Introductory description

This module examines British art and architecture in the immediate post-war period with reference to the historical and social circumstances in which it was created. It will allow students to probe anxieties to project a robust image of British culture during the Cold War era, and survey the competing versions of modernism represented by the work of artists and sculptors of the time. The module will examine the beginnings of significant state patronage for the arts and the adoption of modernist architecture for public buildings during this decade. Debates about national identity and the role of artists and architects in modern society; the importance of the designer for the burgeoning consumer culture; approaches to the creation of public art and public space during the 1950s, and the relationship between artist, architect and planner.

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 Festival of Britain: representing the nation
Neo-romanticism and the legacy of war
‘The geometry of fear’: sculpture and politics in 1950s
Debates around realism
Homes for the people: mass-housing and the modernist architect
Modernism and the home: consumption, aesthetics, and the designer.
The Independent Group, the ICA and 'This is Tomorrow', 1956
Constructed sculpture and the lived environment

Learning outcomes

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

• Understanding of developments in British art, architecture and design during this decade.
• Show a nuanced understanding of post-war changes in the patronage and consumption of art
• Be able to make connections between the ideals of the Welfare State and the practice and enjoyment of the visual arts in the 1950s
• 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
• Sophisticated visual analysis
• Bibliographical skills at an appropriate level
• Critical analysis of cultural artefacts in their context

Indicative reading list

L.Alloway (ed), This is tomorrrow (Whitechapel Art Gallery , 1956).
S.Bann, The Tradition of constructivism (T & H, 1973)
R.Banham, The New Brutalism: ethic or aesthetic? (Arch. Press, 1966)
J.Berger, A Painter of our time (1958; repr 1988)
N.Bullock, Building the Postwar World: Modern architecture and reconstruction in Britain (Routledge 2002)
B.Conekin, The Autobiography of a nation: the Festival of Britain (MUP 2003)
R.Elwall, Building a better tomorrow (Wiley 2000)
M.Garlake, New Art New World (Yale, 1997)
R.Hewison, Culture and consensus: England, art and politics since 1945 (Methuen 1995)
P.Maguire and J.Woodham, Design and cultural politics in Postwar Britain (!997)
A. Marwick, Culture in Britain since 1945 (Blackwell 1991)
A. Massey, The Independent Group: Modernism and Mass Culture in Britain 1945-59 (MUP 1995)

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Subject specific skills

• understanding of developments in British art, architecture and design during this decade
• a nuanced understanding of post-war changes in the patronage and consumption of art
• be able to make connections between the ideals of the Welfare State and the practice and enjoyment of the visual arts in the 1950s
• 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