Workshops for digital artists at Berlin Summer University of the Arts

International artists have the opportunity to gain an insightful look into and experience the world behind the scenes of the world-renowned art university

Posted on: 5 May 2017

The Berlin Summer University of the Arts is home to a multitude of workshops and courses incorporating all disciplines of the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin): Performing Arts, Fine Arts, Design and Music. The broad spectrum of courses ranges from classical master-classes to experimental workshops and new formats. International artists have the opportunity to gain an insightful look into and experience the world behind the scenes of the world-renowned art university as well as meeting and networking with other artists and expanding individual creative horizons.

Currently there are two upcoming workshops.

Digital Materiality (June 2017)

In this workshop we will analyse digital technologies from their material properties to help grasp what they are, how they are changing us and how we can change them as well. We will explore the ever diversifying, discipline-melting realms of creative digital practices, which may be art, design, propaganda, engineering or all at once.

Digital technologies and processes are increasingly integrated in all aspects of our lives: from ubiquitous all-at-once social media, high frequency trading and smart cities to the instruments we use to make art and express ourselves. They open up new realms of experience and open up questions about who and what we are. In this seminar we will analyze digital technologies from their material properties to help grasp how they work, what they are, how they are changing us and maybe how we can change them. Our crash course will reference thinkers from the ancient physicists through the scientific revolution to today’s quantum physics, from Plato to Marx to contemporary political economy and out into speculative new Materialism and post-history. We will explore the ever diversifying, discipline-melting realms of creative digital practices, which may be art, design, propaganda, engineering, and all at once. We will discuss, research and prepare small presentations for each other, as we attempt to synthesize our understanding in texts, performances and objects.

More info: http://summer-university.udk-berlin.de/?id=227

Stereoscopic Etudes (September 2017)

This course will investigate exemplary strategies of stereo 3D image making as artistic expression. We will realise this by exploring practical excercises of making and spectating.

On the practical part of the artistic use of stereo3D image making:

Stereoscopic image making, especially filmmaking has seen many ups and downs. The recent hype, started in 2009 and now going down again, is slightly different. The digitization of the production eased many challenges and enabled a democratized access to this method. This leads to a growing use of stereo3D in the context of filmmaking, photography and visual art.

Hence stereo3D still counts as infantile and reduced to its „effect“. I think stereo3D offers so many potentials that it will lead to an improved visual vocabulary. But what we know about images doesn’t help very much. Image makers have to start from scratch again.

This course will investigate exemplary strategies of stereo3D image making. We will have a look at contemporary and older stereoscopic works. We will wander around the topic 3D by reading comics and talk about ancient paintings. Finally we will try it on our own in praxis. And we will ask ourselves „What else could be done?“.

More info: http://summer-university.udk-berlin.de/?id=223