syllabus — ART 227 / 395 / 427 — Digital Art
Contemporary
Digital
The use and influence of contemporary digital tools
description:
Artists have always been at the cutting
edge of adopting and adapting new
technologies to create their work. Every new technology has a history,
developmental context, ways in which it is used, an audience who uses it, a
unique functionality, and issues inherent to the specific technology. New
technologies can also have a social, cultural, or political impact; they can
reveal or accentuate issues in society. Artists are uniquely situated to
explore, analyze, and critically address these topics.
Consider the devices / software / social
media / apps / technologies that are part of your life. What do they allow you
to do and how do they limit you? What positive and negative factors might
accompany them? What impact do they have and what are the larger implications
of this impact?
Make an artwork or set of works that address
pressing societal issues/topics with regard to a specific contemporary digital
technology. Utilize the technology or related technologies in some way in
the creation or production of the work (it may be used as the primary media or as a
support media). You may choose to use more than one technology to create and
produce your work, including Adobe Photoshop and/or Illustrator.
The topic you choose does not have to mirror the function of the technology,
but it should comment on contemporary issues/topics relevant to the selected
technology. For example, a cosmetics app primarily marketed towards high-school
and college-age females could be used to address gender, beauty, expression,
consumerism, or any issue affecting individuals in that age range. Conversely,
it could be used to comment on how systems like the app create challenges for
individuals who are not included in the target audience.
I encourage you to dig deep in your
research for this assignment. Your work should reveal or expose a facet of
contemporary digital technology that is generally unknown, unseen, or
misunderstood. Take a stance with your message to show its urgency or
importance.
requirements:
step one:
concept proposal paper
After
selecting a topic and beginning your research into the topic, write a 2-page
double-spaced / 1-page single-spaced paper outlining your concept. Your paper
should explain the following as it applies to your concept:
·
What concepts/topics will you address
with regard to contemporary digital technologies?
·
What is your specific angle or stance or subtopic or unique approach within the
topic area? (This is a great place to leverage your own interests or point of
view.)
·
What tone will your work have?
(celebratory, critical, empowering, informative, ironic, satirical, subversive,
etc.)
·
How will you use digital technologies in
creating your work? Do the technologies/processes/techniques
you use have a relationship to the content of the work?
·
What will be the final format of the
work for the critique (printed image(s), mixed media sculpture, website, video,
etc.)?
·
What challenges do you anticipate in creating this work?
Are there specific items that you and I need to discuss with regard to your
ability to create this work?
Turn
in your typed paper either as a Microsoft Word
document on D2L or as a printed
copy by the start of class time on the due date on the schedule. If you do
not have the ability to submit a Microsoft Word document, I will also accept a
PDF document.
NOTE: Per class request, you may use images and sketches to augment your
proposal.
step two:
make the work / save the originals
Create your work and save it in the format that is most appropriate for the
work. If the files don’t have original components for me to see when grading,
then I will need to see working files or process of some type. This may mean
providing work in multiple formats or screenshots of your progression.
step
three: save / export
an accessible copy
Save
your work in a digital format that is accessible and can be archived (ex:
exported JPG, TIF, PDF, GIF, MP4, “Web Page, Complete” files, etc.). The
digital format should not require a specific program, app, or password to open
it. In some cases you may also need to include documentation images, etc. Talk
to me if you have questions or concerns about how to appropriately save your
work for submission in class.
Please
title assignments with your LAST NAME followed by any title or description you
choose and the file extension. (ex: LARVA_anytitlehere.tiff)
step
four: submission
Load
your original and accessible/archivable files (and any other necessary items) in
the appropriate D2L submission folder by the start of class on the due date.
NOTE: I will use these files to grade. As long as the print is finished on time
for critique, your work may be posted on D2L any time within 24 hours after the
start of the critique and will be considered on time. PLEASE DO NOT POST FILES
DURING OUR CLASS CRITIQUE.
NOTE: Partial submissions that do not include the original working files
(non-flattened, non-rasterized layers) will result in a significantly lower
grade.
step
five: production
Produce
your work in physical form for critique (ex: a print) unless it is time-based
(ex: an animated GIF) or you have a conceptual reason why the work cannot be
physical, in which case you must clear it with me. NOTE: Time-based digital
work will be displayed via projection from a school computer.
step
seven: critique
Be
prepared to present your physical work in class.
optional
step: title
You
may choose to create a title label for your work that will hang with the work
during the critique. The title may be typed or even informally handwritten on a
scrap of paper. Standard artwork label information includes: artist name, title
of the work, year created, size (height x width x depth) and media used, but
your label may include whatever information you see fit to include.
resources:
digital
technology creation or production examples to consider: