After the first week of spring semester and I can say with a high degree of certainty that my main activity this semester will be reading. The amount of reading, analysis, and writing expected in graduate school hasn’t been surprising, but it’s still A LOT. There is a certain amount of overload that comes with the constant exposure to so many ideas and perspectives. Luckily so much reading, thinking, and writing is balanced with discussions, interactions, and processing that happens during class time. I decided to change directions a bit this semester and take more classes outside of the Art and Art History department to develop different areas of interest that I hope to include in my Thesis next year. My decision to take more classes in the Business Department means that I’m not taking any full semester studio art classes. I’m continuing my ongoing work outside of classes and hope to work with faculty and visiting artist studio to support my practice. I’m not sure how this approach will work out but I’m sure my coursework will spur many new investigations and insights. Without further ado, here is a round up of my courses this semester:

21st Century Aesthetics

21st Century Aesthetics is a seminar course that examines the history and theory underlying new directions in the arts. The discussions during the first couple weeks of class have been really engaging and thought provoking. I’m excited that many of my classmates are Photography MFA students. It’s fascinating to hear diverse perspectives from students outside the program to adds to the scope of the discussion. One big benefit to me is that Columbia offers a wide variety of programs that allow for the cross pollination of ideas.

Leadership in Arts & Media Management

Leadership in Arts and Media Management explores leadership theories, research, practices, and the skills/techniques needed to develop leadership capabilities. I’m not going to lie, I took this class because I heard the professor was amazing. On the first day of class she had a playlist of music playing in the background and fidget toy available for students to use during class. This class definitely has a very different vibe than most grad school classes I’ve taken but that’s not at all a bad thing. The professor’s passion and energy is really infectious and I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes and how it fits into my practice.

Managing & Licensing Intellectual Property

Managing and Licensing Intellectual Property examines the latest issues relating to the management and licensing of intellectual property in the arts. I’m really excited about this one because of my fascination with Intellectual Property and Fair Use. Over the last two years I’ve written several papers on the topic and this course offers a deep dive into the ins and outs of IP. The professor is super high energy and the class has a Socratic method format. The readings for this class are quite technical and legal, but through discussion the professor helps breakdown the complexities.

Bookbinding

Bookbinding is a six week course taught by one of my favorite faculty/staff members, Brad Freeman. Brad is not only a master pressman and amazing artist, he is also a mentor and kind generous human being. I take every opportunity to learn from him and value his thoughtful insights. This course will be exploring various binding techniques as a methods of investigation that stress adaptation of structure to content. I really enjoy these half-semester classes that allow for intensive all day class sessions. I already have a couple ideas for pieces that I’ll be prepping prior to the start of this course.