriate feedback on performance, competence, and knowledge.

spring

Studio 2: Collaboration

Description

Students are offered the opportunity to work with practitioners from other fields as a way to discover new directions and possibilities for their drawing practice. The course begins as a series of practical and theoretical workshops where drawing and other practices are combined (for example: science, music, choreographic notation, writing). Students become familiar with ways in which drawing as a tool for collaboration has been explored. Once a personal area for collaborative work is identified, students are guided in the writing of a proposal for an ‘Artist who Draws in Residence’ at an institution or location in Paris relevant to their concerns as an artist.

Masterclass Series 2

Description

The Masterclass series are courses taught by guest artists and designed to offer another exploration and experience of drawing-based studio practice in response to the student’s specific research fields. This third semester supports and develops each thesis and future degree project. The guest artist’s role is to engage with the work, expand the research and experimentation, and challenge the students’ proposals’ choices, and ideas.

Intermediate Research & Methodology

Description

The course provides introductory-to-advanced-level research and methodology instruction, covering topics from art and design theory to the use of technology. This course focuses in depth on various research methods currently used to inform the design process. It builds on knowledge and skills acquired in the first semester to introduce students to specific research methods for designers and artists. The course will cover research in physical human factors; human cognitive factors; cultural human factors; and ethnographic fieldwork. Students will learn how to apply these methods to the design process through hands-on projects requiring a multidisciplinary approach.

Masters Electives

Description

You may select an elective from the many course offerings in your department or in other departments with the approval of your department chair.

  • French
  • Drawing Technology and Perception
  • Advanced Printmaking*
  • Intellectual Property Rights
  • Concept Development Storytelling
  • Photography as Installation*
  • Photography in the Expanded Field*
  • History of New Media*
  • Designer’s Ethical and Social Responsibility
  • Educational Principles
  • Alternative Processes Image-Making*
  • Digital Fabrication Design
  • The Art of Code I & II
  • 4D Studio I & II*
  • The Fashion Editorial
  • Design Thinking
  • Social Entrepreneurship
  • Project Management*

* Undergraduate level courses

 

Year Two

fall

Studio 3: Dialogues in drawing and Artistic Practices

Description

In this course, DIALOGUE will be explored from a variety of positions to address its usage within a studio practice and Art & Design education. Beginning with the artists’ work, Dialogue will be expanded to include instances of curation, critique, studio creation, research, experimentation, and pedagogic protocols.
The MFA ongoing studio practice and corresponding thesis research will be analyzed and employed to reveal approaches for the creation of dialogue within their own work, between one another, and within the classroom and exhibition context. A Curator’s role as a critical position and artistic action will be explored through in-situ and off-site assignments. In-class workshops will look at the different strategies for establishing a generative critique scenario that emphasizes the maintenance of dialogue within studio and teaching situations.
Seminars will present a variety of texts from artists, critics, and theorists that highlight artistic and curatorial approaches for the construction of dialogue within a studio, a classroom, and the world at large.

 

Masterclass Series 3

Description

The Masterclass series are courses taught by guest artists and designed to offer another exploration/experience of drawing-based studio practice, in response to the semester’s theme and specific research field. Students will be able to develop their skills within these workshops offered over 7 to 8 sessions each semester. The students will investigate spatial projects in-situ or on-site and should question context, historical, sociological, political, or environmental issues while challenging the use of materials and scale. For example, through Drawing and Installation or Drawing Architectural Spaces, students will engage with specific drawing techniques and codes within a 3-dimensional space.

Written Research

Description

Building on the research, critical thinking, and writing skills developed in the first three semesters of the seminar, in the final semester, each student will be responsible for the production of a 40 to-60 page thesis paper and the corresponding body of work, culminating in a public exhibition or conference. For their final paper, each student will be responsible for identifying an urgent, critical, or current problem, that may stand independently of the student’s studio practice. Rigorously researched and constructed, this paper will provide the platform for ongoing lines of investigation. Students should be versed in the critical voices and issues surrounding their own practice and develop the communication and research skills necessary to assert their own critical voice in regard to their evolving practice. Faculty and guest lectures will guide each student to a reading list appropriate to their research and final exhibition. For their final exhibition, the students will focus on creating a body of work and build a portfolio based on their artistic research, documenting the process and their different projects. This is done under the guidance and support of an internal and external thesis committee.

Masters Electives

Description

You may select an elective from the many course offerings in your department or in other departments with the approval of your department chair.

  • French
  • Drawing Technology and Perception
  • Advanced Printmaking*
  • Intellectual Property Rights
  • Concept Development Storytelling
  • Photography as Installation*
  • Photography in the Expanded Field*
  • History of New Media*
  • Designer’s Ethical and Social Responsibility
  • Educational Principles
  • Alternative Processes Image-Making*
  • Digital Fabrication Design
  • The Art of Code I & II
  • 4D Studio I & II*
  • The Fashion Editorial
  • Design Thinking
  • Social Entrepreneurship
  • Project Management*

* Undergraduate level courses

 

spring

Degree Project

Description

With an emphasis on advanced research methodologies each student will be responsible for the production of a body of work, building a portfolio based on their artistic research, documenting process and their different projects culminating in a public exhibition or conference. For their final public presentation, each student will be responsible for identifying a theme, and/or problematic, based on the student’s studio practice. Rigorously researched and constructed, students will be encouraged to develop this body of work and will provide a platform for ongoing lines of investigation. This studio course is dedicated to research, process and the “making”, done under the guidance and support of an internal and external thesis committee. Students should be versed in the critical voices and issues surrounding their own practice and develop the communication and research skills necessary to assert their own critical voice in regards to their evolving practice. Faculty and guest lectures will guide each student to a reading list appropriate to their research and final exhibition.

Marketplace for Art and Design

Description

This course introduces and outlines the role, purpose, and perception of “art” and “design” in various marketplaces and contexts for the emerging arts entrepreneur. Topics include issues in marketing aesthetic products; case studies on art fairs, art institutions, and cultural events; models of consumer behavior, art, and technology; macro-economic issues that affect the arts industries, arts policy, and access; art-as-business; design in the international context; merchandising; difficulties and the impact of the various business environments on art and design disciplines.

Masters Electives

Description

You may select an elective from the many course offerings in your department or in other departments with the approval of your department chair.

  • French
  • Drawing Technology and Perception
  • Advanced Printmaking*
  • Intellectual Property Rights
  • Concept Development Storytelling
  • Photography as Installation*
  • Photography in the Expanded Field*
  • History of New Media*
  • Designer’s Ethical and Social Responsibility
  • Educational Principles
  • Alternative Processes Image-Making*
  • Digital Fabrication Design
  • The Art of Code I & II
  • 4D Studio I & II*
  • The Fashion Editorial
  • Design Thinking
  • Social Entrepreneurship
  • Project Management*

* Undergraduate level courses

 

Overall Credits Total
60

Frequently Asked Questions

How is this program cutting edge in contrast to other MA/MFA programs?

This program focuses uniquely on drawing, as opposed to the more common generalist approaches offered by most graduate programs. Students will explore emerging and contemporary approaches to drawing alongside the continued acquisition and practice of academic skills. There is an expectation that students will explore a convergence rather the opposition of the two. The curriculum is designed specifically for study in Paris, and we will use the resources – both historical and contemporary- that the city has to offer in order to inspire and challenge the practice of drawing.
Students are taught how to apply drawing in its many forms to new situations and are encouraged to invent projects that will continue beyond the scope of the MA/MFA. To study Drawing at Masters level at an American University in Paris is a unique opportunity.

What is the range of disciplines from which the students will be pooled?

We seek to have a highly diverse student group. Candidates whose creative practice is predominately rooted in drawing; with backgrounds in fine arts, printmaking, illustration, architecture, or graphic design are all encouraged to apply. We are also open to surprises.

How do you know if the program is right for you?

Every student will take part in a collaborative work where they will bring their drawing practice into dialogue, conversation and exchange with artists, designers and creative professionals from other fields. These collaborations are tailored according to each student’s needs and are expected to challenge their established methods of working. If you are seeking new contexts for your work and experiences that will help you to develop as an artist, if you wish to test out new methods, materials and ideas, the program is for you. If you wish to transmit your practice and research, the focus on Drawing in Art and Design Education (MFA only) is for you.

What are the prerequisites?

The program is open to any applicant who has successfully completed an undergraduate degree (BFA, BA, BSc, BID, BArch, etc.) with a studio component or acquired basic technical skills through other educational or professional experiences. Students are expected to have a high level of competence in the discipline of drawing. Previously acquired skills and creative potential will be evaluated through your portfolio demonstrating a fine arts practice.

What are the advantages of studying in Paris?

PCA’s links with cultural institutions provide extended ‘studios’ in which students are invited to work, and areas of specific research can be developed.
Particular interest in the practice of drawing has been evident in Europe and the U.S. for the last two decades and does not appear to be waning. Specifically, Paris hosts the yearly art fair ‘Drawing Now’; a Paris-based magazine titled Roven, focusing on contemporary drawing, has been successful since 2009; the Prix Canson, one of the most prestigious annual drawing prizes in the world, was created in 2011 and exhibits its winners in major museums and galleries in Europe.

How is the curriculum designed?

The curriculum is designed in such a manner as to foster the development of student skills through two distinctive stages: Process and Realization

Phase 1: Process 

  • Defining and presenting already acquired skills to peers;
  • Identifying and discussing the potential for the development and application of skills within the context of studio-based work and research;
  • Sharing/teaching of skills through testing ideas and integrating different methods;
  • Reviewing academic and experimental drawing related processes and evolving new ways of working;
  • Critical reflection of experience, definition, and assessment of drawing processes;

Phase 2: Realization 

  • Articulation of the aims and objectives of studio practice and thesis project;
  • Application of developed methodologies and drawing skills;
  • Creation and dissemination of an extensive body of work within a professional context: the project becomes public through a final exhibition;
  • Demonstration of acquired research skills through MA/MFA Thesis paper and exhibition;
  • Manage grant process: identify private and public funding priorities and opportunities, develop a consistent and workable program plan, write clearly defined goals and objectives, prepare a complete program budget in a grant format, etc.;
  • Prepare art residency and exhibition proposals for those who plan to pursue a fine arts path;
  • Respond to professional and public art commissions;

What are the faculty’s credentials?

Their expertise lies in Contemporary and Traditional Drawing, Fine Arts, Advanced Printmaking, Architecture, Performance, New Technologies/New Media, Art History, Curatorial Studies, Writing and Teaching Methods.

Dance & Draw Who Runs the Show - Helene Fromen