Curriculum
During the two-week program, students explore a variety of media examining different practices and design methods for print, web, game and video. Broadly addressing a common theme, all four classes contribute to the creation of an integrated, multi-media exhibition at the end of the residency. This year's theme will be Next Nature. Each class is taught by one instructor and one program assistant; class size is limited to a maximum of 20 students.
Print
Students explore graphic design as image-making coupled with basic typography through a series of fun and fast-paced assignments and exercises. All projects encapsulate a yearly theme while addressing form, composition, hierarchy, and creativity. Students develop a design process and critical visual vocabulary through experimentation and group critiques.
Web
This course focuses on the internet as a medium for creative expression and artistic intervention. Through examples and small exercises based on a given theme, students study the web in the tradition of art and activism. Using techniques like collage, appropriation, and strategies of artistic self-expression, students analyze these forms for their aesthetic and social potentials. References to relevant artworks are provided, both in and outside the field of web-based art.
Game
Video games offer an exciting mode of interactive storytelling. Virtual spaces and intangible systems can strike complex moods. In this course, students learn the basics of how games are developed and explore "Worldbuilding" as a form of visual narrative, playfulness, and immersive participatory experience. Students use Unity4D game engine to build and dismantle 3-Dimensional games.
Video
Video is a creative medium capable of capturing, but also creating environments and stories. In this course, students learn the exciting properties of video that make it such a powerful and communicative tool. Exploring the technical and experimental approaches to films, animation, videography, and sound, students gain a basic understanding of video production and the strategies for using video to create unique perceptual events. All four classes will relate to and influence each other, and they will contribute to the creation of an integrated, final, multi-media project.