The Aesthetics and Politics of Contemporary Art (U03979)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : ACE-4-U03979

What is contemporary art and how can we approach it as art historians? The course will take an elliptical route to answering this two-part question by examining five specific issues of exemplary relevance to the many and complex practices comprising the field of contemporary art. These five issues are: 1. The Rise (and Fall?) of Postmodernism. 2. The End of Art? 3. The Turn to the Moving Image. 4. The Aesthetics and Politics of the Everyday. 5. Art and Geography. We will devote one to two weeks to each of these issues. In general, the course does not attempt to prioritise specific media but is structured instead around concepts and ideas that have played an important role in defining or challenging our understanding of contemporary practice. In the course of examining these concepts and ideas, we shall have the opportunity to reflect on other topical issues such as the post-medium condition, advanced technology, art and documentation, (post)feminism, globalisation, relational aesthetics etc. For Week 1 you are asked to think of an artist (or group of artists) whose work exemplifies, in your view, ‘contemporary art practice’. The questions you should begin thinking about are: a) what is it that makes this work ‘contemporary’? and, b) given your knowledge of art history so far, if and how ‘contemporary art practice’ relates to practices of the past. You are also advised to read Julian Stallabrass’s book Contemporary Art: A Short Introduction, Oxford University Press.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : A pass in either History of Art 2 or Architectural History 2a and 2b

Subject Areas

Home subject area

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

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 4th year

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

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

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
10/01/2008	09:00	10:50

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Tutorial	Thursday	09:00	10:50	Central

? Additional Class Information : There will be two tutorials on Thursdays, one at 0900-1050 and one at 11.10-1300. Students will be required to attend one these.

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course students will:
• Have acquired knowledge of a body of work, key concepts and themes relating to contemporary art.
• Have an understanding of contemporary art as a complex field made up of both theory and practice.
• Be familiar with a selection of new trends and debates that have developed around them and have knowledge of specific issues within this context.
• Have strengthened their ability to successfully approach such issues as art historians and will be aware of the importance of critical art history for approaching contemporary art.
• Be familiar with both images and texts of relevance to the field of contemporary art.
• Have demonstrated their ability to engage in the critical analysis of texts and images both orally, through participation in seminars, and in writing.