Great Issues in Fine Arts-Art and Technology

HSP172     CRN 2317

1:10 - 2:30pm,  Tuesday & Thursday

Observatory

Instructor: Andrew Bishop

Mode:  MAC

Course Description

In his 1936 easy “The Work of Art in the Age of the Mechanical Reproduction” Walter Benjamin argues that the high degree of technological sophistication available in the mechanically reproducible arts of photography, sound recording, and film have “transformed the entire nature of art.”  One part The Matrix and the other Master Piece Theatre, this course will examine how technology enhances or inhibits (or both) the basic elements of music, architecture, visual art, film, drama, and dance.  The course is divided into 6 areas:  (1) the pros and cons of technology, (2) a survey of “classic” texts and definitions, (3) aesthetic views on art and technology, (4) technical devices, computers, and software used in art, (5) artistic creation, and (6) the ethical issues surrounding machines and humanity.