Course Title: Social Object Studio
Part A: Course Overview
Course Title: Social Object Studio
Credit Points: 12.00
Terms
Course Code |
Campus |
Career |
School |
Learning Mode |
Teaching Period(s) |
VART3608 |
City Campus |
Undergraduate |
340H Art |
Face-to-Face |
Summer2017 |
Course Coordinator: Mark Edgoose
Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 99253540
Course Coordinator Email: mark.edgoose@rmit.edu.au
Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities
None
Course Description
In this ten-day intensive studio course you will design, develop and make objects that connect people together for social or political purposes. You will explore relational practices that draw on the power of an object to give form to social networks. Examples will be shared from both traditional and contemporary practice. You will consider customary objects, including amulet, love tokens, mementos, medals, thank yous and promise objects. These will be complemented with new examples, including platform art, social practice and ethical design. You will leave this course with a prototype social object ready to be implemented. In collaboration with others, you will create a ‘Promise Object’, which enables trust to grow in situations of suspicion, such as religious difference, climate change, stranger danger and beginning of a relationship.
Lectures introduce key concepts and overviews of related creative practices. These include theoretical perspectives from relational aesthetics, sociology, anthropology, phenomenology, psychoanalysis, ethical design, craft theory, Actor Network Theory and narratology. These are illustrated with case studies of 'social objects' and examples of their practical use.
Prototype development involves a more intensive specialisation in one particular social object. Diaries will be kept while the social object is tested in the field. Excursions will involve field work in the observation of social objects in everyday life and art.
Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development
In this course you will develop the following program capabilities:
- find creative solutions to constraints and challenges in a fine art context
- develop a critically reflective arts practice, in order to continually develop, change and plan for a future that is both informed and improved by arts practice
- engage in autonomous and continued learning, apply new theories of practice and embrace new developments in cultural/artistic production
Upon successful completion of this course you will be able to:
- Research and understand the social and functional role of the object
- Test the expressive and functional attributes of objects
- Understand the relationship between objects, the body and the surrounding environment
- Evaluate materials, processes and technologies and their enabling and determining roles in relation to objects
Overview of Learning Activities
Learning in this course will take place in a studio environment and will be conducted as a ten-day intensive followed by a single day of student presentations. During the ten-day intensive you will participate in workshop activities, creative exercises, demonstrations, group discussions and presentations that will help you to engage with the content and creative processes associated with this course. You will receive verbal and/or written feedback from academic staff and peers. This feedback will help you to track how your learning is progressing against the specified learning outcomes for this course. In class you will engage in critical reflection and reviews.
Overview of Learning Resources
Melbourne Campus
RMIT University will provide you with a range of resources and tools to engage in this course, including options for studio, technological and workshop facilities, online systems and professional equipment specific to your projects and requirements. A selected range of supplies are available, as well as support from technical staff. You will also have access to a wide range of online and hardcopy resources through RMIT University library.
RMIT University is in close proximity to a broad range of galleries and cultural venues which you will be expected to access during the course. Professional workshops, labs and suppliers are also readily accessible.
Hong Kong Campus
Hong Kong Art School will provide you with a range of resources and tools to engage in this course, including studio and workshop facilities, online systems and professional equipment specific to your studio area. A selected range of supplies are available, as well as support from technical staff. You will also have access to a wide range of online resources through RMIT University Library.
Hong Kong Art School is in close proximity to a broad range of galleries and cultural venues which you will be expected to visit as part of your course. Professional studio specific workshops, labs and suppliers are also readily accessible.
Overview of Assessment
You will be assessed on how well you meet the course’s learning outcomes. The work resulting from your ten-day intensive will be presented for assessment. It may consist of a range of creative and written works and/or presentations that either respond to a project brief or are self-directed and will be assessed by academic staff. Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks. This course is offered to undergraduate and postgraduate students so your level of engagement with the assessment tasks will be measured according to your particular career level.
If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or the Disability Liaison Unit if you would like to find out more.
A student charter http://www.rmit.edu.au/about/studentcharter summarises your responsibilities as an RMIT student as well as those of your teachers.
Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies, procedures and instructions which are available for review online: http://www.rmit.edu.au/policies/academic#assessment