Course: Feminist and Queer Theory in Contemporary Art of Central and Eastern Europe

Description of the course

The course seeks to introduce students to the richness and diversity of feminist and queer theory in relation to a vast array of examples of contemporary art produced in Central and Eastern Europe. The course will cover a broad variety of topics ranging from identity, embodiment, race, sexuality, authorship, institutional critique, to spectacle and gaze, among others. Students will be encouraged to analyse ideological inscriptions and the effects of the sex/gender system and heteronormativity and invited to challenge the related overlapping, and contradictory systems of power that shape our lives and actions.

Select activity Course Requirements: The students are asked to vi...

Course Requirements:

The students are asked to view visual materials prior individual classes and be prepared to discuss them in class.

Research project

The students will form teams using "General discussion and formation of teams" forum below.

Research project proposal

In teams, students are asked to choose a topic related to the subject of the course (see the description of the course above) and submit the proposal of their team research project using the Assignment section below. The deadline for submitting the proposal of the team Research project is March 16.

Presentation of the Research project

Part of the evaluation is a short (10-15 minutes) presentation of the Research project. This presentation will be delivered in class, during the last two weeks of the semester. The presentation should be spoken or read and include visual aids (for example Powerpoint presentation). The presentation should most importantly introduce the research questions and theoretical and methodological framework of the Research project.

Final paper

In teams, students are asked to write a paper on topic related to the subject of the course. It should most importantly show the students’ ability to discuss works of art in the context of gender and/or sexuality. The paper should have at least 15 000 characters (with spaces), bibliography, and footnotes (preferably in Chicago style: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html ). Students should feel free to consult their topic and submit the first draft of their paper beforehand. The deadline for submission of the final paper is May 25. Final papers should be submitted the Assignment section below. Papers delivered after the deadline will lead to downgrading the final grade by 10 %.

Assessment and final grade:

Evaluation:

The final grade is based on the active participation in course activities and discussions 30 %, forming of teams and Research proposal 10 %, in-class presentation 20 %, and final paper 40 %.

Attendance policy:

Please note that the active participation on discussion amounts to 30 %.

Literature:

Gender Check. Art and Theory in Eastern Europe, Bojana Pejić (ed.), Verlag der Buchhandlung Walter König 2010.

Art and Theory of Post-1989 Central and Eastern Europe: A Critical Anthology, Ana Janevski – Roxana Marcoci – Ksenia Nouril (edds.), New York 2018.

Czech Feminisms: Perspectives on Gender in East Central Europe, Iveta Jusová – Jiřina Šiklová (edds.), Bloomington 2016.

Gendered Artistic Positions and Social Voices: Politics, Cinema and the Visual Arts in State-Socialist and Post-Socialist Hungary, Beata Hock, Stuttgart 2013.

The following weekly schedule may be subject to change. Please check moodle prior every class.
Select activity Assignments

Assignments
Select activity General discussion and formation of teams

General discussion and formation of teams Forum
Select activity Research proposal

Research proposal Assignment
Select activity Final paper

Final paper Assignment
Select activity Research proposal form

Research proposal form File
Select activity Announcements

Announcements Forum

Topic 1

Introduction: Doing feminist and queer theory in Central Eastern Europe

February 16

Topic 2

Who am I: Identity, Gender, and Sexuality

February 23

HW:

Please watch the videos below and try to answer the following questions. Be ready to discuss them in class.

- What means do the artists use to construct/deconstruct gender identities in their work?

- Characterise the notion of identity conveyed in their artworks?

- Do you think it is emancipatory? In what way?

Katarzyna Kozyra: In Art Dreams Come True (2003-)

https://artmuseum.pl/en/filmoteka/praca/kozyra-katarzyna-w-sztuce-marzenia-staja-sie-rzeczywistoscia

https://artmuseum.pl/en/filmoteka/praca/kozyra-katarzyna-cheerleaderka?age18=true

Radim Labuda: Somebody (2004)

https://artycok.tv/en/2836/something

Marie Lukáčová: Gizd and Zgarb (2016)

https://www.marielukacova.com/gizd-i-zgarb/

Jan Matýsek: I can be Real as You Can Dream (2019)

https://test.natalieplevakova.cz/portfolio/items/i-can-be-real-as-you-can-dream-jan-matysek/

Topic 3

Body Image

Collaborative discussion with students from North Carolina State University

March 3 (Wednesday), 5:30 - 6:20 PM

The discussion will be facilitated via zoom: https://ncsu.zoom.us/j/4980321344
Meeting ID: 498 032 1344

Choose a contemporary work of art from Central Eastern Europe concentrating on the context of body image. During the joint class you will be divided in break out rooms and asked to briefly introduce the chosen art piece and comment on the reasons behind your choice. Furthermore, you should be able to respond to at least two of the following questions:

1. What are the positive/negative connotations of body images presented in the works of art you've selected?

2. Does the artwork you chose have an emancipatory potential?

3. How have differences in race, class, and sexual orientation impacted body image?

4. Do you notice any patterns and connections between how you feel about your body and the media's narrative about body image?

On Tuesday, March 2nd (at the latest) upload the image / link to the following Google drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FJdGCBAxQe4qhL7rXLkA6BbCJisWtDe3?usp=sharing

Name the file using your surname, the name of the artist and the title of the artwork.

On Wednesday March 3rd, please check all the uploaded artworks so that you are familiar with them and can refer to them during the discussion. You will be able to share screen in order to show the image with the others. The students from NCSU will be uploading their own art / body image projects.

Topic 4

Gender and Sexuality in Central and Eastern Europe

March 9

HW:

Please watch the videos and see the works below and try to answer the following questions. Be ready to discuss them in class.

- What means does the artist use to construct/deconstruct gender and national identity in this artwork?

- How would you characterise the notion of national identity as conveyed in these artworks?

- Do you consider the works emancipatory? In what way?

Milica Tomić: I’m Milica Tomić (1999)

Marina Abramović’s Balkan Erotic Epic (2006)

https://www.li-ma.nl/lima/catalogue/art/marina-abramovic/balkan-erotic-epic/9603

Tanja Ostojić: Looking for a Husband with EU Passport (2001-5)

Tanja%20Ostoji%C4%87%20Looking%20for%20a%20Husband%20with%20EU%20Passport.png

Topic 5

Unearthing the Roots: Gender and Sexuality under Socialism

March 16

Using the artworks below, try to respond to the following questions:

Wojciech Fangor: Figures (1950)

- What means does the artist use to construct socialist femininity and masculinity?

- What is the intended as well as unintended message of this painting?

- Do you find the portrayal of socialist femininity emancipatory?

Wojciech%20Fangor%20Figures.png

Using the artwork below, try to respond to the following questions:

Natalia LL: Consumerist Art (1972-5)

https://artmuseum.pl/en/filmoteka/praca/ll-natalia-sztuka-konsumpcyjna?age18=true

- How does this portrayal of gendered desiring body relate to socialist system?

- How can this example enter into a dialogue with western feminism?

- Do you consider the work emancipatory?

Using the artwork below, try to respond to the following questions:

Sanja Iveković: Triangle (1979)

Sanja Iveković: Triangle

- How does this portrayal of gendered desiring body relate to socialist system?

- How can this example enter into a dialogue with western feminism?

- Do you consider the work emancipatory?

Topic 6

Guest Lecture: Karol Radziszewski: Queer Archives Institute: Institution as an Art Practice

March 23

The class will be taught via Zoom:

https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/98967057922?pwd=WE1ESDAzMDFYRmVFaTVUc0gyNkJydz09

Meeting ID: 989 6705 7922
Passcode: 239518

Prior class, please check out the following link of the oral history video-interviews collection here: https://vimeo.com/queerarchivesinstitute and be ready for a discussion.

Post-socialist states, where many historical threads have been ruptured or, indeed, never actually emerged, are witnessing attempts to construct national identities anew and develop new narratives. History, including art history, is largely (re)constructed and sometimes manipulated depending on the current political conditions. To respond to these processes, Radziszewski is interested in reviewing history and complementing main narratives with neglected threads, with a particular focus on minority voices. His efforts towards queering and decolonizing history are founded on the archives that he acquires and studies. He will present the long-term project Queer Archives Institute (QAI) as an example of his working methodology.

Topic 7

Feminist and Queer Struggles: From Russia to Poland

March 30

Please watch the videos and see the works below and try to answer the following questions. Be ready to discuss them in class.

- What means and strategies do artist and activists use to engage and activate their audience?

- What strategies do you find efficient in achieving this and why?

HW:

Yulia Tzvetkova: Free Yulia Tzetkova

Pussy Riot: Punk Prayer

Pussy Riot: Straight Outta Vagina

Chto delat: It did not happen with us, yet. Safe Haven

Filip Kijowski and Barbara Gryka: My Flower (2020)

http://postmedium.art/moj-kwiat/

Topic 8

Claiming Space, Institutionalising Discourse: Feminist and Queer Institutional Critique

April 6

Looking at the following works of art, try to answer the questions below.

- What means does the artist use to critique / challenge power relations in art?

- Do you find these means effective?

Kriszta Nagy: I am a Contemporary Painter (1998)

Kriszta Nagy: I am a Conteporary Painter

Kateřina Olivová: I... NG (2018)

Kateřina Olivovová: I...NG

Kateřina Olivová: I...NG

Aleka Polis: Rosa Rotes, performance at the Contemporary Art Gallery in Opole (2016)

Fourth Wave

https://www.facebook.com/watch/ctvrtavlna/

Topic 9

Guest Lecture: Rado Ištok

Toyen in Stockholm: On Gothic Castles and Émigré and Queer Kinship

April 13

In 1970, Moderna Museet in Stockholm acquired for its collection The Myth of Light, a 1946 painting by the Czech Surrealist artist Toyen, which was in the same year part of the exhibition Surrealism? curated by the Swedish artist and curator Ragnar von Holten. Von Holten’s interest in the work of Toyen later materialised in Toyen’s monograph (1984) and her retrospective at Moderna Museet (1985) which he wrote and curated respectively. What role did queerness play in Ragnar von Holten’s relation to Toyen and her work? And to which extend are collecting histories also queer histories?