Notes from the Woodshed: Sculpture, Abstraction, and Improvisation This class takes its title from a book of writing by the black American visual artist Jack Whitten (1939-2018). Whitten’s title itself borrows from a tradition in jazz music, ‘the woodshed’ was a metaphorical place to practice, experiment and develop new ideas before taking them public. We engage the classroom as our own ‘woodshed’, creating sculptural form through close looking, response, and improvisation. Students will develop the basic skills and visual language for creating sculpture using wood, foam, Magic-Sculpt, and found materials. We will read Whitten’s book ‘Notes from the Woodshed’, and other texts that contextualize the rich histories of abstract sculpture made by black Americans in the 20th century. No former experience with art is necessary to take this class.

Advanced Studio Thesis I In this studio course, students will conceive, produce, exhibit, and document a body of work in one or more artistic media. We will conduct regular group critiques and discussions, learn to present artworks in oral and written formats, and explore the role of critique in developing an individual creative practice. Students will become familiar with the themes and critical discourse of contemporary art through selected readings, studio visits with Studio Arts faculty and visiting artists, and field trips to museums and exhibition spaces. Each student will receive studio space and a stipend for production. Interested students should contact the professor a minimum of (1) week prior to online registration. Provide a transcript of all completed Studio Art courses, images of work created, and a brief, 1-2 page description of the media you intend to use and the subject matter you wish to further investigate. Students are expected to have completed two Studio Art classes in the medium they wish to explore before applying for ART 700. Approval required. 4 hrs sem./lab.   Majors and minors may submit a proposal for ART0701 and ART0702 after completing ART0700.

Advanced Studio Thesis II Approval required.

Advanced Studio Thesis III Approval required.

Spacing In this course we will investigate physical structures encountered daily. Buildings, parks, and infrastructure constitute this built environment, reflecting their societies. But what could abolitionist architecture look like, or how might public space in the U.S. create new social relations? Through lenses of race, class, and gender we will build critical vocabularies around the practice of making space. We will focus on the historical and contemporary embodiment of power, race, and culture of the U.S. through the built environment. This studio class will then present a series of projects addressing basic three-dimensional construction and model making techniques. We will engage historical and contemporary artworks, urban planning, architecture, and poetry from perspectives of resistance to dominant modes of constructing space.

Sculpture I In this sculpture class we will foreground “process” in the creation of form. We will address a variety of traditional tool and material relationships as well as inventing new and unusual processes with unconventional materials and tools. Parallel to studio-based experimentation we will engage in a weekly practice of critique learning how to process the visual with language. The class will be organized around a series of existing artworks, texts and films that will serve as models to help guide our collective inquiry.

Ruins and Rituals In this course we will examine monuments, memorials, landscape, and cultural memory. The title comes from a 1979 sculptural work by the black feminist artist Beverly Buchanan. Buchanan has described her works as monuments made from earthen materials to remember acts of black resistance in the United States. We will also investigate recent actions to remove and destroy monuments to confederate soldiers and other figures related to colonial violence. This is a studio class incorporating material experimentation and research. Students will work at model scale using paper, wood, plaster, digital photography, and photoshop to propose (anti)monuments for our time.

Matthew Schrader

Reviews and ratings for Matthew Schrader at Middlebury College.Matthew Schrader teaches Notes from the Woodshed, Advanced Studio Thesis I Supervised Studio Time, Advanced Studio Thesis II Supervised Studio Time and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Matthew Schrader good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

This course was a good break from my other, more STEM-focused classes. The coursework was not challenging, but it did contain some readings. Most of the time in class felt long and unproductive, but the projects were fun and easy to complete. All assignments felt like they were graded based on effort, rather than the result.

Matthew is incredibly knowledgeable and offers each of the students personal advice. He is clearly invested in the growth of each individual student and will work with you to explore your specific art form. Sometimes the 3 hour critiques are long, however this course was a strong foundational sculpture course. I enjoyed getting woodshop certified and working with a variety of mediums. Reading Jack Whiten's work in conjunction with the class has also been moving.  

I enjoyed the actually art making section of this course, however the lectures will really long and not engaging. This course subject matter could be really interesting but the lectures need to be restructured. 