01. Course Description

Digital Essentials
Course: FOU 140 (3 credits)
Meets: M/W 12-2:50pm, CVPA room 258
Instructor: Ellen Mueller
Contact: emueller1@umassd.edu
Office Hours: 12:30-3pm Tue/Thu at Star Store 345, or by appointment

CATALOG DESCRIPTION:

Fundamental digital media concepts and techniques in studio practice. Emphasis is placed on the use of digital tools in all creative areas. Hands-on projects demonstrate and reinforce integration of computers in the creation of two, three, and four-dimensional work. Students will develop a visual and verbal language for developing, analyzing, and presenting work. Course is designed for first-year art students.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION:

This course is integral to the first-year experience in the Studio Arts Foundation program. It establishes and reinforces principles and technical skills necessary for success when using computers and digital tools for creative production, problem solving and presentation.

The course will consist of presentations, discussions, readings, and group and individual critiques of assigned projects. Some class time will be spent working on projects and in individual consultation with the instructor.

The class will meet as a group each week for topical presentations and technical demonstrations. Some sessions will be used for viewing homework projects or to view the work of artists and designers that support the conceptual and technical issues addressed in class.

There will be approximately six assignments during the semester. Each project will have a due date or day designated for a review. Ultimately, and to complete the semester, will be the requirement to assemble a portfolio of all the work completed this semester, presented in an designated format.

In order to earn 3 academic credits, students should expect to spend a total of 90 hours in class and a total of 180 hours outside of class working on assigned projects.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

  • Demonstrate a comprehension of the fundamental principles of design relative to digitally created visual works.
  • Demonstrate a comprehension of general computer literacy including the terminology of hardware and software, operating system s, the Internet, and the fundamentals of file creation, formats and delivery.
  • Comprehend clearly the characteristics and qualities of both vector and raster based image generation and apply these sensibilities to the development of new ideas.
  • Develop operational skills for capturing images using digital cameras and scanners, and demonstrate and exercise editorial processes to digitally adjust, crop and manipulate images.
  • Develop hand and technical skills using digital drawing and painting tools for image generation and photographic editing.
  • Comprehend concepts of narrative and time, including sequence, pace and rhythm, and develop skills for digitally capturing, creating and presenting dynamic time-based works.
  • Comprehend the process for digitally translating a two-dimensional idea into three-dimensional form, and preparation of the result for digital sculpture or fabrication output.
  • Develop skills documenting creative processes and comprehend the concepts and implications of social media, Internet presence and mass distribution.

Students will be able to:

  • Plan, execute and edit ideas in a digital workspace using critical thinking skills during all phases of the creative process.
  • Apply a fresh working knowledge of computerized tools and techniques to thoughtfully construct and present new ideas and expressions.
  • Effectively communicate and understand creative ideas and information to and from others working with computers and digital tools.
  • Construct and deliver works of growing technical and conceptual quality, and digitally archive all ideas and finished work.
  • Develop creative approaches for the use of digital technology in all creative areas.

perseverance

NOTES ON PERSEVERANCE:

We will encounter frustrations as we deal with unexpected road-blocks, and create workarounds that fit within our timeline. These are important skills to practice, as you will do the same when you leave school and enter the world of professional artistic practice. Our weekly discipline will include a variety of activities which may include, but are not limited to, discussion, active installation creation/viewing, sketchbook entries, and scheduled readings/writings. It is important to know you do not have to be a trained artist to participate in this course. However you must be willing to explore how this medium allows you to develop and refine your artistic practice, regardless of your preferred artistic medium. Please note that an instructor, I cannot force the effort required to practice art. It must come from a desire and aptitude for struggle. Dedication and willingness to create will ensure your success in this class.

NOTES ON COURSE CONTENT:

We’re about to experience some content that can be, and has in the past been, considered provocative. People in this course have been offended by what we’re about to see, so even if you think this is harmless or funny, keep in mind that this can also offend. Have respect for how other people in the room feel. That said: provocative art might not be directly offensive, but can remind you of difficult experiences, and it can work on you emotionally before your thinking mind has a chance to catch up. This means it can surprise you, and that’s ok, and this room is a place to talk about offendedness and problematic art, and you can also communicate with me via email or office visit. I’ll also try to contextualize this art by putting it in its historical moment where it will hopefully make better sense.

NOTES ON RESPECT:

It is important that this classroom be a respectful environment where everyone can participate comfortably. One part of this is that everyone should be referred to by their chosen name, the correct pronunciation of their name, and their chosen pronoun (like she, ze, he, or they).

The work created in the course may be of a personal and/or controversial nature. Please respect your colleagues and give their work your best attention. If you disagree with a work or its content, remember that when engaging with others’ work you must be a responsible and professional critic, and as such must work to make your criticism constructive and descriptive. Speak in this class with the expectation of being heard, and listen carefully because it is an opportunity to be changed.

cap  NOTES ON GOING TO COLLEGE:

Education is about the practice of freedom (credit: bell hooks). We go to college to for a degree and a job, but we also go to college to become better members of society. We are here to learn…

  • Love of truth: Love of truth is an intellectual virtue because its absence has serious moral consequences. Relativism chips away at our fundamental respect for one another as human beings. Once truth becomes suspect, debates become little more than efforts at manipulation (think of political spin).
  • Honesty: Honesty enables students to face the limits of what they themselves know; it encourages them to own up to their mistakes.
  • Fair-mindedness: Students need to be fair-minded in evaluating the arguments of others (being aware of their own biases).
  • Humility: Humility allows students to face up to their own limitations and mistakes and to seek help from others.
  • Perseverance: Students need perseverance, since little that is worth knowing or doing comes easily. We will practice this skill rigorously.
  • Courage: Students need intellectual courage to stand up for what they believe is true and take risks.
  • Good listening: Students can’t learn from others, or from their professors, without listening. It takes courage to be a good listener, because good listeners know that their own views of the world, along with their plans for how to live in it, may be at stake whenever they have a serious conversation.
  • Perspective-taking and empathy: It takes a great deal of intellectual sophistication to get perspective-taking right. You must be able to put yourself in the shoes of someone else and identify with their unique situation. These skills pay enormous dividends in professional life.
  • Wisdom: Any of the intellectual virtues I’ve mentioned can be carried to an extreme. Wisdom is what enables us to find the balance between timidity and recklessness, carelessness and obsessiveness, flightiness and stubbornness, speaking up and listening up, trust and skepticism, empathy and detachment. Wisdom is also what enables us to make difficult decisions when intellectual virtues conflict. Being empathetic, fair, and open-minded often rubs up against fidelity to the truth. Practical wisdom is the master virtue.[credit to Barry Schwartz]