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Course Syllabus - AVT 399 / 599 - Informed by the Land: Experimental Media
Professors: Maria Karametou and Mark Cooley
Summer 2008
Athens and Skopelos, Greece
NOTICE: This course outline indicates a rough guide to where we are headed. However, additions, subtractions and reorganization of course content is likely. You will be informed of any changes during class meetings. In addition, you should revisit this page routinely. It may be updated throughout the semester.
It should go without saying that this outline, along with the rest of this site, is not any kind of substitute for class attendance and participation. As stated numerous times on this site: this is not an online course. You cannot pass this course by relying simply on content provided on this site. Project descriptions on this site will, more often than not, lack specific technical and conceptual parameters. They should be treated as a resource to accompany in-class lecture, discussion and project descriptions.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course explores an experimental approach to processes and concepts of interdisciplinary art making in relation to the local environment. Using available materials and sites students will conceive, propose and produce a series of independent and collaborative projects on the grounds and studios of the Skopelos Foundation for the Arts in Skopelos island, Greece.
The course will begin with four days and nights in Athens, where students will visit some of the world’s most important cultural and historical sites and museums, as well as explore the contemporary art world through visits to Galleries and a Contemporary Museum.
Students will then travel to Skopelos Island, a traditional settlement in the Aegean since antiquity. Working in the studios of the Skopelos Foundation for the Arts, a 5,000 square foot facility, students will investigate the local culture, produce original work, and participate in a variety or creative activities.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The course’s objectives are:
a. To explore the juxtaposition of ancient and modern in a civilization undergoing further cultural and societal transformation after its’ induction into the European Union.
b. To engage in serious artistic production at the Skopelos Foundation for the Arts and other site specific locations while experimenting with diverse methods and materials of art making and exploring how location, culture and environment influence thought.
c. To explore the collaborative process by working with others in the process of making and critiquing artworks.
d. To work on projects with an interdisciplinary approach involving field research and gain an ability to draw to draw comparative insights between Greece and the U.S.
COURSE CONTENT
Through visits to Museums and Galleries and lectures, students in this course will examine the historical continuum from the ancient to the modern, think about how this continuum is manifested, and draw critical judgment by comparing and contrasting Greece's historical and current ways of life and cultural perspectives while in Athens.
Students will visit the Parthenon and the Ancient Agora both of which stand among the urban sprawl, hustle and bustle of modern Athens; see the stunning array of commissioned public works from leading contemporary Greek artists; experience the multicolored tableau of modern digital photos and billboards shining against the hills of the Acropolis; and encounter contemporary life with its’ jarring juxtaposition of popular culture and street peddlers and internationally acclaimed galleries and cultural centers within a breath’s distance of each other.
Through lectures, presentations, the creation of original works inspired by the surroundings at the Skopelos Foundation, as well as participatory critiques of the work in progress students will then articulate their progression from concept to execution. They will experiment with chance-based process and the physicality of mixed media and explore and push the boundaries and definitions of traditional studio concepts to understand the relationship between the disciplines within the context of contemporary art.
COURSE EXPECTATIONS
Students are expected to participate in the class fully, and complete all required projects and assignments. Attendance at the times listed above is mandatory.
It is of utmost importance that students clean up after themselves and that all materials are put away. The Foundation studios must be kept in order.
GENERAL SUPPLY LIST
STUDENT I.D.
Dry and fluid painting and drawing media (Maria specific- students will bring with them)
Sketchbook 9 1/2 ” x 12” spiral
Sketchbook 3.5” x 5.5” spiral or hard bound
kneaded eraser
Scissors
Xacto knife, threads, needle any non traditional media as explained during meeting with students
Brushes and black acrylic paint
Elmers glue
scotch brand magic tape or drafting tape
Digital camera
Video camera (if available)
Sound recorder (if available)
Laptop (most important if available)
Work gloves
Hat for working in the sun
Good sense of humor
Please note: Additional supplies may become necessary during the course. This will depend on the students’ individual solutions to the projects undertaken. Some basic supplies are available at the Foundation.
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