Download PDF:
IAT380-D200-1-2012.pdf
Credit Hours: 3
Instructors:
Arne Eigenfeldt
Location: SFU Surrey, Room 3310
Semester: Spring 2012
Course Description:
Note: This is a separate course from IAT 380 D100
Digital technology has changed both the process and products of contemporary creativity in art-making. This course will focus on the history and practice of this shift in the fields of visual art and music with reference to related disciplines. The emphasis will be on instances where both the process and product are inconceivable apart from digital technology, in other words, where the computer is intimately involved in the creative process, not merely the realization stage. A range of processes from interactive systems through to algorithmic approaches (stochastic, deterministic, chaotic) will be examined as having been used by artists in visual arts and music composition. Of particular interest will be cases where similar techniques and concepts are used across media. The course will attempt to blend aesthetic criticism with applied experimentation.
Course Objectives:
This course is intended to:
- Provide students with a foundational literacy in the fundamentals of digital art
- Introduce digital art as part of a history that includes algorithmic art, fractals, computer music, NetArt, installation, hypermedia, evolutionary art, databases, intelligent systems, and virtual reality
- Introduce concepts of algorithmic approaches within creative work
- Introduce students to various digital art tools
Learning Outcomes:
By completing this course, it is anticipated that students will be able to:
- Critically evaluate digital art
- Create original digital art
Delivery Method:
Lecture (LEC) and Studio Lab (STL)
Learning Activities + Evaluation:
This course will require four major assignments:
- An essay comparing two digital art works, one of which uses the computer as simply a tool, the other that explores new potential of artistic creation formerly not possible without the technology.
- A free-form exercise in which you utilize one or more types of software to generate and organize your materials. In particular, you should endeavor to include significant involvement of the computer in your process at one or more levels. This can include use of algorithmic approaches, stochastic variables, non-linear techniques, or other formalized systems. The result may be fixed (i.e. in a files or other medium) or interactive.
- A research paper on any topic in digital art, including an in-depth analysis of specific works wherever possible. You may wish to concentrate on a specific artist, technical approach, or compare more than one.
- A final digital art project that more fully explores issues, concepts, and/or techniques raised in class. The emphasis will be more on the quality of design process rather than a production of a “finished” work ready for public consumption.
NOTE: Regular attendance of lectures, labs and active participation is necessary to pass.
Evaluation:
Comparison Essay: 20%
Applied Exercise: 20%
Research Paper: 30%
Final Project: 30%
TOTAL: 100%
Texts, Resources + Materials:
Resources & Materials:
WebCT & Online readings
Required Text:
None
Prerequisites:
None
Last Updated: October 12, 2011
These course outlines are drafts and are subject to change.
