Interspecies Collaboration (Art 185LJ) Spring 2013

Class Description/Syllabus (pdf)
Week 1 (April 1)
  1. Class and Student Introductions
  2. Interspecies Collaboration Website
  3. Lecture: Collaborative Structures and Project Examples
  4. Watch Movie Animal Attraction by Kathy High

IMPORTANT! Before next class
  • Buy book for reading 1.
  • Make a decision about going to Santa Cruz Island or not.
Week 2 (April 8)
  1. Workshop with animal communicator Barbara Janelle.
  2. Discussion about the experience with Barbara and about the movie we saw last week.
  3. If time allows: Walk out on campus and try what you learned from Barbara. (See due for next week below.)
Due: Web Profile
Add your profile to the Interspecies Collaboration Website. Write at least 300 words about your interest in Interspecies Collaboration, you can also write about special memories you have with some animal, or your connection to animals in general. Unfortunately you can't go back and edit your entry right now, so make sure you are submitting what you want to submit.

Also start communicating with and/or pay attention to the animals you meet during your day.

Week 3 (April 15)
  1. Discussing the experience with animal communicator Barbara Janelle
  2. Jim Nollman Text Discussion
  3. 3PM Visit to The UCSB "REEF"
Due: Reading 1
Read Chapter 1: The Turkey Trot and Chapter 4: Interspecies Protocol from The Man Who Talks to Whales: the Art of Interspecies Communication by Jim Nollman (2002) [buy online].

Be prepared to discuss the texts in class. Write a paragraph about what is the most interesting to you about each chapter.
Submitt the paragraps to the site:

Add Content->Text
Title: whatever you want
Type: Other
Subject: Art Made Together With Non Human Animals
Animals Involved: Whale, Rooster (maybe more...)
Text: Your paragraphs about the chapters
Connect Text To ->Resource
Select "The Man Who Talks With Whales ..."
Submit
Due: Animal Communication Response
Go out in your neighbourhood. Attempt to communicate with an animal (could be a spider, ant, scrub jay, squirrel, cat etc) you meet using what you learned in Barbara Janell's workshop. Take pictures of the animal, and the site you are at and maybe yourself. Write a description of your experience of the communictation on the website and upload some of the photos. If you have access to a pet do the same with a pet.
In addition, on the same page, include comments about your experience in the workshop and also the movie we saw last week.
Submit the "project" to the site: Add Content->Art Project
When you have submitted the project, you add pictures to it by going to the project (click on By Collaborators-> Art Projects). On the project page click Add Media

Week 4 (April 22)
  1. Brief Lecture: Non-Human Animals as Artists?
  2. Movie: Why Birds Sing? (1h 15m BBC4)
  3. Local Excursion
Walk around the lagoon, the beach and the lagoon island. Look for individuals of other species as well as traces (paw prints, droppings, nests) of other species. Find as many as possible and document what you see, take pics and video. At some point stop and try to do an improvised collaboration with one of the non-humans you found (or the traces of them). Document the process.
Upload documentation and descriptions to the site.
Due: Ongoing Weekly Assignment
Write at least 500 words about the interspecies collaborations you are working on. Upload at least a few images and/or video every week to document the projects and/or your research.
Lisa Jevbratt talks in the Media Arts Technology Program Seminar Series about her Zoomorph Project.
Week 5 (April 29)
Visit Lil Orphan Hammies: We meet there at 1.45PM. Count on an hour to get there. Carpooling needs to be organized.
Map. Do not forget to give Lisa the liability waiver. Bring cameras or drawing tools or whatever else you think could be useful. Try to do some kind of collaboration while we are there. Read about pot bellied pigs. What are they doing that could be considered creative activity?
Due: Ongoing Weekly Assignment
Write at least 500 words about the interspecies collaborations you are working on. Upload at least a few images and/or video every week to document the projects and/or your research.
Week 6 (May 6)
  1. Text Discussion
  2. Lecture: Artists working with animals
  3. Student Presentations: Talk about the projects you made so far. Show images, video etc. Also select one of the species you have worked with or are planning to work with and prepare a few minutes presentation about that species habits, play- and aesthetic- behavior etc. Also discuss humans relationship with that species. Upload the information about the species (specifically pertinent to collaboration, no need to copy a whole wikipedia entry) and images of it to your project page related to the species.

Due: Reading 2
Read Introduction Chapter: The idiot, the Voyeur and the Moralist from Artist Animal (Posthumanities) by Steve Baker (2013) [copies will be provided]

Address these questions in writing. Add the text you write to the interspecies collaboration site (see details on class site). Be prepared to discuss these and other issues in class:
1. What does Steve Baker think of Randy Malamud and others who criticize artists working with animals of being non-ethical?
2. According to Baker, what is the issue with looking at the ethical issues of an artwork before making a proper reading of it?
3. What is some of Baker's criticism of the Rat Piece and Helena?
4. Is Baker defending the Rat Piece and Helena? How/Why?
5. According to Baker, can we trust artist to work with/use animals?
6. Do you think artist have ethical responsibilities? Why/why not? What are those ethical responsibilities in regards to working with animals?
7. What does Bryndis Snaebjornsdotter mean when she says it is impossible to ask if it is ethical to use animals in art without also asking if it is ethical to use them in science and for food? Do you agree/disagree?

Submitt your text to the site:

Add Content->Text
Title: whatever you want
Type: Other
Subject: Art Related to Animal Rights
Text: Your text about the chapter
Connect Text To ->Resource
Select "Artist Animal"
Submit
Due: Ongoing Weekly Assignment
Write at least 500 words about the interspecies collaborations you are working on. Upload at least a few images and/or video every week to document the projects and/or your research.
May 10 to 12: Santa Cruz Island. Meet at 8.00 AM sharp at Island Packers in Ventura on Friday. See map.
Research the animals on the Santa Cruz island (see links on the location list above).

Info about the island and research station:
Reserve Homepage
Brochures
Photos from the island from Fall 2008 (the art dep grad students, not an interspecies class)
A graduate show with works made on the island 2008 (not an interspecies class)
Photos from the island from Fall 2010 (the undergraduate honor class doing different projects on the island, not an interspecies class)
Week 7 (May 13)
We will be meeting today. We will be watching the movie Saving Luna and look at presentations of students who missed class last week.
Exhibition discussion.
Due: Ongoing Weekly Assignment
Write at least 500 words about the interspecies collaborations you are working on. Upload at least a few images and/or video every week to document the projects and/or your research.
Week 8 (May 20)
Discussing and working on the projects for the exhibition.
Due: Idea/materials for exhibition project
We will talk about your exhibition project in class and there will be time to work on things like editing photos, sound, video. So bring your ideas, digital files, drawings and other materials that you need to work on and want input on.

Due: Ongoing Weekly Assignment
Write at least 500 words about the interspecies collaborations you are working on. Upload at least a few images and/or video every week to document the projects and/or your research.
Week 9 (May 27)
Memorial Day NO CLASS
Due: Project for Exhibition
Select one or several projects you worked on during the quarter and have them ready for exhibition.
Due: Ongoing Weekly Assignment
Write at least 500 words about the interspecies collaborations you are working on. Upload at least a few images and/or video every week to document the projects and/or your research.
Exhibition in Art Dep Gallery, What day? Thursday? Time?
Week 20 (June 3)
Installing Exhibition in the Art Dep. Gallery (We meet in the gallery)
Bring your work and everything you need to install it. Also bring snacks for the reception.
Exhibition Opening 5-7PM
Due: Project for Exhibition
Select one or several projects you worked on during the quarter and have them ready for exhibition.
Due: Ongoing Weekly Assignment
Write at least 500 words about the interspecies collaborations you are working on. Upload at least a few images and/or video every week to document the projects and/or your research.
Required Readings:
The readings will be discussed in class, used as inspiration and contextualization of projects. In addition you will write reviews of 3 of the required texts on interspeciescollaboration.net:
Potential locations for animal interactions/collaborations Map (under construction),
Animals in Captivity, Shelters etc
Wild Animals