Rhetorical Theory and Criticism: Rhetorical Theory – Video/Art/Performance: Genealogies of Time-based Media Art Practice

Developed from the mixed media experiments of the 1960s through to new digital and virtual aesthetics of our current moment, time-based media art offers an opportunity to explore cross-pollination amongst many art forms—including painting, sculpture, photography, cinema, dance, theater, and performance art. Sometimes video art begins as documentation of another art form; sometimes it is conceived as a limited edition art form of its own. Sometimes the screen is positioned as a delivery system of art and performance; sometimes the screen is incorporated as artistic material. We will consider these questions of form and system next to social and political questions of theme and content. How have video artists engagement with some of the most pressing issues of our time, including climate change, racial inequity, gender and sexuality, decolonization, globalization, pandemic politics, and the social impact of ever-new technology? The course will take advantage of local exhibitions and screenings as well as a variety of online tools and video collections. Students will engage as scholars throughout the course while also experimenting in curation and video-making themselves. Readings and case studies will likely include Marina Abramovic, Doug Aitken, John Akomfrah, Erika Balsom, Janet Cardiff, TJ Demos, Jeffrey Gibson, Allison Janae Hamilton, Lynn Hershman, Arthur Jafa, Kahlil Joseph, Joan Jonas, William Kentridge, Barbara London, Richard Mosse, Shirin Neshat, and many more, including the examples and projects that students bring to a growing a archive.