| Module Identifier | SG20110 | ||
| Module Title | ANALYSIS OF SCENOGRAPHY | ||
| Academic Year | 2002/2003 | ||
| Co-ordinator | Mr Richard D Downing | ||
| Semester | Semester 1 | ||
| Other staff | Mr Simon J Banham | ||
| Pre-Requisite | DR10120 , DR10220 | ||
| Course delivery | Lecture | 15 Hours 10 x 1.5 hour lectures | |
| Seminars / Tutorials | 4 Hours 3 x 1 hour surgeries (re. group projects) | ||
| Other | 5 Hours 5 x 1.5 hour screenings | ||
| Assessment | Semester Assessment | Critical Analysis (2000 words) 1 x Critical Analysis: a comparative analytical consideration of the work of two key practitioners within then the field of scenography. This is to include 2000 words of informed analytical exposition and argument which demonstrates awareness of the broader context of scenography as an artistic practice. Other appropriate media, particularly audio/visual material, should also be employed in support of this analysis. The assignment must be composed and presented electronically and be contained within no more than 1.44MB (one floppy disc) of digital space. This format of submission is intended to encourage critical consideration of the communicative value of diverse media, and to direct attention towards selective and effective compositional technique within specific parameters. A printed transcript of the text must accompany the submission. | 60% |
| Semester Assessment | Group Project 1 x Group Project: the collaborative project requires students, in groups of six, to conceive and present (not perform) a proposed aesthetic event working with landscape/interior, form, light, colour, texture, sound, light, body, and time. Presentations should last fifteen minutes, and will be followed by ten minutes of question/answer with the course tutors. | 40% | |
to employ an analytical methodology in the consideration of scenographic practice.
to demonstrate an awareness and understanding of a range of exemplary scenographic and associated performance practice.
to articulate an increased understanding of the function of scenography within the dramaturgy of the performed aesthetic event.
to establish a working definition of the artistic practice of scenography.
to offer an analytical model with which to evaluate scenographic practice.
to introduce and analyse a body of significant contemporary, historical and global scenographic and associated performance practice.
The module establishes a working definition of scenography and introduces an analytical approach to the evaluation of scenographic practice and its dramaturgical function and potential. This approach is then applied in the consideration of a wide range of significant contemporary, historical and global scenographic practice, manifest and serving diverse functions within a broad range of performed aesthetic events. This work will be introduced and considered in lectures through a variety of media, and further illustrated through the accompanying screenings. The module is assessed through two assignments; an independent Critical Analysis demanding engagement with, and exposition through, a variety of media, and the presentation of a collaborative, conceptual, Group Project.
Content :
1. Module overview. Key concepts and terminology (1): 'space'; 'duration'; 'body'.
2. Key concepts and terminology (2): 'scenography'; 'dramaturgy'; 'analysis'.
3. Holistic vision: Adolphe Appia; suggestion and representation; plasticity; narrative/beyond narrative.
4. Abstraction: Oskar Schlemmer and the performance of art.
5. Scenography and encounter: Antonin Artaud, Jerzy Grotowski and the re-negotiation of spatial contracts.
6. The language of objects: Casper Neher, Tadeusz Kantor, Joseph Beuys; placement, resonance, and juxtaposition.
7. Ex-auditoria and the specifics of site: Brith Gof, Christo, Robert Wilson; location, landscape and scenography.
8. Re-addressing the frame: Robert Wilson, Hotel Pro Forma; formality, duration and the deep surface.
9. Perception, illusion and emotion: Hotel Pro Forma, JamesTurrell, Bill Viola; immersion and the poetic sense of space.
10. Scenography, performance and virtual space: Josef Svoboda, Robert Lepage, Mark Reaney, Laurie Anderson; applications of projection and interactive technologies.
Criteria for assessment :
i] Critical Analysis: assessment will be made upon the basis of the following criteria:
- Appreciation and application of the analytical approaches presented in the module. (20%)
- Evidence of individual research and reading in addition to the lecture material. (20%)
- Creative management of the analytical material within the form of submission. (20%)
- Sustained analytical argument. (20%)
- Clarity of presentation. (20%)
ii] Group Project: assessment will be made upon the basis of the following criteria:
- Awareness of dramaturgical functions and possibilities of scenography. (30%)
- Awareness of holistic relationship between individual elements. (30%)
- Presentation: relevance, imagination and sophistication of means of delivery. (30%)
- Group Management: effective organisation, involvement and procedure. (10%)