Course Description

Art breathes life into extinct organisms. Generations of budding paleontologists are inspired by the latest artists’ reconstructions of the organisms that they go on to study, be they Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins’ dinosaurs, commissioned in 1852 for the Great Exhibition; Jay Matternes’ diverse murals of extinct ecosystems completed in the 1960s and 1970s for the Smithsonian Institution; or Stan Winston’s animatronic/digital T. rex for 1993’s Jurassic Park (and beyond). But transforming an organism from a frequently incomplete pile of fossilized remains into a representation of a living organism is fraught with difficulties. Paleoartists must keep up with the cutting edge of the science of the organisms they reconstruct, but must make educated and reasonable, yet compelling inferences about the aspects of those organisms about which we know little or nothing. What color was a trilobite? Did Smilodon have stripes? What environment did Dimetrodon live in? Did T. rex ever chase Triceratops?

In this course you will work with paleontologists and paleoartists to learn how to produce inspiring, accurate paleoart. By studying fossils, live animals, and a wide range of amazing paleoart you will learn how scientists make inferences about life in the past and how artists translate these in a range of media. No previous experience of art or paleontology is expected!

Texts

Witton, M.P., 2018. Palaeoartist's Handbook: Recreating prehistoric animals in art. The Crowood Press. ($35)

Additional readings will be drawn from the primary literature. Some will provided digitally on Canvas and others will be generated by the class in response to our questions.

Requirements

This class will meet once a week in the afternoons for 2 ½ hours. Each class will involve both discussion of the science and art of reconstructing ancient organisms and the creation of your own reconstructions. Students will be expected to build a paleoart sketchbook over the duration of the course containing their art and the guided reflections/writing that form the core of the class. Students will also choose an extinct organism that will form the center of a weekly quick-study focused on the topic of that class.

The course is divided into an introductory section giving context to paleoart and the course, and four modules, each of which will culminate with an individual paleoart project. The final project will involve creating paleoart in response to prompts from the UNM Geology Museum that could end up being permanently displayed after the museum’s new renovation.

There will be two mandatory field trips (to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and the Albuquerque BioPark Zoo) during class time. Students are expected to arrive at the field trip venue at the start of class.

About the Instructor(s): Jason Moore