Monday

Designing Interfaces for Live Performance +

David Rios | IMNY-UT.243 |
4 Point, All, Elective, In-Person, Monday, Morning, New York, Spring 2025, Wednesday, YES
Last updated: November 15, 2024

This course is designed to provide students with hands-on experience working with sensors and other electronics to design interfaces for a live, on stage, audio and visual performance at the end of the semester. Using Arduino, Ableton Live, and TouchDesigner, students will explore the expressive properties of physical hardware, sound, and live visuals. The forms and uses of physical computing, audio, computational media, and its application are explored weekly in both a hands on laboratory context, as well as weekly discussions of readings and existing performances.

Prerequisites: Creative Computing, Communications Lab: Hypercinema

Critical Experiences +

Cy X | IMNY-UT.206 |
4 Point, All, Art and Design (Old Structure), Elective, In-Person, Media and Entertainment (Old Structure), Midday, Monday, New York, Project Development and Research (New Structure), Spring 2025, YES
Last updated: November 15, 2024

​​Critical Experience is an experiential journey through a research driven art practice rooted in care, community, and somatic inquiry. This class is based on the premise that there are many ways to know things and we can draw upon these ways of knowing and our desire to know in order to nurture a creative practice grounded in research, clear intention, and a critical lens. Critical here means: discerning, eager to participate differently, cast new light on, re-examine, course-correct.

You will be guided through traditional research methods (library and interview techniques, citations, informal ethnographies) and experience design while also being asked to cultivate intentional awareness of your own positionalities, communities, personal strengths, emotions, and desires through experimentation, hunch following, rituals, and contemplative practices.This class was created for or artists/designers who are interested in participation/interaction and its relationship to social practice, critical design, and change-making as well as individuals curious about knowing what moves them.

Why experience? The work in this class will be looked at through the lens of its ability to transform (a user, participant, audience, viewer). Interactivity is one way of doing that, but through the lens of experience design, all art is temporal and embodied.

Chatbots for Art’s Sake +

Carrie Sijia Wang | IMNY-UT.233 |
4 Point, Afternoon, All, Elective, In-Person, Monday, New York, Spring 2025, Wednesday, YES
Last updated: November 15, 2024

This course is designed to repurpose existing chatbot technologies and use them for the sake of art. Comprising technical labs, design workshops, thematic seminars, and creative project development, it offers an exploration of the historical, present, and future dimensions of conversational AI; and the various roles AI has played and could play in human society. Students will delve into the design elements of conversational AI, and learn to use different techniques— such as RiveScript, p5.speech, APIs, Markov Chains, and Language Models—to create functional and artistic chatbots. The course expects students to conduct research and complete creative assignments, encouraging them to express their unique artistic visions.

Introduction to Assistive Technology +

Holly Cohen | Syllabus | IMNY-UT.241 |
2 Point, All, Elective, Evening, In-Person, Monday, New York, Spring 2025, YES
Last updated: November 15, 2024

Assistive technology is a term that includes a wide variety of technologies for people with disabilities. This two-point survey course is designed to provide students with an overview of the field of assistive technology. Field trips, readings, and guest speakers will provide students with an understanding of current research and development as well as processes used in determining appropriate technologies. Weekly assignments and a final research project.

Useless Machines +

Blair Simmons | IMNY-UT.272 |
4 Point, All, Elective, Midday, Monday, Spring 2025, Wednesday, YES
Last updated: November 15, 2024

Useless Machines is about redefining “usefulness.” Through making, we will explore what it means, on an ideological, political and historical level, to create something ‘useful’ or ‘useless.’ We will play with these definitions and explore how these objects serve to be humorous, critical, disruptive and at times… useful. 

We will study ‘useless’ machines throughout history, which will provoke conversations and disagreements around the implications of existing and emerging technologies. The students will design ‘useless’ machines for their final project.  Examples of ‘useless’ machines are drawn from Kenji Kawakami’s The Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions, Dunne & Raby’s Speculative Everything, Stephanie Dinkins’ Conversations with Bina 48, https://esoteric.codes/, CW&T, Mimi Ọnụọha’s  Missing Data, Jacques Carelman’s Catalog of Impossible Objects, viral videos/objects and much more.

Instructor Blair Simmons Website: www.Blairsimmons.com

Recursive Art (Topics in Media Art) +

Shuang Cai | Syllabus | IMNY-UT.281 |
2 Point, All, Art and Design (Old Structure), Computation and Data (Old Structure), Design and Fabrication (New Structure), Elective, Evening, Monday, New, Spring 2025, Wednesday, YES
Last updated: November 15, 2024

This course description is a concise summary and embodiment of the content, objectives, and structure of an educational course. The creation of this course description was initiated from the need to compile the information for the instructors, students, and administration staff. By writing this course description, the instructor is practicing one type of recursive creation process where the creation is a direct representation of the process of creation. This course description also aims to demonstrate how recursion isn’t confined to programming alone; it’s a fundamental idea that can be found in diverse fields, including this very course creation process.

In this course, you will look at theories around recursive philosophy, recursion as an algorithm, recursion as a programming philosophy (function-oriented programming), and various recursive works. You will think really hard alone and learn to communicate your thinking with others. You will do and make puzzles and reflect the method in your own creations through a series of small experiments. 

Why recursion:

it challenges traditional problem-solving approaches. In situations where there are numerous methods to achieve comparable outcomes, while thinking about ethical practice within any creative endeavor, the course aims to delve into the underlying meaning and purpose of the work undertaken. Recursion, in this context, embodies a form of process-oriented thinking. By exploring recursive processes, you are encouraged to question established norms, fostering a deeper understanding of the motivations driving their creative endeavors.

Large Scale Kinetic Installation (Topics in Physical Computing) +

Phil Caridi | IMNY-UT.240 |
4 Point, All, Elective, Midday, Monday, Spring 2025, Wednesday, YES
Last updated: November 15, 2024

Have you ever wanted to make something bigger than a tabletop? Do you like art that physically moves? Well if you answered yes to those questions then this is the class for you. Working in large site-specific formats is always an enticing proposition, this course is designed to bring students through the process of scaling a concept into a large-scale kinetic installation. Working individually at first and then moving into group work this class also teaches how to collaborate, communicate, and compromise to reach a common goal. Students will engage in a hands-on approach to designing, budgeting, and building an installation.

Prerequisites: Intro to Fab or Intro to DigiFab

Open Call (Topics in Media Art) +

Blair Simmons | Syllabus | IMNY-UT.260 |
4 Point, All, Elective, Monday, Morning, Spring 2025, Wednesday, YES
Last updated: November 15, 2024

This class is for students interested in making, displaying and installing art for interactive media art exhibitions. This class will prepare you to apply for and develop work for open calls and everything else that happens after you are selected. The class will have an opportunity to exhibit a group show in a real NYC gallery towards the end of the semester. The students will collaborate to title, describe and document the works in the show. They will also have an opportunity to do a public talk back about their work, organize a reception and add a piece to their portfolio.

 Politics of Code (Topics in Media Art) +

Joerg Blumtritt | Syllabus | IMNY-UT.260 |
4 Point, All, Elective, Monday, Morning, Spring 2025, YES
Last updated: November 15, 2024

Current description based on NYUAD iteration of the course (https://github.com/jbenno/nyuad_politics_of_code). Please be advised this is in the process of being-updated by the instructor.

Deconstructing the design and implementation of software as a political medium and re-building functional alternatives.

Code is political. It is a means of political processes and activism. It is political inherently by the ethical choices often hidden in the black box of The Algorithm. In the course we aim to deconstruct the design, implementation, and data of software as a political medium. We will work through political applications such as simulations, ownership of intangible assets, predictive policing, algorithmic recommendations, suggestions, and filters, social networks, and the blockchain.

Along with an introduction to the related political theory and media studies, students will work on several hands-on projects to offer actual or speculative alternatives to the existing systems. To that end, this course will include several workshops in JavaScript, Python, and other tools.

Immersivity Beyond the Display +

MK Skitka | Syllabus | IMNY-UT.281 |
2 Point, All, Computation and Data (Old Structure), Elective, Evening, Monday, New, Spring 2025, Wednesday, YES
Last updated: November 15, 2024

In recent years, “immersive digital experiences” have gained widespread popularity, from commercial exhibits like Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience to museums adapting spaces for digital art and brands leveraging interactive installations for promotion. But are these experiences truly immersive, and how can we evaluate them?

Immersivity Beyond the Display delves into the design of visual, interactive installations. Each week, students will modify existing sketches in p5.js to explore immersive design principles while building on foundational programming skills. “Demo days” will provide opportunities to test and reflect on each other’s prototypes. We will focus on  narrative development, embodiment, social and emotional engagement and interaction mechanics to frame our exploration.  Weekly exercises will be enriched with relevant readings and discussions. By the end of the class, students will have developed their own model for evaluating immersivity in interactive digital experiences.

Prerequisite: Students should have completed Creative Computing or possess equivalent coding experience with p5.js and JavaScript.

Introduction to Digital Fabrication +

Maya Pollack | IMNY-UT.252 |
Prerequisites: None | 4 Point, Afternoon, All, Design and Fabrication (New Structure), Elective, In-Person, Monday, New York, Spring 2025, YES
Last updated: November 15, 2024

Do you want to MAKE THINGS with your computer? Are you an artist, engineer, designer, sculptor or architect? Are you a few of those things? How are 3D scanning and 3D modeling different? What materials should I be using? Should I be 3D printing or CNC-ing this CAD file? What is a boolean operation and why is it my new best friend? This class will answer all of your questions. Don’t know what any of these things are? This class will answer those questions also.

By the end of this course, you will be familiar with all that digital fabrication has to offer. We will cover everything from laser to 3D to CNC. You will learn how to identify which digital fabrication technique works best for your projects. But more than that, you will learn what kinds of questions you should be asking in order to complete a project from start to finish. As technology advances at rapid speeds, digital making machines and software are changing just as fast. So instead of just being taught about the machines of today, you will also be given the tools to teach yourself the machines of tomorrow. Emphasis will be put on learning how to ask the right kind of questions to successfully finish a project.

What do you want to make? Let’s make it.

Communications Lab +

Ami Mehta | Syllabus | IMNY-UT.102 |
4 Point, All, Elective, Evening, Foundation, Monday, Spring 2025, Wednesday, YES
Last updated: November 15, 2024

No prerequisites.

An introductory course designed to provide students with hands-on experience using various technologies including time based media, video production, digital imaging, audio, video and animation. The forms and uses of new communications technologies are explored in a laboratory context of experimentation and discussion. The technologies are examined as tools that can be employed in a variety of situations and experiences. Principles of interpersonal communications, media theory, and human factors are introduced. Weekly assignments, team and independent projects, and project reports are required

The Code of Music +

Luisa Pereira | Syllabus | IMNY-UT.222 |
4 Point, All, Computation and Data (Old Structure), Elective, In-Person, Midday, Monday, New York, Programming and Data (New Structure), Spring 2025, YES
Last updated: November 15, 2024

In this course, students learn how to create musical systems –pieces that incorporate randomness, interact with their listeners, or evolve over time, in the browser.

We will start by creating audiovisual instruments and sample-based interactive songs, as students review their p5.js skills and are introduced to the Tone.js music library. Then, we will turn to a structured exploration of the elements of music, focusing on rhythm, melody, timbre, and harmony. For each, we will hold listening sessions, represent and manipulate the element in code, and interact with it via a range of existing interfaces. Students will explore the possibilities that computation and interactivity open up by designing and implementing a series of interactive studies.

The last few weeks of the semester will be dedicated to introducing algorithmic composition techniques such as Markov Chains and Neural Networks. During this time, students will also develop their final project: an interactive/generative musical piece that builds on their previous classwork.

Throughout the course, students are encouraged to bring in their musical tastes and interests into the classroom. This class is a good fit for students who are interested in:
– Creating interactive music pieces and digital instruments.
– Deepening their understanding of how music works. All musically-curious students are welcome: previous experience with music and audio will be useful, but is not required.
– Continuing to develop coding skills. Creative Coding or equivalent programming experience is required.

About Luisa Hors: https://www.luisapereira.net/

Prerequisite: Creative Computing (IMNY-UT 101)

 Politics of Code (Topics in Media Art) +

Joerg Blumtritt | Syllabus | IMNY-UT.260 |
4 Point, All, Elective, Monday, Morning, Spring 2025, YES
Last updated: November 5, 2024

Current description based on NYUAD iteration of the course (https://github.com/jbenno/nyuad_politics_of_code). Please be advised this is in the process of being-updated by the instructor.

Deconstructing the design and implementation of software as a political medium and re-building functional alternatives.

Code is political. It is a means of political processes and activism. It is political inherently by the ethical choices often hidden in the black box of The Algorithm. In the course we aim to deconstruct the design, implementation, and data of software as a political medium. We will work through political applications such as simulations, ownership of intangible assets, predictive policing, algorithmic recommendations, suggestions, and filters, social networks, and the blockchain.

Along with an introduction to the related political theory and media studies, students will work on several hands-on projects to offer actual or speculative alternatives to the existing systems. To that end, this course will include several workshops in JavaScript, Python, and other tools.

 Politics of Code (Topics in Media Art) +

Joerg Blumtritt | Syllabus | IMNY-UT.260 |
4 Point, All, Elective, Monday, Morning, Spring 2025, YES
Last updated: October 11, 2024

Current description based on NYUAD iteration of the course (https://github.com/jbenno/nyuad_politics_of_code). Please be advised this is in the process of being-updated by the instructor.

Deconstructing the design and implementation of software as a political medium and re-building functional alternatives.

Code is political. It is a means of political processes and activism. It is political inherently by the ethical choices often hidden in the black box of The Algorithm. In the course we aim to deconstruct the design, implementation, and data of software as a political medium. We will work through political applications such as simulations, ownership of intangible assets, predictive policing, algorithmic recommendations, suggestions, and filters, social networks, and the blockchain.

Along with an introduction to the related political theory and media studies, students will work on several hands-on projects to offer actual or speculative alternatives to the existing systems. To that end, this course will include several workshops in JavaScript, Python, and other tools.