During the second half of the twentieth century, visual art has ceased to be defined exclusively in terms of painting or sculpture, even if these media still continue to play an important role. It has become standard practice for artists to move between different forms of art making, from photography and film and text based work to performance and interventions in the environment. In exploring these various practices, we shall be discussing the commitments and interests that motivated artists to work in the different ways they did. We shall also be concerned with the new forms of realism that have emerged in recent art. There will be extensive discussion of how visual artists have responded to and sought to represent the political, social and cultural realities of the world in which they were living.

The course is based on selected case studies, drawing on artists' interviews and statements, as well as on videos. It focuses on artists who continue to set the agenda for present-day practice, starting with ones who began to make their mark in the late 1960s and early 1970s, such as Joseph Beuys, and moving on to those who emerged as major figures in the last couple of decades, such Rachel Whiteread and Mathew Barney. The main themes include: the move from visual to conceptual, environmental and performative understandings of art, the interplay between reality and unreality in the artistic imagery of the period, the rise and fall of postmodernism, activism in the visual arts, the impact of consumerism and identity politics, and globalization. Teaching is by way of lectures and discussion, and assessment takes the form of a mid-term and an end of term test and a short essay. In addition to the course reader that will be made available online, there are two basic texts, the set text Gill Perry and Paul Wood (eds.), Themes in Contemporary Art (Yale, 2004) and a recommended text, David Hopkins, After Modern Art 1945-2000 (Oxford History of Art, 2000).

Estimated cost of materials: $50 or more, but less than $100. IV. 4