Contemporary Art Practices Art History 2

This module concentrates on works of art from the late 18^th C, Modernist and Postmodern periods, up to contemporary art practices. The lectures aim to introduce the ideologies of each movement as they occurred in the cultural context of action and reaction to previous movements. Texts by contemporary writers who have challenged traditional approaches to the discipline are presented to aid consideration of revised historiography, incorporating Post-Marxist, Feminist and Postcolonial theories. In order to appreciate the key themes of decolonization, decisnormatization, and sustainability more fully, an intersectional approach will underlie the teaching and learning methods used throughout the module to critically survey and assess the impact of the ideologies of the past on historical and contemporary art making and the hegemonic discourses in western art history. The teaching strategy is based on the UDL principles, and the teaching and learning methods will involve a combination of lectures, readings, class discussion and case-study analysis. The lectures present a wide range of artists work centring on the European avant-garde and the spread of modern art in America. A field trip to galleries and museums will be organised for participants. A range of audiovisual materials will be presented in the lectures, with adjacent textual resources, links and activities posted on Moodle. The module aims to deepen the students’ understanding of art and their own development as artists.

1. Recognise and analyse key works of art in their historic and ideological contexts from the period of the French Revolution to the postmodern period.

2. Appreciate the roles of action and reaction in 20th C art production and practice and the changing evaluation of Modernism.

3. Be cognizant of the relationship of new technologies and materials to modern art production and practice.

4. Write and present written critical reflections employing academic methods of research and citation, using the learning resources of the lecture topics.

5. Develop their visual memory and build a framework of reference to key art works.