Big Ideas in the History and Future of Technology (Topics in Media Art) +

Theodora Rivendale | Syllabus | IMNY-UT.260 |
Last updated: November 15, 2024

This class will provide students with a critical perspective on contemporary issues in media technologies and discuss the history, controversies, consequences, and ethical questions in emerging media. The first half of the class charts a history of media technologies from the 1940s to the present, focusing on the idealogical and social conditions that led to the creation of the technologies that exist now. The second half examines possible futures, and the tools we can use to predict (and build) those futures.

Instructor Website: http://alden.website

Topics in Media Art: Big Ideas in the History and Future of Technology +

Theodora Rivendale | Syllabus | IMNY-UT.260 |
Last updated: October 11, 2024

This class will provide students with a critical perspective on contemporary issues in media technologies and discuss the history, controversies, consequences, and ethical questions in emerging media. The first half of the class charts a history of media technologies from the 1940s to the present, focusing on the idealogical and social conditions that led to the creation of the technologies that exist now. The second half examines possible futures, and the tools we can use to predict (and build) those futures.

Instructor Website: http://alden.website

Building Creatures for Interactive 3D (Topics in Media Art) +

In this hands-on 3D course, we will design, model, rig, texture and animate fantastical creatures to populate digital landscapes. Using Blender as our primary software, we will master techniques for creating animation-friendly topologies, explore a variety of rigging methods, paint unique textures, work with Physically Based Rendering (PBR) materials, and bring our creatures to life with Blender’s animation tools. Our workflow will focus on exporting content for popular 3D engines and frameworks, such as Unity, Unreal Engine and Three.js.

3D Foundations for Interactive Projects (Topics in Media Art) +

Yuliya Parshina-Kottas | Syllabus | IMNY-UT.XXXX |
Last updated: August 5, 2024

This hands-on course provides an introduction to fundamental 3D concepts, with a focus on creating assets for interactive projects. Students will master the basics of 3D modeling, UV mapping, texturing/shading, lighting, rigging, and animation, using Blender as their primary software. We will explore industry standards and best practices for multidisciplinary 3D collaborations as well as practical methods of applying learned skills to other 3D software.

Fluid Bodies +

Digital Bodies is an intermediate 3D imaging studio course that examines and explores the current technological applications and conceptual implications of post-photographic digital human simulations. We will regularly study the work that deals with digital bodies by contemporary artists and photographers such as LaTurbo Avedon, Chen Man, Quentin Deronzier, Hyphen-lab, Hayoun Kwon, and Gregory Bennett, and many digital art platforms in various categories, such as artificial human imaging, digital fashion models, and deepfake. We will be discussing the various theories relating to the idea of cyborgs and post-human conditions. Students will be learning 3D imaging skills for building, scanning, appropriating, and customizing prefabricated body models from multiple resources, exploring their movements that both imitate and go beyond the limits of reality and expanding conceptual themes. Besides the technical exercises, students are encouraged to create semester-long self-directed research and a final project using the imaging technology they’ve learned. Artist visits, field trips, and exhibition visits will also be arranged online or according to the public health safety situation. The exhibition of the student’s final projects will be arranged at the end of the semester. *The class is suitable for students with basic skills of 3D imaging in Maya.