First Year Students

Can You See What I Am Saying?

Simpson Colloquium SC-101 S - Can You See What I Am Saying?
M T TH F   1- 2 PM

Are you interested in learning about the oldest form of human communication? Art is the most important and best method that we as human beings have to communicate with each other. I am very excited to explore with you how art has been a major force in shaping our thoughts and lives from the beginning of recorded time to the present. As humans, our first recorded communications are paintings that have been discovered on cave walls. We can only speculate the culture and lifestyle of the people who left these communications in the form of art. These works of art will be the beginning of our discovery of art.

Take this class if you are interested in learning about:
    • the oldest form of written communication.
    • how art has been a major force in shaping our thoughts and lives from the beginning of recorded time to the present.
    • visual elements, properties of various media, and major historical styles of art.
    • the context and the purpose of art in society.

Students will engage in a method of viewing art that emphasizes context in which a particular piece or movement of art was created. We will also discuss the methods of producing art as a means of understanding the imagery. Students will be critically analyzing several works of art through readings, videos, and discussions in order to interpret the possible meanings that the art is conveying.

With written work and discussion of reading and video sources, students will explore art through observation and critical thinking.  We'll attend Forum events which relate to the Arts including all of the Gallery Talks held in the Farnham Art Galleries on campus. We'll also visit the Des Moines Art Center and the Pappajohn Sculpture Park in the Western Gateway area of downtown Des Moines.

Meet Your Professor
David Richmond, M.A., MFADavid Richmond
Professor of Art
David Richmond, Professor of Art at Simpson College, has enjoyed wide-ranging experiences in graphic design, photography and visual storytelling over his 30-year professional career.

His academic teaching background includes photography and design at the University of Iowa College of Art and Art History; graphic design at Dickinson University in North Dakota; and art and photography at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. At Dickinson University, Prof. Richmond developed the institution’s first graphic design program.

Always curious and eager to inspire students, Prof. Richmond most recently led a Simpson group to China for a photographic tour of that country. He also led a committee that successfully acquired an NEA grant for Simpson College.

Prof. Richmond received his bachelor of fine arts, a master of arts and a master of fine arts from the University of Iowa. 

Meet Your Destination LeaderEmily Situmeang
Emily Situmeang

Hey all! My name is Emily Situmeang, and I am the Destination Leader for the course “Can You See What I am Saying?” with Professor Richmond. I will be a junior during the 2012-2013 school year, and I absolutely love Simpson! I’m a Studio Art major with an emphasis in photography, and I’m also minoring in marketing, mathematics, and social work. I am also the photography assistant at Simpson, which means I take care of the dark room as well as clean up after the art classes. I never took an art class in high school - in fact, my very first art class was a photography class at Simpson. I immediately fell in love with not only art itself, but also the art faculty and my fellow art students. Because of this, I switched from a mathematics major to an art major during my sophomore year.

I grew up in the small town Mount Pleasant, Iowa with my parents and my eight younger siblings. I’m very close to my siblings; they’re my best friends! Leaving them was the most difficult part of my transition to college.

My friends would describe me as fun, down to earth (I drive a minivan to college, how much more down to earth could I be?), and completely unique - I’m just me, love me or hate me! :) My passions include coloring, photography, movies (excluding horror and chick flicks), football, music (I always have a song running through my head and sometimes I can’t keep it inside, so you’ll probably catch me singing or humming to myself), and making people smile. I don’t wear shoes, I always say “hiccup” after I hiccup, my favorite color changes with my current mood, and I can click a pen 445 times in one minute (I wonder if I could get a scholarship for that…).

Everyone deals with the college transition differently, so feel free to contact me (both students and parents!) with any questions you may have! I’m on Facebook (Emily Situ) and I check my Simpson email regularly. Can’t wait to meet you all!

Meet Your Writing FellowCourtney Licht
Courtney Licht

Hello, my name is Courtney Licht, and I will be the Writing Fellow for Dave Richmond's Art SC 101 course, and this class will be my third time  helping out with a freshman course..  My main goal will be to help you all grow in the process of writing the semester's research paper.  Along the way though, I will also be helping students with their writing styles and mechanics for writing in general. If you have any questions for me about the writing aspect of this course, please, feel free to contact me at my Simpson email.

A few things about myself are that I am an Art, Art Education, and Elementary Education Major with an Art History Minor.  The school year of 2012-2013 will be my fifth year here at Simpson, but I am still just as excited to be here as I was my freshman year.  I am so excited for you all to start your Simpson Experience. It will truly be one that you enjoy and something you will never want to take back.  The time you spend here seriously flies by, so enjoy it while it lasts. While at Simpson.  I would definitely encourage all of you to take the chance to study abroad during this Simpson experience either on a MayTerm or semester long course.  I know I loved traveling abroad.  I spent a semester over in Northern Ireland, and the experiences I had there have really helped enhance aspects of my life back here.

I look forward to meeting all of you.  Again, if you need anything, you may always contact me.  Have a good summer, and I cannot wait to meet you all in the fall! 

Last Updated: 4/30/12