Introductory description

The 1960s created a variety of new art forms that still is a fundament for many of the artworks created today. One major new approach of the visual arts in this respect became the reflection of the new popular images of the media and culture of their time, which emerged in the magazines, television, film and much later the internet. Beginning with Pop-Art, artists turned to this new iconography of modern life to comment it critically in their artworks. The modules focusses on artists from the 1960s to the present. It discusses artworks from all decades and different media, including painting, print, collage, photography, video and the internet. The module will combine close case-studies of images with an understanding of their art historical significance in relation to the wider cultural background.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The 1960s
Abstract Expressionism
Environments and Happenings
Pop
Minimalism
Site-Specificity
Conceptual Art
Performance and Body Art
Institutional Critique

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Command a broad knowledge of the key developments in art since the 1960s to the present day in Europe and North America
• Understand of the art historical and theoretical context for this work
• Think critically and independently about art since the 1960s, and to position this work within an informed historical trajectory
• Present an argument, initiate and sustain group discussion through intelligent questioning and debate at an appropriate level
• Ability to undertake research and to write up the results in the form of a well-structured argument at an appropriate level
• Familiarity with essential ICT skills
• Show understanding of diverse viewpoints
• Ability to collaborate effectively with others
• Ability to find, select, organize and synthesize evidence
• Ability to formulate a sustained argument
• Think conceptually and independently at an appropriate level
• Sophisticated visual analysis
• Bibliographical skills at an appropriate level
• Critical analysis of cultural artefacts in their context

Indicative reading list

The American Century 1950-2000, New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1999
Yves-Alain Bois, Benjamin Buchloh, Hal Foster, Rosalind Krauss, Art Since 1900, London: Thames and Hudson, 2005
Thomas Crow, The Rise of the 60s, London: Prentice Hall, 1996
Jack Flam (ed.), Robert Smithson Collected Writings (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996)
Ann Goldstein and Anne Rorimer, Reconsidering the Object of Art 1965-1975, LA MOCA/MIT Press, 1995
Charles Harrison and Paul Wood, Art in Theory 1900-1990, Oxford: Blackwells, 1992
Fredric Jameson, ‘Periodising the 60s’, in Sohnya Sayres et al, The 60s Without Apology, University of Minnesota Press, 1984, pp.178-209
Robert Morris, Continuous Project Altered Daily, Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993
Kristine Stiles and Peter Selz (eds), Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, University of California Press, 1996
Brian Wallis (ed.), Art After Modernism: Rethinking Representation, New York: New Museum of Contemporary Art, 1984

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Subject specific skills

• Command a broad knowledge of the key developments in art since the 1960s to the present day in Europe and North America
• Understand of the art historical and theoretical context for this work
• Think critically and independently about art since the 1960s, and to position this work within an informed historical trajectory
• sophisticated visual analysis
• critical analysis of cultural artefacts in their context

Transferable skills

• present an argument, initiate and sustain group discussion through intelligent questioning and debate at an appropriate level
• ability to undertake research and to write up the results in the form of a well-structured argument at an appropriate level
• familiarity with essential ICT skills
• ability to collaborate effectively with others
• show understanding of diverse viewpoints
• ability to find, select, organize and synthesize evidence
• ability to formulate a sustained argument
• think conceptually and independently at an appropriate level
• bibliographical skills at an appropriate level