Lee Blalock

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.

This course will focus on cybernetics and systems through the lens of the posthuman, connecting us with the vast array of disciplines that contribute to the DNA of this field. This is the place where new images, sounds, language, and identities emerge through experimental studio techniques. This is a project-based class for students taking conceptual cues from survival systems, the world of body modification, and our non-human sentient cousins. Projects can range from robust exoskeletons to screen based projects and abstractions. We will begin with proposal presentations at our second class meeting and students will have the option of making one or two fully realized projects using technology-based media. In the past, students have created wearable instruments, perception altering animal-hybrid suits, and gravity-defying animations. Readings will vary throughout the semester and will include topics such as embodiment, hybrid identities, body modification, and fleshy data. Each weekly class will be structured so that it includes a lecture or presentation, a discussion or concept workshop, and time dedicated to project completion. In this advanced projects-based setting, big ideas and beginner skills are as welcome as underdeveloped ideas and advanced skills. Students of all technical levels will be robustly supported.

What happens to an electronic or computer-based artwork if it fails during an exhibition? Who cares for a digital piece in a collection when the technology that supports that work is outdated? How do artists address the death of the media on which their work relies? This course will focus on preserving and restoring technology-mediated artworks through case studies, practical workshops, guest speakers, and an interdisciplinary research approach.

We will discuss exhibitions focused on archiving and preserving technology-mediated artworks and the specific problems facing the artists and the museum staff when showing this work. We'll hear from artists and curators about the challenges and opportunities in maintaining electronic and digital art, historical or contemporary, and study project notes and texts from exhibition catalogs. We'll read about efforts to address the needs of computer-based artworks from a research perspective and look closely at the interdisciplinary approach required to solve technical problems. Practical workshops will focus on repair and restoration skills. Students should expect to talk with students, faculty, and exhibition staff in and around campus in an effort to learn about the way artwork is created, installed, maintained, and archived.

Weekly course work will vary but will typically include readings, workshops, a mid-term, and a final project in the form of case studies.

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.

In this seminar, we will explore the limitless possibilities in the field of art and technology. Through readings, discussions, research, and presentations, students will develop the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in their chosen art communities. These activities will not just revolve around creating art but also focus on other activities that form an artist's overarching practice. During the weekly class meeting, students can expect to share their creative ideas along with the research supporting their studio practices. Time will also be spent learning about artists in the field and studying texts fundamental to making art with technology. We will learn from one another, share our resources, and collaborate on a final exhibition that will showcase our emerging voices. By the end of the seminar, you will be familiar with and supportive of one another, and you will have delved more deeply into your creative practices.

Taken every semester, the Graduate Projects courses allow students to focus in private sessions on the development of their work. Students register for 6 hours of Graduate Project credit in each semester of study.