Courses

In the era of artificial intelligence, artists in contemporary Asia, from China and Japan to South Korea and Singapore, are leveraging AI's potential to reimagine artistic expression, engage with traditional aesthetics, and probe the boundaries between human creativity and machine learning. This course explores the integration of AI into the creative processes of these artists, examining its influence on historical artistic media and aesthetics as well as its multidimensional impact on both human society and identity.

Through an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates immersive case studies, hands-on experiments, and active discussions, students will explore how contemporary Asian artists confront fundamental aspects of human existence in a landscape where machines are increasingly capable of replicating human cognition. Our exploration will include analysis of noteworthy works such as Anicka Yi’s ethereal machines that fuse technology and biology through floating “aerobes”; Cai Guo-Qiang’s explosive events orchestrated with drones; and Sougwen Chung's robotic replication of hand-drawn gestures. Students will engage art, literature, and media theories from W.J.T. Mitchell, Katharine Hayles, and Joana Zylinska, as well as classical Daoist philosophy texts. Students will learn to appreciate the ingenuity of these artists as they contemplate the broader philosophical implications of a world where artificial and human intelligence intertwine, reshaping the fabric of society, culture, and personal experience.