PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Each summer in the lower level of Brown University’s List Art Building, table saws hum, welding sparks flash and tools ping and bang as students bring their ideas to life.
During the University’s seven-week summer session, the intensive Sculpture Foundation course immersed undergraduate students in three-dimensional design, structural logic and material exploration during four-hour studio sessions twice a week — plus many open-shop hours — as they learned hand- and power-tool safety, casting techniques, woodworking and metal fabrication.
For James Carr, a rising senior pursuing a double concentrations English and international and public affairs, the course offered an opportunity to develop skills and think critically in new ways.
“I’ve spent a lot of my time at Brown reading books, so it’s been a good change of pace to use my hands and create something more visible,” said Carr, a military veteran who served in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear reactor technician on submarines before enrolling at Brown. “I’ve been interested in learning more about how to use machine tools and the table saws and all of that, and this is a great opportunity to learn a lot of basics… If I were to have these tools available to me in the future, I’ll feel comfortable.”
The curriculum moves at a rapid pace, challenging students with three distinct sculptural prompts, according to longtime course instructor Daniel Stupar. Students from a wide range of disciplines enrolled this summer, including students concentrating in music, engineering, cognitive neuroscience and ecology.
“One of the reasons I enjoy teaching at Brown is because of all the mixed interests and the eclecticism that’s here,” said Stupar, an adjunct lecturer and assistant director of studio and safety for the Department of Visual Art. “In Sculpture Foundation, undergraduates make connections and hear different ways of approaching the same challenges.”
One prompt required students to explore scale, mechanics and surface texture using cardboard. This inspired rising sophomore Bri Pyle to create “Handrietta,” a giant cardboard hand reaching upward with fingers positioned in a rhythmic tap, while rising junior Gabby Picazo built a wood-textured pizza peel complete with laser-cut stenciled lettering to honor her family’s restaurant in Brooklyn, New York.
“I like learning how to use different tools, and it’s been really fun to problem-solve,” said Picazo, who is concentrating in environmental sciences and ecology. “When I’m taking math classes or biology classes, there’s a very linear pathway. But with this class, I’m working with my hands, and when something breaks or doesn’t work, I have to figure out, ‘OK, what do I do now?’”
The final project prompted students to explore themes of form and human existence. Aaron Tiong, a mechanical engineering concentrator, designed a dark, fantasy-themed chess set featuring Godzilla and a dragon. For the cardboard project, he built a giant, handheld folding fan that functioned mechanically.
“It’s fun to explore and build things with your hands,” said Tiong, a rising junior. “During the regular semester, I don’t have the time to take an art class.”
Throughout the summer course, the studio brimmed with intricate creations. Prompted to make a chair for the second project in the course, Carr constructed a hexagonal chair reminiscent of a honeycomb, while music concentrator Jack Budofsky assembled a chair out of metal pipes designed to house a reel-to-reel tape loop that would slow down under the weight of the sitter.
“I’m studying production recording, and I’ve been wanting to do some sort of installation-type work like this,” said Budofsky, a rising senior.
Beyond the hands-on engagement and development of technical skills, students noted the course’s emphasis on problem-solving and peer collaboration.
“We debug our projects together,” Picazo said. "It’s been really great getting feedback… For many of us, I think it’s a dream to not be in front of our computers.”
The students enrolled in the summer Sculpture Foundation and Studio Foundation courses are set to present a final showcase of their artwork from Sept. 18 to Oct. 1 in the List Art Building.
“The students developed an appreciation for how to take an idea in their head and make it come out like they want it to — but at the same time, they learned to improvise with what the material allowed,” Stupar said.