Pioneers of Experimental Media: Selections from Three Decades of Electronic Arts at Rensselaer

Rensselaer's Department of the Arts, founded in 1972, is generally considered to be the first integrated electronic arts program within a research university in the United States. The department features an integrated and multidisciplinary approach to the arts with a focus on the use of experimental and electronic media in artistic creation and performance. The work of the department's distinguished faculty and alumni are represented internationally in museums, galleries, festivals, publications, and performances.

The department and studios have historically been referred to as iEAR (Integrated Electronic Arts at Rensselaer). A leader in multimedia arts education, the department's M.F.A. in Electronic Arts was created in 1991 and, in collaboration with Rensselaer's Department of Language, Literature and Communication, the B.S. in Electronic Media, Arts, and Communication (EMAC) was established in 1996. A multi-departmental B.S. in Information Technology (IT) was instituted in 1998 and in 2002, a B.S. in Electronic Arts (EARTS) was introduced. In 2007, a multi-departmental B.S. in Games and Simulation Arts and Science (GSAS) enrolled its first students and a doctorate in the electronic arts was inaugurated. One of the first Ph.D.s of its kind, this program expands the traditions of arts pedagogy through interdisciplinary research in contemporary media theory, practice, and production. The iEAR studios provide specialized facilities for students, faculty and visiting artists to engage in individual and collaborative research projects.

iEAR Presents! is a series of public performances, exhibitions, screenings and lectures dealing with innovative aesthetic, cultural, and technical explorations of experimental media and electronic arts. Curator: Arts Department faculty, iEAR Presents! seeks to bring artists into a creative dialogue with the Rensselaer community and the general public.

"Pioneers of Experimental Media" includes a selection of works produced by Arts Department faculty and alumni and as part of iEAR Presents! Included are pieces by faculty: Caren Canier, Larry Kagan, Branda Miller, Pauline Oliveros, and Neil Rolnick; alumni: Jackie Goss, Julia Heyward, The McCoys, and Stephan Moore; and iEAR Presents! events by George Lewis, Miya Masaoka, and Guillermo Gómez-Peña.

The introductory montage includes works by faculty: Nao Bustamante, Curtis Bahn, Michael Century, David Gibson, Tomie Hahn, Kathy High, Shawn Lawson, Kathleen Ruiz, Mary Anne Staniszewski, and Igor Vamos.

"Pioneers of Experimental Media" is a selection from the DVD compilation entitled, "iEAR PIX: Selections from Faculty, Alumni and iEAR Presents!," produced by Kathy High (with Laura Garrison, Penny Lane and Victoria Kereszi) in conjunction with the opening of EMPAC.

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