185LJ S20

Schedule and Assignments

Week 1

M 3/30) Class Intro (via email)

W 4/1)
Due: flickr account and a few photos

Sign up for a (free or pro) account at flickr.com. You can upload photos to their website on a computer, or you can use their app. You can also upload photos directly from the iphone photo app to flickr if you have the app installed. Look around in the app/site to find where to put in tags and descriptions etc.

I suggest we allow flickr to upload geotags for our images. If we do so we can easily see where peoples islands are. See the map above.

I made a flickr group for us, 'Island Art Probes 2020'. I am not sure how to get you all invited. I might have to wait until you have accounts on flickr.

Upload a photo of yourself. Tag it with: [your name], selfie and 185lj20
Upload at least two photos you take somewhere on your 'island'. Tag them with: 185lj20

Write some short descriptions in the images, starting to define the area you consider being your 'island.'

Week 2

M 4/6) Zoom meeting (link has been emailed to you), introductions, text discussion.
Due: Read Chapter 7 "The Country of the Mind" from Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez.
Be prepared to discuss.

Saturday 4/11)
Extended Island Excursion 1: Investigate your 'island' continuously from 10AM to 2PM.

Some activities you might try:

Walk around the perimeters of your 'island'.
Lie down and look up at the sky.
Smell things.
Draw/Photograph
Climb up something and look down at the ground.
Make installations with found objects.
Make a collection of five objects, keep changing the collection as you find new items that seems better.
Collect plants to dye with or make tea out of. Make a map of where you picked them.
Document where you feel safe/unsafe.
Prepare foods from things you find on the 'island.'
Eat
Try to communicate telepathically with the rest of the class.
Learn the names of the plants on your 'island' from a book.
Ponder about what happened on your 'island' 100/1000/10000 years ago.
Explore
Define your 'island'.
Climb trees.
Meditate
Get to know your island.
Nap (if safe/possible).
Say hello to all non-humans you meet.

Post at least 10 photos to Flickr documenting your explorations and/or work made during the day. Tag the photos with '185lj20' and 'first'. Add the photos to the 'Island Art Probes 2020' group.

It would be interesting if we all allowed geotags to be uploaded as well. If we do that, our 'islands' will show up on this map (but I understand if you don't want to make your exact location public) : 'Island Art Probes 2020' Flickr Group Map

Web site with old aerial photographs of California UCSB Library FrameFinder

Week 3

M 4/13) 10AM Zoom meeting, discussion of our first 'island excursion'

Week 4

M 4/20) NO Zoom meeting
Due: Island Research

Research some aspect of the culture, nature or history of your 'Island' you did not know about before. You should read several sources about the topic, not just one webpage. Upload at least 10 images to Flickr related to your research (might include screenshots, photos of texts you read etc.). Add them to our group and tag them with '185lj20', and 'research'. Describe your research and images in the image description.

Use the 'Country of the mind' text for inspiration.

Week 5

M 4/27) 10AM Zoom meeting, 'island' presentations
Due: Island Presentation

Continue your research and make 3-5 slides to use in a zoom presentation. Upload the slides as images to Flickr. Add them to our group and tag them with '185lj20', and 'presentation'.
Your presentation will be around 3 minutes long.

Week 6

M 5/4) 10AM Zoom meeting. Discussing ideas for our second longer 'island excursion', project ideas and reading.

Due:

Ideas for activities etc. for our second island excursion.
Project ideas.
Write a comment on at least one photo by each of the students in the class.
Read 'On the representation of the island in my artwork' by Astrid Nobel. Be prepared to discuss the text.

Saturday 5/9)
Extended Island Excursion 2: Work on island project(s) on your island continuously from 10AM to 2PM or longer.

Due On Saturday Morning:

On slack, in the channel #dispersedcollective, write a small assignment for your class mates to do on their island during Saturday's outing (or afterwards). In the assignment, tell the participants what tag to use to tag their response on flickr.

Week 7

M 5/11) NO Zoom meeting.

Due:

Upload 10 photos/'sketches' of your project research/process from the second island excursion. Tag the photos with '185lj20' and 'second'. Add the photos to the 'Island Art Probes 2020' group.
Responses to peoples requests for participation in their "dispersed collective" project as defined on slack.

Week 8

M 5/18) Zoom meeting. Project Discussions.

Due:

At least 3 sketches of, or images describing, the 'island' project(s) you are working on.

Week 9

M 5/25) NO zoom meeting. Have a nice Memorial Day weekend!

Week 10

M 6/1) Zoom meeting. Project Crit.

Due:Project(s)

Upload pictures from the process to flickr, add to our group, tag with 'project'. Use the description field to describe your process.
Exhibition: Upload 2-7 pictures of the finished project to flickr, add to our group, tag with 'exhibition.' Use the title field for the title of the project. Use the description field to describe the material, duration, concept, and anything else you would want an audience to know about the project.

Islands and Art

Vivian Ross Smith
On the representation of the island in my artwork, Astrid Nobel 2015
Hayling Stories
Nissology by CaroCsound in Hayling Stories
Jean-Yves Vigneau
Suzanne Thomas, Littoral Space(s):Liquid Edges of Poetic Possibility
PACIFIC ISLAND LIFE RECORD(ING)S Lucinda Dayhew

Nissology (Island Studies)

The Journal of Island Studies

Santa Cruz Island

UC Natural Reserve System: Santa Cruz Island
Santa Cruz Island Foundation
Islapedia
Exhibit Offers Look at Pastoral Heritage of Santa Cruz Island ... [LA Times 1989]
Various research papers about SCI
The 2018 Santa Cruz Island Earthquake

*Image by John Wiley borrowed from the Islapedia website.