Text on teaching
An overview ofhe various courses in the master’s degree that I held as a lecturer at the Art and Design Research Institute of the Faculty of Architecture at Munich University of Applied Sciences between 2015 and 2020. The short texts are advance announcements of self-developed topics and formats, based on the curriculum and the learning content of the architecture course at Munich University of Applied Sciences.
Theory 3 - Advanced Design WiSe 20/21
LB Mary Kim, LB Afra Dopfer
MA_23 Theory 3 - Advanced Design | Art Design Research (2 sub-modules)
Model and media in an architecturally artistic context
Model construction / intermediality
devotionnbsp; / dersakralenbsp; R au m
In this course we develop a design concept for an interreligious space that can be used for prayer and prayer for different denominations. We will first deal with the fundamentals of the liturgy and the resulting needs of the individual religions. We introduce artists who create spirituality in their work in different ways: in the special use of material, in the use of action and ritual, or by working with the limits of our perception. The aim is to develop an exemplary room, a room structure or a color / light concept and to represent this in the model. A statement on the derivation of the idea and documentation on the development process explain and complete the work.
At the end of the semester, a joint presentation and discussion of the resulting concepts with the involvement of representatives of different religions and other guests is planned.
Theory 3 - specialization in design summer semester 2021
Prof. Julian Krüger, LB Afra Dopfer
MA_22 Theory 2 - Consolidation Design Submodule 1 2
Model and media in an architecturally artistic context
Model construction / intermediality
Homeward
The current public debate about the increasing urban sprawl and sealing of the landscape by single-family houses forms the background of our topic. In this course we deal with family living in single and multi-family houses, in our immediate surroundings, in small houses on the outskirts or in the open country. The questioning, investigation and appropriation of the topic is carried out in the course by building an analog model. A fragment, signs of use or a typical detail of a house, fence, garage entrance, facade or rubber tree can become the subject of discussion. In replicating a thing, important knowledge is gained about what is depicted. What type of building is it? What is special about this house? What is the story? How was it designed by its residents? What style and taste are in it? How much money, how much status, how much individuality? And what atmosphere is created?
The translation of a real situation into the model situation requires decisions about scale, medium, format and type of representation. However, there is a great deal of freedom in translation, because it is always also an interpretation; This particular peculiarity makes the model an effective instrument in the creative process, in which play and fiction can be combined with existing facts.
Theory 2 - Advanced Design SoSe 2020
Prof. Julian Krüger, LB Afra Dopfer
MA_22 Theory 2 - Advanced Design | Art Design Research (2 sub-modules)
Model and media in an architecturally artistic context
Model construction / intermediality
Setting
In this course we deal with what surrounds us every day: the furniture, the furnishings and the design of public, semi-public and private spaces. We want to look at the appearance of objects, ordinary things. With what aesthetic conception were they designed? What style and taste are in it? How much status, how much individuality? Which contemporary and social influences determine your appearance? What atmosphere is created?
Understanding places as spaces for action and stage sets and translating them into a new, three-dimensional model, image or fragment of space will be the task of the course. As a tool for practical implementation, we consider how spaces can be read with the distant gaze of factual photography and with which different artistic concepts they can be appropriated.
The course participants are invited to develop an individual approach to the topic through personal observations, room analyzes and their documentation.
Theory 2 - Advanced Design SoSe 2020
LB Afra Dopfer, LB Mary Kim
MA_21 Theory 1 - Advanced Design | Art Design Research (2 sub-modules)
Performative spaces / intermedial interventions
Playtime
We deal with the public space as an event: static and flexible elements stand in constantly changing spatial and temporal relationships to one another and through this change always produce new structures in one and the same space. The 1967 film Playtime by Jacques Tati serves as an initiator and stimulus to reflect on this phenomenon, a film that shows the absurdity of modern life through the humorous description of both strange and familiar urban characters. The urban landscapes in the film describe detailed urban spaces with simultaneous choreography of various passers-by, through a carefully designed modern city. In the flow of people and movement through these very spaces there are various possibilities to discover new elements or perspectives in the film, and to recognize a shape that is constantly renewed in the action and reaction of people, things and the space.
Who is shaping the space? The actor or the viewer?
How is space described? How do its peculiarities affect the relationships between objects and people? Do actions create space or vice versa? How is a shape created?
Where are there reflections and synergies, dissonances and harmonies?
How do time and movement affect the formation of patterns and structures?
And isn't that all in the eye of the beholder?
Your observations are accompanied and shaped by filmic or photographic spatial analyzes, audiovisual installations, or site-specific interventions.
Theory 2 - specialization in design summer semester 2019
LB Mary Kim, LB Afra Dopfer
MA_22 Theory 2 - Advanced Design | Art Design Research (2 sub-modules)
Model and media in an architecturally artistic context
Model construction / intermediality
Joy and difficulty of making
Play is a necessary ingredient in art because there is a kind of wonder that goes on when you play. You're directing your activity toward a conclusion that isn't prescribed by a particular method. Richard Serra
While in the architectural design process one generally assumes a planned and targeted approach, at the end of which there is a design result, in the artistic creation process one imagines something disordered, chaotic - a process that sometimes ends with no tangible result. We take these two very contrary ideas of work in both disciplines as an opportunity to examine the relationship between architecture and art in terms of their design processes. The idea of the game serves as the motor for both design paths. The game contains all elements of creativity. It is subject to an inherent logic, a system, a goal. But it is also purposeless, communicative and allows unexpected weddings and all feelings.
How can you approach productive activity in a playful way? Is there a goal, or is this contrary to playfulness? Are there any rules? Which processes, which logic, which economies lead to a form? How is a shape created? What is the role of material and its limitations, scale, purpose, time and chance? And what do you get out of it?
The two sub-modules Intermediality and Model construction are held together in this event.
Theory 3 - Consolidation Design WiSe 2018/19
LB Afra Dopfer
MA_23 Theory 3 - Advanced Design | Art Design Research (sub-module 2)
New design approaches
Praise to the shadow
"We are of the opinion that beauty should not be sought in the objects themselves, but in the chiaroscuro, in the shadow play that unfolds between the objects."Tanizaki Jun'ichiro
Using the example of dealing with light and shadow, the Japanese writer Tanizaki Jun'ichiro develops an image of the aesthetics of traditional Japanese architecture and culture. He designs a conception of beauty that, in contrast to our western culture, is based on darkness and blurring. By reading this essay together, we deal with the approach of the writer, who develops his aesthetic ideas by describing different areas of life and cultural peculiarities. In a second step, we work out individual topics from the text and develop a visual implementation.
Reading: Tanizaki Jun'ichiro, Lob des Schattens, 1st edition 1933, Manesse Verlag;
Theory 3 - Advanced Design WiSe 2019/20
LB Afra Dopfer
MA_23 Theory 3 - Advanced Design | Art Design Research (sub-module 2)
New design approaches
Informel solutions / praise for the temporary solution
Improvised solutions help in the most direct way in an emergency situation. These solutions are often based on good ideas and precise decisions. You also have to be able to grasp a situation correctly and quickly. You don't have to be a specialist. Spontaneous decisions and the lack of a shelf life requirement often lead to new approaches and unforeseen solutions.
Then why does the temporary solution actually have such a bad reputation? Does it have any advantages too? Does it have any value? Is it beautiful? Can you learn from it? On the basis of individual observations and their joint discussions, we develop topics from which an improvised work for a grievance or a certain situation can be developed. We deal with techniques, material properties, shapes, connections and with the aesthetics and the charm of the fleeting.
Theory 2 - specialization in design summer semester 2019
LB Afra Dopfer
MA_21 Theory 1 - Advanced Design | Art Design Research (1 sub-module)
Performative spaces
To commemorate, to remember - forms and structures of public commemoration
Monuments in public space, formerly the original task of sculptors, have changed over the course of history, as have the motifs and events that one wants to commemorate. The word “culture of remembrance” has recently established itself in public commemoration. It describes not only the individual, but above all the society as a whole, dealing with the past and history. However, this requires a social consensus - which must be preceded by a public debate. In particular, the memory of the Holocaust was understood as a social task and had to produce new forms of remembrance. How should one commemorate such a monumental crime?
The public discussion expanded the notions of a memorial and memorial away from a centering, distance-creating autonomous statue. Instead, spaces that can be animated and walked in are created, temporary art events are carried out, or “informal” memorials are created through the incorporation of places by the residents of a city. The aim of the course is to develop an understanding of what a monument is, what it can do, what forms it can take and what role it can play for our identity, for a city or for the cohesion of a society. You first work out and answer these questions through your personal approach to the topic. A concept and a small model should be developed from this, which reflects your considerations and your awareness of the problem.
Theory 2 - specialization in design summer semester 2017
LB Afra Dopfer
MA_21 Theory 1 - Advanced Design | Art Design Research (1 sub-module)
Performative spaces
Forming space
“I consider space to be a material. The articulation of space has come to take precedence over other concerns. I attempt to use sculptural form to make space distinct. " Richard Serra
The quote from the sculptor Richard Serra proves the fact that a new idea of sculpture has been articulated in the history of sculpture since the beginning of the 20th century. The space, which normally encloses a body and is intrinsically formless, is perceived by the sculptor as a malleable material. The idea that space and mass are mutually dependent has made new forms of sculpture possible. In the seminar we consider the dialogue between space and body using examples from the work of the sculptor Richard Serra. We discuss how you can evaluate the artistic approach cited above for architecture, use it for yourself, and transform it into an independent form in the model.
Theory 2 - specialization design winter semester 2017/18
LB Afra Dopfer
MA_21 Theory 1 - Advanced Design | Art Design Research (1 sub-module)
Performative spaces
Space and movement
Different times of the day change rooms and make them move. But the perception of a room does not happen through static viewing either. Rather, space is understood because it is experienced through movement. The recording of a place in motion always generates new perspectives. This means that when looking at rooms we always process several perspectives at the same time. In the perception process, the different perspectives are brought together and a spatial continuum is constructed. One perspective does not exist in our perception. Using examples and experimental investigations, we reflect on space as something that is perceived in motion and in time. In the seminar, possibilities of the artistic implementation of the self-developed topic in two and three-dimensional form, through photography, film, drawing, are developed process-like.
Theory 3 - specialization design winter semester 2017/18
LB Afra Dopfer
MA_23 Theory 3 - Advanced Design | Art Design Research (sub-module 2)
New design approaches
Ornamental
Def .: Ornament (from Latin ornare "to decorate, decorate, organize, arm") a mostly repetitive, often abstract or abstracted pattern on the surface, with a symbolic function in itself.
Ornament is usually associated with ornaments and jewelry, and exists in dependence and close connection with its wearer, a building, a wall, or an object. Until the “form follows function” of modernity, each historical epoch developed its own ornamentation, depending on the social norm. In individual research and joint considerations, we look for ornament in everyday life. We investigate to what extent ornamentation has to do with order, movement and orientation and how it can leave the surface and affect the space: how it can generate, structure and influence space. The work includes research, analysis and practical implementation in a suitable medium (object, model, photography, film).
Theory 2 - specialization in design summer semester 2015
VProf., Afra Dopfer
MA_21 Theory 2 - Advanced Design | Art Design Research (1 sub-module)
Performative spaces
Sculptural acts
“Not building ... but what then? Drop, hang, lean - in short: act. ”Robert Morris, 1970
In contrast to our idea of an object, the concept of action is not necessarily linked to a tangible or material result. In the interplay of action and result, it is mostly the result, not the action, that is evaluated. In the 1970s, in the search for delimitation with Fluxus, Happening and Land - Art, the moment of action became a constructive part of a dissolving concept of form in the visual arts.
But how do you view action as an event with equal rights that is detached from the result? And how do you rate them? Are there aesthetic qualities, temporal and spatial references, rhythm and structure of an action?Does the act of acting already have a shape? Is the concept of “form” always tied to materiality and a visible result? Using examples from the visual arts, we particularly look at the act of action and the relationship between action and result. In doing so, artistic disciplines such as movement, drawing, painting, sculpture and new
Media examined for their usability in the creative process.