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Guest Prof. Mick O’Kelly Project 18 Credits This project will explore the relationship between Art, Architecture and Urban Space. The location of this semester’s project is Leipzig, a city north east of Weimar. Artistically Leipzig has already an established reputation internationally for its school of painting. The city is part of the former GDR, regarded as the site of revolution and now a post-industrial urban city in transition between ruins and regeneration. The Baumwollspinnerei is situated on the outskirts of the city; once the largest cotton-spinning mill in Europe is currently been transformed into a constellation of (mostly) commercial art galleries and artist’s studios and non-profit exhibition space. This is one model of relationship between art and architecture. Leipzig offers an opportunity to examine the concepts of the city and more expanded urban practices not only in its material and physical form composed of its heterogeneous parts but also as human, psychological and social spaces of encounter. The city in the hands of architects and urban planners is over-determined and programmed. Their structure desires order and cohesion. There is no single image or practice that defines art, architecture or urban space. We will examine related practices and interventions by artists and non-artists in to urban spaces. Students will be asked to develop appropriate tools and strategies to explore an art/architecture public intervention. The work will address ways of inserting oneself into urban spaces and intervene into the situated conditions that give that place meaning. Ideally you are encouraged to create research cells of two or more people. The project will support you in developing research methodologies and building a critical framework around theory and practice. There will be field trips, individual and group tutorials, groups critiques and on site testing of your urban interventions. Addressed to: MFA participants Dr Tracey Warr Graduate Seminar 6 (2008)/8(2007)Credits A short intensive introductory seminar surveying and discussing the field of current practice and theory in public art and new artistic strategies. We will consider a broad range of artists’ work and theoretical writing and discuss them in relation to your own work. We will discuss relational and dialogical aesthetics, ecoart, activist art, collaborative and participatory art practices. We will assess what Claire Bishop has described as ‘the social turn’ in art. We will consider Nicolas Bourriaud’s contention that ‘the role of artworks is to actually be ways of living and models of action within the existing real’ and Grant Kester’s proposition that discursive exchange, negotiation, communication, dialogue and conversation are aesthetic forms. A Reader with short texts and a recommended reading list and internet resources will be sent out to participants in early September and you will need to undertake preparatory work for the week’s study. Theorists considered will include Claire Bishop, Grant Kester, Nicolas Bourriaud, Pierre Bourdieu, Guy Debord, Wallace Heim, Maria Lind and Miwon Kwon. Some of the artists we will look at include Joseph Beuys, Artists Placement Group, Superflex, Thomas Hirschhorn, Wochenklasur, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Artur Zmijewski, Platform, London Fieldworks, The Long March, Gediminas & Nomeda Urbonas, irational, N55, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Gavin Wade and Jeremy Deller. At the end of the week you should be able to discuss and consider your own work in relation to a range of relevant current practice and theory. The seminar aims to give the student group a shared foundation for ongoing practice and discourse throughout the year. You need to attend each day to complete the course. Addressed to: MFA participants Andrea Theis, MFA Workshop 2 Credits The traditional Monday Morning Critic Session provides the participants with a platform to present previous art works or current projects which are not part of the MFA-curriculum. In the presentation, the students are asked to talk about a selection of works, take a position and/or pose questions. The form of the presentation is to be chosen freely, but should be appropriate to the context (i.e. audience, content, time frame) and briefly explained. By defining the mode of communication at the beginning, the student who is speaking can direct the course of the presentation and the audience feedback. Within the semester, every student is expected to do a 40-minute presentation. In small groups, students will give each other feedback and analyse both the structure of the presentation and the student's performance. Each small group will give a brief summary of the feedback session. The most recent Monday Night Lecture will also be discussed and analyzed in this session. Addressed to: MFA Andrea Theis, MFA Workshop 2 Credits For process-oriented, participatory and ephemeral works in public space, high prices achieved on the art market cannot usually be used as a measure of success. In this workshop, we will explore the characteristics of these types of art works and develop criteria to evaluate our projects based on practical examples. Evaluation of one’s own art project should be understood as a relevant part of the artistic process. Besides group work and discussion in class, we will set up a temporary blog to open up the discourse to a wider audience. Addressed to: MFA Valborg Edert / Conflict-in-Context Potsdam Workshop 2 Credits This workshop builds on the introductory workshop held in May and July 2008 and deals with the challenge of working in a cross-cultural setting. Using a participatory, experience-based approach, the participants will enhance their ability to communicate effectively and solve conflicts constructively. Specifically, we will examine the following issues: Addressed to: students, coordinators, program head and assistant professor of the MFA Program „Public Art and New Artistic Strategies” (required) Dates: Location: to be announced |