• Written #1 – Interrogate a thing 5%
• Exercise #1 – Cardboard thing 5%
• Project #1 – Material<->Form 20%
• Project #2 – Take Some ‘Thing’ Apart 20%
• Project #3 – Readymade/Remake 20%
• ‘Pecha Kucha format’ Research Presentation (20 images) 5%
• Written #2 – 3 Pillar Artist Statement (for any one project) 10%
• Participation in class and critiques 10%
• Attendance (-1% for absence, 0.5% for late) 5%

NOTES:

Resource materials

- Lectures slides and assignment handouts will be uploaded to the Dropbox folder following each lecture

- Readings will be provided as a handout along with an electronic copy uploaded to the dropbox folder

Reading #1: Sculpture Today. Judith Collins, London: Phaidon Press, 2007. Introduction, pp. 6-11.

Reading #2: Thing Theory, Bill Brown, Critical Inquiry , Vol. 28, No. 1, Things (Autumn, 2001), pp. 1-22, Published by: The University of Chicago Press, Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/stable/1344258

Reading #3: “Can We Get Our Materialism Back, Please?”. Bruno Latour, Isis, Vol. 98, No. 1 (March 2007), pp. 138-142, Published by: The University of Chicago Press, Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/stable/10.1086/512837

Reading #4: Passages in Modern Sculpture. Rosalind Krauss, New York: Viking Press, 1977, Chapter 3 Forms of Readymade: Duchamp and Brancusi, pp. 69-103

Reading #5: Postproduction: Culture As Screenplay : How Art Reprograms the World. Bourriaud, Nicolas, Caroline Schneider, and Jeanine Herman. New York: Lukas & Sternberg, 2005. Print.

Shop Demos 

You will receive a shop safety workshop (covering safety, materials, and new tools). You will receive a two-part mold making and casting demo and workshop across 2 days.

Participation: Participation is expected and essential. It includes preparedness and active involvement in group critiques, one-on-one meetings with the instructor, and discussions of assigned readings. Thoughtful and serious engagement, critical thinking and sensitivity regarding other students and their work are crucial. Students are expected to contribute substantially to discussions and to work through suggestions made with respect to their work. Students are expected to be prepared for every mandatory studio class with appropriate materials to work individually in the shop or studio.  They are also expected to spend at least 6 to 9 hours working outside of class time each week.

Readings: Students are expected to read thoroughly the readings and to come to class prepared to discuss in detail. Active participation in the discussions is essential.

Materials: Students are expected to source and supply their own materials for projects (but some cardboard and wood are available in the AHVA shop for project #1).  Students are prohibited to use dangerous materials, fire and explosives, living animals and insects (plants ok), and any project that results in leaking fluid.

Cleanup: Daily Cleanup: The last 10 minutes of class are for cleanup. All students will contribute to cleaning up the shop (sweeping the floor, benches and tools, putting equipment and materials away, etc.) FINAL CLEANUP: No grade will be issued until all work is out of the studio and all tools returned; walls and floors patched, sanded and repainted; all fishline, string, wire, screws, nails, masking tape removed, shop cleaned up, etc. (see Alexander Guidelines)

Exercise: Bring a Thing You will bring a thing to class. Following the class you will email me an “interrogation” of that thing (150-200 words) By “interrogate” I want you to consider the thing and determine its:

·       Material – What is it made of? Look at its surface, examine its ‘thingness’, determine its primary qualities, think about the way it presents itself to the world. Is it made of luxurious, rare, and expensive materials? Is it made from vernacular materials? Does the surface hide its true materiality? Does the surface lie?
·       Facture – How was it made? Was it made by hand by an individual or is it made by a machine in a factory by a company? What are the visual qualities of the object that tell the ‘story’ of how it came to be in this world?

·       Form – What shape does the material occupy? What does that shape signify? What is it representing? Is it a form from nature? Is it a form that results from function only? Is it a form that has been designed to be appealing and desirable? Is it a form from your ‘language’, from your ‘culture’, from your ‘vernaculars’, or is it a form that is unfamiliar, alien, foreign?

Projects:
Students will complete 3 projects over term. The theme for each project will be further described in class lectures and slide presentations. It is acceptable to stray away from the themes provided that the student discusses the concept with the instructor in advance before or at the one-on-one meetings. Ultimately, the project themes offer a way for the student to respond to the theme, and part of your grade will be based on your response and your strategy for responding.

Project #1: Material<->Form You will recreate a thing in by changing its material and/or form. Some of the materials are provided in the shop for use for this project. You may use the same thing from the exercise or take on a new thing. Consider how changing the thing’s material and recontextualizing it as art can change its meaning and imbue the thing with a meaning and a concept.

Project #2: Take some ‘thing’ apart The intention of this project is to get you sourcing objects and materials and to start thinking about the way things are made. You are to source an object or ‘thing’ and take it apart. You will be evaluated on the selection and sourcing of the object/thing and your method and approach to taking it apart. Following the ‘taking apart stage’ you will present a final art work. You may perhaps decide to present it by putting it back together, or by arranging it into a new configuration and new context. Greater emphasis should be placed on the selection and sourcing of the object/thing itself and the method and approach to ‘taking it apart’.  In other words, focus on a creative way to take your thing apart.

Project #3: Readymade/Remake For this project you will create a work by recontextualizing a pre-existing object or cultural thing using the conceptual framework of the readymade. Following your reading of Rossalind Krauss’ chapter on Duchamp/Brancusi and Bourriaud’s Postproduction, you are asked to examine how the recontextualization of an object as art can break the ‘linear passage of meaning’ in order to create a ‘cyclical form of a quandary’ (Krauss, 78). In other words, how does the artistic strategy of the readymade alter conventions of representation and meaning? Projects will be evaluated on:

·       the merit of the idea or concept: focus, quality of research, inventiveness, innovation

·       the technical follow through: evidence of technical skills, use and choice of materials, composition, realization of goals

·       the conditions and considerations of presentation: how the project is displayed in crits for viewing (as if displayed in a gallery exhibition context). It is recommended that students set up the work in critique rooms in advance (but arrange timing with other students).

3 Pillars Written Project Description: Students will complete a 1 - 2 page written description of one of their projects. Students will follow the ‘3 pillar’ approach: impetus, facture, and context for evaluation.

Research ‘Pecha Kucha’ Presentations: Students will present their research for their projects in a ‘Pecha Kucha’ format (i.e. 20 slides in 5 minutes). Generally students will present images found during research that inspired or act as referents for their project. As an example, look at Sterling Ruby’s ongoing research webpage. http://sterlingrubystudio.com/rd

REQUIREMENTS:

Attendance Policy You are required to attend all classes. Absence and lateness will affect your grade for the course. Therefore, you should be aware of the following criteria: -You will receive a 1% penalty for each absence and a 0.5% penalty for each time that you are late for class. Note that you can lose more than 5%. For instance if you are absent 3 times (3x 2% = 6%) you will lose all of your 5% of attendance marks plus you will lose another 1% from you overall grade. -You will be considered late if you arrive after attendance is taken, when the class has formally begun. You are subject to the same penalty if you leave the session before it has properly ended. Is the responsibility of the student to come tell me that you have arrived after attendance has been taken so that your recorded absence can be changed to a late. -Being more than one hour late is equivalent to being absent. -It is also your responsibility to determine what you missed and what you must do to complete any assigned work.

General Policies

• Students must maintain an appropriate standard of conduct. They must demonstrate respect for all persons on the campus, and display mature conduct. All students must abide by the university’s Student Conduct Policies and the university’s Harassment Policies (see http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/). Failure by students to maintain appropriate standards of conduct may result in the initiation of disciplinary action by the university. Instructors are responsible for managing the classroom. Students whose behaviour is disruptive, challenging or intimidating will be addressed and may be excused from class. If the behaviour continues, disciplinary measures (see http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/) will be employed.

• The instructor may modify the material or schedule specified in this outline. Any changes will be announced in class.

• Late assignments or projects will be penalized 5% per day. It is recommended to email the instructor as soon as possible to explain the reason for the late assignment and make arrangements for an extension due date.

• It is plagiarism to present someone else’s work or ideas as one’s own. Plagiarism may result in failure of an assignment, of the course, and, if repeated, expulsion from the university.

• A student must provide a doctor’s note for any illness which causes the student to miss assignments, tests, projects, exams, etcetera, or for absences of more than two classes. At the discretion of the instructor, the student may complete the work for a prorated grade.

• Students must demonstrate that they understand and practice the safe use of tools and other equipment, materials, and processes used in their course projects. They must conduct themselves in a responsible manner that does not endanger themselves or others, and must adhere to area procedures regarding authorized operation of equipment, handling of materials, and use of space.

• Students with special needs or disabilities that might affect their experience or performance in class are advised to inform their instructor.

• Email is an official means of communication with students by faculty.

• Emails will be answered in a timely manner, usually within 48 hours after receiving the email. Emails will not, however, be answered on weekends or the day before an assignment is due if the email relates to the assignment.