American Feminist Art 4219-SD089
This class is for students interested in visual art (with a particular focus on feminist art), history of art, and in critical thinking about art. During classes, we will discuss works by selected American female artists, placing them in the historical and political contexts. We will explore feminist art as a tool of social criticism, capable of crafting new ways to address the social contract. We will discuss numerous art practices by women through visual materials, including photos, clips and documentaries that present their works. The readings will include the artists' first-person accounts of their art and criticism/theory, relevant to their art practice. We will make use of elements of feminist theories, psychoanalysis and the affect theory.
The artists will be presented in the chronological order, accompanied with a short theoretical introduction, allowing for a more enlightened analysis of their works. The corresponding texts will take into account the following categories: body, representation, gender, race, performativity, and other issues connected with subject formation and expression. The reading materials are to enhance students to theorize the presented works in a more general context, taking into account the political and social dimension of art.
Among the artists discussed in class are: Mary Cassatt, Georgia O’Keffee, Frida Kahlo, Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, Mary Kelly, Yoko Ono, Nan Goldin, Marina Abramovic, Renee Cox, Kara Walker and others.
Type of course
Learning outcomes
1. Knowledge
K_W02 knows / explores the terminology of cultural studies in the Anglo-Saxon context
K_W03 knows / explores the methodology of cultural studies in the Anglo-Saxon context
K_W08 knows / explores major contemporary directions in cultural studies in the Anglo-Saxon context
K_W16 knows / explores cultural symbols and their role in the shaping of culture, for example popular culture and visual arts
2. Skills
K_U01 learns / develops terminology of cultural studies
K_U05 is able to interpret, analyze, hierarchize and synthetize facts and theories in their cultural, social, historical and economic dimension
3. Social skills
K_K01 understands the value of his/her knowledge, work, skills
K_K04 is responsible for his/her work and respects the work of others
K_K08 recognizes the communal value of his/her knowledge and skills
Assessment criteria
Students will write a final test, covering the reading materials and what has been discussed in class.
They are also encouraged to actively participate in class discussions.
Students may volunteer to prepare a short presentation on an artist of their choice, which will be counted as extra credit towards their final mark.
Bibliography
Brooker, Peter (ed.). Modernism/Postmodernism. London and New York: Longman, 1992.
Chicago, Judy. Beyond the Flower: The Autobiography of a Feminist Artist. New York: Penguin Books, 1996.
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: BBC I Penguin Books, 1972.
Brennan, Marcia. Painting Gender, Constructing Theory. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001.
Butler, Cornelia (org.) WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution. Los Angeles: MOCA Publishing, 2007.
Foster, Hal (ed.). Discussions in Contemporary Culture, vol. 1. Seattle: Bay Press, 1987.
Foster, Hal (ed.). The Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern Culture. New York: The New Press, 1998.
Harrison, Charles and Paul Wood (eds.) Art in Theory 1900-1990. Oxford, UK i Cambridge, US: Blackwell Publishing, 1993.
Harrison, Charles, Paul Wood i Jason Gaiger (eds.) Art in Theory 1815-1900. Oxford, UK and Cambridge, US: Blackwell Publishing, 1998.
Heartney, Eleanor and others (eds.) After the Revolution: Women Who Transformed Contemporary Art. Munich, London, New York: Prestel Publishing, 2007.
Joselit, David. American Art since 1945. London: Thames&Hudson, 2003.
Kruger, Barbara and Phil Mariani (eds.). Remaking History: Discussions in Contemporary Art, vol. 4. Seattle, Bay Press, 1989.
Leja, Michael. Reframing Abstract Expressionism: Subjectivity and Painting since the 1940s. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1993.
Munro, Eleanor. Originals: American Women Artists. Da Capo Press, 2000.
O’Reilly, Sally. Body in Contemporary Art. London: Thames and Hudson, 2009.
Pollock, Griselda. Vision and Difference: Femininity, Feminism and the Histories of Art. New York: Routledge, 1993.
Reckitt, Helena (ed.) Art and Feminism. New York: Phaidon Press, 2006.
Robinson, Hilary (ed.) Feminism-Art-Theory. Oxford, UK and Cambridge, US: Blackwell Publishing, 2001.
Slatkin, Wendy (ed.) Women Artists in History: From Antiquity to the Present. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: