Art, science and technology: from technical-scientific revolutions to ecocriticism in contemporary artistic practices. The course aims to provide students with knowledge of the transformations in artistic techniques adopted in contemporary art of the twentieth century, also in relation to coeval scientific theories. The aim of the course is to provide the tools to deepen the relationship between artist, science, nature, machine and environment using specific textual and visual sources. The course involves the acquisition of historical-artistic vocabulary and historical and philological skills aimed at contextualising these transformations within the framework of social and cultural dynamics and technical-scientific evolutions.

The course, aimed at deepening the relationship between art, science and technology, unfolds through a series of case studies 5 thematic sessions and in an innovative teaching section dedicated to the interventions of two contemporary artists 

- Introduction

- Color theories (3 lessons)

- Mathematical paradigms and abstract art (3 lessons)

- Reproduction techniques (3 lessons)

- The art of the machine (3 lessons)

- Art, environment and ecocriticism (3 lessons)

- Artist Talks : What does it mean for contemporary art to build a public space for environmentalist reflection and ecocriticism? This part of the course will be dedicated to the classroom interventions of contemporary artists in the form of Artist Talks who will expose the problem starting from their artistic practice, Leone Contini  and Tatiana Villani (2 lessons)

Knowledge and ability to understand: The student is expected to have acquired a good ability to recognize and describe the works and images observed in class and in the texts in the bibliography, such as to allow him/her a correct historical-cultural collocation. Furthermore, they will have to demonstrate that they have acquired the tools and developed strategies to analyze images, objects and texts and make sense of their technique in relation to the relationship between artist, science, nature, machine.
Applied knowledge and understanding: the student is expected to have acquired a good ability in distinguishing the different artistic techniques by knowing how to describe their material characteristics. For each case study, the most suitable methodological reading and analysis tools for the different media will be made available. Students who successfully complete this course will develop skills in analyzing images from a technical point of view and will be able to delve deeper into visual, textual and artistic practice formats.
Autonomy of judgement: the student is expected to have acquired  the ability to contextualise the different artistic practices within the framework of contemporary social and cultural dynamics and demonstrate maturity of critical re-elaboration and autonomy of investigation. They will also achieve full critical awareness and a mature ability to read works of art by placing them in their historical-cultural context. He will learn to deal with critical literature and visual documents contemporary with the artists' work, thus acquiring a high historical-philological profile. 

Communication skills: the student is expected to demonstrate that he has acquired a good ability to use specific historical-artistic terminology relating, above all, to artistic techniques.
Ability to learn: the student is expected to have developed learning skills such that they can continue to study mostly in a self-directed or autonomous way.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Some lessons may be held outside the classrooms to directly view the works discussed in class. The destination will be discussed and defined with the students during the course.

Teaching

In-class lessons.

Innovative teaching methods

Flipped Classroom and Learning by doing. On the occasion of the meetings with the national artists, Artist Talks moderated directly by the students and workshops with the students will be prepared.

Attendance

In order to be considered attending students, students must attend at least two-thirds of the lessons. 

Course books

To give students and non-attending students the opportunity to compensate for what is done during lessons with independent study, the following materials referring to the same contents of the program are indicated in order to promote full understanding

Textbook:

Silvia Bordini (a cura di), "Arte contemporanea e tecniche. Materiali, procedimenti, sperimentazioni", Carocci, Roma 2007.

Beyond the study of this text, is requried the knowledge of the topics covered during the course, for which slides and further readings will be downloaded on the Moodle platform for easy consultation.

Assessment

A student is considered to be attending if he/she has attended at least 25 hours of lessons, corresponding to 70% of the total hours. The final evaluation will be based on the following criteria

a) punctuality and attendance at lessons, class participation: 30% (9/30 of the final grade)

b) assessment through a final exam. Assessment will take place through a written exam. This exam will consist in the recognition of three artworks among those studied in class or present in the reference manuals (7 + 7 + 7 = 21/30). For each image, starting from the recognition of the author, the title and the year, the student must be able to describe the technique of execution using the specific terminology, and then contextualize the various artistic practices in the context of contemporary social and cultural dynamics, demonstrating maturity in critical re-elaboration and appropriate knowledge of the bibliography: 70 % (21/30 of the final grade)

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Individual study.

Course books

Textbook:

Simona Rinaldi, Colore e pittura: teorie cromatiche e tecniche pittoriche dall'Impressionismo all'Astrattismo / Roma: Aracne ; 2004

Silvia Bordini (a cura di), "Arte contemporanea e tecniche. Materiali, procedimenti, sperimentazioni", Carocci, Roma 2007.

John Gage, Colore e cultura. Usi e significati dall'antichità all'arte astratta, Istituto poligrafico e zecca dello stato, Libreria dello stato, Roma 2001

Assessment

Assessment will take place through a final oral exam. This exam will consist in:

a) the recognition of three artworks among those present in the reference manuals (7 + 7 + 7 = 21/30). For each image, starting from the recognition of the author, the title and the year, the student must be able to describe the technique of execution using the specific terminology. The student will then have to broaden the analysis by placing the work in the evolution of the individual artist's oeuvre as well as in its historical context, and then contextualize the various artistic practices in the context of contemporary social and cultural dynamics, demonstrating maturity in critical re-elaboration and appropriate knowledge of the bibliography: 70 % (21/30 of the final grade)

b) Two open questions on the supplementary text: John Gage, Colore e cultura. Usi e significati dall'antichità all'arte astratta, Istituto poligrafico e zecca dello stato, Libreria dello stato, Roma 2001

Knowledge of the topics covered during the course is required, the reference Powerpoint presentations and supplementary readings of which will be uploaded to the moodle platform and made freely available for consultation.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.