Core Seminar 1 will provide an outline of the expansive and multifaceted nature of what constitutes Contemporary Art as a field. To do that the class will focus on the Sign as the most irreducible element of communication across all media in contemporary Fine Art practice. Students will be introduced to theories that inform this concept of the Sign, such as Semiotics, Psychoanalysis and Discourse Analysis. Through readings, presentations and discussions and of works produced in the Core Labs explores the Sign across 2D, 3D and 4D genres and considers it as a catalyst for the underlying ideas and concepts that connect all contemporary art practices. Students will learn how to critique their own works precisely by understanding how Signs can make reference to a system and create the building blocks for visual, discursive, and contextual interpretation. Furthermore students are encouraged to understand the sign as the starting point for the creation of new genres like net-art, text art, and social network systems art, for example.