Forget FontForge... how can I rethink this new media class assignment?

oulipian — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:55:05 -0800

NewMediaArtProjectFilter: Help me rework a digital art assignment involving font-making software and database-esque art. I teach a new media class in a university visual arts program. I am planning several class assignments around forms which are often found in new media art, specifically the loop and the database. For the loop project, students are to create a looped animation using Photoshop or Flash. For the database assignment, I had planned to have students create a font, which can be thought of as having a database-like form (a non-hierarchical collection of discrete items which can be reconfigured in various ways). My definition of the database form in new media art is drawn largely from Lev Manovich's The Language of New Media.

Note that this is not a typography class and I am not teaching students to design proper typefaces; the focus is on creating visual art which has a database-like structure, and I think the font format would be a useful way to introduce this idea. The resulting "fonts" would be more like dingbat fonts than traditional typefaces, and could be thought of as systems for creating art. For example, I will be showing the class Paul Chan's Alternumerics and Kelly Mark's Letraset Drawings.

I had planned to use FontForge (open-source font creation software) for this project, but it is proving impossible to work with - I haven't been able to install it successfully on Mac 10.4, and the lack of adequate documentation online makes me hesitant to use it in class. There does not seem to be any alternative free or open source font-making software available. FontStruct is very neat but its modular approach is a little too restrictive.

Since creating a working font does not seem possible, what other database-like forms might be useful for this project? I can certainly have students create an "alphabet" of visual forms without the end result being a computer-readable font file, but this falls a little short of what I wanted this project to accomplish. One thing I really like about the idea of creating a working font is the ability to then "translate" existing texts into a visual system one has created (the Alternumerics link above is really the best example of what I am imagining here).

So what I am asking is, how can I reconfigure this project? Is there a way to easily create fonts without FontForge or expensive software, or can you think of an alternative way to have students create art which is similarly database-like? I am thinking some kind of collaborative project (where each student creates a small component of a larger work) might be the way to go.

This is a small class of visual arts students who have access to Adobe Creative Suite 3, are fluent in Photoshop and Illustrator, and are not programmers.

I know this is rather convoluted and specific, but any comments or suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks!

Breaking into Performance Art

divabat — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:45:01 -0800

How do I get into performance art? I've seen this video series and read some links, and find the concept of performance art interesting. However, I'm finding it hard to get more resources and help on breaking into performance art.

Whenever I try asking people about it, they think I'm asking about performing arts and start referring me to theatres and choirs. (Google does the exact same thing.) Trying to describe performance art is tricky too - "well, they do weird stuff. In all sorts of styles. And it has a concept."

I have plenty of ideas for potential performance art, but I don't know how to start putting them together. I'm worried about seeming wanky or pretentious, when really all I want to do is express myself in a mixture of mediums. (A large part of this involves creating a persona, which is also another hard subject to Google - I keep getting stuff about MPD or superheroes.)

How do I find a teacher to guide me? What resources are out there and how do I find them (without getting stuck into the Performing Arts section)? How can I develop myself and my art? How do I get my ideas out of my head and onto...well, whatever my stage happens to be?

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Forget FontForge... how can I rethink this new media class assignment?

Breaking into Performance Art