class description
instructor: alison sant
e-mail: asant@cca.edu
Course Objectives:
This class will introduce students to the tools of digital imaging within a conceptual
framework that emphasizes individual creative practice. The class is broken into
four major themes that will offer students a foundation for incorporating digital
tools into their artistic process as well as emphasize the unique opportunities
of medium. Readings and art projects will support a critical examination of digital
tools and provide a historical context with which to view the current state of
the medium. Students will be required to complete four assignments designed to
develop their artistic work in tandem with their use of digital tools. Students
will be encouraged to collaborate and should expected to work well independently
and within the context of the class. Stuents are expected to attend class, complete
all assignments on time, and participate fully in class discussions, critiques,
and in the class blog (web log).
Themes:
Foundations in Digital Imaging (weeks 1-4)
The semester will begin with an overview of the technologies and concepts covered
by the class in addition to a review of the schedule, assignments, and required
readings. Following, we will begin a series of sessions designed to introduce
students to digital media as a tool for creative enquiry. For example, students
will experiment with a digital camera and a limited set of editing tools in Photoshop
(marquee, lasso tool, and rubber stamp) as a means for reinterpreting a site
on campus. A second assignment will explore the concept of resolution by converting
an image between compression formats and saving the results. As a sequence, the
images will break down over time, revealing the biases of the compression algorithm.
The intention of these assignments is to approach the tools as a process so that
students can learn how they operate and begin to manipulate them towards their
own creative ends. Approaches to scanning and printing will also be taught.
Process: From Conceptual Art to Code (weeks 5-7)
Digital media can be thought of not only as the software, hardware, and networks
we utilize but also as the computational logic that underlies and structures
these tools. Code, the algorithm, and metadata are a few of these primary systems.
The study of these constructs offers students a conceptual strategy for defining
their artistic practice, whether analog or digital. In many ways, these systems
suggest the construction of a process of inquiry, or query, over the preconception
of a specific result. Contemporary media artists are exploring the operation
of these logical systems in several ways. One example is the use of the “keyword
search” as an artistic method. It has produced a range of projects, where
the artwork is continuously revised through the process of the search. In addition,
although new technologies offer artists new tools and unique contexts for creating
artwork, it is important to understand models in the history of art practice
that contribute to its conceptual foundations. For example, many parallels exist
between computational logic and the foundations of Conceptual and Fluxus art,
in which many artists framed an art piece as a set of instructions. This segment
of the course will focus on process as a theme combining both art works in traditional
mediums as well as new genres focusing on generative grammars, metadata, and
databases.
Device: Exploring New Platforms for Photography (weeks 8-9)
Over ten years ago the Internet browser became a new medium for photographers
to publish their work. Currently, handheld devices including the PDA and the
mobile phone are increasingly becoming platforms for artistic practice. In addition,
unlike the Internet browser, these devices are often used in public space. How
do photographers begin to think about their work in these contexts, including
where and how individuals will access their work? As these devices increasingly
incorporating cameras to capture still imagery and video, how do photographers
begin to think about them as mechanisms for public art, collaborative art works,
etc. This section of the class will give students experience with the technologies
shaping these media as well as an introduction to the projects and ideas that
are beginning to shape these emerging platforms.
Compression and Extraction: Time and Photography (weeks 10-12)
Photographers have often manipulated the margins of the photographic frame, using
the image to offer multiple interpretations of time. This theme in the class
will offer students examples of artistic work that has both compressed and expanded
the photographic frame through the use of photographic layering, film, and the
algorithm.