syllabus — ART 101 — Digital Foundations

Issue / Topic / Idea

applied to

Imagined Landscape / Environment / Dream-space

a brief description:

Consider this project as an opportunity to focus on an issue or topic that is important to you. Once you have resolved your topic, consider how you could convey your message about that topic in the two-dimensional landscape/environment of an image.

Create a world that does not exist: a constructed landscape, and imagined environment, a dream space, an impossible topography. The vision for what this could be is completely your own and you are not limited to the traditional ideas of space or landscape. It may help to think of landscape in very broad or abstract terms. Think of this as an opportunity to realize a personal and original vision of an environment, rather than a recreation of something you have seen before.

To create this imagined landscape, you will utilize photographs, scans, and elements you create within the Photoshop software program. You may not use any item from the Internet, any text typed on the keyboard, or any item created by another person, but you may photograph and use your own writing, drawing, painting, etc.

Finally, to encourage exploration, you should experiment enough to create at least 3 variations of the assignment. These experiments can be iterations of one design or completely different ideas. Your completed works will remain in the digital format and you may choose which of your images to discus for critique. All 3 images will be submitted as components of the assignment.

project requirements:

• Concept paper
• Each of your images must be at least 120 square inches or larger (for example, 10x12 inches = 120 square inches)
• The resolution for each of your images must be exactly 300 dpi at the size listed above
• ABSOLUTELY NO WEB IMAGES
• Do not use the Photoshop text tool (but you may photograph/scan writing or text)
• You must author all parts of each image
• Complete and submit all steps of the project (below)

NOTE: If you feel that your concept for this project will not be possible within these stated requirements, please talk to me so we can negotiate a different set of requirements.

step one: concept proposal

Brainstorm ideas for the topic or concept of your landscape/environment. This may take many forms including sketches, lists, word mapping, stream-of-conscious writing, or a scrapbook/collection of images related to your ideas.

Next, make a brief 300-600 word written proposal for your ideas; your proposal should say:

· What concepts/topics will you address in the work?

· What is your specific message regarding the concepts/topics?

· Why are these concepts/topics important and critical to address?

· How you will go about doing it (For example, what items could you photograph?)

You will be evaluated on the effectiveness of the proposal and your ability to convey your idea and intent for the project. Therefore, you need to solidify your plan before writing the proposal. If you are debating between more than one idea, then you either need to decide on one idea before writing the proposal or you need to make sure to explain each idea in depth enough to convey your idea and intent.
NOTE: While working on your image you may feel that you need to change your idea; this is fine and is a natural part of the process. It is important to start with a clear focus, but it is also important to change, respond and adapt while working.
NOTE: Please avoid overgeneralizations and unsubstantiated assertions by adding detail, description, and specificity to your writing.

Submit your 300-600 word proposal as a Microsoft Word DOC or PDF in the appropriate D2L submission folder by the date specified in the course schedule.

NOTE: Per student request, you may include a sketch to augment your written proposal.

step two: make images

Experiment enough to create at least 3 variations of your idea as TIFF files. These should be original unflattened working files.

Save files with your last name as the first part of the file name:
LASTNAME_anytitlehere.tif, LASTNAME_B.tif, LASTNAME_3.tif

step three: save jpgs

Open each TIFF file and then go to “SAVE AS” to save each as a JPG file.
Use the same file name, but the JPG format. (LASTNAME_anytitlehere.jpg)

NOTE: In older versions of Photoshop you need to flatten the layers before you can save in the JPG format. To do this, go to “LAYER” on the menu bar and down to “FLATTEN IMAGE”. If needed, click “YES” on any pop-up menus. Then proceed as you would on current versions: go to “FILE” on the menu bar and down to “SAVE AS”. In the drop down menu for file “FORMAT”, choose “JPG”.

step four: submission

Put all 6 of your files (3 TIFF, 3 JPG) in a folder and “zip” the folder into a single .ZIP file using this guide: How to “zip” files on a mac or PC. Then load your .ZIP file in the appropriate D2L submission folder

NOTE: We will use the JPG files for critique and I will use all the files to grade. PLEASE DO NOT POST FILES DURING OUR LIVE CLASS CRITIQUE.

NOTE: Partial submissions that do not include the original working files (original files like a TIFF file with “unflattened” layers) will result in a significantly lower grade.

NOTE: If you have a works cited/images cited page, please add it to your folder before zipping it.

NOTE: If your ZIP file won’t load for some reason, you may load all your files independently in the submission folder rather than zipped. If the TIFF files are too large to load, open it in Photoshop and take a screen shot of all the layers in the layer menu as a place holder for each of the TIFF files that won’t load, and then email me for the next steps.

step five: critique

For convenience there is a separate D2L file for work we will critique in class. Put the JPG image(s) you want to discuss in critique in the appropriate D2L critique folder. You may include diptych (2 image combo) or triptych (3 image combo) if you choose.

Project one sample checklist (with ZIP and diptych/triptych info)

tips + thoughts:

• Proposal writing resources:
  Proposal writing topic suggestions guide
  Guide to Developing Ideas
• Keep these questions about concept in mind while planning and working:
  Is my concept a familiar solution or something unexpected incorporating my own ideas? Can my concept relate to other individuals, and if not, how can I add to my personal experience to open it up to others?
• Keep these questions about craft in mind while planning and working:
  Is the craftsmanship appropriate so viewers see the message of my work, not the image components. Do I have any images that seem to “float” strangely in the composition? If I “zoom in” to my image, can I see “blank spaces” or pixelated areas? If poor craft is intentional, then exaggerate it.
• Think of photographed (or scanned) objects as bridging between "real" and "virtual" worlds by allowing you to play with relationships between elements. You have the ability to change the relationships of texture, scale, space and transparency in creative and compelling ways.
• What does it mean to create a “landscape” in a digital environment that is without physicality?
• How are environments consciously created (and by whom) and how do they unconsciously affect who see or experience them?
• Think of landscape broadly and abstractly, for example, landscape can be an method of organizing space from left to right, or from foreground to middle ground to background. This can help establish dominance, hierarchy, and importance or set up a sense of a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end.