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Readings discussion


March, 13th 2006

I’m afraid I’ve been more remiss than usual regarding moderating conversations on the many readings we have in the four undergrad classes I’m teaching. Because I hate to take more of your studio time than necessary, I propose we try to discuss the readings here on the blog. We can keep it somewhat casual if the conversation is informed and thoughtful. I am not looking to test you on this material, but rather simply to expose you to it and the many questions it raises regarding the medium in which you are working. If I see that I’m being blown off (I’ll give it a couple of weeks to gel), I’ll have to resort to in-class discussions and you’ll just have to make sure you get your work done outside of class.

One word of caution: since I’ve only bothered to maintain a single blog for four classes, it’ll get pretty messy, in that we’ll be discussing readings you may not be required to have read. So keep track on your individual class syllabus and try to keep up. And please–everybody needs to weigh in for this to work.

In the next few days I’ll be posting some questions on readings that, according to the schedule, we should have covered by now.

Here’s a class-by-class chronological reminder of the readings to which I’m referring (in addition to the weekly readings in Lunenfeld’s Snap to Grid in Art 350 and Art 450, which will also be discussed):

Color Photo:
Exceprt from Sontag’s On Photography
Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
Manovich’s The Paradoxes of Digital Photography
Excerpt from Sontag’s Regarding the Pain of Others
Excerpt from Drucker’s Sweet Dreams

Intermediate Digital Imaging:
Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
Baudrillard’s The Spirit of Terrorism

Advanced Digital Media:
Dery’s The Being John Malkovich Effect
Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
Wark’s Hacker Manifesto
Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulations
Dery’s Culture Jamming
Stone’s Welcome to the Present
Turkle’s What are We Thinking About…
C.A.E.’s The Mythology of Terrorism on the Net
Ryan’s What’s so New About New Media Art?”
Manovich’s The Paradoxes of Digital Photography
Baudrillard’s The Spirit of Terrorism
Cloninger’s Geeks Inadvertently Making Art

Advanced Photography:
Exceprt from Sontag’s On Photography
Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulations
Manovich’s The Paradoxes of Digital Photography
Chandler’s Notes on The Gaze
Excerpt from Sontag’s Regarding the Pain of Others
Excerpts from Barthes’ Camera Lucida
Excerpt from Drucker’s Sweet Dreams
Gleason’s Matthew Barney’s Rubble
Ryan’s What’s so New About New Media Art?”
Baudrillard’s The Spirit of Terrorism
Cloninger’s Geeks Inadvertently Making Art

So you see, there’s plenty of cross-over for lively discussion. Stay tuned. Here’s a tip: I will start with questions on Benjamin’s essay, so you had better go read (or re-read) that one for sure.

-dg