Instructor: Aki Miyoshi
E-Mail: miyos at reed dot edu
Meeting times: T & TH 13:10-16:00
Office hours: TBA

Schedule: http://people.reed.edu/~miyos/S08/DM1/dm1_schedule.html

Course Description: This course introduces students to the fundamentals of digital media. Technical and conceptual units will be presented in a historical context and that of contemporary arts practice. We will explore the link between art, technology, and the computer through readings, slide presentations, and class discussions. Topics will include the nature of the digital document; the relationship of digital forms to traditional hand-based media; the machine/digital aesthetic; intersecting discourses of art, new media, and the sciences. Students will learn to acquire, manipulate, and print digital images. The class will also explore the use of the computer as an autonomous art tool through lab sessions and assignments.

Evaluation: Come to class. Participate. Work in class. Work out of class. Read. Be responsible. Hand in assignments on time....Make work. Make work for your self (not for your instructor). Thoughtful work is good. Craft is important.

On Assignments: As this is an introductory class and digital media being technical in nature, the assignments tend to be...technical. This is my way of making you do new things and have you learn the craft. But don't forget, be creative, be provocative, be thoughtful! In the end, thats what art is about... Challenge yourself within the technical limitations given by the assignments.

Equipment Checkout: You may checkout equipment during class time (from your instructor), or during lab business hours (from Digital Media Assistant -- Todd Johnson) M, W, F: 9 - 5pm and T, TH: 9 - 12pm. Please respect these checkout times.


Required Text:

Processing: A Programming Handbook for Visual Designers and Artists by Casey Reas and Ben Fry

References:

Photoshop

Real World Adobe Photoshop CS3 by David Blatner, Conrad Chavez, and Bruce Fraser
Real World Digital Photography by Katrin Eismann

Physical Computing/Processing

Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers by Dan Osullivan
Making Things Talk: Practical Methods for Connecting Physical Objects by Tom Igoe

Theory/History

The Reconfigured Eye: Visual Truth in the Post-Photographic Era by William J. Mitchell
Digital Currents: Art in the Electronic Age by Margot Lovejoy
The New Media Reader by Noah (edt) Wardrip-Fruin