07.12.08

A course on art as a time-based from.

Time-based art forms are an increasingly important part of contemporary art and design practices.  While conventional understandings of art and design focus on perception of space (how something is composed on a surface, is “read” as an image, or is perceived as a form), time-based arts focus how things (objects, audio, images) unfold as time progresses.

Artists have always been engaged in time-based cultural practices—how we think about and experience life. Time-based technologies are closely aligned to our sense of time not only because they can record it, but also because it affects how we experience it.

We will be exploring different media in this class: image sequences, video, audio, performance, and web-based work.  We will be using the computer as our main medium for audio-visual, time-based creations and manipulations. We will think about works in time, experience them, compose them, and address new ideas and research that can be incorporated into your work.

How are these different media related? How are they different? What are other ways of working in time? What way of working is most appropriate to your idea? How do you develop your ideas? These are the questions for this course.

Every week, for the first 12 weeks, a concept will be presented in class. You will then have one week to complete an assignment in relation to that concept. You should spend at least five hours on this assignment. I realize that this is not a lot of time, so I am looking for how you engage with that concept which does not necessarily have to be a masterpiece. Your weekly work should show your understanding of the concept, your own idea(s) in relation to it, your experiments, and ability and carry it out competently in the medium chosen. Your process is important. Ideas and experimentation are more important than being a computer wiz in this class. At the end of class, you will have one month to complete a final project of your choice. This will be a chance to go into more depth and make your masterpiece.

Your weekly assignments should be archived in 3 ways:
1)    post it on your blog and/or other meathods to be discussed. This should be done before the class on which it is due.
2)    save it in a high quality format (I’ll go over this) that can later be used to compile all on a DVD [remember to do this]
3)    back-up your material to you external hard-drive

Course Objectives
In this class, we will explore ways in which to make art with time as its foundation. Various media and many approaches will be investigated in relation to conceptual, formal and technical ways in which to shape a work that unfolds in time.

The goals of this course are:
•    To understand how time can be a basis for art and design through the use of performance, sound, animation, video and computer technology.
•    To understand and use the concepts of time-based art and design. (sequence, simultaneity, narrative, motion, interactivity and perception)
•    To understand the nature of aesthetic experience in time.
•    To develop creative skills through the use of digital and analog equipment.
•    To develop critical awareness of technology’s role in society.
•    To develop critical thinking and research methods.
•    To understand how cultural, formal and technical issues inform and shape works of art and design.

Content:
Specific time-based forms used by artists will be presented, such as sequential imagery, photo sequence and text, language, performance, audio works, film theory, video and multimedia. Technical, historical and theoretical material will be covered to give students a broad base from which to work.  The class will include lectures, discussions, technical workshops, critique and studio time.

Requirements
•    A Macintosh Laptop Computer is REQUIRED. All of the work that we will be doing will be computer related and you will need to have access to your own personal computer system ‘in’ AND ‘out’ of class.
•    Attendance and participation in discussions (more than 2 absences will drop your grade a letter, you will fail if you have more than 3 absences)
•    Participation in workshop / laboratory sessions. Students will participate in other students’ events, group activities, and create their own in-class projects.
•    On-time completion of homework assignments and projects.
•    An open mind and a willingness to explore!!
•    Plan on approximately five hours of work per week outside of class.

Grading and Evaluation
Overall evaluations will be based on quality of class participation, comprehension of ideas presented, and successful completion of projects as well as level of work accomplished. In evaluating individual projects, I will pay attention to your ability to develop and work through ideas, what criteria you have set up for yourself (including how you challenge yourself) and how your intention for a piece relates to its format and construction. When an assignment is given, I will give you a written sheet that outlines its objectives. These will be used in the criteria for grading. In addition to class discussion, I will give written critiques for each project completed, and will attempt to give these to you in a timely fashion.

If you like numbers, here is how I figure out your grade:
•    Weekly Assignments [5.5% each]: 55%
•    Independent project: 15%
•    Blog and DVD portfolio: 10%
•    Participation: 10%
•    Overall growth and experimentation: 10%

Late projects and absences
For every day (including weekends) past the due date that an assignment is late, I will deduct 10 points from your grade. Assignments will not be accepted after one week, unless you have discussed it with me. No more than 3 absences are allowed for the class.  Three latenessess to class will equal one absence. If you have an health problem or an excused absence please make sure to give me the paperwork. Do not skip class if you don’t have your homework done. I would rather you came, otherwise you will fall more behind. Talk to me if you are experiencing difficulties, I am wiling to work with you in a reasonable manner.

Information and Readings
Technical information (how to do things) is available at http://vpa.syr.edu/foundation/111reader
A link to this site is on Blackboard. Whatever your level of technical proficiency, I hope that you will become comfortable with technology; part of this process involves frustration and problem-solving, and learning how to look up how to do things.

Readings will be posted at a designated web address that will be given ASAP. I will also assign readings that I will photocopy for you. Please keep these in a binder—I am a fan of the three-hole punch.

Materials
Materials will vary according to projects, but I suggest you have the following:

Required: An External Hard drive.
Bring this to every class!! You will be storing all your work in it.  This may seem expensive, but you will be able to use this for years. You should have received a letter explaining what to get from Other World Computing [http://eshop.macsales.com]

If you don’t buy one the recommended drives, please try to get one with the following:
•    Connects via FireWire (most drives connect via USB 2.0. On Macs, Firewire is faster.
•    Spindle speed of 7200 rpm
•    Cache of at least 8 mB

•    Binder for keeping handouts
•    sketchbook and drawing materials
•    several DVD-R discs    Optional
mini DV video tape
ipod or flash drive
CD-R, CD-RW  discs

If you have your own computer use it, if you have a laptop, bring it to class. Although some software is cross platform, we will be using iMovie and iDVD, which is not available on Windows machines. There is no need to buy software; if we are using software you do not have, I will assist you in getting trial versions or freeware.

Software used in this class:
•    Mac OS X
•    Mozilla Firefox (cross-platform, free, at: http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/
•    Audacity (cross-platform, free, at: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)
•    Adobe Photoshop (trial version (good for 30 days)at http://www.adobe.com/downloads/)
•    Seashore is an alternative, open source image editing program (http://seashore.sourceforge.net/index.php)
•    Apple iPhoto(comes with OS X)
•    Apple iMovie (comes with OS X)* use iMovie HD6 NOT iMovie08 [http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/imovieHD6.html]
•    Apple iDVD(comes with OS X)

Optional software
•    Open source software: http://www.opensourcemac.org/
•    Apple Final Cut Pro or Final Cut Express (for video editing)
•    Dreamweaver (for website design) or Nvu
•    Flash (for website design, animation, interactive things)
•    Fetch (for uploading files to your website or other server)

Grimm | Spring ‘08 | Student Blogs/Work

Kendra Slisz
http://kendraslisz.blogspot.com/

Cynthia Lin
http://cynthiaszlin.blogspot.com/

Maria Janina
http://buddymjr.blogspot.com/

Kailin Johnson
http://kgjohnsoncreations.blogspot.com

Emily Chaisson
http://seeechai.blogspot.com/

Allison Ehrke
http://erki-trki.blogspot.com/

Chelsea Fierst
http://worryoversituations371.blogspot.com/

Casey Landerkin
http://marchballad.blogspot.com

Michelle Lee
http://mleetimearts.blogspot.com

Robbie Hyatt
http://dirtybird825.blogspot.com/

Emily Wen
http://dineanddash-timearts.blogspot.com/

Lauren Harms
http://lharmstimearts.blogspot.com/

Sheina Levine
http://shaylevine.blogspot.com/