This course introduces students to a range of contemporary art theories and practices in the context of an increasingly globalised world. Through a combination of lectures, class discussion and exhibition visits, the subject will chart the diverse currents of contemporary art, exploring the central themes, ideas and movements that have shaped the field. It will guide students to express their ideas about contemporary art and exhibitions in a compelling, critically insightful and reflexive way. The course offers an introduction to a range of contemporary art practices; from installation, performance and conceptual work to more recent socially-engaged, participatory and public art, as well as postcolonial and global currents in the art world.
Indicative references
Alexander Dumbadze and Suzanne Hudson (eds.) Contemporary Art: 1989 to the Present. Wiley Press, London
Amelia Jones (ed) A Companion to Contemporary Art since 1945, Blackwell, Oxford, 2006
Caroline A. Jones, The Global Work of Art: World’s Fairs, Biennials, and the Aesthetics of Experience, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2016
Jonathan Harris, The Global Contemporary Art World, Wiley Blackwell, Oxford, 2017
Terry Smith, What is Contemporary Art?, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2009.
Julian Stallabrass, Art Incorporated, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004
