ARTHIST 204

Contemporary Art and Theory

Please note: this is archived course information from 2017 for ARTHIST 204.

Description

Contemporary Art and Theory has been offered before but this is a newly designed course that aims to be provocative, sometimes controversial and at all times exploratory and transformative. It is a single semester course and a direct and methodical way to acquire knowledge about contemporary art’s current themes, concepts, critical theories, buzzwords, techniques and processes that engage the imagination of artists, curators, writers and cultural theorists worldwide.

The course asks us how we can create new ways of thinking by engaging with contemporary artworks that spark unexpected ideas and encounters. From this broad knowledge, students are encouraged to dig deeper into particular aspects and themes. The course uses video clips, gallery visits, digital and online recordings, quizzes and innovative lectures and interactive tutorials to explore works by internationally acclaimed contemporary artists such as Marina Abramovic, Matthew Barney, Mona Hatoum, Rachel Whiteread, Tracey Emin, Andres Serrano, Cindy Sherman, Wangechi Mutu, Thomas Hirschhorn, Christian Boltanski, Felix Gonzales-Torres, Jeremy Deller, Hans Haacke, Olafur Eliasson, Simon Denny and many others. It also examines international prizes for contemporary art such as the Turner Prize and the Walters art prize, the Venice Biennale, the Asian Triennial, the Sydney Biennial and recent influential shows and exhibitions around the world.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this course students will have acquired the skills to discuss contemporary art meaningfully and to personalise encounters with works of art, channelling these experiences into new and creative ways of thinking and being.

Students will learn how to structure arguments and compose thoughts in spoken and written form that add strength and clarity to communication and presentation.

Students will gain a deeper understanding of how art is an essential medium for the exploration and expression of diversity - of ideas, lifestyles, attitudes, social and cultural identities and political perspectives.

Students will gain confidence in exercising independent and critical thought and will learn how to acquire the most important "C-skills" valued by employers, academics, designers, artists, psychologists and theorists: communication, creativity, curiosity, collaboration and caring not only about others, but also about the freedom that emerges from questioning dogma, tradition and prejudice.

The course is taught by Dr Gregory Minissale, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Art and Theory who has published several essays on Deleuzoguattarian approaches to art, and is author of The Psychology of Contemporary Art (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013). His latest book project is concerned with the materiality of contemporary art.

Availability 2017

Not taught in 2017

Lecturer(s)

Coordinator(s) Professor Gregory Minissale

Assessment

Coursework + exam

Points

ARTHIST 204: 15 points

Prerequisites

15 points at Stage I in Art History and 30 points passed

Restrictions

ARTHIST 334