program
Critical Art+Design is the focus of the Studio Art department’s digital media area. This umbrella term covers a wide range of faculty and student practices, but they all share an emphasis on hybrid methods that integrate computation with other media, and that are critically engaged with key cultural issues.
Undergraduates do not have to declare a major in this area to take courses; in fact, they are encouraged to take Critical Art+Design courses side by side with video, installation, sculpture, music, and so on. Through immersion in the principles of information design and programming, students gain the necessary skills to collaborate with innovators from many other fields, putting them in a position to tackle tomorrow’s vital issues. As they move their practice beyond traditional exhibition venues, they are enabled to intervene more directly in the shaping of their culture.
To help students plan their curriculum, the Critical Art+Design area of Studio Art is developing formal concentrations and informal tracks, each focusing on a different subset of practices and outcomes. Currently students can declare a formal concentration in Game Culture and Technology, with approval by the digital media faculty. Informal tracks include Internet Art, Interactive Art and Installation, Interactive Narrative, Cyberformance, Hybrid Media, and Information Design (for print and web). Suggested course groupings for these tracks can be found on this site under “Course Plans.”
Critical Art+Design students may also be interested in the Digital Arts Minor. For more information, check out the Digital Arts Minor website.