PUBLIC ART AND DIGITIZATION PRACTICES

The course examines specific areas of digital and public art, providing tools for understanding the cultural evolution that has led to a convergence between social and electronic space. The broader context of 20th and 21st century art history serves as a framework for selected case studies within new media culture, as well as the impact of artificial intelligence and the Internet as public and artistic-visual agencies. The in-depth exploration of specific forms of digital art will be based on historical precedents and the ongoing evolution of contemporary media.

- Analysis and comprehension. Understanding the historical-artistic context and cultural guidelines that contribute to the emergence of trends. Being able to elucidate the implications of artworks in an increasingly present public and technological dimension.
- Analytic and critical skills. The student will be able to recognize artworks of a visual, performative or conceptual nature, learning how to place them within trends and contexts. Formulate evaluations not only through formal analysis but also by operating within a historical-artistic perspective that is not immediately obvious, in which social processes are involved.
- Communication skills. Use of appropriate terminology, able to qualify topics and aesthetic expressions through the specific language of art history; descriptive skills able to synthesize the complexity of sociocultural and technological phenomena.

A basic knowledge of 20th-century arts is preferable.

Within the broader context of 20th and 21st century art history, the course aims to explore the process of art's engagement with technologies that have enabled a relationship with public space, understood as a site of social interaction. This will be achieved by identifying relevant precedents and then focusing on the relationship between artists and digital media. Case studies will primarily explore creative practices that address the realm of social interaction through the filter of telecommunications, the Internet, geo-location tools and artificial intelligence.

The following texts should be considered indicative of an overview of the context. Further details regarding the bibliography will be provided during class.

Audry, S. (2021). Art in the Age of Machine Learning. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Bazzichelli, T. (2008). Networking: The Net as Artwork. Arhus: Digital Aesthetics Research Center.
Chandler, A., & Neumark, N. (Eds.). (2005). At a Distance: Precursors to Art and Activism on the Internet. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Paul, C. (2015). Digital Art. London: Thames & Hudson.
Quaranta, D. (2013). Beyond New Media Art. Brescia: LINK Editions.

The final exam will be individual. Students will be expected to prepare a short essay on a topic to be agreed among the course topics, which will then be discussed in the context of public and digital art concerns.

Non-attending students are kindly requested to contact the lecturers to arrange additional requirements and alternative exam procedures.

The course includes lectures on public art and digital art, using slides to present artworks and for a more precise mode of exposition and discussion. Attendance is strongly recommended.

English

Provisional programme. May change in methods and materials.

written and oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Cities, infrastructure and social capital" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development