Graduate Curriculum & Courses
Graduate Curriculum Overview
The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program is designed to offer maximum flexibility in addressing the needs of each individual student. Following admission through a department, students design their two-year plan of study based on optimizing the offerings and opportunities available throughout SAIC.
| Area | Credit Hours |
Studio
| 24
|
Seminar
| 12 |
Art History
| 12 |
Electives—any course in any area at 3000-level or above
| 12 |
| Participation in four graduate critiques | |
| Participation in ONE of the following as appropriate to artistic practice: Graduate Exhibition, Graduate Performance Event, Graduate Screenings. Students who wish to use an alternative venue or presentation outside of these options must receive permission from the dean of graduate studies. | |
| Total Credit Hours | 60 |
* Students who wish to use an alternative venue or presentation outside of these options must receive permission from the Dean of Graduate Studies.
Degree Requirements and Specifications
- Completion schedule: Students are expected to complete the MFA in Studio degree in four consecutive semesters. Students have a maximum of four years to complete the MFA in Studio degree. This includes time off for leaves of absence. Students will have access to a studio for a maximum of four semesters only.
- Transfer credits: You must complete a minimum of 45 credit hours in residence at SAIC. You can request up to 15 transfer credits at the time of application for admission, which are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credits are permitted after a student is admitted.
- Art History requirement: MFA students are required to take ARTHII 5002 Graduate Survey of Modern and Contemporary Art OR ARTHI 5120 Survey of Modern and Contemporary Architecture and Design. Art History courses must be at the 4000-level and above.
- Undergraduate studio courses: Graduate students are permitted no more than one undergraduate studio course (3000-level and above) per semester without permission of the Dean of Graduate Studies. Courses at the 1000 and 2000-level are allowed only with permission.
- Full-Time Status Minimum Requirement: 12 credit hours
Course Listing
| Title | Catalog | Instructor | Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Sound Practices | 2001 (001) | Eshovo Momoh | Mon/Wed
6:45 PM - 9:15 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. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Introduction to Sound Practices | 2001 (002) | Eric Leonardson | Tues
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. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Introduction to Sound Practices | 2001 (003) | AJ McClenon | 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. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Mechanisms, Movement & Meaning | 2010 (001) | Dan Miller | Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
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.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Activated Objects: Coding Hardware | 2027 (001) | Brett Ian Balogh | Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
A rapidly increasing variety of objects in everyday life are acquiring an awareness of their environments, a repertoire of behaviors, and the ability to communicate with other objects, their owners, or, through networks, with more comprehensive integrated systems. This class explores the design processes, skills, and tools necessary to thrive in this exciting creative domain. The course incorporates substantial hands-on development experience in a lab environment. Students will conceptualize, prototype, and build working objects that respond to and cooperate with their owners and with each other.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Art and Technology Practices | 2101 (001) | Christine Anne Shallenberg, Joseph Michael Kramer | Thurs, Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
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.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Art and Technology Practices | 2101 (001) | Christine Anne Shallenberg, Joseph Michael Kramer | Thurs, Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
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.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Neon Techniques | 2112 (001) | Kacie Lees | Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course examines neon techniques used in both traditional and current sign making and their application in creating artworks. Contemporary technical developments are explored.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Neon Techniques | 2112 (002) | Gregory Mowery | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course examines neon techniques used in both traditional and current sign making and their application in creating artworks. Contemporary technical developments are explored.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Code Sourcery: Algorithmic Practices | 2125 (001) | Alan Perry | Sat
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM In Person |
Description
Coding in time and space is as old as pottery or drumbeats. Magic was an executable code interfaced to the world long before computers and networks. Through selected readings and hackable code in Processing, this course will provide a perspective on algorithmic practices from incantations, weaving and tiling patterns to generative systems, glitching and software sourcery. The instructor, a master digital printmaker, will share his expertise, but student projects can be developed in any medium.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Light Experiments | 2130 (001) | Gregory Mowery | Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This class will be an exploration of the electric light as an art medium. Through the demonstration of various electric light technologies the student will learn both the traditional use of lighting and installation and also an experimental approach to lighting that will produce unexpected visual effects. Students may work in individual or group projects that will span the range of light use from architectural design to performance as well as merging with other media such as sound.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Analog Sound Techniques & Materials | 3000 (001) | Whitney D. Johnson | Wed
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. PrerequisitesPrerequisite: SOUND 2001 or permission of instructor. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Digital Audio Production | 3003 (001) | William Harper | Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course is offered for those students interested in developing skills in the creation and application of digital audio. Using Apple's Logic software, students interested in exploring sound or music are introduced to audio manipulation techniques that allow them to create soundtracks, to record and produce songs or dance tracks, realize abstract sound pieces or manipulate sound for installations.
Techniques of sound manipulation are introduced, including audio recording and editing, looping, and sound destruction. MIDI, drum programming, the use of software synthesis and basic music and composition techniques are addressed according to the needs of individual students. The class is structured to encourage the interaction of students with a wide range of technical ability in audio from beginners to advanced artists in the early stages of a professional practice. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Top: Doubles | 3004 (001) | Whitney D. Johnson | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
Mirrors, alter egos, polarities, doppelgängers, gender binaries, impostors, twins, and shadows. Many auditory illusions also arise from doubles. For example, the two sides of the human head can produce psychoacoustic phenomena, such as binaural beats. The dual nature of audio-visual experiences can produce complex illusions, such as the McGurk effect. To knock at the door of these doubles, we will read a few words on doubles by doubles--Jung and Lacan, Sontag and Butler, Sartre and Fosse, Fanon and Said, Artaud and Bataille--and listen to sonic doubles in contemporary practice. Automatic writing will prepare us to create our own auditory illusions in recorded and performed stereophonic sound. Will these doubles sublate?
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Digital Music: Concepts, Structures, Materials | 3005 (001) | Allie n Steve Mullen | Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course introduces students to the fundamental materials of music composition, the structures used to shape these materials, and techniques and strategies students can use to create fully formed pieces of music. Referencing traditional and experimental practices from many cultures and histories, we examine the basic musical elements of rhythm, meter, tonal organization, harmony, and timbre. These are applied in a digital studio environment via sampling, sound synthesis, looping, and live recording using Apple's Logic digital audio workstation.
Musical works by artists from diverse backgrounds and identities are analyzed to understand how these materials and concepts are used to sculpt emotional expressions, narrative forms, abstract constructions, or conceptual statements. Students work with these references, elements, and materials to make their own work in genres of their own choice. No style of music is off limits. Course work will vary but typically includes participation in weekly experiments and the presentation of self-devised projects at midterm and the end of the semester. Students work with the materials, structures, and techniques introduced to make their own work in genres of their own choice. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Olfactory Art | 3009 (001) | Tedd Neenan | Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
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.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| 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. PrerequisitesSOUND 2001 or FVNM 2004 or FVNM 5020 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Noise | 3015 (001) | James Paul Wetzel | Mon
12:15 PM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This seminar critically and creatively examines noise in the context of experimental music and sound art: noise as music, noise in music, noise vs. music. We will closely read philosophical, musicological, and art historical texts, and analyze a range of sonic art works. Political connections will be highlighted, and the course will conclude by considering the role of noise (and music) in protests today. Required projects will be written and creative.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Tactical Media | 3024 (001) | Brett Ian Balogh | Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course explores the use of radio, light and sound as media through which an artist can create a public voice. This course takes a hands-on, do-it-yourself approach to these media, providing a basic background in electronics theory and practice, as well as in programming and use of microcontrollers. Topics covered in this course include, but are not limited to, low-power radio, locative media, hactivism and culture-jamming. Some examples of activities include the construction of AM/FM radio transmitters and receivers, laser projectors, persistence-of-vision displays and mobile audio rigs. A survey of the artistic significance of these media will be conducted throughout the course. Students are expected to research and present their findings in class, as well as to produce a personal or collaborative final project that augments their own practices.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| 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. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Sound Installation | 3032 (001) | Shawn Decker | Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This class is intended for advanced undergraduates and graduates who are interested in the use of sound in an installation context. It is expected that students may come from a diverse set of backgrounds, and as such this course will be to some degree determined by the background of the students, and their specific needs. The course will include critical discussions of sound art and related installation and media art practices: a brief history of the sound/art interface, a brief introduction to acoustics, and readings by theorists and artists such as R.M. Schafer, Sterne, LaBelle, Cage, Lucier, Kahn, Lockwood, Fontana, Panhuysen, Lerman, Neuhaus, Monahan, Kim-Cohen, Kubitsch, Hellstrom, and Wollscheid. The topic of real-life sound installation exhibition and social context will also be covered, with input from the SAIC Exhibitions and Events Department. The course will also cover various methodologies for using/creating sound in installations through tutorials that are designed to give functional knowledge of each particular technique, as well as an introduction to the possibilities these techniques. Depending on the students? backgrounds and needs, potential topics for these tutorials include: basic sound recording and playback techniques, basic sound synthesis and electronics for audio, digital sound recording and editing, the fabrication of mechanical systems which create sound, using MAX (a visual MIDI programming language used for control and for processing audio), basic electronics for environmental sensing (sound, light, motion, etc.). In addition to working on various preliminary individual and collaborative projects during the semester, students will write a proposal for and present an installation as their final project.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: SOUND 2001 or permission of instructor. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Digital Light Projections | 3050 (001) | Jan Tichy | Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This course embraces the concept of projection as a broad field of art practice. Starting with the magic lantern, the course investigates the history of projection related practices that shape the parameters of visual perception and communication. Deconstructing the concept of the screen, the course focuses on projection in sculptural and installation contexts.
Microcontrollers and Adobe software is used in unorthodox ways to shape visual elements for digital light projection. History of visual, technical and conceptual use of light is accessed to investigate the interactions of projections with objects and space. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Programming for Sound:Max/MSP | 3052 (001) | Joseph Michael Kramer | Mon
8:30 AM - 11:15 AM In Person |
Description
This course will provide an introduction to programming for sound synthesis and real-time performance using the Max/MSP and Supercollider II languages. Students will learn the basic structures, strategies, concepts, and vocabularies of these two languages in order to prepare them for using these techniques within other sound department courses.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Astrobiology and Speculative Futurism | 3098 (001) | Andrew H. Scarpelli, Sarah Zhou Rosengard | Thurs, Thurs
12:15 PM - 3:00 PM, 12:15 PM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
Astrobiology is an interdisciplinary field of science that focuses on the existence of life beyond Earth. It leans heavily on understanding the habitability of life on Earth as a basis for understanding the probability and physiology of extraterrestrial life in the universe. Unsurprisingly, astrobiology has inspired generations of scientists, artists, and designers to envision not only alien life, but also the future of human life on Earth in the Anthropocene and on other planets. Set in AT/SP¿s Bio Art facility, this course blends concepts and methods of creative studies such as speculative design, futurism, and semiotics with fundamentals in natural science (biology, geochemistry, and astronomy) to imagine what life will look like beyond our current existence.
The artistic concepts will be explored via written material by Paola Antonelli, Anthony Dunn, Fiona Ray, etc.. We will focus on discussions of speculative design, bioart, and various lenses of futurism while mantinaining a harmony with scientific understanding of key concepts about life, ecology, and environmental chemistry. At the same time, scientific readings and podcasts in this course will focus on the works of past Chicago scientists Enrico Fermi and Frank Drake who postulated the probability of extraterrestrial life, and several researchers doing active research on life in extreme Earth analog environments and other celestial bodies in our solar system (e.g., scientists at the Biosphere 2 facility and SETI Institute). Students will consider various media ranging from scientific papers to short films and artistic dialogues to show a firm grasp on astrobiology and its philosophical implications. Hands-on experiments in the Bio Art lab will provide opportunities to practice various astrobiology research techniques. The final project will challenge student teams to imagine a potential future or extraterrestrial ecology and use that to design and create a potential gallery piece. PrerequisitesStudio Symposia - Students must enroll in both ARTTECH 3098 and SCIENCE 3098Studio Symposia ATS/SCI 3098 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Astrobiology and Speculative Futurism | 3098 (001) | Andrew H. Scarpelli, Sarah Zhou Rosengard | Thurs, Thurs
12:15 PM - 3:00 PM, 12:15 PM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
Astrobiology is an interdisciplinary field of science that focuses on the existence of life beyond Earth. It leans heavily on understanding the habitability of life on Earth as a basis for understanding the probability and physiology of extraterrestrial life in the universe. Unsurprisingly, astrobiology has inspired generations of scientists, artists, and designers to envision not only alien life, but also the future of human life on Earth in the Anthropocene and on other planets. Set in AT/SP¿s Bio Art facility, this course blends concepts and methods of creative studies such as speculative design, futurism, and semiotics with fundamentals in natural science (biology, geochemistry, and astronomy) to imagine what life will look like beyond our current existence.
The artistic concepts will be explored via written material by Paola Antonelli, Anthony Dunn, Fiona Ray, etc.. We will focus on discussions of speculative design, bioart, and various lenses of futurism while mantinaining a harmony with scientific understanding of key concepts about life, ecology, and environmental chemistry. At the same time, scientific readings and podcasts in this course will focus on the works of past Chicago scientists Enrico Fermi and Frank Drake who postulated the probability of extraterrestrial life, and several researchers doing active research on life in extreme Earth analog environments and other celestial bodies in our solar system (e.g., scientists at the Biosphere 2 facility and SETI Institute). Students will consider various media ranging from scientific papers to short films and artistic dialogues to show a firm grasp on astrobiology and its philosophical implications. Hands-on experiments in the Bio Art lab will provide opportunities to practice various astrobiology research techniques. The final project will challenge student teams to imagine a potential future or extraterrestrial ecology and use that to design and create a potential gallery piece. PrerequisitesStudio Symposia - Students must enroll in both ARTTECH 3098 and SCIENCE 3098Studio Symposia ATS/SCI 3098 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Electronics as an Art Material | 3101 (001) | Joseph Michael Kramer | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
Electronics can be a kind of language that, when an artist becomes fluent in it, opens doors to numerous aesthetic possibilities. Students will learn the basic principles of electronics along with hands-on techniques for putting the power of electrons into their work. They will be introduced to electronic components and circuits for switching, sensing, making decisions, and, to a limited degree, linking to computers. Students will encounter digital and analog answers to some of the most common art-making needs, gaining a foundation which will enable them to continue to expand their repertoire of aesthetic technological skills.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Electronic Writing | 3112 (001) | Judd Morrissey | Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
Writing in the twenty-first century is computational, writes literary critic N. Katherine Hayles. While this is true, she explains, of any work that uses digital software as its production environment before being output to print, it is particularly evident in works of electronic literature that are designed to be encountered on the computer screen. The practitioner of electronic writing is an author who combines human language and computer code to create new kinds of literary experience. Works of electronic literature can exceed the possibilities of print in their scale, dynamic variability, visual and temporal qualities, and attentiveness to the reader. The environment of the network (internet) also provides new opportunities for collaboration and sampling of found material. In this writing studio, we will survey varied forms of electronic literature including interactive hypertext / hypermedia, multi-user environments, codeworks, e-poetry, writing for virtual reality, and text-driven digital performance. Students will engage the potential of computational literature by creating original works using a variety of web-based programming languages taught in the weekly sessions. No previous programming experience is required.
|
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Interactive Art and Creative Coding | 3135 (001) | Douglas Rosman | Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This studio course investigates the creative possibilities in programming, from
interactivity to information visualization. Students explore interactive narratives and games, software art, simulations and emergent behaviors, and other code-based forms. Lectures and demonstrations provide a conceptual, aesthetic and technical foundation in programming as a creative practice. Techniques and concepts are presented through the open-source programming environment Processing, with an introduction to advanced topics such as C++ and OpenFrameworks. PrerequisitesPrerequisite: ARTTECH 2101 or permission of instructor. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| BioArt Studio | 3227 (001) | Andrew H. Scarpelli | Fri, Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
In this course we will focus on developing skills in the broad and dynamic field of Bioart. Students participate in classroom exercises and individual projects exploring the manipulation of living matter as artistic material. The course will cover basic protocols of molecular biology that will serve as departure points for study of more sophisticated and advanced techniques utilized by artists and scientists.
Readings will draw from numerous and varied sources. Students should expect to be willing to dive into such varied materials as essays on bioethics, podcasts on controversial bioarts, peer reviewed scientific journal articles, and online notebooks from well documented student biology projects. Course work will vary but typically includes weekly reading responses, two short mid-term presentatinos, participation in class discussions and laboratory exercise, and the production of 1-2 finished pieces to be presented in a culminating course critique. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Virtual Reality | 3235 (001) | Ava Mirage Wanbli, Sal Moreno | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
DescriptionVirtual Reality is a studio course focused on setting up interactive, head and hand tracked, dynamic, collaborative, stereoscopic, three dimensional computer graphic spaces for large format displays such as the CAVE. The class will cover the necessary programming, modeling, interaction, and audio components to start mastering this digital craft. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Virtual Reality | 3235 (001) | Ava Mirage Wanbli, Sal Moreno | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
DescriptionVirtual Reality is a studio course focused on setting up interactive, head and hand tracked, dynamic, collaborative, stereoscopic, three dimensional computer graphic spaces for large format displays such as the CAVE. The class will cover the necessary programming, modeling, interaction, and audio components to start mastering this digital craft. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Web Art | 3900 (016) | Garrett Johnson | Mon/Wed
6:45 PM - 9:15 PM In Person |
Description
Professional Practice: Web Art is a course that combines creative and practical knowledge related to web site development. Launched in 1989 as a remote file sharing system for scientists, the World Wide Web is nearly thirty years old. Today, the web functions as an exhibition space, a communications hub as well as a nexus for creative expression. Students in the Web Art class will learn the Hypertext Mark-Up Language (HTML), which is the basis of WWW authoring. Potential overall format and conceptual frameworks for developing a media-rich web site will be investigated, and ways of subverting the traditional web page format in order to create unique approaches to the dynamics of the web will be explored. Course activities include technical tutorials, preparation of a CV, writing of a project statement, and the creation of a web site.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: 2900 course |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Social Media Narratives | 4009 (001) | Judy Malloy |
TBD - TBD All Online |
Description
In an in-situ online studio environment, Social Media Narratives will explore the possibilities of social media platforms as authoring systems for creative work. Interactive traversals of classic and contemporary social media-based artworks; authoring practicum; critical discussion of issues in contemporary social media, such as surveillance advertising, censorship, and content ownership; envisioning new social media platforms hospitable to artists; and an online panel with guest artists will ground the course in the lineage and contemporary practice of social media-based narrative.
The works of artists and writers -- such as Jennifer Egan, Teju Cole, Eduardo Kac, Joseph DeLappe, Carla Gannis, Cindy Sherman, Al Weiwei, Bernie Su, Sandra Cisneros, and Chindu Sreedharan -- will key explorations of creative practice on social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Second Life, YouTube, and Twitch. Fox Harrell's concept of phantasmal media, plus the works of scholars and media historians -- such as Beth Coleman, Judith Donath, Robert Gehl, and Henry Jenkins -- will inform investigations of social media, past, present and future. Students will create short, midterm, and final projects in the media of their choice -- including words, images, video, animation, performance, conceptual, information-based, and interactive. |
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| Public Sound and Space | 4011 (001) | Austen Brown | Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
Public Sound and Space explores situating sound-based art practices, including performance and installation, into public space. Projects are conceptualized and developed in response to specific locations found in and around Chicago, determined by students in coordination with the instructor. The course examines public space and architecture through historical and contemporary sound practices, as well as the non-art uses of sound and its employment in public space. Technical workshops emphasize sound projection, acoustics, and mixing for complicated sonic environments and playback systems. In collaboration with the Digital Light Projections course, students will work in pairs to mount a large-scale sound and video work to be projected onto the Merchandise Mart, a significant building in the Loop. Bi-monthly in-class meetings between Public Sound and Space and Digital Light Projections will catalyze collaboration, hold technical and conceptual critiques, and accommodate workshops to address sound and image workflow. Facilitated by Art on the Mart, an art initiative presenting international artists, the work will be on view daily for 6 weeks capturing an audience of roughly 300,000 people.
We will study the works of artists including Susan Philipsz, Park McArthur, Ryoji Ikeda, Cevdet Erek, and Cameron Rowland. Readings include Miwon Kwon, Niall Atkinson, and others. In addition to the collaborative Art on the Mart project, students will research, propose, and develop a public sound work in response to a site of their choosing for the final. |
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| Robotics | 4015 (001) | Dan Miller | Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
Teaches the design, construction and programming of robotic projects, both artworks and designed objects, such as interactive furniture, objects, and habitable spaces. Topics to be covered include sensors, embedded micro-controllers, and motor control, lighting, etc. Student projects ranging from embedded interactive devices to autonomous spatial object-scaled, will be designed and built with a critical approach to normal market forces and human factors. Discussions investigate a range of robotic endeavors, examining connections with related fields such as interaction design, artificial intelligence, kinetic sculpture, etc., and critically examine works embodying these strategies.
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| Artificial Intelligence | 4022 (001) | Douglas Rosman | Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
'Artificial Intelligence' (AI) has infiltrated many corners of our lives. Once used primarily to identify, track, and predict things in the world, AIŒa convenient shorthand for fimachine learningflŒ has now become generativeŠproducing images, language, and anything else that can be parsed as data. Through a hands-on curriculum, students will explore AI tools to create images, video, audio and more, and will approach these AI systems as tools to augment a creative practice, as well as a medium and material in themselves. This course foregrounds experimentation and play as a means to develop a critical understanding of AI and the ethical implications of its use in creative production (and beyond), engaging in discourse around ideas of authenticity, authorship, and labor. Ultimately, students will leave this class with a broad understanding of how AI operates in the world today, and what it means to incorporate this technology into a creative practice.
The course will be technically rigorous, emphasizing a broad exploration of generative AI tools including but not limited to: text-to-image models like Stable Diffusion, text-to-video, Large Language Models, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), and generative audio. Although having coding experience will benefit students, this course emphasizes flexibility with technology and software over coding proficiency. Readings and screenings will draw from the work of artists and thinkers like Sofia Crespo, Memo Akten, Mario Klingemann, Hito Steyerl, Trevor Paglen, Joy Buolamwini, Sarah Meyohas, Anna Ridler and Alex Mordvintsev who have been engaging critically with AI since the mid-2010s. Students will work individually and collaboratively on smaller scale projects early in the semester, producing and sharing works each week. The course will culminate in a larger scale final project and critique. Students will also maintain a 'sketchbook' documenting their experiments and methods throughout the semester. |
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| Retro Tech: Programming | 4132 (001) | Lee Blalock | Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This is a studio course that will make use of vintage technologies available through the ATS Retro Lab. Students will learn early programming languages for use on some of the first home computers while deepening their study of creative computing. Students will also have access to early 1970s synthesizers and image processing systems to combine techniques and create multimedia projects throughout the semester. No programming skills are necessary, though experience with newer programming languages will only enrich your understanding of the content.
Lectures and discussions will be based around topics in software studies and the history of computing. The text '10 Print CHR$(205.5+RND(1));:GOTO 10' will ground us in our discussions and some of the scholars/artists we will study include Nick Monfort, Sonia Sheridan, Vera Molnar and Casey Reas. Students should expect to produce weekly programming sketches, a mid-term, and a final project. |
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| Experimental Game Lab | 4136 (001) | Salvatore Cordova | Mon
8:30 AM - 11:15 AM All Online |
Description
As a growing, hybrid form of art, experimental video games deal and intersect with themes of politics and society, architecture, design, storytelling; they subvert common commercial tropes of popular games, and more. Students will play, analyze, and discuss a variety of recent and older games, increase their literacy with the field, and apply the ideas learned in creating their own games or interactive digital artworks. Access to a Mac or Windows computer for playing and developing games is required. Workshops will be taught for the Twine and Unity 3D (C#) game creation tools. No prior experience required.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: ARTTECH 2101 or permission of instructor. |
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| Video Game Music Composition | 4138 (001) | Salvatore Cordova | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
Video game music spans and pushes the boundaries of music, both popular and avant-grade. Music and sound effects contextualize the events of a game, heightening the immersive experience for players.
Critical listening and analysis sessions will cover a gamut of music cues from alt, indie, art, and AAA games. Lectures will examine what makes a successful soundtrack and how music and sound are used to augment gameplay and storytelling. Through composition assignments and critiques, students will hone their sound and music production skills while learning about the unique challenges of writing for games. Assignments range from genre specific music production, to creating adaptive music cues, to implementing music and sound into a game environment. |
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| Blockchain: The New Internet | 4144 (001) | Douglas Rosman | Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, Bitcoin (and its underlying ¿blockchain¿ technology) emerged quietly as a decentralized alternative to the corrupt centralized banking system. In the decade since, cryptocurrencies have seen widespread adoption, bringing with them ludicrous energy consumption and digital cats worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the potential of blockchains¿networked distributed ledgers that keep a tamper-proof record of all transactions that occur on the network¿extends far beyond facilitating digital cash. Will blockchains spawn egalitarian techno-utopias free from authoritarian governments and tech companies? Or is the whole 'crypto' enterprise just a wasteful pyramid scheme?
This course will explore blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies as both a material and context for artistic experimentation, emphasizing both a cultural and technical understanding of blockchains that can inform critical making. As cultural foundation, we will weave a thread through the invention of money, cryptography, the creation of the Internet, the relationship of cryptocurrencies to anarcho-capitalism and libertarianism, posthumanism, surveillance capitalism, planetary-scale computation, environmental impact, techno-solutionism, meme magic, the NFT/¿cryptoart¿ market, and the history of conceptual art. Technically, we will learn the basics of public-key/private-key cryptography, crypto-mining, oracles, and the principles behind Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). Practically, we will work primarily with the Ethereum blockchain and the Solidity programming language to create our own tokens (fungible and non-fungible), dApps (decentralized Applications), and smart contracts. We will examine works by crypto/blockchain-adjacent artists such as Simon Denny, Primavera De Filippi, Ai Wei Wei, Eve Sussman, Jonas Lund, Sarah Friend, Bitnik, Larva Labs, Stephanie Rothenberg, Julian Oliver, and Terra0. Additionally, we will look at how blockchain-based platforms are transforming the way both digital and physical art are bought and sold. Screenings and readings will provide technical and conceptual foundation for blockchain technology. Students will complete weekly homework assignments, as well as midterm and final projects with respective critiques. While some programming experience is encouraged (JavaScript in particular), no coding experience is needed to make meaningful work in this class. |
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Graduate Projects
MFA 6009 Graduate Projects advising, an ongoing individual dialogue with a wide range of faculty advisors, is at the heart of the MFA program at SAIC, encouraging interdisciplinary study across the curriculum. Standard enrollment consists of two MFA 6009 Graduate Projects advisors, one graduate-level seminar, and an art history course each semester. The remainder of credits required for the full-time 15-credit hour load may include academic or studio electives. All MFA students must register for a minimum of one and no more than two MFA 6009 sections each semester. Students may request permission from the Graduate Program Advisor to take a third MFA 6009 section after priority registration.
In their final year, students must take one MFA 6009 Exhibitions section. The advising and grade for this course will be tied to the final exhibition. When taking undergraduate studio coursework, the student is responsible for understanding the faculty member’s expectations about completion of assignments, attendance, and any other criteria for earning credit. MFA students interested in completing a written thesis must take a research course and MFA 6009 Research section and obtain approval from the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies.
Graduate Critiques
As one of the principle means of assessment each semester, you will be required to participate in Critique Week, a week-long schedule of critiques during which classes are suspended.
Fall semester critiques are organized by department with panels representing the discipline. This provides you with an opportunity to understand the department’s expectations, have your work reviewed from a disciplinary point of view, and to reiterate the expectations for graduate study.
Spring semester critiques are interdisciplinary, with panel members and students from across SAIC disciplines. Interdisciplinary critiques allow for a broad range of responses to your work, and are intended to assess the success of your work for a more general, albeit highly informed audience. Critique panels include faculty, visiting artists, and fellow graduate students.
Graduate Exhibition or Equivalent
At the conclusion of your studies, you will present work in the SAIC Graduate Thesis Exhibition, other end-of-year events at SAIC, or the Gene Siskel Film Center—or arrange with the graduate dean or division chair for an alternative thesis of equal professional quality. Each year more than 200 graduate students exhibit work, screen videos and films, and present time-based works, writings, and performance to a collective audience of 30,000 people.
Students wishing to install work around prevalent themes, strategies or stylistic affinities can participate in a juried and curated section of the SAIC Graduate Thesis Exhibition. A faculty and staff committee conducts extensive studio visits and as a collaborative project with student participants, organizes and installs the show in designated space at the exhibition.
Take the Next Step
Visit the graduate admissions website or contact the graduate admissions office at 312.629.6100, 800.232.7242 or gradmiss@saic.edu.