ARTS 305 - Other Spaces: Occupying Imaginary, Virtual and Utopian Spaces

Institution:

Williams College

Subject:

Art Studio

Description:

In this course students will engage with a variety of fictional and theoretical writing as well as artistic and performative approaches in order to consider the potential that creative practices provide in imagining "places" that do not yet exist, or that may remain foreclosed in the present but still accessible to our mind. Readings will include Foucault's "Of Other Spaces", Borges' "On the Exactitude of Science", Bachelard's "Poetics of Spac", Butler's "Bodies in Alliance" and Danielewsky's "House of Leaves." Students will also be introduced to the work of artists like Robert Smithson, Janet Cardiff and James Turrell. In addition to more speculative and poetic discussions and in light of the collapse of the housing market, foreclosures and the rise of the "occupy" movement this course will also investigate the politics of space. We will attempt to rethink architecture's traditional categories of private and public space as a result of spontaneous collaborative imaginings of space during a time of economic or political crisis. How do artists, writers, organic intellectuals and citizens reflect upon and imagine those "other spaces" that have been and can still be embodied in our present time. Weekly readings, writing assignments and in-class discussions as well as studio projects will introduce students to diverse creative and critical methodologies while fostering a safe environment wherein they may develop their personal practice, be it writing, visual art or performance. Projects will include repurposing familiar public spaces on campus for new uses, as well as activating both physical and virtual (web and video) spaces to spark group participation.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Preference is given to students with one or two previous courses in the creative arts; students interested in pursuing issues that intersect creative writing and the visual arts are most suited for this course

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Studio

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.williams.edu

Phone Number:

(413) 597-3131

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Four-one-four plan

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