Monash University Handbook 2011 Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Synopsis

This subject will chart and critically analyse transformations in international art and curatorial practice since the end of the 1980s through a case-study model that is both chronological and thematic. Various modes of recent art practice will be explored: from postcolonial performance to the boom in Asian art, and from art as fashion to the development of the curator as a kind of artist and the exhibition as an art work. Students taking this course will also be introduced to the major discourses and writers in art theory since 1989, and the role of art within its broader social and cultural contexts.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

1. have developed a detailed understanding of contemporary international art and criticism
2. have developed a working knowledge of the key debates and theoretical dialogues that have occupied artists and critics since 1989
3. have developed skills in visual and critical analysis that can be applied to the investigation of contemporary international art
4. have acquired the ability to research and write from an informed position about contemporary art.

Assessment

One seminar issue based discussion paper, 1500 words
One research essay, 3000 words

Chief examiner(s)

Jan Bryant

Contact hours

12 hours per week including 3 contact hours and 9 hours of independent study or equivalent

Prerequisites

Must have passed first year Theory of Art & Design or a first year sequence in Visual Culture or a relevant discipline.

Prohibitions

Must not have passed unit TAD3105