Jina Valentine

The thematic structure of this course is situated around ideas of the archive. In its simplest form this refers to the aggregation of materials, practices, languages, information. We will also examine how the archive conceptually relates to more performative, gestural, or ephemeral forms; the ways an entire studio practice, a human life, or a single object can be considered an archive. What is at stake when we consider the breadth of history embedded in a single thing, word, or place? How does this change our negotiations with found matter (photographed, remembered, absorbed, etc).

From a practical standpoint, students will be examining their own studio practices and the ways in which their research relates to developing the underlying conceptual thread spanning their works: How can artistic research change the core questions fueling our inquiries? How can our research practices symbiotically nourish our studio practices? Students will be required to visit local archives, meet with researchers/professors outside the department/school, and to write critically about their own work.

Projects include:
Close reading of The Archive (Whitechapel Press)
1 page artist statement based on interviews and studio visits with classmates
A research paper related to studio practice (Based on research in archives around Chicago; expanded from 1 page artist statement)

Taken every semester, the Graduate Projects courses allow students to focus in private sessions on the development of their work. Students register for 6 hours of Graduate Project credit in each semester of study.