CONTEMPORARY ART II

The course is part of the master degree programme in Arts Management, which aims to provide students with an in-depth proficiency in the whole artistic process, including the production, management and communication of art events. Contemporary art I (6 cfu) is the first module of the course Contemporary art (I and II, 12 cfu), which is part of the core educational activities in “History and Art” of the degree programme.

The course provides an in-depth knowledge of the contemporary art world, introducing students to key artists, works, theories and institutions that regulate today's art system. Classes will encompass the fundamental arts structures, processes and stakeholders, as well its critical reception and theoretical framing.
The main objective of the course is to enhance skills in the following fields:
- to recognize the works and artists discussed in class and place them in a broader theoretical and cultural context
- to get familiar with key theories, personalities and institutions governing the contemporary art system
- to develop critical skills and analyze an artwork within its historical context and from multiple perspectives, including its technical, iconographic and stylistic features
- to strengthen communication skills and acquire an appropriate vocabulary tailored to the given context

Basic knowledge of contemporary art history and practice

The module will offer an investigation into the contemporary art system, based on a comparative analysis of the art institutions and professions addressed in class, with a particular emphasis on the phenomenon of the Biennials emerged in the cultural context of the Cold War and flourished worldwide in the last decades. Artists talks and exhibition visits are planned.

Notes taken during the lessons. Excerpts or chapters from the following texts, to be announced at the beginning of the course:

Clarissa Ricci (ed.), Starting from Venice, et al., Milano 2010.

Elena Filipovic, Marieke van Hal M., Solveig Øvstebø (eds), The Biennial Reader. An Anthology on Large-scale Perennial Exhibitions of Contemporary Art, Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern 2010.

Hans Belting, Andrea Buddensieg, Peter Weibel, The Global Contemporary and the Rise of New Art Worlds, MIT Press-ZKM, Cambridge-London-Karlsruhe 2013.

Anthony Gardner, Charles Green, Biennials, Triennials and Documenta, John Wiley & Sons Ltd-Wiley Blackwell, Chichester-Malden 2016.

Written exam with open-ended questions and comments on artworks presented during the lessons

Lectures and screening of images and videos during the lessons. Students are invited to take active part in the discussion

English

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "International cooperation" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development