00.00 Experiments in Electronic Arts Syllabus

Course Information

Course Number: SEM 316.01

Department: Sculpture + Expanded Media

Room: 212H Cleveland Institute of Art

Time: Mondays 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm & 2:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Faculty: Jimmy Kuehnle - jkuehnle@cia.edu

Office Hours: By appointment

Semester: Spring 2025

Canvas Course Page 

Course Website 

Course Description

This is a seminar class that guides students in the development and realization of a semester long research project in electronic arts. Projects can be in a wide range of areas, hybrid thinking and intermedia approaches are strongly encouraged. Topics in the theory and history of contemporary art related to current and emerging practices will also be discussed. The class is designed to allow for synthesis of content from earlier studies into significant finished work that will be shown in an exhibition planned, managed and coordinated by the students under the direction of the instructor.

Learning Goals and Objectives

Upon completion of the course, students will have to opportunity to:

• Gain perspective on historic/current applications of electronics technology in an arts context
• Gain basic hands-on proficiency in practical electronics – including both analog and digital circuits
• Learn the basics of physical computing using microprocessors (both programming, and interfacing to the physical world)
• Explore basic concepts of generative art, networking art, and machine learning
• Participate collaboratively in group workshops and labs applying these technologies
• Develop perspectives and strategies for incorporating electronics into their own arts practice
• Create individual and group projects incorporating electronics technology into one or more disciplines
• Learn basic technical analytic, problem solving, and troubleshooting skills
• Gain experience in documentation, as well as how to finish and prepare works for delivery and installation

Class Format & Policies

Class sessions will be a combination of lecture/discussion, hands-on lab exercises, and in-class studio. There will be weekly assignments/projects and student presentations, especially during the first half of the term.

• This course has 4.5 hours of regularly scheduled instructional time. In addition to the regularly scheduled instructional time, you’ll need to plan on 4 to 5 hours of homework time for each of your classes.
• This course is a combination of studio work as well as lecture, group dialogue, critiques etc.
• Projects will sometimes have in-progress reviews in addition to critiques when the projects are finished. The instructor as well as students participate in the critiques. This takes time and is part of the studio learning experience and a big part of the course.
• Students must avoid behavior that disrupts the learning process, or that otherwise may be offensive to classmates, or that is disrespectful to the instructor.
• Take physical notes. Smart people write things down. Be smart.
• Pay attention. Make sure to stay engaged.
• Ask questions. Don’t worry about interrupting. If the instructor decides to answer your question later, they will let you know.
• Don’t fall behind - we progress quickly and steadily!

Critiques

You’re required to contribute to all critiques, even if your own project is not complete. Successful crits depend on each student’s generosity in sharing their honest thoughts, opinions and suggestions.

• How to Critique Art
• Art School Critique No, No’s

Late Work

Projects must be turned in on time. On time is before the beginning of class on the day that they are due or other time as specified by the instructor. Late projects will automatically drop 1% per day late up to a maximum total reduction of 40% per assignment.

Documentation

Students should maintain regular, on-going and timely documentation of work in progress.

Required Supplies

• Loose Paper to Draw on (Can use printer paper or other loose paper, not paper in a sketchbook)
• Pencil
• Eraser
• Safety Goggles (not needed on first day)
• Hearing Protection (not needed on first day)
• Laptop

Required Textbooks and Readings

• No required textbook
• Course resources are available online

Experiments in Electronic Arts Tentative Outline

The primary goal of this course is the realization of a major final project. Students will be asked to define their final project early in the term, and to make steady progress towards completion as measured by meeting predefined milestones and dates (project definition, design, technical prototyping, etc.). Students will be required to keep a weekly progress log reporting the planned work for the week, accomplishments, and issues. Students will be expected to share their progress (and challenges) in class for the benefit of the group.

Concurrently with work on the final project, a range of smaller learning modules in electronics, programming, and physical computing will be introduced via weekly lecture/ demonstration. There will be additional weekly assignments that exercise and reinforce these skills, especially during the first half of the term. Topics may be adjusted to support the specific needs of students and their final projects, while still providing a common base of technical skills. Beyond facility with specific hardware and software, we will emphasize broader generalized skills in design, analysis, diagnosis and troubleshooting, to enable students to continue to grow their practice as new technologies emerge.

Course Schedule & Requirements

* Course schedule subject to change.

Key Dates:

• Jan 13 – First day of classes
• Jan 20 – MLK Day. No Classes
• March 7 – Mid Term Grades DUE
• March 10 – 14 – Spring Break. No classes.
• March 28 – Last day for students to withdraw from a course without a grade penalty
• April 25 – Final Day of Classes
• May 10 (Saturday) – Commencement
• May 12 – Final Grades DUE for all students

Cleveland Institute of Art Required Policy Language

Diversity & Inclusion Statement

The Cleveland Institute of Art recognizes and embraces diversity and believes that an outstanding education in art and design should be accessible to all individuals regardless of ethnicity, race, religion, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, socio-economic status or disability. It is essential for the College to advance diversity by encouraging our community to share a responsibility in creating, maintaining and developing an environment in which difference is valued, equity is sought, and inclusiveness is practiced.

CIA Course Attendance Policy from the College Catalog

Course Attendance

Students are expected to attend all sessions of the classes in which they are registered and to attend all associated lecture programs and meetings. Progress as an artist depends not only on completion of assignments but also on full participation in dialogue with studio and academic classes. All absences will count towards a student’s absence total for the semester unless approved as an extenuating circumstance absence by the Dean of Students. Students are responsible for all missed class material, including assignments and tests, when absent from class. Each faculty member is required to take, and to maintain records of, class attendance. CIA’s absence limits are as follows:

_\* Faculty may factor tardiness into determining if a student is absent. Tardiness policies should be stated on the course syllabus._ _\*\*note: for studio courses that meet in 2 sessions over 1 day, missing one of the two sessions will be counted as 0.5 absence_

To uphold the integrity of the educational content and curricula, absences exceeding the limits as outlined above will result in failure of the course in which the absences occurred. A student who exceeds the absence limit in any class should meet with their Academic Advisor to discuss the impact of the course failure on their academic progress.

An absence from a final critique or exam will result in automatic failure of the project or exam.

Notification of Absences

For pre-planned absences, students must notify their faculty member that they will be absent. For absences due to unforeseen circumstance, students should contact their faculty member as soon as possible before or after the absence occurs. To protect a student’s privacy, evidence of an illness, injury, obituary and any other documentation of an absence are not required, requested, or accepted by faculty.

Absence Due to Religious Observance

Students who plan to be absent due to religious observances should notify their faculty members at least 2 weeks prior to the pre-planned absence. These absences count against the absence limit and students are responsible for all missed work.

Absence Due to Extenuating Circumstances

The absence limits as described above, are adequate for minor illnesses, doctor’s appointments, transportation issues, weather concerns and other instances that are not exceptionally rare and unforeseen. In the case of an absence due to extenuating circumstances that a student wishes to not count against the absence limits listed above, the student must submit the Extenuating Circumstance Absence Request Form  within 10 calendar days (limited exceptions apply) of the absence for review by the Dean of Students. The use of this form should be extremely limited as most absences do not qualify as extenuating.

Extenuating circumstances are generally defined as exceptionally rare, unforeseen, and short-term circumstances which may cause a student to be absent from class. These terms are defined as follows:

• Exceptionally rare is defined as a circumstance that is markedly different from the student’s usual daily life activities.
• Unforeseen is defined as a circumstance that is outside of the student’s control and was not preventable. This includes the student’s responsibility for making a reasonable attempt at utilizing Institute-provided resources, policies and procedures available to assist in their success.
• Short-term is defined as a circumstance that is temporary and will not require on-going intervention past a reasonable time period.

Upon receiving the Extenuating Circumstance Absence Request Form, the Dean of Students will make a determination as to the classification of the absence as approved or not approved or will request additional outstanding/clarification information from the student. The student and faculty member(s) will be notified via CIA email of the determination no later than 10 calendar days after the request and all necessary information is received by the Dean of Students. Sharing of information impacting the decision will be at the sole discretion of the Dean of Students and will prioritize student privacy and dignity. If an absence is deemed approved as an extenuating circumstance, it will not be counted in the absence limits noted above and the student will be responsible for all missed work and course requirements for the approved date(s). The student will be required to make arrangements with the faculty member(s) to determine a reasonable timeline for completing missed work and course requirements for the approved date(s). This timeline will be at the sole discretion of the faculty member.

In the case of an absence submitted via the Extenuating Circumstance Absence Request Form which is determined to be not approved by the Dean of Students, the student may file an appeal with the Vice President of Academic Affairs + Provost within 3 calendar days on specific grounds. Disagreement with the decision alone is not sufficient for an appeal. Appeals must be submitted via CIA email to gwatts@cia.edu with rasauber@cia.edu copied and must include the student’s name and ID number and must indicate on which ground the student believes the decision should be appealed (options below):

1. Through no fault of the student, Information/documentation pertinent to the decision was missing at the time of the decision. Note: The student will be required to submit the additional information/documentation as part of the appeal along with an explanation of why the information/documentation was not provided in the original request.
2. Through no fault of the student, Institute policy was not followed and had a direct impact on the decision at the time of the decision. Note The student will be required to identify which policy was not followed, documentation showing the policy was not followed, and a description of how the decision may have been different if policy had been followed.

Upon receiving an appeal request, the Vice President of Academic Affairs + Provost will make a determination as to the classification of the original decision as upheld or overturned or will request additional outstanding/clarification information from the student. The student, faculty member(s), and Dean of Students will be notified via CIA email of the determination no later than 10 calendar days after the request and all necessary information is received by the Vice President of Academic Affairs + Provost. Decisions that are overturned will result in the absence being classified as extenuating and the absence will not be counted in the absence limits noted above and the student will be responsible for all missed work and course requirements for the approved date(s). The student will be required to make arrangements with the faculty member(s) to determine a reasonable timeline for completing missed work and course requirements for the approved date(s). This timeline will be at the sole discretion of the faculty member. Decisions that are upheld will maintain an absence classification as not approved. All appeal decisions are final and binding.

Important Notes:

• Students receiving approved extenuating circumstance absences are not guaranteed to pass their courses.
• Students are able to fail a course due to exceeding the absence limits beyond approved extenuating circumstance absences.
• Students are able to fail a course due to not completing course requirements regardless of approved extenuating circumstance absences.
• Students are encouraged to meet with their faculty members and Academic Advisor to discuss their options for success in their courses when they are experiencing absences (whether due to extenuating circumstances or otherwise).

Extracurricular Life and Class Attendance

At CIA, we value students’ total educational experience, including its curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular components. All departments, academic and other, are encouraged to minimize the scheduling during established class meeting hours of events at which student participation is required or desired, including but not limited to extra class meetings, professional development opportunities, field trips, and other organized activities. When conflicts exist, all parties (students, faculty, and staff) should work together so that the student can meet their academic obligations and participate in extracurricular events. If agreement about an appropriate accommodation cannot be reached, the student’s obligations to classes meeting on their posted schedules will take priority.

Class Trips Policy from the College Catalog

All students attending instruction-related trips or tours that require them to travel away from CIA must sign an approved release form in advance of the trip that declares they will not make a claim against the college or its personnel/representatives for injury or damage sustained while on the trip. Release forms should be returned to the faculty member leading the trip before the event. All CIA policies are in effect during sponsored excursions away from campus.

CIA Grading Policies and Grade Descriptions from the College Catalog

Letter grades are a means by which faculty members communicate their professional assessment of students’ work. The primary purpose of assigning grades is to provide a realistic standard of reference by which students can measure their progress while enrolled at CIA.

Grades are reported twice each semester: mid-term grades after the first eight weeks, and final grades at the close of the term. The mid-term grade is a preliminary indication of progress to date.

Semester and cumulative grade point averages are reviewed by Academic Services each term to determine each student’s academic status. Each transcript includes the semester Grade Point Average (GPA) and the cumulative GPA. Letter grades have the following meaning:

A, A-: Work of consistently outstanding quality, which displays originality, and often goes beyond course requirements;

B+, B, B-: Work of consistently good quality, demonstrating a high level of proficiency, knowledge, and skills in all aspects of the course;

C+, C, C-: Satisfactory work that meets the requirements of the course and conforms to the standards for graduation.

D+, D, D-: Work deficient in concept or execution but acceptable for course credit in all courses.

F: Work unacceptable for course credit and does not meet the standards for graduation.

CIA Policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty excerpted from the Student Handbook:

All acts of academic dishonesty diminish the integrity of the Institute and are taken very seriously by the school. Students being accused of Academic Dishonestly will participate in our judicial process and if found responsible, will be subject to appropriate sanctions. Sanctions may include, but are not limited to any one or a combination of the following:

• Formal warning/censure/academic alert.
• Reduced grade including a failing grade for the assignment.
• Reduced grade including a failing grade for the entire course.
• Forfeiture of student leadership positions, and/or restrictions on participation in Institute activities.
• Academic probation
• Suspension
• Expulsion from the Institute.

CIA Course Evaluation Policy

All students are expected to fill out a brief course evaluation for each class at the end of the semester. Your participation in the course evaluation process is critical to CIA’s evaluation of faculty teaching, assessment of student learning outcomes, and identification of opportunities for continuous improvement to course content and instruction. Please take a moment to respond to the evaluation when directed to do so at the end of the semester. Your thoughts matter.