Why?

Installation art evolved out of Dadaist and Constructivist forays into more immersive experiences. As they questioned the boundaries of art, they poked and prodded their way from mere three-dimensional objects, to three-dimensional space, time, and the viewer’s presence in the space as part of the artwork. Installation art often invites viewers to move through space, look around, and sometimes interact with the work or each other. Installation art can be a gesamtkunstwerk, or a “total work of art,” meaning that it involves most or all of the senses with things to see, touch, hear, and even smell and taste. The mediums of installation art are innumerable and can involve traditional material like clay or be high-tech immersive extravaganzas. Learning how to think about space, time, and audience movement/interaction can be liberating and rewarding.

Brief

You will create an instance of installation art somewhere on west campus. This can be in the project spaces, a locker, the courtyard, or anywhere (that is not disruptive or dangerous). Anything outside of the Project Space or a locker, you will need to seek approval and be aware that they may be more restrictive about what you can do. The scale of the installation is up to you, but it must encourage the audience to move through/around the work (i.e., it cannot just be a single sculpture in a space). The work should be conceptually grounded.

You will present the installation in class on the due date at which point the work should be complete and whole. If there are electronic components such as sound or video that are part of your piece, they should already be up and running before the beginning of class. You are responsible for checking out and installing the equipment. All spaces will need to be returned to their original state by the end of the due day. Failure to do so will result in a reduced grade.

You are also required to submit a self-evaluation along with your assignment, so leave enough time to complete the assignment and ruminate on your experience. 10% of your grade is based on your Assessment/Critique—this includes your self-assessment and participating fully in the group critique.

Oversized files should be uploaded to a cloud service like Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, or similar and the link shared on Learning Suite. The file should not be password protected and the student should test the link in an incognito/private browser window to make sure anyone can access it with the link before submitting it.

Submission Checklist

Plan and execute a thoughtful and well-crafted installation. This might include scouting for locations, reserving space, renting a locker, and/or checking out equipment from the department or the library. Make sure your materials will remain installed through the duration of the critique. This may involve doing prototypes and tests of materials over time to make sure they will not fall, sag, discolor, or fall apart. Document your work for your portfolio! Take good, well-lit, and in-focus photos and videos of your piece. Get detail shots. Shoot video of you walking through the space. Submit your self evaluation as a Word doc with your assignment.

Tips and Considerations

• Consider the time given for you to plan, execute, and document the project and come up with something appropriate and ambitious.
• Ask yourself what you are hoping to accomplish with this project.
• Set a production schedule for yourself to account for testing, trouble-shooting, installing, and documenting.
• If you are involving anything that has a level of unpredictability to it, test it in the manner it will be used in real life. If you have video, set it up to run over a long period of time to make sure the screen does not go to sleep, that the video loops as expected, and that the sound works. Never assume that things will work exactly as you expect them to in your head.
• Take into account how your work will be lit. Should it be in a darkened space? Does it require a spotlight or two? What about colored lights?
• If you are planning and outdoor project, keep in mind that the weather may not cooperate and may be antagonistic to you and/or your material.
• Confer with the instructor before beginning your project to discern what possibilities and pitfalls there may be.
• Consider the ethics of your interactions.
• Experiment! Ask yourself “what if” questions and try out those ideas with quick prototypes. Don’t make the first time you try out the ideas be for the final production.
• Own your decisions. Don’t just make decisions based on convenience or laziness. Make choices that are informative for the piece.
• Use the instructor! Ask questions. Seek input. Brainstorm with them.

Grading

Assignment grades will be based on the following:

Conceptual Concerns (40%)

Student demonstrates evidence that they understand and inventively integrate conceptual concerns and implications of new genres.

• Excellent: Student demonstrates conversational familiarity with the material—making interesting connections between ideas, readings, and presentations.
• Average: Student is able to recall and recite material, but not do anything interesting with it.
• Below Average: Student struggles to demonstrate a grasp of the material and shows no facility in connecting ideas or new thinking.

Execution (40%)

When executing a project, the student demonstrates a firm grasp of the materials, techniques, hardware, and software. The student’s skills and approach are appropriate to their concept. In written/oral assignments, this includes proper spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, grammar and formatting for written assignments; and annunciation, confidence and focused arguments for oral assignments.

• Excellent: Student displays skills and sensitivity when creating projects. The level of craft and approach to making is appropriate to the concept. In written/oral assignments, student understands writing and presentation modes including style guides and oral confidence and is able to nimbly employ these tools in their art projects, writing, and speaking.
• Average: Student work shows some flaws in their understanding of materials and skills. Stylistic and formatting mistakes are present.
• Below Average: The execution is unconsidered and hasty. Student repeatedly makes the same mistakes and ignores instructor input and suggestions.

Assessment/Critique (10%)

The student will produce a self-evaluation for each art project including the strengths and weaknesses of a given work and plans for future improvement. This will also include an accounting of time taken. The student will also be present for and participate in group critiques of projects.

• Excellent: The student thoughtfully and honestly engages in the self-reflective process of critiquing their own work and efforts. The student enthusiastically engages with group critiques, seeking ways to offer constructive feedback to other students.
• Average: The student performs a cursory and surface-level assessment of their work and efforts. They make neutral comments during the group critiques and do not fully engage.
• Below Average: The student demonstrates an inability to honestly engage with their work as it exists in the world, and does not adequately participate in group critiques, or is absent/tardy.

Following Instructions (10%)

The student adheres to the guidelines provided for the course and the assignment. If the paper has a particular framework, the student adheres to that framework. If an assignment is to be submitted as a Word doc on Learning Suite, the student does not email the instructor a PDF.

• Excellent: A detail-oriented student who takes instruction and fastidiously executes it within their work.
• Average: A student who misses some details because they didn’t read instructions thoroughly or take proper notes when instructions were given.
• Below Average: Student ignores basic instructions and guidance given for assignments.

On-time Submission

Projects lose 5 points (our of 100) per 24-hour period they are late. If an assignment is submitted 5 minutes late, that is within the first 24-hour period, so it loses 5 points. If it is 27 hours late, that puts it in the second 24-hour perdiod, so it loses 10 points. If the assignment is submitted or conducted during class, and you are late to class, you will lose 5 points.

Learning Outcomes Addressed

Non-Traditional Approaches

Students will expand their art practice by engaging in a variety of non-traditional approaches to art production, while incorporating a conceptual framework in their exploration.

New Genre Art Practices

Students will develop a basic understanding of New Genre art practices and their origins, including relevant themes and concerns.

Production

Students will produce a body of work demonstrating a comprehension and engagement with the themes and concepts explored in class.