COURSE 4.390 VISUAL ARTS INDEPENDENT STUDIO GRADUATE SEMINAR Fall 2004 Meeting room: N51-117 Mondays, 10 AM to 1 PM (check schedule below for occasional changes of place and time) Professor: Allan McCollum Email: allanmcnyc@aol.com ( please use my aol address until I figure out the MIT system ) Website: http://home.att.net/~allanmcnyc Contact List: here COURSE SCHEDULE    (Updated 10/18/04) Week 1 Monday, September 13, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Listen to Allan talk about his work for 2 1/2 hours! Assignment for next week: 1. Fill out answers to questions in Microsoft Word document and email back to Allan      (http://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/notices/questions.doc) 2. Download and read excerpt from: Marcel Mauss THE GIFT: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies INTRODUCTORY and CHAPTER ONE: GIFTS AND THE OBLIGATION TO RETURN GIFTS ... to discuss a bit next week ... Week 2 Monday, September 20, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Meet in studio area; discuss the Mauss text, related topics. Joan visits to discuss "le salon des prototypes" project for Centre Pompidou and Le Fresnoy. Those interested should contact Krzysztof. Decisions made: Agreed on Mid-term date -- October 25, 2004 Determined schedule for individual studio presentations. Assignments for next 3 weeks: Studio presentations+discussion Allan's recommendation: Each student should prepare a list of "dilemmas" and "contradictions" they feel they are facing in their work, to share in discussion. We are always working to resolve contradictions, it's good to talk about them. Order of presentations, over next 3 class sessions: Oliver Max Carrie Jae Rhim Clementine Ross Week 3 Monday, September 27, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Studio presentations+discussion as follows: Oliver Week 4 Monday, October 4, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Studio presentations+discussion as follows: Max Carrie Jae Rhim Week 5 Monday, October 11 -- COLUMBUS DAY - HOLIDAY No assignment Week 6 Monday, October 18, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Studio presentations+discussion as follows: Clementine Ross Reading Assignments (for discussion November 1): From: Science News December 27, 2003 BOOKISH MATH: STATISTICAL TESTS ARE UNRAVELING KNOTTY LITERARY MYSTERIES http://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/stylometrics.pdf From: Popular Science April, 2003 THE HOUND OF THE DATA POINTS http://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/popsci1.pdf From: D. W. Winnicott Playing & Reality MIRROR ROLE OF MOTHER AND FAMILY IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT http://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/winnicott2.pdf Week 7 Monday, October 25, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Midterm Presentations * * * Tuesday, October 26, 6:00 PM * * * Recommended: M. Victor Leventritt Lectures: From Object to Context Tuesday, October 26 Sackler lecture hall, 6 p.m. Free admission The Arthur M. Sackler Museum (across the street from the Fogg) Sackler Lecture Hall 485 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02138 Map: http://www.artmuseums.harvard.edu/information/directionsmap.html This event will feature two artists represented in the exhibition Dependent Objects. Hans Haacke (b. 1936) and Thomas Schütte (b. 1954), West German artists of different generations, will discuss the considerations and concepts that went into the production of their sculptures in the exhibition. While the ethos of the 1960s led many artists and critics to reject the precious sculptural object, others continued to produce objects that emphasized the physical, social, and political context of production and display. Haacke's entire career has been marked by the concern for the active involvement of the public in his work; Schütte's works from the late 1970s reflect his humorous engagement with earlier conceptual art as well as his interest in the artwork's environment and potential use. A moderated discussion will follow. Week 8 Monday, November 1, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Discuss reading assignment from October 18 New Assignment: Over the next while, I will meet with each student individually; maybe two students per Monday for three consecutive Mondays. While I am doing this, we will begin a project in which each grad student will interview another grad student, using the seminar time. We will use tape recorders, have the recordings transcribed, and edit the interviews for "publication" in some form — printed, website, or whatever. We may like to use the final interviews in conjunction with the Final Reviews in some way. To familiarize ourselves with various interview formats, I'll look for interviews by others for us to review, and if any of you have any published interviews to suggest, let me know. Meanwhile, here are two artist-to-artist interviews I did recently, both for books, with artists significantly younger than myself, if anyone's interested — I make no claims to their quality, but I definitely learned a lot about myself and the other artists in the process of doing them ... Roxy is an acquaintance of whom I am fond, Andrea is a good friend whose intelligence has had a significant influence on me over the years ... I think fondness and professional respect is important in an interview: ANDREA ZITTEL In Conversation with Allan McCollum A 2001 conversation with Andrea Zittel about her work http://home.att.net/~allanmcnyc/zittelconversationccs.html ROXY PAINE A conversation between Roxy Paine and Allan McCollum http://home.att.net/~artarchives/paine/painemccollum.html Week 9 Monday, November 8, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM The MIT Visual Arts Program will be holding an Open House/Info Session on Monday, November 8 from 10a-1:30p. The format will be as follows: 10-11:30a -- Current SMVisS candidates show their work 11:30a-12:30p -- Q&A with current grads; Joan Jonas, Acting Director; Allan McCollum, Visiting Professor 12:30-1p -- VAP Tour We didn't talk today, due to open house -- but I do have a couple of interviews I think are very worth reading -- Two very different types of interviews with VERY different types of artists -- one with artist Harrell Fletcher interviewed by publisher, editor, photographer, and activist Nic Paget-Clark; and one with artist Marina Abramovic by artist Laurie Anderson. Good news -- when we record our interviews, Sharon will do the transcribing from the tapes! I look forward to seeing you next week, when we can discuss the assignment and begin one-on-one meetings. Here's the interviews to download: An interview with Harrell Fletcher: MERGING ART, FUNCTIONALITY, AND EDUCATION Interview by Nic Paget-Clarke From: BOMB Magazine, August 2003 MARINA ABRAMOVIC BY LAURIE ANDERSON An interview NOVEMBER 11 - VETERANS DAY - HOLIDAY Week 10 Monday, November 15, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Assignments to be posted Week 11 Monday, November 22, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Assignments to be posted NOVEMBER 26, 27 (THURSDAY, FRIDAY) - THANKSGIVING VACATION Week 12 Monday, November 29, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Assignments to be posted * * * Wednesday, December 1, 4:45 - 8:00 PM * * * Recommended: ICA Boston 955 Boylston Street, Boston MA 02115 Between This series of conversations focuses on questioning and understanding the relationships between the visual arts and other intellectual disciplines, such as literature, film, history, science, and popular culture, as well as contemporary society. Speakers from a variety of backgrounds offer perspectives and lead discussion in the ICA theater. World AIDS Day Wednesday, December 1, 4:45 pm Boston Premiere of Habit (2001) by Gregg Bordowitz 4:45 - 5:45 pm Conversation with Gregg Bordowitz and Dr. James Meyer 6:30 - 8 pm AIDS activist Gregg Bordowitz's diverse range of work includes documentaries, educational films, and the first regular cable-television show about AIDS. Bordowitz will introduce his acclaimed film, Habit (2001), and speak about his latest book The AIDS Crisis is Ridiculous and Other Writings, 1986-2003 Bordowitz will be joined by Dr. James Meyer, Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Art History at Emory University, to reexamine and contextualize Bordowitz's developing practice and theories about the AIDS crisis. $7 general admission and $5 for ICA members, students, and seniors. Reservations are required. For more information or to make a reservation, please call 617-927-6634 or e-mail lross@icaboston.org Week 13 Monday, December 6, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Assignments to be posted DECEMBER 9 - LAST DAY OF CLASSES Week 14 Monday, December 13, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Graduate final reviews from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. DECEMBER 18 - WINTER VACATION BEGINS