The Experimental Television Center International Summer Workshop 2006 is a collaborative video and sonic arts opportunity, sponsored by the Center and the Institute for Electronic Arts (IEA) at Alfred University. Academic credit is available through Alfred University.
Since 1996, ETC and the Institute for Electronic Arts (IEA) have sponsored the International Summer Workshop (ISW), a two-week collaborative video and sonic arts opportunity. A primary goal of ETCISW is the exploration of video as a contemporary electronic arts medium and the promotion of collaborative art practice.
Activities are balanced between the making and study of the electronic moving image. Lectures on technical aspects of equipment operation are supplemented with lab times for independent and collaborative art-making. The ETC studio is an immersive environment where artists interact with the Center’s hybrid toolset and collaboration is encouraged by the very nature of the open architecture of the system.
The image processing system is a hybrid tool set which facilitates interactive relationships between older historically important analog instruments and new digital technologies including: custom built equipment by David Jones, Dan Sandin, Nam June Paik, and others; new and vintage analog audio and video processors and synthesizers; Max/MSP and Jitter; multiple computers; keyers, switchers, colorizers, and other hardware; numerous studio cameras; and dozens of other tools; all of which are connected through a sophisticated patch bay. This rich electronic environment encourages artists to explore boundaries and intersections within narrative, documentary and social issue traditions as well as more experimental forms.
Study resources include a custom-designed manual for each participant, which includes both technical and arts-related texts. The Center’s unique collection of video and new media works dating from the early 1970s to the present is available as well.
Other activities include screenings and critiques of participants’ works, collaborative art practices, and visiting artists’ lecturers. Past visiting artists include Kristin Lucas, David Jones, Sara Hornbacher, Peer Bode, Andrew Deutsch, and Torsten Burns. Collaborative cooking is a part of the workshop experience.