The annual CSP Colloquium takes place in InterArts every spring in a public presentation of research, artwork, and cross-disciplinary study that is an integral part of the second year InterArts MFA program at Columbia. Graduate students from both the Media and Book+Paper sides of the program team up in small research teams to identify a topic in contemporary artistic practice and theory, and unpack how it influences and informs their work, as well as where it is situated in the broader context of twenty-first century art and culture.

The focus of the spring class, which is required as part of the core curriculum for second-year InterAts MFAs, is to help students deepen their art practice and unify their individual art pieces into a body of work. Students present ongoing work during multiple class critique situations which can involve grant proposal applications and selections; studio visits; and academic talks and presentations. the Colloquium Series is the culmination of research performed in collaboration with peers in the program who may be working with similar media and ideas but could also be working in other disciplines or areas of investigation.

The 2013 series, entitled Reframing Artistic Practice, is scheduled for two consecutive Thursday afternoons, May 9 and 16, from 3:30–6:20 p.m. The topic listing and times are diverse, and promise to result in some lively discussions.

MAY 9 SCHEDULE

Landscapes and Borders: Mapping Our Perception
Panelists: Jamie Weaver, Alex Borgen, Scott Dickens | 3:30 p.m
This panel will discuss the multifaceted definitions of landscapes and borders; how realities are shaped through these understandings; and how art is embodied through the efforts of defining them.

Time as Art Material
Panelists: Greta Bach, Megan Pitcher, Brent Koehn | 4:30 p.m.
Panel presenters will challenges the viewer to experience time as a malleable substance, presenting layered, warped, and counterfactual uses of time as a raw material in art making. Methods covered include duration, fracture, rupture and inversion, and how these nontraditional approaches infuse an unpredictable variable into performance, sculpture, and web-based media.

The Activated Imagination
Panelists: D. Burke J. Bruschera D. Stewart | 5:30 p.m.
United by questions that address preconceived notions of reality, these three interdisciplinary artists will discuss the function and value of imagined spaces within their own work. This session will focus on the power of the imagination to induce social debate, to attract spectator interest, and to create a new awareness of space.

MAY 16 SCHEDULE

Performative Storytelling
Panelists: Penelope Hearne, Chelsey Shilling, Ahmed Hamad | 3:30 p.m.
This panel will discuss Performative storytelling through live human presence, where the physical body is the primary vehicle in conveying personal stories. Covering its application from ancient times into the age of the internet, panelists will take a look at how the “Mirror Neuron” is activated during performance, and why this chemical transaction emotionally affects the viewer and lends to an impactful and embodied experience.

Narrative in Contemporary Art—What does a resurgence in Fine Art narrative hold in store for visual artists?
Panelists: Greg Browe, Folleh Tamba, Valentina Vella | 4:30 p.m.
Panelists will discuss how “storytelling,” which has been used for centuries in literature, cinema, and television, has now taken center stage in the art gallery. Presenters on this panel will share their viewpoints on contemporary narrative by tracing the impact of old and new theories developed in the fields of hard and soft sciences, and by showing examples of artwork that uses the unfolding of events in time as one of its most prominent elements.

Social Identity and Media
Panelists: Kate Morgan Leo Selveggio Alyssa Price | 5:30 p.m.
Recent digital technologies have changed the production as well as the distribution of contemporary popular media. With the advent of smart phones, affordable software like iMovie, and social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Vimeo, the amount of user-generated media is at an unprecedented high. How do these shifts influence the proliferation of social identities in our society? This panel will explore the presentation of identity in both traditional and current media as well explore strategies to navigate this new user-generated culture, through artists’ exploration of gender media-based interventions, the open source movement, and curatorial/archival processes

All panels will take place in room 401 at 600 South Michigan Avenue, and are free an open to the public.