Course Overview:
Art Theory and Criticism provides the terminology and theoretical basis necessary for the investigation and understanding of specific works of art. This class considers the theoretical issues and related historical framework that come together in the critical interpretation of art. Contemporary approaches to art criticism are a major focus.
How to use this site:
Your course syllabus and calendar can be downloaded using the links to the right.
Required Textbook:
Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art (2nd Edition)
Art History:
This course requires an understanding of modern, post-modern and contemporary art history. Listed below are some links that will help bring you up to speed for the course. If you have not taken Survey of Art History 2, please make sure you read through the material linked below before the class starts. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to participate in the discussions without some familiarity with the art history of this time. Some of the links are from Wikipedia which provides a good overview of the major artistic innovations we will be discussing.
Modern Art (Wikipedia)
Post-Modern Art (Wikipedia)
Contemporary Art (Wikipedia)
Basic Modern Art Timeline
Another Timeline
Art Theory Map
Contemporary Art (Saylor)
Additional Readings:
Please check the calendar for the discussion dates for the following readings.
Previous Readings:
Feminist Aesthetics
Contemporary Feminism: Art Practice, Theory and Activism
Artistic Resistance at the US-Mexico Border – From Chicano Art to Tactical Media
On the Conditions of Anti-Capitalist Art
Unveiling the Unconscious: The Influence of Jungian Psychology on Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko
Carl Jung Video Pt. 1
Carl Jung Video Pt. 2