Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Wednesdays 3:20-5:50
Instructor: Gabe Barcia-Colombo
Gabebc@nyu.edu Office Hours
Course Description: This course is about taking old things and making them new. Loosely
based on the tradition of Marcel Duchamps Readymades, students will re-imagine old
technological devices and antiques as new media installations or art objects in the form of
scientific, ethnographic, artistic and historic relics. By embedding new technology (sensors,
microcontrollers and small projectors) into found objects, students will explore a combination of
anthropology and new-media storytelling. Can we create interactive art devices that tell a
human story? How do we maintain artistic control while building artwork that requires human
interaction? How can we reappropriate found objects in a meaningful way to create new-media
installations?
This is a production heavy four credit course taught in Max/Msp/Jitter and focused on making
museum ready interactive durable installations. Possible projects include: time traveling
typewriters, boomboxes from mars, ghost phones and musical bicycles. Pre-requisites include a
flair for the absurd, a critical eye...and soldering.
Grading is based on successful completion of all assignments, class journals, class participation
and attendance.
This syllabus will be updated weekly with links and notes.
https://itpreadymades.wordpress.com/
Class Notes
Max Patches
SensorBox
Bluefruit EZ-Link Resources
Arduino Code for Controlling Servo From Max/Msp
PowerSwitch Tail Arduino Tutorial
Building Scan
Week 1: Jan 25
Class introductions
Overview of Course
In teams of two create an assisted readymade, a surreal object created from found objects that
transforms or subverts the original use or intention of these found objects. Title your piece.
Assignment:
1) Create a Speculative Kit of Readymade objects for a specific situation
Example: Time Travelers Kit, Vegan Survival Kit, Desert Island Kit
Think about Richard Hamiltons T he Critic Laughs
2) Read
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/09/if-this-toaster-could-talk/279276/
3) Read Lich House by Warren Ellis
Week 2: Feb 1
Present assisted readymade advertisements.
Audio Readymades Lecture
Max/Msp and Some Audio
Ideation Session
Devices that make noise.
Assignment:
1) Find a pre-existing object and give it a personality using only sound as an output. Bring in
sketches or renderings of this object.
2) Program a max patch for your sound object using simple key presses or mouse clicks as
inputs and audio as an output
Week 3: Feb 8
Demonstration: Max MSP: Timing, Computer Inputs, Sound Outputs, Software Midi, MIDI
voices.
Critique: Audio object sketches
Assignment: Finish sound objects
Read: Digital Readymades
Week 4: Feb 15
Present Sound Objects
Assignment (Due week 7): Emotional objects.
Create a readymade that responds to a physical input with an emotional output. This emotional
output could be human, animal, robot or extra terrestrial and take the form of a physical
reaction, color, sound or light. The object itself cant be human or animal form.
Week 5: Feb 22
Enchanted Objects
Serial Communication Pt 1: Sensor Inputs into Max
Assignment:
1) write a short story about your emotional output object (where did this object come from,
what is its backstory post the story to the class blog)
2) bring in design ideas, sensors to work in class
Week 6: March 1
Serial Communication Pt 2: Wireless with Bluetooth
In class lab time work on your emotional object.
Assignment: Continue working on Emotional Objects
Week 7: March 8
Present Emotional Objects
Week 8: March 22
Video Readymades
Bill Viola, Nam June Paik, Camille Utterback, The McCoys
Week 9: March 29