Course Outline – AWT4M1 – Non-Traditional Media

( *a work in progress – expect changes!)

In talking to students & teaching this course, I’ve found a diversity of views as to what it’s perceived to be about and what we’ll cover and concentrate on.  Many thought it was mostly an extension of the Grade 11 AWT course where we did primarily photography.  Some thought it was all about computer-based art and video, while a few expressed their computer-phobia (or techno-loathing) and hoped it was all environmental installation art.

 

Well, as the saying goes, if you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no-one and losing more of your hair, so the content of this course will be shaped by:

  • The Ministry of Education Guidelines
  • The Course Calendar Description
  • Your expressed desires
  • My interests and competencies

 

Hopefully everyone will get some of what they want, some of what they need, and lots that’s of interest.  I will expose you to enough important aspects of “non-traditional media” that you’ll have a good idea of what the term means;  you’ll develop skill in certain areas, enough so that you can apply what you’ve learned to future studies in Art, and appreciate non-traditional media artworks as you encounter them in your life.

So, What Will We Cover?

As you’ll discover in an early research assignment, non-traditional media is a very broad term.  Luckily for many of you, it does encompass photography, particularly digital photography and digital image editing.  There’s no escaping the fact that digital media are very important today, so we’ll spend quite a bit of the course exploring and becoming comfortable with expressing artistic ideas in digital photography, digital editing, Flash animation, digital sound and digital video.  The computer is a necessary tool in non-traditional media, so buckle up, technophobes!

 

Of course, even though the course is called non-traditional media doesn’t mean that everything is computer based.  Some units such as Environmental Art will be done far from the digital universe, and some topics like video will just use the computers as an editing or documenting tool.  Some assignments will give some flexibility as to the medium, so those who like digital media will get to spend a bit more time on computers than those who don’t.  The summative assignment should give everyone a chance to concentrate on a medium they enjoy.

The List… (we’re going to try to do all this, but adjustments may be necessary – for example, you may be given a choice between a few of the projects)

Exploring Non-Traditional Media

  • Internet Research culminating in an oral and PowerPoint presentation of the breadth of non-traditional media or Modern Art Movements
  • Research a non-traditional artist or movement

Environmental Art

  • Snow as a medium / Environmental Art (depending on the season)
  • Natural Object Design or Sculpture

Photography – the Artistic Eye

  • What Makes a Good Artistic Photo?
  • Elements & Principles of Design in Photography – a collection of images shot by you and from the net, each illustrating one of these
  • Photography Critiques – looking at photographs and the comments of critics to discover what makes a great photo
  • Photo Shoots – ongoing shooting assignments to provide the opportunity to create powerful photographic art.  Mostly digital, but some film & darkroom provided darkroom is functional.  Most of these will be have specific requirements or topics, but there will also be opportunities to just produce the best images you can.  Click here for more details on some potential shoots.

Photography and Editing Techniques

  • Parts of the camera and how to use them for artistic effect
  • Camera Controls – things you didn’t know your Point-and-Shoot digital could do; advanced controls: exposure, white balance, ISO, manual modes
  • Depth of Field, Shutter Speed, ISO, White balance and lighting effects
  • Studio lighting
  • Advanced PhotoShop Techniques
  • Film and Darkroom techniques – perfection of what you learned in Grade 11 about the art of producing black & white prints
  • 3D imagery – producing stereoscopic images on the monitor and prints

Subversive Art

  • Turning advertising art back on itself

Sound Editing

  • Digital recording and editing technique
  • Spoken Word Sound Montage
  • Soundscape installation (class project)
  • Use of sound in Multi-Media Art

Animation

  • Build a Zoetrope
  • Viewing Art videos – enjoying and analyzing some non-traditional videos and films
  • Flash animation -  becoming expert with the graphic and animation tools of this popular web-based artistic medium.  Production of a major Flash video
  • “traditional” video – short art video project shot with digital video cameras, edited on the computer

Conceptual Art

  • A piece in which the idea is more important than the execution

Visiting Artists

  • Working artists will share their, work, experiences and thoughts with us, to keep us in touch with the “real” world.  Past visitors have been a professional photographer and a multi-dimensional artist who did a workshop on “Artist Trading Cards” with us.

Field Trip

  • Trip to Toronto to see a gallery and/or installations (such as the Power Plant) and hopefully the multi-media performance art of the Blue Man Group
  • Walks in our immediate surroundings, for snow art, photo lessons and shoots, environmental art (and just to appreciate the beauty of the earth)

Expressive art

  • make a bound publication or word sculpture – e.g. paper maché on wire-frame using newspaper headlines

Process Art

  • “the way things are happening” – artistic document of a process such as the filling of a blue box or the passage of a day

Installation Art

  • Group project, the creation of an environment that the viewer can experience and interact with

Art & Truth

  • Artists are a mirror to society, and have an important role in pointing out things that need change.  Suppression of artists, writers and journalists is one of the first steps totalitarian societies take.  View the film “Good Night & Good Luck”, and reflect on freedom in all forms of media.

Comic Art

  • Creation of a comic strip, either inked or in Flash or CorelDraw

Summative Project

This is the culmination of the course, and will consist of research, writing and production of an artwork in a chosen area of non-traditional media, one that’s already been introduced, or a new area the student wishes to explore. 

  Possible topic:  The Meaning of Life

  • There’s a trivial topic!!!  Create a work in a non-traditional medium of your choice that expresses what you currently feel about your place and purpose in the universe.  Got it all figured out?  Great, show the world!  Not so sure?  That’s okay, ambivalence, doubt and confusion are excellent subjects for art!

Notebook/Sketchbook/Journal

Call it what you will, you need some kind of system for keeping notes, sketches, ideas, comments, returned evaluations, handouts etc. in.  Do not show up without this, even though you may not use it every day.  Some of your assignments have journal components.

Portfolio

Print out and keep several of your best works, and any exemplary development work.  This is useful for summative purposes, and will help you when applying to Art schools.

Course Fee

  • The materials and tools to produce non-traditional media art are usually not free (snow being a wonderful exception).  The course calendar stipulates a $40 course fee.  However, I’m reducing it to $20.  This is due in the first week.  
  • I’ve decided to make most of the darkroom part of photography optional (you can choose to do certain assignments in the darkroom rather than digitally).  This means if you opt for the darkroom you’ll pay for film, paper and chemicals as you go.  Film will cost $5 for a roll of 12 exposures.  You can split a pack of paper ($15) between as many people as you’d like, but this is up to you to arrange – I will only sell full packs.
  • What do you get for 20 bucks?  Some of the special items purchased for this course are a digital video camera, video capture card and editing software, digital cameras.  This is on top of some more regular art supplies, such as liquid emulsion for a special project and acetate for 3D glasses.  We also have to maintain darkroom equipment and chemicals.  You will receive the necessary photo printer paper for a limited amount of printing.  If you want to produce extra prints, you can buy more paper and will be expected to contribute towards ink if you do a lot of colour prints on the dye-sublimation printer.  This gives archival-quality prints which are good for portfolios.  Another option is to take digital files on a USB stick or CD to a photo processor or places like Staples or Walmart.
  • If you or your family will have difficulty paying the fee, talk to me privately to see if we can come to a suitable arrangement.