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Art + Technology

About the Program

http://art-tech.arts.ufl.edu

Technology and mediated information are transforming the world in which we live, resulting in shifts in social interaction and the way we perceive ourselves as well as our environment. Art and artists are increasingly responding to these changes by integrating the language and methods of science. The Art + Technology program in the School of Art and Art History at the University of Florida prepares students to become artists by facilitating the conceptual, technical, and creative development of an informed and critical practice. The program approaches forms and technologies located at the "cutting-edge" of science and commerce as sites of potential creative discourse, simultaneously realizing alternative possibilities and connections with the continuing dialogue of art. Learning is viewed as a participatory experience where students learn to think critically and gain aesthetic, technical, and production skills in a hands-on environment. Students are encouraged to approach art from a transdisciplinary perspective, using technology to critically explore and understand the world as well as technology itself. Art + Technology not only empowers artists to produce effective art, but also provides skills that allow students to excel in any endeavor that rewards creativity and innovation.

Undergraduate
The Art + Technology area at UF provides students with the opportunities to explore the possibilities of creating artwork using emerging technologies within the context of a hand-on studio art environment. Students learn to synthesize ideas from the disciplines of art, science and critical theory. The program seeks to develop critical thinkers who understand the broader social and theoretical implications of Art + Technology and use this knowledge to inform and frame their artistic practice. The program recognizes that art produced in a digitally mediated society requires a breadth of understanding that spans multiple disciplines, and places value on ideas rather than tools.

Art + Technology are rapidly evolving. At UF, we encourage students to challenge and advance the definition of Art + Technology while developing a theoretical and critical basis for action. The undergraduate curriculum exposes students to digital imaging, computer programming, web design, digital video, animation, interactivity, gaming, installation, simulation, information visualization and special topics in emerging technologies and art forms. With a focus on transdisciplinary practice, students are required to take elective courses in the School of Art and Art History and strongly encouraged to avail themselves of the rich selection of elective courses in the many other disciplines that contribute to the fabric of Art + Technology. In their senior year, students integrate what they have learned, and focus on the creation of a clearly defined work of art using Art + Technology.

Undergraduate Equipment and Faciliites
Undergraduate students are expected to have a Macintosh laptop equipped with software and hardware appropriate to their course of work. Students share a large communal studio space available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have access to a sound editing room and a black box studio installation space. The University of Florida Art + Technology program also provides a state of the art multi-media and digital video editing facility available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The 20-seat lab is equipped with 15 27-inch iMac's with 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processors and 5 Mac Pros with 2 Quad Core Intel Xeon Processors. Software includes latest versions of industry standard software such as, Photoshop, Flash, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Unity, Max MSP/Jitter and more. Lab input devices include 2 flatbed scanners and 2 film scanners. Output includes an Epson 4800 printer and Epson 9600 wide format printer. In addition to this, an equipment checkout cage is available on the weekdays. Equipment includes 3chip mini DV cameras, single chip DV cameras, DVD players, video projectors, video monitors, 5.1 sound receivers, microphones and speakers. Equipment is checked out on a 24 -hour basis.

Graduate
UF's graduate program in Art + Technology seeks to expand the model of what is considered to be digital, fostering a multidisciplinary approach that integrates artistic research, contemporary theory, and practice. The Art + Technology program serves as a catalyst for developing lifelong research questions and passions, as well as facilitating dialogues and collaborations not only between traditional and digital art forms within the School of Art and Art History, but across the university. Students are encouraged to make conceptual work that encompasses both the virtual and physical world and that critically reflects upon the relationship between culture and technology.

The Art + Technology program cultivates an environment where students can experiment with data, interactivity, installation, networks, video, sound, text, animation, Internet, sensing devices, GPS, biotechnology, mapping, immersive spaces, aesthetic computing as well as emerging and yet unimagined forms of digital expression. The University of Florida affords motivated students opportunities and resources to realize projects and collaborations at a scale and depth unavailable at smaller institutions. The program includes studio courses, graduate seminars in history, theory and criticism, studio critique, and independent studies. Students have access to courses in other areas in order to create synergistic relationships that will potentially inform and be integrated into individual studio practice. Students are expected and encouraged to grow as artists over the course of the three-year program

Background and Preparation
Graduate students in Art + Technology should have a strong background in technology, studio art or other related disciplines and be prepared to integrate these skills into the creative process. The Art + Technology program serves to hone technology skills as part of a larger studio practice focusing on students’ conceptual development as artists rather than learning technology targeted for a specific vocational trajectory.

Graduate Facilities and Equipment
Graduate students are expected to have a laptop equipped with software and hardware appropriate to their course of research. The University of Florida Art + Technology program also provides a state of the art multi-media and digital video editing facility available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The 20-seat lab is equipped with 15 27-inch iMac's with 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processors and 5 Mac Pros with 2 Quad Core Intel Xeon Processors. Software includes latest versions of industry standard software such as, Photoshop, Flash, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Unity, Max MSP/Jitter and more. Lab input devices include 2 flatbed scanners and 2 film scanners. Output includes an Epson 4800 printer and Epson 9600 wide format printer. In addition to this, an equipment checkout cage is available on the weekdays. Equipment includes 3chip mini DV cameras, single chip DV cameras, DVD players, video projectors, video monitors, 5.1 sound receivers, microphones and speakers. Equipment is checked out on a 24 -hour basis.

Graduate students also have 24-7 to an interdisciplinary workspace equipped with a desk and space for personal belongings. The area includes a 5.1 sound projection theater for viewing and critique of work, as well as a Mac Pro video editing station and a Pro Tools sound-editing suite.

Faculty and Program Contacts

Katerie Gladdys

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School of Art + Art History
Associate Professor
Area: Art + Technology

kgladdys@ufl.edu
T:(352) 273-3073 F:(352) 392-8453 P.O. Box 115801
Gainesville, FL 32611-5801
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Jack Stenner

View Biography
View Research Biography
School of Art + Art History
Associate Professor
Area: Art + Technology

stenner@ufl.edu
T:(352) 273-3074 F:(352) 392-8453 101 FAC P.O. Box 115801
Gainesville, FL 32611-5801
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Michael Christopher

View Biography
School of Art + Art History
Teach Lab Specialist
Area: Art + Technology

mchristo@ufl.edu
T:(352) 273-3077 F:(352) 392-8453 101 FAC P.O. Box 115801
Gainesville, Fl 32611-5801
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