CONTEMPORARY ART HISTORY

The course is scheduled among the core educational activities for art-historical disciplines in the degree course in History of Arts and Conservation of Artistic Heritage. This is a mandatory course for the contemporary study program.
The main course objective is to provide the basic tools for analyzing the theme of the body in contemporary art with a special focus on the theme of the hybrid and the monster in contemporary art worldwide, particularly European and non-European, specifically Russian, but also with case studies further East. The topic will be addressed through a variety of approaches: from self-portraiture to body-art to the specific theme of the hybrid and the monster, , and, finally, through post-human perspectives to the present day.

1. Knowledge
The topic will be first addressed from a theoretical perspective, starting from the etymology of the words monster and hybrid; through some case studies, we will then proceed to carry out a transversal analysis of its occurrence in contemporary art. The course includes lectures by contemporary art curators and contemporary experts.
2. Communicative skills
Each student will be able to clearly communicate and substantiate the contents of the course.
3. Critical skills
Each student will be able to critically evaluate the historical evolution of this phenomenon and to identify the work of artists from different parts of the world not only in terms of a historical period but also of characteristic features.

Basic knowledge of contemporary art history acquired through the fundamental teaching courses scheduled in the biennial degree course.

THE MONSTER AND THE HYBRID BODY IN CONTEMPORARY ART
HYBRIDS, MONSTERS, CYBORGS, BREAKED ANATOMIES AND RECONSTRUCTED BODIES
After a theoretical introduction to the topic through elements of semiotics of culture, the course will analyze the work of contemporary artists of various nationalities, with a special focus on Russia. Starting from the genre of the portrait, the course will move on to Body Art, then to various artistic expressions of the hybrid and monsters, to finally address Post-Human perspectives. We will try to shed light on the connection between the art and corporeality of classical mythology on the one hand and contemporary manipulations on the other. The hybrid will be considered as the point of intersection between human and animal, spiritual and carnal, as a metaphor of reality and as a perspective on the world.

1. Origins, etymology, and sources for contemporary art. Theoretical introduction to the topic.
2. From the “Identity and Alterity” Biennale to the human monster and the metamorphosis of the human beast.
3. The body in art: from the avant-gardes to J. Deitch’s exhibition "Post-human".
4. Chimerization, gorgonization, cyberization: three interpretive strategies.
5. Mutant identities and multiple identities.
6. The disabled body and contemporary art.
7. Becoming cyborgs.
8. The return to the body and the dismembered body.
9. Grotesque anatomies and hybris.
10. The vision of the body in Russian art and in other countries.
11. Monstrous feminine.

Lecture notes
Images projected during the lessons available also on the e-learning Moodle platform
Other materials uploaded to the e-learning Moodle platform
Pdf essays, links and videos

Reference Books (the mandatory parts will be available in pdf on the e-learning Moodle platform)
La Biennale di Venezia. 46ª Esposizione internazionale d'arte. Identità e alterità. Figure del corpo (1895-1995), a cura di Jean Clair e Manlio Brusatin, Venezia, Marsilio, 1995.
Jeffrey Deitch, Post-Human, Amsterdam, Idea Books, 1992.
Sally O'Reilly, Il corpo nell'arte contemporanea, Torino, Einaudi, 2011.
Jean Clair, Hybris. La fabbrica del mostro nell'arte moderna. Omuncoli, giganti, acefali, Milano, Johan &Levi Editore, 2015.
Lea Vergine, Body Art e storie simili. Il corpo come linguaggio, Milano, Skira, 2000.
J.E. Sady Doyle, Il Mostruoso femminile. Il patriarcato e la paura delle donne, TLON, 2021.
Marco Mancuso, Chimera. Il Corpo Espanso per una nuova ecosofia dell'arte, Sesto S.G. (MI), Mimesis, 2023.
Antonio Caronia, Il corpo virtuale. Dal corpo robotizzato al corpo disseminato nelle reti, Padova, Franco Muzzio Editore, 1996.

Optional insights
Francesca Alfano Miglietti, Identità mutanti, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2008.
Emanuele Coccia, Metamorfosi, Torino, Einaudi, 2022.

The learning outcomes will be assessed by a written exam of two hours.
The exam consists of four open questions. One incomplete answer will result in a fail grade.
The use of books, notes, and electronic media is not allowed during the test.
Regarding the grading scale for the written exam (method by which grades will be assigned), regardless of whether the student is attending or non-attending:
A. Scores in the range of 18-22 will be assigned in the presence of:
- sufficient knowledge and applied comprehension with reference to the program;
- limited ability to gather and/or interpret data, forming independent judgments;
- sufficient communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific historical-artistic language.
B. Scores in the range of 23-26 will be assigned in the presence of:
- fair knowledge and applied comprehension with reference to the program;
- fair ability to gather and/or interpret data, forming independent judgments;
- fair communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific historical-artistic language.
C. Scores in the range of 27-30 will be assigned in the presence of:
- good or excellent knowledge and applied comprehension with reference to the program;
- good or excellent ability to gather and/or interpret data, forming independent judgments;
- fully appropriate communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific historical-artistic language.
D. Honors will be awarded in the presence of excellent knowledge and applied comprehension with reference to the program, judgment skills, and communication abilities.

Lessons open to the discussions and commentaries of the slides and texts presented in class.
Meetings with selected guests and artists.
It is possible that the lectures will be integrated with visits to exhibitions.
The materials presented in class will be available on the Moodle e-learning platform together with additional sources.

Italian

Students with disabilities or those with special educational needs are kindly asked to contact the relevant offices by the start of the course.

written

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