Fall 2011
DA4103.01
Credits: 4
Time: Tuesday, 2:10 p.m. – 6:00p.m.
Course Description:
Social practices in art incorporates many diverse strategies from interactive media, online networks, manifestos, street interventions, social sculpture, design, performance, activism, open systems, public discourse and more. In this course we examine the history of social practice and focus in on how media and technology are impacting and shifting current practice. Students are encouraged to work collaboratively on projects that critically engage topics pertinent to this moment in history and are situated in the public sphere — local or global, online or offline. There are lectures, reading assignments, studio projects and critiques during the course.
Requirements:
Active student participation throughout all aspects of this course will make your experience much more meaningful and is necessary for the successful completion of the assigned work. There are reading/research assignments, weekly discussions, student presentations, critiques and the production of work during this course. Students are expected to be present for all class meetings. Please email me if you must miss a class. Chronic lateness and/or more than 2 absences will seriously jeopardize your standing in this course.
Students will be evaluated based on the following: Participation/attitude, creative/conceptual work, collaboration, documentation of work/wikipages and progress over the term.
Collaborative Projects:
In this class most work will be collaborative in nature. Small scale exercises and projects at the start of the term will lead towards a final project that will be conceived and realized in collaboration by the class.
Wikipages:
All students are required to maintain a personal wiki site for this class. This space should act as an electonic journal and contain your research, project ideas and progress, summaries of all the class readings (must be posted by Monday at noon) and documentation of creative work. Individual and group pages are to be updated regularly (weekly). Each student is responsible for viewing and commenting on all student pages.
Over the course of the term you should create an annotated list of links to artists and artworks that you find compelling or are influencing your ideas (this should be updated each week).
Student Presentations/critiques:
Each student will present on a particular artist or collective over the course of the term. This is a research project and should include citations (multiple sources), images, video or other resources where applicable. All presentation materials — text, image, links etc. — are to located on your wikipage. You do not need to write out every portion of your presentation, but you should include an annotated bibliography for all the sources you find.
Each student will present ideas and work regularly over the course of the term. All materials are to located on the wiki.
>> Late work is not accepted!<<
Goodness:
I would like you to commit to the following this semester:
That you will be respectful of both your peers and my time and efforts with your own: that you will work your hardest, be self-motivated, learn through trial and failure and share what you learn and/or know freely with all.
That you will push yourself beyond the bounds of your comfort zone, and be brave, adventurous and surprising.
That you will be respectful to your public, their time, and aspects of their lives they share with you. Reciprocate with thoughtful and courageous work.
Office hours/help:
I am available for help or to discuss projects via office hours and email. Please email me if you would like to schedule a time to meet–do not leave voice mail! I am readily available via email and will regularly respond within a few hours.
Tim Clark is the Digital Arts Technician and has regular help hours each week. For more information, please visit the POD website.
Books/Readings:
There are no required books that need to be purchased for this class. All readings will be handed out or can be found online.
Bibliography:
Art and Social Change, A Critical Reader, Edited by Will Bradley and Charles Esche, Tate Publishing 2007
Collectivism After Modernism, The Art of Social Imagination After 1945, Edited by Blake Stimson and Gregory Sholette, 2007
Conversation Pieces: Community and Communication in Modern Art, Grant H. Kester, University of California Press, 2004
Participation, Edited by Clarie Bishop, Whitechapel, 2006
Places of Learning, Media, Architecture, Pedagogy, by Elizabeth Ellsworth, RoutledgeFalmer, 2005.
Relational Aesthetics, by Nicolas Bourriaud, Presses du Réel, 1998
Relations in Public: Microstudies of the Public Order, Erving Goffman, Basic Books, 1971
Social Acupuncture, Darren O’Donnell, Coach House, 2006
Social Works: Performing Art, Supporting Publics, Shannon Jackson, Routledge, 2011
The Art of Participation, 1950-Now, Rudolph Frieling, SF MOMA/Thames and Hudson, 2008
The Everyday, Edited by Stephen Johnstone, Whitechapel, 2008
What We Want is Free, Generosity and Exchange in Recent Art, Edited by Ted Purves, SUNY Press 2005
This schedule is a guide and will change over the course of the term, check back often.
Session 1: September 6
Introduction to the course.
What is social practice?
Creative Time Summit 3, Sept. 23rd.
Collaboration.
Dérive.
Session 2: September 13
Discuss reading.
Review Dérive work.
Discuss “Talk to a stranger” part 1.
Student presentation(s):
Ana-Miren San Millan: Suzanne Lacy
Maile Zox: WochenKlausur
Read:
Grant Kester, Introduction, pages 1-13 from Conversation Pieces.
Ted Purves, pages 27-44, Blows Against the Empire from What We Want is Free.
Trebor Scholz, A History of the Social Web.
Session 3: September 20
Discuss reading.
Discuss “Talk to a stranger” part 2.
Student presentation(s):
Julianne Lee: SUPERFLEX
Rainer Hunt: Jeanne Van Heeswijk
Read:
Darren O’Donnell, Social Acupuncture, pages 11-95.
Session 4: September 27
Discuss Creative Time Summit.
Discuss reading.
Design Thinking and the arts.
Guest: Artist and Designer, Nancy Nowacek (http://wecanok.com/)
Student presentation(s):
Abigail Neale: Jackie Summell
Corinne Frankenfield: Laurie Jo Reynolds
Read:
“Design Thinking”, by Tim Brown, Harvard Business Review, June 2008.
D.School Bootcamp Bootleg, Institute of Design Stanford.
IDEO, “Human Centered Design Field Guide”.
Session 5: October 4
Discuss readings.
Discuss “What do you think of me?” collaboration #1.
Student presentation(s):
Julia Mounsey: Vito Acconci
Christopher Conroy: Joseph Beuys
Read:
Vito Acconci, pages 900-918 Public Space in a Private Time from Critical Inquiry Vol. 16, No. 4. (Summer, 1990).
Joseph Beuys, pages 125-126, I am Searching for Field Character, from Participation.
Session 6: October 11
Discuss reading.
Discuss collaboration #2.
Jules Rochielle, SPAN. Skype.
Class visitor: Brian Campion, VT. State Representative.
Student presentation(s):
Sara Kladky: Allan Kaprow
Fei Lai: Temporary Services
Lucy Lippard, pages 408-421, Time Capsule, from Art and Social Change, A Critical Reader.
Allan Kaprow, pages 102-104, The Elimination of the Audience from Participation.
Jay Rosen, The People Formerly Known as the Audience
Session 7: October 18
Discuss reading.
Student presentation(s):
Jaime Boddorff: InCUBATE
Terry Orr: Jeremy Deller
Read:
Nicolas Bourriaud, pages 161-171,Relational Aesthetics from Participation.
Irving Goffman, pages 3-27, The Individual as a Unit from Relations in Public.
Robert Ransick and Blake Goble, A Manifesto for the Present, Urban Future Manifestos. Edited by Peter Noever, MAK Vienna and Kimberli Meyer, MAK Center Los Angeles, 2010.
Session 8: October 24
PLAN DAY.
Class will meet from 4-6:00pm
Read:
Ben Davis: What Occupy Wall Street Can Learn From the Situationists (A Cautionary Tale)
Session 9: November 1
Discuss reading.
Fallapalooza recap.
Collaboration.
Read:
Elizabeth Ellsworth, pages 15-36, The Materiality of Pedagogy from Places of Learning
Christopher Lee Kennedy, Latent Learning Curriculums, Institute for Applied Aesthetics
Session 10: November 8
Discuss reading.
Presentation of final project ideas.
Guest: Jim Voorhies
Read:
Elizabeth Ellsworth, pages 37-56, Pedagogy’s HInge from Places of Learning
Session 11: November 15
Presentation of revised ideas.
Session 12: November 22
TBA: Project(s) dependent
Session 13: November 29
TBA: Project(s) dependent
Session 14: December 6
Final projects discussion and critique.
Last class. (All work from the term must be complete and located on student wiki pages by the start of class.)