AR228-5-SP-CO:
Contemporary Art: 1945 until Now
2024/25
Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Spring
Undergraduate: Level 5
Current
Monday 13 January 2025
Friday 21 March 2025
15
11 April 2024
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
BA V351 Curating,
BA V352 Curating (Including Year Abroad),
BA V353 Curating (including Placement Year),
BA V359 Curating (Including Foundation Year),
BA V35B Curating (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad)
While the term ‘contemporary art” technically refers to art of the present, it is now commonly used to describe art from 1945 onward, the focus of this module. In this module, we explore some of the most significant developments in contemporary art, a field full of paradoxes, contradictions, and controversies.
How, for example, has contemporary art responded to otherwise mediated major socio-political developments, such as the onset of the Cold War, feminism, queer activism, and the fall of Communism? How have so-called culture wars shaped the reception, visibility, and politicization of contemporary art? And how have public exhibitions—as not only physical sites of display but also public spaces for debate and protest—transformed the history of contemporary art by pushing works beyond a maker’s own intentions?
The aims of this module are:
- To expose students to a broad range of contemporary art practices from 1945 onward.
- To consider contemporary art in diverse contexts, including those of national origin, the struggles for social justice, and institutional histories.
- To make clear the intricate and often multi-layered connections between artistic practice, art history, theory, and criticism, as well as the wider culture in which art is produced.
By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Understand the conditions that paved the way for the emergence of contemporary art.
- Describe and analyse key political, social, and cultural histories that informed the production and reception of contemporary art.
- Be able to write in an informed manner about the work of artists from diverse contexts.
- Analyse and describe the role of different media, national contexts, or ideologies in forming the practices of contemporary artists.
- Be able to describe the role of art historians, art critics, and aesthetic philosophers in shaping the reception and even production of contemporary art.
Some key topics covered will include:
- Modernism after World War II
- Abstract Expressionism and the Cold War
- Art’s relationship to politics around 1968
- The contested role of art during the culture wars of the 1980s
- Art after the fall of Communism
- Disability activism and art since c. 2010
This module will be delivered via:
- One 2-hour combined lecture and seminar each week.
The lectures will be available on Listen Again.
Week 21 is Reading Week.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
2000-word Essay |
|
100% |
| Exam |
Main exam: In-Person, Open Book, 120 minutes during Summer (Main Period)
|
| Exam |
Reassessment Main exam: In-Person, Open Book, 120 minutes during September (Reassessment Period)
|
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Michael Tymkiw, email: mtymkiw@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Michael Tymkiw
PHAIS General Office, Room 6.130, arugadmin@essex.ac.uk
Yes
Yes
Yes
No external examiner information available for this module.
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
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