The path into the semester #5 – Not digital at any cost
The approaches used in artistic and creative degree programmes are very different from those used in the other disciplines: there is an intensive personal exchange between students and teachers. Students work together closely on their projects in the studios and workrooms. The collaborative studio work and especially the practical handling of materials and tools in the workshops simply is not possible in a virtual setting.
(Ab)normality, appropriation and ambiguity
The three professorships within the Faculty of Art and Design for the history and theory of art, visual communication, and design are using the need to adapt their teaching to the current situation for fundamental reflection. For one, they will sound out the (im)possibilities of a switch to digital teaching. At the same time, they will reorient both the technology and the content for their courses. This will involve combining the subject-specific content with questions in reaction to the current situation. Three hypernyms will aid in the reflection: (ab)normality, appropriation and ambiguity.
Distance and proximity
»Distance and proximity« is the meta-topic for the product design programme. All projects and courses are oriented to this challenge, whereby the diversity of offers is to be maintained. »The topic should not and will not restrict us,« says Prof. Wolfgang Sattler of the idea. »Quite the contrary in fact: it is a ›call for action‹! We must now develop new approaches and strategies – and this is exactly where design comes in.« The special study culture should not be imitated virtually: digital teaching and learning formats are to be used, tested, rejected or optimised during the summer semester and new approaches and formats sought. It will be an experiment-oriented semester.
Digital – but not by force
In the fine arts, the academic staff do not want to force a digital approach. »Students work on extremely individual projects during this degree programme, which cannot simply be transferred to e-learning formats for an entire group,« explains Prof. Jana Gunstheimer. »We do not want to force a digital approach: where e-learning reveals limitations, analogue solutions can also be found. Zines, leaflets and postcards can be designed and distributed. In the coming semester, we will therefore consider how exhibitions and the presentation of art can and must be rethought and redefined given the current circumstances. New strategies must be developed both online and offline for displays outside of the standard exhibition spaces. The changing life situation also offers opportunities for all kinds of artistic investigations.«
Exploring personal boundaries and creative printing in the communal kitchen
»How far can you go?« [»Wie weit kannst Du gehen?«] is the title accorded to the project planned by guest researcher Stefan Guzy, who covered the professorship for graphic design this semester. The focus is on small, independent individual projects that explore personal boundaries. »The radical shift in movement zones, in personal and social freedoms, and the change in communication channels brought about by the crisis mean the planned topic is now all the more compelling,« comments Stefan Guzy. »So let us simply devote ourselves to these new delimited zones and map, evaluate and explore them artistically.« This will take place entirely in online colloquiums. The outcomes of the semester will also exclusively be presented digitally.
Another programme project being planned together with the junior professor for typography Stefanie Schwarz, the artistic associate Adrian Palko and the head of the Printing Workshop Jörg von Stuckrad also has an almost prophetic title: »We live in memorable signs.« [»Wir leben in denkwürdigen Zeichen.«] The focus was actually meant to be on the work completed in the workshop: experiments conducted using artistic printing techniques and printing thereof in small print runs.
Workshops offer support and work on creative solutions
And yet the Printing Workshop is currently closed. »We wish to find a creative solution to the problem of the workshop being closed. We have compiled a small DIY kit comprising materials such as a printing screen, paint, paper, etc., which will be sent to course participants. Every student in the group will then be able to conduct simple printing experiments (in their communal kitchen, for example), use existing tools to develop the materials creatively and discuss their video and photo documentations, which will undoubtedly also be entertaining, during weekly exchanges,« says Prof. Stefanie Schwarz of the new strategy.
The workshop itself could then continue to serve as a place of creativity through the coordination of certain work steps by telephone or email for the workshop manager to complete and prepare for students to collect.
Screens are currently being made in the Wood Workshop and Synthetic Materials Workshop for the University Library’s loans staff. »The director of the University Library, Dr. Frank Simon-Ritz, requested our support,« tells the manager of the Faculty of Art and Design, Annett Habisreuther. »In these extraordinary times, we are of course also helping other university institutions as far as our capacities allow.«
The students especially are to be supported in their studies though; workshop staff are currently reviewing how they can best support those currently in the midst of their final exams, for example. It is conceivable that they might make the necessary presentation platforms, frames, etc. based on the students’ drafts and plans – on order, so to speak. The possibility of borrowing technical equipment and access to editing suites and computer pools is also being discussed and developed. One thing is for sure, though: solutions will most definitely be found.