<p>So I am a prospective student (applying RD) interested in majoring in the sciences (probably physics or maybe neuroscience/cognitive science). I read up on UChicago's Core, and it all sounds great. I think breadth is probably just as important as depth.</p>
<p>I was wondering if it is possible to take a studio art class to fulfill the arts core requirement? I've always loved art, and took it for 2 years in high school. However, I didn't do AP art or anything like that, and am not planning on going into the field. Science and art don't really mix, but could it happen?</p>
<p>I don’t think you can take studio art as a core requirement. You might be still interested in the art (like painting art, not arts in general) courses if you took art in high school. I’m taking a music class which is not where we play insturments. It is extremely exciting to be able to discuss the variability of perception of music and social context on the composition of music with other peers. These “arts” courses are meant to get you to learn how to think and communicate with an arts focus. I find it equally as thrilling as performing music.</p>
<p>Do the “Visual Language” courses involve art production? It says that studio work and critical discussions make up the courses. How much of the course is creation? Does anyone have any experience with this?</p>
<p>Also, thanks @sa0209 for the help! I’m really open to an art history/analysis course. I took AP Euro, and really loved the art history aspect of the course. I just wanted to see if UChicago had any of those creation opportunities (just for the sake of my curiosity) in studio art. Thanks for the link to the admissions website as well!</p>
<p>sa0209 is wrong. Read the course descriptions. A number of the courses that meet the Art requirement are substantially studio courses. It’s true that there’s no performance-based music course in the Core offerings, but there are courses that focus on actual practice of drawing/painting, sculpture, film, and acting (alongside other courses that are more theoretical or historical).</p>
<p>I am a current freshman who is taking Visual Language: On images. I also attended the first two classes for Visual Language: Ob Objects and took 4 years of art, including IB Visual Arts, in High School so I believe I can offer some insight.</p>
<p>The amount of studio work in those classes is extremely significant, more so than in my high school classes. In high school, I was required to keep an art journal with research in art history and formal visual investigations, experimentation and analysis in addition to producing work. Here there is essentially no written component except for two short aesthetic reviews per week on two pieces of art. The other non-studio part is the group critiques where the entire class gathers round someone’s art piece and discuss it, which does take a fair amount of class time.</p>
<p>If you are more curious about the course in general I can give you an idea of the amount and nature of work I do in this class. The particular course I do is on the exploration of artistic mark making ideas on two dimensional surfaces. It is not about technical skill in making realistic paintings or how to use perspective etc. Like the music classes, it trains you to think about in new and complex ways, from how art can be used as a form of narrative, to the effect of representational objects vs abstraction etc. Visual Language: On Objects starts out even more conceptual than On Images since it deals with more abstract concepts such as “measurement” and touch but the syllabus of both is designed so that by the end, one will gain the same ideas about art in the end. Note that all, if not almost all further art courses such as more traditional course like “Drawing” or “Introduction to Painting” require a Visual Languages course as a perquisite.</p>
<p>And no need to worry, though we are thinking about art in highly complex and new ways, everything is grounded solidly in the art production and experimentation. I am required to do 30 mins of drawing a day as visual experimentation in addition to doing art exercises and studio independent work.</p>
<p>BTW about your love of art - If you do get in and enroll here note that you will have plenty opportunity to actually take art classes for fun. You can take up to 48 courses here in total after 4 years, 15 or less will be on core requirements depending on your AP credit, and mostly approx 12-15 will be for your major (physics is 14 or 15 I think). That leaves you with 18 courses to do whatever you want. You can even double major in art and physics and still have a couple of courses left for random stuff.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the response @zhangvict. It’s great to hear the experiences of someone actually taking the Visual Language courses. It’s awesome that UChicago will allow me to combine such diverse interests such as physics and art. I think there is a really great (is liberal the correct word?) atmosphere there that keeps on making it move higher on my list of “will apply” schools. Thanks again for that amazing insight!</p>