AH230: Art Since 1945 F10 Syllabus

AH230: Art Since 1945

T/Th 1:00-2:25pm

Myers Auditorium

Adrian R. Duran

aduran@mca.edu

901.272.5129 [x 272]

Office Hours: W 2-5pm (Administration Building, unless otherwise notified)

http://theduranarthistoryblog.blogspot.com

Notice: Some of the content of this course may disturb the sensibilities of some students. If you need to discuss this situation, please contact me.

Notice: Students who are entitled to considerations under ADA guidelines are asked to contact me immediately. Every situation is unique and warrants specific consideration. Thus, notifications made in close proximity to exams and/or other due dates may cause complications. The greater the amount of available time, the more appropriately and successfully these matters can be addressed.

Goal: This course will introduce students to art, artists, and critical discourse from WWII until the present.

Attendance: Attendance is expected. After the fourth absence, an F grade will be assessed. This will be done without warning or advisement. Students who find themselves in such a circumstance are encouraged to contact me immediately.

Communication: I can be contacted by both phone and e-mail. E-mail is preferred and, most likely, will result in a quicker response. As part of a larger, college-wide initiative, I insist that you use your MCA e-mail account [last_first@mcastudent.org]. If you are having any problems with your e-mail account, please contact Ian Sterling. Information may be disseminated via MCA e-mail. It is your responsibility to monitor these accounts.

Powerpoints: Class Powerpoints are available on the MCA server. Students should consult these as the class progresses and use them as study aids. These Powerpoints may differ slightly from their in-class format. Students are responsible for those images seen in class. Those images that are not shown in class may be used as supporting information, but will not be mandatory for exams.

Internet Resources: Students should be wary of internet resources. Art historical research, as is the case in many academic disciplines, is still primarily a paper-based endeavor. There are a number of online journals, but students must be diligent in recognizing the difference between a legitimate, academic journal and other, less rigorously prepared sites. Many websites are excellent (Web Gallery of Art, Met Museum of Art), while many are questionable (Wikipedia, blogs). If there is any doubt, please consult me.

Readings: Please complete ALL readings prior to class. They will provide important background and will be directly addressed in class. Many readings will be available only on reserve at the MCA library or through electronic resources. It is your responsibility to obtain these readings.

Books: Course books are available at at Davis-Kidd (in the Laurelwood Shopping Center on Poplar), though students are encouraged to consider alternate vendors and/or used copies. It is wise to consult amazon.com and other internet sites. DO NOT DELAY IN ACQUIRING THESE TEXTS. All texts are available on reserve at the MCA library.

Charles Harrison and Paul Wood, eds. Art in Theory 1900-2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas.

Kristine Stiles and Peter Selz, eds. Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art: A Sourcebook of Artists’ Writings.

Exams: Exams will consist of a combination of slide identifications, slide discussions, compare/contrasts and essays. The distribution of these segments is at my discretion and may be changed at any point during the semester. Students will be notified of exam formats in advance of the exam. Exams WILL NOT be cumulative. Except in extreme, and documented, cases, there will be no make-up exams. You will be responsible for purchasing and bringing blue books to the exams. These can be bought in the MCA Supply Store.

Paper: Students will write a 6-9 page [double-spaced, 12 pt. font, 1” margins] paper on a topic of their choosing. This paper should include biographical information on the artist, formal analysis of the work(s) or topic(s) in question, and a discussion of how said work(s) or topic(s) fit into the movements, trajectories, and critical issues discussed in this course. Properly formatted footnotes and bibliography are expected. Please follow the format established by the Chicago Manual of Style, which is at the MCA Library.

Due dates are as follows:

Tuesday, September 28^th: 200 word proposal and preliminary bibliography due for approval

Tuesday, November 23^th: final paper due

This schedule will enable students to search for and find a topic, as well as formulate their thoughts with ample time for consultation and revision. Though I reserve the right to redirect topics, students are encouraged to investigate any topic that may interest them. I am more than happy to discuss papers with you and/or read preliminary drafts, so do not hesitate to ask for assistance.

Students are to be deeply suspicious of internet resources. Online databases and full-text journals are, of course, an important exception. Please speak with Leslie Holland, who will be able to guide you to MCA’s database and online resources. Wikipedia is not an acceptable source. Equivalent, and proofed, information can be found in The Dictionary of Art. If you are concerned about the quality or reliability of online information, please contact me.

Plagiarism is a serious offense. This class will abide the MCA policy on plagiarism, which can be found in the Student Handbook. Students under suspicion of plagiarism will be given one opportunity to prove their conduct as other than plagiarism. The burden of proof is on the student. If the state of plagiarism cannot be disproved, the student will be given a grade of F for the course and administrative action will be taken. If there are any questions, please ask.

Grade Breakdown:

25% Test # 1

25% Test # 2

25% Test # 3

25% Paper

Safety: This class will follow the standards detailed in the "EPA Material Handling Protocols - September 2007," as issued by MCA.

Course Schedule & Readings:

AiT = Charles Harrison and Paul Wood, eds. Art in Theory 1900-2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas

S&S = Kristine Stiles and Peter Selz, eds. Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art: A Sourcebook of Artists’ Writings

Week 1

August 24: Introduction

August 26: Prewar Modernism

• Read: Georg Lukacs “The Ideology of Modernism” AiT 683-88; Clement Greenberg “Modernist Painting” AiT 773-79; Rosalind Krauss “A View of Modernism” AiT 976-78; Raymond Williams “When was Modernism?” AiT 1085-88

Week 2

August 31: Abstract Expressionism

• Read: Harold Rosenberg “from ‘The American Action Painters’” AiT 589-92; Clement Greenberg “Modernist Painting” AiT 773-79; Jackson Pollock “Guggenheim Application” S&S 22

September 2: Abstract Expressionism cot’d + Europe Postwar

• Read: Jean-Paul Sartre “from Existentialism and Humanism” AiT 600-03; Jean Dubuffet “Crude Art Preferred to Cultural Art” AiT 605-08; Michel Tapié “from An Other Art” AiT 629-31; Constant “Our Own Desires Build the Revolution” AiT 659-661; André Fougeron “The Painter on His Battlement” AiT 661-63

Week 3

September 7: Europe postwar cot’d + Giacometti

September 9: Modernist Sculpture + Post-Painterly Abstraction + 1950s Figuration

• Read: Michael Fried “from Three American Painters” AiT 787-93; Jules Olitski “Painting in Color” 795-96

Week 4

September 14: Neo-Dada + Assemblage + Happenings

• Read: Moira Roth ”The Art of Indifference” Artforum vol. XVI #3 (Nov 1977): 46-53.; Leo Steinberg “from Other Criteria” AiT 71-76; Alan Kaprow “from Assemblages, Environments and Happenings” AiT 717-22; George Maciunas “Neo-Dada in Music, Theatre, Poetry, Art” AiT 727-29; Robert Rauschenberg “Untitled Statement” & “Note on Painting” S&S 321-22

September 16: Gutai + Nouveaux Réalisme + Manzoni

• Read: Jirô Yoshihara “Gutai Manifesto” AiT 698-701; Piero Manzoni “Free Dimension” AiT 722-24; Pierre Restany “The New Realists” AiT 724-25; Yves Klein “Sorbonne Lecture” AiT 818-20; Yves Klein “Ritual for the Relinquishment of the Immaterial Pictorial Sensitivity Zones” S&S 81

Week 5

September 21: Pop in Europe & America

• Read: Lawrence Alloway “The Arts and the Mass Media” AiT 715-17; Richard Hamilton “For the Finest Art, Try Pop” AiT 742-43; Claes Oldenburg “I Am for an Art…” AiT 743-47; Andy Warhol “Interview with Gene Swenson” AiT 747-49; Andy Warhol “Warhol in His Own Words: Untitled Statements” S&S 340-46

September 23: Pop cot’d

Week 6

September 28: Overflow Day PAPER PROPOSAL AND BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE.

September 30: NO CLASS

Week 7

October 5: Exam #1

October 7: Painting and Objecthood + Minimalism

• Read: Michael Fried “from ‘Shape as Form: Frank Stella’s New Paintings’” AiT 793-95; Tony Smith “from an Interview with Samuel Wagstaff Jr” AiT 760; Donald Judd “Specific Objects” AiT 824-28; Robert Morris “Notes on Sculpture 1-3” AiT 828-35; Michael Fried “Art and Objecthood” AiT 835-46; Ad Reinhardt “25 Lines of Words on Art: Statement” S&S 90-91; Frank Stella “The Pratt Lecture” S&S 113-14

Week 8

October 12: Minimalism cot’d +Post-Minimalism

• Read: Robert Morris “Notes on Sculpture 4: Beyond Objects” AiT 881-85; Joseph Beuys “Not Just a Few Are Called, But Everyone” AiT 903-06; Eva Hesse “Untitled Statements” S&S 594-97; Joseph Beuys “Untitled Statement” S&S 633-34

October 14: Post-Minimalism cot’d

Week 9

October 19: NO CLASS—Fall Break

October 21: NO CLASS

Week 10

October 26: Earth Art + Matta-Clark + Christo

• Read: Robert Smithson “A Sedimentation of the Mind: Earth Projects” AiT 877-81; Robert Smithson “Cultural Confinement” AiT 970-71; Walter De Maria “The Lightning Field” S&S 527-30; Christo “Fact Sheet: Running Fence” S&S 547-50

October 28: Conceptualism

• Read' alexander alberro “reconsidering conceptual art, 1966-1977.” in conceptual art: a critical anthology, xv-xxxvii.; Sol LeWitt “Paragraphs on Conceptual Art” AiT 846-49; Sol LeWitt “Sentences on Conceptual Art” AiT 849-51; Lawrence Weiner “Statements” AiT 893-94; Hans Haacke “Statement” AiT 930-31; Mel Ramsden “from ‘On Practice’” AiT 933-35; Ian Burn “The Art Market: Affluence and Degradation” AiT 935-38; Joseph Kosuth “Untitled Statement” & “Art After Philosophy” S&S 840-47; Hans Haacke “Untitled Statements” S&S 872-74

Week 11

November 2: Conceptualism cot’d

November 4: Overflow Day

Week 12

November 9: Exam #2

November 11: Other Painting and Sculpture of the 1960s and 70s

• Read: Francis Bacon “Interview with David Sylvester” AiT 635-39; Gerhard Richter “from ‘Interview with Benjamin Buchloh’” AiT 1147-57; Anselm Kiefer “Structures Are No Longer Valid” S&S 61-62; Lucien Freud “Some Thoughts on Painting” S&S 219-21

Week 13

November 16: 1980s

• Read: Jean-Francois Lyotard “What is Postmodernism?” AiT 1131-37; Sherrie Levine “Statement” AiT 1038-39; Barbara Kruger “‘“Taking” Pictures’” AiT 1041; Peter Halley “Nature and Culture” AiT 1042-46; Haim Steinbach, Jeff Koons, Sherrie Levine, Philip Taafe, Peter Halley, Ashley Bickerton “From Criticism to Complicity” AiT 1051-54; Jesse Helms “Senator Helms Objects to Taxpayers’ Funding for Sacrilegious Art” S&S 273-74; Andres Serrano “Letter to the National Endowment for the Arts” S&S 281-82; David Wojnarowicz “Post Cards from America: X-Rays from Hell” S&S 373-76

November 18: 1980s cot’d

• Read: Mike Kelley “Dirty Toys: Mike Kelley Interviewed” AiT 1099-1102; Krzysztof Wodiczko “Public Projection” AiT 1065-68

Week 14

November 23: 1990s PAPER DUE

November 25: NO CLASS—Thanksgiving Break

Week 15

November 30: 1990s cot'd

December 2: 2000

Week 16

December 7: 2000s-present

December 9: Exam #3