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Course Syllabus-ART551 New Media Sculpture Instructor: Anthony Castronovo Office Hours: MW 11:30-12:30 HK 223B Classroom: HK 308 Meeting Times: M W 8:30-11:30 Approaches to new media, interactivity, and digital control of motion, light, and sound in sculptural installations and performances. TABLE OF CONTENTS
***I will be communicating with the class via e-mail so please check your e-mail often.** . 1. Meeting time and location The class will be held in the Haskett Hall Art & Technology New Media Robotics Lab Room 308. Tuesday and Thursday From 5:30 to 8.18 Class will always meet in Haskett Hall room 308 unless otherwise specified. Make a note of the lab hours on the door so you can use the lab outside of class time. 2. Objectives, requirements and prerequisitesThis hands-on studio course will explore: Basic electronic techniques and the use of a programmable micro-controller called the Basic Stamp 2 for control of interactive artworks, kinetic sculpture, sound works, light art, and performance environments. Lectures, video and web sources will augment and frame the technical issues of how to develop and think about interactive art and environments. Focus will be on developing an aesthetic that is appropriate to the use of micro-controllers. Input devices such as infrared, ultrasonic, light resistors, contact microphones, limit switches and general switches will be used with output devices like; servo motors, DC motors, speakers, alarms, relays, transistors, solenoids, AC motors and AC lighting devices. Students will learn to program their own systems in Parallax Basic a form of the Basic language (known as Pbasic) to create interactive events. Parts suppliers and sources, fundamental mechanics, gearing systems, mechanical transmissions, universal joints, pull string mechanics, cams, electronic prototyping, cyano-acrylate and balsa wood prototyping, and the necessary tools to do electronic measurements like the multimeter will be covered. Machines and devices will be dissected to discover their logic and utilize their mechanisms. Class will meet 20 times over the course of the quarter. Because of the building block nature of the course content it is imperative that students attend each and every class. All of the lectures are required. During the quarter there will also be a few out of class lectures that will be required. Significant work outside of class will be necessary to realize your artistic goals. Readings and media reviews will be handed out and will be used to stimulate and contribute to class discussions. There are no prerequisites for this course. 3. Required texts and materials The custom kit is available at the Parrallax web site Custom kit 1 Please order your kit immediatly as we will be using Thursday of next week. Keep in mind that in order to get the price of $109. you must order this online. Includes the Board of Education Full Kit (BASIC Stamp II module, Board of Education, power supply, serial cable, documentation), What's a Microcontroller Parts Kit and Text and it also includes the Microcontroller Application Cookbook. If you are taking this class for a second and third time you can opt for options 2 or 3 on the same Parallax page or you can focus on kit 2 or 3 and developing a more advanced project. TECHNICAL RESOURCES: NOT REQUIRED but excellent resources. Many are available in Matt Gilliland Microcontroller Application Cookbook 2 highly recommended. Engineers Mini-Notebooks, Digital Logic CircuitsEngineers Mini-Notebooks, Optoelectronics circuits CONCEPTUAL RESOURCES Leonardo Almanac, International Resources in Art Science and Technology 4. Class assignments and final projects Each week you should be prepared to discuss in class the online and assigned readings from our texts Please review at least 6 web sites both technical and conceptual and be prepared to discuss in class each week when called on, as to who and what, you have explored and discovered. Additional research online or in the library will be necessary. After you have completed in class assignments which will allow you to understand basic electronics, and the use of the Basic Stamp embedded microcontroller, you will contract with the professor for a final project in the 5th week of class. The final project must demonstrate input and programmed output to some device electronic or mechanical which unifies the control system, your custom program, and some art object or installation. You can work alone or in a group of no more than three people. If the project is a group effort the scale of the project must reflect this extra available energy. Final projects will be completed both during class time and after class. The lab will generally be opened 7 days a week and please refer to the lab schedule outside the door. You will begin your final project by making quick rough sketches of the idea and then creating more detailed sketches. Work to smaller more detailed sketches until the design is complete. I would recommend using Illustrator and Photoshop to work out details and keep a sketch book of your ideas available for our mutual viewing. For the final project; think if you want a temporary or permanent piece, continuos or intermittent piece, autonomous or operator activated piece or an installation? Would you like a gallery to be able to construct the work (plug and play) or will you have to travel to construct the work each time? The success of your artwork will rest on these factors, so consider 1) available time, 2) cost of materials 3) materials availability (how long to get materials) , 4) the people necessary to realize project and their availability, 5) the learning curves necessary to learn the new material, 6) are the tools available for the project? 7) are the materials and iconograpy or formal elements supportive of the concept or idea. You will be presenting your idea to the class as an approval brainstorming committee that will make suggestions as to possible problems and solutions and the aesthetic merits of the work. CAVEATS KISS principle (keep it simple and stupid) Use existing systems, rather than reinventing a mechanism. Finals Week: Haskett Hall Exhibition! Your final project is the most important part of your grade Your final project:
End of Quarter Exhibition:
5. Schedule Our schedule will not vary much from the meeting times listed above, however there may be special opportunities that present themselves to the class I will give students notice of special lectures which cause our schedule to change. 6. Grading An "A" in this course will require that your assignments far exceed the minimum expectations for both quality, and concept delivered in a timely fashion. The finished work should show a thorough understanding of the ideas and processes presented and a clear, innovative incorporation of this material into your developed aesthetic. Your contribution to class discussions as well as your contribution to class critiques is vital for an A. Class critiques will occur during the discussion brainstorming of the project and 2 days before the final show and are mandatory. To receive a letter grade of "C" you must complete assignments, maintain regular attendance, participate in class discussions, and in class critiques. You must further show a comprehension of the technical elements of the hardware and software you are studying and demonstrate a minimum of creative exploration to realize your idea and communicate your aesthetic to the class. The grading will be broken down as follows. 40% Final project exhibited, and class assignments. 20% Drawings and designs 20% Class discussions and critiques. 20% Attendance Total possible points = 100 points Grading scale: A = 94 - 100 A- = 90 - 93
7. Attendance policy We only have 20 class days, it is important that you don't miss any!!! Regular attendance is required. Students are expected to come to class on time, ready to work with all necessary supplies and materials. Three unexcused absences will lower your final grade one full letter grade for each additional day missed. Excused absence are *only* for one of the explicit reasons listed here: family emergencies, established religious holidays and illness with a doctor's note indicating that the student needed to stay home on that particular class day. Do not ask the instructor if it is all right to miss a class for any other reasons beyond these three. For excused absences you will be expected to make up class time. 8. Supplies and resources Find the link to Web Resouces on the class website for an extensive list of inspiring artists and technical pages. Students should have a USB flash drive (or other portable data storage) for storage and transport of their software from the systems that are set up in the lab. Additionally, I recommend the purchase of a MULTIMETER and BREADBOARD and some basic hand tools. We will talk about a group purchase in the first week of class.
Disability policy: I am very happy to accommodate any student who feels that a disability may impact their learning in the course. Contact me privately, as soon as possible, to discuss specific needs. Students need to also be working with the Office for Disability Services (on campus at 150 Pomerene Hall, ph. 614-292-3307) so that we may coordinate reasonable accommodations.
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