This document outlines Jonathon McJunkin's course schedule and descriptions from Fall 2013 to Fall 2014 while obtaining their Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The courses cover a range of topics including introduction to photography, visual communications, illustration technologies, philosophy of art, journalism, sculpture, and contemporary art. Laboratory classes teach technical skills while others focus on conceptual aspects and critiques. Internship experiences were also included in the summers.

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A Compendium of Studies
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
For: Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio
Fall 2013:
PHOTO 1001: INTRODUCTION PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE MAKING
This basic class, required for entry into all other photo classes, introduces
contemporary technologies for producing photographic images. Approaching the
medium in its current complex and pluralistic state, students explore a variety of
photographic concepts and techniques. The fundamentals of using a digital single
lens reflex camera (DSLR) including manual exposure and lighting are stressed.
But the ?camera? itself is redefined in this class by considering everything from
cell phones, the scanner as a camera, disposable cameras, or video cameras as
equally legitimate tools for creating photographic images. Eclectic forms of
?output? are encouraged in order to discover methods of presentation most suited
to a particular idea. This course also introduces seeing, thinking, and creating with
a critical mind and eye to provide understanding of the construction and
manipulation of photographic form and meaning. Assignments, lectures, readings
and excursions progressively build on each other to provide students with a
comprehensive overview of both the history of the medium and its contemporary
practice. A fully manual digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR) and a laptop
computer are required for this class. This is an entirely digital class.
VISCOM 1001: INTRO TO VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS
This research, discussion, and critique course develops a visual and verbal vocabulary
by examining relationships between form and content, word and image. Study includes
symbolic association and the problem of effective communication in a highly complex
culture.
VISCOM 1002: ILLUSTRATION TECHNOLOGIES LAB
This class will familiarize students with the syntax, tools and methods of vector-based
drawing and reinforce analogies to traditional (and non-traditional) methods of image-
making covered in the First Year Program. Students will begin with and introduction to
the computer as a graphic design tool: the relationship of different design software
packages to one another, the relationship of vector to raster graphics, resolution types
and an overview of the peripherals (scanners, printers, burners) available in the
labs. The rest of the course will focus on building proficiency with illustration software
(mainly Adobe Illustrator and a little Adobe Photoshop) in a design context. Information
will be reinforced via tutorials and short design exercises which target specific topics and
techniques covered during lectures. Students begin to apply this technical skillset to
formal design problems in the following semester's Beginning Graphic Design and
Beginning Typography classes.
HUMANITY 3340: PHILOSOPHY OF ART
An introduction to such topics as art and beauty, aesthetic judgement, aesthetic value,
and interpretation. The course focuses on particular thinkers, historical periods, or

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problems such as the relationship between art and scientific inquiry. Readings from
contemporary and historical texts are included.
FILM VIDEO NEW MEDIA 2000: MEDIA PRACTICES: MOVING IMAGE
This seminar is designed to introduce the student to the language of the moving image,
its history and the ways in which artists have used moving images in this century. The
course will explore the idea of radical contecnt and experimental form by establishing the
normative models and procedures of cinema and video, and then showing the ways
artists have challenged these conventions. The course will define and differentiate the
two dominant forms of mocing image: film and video, and begin a consideration of new
and expanding forms for the moving image. The course is a prerequesite to both Film I
and Video I and intends to introduce the student to the moving image through a series of
group excercises.
ART HISTORY 3514: PREHISTORY NEW MEDIA: 1965-PRESENT
This course presents a series of inquiries and conversations about the origins of the
theories and practices collectively referred to as New Media. From Marshal McLuhan?s
use of the phrase ?new media? in the 1960s to later usages by video artists in the 1970s
and 80s, to those working in the network and computer cultures of the 1990s and in
currently emerging discourses, New Media includes a set of contested, multiple, and
modular histories as well as an implicit impulse to discard the past. While arising from
the parallel, overlapping and resistant codes of experimental media art culture and
socially engaged technology, New Media has become both simultaneously clearer and
more ambiguous. This course explores the many precedents, exceptions, disputes, and
connections that constitute the prehistories of New Media.
Spring 2014:
ART HISTORY 3625: MEATSPACE: BODY’S IMPACT ON PHOTOGRAPHY
In Philosophy in the Flesh, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson posit that the
physical characteristics of our bodies shape the ways in which we view and
interpret the world. In this course, we utilize these concepts to explore issues in
and around the body and photography; not only representations of the body itself,
but the impact of embodied concepts on image creation and interpretation.
NAJ 3010: INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISM
With a concentration on its application to culture, this course examines the?history,
ethics, and platforms of modern journalism. While print and web-based?models make
up the heart of this course, broadcast journalism and more are assessed. F and
fnewsmagazine.com, among others, provide a framework for discussions and ongoing
exercises on the writing, editing, and design aspects?of producing contemporary
journalism.
PHOTO 2010: COLOR CONCEPTS AND POST-PRODUCTION
This course introduces complex ideas and processes associated with the various
applications of color in photography. Emphasis is on conceptual, theoretical and
perceptual aspects of color related to both vision and photographic image making.
The class is designed to explore color through image capture, alternative cameras,
contrast control, qualities of light, color correction, scale of images, printing and

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presentations techniques while developing and expanding digital skills introduced
in PHOTO 1001.
PHOTO 3008: MULTI-LEVEL PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO
Every idea has a medium most suited to its execution, but often not the one in
which the artist is working. This class considers new ways of translating ideas into
other media to develop a sense of possibilities beyond the straight
photograph. Conceptual art has given us an understanding of the triggers that
might provoke an investigation of layers of meaning within the simplest of ideas.
Assignment encourage students to think beyond the usual way they work and
include the use of collaboration, installation, audio, video, live feed, the internet,
performance, and performative uses of photography.
SCULPTURE 2001: SCULPTURAL CONCEPTS/MATERIALS/PROCESSES
This course provides an introduction to sculptural practice for students who haven't yet
gained experience building in three dimensions. The course covers general concepts of
sculpture and leads students to create sculpture through hands-on demonstrations with
material processes in the department woodshop, metal shop and/or mold-making studio.
This course is a prerequisite for intermediate and upper-level courses in the sculpture
department and gives the student skills with a range of materials and techniques.
Readings, slide presentations, discussions and critiques support the student's
intellectual development in this course.
Summer 2014:
COOP 4001: COOPERATIVE EDUCATION/INTERNSHIP: BFA
A course designed to give students the opportunity to explore career possibilities
in the arts through practical experience. Sophmores, Juniors and Seniors students
are eligible to work in part-time art related jobs in approved businesses, industries
and not-for-profit organizations. Jobs are approximately 14 hours per week.
Students are assigned a co-op faculty advisor, and attendance at two seminars
during the semester is required. Call the Cooperative Education Program at (312)
629-6810 for further information. Permission to register for this course must be
obtained through the Cooperative Education Program Office.
Fall 2014:
COOP 4001: COOPERATIVE EDUCATION/INTERNSHIP: BFA
A course designed to give students the opportunity to explore career possibilities
in the arts through practical experience. Sophmores, Juniors and Seniors students
are eligible to work in part-time art related jobs in approved businesses, industries
and not-for-profit organizations. Jobs are approximately 14 hours per week.
Students are assigned a co-op faculty advisor, and attendance at two seminars
during the semester is required. Call the Cooperative Education Program at (312)
629-6810 for further information. Permission to register for this course must be
obtained through the Cooperative Education Program Office.

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ART HISTORY 3360: CONTEMPORARY ART
When does contemporary art begin? 1945? 1960? 1980? 2000? Today? This course
attempts to define what we mean by the term 'contemporary art', and how it is distinct
from 'modern art.' It suggests that, from our current vantage point, contemporary art
begins in the early 1980's when several issues that still absorb artistic attention started
to surface. These include the resurgence of Europe as a major art center (and the
attendant de-emphasis of New York, and the rise of regional art centers such as
Chicago), the explosion of growth in the art market, the emergence of the young male
superstar, new strategies in feminism, art controversies, and a pointed interaction
between modernism and postmodernism. We examine all of these, and carry the story to
the 1990s and beyond by examining the post-colonial environment, Japan as art center,
interdisciplinary attitudes, and the collapse of traditional hierarchies in art. We take
advantage of the many opportunities Chicago museums and galleries offer us to test and
expand out concept of the contemporary.
ART HISTORY 3361: CONTEMPORARY ART DISCUSSION
This discussion class will review topics and artists covered in the Contemporary
Art course, discussing materials and readings pertinent to the themes presented in
the lecture. Most importantly, students will visit a variety of museums, galleries,
architectural tours and other local art-related sites in order to get a firsthand look at
the most current art shown in Chicago. Enrollment in a discussion section is
required in conjunction with ARTHI 3360: Contemporary Art.
PHOTO 2900: SOPHOMORE SEMINAR
What are the concerns that drive one's creative practice? How does one set the
terms for its future development? This course offers strategies for the evaluation
and communication of students? individual practice as artists, designers and/or
scholars. Through essential readings, a studio project, and writing, students will
generate narratives about how and why they make art. To do so, they will
investigate methods (visual, critical, written, and creative) for the reconsideration of
their work and of its aims and priorities. Individual mentoring with the faculty
member is a central and dedicated component of the class as a means of fostering
the self-identification of goals and priorities. Students will also examine historical
and contemporary precedents that relate to their own work in order to consider the
ways in which their individual explorations can be brought into dialogue with other
perspectives. Students participate in broad ranging discussions about the present
status and future prospects of art and design through workshops, dialogues, and
collaborations both in the class and in SAIC-wide conversations with other
Sophomore Studio Seminars. An important function of this course is to build upon
these insights in forming a practical plan that helps students effectively map the
curriculum and resources of SAIC onto their own needs.
For more information see http://blogs.saic.edu/sophseminar/
PHOTO 3007: ADVANCED POST-PRODUCTION/FINE PRINTING
This course refines and expands digital imaging skills learned in previous
classes. Emphasis is placed on streamlining digital workflow and fine-tuning input skills
in preparation for advanced photographic manipulation and exhibition-quality print
output. Workflow techniques include advanced image correction, color management,

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and sophisticated masking methods. Photo manipulation approaches focus on using
Photoshop as a creative tool by exploring the conceptual applications of retouching,
image compositing, and other post-production methods. Readings and discussions
address contemporary theoretical issues surrounding digital imaging and the malleable
relationships between the viewer, the image, and `reality.?
PHOTO 3010: STRUCTURING/SEQUENCING/SERIES
Sequences and series are the ubiquitous ways we most often see photographic
images. This class concentrates on producing and looking at how series of images
are structured and the significance those structures hold. Assignments help
develop students' use and understanding of sequential and serial imagery by
engaging narrative and non-narrative strategies in simple sequences, books,
zines, web-based projects, installations, videos, and projected presentations.
Winter 2015:
SCULPTURE 2001: SCULPTURAL CONCEPTS/MATERIALS/PROCESSES
This course provides an introduction to sculptural practice for students who haven't yet
gained experience building in three dimensions. The course covers general concepts of
sculpture and leads students to create sculpture through hands-on demonstrations with
material processes in the department woodshop, metal shop and/or mold-making studio.
This course is a prerequisite for intermediate and upper-level courses in the sculpture
department and gives the student skills with a range of materials and techniques.
Readings, slide presentations, discussions and critiques support the student's
intellectual development in this course.
Spring 2015:
PHOTO 4045: ART BRAINS BUSINESS SMARTS
Artists usually don't think in a linear manner -- there are no specific steps to
making art and certainly no rules. Business, on the other hand, is relatively
specific -- there are ways to do things and there definitely are rules to follow that
are both legal and financial. It's probably easier to teach an artist how to make a
business plan than teach someone with an MBA how to make. However, there are
many times in business when that intuitive/creative/non-linear capacity is exactly
what is required to make the right business decision. A union of the two
approaches is optimal. This is high-functioning right brain and left brain
integration. When an artist gains business skills, the possibilities multiply, both for
entrepreneurial ideas and for the understanding of how the business of the art
world itself operates. This is a pragmatic, real-world, hands-on course taught by
an artist and a lawyer, giving students the basic skills for thinking about life after
art school in all of its varied potentials. Artists who have either been successful in
a business or who have creatively used their business smarts to actualize a
conceptual idea will share with the class how they did it. This is a course that will
benefit students' careers and their understanding of how business smarts are an
essential tool for functioning in the 21st century art world.
PHOTO 3005: TOPICS IN PHOTOGRAPHY: PHOTO HISTORY FOR MAKERS
PHOTO 3005: TOPICS IN PHOTOGRAPHY: ACTIVISTS STRATEGIES

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PHOTO 2002: LARGE FORMAT CAMERA
This course introduces students to ideas and attitudes that are inherent and
possible with the large-format camera. The course covers traditional uses of
large-format equipment including portraiture, landscapes, still life, and architecture,
while developing a more personal viewpoint. The coursework covers sheet film,
the zone system, printing skills, related equipment, and individual projects using
the large-format image. Available for use are 4x5 and 8x10 view cameras.
Students are required to have their own light meters.
ART HISTORY 2622: 20TH
CENTURY PHOTOGRAPHY
This course studies the major artists and the development of modernism in
photography. Commercial and private publishing of photo books and essays, the
rise of global media systems, and the dialogue between art and photography are
the background for an exploration of the major trends since 1900.
Fall 2015:
PHOTO 4005: SENIOR SEMINAR
This is a 6 credit theory and practice course taught by two instructors, and is the
capstone class for students who are preparing for their BFA exhibition and graduation. A
portfolio of work must be submitted for permission to register for this class. Application
guidelines are sent to eligible students at pre-registration or can be found on the portal.
Similar to the Advanced Photography/Individual Projects, this is a highly demanding and
rigorous exit course aimed at the production of a strong portfolio, a successful BFA
show, and the sustainability of an art practice after graduation.
(Description for referenced Advanced Photography: Students propose projects that are
reviewed in individual and group critiques. Members of the class must be prepared to
work independently, have well formulated ideas, and be prepared to meet for group
discussions. This class is also meant to accommodate students who are preparing for
their BFA exhibitions by directing attention to professional practices such as refining
artist statements and resumes, understanding self promotion, understanding the
principles of editing a body of work, and of hanging or installing a show. A student whose
emphasis is photography or who is using photographically or lens-related ideas in his or
her BFA exhibition is expected to take this class and the Senior Seminar. This class is a
requirement in applying for an Endsley Fellowship that funds the BFA exhibition of 3-5
students per year. This class can be taken multiple times. Students must bring their
portfolios the first day of class.)
LANGUAGE 2001: SPANISH 1
An introductory course in reading, writing, and conversational Spanish.
SOCIAL SCIENCES 3770: TOPIC: GROUP & SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Why do we belong to groups and how do we function within them? This course surveys
three views of forming, maintaining, and interacting within groups from the theoretical
and applied works of Bion, von Bertanlanfy, Myers, Rogers, Gendlin, Freedman, and
Leonard. As participants of small to medium sized groups, students will gain insight
about their actions, and discover new ways to problem solve within self-selected and

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appointed groups. Topics covered include: systems theory, group identity and cohesion,
leadership, group configurations, conflict resolution, and action learning.
VISCOM 2011: BEGINNING TYPOGRAPHY
This course involves the use of typography to create meaning. Students experiment in
typographic composition, contrast, text, and value in combination with language.
Students learn the technical aspects of typography (specification and copyfitting) and are
exposed to historical developments in typography.
VISCOM 2012: TYPE TECHNOLOGIES LAB
This class is a co-requisite with Beginning Typography and closely couples with the
activities of this particular studio course. The lab components will introduce students to
page layout software (namely Adobe InDesign), its terminology and its specific functions,
its relationship to other software packages, techniques for composing and outputting
digitally, and the technical aspects of digital typography. This information will be
reinforced via tutorials and short design exercises which target specific topics and
techniques covered during lectures. As the semester progresses, this class also
functions as a working lab for the Beginning Typography studio class, allowing students
to work on the same project across both classes and receive technology assistance from
the instructor. This crossover reinforces the links between digital and non-digital
composing and terminologies.