Massachusetts College of Art
SIM 2XX - Live Events: Technology
Fall 2002

Syllabus

Wednesdays, 9 - 1:30 p.m.
Tower Room 305, aka "Electronics Lab"

Prof: Nita Sturiale
Email:nsturiale@massart.edu
Office hours: Wed 1:30-3:00 and Thur 12-1:30

Graduate Assistant: Christy Georg
Email: christygeorg@yahoo.com
Office hours: by apt.

~ Link to weekly schedule ~

Course Description

In this course, students will propose, experiment and practice short live events that depend on the interrelationship between a strong concept and some form of contemporary technology. Ever since the first human picked up a red ochre tool to tell a story on a cave wall, humans have used technology to extend, express and share their ideas. As contemporary artists, we yearn to create moments of connection to these original artistic processes across the millennia as well as to our current audiences. These moments of artistic exchange are live events; musical performance, spoken word, audience participation, street performance, interactive installation, Internet art, artists' talks, even the act of creating and/or contemplating a painting. The technologies of the 21rst century extend the reach of artists in completely new and exciting ways. Through an historical survey of experimental artworks, exposure to the latest technologies, field trips, discussion, and critique of student work, this course will explore the art of shaping live events that are enabled and/or augmented by technology. Those both with and without computer experience are welcome.

This course is both performance studio and technical workshop. Students will create scripts and direct short live events using classmates, objects, and technologies to express artistic ideas. 

Topics

• Scripting and Proposal Writing
• Collaboration and Direction
• Out of doors tools
• Digital Slide Shows and Projections
• Use of Tech in Contemporary Kinetic Art
• Performative Interactivity
• Web-based Interactivity
• Basic Mechanical Drive Systems
• Sounds and lights
• Bio Feedback
• Handheld computers

Course Requirements

We'll be together 4 + hours per week for 3 + months. Our goal is to learn things we don't already know towards the long-term goal of being effective and articulate artists. The teacher's responsibility is to present information, provocations and a structured environment that will help you learn. Your responsibility is to participate in this environment fully by voicing your interests, thoughts, and questions as well as listening to your classmates. Class participation, discussion and attention is fundamental and required.

Artists express ideas, information, opinions, questions, thoughts, dreams, aesthetic sensibilities, etc. Digital media provides opportunities to express in faster, wider, more complex, and, just plain different ways. Learning how to use these tools is just as challenging as learning how to throw a clay pot without it collapsing or calculating the math involved in architectural drafting. It takes patience, a sense of humor and a willingness to try new things without fear. In most cases, you won't break the computer (and/or the motor in this course) unless you throw it out a window (which you may want to do at times).

Also required is that you apply for, and use, an email account and that you become practiced at working online. Much of the course materials are online via the following URL - http://babel.massart.edu/~nita. The syllabus for this course is linked from this page and from there you'll find other specific links to course materials.

List of requirements and assignments:

• Get an email account. Let us know if you need help with this.

• Be present in body - come to class ontime - more than two absences, or chronic lateness will result in a NC grade,

• Be present in mind and mouth - participate in class discussion and critique sessions,

• Participate in studio workshops,

• Read the readings and be prepared to discuss them in class,

• Complete Assignments:

  1.    Interview local street performers, or other artists you know that work with live performance or kinetic sculpture, ON THE JOB, or in their studio, about how they use, maintain, upgrade, etc. their tools. Document interview.

  2.    Short Live Event Script 1: document that includes pictures and words, bring copies for everyone in class. Hand in final, signed version.

  3.    Short Live Event 1: presented to class

  4. Mid semester self-evaluation
  (print from http://babel.massart.edu/~nita/fall2002/eval/mideval.html)

  5.    Short Live Event Script 2: document that includes pictures and words, bring copies for everyone in class. Hand in final, signed version.

  6.    Short Live Event 2: presented to class

  7. Final self-evaluation
  (print from http://babel.massart.edu/~nita/fall2002/eval/finaleval.html)

Selected Readings

1. Bless, Nancy. "Signs and Wonders", Sculpture, December 1999. pgs. 33 - 38.
2. Burgy, Donald. "To be an Artist...". Undated.
3. Hamblyn, Richard. The Invention of Clouds, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pgs. 7 - 20.
4. Holland, John. "A Short Text for Speaking Voice", American Sound Press, 1994.
5. Jenkins, Jim. "Humanizing the Machine", Sculpture, December 1999. pgs. 41 - 47.
6. Ono, Yoko. Instruction Paintings, Weatherhill Inc., various.
7. Pursell, Carroll. White Heat: People and Technology, pgs. 14 - 35
8. Stilgoe, John R. Outside Lies Magic, Walker and Company, 1998. pgs. 1- 19
9. Strapp, Jacques. "Terrorism as Art Form", The Spleen, Oct 2001.
10. Wallace, Ronald. "On the problem of a Ten Minute Performance", March 18, 2000.
11. Wolfson, Wendy. "Bio-artist Adam Zaretsky sleeps with the fishes", Red Herring Magazine, March 13, 2002.

Stimuli - http://babel.massart.edu/~nita/fall2002/stimuli.html

Resources - http://babel.massart.edu/~nita/fall2002/resources.html