Study Abroad Art Programs in Greece

The Aegean Center for the Fine Arts:
Study art abroad in Greece. The Aegean Center for the Fine Arts in Paros, Greece, is an independent institution offering semester-long and full year study abroad courses in photography, painting, art history, printmaking, singing, literature and creative writing to university students in the United States, Canada, Europe and Worldwide. Courses are offered in two semester-long sessions (Spring & Fall) per year.

Drawing:
In drawing classes, both with the model and in basic drawing, we strive to teach the student to see three dimensional form clearly and to describe it on a two dimensional surface using the traditional methodology of the western world. Using various exercises we help our minds to sort out all the incoming information into clear and readable lines, using known technical means that help us to express the feeling which we gather on viewing the world. We emphasize proportion, balance, weight and mass, seeking also to find our own voice in translating from one world to the other. Much of the work done is in the studio but there are also trips into the surrounding countryside to discover what nature at her most exuberant can give us. The student will use pencil, charcoal, pen and ink and perhaps pastel and watercolor depending on the group. As all artists can improve their drawing skills, no matter how advanced, we consider these classes a necessity for all studio artists.

Figure Drawing:
Working through a series of exercises which enhance the student’s ability to ‘see’ and reconstruct the human form in two-dimensional space, this class hones the students’ drawing skills and introduces the vocabulary of value, line, weight and mass, volume, proportion, light and shadow, and composition. Using a variety of media the student is challenged to draw accurately, confidently and expressively. A full use of different media expands the students understanding of composition and uniqueness of expression.

Painting:
Painting classes are developed around basics of oil painting. Because oils allow a student to be most careful and attentive to color, and given the fact that the structure of an oil painting is complex, we believe it is an ideal teaching medium. We believe it is necessary for students to learn these fundamentals before handling acrylics or other painting media. With careful observation and attention to nature, the student will proceed through a series of exercises designed to enlarge the painting vocabulary, to expand vision, and increase technical ability. More advanced students will develop a program which will be organized in conjunction with the instructor. All students are exposed to the history of painting through use of reproductions and will enter discussions on the technical aspects of various past masters. Painting students will be assigned studios in which they will be expected to put in many hours, aside from classroom time. During the autumn Italian program, students will see and study great masterworks first hand.

Black &White Silver Photography:
Introductory and advanced levels are offered. The introductory level comprises the basics of camera, film, exposure control, and darkroom procedure including the printing of black and white negatives in formats up to 5x5 inches. Technique is emphasized as a means of developing a personal vision. Advanced students are accepted on the basis of work samples which should be submitted at the time of application. Advanced level work includes the fine-tuning of techniques and understanding of materials which allow photographers more fluency in their work. Our darkroom is equipped with the excellent German Kaiser Enlarging Systems. Each black-and-white enlarger is appointed with Kaiser dichroic multi-grade variable light source for unsurpassed variable contrast control, as well as Nikon and Schneider Kreuznach Companon-S enlarging lenses. Our lab system is designed to produce only archival quality output. Advanced study is strictly individual. Color theory and technique will be discussed.

Digital Photography / Digital Darkroom:
You do not need a digital camera to participate in this class. All image processing is done on Macintosh computers using the most recent version of Adobe Photoshop. The core of the class revolves around the fundamentals of the 'digital work-flow' specific to digital photography. It is not a Photoshop tricks or how-to class. The inkjet printers and ink sets the Center is currently using are what we feel to be state-of-the-art systems. We are using Epson inkjet technology with Generationsª pigmented archival color Inks, as well as the highest quality black & white digital solution ever offered for digital processing, carbon-black archival quad & hex-tone inks. The system we use increases the optical resolution of our EPSON printers by replacing the EPSON software in favor of our specialized proprietary broad-band microweave producing continuous tone output without visible dots. All color photography is taught using the digital darkroom and medium, as mentioned above in Digital Photography. Colour theory and colour management are heavily stressed as is total system calibration.

Art History: Classical Greece and Rome:
Slide lectures and seminars are presented on a regular basis by staff members, with emphasis on Greek Art from the Cycladic through the Byzantine period. Student requests for specific lecture topics are welcome, and individual courses of study can also be arranged. Just walking about Paros is an education in classical art and literature. And after a long morning spent at the Acropolis, and hours spent at other ancient sites (including on Paros), you can understand the meaning of Greek statues, of Greek tragedy, and of classicism. The course includes 12 two-hour slide lectures on Greek art from Cycladic through Byzantine, and detailed on-site study in the Acropolis and Archaeological Museum of Athens. In our home base of Paros, thorough tours are taken of Paros' Archaeological Museum and of the Delion, the Asclepion, and the ancient quarries. The Roman Art lectures includes a guided tour of the Roman Forum, two slide lectures, and a tour of the Vatican's Roman museum (fall session only); and on Paros, the famed Byzantine Church of a Hundred Doors is much studied.

Art History: Photographic History:
A series of lectures introduces the early development of photography, tracing the growth of its many aspects in an historical context. After three general background lectures each session is devoted to the work of one major artist. The lectures encourage the student to see all the possibilities of the medium and understand the role of the photographic image in daily life, as well as absorbing it into his own work. The artists studied in any given term may vary depending upon the needs and interests of the participating students.

Printmaking:
All aspects of the intaglio print will be explored. Instruction includes the application of hard and soft grounds and aquatint, scraping and burnishing, drypoint, inking, wiping and printing the plate. Printmaking classes take the student through the mono-print technique which leads to an understanding of the print process, press handling, paper usage and aesthetic exploration. Following this the student can make an etching on zinc and learn to handle acids, aquatint, soft ground and hard ground application and dry point. Lithography is not available.

Creative Writing:
The Aegean Center's Writing Workshop is, precisely, a workshop, where students receive encouragement and criticism from their peers and from the instructor. Students submit samples of poetry or fiction to the instructor for discussion. Assignments and technical exercises are given as needed, and appropriate readings are discussed. Expository writing is also offered. The workshop format is used for group discussion, readings, and analysis. Since the workshop is small, students are asked to have a new piece or a revision for every class; if the class is large (never more than ten, usually six or seven), then at least once a week. Students who write more than can be discussed in class meet privately with the teacher. In class, student works are discussed in detail, and specific suggestions for revisions are always offered. Exercises are given to students who wish to learn specific skills, and also to students who find it difficult to write creatively but remain committed. In addition, short readings of classic poems (sometimes stories or other texts – but nothing in translation) are offered as examples, and are analyzed in class. Specific techniques – e.g. rhyme and meter in poetry, narrative strategies in prose fiction -- are discussed and exercises given when needed or requested. Guest readings happen during the semester, and many poets have read at the Aegean Center. The course concludes with a public reading, always well attended.

Classical Literature:
Courses in literature are designed and offered individually and in small groups, ranging from Classical Greek to contemporary. When you study the Odyssey while looking at the Aegean Sea, where Odysseus actually passed on his way south from Delos, the stories, themes, and images of Ancient Greece come alive as they cannot in a classroom, and seem natural. Twelve classes in literature are included. These usually include Homer, Archilochos, Sappho, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, and Plato. All works are read complete and much discussed.

The Art of Singing:
Three levels of vocal training are offered:
- The Beginning Level
- The Intermediate/Advanced Level
- The Expert Level