| Introduction To Sound |
2001 (001) |
Eshovo Momoh |
Mon/Wed
6:45 PM - 9:15 PM
In Person
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|
Description
This course will introduce students to basic techniques of working with sound as an artistic material. As a prerequisite for many of the department?s upper level offerings, the class is designed to familiarize the student with both the technology and the historical and aesthetic background relevant to our facilities and courses, to the field of ?sound art? and experimental music in general, and to the application of sound in other disciplines (video, film, performance, installations, etc.) Equipment covered will include microphones, mixers, analog and digital audio recorders, signal processors and analog synthesizers. Hard-disk based recording and editing (ProTools) is introduced, but the focus is on more traditional analog studio technology. The physics of sound will be a recurring subject. Examples of music and sound art, created using similar technology to that in our studios, will be played or performed and discussed in class. The listening list will vary according to the instructors? preferences. Readings are similarly set according to the instructors? syllabus: some sections employ more or less reading than others, contact specific instructors for details. Students are expected to use studio time to complete weekly assignments, which are designed to hone technical skills and, in most cases, foster artistic innovation. Some of these projects can incorporate outside resources (such as the student?s own computers and recordings), but the emphasis is on mastering the studio.
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Class Number
1442
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Credits
3
|
Department
Sound
Area of Study
Digital Communication
Location
MacLean 420
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| Introduction To Sound |
2001 (002) |
Austen Brown |
Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
This course will introduce students to basic techniques of working with sound as an artistic material. As a prerequisite for many of the department?s upper level offerings, the class is designed to familiarize the student with both the technology and the historical and aesthetic background relevant to our facilities and courses, to the field of ?sound art? and experimental music in general, and to the application of sound in other disciplines (video, film, performance, installations, etc.) Equipment covered will include microphones, mixers, analog and digital audio recorders, signal processors and analog synthesizers. Hard-disk based recording and editing (ProTools) is introduced, but the focus is on more traditional analog studio technology. The physics of sound will be a recurring subject. Examples of music and sound art, created using similar technology to that in our studios, will be played or performed and discussed in class. The listening list will vary according to the instructors? preferences. Readings are similarly set according to the instructors? syllabus: some sections employ more or less reading than others, contact specific instructors for details. Students are expected to use studio time to complete weekly assignments, which are designed to hone technical skills and, in most cases, foster artistic innovation. Some of these projects can incorporate outside resources (such as the student?s own computers and recordings), but the emphasis is on mastering the studio.
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Class Number
1443
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Credits
3
|
Department
Sound
Area of Study
Digital Communication
Location
MacLean 420
|
| Introduction To Sound |
2001 (003) |
Eric Leonardson |
Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
This course will introduce students to basic techniques of working with sound as an artistic material. As a prerequisite for many of the department?s upper level offerings, the class is designed to familiarize the student with both the technology and the historical and aesthetic background relevant to our facilities and courses, to the field of ?sound art? and experimental music in general, and to the application of sound in other disciplines (video, film, performance, installations, etc.) Equipment covered will include microphones, mixers, analog and digital audio recorders, signal processors and analog synthesizers. Hard-disk based recording and editing (ProTools) is introduced, but the focus is on more traditional analog studio technology. The physics of sound will be a recurring subject. Examples of music and sound art, created using similar technology to that in our studios, will be played or performed and discussed in class. The listening list will vary according to the instructors? preferences. Readings are similarly set according to the instructors? syllabus: some sections employ more or less reading than others, contact specific instructors for details. Students are expected to use studio time to complete weekly assignments, which are designed to hone technical skills and, in most cases, foster artistic innovation. Some of these projects can incorporate outside resources (such as the student?s own computers and recordings), but the emphasis is on mastering the studio.
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Class Number
1729
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Sound
Area of Study
Digital Communication
Location
MacLean 420
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| Mechanisms, Movement & Meaning |
2010 (001) |
|
Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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|
Description
Consider how object based movement creates both meaning and tone, and how movement functions much like non-verbal communication. We'll attempt to approach the technical matters of controlling motion from the aesthetic perspective of an animator or a dancer. The course introduces basic techniques for creating moving parts appropriate for a broad range of creative and material practices. Technical matters covered through exercises include motors, speed control, fabrication of moving parts and simple circuits for motor control. Self-determined projects will demonstrate mastery of skills and concepts.
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Class Number
1092
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Credits
3
|
Department
Art and Technology Studies
Area of Study
Art and Science
Location
MacLean B1-07
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| Art and Technology Practices |
2101 (001) |
Christine Anne Shallenberg, Douglas Rosman |
Thurs, Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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|
Description
This team-taught, introductory course provides a foundation for most additional coursework in the Art and Technology Studies department. Students are given a broad interdisciplinary grounding in the skills, concepts, and hands-on experiences they will need to engage the potentials of new technologies in art making. Every other week, a lecture and discussion group exposes students to concepts of electronic media, perception, inter-media composition, emerging venues, and other issues important to artists working with technologically based media. Students will attend a morning & afternoon section each day to gain hands-on experience with a variety of forms and techniques central to technologically-based art making.
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Class Number
1090
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Credits
3
|
Department
Art and Technology Studies
Area of Study
Game Design, Art and Science
Location
MacLean 401, MacLean B1-07
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| Art and Technology Practices |
2101 (001) |
Christine Anne Shallenberg, Douglas Rosman |
Thurs, Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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|
Description
This team-taught, introductory course provides a foundation for most additional coursework in the Art and Technology Studies department. Students are given a broad interdisciplinary grounding in the skills, concepts, and hands-on experiences they will need to engage the potentials of new technologies in art making. Every other week, a lecture and discussion group exposes students to concepts of electronic media, perception, inter-media composition, emerging venues, and other issues important to artists working with technologically based media. Students will attend a morning & afternoon section each day to gain hands-on experience with a variety of forms and techniques central to technologically-based art making.
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Class Number
1090
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Credits
3
|
Department
Art and Technology Studies
Area of Study
Game Design, Art and Science
Location
MacLean 401, MacLean B1-07
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| Sophomore Seminar: Interdisciplinary |
2900 (016) |
Lee Blalock |
Wed
12:15 PM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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|
Description
What are the concerns that drive one's creative practice? How does one set the terms for its future development? Sophomore Seminar offers strategies for students to explore, reflect upon, and connect common themes and interests in the development of an emerging creative practice that will serve as the basis of their ongoing studies at SAIC and beyond. Students will examine historical and contemporary influences and contextualize their work in relation to the diverse art-worlds of the 21st Century. Readings, screenings, and field trips will vary each semester. Presentations by visiting artists and guest speakers will provide the opportunity for students to hear unique perspectives on sustaining a creative practice. One-on-one meetings with faculty will provide students with individualized mentorship throughout the semester. During interdisciplinary critiques, students will explore a variety of formats and tools to analyze work and provide peer feedback. The class mid-term project asks students to imagine a plan for their creative life and devise a self-directed course of study for their time at school. The course concludes with an assignment asking students to develop and document a project or body of work demonstrating how the interplay of ideas, technical skills, and formal concerns evolve through iteration, experimentation and revision. Prerequisite: Must be a sophomore to enroll.
Prerequisites
Prerequisite: Must be a sophomore to enroll.
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Class Number
2169
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Art and Technology Studies
Location
MacLean 414
|
| Studio Techniques |
3000 (001) |
James Paul Wetzel |
Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
Studio Techniques is an intermediate-level course that approaches the analog recording studio and its technologies as a creative environment for sound manipulation and exploration. Beginning with the sound sample as a material basis, the course combines a detailed approach to the fundamentals of acoustics and auditory perception with thorough instruction on analog signal processing and mixing. Students produce assigned and independent projects using these sample-based analog techniques. Topics are supplemented by listening exercises and examples of various artists? works to give historical and cultural context. Topics in acoustics and auditory perception include sound localization, spatial characteristics of sound, frequency spectrum, and dynamics and loudness. Artists and musicians whose works serve as examples include Carl Stone, Jaap Blonk, John Wall, Laetitia Sonami, Moreno Veloso, and others. Assigned projects include generating disparate sound materials from simple sources; composing sound/music works using self-generated samples and sources; live mixing/composing using analog technologies; independent projects using technologies and strategies introduced in the course content.
Prerequisites
Prerequisite: SOUND 2001 or permission of instructor.
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Class Number
1757
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Sound
Location
MacLean 416
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| Top: Spatial Audio |
3004 (001) |
Joseph Michael Kramer |
Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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|
Description
This class goes beyond the idea of ?surround sound? to consider the possibilities and challenges inherent in presenting sonic compositions to listeners through something other than the default left and right loudspeakers. From the spatial illusions of stereo and ambisonic arrays to tiny, tinny speaker fields, techniques for designing and experiencing multichannel, spatialized sound work will be explored. Emphasis will be given to emerging technologies and experimental techniques. DIY approaches and accessible tools, such as those available for VR sound, will be explored on the path to a practice that foregrounds the presentation of sound in space. A case for mono will be considered. Some of the artists whose work we will explore include Janet Cardiff, Natasha Barrett, Iannis Xenakis, Florian Hecker, and Tristan Perich. Readings will include artist statements as well as technical manuals for relevant tools. Weekly assignments are designed to emphasize specific technical or aesthetic concerns such as issues of electronic and acoustic power, multichannel playback formats, spatial audio in virtual reality, audience experience and the ?sweet spot?. One to two portfolio projects will be created and presented in class in two formal critiques.
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Class Number
1445
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Sound
Location
MacLean 522
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| Analog Electronics |
3007 (001) |
Brett Ian Balogh |
Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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|
Description
Even though we live in a primarily analog world, most of our experience of modernity is digital. We will examine the similarities and differences of these two worlds through the lens of electronics, focusing on the role of analog systems in art-making. The course provides a hands-on exploration of analog sound and video circuit elements and systems as well as a survey of relevant artists, artworks and practices. Students will be able to make a variety of works, including performance, interactive objects and environments, still images, audiovisual instruments, audio pieces, and video, to name a few. Course activities will be supported by the purchase of a kit of resources to facilitate hands-on exploration. Each student will research a topic of interest and will respond to it through the lens of their own practice in the creation of a final project. No prior skills in electronics or art and technology studies are required; however, curiosity and a willingness to learn are a must.
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Class Number
1094
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Credits
3
|
Department
Art and Technology Studies
Area of Study
Art and Science, Social Media and the Web
Location
MacLean 423
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| Olfactory Art |
3009 (001) |
Tedd Neenan |
Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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Description
Students will investigate scent as an expressive medium. They will have access to the ATS Perfume Organ and specialized lab equipment. Course content includes basic aromatic blending, hydro-distillation extraction techniques and how to impregnate scent into various media. At least TWO works of Olfactory Art are to be completed. The last one is considered the FINAL and should be an opus ready for gallery/performance/experiential application.Students should leave this class with the ability to thoughtfully engage Olfactory Work as practitioners, researchers and thinkers within personal, historical, theoretical and conceptual contexts.
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Class Number
1095
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Credits
3
|
Department
Art and Technology Studies
Area of Study
Art and Science
Location
Michigan B1-19
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| Sound and Image |
3011 (001) |
James Paul Wetzel |
Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
This course focuses on the relationship of sound to moving image, and introduces post-production techniques and strategies that address this relationship as a compositional imperative. Thorough instruction is given on digital audio post-production techniques for moving image, including recording, sound file imports, soundtrack composition and assembly, sound design, and mixing in stereo and surround-sound. This is supplemented by presentations on acoustics and auditory perception. Assigned readings in theories and strategies of sound-image relationships inform studio instruction. Assigned projects focus on gaining post-production skills, and students produce independent projects of their own that integrate sound and moving image. Artists include Chantal Dumas, Walter Verdin, Deborah Stratman, Lucrecia Martel, Martin Scorcese, Abigail Child, Frederic Moffet, Gyorgi Palvi, Francis Ford Coppola, Gary Hill, and others. Writings in theory include texts by Michel Chion, Rick Altman, and others. The student?s independent image-and-sound work is foregrounded and supported; supplemental assigned projects include sound sequence composition and ADR recording and mixing.
Prerequisites
SOUND 2001 or FVNM 2004 or FVNM 5020
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Class Number
1444
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Sound
Area of Study
Digital Communication
Location
MacLean 1413
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| Sound Now: Improvisation |
3012 (001) |
Damon Locks |
Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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|
Description
The focus of this class will be on improvisation within and without traditions and in relationship and juxtaposition to genre and structure. There are many manifestations across cultures of freedom and transformation through improvisation. We will look at improvisational sound, music and performance and their potentials and outcomes -- from moments of imaginative exploration inside the form, to the search for freedom, discovery and re-contextualization. We will dig into the need for improvisation, its effect on the audience, and its power to provoke cultural change. Can improvisation be a practice as a whole, an approach to all forms? Improvisation in performance and practice takes us to new places that are of the moment and a way forward, as exemplified in the work of the provocative Egyptian vocalist Umm Kalsoum who broke gender norms; Sun Ra’s sonic storytelling and myth building based on Black American cultural signifiers; the genre-bending deconstructive electronic manipulations of Mixmaster Mike. The students’ individual and collective explorations of improvisation in their own practice will be fueled by discussions, recordings, performance documentation and texts by artists, practitioners, and writers, including Rob Mazurek, Tomeka Reid & Nicole Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith, Sun Ra, Umm Kalsoum, Kid Koala & Mixmaster Mike, and more. Students engage in a variety of in-class approaches to individual and collective improvisation. These include exercises on exploring and expanding one's instrument of choice, close-listening and responsive-listening projects aimed at increased attention to collaborators in the moment, and projects in which cross-cultural and historical approaches to improvisation are analyzed and mobilized towards individual interpretation. These are amplified by meetings with visiting artists who share their experiences of improvisation in a wide range of contexts.
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Class Number
2071
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Sound
Area of Study
Art/Design and Politics
Location
MacLean 522
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| Women Artists in Cyberspace |
3018 (001) |
Judy Malloy |
TBD - TBD
All Online
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|
Description
With a concentration on creative practice in online environments, students will focus on the work of women, from the early days of computing, to the late 20th century, to the 21st century. In addition to lectures, readings, and traversals, practicum segments will guide student creation of online works that explore and expand on the role of women in cyberspace. Beginning with the work of women software engineers, such as black mathematician Katherine Johnson, and engineer and transgender activist Lynn Conway -- and with a project-oriented focus -- the course will look at the cyberspace-based work of women artist innovators, including ECHONYC founder, Stacy Horn; Cave Automatic Virtual Environment developer Carolina Cruz-Neira; and Ping Fu and Colleen Bushell's role in graphical interface design for Mosaic. At its core, the course will focus on the works of women cyberartists, including Joan Jonas, Sherrie Rabinowitz, Nancy Paterson, Brenda Laurel, Pamela Z, Char Davies, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Shu Lea Cheang, Tamiko Thiel, Carla Gannis, and Micha Cardenas. Students will create women-centered virtual art works, including graphic narratives and electronic manuscripts, and/or archives, online essays, or criticism. Note that because Women Artists in Cyberspace is an asynchronous class, attendance on a specific day or time is not required.
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Class Number
1102
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Art and Technology Studies
Area of Study
Gender and Sexuality, Digital Communication, Digital Imaging
Location
Online
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| Hardware Hacking |
3020 (001) |
Nicolas Collins |
Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
This is a class is hardware hacking for audio applications (and a little video as well). No previous electronic experience is assumed. Basic soldering skills will be learned through building contact microphones and coils to sniff electromagnetic fields. We will then open up a range of battery-powered 'consumer' technology (radios, boom boxes, electronic toys), observe the effect of direct hand contact on the circuit boards, experiment with the substitution of components, and listen to unheard signals running through the circuit. Knowledge acquired through this process will be applied to building circuits from scratch (oscillators, amplifiers, fuzztones, sequencers etc.), both from documented designs and as invented by yourselves. Video and audio playback and performance as relevant to the class projects. Readings from the required textbook, Handmade Electronic Music -- The Art of Hardware Hacking. Numerous projects to be completed in and out of class; final project based on course material.
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Class Number
1448
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Sound
Area of Study
Digital Communication
Location
MacLean 521
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| New Realities: Simulations of Future Worlds |
3028 (001) |
Kristin McWharter |
Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
As we adapt to the evolving demands of our politics and environment, we are often asked to prepare for a 'New Reality'. How are 'New Realities' imagined and formed? How can the act of imagining become a tool of creation?, This course will technically and conceptually explore what it means to create and simulate ?new realities? within game engines. As XR (extended reality) technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality devices have become untethered, video game entertainment has become as ubiquitous as film, and user familiarity with the rhetoric of virtual worlds has become more common, this course will expose students to the many modalities in which game engines can be used to produce artwork. Exploring histories of artists using digital media and simulation to produce interactive and highly immersive experiences, this course offers students technical guidance in creating artistic output from game engine tools, while learning from artist practices of that range from games, animation, simulation, to machinima (cinematic film captured from game engine worlds). With an emphasis on how interactive 3D worlds interact with our increasingly online and virtual routines, students will build projects that explore themes of participation, movement, behavior and world building to investigate our perceptions of ?reality?. The collected group of individuals in this class will act as an experimental lab of participants, collectively and individually pushing the boundaries between the virtual and the physical. Primarily working with the software Unity, this course will include technical demos, readings, and investigations into the histories of immersive media, machinima, and play as an artistic medium. Previous experience working with Unity recommended but not required. Course work will vary but typically includes weekly reading responses, a mid term project, a final project as well as in class demos and workshops. Students may work collaboratively on these projects if they choose.
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Class Number
1101
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Art and Technology Studies
Area of Study
Furniture Design, Game Design
Location
MacLean 402
|
| Introduction to Computer Vision |
3039 (001) |
Douglas Rosman |
Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
Computer vision allows machines to see and understand their environment. This course will equip students with the practical skills and critical theory needed to both employ and critically engage these techniques. Real-time body tracking, facial recognition and gesture analysis using RGB+D and LiDAR sensors, artificial intelligence and machine learning will be emphasized. Students will explore and critique contemporary applications ranging from automated mass surveillance to interactive installations. A final project will build on in-class workshops, technical exercises, critical readings and discussions.
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Class Number
1097
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Art and Technology Studies
Location
MacLean 401
|
| Hacking the Object |
3045 (001) |
Joseph Michael Kramer |
Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
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.
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Class Number
1103
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Art and Technology Studies
Area of Study
Art and Science
Location
MacLean B1-07
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| Shaping Light |
3048 (001) |
Gregory Mowery |
Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
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).
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Class Number
1096
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Art and Technology Studies
Area of Study
Public Space, Site, Landscape, Art and Science
Location
MacLean B1-16
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| Programming for Sound: Synthesis |
3051 (001) |
Shawn Decker |
Thurs
8:30 AM - 11:15 AM
In Person
|
|
Description
This online version of The Programming Sound class will feature an introduction to various synthesis methods, tracing the history of sound synthesis, starting with traditional analog synthesis techniques and methodologies, and then moving to a history of digital sound synthesis techniques. The class will review the histories surrounding sound synthesis, and students will learn various software and hardware techniques and pursue a number of creative projects. These projects will retrace the development of these important techniques and their aesthetic and compositional potential in a series of smaller creative projects, concluding with a more substantial final project. The class will make use of various software including Max/MSP as well as Ableton Live, and will feature various software synthesis plugins that will allow students to engage with the various techniques being discussed. Students are required to have a laptop that can run Max/Msp and Ableton Live, and a good set of headphones or a stereo monitoring system. Software licenses will be supplied to students who need them.
Prerequisites
Prerequisite: SOUND 2001.
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Class Number
1727
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Sound
Area of Study
Art and Science
Location
MacLean 522
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