DIGITAL FUNDAMENTALS

Introduction to Digital Imagery for Non-majors : FINA - N130

Indiana University Bloomington, Fall 2011

COURSE OVERVIEW
This course provides an introductory history and exploration of digital imaging. In this course we will trace technologically driven image art from pioneering efforts to current trends, and the central role played by computers in the field of digital imaging. The focus of this course is to weave aesthetic and technical skills into creative vision. This course will not focus on software training, although certain software (Adobe Photoshop) will be presented and explored as a creative tool. This course is taught as part lecture and part lab with the spirit of a semi-traditional studio art course – except rather than painting or sculpture, we will work with digital tools and related experiences. The focus is on art making, and the projects reflect this mindset. If you are expecting to get an A because you master the software or you know it already, you will be disappointed. This course will focus on thinking, being creative and pushing oneself. This class will require participation and patience. Students are expected to be respectful of their peers, meaning that creative and reading assignments should be done on time and comments should be thoughtful and constructive. Projects should communicate thoughtful and intelligent ideas, presented in a clear, organized, and engaging manner. The best projects will additionally illustrate critical thinking and engagement with course material in both concept and execution.
Lectures and labs in this class include both technical demos and aesthetic lectures – You are required to attend all portions of lectures and labs. Labs also include practice time and you are expected to bring project work or work on software practice during the entire time of the lab.

Lectures:
During lecture meetings we will view and discuss relevant artwork. You are not always expected to “like” the artwork or topics we view in class but you are expected to be respectful, consider it seriously and attempt to learn from what we view. Artwork we view in class will generate discussion related to digital art practice, aesthetics, strategies, terminology, technologies, concepts and will relate to assigned projects. You are expected to consider lecture content when you conceive your projects. Additionally, some lectures will include technical demonstrations and peer reviews.

Labs:
Scheduled labs are an introduction to the world of the digital studio. Lab sessions will focus on Adobe Photoshop, a sophisticated software tool that allows us to create and manipulate images. You will be guided through the interface, its tools and functions through in-lab demos (these are in addition to some in-lecture demos). Assigned exercise and artistic projects are aimed at improving and challenging your skills, which should improve with practice. FREE online tutorials are available to all IU students through Lynda.com. You will be expected to use this resource for additional learning and practice inside and outside of class. Additionally, labs will provide discussion and feedback with your GA as well as, critique of projects.

It should be noted that regular attendance of your assigned lab section is required.

RECOMMENDED TEXTS & RESOURCES: (not required)
Lynda.com – Online software tutorials, FREE to IU students.
Visual Quickstart Guide: Photoshop CS5 by Weinmann and Lourekas.
Additional resources or readings will be linked from our course web site.

REQUIRED MATERIALS
•Adobe Photoshop CS5 (not any other version of Photoshop) CS5 is on STC lab computers across campus and free to all IU students via IUware at http://iuware.iu.edu
• Portable Electronic Storage Device (hard drive or flash drive) – for back up and storage of all Photoshop files and digital class materials. You are responsible for saving all of your files in this course. No excuses. Digital image files can take up a lot of space, therefore a larger drive is recommended.
• Paper and CDs: You will need paper or mounting materials for some projects and will be advised per project. CDs are required to turn in project files as per assignment requirments. (No flash drives will be accepted.)
• Optional: A high-end Digital Camera is not required for this course but a digital camera is recommended (even a camera you use on your mobile phone). Use of cameras is infrequent so if you do not own one, find one to borrow. Digital Camera instructions or photographic instruction is not part of this course, refer to your camera manual.

PROJECTS AND GRADING
For each project in this course you will be required to turn in the .psd file on CD (showing all layers, masks, paths or adjustments used). In addition you will also upload a .jpg via Oncourse and for some projects you will also turn in a print. Failure to complete these steps on time will lower your project grade. Each art project is graded based on: appropriate aesthetic development, craftsmanship, originality/creativity, fulfillment of project requirements, and communication of your intended concept. The Graduate Assistant will grade assignments under the Professor’s guidance, which is based on years of professional academic experience and knowledge.

If a student completes all projects adequately and on time, participates in all class discussions and critiques, has a good attendance record, she/he can expect a grade of C or higher. The grade of A is only awarded in the case of excellence.

Grade Breakdown:
A: Excellence B: Above Average C: Average D: Below Average F: Failure

ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION
Late arrivals, early departures and unexcused absences are disruptive and will be recorded. You are allowed 3 unexcused absences for the semester. Additional unexcused absences and excessive tardiness will lower your grade. It is the student’s responsibility to make up missed materials. The Professor or Graduate Assistant does not provide notes or review course materials with students who miss class. Please self-report to the Professor via email when you miss class due to illness or other excusable absences so I have a record of why you missed class. You are responsible for all make-up material.

IN CLASS CONDUCT
You are expected to actively participate in class. You will not use cellphones for texting or calls, email or chat or other social media at any point during class. These are expectable activities for break time only. Use of a laptop is only allowed if you want to follow along during demos of software, but may not be used during lecture for email, other work web surfing or other non-class related purposes. If you are not actively participating during class time you will be asked to leave and marked absent. Likewise, do not waste your lab time with these diversions – take advantage of access time to your Assistant Instructor and peers to learn.

PROFESSOR’S OFFICE HOURS AND EMAIL
Your professor wants to see you progress and provides office hours for discussion of your progress. You are encouraged to speak to the Professor if any issues hinder your progress or success in the class (from difficulties learning software to content to difficulties completing projects or attending). If the Professor or GA office hours conflict with your class schedule, arrange an appointment with the professor for another time. Emails will be answered within a reasonable time, usually within 24-48 hours on weekdays. If your email is URGENT, write that in the subject header.

PROJECTS

Project 1. From Dada to Digital
Referencing the artwork we view in class related to collage, montage and appropriation, start with one full page (8 1/2 x 11 in.), color advertisement from a magazine. The ad should consist primarily of a photograph. Your final image will also be 8.5"x11".

Using the photomontages of the Dadaists as an aesthetic and conceptual point of departure, you will create your own digital montage. Consider the content of the magazine ad when you choose it and how you can change it. Is there a way to meaningfully subvert the message of the original ad? This project is not about making one ad into another ad. This is a project that requires critical thinking about the advertising images, appropriation and art – and your final image should reflect that.

Choose a minimum of 6 different images to use as your basic source material for the assignment. Images may be captured specifically for this project using digital photography; images can be appropriated from online sources; images can also be scanned from publications and photographs. Your assignment may well combine these approaches. Using Photoshop's selection tools combined with copy and paste operations, bring together and compose elements from your chosen source material into one single document. You are encouraged to explore the Photoshop tools we have covered in class. But...

Even if you are familiar with the application, refrain from using the many features and tools Photoshop has to offer other than those we have learned together!! (These restrictions are designed to push and challenge your creative endeavors, not hinder them.)

What you will turn in:
Projects will be collected as digital files on a CD at the beginning of lab on the day of critique. Your final PSD image file labeled with your full name (ex: john_smith.psd) for it to be accepted. (Do not flatten layers.) Projects will be projected for critique.

Experiment! Have fun!

Project 2. Photographic truth

Referencing the artwork we view in class related to truth and photographic truth, create 2, photographically-based images that lie. Take aesthetic and conceptual clues from the artwork we have viewed in class. Additionally, consider what is meant by "photographic truth," and "truth" in general. Consider what investment we place in truth in images.

Your two images must work together. In a series of images, one image singled-out can exist as an individual work, yet when put together with the other images more information is given in regards to the idea. Your two images should hold together both formally and conceptually.

In Photoshop you will use any combination of the tools we have covered in class so far to construct a photograph that is as realistic looking as possible. While working with your image pay close attention to tone and color.

Also keep these considerations in mind:

1. Be careful in choosing your source materials. The more closely the source materials match the easier the time you will have in Photoshop compositing them into a believable image. Try to pick elements that match (have the same sort of color range, direction of light, time of day, angle of view, etc.)

2. Pay attention to your source material's resolution. You are limited in the size you can print as much by the original's resolution as you are by the settings you use to scan the image.

3. Be very careful in how you make your selections. A good selection will make a more believable composite. Zoom in close and take your time.

4. Use filters to mimic a photographic way of seeing. (Varying the amount of Gaussian blur on different elements can create a sense of depth-of-field. Noise can be used to simulate grain. Motion blur is a good way of indicating subject or camera movement. 3-D transform can be used to place text and objects onto 3-D surfaces.)

5. Experiment, experiment, experiment. Make Photoshop a comfortable place to work by playing around with all of its toys. Remember you can always undo things by using command+z and/or by going back in the history palette.

Format:
Your final images should be either 8.5”x11 or 11”x8.5”. Your images must be predominantly photographic, but the photos may come from any source: your own photo archives, photos shot specifically for this project, or photos taken from any existing source (keep in mind that your choice for source imagery also has an impact on the communicated meaning of the work). No images from the Web. You may incorporate as many images as you want.

What you will turn in:
Although we will critique your printed images, you will still be required to turn your .PSD files at the beginning of lab, on CD, on the day of critique.

Project 3. Difference & Repetition

Under a common theme of difference and repetition, produce a series of separate images that critically explore and question how digital imaging technologies affect understandings of our lived realities and our relationship to the photographic document. Use artwork viewed in class for as a point of departure.

Draw from your digital image library for images that you can draw from as the initial source material for your project or photograph new source images. One of the underlying challenges of this project will involve moving between a more literal, technical interpretation of the project’s theme and a more conceptual or creative investigation. Truly successful projects will attempt to weave between both registers. Ask yourself: How can I get Photoshop working for me and enhancing my artistic investigation in relation to this particular theme?

Think about how the idea of difference and repetition might play out across a series of separate images. Do you want to produce a series of very similar images that have subtle variations between them? Or, do you want to produce a series of very different images that have subtle similarities that link them together? Both approaches are valid.

Note: A series of images is defined as, a minimum of three images that can exist as individual works, yet when they are put together more information is given in regards to the idea. A series should hold together both formally and conceptually. Remember, the assignment is asking for a series of separate but related images. More than likely, you will be combining multiple image sources together using Photoshop as part of your project, but simply combining multiple images together does not mean that the resulting image will count as anything more than just one part of your overall series.

If you feel you need more input to help you better approach or navigate the assignment, consider the theme of “difference and repetition” in relation to any of the following ideas:

• Absence/Presence

• Transformation/Translation

• Place/Placement/Displacement –(Recontextualize/Decontextualize)

• Construction/Deconstruction

Don’t wait to have the “big idea” before getting starting on the project! Get hold of a camera and start taking images. See what happens. Play around. Experiment. What similarities are there between your new images? What differences? How might the images be modified? How might the images be combined? Keep these considerations in mind. Soon the “big idea” will come chasing you rather than the other way around! Consider the work examples of, Alexander Apóstol, as viewed in lecture. His idea was remarkably simple – remove the windows from a building – but this didn’t stop a simple experiment turning into a remarkable series of images. Rearranging objects on a table or altering the color or shape of familiar objects may not seem like the most promising of starting points, but such simple strategies may help start you off on an equally remarkable series of images.

Format:
For this project you will complete a series of 3 images. Images can be any dimension you want, but must print no smaller than approximately 8x8” and no larger than 11x17”. This means your images can be square, rectangle, oval, circle, etc.

Technical Considerations:
Do not use material appropriated from the Internet for this assignment. This assignment relies on digital photography and scanning as the primary tools to accumulate source material.

What you will turn in:
Printed images will be due at the beginning of lecture on December 6^th. Your .PSD files are due, on CD, at the beginning of lab on December 8^th. At that time, you will critique the printed images. Each of your final PSD image files must all be contained in a single folder labeled with your full name for it to be accepted (ex: john_smith). (Do not flatten layers.) Make sure your image filenames indicate their placement within the series (e.g. far left, center image, etc).

DIGITAL FUNDAMENTALS

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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

N130 Intro to Digital Imagery for Non-Art Majors: Course Info

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