Art & Technology is an interdisciplinary area of study focused on the creative use, misuse and investigation of technology through art making. Graduate and Undergraduate Students and faculty in this research area explore the relationship between art, science and technology with project-based learning, creating interactive installations, inventing electronic objects and interfaces, producing moving image and 3D animations, 3D modeling / rapid prototyping, art games, virtual reality, hacking, bio-art, tactical media, digital imaging, internet art, sound, and emerging experimental forms.

An Endless Glass Space, Tracy Szatan, MFA candidate 2024

Our curriculum is designed to help students invent and discover new forms of art, while developing an individual aesthetic and artistic vision through conceptual, theoretical, and historical frameworks, while critically engaging the use of technology.

Industrial, scientific, and social technologies are explored as creative tools and agents that lead to the production of new meanings, ideas, and artistic invention. Students pursue their own research interests and consider contexts and approaches that may differ from traditional fine art as it explores new technologies and their potential for art/invention.

Installation by James Hartunian, MFA ’23

The Art & Tech area is located in the Department of Art and offers a 3-year MFA degree as well as 4-year BFA.

Our courses are interdisciplinary in nature; drawing research, techniques, and inspiration from the arts and sciences and our classes are taken by grads and undergraduates from Computer Information Sciences, Design students, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering,  Biosciences, Humanities and students pursuing the BA degree in Art  and a minor in Studio Art as well as Majors in Film Studies.

Students from these departments bring their research agendas to our courses promoting an informed collaborative dialogue, fostering a classroom environment that better reflects the trans-disciplinary nature of technology in our contemporary world.

Many of our courses are open to non-art majors. All knowledge from our courses results in project-based learning and intensive production, which is showcased in an exhibition of artwork/projects/inventions each semester celebrating students’ final creations.

The exhibition component of all courses, allow our students and faculty to engage the question of the value of artistic and creative approaches to working with technology.

We seek to create a critical and ethical dialogue with our students to have them question the value of technology as an expressive tool and to look at technologies impacts on culture and environment.

With our research questions and the exhibition themes, we create and encourage students to engage the key strategic initiatives of the Ohio State University surrounding sustainability, food security, energy etc. We ask questions about what artists can contribute to expressive cultural output, and also how can we foster invention and creation of real solutions.

Artists have pioneered in both the development and creative use of new technologies. A great example would be Charles Csuri, an Ohio State University Professor who was named as the father of digital art and computer animation by Smithsonian magazine. The history and creation of media arts and technology aligns with the invention of computer graphics, animation, virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D rapid prototyping, and interactive interfaces.

BFA alumni enter a wide variety of careers, including UI/UX design, animation, exhibit fabrication, video production, game design, motion graphics, museum art preparation, freelance art/design, and teaching. Visit our BFA alumni page for more.

MFA alumni enter careers as fine artists, art directors, college professors, animators, and UX designers. Visit MFA alumni page for more. 

Art & Technology students have formed an active, student organization, the Art + Tech Club, which open to all OSU students to join, attend and participate in.

Faculty in Art and Technology exhibit their artwork worldwide and collaborate with faculty across the university. Professor Amy Youngs regularly collaborates with Dr. Iris Meier, Professor of Molecular Genetics, to co-teach an art-science topics courses, such as Underground Symbiosis, Art/Science & Environment, and Harvesting Color: the Art and Science of Plant/Human Relationships.

Professor Rinaldo co-taught with Classics Professor Tom Hawkins  Odysseus in the Oculus Rift to allow Grecian classics to inspire the production of virtual reality productions within Game engines and VR to explore ancient and modern myth-making.

Professor Todd Slaughter worked with alum Andrew Frueh create a Photogrammetry studio for the Department of Art.

Our courses and theme-based curriculum are focused on ethical practices incorporating cultural, socio/political, and ecological issues.

Students utilize state of the art facilities, equipment, and interdisciplinary expertise in our many specialized labs.