PHILOSOPHY

Art & Technology recognizes that the traditional boundaries between technology, science, entertainment and the arts are breaking down and new hybrid forms are rapidly emerging. We promote a cross-disciplinary learning environment that encourages the student to explore a creative new synthesis. We do not simply train students in aesthetic formulas and software but challenge them to interface with technology and science and cultivate a meaningful culture from that relationship.

Some students lean towards design and creative expression while others focus on hybrid areas situated between the arts and the sciences. Students have the opportunity to select complementary courses from our engineering, science, and business programs, as well as from the College of Arts and Letters. In particular, we have partnered with the Department of Computer Science to devise a set of computer graphics and visualization courses that are of particular interest in our field.

The Art & Technology program is seeking a whole new definition of what it means to be a creative spark. Our goal is to create a vital culture of insight, critical thinking, cultural perspective and aesthetic and technological innovation.

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Computer game research in the Stevens pool

NEW VIEWS OF CIVILIZATION

The view of New York City across the Hudson River provides the Stevens community with a remarkable sense of perspective. On our green hill in Hoboken, NJ, we can take a deep breath and reflect on one of the planet's most culturally charged cities. By extension we can contemplate the rapid evolution of our global network of cities, and think about where our extraordinary civilization is headed.

This perspective-taking informs all of our efforts at Stevens' Art & Technology program. While we are only minutes by train from New York's West Village and can take full advantage of all the cultural offerings of the great city across the water, we cherish our little bit of distance up on Castle-Point.

HISTORY

One of Stevens’ most world-renowned alums is Alexander Calder (’19), who applied his training as an engineer towards the arts and invented the mobile. Calder’s contribution to the merging of art and technology plays a tremendous role in both the history of art and the history of Stevens.

It was in 1969 that the first art class was offered at Stevens, and this was at the request of the humanities department, which thought that a non-text-based course should be offered as “an alternative to the written response.” Under the guidance of artist-in-residence Paul Miller, art for engineers thrived. “Naturally, students asked their professors about materials, techniques, systems, and technical information, and just as naturally, the professors became involved, and so the interest spread.” (Miller). A gallery on campus showcased student work, and opportunities for creative thinking enabled students to experiment with art and technology in ways that today we take for granted. In 1971, for example, an electrical engineering student proposed “a digital computer ‘digatone’ which produces 16-note melodies” whenever someone walked in front of a camera, and a mechanical engineering student “used his knowledge of gears and cams to develop a ‘kinetic mosaic’ of transparent acetate flowers which revolve and move independently at various speeds.”

In 2003, Erich Kunhardt, Dean of the Imperatore School of Science and Art, spearheaded the Department of Art, Music and Technology, under which the Art & Technology program was founded. Julie Harrison launched Art & Technology and is currently the director. We are currently housed within the newly formed College of Arts & Letters.