Master Class HOW TO THINK AND WRITE about Art, Architecture and Design in the Age of AI by Klaus Speidel
General Course Description
“Join Dr. Klaus Speidel, an award-winning art critic and writer, for a 5-day intensive masterclass at the BERLIN ART INSTITUTE HOW TO THINK AND WRITE about Art, Architecture and Design in the Age of AI from September 16 to 20, 2024. The course is designed for artists, creators, curators, critics, and writers in the arts, architecture, and design fields. We will explore various forms of thinking and writing, expand our toolboxes, discover artworks in the making during studio visits and hone our analytical skills in the buzzling Berlin art and culture scene. You’ll receive practical exercises and feedback to help you develop your work and experiment with different writing styles, from academic to esoteric or non-linear, writing press releases, reviews, an essay or more experimental texts. You will discover the fundamentals of writing on contemporary creation to use in describing and assessing the work of others or your own, experimenting with different styles of writing, writing with pen and paper, a computer and even in co-authorship with A.I. You can try to adapt your style to the subjects you treat or develop your own signature style and perspective. Lastly, you can also combine writing with other forms of creations, such as drawing or photography. Whether you’re interested in incorporating A.I. or not, you’ll leave the workshop feeling confident in your practice, equipped with new tools to build on. If you are unsure if the course will be a space for your personal interests, please reach out to the organizers.“ (Text & photos by courtesy of Dr. Klaus Speidel )
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the class you will…
- have a sense of what makes your perspective as a writer unique
- dispose of multiple strategies to overcome the fear of the blank page
- understand how to use style and analysis for specific aims
- be able to analyze any work of contemporary creation to produce a significant piece of writing
- approach writing with more serenity and choose your strategies more consciously
- understand how you can use a combination of texts and images to express your perspective
- have a better understanding of the role AI can play in the writing process
- have a better understanding of how you might want to approach works made with AI
Having described the class to ChatGPT, it pointed out a few more benefits that remained implicit in my own summary and which I gladly include. You also will…
- develop a stronger understanding of the contemporary art, architecture, and design scenes in Berlin, one of the world’s most vibrant cultural centers
- have the opportunity to participate in studio visits and other behind-the-scenes experiences, providing insights into the creative process and the world of contemporary art and design
- hone your skills at giving and receiving feedback, helping you become a better collaborator and communicator in your future creative projects
- develop a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between technology and creativity, particularly with regard to AI and other emerging technologies
- gain exposure to a diverse group of peers from different backgrounds and with different perspectives, providing opportunities for meaningful dialogue and collaboration
- Learn new strategies for your writing, helping you become a more well-rounded and informed critic and writer
- receive personalized attention and guidance from Dr. Klaus Speidel, an experienced and award-winning writer and critic
General Guidelines
This masterclass is open to anyone who has the desire to write on one or several forms of contemporary creation, experienced or not. Please bring your own writing devices. A laptop is recommended for easier sharing and exchange of texts in the group. We encourage all participants to come with an open mind and a willingness to engage in thoughtful, constructive feedback sessions with both the instructor and their peers. Respectful communication and active listening are essential for creating a supportive and collaborative learning environment. We also recommend that you bring any relevant materials or works-in-progress that you would like to discuss or receive feedback on during the course. The class will be in English, yet the instructor, who also regularly publishes in German and French can also provide feedback on writing in these languages additionally.
Benefits, Methods and Topics of Teaching
Throughout the masterclass, we’ll alternate between sessions where we introduce methods and approaches to writing and individual writing and feedback sessions, where you can experiment and apply your newfound insights to your own work. We’ll cover a range of topics, from the tricks of the trade in common forms of writing such as applications, press releases, and exhibition reviews, to exploring new ground and discussing the possibilities and challenges of incorporating AI technologies into your creative process. Using a framework developed by Dr. Klaus Speidel, you’ll learn to approach any new creation systematically, and whether you choose to use AI tools in your writing or not, you’ll feel more confident in your choices as a contemporary writer and your ability to produce engaging and meaningful texts for diverse audiences. Additionally, you’ll have opportunities to discuss and explore the potential and challenges of writing in collaboration with AI tools. By the end of the course, you’ll leave with practical tools, a stronger understanding of the contemporary art, architecture, and design scenes, and the ability to produce authoritative or experimental texts that reflect your unique perspective and voice.
Program Structure with Daily Course Description
Day 1
9:30 AM Reception at the BAI
Discovering Your Personal Quest
Morning Session: The first day of the masterclass begins with introductions, where participants get to know each other’s motivations and goals for the course. You will learn about the importance of discovering your personal writing quest and how it can help you to develop your unique voice as a writer.
Afternoon Session: In the afternoon, you will have the opportunity to start developing your personal quest for the week through a writing exercise. In the end you’ll have a statement about your aims that you can fine-tune and use in the future.
Day 2
The Craft of Writing
Morning Session: The second day of the masterclass focuses on the craft of writing. We will start with a warm-up writing exercise. Then, you will be introduced to a framework for writing about contemporary creation. This framework will help you to analyze and write about different forms of contemporary art and culture in a more structured and effective way.
Afternoon Session: In the afternoon, you will have the opportunity to apply the framework to your own writing. You can choose to write about creations of your choice based on studio visits with residents of the BERLIN ART INSTITUTE, your personal work or creations of your choosing. The day will end with a common reading and feedback session with other participants.
Day 3
Spaces of Contemporary Creation
Morning Session: The third day of the masterclass explores different spaces of contemporary creation online and offline. While Tuesday is focused on individual works, Wednesday is all about spaces where different works come together such as online accounts and exhibitions. You will learn how to analyze and evaluate curations and their narratives to enhance your writing. This session will be a combination of lecture and group discussion.
Afternoon Session: In the afternoon, we will visit an exhibition, where you will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills you have learned during the morning session. You will write a text about it combining the framework introduced on Tuesday and the new elements around curating introduced in the morning. The day will end with a common reading and feedback session.
Day 4
GPT, GAN and CNN: Understanding and Creating Art with AI (a critical introduction)
Morning Session: The fourth day of the masterclass introduces you to the use of AI in contemporary creation. You will learn about Generative Pretrained Transformers (GPT), General Adversarial Networks (GAN), and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). We will look at how they can be used in creating, researching or commenting on art and will also engage with criticism of these tools and methods. This session will be a combination of lecture and group discussion.
Afternoon Session: In the afternoon, you will have the opportunity to experiment with AI in your own writing. You can either work on artists who use or address AI in their practice, experiment with AI tools to generate text or images, or you can create a text that critically engages with the use of AI in contemporary creation. The day will end with a discussion of our insights.
Day 5
Bringing it all together. Recapitulation and Final Writing/Feedback Round
Morning Session: The morning will be dedicated to a final writing and feedback round. You can choose to write about any form of contemporary creation and apply the skills and knowledge you have acquired throughout the week. You will again have the opportunity to receive feedback fro
Afternoon Session: The final day of the masterclass ends with a recapitulation of the week and thoughts about implementing the learnings. You will have the opportunity to reflect on what you have learned and how it can be applied to your future writing projects. You can then share how your personal writing quest evolved and receive feedback from other participants.
Saturday/Sunday, dates will be announced soon
While Saturday and Sunday are not formally part of the class, you may want to consider extending your stay in Berlin to explore the lively scene in Berlin, perhaps with newfound friends and contacts from BERLIN ART INSTITUTE.
Hours: Each day from 10 AM – 4 PM (including several breaks & lunchtime)
Seats: Min: 6 | Max: 20 | Language: English
Fees: There is a one-off registration fee of €50. The participation fee is €850 per person (without accommodation).
The fee is VAT-exempt by the Governing Mayor of Berlin – Senate Chancellery Higher Education and Research pursuant to Paragraph 4 No. (21) (a)(bb) UStG (German Value Added Tax Act).
Your Master Class Instructor
Dr. Klaus Speidel is an art critic and curator, art and image theorist, and winner of the prestigious AICA France prize for Art Criticism awarded by the international association of art critics. He studied philosophy and art history in Munich (LMU) and Paris (Ecole normale supérieure, Paris X Nanterre, Sorbonne) and teaches at the Paris College of Art and the University for Applied Arts in Vienna. He previously held teaching positions at the Sorbonne, Université Paris Diderot, as well as the Universities of Konstanz and Vienna and at numerous fine arts and design academies, such as the design academy Strate in Paris and the HDK in Gothenburg. He was also invited to teach Writing in, on and through art at the Salzburg Summer Academy for several years and currently teaches “AI, Algorithms and Art” at the University for Applied Arts in Vienna. In the past, he consulted with Tadao Ando in Osaka as well as Kengo Kuma in Paris and Atelier 522 Markdorf/Zurich.
Beyond numerous publications on topics related to art, narrative, visual storytelling, depiction, style, drawing and digital, Klaus Speidel writes essays and reviews for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Der Standard, Spike Art Quarterly, artpress, The Art Newspaper, Parnass or The Brooklyn Rail and in catalogues, for instance for the Centre Pompidou, Schirn Kunsthalle, mumok, Albertina, Belvedere, FRAC Franche-Comté, mudam Luxemburg and Kunsthalle Tübingen and Wien. He curated and co-curated exhibitions in Germany, Austria and France in museums and galleries like the Dom Museum Wien, Kunsthalle Wien, Kunstraum Memphis, Galerie Vincenz Sala, Xpo Gallery Paris or Galerie Krinzinger, regularly experimenting with new ways to write and conceive exhibition narratives. He was a guest on the Arte TV show Philosophie with the topic « Image » and a keynote speaker at different international events. Some of his recent curations were Interference. Traces, stories and ghosts (Curated by in Vienna at Galerie Krobath), A shop is a shop is a shop (Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna), Narrating narrativity (Krinzinger Schottenfeld, Vienna) and Fragile Narratives(Kunstraum Memphis, Linz). He also co-curated Fragile Creation and Show me your wound (co-curated with Johanna Schwanberg, Dom Museum Vienna) and De l’écriture de l’écriture (Galerie Vinzenz Sala, Paris) and is currently working on Being mortal, an exhibition addressing death and dying that will open at Dom Museum Vienna in October 2023. As the co-founder of Verein K, he organises and facilitates « Crit Cross. A Forum on Art Criticism ».
More information on the Academia Website and on Instagram.
