ACE Art seeks to bring together a group of students who are committed to making art for a four-week session dedicated to exploring their creativity. Professional Los Angeles-based artists will mentor students, while they develop skills and ideas to deepen their relationship to art. Students will focus on two art media as well as experiment with other art forms to inform their process. Along with making and talking about art, students will have the opportunity to experience visiting artist presentations, meet working artists in their studios and see current exhibitions in Los Angeles.

Suzanne Wright, Visual Arts Chair

Drawing and Painting
Students will improve their drafting and painting skills by being exposed to a variety of drawing and painting techniques. Students will explore the articulation of form and space and experiment with texture and design to formulate meaning in their work. Students will have a series of drawings and paintings to exhibit when they complete the program.

Sculpture
Students will have the opportunity to experiment with a variety of materials and techniques for the construction of 3-dimmensional objects. Students will learn about the fundamental concerns of sculpture today, such as form, scale, texture and context, while producing a series of sculptures.

Film and Video
Students will be exposed to the craft and technology of filmmaking by planning, shooting and editing their own short video works or films. Students will explore storyboarding, learn about the mechanics of the camera and develop their computer editing skills.

A Film By ACE Students, Jonah Lipton and Ethan Bleach

Photography
Both black and white darkroom processes and digital photography will be available to students to develop their photographic knowledge and skills. We will explore all genres of photography as well as key concepts of framing, light and content. Students will achieve a focused portfolio of images by the end of the program.

Medium #1 and Medium #2
ACE Art students have the opportunity to explore two media of their choice from Drawing and Painting, Film and Video, Photography and Sculpture. In both classes students will be prompted by projects designed to address and develop each student’s skill levels and interests. Classes will strike a balance between technical instruction and the exploration of ideas presented by each medium. Students are welcome to combine work from both classes to develop multimedia projects and experiment with new approaches to making art.

Methods, Meanings and Materials
We will spend two hours a week looking and talking about art. Students will present their work and discuss the art of their classmates to develop a dialogue of critique. We will explore the work of artists from different historical contexts as well as artists working today. Students will be able to focus on artists whose work pertains specifically to their own interests.

L.A. Art Series
Students will spend three afternoons of the program experiencing art in Los Angeles up close. The first afternoon a visiting artist will present their work and give a demonstration of how they work with a specific material. The second, students will get a first hand look at what it means to be an artist in Los Angels by going to the studio of a working artist. The third afternoon students will visit the current exhibition at MOCA.

All School Elective
Two hours a week will be dedicated to a series of courses that are available to all disciplines of the school. Art students will have the opportunity to take dance, theater and music electives during this time as well as stay in the art program. The arts courses will be short project based classes that will emphasize collaboration between artists and students in other fields.