Tinkering and hacking have become common practices among post-internet artists nowadays. By subverting the system, reverse engineering, defending access and openism, repairing and de-grow, we employ a top-down methodology using deconstruction as a method to create art. 

Acknowledging Vilém Flusser's (1986) challenge of opening the “black box”, we question what lies behind the tech industries, unravelling their toxic commodity chains while simultaneously challenging the potentialities of the apparatus with an awareness of the impact of technology in the current neoliberal market. 

Instead of consuming commodities off the shelf, we recycle materials; instead of accepting the toxic afterlife of dysfunctional devices, we analyse the genesis and establishment of control over distributed development, production, and introduction of (new) technologies to demystify the actors benefiting from their application and licensing, those who profit from opacity and designed obsolescence. 

Electronic tinkering is an invitation for those interested in intersecting their viewpoints with other politics of perception, contributing to critical thought towards the necessity of demythifying and demystifying the apparatus.

Drawing on the context of the lecture, students will practice hands-on electronics and programming to develop interactive art projects with microcontrollers—Arduino, Teensy 3.1, and/or LilyPad. The program will focus on tangible HCI interfaces, using nonconformist materials such as clay, plants, fruits, and e-waste to build hardware. Students will be encouraged to create their own art projects inspired by DIY and open-source communities.

Regular attendance, active participation and commitment in applying the contents of the lecture in an art prototype is a prerequisite for obtaining a mark. Examination: 80% attendance; 20% practical experiments/ prototype

Maximum number of participants: 12

Preference will be given to second-semester students of Digital Arts and Transmedia Art. This course is compulsory for second-semester students of Digital Arts. 

Alternatively, students may choose to enroll in Kunst als System und Prozess II by Anna Zwingl from Transmedia Art or Elektrotechnik und Elektronik. 

No previously knowledge in electronics and programing is required