This course is a practical and conceptual exploration into electronic sensors, processors and actuators in the context of interactive art and design. Students will turn everyday objects into ambient interfaces or "responsive systems" that respond to the conditions of the human body, data networks, and the environment. Contemporary works of art and design - from kinetic sculpture and sound art to installation, architecture and product design - will be examined through readings and presentations. Open source hardware (Arduino) and software (Processing) will be taught along with the fundamentals of electronic circuitry. Emphasis is given to the development of creative projects (individual or collaborative), followed by an iterative implementation process (planning, prototyping, testing, analyzing, and refining). The course is structured around a series of tutorials and exercises, culminating in a final project. Students also present work-in-progress and prototypes during class reviews to receive qualitative feedback from the class and the instructor. Participants will engage with physical computing conceptually and technically in their studio work and are encouraged to leverage their individual backgrounds to excel in the respective context.

Prior experience with electronics and programming is recommended but not required.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $200.00

Elective

This studio course reimagines game engine software as a critical tool for contemporary art and design practice. Moving beyond traditional gaming applications, we will use Epic Games Unreal Engine to invent unconventional approaches to digital art-making including: emergent design, speculative world building, as well as AI and physics-based processes (Note: traditional gameplay systems, player controller mechanics, and character animation will not be covered in the course). 

The course emphasizes conceptual development alongside technical experimentation. Students will focus on the fundamentals of Blueprints visual scripting, the Niagara particle system, and AI Behavior Trees. In addition, we will discuss historical, experimental film, animation, music, architecture and process-based art movements such as Situationism, Gutai, and Neoconcretismo. Students from every fine art and design department are encouraged to join. Students will learn to bring their current art and design work into Unreal as 2D, 3D and motion assets. The semester culminates in self-directed projects that align with individual creative practices.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $150.00

Elective

Exploring the question, "What if my computer made my drawings for me?" this course investigates the use of computational methods for creating drawings. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Mark Wilson, Vera Molnar, and Harold Cohen’s work with AARON, a life-long software that crafts significant art pieces, we will explore the historical and practical aspects of coding as a creative tool. Students will research the origins of computational making, learn basic scripting for artistic aims, understand generative drawings' material outputs, and participate in hands-on projects to foster innovation and exploration in computer-assisted drawing.

Elective

This course introduces the core themes of computational art and design, including interaction, networks, and simulation. Students will engage with these topics through modern digital production techniques, examining them from formal, material, historical, and social perspectives.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $150.00

Major Requirement | BFA Art + Computation, BFA Sound

This course introduces the core themes of computational art and design, including interaction, networks, and simulation. Students will engage with these topics through modern digital production techniques, examining them from formal, material, historical, and social perspectives.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $150.00

Major Requirement | BFA Art + Computation, BFA Sound

This course investigates the impact of computation and media technologies on artistic production and the way artists have utilized new technologies like computers, electronics, the internet, mobile devices, AI, robotics, and other tech media to create works of art. Students will analyze the works of pioneering new media artists, study the impact of technological advancements on artistic practices, and discuss the social, ethical, political, and cultural contexts that have shaped the aesthetics of computational art practices. Through a combination of readings, discussions, case studies, and project-based work, students will engage with key debates, texts, and methodologies that address the histories and potential futures of this dynamic and rapidly evolving field.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $150.00

Major Requirement | BFA Art + Computation

This course investigates the impact of computation and media technologies on artistic production and the way artists have utilized new technologies like computers, electronics, the internet, mobile devices, AI, robotics, and other tech media to create works of art. Students will analyze the works of pioneering new media artists, study the impact of technological advancements on artistic practices, and discuss the social, ethical, political, and cultural contexts that have shaped the aesthetics of computational art practices. Through a combination of readings, discussions, case studies, and project-based work, students will engage with key debates, texts, and methodologies that address the histories and potential futures of this dynamic and rapidly evolving field.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $150.00

Major Requirement | BFA Art + Computation

The material qualities of textile design and fabrication refer to our relationship to all aspects of the physical and tangible world. While computation has long been responsible for pushing the traditional techniques of textiles to high levels of mechanical industrial expression, digital sensibility and know-how of digital technologies are now increasingly seen as means to push the frontier and very definition of fabric. Parallel advances in digital fabrication and the invention of smart materials now allow for added dimensionality and functionality in fabric, and computation is a key interface for material exploration. In this course, students will learn to modulate the performance and behavior of fabric through its geometry and other systems of continuous structural surface within a computational framework. This course will provide students with the opportunity to push the boundaries of fabric design across disciplines and studio practices.

Estimated Cost of Materials: varies by individual project.

Elective

This project-based course explores the role of sound in storytelling, research, and artistic expression. Students will engage in hands-on field recording, critical listening, and curating thematic sound archives, using these collections to create narrative-driven audio projects. Through readings and discussions, students will explore key theories in sonic arts, sound design, and sound studies, integrating these concepts into their work. The course encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, connecting sound with visual arts, literature, and digital media. Dialogues on contemporary issues in sound, such as its social and cultural impact, will be central to the learning process. By the end of the course, students will have developed a body of work that demonstrates technical skill and proficiency in creative storytelling using sound.

Elective

Modular synthesizers offer a tactile approach to sound production that is consistently inventive by design. Emerging from the 1960s counterculture, they are a product of expansive thinking that challenged conventions in both instrument design and creative practice. Six decades later, the limits of possibility only increased. In Modular Synthesis Studio, we will learn and apply concepts of voltage controlled synthesizers to creative coding and embedded computing platforms. Imbued with the spirit of community, together we will design and build a one-of-a-kind RISD modular synthesizer by semester end, while also creating new sound-based works with the system. Assignments in this studio course will involve creative projects, class presentations, readings, and module fabrication. The class will provide students with a strong foundation in modular synthesis, audio programming languages, and the skills to develop physical and software instruments relating to their personal creative practices.

Students should bring a laptop computer and wired headphones to class.
Experience with programming and/or modular synthesizers recommended but not required.

Elective