Art and Science

This course examines neon techniques used in both traditional and current sign making and their application in creating artworks. Contemporary technical developments are explored.

This course explores the use of radio, light and sound as media through which an artist can create a public voice. This course takes a hands-on, do-it-yourself approach to these media, providing a basic background in electronics theory and practice, as well as in programming and use of microcontrollers. Topics covered in this course include, but are not limited to, low-power radio, locative media, hactivism and culture-jamming. Some examples of activities include the construction of AM/FM radio transmitters and receivers, laser projectors, persistence-of-vision displays and mobile audio rigs. A survey of the artistic significance of these media will be conducted throughout the course. Students are expected to research and present their findings in class, as well as to produce a personal or collaborative final project that augments their own practices.

DIY has become a widespread movement in the artistic community. Modifying, tinkering, tweaking and downright hijacking have become a commonplace practice among today?s artists. Many everyday electronic objects are yearning to be liberated from their banal existences. This course explores readily available materials with a goal of bringing out the hidden aesthetic potentials of electronic devices. Students dig beneath the shiny surfaces to uncover underlying workings, principles and mechanisms. Class projects result in new artworks by reanimating the physical presences and behaviors of the reassembled artifact.

This course covers the fundamentals of programming computers to control and generate music and sound compositions. It offers a general overview of specific programming strategies for the generation of sequences of events, and for generating and manipulating temporal information. Generative techniques based on approaches utilizing stochastic and other indeterminate approaches, as well as deterministic models are covered. Historical and theoretic approaches to the use of 'automatic' generative systems for composition are reviewed. Special emphasis is placed upon the use of programs for live performance, the interfacing of alternate controllers via MIDI, and hybrid physical/computational systems. All programming will be done in Max/MSP and Supercollider II.

This course explores programmatic approaches to sound creation using softwares such as PureData, SuperCollider, Processing, and more, as well as looking at sound libraries in programming languages such as Python. While intended primarily for sound artists looking to go beyond programs like Max/MSP it is also appropriate for anyone interested in code based sound, including web design, game creation, glitch artists, etc.

Writing in the twenty-first century is computational, writes literary critic N. Katherine Hayles. While this is true, she explains, of any work that uses digital software as its production environment before being output to print, it is particularly evident in works of electronic literature that are designed to be encountered on the computer screen. The practitioner of electronic writing is an author who combines human language and computer code to create new kinds of literary experience. Works of electronic literature can exceed the possibilities of print in their scale, dynamic variability, visual and temporal qualities, and attentiveness to the reader. The environment of the network (internet) also provides new opportunities for collaboration and sampling of found material. In this writing studio, we will survey varied forms of electronic literature including interactive hypertext / hypermedia, multi-user environments, codeworks, e-poetry, writing for virtual reality, and text-driven digital performance. Students will engage the potential of computational literature by creating original works using a variety of web-based programming languages taught in the weekly sessions. No previous programming experience is required.

This course is offered for those students interested in developing skills in the creation and application of digital audio. Using Apple's Logic software, students interested in exploring sound or music are introduced to audio manipulation techniques that allow them to create soundtracks, to record and produce songs or dance tracks, realize abstract sound pieces or manipulate sound for installations. Techniques of sound manipulation are introduced, including audio recording and editing, looping, and sound destruction. MIDI, drum programming, the use of software synthesis and basic music and composition techniques are addressed according to the needs of individual students. The class is structured to encourage the interaction of students with a wide range of technical ability in audio from beginners to advanced artists in the early stages of a professional practice.

This course is offered for those students interested in developing skills in the creation and application of digital audio. Using Apple's Logic software, students interested in exploring sound or music are introduced to audio manipulation techniques that allow them to create soundtracks, to record and produce songs or dance tracks, realize abstract sound pieces or manipulate sound for installations. Techniques of sound manipulation are introduced, including audio recording and editing, looping, and sound destruction. MIDI, drum programming, the use of software synthesis and basic music and composition techniques are addressed according to the needs of individual students. The class is structured to encourage the interaction of students with a wide range of technical ability in audio from beginners to advanced artists in the early stages of a professional practice.

This class will explore strategies and techniques for using emerging technology to create and convey stories in new ways, with particular focus on combining narratives and interaction. We will investigate the related formats and critical concepts in contemporary media art. Can a complex narrative be conveyed in a non-linear experience? How can interaction shape a narrative? How do new technologies change how and what we communicate? How does programmatically controlled medium enable new ways of telling? How does the viewer construct the narrative from representational, performative or procedural clues? Class meetings consist of a combination of artistic production and creative research -- reading, lectures, critiques and discussions. During the semester students will create smaller-scope projects and a more refined final project. The class will meet as a group for critiques and individually for work-in-progress consultations.

This course focuses on wearables and 'soft' computing as a vehicle for subversion and artistic appropriation. Readings emphasize theoretical discourse on the relationships of the body, technology, fashion, social interactions and environment. Concepts are developed, designed and prototyped into working pieces by participants addressing personal expression and social dialog. Soft circuits (conductive paint, fabric, etc), new and recycled materials are explored in the development of expressive computational forms.

In BioArt studio students participate in classroom exercises and individual projects exploring the manipulation of living matter. Rudimentary procedures serve as departure points for study of more sophisticated and advanced techniques utilized by artists as well as commercial entities. Subject matter includes core concepts of Food, Fuel and Fun. Specific activities include plant cloning, DNA extraction, gel electrophoresis, microbial culturing and bioinformatics analysis among others. No previous laboratory experience required.

Teaches the design, construction and programming of robotic projects, both artworks and designed objects, such as interactive furniture, objects, and habitable spaces. Topics to be covered include sensors, embedded micro-controllers, and motor control, lighting, etc. Student projects ranging from embedded interactive devices to autonomous spatial object-scaled, will be designed and built with a critical approach to normal market forces and human factors. Discussions investigate a range of robotic endeavors, examining connections with related fields such as interaction design, artificial intelligence, kinetic sculpture, etc., and critically examine works embodying these strategies.

The ever-increasing excess of online data has led to a proliferation of creative practices formulated around the collection, analysis, and sculpting of cultural materials. In this studio, we will engage with large bodies of content culled from archived and live information sources such as databases, search engines, media repositories, and social networks. Experiments will be informed by inquiries into historical archives and systems including libraries, memory theaters, astronomical clocks, and the stock exchange. Using contemporary web programming techniques that simplify real-time data acquisition and representation, we will attempt to give aesthetic form to human experience within worlds of information. Only basic HTML knowledge is required for the course (SAIC Wired: Culture and Community on the WWW, Web Art, or permission of instructor).

This course, emphasizing use by the student artist, introduces the practical applications of sound equipment, techniques, and theory. Subjects covered include microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, the basic physics of sound, and magnetic tape recordings and associated skills. The concept of sound as a material with basic structural properties that may be manipulated is introduced. Students explore methods of composition, using various sound materials in assigned projects. A critical survey of sound art and experimental music introduces students to various approaches to understanding and experiencing sound within an art context. Students have studio time for individual hands-on access to equipment. No technical background is necessary.

This course, emphasizing use by the student artist, introduces the practical applications of sound equipment, techniques, and theory. Subjects covered include microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, the basic physics of sound, and magnetic tape recordings and associated skills. The concept of sound as a material with basic structural properties that may be manipulated is introduced. Students explore methods of composition, using various sound materials in assigned projects. A critical survey of sound art and experimental music introduces students to various approaches to understanding and experiencing sound within an art context. Students have studio time for individual hands-on access to equipment. No technical background is necessary.

This course, emphasizing use by the student artist, introduces the practical applications of sound equipment, techniques, and theory. Subjects covered include microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, the basic physics of sound, and magnetic tape recordings and associated skills. The concept of sound as a material with basic structural properties that may be manipulated is introduced. Students explore methods of composition, using various sound materials in assigned projects. A critical survey of sound art and experimental music introduces students to various approaches to understanding and experiencing sound within an art context. Students have studio time for individual hands-on access to equipment. No technical background is necessary.

This course explores the use of radio, light and sound as media through which an artist can create a public voice. This course takes a hands-on, do-it-yourself approach to these media, providing a basic background in electronics theory and practice, as well as in programming and use of microcontrollers. Topics covered in this course include, but are not limited to, low-power radio, locative media, hactivism and culture-jamming. Some examples of activities include the construction of AM/FM radio transmitters and receivers, laser projectors, persistence-of-vision displays and mobile audio rigs. A survey of the artistic significance of these media will be conducted throughout the course. Students are expected to research and present their findings in class, as well as to produce a personal or collaborative final project that augments their own practices.

This course covers the fundamentals of programming computers to control and generate music and sound compositions. It offers a general overview of specific programming strategies for the generation of sequences of events, and for generating and manipulating temporal information. Generative techniques based on approaches utilizing stochastic and other indeterminate approaches, as well as deterministic models are covered. Historical and theoretic approaches to the use of 'automatic' generative systems for composition are reviewed. Special emphasis is placed upon the use of programs for live performance, the interfacing of alternate controllers via MIDI, and hybrid physical/computational systems. All programming will be done in Max/MSP and Supercollider II.

This course explores programmatic approaches to sound creation using softwares such as PureData, SuperCollider, Processing, and more, as well as looking at sound libraries in programming languages such as Python. While intended primarily for sound artists looking to go beyond programs like Max/MSP it is also appropriate for anyone interested in code based sound, including web design, game creation, glitch artists, etc.

A rapidly increasing variety of objects in everyday life are acquiring an awareness of their environments, a repertoire of behaviors, and the ability to communicate with other objects, their owners, or, through networks, with more comprehensive integrated systems. This class explores the design processes, skills, and tools necessary to thrive in this exciting creative domain. The course incorporates substantial hands-on development experience in a lab environment. Students will conceptualize, prototype, and build working objects that respond to and cooperate with their owners and with each other.

Light is a material that can be shaped to express ideas, create experiences and increase the communicative potential of objects and spaces. Through a combination of lectures, demos, fields trips and most of all, hands-on lab work, students develop a degree of self sufficiency in the design, construction and prototyping of illuminated objects, physical graphics and environmental lighting. Students learn basic electronic and electrical circuit design, lamp specification and experiment with illumination technologies including incandescent, LED and cold cathode (neon).

This course examines neon techniques used in both traditional and current sign making and their application in creating artworks. Contemporary technical developments are explored.

A rapidly increasing variety of objects in everyday life are acquiring an awareness of their environments, a repertoire of behaviors, and the ability to communicate with other objects, their owners, or, through networks, with more comprehensive integrated systems. This class explores the design processes, skills, and tools necessary to thrive in this exciting creative domain. The course incorporates substantial hands-on development experience in a lab environment. Students will conceptualize, prototype, and build working objects that respond to and cooperate with their owners and with each other.

Light is a material that can be shaped to express ideas, create experiences and increase the communicative potential of objects and spaces. Through a combination of lectures, demos, fields trips and most of all, hands-on lab work, students develop a degree of self sufficiency in the design, construction and prototyping of illuminated objects, physical graphics and environmental lighting. Students learn basic electronic and electrical circuit design, lamp specification and experiment with illumination technologies including incandescent, LED and cold cathode (neon).

This course will provide an introduction to programming for sound synthesis and real-time performance using the Max/MSP and Supercollider II languages. Students will learn the basic structures, strategies, concepts, and vocabularies of these two languages in order to prepare them for using these techniques within other sound department courses.

Electronics can be a kind of language that, when an artist becomes fluent in it, opens doors to numerous aesthetic possibilities. Students will learn the basic principles of electronics along with hands-on techniques for putting the power of electrons into their work. They will be introduced to electronic components and circuits for switching, sensing, making decisions, and, to a limited degree, linking to computers. Students will encounter digital and analog answers to some of the most common art-making needs, gaining a foundation which will enable them to continue to expand their repertoire of aesthetic technological skills.

Constructing art objects that incorporate real or apparent motion often requires skills in a number of areas: physical shaping and fastening of elements, linking them to an actuator (such as a motor), and controlling the motion, most typically through electronics. This course will give students a grounding in all these techniques as well as initiate a discussion of some of the problems and possibilities inherent in the aesthetic use of motion.

This course is offered for those students interested in developing skills in the creation and application of digital audio. Using Apple's Logic software, students interested in exploring sound or music are introduced to audio manipulation techniques that allow them to create soundtracks, to record and produce songs or dance tracks, realize abstract sound pieces or manipulate sound for installations. Techniques of sound manipulation are introduced, including audio recording and editing, looping, and sound destruction. MIDI, drum programming, the use of software synthesis and basic music and composition techniques are addressed according to the needs of individual students. The class is structured to encourage the interaction of students with a wide range of technical ability in audio from beginners to advanced artists in the early stages of a professional practice.

This course is offered for those students interested in developing skills in the creation and application of digital audio. Using Apple's Logic software, students interested in exploring sound or music are introduced to audio manipulation techniques that allow them to create soundtracks, to record and produce songs or dance tracks, realize abstract sound pieces or manipulate sound for installations. Techniques of sound manipulation are introduced, including audio recording and editing, looping, and sound destruction. MIDI, drum programming, the use of software synthesis and basic music and composition techniques are addressed according to the needs of individual students. The class is structured to encourage the interaction of students with a wide range of technical ability in audio from beginners to advanced artists in the early stages of a professional practice.

This studio course investigates the creative possibilities in programming, from interactivity to information visualization. Students explore interactive narratives and games, software art, simulations and emergent behaviors, and other code-based forms. Lectures and demonstrations provide a conceptual, aesthetic and technical foundation in programming as a creative practice. Techniques and concepts are presented through the open-source programming environment Processing, with an introduction to advanced topics such as C++ and OpenFrameworks.

This course is an introduction to the mathematics of patterns found in nature and art. Topics of study include the Golden Mean, Fibonacci Series, spirals, division of the plane, tilling the plane, symmetry, fractals, platonic solids, and special rectangles and triangles.

This is an introduction to the study of astronomy through a combination of observation and classroom instruction. Topics include the appearance of the night sky, seasonal constellations, the moon and planetary motions, the seasons, astronomical telescopes, stellar astronomy and evolution, and cosmology. One or two classes at the Adler Planetarium are planned.

This is an introduction to the study of astronomy through a combination of observation and classroom instruction. Topics include the appearance of the night sky, seasonal constellations, the moon and planetary motions, the seasons, astronomical telescopes, stellar astronomy and evolution, and cosmology. One or two classes at the Adler Planetarium are planned.

This course, emphasizing use by the student artist, introduces the practical applications of sound equipment, techniques, and theory. Subjects covered include microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, the basic physics of sound, and magnetic tape recordings and associated skills. The concept of sound as a material with basic structural properties that may be manipulated is introduced. Students explore methods of composition, using various sound materials in assigned projects. A critical survey of sound art and experimental music introduces students to various approaches to understanding and experiencing sound within an art context. Students have studio time for individual hands-on access to equipment. No technical background is necessary.

This course, emphasizing use by the student artist, introduces the practical applications of sound equipment, techniques, and theory. Subjects covered include microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, the basic physics of sound, and magnetic tape recordings and associated skills. The concept of sound as a material with basic structural properties that may be manipulated is introduced. Students explore methods of composition, using various sound materials in assigned projects. A critical survey of sound art and experimental music introduces students to various approaches to understanding and experiencing sound within an art context. Students have studio time for individual hands-on access to equipment. No technical background is necessary.

This course, emphasizing use by the student artist, introduces the practical applications of sound equipment, techniques, and theory. Subjects covered include microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, the basic physics of sound, and magnetic tape recordings and associated skills. The concept of sound as a material with basic structural properties that may be manipulated is introduced. Students explore methods of composition, using various sound materials in assigned projects. A critical survey of sound art and experimental music introduces students to various approaches to understanding and experiencing sound within an art context. Students have studio time for individual hands-on access to equipment. No technical background is necessary.

This course will provide an introduction to programming for sound synthesis and real-time performance using the Max/MSP and Supercollider II languages. Students will learn the basic structures, strategies, concepts, and vocabularies of these two languages in order to prepare them for using these techniques within other sound department courses.

This course plunges first-year students into visual theory using texts and ideas that universities often leave until graduate school. We work through basic 'formal' subjects (lectures on Form, Color, Time( at the same time as we explore more 'advanced' subjects (lectures on Religion, Ideology, Visual Theory). The course is vocabulary-intensive and intended to give students the widest possible exposure to visual discourse in all cultures and disciplines (The Survey is meant to do the same for visual artifacts).

This class offers a graduate-level introduction to the history of visual studies, from English cultural studies in the 1960s to the present. It also considers the deeper historical roots of the field, going back to late Renaissance hermeneutics and nineteenth-century German historical research. The class's second objective is an introduction to the theories currently prevalent in the field, including postcolonial theory, identity politics, and theories of high art and popular art. Readings include Spivak, Michaels, Eagleton, Crimp, Mirzoeff, Mitchell, and Benjamin. [This is a required course for first-year students in the MA in VCS program.]

The thesis, as the final requirement to be fulfilled for the Masters of Art degree in Visual and Critical Studies, is expected to constitute an original contribution to the current body of research in its field. For the thesis, students are encouraged to use innovative approaches to research and analysis, and the formats with which they disseminate the outcomes of their research. The thesis requirement may be satisfied in a variety of ways incorporating visual, sonic, and verbal media. This seminar assists the student in selecting, researching, analyzing, designing, and, organizing the thesis. During this semester, the student selects her or his thesis advisor and two other faculty committee members and defends the proposal before this panel. The student also completes most of the research and the preliminary work for the thesis. This seminar is required for the Master of Arts in Visual and Critical Studies. Open to MAVCS students only.