CLASS : Arts
4370 Interaction Design, M/W 1 pm– 3:50 pm in FAC 110
OFFICE
HOURS : Fine
Arts 165, Office Hours: Mon 11am-1pm
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Arts 4370
is an advanced course in digital media with an emphasis on programming and interactive
technologies and aesthetics in contemporary art/design. Students will gain proficiency in interaction design
software to program computers and interface with various input devices such as
custom built objects, smart phones, motion tracking devices, and various kinds
of wired/wireless sensors. Projects can talk the form of generative art, motion
graphics, sculpture, and interactive sound art pieces. There will be demos on technique as
well as lectures and presentations about contemporary digital media art and
design, some of whom are working on the most groundbreaking projects of the
last few years.
We’ll be doing most of the work in this class in Max/MSP, a
visual programming language for working with real-time media:
In addition, we’ll be looking at other creative coding
environments, notably P5.js (http://p5js.org), Processing (https://processing.org), and Cinder (http://libcinder.org).
COURSE OBJECTIVES
o
Investigate the ways
in which interactive digital technologies have impacted the production of art
and design
o
become familiar with basic programing frameworks of
interactive multimedia, such as Processing, Max/MSP, Arduino, and others.
o
address formal,
technical and conceptual issues, including use of keywords such as
interactivity, interface, performance, participation, visualization, etc.
o become more familiar
with new and emerging developments in areas of interest to you in digital
media, and discuss these developments in class
presentations.
COURSE FEES/RECOMMENDED READING
There is no
textbook, however readings will be assigned in class through handouts or online
texts. Many of the tutorials will be
online in some form.
COURSE SUPPLIES YOU WILL NEED
1. You need
access to the Max programming environment. You can get it in a few ways.
· It is installed
on all of the studio computers in FA110. You should expect to spend a lot of
time in the lab if you access it this way, but it's free and if a lot of you
are in the lab then you can rely on each other as you learn.
· You can purchase
a 12-month student license for
$59 from Cycling74 to install on your own computer.
· You can purchase
a full
(non-expiring) license at academic discount for $250 from Cycling74 to
install on your own computer.
2. You need an Arduino microcontroller and a kit
of basic electronic parts and sensors.
· Here is one from
Adafruit http://www.adafruit.com/products/170
3. You will need to purchase project-specific
materials depending on what your projects are. This might include raw materials
(wood, metal, latex, paint, etc.), hardware (mechanical parts, nuts and bolts,
etc.), electronic components, and other materials. We will talk about
repurposing and hardware hacking to reduce waste and our costs.
4. Digital Storage. You need to be able to store your work on something.
4. Digital Storage. You need to be able to store your work on something.
CLASS PROJECTS AND EXCERCISES
Assignments will
range from basic tutorials to more open-ended conceptual projects. Through
hands-on exercises, students will explore basic electronic techniques to
manipulate digital images, sound, and physical forms in real time live
environments. Class projects explore the potential of interactive media to
inform, communicate, entertain, challenge, surprise, or offend. And perhaps most importantly, for this
communication to be successful we will discuss new and inventive ways to engage
the user. I don’t expect any of your to have much experience in coding outside
of the required Web/Computer Science classes in the Digital Media Studies
program, so this class will serve as an introduction to some while a chance to
play with more advanced tool. Emphasis
on the word play….have fun while
learning to think differently.
Students will be
graded according to how well their projects reflect an understanding and a
willingness to experiment with the techniques, issues and practices covered in
class. You will also be graded on your participation and willingness to
contribute to the classroom environment.
This class works best when everyone helps one another in the spirit of
experimentation.
GRADING SPREAD
1.
Projects (50%): Each student will
complete a series of intro projects in class and total of 3-4 extended
projects. These projects are due at the beginning of the class critique. They
must also be in the format specified on the project description on the class
blog. Incorrect or late projects will be assigned a point loss at the
discretion of the instructor. In some cases it will be best to work in groups.
Students are expected to participate in class
critiques of major projects, both completed and in progress. As the term
evolves, we will orient towards weekly progress critiques.
Talking
about your work and the work of others is a crucial aspect of design.
2.
Participation (30%): This just
basically means if you are in class and are also engaged in the material. It doesn’t mean that you are a master of it
all, good participation means asking questions and finding answers and also
being patient to see the project through.
We will work in groups at times, so helping your group and being a team
member is important as well.
3.
Research
Presentations (20%): At the beginning of the semester you will be assigned to
do one 15 minute class presentation about an artist who is doing what you think
is groundbreaking work in digital media. You are allowed to show
videos/music/powerpoints as long as you describe a basic understanding of how
the artist does the work he/she does and why it personally interests you.
ATTENDANCE
Mandatory at all class sessions. More than any
other class I teach, this class moves fast and it is extremely difficult to
catch up unless you take responsibility
and look up anything you missed. Class content is often based off what was
covered the week prior. The instructor will NOT be available to personally
re-teach a class if you are absent. More than three absences (excused or
unexcused, they are all the same) lower your final grade 1 grade down each
absence.
Come prepared for work in class or you will receive
an absence. Looking at on the internet at unrelated material during a class
discussion or tutorial will give you an absent mark, no questions asked. Since
most class material is covered at the beginning of class, being notably tardy
also counts as an absence. I can be very understanding about absenses when it
comes to special circumstances and life events, all I ask is you handle it
professionally and inform me beforehand via
email or during office hours.
Absences on project due days: students
may be tempted to skip class on critique/due date days because they are too
embarrassed to come to class without a finished project. I believe in this case
the absence itself is much, much more objectionable and disreputable then the
state of your unfinished project. Your attendance and participation on critique
days is essential, even if your project is incomplete, because these sessions
help you understand our class standards, expectations and criteria for good
work. Even if your own project is unfinished, you can still contribute
productively to the class discussion.
COMMUNICATION
If you have any concerns that need to be addressed
quickly by the instructor and you cannot find me in person, please email me at Ireland@tarleton.edu. I have my phone on me
most of the time during the day and will receive the message and will respond
as soon as I can. On some occasions, I will need to send you course-related
information outside of class. Announcements to the whole class will appear on
the blog, and if it is a particularly important message I will also send it out
via email. During the first week of
class I will ask you to send me the
email address that you check most daily
LAB ETTIQUETTE
Students are responsible for the frequent and
methodical back-up of their class work over the course of the semester. Data
loss—from a lost, fried and/or stolen hard drive, or satanic software - cannot
be used as an excuse for late or missing work. Students are responsible for the
re-creation of any required files that go lost or missing. Back up your work
weekly.
Students are not permitted to use the internet or
any electronic devices during lectures or student presentations. Cell Phones
must be turned off unless instructed otherwise.
Headphones must be used with sound projects. if you
want to surf the internet or talk on the phone you should do us all a favor and
stay home.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Schedule
Subject to Change, any changes and all detailed info will be posted on the
class blog.
Week 1 Mon 8/28 Introductions,
Wed
8/30 What is Interactive art and why MaxMSP?, no tech interaction assignment
Week 2 Mon 9/4 Max Tutorials
Wed 9/6 Max Tutorials/synthesizer building
Week 3 Mon 9/11 Max
Tutorials
Wed 9/13 Max Tutorials
Week 4 Mon 9/18 Create
story prototypes (project 1)
Wed 9/20 Review story prototypes
Week 5 Mon 9/25 Auditory
processing/serial communication, assignment 1
Wed 9/27 Tactile processing, intro to sensors,
arduino
Week 6 Mon 10/2 Arduino
workshop, assignment 2
Wed 10/4 SPE CONFERENCE
Week 7 Mon 10/9 Motors,
Lights, and other outputs, assignment 3
Wed 10/11 group work time
Week 8 Mon 10/16 group
work time, assignment 4
Wed 10/18 CHRIS OUT OF TOWN
Week 9 Mon 10/23 Present
gesture machine prototypes, basic project 1 due
Wed
10/25 anolog outputs, assignment 5
Week 10 Mon 10/30 image processing
Wed 11/1 working with libraries and
extensions
Week 11 Mon 11/6 Intro Final Project
Wed 11/8 Generative Art/proposals due
Week 12 Mon 11/13 Work Final Projects
Wed 11/15 Work Final Projects
Week 13 Mon 11/20 Work Final Projects
Wed 11/22 THANKSGIVING
Week 14 Mon 11/27 Work Final Projects
Wed 11/29 Work Final Projects
Week 15 Mon 12/3 Last day 12/5 Present Final Projects
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY
Cheating, plagiarism (submitting another person’s materials
or ideas as one’s own), or doing work for another person who will receive
academic credit are all impermissible. Turning in work made before this class,
or from other classes, is also a violation of academic honesty. Disciplinary
action may be taken beyond the Department of Fine Arts.
The above paragraph is the school policy for academic
integrity. I have a few statements to
make about it, that concern what we do in this class specifically…
Programming often involves copying from other
sources. Your projects will be built on top of code written by others in the
open-source community. The programs we use in class were built in the same open
source community. “Open Source” is a development model that promotes free
access to a products design or blueprint so that it may be redistributed and
improved upon by other users. Within this community, it is ethical (and
encouraged) to build on the work of others, with attribution. The simple act of
copying or reuse, in this context, does not constitute plagiarism, although
failing to cite oneΚΌs sources does.
For each project, you must clearly credit the
original sources of any borrowed elements, whether they are text-based (as in
written work), visual (as with photographs or other visual elements), or
technical (as with software-based tools or program code incorporated into your
own).
STUDENTS SUCCESS STATEMENT - ADA
It is the policy of Tarleton State University to comply with the
Americans with Disabilities Act (www.ada.gov) and other applicable laws.
If you are a student with a disability seeking accommodations for this course,
please contact the Center for Access and Academic Testing, at 254.968.9400 orcaat@tarleton.edu.
The office is located in Math 201. More information can be found at www.tarleton.edu/caat or
in the University Catalog.
UNIVERSITY CORE VALUES
In case you forgot…. (http://www.tarleton.edu/strategicplan/2016-2020/mission-vision.html)
