Experiments with Text

Prerequisites: All OF THE FOLLOWING: ARTDES 220: Second Year Studio.

Description: We use writing all the time to communicate our ideas. But what happens when words are projected on a building? Or embroidered on a quilt? Or stolen from Craigslist to make a poem? In this course, we will go beyond traditional writing rules and use language as material. You will have a chance to break craft expectations, collage text, erase text, remediate text, paint or draw or speak text, use found text or invent a new text — or find some other way to work with anything alphabetical. To support this making, we will study art and written works that use language in unconventional ways, including experimental poetry and fiction, expressive typography, audio work, conceptual writing, text-based animation, and artworks that use text as image or with images. You will also have a chance to examine the text that surrounds you in your everyday life — what you read or speak or overhear. The choice of media for all projects will be up to you, and you are welcome to explore any topic of interest through text. The course will culminate in a final project of your own design.