WJT Mitchell at PNCA, Wednesday, April 1

A scholar and theorist of media, visual art and literature, W.J.T. Mitchell is associated with the emergent fields of visual culture and iconology (the study of images across the media). Mitchell is Professor of English and Art History at the University of Chicago and the long-time editor of the interdisciplinary journal, Critical Inquiry, a quarterly published by University of Chicago Press devoted to critical theory in the arts and human sciences.

Mitchell is widely known for his work on the relations of visual and verbal representations in the context of social and political issues. In his recent book What Do Pictures Want?: The Lives and Loves of Images (University of Chicago Press), Mitchell states, "Perhaps the redemption of the imagination lies in accepting the fact that we create much of our world out of the dialogue between verbal and pictorial representations, and that our task is not to renounce this dialogue in favor of a direct assault on nature, but to see that nature is already part of the conversation."

Attend this lecture and post a reflection on your blog for extra course credit.

Free and open to the public, Wednesday, April 1, 6:30 pm, PNCA
1241 NW Johnson St., Portland, OR 97209

Welcome to Spring 09 Idea and Form

This foundation course introduces an approach to understanding visual culture and the language of images. With an emphasis on critical thinking and analysis, we will investigate the way social and cultural dynamics shape meaning and perception in art and design. We'll explore concepts by looking at examples from art history, contemporary art and popular culture, by reading and discussing and by completing related hands-on projects. Consult this course blog for updates to the syllabus, additional information on assignments and class work and for resources.

Begin and maintain an individual course blog to record and share your reflections, interpretations and reactions. Post responses to our readings, discussions and project assignments, digital images you collect, questions, links to relevant artists and issues, samples of your art work, etc. A minimum of 10 posts is required (1 per week).

More information on starting a blog will be provided in class. All student blogs will be linked to this blog on the right (email me your blog name and address by April 2). You are encouraged to look at each others' blogs, comment and exchange ideas.