Charles Csuri Act I: Artist as Interrupter

Charles Csuri: Art & Research in Three Acts Exhibition Poster with an image of Csuri.

Part 1 of the exhibition on view now!

The experimental work of Charles Csuri (1922–2022) undoubtedly shaped the world of computer art and prompted Smithsonian Magazine to dub him “the father of digital art and computer animation.” Csuri was the founder of the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD) at The Ohio State University and co-founder of Cranston/Csuri Productions (CCP), giving rise to groundbreaking innovations in animation.

Charles Csuri: Art & Research in Three Acts will present a memorial exhibition at Hopkins Hall Gallery—hosted by Ohio State’s Urban Arts Space—that brings the public into an experience of Csuri’s life as both an artist and researcher. Highlights from the collection include previously unseen works from 1967–2022, the full version of the 1967 film Hummingbird as one of the earliest examples of computer animation, and Random War, which used a random number generator to underscore the indiscriminate impact of war. This exhibition is curated by Janice Glowski, Director of The Frank Museum of Art & Galleries at Otterbein University, who has curated Csuri’s work since 1999.

The project involves dozens of collaborators across disciplines at Ohio State and within the Columbus community and is generously funded by a grant for interdisciplinary collaborations in artificial intelligence in the arts, humanities, and engineering.

Charles Csuri Website: www.charlescsuri.com

Green Thumb Drive: Spring 2023 Exhibition

Green Thumb Drive Poster Image showing a usb drive with plants growing around it.

Join us April 24, 5-7pm in Hopkins Hall for the Spring 2023 Art & Tech Student exhibition, Green Thumb Drive.

Spring emerges as the semester draws to a close.  Our thumb drives are bursting with new files.  We’ve uploaded files and planted new seeds.  See our work live in this spring 2023 student exhibition featuring Art & Technology courses in the Department of Art.  Watch as this work downloads and grows.

Exhibition Website

Visiting artist talk – Marta de Menezes

Join us for a presentation with the artist Marta de Menezes as she discusses her work as an artist, curator, and director of Cultivamos Cultura, the leading institute for experimental artists and scientists in Portugal. Her work straddles the intersections of art and biology, and has been exhibited in major venues across every continent. She is currently an Associate Artist at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Lisbon, Portugal.

OSU Animation Highly Ranked in Ohio and Among Public Institutions in the US

Exciting news! Ohio State University is ranked #1 in animation in Ohio, and ranked #3 among Public Animation Schools in the US in 2023.

Animation at The Ohio State University has been consistently ranked highly by the Animation Career Review, an online resource for people aspiring for careers in animation, game design, graphic design, digital art, and related fields.  In 2022, OSU was ranked 4th on the list of top public animation schools nationally, and 1st in the state of Ohio.  

The Department of Art offers introductory animation and moving image courses, within the Art and Technology area, that explore animation as an art form.  Many students gain an introduction to animation through these courses.  Additional courses in the Department of Art provide students with other fundamental skills that benefit an animation portfolio, such as life drawing and sculpture, and color theory. 

Students can also take animations courses through the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD).  ACCAD is a pioneering institute of collaborative interdisciplinary research in time-based digital media production, including animation and interactive media through integration of emerging arts technologies.  While ACCAD does not offer a degree program, courses that ACCAD offers provide a broad range of animation techniques and practices, ranging from fundamental principles to advanced explorations of the latest technologies including interactive animation, virtual reality and motion capture. 

Additionally, The Department of Theater, Film, and Media Arts features a Moving Image Production Major providing a pathway for students interested expanding their knowledge of filmmaking.

See animation works from the Art and Tech area of the Department of Art on our Vimeo page.

Zach Blas Performance Lecture: Expositio, Iudicium, Lacrimae

Join us:

Poster for artist talk; see main body text.Friday Jan 27, 5pm
Wexner Film & Video Theater

Renowned artist, filmmaker, and writer Zach Blas will present a new performance lecture—Expositio, Iudicium, Lacrimae—as part of the Arts, Technology and Social Change Series funded by the Global Arts and Humanities Discovery Theme. Following the performance, Blas will be joined in conversation with renowned scholar Pamela M. Lee, to discuss his new book, Unknown Ideals, released in 2022 by Sternberg Press. A reception and book signing by Blas will follow in the Wexner Center’s lower lobby.

Expositio, Iudicium, Lacrimae
In this lecture-performance, Zach Blas explores a religious-un/conscious thriving in today’s tech industry. Blas tells of a computational world of divine judgment, where artificial intelligence exists alongside corporate gods, mystical glyphs, religious icons, occult sigils, and captured bodies, and where emotional crying is a symbolic language of quantification.
Zach Blas
Zach Blas is an artist, filmmaker, writer, and Assistant Professor of Visual Studies at the University of Toronto. His practice spans installation, moving image, computation, theory, and performance. Recent exhibitions include the 12th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art; British Art Show 9; Positions #6, Van Abbemuseum; Uncanny Valley: Being Human in the Age of AI at the de Young Museum; The Body Electric at the Walker Art Center; and the 12th Gwangju Biennale. His artist monograph Zach Blas: Unknown Ideals (2021) was published by Sternberg Press and edited by Edit Molnar and Marcel Schwierin.
Pamela M. Lee
Pamela M. Lee is Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art in the Department of the History of Art at Yale University. Previously she held the Osgood Hooker Professorship at Stanford University. Her recent publications include Think Tank Aesthetics: Midcentury Modernism, the Cold War and the Neoliberal Present (MIT Press, 2020) and The Glen Park Library: A Fairytale of Disruption (No Place Press, 2019). Lee is an editor of the journal OCTOBER. Her essay “When the Lizard King Met the Lizard Brain: The Doors” appears in Zach Blas: Unknown Ideals (2021).
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Arts, Technology and Social Change Series
The Arts, Technology and Social Change Series is a new initiative conceived by Ohio State’s Department of History of Art, the Department of Art, the Wexner Center for the Arts, and the Translational Data Analytics Institute that aims to extend and deepen campus and community engagement around social justice issues through the lens of artistic interventions in technology. Envisioned as a series of micro-residencies, the initiative brings artists and thinkers to working at the intersection of art, data, and social justice to Ohio State for exhibitions, workshops, performances, and public events. The micro-residency program acts as a cross-department platform to engage questions of technology and virtuality in relation to civil rights, sex and gender, indigeneity, displacement, migration, genocide, and environmental justice in our contemporary moment.

Event Link

Art & Science class – Art 5101

Professors Iris Meier and Amy Youngs will co-teach an interdisciplinary Art and Science course in Spring 2023. We will do science experiments and art projects which culminate in a collaboratively designed and built art installation. Example artwork from past classes: Unbecoming Carbon: traveling in intercellular space and Where Rocks are Fed to Trees.flyer for class, showing root growth experiments hung in a window and lit with purple light. Another image shows a room-sized installation with root shapes, projected images anda person standing in the middle backlit.

In 2021 this class focused on the roots of plants, and we created an installation called Rhizotron – see images and information from the exhibition in the Art & Tech show.

We welcome interested graduate students and advanced undergraduate students from any discipline. Contact youngs.6@osu.edu or meier.56@osu.edu

 

Art, Technology, Race and Culture faculty position open

The Department of Art within the College of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University seeks an artist for the position of Assistant Professor. This position is in the Department’s rapidly expanding Art and Technology area, which represents a significant proportion of undergraduate art enrollments. We invite applicants whose work engages with technology and its intersections in class, race, and social justice. We welcome practices across a wide range of technological inquiry, including but not limited to moving image, robotics, animation, immersive environments, extended reality (VR/AR), gaming, artificial intelligence, and interactive media.

We seek a colleague who has the potential to: Develop and contribute to interdisciplinary connections with other departments and centers such as Computer Science, School of Architecture, the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD), Translational Data Analytics Institute (TDAI), the Sustainability Institute, Comparative Studies’ Science and Technology Studies; offer innovative graduate and undergraduate courses; and mentor students interested in art practices. We especially welcome applications from artists from underrepresented groups in the arts.

Qualifications:

This appointment will begin August 15, 2023, and the successful applicant must have MFA or PhD in hand in Art or a related field by appointment date. ABDs welcome to apply. The Department values diversity, equity and inclusion, is committed to building a culturally diverse intellectual community, and strongly encourages applications from women and underrepresented minorities. Appointment is contingent on the university’s verification of credentials and other information required by law and/or university policies, including but not limited to a criminal background check.

About Columbus:

The Ohio State University campus is located in Columbus, the capital city of Ohio. Columbus is the Midwest’s fastest-growing city and the nation’s 14th largest city. Columbus offers a diverse array of welcoming neighborhoods and a vibrant arts and culture scene. Additional information about all that the Columbus area has to offer is available at https://visit.osu.edu/experience.

Application Instructions:

Apply to Academic Jobs Online at: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/23074. A complete application consists of a cover letter; CV; a diversity statement which should articulate your demonstrated commitments in contribution to diversity, equity, and inclusion through research, teaching, mentoring, and/or outreach and engagement; statement of teaching philosophy; names and contact information of three individuals that can provide recommendations. Letters of recommendation are not requested at this time; Portfolio of works: 8-15 projects (PDF documentation of projects and/or embedded links to video documentation) Review of applications will begin on November 4, 2022 and will continue until the position is filled. Inquiries may be directed to Carmen Winant (winant.1@osu.edu).

The Ohio State University is committed to enhancing academic excellence. Recruiting, supporting, and retaining faculty of the highest caliber is a core component of this commitment. In support of this, The Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) has created the Office of Dual Careers and Faculty Relocation (DCFR) to focus on supporting new and prospective faculty. This support includes dual careers services, consultation and resources related to relocation, as well as identifying opportunities to engage on campus and the surrounding community. While employment opportunities are not guaranteed, resources and consultation are available to support the partners of new and prospective faculty as they are considering The Ohio State University and throughout their transition.

The Ohio State University is committed to establishing a culturally and intellectually diverse environment, encouraging all members of our learning community to reach their full potential. Over the next few years, The Ohio State University is committed to welcoming 350 new faculty hires, many of which will contribute to growing our role as a premier research university equipped to answer and interrogate the critical domestic and global societal challenges that deter equality and inclusion. We are responsive to dual-career families and strongly promote work-life balance to support our community members through a suite of institutionalized policies.

The Ohio State University is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation or identity, national origin, disability status, or protected veteran status.

Application Materials Required:

Submit the following items online at this website to complete your application:

  • Cover letter
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Teaching statement
  • Diversity Statement
  • Portfolio of Works (8-15 projects)

Further Info:

art.osu.edu
Carmen Winant <winant.1@osu.edu>
128 N Oval Mall
258 Hopkins Hall
Columbus, OH 43210

Artist Talk with Animator Matt Derksen

Matt Derksen

Tuesday, September 27 at 4pm
358 Hopkins Hall

Join us for an Art & Tech alumni career talk with Matt Derksen!

Matthew Derksen is an Academy Award winning animation artist who works as Head of Rigging at Industrial Light and Magic, on feature film and television projects. He previously worked at Rhythm & Hues as the rigging supervisor on films such as Life of Pi, The Hunger Games, and Hellboy and he has also worked as a visual effects artist for many other popular films. He is an alumnus of the Ohio State University’s Art & Technology area in the Department of Art (1997, BFA and 2004, MFA).
Learn about Derksen’s career working in the animation/film industry. He will also answer questions you might have about getting started in this field. All are welcome!

Poster: