CAST Visiting Artist @lbert Figurt invites you to a full-immersion theater workshop centered on our multifaceted relationship with screen-based devices. 

Profiting from a dedicated studio space in the Theater Arts building, participants will engage in a convivial brainstorming in order to share their idiosyncratic digital routines, confront personal computerized emotions and ultimately remix tics, obsessions and fears in as many unexpected performative stimuli. 

Little by little, with Albert helping in the guise of a facilitator / co-creator (rather than a director / choreographer), the scattered fragments will be then orchestrated and assembled into a minimal, multimedia theatrical outcome — to be presented at the very end of the day for a small audience.

Open to all members of the MIT community (students, staff, faculty, alumni)

Capped at 15 participants

No experience necessary, just bring a sense of curiosity and a willingness to explore. Guests of participants are welcome to attend the showcase at the end of the day. 

Presented by the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology and supported by the Alan W. Katzenstein (1942) Memorial Fund, with thanks to MIT Comparative Media Studies / Writing and MIT Music and Theater Arts.

Learn more and register

Digital photography opens up a multitude of ways of working with multiple exposures. In this course, we’ll use digital cameras and Photoshop to produce composite images using a variety of strategies, including layering, collaging, and stitching. No prior experience with Photoshop is necessary, and a basic introduction to working with digital mirrorless cameras will be given. A laptop capable of running Adobe Photoshop is required for the course. MIT affiliates may download Photoshop for free through MIT’s Adobe Creative Cloud license.

This 4 week intermediate/advanced workshop will have us explore unusual forming techniques and surprising surface treatments that take us beyond the “round”. Oval, wavy, stretched or crazy, the teapot is a wonderful subject that will show us a balance between functionality and creativity.  Would you like one lump or two?

During this 4 week intermediate/advanced level workshop, we will focus on several pitcher forms.  With an emphasis on handles and spouts, we will learn composition as well as the functionality of one of mankind’s earliest functional forms.  With time permitting, several surface decorating techniques will also be introduced before bisque firing.

This course provides an intensive introduction to the fundamentals and processes of representational drawing. Students will engage with, and explore, a plethora of drawing methodologies such as mark-making, layering, additive/subtractive drawing, and the articulation of line, shape, volume, weight, gesture, and composition. This class will use charcoal as the primary drawing material, and after guided technical exercises students will take their skills and apply it through the rendering of a complex still life.

This 4 week workshop will introduce you to the basics of wheel throwing, trimming and glazing.  Learn basic techniques that will allow you to confidently create on the potter’s wheel.

This course provides an introduction to how physical computation can be utilized within an artistic practice. Students will be introduced to the Arduino IDE and basic principles of circuits, and will learn how to use different motors, sensors, and displays. At the end of the four weeks, students will have created an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) for their computational works and understand the process of ideation, making schematics, and best practices for electronics arts.

In Lo-Fi Pictures, we will begin by exploring the most fundamental forms of the camera: pinhole and box cameras. Students will construct cameras using low-cost and found materials and use their cameras to develop and print analog photographs using darkroom processes. We’ll look at images that use aberration, blur, and other optical “defects” to work outside conventions of photographic fidelity. Finally, we’ll look at the digital scanner as a tool for image-making, rather than only reproduction. With each of these processes, students will share and discuss the photographs they make. No prior experience is required.

This intermediate studio course is designed for scientists and engineers conducting research who want to bridge the gap between their academic topics of interest with representation in a visual language. We will approach the process of making art from a scientific framework, emphasizing research, experimentation, and reflection. Students will be prompted to develop a series of works that stem from their research practices, and think about how their materials and artistic processes can relay information within the sciences. We will spend the first class talking about our research and how you plan to make a body of work about a specific concern, before making a plan for production. Classes will include discussions about artists who work at the intersection of art and science/technology, and the class schedule may involve trips to see relevant exhibitions (to be announced to students 1-2 weeks prior). Students may work within the realms of abstraction or representation, but should have prior experience in working within these respective fields as foundational techniques will not be covered.

Explore the world of clay through a variety of techniques used to create the mug. Wheelthrowing and handbuilding methods are combined to construct a mug fit for you, a family member, or even a friend! If you drink coffee or tea and are interested in clay, this class is for you!

Explore the world of clay through a variety of techniques used to create the mug. Wheelthrowing and handbuilding methods are combined to construct a mug fit for you, a family member, or even a friend! If you drink coffee or tea and are interested in clay, this class is for you!

Explore the world of clay through a variety of techniques used to create the mug. Wheelthrowing and handbuilding methods are combined to construct a mug fit for you, a family member, or even a friend! If you drink coffee or tea and are interested in clay, this class is for you!

This course provides an overview of the process of painting portraits, focusing on composition, color, values, and textures. Although the class will be grounded in representational painting, students will be given the flexibility to incorporate abstraction into their works to create a striking and dynamic image. Students will learn important skills in painting such as creating underpaintings, mixing warm/cool palettes, and glazing. Students will leave this course with a deeper understanding on the approaches to portrait painting and will finish a painting at the conclusion of our time together.

Explore the world of clay through a variety of techniques used to create the bowl. Wheelthrowing and handbuilding methods are combined to construct a bowl fit for you, a family member or even a friend!  If you like cereal, soups, and salads and are interested in clay, this class is for you!

Explore the world of clay through a variety of techniques used to create the bowl. Wheelthrowing and handbuilding methods are combined to construct a bowl fit for you, a family member or even a friend!  If you like cereal, soups, and salads and are interested in clay, this class is for you!

This 4 week workshop will introduce you to the basics of wheel throwing, trimming and glazing.  Learn basic techniques that will allow you to confidently create on the potter’s wheel.

This 4 week workshop will introduce you to the basics of wheel throwing, trimming and glazing.  Learn basic techniques that will allow you to confidently create on the potter’s wheel.

Explore the world of clay through a variety of techniques used to create the mug. Wheelthrowing and handbuilding methods are combined to construct a mug fit for you, a family member, or even a friend! If you drink coffee or tea and are interested in clay, this class is for you!

Explore the world of clay through a variety of techniques used to create the mug. Wheelthrowing and handbuilding methods are combined to construct a mug fit for you, a family member, or even a friend! If you drink coffee or tea and are interested in clay, this class is for you!

Explore the world of clay through a variety of techniques used to create the mug. Wheelthrowing and handbuilding methods are combined to construct a mug fit for you, a family member, or even a friend! If you drink coffee or tea and are interested in clay, this class is for you!

In Lo-Fi Pictures, we will begin by exploring the most fundamental forms of the camera: pinhole and box cameras. Students will construct cameras using low-cost and found materials and use their cameras to develop and print analog photographs using darkroom processes. We’ll look at images that use aberration, blur, and other optical “defects” to work outside conventions of photographic fidelity. Finally, we’ll look at the digital scanner as a tool for image-making, rather than only reproduction. With each of these processes, students will share and discuss the photographs they make. No prior experience is required.

This 4 week workshop will introduce you to the basics of wheel throwing, trimming and glazing.  Learn basic techniques that will allow you to confidently create on the potter’s wheel.

This 4 week intermediate/advanced workshop will have us explore unusual forming techniques and surprising surface treatments that take us beyond the “round”. Oval, wavy, stretched or crazy, the teapot is a wonderful subject that will show us a balance between functionality and creativity.  Would you like one lump or two?

This intermediate studio course is designed for scientists and engineers conducting research who want to bridge the gap between their academic topics of interest with representation in a visual language. We will approach the process of making art from a scientific framework, emphasizing research, experimentation, and reflection. Students will be prompted to develop a series of works that stem from their research practices, and think about how their materials and artistic processes can relay information within the sciences. We will spend the first class talking about our research and how you plan to make a body of work about a specific concern, before making a plan for production. Classes will include discussions about artists who work at the intersection of art and science/technology, and the class schedule may involve trips to see relevant exhibitions (to be announced to students 1-2 weeks prior). Students may work within the realms of abstraction or representation, but should have prior experience in working within these respective fields as foundational techniques will not be covered.

This course provides an overview of the process of painting portraits, focusing on composition, color, values, and textures. Although the class will be grounded in representational painting, students will be given the flexibility to incorporate abstraction into their works to create a striking and dynamic image. Students will learn important skills in painting such as creating underpaintings, mixing warm/cool palettes, and glazing. Students will leave this course with a deeper understanding on the approaches to portrait painting and will finish a painting at the conclusion of our time together.

This course provides an introduction to how physical computation can be utilized within an artistic practice. Students will be introduced to the Arduino IDE and basic principles of circuits, and will learn how to use different motors, sensors, and displays. At the end of the four weeks, students will have created an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) for their computational works and understand the process of ideation, making schematics, and best practices for electronics arts.

Explore the world of clay through a variety of techniques used to create the bowl. Wheelthrowing and handbuilding methods are combined to construct a bowl fit for you, a family member or even a friend!  If you like cereal, soups, and salads and are interested in clay, this class is for you!

Explore the world of clay through a variety of techniques used to create the bowl. Wheelthrowing and handbuilding methods are combined to construct a bowl fit for you, a family member or even a friend!  If you like cereal, soups, and salads and are interested in clay, this class is for you!

This 4 week workshop will introduce you to the basics of wheel throwing, trimming and glazing.  Learn basic techniques that will allow you to confidently create on the potter’s wheel.

Digital photography opens up a multitude of ways of working with multiple exposures. In this course, we’ll use digital cameras and Photoshop to produce composite images using a variety of strategies, including layering, collaging, and stitching. No prior experience with Photoshop is necessary, and a basic introduction to working with digital mirrorless cameras will be given. A laptop capable of running Adobe Photoshop is required for the course. MIT affiliates may download Photoshop for free through MIT’s Adobe Creative Cloud license.

During this 4 week intermediate/advanced level workshop, we will focus on several pitcher forms.  With an emphasis on handles and spouts, we will learn composition as well as the functionality of one of mankind’s earliest functional forms.  With time permitting, several surface decorating techniques will also be introduced before bisque firing.

This course provides an intensive introduction to the fundamentals and processes of representational drawing. Students will engage with, and explore, a plethora of drawing methodologies such as mark-making, layering, additive/subtractive drawing, and the articulation of line, shape, volume, weight, gesture, and composition. This class will use charcoal as the primary drawing material, and after guided technical exercises students will take their skills and apply it through the rendering of a complex still life.

This 4 week workshop will introduce you to the basics of wheel throwing, trimming and glazing.  Learn basic techniques that will allow you to confidently create on the potter’s wheel.

CAST Visiting Artist @lbert Figurt invites you to a full-immersion theater workshop centered on our multifaceted relationship with screen-based devices. 

Profiting from a dedicated studio space in the Theater Arts building, participants will engage in a convivial brainstorming in order to share their idiosyncratic digital routines, confront personal computerized emotions and ultimately remix tics, obsessions and fears in as many unexpected performative stimuli. 

Little by little, with Albert helping in the guise of a facilitator / co-creator (rather than a director / choreographer), the scattered fragments will be then orchestrated and assembled into a minimal, multimedia theatrical outcome — to be presented at the very end of the day for a small audience.

Open to all members of the MIT community (students, staff, faculty, alumni)

Capped at 15 participants

No experience necessary, just bring a sense of curiosity and a willingness to explore. Guests of participants are welcome to attend the showcase at the end of the day. 

Presented by the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology and supported by the Alan W. Katzenstein (1942) Memorial Fund, with thanks to MIT Comparative Media Studies / Writing and MIT Music and Theater Arts.

Learn more and register