Topic outline

  • This multidisciplinary art course will familiarize students from multiple disciplines with the general discussion and notions of human-material interaction both theoretically and concretely through material manipulation. The topic of materiality will thus be approached from a theoretical, embodied, shared and societal point of view. Lectures and reading material will introduce the current discussions on the topic of materiality and covers sensory experiences, embodied cognition, human-material interaction, theory on new materiality, material agency and non-representational theories. In class, the students will both discuss their ideas and learning outcomes as well as concretise their learning through hands on material ideation and experimentation. The student will ideate and materialise an artefact while reflecting over their own artistic process and share its stages with the group and the teacher. In the end of the course there is the possibility to exhibit the created artefacts in an exhibition at the R028/005 F Lobby in Väre, that we will design and build together, 21.10-4.11. 

    Schedule:

    We will meet on Fridays in September and October at 9:15 - 12.00 in Väre Building; Room R 107. Please register your HSL cards to enter the building. If there is a problem with your entrance call one of the teachers (numbers are below)

    17/9 : Introduction, discussions, studio instructions

    24/9 : Lecture: Experiential knowledge, discussions, studio work.

    1/10 : Lecture: Human-Material Interaction, discussions, studio work.

    8/10 : Lecture: Materiality and society, discussions, studio work.

    15/10: Discussions, studio work.

    22/10: Exhibition opening, student presentations, discussions, wrap up.

    Please note that there is only 6x3h contact teaching, and you are expected to spend minimum 2h on independent work in the studios or elsewhere in between the contact lessons. There will be small tasks given in each class for the following week. You will be given permission to use the studios outside of the contact teaching. 

    Pre-assignment: There is a pre-assignment consisting of reading the teachers' paper which you can find in the Materials section of this MyCourses page. Also, write one or two paragraphs to introduce yourself and your motivations for taking this course, as a message to the teachers (and send to us by uploading the text in MyCourses Assignments page). 

    Please be aware that this is a hands-on making course so do bring an apron to protect your clothes and wear shoes that are not sensitive to water, clay or dust. 

    Structure of each class:

    -       Before each session: read the agreed chapter / article or watch the video - we will discuss the content in the class.

    -       For the ideation and thinking: bring drawings in your process diary (you will be given one in the first session) and written ideas on your process

    -       For the material prototyping: Choose from materials provided in the course: Clay or Textiles. (Alternatively you can bring materials from your own context/study field.) Bring a plastic bag with you to store your materials. 

    -       During discussion sessions: Take notes of the most meaningful content of the discussions in your process diary.

    -       In between sessions: work on your ideation / material implementation. Read the suggested reading for next session.

    -       In the end of the course: prepare a presentation of your material and theoretical learning outcome in the format of a piece of art for the exhibition accompanied with an A4 (1000 words) contextualisation of the art-piece and your idea. 

     

    Assessment methods and criteria

    You will be assessed based on your active participation in the course and on your completed tasks and the presentation of your artistic process as PASS or FAIL. You will need to attend 80% of the contact teaching sessions to pass the course.


    See you in class: 
    Bilge Aktas        bilge.aktas@aalto.fi         + 358469524175
    Julia Valle          julia.valle@aalto.fi             +358405455050
    Camilla Groth   camilla.groth@usn.no       +358407014703