Web Design

 

Art 451 Forever!
NOTE: Please turn in projects on time.
Student Assignments

#1. Identity Remix – the web is an arena in which people’s identities can be presented as altered, exaggerated or completely falsified. This makes it an interesting place for artists, and others, to explore issues of identity. In this assignment you will create a website that functions to either slightly skew, or entirely remake, your identity. You may chose how closely the new identity fits with your current sense of self. Please be aware of copyrights, see the copyright issues links on the class links page.
Related sites to check out:

Pop! The First Human Male Pregnancy – by Lee Mingwei
Andy Warhol Digital Self Portriat
Pretendster
Mouchette
Bodies© INCorporated
Own, Be Owned, or Remain Invisible
Diary U

#2. Flinging the Digital Dirt, or “Tactical Media”- the internet is a wonderful place to have your say, reveal societal issues as you see them and generally express your personal viewpoint on public topics. Many artists have used this medium in very effective political ways that have gone far beyond what is possible in traditional art mediums. Your challenge is to make an elegant tactical media site of your own. You must use the inherent power of the internet to deliver your message in some way that goes beyond the construction of an “anti-something” propaganda poster.

Sites that work to reveal/undermine power structures
They Rule, by Josh On and Futurefarmers. See maps of the connections between Fortune 500 companies and also make your own maps.
World Trade Organization “alternative WTO site” created by the corporation of artists known as ®TMark and managed byThe Yes Men. Read about one of the Yes Men’s lecture performances here: http://www.gatt.org/yesfinland.html Read about the legalities of these sites in this article written by a lawyer: THE LAW AND POLITICS OF INTERNET ACTIVISM
Reamweaver a piece of software developed by the ®TMark corporation that allows users to easily mirror existing websites.
Meatrix – Delivering the anti-cruelty-to-animals-messages in a hipster, Flash movie format
Word Perhect
, by Tomoko Takahashi – countering the standardization of word processing software.
File Room, by Antoni Muntadas. An online archive of censorship.
Rent-a-Negro by artist Damali Ayo – An uncomfortable exploration into the value of her “services” as a token person of color.
Technologies to the People Video Collection – by the people at irational.org
Search Engine Fun:
Adwords Happening
Go to Google and type in the words, “weapons of mass destruction” and click on the “I’m feeling lucky” button to access this site. Try the same thing with the words “miserable failure”.
Read about these things and more in the bestselling book, Google Hacks
100 Industrial-Strength Tips and Tricks

Here are some inspiring Flash pieces:

Narratives:
THE PERFECT ARTISTIC WEB SITE by Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries. See more of this artists’ works here:http://www.yhchang.com/
Nosepilot – a marvel of 2D animation, this thing never ends

Games:
Antiwargame – by Futurefarmers
http://www.freshsensation.com/samorost.swf – Super surreal puzzle/game with incredibly rich visuals. Does not work in the Safari browser!
The Intruder – by Natalie Bookchin

Interactive and other:
Tetrasomia – by Stephen Vitiello
“Dishonest Dubya” Lying Action Figure 

Modern Living
Selflesh Gardens
AmbientPlayer v 5.0 – this tool lets you construct your own “video art” on the web using a library of media elements.
404_Found_and_lost – while this piece by Eric Natzke is not interactive, he does have many that are. Check out his portfolio of Flash work.

Article: On Web Animations – article on rhizome.org. This organization requires a membership ($5.00) in order to read/view their site, except on Fridays when it is open to all.

ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE EVALUATED BASED ON THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

• CONCEPT – idea, intention and meaning.
Does the artwork clearly communicate something to other viewers?

• CREATIVITY – originality of thought and expression.
Does the artwork show innovation and uniqueness? Did the artist solve the given assignment problem in an expected or unexpected way

• COMPOSITION – arrangement and organization of elements.
Has the artist carefully considered elements such as balance, proportion, texture, color, shape, and positive/negative space and user navigation?

• CRAFTSMANSHIP – attention to detail.
Does the artist skillfully construct the work? Are all details carefully finished and/or intentional-looking?

Note: This is a listing of the major artmaking assignments and does not include assignments such as readings, discussing articles, writing or in-class assignments.



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