Course Description
Report on the Construction of Situations
Revolution and Counterrevolution in Modern Culture
First of all we think the world must be changed.
We want the most liberating change of the society and
life in which we find ourselves confined.
We know that this change is possible
through appropriate actions.from: Situationist International
June, 1957
This introductory undergraduate survey lecture course will provide an overview of artworks from 1960 to the present. The course will stress the interpretation of artistic production within its historical, political, social, cultural and theoretical frameworks, and the changing role of the artist in society. The course will give you an introduction to contemporary art, art historic terminology, philosophy, architecture, music, film, and politics. We will look at slides, books, view video sequences, and listen to audio bits. Outside of class you will surf the internet to study net art, find relevant websites for your research.
The readings for the course will be drawn primarily from the following textbooks available at the bookstore:
Art in Theory 1900-1990, An Anthology of Changing Ideas ed. Charles Harrison & Paul Wood,Blackwell, Oxford UK & Cambridge, USA (1992)
Avant-garde and After, Rethinking Art Now, Brandon Taylor, Perspectives Harry N. Abrams publishers, (1995)
Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art A Source Book of Artist's
Writings, ed. By Kristine Stilles and Peter Selz, University of
California Press, Berkley, Los Angeles, London
The Rise of the Sixties: American and European Art in the Era of Dissent Thomas Crow, (Abrams, 1996)
Students can purchase the course reading packet, available at "Arizona
Print Copy Inc". 1033 N Park Ave). Call ahead to pick up (Tel.:
882-3995). All readings will be available in the packet, or through electronic reserve.
Requirements
Students are expected to keep up with the required reading assignments, including readings from the materials on reserve at the main library. Class attendance is important and roll will be taken at each class meeting through a sign in sheet in room 20, Drama building. More than three unexcused absences (not due to illness or an event of a catastrophic nature) will affect your grade.
The grade for the course will be based the following requirements. Grades may be raised or lowered for improved or plummeting performance, excessive absences, and late assignments. Your final grade for this course will be calculated by averaging the grades from four areas
Bi-weekly quizzes25% (Thursday,weeks 2,4,6,8,10)
Mid-term paper25% due Tuesday ...
Final exam25%
Class discussion
participation and attendance25 %
Bi-Weekly Quizzes
Every two weeks there will be a quiz on names, artworks, events, terms, and concepts taken from the lectures and readings from the previous two-week period. You will be asked to find one-word summaries of each reading. On this one word you will asked to elaborate in one to two sentences. The best four out of five quizzes will be combined to make up one quarter of your final grade. There will be no make-up opportunities so you will not want to miss more than one. Quizzes will be given at the beginning of class on Thursdays in weeks 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. A list of terms and works will be provided to you.
Mid-term paper
The mid-term paper (due Tuesday October 3 at 2pm at the beginning of class) will be counted as one quarter of your final grade. The goal of this assignment is to develop your skills in thinking and writing critically about art in its historical context. Select one artwork and write a 1500 word essay. Your selection of an artist will have to approved by the instructor. Describe the relationship of this artwork to the time period in which it was created. Some questions that will be useful to consider in forming your essay include: How was the response of the audience at the time? How do people respond to this artwork today? What made the piece that you choose significant? Provide a detailed description of the particular formal qualities of the work. Find relationships of this piece to other visual texts, pop culture, and politics. Aim for a focused argument that responds to all the mentioned questions. You can write about a piece that you created if you are an artist. Do not elaborate too much on your artistic intentions but focus on integrating your artwork into an art historical context.
Final Exam
In the final exam you will be asked to describe artwork in its social context. You may be asked to summarize any of the required readings. Furthermore you will need to be able define the terms that were introduced in class.
Grading
Numerical points, according to the following point scale, will be assigned to all tests and written work. These points will be weighted according to the percentage value of each assignment. Your final grade, as determined by the point system, is subject to modification on the basis of performance, attendance, or late work.
Point Scale
100-90 A
89-80 B
79-70 C
69-60 D
59-0 E
Art Department Grading System
A = Excellent. One who answers all of the course requirements and performs at a level which is clearly outstanding.
B = Good. One who answers all of the course requirements and performs at a level measurably above average.
C = Fair. One who answers all of the course requirements and performs adequately in so doing.
D = Poor. One who answers all of the course requirements but performs on a level measurably below the average.
E = Failure. One who either does not complete all of the course requirements or does so inadequately or both. E is a failing grade.
Students are cautioned that cheating at the University or Arizona is an offense punished by expulsion.
If there is even the appearance of cheating, action will be taken following the procedures set forth in University's Code of Academic Integrity. Plagiarism, that is, copying of the language, ideas, and thoughts of other persons and passing off the same as one's original work, whether in examinations or in papers, is cheating. Please consult me if you have any questions concerning what does, or does not constitute plagiarism as you work on your paper and prepare for your examinations.
Incompletes will be given only with a documented medical excuse, or verifiable personal emergency.
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Bibliography
"Art in America" July 2000,
article "Unspoken Stories" on Cildo Meirelles
"Art in Theory 1900-1990, An Anthology of Changing Ideas,"
ed. Charles Harrison & Paul Wood, Blackwell, Oxford UK & Cambridge, USA (1992)
"Avant-garde and After, Rethinking Art Now,"
Brandon Taylor, Perspectives Harry N. Abrams publishers, (1995)
"Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art A Source Book
of Artist's Writings," ed. By Kristine Stilles and Peter Selz,
University of California Press, Berkley, Los Angeles, London
"The Rise of the Sixties: American and European Art in the Era
of Dissent," Thomas Crow, (Abrams, 1996)
"The American Century Art & Culture 1950-2000," Lisa Phillips,
Whitney Museum of American Art, 2000
"Global Conceptualism," catalogue of Queens Museum exhibition
of the same title
"Conceptual Art: A Critical Anthology,"
ed. by Alex Alberro and Blake Stimson
"The Routledge Dictionary of Postmodern Thought,"
ed. By Stuart Sim, Routledge (New York), 1999
"Blasted Allegories_An Anthology of Writings by Contemporary Artists,"
ed. by Brian Wallis, MIT Press (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1989)
"Film History," by David Bordwell and Christian Thompson
"Society of the Spectacle," Guy Debord (Detroit, Black and Red, 1970)
"ARTODAY," ed. By Edward Lucie-Smith, Phaidon , London 1995
Suggested Journals and Art Magazines:
AFTERIMAGE, Art Journal, Art Forum, October, Art in America, Artbyte,
Third Text, Documents
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Out of a Corner in the Sixties
Week 1
- Tuesday
Introduction to the syllabus.
- Thursday
Demonstrative Actions, Furious Protest
or: Out of a Corner in the Sixties
Works by the following artists:
Bruce Conner, Daniel Buren
Required Reading:
Clement Greenberg "Modernist Painting" (1960)
Suggested Reading:
Guy Debord from :"The Situationist International" (1957)
Claes Oldenburg "I Am for an Art. . ." (1961)
Theodor Adorno from "Commitment" (1962)
Nam June Paik "Afterlude to the Exposition of Experimental Television" (1964)
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Questioning the Canon, Ascendance of Alternatives
Week 2
- Tuesday
Andy Warhol, Chris Burden
- Thursday
(QUIZ)
Works by the following artists:
Paul Thek, Art & Language, John Baldessari, Donald Judd
Required Readings:
Michel Foucault "What Is an Author?" (1969)
Suggested Readings:
Donald Judd "Specific Objects" (1965)
Sol Le Witt "Paragraphs on Conceptual Art" (1967), and
"Sentences on Conceptual Art" (1969)
Victor Burgin "Situational Aesthetics"(1969)
Music:
Short pieces by John Cage, LaMonte Young, Steve Reich
Audio:
Speech by John F Kennedy
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Art Informed by Feminist Theory
Week 3
- Tuesday
Works by the following artists:
Hans Haacke, Adrian Piper, Vito Acconci
Required Readings:
Laura Mulvey "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema"(1973)
Roland Barthes "From Work to Text"(1971)
Lucy Lippard "Interview with Ursula Meyer" (1973) and "Postface" to Six Years
Valie Export "Women's Manifesto" (1972)
Artforum: from"The Artist and Politics: a Symposium"
(1970; Carl Andre, Joe Bae, Walter Darby Bannard, Rosemarie Castoro, Robert Smithson, Donald Judd)
Video:
sequence from interview with Vito Acconci
Music:
Sex Pistols, Lou Reed, Pete Seeger, Allan Ginsberg
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From Taboo to Revolution
Week 4
- Tuesday
Work by the following artists:
Gordon Matta Clark, Joseph Beuys, Paul McCarthy,
Required Reading:
"Gordon Matta Clark" Remembrance by Susan Rothenberg
Music:
Joseph Beuys singing for the Green Party
- Thursday:
(QUIZ)
Work by the following artists:
Carolee Schneeman, Walter de Maria, Anselm Kiefer, Marcel Broodthaers
Required Reading:
Carolee Schneeman "From the Notebooks" (1962-63) and "Woman in the Year 2000" (1975)
Suggested Readings:
Marcel Broodthaers "Ten Thousand Francs Reward" (1974)
Walter De Maria "Lightning Field Some Facts, Notes, Data, Information, Statistics and
Statements" (1980)
Music:
Afrika Bambaataa
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The Copy
Week 5
- Tuesday
Work by the following artists:
Nan Goldin, Cindy Sherman, Richard Prince, Wolfgang Tillmans
Required Reading:
Raymond Williams "Dominant, Residual, Emergent" (1977)
CD ROM:
Nan Goldin
- Thursday
Postmodern Architecture
Work by the following architects:
Rem Koolhaas
Daniel Libeskind (The Jewish Museum in Berlin)
Required Reading:
Rem Koolhaas, from:"Delirious New York" (1978)
Daniel Libeskind on the Jewish Museum
Suggested Reading:
"X,M,L, XL" by Rem Koolhaas
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Market Power, Reaganism, Thatcherism
Week 6
- Tuesday
Market Power, Art within the Museum, Reaganism , Thatcherism
Work by the following artists:
Leon Golub, Julian Schnabel, Richard Serra, Komar and Melamid
Required Reading:
Leon Golub "The Mercenaries: Interview With Matthew Baigell" (1989)
Suggested Readings:
John Baldessari "What Thinks Me Now" (1982)
Web Site:
Komar and Melamid, "The Most Wanted Paintings"
- Thursday
(QUIZZ)
Performative
Work by the following artists:
Marina Avramovic and Ulay, Keith Hearing, Adrian Piper
Required Reading:
Adrian Piper "Ideology, Confrontation and Political Self- Awareness" (1981)
Marina Avramovic and Ulay
Audio:
William Burroughs
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Critique, Resistance, Market
Week 7
- Tuesday
Mid-term paper is due.
Work by the following artists:
Barbara Kruger, Olaf Metzel, Jo Spence
Required Reading:
Richard Serra "Rigging" (1980)
Suggested Readings:
Maya Lin, Untitled Statement" (1983, 1993, 1995)
Hal Foster from "Subversive Signs"(1982)
Edward Said from "Opponents, Audiences, Constituencies, and Community" (1982)
Music:
Talking Heads, David Byrne, Madonna
- Thursday
Memory and Maintenance
Work by the following artists:
Martin Kippenberger, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Maya Lin
Required Reading:
Martha Rosler, "Video:Shedding the Utopian Moment" (1985-86)
Suggested Reading:
Krysztof Wodiczko "Memorial Projections" (1986)
Mierle Laderman Ukeles "Maintenance Art Manifesto"(1969) and "Sanitation Manifesto!" (1984)
Jenny Holzer "Language Games: Interview with Jeanne Siegel" (1985)
Video:
Sequences from Woman as Protagonist (Spero) and Women with a Past(Blumenthal)
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The Eighties
Week 8
- Tuesday
Work by the following artists:
Linda Montano and Tehching Hsieh, Laurie Anderson
Required Reading:
Linda Montano, Tehching Hsieh "One Year Art/ Life Performance:
Interview with Alex and Allyson Grey"(1983-84)
Music:
"Oh Superman," Laurie Anderson
- Thursday
(QUIZZ)
The End of Painting?
Work by the following artists:
Anselm Kiefer, Georg Baselitz
Required Reading:
Anselm Kiefer "Structures Are No longer Valid" (1985)
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Shopping, Repitition, the Grid
Week 9
- Tuesday
Work by the following artists:
Haim Steinbach, Agnes Martin, Ed Ruscha
Required Reading:
Frederic Jameson "The Deconstruction of Expression"
Suggested Reading:
Rosalind Krauss from "Originality of the Avant-Garde" (1981)
Art & Language "Letter to a Canadian Curator" (1982)
- Thursday
Work by the following artists:
Bruce Nauman, Gerhard Richter, Cy Twombly
Required Reading:
Jean-Francois Lyotard, Introduction to "The Postmodern Condition"(1984)
Suggested Reading:
Gerhard Richter "Interview with Benjamin Buchloh" (1986)
Raymond Williams "When was Modernism?" (1987/ 89)
"Cy Twombly" Comments by Heiner Bastian
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Provocations and Poets of Memory
Week 10
- Tuesday
Art as Social Practice
Work by the following artists:
Krysztof Wodiczko, Actup, Cady Noland, REPOhistory, Guerilla Girls
Required Readings:
Group Material "Caution! Alternative Space!" (1982)
Suggested Reading:
Gayatri Chakravorti Spivak "Who Claims Alterity?"(1989)
Haim Steinbach. Jeff Koons, Sherrie Levine, Philip Taafe, Peter Halley, Ashley Bickerton
From "Criticism to Complicity" (1986)
Art & Language 'Letter to Lucy R. Lippard and John Chandler
Concerning the Article "The Dematerialization of the Art Object" (1968)
- Thursday
(QUIZZ)
Provocations and Poets of Memory
Work by the following artists:
Suzanne Lacy, Christian Boltanski, Robert Mapplethorpe
Required Readings:
Karen Finley "I Was Not Expected To Be Talented" (1990)
Suggested Readings:
Christian Boltanski "Interview with D. Davvetas (1985)
Jesse Helmes "Senator Helms Objects to Taxpayers' Funding for Sacrilegious Art
(1989) and Robert Mapplethorpe, Interview with Janet Kardon (1988)
Lynn Hershman "Video 1980- Present: Videotape as Alternative Space"(1992)
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Material, Dreams, Irony
Week 11
- Tuesday
Diversification of Practice
Work by the following artists:
Jenny Holzer, Carrie Mae Weems, David Hammons, Helio Oiticica
Required Reading:
Oyvind Fahlstroem, "Take Care of the World"
Suggested Reading:
Bill Viola "Video Black- The Mortality of the Image" (1990)
Video:
Sequences from various Wojnarowicz videos
Web Site:
Jenny Holzer "Please Change Belief"
http://adaweb.walkerart.org/project/holzer/cgi/pcb.cgi
- Thursday
Material, Dreams, Irony
Work by the following artists:
Lygia Clark, Robert Gober, Felix Gonzales-Torres, Fischli and Weiss,
Required Reading:
Thomas Crow "Unwritten Histories of Conceptual Art" (1995)
Suggested Reading:
Allan Sekula from "Fishstory"
Video:
Sequence of Fischli and Weiss video "Der Lauf der Dinge"
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Eastern Europe
Week 12
- Tuesday
Eastern Europe
Work by the following artists:
Ilya Kabakov, Sislej Xhafa, Skart, Jozef Jankovic, Juraj Melis, Peter Bartos, Gorgona Group, Robert Rehfeld
Required Readings:
Laszlo Beke "Conceptual Tendencies in Eastern European Art"
- Thursday
Native American Art
Work by the following artists:
Hachivi Edgar Heap of Birds, Faye Heavyshield, Carl Beam, Kay Walkingstick
Required Readings:
Baird, Robert "Going Indian: Discovery, Adoption, and Renaming toward a 'True American"
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Institutional Critique
Week 13
- Tuesday
Institutional Critique
Work by the following artists:
Mark Dion, Christian Phillip Miller
Required Readings:
From: Michael Asher "Writings 1975-1995" (will be provided in class)
Thursday
Work by the following artists:
Peter Friedl, Critical Art Ensemble
Required Readings:
Andrea Fraser "The 7th Museum"
Critical Art Ensemble "Observations on Collective Cultural Action" (1997)
