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Chapter 8
New Media: Time and Digital Arts
Instructor’s Manual
Overview
In this chapter, introduce New Media: Time and Digital Arts. Discuss how contemporary
artists have used technological advancements to make art in new and unique ways.
Sub Headers
• Time as an Artist Medium
o Moving Picture
o Video art
• The Artist and the Computer
o Pioneers of Digital Art
• The Digital Studio
o Hardware
• The Digital Media
o Image Editing
o Graphic and Type Design
o Digital Video
o Digital Animation
o Internet
o Interactive
Term:
Video Art
Lecture #1
Discussion:
In Lecture 1, introduce time, video art and digital art. Discuss how each of these artists’
approaches are using technology.
Class Questions/Prompts:
1. Muybridge Discuss the photographer Eadweard Muybridge in-depth. The text
highlights the details surrounding the development of his famous images, which show
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“locomotion” of both humans and animals. He is also credited with inventing the
Zoopraxiscope, which projected these images and allowed the public to see them in
motion. This invention is considered to be the precursor to modern day cinema.
View a variety of Muybridge’s photographs as both stills and animations. How was this
work created? Why was this work important? How are Muybridge’s methods similar to
modern day cinema?
2. Surreal Film Screen Un Chien Andalou by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí. These two
artists created this short film to both shock and repulse their audience. As Surrealists,
they believed in an art that depicted the dreams and the repressed passions of the
unconscious mind. The film stars an unnamed man and woman, has no plot, embraces
Freudian free association, disjointed chronology, and dream logic. Does this film make
sense? Is this film about a particular subject? What is the story line? What does it say
about the Surrealists? What associations are being made? What do these associations
communicate to the viewer? Is this film shocking today?
3. Delete, Delete, Delete On page 134 of the text, the “undo” command, found in many
computer programs, is discussed in relation to artwork. Having previously discussed art
forms, artwork, or artists who do not necessarily use the computer in the creation of their
work, discuss the difference between an artist who works on a computer versus an artist
who does not (i.e. painting or drawing, ceramics, etc.). How does working on a computer
to create art differ from working directly on a canvas? Does the artist working on a
computer have an unfair advantage because of the “undo” command? Does this invention
increase the value of works of art that were created without a computer? Does artwork
created on a computer take more time than artwork that is not created on a computer?
Should artwork created on a computer be cheaper than works of art created in other
ways?
Exercise #1
1. Analysis
a. Have students make observations on materials, methods,
cultural and historical context.
Figure 8-4 Nam June Paik, TV Buddha, 1974–1982. Mixed Media,
Museum of Modern Art, New York.
2. Compare and Contrast
Figure 8-5 Bill Viola, stills from Martyrs, 2014. Color high-definition
video polyptych, London.
Figure 8-6 Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba, Vietnam—A Memorial Work, 2001,
Single-channel video projection, 13 minutes, looped. New York & Tokyo.
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Lecture #2
Discussion:
In Lecture #2, introduce digital media, including image editing, graphic and type design,
digital video, digital animation, Internet, and interactive. Ask students how they use
digital media like photo and video editing software.
Class Questions/Prompts:
4. The World Is Your Web… In class, search the Internet for the following:
Artist’s personal websites
Blogs about art
Online galleries
Online artist files
How does the Internet bring art to a wider audience? Can an artist bypass the gallery and
museum system when creating or trying to exhibit their work? How is viewing art online
different than going to a gallery or museum? Do artists create online communities? Do
you think using the Internet in this way is useful for artists? For viewers? For galleries?
5. The Sounds of Photography The text discusses how many computer programs used
for editing photographs and designing artwork mimic traditional media. What examples
can the students think of in which this is true of digital media? The fake shutter sound on
a digital camera, the rolls of photographs on an iPhone, cutting and pasting in Photoshop,
burning and dodging on the computer, or creating galleries or digital portfolios are just a
few examples. Why do you think there are so many similarities?
6. Digitalization In class, prepare a few images that show the various tools and
equipment that make up the digital studio. Scanners, digital cameras and video cameras,
digitizing tablets, and a stylus are just a few pieces of hardware artists use to create their
work. In addition, highlight a few popular programs such as Photoshop or Illustrator. It
may be helpful to contact a guest speaker who considers themselves a digital artist or
designer. Be sure to show these digital tools and how they work. This will give the
students a better understanding of how the artwork in this chapter was created.
Exercise #2
1. Analysis
a. Have students make observations on materials, methods,
cultural and historical context.
Figure 8-10 Maggie Taylor, Boy who loves water, 2004.
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2. Compare and Contrast
Figure 8-13 Paul Pfeiffer, John 3:16, 2000. Digital video loop, LCD
monitor, DVD Player, and metal armature. New York.
Figure 8-18 Lynn Hershman Leeson, DiNa, 2004-2005. Dimensions
variable. Networked artificially intelligent agent with Pulse 3D Veepers,
Alicebot, and Natural Voices Software, edition of 3. bitforms gallery, New
York.