Course info

This is a graduate seminar in the Critical and Cultural Theory MA Programme, offering a selected survey of developments in British and American Art from the Post-War period until the present. There will also be a focus on early avant-garde movements, such as Vorticism in Britain and Dada in the USA, following the European influences of Cubism, Futurism and Dada. 

Artists to be examined will include: Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Wilfredo Lam, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler, Richard Hamilton, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Fluxus, Barbara Kruger, Cindy Sherman, Chapman Brothers, Stelarc, et al. 

Special attention will also be given to selected theoretical writings and art criticism.

REQUIRED READING
Foster, Krauss, Bois & Buchloh, ART SINCE 1900: MODERNISM, ANTIMODERNISM, POSTMODERNISM (London: Thames & Hudson, 2004).

ASSESSMENT
Two essays, of 2,500 words each. Essays must be typed, double-spaced, on one side of regular A4 paper, with a minimum 3cm left-hand margin. Essays must include full bibliographical references (footnotes) for all works cited or paraphrased (preferably in accordance with the MLA style, e.g. http://webster.commnet.edu/mla.htm). Emphasis will be placed on the component of original research, and students are advised not to use Web sources in place of adequately researching texts available in print. Deadlines for submission of essays are Thurs 25 April and Thurs 27 June. The topic of the first essay is: IS THE INSTITUTIONALISATION OF THE AVANT-GARDE INEVITABLE? The topic of the second essay must be determined in consultation with the lecturer before 30 May and should address a specific issue connected with the artists/topic in question. Each essay should include a general overview of an artist’s  or group of artist's work, techniques and critical reception, along with detailed discussion of a selected critical or theoretical text relevant to the topic.

 

room/time: 111, Thu from 17:30