Character notes for "Mending the Broken"
Here are the character notes for "Mending the Broken."
Annis Kempster -- She has fair skin, hazel eyes, and long wavy hair of light brown streaked with blonde. She is tall and slim with modest curves. Her heritage is American and German. She speaks English and German. She is 26 years old in 2016.
Her family wanted her to go to college so she could get a high-paying job in a city, but Annis hated that idea. Instead she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fiber with a minor in Entrepreneurial Studies in Art & Design at the Kansas City Art Institute in Kansas City, Missouri. After that, Annis moved to a farm outside of Omaha, where she works in fibercrafts, mostly spinning but also knitting and other things. Joel and Emily Feldman own the farm Woolgather Hill where they raise sheep primarily for fiber, also for milk and meat. Joel's brother Elijah is a landscape artist and his sister Jane is a nature writer. Emily's sister Mary is a dyer and her husband William is a weaver. Several other artists come and go, including the quilter Azubah Chiles and the felter Charlie Thornton, so it's like a small artist colony.
Annis enjoys life on the farm and the company of other creative people. Cheerful and industrious, she fits in there. Her dexterity serves her well in fibercrafts. She tends to wear practical clothes in muted colors, and she likes rustic T-shirts. In the Society for Creative Anachronism, Annis goes by Emma Nimblefingers.
Qualities: Good (+2) Cheerful, Good (+2) Dexterity, Good (+2) Farm Girl, Good (+2) Fibercrafts, Good (+2) Naturalistic Intelligence
Poor (-2) Family Dynamics
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fiber
at the Kansas City Art Institute in Kansas City, Missouri
Tactile experience in the digital age
Fiber as a medium crosses boundaries and interfaces with art, design, craft and technology. Inherently multidisciplinary, the field of fiber encompasses, among others, painting, printing, dyeing, pattern design, sewing, quilting, garment construction for fashion and costume, weaving, knitting, crochet, basketry techniques, felting, spinning and paper-making.
The curriculum emphasizes skill development and the generation of ideas through a materials-based process of making. You’ll learn processes of traditional fiber art combined with the use of new digital tools. The need for a tactile experience in response to the digital environment is the most exciting development in our field. Fiber is more relevant and diverse now than ever before.
Our curriculum covers a broad range of traditional and experimental practices in a variety of textile-related areas that are unique within the U.S. Our students immerse themselves in the vocabulary and language of fiber from their sophomore to senior years. During their senior year, students choose a concentration and develop a body of work that culminates their studies and will be exhibited in a senior thesis show.
Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree Requirements
Liberal Arts and additional B.F.A. requirements on second page.
FIBER (78 Studio Hours) as of 2020
Course Number Course Title Credit Hours
Freshman Year
Fall Semester
FOUN 100 Foundation 9
Spring Semester
FOUN 110 Foundation 9
Sophomore Year
Fall Semester
FIBR 200 Introduction to Surface and Color 6
FIBR 264 Basic Sewn Construction 3
Spring Semester
FIBR 220 Textile Construction: Weaving 6
Junior Year
Fall Semester
FIBR 320 Intermediate Hand Construction/Digital Tools 6
Spring Semester
FIBR 331 Advanced Textile Processes 6
Senior Year
Fall Semester
FIBR 400 Senior Studio: Fiber/Textiles I 6
FIPP 480 Senior Professional Practice 3
Spring Semester
FIBR 420 Senior Studio: Thesis Seminar 6
Required Studio Electives or Internships: (6)
Fiber Elective 3
FIBR/FIBRE 379 Entrepreneurship/Indie Design: Imagine It, Make It, Sell It
Fiber Elective 3
FIBR/FIBRE 280 Natural Dye
Any Department Studio Elective 3
INTFB 300 Fiber Internship - Spinning
Any Department Studio Elective 3
FIBR/FIBRE 315 Fiber to Form
Any Department Studio Elective 3
FIBR/FIBRE 338 Knitwear and the Body
Any Department Studio Elective 3
FIBR/FIBRE 345 Hand and Machine Knitting
FIBR/FIBRE 379 Entrepreneurship/Indie Design: Imagine It, Make It, Sell It
(3 credit hours)
This course is a combination of hands-on studio work to develop a unique, handmade, sellable product and practical lessons in running a small business. Students are expected to have adequate technical skills in their area of interest and be able to work independently on a product line in their chosen medium. Product development, pricing, marketing, branding, budgets, venues for selling in shops and online and the pros and cons of wholesale and retail will all be covered.
FIBR/FIBRE 280 Natural Dye (3 credit hours)
Dyes made from plants and insects have been used to decorate textiles for thousands of years. Students will learn how to create a variety of natural dyes, including locally grown and foraged options, while also exploring the history and cultural relevance of this ancient process. Immersion dye techniques including shibori will be covered as well as direct application processes including block and screen-printing. Students will learn the key concepts of natural dye chemistry, such as the use of mordants and natural discharging agents, and how to translate these processes into their own contemporary studio practices.
INTFB 300 Fiber Internship - Spinning (Variable hours)
For juniors and seniors only, this course is designed to provide on-the-job training for students enrolled in the fiber program. Job training does not have to be in an area related to textiles. This course will introduce students to a professional business environment and a wide range of technical applications.
FIBR/FIBRE 315 Fiber to Form (3 credit hours)
In Fiber to Form, students will examine various methods of working with raw wool and cellulose fibers to create two and three-dimensional surfaces and structures in felt and paper. Felt and paper have a vast history that will be explored, while emphasis will be placed on their contemporary applications. Readings and discussions will concentrate on the metaphorical and poetic implications of material transformation as well as contemporary artists who work within the medium. Students will be expected to develop samples to document their process in addition to creating final works of art.
FIBR/FIBRE 338 Knitwear and the Body (3 credit hours)
In Knitwear and the Body, students will apply the structure of knitting to create three-dimensional skins using the format of the body as a point of departure. Students will begin with basic hand and machine knitting instruction and will develop a series of proposed projects that support their individualized approaches. Readings and discussions will consider the body within a contemporary art context as well as the development of the fashioned body and how it has played a role in the formation of identity, class, and culture. No prior knitting experience is required.
FIBR/FIBRE 345 Hand and Machine Knitting (3 credit hours)
In this class students will learn to create fabric and 3-D forms by using the structure of knitting - an ancient technique consisting of a series of connected interlocking loops of yarn or fiber to create fabric. Students will learn the basic knitting stitches and techniques, study traditional applications for knitting and more contemporary approaches. Projects will start with mastering the basics then applying that understanding in solving problems in garment construction, sculptural forms or fabric yardage.
LIBERAL ARTS REQUIREMENTS (42 Credit Hours)
LOWER-DIVISION REQUIRED COURSES
Course No. Course Title Credits
Freshman Year
Fall Semester
*FYS 1001 First Year Seminar 3
*HRT 1001 History of Art I 3
Spring Semester
*HTH 1001 History of Thought I 3
*HRT 1002 History of Art II 3
Sophomore Year
Fall Semester HTH 1002 History of Thought II 3
NOTE: *These courses are pre-requisites for upper-division courses.
UPPER-DIVISION REQUIRED COURSES
*Upper-division courses are to be taken sophomore, junior, senior years.
Subject Requirement Credits
Art History 3
AHS 3005 Topics in Ancient/Medieval Art: History of Textiles I
Art History 3
AHS 3405 Topics in Modern/Contemporary Art: History of Textiles II
Art History 3
AHS 2100 Survey of Medieval Art and Architecture
Literature 3
LIT 3703 Topics in Gender Studies: The Witch in Literature and Society
History 3
HST 3010 Topics in Art as History: Migration
Philosophy 3
PHL 3502 Topics in Philosophy & Ethics: Thinking About Animals
The Sciences (Science or Social Science) 3
SOC 3103 (cross-listed with LIT 3407) Topics in Sociology: Utopias
AHS 3005 Topics in Ancient/Medieval Art: History of Textiles I
This course is designed as a survey of the fiber arts from what survives of ancient works through the Medieval and Renaissance periods. Works will be discussed from cultural, aesthetic and technical points of view. Primary focus will be on the West.
AHS 3405 Topics in Modern/Contemporary Art: History of Textiles II
This class will examine the reemergence of fiber as a vital and independent art form. We will begin with the Arts and Crafts movement of the 19th century and continue to explore the evolution of the medium to the present. https://33qle61me52p3frk11u6gh1c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2020-2021-Catalog-Draft-As-Of-5.7.20-1.docx.pdf
AHS 2100 Survey of Medieval Art and Architecture
This course explores the artistic traditions of the Western medieval world, from the 4th to the 15th centuries. It considers major artistic movements and developments in architecture, sculpture, painting and graphic arts and positions these within their original social, political and spiritual contexts. Moreover, it traces the ways in which these developments were defined and perceived over time. Topics include: the cultural transformations of the late Roman Empire with the rise of Christianity, Byzantine art and the representational crisis of Iconoclasm, the impact of Islam on art and architecture, Western European traditions of the Carolingians and Ottonians, pilgrimage and Crusade during the Romanesque period and the social and artistic changes associated with the Gothic period throughout Europe.
LIT 3703 Topics in Gender Studies: The Witch in Literature and Society
Through a careful study of literature, history, and ethnography, we will explore the role that the witch plays in society and why so many people have been so afraid of her. We will begin with the European witch-hunts of the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries, then investigate the cross cultural occurrence of the figure of the witch, including her appearance in literature and film and her continuing presence in contemporary life.
HST 3010 Topics in Art as History: Migration
This course explores the history of human migration as expressed through art. We start from prehistoric forms such as cave paintings to the more recent media of the digital age. We investigate how historians use art, or artifacts, to construct the past and how artists use history to tell their stories. This course not only focuses on the movement of people, but will also address the migration of ideas, objects, and animals.
PHL 3502 Topics in Philosophy & Ethics: Thinking About Animals
The earliest representation of an animal by a human artist, found in a cave in Sulawesi, Indonesia, is over 35,000 years old. Since then, animality has been bound up in human making processes, including the Greeks’ war machine at Troy, the heraldry system of feudal Europe, the animal automata of the Renaissance, and, most recently, biorobotic devices that look and move like nonhuman species. How humans think about animals matters; and in this course we will cover the history of thinking about animals from Descartes to the present, in an effort to think about whether and how animals should be incorporated in making. As such, this is partly a history of philosophy course, and partly an ethics course.
SOC 3103 (cross-listed with LIT 3407) Topics in Sociology: Utopias
Since ancient times, writers and thinkers have created images of ideal societies—“Utopias” or “no place lands.” This course will explore this Utopian tradition in literature, philosophy, and film. Students will read and analyze texts ranging from philosophical classics to contemporary science fiction, as well as watch Utopian films. This course will culminate in a Utopian project through which students can develop their own fictional and philosophical ideal worlds.
UPPER-DIVISION LIBERAL ARTS ELECTIVES
Choose any two additional courses within Liberal Arts subject areas
Course Requirement Credits
Liberal Arts Elective 3
AHS 2503 Survey of Materials and Techniques
Liberal Arts Elective 3
PHL 3602 Topics in Global/Comparative Studies: Global Aesthetics (G/C)
NOTE: WITHIN LIBERAL ARTS
At least one course must be a course in Global/Comparative Studies (G/C)
At least 15 credit hours (5 courses) must be taken at the 3000/4000 levels
OPEN ELECTIVES (6 Credit Hours – studio elective or liberal arts)
Course Requirement Credits
Open Elective 3
FIBR 385 Zetetic Fibers and Materials (T-American)
Open Elective 3
FIBR 230 Introduction to Spinning Summer Intensive (T-American)
B.F.A. TOTAL CREDITS REQUIRED: 126
AHS 2503 Survey of Materials and Techniques
To truly understand and appreciate a work of art, it is important to have a basic knowledge of materials and technique employed by the artist. Appearance can also be affected--rightly or wrongly--by the condition and previous conservation treatment of a work of art. Materials and Techniques in art is an introduction to the materials, methods, and techniques of art including painting, printmaking, fresco, sculpture, metal, glass, textiles, and mosaics. We will explore the material properties of these media, tracing their innovation, history, and use. Historical materials and techniques in various media will be studied through the examination of examples, early descriptions, and restorers’ journals. A research paper will allow students to investigate one material or process on a more in-depth level.
PHL 3602 Topics in Global/Comparative Studies: Global Aesthetics (G/C)
While Anglo-American aesthetics has long focused on detached questions about the nature of art, aesthetic traditions in other parts of the world understand art as being inextricably intertwined with political questions and ideologies. Designed to explore the latter view, this course will begin by providing a solid foundation of neo-Marxist aesthetics that demonstrates the many ways in which our understanding of art both reflects and shapes the political and social context in which it is created. We will use this critical theoretical foundation as a lens through which to examine work created by artists in late- and post-socialist regimes in the second half of the 20th century. The work in question will primarily comprise visual art, but we will also touch on music, theatre, architecture, and film. By the end of the course, students will have a sophisticated understanding of multiple ways in which art has been used to comment on and bring about political and social change in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in Cuba and China. Readings will include: Friedrich Schiller, On the Aesthetic Education of Man, in a Series of Letters; Jacques Ranciere, The Politics of Aesthetics; Boris Groys, Art Power.
Classes
Entrepreneurial Studies in Art & Design Minor
at the Kansas City Art Institute in Kansas City, Missouri
A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Whatever your career goals are, whether you plan to pursue a career as a studio artist or start your own company; be a freelancer or a creative professional within an existing enterprise, a minor in Entrepreneurial Studies in Art and Design will give you the business skills you need to succeed.
Today’s artists and designers are natural entrepreneurs. Our graduates often go on to start their own businesses, art ventures and studio practices, and many do it right here in Kansas City, a community known for its growing start-up community. Enhance your studio practice with training in marketing, finance and leadership so that you will be poised to successfully launch your ideas.
Through an innovative collaboration, classes will be taught on the KCAI campus by faculty from The Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, a program of the Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri-Kansas City providing students with unrivaled access to entrepreneurial courses taught by experts in the field.
The Entrepreneurial Studies in Art and Design Minor requires 16-credit hours. Students in any major can elect to complete the minor with careful course planning.
COURSES
Introduction to Art and Design Entrepreneurship (3 credit hours)
Gain a foundational knowledge of what it means to work with an entrepreneurial spirit. Topics include creative problem solving; entrepreneurial methods and practices; idea and business modeling; leveraging resources and legal issues.
Entrepreneurship Toolkit (3 credit hours)
Learn marketing; management; accounting and finance; economics; operations management and personal finance through the lens of a creative enterprise.
Creative Enterprise Studio (3 credit hours)
Explore how to recognize opportunity like an entrepreneur, create models and designs for your venture and strategies for getting started.
Entrepreneurship Experience (3 credit hours)
Put your education to practice by participating in an internship or practicum with professionals from the industry of your choice. Or, if you have a venture that you have launched, grow it with additional faculty coaching and mentoring.
Professional Practice (3 credit hours)
Each studio major focuses on discipline-specific professional practice knowledge and experiences.
Art and Design Entrepreneurship Seminar (1 credit hour)
Engage in entrepreneurship events in the Kansas City community and come together to share entrepreneurial experiences.
Annis Kempster -- She has fair skin, hazel eyes, and long wavy hair of light brown streaked with blonde. She is tall and slim with modest curves. Her heritage is American and German. She speaks English and German. She is 26 years old in 2016.
Her family wanted her to go to college so she could get a high-paying job in a city, but Annis hated that idea. Instead she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fiber with a minor in Entrepreneurial Studies in Art & Design at the Kansas City Art Institute in Kansas City, Missouri. After that, Annis moved to a farm outside of Omaha, where she works in fibercrafts, mostly spinning but also knitting and other things. Joel and Emily Feldman own the farm Woolgather Hill where they raise sheep primarily for fiber, also for milk and meat. Joel's brother Elijah is a landscape artist and his sister Jane is a nature writer. Emily's sister Mary is a dyer and her husband William is a weaver. Several other artists come and go, including the quilter Azubah Chiles and the felter Charlie Thornton, so it's like a small artist colony.
Annis enjoys life on the farm and the company of other creative people. Cheerful and industrious, she fits in there. Her dexterity serves her well in fibercrafts. She tends to wear practical clothes in muted colors, and she likes rustic T-shirts. In the Society for Creative Anachronism, Annis goes by Emma Nimblefingers.
Qualities: Good (+2) Cheerful, Good (+2) Dexterity, Good (+2) Farm Girl, Good (+2) Fibercrafts, Good (+2) Naturalistic Intelligence
Poor (-2) Family Dynamics
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fiber
at the Kansas City Art Institute in Kansas City, Missouri
Tactile experience in the digital age
Fiber as a medium crosses boundaries and interfaces with art, design, craft and technology. Inherently multidisciplinary, the field of fiber encompasses, among others, painting, printing, dyeing, pattern design, sewing, quilting, garment construction for fashion and costume, weaving, knitting, crochet, basketry techniques, felting, spinning and paper-making.
The curriculum emphasizes skill development and the generation of ideas through a materials-based process of making. You’ll learn processes of traditional fiber art combined with the use of new digital tools. The need for a tactile experience in response to the digital environment is the most exciting development in our field. Fiber is more relevant and diverse now than ever before.
Our curriculum covers a broad range of traditional and experimental practices in a variety of textile-related areas that are unique within the U.S. Our students immerse themselves in the vocabulary and language of fiber from their sophomore to senior years. During their senior year, students choose a concentration and develop a body of work that culminates their studies and will be exhibited in a senior thesis show.
Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree Requirements
Liberal Arts and additional B.F.A. requirements on second page.
FIBER (78 Studio Hours) as of 2020
Course Number Course Title Credit Hours
Freshman Year
Fall Semester
FOUN 100 Foundation 9
Spring Semester
FOUN 110 Foundation 9
Sophomore Year
Fall Semester
FIBR 200 Introduction to Surface and Color 6
FIBR 264 Basic Sewn Construction 3
Spring Semester
FIBR 220 Textile Construction: Weaving 6
Junior Year
Fall Semester
FIBR 320 Intermediate Hand Construction/Digital Tools 6
Spring Semester
FIBR 331 Advanced Textile Processes 6
Senior Year
Fall Semester
FIBR 400 Senior Studio: Fiber/Textiles I 6
FIPP 480 Senior Professional Practice 3
Spring Semester
FIBR 420 Senior Studio: Thesis Seminar 6
Required Studio Electives or Internships: (6)
Fiber Elective 3
FIBR/FIBRE 379 Entrepreneurship/Indie Design: Imagine It, Make It, Sell It
Fiber Elective 3
FIBR/FIBRE 280 Natural Dye
Any Department Studio Elective 3
INTFB 300 Fiber Internship - Spinning
Any Department Studio Elective 3
FIBR/FIBRE 315 Fiber to Form
Any Department Studio Elective 3
FIBR/FIBRE 338 Knitwear and the Body
Any Department Studio Elective 3
FIBR/FIBRE 345 Hand and Machine Knitting
FIBR/FIBRE 379 Entrepreneurship/Indie Design: Imagine It, Make It, Sell It
(3 credit hours)
This course is a combination of hands-on studio work to develop a unique, handmade, sellable product and practical lessons in running a small business. Students are expected to have adequate technical skills in their area of interest and be able to work independently on a product line in their chosen medium. Product development, pricing, marketing, branding, budgets, venues for selling in shops and online and the pros and cons of wholesale and retail will all be covered.
FIBR/FIBRE 280 Natural Dye (3 credit hours)
Dyes made from plants and insects have been used to decorate textiles for thousands of years. Students will learn how to create a variety of natural dyes, including locally grown and foraged options, while also exploring the history and cultural relevance of this ancient process. Immersion dye techniques including shibori will be covered as well as direct application processes including block and screen-printing. Students will learn the key concepts of natural dye chemistry, such as the use of mordants and natural discharging agents, and how to translate these processes into their own contemporary studio practices.
INTFB 300 Fiber Internship - Spinning (Variable hours)
For juniors and seniors only, this course is designed to provide on-the-job training for students enrolled in the fiber program. Job training does not have to be in an area related to textiles. This course will introduce students to a professional business environment and a wide range of technical applications.
FIBR/FIBRE 315 Fiber to Form (3 credit hours)
In Fiber to Form, students will examine various methods of working with raw wool and cellulose fibers to create two and three-dimensional surfaces and structures in felt and paper. Felt and paper have a vast history that will be explored, while emphasis will be placed on their contemporary applications. Readings and discussions will concentrate on the metaphorical and poetic implications of material transformation as well as contemporary artists who work within the medium. Students will be expected to develop samples to document their process in addition to creating final works of art.
FIBR/FIBRE 338 Knitwear and the Body (3 credit hours)
In Knitwear and the Body, students will apply the structure of knitting to create three-dimensional skins using the format of the body as a point of departure. Students will begin with basic hand and machine knitting instruction and will develop a series of proposed projects that support their individualized approaches. Readings and discussions will consider the body within a contemporary art context as well as the development of the fashioned body and how it has played a role in the formation of identity, class, and culture. No prior knitting experience is required.
FIBR/FIBRE 345 Hand and Machine Knitting (3 credit hours)
In this class students will learn to create fabric and 3-D forms by using the structure of knitting - an ancient technique consisting of a series of connected interlocking loops of yarn or fiber to create fabric. Students will learn the basic knitting stitches and techniques, study traditional applications for knitting and more contemporary approaches. Projects will start with mastering the basics then applying that understanding in solving problems in garment construction, sculptural forms or fabric yardage.
LIBERAL ARTS REQUIREMENTS (42 Credit Hours)
LOWER-DIVISION REQUIRED COURSES
Course No. Course Title Credits
Freshman Year
Fall Semester
*FYS 1001 First Year Seminar 3
*HRT 1001 History of Art I 3
Spring Semester
*HTH 1001 History of Thought I 3
*HRT 1002 History of Art II 3
Sophomore Year
Fall Semester HTH 1002 History of Thought II 3
NOTE: *These courses are pre-requisites for upper-division courses.
UPPER-DIVISION REQUIRED COURSES
*Upper-division courses are to be taken sophomore, junior, senior years.
Subject Requirement Credits
Art History 3
AHS 3005 Topics in Ancient/Medieval Art: History of Textiles I
Art History 3
AHS 3405 Topics in Modern/Contemporary Art: History of Textiles II
Art History 3
AHS 2100 Survey of Medieval Art and Architecture
Literature 3
LIT 3703 Topics in Gender Studies: The Witch in Literature and Society
History 3
HST 3010 Topics in Art as History: Migration
Philosophy 3
PHL 3502 Topics in Philosophy & Ethics: Thinking About Animals
The Sciences (Science or Social Science) 3
SOC 3103 (cross-listed with LIT 3407) Topics in Sociology: Utopias
AHS 3005 Topics in Ancient/Medieval Art: History of Textiles I
This course is designed as a survey of the fiber arts from what survives of ancient works through the Medieval and Renaissance periods. Works will be discussed from cultural, aesthetic and technical points of view. Primary focus will be on the West.
AHS 3405 Topics in Modern/Contemporary Art: History of Textiles II
This class will examine the reemergence of fiber as a vital and independent art form. We will begin with the Arts and Crafts movement of the 19th century and continue to explore the evolution of the medium to the present. https://33qle61me52p3frk11u6gh1c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2020-2021-Catalog-Draft-As-Of-5.7.20-1.docx.pdf
AHS 2100 Survey of Medieval Art and Architecture
This course explores the artistic traditions of the Western medieval world, from the 4th to the 15th centuries. It considers major artistic movements and developments in architecture, sculpture, painting and graphic arts and positions these within their original social, political and spiritual contexts. Moreover, it traces the ways in which these developments were defined and perceived over time. Topics include: the cultural transformations of the late Roman Empire with the rise of Christianity, Byzantine art and the representational crisis of Iconoclasm, the impact of Islam on art and architecture, Western European traditions of the Carolingians and Ottonians, pilgrimage and Crusade during the Romanesque period and the social and artistic changes associated with the Gothic period throughout Europe.
LIT 3703 Topics in Gender Studies: The Witch in Literature and Society
Through a careful study of literature, history, and ethnography, we will explore the role that the witch plays in society and why so many people have been so afraid of her. We will begin with the European witch-hunts of the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries, then investigate the cross cultural occurrence of the figure of the witch, including her appearance in literature and film and her continuing presence in contemporary life.
HST 3010 Topics in Art as History: Migration
This course explores the history of human migration as expressed through art. We start from prehistoric forms such as cave paintings to the more recent media of the digital age. We investigate how historians use art, or artifacts, to construct the past and how artists use history to tell their stories. This course not only focuses on the movement of people, but will also address the migration of ideas, objects, and animals.
PHL 3502 Topics in Philosophy & Ethics: Thinking About Animals
The earliest representation of an animal by a human artist, found in a cave in Sulawesi, Indonesia, is over 35,000 years old. Since then, animality has been bound up in human making processes, including the Greeks’ war machine at Troy, the heraldry system of feudal Europe, the animal automata of the Renaissance, and, most recently, biorobotic devices that look and move like nonhuman species. How humans think about animals matters; and in this course we will cover the history of thinking about animals from Descartes to the present, in an effort to think about whether and how animals should be incorporated in making. As such, this is partly a history of philosophy course, and partly an ethics course.
SOC 3103 (cross-listed with LIT 3407) Topics in Sociology: Utopias
Since ancient times, writers and thinkers have created images of ideal societies—“Utopias” or “no place lands.” This course will explore this Utopian tradition in literature, philosophy, and film. Students will read and analyze texts ranging from philosophical classics to contemporary science fiction, as well as watch Utopian films. This course will culminate in a Utopian project through which students can develop their own fictional and philosophical ideal worlds.
UPPER-DIVISION LIBERAL ARTS ELECTIVES
Choose any two additional courses within Liberal Arts subject areas
Course Requirement Credits
Liberal Arts Elective 3
AHS 2503 Survey of Materials and Techniques
Liberal Arts Elective 3
PHL 3602 Topics in Global/Comparative Studies: Global Aesthetics (G/C)
NOTE: WITHIN LIBERAL ARTS
At least one course must be a course in Global/Comparative Studies (G/C)
At least 15 credit hours (5 courses) must be taken at the 3000/4000 levels
OPEN ELECTIVES (6 Credit Hours – studio elective or liberal arts)
Course Requirement Credits
Open Elective 3
FIBR 385 Zetetic Fibers and Materials (T-American)
Open Elective 3
FIBR 230 Introduction to Spinning Summer Intensive (T-American)
B.F.A. TOTAL CREDITS REQUIRED: 126
AHS 2503 Survey of Materials and Techniques
To truly understand and appreciate a work of art, it is important to have a basic knowledge of materials and technique employed by the artist. Appearance can also be affected--rightly or wrongly--by the condition and previous conservation treatment of a work of art. Materials and Techniques in art is an introduction to the materials, methods, and techniques of art including painting, printmaking, fresco, sculpture, metal, glass, textiles, and mosaics. We will explore the material properties of these media, tracing their innovation, history, and use. Historical materials and techniques in various media will be studied through the examination of examples, early descriptions, and restorers’ journals. A research paper will allow students to investigate one material or process on a more in-depth level.
PHL 3602 Topics in Global/Comparative Studies: Global Aesthetics (G/C)
While Anglo-American aesthetics has long focused on detached questions about the nature of art, aesthetic traditions in other parts of the world understand art as being inextricably intertwined with political questions and ideologies. Designed to explore the latter view, this course will begin by providing a solid foundation of neo-Marxist aesthetics that demonstrates the many ways in which our understanding of art both reflects and shapes the political and social context in which it is created. We will use this critical theoretical foundation as a lens through which to examine work created by artists in late- and post-socialist regimes in the second half of the 20th century. The work in question will primarily comprise visual art, but we will also touch on music, theatre, architecture, and film. By the end of the course, students will have a sophisticated understanding of multiple ways in which art has been used to comment on and bring about political and social change in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in Cuba and China. Readings will include: Friedrich Schiller, On the Aesthetic Education of Man, in a Series of Letters; Jacques Ranciere, The Politics of Aesthetics; Boris Groys, Art Power.
Classes
Entrepreneurial Studies in Art & Design Minor
at the Kansas City Art Institute in Kansas City, Missouri
A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Whatever your career goals are, whether you plan to pursue a career as a studio artist or start your own company; be a freelancer or a creative professional within an existing enterprise, a minor in Entrepreneurial Studies in Art and Design will give you the business skills you need to succeed.
Today’s artists and designers are natural entrepreneurs. Our graduates often go on to start their own businesses, art ventures and studio practices, and many do it right here in Kansas City, a community known for its growing start-up community. Enhance your studio practice with training in marketing, finance and leadership so that you will be poised to successfully launch your ideas.
Through an innovative collaboration, classes will be taught on the KCAI campus by faculty from The Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, a program of the Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri-Kansas City providing students with unrivaled access to entrepreneurial courses taught by experts in the field.
The Entrepreneurial Studies in Art and Design Minor requires 16-credit hours. Students in any major can elect to complete the minor with careful course planning.
COURSES
Introduction to Art and Design Entrepreneurship (3 credit hours)
Gain a foundational knowledge of what it means to work with an entrepreneurial spirit. Topics include creative problem solving; entrepreneurial methods and practices; idea and business modeling; leveraging resources and legal issues.
Entrepreneurship Toolkit (3 credit hours)
Learn marketing; management; accounting and finance; economics; operations management and personal finance through the lens of a creative enterprise.
Creative Enterprise Studio (3 credit hours)
Explore how to recognize opportunity like an entrepreneur, create models and designs for your venture and strategies for getting started.
Entrepreneurship Experience (3 credit hours)
Put your education to practice by participating in an internship or practicum with professionals from the industry of your choice. Or, if you have a venture that you have launched, grow it with additional faculty coaching and mentoring.
Professional Practice (3 credit hours)
Each studio major focuses on discipline-specific professional practice knowledge and experiences.
Art and Design Entrepreneurship Seminar (1 credit hour)
Engage in entrepreneurship events in the Kansas City community and come together to share entrepreneurial experiences.