Thursday, October 1, 2015

Fall 2015 Syllabus + Schedule

ILL 265 – History of Illustration
Syllabus - Fall 2015


Course information: ILL 265, Shemin Auditorium, Shaffer
Sec. 001,Tuesday, 6:30pm – 9:00pm

Instructors: 

  • Tim Coolbaugh
Office Hours: Rm. 357 Shaffer
Tuesdays 5:00pm – 6:00pm (by appointment)
315-455-5693
mailbox in main office (102 Shaffer) – Adjunct Folder

  • (TA) Joe Murphy
Office Hours:  Rm. 308 Shaffer
 Mondays 9am – 12pm
 Tuesdays 12pm – 4pm
315-447-5830
jmmurp03@syr.edu



COURSE DESCRIPTION AND RATIONALE:
Starting with early political and decorative prints, etchings, and wood engravings from the Civil War Era and the impact of full-color printing processes, this class is an exploration of illustration’s influence on, and reflection of, American culture. Relevant aspects pertaining to illustration’s role in our history will bridge past and present to help inform students of connections between traditional and contemporary directions in visual communications.

Each week a lecture and slide presentation will introduce, explore, and evaluate the history, basic functions, practical applications, supporting ideas, and finished artwork involved in the field of illustration. Students are expected to take organized notes, and invited and encouraged to add relevant input.


COURSE MATERIALS:
• The Illustrator in America 1860-2000 by Walt Reed
This is the required text for this class. It can be purchased at the Syracuse University Bookstore or the Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63rd St., New York, NY 10021 (212/838-2560).




TESTS:
There will be a mid-term and final exam, which will combine for two-thirds of the grade for this class. Both are multiple choice tests on the information covered in each half of the semester. The mid-term test will cover material from the 1800’s to the 1940’s. The final exam will cover materials from the 1950’s to present.



ASSIGNMENTS:
Research paper due dates will be assigned. This paper counts for one-third of your final grade. Meet your deadlines! Being late will lower your grade! Student work may be reproduced for use by the instructor.


RESOURCES:
  1. Illustration is a research field. Get to know what’s available to aid you. Bird Library has a wealth of relevant visual resources on the 4th floor. Don't ignore the Moon Library at SUNY ESF (behind the Carrier Dome). The main Onondaga County Library, in the downtown Galleria Mall, has design and illustration annuals, videos, and art books, which can help immensely. 

  1. In connection with their educational mission statement, the Society of Illustrators, 128 E.63rd. St., New York, NY (212/838-2560) has a library, open to students of the field of illustration as well as professions, on the fourth floor, which is an important resource for books and periodicals on illustration and related fields. Books and catalogues on the field of illustration are available through their bookstore. Original artwork is on display in the Society’s two main galleries, the third floor Member’s Gallery, and the dining room’s ongoing display of original illustrations from their permanent collection. 


POLICIES:
  1. ATTENDANCE- Attendance is mandatory. Each time you are tardy it will count as 1/3 absence.  Three tardies will count as an absence.  One absence for the semester will be tolerated; however, you are still responsible for information presented in class (See "Grading"). Lateness or skipping out early will count towards an absence and will lower your grade. Two absences, for any reason, will lower your final grade by one letter grade. You will FAIL this course in the event of third absence! When you come into the classroom you will collect a piece of paper from either me or Joe.  Print and sign your name on the paper and date it.  At the end of the class you will hand them back to us.  Only one piece of paper will be handed out and collected for each student.  It has to be the paper you were given at the beginning of class. 



  1. GRADING- Grading is based on attitude, attendance, research paper, mid-term and final tests. There are no make-up tests. If you miss a test, an extensive research paper will be substituted. Presentation of assignments reflects attitude and is part of the grade. Grades are not given. They are earned and recorded according to your efforts. The final grade will be an average of all grades earned during the semester. If you have any concerns about your progress at any time during the semester, please contact your instructor. 



INCOMPLETES:
Incompletes will be granted only in extenuating circumstances. If you have a valid medical excuse or family emergency, and you've completed the bulk of course work for the semester, an incomplete is possible. You are responsible for initiating the paper work for an incomplete.


NEEDS: 
Any student who needs special consideration in the course due to a disability of any sort, please make an appointment to discuss accommodations. 

Students who are in need of disability-related academic accommodations must register with the Office of Disability Services (ODS), 804 University Avenue, Rm.309, 315/443-4498. Students with authorized disability-related accommodations should provide a current Accommodations Authorization Letter from ODS to the instructor and review those accommodations with the instructor. Accommodations, such as exam administration, are not provided retroactively: therefore, planning for accommodations as early as possible is necessary. For further information, see the ODS website, http://disabilityservices.syr.edu/.




This Syllabus is subject to change as needs arise.



ILL 265 – History of Illustration
Schedule – Fall 2015


9/01 Introduction: Syllabus, schedule, tests, research paper.



9/08 1700’s to turn of the 20th century 
• The Revolution and Civil War illustrations to the turn of the century publishing. The invention of photographic plate separation enables full color printing from paintings, ushering in the Golden Age of Illustration. America’s ideal sweetheart, the Gibson Girl, influences turn-of-the-century culture.

• Wood Block Prints, Four Color Printing, Felix Octavius Carr Darley, Winslow Homer, Frederic Sackrider Remington, Edwin Austin Abbey, Charles Dana Gibson, A.B.Frost, Howard Pyle and the Brandwine School, etc.

9/15 1900’s – 1910
• Howard Pyle’s Brandywine School dominates the publishing field. N.C.Wyeth illustrates for Charles Schribner’s Sons’ classics series.

• Joseph Clement Coll, Newell Convers Wyeth, Harvey Dunn, Maxfield Parrish, The Red Rose Girls, Jessie Wilcox Smith, Violet Oakley, Elizabeth Shippen Green, Frank E. Schoonover, Winsor McCay, the Golden Age of Illustration, magazine illustrations for: Harper’s, Scribner’s, McCall’s, Collier’s, etc.

film: Frank Schoonover

9/29 1910 – 1920
• Illustration helps fuel American patriotism during World War I.

• The Amory show, Franklin Booth, Coles Phillips, The Eight (The Ashcan School), Henry Patrick Raleigh, James Montgomery Flagg’s Uncle Sam, Howard Chandler Christy, Charles Livingston Bull, Arthur William Brown, Arthur Ignatius Keller, Rose O’Neil, Walter Biggs, etc.

Film: Winsor McKay’s “Gertie”







9/25 1920 – 1930
• Post - WWI economy booms into the Roaring Twenties. Illustration reflects the up-beat attitude and elegance of the era.

• Joseph Christian Leyendecker, John Held Jr., Dean Cornwell, Saul Tepper, Neysa Mc Mein, James Allen St. John, College Humor, The New Yorker, The Saturday Evening Post, etc.


10/06 1930 – 1940
• The Great Depression brings an end to the frivolous twenties. Except for a few top illustrators, the market suffers. Pulps rise in popularity. WPA helps artists survive through government projects.

• Mead Schaeffer, George Petty (The Petty Girl), Norman Rockwell, Andrew Loomis, Haddon Sundblom, John LaGatta, McClelland Barclay, Peter Helck, Boris Artzybasheff, Tamara de Lempicka, etc.



10/13 1940 – 1950
• World War II ends the Depression. The post-war boom puts illustrators in demand by publishers and advertisers.

• John Gannam, Tom Lovell, Ben Stahl, Al Dorne, Robert Fawcett, Stevan Dohanos, Al Parker, Ben Shahn, John Whitcomb, etc.

Film: ‘They Drew Fire’.

Review for mid-term


10/20 Mid-Term Test


10/27 1950 – 1960
• Starting as a decade of growth for advertising and editorial illustration, by 1960 television was pushing the field in unforeseen directions.

• The Seven Sisters (McCall’s, Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Seventeen, Woman’s Day), Al Hirschfeld, James Bama, James Avati, Austin Briggs, Joe De Mers, Coby Whitmore, Robert McCall, etc.





11/03 1960 – 1970
• Illustration for major national magazines starts to fade as paperbacks expand their market. The Vietnam War divides the country. Many illustrators move to western topics and gallery representation.

• Space Program, Robert Weaver, Harvey Schmidt, Bernie Fuchs, Lorraine Fox, Mort Kunstler, Ted Coconis, Paul Calle, Reynold Brown, Robert Shore, Robert McGinnis, Milton Glaser, Seymour Chwast, Frank McCarthy, Don Weller, Jack Davis, David Levine, Frank Frazetta, Harvey Dinnerstein, Max Ginsburg, etc.



11/10 1970 – 1980
• Magazines reduce size and illustrations while specialty publications expand their markets. Sci-fi and fantasy subjects gain wide popularity.

• Mark English, Fred Otnes, Bob Peak, Allen Cober, Ed Sorel, James Spanfeller, Jack Unruh, Barron Storey, Burt Silverman, Gene Szafran, Paul Davis, Dick Hess, Doug Johnson, Wilson McLean, Brad Holland, Arnold Roth, Bob Cunningham, etc.

Research papers may be turned in before this class for early review



11/17 1980 – 1990
• The Graphic Novel rises from comics to give a new, powerful voice to social concerns. Illustrators look back for influences.

• The Luminaires, David Grove, Robert Hunt, Kasu Sano.
Marshall Arisman, Barron Storey, Bill Sienkiewicz, Frank Miller, Greg Spalenka, Bob Heindel, John Collier, Skip Liepke, etc.
Research Papers due by today’s class


11/24 Thanksgiving Break

12/01 1990 – 2000
• Children’s Books take on a new sophistication as an outlet for illustrators with traditional to avant-garde approaches along with the increased interest in Sci-fi/Fantasy and children’s books as source material for films. The computer gains popularity as the new tool for illustration. 

• Anita Kunz, Chris Payne, Gary Kelly, Mark Summers, Peter de Seve, Brian Ajhar, Steve Brodner, Joe Ciardiello, Kinuko Craft, Teresa Fascillano, Vincent Di Fate, Dan Giancola (Donato), Greg Manchess, John Rush, etc.

• Children’s Book Illustration:, Leo and Diane Dillon, Jerry Pinkney, Charles Santore, Chris van Allsburg, etc.

• Early Computer: Chris Spollen, Nancy Stahl, Danny Palavin, William Low.


12/08 2000 – 2010
• Contemporary applications of illustration in print and the entertainment industry’s uses of graphic novels, storyboards, animation, and set design.. Illustration in licensing of popular culture images and self developed projects.

• Sterling Hundley, Sam Weber, Frank Stockton, Jillian Tamaki, James Jean, Yuko Shimizu, Tomer Hanuka, Victo Ngai, Andy Friedman, etc


Review for final.


12/15 Final Test.




This schedule and contents may change according to the needs of the class and scope of the material covered.