Felix Gmelin

The metaphor for our course is Robert Morris’ Box with the sound of its own making (1961), which consists of an unadorned wooden cube, accompanied by a recording of the sounds produced during its construction. Lasting for three and a half hours, the audio component of the piece denies the air of romantic mystery surrounding the creation of the art object, presenting it as a timeconsuming endeavour. In so doing, the piece transfers the focus from the artwork to the process of its making.

This class is about storytelling – about how to articulate your dreams, memories, fairytales and subjective experiences. It aims to develop your stories and how you can articulate them, taking into consideration how they relate to the medium and language you choose. The instructors share their expertise in painting, video, script-writing and art history, and will discuss how form follows function with the participants.

Stories are powerful: they create nations, institutions, religions, dissidents, fear and rebellion, but also families. Media society makes information move fast, but only very few of us really develop stories of our own. We would like to help you to develop your stories, and discuss how one story always overlies another. We are curious to learn how you deal with your stories in today’s historical predicament.

The class will begin by examining historical examples of storytelling. Subsequently, in a playful workshop consisting of quick tasks, we will develop individual projects with simple means. Our aim is to find ways to develop and articulate your own projects, in individual and group tutorials. A final group presentation will serve to evaluate your work, and encourage its future development.