DIGITAL AESTHETICS: Studio Art 175

Instructor: Antoinette LaFarge
Winter 2005

Tu-Th 2-3:30 in AITR 190
  DESCRIPTION
  This class investigates whether there is such a thing as digital art, and if so, what its fundamental traits might be. The focus will be on specific areas of current concern to digital artists, including machine art, robots, cyborgs, hypermedia, interactivity, games, artificial life, networks, and virtual realities. Classes will combine lectures and presentations of artwork with in-class experiments in these areas. In addition, project assignments will give students a chance to explore several areas in depth through their own work.

Prerequsites: 65A.

  REQUIREMENTS
  Requirements for this class include all of the following:
  • Establish an email account
  • Do all assigned projects and readings. Only one assignment may be turned in late without penalty; otherwise late assignments will be automatically dropped 1 grade.
  • Participate in class discussions of readings and related issues.
  • Participate in class experiments and critiques.
  • Attend all classes. Attendance is mandatory; 3 "late to class" = 1 absence, and 3 absences = a grade of F for the semester. Web surfing, emailing, and online chatting are not acceptable during class time.

Grading will be based on the following criteria:

  • Projects and other assignments (45%)
  • Class participation, experiments, and discussion of readings (40%)
  • Attendance (15%).

 Readings for the course will be available in two forms:
  • online through links on this page
  • through a reader available at Engineering Tower copy center.

Assignments

  • Students are expected to complete all assigned readings each week.
  • Students will complete 4 assigned digital art projects during the course of the quarter.
  • It is expected that students will spend considerable time working outside of class. Check here for open hours of the ArtsTEC lab (aka AITR 190).
SCHEDULE-- subject to sudden changes
DATE TOPICS         READINGS         ASSIGNMENTS
WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION
Jan. 6 Course introduction. The digital and the analog.
  • (no assignment)
WEEK 2: DATA IMAGE
Jan. 11 Lecture: Introduction to aesthetics.  
  • Assemble at least 10 and no more than 50 elements from your own work. Some of thse can be similar to each other, but others must be very different from each other as possible. These elements can be drawings, paintings, photos or details of any of these; texts; video clips; sound clips; or a combination. There must be at least one textual element. Time-based elements should be no longer than 5 seconds each. See the Projects page for more details.
  • If your elements are not already digital, transfer them to the computer.
Jan. 13 Lab: work on Project 1 (randomness). Discussion of reading.
  • Bring your Project 1 elements to class on a portable USB or FireWire drive or a CD; or upload to a site from which you can download them during class via FTP.
WEEK 3: DATA MAP
Jan. 18 Project 1 (randomness) presentations.
  • Be prepared to present your Project 1 in class and serve as a commentator on other projects.
Jan. 20 Lecture: the constructed image. Jacquard loom and punch cards, pixels, and the modernist grid. Chuck Close, Nancy Burson, and others. Lab: work on Project 2 (data map). Discussion of reading.
  • Explore one or more of the following web sites:Imaginary Places or Bergonia or Ambigutopia or Talossa or various individual countries here and here and here.
  • Start making notes about both the country and the website.
  • Bring your notes about your chosen country and web site to class.
WEEK 4: SIMULATION
Jan. 25 Lecture: Simulation and the cyborg. Aziz+Cucher, the Sim games of Will Wright. Discussion of reading.
  • Bring your Project 2 materials to class.
Jan. 27 Lab: work on Project 2 (data map). Discussion of reading.
  • Mitchell, excerpt from The Reconfigured Eye (reader)
  • Bring your Project 2 materials to class.
WEEK 5: TELEMATICS
Feb. 1 Lecture: Introduction to cybernetics and telematic art. Discussion of readings.
  • Bring your Project 2 materials to class.
Feb. 3 Project 2 presentations (data map).
  • (no reading)
  • Be prepared to present Project 2 and serve as a commentator on other projects.
WEEK 6: GAMES
Feb. 8 Lecture: Introduction to game theory, computational games, and rule-based art.
  • Begin thinking about ideas for Project 3 as you do today's reading.
Feb. 10 Lab: work on Project 3 (game).
  • TBA
  • Bring to class a proposal for Project 3. The proposal should focus mainly on the following elements: players; conditions/materials; rules/instructions; events; outcomes.
WEEK 7: LIFELIKE MACHINES
Feb. 15 Lecture: Automata and other lifelike artworks. Ancient Greek automata, Vaucanson's duck, Jean Tinguley, Survival Research Laboratory.
  • Bring Project 3 materials to class.
Feb. 17 Lab: work on Project 3 (game).
  • Bring Project 3 materials to class.
WEEK 8: ALGORITHMIC ART
Feb. 22 Lecture: Generative and algorithmic art, cellular automata, artificial life, memes. Tom Ray, Karl Sims, Laurent + Mignonneau.
  • Work on Project 3 (Panopticon game). Details of Project can be found on the Projects page.
Feb. 24 Project 3 (game) presentations.
  • (no reading)
  • Be prepared to present Project 3 and serve as a commentator on other projects.
WEEK 9: PERSISTENCE
Mar. 1 Lecture: Persistent worlds, open-ended and evolutionary projects.
Mar. 3 Lab: work on Project 4 (evolutionary art).
  • TBA
  • Bring Project 4 materials to class for in-class work.
WEEK 10: TRENDS
Mar. 8 Lecture: Current trends in digital art and aesthetics.
  • TBA
  • Do some web/library research and bring in materials on at least one artist, invention, or event that seems to you to point towards the future of digital media.
Mar. 10 Project 4 (evolutionary art) presentations, part 1
  • (no reading)
  • Be prepared to present Project 4 and serve as a commentator on other projects.
WEEK 11: PROJECTS
Mar. 17 Project 4 (evolutionary art) presentations, part 2.
  • (no reading)
  • Be prepared to present Project 4 and serve as a commentator on other projects.