WENDY WISCHER portrait
  • Assistant Professor, Art/Art History
  • Associate Professor, Art/Art History
801-587-8483

Current Courses

Fall 2024

  • ART 2201-001
    Action
  • ART 2201-003
    Action
  • ART 4410-001
    Studio Practice I
  • ART 4465-001
    Studio Practice II
  • ART 4910-020
    Honors Studio Art
  • ART 6000-020
    Post-Degree Studio
  • ART 6430-001
    Grad Projects-Sculpt

Summer 2024

Spring 2024

Professional Organizations

  • GCSC Faculty Affiliate. 03/17/2016 - present. Position : Member and Executive Committee member.

Teaching Philosophy

 

Sharing my passion for all forms of art, my desire to be aware of the world I live in and my curiosity in nurturing and compiling ideas are some of my greatest assets as a teacher.  Sharing my curiosity to learn and study where art and its practices come from, why we feel compelled to create, how to express our ideas in the most effective and interesting ways possible, the understanding of where and how they fit in the larger context, are the foundation that form my teaching practice.

My goals for the students include obtaining new skills in a variety of media, first learning, and then pushing the boundaries of traditional categories while addressing the ‘here and now’ mentality of contemporary art with its discursive connections.  With an individual approach to each student, I also focus on the ability to conceive and procure ideas, the understanding of what they are doing and why they feel the desire to do it and most of all, to encourage them to find that spark that fuels them to search, both within themselves and out in the world.  My intention is to guide them to find and explore the needed resources and means for obtaining and fulfilling their own goals and desires. 

With the rapid advances in technology, I find that rather than simply teaching solutions to problems, teaching problem solving is the key to understanding and working with these incredible gateways.

Through looking at and experiencing art, both past and present, with a strong emphasis on contemporary art issues, history and theory, gives students a well-rounded foundation for which to develop their ideas.  A keen understanding of materials and processes along with the volumes they speak, is important in transmitting abstract ideas into the physical world of the five senses and physical experiences into the virtual world of the digital arena. 

 I view myself as a facilitator for the class with them learning from and teaching each other as an important part of the process.  It provides the outline for when they leave the educational setting and continue on their own.  We are in the transition of ‘digital immigrants’ to ‘digital natives’, an exciting place to be with their intuitive relationship to the new technologies serving as a vital part of the process.

Professionally I plan to keep studying.  I plan to continue to turn within and without, searching for my own understanding of why and how I find my artistic practice functioning in the world.  We live in a time of complexity where the categories of art are shifting at an ongoing rate as the wealth of new information and possibilities surround us in an ever-expanding ocean.  I embrace this change by continuing to learn new techniques, processes and technologies while pushing at the boundaries of my own creative practice.  My passion and curiosity are what fuel my work.  My goal is to share this journey towards the fulfillment of personal passion and communication via art, with others.

Teaching Projects

  • Video Evidence. Project Lead: Wendy Wischer. Collaborators: HaNa Lee. 02/25/2020 - 03/05/2020.
  • “Apart-Together”. Project Lead: Erin Parker. Collaborators: HaNa Lee. 01/07/2020 - 04/30/2020.
  • Rethink, Reconnect, Rejuvinate. Project Lead: Wendy Wischer. Honors Funds for the class 04/20/2015 - 12/22/2015.
  • Site_Specific Installation / Rio Mesa. Project Lead: Wendy Wischer. Funds for Excellence, Art & Art History Dept. 04/12/2013 - 04/30/2013. Total Budget: $1,559.00.
  • Reflect. Project Lead: Wendy Wischer. N/A 04/09/2013 - 04/17/2013. Total Budget: $0.00.
  • Fervor. Project Lead: Wendy Wischer. Collaborators: Jesse Portillo. Funds for Excellence 03/18/2013 - 04/05/2013. Total Budget: $3,987.00.