Interactive Media 1; Installation & Immersive Environments (MART 340) | Fall 2018

Professor/Instructor

• Dr. Michael Musick
• E-Mail: michael.musick@umontana.edu.
• Office: McGill Hall, 232.
• Office Hours:

COURSE OVERVIEW

Interactive Media 1; Installation & Immersive Environments explores the theory and technique of interactive art and immersive environments.

What is interactivity? What does it mean to create meaningful interactive experiences? In this hands-on course, students will learn how to create interactive installations and environments. We will talk about what it means to create an interactive experience for general participants. Scale, space, and time will be explored with reference to the body, while creating cybernetic systems for real-time and time-based interaction. Software, electronics, and physical computing will be discussed, with the goal of students' creating physical projects. A variety of input and output mechanisms, networking, and best practices will be covered in lecture. Class discussions will cover readings about interactive art/music, design, space, and installation. Students are free to explore their own ideas through the lens of this course.

This course will include a mix of reading, discussion, interactive development, and projects.

Links

• Syllabus
• Course GitHub Repo
• mart340 Slack Channel

Weekly Breakdown

Week 1

Monday

• Course Overview
• Syllabus
• Required Texts and Supplies
• Discussion of Technologies and Tools
• Assign "Show & Tell"
• Extra Meetings
  • Project 2 Showing - Wednesday, October 9th. 3pm-9pm
  • Project 3 Showing - Wednesday, December 4th. From 3pm-9pm
  • Final Meeting (Monday, Dec. 9th; 1:10pm - 3:10pm)
• Class discussion;
  1. What does interactive mean?
  2. What is Installation Art?

Wednesday

• Discussion, "What is an Interactive Experience"
  • Please read:
    • Saltz, David Z. 1997. “The Art of Interaction: Interactivity, Performativity, and Computers.” Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 55 (2): 117–27. doi:10.2307/431258.
      • http://www.embodiedimmersion.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Art+of+interaction.pdf
    • Edmonds, Ernest. 2010. “The Art of Interaction.” Digital Creativity 21 (4): 257–64. doi:10.1080/14626268.2010.556347.
      • http://userpages.umbc.edu/~skane/classes/is760/fall2011/papers/Edmonds2010.pdf
• Project 1 Launch
• Discussion of Week 2

TODO:

• Reading.
• Project 1 sketches with partner for Week 2.

Week 2

No Class on Monday, Sept. 2nd for Labor Day

Wednesday

• Discussion & presentation of Project 1 sketches.
• Class discussion of Installation Art
  • Please read:
    • "Introduction: Installation Art and Experience" from,
      • Bishop, Claire. Installation Art. London, UK: Tate, 2010.
    • Available from the course slack channel.
• Documenting Installation Art, Interactive Art, and Sound Art.
• Show & Tell - Presentation 1; Jeffery Shaw & Myron Kruger (pioneers)

Due:

• Project 1 sketches.

TODO:

• Reading.

Week 3

In-Class (Monday):

• Project 1 presentations, walk-around, and critique

Due:

• Project 1 Installation Presentation

In-Class (Wednesday):

• Lecture on General Topics and Specific Examples of Installation Art.
• Show & Tell - Presentation 2; United Visual Artist & SOFTLab
• Review Project 1, Submissions.
  • E-mail me per "Submission Info"
• Project 2 Launch

TODO:

• Reading for Week 4.
• Project 1 Documentation.

Week 4

In-Class (Monday):

• Class discussion of Cybernetics and Systems Art
  • Please read:
    • Ascott, Roy. “The Cybernetic Stance: My Process and Purpose.” Leonardo, vol. 40, no. 2, 2007, pp. 189–197. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20206383.
      • Note: This should be freely downloadable while you are signed in to the library or on campus.

In-Class (Wednesday):

• Processing Bootcamp - welcome to processing (...leaving p5.js)

Due:

• Project 1 Documentation

TODO:

• Reading for Week 5.
• Project 2 Sketches

Week 5

In-Class (Monday):

• Class discussion of "Computer Vision"
  • Please read:
    • Levin, Golan. “Computer Vision for Artists and Designers: Pedagogic Tools and Techniques for Novice Programmers.” AI and Society 20.4 (2006): 462–482.
      • Available from;
        • FLONG. as a web page
        • or as a PDF
• Intro to Computer Vision
  • as capable in processing, with webcam
  • as capable w/ xbox kinnect

In-Class (Wednesday):

• Show & Tell - Presentation 3; Sabrina Raaf & David Rokeby (interactive installations)
• Sketch Presentations and Discussion of Project 2
• Presentation of XBOX Kinect

TODO:

• Watch "Welcome to Processing" w/ Daniel Shiffman
• Download Processing
• Work on Project 2.
• Read for Week 6

Due:

• Project 2 Sketches

Week 6

In-Class (Monday):

• Project 2 check-ins
• Discussion of Project Managment
• Con't XBOX Kinect work
• Show & Tell - Presentation 4; Rafael Lozano-Hemmer & Nils Voelker (interactive installations)
• Show & Tell - Presentation 5; Camille Utterback & Tangible Interaction (interactive installations)

In-Class (Wednesday):

• Discussion of install and public presentation for Project 2.
• Class discussion of Cybernetics and Systems Art
  • Please read:
    • Burnham, Jack. “Systems Esthetics.” Artforum 7.1 (1968): 30–35.
      • Available on Monoskop
    • Burnham, Jack. “Real Time Systems.” Artforum 8.1 (1969): 49–55.
      • Available on Monoskop

TODO:

• Work on Project 2.
• Read for Week 7

Week 7 (Crit Day & Public Showing at Night)

In-Class (Monday):

• Lecture/workshop about Computer Vision, openCV, and Processing
  • Start w/ chapter 16 from "Learning Processing" by Shiffman
  • Video & openCV - Processing Tutorial Playlist - Shiffman
• Project 2 check-ins
• Cont'd exploration of Computer Vision w/ openCV

TODO:

• Finish Project 2.

In-Class (Wednesday):

Wednesday, October 9th

Class will not be held, instead we will meet in the afternoon/evening from 4-9pm.

Project 2 Installation Presentations

These will occur in the presentation spaces around McGill.

• There will be a public showing of Project 2 installations from 4pm-7:30pm.
• Please have your work fully installed and ready by 4pm.
• We will have a formal critique with the entire class from 7:30pm-8:30pm.
• Strike will occur from 8:30pm-9pm. Please remove all materials.

Week 8

In-Class (Monday):

• Final remarks about Project 2 presentations and critique.

In-Class (Wednesday):

• Project 3 Launch
• Class brainstorming about Project 3.

Week 9

In-Class (Monday):

• Class discussion of Sound Art
  • Please read:
    • Ella, Delany. “The Power of Sound as an Art Form.” The New York Times, 3 Oct. 2013.
      • http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/04/arts/international/The-Power-of-Sound-as-an-Art-Form.html
• Lecture on General Topics and Specific Examples of Sound Art.
• Workshop of various output transducers
  • full-range studio monitors
  • PA speakers
  • small speakers (consumer, cost-effective, band-limited, compositional opportunities)
  • tactile transducers
  • speaker sculptures
• Show & Tell - Presentation 7; Tristan Perich & Janet Cardiff (sound art & installation)

TODO:

• Individual sketches for Project 3, based on class discussion

Due:

In-Class (Wednesday):

• Class brainstorming about Project 3.

• Lecture and Workshop on immersive displays and visuals

• Class discussion of "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction"

  • Please read:
    • Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” (1936)
      • Available from course resources

• Show & Tell - Presentation 6; Electroland & YesYesNo (interactive installations)

TODO:

• Work on Project 3

Week 10

In-Class (Monday):

• Sketch presentations and discussions of Project 3
• Coalesce Idea for Project 3
• Watch Project 2 Demo Videos
  • Discussion of documentation
• Show & Tell - Presentation 8; Luke DuBois & Niklas Roy (visuals, systems, games, fun)

TODO:

• Work on Project 3
• Begin prototypes of individual components

Due:

• Project 2 documentation

In-Class (Wednesday):

• Class discussion of interactivity and ethics:
  • Please read:
    • Morse, Margaret. "The Poetics of Interactivity". Women, Art, and Technology. The MIT Press. 2003.
      • HTML Text
    • Ritter, Don. “The Ethics of Interactive Installations.” Interactive Media Arts. Ed. Antoni Porczak. Krakow: Academy of Fine Arts, 2009. 105–123.
• Project 3 Work
  • Map out artistic and technical sub-problems
  • Create initial schedule with internal deadlines
  • Assign responsibilities and tasks
  • Begin work on Project 3
  • Discuss "problem identification"

TODO:

• Work on Project 3
• Finish prototypes of individual components
• Determine necessary equipment, parts, and materials

Week 11

In-Class (Monday):

• Project 3 check-in
  • identification of potential problems
    • group discussion on potential solutions
  • presentation of equipment, parts, and material needs
    • determine what can be outsourced from class and CC resources
    • determine what needs to be procured externally
  • deadline updates
• Show & Tell - Presentation 9; Daily tous les Jours (Mouna Andraos) & Random International (playful)
• Work on Project 3

In-Class (Wednesday):

• location visit
  • class visit to installation location

Week 12

Odd long week

( No class Monday for Veterans Day )

In-Class (Wednesday):

• Project 3 check-ins
  • update from PM/Musick on external material procurement
  • identification of potential problems
    • group discussion on potential solutions
• Advertisement and Awareness
  • Create strategy to get participants to installation
• Class discussion of interactivity and ethics:
  • Please read:
    • Ritter, Don. “The Ethics of Aesthetics.” Transdisciplinary Digital Art. Ed. R. Adams, S. Gibson, and S. Muller. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 2008. 5–14.
    • Mercedes, J Dawn. “The Application of Feminist Aesthetic Theory to Computer-Mediated Art.” Studies in Art Education 40.1 (1998): 66–79.
    • Gigliotti, Carol. “Aesthetics of a Virtual World.” Leonardo 28.4 (1995): 289–295. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.
• Work on Project 3

In-Class (Monday):

• Show & Tell - Presentation 10; Design I/O & Golan Levin (playful)
• Project 3 check-ins
  • identification of potential problems
    • group discussion on potential solutions
• Project 3 Documentation
  • Discuss documentation requirements for Project 3
  • Assign duties
  • Set deadlines
  • Create documentation capture plan for showing

( No class Wednesday for Thanksgiving )

TODO:

• Work on individual components while away.
• Read for next class

Week 13

In-Class (Monday):

• Show & Tell - Presentation 11; The Explorartorium & Disney Research (Design for others)
• Project 3 check-ins
  • identification of potential problems
  • group discussion on potential solutions
• Work on Project 3
  • Discuss install for next week
  • Assign "watch" duties during showing

TODO:

In-Class (Wednesday):

• Work on Project 3
  • Prep for the Install!

TODO:

• Over the weekend, you are responsible for any final work that needs to be completed in order for the install to occur next week (Monday).
• Begin work on documentation

Week 14 (PUBLIC SHOWING)

In-Class (Monday):

This work MAY need to happen during the weekend!

• Install the work in the space.
• Test art work for potential technical failures.
  • Address and fix any potential technical failures.
• Gather documentation audio/video using high-quality capture devices

Public Showing at Night from 5-9pm. Attendance is Mandatory

TODO:

• Work on Documentation

In-Class (Wednesday):

• Class critique. Ideally in space
• Strike installation
• Documentation by class.

TODO:

Finals Week (Last Class)

Final Meeting (Monday, Dec. 10th; 1:10pm - 3:10pm):

• Submission of documentation
• Watch documentation video
• Final comments

Due:

• Project 3 Documentation