Dan Thompson
Musculoskeletal Gross Anatomy for the Artist
Class #6363
The instructor who teaches this class has requested that students wear masks in the studio during class hours. If this is an issue for you, please consider signing up for another class.
PLEASE NOTE A deposit of $1,000 per person, of which $350 is non-refundable is required as a reservation for this workshop; The deposit is non refundable after February 23. 2023. Final payment is required by March 1, 2023.
A live model will also be present during the workshop to help students understand how the deep anatomical structures we study present themselves on the surface of the living figure.
*Note: A 15% discount will be applied if you also register for this workshop and Thompson's Short Pose Drawing Workshop #6551. Please call 646-838-9123 or 646-838-9182 to register for both workshops. If you plan on attending this workhop only, you can use the enroll button on this page.
This course presents the study of anatomy as a convergence of three unique concentrations: the historical aesthetics of medical research, contemporary human dissection, and life drawing. The workshop begins in the rare book library of the New York Academy of Medicine, where students examine original, centuries-old copies of some of the seminal anatomical treatises. Thereafter, students work in a medical setting, becoming more familiar with the extraordinary layers of interrelated human form - structures which are not typically clear in anatomical references. Motivated students of representational art will have unparalleled opportunities for developing detailed anatomical knowledge through their work in Cornell College of Medicine’s anatomy lab, where they will explore the complexities of the body through the study of PROSECTIONS and cadavers (prosections are specially prepared human anatomical specimens, wrapped in a damp preservative, as well as plastinated specimens, which allow for the study of deeper and more isolated anatomical structure).
A live model will pose in the anatomy lab during the workshop to help students understand how the deeper structures manifest within the living figure. Ultimately, students will work towards achieving greater anatomical clarity and fidelity in their comprehension, which will be applied to creating artwork with a finer appreciation of human construction.
Dan Thompson has exhibited in public and private venues throughout the world, including at the Eleanor Ettinger Gallery (New York City), John Pence Gallery (San Francisco), the Art Gallery of Ontario (Canada), the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), the John Noble Museum (New York), the Pasadena Museum of California Art, the National Arts Club (New York City), the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., and at Beijing’s World Art Museum in China. His numerous awards and honors include the Erlebacher Award from the New York Academy of Art, two Ethel Lorraine Bernstein Memorial Awards for Excellence in Painting from the Corcoran School of Art, and two Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grants. Thompson currently serves as Faculty Chair of the Certificate of Fine Arts Program at the New York Academy of Art, where he has also taught, in the MFA program, since 2001.