ART 345-01, Contemporary Art, Spring 2012

Abstract

Art 345 is the final course in a three-part sequence designed to trace the development of the visual arts in the West since the eighteenth century. This course addressed art and theory from 1940 to the present. Although the emphasis of the course is on the visual arts, the ideas examined are applicable to courses covering the same chronological period in film studies, history, languages, philosophy, etc. The objectives of the course are: (1) to enhance student knowledge of the major works, artists, and movements of western art since 1940; (2) to integrate these works of art within the broader social and intellectual history of the period; and (3) to help students develop their skills in visual analysis and historical interpretation. Among the issues we will examine are: the revival of political art in the late 1960s; the differences between modernism and postmodernism; the emergence of feminist strategies in representation; the rejection of the art object, and of the culture industry; the ongoing dialogue between modern art and mass culture; and the emergence of different voices in the art world in the past generation. This is an intermediate level course with no prerequisites. Art 345 is a combination lecture and discussion course.