Syllabus#

Instructor: Adam Simms

Teaching Assistant: Petrija Dos Santos

Concordia University is located on unceded Indigenous lands. The Kanien’kehá:ka Nation is recognized as the custodians of the lands and waters on which we gather today. Tiohtià:ke/Montréal is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today, it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples. We respect the continued connections with the past, present and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples within the Montreal community.

This territorial acknowledgement and resources were created by Concordia University’s Indigenous Directions Leadership Group (2017).

For more information, refer to native land and whose land.

Course Description#

We live in a world flooded with images. Through our phones and computers, we navigate within excessive amounts of online content every day. This course will focus on the fragility of information in the digital age and will examine the accumulation and potential of data that images generate silently. Cultivating an aesthetic fascination for the screen, for its anxieties and demands, this course will address critical notions emerging from a wide range of horizons: technological utopianism, 1990s hacker culture, science fictionalization, conspiracy theories, etc. Working with and against algorithms, students will be encouraged to explore the tentacular structures of technology — its potential for sampling, editing and reconfiguring itself in a malleable oscillation between visual entity and abstract data.

The objective of this course is for students to invest themselves in the creation of works which will exist solely online, and their projects will have to address issues relating to digital globalization, image circulation/commodification, computer vision, surveillance capitalism, etc.

Overview#

This course will emphasize the students’ understanding of the various possibilities of image-making in the context of online art practices. Lectures, workshops, readings, artist presentations, and activities will facilitate learning technical and theoretical knowledge relating to digital photography, net art, and post-internet art. We will examine a conceptual understanding of screens, address the vastness and value of digital image circulation across existing and emerging economies, and the potential avenues and identities of photography navigating through these routes. Engaging in the semiotic nature of images, we will explore the internet as a platform for remix culture, social acceleration, and real-time surveillance. Early in the semester, students will submit a proposal for a final research-creation project which will be presented and critiqued at the end of the semester. Work-in-progress will be presented and discussed throughout the semester in group critiques and individual meetings with the professor. The work should demonstrate a coherent resolution of the concerns the student has chosen to address as outlined in their project proposal.

Objectives#

Create a conceptually coherent and technically accomplished research-creation project that questions and challenges issues relating to digital image-making in the context of internet culture.
Demonstrate a strong personal aesthetic voice built on the student’s deep understanding of the digital image in all of its complexities.
Reflect constructively on the works of others and show a capacity for in-depth analysis of the student’s own practice.
Present persistence and assiduity in the completion of all assignments, presentations, and readings.

Materials & Fees#

Photography department fee: Students who plan to use the photography facilities and/or borrow equipment must pay $80 per 3-credit course. Please pay online via Concordia Fine Arts fees.

Students must bear the cost of all materials needed to complete their assignments and research-creation project.

Grading#

Component	Weight
Participation	20%
Moodle Responses	10%
Group Presentation	20%
Research-Creation Project	50%

Grading System#

A+, A, A-: Outstanding — Work surpasses expectations. Highly resolved conceptually and technically.

B+, B, B-: Very Good — Above average completion and participation.

C+, C, C-: Satisfactory — Minimal completion of assignments and projects.

D+, D, D-: Marginal Pass — Work is completed, with little effort or personal investment.

F: Poor/Failure — Work is incomplete and/or unsatisfactory.

A+ 90–100 · A 85–89 · A- 80–84
B+ 77–79 · B 73–76 · B- 70–72
C+ 67–69 · C 63–66 · C- 60–62
D+ 57–59 · D 53–56 · D- 50–52
F 0–49

Please refer to the Concordia Academic Calendar, section 16.3.3 for additional information on the grading system.

Schedule#

Time: Fridays, 1:30–5:30 PM Eastern Time
Delivery: Remote via Zoom unless otherwise noted.

All assignments must be submitted before midnight on the due date unless otherwise indicated.

Week 1#

Instructor, teaching assistant, and student introductions
Review course outline, schedule, and assignments
Course introduction

Moodle:

Group presentation sign-up due by end of Week 2
Pre-course survey due by end of Week 2

Week 2#

Lecture: Selecting your platform(s)
Review: Research-creation project proposal requirements
Field trip: In-person or virtual exhibition

Moodle:

Individual meetings sign-up due by end of Week 3

Week 3#

Reading/Presentation #1: New Media Art by Mark Tribe and Reena Jana
Lecture: Exploring online resources
Proposal workshop: Draft proposals due during class for peer review and feedback

Week 4#

Reading/Presentation #2: “Nonhuman Vision” in Nonhuman Photography by Joanna Zylinska
Lecture: Navigating online tools

Moodle:

Final proposals due
Exhibition response due

Week 5#

Reading/Presentation #3: “Remote Action and the Trauma of (Not) Being Touched” in HERE/THERE: Telepresence, Touch, and Art at the Interface by Kris Paulsen
Lecture: Internet of Things

Moodle:

Mid-term group sign-up due by end of Week 6

Week 6#

Individual meetings: students are required to bring work-in-progress of their final projects
Studio time

Week 7#

Individual meetings: students are required to bring work-in-progress of their final projects
Studio time

Week 8#

Reading/Presentation #4: “Open Sky: Part I” in Open Sky by Paul Virilio
Artist talks:
- Adam Simms
- Petrija Dos Santos

Moodle:

Mid-term survey due by end of Week 9

Week 9#

Reading/Presentation #5: “In Defense of the Poor Image” + “Too Much World: Is the Internet Dead?” by Hito Steyerl
Workshop: Mid-term work-in-progress presentation (breakout groups of 3–4 people during class time)

Moodle:

Mid-term work-in-progress due by end of Week 10

Week 10#

Guest: Galerie Galerie
Reading/Presentation #6: New Aesthetic, New Anxieties by David M. Berry, Michel van Dartel, Michael Dieter, Michelle Kasprzak, Nat Muller, Rachel O’Reilly and José Luis de Vicente
Film screening: Coded Bias by Shalini Kantayya

Moodle:

Film screening response due by end of Week 11

Week 11#

Lecture: Image economies
Course and final project Q&A
Open peer feedback

Moodle:

Course evaluation due by end of Week 11

Week 12#

Final presentations and critiques: Group A

Week 13#

Final presentations and critiques: Group B

Moodle:

Uploaded research-creation project due by end of Week 13

Assignments#

Moodle Responses
Group Presentations
Research-Creation Project