ARTH 263
Introduction to Contemporary Art: Institutions and Upsetters Spring 2017
Division I
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

This course is an introduction to some of the central artists, themes, works, and debates informing and comprising the history of contemporary art, roughly 1945 to today. In the decades following the second World War, artists became instrumental in creating the conditions for widespread cultural re-orientation and evolution of perspectives on the world, its problems and its possibilities. The ways in which artists have approached, contested, and reflected on the role of various institutions—be they social, governmental, academic, political, commercial, media-based, or the art world itself—is a key aspect of late 20th-early 21st century cultural and aesthetic histories. This course will therefore address major movements in contemporary art (such as abstract expressionism, pop art, happenings, conceptual art, performance, earthworks, street art etc.) through the interpretive lens of various institutions and the ways in which these have been challenged, reconfigured, emulated, and critiqued by notable artistic upsetters. Keeping in mind the tendency of art’s categories and practices to cross-pollinate and mutually construct as well as disrupt the various worlds in which they move, we will consider contemporary art in relation to the past as well as the present, looking to the historical avant-garde on which contemporary art builds (such as Dada and Surrealism), as well as the context of current events, from which the concept of `the contemporary’ itself is inextricable. No prior knowledge of art history or contemporary art is required to take this course. Learning Objectives Students in can expect to become adept at evaluating and analyzing textual and visual materials, and to identify, discuss, and critique art objects and scholarly claims about them. By the end of the course, students will be able to: * Effectively write and talk about visual material across a wide range of media: painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, film, performance, installation * Paraphrase and explain aspects of interrelationship between art practice and institutional politics in select art historical case studies * Produce an original final project utilizing works of art and interdisciplinary bibliographic sources which interprets, contextualizes, and engages with the themes of the course in a meaningful way Evaluation Guidelines Mid-term: 15% Final Exam: 15% Final Project: 50% Participation: 20% {You must pass each of the graded requirements in order to pass the course} Final Project The final project, which accounts for 50% of the total grade, will make use of local institutions to facilitate interaction with works of art currently on view or held in permanent collections, and will put these in critical dialogue with key works we encounter in lectures and readings over the course of the semester. The resulting final project is designed to represent a culmination of prolonged engagement with a problem, evidence your critical thinking and applied writing craft, and allow you to produce a substantial and genuinely useful document modeled on various of types of writing you might be employed to produce in number of art world professions. The project: Curate an imaginary exhibition based on a combination of works on view in local museums plus key works covered in class. Develop a convincing exhibition proposal, write a curatorial statement, produce a catalogue essay focusing on 1-2 core objects, and write succinct, accompanying wall text for the core objects in your exhibition. This project requires you to think beyond strictly formal or factual information in assessing and analyzing works of art, to group them together with purpose and vision, and to develop and sustain an argument via a series of written components with different aims and audiences in mind.
The Class: Format: lecture
Limit: 35
Expected: 30
Class#: 4016
Grading: no pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: mid-term: 15%;final Exam: 15% ;final Project (curate imaginary exhibition comprised of works on view locally + key works covered in class) : 50%; participation: 20%
Extra Info: may not be taken on a pass/fail basis
Prerequisites: none
Distributions: Division I

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