Working Title: Digital Art Curriculum – Shirin Fahimi

One:
The word, “Who” is in the centre of the frame, circled. An arrow points to a text that reads:

• For some Reasons… the first thing comes to my mind are the applications:
• Blender
• Unity
• Spark AR
• Touchdesigner

Below the list is the drawing of a document icon (page) and a title that reads:

• When making becomes divination: Uncertainty and contingency in computational glitch event” by Betti Marenko

In the margins surrounding this are more book titles and names, connected by dotted line:

• Race after technology by Ruha Benjamin (I have not read it yet but on my list to read)
• DALL.E? AI?
• Unconsciously by Nam June Paik; monitors come to my mind…Maybe because I saw it on the cover of new media books back in 2009
• A sketch of 6 cubes stacked in a pyramid.
• Morehshin Allahyari — she was the first Iranian artist that I got to know who was working with new technology…— helped me to imagine my projects in mediums that were new to me and not be afraid of learning them.
• Skawennati (Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace) “She falls for ages”
• Yuk Hui
• Drawing of a book: “The Question Concerning Technology in China: An Essay in Cosmotechnics”
• Rasheedah Phillips Black Quantum Futurism BQF Theory and Practice Vol.1

Two:
Text across the top of the frame reads:

• What does it mean to be a digital artist.

The sketch of person sitting at a computer desk with a small creature sitting on the shoulder. A speech bubble reads:

• While I love learning, sometimes it gets hard to focus on learning one tool when there is a pressure of learning every new tool appearing!

A series of smaller sketches and speech bubbles from the little creature read:

• I’m a jin and I am technology learn me
• You’re not enough if you don’t know how to code
• New
• New
• new application
• new tool
• I’m the universe whatever you make or not doesn’t make any difference to me
• I am conscious AI: helloooo

A sketch of a sad face with the words:

• You should have studied math instead of art!

Three:
Text at the top centre of the frame reads:

• What does it mean to be a digital artist?

A sketch of a person in the center with the words:

• Balancing between

Two words on each side are circled:

• Learning (left)
• Creating (right)

With a list of words below.

On the left:

• Cost of learning, constant learning, time, limitation, capacity, equipment, knowledge, speed.

On the right:

• Creativity, Intention, Visibility, Validation, Monetization, Portfolio, meaningful creation

In the centre:

• lines of text swirl, Trying to catch up with new technology…
• how can I create the best version of my idea when I have limitation in time and budget?
• needing time to know why, how before creation

Four:
Text at the top of the frame reads:

• When did you start defining yourself as a digital artist?

A sketch of 2 people wearing VR headsets and the number 2019, an arrow points to a line of text spiralling in to the center of the frame reading:

• after my performance with Morehshin and seeing her in her pioneer works residency I was so inspired by her and the possibilities of creation by technology so first step I went to Banff residency and 3D scan my self as my performance persona and gave birth to her digitally. I realize I can make a world in whatever shape and form so I start learning Blender to play around with my 3D scans…then I developed my concept as showing a narration about female divinator who has been erased from history… so I start learning SPARKAR to create a memory of the past in present time with AR. Eventually my concepts grow / focused on listening to stories and Interview with Iphone and AR masks….then I had to create this whole world which was going on in my brain so I started Unity/VR, meanshile I also fell in love with Touchdesigner and created videos for my performance in 2020… So it has been 3 years of learning 5 different tools to present my work and speak of divination and mysticism…

Five:
Text at the top of the frame reads:

• Where does digital art start for you?

A line of text starts in the center and spirals outward, reading:

• Dream visions—Invisible — space —- 3D model—connection—logic—import/export—access—open source—download—YouTube—Instagram—Render—Immersive—Presence—Imagine—feel—move—power—create—lost—Dream.

Six:
Text across the top of the frame reads:

• Why is it important to create a language around digital art?

An arrow points below to a sequence of text blocks and arrows:

• Most of the applications I use to create art has a connection or has been built for
  Military, Surveillance, Marketing
• by creating a new language we reappropriate these platforms for other intentions perhaps?
• I struggle with my tools
• Can I really use SparkAR for an art without paying attention to Facebook’s role in surveillance?
  
  Transcription by Chelsea Boos.