CINEMA AND VISUAL CULTURES

The course is part of the related and additional programmes included in the curriculum dedicated to contemporary arts for the Master’s degree in “History of Arts and Conservation of Artistic Heritage”. Its aim is to offer students a critical-theoretical study of the relationship between cinema, aesthetics and visual arts. The objectives of the course are: to teach students how to problematize their relationship with the objects they study or consume in every day’s life, such as films and audio-visual products, adopting an informed visual and cultural approach towards the current debate in the literature of this field; to enable students to reflect upon the paradigms and cultural constructs inherent in concepts such as “film”, “author”, “work of art”, “visual” etc.

1. Knowledge and comprehension: Ability to understand and analyze critical and theoretical texts dealing with cinema.
2. Ability to apply the acquired knowledge and comprehension: ability to write a critical essay or create a power point presentation using materials retrieved in the course textbooks or during lectures.
3. Judgment skills: ability to form personal interpretations based upon the knowledge of the course related critical-theoretical literature; a critical approach to the aesthetic, cultural and historical judgment of audio-visual artworks.
4. Communication skills: ability to participate in group discussions around the subjects of the course; ability to convey the specific nature of the theoretical and historical debate using an appropriate vocabulary, during the exam as well as during lectures; ability to interact with fellow students and with the lecturer in a critical and collaborative way, both in the classroom and through virtual electronic platforms.
5. Learning skills: ability to take notes and share them in a collaborative manner; ability to consult reference texts and the bibliography they contain in a critical manner.

It is advisable that students have attended courses in history of cinema, film theory or contemporary art theory (visual, performing arts or literature) either during their BA or during MA.

Theories of the Generative Image between Cinematic Legacies, Political Uses, and Artistic Counter-Visuality

The course examines the transformations in the production, consumption, and circulation of images brought about by the rise of generative models, with particular attention to text-to-image and text-to-video systems. The first part will focus on theories of generative images, also reconstructed through selected genealogies in film theory. From Henri Bergson and the “cinematographic mechanism of thought” to the reflections of Hugo Münsterberg, Dziga Vertov, and Sergei Eisenstein, cinema has been conceived not merely as a means of recording reality, but as a device capable of reorganizing perception, memory, and knowledge. Particular attention will be devoted to Jean Epstein, who, in The Intelligence of a Machine, attributes to cinema a specific capacity to analyse and understand the world. Taking into account the necessary historical and technological distinctions, this genealogy will provide a framework for investigating contemporary forms of vision and automated image production.

Against this background, the course will discuss some of the main theoretical contributions to the study of algorithmic and generative visuality, with particular reference to Antonio Somaini’s work on latent spaces and algorithmic images, Roland Meyer’s notion of platform realism, Hito Steyerl’s mean images, Grégory Chatonsky’s concepts of vector aesthetics and vector fascism, and Emanuele Arielli and Lev Manovich’s work on artificial aesthetics. The course will thus address some of the key issues in contemporary debates, including the shift from representation to prediction, the relationship between datasets and archives, verisimilitude and falsity, stereotype and bias, authorship and automation, human vision and artificial vision.

The second part will focus on the social uses of generative images through two opposing yet interconnected fields. On the one hand, it will examine political communication and so-called slopaganda, with particular attention to the serial production and platform-based circulation of synthetic content and to the case of Trump Gaza. On the other hand, it will explore artistic works and practices that critically engage with the same technologies by intervening in datasets, latent spaces, visual stereotypes, and generative processes. By alternating theoretical reflection, case-study analysis, and seminar activities, the course will examine how generative images are reshaping categories inherited from cinema and, more broadly, contemporary relationships between images, technology, and power.

To take the exam, students are required to demonstrate knowledge of:

- Lev Manovich, Emanuele Arielli, Estetica artificiale. Intelligenza artificiale generativa, arte e media visivi, Luca Sossella Editore, 2026 (original edition: Artificial Aesthetics: Generative AI, Art and Visual Media, 2021–2024, available open access at manovich.net).
- A course reader and a selection of study materials (critical essays, theoretical excerpts, and visual sources) selected by the instructor, presented and distributed during the first class and subsequently uploaded to the course Moodle page.

Additional bibliographical references for further study will be presented during the course and made available among the materials on the course Moodle page.

The exam consists of a written assignment and an oral examination.

The written assignment consists of an experimental interaction with a diffusion model or another generative system capable of producing images. Students will be required to design, conduct, and document the experiment, presenting its results in a critical essay that reconstructs the process followed — prompts, iterations, selected outputs, choices, and constraints — and relates it to the theoretical issues addressed in class and in the required readings. The assignment, accompanied by the visual materials produced, must be submitted at least one week before the examination date. Detailed guidelines concerning length, approach, structure, and the format for submitting the visual documentation will be presented by the instructor and made available in a dedicated document on the course Moodle page.

The oral examination will focus on the materials included in the course reader and on the required readings.

written and oral

The instructor is responsible for ensuring the authenticity and originality of all examinations and coursework. In cases of suspected academic misconduct, an additional on-site assessment may be required during the exams, which may differ from the standard format.

The evaluation will take into account 1/3 from the paper results and 2/3 from the oral exam. The criteria for grading will consider: For the written exam: - the relevance of the in-depth case study (max 5 points) and the ability to connect the chosen subject with broader issues discussed during the lessons and present in the exam texts (max 5 points); For the oral exam: - thorough knowledge of the exam texts (max 10 points); - the ability to critically and originally elaborate on the studied bibliography and filmography (max 5 points); - the quality of the argumentation and presentation (max 5 points).

Classes will combine lectures and seminar-based activities and will involve students in collective discussions both of the topics addressed in the required readings and of sequences, images, and examples drawn from the broader field of generative imagery. The final classes of the course will be devoted to the presentation and in-class discussion of research materials prepared by the students.

Student participation in seminars organized by the instructor alongside the regular classes is also an integral part of the course. In particular, attendance is required at the opening sessions of the lecture series “Images of Power, Power of Images. Propaganda, Slopaganda, and National(ist) Imaginaries” (curated by Matteo Benussi and Marco Dalla Gassa), which will take place every other Wednesday at 4:00 p.m., beginning on 7 October 2026. The first sessions will include: “Iconography and Iconoclasm of Power. Killing Images, Killing with Images,” with Marie-José Mondzain (EHESS), 7 October 2026; “Nostalgia as a Weapon. Imperial Iconography, War, and the Construction of Russian Identity,” with Gian Piero Piretto (University of Milan), 21 October 2026; “Make America Visible Again. Spectacle, Memes, and AI in American Politics,” with Ruggero Eugeni (Università Cattolica) and Andrea Rabbito (University of Enna), 4 November 2026.

Class attendance is recommended.

Ca’ Foscari follows the Italian law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) for the support and accommodation services available to students with disabilities or specific learning disabilities. If you have either a motor, visual, hearing or another disability (Law 17/1999), or a specific learning disorder (Law 170/2010) and you require support (classroom assistance, technological aids for carrying out exams or personalized exams, accessible format material, note retrieval, specialist tutoring as study support, interpreters or other), please contact the Disability and DSA office disita@unive.it.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Circular economy, innovation, work" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development