The aim of this course is to introduce students to current debates between cinema studies and contemporary art. The course explores experimental modes of filming, montaging, installing, screening, and displaying images between the White Cube (gallery/museum) and the Black Box (cinema). We will examine several creative works across a wide range of media and will explore how the so-called turn towards ‘documentary practices’ from the 1990s has been deployed in the genres of the video essay, the found-footage film, and the installation. We will study carefully the work of some of these artists (Chris Marker, Chantal Akerman, Agnes Varda among others). Moreover, we will also become acquainted with some of the historical precedents from the ‘60s and ‘70s when Expanded Cinema, Performance, and Installation were radically pushing the modernist legacy of medium-specificity. The course will also focus on artists and filmmakers who not only straddle the border between Art & Film but who are dedicated to the craft of writing and reflecting critically about their creative process. We will also have some guest speakers who curate in between cinema and art galleries/museums coming to our class to give presentations on our subject matter.
Joey Yee
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Joey Yee 