Interdisciplinary Arts 0297 - Video Art in the 21st Century

To quote artist and critic Catherine Elwes, "video is the default medium of the 21st Century." Today video screens and projections are everywhere from cell phones to the sides of buildings, and video has become one of the most prominent media in museum and gallery exhibitions. In particular, screens and projections are a prominent component of much contemporary sculpture and installation. Throughout this course, we will study not only the history of video as gallery art form, but also some of its most important themes, including: structuralism and the form of the moving image, depictions of the body and space, video as a representation of culture and gender, and digital imaging. Readings will include works by theorists Sergei Eisenstein, Laura Mulvey, Marshall McCluhan and Lev Manovich. We will look at the work of artists Joan Jonas, Martha Rosler, Vito Acconci, Bill Viola, Mariko Mori and Matthew Barney, among others. Mostly importantly, this is a studio critique course. During the semester students will create a number of screen-based and video installation works. Prerequisites: Some experience with basic video production and editing tools (your home camera and iMovie are fine) and at least one studio art course in any medium.