DIGITAL ART

Digital museum and digital art: history, practices, and intersections.
The course, divided into 30 hours, is part of the Master’s Degree Programme in ‘Digital and Public Humanities’ and is connected to the Venice Centre for Digital and Public Humanities (VeDPH) in the Department of Humanities.
The aim of the course is to accompany the student to the knowledge and interpretation of digital resources, useful for studying and communicating art historical collections, adopted by the most important museums in the world, and to recognizing digital art practices in these contests.

- knowledge and understanding: student will learn the art historical background of virtual museums and the evolution in digital museums starting from the knowledge of art historical exhibitions and works of contemporary artists; it will be analyzed the methodology adopted by digital artists in facing museums spaces and art collection;
- ability to apply knowledge and understanding: ability to recognize the different digital expressions of the online collections and to understand the use of specific digital devices adopted by museums for the diverse purpose; to research online collection and to distingue different interfaces and APIs developed by museums;
- ability to understand: capability in analyzing digital reproduction of art in the online and virtual museum; to identify the choices made by institutions; to critically compare the digital solution adopted by museums and cultural institutions in communication and interpretation of digital art collections and digital artworks; to be able to discuss with a property of language and correct formal analysis;
- communication skills: ability to use proper terminology, to comment and communicate the outcome of student's work; to interact with peers and professors in a respectful and effective way;

There are no pre-requirements, however, the knowledge of graphics and video editing programs is preferable.

The course investigates the digital museums and the digital resources useful for the studying of art history and cultural heritage. Starting from the analysis of individual case studies, during the course will be presented the virtual platforms and digital environments developed by the main museums and cultural sites on the international and national scene. The focus will be on the digital strategies adopted by the various institutions in order to stimulate user participation identifying the museum as a laboratory for education on cultural heritage, for the knowledge of its collections encouraging new approaches by digital artists.

The aim of the lessons, which integrate the study of the texts in the bibliography, is to provide useful tools to recognize these resources as a means of communication, sharing, and interpret cultural heritage; then, to identify the characteristics, essential in projecting digital cultural platforms in terms of innovation and research. Therefore, will be examined some projects funded by the European Commission programs, mainly Horizon 2020, more representatives for these aspects.

Chapters and essays will be defined during the lessons.
Battro, A. M., From Malraux’s Imaginary Museum to the Virtual Museum, in Museum in a Digital Age, a cura di R. Parry, Leicester, Routledge, 2010.
Bishop, C., Radical museology. or, what’s ‘Contemporary’ in Museums of Contemporary Art? London Koenig Books, 2013.
Cohen, K., Elkins, J., Aronberg Lavin, M., Macko, N., Schwartz, G., Siegrfied L., S, Stafford, B., Digital Culture and the Practices of Art and Art history, in «Art bulletin», 79, n.2 (1997), pp.187-216.
D. England, T. Schiphorst, N. Bryan-Kins (edited by), Curating the Digital. Space for Art and Interaction, Springer, 2016
Frieling, R., The Museum as producer: Processing Art and Performing a Collection, in New Collecting: Exhibiting and Audience after New Media Art, a cura di Graham, B., London, New York, Ashgate, 2014, pp.133-158.
Grasskamp, W., The Book on the Floor: Andre Malraux and the Imaginary Museum, Getty Research Institute, 2016.
Grau, O. The Complex and Multifarious Expression of Digital Art & Its Impact on Archives and Humanities, in A Companion to Digital Art, a cura di C. Paul, Wiley, Blackwell, Chichester, 2016, pp. 23-45.
Hall, D., The Original and the Reproduction: Art in the Age of Digital Technology, «Visual Resources», 15, nNo. 2(1999), pp. 269-278.
Huhtamo, E., On the origin of the Virtual Museum, in Museum in a Digital Age, a cura di R. Parry, Leicester, Routledge, 2010.

Oral and written.
The exam will consist of an oral presentation of a project and a 2000 words essay.
The interview will focus on a critical analysis of the new digital environment developed by the digital museum, the main changes that have affected the museum collections thanks to the use of digital technologies. The assessment will take counts of participation in class discussions and activities.
Attendance is strongly recommended.
Non-attending students have to contact the teacher and need to prepare a 5000 words critical essay on a specific topic.

The lessons will have the projection of slides and power points and will take in exam online case study, with the interaction between professors and students; students will be involved in workshops for critical readings and projecting of virtual museums paths starting from the digital museums investigated.
Lectures will be integrated with seminars, workshops, and in-class student presentations and debates.
The didactic material will be made available through the Moodle e-learning platform.

English

The programme is provisional and there could still be changes in its contents and texts.

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Cities, infrastructure and social capital" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development