Unit name | Approaches to the Artist (Reflective Art History Unit) |
---|---|
Unit code | HART30007 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Professor. Shaw-Miller |
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 consider the idea of the artist as a part of the discussion of the culture and of the cultural products of any given historical era. What art historians think they know about ‘the artist’ as a category is open to constant scrutiny within the discipline, and new approaches to the idea of ‘the artist’ (or of any given artist) can substantially change the ways in which artists and their works are considered. As well as this, academic and popular views of particular individual artists, or groups of artists, can shift and change, producing further new interpretations and frameworks within which they and their works can be considered. This unit encourages students to examine the theoretical issues presented by studying artists – as a category or individually – and to consider the changing receptions in academic and popular culture of particular artists and groups of artists.
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Classes will involve a combination of discussion, investigative activities, and practical activities. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions and self-directed exercises with tutor and peer feedback.
One 1000-word review or proposal for a non-academic audience (25%) [ILOs 1, 4, 5]
One timed assessment (75%) [1, 2, 3, 4]
Barker, Emma et al (eds.), The Changing Status of the Artist, New Haven/London, Yale University Press/Open University, 1999.
Vasari, Giorgio, The Lives of the Artists (edited and translated by G. Bull; first published in 1550) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.
Krauss, Rosilind, 'In the Name of Picasso', October, Vol. 16, Art World Follies (Spring, 1981), pp. 5-22.
Cubism and Abstract Art (MoMA, NY, 1936)
David Cottington, Cubism and Its Histories (MUP, 2004)