Syllabus

 

ART 116 TECHNOLOGIES OF THE MOVING IMAGE: TOPICS IN
FILM, VIDEO, AND INSTALLATION ART

THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS

WINTER 2004

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CLASS INFO

Professor: Hisham Bizri
Email: hb@hishambizri.com
Voice: (530) 752 - 2131
Office hours: TR 4-5 & by appointment
Course hours: TR 1:00-4:00
Course location: Department of Art & Art History, ART 230
Teaching Assistant: Norma Beirne, nbeirne@pacbell.net

SYLLABUS

Course Description
Technologies of the moving image have shaped 20th century art and culture. Although much has been said about the impact of technologically mass-produced moving images on our consciousness, little has been said about the place technology has played in the language of moving images as art.

This course is a practical and intellectual investigation of the technological development of the language of cinema and its metamorphoses into video and installation art. We will examine the pre-history of cinema (15th century – 1890), early and silent cinema (1895-1928), sound and color cinema (1930’s – 1950’s), modernist cinema of the 60’s, and video and installation art in the last 30 years. These examinations will be done through a number of studio projects as well as in depth reading and screenings.

Course Requirements and Grading
1. Mandatory class attendance and arriving on time
2. Assignments must be completed on time. Late assignments are not permitted
3. Students must participate in class discussions
4. Weekly presentations and projects (40%)
5. In-class mid-term paper (30%)
6. Final Project (30%)

Papers, presentations, and projects are expected to reflect reading assignments, films and artworks shown in class, the instructor’s lectures, and the general discussion.

READINGS

Required Text
The Oxford History of World Cinema, Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey, (editor). Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1996
Film Style and Technology: History and Analysis, Salt, Barry. Starword, 1993
Experimental Cinema in the Digital Age, Le Grice, Malcolm . British Film Institute, 2002
Installation Art in the New Millennium: The Empire of the Senses, Nicolas de Oliveira, Michael Petry, Nicola Oxley. Thames & Hudson, 2003
Video Art, Rush, Michael. Thames & Hudson, 2003Digital Moviemaking (2nd Edition), Billups, Scott. Michael Wiese Productions 2003
Recommended Texts

Cinema, A Critical Dictionary, V. 1 and 2, Roud, Richard (editor). London: Seck and Warburg, 1980
The Great Art of Light and Shadow: Archaeology of the Cinema, Mannoni, Laurent. University of Exeter Press, 2000
The Emergence of Cinema , Mussar, Charles. University of California Press, 1994
D. W. Griffith and the Origins of American Narrative Film: The Early Years at Biograph, Gunning, Tom. University of Illinois Press, 1994
On Photography, Sontag, Susan. Picador, 2001
Ways of Seeing, Berger, John. Penguin, 1991

SCREENINGS (Tuesdays)

The Movies Begin: Muybridge; Lumiére, Méliès, Porter, and the Edison films
Griffith Masterworks Set, Griffith, D.W.
Man With the Movie Camera, Vertov, Dziga (1929)
Napoleon, Gance, Abel (1927)
Foolish Wives (1922) & Greed (1924), Stroheim, Joseph Von
Santa Claus, Smith, G.A. (1899) and Mary Jane’s Mishap (1903)
Faust, Murnau, F.W. (1926)
Vampyre, Dreyer, Carl Theodore (1932)
Sunrise Murnau, F.W. (1927)
The Inhuman Woman, L’Herbier, Marcel (1924)
Avant-garde films: Leger, Man Ray, and Dulac
The Magnificent Ambersons, Orson Welles (1942)
Ivan the Terrible 1 &2, Eisenstein, Sergei (1945 &58)
Tempestaire, Le, Epstein, Jean (1947)
An American in Paris, Minnelli, Vincent (1951)
The Searchers and Seven Women, Ford, John (1956)
Rear Window, Hitchock, Alfred (1954)
La Ronde, Ophuls, Max (1950)
Eva, Joseph Losey (1968)
Miklós Jancsó’s The Round Up (1966)
Raul Ruiz’s Life is a Dream (1986)
Lemon, Frampton, Hollis (1969)
Stan Brakhage
Serene Velocity, Gehr, Ernie (1970)
Rose Hubart, Cornell, Joseph (1937)

The Lady and the Duke, Rohmer, Eric (2001)
Russian Ark and Elegies of a Voyage, Sokurov, Alexander (2002)
Paik, Viola, Boustani, Bukanowski, Brakhage, Sharits, Acconci, Sturtevant, Graham, Mccarthy

SCHEDULE & ASSIGNMENTS

Weekly Presentations
Students are required to present and discuss their work, readings, and screenings as well as write several short reports.

Weekly Schedule & Assignments

Week 1
Topic: The History of Pre-Cinema
Screening (sequences):
The Movies Begin: Muybridge; Lumiére, Méliès, Porter, Edison
Griffith Masterworks Set, Griffith, D.W.

Week 2
Topic: Silent & Early Cinema
Screening (sequences):
Man With the Movie Camera , Vertov, Dziga (1929)
Napoleon, Gance, Abel (1927)
Foolish Wives, Stroheim, Joseph Von (1922)
The Round Up, Miklós Jancsó (1966)
Faust, Murnau, F.W. (1926) & Sunrise Murnau, F.W. (1927)
The Inhuman Woman, L’Herbier, Marcel (1924)
Full screening:
Greed, Striheinm, Joseph Von(1924)

Week 3
Topic: Sound Cinema
Screening (sequences)
Avant-garde films: Leger, Man Ray
Le Tempestaire, Epstein, Jean (1947)
Ivan the Terrible 1 &2 , Eisenstein, Sergei (1945 &58)
Full screening:
The Magnificent Ambersons , Orson Welles (1942)
Project # 1

Week 4 (in-class mid-term paper)
Topic: Color Cinema
Screening (sequences):
Ivan the Terrible 1 &2 , Eisenstein, Sergei (1945 &58)
The Searches & Seven Women, Ford, John
Full Screening:
An American in Paris
Ful screening:
One from the Heart
Project # 2

Week 5
Topic: Modernist Cinema
Screening (sequences)
Rear Window, Hitchock, Alfred (1954
Life is a Dream, Raul Ruiz (1986)
Full screening:
Eva, Losey, Joseph (1968)
Lemon, Frampton, Hollis (1969)

Project # 3

Week 6
Topic: Modernist Cinema
Screening (sequences)
Stan Brakhage
Serene Velocity, Gehr, Ernie (1970)
The Lady and the Duke, Rohmer, Eric (2001)
Full screening:
Russian Ark, Sokurov, Alexander (2002)

Project #4

Week 7
Topic: Video Art
Screening (sequneces):
Paik, Viola, Acconci, Sturtevant, Graham, Mccarthy

Project # 5

Week 8
Topic: Video Art
Screening (sequences):
Rybzcynski, Boustani, Bukanowski

Week 9
Topic: Installation Art

Week 10

Final projects