History of Art and Technology
New Technologies In Twentieth and Twenty-first Century Art
Spring 2009
Eduardo Kac
Voice mail: 312-345-3567
E-mail: <ekac@artic.edu>
Class number: 511 • Catalogue 2510 • Section 001
112 S Michigan • Room 816 • TUE 1PM - 4PM
SUMMARY
(Jan 27) Introduction
The Electromagnetic Landscape
(Feb 3) Radio and the Disembodied Voice
(Feb 10) Moholy-Nagy: From the Telephone Pictures to the Light-Space Modulator
(Feb 17) Kinetic Art: From Representation to Actual Motion
(Feb 24) Six Kinetic Artists: Fischinger, Palatnik, Malina, Schöffer, Tinguely, and Takis
The New Image: Electronic, Digital, Photonic
(March 3) Television and Video: Art and Mass Media
(March 10) Mid-Term Student Presentations
(March 17) Computer Art: From Digital Graphics to Interactivity and VR
(March 24) Digital Photography: Ethics and Aesthetics of Synthetic Realities
(March 31) Holographic Art: Spatial Imaging and the Orbital Gaze
Behavior, Awareness, and Interactivity
(April 7) Cyborg Performance: Technology and the Human Body
(April 14) Art and Robotics: Behavioral Aesthetics
(April 21) Telecommunications, Web Art, and Telepresence : Global Scale in Real Time
(April 28) CRITIQUE WEEK • TUE • APRIL 28 • NO CLASS
(May 5) Bio Art. Research papers due.
Please note that the lecture plan is subject to change without notice.
History of Art and Technology
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Department of Art History, Theory, and Criticism
Eduardo Kac
Course description
This course examines the impact of new technologies on the art of the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries. Issues explored in the course include the structure of synthetic pictorial spaces, creating art in a global scale, responding to images of pure light, the aesthetics of motion, behavior in virtual environments and the experience of interactive artworks. In some cases the emphasis is on a particular new medium and the multiple artistic approaches to it; in other cases, the emphasis is on particular artists and their experimental work. Main lecture topics include: Moholy-Nagy's work, early radio and the impact of auditory images, kinetic art, robotic art, telecommunication art, computer art, electronic photography, space art, virtual reality, telepresence and holographic art.
By focusing on the theoretical and historical implications of the aforementioned media and movements, and on the work of several artists, the course places this major trend in modern and contemporary art within its larger context. Through a combination of lectures and discussions, and presentation of films, slides, records, video and audio tapes that document relevant works, we investigate critically the relationship between new technologies and the visual arts.
Grading
Students will give a mid-term presentation and hand in one written paragraph about the topic of their research. This will include name and student ID number. Students will write a final research paper. Failure to give the presentation and to write the paper will result in the student failing the class.
Regarding the presentation, it's best that you prepare stills, audio, or video, as appropriate, in order to best communicate to the class the content of the research.
Attendance / Absence
Three absences are excused; additional absences must be justified in writing by a Doctor or relevant professional.
The Attendance Sheet circulates in the beggining of the class and is available until the end. It is the student's responsibility to remember to sign it. If absences become an issue later, the instructor will count the absences based on the Attendance Sheet.
LAPTOP USE
The laptop may be used only to take notes. Internet use during class is not allowed; this also means that email or web browsing are not allowed during class.
NOTES
Keep a notebook for this class (paper or laptop) and be prepared to take notes.
Research paper
The paper should be a well-composed essay on an artist's work or on a group of works by one or more artists.
Papers that discuss a problem or theme will be accepted as long as they give examples based on an artist's work or on a group of works by one or more artists.
Use your interest as guide in order to choose the topic (which must be related to the general subjects of the class). The aim of this assignment is to produce a research paper on a focused subject – to discuss that event, artwork, or development within its immediate historical and art historical context.
Students should avoid broad topics (e.g. "Human communications"). Rather, particular art works, events or critical issues should be chosen as a means of focusing in on a larger theme (e.g. "Moholy-Nagy's Light-Space Modulator").
NOT ACCEPTED:
1- Papers that only discuss science, technology, business, education, and/or popular culture are not accepted.
2 - Papers about technical issues and of a technical nature are not accepted.
3 - Papers about the instructor’s work are not accepted.
4 - Papers that only discuss ideas and theories are not accepted.
5 - Opinion papers are not accepted.
6 - Papers about your own work are not accepted.
STUDENTS MUST DISCUSS THE SUBJECT OF THE PAPER WITH THE INSTRUCTOR AND OBTAIN APPROVAL BEFORE STARTING TO WORK ON THE PAPER.
Students should make an effort to balance specific information, formal analysis and broader intellectual/cultural ideas. Define the topic of choice clearly. Students should keep in mind that in a research paper footnotes should be used and that bibliography should be provided accurately.
PAPERS MUST HAVE AT LEAST FIVE BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES.
Do not quote generic websites. Online references must be from peer-reviewed publications. It’s OK to use wikipedia preliminarily, i.e., to help you start your research, but not as a final source.
For a list of Flaxman Library Databases by Subject, please see:
https://startit.artic.edu/kb/resources/webproxy/databaselist_bysubject.html
THE RESEARCH PAPER MUST HAVE NO LESS THAN FIVE PAGES OF TEXT AND NO MORE THAN TEN (NOT INCLUDING FOOTNOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY). IT MUST BE LASER-PRINTED AND DOUBLE-SPACED.
The instructor is available for discussing papers and ideas via email <ekac@saic.edu> or immediately after class. You're welcome to schedule an appointment as well. Remember: you must discuss your topic choice with the instructor before starting the research.
Additional research sources:
http://flaxmanlibrary.pbwiki.com/Art+History
English for International Students (EIS) Tutorial
The EIS Tutorial, which meets for 1.5 hours per week in groups of three students, is intended to provide support for international students who are concurrently enrolled in Liberal Arts, Art History, and Studio classes. Some of the Tutorial students have completed EIS coursework and others placed out of those courses as a result of their strong TOEFL scores and other assessment criteria. However they do still benefit from extra help, and this is what we aim to provide by offering the Tutorial. CONTACT: "Courtney Berne" <cberne@gmail.com>
History of Art and Technology
New Technologies In Twentieth and Twenty-first Century Art
<http://www.ekac.org/history.ats.html>
Eduardo Kac
SUGGESTED READINGS
• Introduction
http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm
The Electromagnetic Landscape
• Radio and the Disembodied Voice
http://cec.concordia.ca/econtact/Radiophonic/Radiocasting.htm
• Moholy-Nagy: From the Telephone Pictures to the Light-Space Modulator
http://www.moholy-nagy.org
• Kinetic Art: From Representation to Actual Motion
“The Morphology of Movement: A Study of Kinetic Art”, by George W. Rickey <Search in JSTOR, through the Flaxman website>
http://www.lumia-wilfred.org/index.html
http://www.centerforvisualmusic.org/Library.html
The Dream of Color Music, And Machines That Made it Possible
• Six Kinetic Artists: Fischinger, Palatnik, Malina, Schöffer, Tinguely, and Takis
http://www.olats.org/pionniers/pionniers.php
The New Image: Electronic, Digital, Photonic
• Television and Video: Art and Mass Media
http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/themes/overview_of_media_art/massmedia/
• Computer Art: From Digital Graphics to Interactivity and VR
http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/themes/generative-tools/computer_art/1/
• Digital Photography: Ethics and Aesthetics of Synthetic Realities
http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/themes/photo_byte/artistic%20concept/
• Holographic Art: Spatial Imaging and the Orbital Gaze
http://www.ekac.org/Photonic.Webs.ISEA_95.html
http://www.ekac.org/Holotime.Blimp.html
Also, consider visiting the Chicago Museum of Holography
Behavior, Awareness, and Interactivity
• Cyborg Performance: Technology and the Human Body
http://www.stelarc.va.com.au
http://www.orlan.net
http://www.marceliantunez.com
• Art and Robotics: Behavioral Aesthetics
http://www.ekac.org/roboticart.html
http://www.ekac.org/robotichronology.html
• Telecommunications, Web Art, and Telepresence
http://www.ekac.org/Telecom.Paper.Siggrap.html
http://www.ekac.org/artforumtelep/artforumtelep.html
• Bio Art
http://www.recirca.com/backissues/c90/8.shtml
http://www.tca.uwa.edu.au
http://www.martademenezes.com
CELL PHONE POLICY:
Please turn off cell phones before coming to class. If you are expecting an important call, please keep your cell phone on vibration mode and answer the call outside of the classroom.
AVOID PLAGIARISM -- QUICK GUIDE
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago prohibits "dishonesty such as cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the School" (Students' Rights and Responsibilities, Student Handbook, p. 53, http://www.saic.edu/pdf/life/pdf_files/rights.pdf ). One plagiarizes when one presents another’s work as one’s own. It is a form of intellectual theft. Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not” is also plagiarism (see Student’s Rights and Responsibilities in the Student Handbook). To address this problem, the Faculty Senate Student Life Committee has developed a handbook, Plagiarism: How to Recognize and Avoid It. The suggestions below have been excerpted from the handbook by library staff as a quick guide for students.
To avoid plagiarism:
-- Write your own paper in your own words.
-- Acknowledge the words and ideas of others when you discuss them in your writing. See p.28 of the Plagiarism Packet, When to Give Credit.
-- Put quotation marks around direct quotations.
-- Cite all of your sources accurately.
A citation is a short, formal indication of the source of information. Citations (sometimes called references) appear in bibliographies, footnotes, and endnotes. A bibliography lists all of the sources used in preparing your paper. For each source that you quote or specifically discuss in your paper, you should also create either a footnote (at the bottom of the page) or an endnote (at the end of the paper or chapter). Some styles use a brief note within the text.
Style manuals tell you how to format your paper and citations. They also provide guidelines for grammar, punctuation, and editorial style. I suggest Chicago, but if you prefer choose one yourself and use it consistently throughout your paper. The example below show how citations would appear in a bibliography using the most popular styles.
Chicago style
University of Chicago Press. The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Plagiarism need not always be intentional. One can plagiarize even if one does not intend to. The penalty for plagiarizing ranges from a failing grade on the plagiarized assignment to not earning credit for the course. This may also result in some loss of some types of financial aid (for example, a No Credit in a course can lead to a loss of the Presidential Scholarship), and in cases of regular offenses can lead to expulsion from the School.
The Faculty Senate Student Life Subcommittee has prepared a 28-page handbook entitled Plagiarism: How to Recognize It and Avoid It. The document is available online on at http://www.saic.edu/pdf/degrees/pdf_files/library_plagiarism_packet.pdf. Paper copies are available at the following locations on campus (students can make copies of the document if they wish):
1. Flaxman Library Reserves Desk (6th floor, Sharp Building, 37 S. Wabash)
2. Office of Student Affairs (room 704, 7th floor Sharp Building)
3. Student Life Office (room 520, 5th floor Sharp Building)
4. Student Government Office (13th floor 112 S. Michigan)
5. First Year Access Program office (room BI-05-F, basement, 112 S. Michigan Building)
6. First Year Program office (room 315, 3rd floor Sharp Building)
7. Learning Center (suite 824, 8th floor 104 S. Michigan Building)
8. English for International Students office (room BI-05-E, basement, 112 S. Michigan Building)
9. Liberal Arts/Art History /Visual and Critical Studies (room 605, 6th floor 112 S. Michigan)
The final page of the handbook has been designed as a one-page handout, When to Give Credit. It is available online in PDF format at http://www.saic.edu/pdf/degrees/pdf_files/library_plagiarism_credit.pdf .
Library staff have also prepared a two-page synopsis of the committee's handbook, designed as a handout for students. Avoid Plagiarism: Quick Guide, is available at http://www.artic.edu/saic/programs/resources/library/plagiarism.pdf .