Syllabus

Vis 147B Electronic Technologies for Art II. Wednesday 3-5:50pm.
Robert Twomey.
Office Hours: Wednesday 2-3pm.
robert.twomey@gmail.com

Syllabus

Goals:
* Expand your electronics knowledge, building on what you learned in 147A.
* Develop familiarity with microprocessors programming and system design.
* Help you all make interesting projects!
* Investigate the relationship between technology and art
based on your projects, your interests,
and other art and technology work.

Grading:
Final Project 40%
Midterm Project 30%
Assignments 15%
Attendance / Participation 15%
Total 100%


Topics:
Of technical instruction.

Motor Control.
Interface circuits.
Relays.
Opto-isolators.
Serial Communication.
Analog input.
Encoders — Controllers.

Audio.
Communication.
Wireless.

What can you do with a microprocessor?
Why would you want to?

reading inputs, controlling outputs. sensing the environment. controlling devices.
circuit design, fabrication.

MAKE GOOD ART!!
how do technology and art fit together?
large online community.
(avrfreaks http://www.avrfreaks.net/)

Technologies:
microcontroller—atmega32.
number six platform. (website http://six.media.mit.edu/)
anything else you can connect to a battery.

circuit design with CAD. Eagle CADsoft (http://www.cadsoftusa.com/)
use of oscilloscope.
programming microcontrollers in 'C'.
(avr-gcc and procyon avr-lib) (http://hubbard.engr.scu.edu/embedded/)

Kit:
Breadboards.
Components.
RIbbon cables,
(ordered as a group, approx $60-80)

Soldering Iron, breadboard, etc.
AC adapters.


Week1 - Introduction to the course. What is possible?
Week2 - Standard Tech Art.
Week3 - Political Technologies, Activist Art.
Week4 - Sensory/Perceptual Experience of Technology.
Week5 - Embodied, Situated Technology.
Week6 - Midterm due.
Week7 - Art Systems. Non-Technological Art.
Week8 - Science Fiction.
Week9 - Anti-Technological Impulse.
Week10 - Work on Finals.
Finals - Final due.

Field Trip - Erwin Redhl.

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Technical Reference:
(getting started http://six.media.mit.edu:8080/6/direction/get-your-board-ready)
1. Installing software tools. (website)
RS-232 to TTL converter.
2. Building number six platform.
3. Building serial adapter (http://web.media.mit.edu/~nvawter/number6/USBSerial/index.html)
FTDI TTL232R converter:
(http://www.ftdichip.com/Documents/DataSheets/Modules/DS_TTL232R.pdf)
(http://www.ftdichip.com/Products/EvaluationKits/TTL-232R.htm)
(http://store.makezine.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=TTL232R)
4. Installing Bootloader.
5. Compiling and uploading program.


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What is possible? (Technologically)
Electronics as compared to Computer Programming. Embedded processing. (website embedded-related)
Cornell production class. (website http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/ee476/FinalProjects/)
avrfreaks. (website)
atmega32 datasheet.

Standard Tech Art.
Irvine.
Berkley.
ITP.
MIT.

Political Technologies, Activist Art.
'The Artist As Mad Scientist.' Salon, June 22, 2006.
'Letting Go'. by Ian Allen. C Magazine (Toronto) Issue #58.
Computing Culture Group.

Sensory Experience.
'Sensorium—Embodied experience, technology, and contemporary art.' ed Caroline A Jones. 2006.

Embodied, Situated Technology.
'Flesh and Machines. How Robots Will Change Us.' Rodney A Brooks. 2002.
'The Artificial Life Route to Artificial Intelligence: Building Embodied Situated Agents'. eds Rodney Brooks, Luc Steels.
'Vehicles.' Braitenberg. 1984.

Art Systems, Non-Technological Art.
'Open Systems. Rethinking Art c.1970.' ed. Donna De Salvo. 2005.
'The Mimesis of Thinking.' Boris Groys.
'The Serial Attitude.' Mel Bochner.
'Paragraphs on Conceptual Art.' Sol LeWitt. 1967.
'Out of Order Out Of Sight Volume 1: Artists Writings.' Adrian Piper. 1996.

Science Fiction.
'The Left Hand of Darkness.' Ursula Le Guin. Authors Introduction.
Cyberpunk.
'Storming the Reality Studio.' ed Larry McCaffery. 1991.

Anti-technological impulse.
Luddite. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite)

'Unit Operations.' Ian Bogost. 2006.

'Programming in Common Lisp.' Rodney Brooks.