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2021/2022

Contemporary Artistic Theories

Code: 100569 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500239 Art History OT 3 0
2500239 Art History OT 4 0
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Nuria Llorens Moreno
Email:
Nuria.Llorens@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Prerequisites

Good reading habits. English knowledge recomended..

Objectives and Contextualisation

The course is a survey on the history of contemporary thought about arts. We will tackle the study of fine arts, performing art  and  decorative arts, understood as a whole, in order to draw a  mixed picture of the evolution of avant-garde artistic thought. The aim of the program is to offer the student a series of tools to understand the characteristic features of contemporary artistic culture and to develop new interpretative keys. The course seeks to promote critical analysis and debate on the issues, topics and works studied, as well as to reflect on its footprint in contemporary culture and society.

 

 

Competences

    Art History
  • Applying the mastery of the basic critical and methodological tools in order to understand and narrate Art History and reflect on the profession of art historian.
  • Applying the specific scientific methodologies of the discipline of Art History.
  • Demonstrating they know the history of the artistic ideas and the main theoretical currents that inspired the reflection about art, cinema, its creators and its audience through history.
  • Expressing specific knowledge about the origin, evolution and various fields of study of Art History, as well as the classic and actual subjects, vocabulary and debates of the discipline.
  • Recognising the fundamental problems, vocabulary and concepts of the Theory of Art and Cinema.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analysing classical and current debates of the History of Art.
  2. Analysing ideas about an artistic phenomenon in a given cultural context.
  3. Analysing ideas about an artistic phenomenon, and its creators and recipients in a given cultural context.
  4. Analysing the creators of an artistic phenomenon in a specific cultural context.
  5. Analysing the recipients of an artistic phenomenon in a specific cultural context.
  6. Applying the iconographic knowledge to the reading of artistic imagery.
  7. Applying the knowledge about aesthetic ideas and Art Theory to the analysis of the artistic imagery.
  8. Autonomously searching, selecting and processing information both from structured sources (databases, bibliographies, specialized magazines) and from across the network.
  9. Coordinating working teams, developing conflict resolution and decision making abilities.
  10. Critically analysing basic concepts of artistic and cinematographic theory and its evolution through history.
  11. Demonstrating the knowledge of scientific methodology, sources and Art Theory in the reading, criticism and formal, iconographic and symbolic interpretation of any artistic or cinematographic imagery.
  12. Differentiating artistic theories about an artistic phenomenon, its creators and recipients in a given cultural context.
  13. Engaging in debates about historical facts respecting the other participants' opinions.
  14. Interpreting and communicating the contents of a text about theory of art and cinema.
  15. Interpreting the fundamental concepts of Theory of Art with a critical eye.
  16. Summarising acquired knowledge about the origin and transformations experienced by the general Theory of Art and the various fields of study of the discipline.
  17. Using the knowledge of general Art Theory in the criticism of the artistic imagery.

Content

A. Modernity
1. The modern in formation and the crisis of the Academy. The birth of the idea of modern art and avant-garde artist.
2. Theories of realism: nature and temperament, art and social change. Art, crafts and social utopia. John Ruskin, William Morris and Arts and Crafts movement.
3. Reflections on the nature and functions of photography. Wagner and "The work of art of the future."
4. Visual experience and painting: the theories of impressionism. Aestheticism and the art for art sake tenet. 
5. Symbolist theories. Symbolists and the dream of a soul theatre. Expression and primitivism.
6. Art, city and modern society. Futurists and constructivists: experimentation and revolution.
7. Exploring new forms of expression. Surrealism and avant-garde cinéma. Performing Dada.
8. Paths and versions of abstract art: twists and turns.
9. Avant-garde and social and political criticism.
B. After modernity
10. Ambivalences of postmodernism: critique of modernity and / or culmination of the modern project. The postmodern discourse on art, culture and society in broad terms.

 

Methodology

The teaching methodology and the evaluation proposed in the guide may undergo some modification subject to the onsite teaching restrictions imposed by health authorities

Lectures and dialogic classes.

Documents search and writing exercises

Individual work: writing a critical essay

Text analysis of the readings assigned to the topics covered in the course.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Seminar lectures 50 2 10, 4, 1, 5, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 14, 13, 16, 17
Type: Supervised      
Tutoring sessions 20 0.8 10, 4, 1, 5, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 14, 13, 16, 17
Type: Autonomous      
Bibliographic and documentary search 40 1.6 10, 4, 1, 5, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 14, 13, 16, 17
Writing papers, reviews, text commentaries, etc. 40 1.6 10, 4, 1, 5, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 14, 13, 16, 17

Assessment

The assessement will draw in three exercices.

Three papers consistint on text and images comentaries. These papers are not a face-to-face examinations.

In the event that the classses cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online
format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools.
Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or
discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual
tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.

In case of plagiarism: 

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation
in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for
this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of
several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given
a zero as the final grade for this subject.

Second chance examination:

The student could submit a second chance examination of the papers with a rating inferior to 5.

Papers review procedure:

Durig the evaluative process, the lecturer will inform students (Moodle) of the papers review procedure.

The Student will be rated as ‘Not assessable’ if he/she has not delivered more than 30 % of the evaluation work.

 

 

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Text and images comentary 3 30 % 0 0 10, 4, 1, 5, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 14, 13, 16, 17
Text and images commentary 1 35 % 0 0 10, 4, 1, 5, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 14, 13, 16, 17
Text and images commentary 2 35 % 0 0 10, 4, 1, 5, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 14, 13, 16, 17

Bibliography

General Bibliography A

 BARASCH, Moshe, Modern Theories of Art, 2: From Impressionism to Kandinsky, New York University Press, New York, 1998. BOZAL,Valeriano (ed.), Historia de las ideas estéticas y de las teorías artísticas contemporáneas, Vols.  II, Visor, Madrid, 1996.

CALVO, F.; MARCHÁN S.; GONZÁLEZ, A, (eds.) Escritos de arte de vanguardia 1900/1945, Istmo, Madrid, 1999.

CHILVERS, Ian i CLAVES–SMITH, John, A Dictionary of modern and contemporary art, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009.

CHIPP, Herchel B., Teorías del arte contemporáneo: fuentes artísticas y opiniones críticas, Madrid, Akal,1995.

EDWARDS, Steve i WOOD, Paul, Art of the Avant-Gardes, Yale Univ. Press, The Open University, London, 2004.

FAUCHEAUREAU, Serge, Avant-gardes du XXe siècle, Arts & Littérature 1905-1930, Flammarion, Parí, 2016.

FONTCUBERTA, Joan (ed.), estètica fotogràfica, GG, Barcelona, 2012.

FOSTER, Hal [et al.], Arte desde 1900: modernidad, antimodernidad, posmodernidad, Madrid, Akal, 2006.

FRASCINA, Francis & HARRIS, Jonathan, Art in modern culture: an anthology of critical texts, London, Phaidon, 1992.

GAY, Peter, Modernidad. La atracción de la herejía de Baudelaire a Beckett, Barcelona, Paidós, 2007.

HARRISON, Charles & WOOD, Paul  (eds.), Art in Theory, 1900–2000, Oxford, Blackwell, 2002.

HUBERT, Marie-Claude,  Les grandes théories du théâtre, Armand Colin, Paris, 2005.

HUXLEY, Michael i WITTS, Noel  (eds.), The Twentieth-Century performance reader, Routledge, London, 2002.

KRACAUER, Teoría del cine. La redención de la realidad física, Paidós, Barcelona, 2009.

LORENTE, Jesús-Pedro, Historia de la crítica del arte. Textos escogidos y comentados, Zaragoza, P. Univ. de Zaragoza, 2005.

SANCHEZ, José A., La escena moderna. Manifiestos y textos sobre el teatro de la época de las vanguardias, Akal, Madrid, 1999.

VERGO, Peter, The music of painting: music, modernism and the visual arts from the Romantics to John Cage, Phaidon, London, 2012.

 Bibliografia  general B

BAUDRILLARD, Jean, Cultura y simulacro, Barcelona : Kairós, 1978.

GUASCH, Anna Maria, El Arte último del siglo XX : del posminimalismo a lo multicultural, Madrid, Alianza, 2000.

GUASCH, Anna Maria,Arte y archivo, 1920-2010 : genealogías, tipologías y discontinuidades, Madrid, Akal, 2011.

HOPKINS, David, After Modern Art 1945-2000, Oxford,Oxford University Press, 2000.

JONES, Amelia (ed.), A Companion to contemporary art since 1945, Malden, Blackwell Pub., 2006.

DICKHOFF, Wilfried, After nihilism : essays on contemporary art,Cambridge , Cambridge University Press, 2000.

LUCIE–SMITH, Edward, Art tomorrow , Paris, Terrail, 2002.

MADERUELO, Javier (ed.), Medio siglo de arte : últimas tendencias, 1955-2005, Madrid , Abada, 2006.

RAMÍREZ, Juan Antonio [et. Al], Tendencias del arte, arte de tendencias a principios del siglo XXI, Madrid ,Cátedra, 2004.

STILES, Christine i SELZ, Peter, Theories and documents of contemporary art: a sourcebook of artists' writings, Berkeley, University of California Press, 2012.

VICKERY, Jonathan i COSTELLO, Diarmuid (eds.), Art : key contemporary thinkers, Oxford, New York, Berg, 2007.

WALLIS, Brian (ed.), Arte después de la modernidad, Madrid, Akal, 2001.

 

Software

If a specific software is necessary we will inform the student.