Visual Arts Department Course Descriptions

Trinity’s mission statement calls us to “challenge the minds, fire the imaginations and train the bodies of the young people who have been entrusted to us; to enlarge their spiritual lives; and to increase their capacity for mutual and self-respect.”

Through our offerings in ceramics, photography, art & design and art history, the Visual Arts Department hopes to achieve these goals for all our students. Assignments that invite individual responses inspire students’ imaginations. Immersing students in a creative studio practice develops their confidence in taking risks and challenges their problem-solving skills. Discussions, maintaining sketchbooks & daily practice nurtures critical thinking and meta-cognitive abilities as students reflect on their own work as well as the work of others.

Many assignments encourage the investigation of personal narrative or the investigation of others, allowing students to make their own voices heard and giving them opportunities to hear and value the varied voices of their peers.

The Fine Arts requirement for graduation is 1.5 credits or three semesters in either Visual or Performing Arts. Only 1/3 of the requirement may be fulfilled by art history. Notably, students typically engage in many arts courses beyond the requirement during their time at Trinity.

US Ceramics

Basic, intermediate and advanced ceramics provide instruction in a wide range of techniques in the ceramic arts, including hand-building, wheel -throwing and glazing. Classes are designed to accommodate the skill level of each student. The ceramics studio in the Brass Arts Pavilion is fully equipped with electric wheels and two kilns for firing. Students are encouraged to visit museums and galleries and to display their work in exhibitions at school.

Intro to Art and Design

This course provides students with exposure to the basic elements of visual language. It is designed to give students a solid foundation in art-making, visual literacy and critical thinking in regards to two-dimensional and three-dimensional art and design, leading the way to more advanced art & design courses. Drawing, painting, watercolor, pastel, collage, carving, assemblage and printmaking are among the methods this course may cover. Concepts such as composition, contrast, perspective, principles of design, and the basics of color theory will be explored. Students will be encouraged to develop their own unique visual voice as their skills develop. Projects are augmented with trips to museums both virtually and in person as well as critiques and discussions.

Intermediate Art and Design

Students will build on the foundation of art & design that they have begun in their previous experiences. Class projects will focus on continuing to learn ways to shape space through printmaking, painting, drawing, modeling, carving, assemblage and other media. Assignments are sustained over a greater period of time than in the introductory course. Students are encouraged to pursue innovative paths and explore relationships between concept, material, and context in unexpected ways, developing a body of work that demonstrates creative risktaking and an informed relationship with the materials they work with. Studio time will be augmented with trips to area galleries, museums both in person and virtually as well as critique and class discussions.

Advanced Art and Design

Students will be working through a series of themes but will have choices when it comes to the media and process to complete these artistic challenges. Projects may include any media, including but not limited to traditional two-dimensional media. Critical thinking, self-initiated research, and active participation in group discussions and critiques are encouraged in this class. Lectures, trips to museums and galleries, and research into past and current artists, designers, critics, and art historians will allow students to place their ideas within an historical context, deepening their understanding of their own work.

Intro to Photography

This is a one-semester course that provides students with a general exposure to the mechanics of the camera and the aesthetics of photography. No previous experience is necessary. Students are introduced to both camera and darkroom work. Assignments involve the creative use of vision as it translates into making fine pictures.

Intermediate Photography

This is a yearlong sequence that begins each fall. Assignments are sustained over a greater period of time than in the introductory course. Students work in both digital color and black-and-white silver print formats.

Advanced Photography

This is a yearlong sequence that begins in the fall. In this course, students move toward a personal vision that involves working in series. Students employ either digital or darkroom pathways to creating portfolios. Seniors may elect to create websites for their pictures in support of their college applications.

Art History

This course introduces students to the major themes, issues, and approaches to art history. Although the primary focus will be on western art, non-western cultures will be explored as well. The full range of artistic expression will be considered, including painting, architecture, sculpture, prints, photography, and the decorative arts. Major goals of the course include recognizing and analyzing major styles and artistic movements from a variety of periods throughout history, thinking critically about artistic meaning, and understanding art's role within a broader historical context. Museum and gallery visits—looking at original works of art—are an essential component of the class.

Digital Storytelling

A relaxed, arts-focused introduction to Computer Science and Computational Thinking. Students are introduced to digital storytelling, digital imaging, animation, and media computation skills as they investigate ways in which technology has allowed artists to easily integrate interactivity, non-linear narrative structures, repetition, automation, special effects, and randomness into their creative output. Students create a portfolio of dynamic digital art projects involving a wide variety of software tools, coding languages and digital media.

Advanced Portfolio

This course is open to students who are committed to developing a focused body of artwork in collaboration with a member of the Visual Arts Department faculty. Projects may include any media, including but not limited to traditional media—i.e., digital, photography, ceramics, two dimensional or sculptural. Ultimately, students will develop a unique body of work, an artist's statement, and a portfolio suitable for presentation purposes. Students will be urged to explore the city's abundant array of arts institutions, learn how to engage in active field research, and to establish meaningful contact between artist and gallery. Lectures, trips to museums and galleries, and research into past and current artists, designers, critics, and art historians will allow students to place their ideas within an historical context, deepening their understanding of their own work.

Library Department Course Descriptions

The mission of the Trinity Library program is to support students in the development of their own voices, providing resources and teaching skills needed to meaningfully participate in the conversation between student and teacher that is at the heart of Trinity School. Our goal is to equip students to be effective and ethical creators and consumers of media and information, able to develop and satisfy their curiosity by being critical thinkers, skillful researchers, and enthusiastic readers. We do this through both our own direct work with students and our support of and collaboration with other faculty members in their work with students. The Trinity Library is a safe space in which all community members are welcome to experiment and explore. Through this exploration of ideas, students refine a sense of who they are. The Library provides equitable access to a wide range of resources reflecting the diversity of experience of our school, city, nation, and world. The values of Trinity School inform our collaborative and evolving library program.

Citizenship in an Information Society

This course explores the ways information is created, communicated, and used within our society. The class will look at how decisions are made at both personal and societal levels, and how those decisions are influenced by journalism, social media, and research. We will examine the relationships between power, truth, and memory and consider how our responsibilities to ourselves and others have changed with increased access to information.