MONDAY

“No audience, no player, no composition: this popcorn controlled robotic drumset is the most hygenic and the random performance I ever built. All sounds are triggered by popcorn, sensed by piezo elements, converted to MIDI, transferred to a robotic system and played live on drums without the interference of a human composer.” Text from:   / moritzsimongeist  

LECTURE: VIDEO ART ABOUT OUR PARENTS

VIDEO ART ABOUT OUR PARENTS:

ASSIGNMENT:

Make VIDEO ART involving your PARENTS*

Videos may be up to 10 minutes MAX. They may include original and/or found footage.

Ideas and work in progress must be discussed in class before critiques.  See schedule for details.

Consider your parents. You may choose to work with one or many of the individuals that are your parents.

*No need to panic. This does not have to literally be your mother or father – you may work with the idea of parents, with remembered parents, with other people’s parents, with dream parents. Interpret this theme as widely as needed. You may also be a parent – and want to explore what the role means to you – and work with your children. It’s up to you.

Who are your parents? What are the quirks that distinguish them? What is your relationship with them like? What are their relationships like with others? What are they into? Who were they in the past vs. the present? What are their strengths and their weaknesses? Do they understand what you do? Do you understand what they do? Think about what you want to discover, or bring out about your parents, and/or your relationships. Think about something really unlikely for your parents to do. How do the attributes and concerns about your parents reflect truths about you or your family? What do your parents or relationships reveal about the wider world, and not just about you?

You may consider tools and formal techniques*:

Interviews

Voice-overs

Using still photographs

Truth vs Fiction

Documentary style observation

Use of sound/music/dancing

Taking your parents by surprise

Instructions for parents to perform

Task for you to perform with your parents

Performances by non-actors

Working remotely with parents

Absence of parents

Past vs. Present

Using found video/film/audio

Look at the works of these Artists:

Michelle Pearson Clarke

Basil Alizeri

Janine Antoni

Gillian Wearing

Jim Verburg

Lyla Rye

Evergon

Sarah Polley

Patty Chang

Aleesa Cohene

Steve Reinke

Aislinn Thomas

Mona Hatoum

Lee Walton

Rajnar Kartansson

Adad Hannah

Sheilagh Restack

Lenka Clayton

Kelly O’Brien

Tommy Kha

*Reminder: Always create works that are safe and respectful for you and others at all times. Discuss your ideas with the instructor.

WEDNESDAY

We will watch some of the final (snow day) videos and discuss them together.

Discussion of Parents ideas together in class.

All work from weeks 1-6 DUE on BLOG including:

1. Banner assignment and notes
2. Notes on Neil Postman reading
3. Presentation for Internet video
4. Work in progress for Internet video
5. Field Trip notes
6. Internet Video piece
7. Response to Bridget Moser’s video My Crops Art Dying but my Body Persists
8. Detailed comments on blog posts of 3 classmates

MONDAY

Final critique of After the Internet videos

WEDNESDAY

Snow day work-from-home work due on blog TODAY before midnight:

WATCH and COMMENT ON THE WORK OF YOUR CLASSMATES:

We need to complete our After the Internet videos critque by examining work by the following students.

Comment directly on their blog pages. Say more than “I liked x”, or “x was funny…” Comment in detail on at least three things about their video – for example: the specific significance of their references; how the video begins and ends; use of cuts, and transitions, text, image quality or other editing effects; some of the ideas, arguments, and questions raised by the artwork; and how all of these artistic decisions affect the experience of watching the video, and how they may or may not serve ideas the artist intended.

1. Esais
2. Cheyanne & Ana*
3. Yasmin*

*Some of these final Internet videos have not been posted yet. Please post your final videos and a description ASAP! These three works should be available for viewing by NOON today.

Suggested time required to complete: 1 hour

WATCH and MAKE A BLOG POST REFLECTION:

“Moments of pathos and humour in Moser’s work arise from the friction between her virtuosity and ineptitude. On one hand, Moser’s writing is full of disarming turns of phrase and poetic insight (“I’m drowning in a sea of Hamlets! All indecisive and infested with ghosts. And me worst of all”), and her imaginative reconfiguration of simple props is nothing short of thrilling. Her vaguely narrative performances elicit sensations of being slightly “off” or unreconciled. They feature props and set pieces in states of becoming or collapse. They access humour and produce pathos through the haphazard and awkward. They reveal moments of beauty and insight to be the tenuous constructions that they are by allowing them to fall apart.” – Jordan Tannahill

My Crops Are Dying But My Body Persists

Meet Bridget Moser and watch the video: My Crops are Dying but my Body Persists. Read the review of this work in Artforum here:

https://www.artforum.com/events/bridget-moser-247483

Watch the video again – in light of the commentary by Charlene Lau – and comment on the ways Moser appropriates internet tropes, youtubers, pop culture references, and/or memes in this work. What are some of the things her colour choices, and/or her props and costumes remind you of? How do you experience the video physically? What are some of the ideas Moser is playing with, including questions she is raising? What is the role of absurdity in her work? In your discussion of Moser’s work, you should quote the art forum review twice.

Suggested time required: 1 hour

OPTIONAL: Dive into Moser’s other works, including performances and videos.

And Recent Work

THERE IS NO HOMEWORK DURING READING WEEK*

Note: Your blogs should be up to date with your final videos and descriptions (every member of the group should make a post) and all of the required posts so far. I will be grading all the work on your blogs when we return.

I hope you will enjoy a restful break!

MONDAY

CRITIQUES for Videos After the Internet

Call for Open Studios Volunteers:

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR OPEN STUDIO 2025
The MFA students are hosting Open Studios on Wednesday
March 19th to coincide with the Studio Art Lecture.
The speaker this year is Candice Hopkins who is a citizen
ofCarcross/TagishFirst Nation and lives in Red Hook, New York.
Her writing and curatorial practice explore the intersections of
history, contemporary art, and Indigeneity. She is Executive
Director and Chief Curator of ForgeProject, Taghkanic, NY. She
was the Senior Curator for the inaugural 2019 and 2022 editions
of the Toronto Biennial of Art and part of the curatorial team for
the Canadian Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale; documenta
14, Athens and Kassel; andSakahàn: International Indigenous
Art, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.
This exciting event draws people from all over to attend the
lecture and visit the studios of the MFA graduate students and a
group of Capstone undergraduate students.
This big day is fast approaching, and we need the help of
volunteers to make it happen. Volunteering will not only give you a
chance to build your resumé and contribute to school life, but you
will also receive some swag and goodies to show our gratitude!
We are looking for 20 volunteers. Your duties will include greeting
and guiding guests and visitors around campus, to the lecture hall
and studio spaces, and help with setup or takedown of signage. A
few people will look after studios when MFAs or Capstone
students need to leave their space briefly for breaks. Specifics on
timing and hours for the Open Studio event are detailed in the
Volunteer Form.

There will be a one hour training session and tour of the MFA
studios before the event on March 14th. Volunteers have the
option of attending a morning or afternoon session that works
around your class schedules. Volunteers will mainly be working in
a group of two people so you can sign up with a friend and make
a day of it! Or meet new friends!
This is a great opportunity to connect with the grad students, the
University community, and the art community at large. More
information about the studio art Lecture and Open Studios can be
found on the SOFAM website and @guelphmfa Instagram.
To sign up, please email Stephanie at fortin@uoguelph.ca to
request a volunteer sign up form.

Thank you!

WEDNESDAY

FINAL CRITIQUES for Videos After the Internet

Have a good break!