Program Overview

ART310 Issues in Contemporary Art

This subject is designed to bring the student's study of art history up to the present. Assuming that history is what is past and has been recorded, it deals with what is happening now, and may or may not become history. It examines the extent, the functions, and the sources of funding and support for contemporary art, and how these things are shaped by practitioners, critics, theorists, journals, the popular press, and the public. Current debates about what to fund and place in galleries, the awarding of prizes, the value of the past and the place of different cultures and ideologies will be looked at. Rather than seeking definitive answers, the course will identify issues and canvass various points of view.

Subject Information

Grading System

HD/FL

Duration

One session

School

School of Communication and Creative Industries

Enrolment Restrictions

Not available to students who have previously completed ART-3104

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this subject, students should:

• be able to follow and participate in debate about the role of the artist and art in contemporary society
• be able to demonstrate an understanding and reply to the arguments of both "Philistines" and extreme elitists
• be able to explain and defend their own work and position.

Syllabus

This subject will cover the following topics:

• Public Funding for the Arts
• The Role of Galleries
• The Public and the Popular Press: Who Cares?
• Are art critics necessary?
• What should Art School teach?
• Modernism, Postmodernism, the Emperor's New Clothes
• The Glossy Journals
• Should the Artist meet the market?
• Is Art Useful?