MAS.879 (A) -- Special
Topics in Media Arts and Sciences
The Digital Work:
Themes in Cinematic
and Computational Art
Spring 2002
| Instructor: Hisham Bizri | Course URL: http://web.mit.edu/~bizri/www/teaching.html |
| Office location: CAVS, N52-390 | Course location: N52-390 (conference room) |
| Office hours: by appointment | Course hours: Tuesdays 7-10 P.M. |
| Office phone: (617)452-2482 | Course units: 3-0-6 |
| Email: bizri@mit.edu |
Course Description
The use of computer-generated
imagery in the visual arts of the 21st century has the potential to transform
the visual arts on a scale not seen since the invention of cinema in the
late 1800s. What direction will that transformation take? How are the production
and experience of visual art, particularly that which concerns the moving
image, likely to change? And will that change represent progress for the
aesthetics of the moving image or the birth of an era when the freedom
provided by the new technology (be it virtual reality, intelligent design,
computer games, etc.) degenerates into a solipsistic free-for-all that
threatens to render everyone a pseudo-artist and all art entertainment?
Are these the only options?
In this class, we will investigate such questions with a view toward harnessing the artistic potential of the computer for the creation of a new visual form -- one that finds sustenance in the aesthetics of traditional art (specifically, art cinema, e.g. the works of Frampton and McLaren) while expanding the limits of its language via the new technologies, as in the works of Boustani and Rybczynski.
The instructor brings to the course the perspective of a practicing artist engaged in just such a project. Through frequent creative exercises, students will themselves explore the themes treated more theoretically in class readings and lecture. Students should have some background in video and/or computer art. They are expected to complete exciting visual and aesthetic works using end-user apps. (Maya, Photoshop, Director, digital video production, etc.) and/or programming languages (Java and C++).
Course Requirements
Class time:
40% lecture; 60% discussion.
Workload:
approx. 20-30 pages of reading per week
approx. 10-15 pages writing per semester; 2 papers, can be research or
ideas about your artistic method
(Graduate students may substitute 1 longer paper)
weekly art exercises using the computer or digital video cameras (partial
access to the hardware and
software is available at CAVS. You can
get further access through Information
Systems (IS))
occasional guest speakers will discuss both artistic and technical issues
Material submitted:
all exercises should be available on digital media or video tape; if using
a programming language please submit a paper explaining the content and
code and be ready to demonstrate functionality in class; please submit
papers in hard copy.
Grading:
25% papers; 75% projects
Course Materials
Required:
Course Packet available
from MIT Copy Technology Center (Main
Campus 11-004)
Optional Texts
Bhangal, Sham; Farr, Amanda;
& Rey, Patrick, Foundation Flash 5, Friends of Ed, 2000.
Bhangal, Sham, Foundation
Action Script, Friends of Ed, 2001.
Meyer, Trish & Meyer,
Chris, Creating Motion Graphics with AfterEffects, CMP Books 2000.
Meyer, Trish & Meyer,
Chris, After Effects in Production, CMP Books 2001.
Laybourne, Kit, The
Animation Book, Three Rivers Press, 1998.
Katz, Steven, Film Directing:
Shot by Shot, Michael Wiese Productions, 1991.
Bordwell, David & Thompson,
Kristin, Film Art: An Introduction (5th edition), McGraw-Hill
Companies, 1996.
Gunning, Tom, D. W. Griffith
and the Origins of American Narrative Film: The Early Years at Biograph,University
of Illinois Press,1994.
Manovich, Lev, The Language
of New Media, MIT Press 2000.
Mannoni, Laurent, The
Great Art of Light and Shadow, Richard Crangle (Translator), University
of Exeter Press, 2000.
Musser, Charles, The
Emergence of Cinema: The American Screen to 1907, Vol. 1, University
of California Press, 1994.
Polti, Georges, The Thirty-Six
Dramamtic Situations, The Writer, Inc. 1999.
Ripa, Cesare, Baroque
and Rococo Pictorial Imagery, Dover Publications, Incorporated,1991.
Brakhage, Stan, Brakhage
Scrapbook: Collected Writings 1964 to 1980, Robert A. Haller (Editor),
McPherson & Company, 1982
Bresson, Robert, Notes
on the Cinematographer, Jonathan Griffin (Translator), Green Integer,
1997.
Dreyer, Carl Theodore, Dreyer
in Double Reflection: A Translation of about the Film by Carl Th. Dreyer,
Donald
Skoller (Editor), Dutton/Plume,1973.
Eisenstein, Sergei, S.M.
Eisenstein: Selected Works,Geoffrey Nowell-Smith (Editor), University
of California Press, 1994.
Vertov, Dziga, Kino-Eye:
The Writings of Dziga Vertov,Annette Michelson (Editor), Kevin O'Brien
(Translator), University of California Press,1995.
Course Topics
I. Introduction to the history
of cinematic and computational art
II. Analog and Digital
III. Aesthetics of Cinema
IV. Computational Aesthetics
and Narratives
V. Case Study: Digital Music
within the Classical Tradition
VI. Hybridity: Installation
Art, Interactive Art, and the role of computers
Course Outline
I. Introduction
The history of cinematic
and computational art
readings:
John Berton, “Film Theory
for the Digital World: Connecting the Masters to the New Digital Cinema,”
Leonardo:
Journal of the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology.
Digital Image/Digital Cinema: A special edition with the Special Interest
Group in Graphics (SIGGRAPH) Association of Computing Machinery, New York:
Pergamon Press, 1990, pp. 5-11
Beverly Jones, “Computer Graphics: Effects of Origins,” Leonardo: Journal of the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology. Digital Image/Digital Cinema: A special edition with the Special Interest Group in Graphics (SIGGRAPH) Association of Computing Machinery, New York: Pergamon Press, 1990 pp. 21-30
Clement Greenberg, "Art and Kitsch," Clement Greenberg: The Collected Essays and Criticism, Volume 1, Perceptions and Judgments, ed. John O'Brian, University of Chicago Press, 1986, pp. 5-22
Arthur Danto, "Metaphor, Expression, and Style," The Transfiguration of the Common Place, Harvard University Press, 1981, pp. 164-208
screenings:
TBA
II. Analog and Digital
Media
The nature/essence of the
medium
How, if at all, does the
nature/essence constrain the creative possibilities of the medium
Discussion of analog and
digital systems
How does analog versus digital
influence creative possibilities? (celluloid vs. digits)
readings:
Aristotle, The Poetics,
Hackett Publishing Company, 1987, Sections 1-3, pp. 1-15
Kendall Walton, "Categories
of Art,"
Philosophy Looks at the Arts, Temple university Press,
1987, pp. 53-79
Nelson Goodman, "The Theory
of Notation,"
Languages of Art, Hackett Publishing Company, 1976,
pp. 127-176
Timothy Binkley, "The Vitality
of Digital Creation,"
Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol.
55, No. 2, 1997, pp. 107-115
screenings:
Norman McLaren, Stan Brakhage,
Hollis Frampton, Michael Snow, Ken Jacobs, Jack Smith
III. Aesthetics of
the Moving Image: Cinema
Birth of art cinema itself
from the traditions of theater, etc.
readings:
Sergei Eisentein, "The Cinematographic
Principle and the Ideogram," Film Form, HBJ, 1977, pp. 28-44
Jean Epstein, "The Essence
of Cinema," and "For a New Avant-Garde," The Avant-Garde Film, ed.
P. Adams Sitney, New York University Press, 1978, pp 24-30
Andre Bazin, "The Myth of
Total Cinema," and "The Evolution of the Language of Cinema,” What is
Cinema?, University of California Press, 1967, pp. 17-22 &&
pp. 23-40
Carl Theodore Dreyer, "A
Little on Film Style,"
Dreyer in Double Reflection, A Da Capo Press,
1973, pp. 122-142
Hans Richter, "The Film
as an Original Art Form,"
Film Culture Reader, ed. P. Adams Sitney,
pp. 15-20
Stan Brakhage, "from Metaphors
on Vision,"
Avant-Garde Film, P. Adams Sitney, ed., Praeger Publishers,
1970, pp. 120-128
Hollis Frampton, "A Pentagram
for Conjuring the Narrative," Avant-Garde Film, P. Adams Sitney,
ed., Praeger Publishers, 1970, pp. 281-289
P. Adams Sitney, "Structural
Film,"
Visionary Film, Oxford University Press, 1979, pp. 369-397
recommended readings:
P. Adams Sitney, "Absolute
Animation,"
Visionary Film, Oxford University Press, 1979, pp. 228-304
P. Adams Sitney, "The Graphic
Cinema:
European Perspectives," Visionary Film, Oxford University Press,
1979, pp. 369-397
screenings:
Georges Melies/Lumiere brothers,
Sergei Eisenstein/Aleksandr Dovzhenko, F.W. Murnau/Patrick Bukanowski/Alexander
Sokurov, Jean-Luc Godard/Raul Ruiz, Hans Eggling/Peter Kubelka
IV. Computational Aesthetics
and Narratives
Considerations of audience
and narrative: audience intervention, improvisation, and location, narrative
possibilities and outcome, audience/environment communication, and the
role of emotions.
Consideration of presentation
virtual reality
interactive art
networked environments
the Web
intelligent systems
computer games
readings:
Walter Benjamin, "The Work
of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," Illuminations, Schocken
Books, 1968, pp. 217-252
Lenny Lipton, "A Technical
History of Stereocinema," Foundations of the Stereoscopic Cinema,
Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1982, pp. 16-52
recommended readings:
Gene Youngblood, "Cybernetic
Cinema and Computer Films," Expanded Cinema, E.P. Dutton & Company,
1970,
pp. 179-256
Gene Youngblood, "Holographic
Cinema,"
Expanded Cinema , E.P. Dutton & Company, 1970,
pp. 399-420
screenings:
Zbig Rybczynski, Christian
Boustani, Hisham Bizri, Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, David Byrne, Melissa
Fenley, Bill Jones, George Lewis, Arto Lindsay, Tony Nogueira, John Lurie
V. Case Study: Digital
Music within the Classical Tradition
Why and how did music succeed
in expanding the language of classical music; is the issue of representation
in the visual arts and cinema constrain their expressive potential in the
digital realm because of present-day technology
readings:
Pierre Boulez, "Technology
and the Composer,"
Orientations, Harvard University Press, 1986,
pp. 486-494
Cage -- TBA
Stockhausen -- TBA
recordings:
Philip Manoury, Tristam
Murail, Tod Machover, and various IRCAM artists TBA
VI. Hybridity: Video, Installation/Performance Art, Interactivity and the Role of Computers
readings:
Immanuel Kant, Critique
of Judgment, Hackett Publishing Company, 1987, pp. 189-207
David Z. Saltz, "The Art
of Interaction: Interactivity, Performativity, and Computers," in Journal
of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 55, No. 2, 1997, pp. 117-127.
Julie H. Reiss, From
Margin to Center: The Spaces of Installation Art, MIT Press, 1999,
pp. 109 - 157
Dick Higgins, "Fluxus: Theory
and Reception,"
The Fluxus Reader, Academy Editions, 1998, pp. 217-236
recommended readings:
Ken Friedman, "Fluxus and
Company,"
The Fluxus Reader, Academy Editions, 1998, pp. 237-253
screenings:
Bill Viola, Nam June Pike,
Jonathan Borofsky, Robert Lango, Vito Acconci, Gregory Millar, Eric Mitchell,
Jogn Sandborn, Bruce Conner, Michel Auder, Kit Fitzgerald, Oscar Schlemmer,
Dara Birnbaum.
VII. Final Projects
Students present their artworks.
Weekly Outline
| Weeks | Topics | Readings/Screenings | Assignments |
| Week 1 (2.5) | Introduction | screenings:
the history of computer graphics; early films |
m |
| Week 2 (2.12) | Film, Computer Graphics, and art criticism | readings:
John Berton, “Film Theory for the Digital World: Connecting the Masters to the New Digital Cinema,” pp. 5-11 Beverly Jones, “Computer Graphics: Effects of Origins,” pp. 21-30. Clement Greenberg, "Art and Kitsch," pp. 5-22 Arthur Danto, "Metaphor, Expression, and Style," pp. 164-208 screenings:
|
m |
| Week 3 (2.19) | NO CLASS (monday classes instead) | NO CLASS (monday classes instead) | NO CLASS (monday classes instead) |
| Week 4 (2.26) | Film, Computer Graphics, and art criticism | readings:
Clement Greenberg, "Art and Kitsch," pp. 5-22 Arthur Danto, "Metaphor, Expression, and Style," pp. 164-208 screenings:
|
Project #1 -- text |
| Week 5 (3.5) | Analog and Digital Media | readings:
Aristotle, The Poetics, pp. 1-15 Kendall Walton, "Categories of Art," pp. 53-79 screenings:
|
Project
#2 -- color
Mid-term project proposal
due
|
| Week 6 (3.12) | Analog and Digital Media | readings:
Nelson Goodman, "The Theory of Notation," pp. 127-176 Timothy Binkley, "The Vitality of Digital Creation," pp. 107-115 screenings:
|
Project #3 -- geometrical shapes & architecture |
| Week 7 (3.19) | Aesthetics of the Moving Image: Cinema | readings:
Sergei Eisentein, "The Cinematographic Principle and the Ideogram," pp. 28-44 Jean Epstein, "The Essence of Cinema," and "For a New Avant-Garde," pp 24-30 Andre Bazin, "The Myth of Total Cinema," and "The Evolution of the Language of Cinema,” pp. 17-22 && pp. 23-40 screenings:
|
Mid-term
project due
Short
paper due
|
| Week 8 (3.26) | NO CLASS (Spring Vacation) | NO CLASS (Spring Vacation) | NO CLASS (Spring Vacation) |
| Week 9 (4.2) | Aesthetics of the Moving Image: Cinema | readings:
Carl Theodore Dreyer, "A Little on Film Style," p 122-142 Hans Richter, "The Film as an Original Art Form," pp. 15-20 Stan Brakhage, "from Metaphors on Vision," pp. 120-128 Hollis Frampton, "A Pentagram for Conjuring the Narrative," pp. 281-289 P. Adams Sitney, "Structural Film," pp. 369-397 screenings:
|
Project #4 -- sound/music |
| Week 10 (4.2) | Computational Aesthetics and Narratives | readings:
Walter Benjamin, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," pp. 217-252 Lenny Lipton, "A Technical History of Stereocinema," pp. 16-52 more TBA screenings:
|
Project
#5 -- interactive work
Final project proposal due
|
| Week 11 (4.9) | Computational Aesthetics and Narratives | readings:
TBA screenings:
|
Project #6 -- time |
| Week 12 (4.16) | Avant-garde movements (Guest lecturer) | ||
| Week 13 (4.23) | Case Study: Digital Music within the Classical Tradition | readings:
Pierre Boulez, "Technology and the Composer," pp. 486-494 Cage -- TBA Stockhausen -- TBA recordings:
|
Project #7 -- mixed media |
| Week 14 (4.30) | Hybridity | Immanuel Kant, Critique
of Judgment, 189-207
David Z. Saltz, "The Art of Interaction: Interactivity, Performativity, and Computers," pp. 117-127 screenings:
|
Final project review |
| Week 15 (5.7) | Hybridity | readings:
Julie H. Reiss, From Margin to Center: The Spaces of Installation Art, pp. 109 - 157 Dick Higgins, "Fluxus: Theory and Reception," pp. 217-236 screenings:
|
Final project review |
| Week 16 (5.14) | Students' final presentat | Final
project due
Final
paper due
|