Undergraduate Course: Exhibiting at Large as Contemporary Artists (ARTX10066)
Course Outline
School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
Summary | On this course we investigate how art crosses or spans contexts. Together we explore how the 'contemporaneity' of contemporary art has been invoked around the world, while asking how it resonates now. We examine how the circumstances in which an artwork meets its public - the particular curatorial, institutional and geopolitical setting for a given exposure, for example - may inflect interpretation of that artwork. |
Course description |
Major exhibitions or curated projects initiated in different places around the world have variously convened a shared present across distance through art. We will reflect on the implications for selected artworks at the moment of public engagement: how do these conjure with or disrupt the idea of international, cross-cultural, global, planetary - or another understanding of - contemporaneity?
On this course we will discuss the "extreme internationalism" of Conceptual art shows since the late 1960s, and the "global contemporary" framing of survey exhibitions - notably art biennials - since the late 1980s. We will consider the roles played by concepts such as national representation, multiculturalism and anti-imperial nationalism. We will analyse how numerous factors - for example: artist networks, curatorial agency, installation serendipity, national backing, educational experience and cultural identity - may affect visibility, especially when exhibiting "at large" rather than "at home" (however many places may be counted as "home"). Visibility afar, or critical engagement in a distant locality, will be prioritised above successful commercial access to new art markets, when thinking about exhibiting abroad.
The seminar format will encourage your active participation, drawing on what we each bring to the classroom as contemporaries. Teaching will be delivered through short lectures and class discussion, as led by the course organiser. You will be expected to prepare for each seminar by consulting materials recommended in advance and undertaking independent research, as directed, with group discussion in mind. Visiting exhibitions will inform our studies together.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites | None |
High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 23 |
Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 8,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 8,
External Visit Hours 2,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Formative Assessment Hours 1,
Summative Assessment Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
175 )
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Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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Additional Information (Assessment) |
Formative assessment:
Essay plan, max 1000 words;
submitted via Learn mid-semester, approximately week 6;
(0%) - feedback/feedforward given based on Learning Outcomes 1 (research), 2 (analysis), and 3 (communication).
Summative assessment:
Essay, 3000-4000 words;
submitted via Learn towards end of the semester, approximately Week 12;
(100%) - assessment based on Learning Outcomes 1 (research), 2 (analysis), and 3 (communication).
Learning Outcomes will be equally weighted. |
Feedback |
Formative assignment:
written feedback via Learn in 15 working days of submission;
feedback/feedforward group tutorials;
based on Learning Outcomes 1, 2, and 3.
Summative assignment:
written feedback and grades via Learn in 15 working days of submission;
based on Learning Outcomes 1, 2, and 3. |
No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Present evidence of a high level of independent, scholarly research.
- Critically analyse a range of textual and non-textual sources concerning art exhibitions in a variety of contexts.
- Articulate how exhibitions operate for contemporary art, clearly presenting responses that are imaginative, rigorous and nuanced.
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Reading List
Choy, Bo; Esche, Charles; Morris, David and Steeds, Lucy (ed.), (2021) Art and Its Worlds: Exhibitions, Institutions and Art Becoming Public, Afterall
Gardner, Anthony and Green, Christopher (2016) Biennials, Triennials and documenta: The Exhibitions that Created Contemporary Art, Wiley-Blackwell
Teh, David (2017) Thai Art: Currencies of the Contemporary, The MIT Press
Nasar, Hammad and Turner, Sarah Victoria (ed.), British Art Studies, no. 13, September 2019, special issue: 'London, Asia: Exhibitions, Histories' https://www.britishartstudies.ac.uk/issues/issue-index/issue-13
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Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills |
A detailed knowledge and critical understanding of what exhibiting art across contexts may involve, including shows that lead the field for contemporary art.
Independent research capability, with regards to how particular exhibitions shape the reception of contemporary art.
Formal and informal communication skills, presenting on particular exhibitions effectively to informed audiences.
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Keywords | Contemporary art exhibitions,cross-cultural practice,globalisation |
Contacts
Course organiser | Dr Lucy Steeds
Tel:
Email: Lucy.Steeds@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Hollie Gilligan
Tel:
Email: hgilliga@ed.ac.uk |
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