Other readings will be made available through blackboard.

Computing

Software

• Programming environment: Meta, free, Windows only
• Digital audio: Audacity (cross-platform), GarageBand (OSX only)[other DAW applications can be substituted with instructor approval]
  
• Digital imaging: Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or equivalent
• Other: PowerPoint

Hardware

You will need access to:

• A Mac (OSX)
  
• A PC running Windows (2000 or later)
• A digital camera

All the above hardware and software are available in the studio, which is open 24-hours a day using your Wildcard.

Overview

This is the first quarter of a 4-quarter curriculum in interactive, computer-based art and related systems. This quarter focuses on the basic elements and composition of computer programs and of visual and audio art. Pieces will be critiqued both as works of art and as engineering. The interaction between art practice and art theory will be addressed through discussions, critiques and readings, examining issues in the interpretation, understanding and production of art and visual culture.

Tentative curriculum by week

This will be updated throughout the quarter; any changes will be announced during class meetings or via email.

Week 1 (see attachments at end for Ian's slides)

• Welcome
• Overview
• Introduction to visual art
• Language and meaning
• Dataflow diagrams
• Form and content

Week 2

• Visual space: basic elements
• Audio space: basic acoustic theory, pulse, meter, rhythm
• Programming with text (see notes attached at end of page)
• 2D graphics language in Meta (see notes attached at end of page)
  
  

  Readings: (for week 3)
  

  Begin reading: 1984; to be completed prior to class on Friday, Oct. 24
  

  Read for Monday, Oct 13: Introduction to Visual Culture, Introduction

  Read for Monday, Oct 13: Introduction to Design, pp. 143-171 (Color)

Week 3

• Audio space, continued: timbre, waveforms, frequency space, dimensionality; Audacity tutorial
• Art Critique 1_Visual Assignment 1: Oct.8
• Programming: Naming and Scope, Compound Procedures, Iteration
• Readings: (for Monday, week 4)
  Introduction to Design, pp. 125-141 (Value)
  Visual Culture, chapter 1
  Assignments:
  Audio Project 1: "Taking a Sound for a Walk", due Wednesday Oct 15, on a CD-R by 2:30pm in the AA Lab Lounge in The Designated Envelope (on the fake walnut-grain table). NB! Please be discreet entering the lab, as it is also used by the Music Technology Program for teaching; if there is a class in progress, you should enter only via the Lounge door, so as not to disrupt the other class.
  Programming Exercise2, due Monday Oct 20, 11:59pm

Week 4

• Visual Composition 2_ Figure-Ground relationship. Figurative imagery: Drawing
• Audio Critique 1 "Taking a Sound for a Walk"
• Programming
  
  Readings: (for week 5)
  Introduction to Design, pp. 61-77 (Texture); pp. 79- 109 (Space)
  Visual Culture, chapter 2
  Assignments: Visual Assignment2, Programming Exercise 3: Fun with image files

Week 5

• Light and optics, Geometry
• Art Critique 2: Figure-Ground reversal (Weds.Oct.22)
• Film: in-class screening with written (e-mail) assignment: [Brazil]

• Debugging (see attachment at end of this page)

  Readings: (for week 6) Introduction to Design, pp. 111-123 (Time and Motion)

  Begin reading: Brave New World; to be completed prior to class on Monday, November 3

Week 6

• Audio Space 2, Sonic composition: continuity versus contrast
• Drawing and Color
• Colors and raster
• Procedural shading

• Assignments: Audio Project 2, due Wednesday Nov 5, on a CD-R by 2:30pm in the AA Lab Lounge in The Designated Envelope (on the fake walnut-grain table).

• Drawing assignments 1 and 2

• Programming Exercise 4 .

Week 7

• Figurative imagery: photography
• Audio Critique 2: Continuity and Contrast

• Readings:

  Read for Monday November 10: Visual Culture, chapter 5
  
  
  Assignments: photography project, Programming Exercise 4

Week 8

• Higher-order procedures on pictures
• Sound: Audio Space 3, Sound Ecology
• Art Critique 3: Photography assignment

Week 9

• Art: Photomontage, Intro to Final project
• Modernity

Week 10

• Audio Critique 3: Sonic Spaces
• Conditionals, Lists, Chance operations
• Computer-based art

• Assignments: Programming Exercise5 , Final Project (combining visual art and audio) due Monday December 1.
  
  

Week 11

• Final Project Critique: Art and Audio Combined (Monday December 1, 4pm).
• Perceptual psychology

Finals week

• Final project revisions MUST be uploaded by Thursday, December 11, 5pm CST
  

Grading

Grading will be based on the following components:

• Assignments 60%
  There will be roughly 2 assignments per week, some will involve art or music, some programming, others a combination. Art and music assignments will be critiqued in class. For this reason, it is critical that they be turned in on time (see late penalties, below).
  
• Final Project 10%
  There will be a final project at the end of class that combines visual and audio art.
  
• Critique and Class Participation 30%
  You are required to present completed work at every critique as well as to participate verbally. This is one of your primary ways of demonstrating mastery of the concepts in the class.

Attendance

This is a studio art course in addition to a programming course. It involves a process of active apprenticeship that takes place during class. Moreover, not all of the lecture materials will be covered by readings or will be available on the web. Therefore, as with other studio art courses, attendance is mandatory. Unexcused absences will lower grade. Attendance will be taken during each class at 4:00; if you are late it is your responsibility to notify instructor after class, otherwise you will be marked absent. Tardiness Excessive tardiness and leaving class early will lower grade. Three missed classes will lower final grade by one full letter grade. Excessive absence is considered four missed classes and is cause for failure in the course. Students are encouraged to contact the faculty member to report the reason for an absence prior to or on the day of the missed class. Two late arrivals (being tardy or leaving early) will be considered equal to a missed class.

Late penalties

• Homework extensions for programming projects will be granted for nearly any reason, provided you request one more than 24 hours in advance. Otherwise, you need to have a really good reason.

• Unless you receive an extension, you should turn in your assignment when it is due. Assignments turned in late will be given a late penalty:

• 10% for assignments less than one day late
• 20% assignment for 1-2 days
• 30% for 2-4 days
• 40%for 4-8 days, etc.

Cheating policy for programming assignments

[Sorry this is so long; it's essentially a catalog of every misunderstanding we've ever had in class, along with what our policy is on it. So please read this - you will be held responsible for understanding it. ]

You are encouraged to consult with other students, and even to ask them for help. Working with other students is often more enjoyable and allows you to learn ideas faster with less frustration.

For some assignments, you may be allowed, or even required to work with other students on your program. On these assignments, you will all work together on one program that you submit as a group. These assignments will be rare and will be clearly marked as group assignments.

For all other assignments, however, you must write your own code. You are allowed and encouraged to discuss the problem set with other students, but it is not acceptable to:

• Blindly copy someone else's code
• Base your program on someone else's code (unless specifically instructed to do so as part of the problem set)
• Collaborate with other students to write the same program
• Collaborate with other students to write the same program, then have each student modify the basic shared program.

Every term, a couple of groups of students get caught cheating and claim they didn't realize they were cheating. For this reason, we will adopt the "edit contamination policy":

• If someone (ever) edits a piece of code, then no other student can (ever) submit it or any code based on it for an assignment.
• Therefore, if two students edit the same piece of code, it is "contaminated" and neither of them can submit it or any code based on it as part of an assignment.

In other words:

• You can ask each other questions but no one else can (ever) touch your keyboard or mouse.

For those of you who want to grow up to be lawyers:

• You may not copy from any code that another student has edited
• No, you can't dictate code to someone either

That said, we do still want to encourage you to work together. In particular the following are acceptable and encouraged:

• Groups of friends having "hacking parties" where they sit down at separate machines and program in parallel. They can discuss the problem set as much as they want, as long as they don't actually edit one another's code, or copy one another's' code.
• Asking questions about the assignment, or about your program, of friends in the class
• Asking questions on the blackboard system
• Asking questions over IM (instant messenger)
• Asking questions of friends who aren't in the class
• Asking questions of the instructors and TAs
• Getting help with debugging from friends, TAs, etc.

So basically, you can get lots of help from friends, but you have to (at a minimum) do all the typing.

For further information, see Northwestern's policy statement on academic integrity, below.

University policy statements

Students with Disabilities

In compliance with Northwestern University policy and equal access laws, the instructors are available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. Request for academic accommodations need to be made during the first week of the quarter, except for unusual circumstances, so arrangements can be made. Students are encouraged to register with Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) for disability verification and for determination of reasonable academic accommodations. For more information, visit: http://www.northwestern.edu/disability/.

Academic Integrity at Northwestern

[See also the policy on cheating on programs, above]

Students are expected to comply with University regulations regarding academic integrity. If you are in doubt about what constitutes academic dishonesty, speak to one of the instructors before the assignment is due and/or examine the University web site. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to cheating on an exam (e.g., copying others' answers, providing information to others, using a crib sheet) or plagiarism of a paper (e.g., taking material from readings without citation, copying another student's paper). Failure to maintain academic integrity on an assignment will result in a loss of credit for that assignment - at a minimum. Other penalties may also apply. The guidelines for determining academic dishonesty and procedures followed in a suspected incident of academic dishonesty are detailed on the website. For more information, visit: http://www.communication.northwestern.edu/programs/undergraduate/policies_procedures/academic_integrity/