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Studio A1 - SPACE

Semester 1 · 97117 · Bachelor in Design and Art - Major in Art · 19CP · IT · EN · DE


The course conveys the fundamentals, specificities, working methods and theories of space and installation art, with a focus on the use of materials in the context of artistic space.

Lecturers: Luca Trevisani, Marc Allen Herbst, Andreas Bernhard Josef Metzner-Szigeth

Teaching Hours: 90+60+30
Lab Hours: 0
Mandatory Attendance: not compulsory but recommended

Course Topics
Space as a place will be the foundation of our work, space as a container, as an arena, as a backdrop, as a self representational diorama. Matter as mother, as a resource for an authorial economy of scale. Sculpture as sensory wisdom, understood as a rich, multifaceted, and polymorphic practice, far from the reductionism practiced by the history of Western art. Special attention will be given to the construction of new value hierarchies, addressing gender, class, and artistic genres.

Teaching format
The program follows a seminar-based methodology, combining shared readings, collective discussions, individual assignments, and personalized feedback. Short lectures and group exercises support the development of autonomous practices. The course culminates in a final project, to be developed using materials and tools sourced from the surrounding territory, beyond the logic of industrial technology. Fieldwork, critical appropriation of existing traditions, and the exploration of alternative modes of knowledge and production are encouraged.

Educational objectives
Knowledge and understanding have acquired their own project methodology in the field of visual arts, from the phase of planning to the phase of realisation of the project. have acquired the basic practical and theoretical knowledge necessary to realise a project in the field of visual arts. have acquired the basic knowledge to be able to turn a critical eye to their own work and to deal with contemporary complexity. have acquired the basic knowledge necessary for further Master's studies in all components of project culture as well as in theoretical subjects. Applying knowledge and understanding plan, develop and realise a project in the field of visual arts. be able to finalize the creation of an accomplished project in the field of visual arts, thanks to the basic knowledge acquired in the practical, scientific and theoretical fields. recognise the main phenomena of contemporary society, to observe them critically, also from an ethical and social point of view, and to elaborate appropriate solutions at the level of a design proposal/response. make use of the skills acquired during the course of study in the event of continuing studies in a Master's degree programme in the field of visual arts and to develop them further. Making judgements be able to make independent judgements for the purpose of developing their own design skills and in relation to all those decisions that are necessary to bring a project to completion. be able to make independent judgements, both in the critical evaluation of their own work and in their ability to use the right interpretative tools in those design contexts in which they will work and/or continue their studies, also considering ethical and social aspects. Communication skills present an independently realised project in the field of visual arts in the form of an installation, orally as well as in writing in a professional manner. to professionally communicate and substantiate one’s own decisions and justify them from a formal and theoretical point of view. communicate and present your own project at a professional level in another language and correctly in a third language in addition to their own language Learning skills have learned a work methodology at a professional level - in the sense of being able to identify, develop and realise solutions to complex problems by applying the knowledge acquired in the practical and theoretical fields - in order to start a professional activity and/or continue their studies with a master's degree program. have developed a creative attitude and learned how to enhance it and develop it according to their own inclinations. have acquired basic knowledge in theoretical and practical subjects as well as a study methodology suitable for continuing studies with a master's degree program.

Assessment
The results will be assessed based on the quality of the final project, active participation, oral presentations and/or written reports completed during the course, as well as the documentation of the semester work produced by the students. N.B. ALL THE STUDENTS ATTENDING THE EXAM AS NON ATTENDING STUDENTS MUST AGREE UPON THE CONTENTS WITH THE TEACHERS.

Evaluation criteria
The final assessment will consider active participation in lectures, the ability to critically analyze the topics and case studies presented, as well as conscious reflection on both individual and group work. Additionally, mastery of language in expressing course content, consistency and clarity in written reports and oral presentations, the ability to summarize, evaluate, and connect themes, and the aptitude for teamwork and critical discussion of different perspectives will be evaluated. Special attention will be given to clarity in answering questions about assignments and effectiveness in presenting the achieved results.

Required readings

General Bibliography :

  • Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
  • Donna Haraway, Chthulucene, NOT, 2019
  • Mark Fisher, The Weird and the Eerie
  • Tim Ingold, Making: Anthropology, Archaeology, Art and Architecture, 2013
  • Gaston Bachelard, Psicanalisi delle acque, 1942
  • Rupa Marya e Raj Patel, Inflamed, 2021
  • Anna Tsing, Friction, 2005
  • Johana Hedva, How to Tell When We Will Die: On Pain, Disability, and Doom, 2025
  • Charlotte Beradt, Third Reich of Dreams, 1968

Excerpts and short texts will be provided during the course.

Module 1

  • Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
  • Donna Haraway, Chthulucene, NOT, 2019
  • Mark Fisher, The Weird and the Eerie
  • Tim Ingold, Making: Anthropology, Archaeology, Art and Architecture, 2013
  • Gaston Bachelard, Psicanalisi delle acque, 1942

Estratti e testi brevi forniti durante il corso.

Module 2

  • Rupa Marya e Raj Patel, Inflamed, 2021
  • Anna Tsing, Friction, 2005
  • Johana Hedva, How to Tell When We Will Die: On Pain, Disability, and Doom, 2025
  • Charlotte Beradt, Third Reich of Dreams, 1968

Excerpts and short texts will be provided during the course.

Module 3:

  • Löw, Martina: Raumsoziologie, Berlin, Suhrkamp Verlag, 2000
  • Löw, Martina: The Sociology of Space - Materiality, Social Structures, and Action, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2016
  • Kessl, Fabian; Reutlinger, Christian (Eds.): Handbuch Sozialraum - Grundlagen für den Bildungs- und Sozialbereich, Wiesbaden, Springer, 2019
  • Thrift, Nigel: “Space - The Fundamental Stuff of Human Geography,” in: Hollaway, Sarah L.; Rice, Stephen P.; Valentine, Gill (Eds.): Key Concepts in Geography, London, SAGE, 2003, pp. 95–107
  • Metzner-Szigeth, Andreas: “Exploring the Interplay of Images, Imaginaries and Imagination in Science Communication – Basic Considerations,” in: ibid. (Ed.): On the Interplay of Images, Imaginaries and Imagination in Science Communication, Florence, Casa Editrice Leo S. Olschki, 2022, pp. 33-47
  • Gustafson, Per: “Meanings of Place - Everyday Experience and Theoretical Conceptualizations,” Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2001, 21, pp. 5-16
  • Lambin, Eric: Die Glücksökologie - Warum wir die Natur brauchen, um glücklich zu sein, Hamburg, Hoffmann & Campe, 2014
  • Lambin, Eric: An Ecology of Happiness, Chicago, Univ. of Chicago Press, 2012
  • Metzner-Szigeth, Andreas: “Das ‚Netz-Medium‘ - Ein Katalysator gesellschaftlicher Transformationen?,” in: Banse, Gerhard; Wieser, Matthias; Winter, Rainer (Eds.): Neue Medien und kulturelle Vielfalt - Konzepte und Praktiken, Berlin, Trafo Verlag, 2009, pp. 81-104
  • Metzner-Szigeth, Andreas: “How to Analyse Techno-Medial Transformations of Culture and Society?,” in: Banse Gerhard; Insausti, Xabier (Eds.): Von der Agorá zur Cyberworld – Soziale und kulturelle, digitale und nicht-digitale Dimensionen des öffentlichen Raumes, Berlin, Trafo Verlag, 2018, pp. 299-314
  • Lister, Martin: New Media - A Critical Introduction, London, Routledge, 2010

The complete list will be announced on the first day of class and provided on the course's TEAMS platform.




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Sustainable Development Goals
This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the following Sustainable Development Goals.

3 4 5 7 10 13

Modules

Semester 1 · 97117A · Bachelor in Design and Art - Major in Art · 8CP · IT

Module A — Spaces and their production

The course should provide fundamentals, skills, working methods, theories and practices of Spacial Art and Installation, with a particular focus on integration with the second subject “Material sciences and their use in an artistic space contest”.

Lecturers: Luca Trevisani

Teaching Hours: 90
Lab Hours: 0

Course Topics
This course reimagines sculpture as a response to fear and monstrosity—both an evocation and an apotropaic act. We’ll explore the visceral, the absurd, and the grotesque as lenses through which to view human presence and culture. Form will be approached as metamorphosis, with materials seen as agents of change and the senses as central to making. Our goal is to uncover raw, chaotic, and sincere expressions of human nature. Drawing on figures like Frankenstein, Dracula, the Krampus, and scarecrows—as well as thinkers like Donna Haraway and Mark Fisher—we'll trace the cultural life of monsters, fear, fetishes, and the uncanny. A chapter will be dedicated to Venice as a symbolic and material landscape. We'll consider water as a sculptural element—unstable, reflective, and transformative—and look at Thomas Schütte’s spectral architectural models and monumental figures as haunted gestures in public space. Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now will serve as a cinematic counterpart: a study in grief, disorientation, and premonition, where Venice becomes both a psychic labyrinth and a liquid ruin. We’ll also explore the mascheroni—grotesque, often monstrous masks embedded in Venetian architecture—as historical manifestations of the apotropaic, where fear itself is sculpted into the city’s skin. Here, beauty and dread intermingle, offering a potent metaphor for artistic practice.

Teaching format
Weekly lectures and task reviews will support each participant in developing their own practice. At the core of the program is an intensive period of study and hands-on work, leading to the creation of a final project. This project must be developed by sourcing the most suitable materials and tools directly from the surrounding environment—whether natural or man-made—without relying on current technologies in a passive or predetermined way. Participants are encouraged to work in the field, draw inspiration from existing traditions, and question everyday norms, in search of new ways of making and knowing.

Required readings

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

D. Haraway, Chthulucene, NOT, 2019.

Mark Fisher, The Weird and the Eerie

Tim Ingold, Making: Anthropology, Archaeology, Art and Architecture, 2013

Gaston Bachelard, Psicanalisi delle acque, 1942

 

Excerpts and short text provided during the course.



Supplementary readings

Mary Douglas, Purezza e pericolo (1966)

Rosalind Krauss, Passaggi. Storia della scultura da Rodin alla Land Art (1977)

Nosferatu (1922) –F.W. Murnau

Dracula (1992) – Francis Ford Coppola

Get Out (2017) – Jordan Peele

Psycho (1960) – Alfred Hitchcock

The Thing (1982) – John Carpenter

Alien (1979) – Ridley Scott

Les statues meurent aussi (1953) –Alain Resnais, Chris Marker, and Ghislain Cloquet

Under the skin (2013) - Jonathan Glazer



Semester 1 · 97117B · Bachelor in Design and Art - Major in Art · 6CP · EN

Module B — Material sciences and their use in an artistic space contest

The course should provide through historical and contemporary examples, the use of different materials used in artistic production, with the possibility of expanding the term 'material' also in a political sense.

Lecturers: Marc Allen Herbst

Teaching Hours: 60
Lab Hours: 0

Semester 1 · 97117C · Bachelor in Design and Art - Major in Art · 5CP · DE

Module C — Sociology of space

Il modulo integrato “Sociologia dello spazio” trasmette specifici punti di vista della disciplina oggetto del bando, tenendo conto dei particolari processi di realizzazione di progetti artistici. Ciò riguarda principalmente i modelli di appropriazione socio-culturale e di riproduzione dello spazio, lo sviluppo delle società moderne e il modo in cui esse modellano la dialettica tra il “globale” e il “locale”, così come le riconfigurazioni mediatizzate dello spazio, del tempo e le nostre percezioni degli ambienti virtuali e materiali.

Lecturers: Andreas Bernhard Josef Metzner-Szigeth

Teaching Hours: 30
Lab Hours: 0

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