Course Description
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Advanced
Web Design explores a broad range of issues and topics in the
creation of networked art and other on-line forms. The course emphasizes
the advancement of conceptual tools essential to critical inquiry
and technical expertise
specific to the medium's aesthetics and technological properties.
It also preprares students for real-world experience in collaborative
production methodologies. This semester, students will develop an
on-line electronic magazine (e-zine), and will be responsible for
all aspects of its production including: research, design, and production.
In addition, they will initiate its first content in the form of
net artworks and critical projects.
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Exploration
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| Week
1 : Introduction
(January 18) |
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| Presentation/Discussion |
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Review of course
objectives, readings, assignments, and projects.
Presentation
of the emerging form of the electronic magazine: publications that
exploit the political, aesthetic, subversive, and poetic possibilities
of the medium.
Salon
- Politics, people, news and sex.
Rhizome - Presents new media
art to the public, fosters communication and critical dialogue about
new media art, and preserves new media art for the future.
Suck - "A fish, a barrel, and
a smoking gun."
Feed - An online general interest
magazine that covers media, technology, pop culture, science, and
the arts.
Switch - The
new media art journal of the CADRE Laboratory for New Media of the
School of Art and Design at San Jose University.
Link - Baltimore journal
of art and technology that integrates print and electronic media.
Metal and Flesh - Magazine
of critical inquiry on digital media from Montreal.
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| Assignment |
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Reading: "Introduction
to Net.art," Natalie Bookchin; Eulogy
for the Utopian Dream of the Net," Randall Packer (link
is in left margin).
Research: Present
an on-line publication of your own choosing, not one previously
presented in class.
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| Week
2: The
E-Zine and the Digital Aesthetic (January 25) |
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| Presentation/Discussion |
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With the emergence
of the electronic magazine, is there a new aesthetic coalescing
around the 0's and 1's that are redefining our culture? Since Wired
Magazine was launched in January of 1993 touting Marshall McLuhan's
proclamations. With the current plethora of on-line publications,
a vast and varied dialogue is swirling faster than anyone can keep
up. Is there a new digital aesthetic forming from this dialogue?
Are new areas of critical inquiry arising from the mass of discussion?
What techniques are being created with the digital tools that help
us filter and absorb this information?
Presentation
of on-line publications.
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| Lab |
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Advanced
techniques: streaming audio and video.
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| Assignment |
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Reading: Wild
from Seclusion: Art and Locality in Baltimore, by Peter Walsh,
Editor of Link; choose an article from the on-line publication you
presented.
Reasearch:an
on-line audio/video interview of your own choice.
Project: On-line
Self-Interview, either audio or videotaped, to be used in the
bio section of the on-line publication.
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| Week
3 : The
Digital Portrait (February 1) |
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| Presentation/Discussion |
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Utlizing multimedia
techniques: audio, video, hypermedia, etc., how is it now possible
to portray an individual, an idea, a concept. We will look at several
examples in the mainstream and alternative on-line press, including:
an Interview
with John Travolta on Scientology; a look at the work and ideas
of media artist Lynn Hershman,
and Lev Manovich's "Little
Movies."
Presentation
of articles and on-line interviews.
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| Lab |
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Streaming issues,
work on on-line interview
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| Assignment |
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Begin
video portrait of Baltimore. |
| Week
4 : The
Digital Portrait (February 8) |
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I
will be away in San Francisco for the opening of Telematic Connections.
Everyone will use class time to work on your short film-noir of Baltimore,
and prepare the video for streaming. |
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| Assignment |
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Work on Balitmore
portrait.
Analyze works
from Telematic Connections.
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Design
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| Week
5 : Digital
Architectures + Literary Labyrinths (February 15) |
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| Presentation/Discussion |
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Discussion of
the Telematic Connections
exhibition at the San Francisco Art Institute in San Francisco.
Critique of
on-line Self-Interview, Baltimore portrait.
Information
design is a critical aspect of any publication, the on-line magazine
raises a new set of paradigms resulting from the distributed, interactive
nature of the medium. We will focus on the core concept of the e-zine,
and how this informs its architectural / informational structure.
We will analyze several sites to examine useful formal structures
and design approaches for consideration. We will discuss navigational
strategies for information design and site construction: organizing
the hypermedia environment.
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| Lab |
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Working in small
teams, develop design prototypes for the e-zine: including name,
concept, focus, site layout, etc..
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| Assignment |
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The class will
then collectively decide which overall design (including individual
ideas) will be implemented.
Prepare your
personal site for presentation and critique.
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| Week
6 : Digital
Architectures + Literary Labyrinths (February 22) |
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| Presentation/Discussion |
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Presentation
of prototypes, feedback for continuation of design process. Critique
and selection of publication concept/design.
Presentation
and critique of everyone's personal sites.
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| Lab |
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Complete work
on prototypes.
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| Assignment |
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Complete work
on prototypes.
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Production
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| Week
7 : Role
Playing + Collaboration (March 1) |
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| Presentation/Discussion |
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The most essential
aspect of the production process is working in a collaborative team
environment. Although each student will work on all aspects of the
production, each will be given responsibility for a specific area
including: project management (scheduling, acquiring/organizing
assets, team communication); art direction (directing the overall
concept and integration of design), technical direction (networking,
selection of software tools, programming, technical strategies and
concepts), graphic design (visual layout), information/interactivity
design (information architecture and implementation of interactivity),
and editor(s) (selection and editing of content).
Presentation
of prototypes and mock-up pages for e-zines.
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| Lab |
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Advanced technology
topics: Incorporating Javascript and applets.
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| Assignment |
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Begin
production work on the publication infrastructure. |
| Week
8 : Net
Topics for Hyperessays (March 8) |
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| Presentation/Discussion |
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Complete brainstorming
for the e-zine, review discussion and finalize concept.
Assign team
roles (from last week).
With production
underway, students will discuss / explore a range of net-specific
topics emerging from the publications editorial/conceptual focus,
as a springboard for artworks and critical/context projects to be
featured in the premiere issue of the site. These topics will include
such relevant areas as: Artificial Identities, Information Sprawl,
Blurring of Reality, Tele-Presences, Digital Landscapes, The Changing
Social Condition. Each student will choose a net topic as the basis
for the projects.
Some examples
of hyperessays on various media topics include: Rachel Rein's "Artificial
Life," an article that was written for the DMZ
e-zine my students produced at UC Berkeley in 1997; my HyperTour
of Jodi and Grammatron, that was written for the Museums and
the Web Conference; Carl Disalvo's hyperessay for the Walker Art
Center's Gallery 9, entitled "Space;"
and Julie Luckenbach's "Beuys
/ Logos," also on Gallery 9.
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| Lab |
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Prototype e-zine.
Troubleshoot all remaining site issues for midterm review.
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| Assignment |
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Work
on publication infrastructure. Begin work on critical/context project
consisting of hypertextual essay. Prepare net topic presentation.
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| Week
10 : Critique
(March 22) |
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| Presentation/Discussion |
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Critique hyperessay
projects.
Finalize concept
and information architecture for the site.
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| Lab |
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Complete hyperessay
projects.
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| Assignment |
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Work
on publication infrastructure: design templates, page mockups, artwork
and other graphics. |
| Week
11 : Publication
Production (April 5) |
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| Presentation/Discussion |
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Presentation
of templates, mockup pages, artwork and graphics. |
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| Lab |
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Work on publication:
assemble and link all pages. Continue refinement of pages and artwork.
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| Assignment |
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Work on publication:
further refine pages and begin incorporating content.
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| Week
12: Publication
Production (April 12) |
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| Presentation/Discussion |
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Presentation
by the founders of LINK magazine Kathy O'Dell and Megan Hamilton.
Continue production
work on the publication.
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| Lab |
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Work on publication:
edit design work and content.
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| Assignment |
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Work on publication:
continue editing process.
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| Week
13 : Critique
(April 19) |
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| Presentation/Discussion |
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Critique
of publication. |
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| Lab |
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Final publication
production.
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| Assignment |
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Final
publication production. |
Delivery
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| Week
14 : Final
Critique + Beta Test (April 26) |
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| Presentation/Discussion |
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The last stage
in the production process is delivering the work to its audience.
This requires the final determination of all technical/editorial/production
issues to be resolved before the exhibition.
The class will
present, critique, and troubleshoot the entire publication including
all projects.
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| Lab |
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Corrections.
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| Assignment |
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Final
testing. |
| Week
15 : Exhibition
(May 3) |
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| Presentation/Discussion |
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Opening
+ exhibition of on-line publication and projects. |
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Assignments and
Grading
Class Discussion
and Presentation (20%)
Each student is
required to participate in class discussion and present net projects
and net topics.
Web Notebook (20%)
A Web notebook is
maintained throughout the semester. The notebook will serve as a personal
journal containing position statements to readings, critique of artworks,
and summaries of class discussion, etc. The notebook is a multimedia
sketchbook, a place to develop your ideas, experiment with media technologies,
and record your observations. The notebook will be graded on the basis
of your ability to process and absorb key concepts introduced throughout
the course. The notebook needs to be kept up on a regular basis and
will be checked weekly throughout the course.
Required:
- Weekly critique
of readings and net artworks
- Incorporate relevant
images and links
- overall concept
+ design
Publication Work
(30%)
Each student will
be given a specific role in the publication production and will graded
according to their ability to assume and execute all resonsibilities
for that area.
3 Projects (30%)
Self-interview,
critical/context, and net artwork projects.
Miscellaneous
Materials
Work will be stored
on the class server. Zips will be needed to transport material home
and for backup.
Internet Access
Everyone is required
to have an e-mail account at MICA. You may also have an outside account,
but all projects must be done on the MICA server.
Server Account
Accounts will be
issued for students to use the class server. A password and user ID
will give you access to the server either from the lab, anywhere on
campus, or by dial-in from home or work.
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