Seminar in Contemporary Art

Selected topics in contemporary art. Past and future topics include Abstract Expressionism, Contemporary American Realism, Art of the 1960s, Pop Art, Art of the 1980s, and Contemporary American Realism. Note: This course can only be taken twice for credit.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Degree Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Degrees: Master of Education, Master of Fine Arts.
College Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Colleges: Art Architecture, Tyler School.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

What is the value of taking this course in Venice?

This class will examine the potentials of art-making amid the increasingly interconnected production of images and objects, political struggles and economies, margins and centers. Informed by a critical assessment of past models, we will look at the current Biennale as a site of what philosopher Herbert Marcuse called “fantasy”: the imagining of tomorrow based on the givens of today. We will look at the aesthetics on an idea of art work as an essential contribution to, yet potentially critical examination and productive transcendence of the ways in which we see and make the world around us, we will construct a discursive-historical framework for our discussion of the art to be seen around notions of “modernity,” “avant-garde,” capital/labor,” and “agency.” Visits to the Biennale exhibitions—pavilions, related spaces and events— and on-site discussions as well as lectures by scholars, curators, and artists will complement our readings and meetings.

Graduate students will follow the same curriculum as the two undergraduate classes, will participate int he same activities. However, they will be expected to submit a more extensive final paper and to do additional readings and have one extra meeting a week.