User:Stevenarntson/The Commons/assignments


 * Your grade in this class is divided into thirds: midterm, final, and participation. Also required is an ungraded self-assessment, completed at the end of the term.

midterm
As we discuss the term “public” this quarter, we will get into a variety of kinds of territory, and a wide variety of kinds of research will be enabled by our discussions. I would like your research to present the results of your own investigations—an offshoot, rather than an amplification, of things we’ve talked about in class.

For instance, if we discuss a particular artist in class, such as Damali Ayo, don’t pick her as your research project. We’ve already talked about her. Rather, do more research on other artists who are doing similar things. Here are a few ideas to get you started:


 * the law—what are the laws that restrict or enable free expression? federally? in Seattle? are there any individual cases that interest you?
 * an artist—who is an artist who’s doing interesting work in the public sphere? how do they do their work?
 * an interview—do you know an artist who does work in the public? Interview them and give a presentation about their work (I’ve also had students interview street performers at the Pike Street market).
 * work—is there a particular work of public art you’re interested in? What is the story of that piece? (in class, for instance, we'll discuss a giant Monolith that was planted in Magnusen Park in 2001.)

Presentations
Your presentation will be short—5 or 6 minutes. Please use multimedia to the extent that you can (show a short film clip, or some images, or play a short recording to keep things interesting). Be prepared—know what you’re going to say, and how long it will take. If you start to run long, I’ll stop you.

final
Your final project in Humanities I will be a stepping out—you’ll move from the classroom into the public sphere and do something, which you’ll document and present.

We’ve talked about many aspects of public art this quarter, and looked at some artists who work legally, and some who go outside of the law. For this project, I am not requiring that you do anything illegal. There are a myriad of ways one can act in public without doing anything wrong according to the law. That said, some artists also protest the law because they see it as unjustly interfering with their freedom of expression and action as guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. Use your own compass, as you do in the rest of your life, to decide what to do. Following are a few (legal!) ideas:


 * Music
 * Perform music somewhere in public where you will be seen. Be aware of the law in terms of decibel levels, amplification, and solicitation.


 * Visual Art
 * Put up some posters or stickers on telephone poles. In Seattle, posting on telephone poles was illegal for about 5 years, but the law prohibiting it was overthrown—these days, putting up posters or stickers on telephone poles is legal in Seattle.


 * Performance Art
 * Stage a performance piece in public--we’ve seen several examples of performance art this quarter that take place in public. Performances don’t need to be long or complicated. It could be as simple as asking a stranger to paint your portrait, or deciding to wear a pink shirt.

Presentations
You must arrange to somehow document your project. This can be done with photos, recordings, or simply writing out the narrative of what happened. In one way or another, you will then present your project to the class—your ideas, why you decided to do what you did, how it worked out, unexpected things that happened, etc.

Presentations will be 5 to 10 minutes long, and should be entertaining as well as informative.

Participation

 * Attendance, including field trips
 * Participation, including discussion and in-class assignments

Self Assessment
This is due, posted at your user page, on the final week of the quarter.