Computer Imaging FINE3120/5120
Sept - Dec 1997
University of Colorado - Dept. of Fine Art

This course will provide a basic introduction to computer imaging from a practical, theoretical, and critical viewpoint. Beginning with an introduction to Macintosh operating system (Mac/OS), the course will progress in detail through the primary software for still digital image processing, Adobe Photoshop, with a parallel examination of the primary delivery mechanism for digital imagery today, the Internet. The various available input and output options will also be discussed along with the role of the networked computer and digital imaging in contemporary culture. Classes will be divided into a balance of technical sessions, discussion/critique sessions, and working sessions, along with a series of planned exercises. There will also be a significant portion of the class integrated into a networking domain -- that is, students will be required to participate in a listserv for communications and discussion and there will be significant readings from the online archives of nettime, Alt-X, Rhizome, Teleopolis and other contemporary network-activist organizations.

The course is intended to provide the student with basic skills in and principled understanding of digital imaging using the program Adobe Photoshop and the Internet as a domain of creativity. It is also intended to give the advanced studio art major (to whom it is restricted) the time to practice those skills and experiences. This is not a class in graphic design, computer graphics or commercial art in the traditional sense.

Monday - Wednesdays 1415 - 1815
Office Hours: N206 (Fine Arts Building) Wednesdays 1830 - 2030 by appointment only

Contact information:

email jhopkins (at) uiah.fi
telephone/voicemail 492-0864