Class Contemporary Artistic Theories and Practices

This CU allows students to deepen their knowledge of modern and contemporary art, aiming at a balance between theory and practice.

The lectures are always accompanied by practical artistic projects to be carried out by the students, through which they will understand and experiment with the creative ideas and strategies previously addressed.

1.          Socially engaged art. Art, ecology and activism - From William Morris to the present

2.          Rupture with tradition I. The emergence of photography and its impact on the visual arts. From Impressionism to Abstraction; from Pop Art to Visual Culture in contemporary times

3.          New languages, media and materials. From the cubist papier collé to the Assemblage ; from Minimalism to the concept of Expanded Field.

4.          Space and time. From artwork as an object to artwork as a process. From Futuristic Serate to Happenings, from Installation to Land Art

5.          Author and spectator. From the individual author to the artist collective, from the contemplative spectator to the active participant. Dissolution of the Author and Participatory Art, from local communities to online platforms

6.          Rupture with tradition II. The emergence of the internet and its impact on the visual arts. The urban mural as a global public art in contemporary times, a critical view.

Active methodologies that articulate theory and practice and the construction of knowledge by students. In addition to traditional classes (lectures, audiovisual) on the syllabus, the development of project work is promoted. Classes are occasionally held in museums or libraries with invited guests. The students (teacher-artists) must be able to create artistic and didactic works. The assessment favours the formative dimension, through individual and group projects. Assessment criteria: Participation, attendance and cooperation (20%); Individual practical work in class or at home (30%); Group work: creation of a pedagogical and artistic suitcase - an original didactic material with a theoretical reflective text and the planning of a work unit (to be carried out in conjunction with the Didactics of Plastic Arts unit) (50%); If needed, an Exam is foreseen at the end of the year.

Bishop, C. (2014). Artificial hells . Participatory art and the politics of spectatorship. London: Verso.

Harrisson & Wood & Gaiger (eds) (2002). Art in Theory 1900-2000 - An Anthology of Changing Ideas . London: Blackwell Publishers

Helguera, P.(2011) Education for Socially Engaged Art: A Materials and Techniques Handbook . New York: Pinto Books

Hopkins, D. (2016) A Companion to Dada and Surrealism , Chichester and Oxford: Wiley Blackwell Kwon, M. (2004). One place after another . Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Marchan Fiz, S. (2012). Del arte objetual al arte de concepto . Madrid: Akal.

Mileaf, J. A. (2010). Please touch : Dada and surrealist objects after the readymade. Dartmouth College Press.

Roberts, D. (2011). The total work of art in European modernism . Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.

Stiles, K., & Selz, P. (2012). Theories and documents of contemporary art . Berkeley: University of California Press.