Once again, it is time to sign up for The Independent Activities Period (IAP), a special term at MIT that runs from early January until the end of the month. IAP 2015 will run from Monday, January 5, through Friday, January 30, 2015. IAP offerings are distinguished by their variety, innovative spirit, and fusion of fun and learning.
Economist John Maynard Keynes warns in his 1930 essay, “Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren,” “There is no country and no people, I think, who can look forward to the age of leisure and of abundance without a dread. For we have been trained too long to strive and not to enjoy. It is a fearful problem for the ordinary person, with no special talents, to occupy himself….” In MIT’s “48/14” culture, IAP presents a remedy to this predicament. Improve, edify and enjoy yourself by enrolling in one of the many courses offered this year.
To help you navigate the profusion of arts courses, we have compiled a list of classes in the Visual Arts, Graphic Design, Multimedia, Music, Performing Arts, Architecture, Books & Letters and Film & Television, beginning with two IAPs offered by CAST Visiting Artists Anicka Yi and Pawel Romanczuk.
CAST-SPONSORED COURSES
The Art and Science of Bacteria
Anicka Yi, MIT Visiting Artist, Tal Danino, Postdoctoral Fellow
MIT Visiting Artist Anicka Yi teams up with Postdoctoral and TED Fellow Tal Danino to present their current work to engineer a collectively-scented bacteria, created from the DNA of 100 women. Participants will learn about the art and the science behind the project.
Anicka Yi’s work explores scent and decay, creating a sensorial experience that disrupts our predominantly visual culture. At MIT, Anicka Yi is collaborating with researchers to create new scents based on bacteria and new materials for creating installations. Anicka’s work will be on view at the List Visual Art Center May 22 through July 26, 2015.
Tal Danino is a postdoctoral fellow at MIT’s Laboratory for Multiscale Regenerative Technologies, whose research combines biology and engineering. He is actively involved in developing science-based art and outreach programs that promote interest in science and cancer research to a general audience.
This course is open to the MIT community; graduate and undergraduate students will be given preference.
Small Instruments – Musical Instrument Building & Performance
Pawel Romanczuk, MIT Visiting Artist, Instructor
Polish composer and instrument builder Pawel Romanczuk started Małe Instrumenty (“Small Instruments”) in 2006. He explores new sounds using a wide array of small instruments – found, rebuilt from spare parts, or designed from scratch – from toy pianos to homemade child-sized cellos. Inspired by the soundtracks to old Polish animated films, the instruments used in the group’s sonic experiments feature an ever-expanding array of instruments, children’s toys, and strange musical inventions. Małe Instrumenty’s music reveals the unique colors of sound, from the beautiful to the surprising to the insightful.
Romanczuk’s one-week residency at MIT involves a daily 3-hour workshop in instrument building and composition for MIT community and students, culminating in a public concert at the MIT Museum on Friday, January 9. Participants will have the opportunity to create their own instruments, develop techniques to play them and create an ensemble for live performance.
GRANT WRITING & CURATING
Getting a grant from the Council for the Arts at MIT, Susan Cohen, Director, Council for the Arts at MIT
That Project Belongs in a Museum!, Seth Riskin, Co-director, MIT Museum Studio, Allan Doyle, Co-Director, MIT Museum Studio
VISUAL ARTS/ 3D
MetaPiano: a Collective Sound Sculpture Experiment, Seth Avecilla, Fabrication Associate, Floor van de Velde
Biological Origami: Using Living Cells as Design Tools, Wen Wang, Postdoctoral Associate, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Jifei Ou, PhD Student/ Designer, Lining Yao, PhD Student/ Designer
Forces Frozen: Construct & exhibit outdoor frozen structures, Caitlin Mueller, Assistant Professor, Architecture
Working with Light, Seth Riskin, Co-director, MIT Museum Studio
Knitting for Programmers, Marie-Jose Montpetit
Welding — (MIG, TIG steel/aluminium), Jack Whipple, Technical Instructor, D-Lab
Introduction to the Art of Glass Blowing, Prof. Michael Cima, Professor
Introduction to the Potter’s Wheel Section A, Darrell Finnegan, Technical Instructor
Introduction to the Potter’s Wheel Section B, Eleonora Lecei, Technical Instructor
Introduction to the Potter’s Wheel Section C, Eleonora Lecei, Technical Instructor
Introduction to Ancient Coil Pottery, Eleonora Lecei, Technical Instructor
Totally Teapots, Darrell Finnegan, Technical Instructor
Super Bowls Section A, Jason Pastorello, Technical Instructor
Super Bowls Section B, Jason Pastorello, Technical Instructor
Mighty Mugs Section A, Jason Pastorello, Technical Instructor
Mighty Mugs Section B, Jason Pastorello, Technical Instructor
Intro to Jewelry, Tara Fadenrecht, Technical Instructor
VISUAL ARTS/ 2D
Introduction to Drawing, as taught in the Class “Introduction to Design for Engineers,” Carolyn Jundzilo-Comer
Colors, Chords & Creativity, Joan Levy Hepburn & Joe Bouchard
Portrait Photography class, Kim Bokeh
Analog Black & White Photo Workshop, Nicole Tariverdian, Technical Instructor
Photoshop for Photography & Photography for Photoshop, Theresa Mislick, Technical Instructor
Introduction to Gum Bichromate Printing, Theresa Mislick, Technical Instructor
Photo Transfer with Digital Images, Theresa Mislick, Technical Instructor
Zentangle!, Maria Thomas/Rick Roberts
Interpreting a Still Life, Nicole Tariverdian, Technical Instructor
2D & 3D Nature Study, Eleonora Lecei, Technical Instructor
Beginning Oil Painting Workshop, Nicole Tariverdian, Technical Instructor
Before the Paint: Learning to Prime and Prepare Paint Surfaces, Nicole Tariverdian, Technical Instructor
LineStorm: Animation, Pell Osborn
Enameling Course, Tara Fadenrecht, Technical Instructor
Hands-On Holography, Dr. Robert A. Freking
ART TOURS
Art and Architecture Tour of the Boston Public Library, Cynthia Stewart, Docent, Boston Public Library
Boston Contemporary Art Gallery Crawl, Henriette Huldisch, Curator, List Visual Arts Center
GRAPHIC DESIGN
DUSPviz: Basic Habits of Effective Graphic Designers, Mike Foster
DUSPviz: Code your First Web Site — Introduction to HTML/CSS/Javascript, Mike Foster
DUSPviz: Create a Research Poster — Intermediate Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop/InDesign, Mike Foster
DUSPviz: Intro to Interactive Cartography — Using Leaflet to Create a Web Map, Mike Foster
MULTIMEDIA
Beginning Exploratory Programming, Nick Montfort, Associate Professor of Digital Media
Brain Hacks: The Art and Science of Brain-Computer Interfaces, Grace Leslie, Postdoctoral Fellow, MIT Media Lab
How Different Software Languages & Libraries Affect Your Creative Process, Craig Carter, Professor of Materials Science
MUSIC & PERFORMING ARTS
Electric Guitar – Build your own, John Armstong
Chamber Music Discovery & Sight-Reading, Forrest Larson, Circulation/Reserves Associate, Lewis Music Library
Change Ringing on Handbells, Elaine Hansen, Cally Perry, Naomi Schurr, Ellena Popova
Facing the Music: Recreating Performances from the Past, Teresa Neff, Lecturer, Music
Heavy Metal 101, Jeffrey Pearlin, MIT GSL Systems Administrator
Mathematics Department Music Recital, Michael Andrews
Movement, Relaxation, and Concentration Skills for Performers, Jean Rife, Lecturer in Music
Is This On? (Become A Member of WMBR Radio, 88.1FM), Generoso Fierro
MIT FLUTE ENSEMBLE, Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin, Lecturer
24 Hour Show, Shakespeare Ensemble
Blues Dancing Lessons, Lindy Hop Society
International Folk Dancing for Everyone, Kristi Beck, Valarie Rosen
Intro to Contra Dancing, with Live Folk Music, Ann B. Cowan, Kristi Beck
Israeli Folk Dancing, David Goldfinger, Valarie Rosen
Stop Kiss – presented by the MIT Shakespeare Ensemble, Shakespeare Ensemble
Trash Can Drumming IAP 2015, Rupak Chakraborty
Exploring Leadership through Storytelling & Shakespeare, Christine Kelly, Senior Lecturer
ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
Architecture & Psychology, Rhett Nichols, Alumna Courses 4 & 9: S.B. & B.S.A.D.
Soft Wood, Sheila Kennedy, AIA, Professor of the Practice, Dept. of Architecture, Trygve Wastvedt, Teaching Fellow
Third World Challenge: Brainstorm and Design a Starter Core House that Grows Incrementally, Reinhard Goethert, Professor
Network analysis in urban design, Martin Scoppa, SUTD/MIT Postdoctoral Fellow
LEED Platinum Certified tour-Artists for Humanity Sustainability Practices, Sara Gallegos, Coordinator of Student Engagement
BOOKS & LETTERS
Creative Bookbinding, Kate Beattie, Ayako Letizia
Historic Letterlocking: The Art & Security of Letter Writing, Jana Dambrogio, Thomas F. Peterson (1957) Conservator
Rare Book Speed Dating, Stephen Skuce, Program Manager for Rare Books
MIT Writers’ Group, Steven Strang
On the Screen – activity, Eugenie Brinkema, Literature Professor
An Introduction to Independent Publishing, Katharine Dunn, Scholarly Communications Librarian
Pleasures of Poetry 2015, David Thorburn
Love and Romance in Ancient India, Shekhar Shastri
Kevin Pilkington: New Poems, David Thorburn, Professor
Beyonce: Black Feminist Thought in Popular Culture, Sandy Alexandre, Professor of Literature
Using Images in your work: A look at copyright, fair use, and open licensing, Ellen Finnie Duranceau, Program Manager, Scholarly Publishing, Copyright & Licensing
Basics of Copyright and Software Intellectual Property, Daniel Dardani
FILM & TELEVISION
The Best of The European Short Film Festival 2014, Kurt Fendt, Executive Director, MIT HyperStudio
37th Annual Science Fiction Marathon, Victoria Gunning
China’s Nightmares of Affluence, Christopher Leighton, Assistant Professor, History
Full Throttle: Gender Representations in Car Films, Renee Blackburn
Harry Potter, World War II & and War on Terror, Amanda Rothschild, PhD Student Political Science