Art 224 Digital Art FA 2010: September 2010

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Project 3: Culture Jam

Project Due:

10/18

Digital technologies allow singular images to be re-mediated or re-manifested into numerous forms, venues, locations, simultaneously and instantly. Images, paired with text in slick design layouts appear in advertisements on multiple fronts, trying to sell us something. We're bombarded with these messages.

Some useful terms:

Mediation: An intervention by which direct experience is recorded/represented by some sort of medium (words, music, paint, film, digital, video, etc.), for the purpose of (re)presentation.
Remediation: Essentially, mediation of mediation… existing media forms are subjected to additional acts of mediation or recording (and then subsequent presentation)
Culture Jamming: The highjacking of commercial/pop culture to deliver a subversive or protest message. Here, "jam" refers to both improvisation and the blocking of communication.

An advertisement is an act of remediation. Photographic meaning is slippery. When combined with text, the meaning of a photograph can easily morph or change to support a bigger concept or idea. The ambiguity of photographic meaning is clearly illustrated with this example from class:

The remediation of photographs with slogans, logos and corporate identity can result in powerful and compelling communication. Ask yourself... what am I being sold? What fantasies or cultural myths are being broadcast?

The Artist Barbara Kruger was concerned with these questions when she created her Billboard works:

Richard Prince created "artwork" drawing attention to icons of American masculinity, in particular the "Marlboro Man," by re-photographing advertisements.

For this project we'll take a closer look at advertising as an act of re-mediation. In a rebellious (and hopefully empowering) act of cultural jamming (another form of re-mediation), the assignment is to work with a well known ad campaign and create a smart, pithy spoof. Look to a product that perhaps bothers or annoys you and create a "re-mixed" advertisement that sharply pokes fun at it.

Criteria:

Finished piece should look like a professional advertisement. Logos, text and layout should resemble the original in a way that makes the spoof clear.
All the photography and supporting imagery must be yours. So, choose an ad you think is technically within reach.
The image should use legitimate digital workflow skills as taught in class
The final piece should be clever, smart and engaging.

For inspiration, check out work by the infamous cultural jamming duo, The Yes Men. Whether or not you agree with their message, their tactics are certainly bold.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Reading and Response

Due: 9/22

Reading:

Digital Art, by Christiane Paul

Introduction
Chapter 1

Response:

You are presented with several questions about the reading (see below). Answer these in paragraph form in a way that demonstrates your knowledge of, and engagement with, the reading. Support your responses with quotes and specifics from the book (with pages cited). Typed/word processed and printed.

Your responses will be evaluated on:

Demonstrated completion of the reading
Demonstrated understanding of the ideas, concepts presented in the reading
Appropriate citing of referenced content, with page numbers
Thoughtful reflection and elaboration on ideas presented
Clarity of writing, correct grammar and spelling

Questions

Introduction and Chapter 1

Summarize the main advances in digital technologies from each decade from the 40’s through the present.
A general distinction is made throughout the introduction (and the whole book) between object-oriented art and process-oriented digital art. Define these two categories. Pick an artist from the book (that you like) that fits the “object-oriented” category and describe their work. Do the same for process-oriented.
From throughout the reading (and must be other than already mentioned), which artist's work did you find particularly engaging? How so? Justify your answer intelligently, based on concepts covered in the reading. Limit answer to a paragraph.
Which artist's work did you find the least compelling? How so? Justify your answer intelligently, based on concepts covered in the reading. Limit answer to a paragraph.
From the assigned reading, what concepts or ideas most engaged you? Go beyond repeating your answer to question 3; choose some additional subjects. Justify your answer intelligently, based on concepts covered in the reading and listing associated artists. Limit answer to a paragraph.
From the assigned reading, what concepts or ideas least engaged you? Go beyond repeating your answer to question 4; choose some additional subjects. Justify your answer intelligently, based on concepts covered in the reading and listing associated artists. Limit answer to a paragraph.

Project II: Image Combinations*

* Note this project is replacing the "digital photographic book" as outlined in the syllabus. There will be other chances to create digital books later in the course.

Project II: Image Combinations

Combine at least three (3) images together into a coherent whole. Source imagery may be photography, hand drawn pieces, paintings, monoprints... you name it. If it can be scanned or photographed, its fare game. The only caveat is that source imagery should be of sufficient resolution for good print output. This rules out much of the imagery that can be nabbed from the internet, because (as you know) screen resolution (72 dpi) is insufficient for printing.

The final piece may be abstract or realistic, but should evidence good masking skills, layer handling, tone and color handling, and of course be a strong design. Even "abstract" pieces should evidence good selection skills, with no "jaggies" or "halos."

Due Date 1: 9/20