fine arts

Programme Information

Duration: 1.5 years (3 semesters)

Award: Master of Arts Fine Arts

Mode: Full-time.

Intake: January 2013 Intake

The Master of Arts Fine Arts cultivates a teaching and learning methodology that values artistic practice. It strives for a balance between contemporary art practice within your own socio-cultural milieu and theoretical discourses around it. The Programme also underscores the beliefs that through studio experimentation and innovation, it is the role of the artist in research that generates and produces individual s elf-discipline, knowledge and discoveries that is pertinent to the realisation of artistic language/ vocabulary. You will acquire knowledge of the comprehensive critical, theoretical and historical discourses that inform contemporary artistic practice.

You will receive quality education through rigorous training that integrates research and practice, develop your abilities to conceptualise creatively, reflect upon your practice, and grow your individual and collaborative skills.

The Programme enables a diversity of contemporary arts practice that includes Drawing, Graphic Novel, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Site Specific, and Time-Based Art. Candidates can locate their research area within the context of their mode of expression or choose to work with an inter-disciplinary approach.

Teaching Methods and Assessments

The Programme is delivered through a range of learning approaches that include lectures, workshops, seminars, group discussions and critiques, student presentations and individual tutorials. These approaches support the Masters candidates as they work towards a Final Research Project comprising of an exhibition of artworks and a supporting document in the form of an exegesis. Candidates are expected to be self-motivated, to engage in independent visual and theoretical research, as well as to develop the ability to evaluate their own work and to expand their awareness the critical developments in contemporary art. Two feedback reports from each of the studio and exegesis supervisors are provided per semester on a quarterly basis. In the area of assessments, feedback reports from internal and external assessors are included in within the 3 semesters.

Assessments: Assessment is an integral part of the learning process, and will be formative and diagnostic as well as summative and evaluative, providing feedback to students wherever appropriate. Read more about assessments here.

Research At LASALLE

Postgraduate Seminars

In addition to the Programme curriculum, you be expected to attend regular postgraduate seminars that as well as developing you understanding of research methodology will also encourage interdisciplinary dialogue within the postgraduate community across the College. Sessions will examine key issues in contemporary art practice, both regionally and internationally.

Studio-based Programmes

Postgraduate candidates enrolled in studio-based programmes will be provided with studio-spaces for the duration appropriate to their candidature.

Modules

Semester 1 & 2

Studio Practice 1 and 2;
Research and Concept Development 1 and 2

Semester 1 encourages you to develop a rigorous research and studio practice in tandem with the opportunity to conceptualise, analyse, and evaluate ideas. Within a supportive studio environment, a variety of components and theoretical approaches appropriate for the study and exploration of fine arts will be systematically initiated. You will be exposed to various processes and methodology involved in your research area and practice. You will also be communicating your research topic through writing. Exposure to academic conventions via workshops is provided to develop autonomous research strategies and you are given extensive freedom and opportunity to realise projects in the medium or media associated with your nominated specialisation. As indicated above, the named awards – Masters of Arts Fine Arts – provide indicative boundaries that frame the context of the candidates' study in studio practice. Care will be taken to ensure that individual learning strategies retain and maintain the appropriate focus to their nominated expressions of media.

In Semester 2, the Programme continues the philosophy of being flexible and not being unnecessarily prescriptive. Your knowledge and skills set introduced in Semester One will be strengthened alongside the means by and through which individual and collaborative skills are enhanced to enable original, confident and intelligible artistic practice.

You will elaborate on formal techniques or references in relation to studio practice while simultaneously work towards developing of a substantial body of work. As exposure to a postgraduate community and culture increases, a wider understanding of the relationship between studio practice, research and professional activity is enhanced, thus enabling you to articulate your research topics more cogently with your practice.

Semester 3:

Final Research Project

Semester 3 focuses on the culmination of knowledge and articulation of current concerns vis-à-vis an exhibition and consolidated papers in the form of an exegesis. In this semester, critical objectivity of relevant works in both studio practice and written material is needed/crucial. A strong correlation between your proposal and the exhibited works should be evident. Both independent and collaborative aspects of working as well as flexible strategies to problem solving are significant criteria in this final stage of the Programme.

Faculty Members

Dr. Ian Woo
Programme Leader

Ian Woo has exhibited both internally and locally, with acquisitions of his works by major institutions like UBS, Singapore Management University, Victorian Tapestry Workshop, United Overseas Bank, Tomio Koyoma Gallery in Japan, ABN AMRO and Mint Museum of Craft & Design. His involvement in research was on the language of abstract painting to possess the ability to express notions of a continuous presence. His ideas of momentary paintings are influenced by speech and contemporary music compositions. He has held 5 individual exhibitions and he is seen as influential artist with works/from his output of paintings that pushes the envelope of painting as a reflexive language of shifting representations between memory and time. His interdisciplinary practice includes his fascination with making improvisational music, where he is seen as a participator, playing the bass guitar with several improvised noise rock outfits, namely I\D and Path Integral.

Adeline Kueh
Senior Lecturer

Adeline's previous stints include being the Director of the Intermedia Lab with the Office of Research & Creative Industries, as well as Director of Studies, Art Theory & Art History in the college. She had also established the MA Art History Programme, the first online programme (with a Southeast Asian angle) for LASALLE. Rooted in cultural studies, her research interests include notions of monstrosity within Southeast Asian contexts, smart fashion, architecture and the future of cinema. She has chaired and presented at a number of cultural studies conferences in UK, Australia, Finland and Hungary. Adeline has also produced installations and interventionist projects within the collaborative MatriXial Technologies in Germany, the Netherlands and USA. Presently, she is also a consultant for a number of research, lifestyle and design projects, including being a consultant lecturer for the MA Art Business Programme with Sotheby's Institute of Art, Singapore.

Entry Requirements

This Programme will be of particular relevance to candidates who wish to embark on but is not limited to a career as fine artists, in academic institutions, museums or art galleries. In addition, successful graduates will also be able to find employment as art critics and writers. The Programme also aims, through its commitment to excellence, to further the discourses surrounding the contemporary art and art historical contexts through research and practice conducted by candidates in the Programme.

• Bachelor's degree and demonstrable ability to pursue discourse and research in contemporary issues in fine arts;
• A satisfactory score in written and spoken English OR a minimum of IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL iBT 100 for applicants from countries where English is not the first language or whose qualifications are obtained from institutions where English is not the medium of instruction;
• Portfolio: At least 10 pieces of original 2-D or 3-D work (actual or documented) that demonstrate your creative practice. Time-based or performance-based works should be presented in video or digital format;
• Research Proposal: Two-page research proposal indicating your research aims and objectives, proposed outcomes, and brief details of research methods and materials you wish to use;
• Statement of Purpose: 500-word statement of your reasons for pursuing Master's studies, your suitability and expected benefits from the Programme.

Programme Information

Duration: 1.5 years (3 semesters)

Award: Master of Arts Fine Arts

Mode: Full-time.

Intake: August 2012 intake & January 2013 Intake

The Master of Arts Fine Arts cultivates a teaching and learning methodology that values artistic practice. It strives for a balance between contemporary art practice within your own socio-cultural milieu and theoretical discourses around it. The Programme also underscores the beliefs that through studio experimentation and innovation, it is the role of the artist in research that generates and produces individual s elf-discipline, knowledge and discoveries that is pertinent to the realisation of artistic language/ vocabulary. You will acquire knowledge of the comprehensive critical, theoretical and historical discourses that inform contemporary artistic practice.

You will receive quality education through rigorous training that integrates research and practice, develop your abilities to conceptualise creatively, reflect upon your practice, and grow your individual and collaborative skills.

The Programme enables a diversity of contemporary arts practice that includes Drawing, Graphic Novel, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Site Specific, and Time-Based Art. Candidates can locate their research area within the context of their mode of expression or choose to work with an inter-disciplinary approach.

Teaching Methods and Assessments

The Programme is delivered through a range of learning approaches that include lectures, workshops, seminars, group discussions and critiques, student presentations and individual tutorials. These approaches support the Masters candidates as they work towards a Final Research Project comprising of an exhibition of artworks and a supporting document in the form of an exegesis. Candidates are expected to be self-motivated, to engage in independent visual and theoretical research, as well as to develop the ability to evaluate their own work and to expand their awareness the critical developments in contemporary art. Two feedback reports from each of the studio and exegesis supervisors are provided per semester on a quarterly basis. In the area of assessments, feedback reports from internal and external assessors are included in within the 3 semesters.

Assessments: Assessment is an integral part of the learning process, and will be formative and diagnostic as well as summative and evaluative, providing feedback to students wherever appropriate. Read more about assessments here.

Research At LASALLE

Postgraduate Seminars

In addition to the Programme curriculum, you be expected to attend regular postgraduate seminars that as well as developing you understanding of research methodology will also encourage interdisciplinary dialogue within the postgraduate community across the College. Sessions will examine key issues in contemporary art practice, both regionally and internationally.

Studio-based Programmes

Postgraduate candidates enrolled in studio-based programmes will be provided with studio-spaces for the duration appropriate to their candidature.

Modules

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Semester 1 & 2

Studio Practice 1 and 2;
Research and Concept Development 1 and 2

Semester 1 encourages you to develop a rigorous research and studio practice in tandem with the opportunity to conceptualise, analyse, and evaluate ideas. Within a supportive studio environment, a variety of components and theoretical approaches appropriate for the study and exploration of fine arts will be systematically initiated. You will be exposed to various processes and methodology involved in your research area and practice. You will also be communicating your research topic through writing. Exposure to academic conventions via workshops is provided to develop autonomous research strategies and you are given extensive freedom and opportunity to realise projects in the medium or media associated with your nominated specialisation. As indicated above, the named awards – Masters of Arts Fine Arts – provide indicative boundaries that frame the context of the candidates' study in studio practice. Care will be taken to ensure that individual learning strategies retain and maintain the appropriate focus to their nominated expressions of media.

In Semester 2, the Programme continues the philosophy of being flexible and not being unnecessarily prescriptive. Your knowledge and skills set introduced in Semester One will be strengthened alongside the means by and through which individual and collaborative skills are enhanced to enable original, confident and intelligible artistic practice.

You will elaborate on formal techniques or references in relation to studio practice while simultaneously work towards developing of a substantial body of work. As exposure to a postgraduate community and culture increases, a wider understanding of the relationship between studio practice, research and professional activity is enhanced, thus enabling you to articulate your research topics more cogently with your practice.

Semester 3:

Final Research Project

Semester 3 focuses on the culmination of knowledge and articulation of current concerns vis-à-vis an exhibition and consolidated papers in the form of an exegesis. In this semester, critical objectivity of relevant works in both studio practice and written material is needed/crucial. A strong correlation between your proposal and the exhibited works should be evident. Both independent and collaborative aspects of working as well as flexible strategies to problem solving are significant criteria in this final stage of the Programme.

Faculty Members

Dr. Ian Woo
Programme Leader

Ian Woo has exhibited both internally and locally, with acquisitions of his works by major institutions like UBS, Singapore Management University, Victorian Tapestry Workshop, United Overseas Bank, Tomio Koyoma Gallery in Japan, ABN AMRO and Mint Museum of Craft & Design. His involvement in research was on the language of abstract painting to possess the ability to express notions of a continuous presence. His ideas of momentary paintings are influenced by speech and contemporary music compositions. He has held 5 individual exhibitions and he is seen as influential artist with works/from his output of paintings that pushes the envelope of painting as a reflexive language of shifting representations between memory and time. His interdisciplinary practice includes his fascination with making improvisational music, where he is seen as a participator, playing the bass guitar with several improvised noise rock outfits, namely I\D and Path Integral.

Adeline Kueh
Senior Lecturer

Adeline's previous stints include being the Director of the Intermedia Lab with the Office of Research & Creative Industries, as well as Director of Studies, Art Theory & Art History in the college. She had also established the MA Art History Programme, the first online programme (with a Southeast Asian angle) for LASALLE. Rooted in cultural studies, her research interests include notions of monstrosity within Southeast Asian contexts, smart fashion, architecture and the future of cinema. She has chaired and presented at a number of cultural studies conferences in UK, Australia, Finland and Hungary. Adeline has also produced installations and interventionist projects within the collaborative MatriXial Technologies in Germany, the Netherlands and USA. Presently, she is also a consultant for a number of research, lifestyle and design projects, including being a consultant lecturer for the MA Art Business Programme with Sotheby's Institute of Art, Singapore.

Entry Requirements

This Programme will be of particular relevance to candidates who wish to embark on but is not limited to a career as fine artists, in academic institutions, museums or art galleries. In addition, successful graduates will also be able to find employment as art critics and writers. The Programme also aims, through its commitment to excellence, to further the discourses surrounding the contemporary art and art historical contexts through research and practice conducted by candidates in the Programme.

• Bachelor's degree and demonstrable ability to pursue discourse and research in contemporary issues in fine arts;
• A satisfactory score in written and spoken English OR a minimum of IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL iBT 100 for applicants from countries where English is not the first language or whose qualifications are obtained from institutions where English is not the medium of instruction;
• Portfolio: At least 10 pieces of original 2-D or 3-D work (actual or documented) that demonstrate your creative practice. Time-based or performance-based works should be presented in video or digital format;
• Research Proposal: Two-page research proposal indicating your research aims and objectives, proposed outcomes, and brief details of research methods and materials you wish to use;
• Statement of Purpose: 500-word statement of your reasons for pursuing Master's studies, your suitability and expected benefits from the Programme.