Self I as Image Spring 2017: AutomaTRON

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

AutomaTRON

"Automation, which is both the most advanced sector of modern industry and the epitome of its practice, obliges the commodity system to resolve the following contradiction: the technological developments that objectively tend to eliminate work must at the same time preserve labor as a commodity, because labor is the only creator of commodities."
(Guy Debord "Society of The Spectacle", 2002 translation)

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Due 5/3

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FINAL PROJECT: Self Portrait

Choosing any one or combination of processes that you have explored during the semester, compose an image that captures a self-portrait. Through an oral and visual presentation (approximately 7 minutes long) of your works, and a short written summary on the blog explain the following to the class:

• What is the subject of your image?

• What is the content of your image?

• Why did you make the choices that led to the composition?

• Explain the process and steps you went through and why you made those decisions.

• How you would categorize your work (ex. collage, graphic print, mixed media, etc).

• What artists or works are appropriate to compare your work to?

• What do you think this image conveys to the audience?

• What are the differences between the midterm self-portrait and your final self-portrait?

• What influenced these changes (events, readings, information, artists)?

You must photograph and share your project on the class blog along with a short essay that answers the questions above. You will present your project in class from your blog post and we will have a class discussion and critique for each project.

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Due 4/19

No readings this week.

Begin working on your final project!

SELF PORTRAIT using mixed media of your choice

Create a list of ideas, sketches and a plan for your final project. This is due in class on 4/19. You do not need to post anything to the blog but you will be presenting your ideas in class so please have your ideas and sketches with you and you must show these to me.

Your ideas and notes should include:

what issues do you want to address with your self portrait; what methods or medium do you plan to use in creating your self portrait; do you plan to combine various media like drawing and painting and collage or photography and performance, video and poetry; what artists have influenced your self portrait?

Please bring various ideas and potential outcomes with you to class. We can brainstorm together and we will be working on our projects in class. I will be bringing some materials to class to share. Bring some materials that you plan to use. I can help you source other materials that you may need help obtaining.

POST 3 due 4/19

USE THIS FOR TK20:

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WRITING ASSIGNMENT: The Art of Self Invention

Using all of your weekly selfies and the readings from the entire semester address the concept of self invention in images. How do we represent ourselves in images. What can art and media teach us about ourselves. Do we learn about identity and culture through images? If we create and control the images of ourselves that we share, how does this communicate who we are? Does it?

Please use at least 3 artists as examples (include images of their work) and at least 3 of your own weekly selfie assignments to illustrate this concept of self invention in art .

~800 words. You must post to the class blog and include images and links. Please quote at least 3 of the readings. Use citations for the quotes and list the readings at the bottom of the post.

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No weekly selfie - work on ideas for the final project!

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Due 4/12

No readings this week.

Weekly selfie inspired by the work of Ana Mendieta and the artists presented in the group presentation on discrimination: Gran Fury, Margaret Harrison, and Kerry James Marshall. Reflect on the concept of spectacle, image and self. How does the work of Ana Mendieta challenge these concepts and reflect on the image of the female body.

Bonus: How does her work differ from the work of Andy Warhol and the Minimalists that were making work at the time?

Due 4/5

READING:

From Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle (first published 1967):

Debord, The Commodity as Spectacle (1977 translation)OR(2002 translation)

Weekly Selfie inspired by the work of Andy Warhol and Guy Debord's writing in Society of the Spectacle

GROUP 2 PRESENTS!!

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Due 3/29

READINGS:

Finkelstein, Chapter 4+5 Advertising and Fashion pgs 148-216, John Berger Ch 7

Weekly Selfie Inspired my Mickalene Thomas

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Due 3/22

READINGS:

Finkelstein, Chapter 3 pgs 121-144

Weekly selfie inspired by the work of Sophie Calle.

Please think about the way Sophie Calle approaches her projects. How can one show an image of self from another's point of view. What defines us and our experiences. How does voyeurism and how others see us influence our self identity? Revisit the Mannerisms chapter and the Sophie Calle videos and create a self portrait inspired by these. Write a 2-3 paragraphs describing how your selfie is inspired by these ideas. Please be sure to quote from the reading and connect to at least one of Sophie Calle's projects.

Sophie Calle videos:

On becoming an artist: https://www.sfmoma.org/watch/sophie-calle-on-becoming-an-artist/

The hotel: https://www.sfmoma.org/watch/sophie-calles-voyeuristic-portraits-of-hotel-rooms/

On turning her life into art: http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/video/venice-biennale-sophie-calle

Short doc/project ART SAFARI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYF_FnxJ-h8&index=1&list=PLWNy7Q3STAJXxQKLHo6NsfqlEtknW5aeA

Two tweets with the hashtag #selfiasimage

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Enjoy your Spring Break! No class 3/8

Due 3/15

Gallery Visit Assignment

Over the break find and visit a gallery or museum exhibition of self portrait work. Be sure to pay special attention to the labels describing the pieces and to the artist statements in the exhibition binder or gallery wall text and handouts. You must take photos and notes during your visit and then write an ~800 word response to the ideas being addressed. Please be sure to address the following questions:

What are some themes of the exhibition?

How do the artists address identity and the self?

What are some critiques of self, identity and perception?

Describe at least two of the projects in detail and explain how the projects represent self?

What are the artists and curators telling the gallery audience?

How do the artists approach the presentation of self and self portraiture? Are there similarities and differences between the projects?

Weekly Selfie in response to the exhibition you visited

Choose one of the projects in the gallery and create a selfie inspired by this project. It does not need to be in the same medium as the original selfie but must only be inspired by its ideas, themes etc.

Two tweets with the hashtag #selfiasimage

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Due Wednesday Mar 1

READINGS: Finkelstein, Chapter 2 Manners pgs. 75-117

Check the blog for additional readings

John Berger Chapters 4+5

Review the Guerrilla Girls website: http://www.guerrillagirls.com/

Weekly selfie inspired by the Guerrilla Girls review the Guerrilla Girls website and other online sources and create a selfie inspired by the themes and work of the activist group. You can be inspired by the group itself and how it presents itself or in the themes they choose to address and how they address these themes. Post your image to the blog with a one paragraph description of your selfie and how it is inspired by the Guerrilla Girls.

Two tweets with the hashtag #selfiasimage

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Due Wednesday Feb 22

MIDTERM PROJECTS DUE

Please bring completed projects to class as well as posting the project to the blog with a short writing assignment. See below for details.

Using processes including collage, assemblage, drawing and painting each student will compose an image that captures a self-portrait. Projects must be well thought out and made. Please be prepared to spend time on these projects. They should reflect thoughtful planning, research and lots of time and energy in the production. Please be prepared to address the meaning behind your self portrait, any artists that have inspired you and why you have chosen the materials and the subject matter to represent yourself. In written form in a short post on the blog please describe your project, post a photograph of it and address the following questions:

• What is the subject of your image?

• What is the content of your image?

• Why did you make the choices that led to the composition?

• What do you think this image conveys to the viewers?

• What artists have influenced your self portrait?

• What techniques have you used to create your self portrait?

• Why and how does this project represent you?

You will present your piece in front of the class in a 3 minute presentation using your post on the blog and your project and we will have a group critique and discussion addressing the questions above.

Good luck!

READINGS:

OPTIONAL

On Blackboard: bell hooks, Understanding Patriarchy, Laura Mulvey, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema

Two tweets with the hashtag #selfiasimage

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Due Wednesday Feb 15

READINGS: John Berger Chapters 2+3

MIDTERM project in progress bring in pieces and ideas in progress for your midterm self portrait collage. Look at examples of artist portraiture and collage online and in books for inspiration. You can begin with the list we saw in class: http://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/3318/top-10-collage-artists-hannah-hoch-to-man-ray

Weekly selfie inspired by the work of Joshua Rashaad Mcfadden Please spend some time looking at the exhibition 'Come to Selfhood' and reading any supporting materials. Research the work of Joshua Rashaad Mcfadden and create a selfie inspired by his photographs.

Two tweets with the hashtag #selfiasimage

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Due Wednesday Feb 8

READINGS:

Finkelstein, Introduction pgs 1-36 and Chapter 1 pgs 42-72
John Berger Ways of Seeing Ch 1

Weekly Selfie Autobiography and Place

Using the work and biography of Frida Kahlo as inspiration please create a selfie that is autobiographical and also speaks to a place or environment you consider "home".

Life and Times of Frida Kahlo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4gkhUDofKY

Two tweets with the hashtag #selfiasimage

++++GO TO THE OPENING!!++++

Come to Selfhood work of Joshua Rashaad McFadden

Harold B. Lemmerman Gallery exhibition opening

Hepburn Hall room 323

Thursday, Feb 2nd 5-8pm

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Due Wednesday Feb 1

Finkelstein, Introduction pgs 1-36

Weekly Selfie - Manufactured reality

Create a selfie inspired by the Susan Sontag reading On Photography. Choose a quote from the reading and include it in your post with your selfie and a brief description of the interpretation of the quote. 1 paragraph

Two tweets with the hashtag #selfiasimage

Due Wednesday 1/25

Post 1/Weekly selfie in response to the readings

Create a quick digital selfie/self portrait that is informed or inspired by the ideas you read in the reading linked below and by the work of the artist Cindy Sherman. Use the ideas from the readings and the work you saw in the documentary about the artist and her process in creating these self portraits to help you design and create a selfie. Please write a short post on the blog of 3-5 paragraphs about your selfie, the readings and the documentary film. You must include your selfie in the post and you must include at least one link to an external resource or example of some kind.

WATCH:

Cindy Sherman, Nobody is Here But Me, 1994

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXKNuWtXZ_U

READINGS ONLINE:

Susan Sontag excerpt from On Photography

http://www.susansontag.com/SusanSontag/books/onPhotographyExerpt.shtml

Intro to Cindy Sherman:

MoMA http://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1154?locale=en

Image Gallery and the marketplace: https://www.artsy.net/artist/cindy-sherman

The Cindy Sherman Effect

http://www.artnews.com/2012/02/14/the-cindy-sherman-effect/

Two tweets with the hashtag #selfiasimage

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Link to the Syllabus

Link to Class screenings

Link to our twitter hashtag: #selfiasimage

Discussion guidelines

The course material and discussions can often be provocative and challenging. We must therefore be careful to be respectful of each other and of our viewpoints.

We must come to class prepared and ready to discuss the readings. Please keep discussions focused on the readings and class materials and keep examples relevant and appropriate. If you have not done the readings you are not to participate in the discussion.