Info on Digital/Media Art MFA Programs

Hi Laurie –

I suggest looking into the innovative, low-residency MFA program at the
Maine College of Art – www.meca.edu. They have a unique approach to art
practice that includes new media, theory, and lots of productive
critique. They also partner students with a practicing artist as an
advisor for an entire year (so if you have someone you want to work
with, you can bring them in as your advisor).

This program is the future of MFA arts education.

I'm happy to answer any specific questions you might have about the
program.

best,
kanarinka

—–Original Message—–
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf
Of Laurie
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 3:00 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RHIZOME_RAW: Info on Digital/Media Art MFA Programs


hello… this is my first post to Rhizome!

I am currently preparing my portfolio and researching graduate programs
to apply for my MFA in digital/new media art. It's been challenging b/c
many of them have a career slant towards commericial art and design
(which I don't want), and the programs are widely varying in curriculum
and structure.

I am now trying to approach my search by looking for specific teachers I
would like to work with, rather than focus on the school's reputation or
program, since I don't feel like i'm finding quite what i'm looking for.
My background is in digital video, graphic design, interactive design,
and traditional fine art… so I don't need to learn the technology or
how to draw so much, but rather the means and support to channel that
technology and fine arts concepts into meaningful, interesting artworks.

So far, i've looked at and met w/ people from SVA, New School, NYU
(Tisch), and Art Institute of Chicago. I'm researching programs at:
UCSD, Pratt, Columbia, RISD and Royal School of Art.

Any comments or advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!
+
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Hi Laurie,

Yes, I would have said UCSD and tisch:
http://www.itp.nyu.edu
w/ Douglas Rushkoff (and Mark Napier – woo hoo!)

http://visarts.ucsd.edu/
w/ Lev Manovich and Amy Alexander

also:
http://mdp.artcenter.edu/program/
w/ Brenda Laurel and Peter Lunenfeld

http://dt.parsons.edu/mfadt.html (affiliated with the New School)
w/ Golan Levin

http://www.mcad.edu/
w/ Piotr Szyhalski ( http://www.mcad.edu/home/faculty/szyhalski/Piotr )
just because he rocks the block

and you can get an MFA in game development here, which is kind of cool:
http://www.scad.edu/academic/programs/graduate/index.html#mfa


Some low-residency MFA programs:
http://www.meca.edu/ (as kanarinka suggested)
http://www.tui.edu/prospective/ma/mfava/default.asp?strLink

Hi all,
Just a qwik revision to this list. Golan moved to Carnegie Mellon which has an interesting HCI program but not, I think, pertinent to Laurie's criteria. As a Parsons adjunct for 4 yrs, I'd dissuade Laurie from the MFADT program only because it tends towards the commercial unless you pick and choose your faculty and studios very wisely, in which case it can be a great situation. I'd also throw in that the student body can have a lot to do with the experience - that's universal, not unique to Parsons.
There's also the new program at RISD run by Bill Seaman which sounds really interesting too, esp for cross discipline class offerings!

my 2c
[sgp]


—–Original Message—–
From: curt cloninger <[email protected]>
Sent: Aug 25, 2004 4:55 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RHIZOME_RAW: Re: Info on Digital/Media Art MFA Programs

Hi Laurie,

Yes, I would have said UCSD and tisch:
http://www.itp.nyu.edu
w/ Douglas Rushkoff (and Mark Napier – woo hoo!)

http://visarts.ucsd.edu/
w/ Lev Manovich and Amy Alexander

also:
http://mdp.artcenter.edu/program/
w/ Brenda Laurel and Peter Lunenfeld

http://dt.parsons.edu/mfadt.html (affiliated with the New School)
w/ Golan Levin

http://www.mcad.edu/
w/ Piotr Szyhalski ( http://www.mcad.edu/home/faculty/szyhalski/Piotr )
just because he rocks the block

and you can get an MFA in game development here, which is kind of cool:
http://www.scad.edu/academic/programs/graduate/index.html#mfa


Some low-residency MFA programs:
http://www.meca.edu/ (as kanarinka suggested)
http://www.tui.edu/prospective/ma/mfava/default.asp?strLink

Check out the Electronic Visualization Lab at the University of Illinois at
Chicago. I think you get an MFA out of it. Great Painting program as well.

I would say stay away from Pratt.

Question?

Why do you need to get your masters?
Who is it that you specifically want to study under?

On 8/25/04 2:59 PM, "Laurie" <[email protected]> wrote:

> hello… this is my first post to Rhizome!
>
> I am currently preparing my portfolio and researching graduate programs to
> apply for my MFA in digital/new media art. It's been challenging b/c many of
> them have a career slant towards commericial art and design (which I don't
> want), and the programs are widely varying in curriculum and structure.
>
> I am now trying to approach my search by looking for specific teachers I would
> like to work with, rather than focus on the school's reputation or program,
> since I don't feel like i'm finding quite what i'm looking for. My background
> is in digital video, graphic design, interactive design, and traditional fine
> art… so I don't need to learn the technology or how to draw so much, but
> rather the means and support to channel that technology and fine arts concepts
> into meaningful, interesting artworks.
>
> So far, i've looked at and met w/ people from SVA, New School, NYU (Tisch),
> and Art Institute of Chicago. I'm researching programs at: UCSD, Pratt,
> Columbia, RISD and Royal School of Art.
>
> Any comments or advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!
> +
> -> post: [email protected]
> -> questions: [email protected]
> -> subscribe/unsubscribe: http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
> -> give: http://rhizome.org/support
> -> visit: on Fridays the Rhizome.org web site is open to non-members
> +
> Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
> Membership Agreement available online at http://rhizome.org/info/29.php
>

I'm currently working at Bowling Green State in Ohio. The atmosphere is
a small Midwestern college town, the curriculum is good, the program has
amazing labs, and the people actually like one another.

Patrick Lichty
Editor-In-Chief
Intelligent Agent Magazine
http://www.intelligentagent.com
1556 Clough Street, #28
Bowling Green, OH 43402
225 288 5813
[email protected]

"It is better to die on your feet
than to live on your knees."


—–Original Message—–
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf
Of Lee Wells
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2004 3:15 AM
To: Laurie; [email protected]
Subject: Re: RHIZOME_RAW: Info on Digital/Media Art MFA Programs
Importance: Low

Check out the Electronic Visualization Lab at the University of Illinois
at
Chicago. I think you get an MFA out of it. Great Painting program as
well.

I would say stay away from Pratt.

Question?

Why do you need to get your masters?
Who is it that you specifically want to study under?

On 8/25/04 2:59 PM, "Laurie" <[email protected]> wrote:

> hello… this is my first post to Rhizome!
>
> I am currently preparing my portfolio and researching graduate
programs to
> apply for my MFA in digital/new media art. It's been challenging b/c
many of
> them have a career slant towards commericial art and design (which I
don't
> want), and the programs are widely varying in curriculum and
structure.
>
> I am now trying to approach my search by looking for specific teachers
I would
> like to work with, rather than focus on the school's reputation or
program,
> since I don't feel like i'm finding quite what i'm looking for. My
background
> is in digital video, graphic design, interactive design, and
traditional fine
> art… so I don't need to learn the technology or how to draw so much,
but
> rather the means and support to channel that technology and fine arts
concepts
> into meaningful, interesting artworks.
>
> So far, i've looked at and met w/ people from SVA, New School, NYU
(Tisch),
> and Art Institute of Chicago. I'm researching programs at: UCSD,
Pratt,
> Columbia, RISD and Royal School of Art.
>
> Any comments or advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!
> +
> -> post: [email protected]
> -> questions: [email protected]
> -> subscribe/unsubscribe:
http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
> -> give: http://rhizome.org/support
> -> visit: on Fridays the Rhizome.org web site is open to non-members
> +
> Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
> Membership Agreement available online at
http://rhizome.org/info/29.php
>

+
-> post: [email protected]
-> questions: [email protected]
-> subscribe/unsubscribe: http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
-> give: http://rhizome.org/support
-> visit: on Fridays the Rhizome.org web site is open to non-members
+
Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
Membership Agreement available online at http://rhizome.org/info/29.php

Hi,
In response to recomendations on new media schools - here is a list of links, in order of my interest of new media programs around the country for people like myself also interested in a non-com bent. I have spent the last week or so trying to find a program with the right balance.

Good luck in your search, I hope this helps.

Seth Hunter

http://www.artic.edu/saic/programs/depts/graduate/ats.html
http://www.arts.rpi.edu/content/program/MFA.html
http://visarts.ucsd.edu/grad/index.html
http://artserver.cfa.cmu.edu:8080/navigation.jsp?PageP&Section&l1pI&l2pP&Level=2
http://www.arts.uci.edu/studioart/graduate/emphasis.html
http://www.calarts.edu/index.html
http://cadre.sjsu.edu/
http://ame.asu.edu/
http://dma.ucla.edu/index.php
http://arts.osu.edu/Art/department_pages/art_and_technology/gallery_frame.html
http://itp.tisch.nyu.edu/page/program.html
http://digitalarts.ucsc.edu/info/
http://www.mat.ucsb.edu/matHtml/index.php
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/art/graduate/mfa_studio/index.html
http://www.tui.edu/vermontcollege/templates/admissions.php?article_id
http://www.utexas.edu/cofa/a_ah/aca/studiodiv.html
http://www.vcu.edu/artweb/photo/faculty/faculty.html
http://www.media.mit.edu/mas/areas.html
http://www.pratt.edu/ad/cgim/first.html
http://www.scad.edu/academic/majors/index.html
http://www.sva.edu/mfacad/coursepage.html
http://vpa.syr.edu/main.html
http://www.artcenter.edu/accd/programs/graduate/media.jsp
http://art.washington.edu/div_listing.html
http://www.uic.edu/aa/artd/em_g.html

On Nov 6, 2004, at 11:53 PM, Seth Hunter wrote:

> http://www.artic.edu/saic/programs/depts/graduate/ats.html

Seth, I think you'd find the Film Video and New Media department at
SAIC much more interesting. Jon Cates created the New Media curriculum
there and is now teaching New Media classes full time, with an emphasis
on New Media history, criticism, theory and praxis. The ATS dept and
VisCom dept have "techy" classes that are light on theory, but I can't
imagine spending tens of thousands of dollars to attend a famously
conceptual school and then taking purely technical classes – you'd be
better off going to a local technical college.

If you have questions about://SAIC/FVNM/NewMedia.info, Jon's email
address is his first initial followed by his last name @artic.edu

- ben

Of course you could try

M.A. Interactive Art & Design in Falmouth U.K.

http://www.falmouth.ac.uk/en/programmes-of-study/interactive-art-design-ma.asp

best

Patrick

G9

> >Seth Hunter wrote:
>> >http://www.artic.edu/saic/programs/depts/graduate/ats.html

THEN

bensyverson wrote:
> >Seth, I think you'd find the Film Video and New Media department at
> SAIC much more interesting. Jon Cates >created the New Media
> curriculum there and is now teaching New Media classes full time, with
> an emphasis on >New Media history, criticism, theory and praxis. The
> ATS dept and VisCom dept have "techy" classes that are >light on
> theory, but I can't imagine spending tens of thousands of dollars to
> attend a famously conceptual school >and then taking purely technical
> classes – you'd be better off going to a local technical college.

bensyverson is describing my approach accurately but i would like to
add that the Art & Technology Studies (ATS) + Visual Communications
(Viscom) depts both have very talented ppl working in them. for
instance, David Crawford has just joined the Viscom faculty as their
first fulltime New Media hire. i am the first fulltime New Media hire
in the Film Video and New Media (FVNM) dept. i have been hired in the
New Media position that was announced here on rhizome.org by Dan
Eisenberg, the Chair of FVNM. other depts also either have or are
developing curriculum of interest to new media artists such as Sound,
Performance, Writing, Architecture Interior Architecture Designed
Objects (AIADO), etc. overall, the School of the Art Institute of
Chicago fosters interdisciplinary courses of study between depts.

as bensyverson said i have been developing the New Media curriculum
w/in the Film Video and New Media dept for the last few years + believe
that these + future developments we are planning as well as my current
fulltime position are very positive movements towards what is already
an amazing dept ppled w/well known practicing artists of various
interests + experiences. unlike other departments + schools, the Film
Video and New Media dept uniquely frames the historically rooted
theorypractice of New Media in relation to screen-based artmaking from
the advent of cinema to the current moment while involving diverse
forms of experimental + independent media art making such as expanded
cinema, artware, video games, etc. b/c of these developments,
perspectives + histories, sum of you may be drawn to the Film Video and
New Media dept. additionally FVNM is a young + dynamic program that
allows artists to develop their work in relation to film art, video art
+ various interdisciplinary studies. this is a substantial set of the
reasons why i am personally excited + enthused to be in the Film Video
and New Media dept.

general nfo on the Film Video and New Media dept is here:

http://www.artic.edu/saic/programs/depts/graduate/fvnm.html

++

http://www.artic.edu/saic/programs/depts/undergrad/fvnm.html

bensyverson wrote:
> >If you have questions about://SAIC/FVNM/NewMedia.info, Jon's email
> address is his first initial followed by his >last name @artic.edu

yes, that addy is: jcates AT artic.edu
or you can use this address that i am sub'ed to rhizome.org w/:
joncates AT criticalartware.net
i would be happy to talk w/anyOne about anyQuestions you may have about
the New Media aspect of the Film Video and New Media program, the dept
in general, course offerings, etc. i strongly recommend the the Film
Video and New Media @ The School of the Art Institute of Chicago to
those of you who are considering new media programs + interested in the
histories + theorypractices of experimental media arts.
[talk/type] soon.

//jonCates
Assistant Professor
Film, Video and New Media
School of the Art Institute of Chicago

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