What a lazy start to the term – here we are three class
meetings in and this is my first post. It actually kind of works well since the
first three classes fit together well as the “intro.” Like all project-based
classes day one is a taste of how the class will be structured. Normal syllabus
stuff and then we get into the warm-up and game before discussion. Changing up
the “what could be inside’ game I substituted a can with the label pealed off.
Unlike where people shake the box to hear what is inside this one yielded some
interesting results. The instructions were to try and pitch selling this
unmarked item – some good riffing on what might or might not be inside. Like
the last time I taught this class we moved on to the Self, Society, and Cosmos
ideas. This time around “existential vacuum” took the prize for the most
visible ideas. Good list of terms and ideas dealing with authority as well as
the absence of authority. I suspect we will cycle back to these ideas from time
to time – particularly with the Futurists and Dadaists.
The second-class day was focused on aesthetics – so I asked
students to bring in something they found beautiful and tell us why. A similar
pattern from the last time this was taught in that most students articulated a
personal connection to the object or idea. Some even went so far as to point
out that while the object may not be aesthetically pleasing they still found it
beautiful. A nice distinction I need to push on a bit more when we return to
discuss the aesthetics articles. We spent the remainder of the class talking
about beauty and how we understand it, learn it, accept it, and address it.
Like the SSC ideas – they pay off on this is down the line when we look more
closely at what some of the artists we will discuss develop.
The fact the Golden Mean came up in both classes I find
interesting – clearly this is being taught either in Liberal Arts or – I
suspect – in the art schools. It is a really wonderful idea – particularly
because it is drawn from nature and suggests a kind of natural beauty and
proportion. This, to me, always links to Chaos Theory – which I suspect we will
discuss more than I anticipated.
Day three – first project day. Like the Gen Art class I do
feel it is important to get the first project out there as soon as possible. It
sets a bar and also allows me to get a read on who wants to play and who
doesn’t. The hard part with this is it is not about polish or expertise of
ideas, but who is willing to push on their comfort zone – as well as the
class’s comfort zone. The project was on time – specifically three different
types of time represented in the container of “one minute.” I wasn’t quite
strict with the one minute – some played within this frame others did not. Lots
of good thoughtful projects – some which could have benefitted from more
thought, but the challenge is there to work within a particular level. Some
really beautiful work – particularly on an emotional level. Between the two
classes there were at least two students who used this piece to concentrate on
loss. The sense of capturing something or someone and then moving on. This is
what struck me most about these pieces compared to the last time. Memory and
how we use technological means to capture that memory seemed to be the
prevalent idea. It does raise questions about what we use these things for and
how we use mechanical or digital time to segment our day and control our
activities. A couple of pieces did the same thing with sound or movement. More
performative pieces then last time – which is fine – but does tend to deal with
time differently than objects do.
The notion of analogue and digital came up in both classes –
both as ideas but also woven into the fabric of some of the projects. This is
an interesting space to move within. Headed toward glitch it does begin a
process of exploring the differences as well as the cross over points. They both
have very different structures and outcomes – it is possible that I will need
to specify developing a project with in an analogue world as opposed to digital
– if for no other reason that the control factor is completely different. It is
interesting that we have seen a handful of projects that could have been
presented at any point this term. A good place to start – both classes seem to
be a mix of the introspective, the adventurous, the contained, and the
methodical. I will see where this takes us in the next few weeks.
