Although Marcel Duchamp and Kazimir Malevich considered the activation of the exhibition space as early as the 1910s and 20s, it wasn’t until the 1980s that more artists began to work with the idea of creating environments and systems for the viewer to experience and it wasn’t until the last few decades that artists began to investigate alternative, environmentally-kinder materials. This course will look at a survey of some of the origins, influences, theories, processes, and manifestations of installation art intersected with Eco Materialism (circular design principles – reuse, recycle, renew & rethink – ) and emergent practices based on principles of Gaia theory, symbiosis, and other systems-centered theories. We will read, watch, and discuss perspectives on the installation art and Eco Materialism genres written/created by artists, curators, art historians, and critics and view work by installation artists. Using this information as a springboard, we will create our own installations and writing.
In this course, students will experiment with diverse biomaterials—natural and/or man-made waste— that are abundant in our local environment in China. Along with that, they will learn and combine craftsmanship and digital techniques to explore and create their own materials. Do it yourself(DIY) activism and critical making will enable students to participate in new modes of civic engagement. Moreover, the course will motivate them to remain independent from pre-determined structures and systems, assuming active roles in the art making rather than passive consumers. Students will work both individually and collaboratively on a series of temporary, site-specific installations to be erected in spaces on campus.
The course is designed to facilitate the development of ideas that contribute to the artist’s content and decision-making processes, as well as the development of applied skills needed to manifest these ideas. With the aid of demonstrations and class discussions, students will be expected to expand their craftsmanship and conceptual considerations. All assignments are informed by the context of twentieth and twenty-first century art and are supplemented through lectures, videos and field trips. The goal of this course is to provide a space for individual creative processes, focusing on installation works, through extensive material and conceptual investigation. Through this investigation, students will develop environmental values to become responsible artists and designers of the future.