South American Sketchbook: Travel Writing and Digital Storytelling

Catalog description

In his short story “Blue Tigers”, Jorge Luis Borges narrates the fantastic experience of a university professor who, searching for a new variety of tigers in a distant region far from his hometown, encounters an extraordinary phenomenon. Regardless of the magical nature of what the narrator encounters, much of the story is about travelling: the experience of leaving the familiar behind and going towards something that we anticipate, even if we do not know it. The need to record the experience of these movements, of our temporary displacement, is at the heart of many artistic practices. This class explores how to record, to narrate, and to represent (in short how to make durable) the ephemeral state of being “abroad”. By combining art history readings and analysis of artworks with the practice of sketching and writing, this course aims to both foster observational and creative skills.