ART 344A - Ideas in Contemporary Art

There’s a general misperception that the practice of making art grounded in theory dates back to the advent of Conceptualism in the 1970s at the earliest. It doesn’t. All art has always been based in theory, whether that theory was the belief in magic that motivated the prehistoric cave painter, the Neo-Platonism that inspired Michelangelo, or the Post-structuralism that informs contemporary practice. Through class readings and a series of lecture/discussions, this course reconstructs that history. Particular emphasis is placed on the “Continental theorists,” the group of thinkers whose ideas, arguably, have had the greatest influence on the production and reception of the art being made today. All the theories introduced in this class will be understood through the lens of that art, and every class will include a survey of living artists whose work engages the ideas being presented.
Units: 4
Enrollment is exclusive to students in the M.A. in Art or Master of Fine Arts programs.
Course Type: Seminar