I am considering majoring in a program called “The Interdisciplinary Computing & Arts Major” and would like to know your thoughts..
WHAT IS THE ICAM MAJOR ?
The Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts major in the Music and Visual Arts Departments draws upon, and aims to bring together, ideas and paradigms from computer science, art and cultural theory. It takes for granted that the computer has become a metamedium and that artists working with computers are expected to combine different media forms in their works. All of this makes the program stand out among currently existing computer art or design programs which, on the one hand, usually focus on the use of computers for a particular media (for instance, specializing in computer animation, or computer music, or computer design for print) and, on the other hand, do not enter into a serious dialogue with current research in computer science, only teaching the students “off-the-shelf” software. The goals of the program are to prepare the next generation of artists who will be functioning in a computer-mediated culture; to give students necessary technical, theoretical and historical backgrounds so they can contribute to the development of new aesthetics for computer media; to prepare students to mediate between the worlds of computer science and technology, the arts, and the culture at large by being equally proficient with computing and cultural concepts; and to give students sufficient understanding of the trajectories of development in computing so they can anticipate and work with the emerging trends, rather than being locked in particular software currently available on the market.
The ICAM major was designed to prepare students to pursue graduate education in digital arts and serious careers in cutting edge art-making. Students in ICAM courses are evaluated on their abilities as art-makers and their abilities to apply computing in an art-making environment. Artistic creativity and technological expertise are both required. As an interdisciplinary major, ICAM students regardless of department (Music or Visual Arts) should be prepared to take lower and upper division classes in traditional forms of studio art, music, media practice, as well as in history, theory, and criticism in both art and music. THE ICAM MAJOR PREPARES STUDENTS :
- for study in prestigious graduate programs such as the UCSB MAT Lab, UCI ACE Program, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute iEAR program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University/Tisch School of the Arts ITP program, USC Interactive Media Program, and the California Institute of the Arts integrated media program.
- to adapt fluidly to rapid change in a dynamic post-industrial economy
- to create tools instead of use them
- to explore a breadth of art practices, including physical electronics, virtual environments, new telematic performance practices, music, creative social media, and computer programming in the arts
- to explore the intersection of aesthetic practice and technology in an interdisciplinary environment that involves both visual art and music
- to imagine the future of digital media based on a firm understanding of its history and theory
Rather than train the next generation of pixel pushers, ICAM educates the next generation of leaders and innovators in the digital media fiel
Posted 2 months ago
