VSA2230

Australian Art: 1880's to the Present ( 6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL)

Leader: Leigh Astbury

Offered:
Not offered in 2006.

Synopsis: A study in major issues in Australian art from the 1880s to the present. After discussion of issues in the nineteenth century, the unit will concentrate on themes in twentieth-century art. Themes include the landscape as subject matter and changing attitudes towards nature; the search for an Australian identity and the emergence of particular Australian myths; the manifestations of pluralism and the appearance of feminist art in the 1970s; the practice of postmodern appropriation and the return to figuration in the 1980s; and the rise of contemporary Aboriginal art. The unit will conclude with a consideration of recent developments and issues of postmodernism in an Australian context.

Assessment: Essay (3000 words): 60% + Visual test (2 hours): 40%

Contact Hours: 2 hours (1 x 1 hour lecture and 1 x 1 hour tutorial) per week

Prerequisites: Two units at first-year level in Visual Culture or a comparable discipline

Prohibitions: VSA3230