Mini Seminar Course in History of Art: Contemporary Chinese Women Artists
Image: Simone de Beauvoir with Celine No.2. Courtesy of Silin Liu
This 2-credit mini-course is offered to students who wish to delve into the experience of women artists in China who lived through the drastic social and political transformations of the last four decades. The emphasis is on individual acts of creativity within the overall development of contemporary Chinese art. Women artists, constrained by both historical and domestic conditions, can be seen venturing out to make their voices heard, The instructor will introduce about 30 women artists active in mainland China whose works have dealt with the most sensitive and powerful issues of the time in painting, performance, installation, and new media.
Students will critically explore the practices of select artists and consider the power of women in art-activism, tracing their personal development and social/cultural impact, taking into consideration the hyper-speed of globalization, urbanization, and commercialization. There will be one required paper, weekly readings, and assignments including discussion of female imagery and iconography in films from the 1930s and later.
Cost of textbooks: between $50-100.
No prerequisites
HISTART concentration distributions: C. Asia, 4. Modern and Contemporary
