The Performative Print: Huh? What's that?

ARTS 3490

Instructor: Benjamin Davis Brockman

(E-mail with Questions!) 

Monday May 21 – Friday June 8, MWF, 9a-2p.

Regis Center for Art: W182-185.

Course Objectives: A. FUN.  B. Kick Ass experimental media abounds!

Students in this course will learn basic printmaking techniques pertaining to relief and screen-printing in traditional capacities, and then choose a non-traditional, performative application for those mediums. With those two primary objectives in mind, students will learn the rules of fine art printing, and promptly find a way to break them by crossing into contemporary approaches to disciplines such as theatre, dance, performance, video or virtually any new media. Working in groups or as individuals, students will cultivate their own practice across creative disciplines. Starting with a background in the historical significance of print as a subversive political and social form of communication, the course will examine the relevance of the medium to street art, DIY culture, puppetry, commerce and performance. The importance of product is second to process in this course, as the print is merely a vehicle for a larger public endeavor. Material will primarily be disposable, such as cardboard and wheat paste, and the spirit of the lowbrow will be enthusiastically encouraged throughout the term. Student projects will be video taped on site, and developments will be documented online in the form of a class blog, which will publicize their efforts and act as a portfolio/resume building tool. Physical components such as masks will be displayed in tandem with a screening or performance event at the end of the course. Please peruse http://bloodvengeance2011.blogspot.com/.

Student Assessment:

Over the course of the May term, students will be assessed on practical matters related to the use of the press, and the medium chosen in which to develop their project. Students must propose a project using the fundamentals of printmaking and the presentation of social art and media introduced in class. From there, they will be expected to complete the physical components of their project using class time to it’s full advantage, and allowing time for trial runs, rehearsals, and participation in a live or screened event which will determine the overall success of their efforts. Interpretation of the assignment is very open, as there are countless methods that can be employed in taking the print out of the gallery and into the world. However, successful hybridization of mediums will call for planning, and willingness to participate in a social art form. The physical objects created will be a minor part of the overall grade for the course. The performance itself, (and the creative use of two-dimensional media in a live platform) are the chief considerations of a successful term project.