Images
Documents
Editing
This option is intended for students who wish to develop their artistic practice through a critical approach to visual culture. Whether selecting extracts in order to (re)work them, appropriating pre-existing material purely and simply to reorganize it (such as sampling in music) or developing practices that seek to establish more egalitarian exchanges with the fields they explore (management of image banks, collection of folk objects, etc), what we call “appropriation” covers a wide range of practices linked to every aspect of creativity, from drawing, painting, photography and animation to the publishing of artist’s books, performance and writing.
Responsable
Assistants
Teaching staff
Invited speakers
François Chastenet, Mathis Gasser, Aurélie Pétrel, Olivier Richon, Christoph Schifferli
Performances
Writings
Digital culture
The Art/Action option explores the relationship between art and action, both from a concrete and a theoretical perspective. Here we seek to develop artistic work whose modus operandi is specific, because the form of the work is set in the here and now, in it’s making of. The Art/ Action option trans-cends disciplines, media and categories of representation (even though performance is perhaps its closest definition), paving the way for research and development focusing on creativity in action.
Responsable
Assistants
Teaching staff
Invited speakers
Raffael Dörig, Gilles Furtwängler, La Ribot
Sculpture
Objects
Installations
The Construction option offers a cross-disciplinary approach to sculpture, installation and space viewed in their broader context: the production of objects, assemblage, systems, media, public art, environments and sound. The option adopts a dual approach that closely integrates the place of the workshop within the school with the development of events outside its walls— in public spaces or in the context of international exhibitions—and offers a formal and conceptual initiation that seeks to align the student’s project and its gradual formalization with the cultural, social and political dimension of mutual acceptance, the collective and the city.
Responsable
Assistants
Teaching staff
Invited speakers
Paul Bernard, Koenrad Dedobbeleer, Elise Lammer
Photography
Video
Medias
What does an artist do with a device that records, reproduces and diffuses images and sounds? Unwilling to simply add images to a spectacular world already saturated with them, they put forward a specific relationship with the cultural and social environment. This relationship may involve fiction or autobiographical stories, documents, the constitution of archives, diversion, anthropological studies, participation in communities, etc. Through the awareness of social and cultural issues, we aim to introduce students to a political understanding of the image in practice. The option encourages self-exploration as they work on their projects and the questioning of the conditions of their recognition.
Responsable
Assistants
Teaching staff
Invited speakers
Lukas Hoffmann, Pauline Martin
Painting
Drawing
Installation
Using the specific tools of painting, drawing and installation, how can we think outside the framework of a blank canvas or sheet of drawing paper? Through the rationale of the workshop, this option engages with day-to-day creativity and issues of a theoretical nature. It offers a broad understanding of art and images viewed in their cultural, social and political context. Combining various other media and techniques—from publishing to the moving image and performance—this option leaves students’ suggestions open, rather than consigning them to a particular current or trend. Here, on the contrary, professors help to breathe life into evolving projects, responding in real time to the needs of evolving independent thought.
Responsable
Assistants
Zara Idelson
Teaching staff
Invited speakers
Tiphaine Blanc, Dan Coombs, Fredi Fischli
Theoretical teaching, in the form of courses and seminars, provides a progressive approach that combines chronological readings using various artistic media (photography, video, performance etc.) and disciplines of thought (art history, philosophy, cultural studies and so on). Its purpose is to help students acquire knowledge and think critically. It is linked to the production of theoretical work and based on interdisciplinary research projects. Some of the courses are organized in partnership with other institutions (including the University of Geneva).
Teaching staff
Documents attachés
Study plan and detailed courses - in French
The specialized courses involve a high-level technical approach (provided by artists), allowing students to acquire skills specific to various necessary media (drawing, video, sound) and knowledge of cross-cutting fields when devising artistic projects (colour, object, format). At the same time, 1:1 projects are offered by HEAD’s Laboratoires ALPEs, Writing and Publishing Laboratories. These courses include conceptual thinking and formal experimentation, and focus on the development of personal work linked to the research carried out in the various options.
Teaching staff
Documents attachés
Study plan and detailed courses - in French