The bad student specialization course
We live immersed in a state of permanent technological innovation. But what is truly new in each novelty imposed upon us? This module examines visual culture and the development of AI in recent years as a current and urgent case study, complemented by reflections from contemporary artistic languages. What lies behind the functioning of these technologies? In what sense are they an expression of what we might call the ideology of big data? Where do the fascination with and the need to automate processes—as AI does—come from? How are they linked to the drive to archive? How can we investigate both their functioning and the discourse that sustains them? And how can this be explained from the margins?
Faced with a discourse of disruption that wants us to be passive, it is necessary to know how to position ourselves, linking innovation to the context from which it arises and appropriating the possibilities we see.
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This module is aimed at anyone interested in reflecting on our technological present, with a special focus on Artificial Intelligence and its impact on contemporary culture. It may be of particular interest to visual artists, filmmakers, designers, photographers, students of Art, Photography, and Design, as well as social educators, teachers, and graduates in audiovisual communication, sociology, humanities, anthropology, and political science.
10 theoretical and practical sessions of 3 hours.
Session 1 — On the exhibition The Art of Navigating. How to Get Lost in a World of Images
14/05
Jon Uriarte / Estampa
Session 2 — AI as automation: from the camera to perception
21/05
Estampa
Session 3 — Researching the present: lapsus linguae, metaphors, and paratexts of the digital world
28/05
Higo Mental / Estampa
Session 4 — A permanent promise: the discourse of technological innovation and its social effects (dazzlement and the difficulty of seeing)
04/06
Estampa
Session 5 — Archive, big data, and datasets: drives toward accumulation and order
11/06
Estampa
Session 6 — Appropriating the tools. Undisciplined technologies
18/06
Marc Villanueva & Xesca Salvà / Estampa
Session 7 — Technology as infrastructure: materiality and labor power
25/06
Estampa
Session 8 — Repetitions and resonances: a counter-history of technology
02/07
Estampa
Session 9 — Explaining the present: hybrid forms of the video essay in the performative lecture
09/07
Alexandra Laudo / Estampa
Session 10 — Generative AI as analysis and parody (resonance models)
16/07
Estampa
— Estampa
(Roc Albalat, Pau Artigas, Marc Padró, Marcel Pié and Daniel Pitarch)
An artistic collective of programmers, filmmakers, and researchers based in Barcelona. Their practice is grounded in a critical and archaeological approach to audiovisual and digital technologies, with particular emphasis on archival work and the tradition of experimental audiovisual practices.
— Jon Uriarte
Curator, researcher, and educator trained at the International Center of Photography in New York. His work focuses on the digital transformations of networked images.
— Higo Mental
(Ricardo Pérez-Hita Carrasco and Marta Sesé Fuente)
An artistic collective that produces counter-hegemonic narratives informed by feminist perspectives, using found audiovisual material from the internet to question contemporary visual imaginaries.
— Marc Villanueva
Artist and dramaturg associated with performing arts projects that explore alternative modes of relating to non-human life forms and microsocial processes, developing performative and installation-based works.
— Xesca Salvà
Scenographer, artist, and educator whose practice focuses on corporeality, environments, and the construction of relational scenic experiences.
— Alexandra Laudo
Curator and cultural practitioner whose research explores the intersections between image, critical thought, and contemporary curatorial practices. Her work questions ways of seeing and narrating, fostering debate and critical reflection.
The program costs €780.
Discounts:
— 15% discount for the Eina Community.
— If you bring another person, you will both receive a 10% discount on the course. Contact eina.obra@eina.cat to obtain your personalized code.