Project Themes
since 1993 (synoptical descriptions)
WS 93/94
Exploring Weimar
Exploring Weimar
with Prof. Norbert Hinterberger (fine art), Prof. Kuno Prey (product design), Prof. Dr. Olaf Weber (aesthetics), Prof. Hermann Stamm (visual communication)
The city of Weimar as a starting point for scientific reflection and assignments in art and design.
SS 94
Signs
Signs
with Prof. Jay Rutherford (typography), Prof. Dr. Olaf Weber (aesthetics), Prof. Siegfried Gronert (theory and history of design), Dipl. Ing. Heinz Harwardt (visual communication)
Signs dominate our everyday life.
WS 94/95
Time-Machine Time-Machine The image moves in time. The image of time manifests itself between real time and constructed time. The project is based on the interchange with other related project groups in photography, typography, product design, media theory.
SS 95
Schlossgeist (phantom of the castle)
Schlossgeist (phantom of the castle)
with Dipl. Des. Gabriele Korrek (product design)
A project at Kromsdorf castle near Weimar. The place as it presents itself today and its history since the 16th century as well as the multi-faceted notion of the castle are starting points for research. Aspect from sociology, the media and literature mingle with art and design-related aspects waiting to be expressed in individual video works.
WS 95/96
The blue video wonder
The blue video wonder
with Oliver Fahle M.A. (theory and history of media and communication/perception theory)
Exploring the pictorial language that uses electronic manipulation of images.
SS 96
Kunsthonig (artificial honey)
Kunsthonig (artificial honey)
with Prof. Dr. Karl Schawelka (art history)
Developing different strategies to approach a complex subject matter at the intersection of nature and culture. Reflecting and producing art work, making visual statements based on specific research, crossing media borders. Results were presented in a show at the German Bee Museum in Weimar and at the university, a catalogue was developed in the project.
Short and good: Animate! Express! Control!
Short and good: Animate! Express! Control!
with Prof. Dr. Charles Wüthrich und Dr.-Ing. Kaiser (computer science)
Conception and realization of short 3-D computer animations with ALIAS Wavefront.
SS 97
Clip-School
Clip-School
with Oliver Fahle M.A. (theory and history of media and communication/perception theory)
All about video clips. Since the early eighties, short video pieces oscillating between art and business industry have fascinated a growing public and changed our ways of seeing and hearing music. Traditional and experimental elements, narrative and »free« forms mix in order to get the message across in a short time span. The project includes a work shop in script development, directing, audio and video editing.
Kinderkanal
Kinderkanal
with Prof. Dr. Walter Bauer-Wabnegg and Dipl. Des. Wolfgang Kissel
Developement of concepts for children television programs.
WS 97/98
Love goes through the camera
Love goes through the camera
with Dipl. Des. Ulla Marquardt
Alluding to the German proverb, that love goes through the stomach, this project examines love and its audiovisual representation.
SS 98
Container
Container
with Dipl. Des. Ulla Marquardt
The container is a space for various plans and assignments ranging from self-presentation to experimental documentaries. Finding forms of audiovisual expression for a profile to be communicated. The project includes a work shop in script development, directing, audio and video editing.
WS 98/99
Video got class!
Video got class!
with Dipl. Des. Ulla Marquardt
In order to be successful when working with video, the equal mastering of different skills such as conceptualizing, finding an appropriate form to fit the concept and managing the technical aspects is required. Understanding and practicing this complex interplay as an integral process and developing an individual work approach is the aim of this project.
WS 99/00
Happiness/in Distress
Happiness/in Distress
with Dr. Gerd Schweppenhäuser (aesthetics)
Human striving for happiness and the attempt to make it last are motors for cultural development. In a world that is more and more threatened by social, economical and ecological crises the search for personal luck seems prevalent, while utopies of collective happiness seem to have lost their attraction after the negative experiences of the 20th century. The transient character of luck and happiness, especially as it is threatened by desaster sets emotions free and gives inspiration for works of art and for the illusion industry. Students will observe, analyze and develop personal interpretations translated into audiovisual works. Integrated in the project are a sound-workshop and a video-workshop. Parralel to the project, the seminar »happiness is a warm gun« (Dr. Gerd Schweppenhäuser) examines philosophical concepts of happiness.
SS 00
Video > I see
Video > I see
with Dipl. Des. Frank Westermeyer
Basic questions of perception are in focus: What do I see with video that I do not see without video?
WS 00/01
Hotel
Hotel
with Dipl. Des. Frank Westermeyer
There are very different reasons for staying in a hotel, a place where private and public spheres mix. This made the hotel a popular topic for literature and cinema. In collaboration with Dorint Hotel Weimar.
SS 01
For Kids
For Kids
with Dipl. Des. Frank Westermeyer
Kids are fascinated with moving images depicting reality as well as surreal scenarios. Development of different experimental formats for children’s films, in collaboration with Kinderfilm GmbH, Erfurt.
WS 01/02
Common Denominator
Common Denominator
with guests: Jean-François Guiton, Rotraut Pape
Exploring different forms of innovative audiovisual expression.
SS 02
Elementary Elementary What is elementary for you and how do you show it in moving images? The project includes a field trip to Rømø/Denmark, an island in the North Sea.
WS 02/03
Level 2/Celebrate!
Level 2/Celebrate!
with Prof. Dr. Karl Schawelka (art history)
Development of audiovisual projects for celebrating the 10th anniversary of the faculty of art and design.
SS 03
Me–Finder/Me in the View Finder
Me–Finder/Me in the View Finder
with Dipl. Des. Frank Westermeyer
Self-representation is a topic accompanying man’s evolution. Since the Renaissance the self-portrait has become a steady format in art. Are we all playing roles, is the self a conceived invention or is there an authentic core and how do we go about representing ourselves today?
Celebrate with Media - 10 years of Faculty
Celebrate with Media - 10 years of Faculty
with Dipl. Des. Frank Westermeyer
Development of audiovisual projects for celebrating the 10th anniversary of the faculty of art and design.
WS 03/04
WORD 2004 – poetry clips
WORD 2004 – poetry clips
with Bas Böttcher, Wolfgang Hogekamp
Writing personal texts and finding the right images to go along with.
SS 04
Open Channel and Inner Security Open Channel and Inner Security This project is a lab for exploring various genres of moving pictures developing a personal approach to reflect and use the video tool. Inspiration, irritation and innovation!
SS 05
Movement!
Movement!
with Christina Zimmermann
Movement is at the origin of filmic perception – a film is made of sequences of still images and the film medium is mainly used for the depiction of movement. Analyzing different kinds of movement in historic and contemporary moving pictures and finding personal interpretations of the motif of movement is the aim of the project.
WS 05/06
Concordia/Discordia
Concordia/Discordia
with Christina Zimmermann
The change from harmony to conflict and back is a classic film scenario for exciting story telling.
SS 06
ABC
ABC
with Christina Zimmermann
Communicating with words – how does it work in moving pictures? Writing and reading, its reflection and representation are in the centre of this project.
SS 07
As important as Birth, Sex, Death... As important as Birth, Sex, Death... ...is Spirituality, claims the American video artist Bill Viola. How do spiritual questions translate into film statements?
SS 08
Bauhaus
Bauhaus
with Christina Zimmermann
Examining the historic Bauhaus and developing perspectives that translate into film, for the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Bauhaus in 2009.
WS 08/09
Container
Container
with Christina Zimmermann
Training various approaches to the production of moving pictures – documentary, narration, animation, clip, and developing projects with a personal motif.
SS 09
Amnesia & Memoria – Video
Amnesia & Memoria – Video
with Christina Zimmermann, Constanze Fritzsch
A project about the art of commemorating, together with the art school and the university in Amiens, France. Field trips and exhibitions of the students’ works in Weimar and Amiens as well as a symposium and a final catalogue engage in intensifying the intercultural dialogue about the topic tangible in the history of the two cities.
SS 10
Big Bang
Big Bang
with Dipl. Des. Ulrike Mothes
Just when the new particle collider in Geneva starts working for the discovery of the origins of the earth, we examine sudden, initial changes as an incentive for dramatic narratives. Discussing creation and transformation from scientific, philosophical, metaphysical and dramaturgical points of view, students develop their vision of «plot points«, «points of no return«, and other sudden changes.
WS 10/11
Observatory
Observatory
with Dipl. Des. Ulrike Mothes and Alexander Schwinghammer
How can reality be described with moving pictures? Examining various aspects of documentary film making inspired by anthropological and ethnographic research.
SS 11
Comic Relief – Saved by Laughter
Comic Relief – Saved by Laughter
with Dipl. Des. Ulrike Mothes
Humour is an art and comedy is one of the most difficult film genres.
WS 11/12
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis
with Dipl. Des. Ulrike Mothes
From biological and mythological aspects to the morphing process in digital image processing – there are many fascinating facets of the transformation process: change is part of everyday reality as well as a puzzling source of wonders.
SS 12
Images of the Self
Images of the Self
with Dipl. Des. Ulrike Mothes
The self-portrait to be explored as a mode of filmic expression. Between fact and fiction, the intimate and the public, pain and pleasure, monologue and dialogue, subjectivity and objectivity there may be clues to defining the self, with its desires, beliefs, values, potentials and contradictions.
WS 12/13
Covering and Uncovering
Covering and Uncovering
with Dipl. Des. Ulrike Mothes
Fashion and eroticism often play in an artful, antagonistic way with what is concealed and what is bare. Covering and uncovering is a classical motif also in film narration, especially in detective stories. Students are asked to examine different approaches to the theme and find interpretations that make the contrast work.
SS 13
Concepts of Values
Concepts of Values
with Dipl. Des. Ulrike Mothes
Human culture is based on values. They have a tremendous effect on the way we think and act and see ourselves. Values change over time – do they represent personal convictions or objective standards? Are there »universal values«? What happens when values clash? Whenever abstract values meet reality there is a potential for conflict – a classical film motif. Researching the origins, the communication and effects of values students are asked to express their findings in moving pictures.
WS 13/14
Beginning and End
Beginning and End
with Dipl. Des. Ulrike Mothes
Beginnings and endings of films are of particular interest. Practically testing experimental narrative and documentary ways to start and finish a film leads to a new understanding of crucial decisions by the film maker.
SS 14
Love
Love
with Dipl. Des. Ulrike Mothes und Gästen
It’s the glue and fuel of the universe – everybody is confronted with experiencing the presence (or absence) of love. Countless works of art, literature, music and film have been dealing with the exciting and sometimes strange side of love. All kinds of storytelling, documentation or other experimental forms of moving pictures are fit for expressing the mysterious phenomenon.
WS 14/15
In the Beginning there was the Word
In the Beginning there was the Word
with Bas Böttcher
Starting with a workshop for creative writing, this project explores the relation between words and moving pictures.
SS 15
Conquest of the Now
Conquest of the Now
with Ulrike Mothes, PhD, and guests
To capture the intensity of a moment on film is the aim of both amateurs and professionals. How can presence and intensity be pictured and mediated?
We discuss filmhistoric documents and examine the possibilities and limits of improvisation and spontaneity in a technical medium with various practical approaches. The project includes a video performance workshop with artist Linda Franke and a field trip to a mountain lodge in Switzerland.
WS 15/16
More or Less
More or Less
with Ulrike Mothes, PhD, and guests
Is less really more? Or wouldn’t you rather wish for more? Abundance and reduction, growth and dwindling are in the focus of this project, giving ideas for film concepts and provoking discussion about related subject matters: High-tech versus low-tech, Hollywood versus low-budget... are these attractive, complementing contrasts or opposing worlds excluding each other? How to approach a complex, controversial issue as a film maker? The project gives room for different ways to stage, document and experiment with the contrasting issues.
SS 16
Horizon – Aspiration, Incentive, Limit
Horizon – Aspiration, Incentive, Limit
with Ulrike Mothes, PhD
For some, the horizon means the end of the world, for others, it’s the beginning of something more to come. The horizon separates the known from the unknown, the visible from the invisible. Although it might appear as a clear line, it is hard to pinpoint. The call of the horizon has been inspiring not only adventurers and seafarers but thinkers and creatives alike. As a challenge and a metaphor it drives the human mind to define and transcend limits and explore what seems unreachable.
In this project students approach the topic with a video camera. We examine filmic ways to experience and reflect horizons. Students are encouraged to develop their personal vision using documentary, fictional or experimental modes of expression.
A field trip to the Danish island Rømø is integrated in the project, as well as a video performance workshop with artist Juliane Zelwies.