In lieu of the image/sound pairing production project the final assignment will require the student to write a formal statement describing the theme, and formal considerations of his or her picture project and sound project—two statements in sum. These statements should be approximately 250 words each, typed and double-spaced and be concerned with explaining the choices of visual materials or sound elements and their design, as per the original assignment criteria.
Due date December 5/6.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
sound artists + events
Ubu Sound Sources
Golan Levin
Golan Levin ~ Telesymphony @ Fondation Daniel Langlois
Silophone
Silophone on youtube
Laurie Anderson
O Superman on Youtube
Language is a Virus on Youtube
John Oswald
Mike Vargas
clips
Janet Cardiff + Georges Bures Miller
Steve Reich
different trains
Marion van der Zon
Andra McCartney
Hildegard Westerkamp
Christof Migone ~ clips
Golan Levin
Golan Levin ~ Telesymphony @ Fondation Daniel Langlois
Silophone
Silophone on youtube
Laurie Anderson
O Superman on Youtube
Language is a Virus on Youtube
John Oswald
Mike Vargas
clips
Janet Cardiff + Georges Bures Miller
Steve Reich
different trains
Marion van der Zon
Andra McCartney
Hildegard Westerkamp
Christof Migone ~ clips
Thursday, October 25, 2007
revised assignments: descriptions, due dates, values
Old assignment description + grade breakdown
1 picture archive— using a collection of found, visual imagery describe a subject (person/place/thing) considering the time and space within which they live or it exists (20%)
2 sound archive—mixed tape communicating social and/or political values (answering machine, voice-mail, cell, tape/cd…) include voice or not (20%)
3 research project—on an influential visual or recording artist (20%)
4 blog—image, sound + text components (25%)
NEW ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS....
1 sound archive—using recording medium of choice(answering machine, voice-mail, cell, Internet download) each student is responsible for the collection of sounds that heard together communicate coherent ideas or values—be it personal, aesthetic, or social/political: the collection can include voice elements but not traditional musical sources. Students are responsible for finding, selecting and mastering the recording technology used and finding a means to present it to the class and to me. As with the panoramic picture project, students should consider the organization of the sound elements and their formal characteristics—consider amplitude, direction, timbre, pitch, duration. (20% ~ Due November 15/16)
2 research project—on an influential sound artist (20% ~ Due November 21/22)
working in teams of three or four, students are required to conduct research on a sound artist or event (from the list attached to the next post) of common interest to the group and present the results of the research to the class. research efforts should be concerned with describing artistic intentions and processes, analyzing and interpreting key stylistic characteristics and discussing the production and distribution context within which the artist has produced his or her work or the event has emerged (historically specific movement, collective activity, technologically oriented experimentation). Research tasks should be evenly distributed. Each member of the group should demonstrate that they have gleaned a basic knowledge of the subject of their group’s research and then take responsibility for presenting a specific aspect of the research (i.e. intentions, processes, style, production context) on the artist or movement (as indicated above). Unless directly relevant to the sound experimentation, keep biographical information to a minimum. Each group participant must augment his or her verbal presentation with a sound clip of no more than five minutes in length. Each individual presentation should be between 5 and 10 minutes long
3 image/sound pairing: choose two images and two sounds and pair them expressively—formal experimentation and innovation is required. Once again, consider the concrete features of the sources as they express ideas and values (25% ~ Production in class November 28/29/ Final Presentation December 5/6))
*production class t.b.c.
1 picture archive— using a collection of found, visual imagery describe a subject (person/place/thing) considering the time and space within which they live or it exists (20%)
2 sound archive—mixed tape communicating social and/or political values (answering machine, voice-mail, cell, tape/cd…) include voice or not (20%)
3 research project—on an influential visual or recording artist (20%)
4 blog—image, sound + text components (25%)
NEW ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS....
1 sound archive—using recording medium of choice(answering machine, voice-mail, cell, Internet download) each student is responsible for the collection of sounds that heard together communicate coherent ideas or values—be it personal, aesthetic, or social/political: the collection can include voice elements but not traditional musical sources. Students are responsible for finding, selecting and mastering the recording technology used and finding a means to present it to the class and to me. As with the panoramic picture project, students should consider the organization of the sound elements and their formal characteristics—consider amplitude, direction, timbre, pitch, duration. (20% ~ Due November 15/16)
2 research project—on an influential sound artist (20% ~ Due November 21/22)
working in teams of three or four, students are required to conduct research on a sound artist or event (from the list attached to the next post) of common interest to the group and present the results of the research to the class. research efforts should be concerned with describing artistic intentions and processes, analyzing and interpreting key stylistic characteristics and discussing the production and distribution context within which the artist has produced his or her work or the event has emerged (historically specific movement, collective activity, technologically oriented experimentation). Research tasks should be evenly distributed. Each member of the group should demonstrate that they have gleaned a basic knowledge of the subject of their group’s research and then take responsibility for presenting a specific aspect of the research (i.e. intentions, processes, style, production context) on the artist or movement (as indicated above). Unless directly relevant to the sound experimentation, keep biographical information to a minimum. Each group participant must augment his or her verbal presentation with a sound clip of no more than five minutes in length. Each individual presentation should be between 5 and 10 minutes long
3 image/sound pairing: choose two images and two sounds and pair them expressively—formal experimentation and innovation is required. Once again, consider the concrete features of the sources as they express ideas and values (25% ~ Production in class November 28/29/ Final Presentation December 5/6))
*production class t.b.c.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
october 17 + 18 - production of panoramic portraits in 3b 6
bring your pictures on disk or ready to scan
Sunday, October 7, 2007
october 11 + 12 this week 'wednesday is a monday' ~ thursday class is a FIELD TRIP
No Wednesday class this week.
Next week OCTOBER 17 + 18, both classes will meet in Lab 3B1 to complete the panoramic portrait assignment See the description in the margin of the blog for more information, keeping in mind that the assignment has changed in form (now it will be produced digitally so no need to use the photocopier) and content, now allowing for a broader range of subject matter (besides yourself, you can feature another person, place or thing). Bring your images, digitalized or ready to scan to that class. Also, if you have a a keychain harddrive, please bring that along as well so you can transport images from the scanning computers to your own. Some examples of panoramic portraits (some of these links are not completed yet, be patient).
On October 11, the Thursday group will go on a field trip to Parisian Laundry, 3550 St. Antoine West. We will meet there at 3:00. In preparation please check the Le Mois de la Photo link for contextual information on the exhibition.
Next week OCTOBER 17 + 18, both classes will meet in Lab 3B1 to complete the panoramic portrait assignment See the description in the margin of the blog for more information, keeping in mind that the assignment has changed in form (now it will be produced digitally so no need to use the photocopier) and content, now allowing for a broader range of subject matter (besides yourself, you can feature another person, place or thing). Bring your images, digitalized or ready to scan to that class. Also, if you have a a keychain harddrive, please bring that along as well so you can transport images from the scanning computers to your own. Some examples of panoramic portraits (some of these links are not completed yet, be patient).
On October 11, the Thursday group will go on a field trip to Parisian Laundry, 3550 St. Antoine West. We will meet there at 3:00. In preparation please check the Le Mois de la Photo link for contextual information on the exhibition.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
september 19/20 image + ideology:advertising
Discussion of John Berger's "Publicity" from Ways of Seeing
Advertising Promises + the Future
Explain and discuss the following statement:
“The publicity image belongs to the moment. We see it as we turn a page, as we turn a corner, as a vehicle passes us. Or, we see it on a television screen while waiting for the commercial break to end. Publicity images also belong to the moment in the sense that they must be continually renewed and made-up-date. Yet, they never speak of the present. Often they refer to the past and always they speak of the future.”
Berger states the following: “Within publicity choices are offered between this cream and that cream, that car or this car but publicity as a system only makes a single proposal.” What is the proposal that he refers to and how is this proposal made?
Berger also argues that: “publicity is about social relations, not objects.” What does he mean?
Publicity + Oil Paintings
Explain and discuss the following statement:
“Publicity is the culture of the consumer society. It propagates through images that society's belief in itself. There are several reasons why these images use the language of oil painting.
Oil painting, before it was anything else, was a celebration of private property. As an art-form it derived from the principle that you are what you have. It is a mistake to think of publicity supplanting the visual art of post-Renaissance Europe; it is the last moribund form of that art.”
Money, Sex + Glamour
Discuss the following statements:
“All publicity works upon anxiety. The sum of everything is money, to get money is to overcome anxiety. Alternatively the anxiety on which publicity plays is the fear that having nothing you will be nothing. Money is life. Not in the sense that without money you starve. Not in the sense that capital gives one class power over the entire lives of another class. But in the sense that money is the token of, and the key to, every human capacity. The power to spend money is the power to live. According to the legends of publicity, those who lack the power to spend money become literally faceless. Those who have the power become loveable.”
“Glamour cannot exist without personal social envy being a common and widespread emotion.” How is social envy is generated in contemporary life. What social conditions exist in order for envy and glamour to arise?
Democracy + Philosophy
“Publicity turns consumption into a substitute for democracy. The choice of what one eats (or wears or drives) takes the place of significant political choice. Publicity helps to mask and compensate for all that is undemocratic within society. And it also masks what is happening in the rest of the world. Publicity adds up to a kind of philosophical system. It explains everything in its own terms. ” Discuss what Berger means by this statement.
Screening: The Ad + the Ego or Killing Us Softly III
Advertising Promises + the Future
Explain and discuss the following statement:
“The publicity image belongs to the moment. We see it as we turn a page, as we turn a corner, as a vehicle passes us. Or, we see it on a television screen while waiting for the commercial break to end. Publicity images also belong to the moment in the sense that they must be continually renewed and made-up-date. Yet, they never speak of the present. Often they refer to the past and always they speak of the future.”
Berger states the following: “Within publicity choices are offered between this cream and that cream, that car or this car but publicity as a system only makes a single proposal.” What is the proposal that he refers to and how is this proposal made?
Berger also argues that: “publicity is about social relations, not objects.” What does he mean?
Publicity + Oil Paintings
Explain and discuss the following statement:
“Publicity is the culture of the consumer society. It propagates through images that society's belief in itself. There are several reasons why these images use the language of oil painting.
Oil painting, before it was anything else, was a celebration of private property. As an art-form it derived from the principle that you are what you have. It is a mistake to think of publicity supplanting the visual art of post-Renaissance Europe; it is the last moribund form of that art.”
Money, Sex + Glamour
Discuss the following statements:
“All publicity works upon anxiety. The sum of everything is money, to get money is to overcome anxiety. Alternatively the anxiety on which publicity plays is the fear that having nothing you will be nothing. Money is life. Not in the sense that without money you starve. Not in the sense that capital gives one class power over the entire lives of another class. But in the sense that money is the token of, and the key to, every human capacity. The power to spend money is the power to live. According to the legends of publicity, those who lack the power to spend money become literally faceless. Those who have the power become loveable.”
“Glamour cannot exist without personal social envy being a common and widespread emotion.” How is social envy is generated in contemporary life. What social conditions exist in order for envy and glamour to arise?
Democracy + Philosophy
“Publicity turns consumption into a substitute for democracy. The choice of what one eats (or wears or drives) takes the place of significant political choice. Publicity helps to mask and compensate for all that is undemocratic within society. And it also masks what is happening in the rest of the world. Publicity adds up to a kind of philosophical system. It explains everything in its own terms. ” Discuss what Berger means by this statement.
Screening: The Ad + the Ego or Killing Us Softly III
Friday, September 14, 2007
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
september 5 + 13 image + ideology: journalism
ideology: a definition
Main Entry: ide·ol·o·gy
Pronunciation: "I-dE-'ä-l&-jE, "i-
Variant(s): also ide·al·o·gy /-'ä-l&-jE, -'a-/
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -gies
Etymology: French idéologie, from idéo- ideo- + -logie -logy
1 : visionary theorizing
2 a : a systematic body of concepts especially about human life or culture b : a manner or the content of thinking characteristic of an individual, group, or culture c : the integrated assertions, theories and aims that constitute a sociopolitical program
- ide·ol·o·gist /-jist/ noun
photojounalism: a definition
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting of news material for publication or broadcast) that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, and in some cases to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such as documentary photography, street photography or celebrity photography) by the qualities of:
* Timeliness — the images have meaning in the context of a published chronological record of events.
* Objectivity — the situation implied by the images is a fair and accurate representation of the events they depict.
* Narrative — the images combine with other news elements, to inform and give insight to the viewer or reader.
Photojournalists must make decisions instantly and carry photographic equipment, often while exposed to the same risks (war, rioting, etc.) that are faced by text-only journalists. The fact that they rarely have the option to stand back or wait until the dangerous parts of an event are over means they may take even more risks.
Photojournalism as a descriptive term often implies the use of a certain bluntness of style or approach to image-making. The photojournalist approach to candid photography is becoming popular as a unique style of commercial photography. For example, many weddings today are shot in photojournalism style resulting in candid images that chronicle the events of the wedding day.
A similar and related term is reportage.
short history of photojournalism
semiotics: a definition
It is... possible to conceive of a science which studies the role of signs as part of social life. It would form part of social psychology, and hence of general psychology. We shall call it semiology (from the Greek semeîon, 'sign'). It would investigate the nature of signs and the laws governing them. Since it does not yet exist, one cannot say for certain that it will exist. But it has a right to exist, a place ready for it in advance. Linguistics is only one branch of this general science. The laws which semiology will discover will be laws applicable in linguistics, and linguistics will thus be assigned to a clearly defined place in the field of human knowledge. (Saussure 1983, 15-16; Saussure 1974, 16)
Semiotics
∑ semiotics: (GK sema or sign) the study of signs or sign systems, can be applied to verbal or non-verbal systems (fashion, for example, can be seen as language or system of communication)
∑ One of the key methods of analyzing images is semiotics, otherwise called semiology. Semiotics approaches language systems (including verbal language) as systems that are culturally constructed (i.e. not natural). It argues that language works through the production, circulation and exchange of signs.
∑ A sign has three primary characteristics:
∑ 1) A sign has a physical form or sound when spoken (the written or spoken word; the thing itself, e.g. a rose, a haircut…) This is the signifier.
∑ 2) A sign refers to something other than itself, a concept. This is called the signified. The two are hard to separate, but semiotics emphasizes a third term to do this: the referent. This is the thing that the sign (or both the signifier and signified) point to in the real world.
∑ 3) Semiotic analysis argues that our perception of the world is constructed or shaped. Language divides words into categories and in doing so determines our sense of things and their value to us. These categories work by means of differences. A cat is a cat because it is not a dog. This third feature reflects the influence of structuralist thought on semiotic analysis.
∑ Structuralism is a set of ideas that emphasizes two things:
∑ 1) All human organization is determined by large social and psychological structures: e.g. Freud’s theory of the organization of the unconscious is one such structure. He argued that the human unconscious is organized into the id and pre-conscious, and this organization informs our patterns of behaviour and speech—promoting and/or repressing certain thoughts or behavior. Similarly, Marx’s theory of the economy can be seen to be influenced by structuralist thought. He argued that people's relationship to the means of production determined their political sympathies.
∑ 2) Reality is only understood within systematic structures. These structures are characterized by:
∑ rules of exclusion
∑ signifying oppositions
∑ rules of association
∑ Central Concepts:
∑ Arbitrariness of Signs: Signs are not integral to things themselves but arbitrarily defined.
∑ Arbitrary and Shared Codes: Arbitrary signs must, nonetheless, be socially agreed upon. This presumes that signs are neither fixed or single but polysemic (GK full/many; signs): capable of several meanings. For example: the Union Jack is symbol of the British empire, and the monarchy but it will be interpreted differently by the cultural group appropriating it--pro and anti-monarchists. The way in which the exact meaning is achieved is determined by context. It can sometimes be grounded or anchored by text as in the form of a caption.
∑ Sign Functions—Denotation and Connotation:
∑ denote: to serve as an indication of (an arbitrary mark for);
∑ connote: to convey in addition to exact, explicit meaning; to convey meaning through culturally agreed upon associations.
∑ e.g. the word Red denotes a colour in the spectrum; it also connotes fierceness and passion
∑ Sign Types—Iconic, Indexical and Symbolic Signs:
∑ Iconic: Iconic signs always resemble what they signify. A photo is thought of as iconic because it depicts what it refers to. One can also think of religious icons as iconic(statues of the Madonna).
∑ Indexical: Indexical signs have signifiers that act as evidence that an event or occurance has taken place: smoke for fire; sweat for effort.
∑ Symbolic: Symbolic signs are arbitrarily linked to their references. They inspire culturally agreed upon (and historically changing) associations
Semiotic Analysis: Exercise
In groups of four, analyze an image according to the process outlined below:
1 DESCRIBE the photographs. List their physical and narrative features: What exactly do you see? What action is taking place? Consider the style of the photo as well as the content.
2 ANALYZE the attributes that lead to the interpretation of the photo—its social message and emotional value. Identify as many characteristics as you can by considering all the evidence you’ve gathered.
3 EXAMINE the patterns among the characteristics you have chosen and interpret what this means in ideological terms. What is the message of the photograph.
semiotics for beginners
“myth today,” from mythologies by roland barthes
Main Entry: ide·ol·o·gy
Pronunciation: "I-dE-'ä-l&-jE, "i-
Variant(s): also ide·al·o·gy /-'ä-l&-jE, -'a-/
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -gies
Etymology: French idéologie, from idéo- ideo- + -logie -logy
1 : visionary theorizing
2 a : a systematic body of concepts especially about human life or culture b : a manner or the content of thinking characteristic of an individual, group, or culture c : the integrated assertions, theories and aims that constitute a sociopolitical program
- ide·ol·o·gist /-jist/ noun
photojounalism: a definition
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting of news material for publication or broadcast) that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, and in some cases to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such as documentary photography, street photography or celebrity photography) by the qualities of:
* Timeliness — the images have meaning in the context of a published chronological record of events.
* Objectivity — the situation implied by the images is a fair and accurate representation of the events they depict.
* Narrative — the images combine with other news elements, to inform and give insight to the viewer or reader.
Photojournalists must make decisions instantly and carry photographic equipment, often while exposed to the same risks (war, rioting, etc.) that are faced by text-only journalists. The fact that they rarely have the option to stand back or wait until the dangerous parts of an event are over means they may take even more risks.
Photojournalism as a descriptive term often implies the use of a certain bluntness of style or approach to image-making. The photojournalist approach to candid photography is becoming popular as a unique style of commercial photography. For example, many weddings today are shot in photojournalism style resulting in candid images that chronicle the events of the wedding day.
A similar and related term is reportage.
short history of photojournalism
semiotics: a definition
It is... possible to conceive of a science which studies the role of signs as part of social life. It would form part of social psychology, and hence of general psychology. We shall call it semiology (from the Greek semeîon, 'sign'). It would investigate the nature of signs and the laws governing them. Since it does not yet exist, one cannot say for certain that it will exist. But it has a right to exist, a place ready for it in advance. Linguistics is only one branch of this general science. The laws which semiology will discover will be laws applicable in linguistics, and linguistics will thus be assigned to a clearly defined place in the field of human knowledge. (Saussure 1983, 15-16; Saussure 1974, 16)
Semiotics
∑ semiotics: (GK sema or sign) the study of signs or sign systems, can be applied to verbal or non-verbal systems (fashion, for example, can be seen as language or system of communication)
∑ One of the key methods of analyzing images is semiotics, otherwise called semiology. Semiotics approaches language systems (including verbal language) as systems that are culturally constructed (i.e. not natural). It argues that language works through the production, circulation and exchange of signs.
∑ A sign has three primary characteristics:
∑ 1) A sign has a physical form or sound when spoken (the written or spoken word; the thing itself, e.g. a rose, a haircut…) This is the signifier.
∑ 2) A sign refers to something other than itself, a concept. This is called the signified. The two are hard to separate, but semiotics emphasizes a third term to do this: the referent. This is the thing that the sign (or both the signifier and signified) point to in the real world.
∑ 3) Semiotic analysis argues that our perception of the world is constructed or shaped. Language divides words into categories and in doing so determines our sense of things and their value to us. These categories work by means of differences. A cat is a cat because it is not a dog. This third feature reflects the influence of structuralist thought on semiotic analysis.
∑ Structuralism is a set of ideas that emphasizes two things:
∑ 1) All human organization is determined by large social and psychological structures: e.g. Freud’s theory of the organization of the unconscious is one such structure. He argued that the human unconscious is organized into the id and pre-conscious, and this organization informs our patterns of behaviour and speech—promoting and/or repressing certain thoughts or behavior. Similarly, Marx’s theory of the economy can be seen to be influenced by structuralist thought. He argued that people's relationship to the means of production determined their political sympathies.
∑ 2) Reality is only understood within systematic structures. These structures are characterized by:
∑ rules of exclusion
∑ signifying oppositions
∑ rules of association
∑ Central Concepts:
∑ Arbitrariness of Signs: Signs are not integral to things themselves but arbitrarily defined.
∑ Arbitrary and Shared Codes: Arbitrary signs must, nonetheless, be socially agreed upon. This presumes that signs are neither fixed or single but polysemic (GK full/many; signs): capable of several meanings. For example: the Union Jack is symbol of the British empire, and the monarchy but it will be interpreted differently by the cultural group appropriating it--pro and anti-monarchists. The way in which the exact meaning is achieved is determined by context. It can sometimes be grounded or anchored by text as in the form of a caption.
∑ Sign Functions—Denotation and Connotation:
∑ denote: to serve as an indication of (an arbitrary mark for);
∑ connote: to convey in addition to exact, explicit meaning; to convey meaning through culturally agreed upon associations.
∑ e.g. the word Red denotes a colour in the spectrum; it also connotes fierceness and passion
∑ Sign Types—Iconic, Indexical and Symbolic Signs:
∑ Iconic: Iconic signs always resemble what they signify. A photo is thought of as iconic because it depicts what it refers to. One can also think of religious icons as iconic(statues of the Madonna).
∑ Indexical: Indexical signs have signifiers that act as evidence that an event or occurance has taken place: smoke for fire; sweat for effort.
∑ Symbolic: Symbolic signs are arbitrarily linked to their references. They inspire culturally agreed upon (and historically changing) associations
Semiotic Analysis: Exercise
In groups of four, analyze an image according to the process outlined below:
1 DESCRIBE the photographs. List their physical and narrative features: What exactly do you see? What action is taking place? Consider the style of the photo as well as the content.
2 ANALYZE the attributes that lead to the interpretation of the photo—its social message and emotional value. Identify as many characteristics as you can by considering all the evidence you’ve gathered.
3 EXAMINE the patterns among the characteristics you have chosen and interpret what this means in ideological terms. What is the message of the photograph.
semiotics for beginners
“myth today,” from mythologies by roland barthes
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
class two: cartes de visites, albums + archives
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