LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion of the course the students are able to:
- Create new materials based on creative ideas through processing methods and preparation techniques as well as using advanced technology and science based raw materials.
- Make use of special materials and techniques as tools for new artistic ideas in costume design.
- Develop new aesthetics and perspectives to costume design inspired by special materials and innovative techniques.
- Expand their artistic and research-oriented thinking through materiality.
Credits: 8
Schedule: 29.03.2022 - 14.04.2022
Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):
Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Sofia Pantouvaki
Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):
Responsible Prof. Sofia Pantouvaki, email: sofia.pantouvaki@aalto.fi
CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period):
Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):
Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: English
CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD
Content
valid for whole curriculum period:
The course content varies each academic year. The course enhances the exploration and creation of new materials through artistic processing methods, creative manufacturing technologies and innovative raw materials. The course also introduces the students to new advanced materials such as smart fabrics and materials with embedded technology applications. Students do tests and observe and reflect on how special materials and techniques open new perspectives in costume design. At the end of the course the students build an exhibition and/or present a portfolio and essay.
applies in this implementation
Syllabus for 2021-22 (Spring 2022)
weeks 13-15 (29.3.2022 – 14.4.2022)
Content
Topic: Sustainable production systems and biomaterials for costume design
More than 80% of the environmental impact of a product is determined at the design stage (EU, 2021). This statement by the European Commission is the underlying premise of this course. The course explores and creates knowledge about the extended responsibilities of costume design as an artform, as well as the costume designer and maker as individuals creating within a global economy.
The course introduces and combines systems thinking and mapping methods with practical experience with different biomaterials suitable for costume design. The course will give students tools to assess and develop a holistic understanding and critical view of current costume design practices and possible futures.
The first part of the course will include hands-on 'life-cycle' mapping exercises to investigate a current understanding of costume design processes. This research will help students evaluate costume design practice using theories of sustainable design and costume thinking.
The second, practical part of the course will engage students in guided group and individual experiences with new biomaterials (cellulose-based soft materials, so-called bioplastics, faux leather, bacteria, plant-based colourants) in the Aalto Studios Costume Workshop, the FabLab, Aalto Biofilia and the ChemArts lab.
The course includes group and independent work. The outcomes of discussions, exercises, and experiments will be collected in a physical recipe and sample book. The book will include short writing summaries by the students. Results of mapping exercises will be presented and shared digitally. The course will feature guest speakers.
Learning outcomes (for the specific study event, 2022)
By the end of this course, students will have demonstrated the ability to:
- assess their own design concepts and decisions based on a deeper understanding of consequences within the life cycle of the garment
- critically discuss material choices from sustainable and circular design viewpoints
- conduct practical experiments to create samples of different natural soft materials and natural colourants suitable for costume design
- identify different natural soft materials and evaluate them in basic terms based on their environmental and social impacts
Assessment Methods and Criteria
valid for whole curriculum period:
Students' development during the course, motivation, attendance and active participation in discussions, independent work and completion of assignments.
applies in this implementation
Workload and Evaluation
The course is 6 credits (60% contact teaching, 40% independent and group work) pass/fail course The students will be assessed based on their attendance and active participation during the course (contact teaching, discussions and coursework) and completion of assignments (Miro boards, testing recipes, conduction material experiments and sample book).
Workload
valid for whole curriculum period:
Contact teaching 40%, Independent work 60% of total workload
applies in this implementation
Assignment of workload
%
Credits
Deadline
Participation (80% minimum attendance, class discussions)
20
1
Week 1 assignments to hand in (3 short essays of 250 - 500 words, Miroboard)
20
1
Week 2 - Monday April 4 2022
Sample book containing:
Week 3 - Thursday April 14 2022
- Natural Dyes samples
15
1
- FabLab samples
15
1
- Biofilia samples
15
1
- Chemarts samples
15
1
TOTAL
100
6
DETAILS
Study Material
valid for whole curriculum period:
Specific literature will be informed during the course.
applies in this implementation
Course literature 2022 (to be shared during the course)
These are recommended readings that will be discussed in class. The texts can be downloaded following the links provided below.
Albert, British Film Institute, and Arup. 2020. “A Screen New Deal. A Route Map to Sustainable Film Production.” Albert, BFI, Arup. https://wearealbert.org/2020/07/22/screen-new-deal/.
Executive Summary & Introduction p.4-12
p. 17-22: 01 Production Materials
p. 45-51: 05 Production Planning
Barratt, Jim. 2020. “Green Matters – Environmental Sustainability and Film Productions: An Overview of Current Practice.” UK: British Film Institute, BFI. https://cutt.ly/YPcPNMI.
p. 10-15: Key Findings & 1.1 Climate change 101.
Beer, Tanja. 2021. Ecoscenography: An Introduction to Ecological Design for Performance. Singapore: Springer Singapore Pte. Limited. https://primo.aalto.fi/permalink/358AALTO_INST/ha1cg5/alma999520721106526.
p. 27-39: 2 Ecological Thinking / Towards an Ecological Worldview
Ceschin, Fabrizio, and Idil Gaziulusoy. 2016. “Evolution of Design for Sustainability: From Product Design to Design for System Innovations and Transitions.” Design Studies 47 (November): 118–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2016.09.002.
p. 7-11: 1.2 Responses from design
p. 149-151: 12.1.1 Five innovation levels
Corbett, C., and R. Turco. 2006. “Sustainability in the Motion Picture Industry.” https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/publication/sustainability-in-the-motion-picture-industry/.
p. 33-36: Other Barriers to Environmental Practices in the Motion Picture Industry
Dillon, Paddy. 2021. “Book One – Sustainable Productions | Theatre Green Book.” Buro Happold. https://theatregreenbook.com/book-one-sustainable-productions/.
p. 13-25: Introduction
p. 50-53: Costumes
Pantouvaki, Sofia, Ingvill Fossheim, and Susanna Suurla. 2021. “Thinking with Costume and Material: A Critical Approach to (New) Costume Ecologies,” December. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23322551.2021.2002056. 1-4. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Pantouvaki, Sofia, and Peter McNeil. 2021. Performance Costume: New Perspectives and Methods: Sofia Pantouvaki: Bloomsbury Visual Arts. 1st ed. Bloomsbury Publishing. https://primo.aalto.fi/permalink/358AALTO_INST/ha1cg5/alma999407882106526.
p. 1-4: Pantouvaki, Sofia, Peter McNeil. 2021. "Introduction Activating Costume: A New Approach to Costume for Performance," 1-4. Bloomsbury Publishing.
p. 263-276: Taylor, Madeline. 2021. “Building Costumes, Building Language in the Costume Workshop.” In Performance Costume: New Perspectives and Methods., 263-276. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Substitutes for Courses
valid for whole curriculum period:
Prerequisites
valid for whole curriculum period:
SDG: Sustainable Development Goals
5 Gender Equality
FURTHER INFORMATION
Further Information
valid for whole curriculum period:
Minimum groupsize 4 students
Students will be accepted to the course in the following order:
-Students of costume design major, for whom the course is compulsory
- Students of costume design major, for whom the course is optional
- Exchange students of costume design
- Minor students of costume design, whose major is production design or design for the performing arts
- Minor students of costume design, whose major is another than production design or design for the performing arts
- Other students of production design and scenography
- Other students of the department of Film, Television and Scenography
- Other students: The course may include material costs for students from outside. The costs of the course will be communicated after student registration.Teaching Period:
2020-2021
(2021, 2022) - No teaching
Course Homepage: https://mycourses.aalto.fi/course/search.php?search=ELO-E650301
Registration for Courses: Sisu replaces Oodi on 9 August, 2021. Priority order to courses is according to the order of priority decided by the Academic committee for School of Arts, Design and Architecture: https://www.aalto.fi/en/services/registering-to-courses-and-the-order-of-priority-in-aalto-arts
WebOodi registration
The order of priority for admitting students to courses at Aalto ARTS 1.1.2018 onwards (approved by The Committee of Arts, Design and Architecture on 10.10.2017)
The order of priority is as follows:
- students for whom the course is compulsory for their major/programme and who have scheduled it for the current academic year in their personal study plan (HOPS);
- exchange students for whom the course is a part of his/her officially approved learning agreement and scheduled to be taken during the current semester;
- students for whom the course is compulsory for their major/programme and who have not completed it yet;
- students, for whom the course is part of his/her major s or programme s alternative studies and has been scheduled in the student's PSP (HOPS) for the current academic year
- students, for whom the course is part of his/her major s or programme s alternative studies and who have not completed the requisite number of credits for alternative studies yet;
- students for whom the course is compulsory for their minor;
- students, for whom the course is part of his/her minor subject s alternative studies and who have not completed the requisite number of credits for alternative studies yet;
- students who have applied for the course through a student mobility scheme (internal mobility within Aalto University, flexible study right (JOO) studies etc.);
- other students.
Courses that are intended to be multidisciplinary (e.g. UWAS courses) may apply an order of priority based on the learning outcomes of the course, while bearing in mind the university obligation of enabling students to complete their degrees within the normative duration of study set for the degree. The order of priority does not apply to courses organised by the Centre for General Studies or doctoral courses.
This decision on the order of priority does not influence the right of the teacher to define prerequisites for the course.
applies in this implementation
IMPORTANT: There are 5 mandatory training sessions that students must complete in order to participate in lab activities, if they have not completed them before:
Before starting the course (by Tuesday 29.3.), all students must pass:
1. the CHEM-E0140 Laboratory Safety Course. The course can take about 2-5 hours to complete, is done online and can be taken at any time before the start of the course. Instructions can be found here: https://mycourses.aalto.fi/course/view.php?id=32645
2. the OK7 Costume workshop induction course. The course can take about 2-5 hours to complete, is done online and can be taken at any time before the start of the course. Instructions can be found here: https://mycourses.aalto.fi/course/view.php?id=23479
3. the Biofilia ABC, Part 1 (online). Part 1 consists of theories and safety related topics that you can complete on this MyCourses page on your own time (independent study~19 h). The first part needs to be completed and graded as ‘pass’ before one can participate in the second part. Participation (100 %) to every laboratory session is mandatory in order to pass the entire course. Instructions can be found here:
https://mycourses.aalto.fi/course/view.php?id=19399 Self-enrollment key: Bio2021
During the course, students will also undertake the following training-introductions to the spaces:
4. Week 1, during class time: Dye Studio and Fablab.
5. Week 2, during class time: Biofilia ABC, Part 2 (practical).
The course will be held on campus in different spaces. See below for when we will meet in room 377 or 147, the Costume Workshop (Otakaari 7), the Dye Studio (Otakaari 7), the FabLab (Otakaari 7), at the Biofilia Lab (Kemistintie 1B), and the ChemArts Lab (Vuorimiehentie 1). Room 147 in Otakaari 7 will be available for students throughout the course.
Details on the schedule
applies in this implementation
Schedule
Week 13 [Tuesday, March 29 - Friday April 1]
Introduction to systems thinking and circular thinking for costume design, natural dyes and the FabLab (laser cutting). Space: Aalto Studios (Otakaari 7).
The first half of week 1 lays the groundwork for thinking about how inventions in biomaterials and technology can make a difference towards sustainability in costume design in two workshop sessions. This includes our first guest lecture by Kaisa Astikainen about current green filming methods in the Finnish film industry. In the second half of the week, we focus on experiments with natural colourants. This includes a guest lecture by Susanne Stern (Germany) on industrial dye applications. We will close the week with a workshop on materials and circularity and a guest lecture by Julie Fournier from EcoSceno (Canada).
Tuesday 29.3., Room 377 (Otakaari 7)
9-12 Introduction: Lecture introducing course and systems overview of costume design.
13-17 Workshop 1.0: Life-cycle mapping focused on environmental sustainability.
Wednesday 30.3., Room 377 (Otakaari 7)
9-12 Workshop 1.1: Mapping exercise on the social sustainability networks of costumes.
13-16 Workshop 1.2: Analysing the findings
16-17 Guest 01: Kaisa Astikainen, current green filming methods and costume design from a Finnish perspective.
Thursday 31.3., Room 377, Dye Studio and FabLab (Otakaari 7)
9-12 Workshop 2.0: Natural colourants for industrial use and sustainability.
13-14 Guest 02: ONLINE: Susanne Stern, Colours of Eden (Germany), on natural dyes and their application.
14-16 Safety training 2: Dye Studio and Fablab. Participation in this training is mandatory, if you have not completed it before.
16-17 Intorduction to material experiments: natural dye stuffs and mordants for industrial applications; and cellulose-based colourants and carbonizing wood with a laser cutter.
Friday 1.4., Room 377 (Otakaari 7)
9-12 Material experiments: Natural dye stuff / FabLab continued.
13-14 Workshop 3.0: Materials, circularity and current developments in costume.
14-15 Guest 03: ONLINE: Julie Fournier, Montreal EcoSceno (Canada) on material hubs for the film and costume industry.
16-17 Workshop 3.0: continued.
Week 14 [Monday, April 4 - Friday, April 8]
Introduction to biomaterials. Space: Biofilia Lab (Kemistintie 1B): Material experiments and ChemArts Lab (Vuorimiehentie 1)
This is an introduction to creating colours with bacteria. The course will focus on two bacteria strains, Janthinobacterium lividum (J. lividum) and Serratia marcescens (S. marcescens) to grow colour on textiles. Students will experiment with different growth media and fibre types to understand how bacteria will produce colour. The students will also get an introductory course in the ChemArts lab, where we will start working on different natural soft materials suitable for costume design. Experiments started in Week 1 with natural colourants will continue.
Monday 4.4., Biofilia Lab (Kemistintie 1B)
9-17 Safety training 3: Biofilia ABC. Participation in later experiments with (J. lividum) and (S. marcescens) requires passing this course.
Tuesday 5.4., Biofilia Lab (Kemistintie 1B)
9-12 Safety training 3: Biofilia ABC. (Safety training will continue in the morning.)
13-17 Material experiments at Biofilia.
Wednesday 6.4., Biofilia Lab (Kemistintie 1B) and ChemArts Lab (Vuorimiehentie 1):
9-12 Biofilia: Material experiments
13-14 ChemArts: Introduction to ChemArts and the planned experiment with soft materials
14-15 ChemArts: Guest 04: Ingvill Fossheim, doctoral student at Aalto University, on biomaterials, costume design and ecological sensibility.
15-17 ChemArts: Material Experiments
Thursday 7.4., Dye Studio and FabLab (Otakaari 7) and Biofilia Lab (Kemistintie 1B):
9-12 Dye Studio/FabLab: Material experiments 1: Natural dye stuff / FabLab continued.
13-17 Biofilia: Material experiments 2: J. lividum and S. marcescens on different fibres.
Friday 8.4., Dye Studio and FabLab (Otakaari 7) and Biofilia Lab (Kemistintie 1B):
9-12 Dye Studio/FabLab: Material experiments Natural dye stuff / FabLab continued.
13-17 Biofilia: Material experiments Biofilia continued.
Week 15 [Monday, April 11 - Thursday, April 14]
ChemArts. Space: ChemArts Lab (Vuorimiehentie 1).
Students will learn about different bio polymers and plasticizers to create soft materials. The aim of these experiments is to learn about the properties of different natural materials and how to create composite materials that are durable and withstand the physical stress of wear and tear.
Monday 11.4.: ChemArts Lab (Vuorimiehentie 1):
9-17 Material experiments 3: six soft materials.
14-15 Guest 04: ONLINE: Jenna Ahonen (Finland) and Ayda Grisiute (Hong Kong) on their award-winning work at Aalto University using soft biomaterials to create durable, biodegradable transparent sheets that withstand weather conditions.
Tuesday 12.4.: ChemArts Lab (Vuorimiehentie 1):
9-14 Material experiments 3: continued.
14-17 Guest Lecture 05: Jenna Ahonen gives a practical introduction to a protein-based soft material and its adhesive abilities.
Wednesday 13.4.: ChemArts Lab (Vuorimiehentie 1):
9-17 Material experiments 3: continued.
Thursday 14.4.: Otakaari 7, room 377/147
9-12 Independent work session: finalize sample books
13 Sample books due in class
13-15 Workshop 4.0: material mapping based on course learnings, student presentations of sample books.
15-17 Course feedback and reflections.
- Teacher: Pantouvaki Sofia