Introduction to Artistic Experimentation: Bootlegs & Bastards (Fall 2021)

Instructor

Marisa Morán Jahn

TA

Kazi Ishraki

Units

3-3-6

Lab Fee

$75

Credit

U

Schedule

WR 2-5

Location

E15-207

This course is an introduction to artistic practice and critical visual thinking. Through hands-on demos (sculpture, mould-making, sewing, cold connections), brainstorms, readings, guest lectures, presentations, ample one-on-one feedback from the course instructor and TA, and two projects, students gain facility in artistic production and gain exposure to new methods of working. Open to undergraduates only.

This course takes inspiration from the following:
According to the logic of the bootleg — the knock-off, simulacra, or pirated work — the greater the infidelity, degradation, and remove from the originary object, the more valuable the bootleg in fact becomes. Here, the new mark of authenticity becomes the messy trail of the bootleg as it wrests away from its signifier. Make way for versionhood.
Born from irregular or dubious origin, a bastard questions (il)legitimacy, (im)purity, and sanctity itself. Excluded from normative customs, a bastard operates via a different logic.

This class will take place fully in person in Fall 2021.