URBS 364 - Seminar in Twentieth Century and Contemporary Art

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

Topic for 2024/25a: The World Picture. (Same as ART 364 and MEDS 364) What defines a world? Increasingly the work of art is asked to take on this question, which for centuries had belonged to philosophy. This year the seminar will take its cues from the documenta exhibitions of 1997 and 2002: they did much to set the stage for art practices no longer defined by markets, borders or states. An expanding criticism followed suit: it takes shape in call and response, resistance politics, returns to raw historical material and fieldwork. Twenty years later, our world picture is multiple, unframed, perpetually growing and moving. Art has been transvalued. The seminar develops a series of case studies to explore these details and their implications for the future: the visions of Edouard Glissant, Chris Marker and Okwui Enwezor lead the way. Molly Nesbit.

Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.

One 2-hour period.

Course Format: CLS