Integrative Studio II - Spring '23
{ synced with New Media Then and Media Arts Practice 2 }
Professor: Robert Spahr
Contact: rspahr@siu.edu
Office: Comm 1056B
Office Hours:
W 09:00am-12:00pm
R 01:00pm-04:00pm
& by appointment
Course: Integrative Studio II
Location: Northlight Studio (Comm 1251)
Time: F 09:00am-11:50am
Course Syllabus Location: http://www.robertspahr.com/studio2/
Course Information: CIN 470D Integrative Studio II - 001 - 25283
Best means of contact, email: finley.freibert@siu.edu
Office: Communications, 1050H
Office Hours:
T 11:30am-12:30pm
R 11:30am-4:30pm
& by appointment
Office Phone: Available by appointment via Teams
Course: New Media Then
Location: Northlight Studio (Comm 1251)
Time: T R 09:35am-10:50am
Dr. Finley Friebert, an Assitant Professor of Media Studies in the School of Media Arts (SoMA), will be intensively involved in this course, particularly as we attempt to integrate the content of his class, CIN 302: New Media Then with Integrative Studio II.
Teaching Assistant: Leah Sutton
Contact: leah.sutton@siu.edu
Office: Comm 0012D
(Communications Basement down the hall from the New Media Center)
Office Hours:
T 11:00am-03:00pm
R 11:00am–01:00pm
& by appointment
Leah Sutton, a second-year Master of Fine Arts (MFA) student in the Interdisciplinary Media Arts is the teaching assistant for both Integrative Studio II and New Media Then.
Required Text:
* All required readings will be available online. *
Suggested Text:
Kristine Stiles and Peter Selz : Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art: A Sourcebook of Artists' Writings, University of California Press; Second edition (2012)David Lynch: Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity: 10th Anniversary Edition, Tarcher Perigee (2007)
Andrey Tarkovsky: Sculpting in Time, University of Texas Press; Illustrated edition (1989)
Sergei Eisenstein: Notes of a Film Director. Dover Publications (1970) (This edition is out-of-print)
Description:
School of Media Arts First-Year Curriculum
Your first year at the School of Media Arts is a time of exploration and discovery as you develop
your creative process, critical thinking, communication and collaboration skills. The two semesters
of foundation courses immerse you in the making of media arts, as well as media arts history and
theory resulting in the development of your critical practice as you learn to better reflect on your
studio work. All students in the School of Media Arts follow a first-year curriculum, which
provides a rigorous and exciting course of study, exposing you to a range of art, design and media
practices which will be the foundational support for your entire education and your creative life
after graduation.
Integrative Studio II
This course is a continuation of CIN 341 Integrative Studio I, as we continue our explorations of the process of creativity while exploring a variety of media arts practices. We will consider what we make, how we make it, and we will ask why? How do we generate and capture ideas? How can our research become part of this process? Through individual and collaborative group activities you will engage in a series of media projects that ask you to experiment, visualize, question, look, listen, play, fail, iterate, and reflect. As part of a unique sequence of foundations courses, Integrative Studio II seeks to integrate history, theory and practice by directly addressing the ideas and concepts taught in CIN 362 New Media Then, as well as exploring artists' writings about their art, and is co-taught by both instructors. These two courses work to bridge theory and practice as students complete projects which connects their studio practice and their scholarly research. Our shared goal is to integrate making, writing, and reflecting essential components of the creative process.
Bridging Theory and Practice
CIN 470D Integrative Studio 1 is part of a unique sequence that is combined with CIN 361 New Media Now, and co-taught by both instructors. These two courses bridge theory and practice as students complete projects which connects their studio practice and their scholarly research. Our shared goal is to integrate making, writing, and reflecting essential components of the creative process.
Objectives:
- Develop an awareness of the creative process as it applies to the arts and everyday life.
- Develop technical skills for creating and analyzing media arts and interactivity through the exploration of individual and collaborative group projects.
- Increase knowledge relevant to integrate making, writing, and reflecting essential components of the creative process.
Syllabus:
# Syllabus is subject to change with notice. #
Fri Jan 20
Introduction, Theory and Practice, Artist Writings
Sound Machine Instruction
Assign:
Self-Initiated Project #1
Guidelines to Self-Initiate a Project
Artist Statement #1
(PDF format, 1 page limit. Put your name and date on the document and email it to Rob and Leah.)
Self-Portrait
Create a self-portrait in any medium. If the work is time-based, limit the duration to 1 minute.
View:
Benedict Cumberbatch reads Sol LeWitt's letter to Eva Hesse, 06:09
Eva Hesse's Unforgettable Legacy | ICA/Boston, 04:20
Bill Viola - The Raft, May 2004 (excerpt), 01:11
Bill Viola Interview: The Tone of Being, 06:01
Bill Viola Interview: Cameras are Keepers of the Soul, 28:09
The Story of: Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010), 13:33
Francis Ford Coppola - Apocalypse Now - Opening Scene, 07:35
Claes Oldenburg | The Store, 02:34
Fri Jan 27
STUDIO DAY & CRITIQUE
Due: Artist Statement #1
Due: Self-Portrait
Homework:
Read:
BILL VIOLA Video Black - The Mortality of the Image, 1990
CLAES OLDENBURG I Am for an Art... 1961
FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA Interview, 2012
LOUISE BOURGEOIS Interview with Donald Kuspit, 1988
Journal:
Weekly self-reflection #1
Fri Feb 03
STUDIO DAY
VALIE EXPORT – 'I Created My Own Identity' | Artist Interview | TateShots, 08:07
The Case for Conceptual Art, 11:25
Homework:
Read:
VALIE EXPORT Woman's Art: A Manifesto, 1972
EVA HESSE
Letter to Ethelyn Honig, 1965
Statement, 1968
Statement, 1969
Statement, n.d.
SOL LEWITT
Paragraphs on Conceptual Art, 1967
Sentences on Conceptual Art, 1969
Journal:
Weekly self-reflection #2
Fri Feb 10
STUDIO DAY
This Vietnam Veterans Memorial Changed the Way the U.S. Thought of the War, 05:03
Andrei Tarkovsky's Advice to Young Filmmakers/Directors, 02:50
Homework:
Read:
MAYA LIN
Interview with Elizabeth Hess, 1983
Interview with Sarah Rogers, 1993
Lecture, 1995
ANDREY TARKOVSKY
Sculpting in Time (excerpt) The author in search of an audience, 1986
Journal:
Weekly self-reflection #3
Fri Feb 17
STUDIO DAY
Spike Lee: Do the Right Thing (1989) opening credits, 04:23
Spike Lee: Do the Right Thing | "How Come You Ain't Got No Brothers Up on the Wall?", 04:57
Regina Jose Galindo: Tierra, 06:23
Cindy Sherman: Untitled Film Still #21, 04:22
Assign:
Artist Statement #2 (PDF format, 1 page limit. Put your name and date on the document and email it to Rob and Leah.)
Homework:
Read:
SPIKE LEE Interview, 1989
REGINA JOSE GALINDO
I am a common place, 1999
First it was writing, 2008
Argument, 2008
Multiply, 2008
White Sheet, 2008
CINDY SHERMAN Statement & Interview with Els Barents, 1982
Journal:
Weekly self-reflection #4
Fri Feb 24
CRITIQUE: Self-Initiated Project #1 is due.
Due: Artist Statement #2
Assign: Self-Initiated Project #2
Guidelines to Self-Initiate a Project
Homework:
Journal:
Weekly self-reflection #5
Fri Mar 03
CRITIQUE: Self-Initiated Project #1 continued
Homework:
Journal:
Weekly self-reflection #6
Fri Mar 10
STUDIO DAY / CRITIQUE: Self-Initiated Project #1 continued
Student Showcase Spring '23
View:
Fred Wilson’s museum interventions, 03:06
Explore "The Archives" with Fred Wilson and Darla Migan, 06:45
Homework:
Read:
FRED WILSON Interview, 2017
FRED WILSON No Noa Noa: History of Tahiti, 2005
Journal: Weekly self-reflection #7
Week of Fri Mar 17
*** SPRING BREAK ***
Fri Mar 24
STUDIO DAY / COLLABORATIVE GROUP WORKSHOP
William Kentridge Interview: How We Make Sense of the World, 30:24
Banksy Artwork Shredded After Selling at Auction May Have Increased in Value , 01:42
From the archives: Keith Haring was here, 03:21
Homework:
Read:
WILLIAM KENTRIDGE
Art in a state of Grace, Art in a State of Hope, Art in a State of Siege, 1986
KEITH HARING Statement, 1984
BANKSY Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall, 2001
Journal:
Weekly self-reflection #8
Fri Mar 31
STUDIO DAY
Assign: Artist Statement #3 (PDF format, 1 page limit. Put your name and date on the document and email it to Rob and Leah.)
Homework:
Read:
SERGEI EISENSTEIN
Notes of a Film Director (excerpt) How I Became a Film Director, 1945
Journal:
Weekly self-reflection #9
Fri Apr 07
STUDIO DAY
Read:
DAVID LYNCH
Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity (Excerpt), 2006
RICK RUBIN The Creative Act: A Way of Being (Excerpt), 2023
Journal:
Weekly self-reflection #10
Fri Apr 14
Power Outage - Class Canceled
Fri Apr 21
CRITIQUE: Self-Initiated Project #2 is due.
Due: Artist Statement #3
Homework:
Journal:
Weekly self-reflection #11
Fri Apr 28
CRITIQUE: Self-Initiated Project #2 continues
Journal: Weekly self-reflection #13
Fri May 05
Screening: David Lynch - Blue Velvet
Due: Final Portfolio should be uploaded to OneDrive
Please make sure to add your five projects to a folder with your name in the format (Last Name, First Name) before you upload the folder to the OneDrive. (See Leah's email for the link to OneDrive)
Journal: Weekly self-reflection #14
May 08-12
FINALS WEEK
We will not meet during finals week.
Supply List
- Basic drawing supplies such as pencils and/or charcoal
- Sketchbook / Journal that is at least size 8.5" x 11"
- A wifi enabled laptop running either Windows, Mac OS, or Linux
Evaluation:
The work in this course requires motivation, exploration, risk-taking, and most importantly, an openness to new ideas. The grading policy of this class is meant to encourage you to explore new ideas and take chances. Do not think in terms of "What must I do to receive an A grade", but think in terms of what you would like to learn.
Attendance:
Attendance to all classes is expected. You are allowed up to ONE unexcused absences. Unexcused absence beyond this threshold may result in failing this course.
Assignments:
All assignments and projects are due at the beginning of class. Late projects will not be accepted.
Sketchbook / Journal:
Students will create at least one self-reflection response to their weekly investigations. Self-reflection entries are due the day they appear on the syllabus schedule. Students should also document their creative process and artistic development within the sketchbook / journal. Think of the sketchbook as a resource to contain your present ideas and hints of future directions to explore. The sketchbook is an important tool to be used as you self-initiate your projects. Bring your sketchbook/journal and writing/drawing tools to every class. I will randomly collect and evaluate the sketchbook/journal throughout the semester.
Readings:
We will be exploring artists' writings about their art. For each of the assigned readings, you should add into your sketchbook a quote that you found significant. Be prepared to explain and discuss each quote in your own words. Readings are due the day they appear on the syllabus schedule.
Critique:
A critique in a studio course is equivalent to an exam in a studies course. Critique is one of the most important methods of assessment used in my classes. Students learn the verbal skills to describe and analyze their own work and the work of others.
Self-Initiated Projects:
In the Foundations sequence of courses you have worked through a series of exercises and projects in which you have explored a broad ranges of media art and design practices, and have tackled a range of subjects, themes and issues. In this course you will self-initiate two projects that will allow you to develop and explore your own concerns through the lens of your emerging disciplinary focus. Details of these projects will be discussed in class.
Group Exhibit Project:
A collaborative group exhibit will be developed in class. This exhibit will be curated and structured by the group. Details will be discussed in class.
Final Portfolio:
For your final portfolio, please upload five pieces and your final artist statement from the past year in a folder with your name on it in the following format: (Last Name, First Name) in the title of the folder. (See Leah's email for the link to OneDrive)
Grading:
A 95-100,
A- 92-95
Outstanding work.
Solution shows excellent depth of understanding and innovation. The solution has been fully developed in form and concept.
B+ 88-91,
B 85-87,
B- 82-84
Good work.
Solution exceeds all requirements and shows above average depth of understanding. Demonstrates more than adequate clarity of idea and execution.
C+ 78-81,
C 75-77,
C- 72-74
Average work.
Problem has been solved adequately, but the solution lacks depth of understanding, development and innovation.
D+ 68-71,
D 65-67,
D- 62-64
Poor work.
Solution is extremely weak and lacks understanding and innovation. Technical skills are weak.
F 61 or less
Unacceptable work.
Solution to the problem is unresolved and incomplete resulting in a failing grade.
Each project will be graded on artistic, creative and intellectual merit.
Grades will be based on the following:
- 20% Originality of concept
- 20% Delivery (execution of the concept)
- 20% Documentation / Process
- 20% Craft
- 20% Critique & participation
Your final grade will be determined by the following:
- 50% Two Self-Initiated Projects
- 20% Workshops / Exercises / Participation
- 20% Group Exhibition Project
- 20% Final Portfolio and Artist Statement
- 10% Sketchbook / Journal
COVID-19
We will follow the mandated COVID-19 guidelines established by the university. Should the conditions change and we need to work remotely, I will work on transitioning our class to a hybrid online format. Further information on the SIU policy on COVID-19: https://siu.edu/coronavirus/
SIU Syllabus Attachment
SIU Syllabus Attachment - Spring '23 - PDF