1940s: Art in an Age of Crisis (P00279)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : ACE-P-P00279

The course will explore the development of the visual arts (fine art and photography) during this most traumatic of decades. The coverage will extend back into the late 1930s, when war already seemed inevitable, and Pablo Picasso's Guernica demonstrated how the language of modern art could be adapted to conveying the tragic mood of contemporary life. The direct impact of the Second World War is evident in the work of British artists and photographers (e.g. Henry Moore, Graham Sutherland, Bill Brandt, Lee Miller); a wider indirect influence can be seen in work by artists such as Francis Bacon and Jean Fautrier. The bleak mood of wartime extended into the period of the Cold War, informing the work of artists in Europe (e.g. Jean Dubuffet, Alberto Giacometti, Lucian Freud, the 'Geometry of Fear' sculptors) and the U.S.A (Abstract Expressionists such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, David Smith). It was not until the mid 1950s that a more optimistic outlook began to take hold, and in that sense the artistic sensibility of the 1940s was current for more than a literal decade. The course will consider the complex relationships between artistic creativity in the period and the wider historical and cultural contexts in which artists were operating.

Entry Requirements

none

Subject Areas

Home subject area

History of Art, (School of Arts, Culture and Environment, Schedule A)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 11 weeks

? Additional Class Information : Semester 1 or 2, Th at times to be arranged

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

The purpose of this course is to examine the relationship between art and society at a moment of rapid social and cultural change. The aim is also to provide close acquaintance with major holdings of 20th-century art of major international significance which are available in Edinburgh.

Assessment Information

Principal means of assessment is a 4,000 word essay. In addition each candidate's performance will be monitored through the presentation of seminar material.