VISA 110 Syllabus

VISA 110, Foundation Studio: Digital Media runs from January 9, 2023 to April 13, 2023. There is no exam. Required course components are as follows:

  • Online Preparation Video: A (mostly) weekly ½ hour asynchronous lecture with Top Hat interactivity due Saturday evenings at 10pm.
  • Lecture: A weekly 50-minute synchronous lecture on Mondays, 10-11am on Zoom Meeting ID: 63343019329 and Passcode: 110002 (click here to access) accompanied by Top Hat interactivity.  If you need a space on campus to watch/attend the lecture, IBLC 155 is booked for VISA 110 002 students from 10-11am every Monday.
  • Lab: An in-person, weekly, two-hour lab led by your TA. Please note that you are only eligible to attend the lab you are enrolled in.
  • Technical Demonstrations: Accompanying (mostly) weekly 1-hour of online videos and quizzes, (due in Canvas, end of Saturday)
  • Optional Workshops: For one-on-one technical help/guidance held on specific Mondays and Thursdays throughout the term. The exact schedule is in available on page 3 of this syllabus and on Canvas.

 

OFFICIAL CALENDAR DESCRIPTION

Foundation instruction in techniques and approaches to digital practice. The nature of digital technologies and their role in contemporary culture will be examined.

 

EXTENDED COURSE DESCRIPTION

Images have become a pervasive way of life. In the last 40 years we’ve gone from seeing 500 to as many as 5000 images in a single day. We also take more images than ever, photographing everything from selfies to sunsets, food on a table and feet on the beach. This class intellectually examines the intuitive act of recording and consuming images. With a little thoughtfulness, you will see that the process of making images is a way of knowing and understanding the world around us and ourselves. This course teases out the big idea that with making images – there is more than meets the eye!

Foundation Studio: Digital Media covers historical, medium specific, theoretical and aesthetic issues in art and image making through studio production of lens-based artwork, namely photography and other digital experimentations such as GIF’s. A focus on mechanical and electronic practices through to current digital artifacts are examined as we dissect the machine’s role in the creation and reception of images. We will uncover changes through recent history that inform communication and representational structures that then create meaning. Strategies that influence art and image making are central to the course outcomes; technical skill building will be practiced in making but not a main focus of the course content.

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

As a disciplinary Visual Art course, this course is primarily about art making via the structures and history that influence studio practice. By the end of this course, a successful student will be able to:

  • Identify personal relationship with the medium of photography informing artistic agency, and act as a self-reflective practitioner
  • Activate the process of making with images as a way of knowing and creating new or revealing unseen meaning(s)
  • Apply formal decisions to communicate ideas in the creation of a still and moving artwork
  • Identify characteristics of lens-based mediums, how they inform the interpretation of an image, and employ this awareness in original works of art
  • Enact a critical outlook as visual readers, recognizing how meaning is cultivated and perpetuated through representational systems
  • Produce ethical, informed, multi-dimensional work that situates contemporary concerns
  • Demonstrate poiesis in image making, investigate the transfer of intuition to intellect

 

LECTURE

Synchronous lectures take place online every Monday from 10-11am. The first lecture will be held live on January 9th, subsequent lectures will consist of asynchronous video lecture preparation followed up by online synchronous activities. Please install Top Hat (click here) student response system on a device or use via web-browser, and join “VISA 110: Visual Art Foundation Studio: Digital Media 2023” with Join Code #625961 by the January 16th lecture time.

 

INSTRUCTOR ACCESS

Course Instructor:  Christine D’Onofrio
In person office hours:  Monday 3:30-5:30pm in Somerset 206  (click for link to map) by appointment on Canvas.
Online office hours:  Friday @ 11-12pm on Zoom (click here to access) Meeting ID: 660 3614 0710 Passcode: 110227– by appointment through Canvas.  *If these times do not work, please do not hesitate to contact Christine via email to set up a mutually agreed upon time.
Email:  christine.donofrio@ubc.ca

 

INSTRUCTOR INTRODUCTION

Hi, I’m the facilitating Instructor and Lecturer for VISA 110, Christine D’Onofrio. I’m excited to embark upon this journey with you, and witness your artistic inquiries come to fruition via digital media. I hope you can bring a lot of your interests and experiences into the work you make for this class. To introduce a bit about myself, please address me by my first name “Christine” and she/her/they are my preferred pronouns. I have been and continue to be a humbled, uninvited and grateful guest working on the traditional, ancestral, unceded šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmaɁɬ təməxʷ (Musqueam) territory. I am the first generation of blue-collar working immigrant parents, positioned as guests, but encouraged to assimilate as settlers. It took until later in life for me to learn and recognize whose guests we really were. I was raised on the local nations of the Petun, Haudenosaunee, Anishinabewaki and Mississaugas of the Credit Nation, where my family still is, and for which me and my family materially benefited from the dispossession of Indigenous livelihoods, lands and waterways. I am guided by a reparative desire to address the pervasive absences of my own education. It wasn’t until later in my learning years that I was exposed to a Canadian history that started to include and critically articulate the origins of colonial violence and land dispossession that this country was founded on; a lengthy history of slavery, racist exclusion, the legacy of Residential Schools in addition to on-going and pervasive harms and racist acts perpetuated against BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ by the nation-state and also fellow citizens. Serving in this teaching role, I wish to make change for what I was missing in my own education, and promised myself that I would teach what was not taught to me. I aim to do so with empathy, gratitude, criticality and growth. I am committed to decolonizing and cultivating an equitable and inclusive classroom that celebrates diversity. I do this by breaking down hierarchies, false values of knowledge holders and barriers to access to build a classroom of reflection, community, growth and mutual knowledge building. This work and how it informs my art and teaching practice are ongoing and in constant development.

LABS

The lab component for this class is where you will do most of your active learning. Lab time consists mainly of discussions and critiques about your projects, group work and activities, reading discussions, and meeting times with your TAs. The scheduled lab times are:

  • L12 – Tuesday 10-12pm – Alex
  • L13 – Tuesday 12-2pm – Alex
  • L14 – Thursday 10-12pm – Morgan
  • L15 – Tuesday 2-4pm – Ophelia
  • L16 – Thursday 12-2pm – Morgan
  • L17 – Tuesday 4-6pm – Ophelia
  • L18 – Thursday 10-12pm – Sarv
  • L19 – Thursday 12-2pm – Sarv

 

TEACHING ASSISTANTS

Teaching Assistants run the lab component of the course. For studio classes, this is a very important role because the smaller group sessions involve learning through viewing and discussion of your work. TAs will bring their own research specialization to the classroom. As a result, the labs may differ from each other, and play out in their own special way. This is a sign of passionate, professional teaching. Teaching Assistants are professional Visual Artists who are dedicated to the field. Therefore, be open to specialized learning they can offer you, as they have worked through and dedicated their scholarship and practice (and lives) to Visual Art making. Teaching Assistants may have alternate or separate procedures for their sections, work, and extended schedules from the syllabus. Therefore, please take note of the expanded processes and material required for the lab component. Your Teaching Assistant will notify you of best communication methods, please take note as it is a great time to ask for individual personal help on a project or to answer any questions you may have about the course.

TEACHING ASSISTANT EMAIL & OFFICE HOURS

TA  Email  Office Hours
Alex alexg001@mail.ubc.ca TBD
Morgan Msearswi@student.ubc.ca TBD
Ophelia ophelia.zhao@ubc.ca TBD
Sarv siraji@mail.ubc.ca TBD

 

COURSE MATERIALS & SOFTWARE ACCESS

Please purchase a flash drive or hard drive with at least 256 gigabytes dedicated to this class. Drives of this size currently range from $30-$50. The drive will be used to back up and carry working files of your project to ensure that any misfortunes with technology will not affect your work and success in this class. Trouble with technology is not considered a legitimate reason for a concession. You will also need access to a computer that can handle Adobe Photoshop, which is an intel or AMD processor with 64-bit support and a 2 GHz or faster processes, 2GB of RAM, and a DVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 or equivalent as well as a broadband internet connection. You will also need access to a digital camera, cell phone cameras are fine. You are not required to purchase the programs, cameras or a computer, as there are many high-powered MAC computer media stations on campus available. In particular, IK Barber Library has many resources available for sign-out (such as ipads) and higher power workstations with these programs installed in the Chapman Learning Commons and students in this class are able to use the BC Binning facilities in AHVA as well. Faculty of Arts offers students in this class an Adobe Creative Cloud license use during the term, please take advantage of this service as it shows demand and will keep the offer going for future students.

 

ONLINE TECHNICAL LEARNING

In Canvas, students are provided with technical demonstration videos and extra resources. Videos are followed by graded quizzes. You may also use LinkedIn Learning Tutorials, which is available to UBC students via their CWL for free this year. The online components should be completed in a timely manner in order to allow practice time and project building. The videos will take you through basic training of the programs to execute the projects, and will be accessible to you throughout the class even after the quizzes are due, so that you can watch them however many times and whenever you like.

However, if you feel you need further one-on-one help creating your projects using Photoshop, I encourage you to attend the various technical workshops provided by the course (see below). Attendance for the online workshops is purely voluntary. It is a space for those who need extra help to receive it -they are not required.

 

VOLUNTARY WORKSHOPS

Please refer to the official workshop schedule (below) as workshops are not held every week and correspond to specific demonstrations needed to complete the assignments of the class at that time. Once again, workshops are not mandatory, they are essentially drop-in times if you feel you need extra help beyond the videos. You are not required to attend; they are in place to ensure you have extra support if needed. Workshops take place on Zoom. You may also visit office hours for support. Workshops are scheduled:

Monday 12-1pm & Thursday 2-3pm

On Zoom (click here to access) Meeting ID: 699 2942 9106 and Passcode: 110002

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

  • January 16 & 19 – Digital Imaging Essentials
  • January 23 & 26 – Imaging Essentials Cont…
  • January 30 & February 2 – Troubleshooting
  • February 6 & 9 – Advanced Photoshop
  • February 27 & March 2 – Troubleshooting
  • March 13 & 16 – Advanced Photoshop Continued
  • March 27 & 30 – Troubleshooting Help

 

CLASS PREPAREDNESS

For every class you are expected to have required reading or projects done, have workshop material ready, have watched assigned lecture videos, are ready to participate in discussions, take notes, and be a productive member of the classroom. As this is an art- making class, you are expected to act as an artist, and your lifestyle should encompass an artistic headspace, even if you don’t consider yourself one. Feel free to read and view art exhibitions, films, literature, music events, and immerse yourself in the creative world. Understanding and experience of the creative fields by being part of them, is required as preparation for this class.

 

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

Art making is a complex and often controversial practice that covers a range of topics from various perspectives. The classroom is a place for the open discussion of ideas and issues. Reading, discussions, lecture materials and artworks shown in class may reference mature themes, violence, sexuality religious, political or conflictual subject matter. The points of view expressed by the instructor represent a professional perspective on art historical or contemporary issues. If at any time you wish to discuss an issue or if a topic causes significant distress to you, please contact your TA and/or Christine.

 

COURSE BREAKDOWN

The breakdown is as follows:

  • A1 – Conceptual                              10%
  • A2 – Manipulation                            17%
  • A3 – Networks                                  18%
  • Reading Discussions (5% x 2)         10%
  • Feedback Sessions (5 classes)       15%
  • Online Technical Quizzes                 10%
  • Lecture Interactions                          10%
  • Lab Participation & Artistic Growth   10%
  • TOTAL                                              100%

COURSE COMPONENTS

  • Artworks – Three artwork projects will be assigned with online technical, and in-class conceptual and aesthetic instruction. The first introduces the history and turn to ‘concept’ in photographic arts, the second practices and activates digital imaging properties of manipulation in a still photographic image, and the third functions to further develop still into moving image skills for visually complex, critical and creative ways of revealing meaning in the complicated use of borrowing from external sources to create new meaning -appropriation.  Extended project descriptions and rubrics are available on Canvas.
  • Reading Discussions – Two small texts will be assigned to gain theoretical knowledge to aid in the final project. TAs may assign preparation work and/or in-class contributions. Text will be available in pdf form or as a link online through Canvas, or through UBC Library Reserves. You must use your CWL to get access to them.
  • Critique Participation– You are required to critique your fellow colleagues work in class time as well as present your own work for critique.
  • Technical Demonstrations– This course uses online modules, there are small quizzes after every video module to impact your learning that you are required to complete to test your understanding of the video content.
  • Lecture Participation – Surprise polls, debates, questions and activities will be given during synchronous and asynchronous lectures to a cumulative lecture grade. Using “Top Hat” (https://tophat.com/) to engage and interact in our learning. Top hat is currently free to UBC students, and you can visit your grade sum in Top Hat to garner your progress for this component.
  • Lab Participation&Artistic Growth – This part of the grade accounts for an overall evaluation of your participation in lab-related work, including classroom climate exercise, workshop exchanges, general discussions and generative feedback sessions including individual meetings with TA’s and group work with peers. Artistic Growth evaluates artistic challenges taken and overcome throughout the duration of the course, towards artistic growth.  As art-making has elements of ‘risk’ that when starting out to make art, can go awry, this part of your grade accounts for the fact that you went beyond your comfort level, and made something that mattered.  Overall, this class tries to get you beyond the predictable, conventional, boring, general or even shallow ways in which we represent, into exciting new territories we’ve never been before. While this is also accounted for in most of the rubrics for the course, this component of the breakdown is to further emphasize that this course is dedicated to the process of art making as an important part of the practice.

UBC GRADING

Final grades will be assigned by UBC standards:

A+ A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D F
90-100% 85-89% 80-84% 76-79% 72-75% 68-71% 64-67% 60-63% 55-59% 50-54% 0-49%

The following assessment guidelines are a summary for VISA 110 studio work grading and expectations. They are not rigid regulations, and may be adjusted as appropriate for specific circumstances, project challenges, and other factors. More definite rubrics, comments and feedback are provided on Canvas, specific to each assignment.

80% to 100% (A- to A+)  “Exceptional”

Artistic work shows significant originality, ambition and a distinguished degree of critical thinking. A sophisticated analysis of complex theoretical and conceptual thinking towards proven execution and active engagement with project goals. Preparation, research, engagement with process and outcomes of the project are exemplary.

68% to 79% (B- to B+) “Competent”

The work engages the viewer and the project goals at an above average attempt. There is a demonstrated reference to research and comprehension of the challenges set up by the project goals. Process in execution has been sufficiently developed and demonstrates knowledge of technique towards a successful and impressive outcome.

50% to 67% (D to C+) “Adequate”

The project demonstrates a less than satisfactory engagement, common or simplistic comprehension with process and outcome of the project goals.

0% to 49% (F) “Inadequate”

The work does not meet the minimal requirements of the assignment or fails to prove comprehension of project goals.

 

LATE ASSIGNMENTS

Assignments are accepted up to 4 days beyond a due date, marked down 3% for each day late. Weekends are considered a single day. This means that A+ work handed in 3 days late will be downgraded to a B+. Deductions are waived in the case of an advising approved concession or deferral. If you miss marked coursework worth under 10% for the first time, and the course is still in-progress, immediately submit a Student Self-Declaration to the Instructor, Christine, so that an in-term concession case can be evaluated. If this is not the first time you have requested concession or classes are over, please fill out Arts Academic Advising’s online academic concession form immediately and book an appointment to see an adviser, and they can evaluate your concession case. If you are a student in a different Faculty, please consult your Faculty’s webpage on academic concession. In all cases, advising will contact Christine with deferral/concession considerations when appropriate. Since this course builds on material quickly, it is very important that students participate and work to complete online tutorials, quizzes, lectures, readings, project proposals and projects on time. Given the level of uncertainty and how quickly things can change, please work steadily toward deadlines so you are not stressed.

Assignments will not be accepted via e-mail –please submit them through Canvas or CLAS, unless other arrangements are made. All assignments are due by the start of lab class on the due date unless stated otherwise. Missed participation assignments, such as critiques or group work, will not be compensated with at-home work unless arrangements are made prior to missing the class.

 

ABSENCES

Visual art classes are community oriented and involve collegial investment. Therefore, lack of participation is not only detrimental to your grade but also your own personal growth. If you must miss a class because of conflicting priorities, etc, please speak with Christine in advance of missing the class. If you miss a class, ask a friend in the class what you have missed. It is your responsibility to keep up to date with what happens in class if you are away. Being an intensive course, students with more than 3 unexcused absences are subject to a 3% deduction of their final grade per absence thereafter and missing more than 50% of course time can result in an incomplete course. Being 45 minutes (or more) late is considered an absence. In general, this class is intensive and it is not wise to miss it at all. If there are extenuating circumstances that will lead to multiple absences, you may want to visit student services Academic Advising, which is a valuable service the University has set up to deal with many kinds of special circumstances. Do not be afraid to use it at any capacity, from stress management, to special medical cases etc.

 

CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE AND EXPECTATIONS

This course will consist of a combination of lecture, discussion, technical demonstrations, critique and/or feedback learning, and in-class activities. You are expected to come to each class meeting prepared and ready to engage with the course material. It is important that we maintain a respectful learning environment, and that each person has the opportunity to contribute to the conversation. For these reasons we ask that you give one another space and time to contribute to discussions. This means that if you are a person who contributes often, consider holding back and letting others talk; if you hesitate to talk, recognize that this is a small class and your contributions are not just encouraged, but required. Electronic devices are useful tools -obviously you will be using them for class work- but we request that you silence your alerts and messages in order to stay attentive and avoid disruptions in class discussion and lectures. A highlight of Visual Art is that while we may not always agree with each other, it is important we listen and consider other viewpoints and respectfully engage in difficult topics. Discriminatory or disruptive behaviour will not be tolerated. Codes of conduct in regards to online lab discussions, activities, workshops and critiques will be created by each specific section, and have an underlying connection to the University Student Code of Conduct in particular the UBC Respectful Environment Statement. It is the responsibility of students to read and follow the UBC Calendar Student Code of Conduct entry required for all UBC classes, and familiarize yourself with its contents. This class is a UBC Positive Space, aiming to help make UBC more receptive and welcoming of its lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* (transgender, transsexual, trans-identified), two-spirit, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) communities, individuals and issues of sexual and gender diversity on campus.

 

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

All students are expected to know, understand, and follow at all times throughout the course, the codes of conduct regarding academic integrity. For information about plagiarism and academic integrity, visit the UBC library. It is also  the your obligation to inform himself or herself of the applicable standards for academic honesty, and information which can be found in the Academic Calendar under Academic Honesty and Standards and Academic Misconduct as well as the Student Code of Conduct in particular the UBC Respectful Environment Statement and Student Conduct and Discipline.

 

ACCOMODATIONS

The University accommodates students with disabilities who have registered with the Centre for Accessibility office. The University also accommodates students whose religious obligations conflict with attendance or scheduled exams. Please let us know during the first two weeks of class if you require any accommodation on these grounds. Other absences (e.g. varsity athletics, family obligations) are not part of University policy and you should not assume they will be accommodated. However, please approach your TA and/or the Instructor to discuss options before you are scheduled to be away.

 

EARLY ALERT PROGRAM

The Early Alert Program helps faculty support students who are facing difficulties that are interfering with school. If you are going through overwhelming circumstances, please notify your TA or Instructor and indicate that you would like assistance via an early alert. While we are not trained to help with personal problems, we can get you help from people who can assist you. Any information that they receive from you or us is strictly confidential and is in the interest of your academic success and wellbeing. For more information, please visit EarlyAlert.

 

UNIVERSITY POLICIES
UBC provides resources to support student learning and to maintain healthy lifestyles but recognizes that sometimes crises arise and so there are additional resources to access including those for survivors of sexual violence. UBC values respect for the person and ideas of all members of the academic community. Harassment and discrimination are not tolerated nor is suppression of academic freedom. UBC provides appropriate accommodation for students with disabilities and for religious observances. UBC values academic honesty and you are expected to acknowledge the ideas generated by others and to uphold the highest academic standards in all of their actions. Details of the policies and how to access support are available at the Policies and Resources section of the UBC Senate website.

 

SAFETY & RISK SERVICES

For in person learning, we pursue our commitment to stop of the spread of COVID-19, please follow basic prevention guidelines promoted by the BC Centre for Disease control. COVID-19 recommendations include; active social distancing and trying not to touch your face/eyes/mouth, frequent hand-washing, the wearing of face masks, disinfecting and cleaning of surfaces, self-isolation if you are feeling sick or having symptoms, and keeping tabs of who you have been in contact with for tracing. Please refer to UBC’s “Safety & Risk Services” for guidance, and familiarize yourself with UBC COVID-19 Campus Rules be undergoing routine screenings and maintenance.

 

MAGAZINES & JOURNALS

There is a great section on the third floor of IK Barber book stacks that houses a large amount of art magazines that renew monthly. I advise you to spend at least one day each month looking through them and getting insight as to what is going on in the art world.  Magazines can also be found for purchase at bookstores and specialty magazine shops, and many have quite a lot of material online.  My recommendations are as follows. • Canadian Art • Artforum • C Magazine • Border Crossings • Parachute • Frieze • NY Times Art or Theatre Section (online as well) • October • Fillip • Art in America • ArtNews  **There is a great art bookshop called Read, at Emily Carr.

 

GALLERIES

If you are passionate about art, or new to it, need inspiration or further guidance, a recommendation for this class (or any art class) is to see how it is done at a professional capacity.  We are very lucky to live in an active art city, where openings, events, talks and exhibitions are happening all the time.  Here are some of my recommendations for galleries, (most of which are free or by donation) that you should make a point of visiting sometime during the term. • Vancouver Art Gallery (Robson & Hornby) • Belkin Art Gallery (on campus, in front of Lasserre building) • Museum of Anthropology (on campus @ 6393 N.W. Marine Drive) • Libby Leshgold Gallery (520 East 1st Avenue) • Contemporary Art Gallery (555 Nelson St.) • Polygon Gallery (101 Carrie Cates Ct, North Vancouver) • Richmond Art Gallery (7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond) • Anvil Centre’s New Media Gallery (777 Columbia St.  New Westminster) • Surrey Art Gallery (13750 88th Ave, Surrey) • Burnaby Art Gallery (6344 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby) • SFU Galleries (8888 University Dr, Burnaby & 149 West Hastings) • Access Gallery (222 East Georgia St.) • Artspeak (233 Carrall St) • 221A (221 East Georgia) • Afternoon projects (603 Powell St. by appointment) • Burrard Arts Foundation (258 East 1st) • Field Contemporary (17 West Broadway) • Centre A (#205 – 268 Keefer St) • Grunt Gallery (350 East 2nd) • CSA Space (2414 Main St, ask for key from Pulp Fiction Books) • Western Front (303 East 8th Ave) • VIVO Media Arts (2625 Kaslo) • Trapp Projects (274 East 1st Ave, entrance via alley) • Or Gallery (236 E Pender) • Unit 17 (2954 W 4th Ave) • WAAP (1129 East Hastings) • Catriona Jeffries (950 Easts Cordova) • Macaulay & Co (293 East 2nd) • Equinox (3642 Commercial St) • The Hatch (located in the Nest @ UBC) • AHVA Gallery (1001 Audain Art Centre, 6398 University Blvd)