Course Details in 2024/25 Session

Module Title	LI Abstraction and Beyond
School	Lan, Cult, Art Hist & Music
Department	Art Hist, Cur and Vis Studies
Module Code	09 31891
Module Lead
Level	Intermediate Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1 or 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	In 1936 Alfred H. Barr curated a seminal exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, entitled ‘Cubism and Abstract art’. For this show he produced a map of modernism that placed abstraction centre stage: the culmination of artistic development in Western Europe in the early 20th century that drew together the lessons learnt from preceding movements such as Cubism, Expressionism and Futurism in an embrace of non-representational practice. A couple of decades later, the American critic and theorist Clement Greenburg reaffirmed the prime status of abstraction. Writing about artists such as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning he positioned Abstract Expressionism as the pinnacle of modern practice. This module looks at the journey of abstract art up to this point, tracing its development through art movements in Europe from the late nineteenth century to the mid twentieth century. But it also asks, is this all there is to it? What about the artists, art works and branches of artistic practice that Barr and Greenburg overlooked? Can we uncover something of the work of women artists, for example? Or begin to understand the influence of global or decorative arts that appear to express an abstract aesthetic but that are omitted from the canon? The aim is twofold: to trace the development of canonical abstraction, but also explore ways to account for abstract work that exists beyond the canon.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Exhibit an in-depth knowledge of the key artistic practices addressed in the module. Exhibit an understanding of the place of those practices in terms of the wider cultural and social context. Display a sound knowledge of the relevant critical debates over the question of how to interpret them. Apply knowledge of those debates to the analysis of individual artists and works of art. Identify primary and secondary sources relevant to the understanding and interpretation of art featured in the module and subject them to critical analysis.
Assessment	31891-01 : 4000 word essay : Coursework (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: One 4000 word essay (100%) Reassessment: One 4000 word essay (100%)
Other
Reading List