Week 5: 050308

images above: Janet Cardiff. Detail from Her Long Black Hair. 35-minute audio walk. 2005. Audio samples from some of Janet's projects can be heard on her website here and linked at right.

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As the projects in the class are developing in such individual ways, here's an interpretation of the syllabus I am proposing we adopt for the rest of the quarter:

For each week from here on out, the format will essentially be the same: I'll introduce some new works at the beginning of class, and we'll then look at portfolios/projects from 5-6 people in the class, and then spend the remainder of the time on studio-based projects and reflection on those works.

I'm proposing this rather than the format that I've used in the past (which has always been a series of prompted works/projects/assignments, followed by a final critique where we briefly discuss/present works by everyone in the class). Some benefits I see to this new format: knowing that your work will be the focus of a discussion on a certain week could potentially allow you the opportunity to direct that discussion as you see fit. You could provide the class with relevant readings or videos or audio or images. In line with this, it would also allow you time to delve considerably deeper into a discussion of someone's work (or your own).

In many ways, this proposal is not a refutation of the syllabus as it exists, but rather a clarification that should give us more room to explore your processes. As I wrote previously in the syllabus,

Initially, I’ll offer some prompts for the things we make, and some broad, fluid topics will guide us: we’ll look at your processes in terms of everyday actions (what do you do repeatedly, and why?), mapping and surveillance (moving through spaces, responding to our movements in diverse environments), interventions (where can these actions occur, for how long, with what audience), and exchange (where does the work go?)

These frames (or filter, pehaps) will still be guiding principles, providing a series of markers for the works we'll discuss, the writings we'll read, and discussions on your works. Okay? Okay!
Here's the tentative schedule of porfolio presentations. Remember, the portfolio of work you will be showing is not a finished work (this isn't a final), but rather the works IN PROGRESS-- what are you making now, how does it (potentially) relate to other projects you're developing, and where do you see your works going in this course?

Week 6
1 Kyle
2 Kelley
3 Marge
4 Brittany
5

Week 7
1 Ben
2 Drew
3 Celia
4 Haley
5 Aldo

Week 8
1 Caleb
2 Ryan
3 Christine
4 Monique
5 Erik

Week 9
1 Dylan
2 Julia
3 Eliot
4 Dan
5

Week 10
1 Jackson
2 Aileen
3 Blake
4
5