Digital Fabrication

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 introduces video as a medium for artistic expression and social inquiry. Students gain an understanding of the video image-making process and develop proficiency with video equipment, including portable and studio production and editing systems. Strategies for the use of video as an art-making tool are explored. Works by video artists are viewed and discussed.

This course introduces video as a medium for artistic expression and social inquiry. Students gain an understanding of the video image-making process and develop proficiency with video equipment, including portable and studio production and editing systems. Strategies for the use of video as an art-making tool are explored. Works by video artists are viewed and discussed.

This class is inspired by Johannes Itten?s radical early twentieth-century basic art course developed for the Weimar Bauhaus School of Art, but here using the Maya 3D software, typically used for commercial productions by the entertainment industry. Students will solve a series of formal problems, introduced in increasing levels of complexity. Moving from the 2-dimensional to the 3-dimensional and ultimately to the four-dimensional or time-based, students will evolve their abilities to utilize aspects of light and dark, form, rhythm, color, proportion and volume but in terms of a post photographic discourse, with the intention of advancing a new virtual cinema.

This class is inspired by Johannes Itten?s radical early twentieth-century basic art course developed for the Weimar Bauhaus School of Art, but here using the Maya 3D software, typically used for commercial productions by the entertainment industry. Students will solve a series of formal problems, introduced in increasing levels of complexity. Moving from the 2-dimensional to the 3-dimensional and ultimately to the four-dimensional or time-based, students will evolve their abilities to utilize aspects of light and dark, form, rhythm, color, proportion and volume but in terms of a post photographic discourse, with the intention of advancing a new virtual cinema.

This introductory course focuses on screen-based new media works, their historical contexts, their specific aesthetics and theoretical concerns. Students gain an understanding of the emerging culture and historical antecedents of new media. Interactive, network and web-based technologies are introduced from the perspective of media art making. New media works are screened, discussed and demonstrated.

Systems, Codes & Spaces critically introduces the art of nonlinear media art via an understanding of its historical and theoretical trajectories. Students view and analyze structurally a variety of works in the mediums of video, installation, interactive media, new media and experimental 3D. Readings drawn from Jack Burnham, Pamela Lee, and Edward Shanken are discussed to assess the contemporary state of the field. Students must enroll in FVNM 2100 New Media: Crash Course simultaneously as a corequisite.

This course is an introduction to the concepts and processes utilized in the production of artworks with digital animation tools. A variety of techniques are explored for modeling, surface description, image mapping, lighting simulation, computer graphics in desktop video, installation, and print forms. This is a prerequisite for advanced computer animation.

This Class introduces students to the design, construction, and filming of 3D-puppet animation. Students build puppets, construct sets, and film their work either digitally, or on 16mm film. Students learn to build armatures and puppets, practice pose-to-pose movement, replacement animation, and work on set design. In the second half of semester, students present storyboards for a final project that involves sets, puppets, and shooting two minutes of frame by frame animation. During this time framing, micro-cinematography, and camera movement are covered. Sound is optional.

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 offers an exploration of computer-aided design and manufacture from concept and modeling through file creation and cutting processes, and addresses the aesthetic and critical concerns of its use in an artistic context. Using professional software and a state of the art four-axis CNC milling machine, students ranging from artists and beyond can build the elements of detailed models, fabricate a range of finished objects, or even create entire pieces. Class sessions will include hands-on tutorials in the use of software and machinery, examination and critique of art and design utilizing this technology, and class discussions informed by reading assignments. Students are REQUIRED to have a personal laptop.

This course introduces video as a medium for artistic expression and social inquiry. Students gain an understanding of the video image-making process and develop proficiency with video equipment, including portable and studio production and editing systems. Strategies for the use of video as an art-making tool are explored. Works by video artists are viewed and discussed.

This class is inspired by Johannes Itten?s radical early twentieth-century basic art course developed for the Weimar Bauhaus School of Art, but here using the Maya 3D software, typically used for commercial productions by the entertainment industry. Students will solve a series of formal problems, introduced in increasing levels of complexity. Moving from the 2-dimensional to the 3-dimensional and ultimately to the four-dimensional or time-based, students will evolve their abilities to utilize aspects of light and dark, form, rhythm, color, proportion and volume but in terms of a post photographic discourse, with the intention of advancing a new virtual cinema.

This class is inspired by Johannes Itten?s radical early twentieth-century basic art course developed for the Weimar Bauhaus School of Art, but here using the Maya 3D software, typically used for commercial productions by the entertainment industry. Students will solve a series of formal problems, introduced in increasing levels of complexity. Moving from the 2-dimensional to the 3-dimensional and ultimately to the four-dimensional or time-based, students will evolve their abilities to utilize aspects of light and dark, form, rhythm, color, proportion and volume but in terms of a post photographic discourse, with the intention of advancing a new virtual cinema.

This introductory course focuses on screen-based new media works, their historical contexts, their specific aesthetics and theoretical concerns. Students gain an understanding of the emerging culture and historical antecedents of new media. Interactive, network and web-based technologies are introduced from the perspective of media art making. New media works are screened, discussed and demonstrated.

Systems, Codes & Spaces critically introduces the art of nonlinear media art via an understanding of its historical and theoretical trajectories. Students view and analyze structurally a variety of works in the mediums of video, installation, interactive media, new media and experimental 3D. Readings drawn from Jack Burnham, Pamela Lee, and Edward Shanken are discussed to assess the contemporary state of the field. Students must enroll in FVNM 2100 New Media: Crash Course simultaneously as a corequisite.

This course is an introduction to the concepts and processes utilized in the production of artworks with digital animation tools. A variety of techniques are explored for modeling, surface description, image mapping, lighting simulation, computer graphics in desktop video, installation, and print forms. This is a prerequisite for advanced computer animation.

Students learn a wide range of post-production digital techniques for 2D animation, compositing (layering, collaging), and creating visual effects for video productions. Students produce projects that incorporate manipulated still images, animation, desktop video, and audio. Those who are intrigued by this kind of image manipulation will find the capabilities of the software dynamic and inspiring. Screenings and analysis focus on the use of such techniques in the world of video art, television, and film.

This Class introduces students to the design, construction, and filming of 3D-puppet animation. Students build puppets, construct sets, and film their work either digitally, or on 16mm film. Students learn to build armatures and puppets, practice pose-to-pose movement, replacement animation, and work on set design. In the second half of semester, students present storyboards for a final project that involves sets, puppets, and shooting two minutes of frame by frame animation. During this time framing, micro-cinematography, and camera movement are covered. Sound is optional.

This course explores various modeling techniques, both haptic and digital, for creating sculptural projects. Students investigate perceptual modeling via the direct manipulation of media and 3-D computer imaging and output. prototype development and schematics for large scale sculptures. Several projects will incorporate the making of a sculpture or model developed from direct observation. Class discussions will also address questions such as prototype development, how to use schematics and make proposals for large-scale sculpture.

This course explores various types of notations and drawings, both descriptive and expressive, which are created for sculptural projects.Students investigate perceptual drawing, sketchbook-diaries and schematics and are introduced to 3-D computer imaging. Several projects will incorporate the making of a sculpture or model developed from the drawing process. Class discussions address questions such as how to make proposals for large-scale sculpture.

This course is a structural and poststructural investigation of sculptural site activation. The students explore the theory and practice of how work gets contextualized and redefined through its placement within a larger social, political, and economic sphere of meaning. Students investigate options and determinants operative in both indoor and outdoor sites, installations, and environments. Although the focus of the class is contemporary, topics of discussion range from Rodin's Burghers of Calais to the public projections of Krzysztof Wodiczko. An indoor space is available for student use and cooperative interaction is encouraged. Prerequisite: intermediate level work in any media or consent of instructor.

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.