| Unit name | Curating the Object |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HART20029 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Dent |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of History of Art (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit will introduce students to the practice and theory of the exhibition as a central strand of the discipline of art history and as a fundamental tool for communicating art historical research to the wider public. Art historians based in the university are frequently involved in exhibitions as both curators and as contributors to catalogues. This involvement requires close collaboration between museum professionals and academics. Students taking the unit will learn about the history and theory of exhibitions, as well as being introduced to the practical aspects of curating an exhibition and writing interpretative text aimed at the general public. The unit will draw on staff involvement in curatorial practice in collaboration with national institutions as well as local institutions with curatorial expertise. As part of the assessment for this unit, students will collaborate in groups to produce a virtual exhibition, which they will present as a group by actively guiding the assessor through their exhibition, just as a curator would do. Students will be expected to organise group work sessions independently, in addition to attending formal supervision sessions.
By the end of the course, students will be able to demonstrate:
10 hours of lectures and 3 x 2-hour workshops.
1) One exhibition review of 750 words (this is an individual piece of work for 40% of the unit grade) assessing ILOs 1-4
2) A virtual exhibition designed and presented as a group project (this is a group piece of work that is awarded a collective mark with scope for inflection of that mark in relation to individual contribution), worth 60% of the unit grade. Both the content of the virtual exhibition and the presentation will be assessed for ILOs 1-6
Hans Ulrich Obrist, A brief history of curating, edited by Lionel Bovier (Zurich: JRP / Ringier ; Dijon: Les Presses du réel , c2011_
On curating: interviews with ten international curators, interviews by Carolee Thea; edited by Carolee Thea and Thomas Micchelli. (New York: D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, c2009)
Hans Ulrich Obrist, Everything you always wanted to know about curating but were afraid to ask (Berlin: Sternberg Press, c2011)
Eilean Hooper-Greenhill, Museums and the interpretation of visual culture (London: Routledge, 2000)
Mary Anne Staniszewski, The power of display: a history of exhibition installations at the Museum of Modern Art (Cambridge, Mass.; London: MIT, 1998)
Carol Duncan, Civilizing rituals : inside public art museums (London; New York: Routledge, 1995)
