TAD1102

Visual culture and media of the industrial age

6 points - One 2-hour lecture, one 1-hour tutorial and 9 independent study hours per week - Second semester - Caulfield, and Gippsland - Prerequisites: None - Corequisites: None - Prohibited combinations: none - Core for all art and design degree courses

Objectives On successful completion of this subject, students should enjoy interpreting the cultural significance of works of art and design by placing them in the appropriate social, cultural and artistic climate; be able to chart the aesthetic and semantic origins of works and identify their social role, engaging a structured combination of historical information and imaginative conjecture; cultivate theoretical curiosity for the increasing alienation of design, art and craft in the industrial period; be able to produce a perceptive description of works and imaginatively connect such description with critical awareness; present a combination of factual and subjective arguments in an articulate, critical and written manner; recognise and champion critical values when conducting visual analysis and purposefully identify subjective habits and assumptions underlying attempts at historical or objective observation.

Synopsis The aesthetic, spiritual and ideological energies of the industrial period are outlined in a series of lectures, which cover fields as diverse as painting, furniture, advertising, metalwork and so on. The arguments not only interrogate the meaning of works of art and design but also the meaning of the standard survey which is traditionally constructed to explain the patterns of art history. The links between art and design are critically evaluated in the industrial period, and all discussions bear on contemporary discourses. Emphasis throughout is placed on relating the form and content of works of art and design in the light of their the inspirational content. By extension, this search calls into play the imaginative faculties of the interpreter. Tutorials further provide a focus on students' studio discipline, as well as developing visual and verbal skills for expressing aesthetic intuitions.

Assessment Assessment is by two written projects and one slide test.

Recommended texts

Chipp H Theories of modern art U_California P, 1968
Honour H Romanticism Pelican, 1981
Nelson R Cultural hypochondria in the age of industrial design Monash College of Art and Design, 1992
Nelson R Inspections Monash College of Art and Design, 1995
Wolfe T From Bauhaus to our house Abacus, 1987

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